Chapter One
And everybody's starry-eyed.
I huffed with exhaustion, lugging my gigantic suitcase behind me.
“I told you that you over-packed,” Jeremy chuckled, pausing to wait for me to catch up.
“Oh shut it,” I mumbled, lifting my leg to kick him but instead losing my balance and tripping over my suitcase. I caught myself just in time before anything even more embarrassing could of happened.
“You almost fell on your butt,” Jeremy shot me a wink, “Almost.”
“Well thank god I didn’t,” I said to myself, getting used to the hum of my suitcase wheels against gravel from walking so long.
“Are we almost there?” I whined.
“We just have to turn this corner,” Jeremy answered just as we did turn the corner. The bus was massive and sleek black. I awed for a few seconds before Jeremy gave me a little push. He went in the bus first, hesitantly opening the door with me hiding behind him.
“Jeremy! Good to see you, man!” A jet-black haired guy shouted out cheerily, embracing Jeremy in a man-hug, causing him to drop his luggage.
“You too, Jack. I can’t wait to start this tour,” Jeremy grinned happily.
“Yeah, it’s great to have you on tech crew. We really needed a solid member,” Jack pushed Jeremy aside lightly and smiled at me. “And you’re the new merch girl, Jeremy’s girlfriend, right?”
I nodded. “Yep, I’m Nicole.” I stuck out my hand for a handshake but Jack fiercely wove his arms around me instead.
“Around here, we hug,” he explained.
My laugh came out muffled since I was buried in his chest. Once he let me go, two guys emerged from the back of the bus.
“Zack, Rian, good to see you guys,” Jeremy pulled them in for a hug as they all just smiled, excitement gleaming in their eyes from the start of a new tour.
“Where’s Alex at?” Jeremy asked, looking around him slowly.
“Oh you know Alex, always wandering. I never know where that guy is at,” Jack shrugged.
“Alright, I guess I’ll say hi to him tomorrow. I think I’m going to get to bed after I set up my stuff. It’s been a long day of travelling,” Jeremy announced. His gaze shot to me. “You staying up?”
I looked to the clock on their small black microwave. The tiny green letters read 11:30.
“Yeah, you know that I’m always a bit of a night owl. I’ll probably stay up another few hours,” I replied.
“Alright, goodnight Nicole,” he leaned down and kissed my forehead, heading to the back of the bus for a good night’s sleep.
_____
It was three in the morning and I was staring at the ceiling mindlessly, completely awake in my little bunk. The new tour starting up was too exciting to even attempt to get some sleep. I quietly stepped down the short ladder, taking each step one by one to make sure not to slip and wake everyone up. The bunk beneath me was the only one empty and I assumed it was Alex’s, the infamous wanderer.
I silently made my way outside of the bus and sat in the field of grass outside of it. Someone had taken the liberty of setting a few dim lights out here, just in case some night owl like me likes to sit out here and watch the stars. Everyone seemed to go to bed at a pretty decent time, though. Maybe this Alex guy was the night owl.
I laid on my back, feeling the grass tickle my arms. The start-of-summer air blew breezily on my skin and I took a deep breath, inhaling that nice feeling. I closed my eyes and felt a smile tug at my lips.
Almost immediately, something plopped down beside me. Opening my eyes and sitting up quickly, I noticed from the dim glow of lights around us that it was an extremely cute guy with a natural smirk and ruffled brown hair.
“I’m assuming you’re Jeremy’s girl?” he asked me, his head tipped to the side, studying me. His big brown eyes never wavered.
“That would be me. The name’s Nicole, and you are?”
“Alex, nice to meet you,” he said with that smirk again. “Isn’t a little too late for you to be up?”
“Maybe to some, but I happen to love staying up as late as I can. I’m not sure why but if I go to sleep too early I feel like I’m missing out on things. I’ll miss out on watching the stars like this and just letting hours pass. Because in the middle of the night like this, you have all the time in the world. You don’t need to go to work in an hour or swing by that party for a few minutes. It’s just you and all the time you need, you know?” I had no idea why I was telling him all this, considering I just met him a minute ago, but I feel like something about him would understand.
“Yeah, I totally get that.” We were both laying on our backs now, staring up at the glittering stars. “I do this every night. I’m a bit of a stargazer.” Alex’s cheeks got a little pink, as if he just shared a secret with me that no one else knows.
“I’m the biggest nerd about it. Everyone thinks it’s so weird that I can just stare for hours. But I just get lost in them and it never bores me,” I shrugged, the grass tickling my shoulders.
“Same here. You’re the first person I’ve met that shares the same view.” His eyes met mine to take a break from the stars.
“Wow,” he breathed, still looking at me.
“What?” my heart quickened. Was it me? Was something wrong?”
He scooted closer, so close that I could smell his cologne. His eyes were boring into mine. He tipped my chin up with his cool fingers to keep a steady eye contact.
“It’s just, your eyes are so blue. But they’re not like a bright, light blue. They’re a really dark blue yet they manage to glow even when it’s dark like this. I don’t know it’s just interesting,” he broke into a goofy smile.
I could feel my cheeks flaming. “Um, thanks?” I laughed.
He chuckled. “You’re welcome. Now how about we go inside and get some rest for the first day of tour tomorrow?”
I looked at his warm brown eyes, wanting to tell him more than anything that his eyes glowed in the night too. Actually, I wanted a lot of things in that moment. I wanted to stay out here with him for a couple more hours. I wanted to point out stars with him. I wanted to tell him all of my secrets. I’m not even sure why, but I already feel a connection with Alex. I can see us being great friends. But instead of saying any of this, I gave him a shy smile and agreed.
_____
-song credit to Starry Eyed originally by Ellie Goulding (but I prefer the You Me at Six version)
