Tangled

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Eleven

As the deafening music died down and the crowd went wild, Old School Groove waved their farewells to the third audience of the week. Everything seemed utterly perfect for them. Given, the first time, getting up in stage was a hassle. The anxiety was awful a few minutes before the show, but as Liam had proposed, once the tough phase passed, all the horrific thoughts faded away in the music. To think that there were only two more shows left to go, both in Sydney, hurt the four boys. Their journey had begun and ended so rapidly, they barely had a chance to acknowledge the beauty of it.

"How was the show?" Tatum asked, grinning at her friends as they drove through a round of short hugs. "My ears nearly bled from the all the screaming."

Denver smirked, pushing back some of his brown locks. He mischievously pulled out something red from behind his back, waving it around in all their faces. "I got my first bra thrown at me."

Tommy's face twisted into a disgusted expression. "Mate, get rid of that before someone sees you with it."

Instantly, Denver hugged it to himself protectively, making Parker roll his eyes as he unstrapped his guitar. "No way! This is a keepsake!"

Then, Tommy being Tommy, figured it would be a good idea to fight his band mate for it. They started lugging the bright red undergarment back and forth, similar to a game of tug-of-war. Tatum's face reddened a bit with every pull and rude remark thrown between them. Next to her, Elliot lurched over his stomach, hooting with amusement. She swatted him annoyingly on the shoulder just as a figure came to stand behind her. Whoever they were, planted their soft chin on her little dip in her shoulder and chuckled lightly. The breath of air sent tingling sensations down her spine and goose bumps to rise on her arms. Despite herself, her lips turned up in a brilliant smile.

"Why are they fighting?" The person finally asked, their eyes fixated on the duo of boys. "Is that…a bra?"

Tatum swiveled around on her heel to face the voice, her smile instantaneously switching into a grin. Taking in his appearance, a white shirt, board shorts, flip flops and his hair tucked beneath his backwards snapback, she realized he was not dressed in anything special. But nonetheless, it made her heart beat uncontrollably against her chest anyways. Just the sight of him made everything in her go weak as it was impossible for her to keep her eyes off him. He was out of the ordinary in a manner she could not explain. But somehow, she did not feel like she needed to.

"H-Hi." She stuttered, tumbling over her own words.

Before he had the opportunity to return her greeting, Elliot broke the two out of each other's trance.

"You reckon since Den's got a bra, some girl hasn't got one on outside right now?"

Sighing heavily at his perverted question, Tatum grabbed Elliot by his ears and pushed him in the direction of the changing rooms. After some more revolting comments about braless women, Elliot stumbled off after his friends, knowing full and well that he was driving Tatum completely mad. When she knew they were gone, she turned her undivided attention back to the waiting boy.

"Is everyone else here, too, Niall?" She inquired, taking a peek behind him in the hope of seeing the others. But they weren't there.

"The lads are in the car," he explained. "We're going on a boat ride!"

Tatum raised her eyebrows at him. "We are?"

"Yeah."

She bit her lip, unsure. This action made him frown and worry that Harry hadn't texted her this morning like he was meant to.