Eyes on You // Awsten Knight

nine

That night, I had pretended to fall asleep in Spencer's arm. His chest was pressed against my bare back as his arm rested across my torso. The clock on my phone read 10:45, and I knew Awsten would be here soon. I carefully peeled Spencer's arm off of me, my bare feet hitting the carpeted ground. I grabbed my black skinny jeans and Spencer's large Nine Inch Nails shirt, and began searching for some sort of hoodie. From what the air coming through the open window was telling me, the night was colder than usual. I settled on Eric's maroon zip-up. I slipped on my yellow Converse before planning out my escape route. I could leave through the front door, but I worried that the noise would wake someone. Every time the door opened, it let off this annoying, high-pitched beep to let everyone on the bus know that someone was coming or going. Brandon was a light sleeper, and I knew that he would wake up at the sound. I could go out the back door, but I didn't have the key to get back in. I stood in the front area of the bus, unsure of what action I needed to take.

There was a hesitant knock at the window above the couch.

I spun around, only to see Geoff's face peering over the edge. At first, I was startled, the window was at least seven feet up.

"Geoff?" I mouthed, hurrying to the window. I slid the protective screen off and stuck my head out. Geoff had climbed onto Otto's shoulders, and Awsten stood right next to him.

"Hi." Otto strained his neck to look up at me.

"We're here to rescue you!" Geoff's whisper was enthusiastic. I covered my mouth to muffle a laugh, my head darting back to the row of silent bunks. Nobody seemed to be stirring.

"You guys are idiots." I chuckled, shaking my head. Otto lowered Geoff off of his shoulders, letting him onto the ground.

"Aight, we're gonna help you down now." Awsten told me, prepping himself. I glanced down at the ground again. It wasn't that high, but still high enough for me to need help. I took a deep breath, hoisting my leg over the edge of the window. Geoff immediately came to my aid, his hands outstretched in case I fell.

"Am I allowed to grab your leg?" He asked. I nodded, pushing myself farther out of the bus. I felt both Otto and Geoff take a firm grasp on my two legs, hoisting me up. Just as my butt left the window ledge, Awsten grabbed onto my waist so I didn't stumble forward Geoff and Otto let go of my legs, and for a split second, it was just Awsten holding me in the air.

He seemed surprised to see me in the state I was in. I was so casual. So normal. He stared up at me, and I finally noticed his eyes under the streetlight. They were different colors, one was an earthy green and the other was a glossed-over blue. They were beautiful. Awsten blinked slowly before letting my feet touch pavement. He took a quick step backward, quickly clearing his throat.

Finally, he realized he was taller than me. This also seemed to surprise me, as he had to look me over a few times.

"You're...short?" He examined, making me chuckle.

"Yeah, I'm like five foot four."

He had a slack-jawed expression on his face, which I had quickly shook off. My hands had balled up the ends of my sleeves as I got a wave of the night air. The boys all seemed underdressed, with Geoff in a blue muscle shirt and Otto in the same grey t-shirt he had worn during the day. Awsten on the other hand seemed to understand that it was somewhat cold outside. He was swimming in a navy blue jumper that hung off of his shoulders like a curtain, and he reminded me of a lost homeless child. His glasses paired with his grey beanie made him look a few years younger.

"Alright, we've got about an hour of birthday left, which means we'd better get going." Awsten clapped his hands together, careful to keep his voice down. Together, we took off down the rows of busses, our shadows looming in the street lamps. We wouldn't have needed to sneak around as much if it weren't for the fact that I couldn't dare being caught, not even by any of the other bands. It all came back to my reputation. If I was seen running around with three boys in the middle of the night, the word would get out to the press somehow. That would lead to a world of disaster.