Let Me Show You

40. Idiots

After hours of looking through pictures and talking about the tour bus life, it is finally time to catch some sleep.

"Dakota this will be your bunk and Lara will go right underneath you" Valorie chirps motioning to some small beds pressed right into the sides of the bus. Lara hops into her bed and falls asleep right away. I look around for a ladder but have no luck in actually finding one.

I turn around to see Ashton jump right onto the top bunk and lay right down without any hesitation. "GOODNIGHT EVERYONE" he yells before closing the bed curtain.

"Oh god" I mumble to myself as I step onto Lara's bed while holding on tight to the frame of my bed. I bend my knees and push up off of Lara's bed in attempt to swing my legs over onto my bed. My feet make it onto the bed but I slowly begin to slip off as the weight of my legs and torso drag me down.

I can hear Lara's giggles and then feel arms wrap around my knees and my back as I am lifted down away from the bed. I sigh in defeat to look up at Luke's gentle smile.

"You are so cute" he whispers leaning down towards me. I see a flash of movement from my peripheral vision and Luke's face pales. "Let me help you up" he says loudly not looking at me anymore.

He lifts his arms up and rolls me onto the bunk facing away from him. I don't bother to turn back around because I know that Calum must be lurking around. After everything that has happened, Luke gets skittish around the other boys. Afraid that he might hurt them with his actions. Or me.

"Goodnight Dakota" Calum mumbles as he gets into his bunk under Ashton. 

"Goodnight Calum" I whisper so quietly I can barely hear it myself. I try to close my eyes, but every time I do, they snap back open. I finally give up and just lay there on my side with my eyes open.

I notice a small window on the wall and I open the curtains. I watch the blurred lights go by as we drive quickly down the highway. I catch a glimpse of a sign with the words NEW YORK written in bold.

"The Big Apple" I say almost laughing. I've wanted to go since I was a child, and now here I am heading into New York on a tour bus with a bus full of celebrities.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"RISE AND SHINE" a familiar Australian voice sings from right outside my bed. Well I never actually went to sleep so I can't rise and I'm definitely not going to shine either...

"Michael go away" I mumble throwing a pillow over my head.

"Don't you wanna meet my sister and travel around New York?" He asks reminding me of where I am. I put my arms under my shoulders and quickly push myself up in excitement.

"Fuck" I yell as my head collides with the ceiling and I fall back onto the bed. 

"What is it? What's happening?" Lara yells pushing open her curtain and peering up from her bunk.

"Dakota's just being Dakota" Michael laughs as he turns away and walks over to the other boys. I lean over the edge of my bunk and down at Lara. We both moan and roll back into our beds. 

"You first" she yells through the mattress. I let out a few fake cries before I sit up and dangle my feet over the edge of the bed. I make the mistake of looking down and my stomach does a summer-sault.

I slowly lower myself down until my feet can feel Lara's mattress. I then turn my body around and bend my knees until I fall straight onto Lara. 

"Sorry" I laugh as I roll off of her onto the bus floor with a loud thud of my back.

"DAKOTA are you okay?" All the boys yell at once. I lift my head up to see them all on their feet carefully looking down at me.

"I'm just dandy thanks for asking" I slur letting my head fall back onto the floor.