"Wake up" // JJ

11) Epic

"I think I'm dying" Gee groaned as she laid down against two of the tour bus' seats. The whole group was hung over, apart from Freya who was full of energy. 

"How are you so bubbly this morning" Josh basically groaned to freya as he leaned his head against the window. 

"You lot are a bunch of lightweights, call yourself clubbers" Freya laughed, taking in the scene of how awful everyone looked. "To be honest, I think I'm still drunk" She laughed, which would make a lot more sense due to how much she drank last night. 

The whole group didn't get home until around four this morning, forgetting the fact they had to leave the hotel at eight to travel to Plymouth. 

Althea chuckled at the current conversation as she got on the bus. She was feeling a little hungover but nothing too bad, unlike Gee. She headed towards the back and noticed Eve was sitting on her own. 

"Can I sit here?" Althea asked hesitantly, looking at Eve as she spoke. She was starting to feel a little guilty about their argument and just wanted her best friend back. Her and Eve had never argued for this long before, Althea hated it. 

"Ethan is sitting there, he's just putting his suitcase on the bus" Eve mumbled, not looking up from her phone as she spoke. The majority of the bus was discretely watching the tension unfold between them. 

"But I think we need to talk.. I don't want to argue with you any longer" Althea admitted, nervously playing with her hands as she spoke. 

"You should have thought about that before" Eve mumbled bluntly, still not making an effort to look up. 

Althea just gave an awkward nod, being unsure on what to say next. She could feel the tears burning in her eyes but she refused to let them fall. She quickly hurried down the isle of the bus and sat alone, looking out of the window so nobody could see her watery eyes. Everyone soon settled down and the bus started to drive to Plymouth. 

Althea jumped a little when she felt someone tap her shoulder, her eyes were a little red from her rubbing them so much. She hardly ever cried in front of anyone so she had been rubbing her eyes to stop herself. 

"Need some company?" JJ asked from his seat behind her. 

She hesitated at first but gave him a small as she nodded. "I'd like that" She said softly. JJ smiled before getting up and jumping over the front seat, banging his head on the roof during the process, causing him to scream dramatically.  

Althea bursted out laughing as he banged his head on the roof of the bus. "Are you okay?" She giggle, covering her mouth in an attempt to stop laughing. However, her laughter grew when JJ started to rub his head in pain. 

"Im fine" He laughed back, rubbing his head as he spoke. "But at least I cheered you up" He joked with a hint of seriousness. 

"You did, thank you" she smiled back, playfully nudging him with her shoulder. "So, how are you feeling?" She asked, referring to if he had a hangover or not. 

"I'm definitely feeling rough, however I'm nowhere near Gee's level" he chuckled, looking over at her as he spoke. Gee was passed out sleeping over two seats, her blue hair was everywhere. 

Althea nodded with a smile. "I'm the same, definitely not feeling the brightest but Gee is on another level" She joked. She always loved her chats with JJ, he really knew how to make her feel better about herself. She definitely thought they connected on another level, she began to trust him a lot quicker than she would normally trust someone. 

"You never told me what your parents do" JJ said curiously during their conversation of random topics. 

"well, my Mother is a teacher at my old primary school" Althea started to explain, getting more comfy in her seat as she spoke. "And my dad is a sergeant in the army. Unfortunately he hasn't been able to come home in a while, I think its been around a year since I saw him last" She told JJ, a sad smile on her face. 

"I'm sorry to hear you haven't seen you're dad in so long, but just remember that he's saving so many peoples lives" He replied softly, gently putting a hand on her shoulder for comfort. 

"Thank you JJ, he really is"

*********

Everyone arrived at the hotel in Plymouth at around four in the afternoon. The majority of people were exhausted from last night, so it was agreed a small trip to the beach would be a better idea than another night of clubbing. Everyone had time to settle into their rooms and relax before meeting at the reception at around six o'clock. 

Eve had decided she was going to share a room with Ethan, meaning Althea had to share a room with one of the other girls. At first she was a little annoyed that Eve had left her again, but she was more than happy to share a room with Gee as the other girls were with their boyfriends. 

"Bro, you've got your first article" Simon mumbled to JJ as he looked at his phone. He handed it over to JJ to see what he meant. A news article filled the page with the heading 'Does KSI have a new hookup?' , Along with the heading, there was also a photo of him and Althea in the nightclub they went to.  "Now, before you get angry, this is the type of thing we need to get everything else kick started" Simon explained as his friend read the article. 

"I really hope this works, everything is on the line here" JJ sighed as he handed the phone back to Simon. 

"What's on the line?" Althea asked as she walked up to the two boys. She was dressed in a pair of baggy jeans and a thick knitted jumper. 

"Oh.. uh.. Simon has convinced me to bet on a football match.. there's a lot of money on the line" JJ lied in a stutter, looking over at Simon for back up. 

"yeah, I'm convinced they're gonna win this one" Simon nodded, putting his phone back in his pocket as he spoke. 

"Oh, well good luck" Althea smiled warmly, earning a nervous smile back from the boys. 

A few moments later, everyone had arrived at the meeting point. The beach wasn't that far away so they all decided to walk. 

********

Once on the beach, everyone had spread out to do their preferred activity. The sun was setting in the background so it was rather cold, meaning nobody had decided to go swimming at this time. 

Althea, Talia and Freya all sat down on a blanket, having a girl chat as the boys played a game of football. Gee was taking some photos of the sunset, whilst Harry and Katie went for a walk. Eve had decided to stay a the hotel which was strange, she loved the beach. 

The girls cheered as one of the boys scored a goal, earning the boys to laugh at their supporters. They all went towards their drinks and towels, deciding to take a break before the second half. JJ grabbed his drink before starting to walk to the group of girls. 

"Althea, can I quickly talk to you?" He asked hesitantly. 

Althea nodded. "yeah, of course" She replied as she got up off the blanket. "What's wrong?" she asked softly as they began to walk across the beach, the sand becoming hard under her shoes as she walked. 

"I just wanted to ask, of course I totally understand if it's a no, but I was wondering if you wanted to go for lunch tomorrow.. just the two of us" He asked softly, looking down at her as he spoke. 

Althea was suddenly hit with a bunch of swarming butterflies in her stomach, she felt all giddy. like a child at Christmas. "I'd love to" She replied with a warm smile, stopping in her tracks to look up at him. 

"Great, I know this nice restaurant in the middle of town. Does around two in the afternoon work for you? It'll give us plenty of time to get back for the gig tomorrow night" JJ explained, he had clearly thought this out well. 

Althea couldn't help but give a small chuckle. "That sounds perfect" She agreed, looking at his face as she spoke. Little did she know, this is where something epic, but terrifying would begin.