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“So… what’d you think of getting to talk on the radio?” Nick asked Emersen after they all crowded in a van.

“It was ok.” She replied.

“Come on…” AJ pushed playfully, “You weren’t even a little excited?”

“Ok… it was pretty cool. I mean I pretty much only said hello though.” She almost blushed a little.

“I think you did great.” Howie assured her from where he sat.

“So what now?” She asked.

“Nothing till tonight.” Brian shook his head.

“Another show then?” Emersen looked out the window as she asked.

“No, we’ll leave tonight for another city. After we get there we’ll have another show.” Kevin explained.

“I see.” She was trying very hard to fit in.

"You'll get used to it soon." Nick assured her.

"How long does it take?" Emerson questioned. She was feeling a little hopeless.

"It's different for everyone.” Brian explained, “It took me forever to get used to being away from home and my family."

"Me too, but now being on the road, different places every couple nights, it's exciting." AJ said.

"Even after all these years, I can't help but miss the road and touring if I'm away from it for too long." Howie added.

“Same here.” followed Kevin. “Plus, you get to learn about different cultures by seeing it all first hand.”

It was starting to sound more enjoyable.

“He’s right, some of the places we’ve been are incredible.” Brian added.

She smiled and hoped they were all right.

 

Meanwhile back at the hotel, the boys had hung back with their body guards. They hated having to sit silently at radio stations.

They had all been hanging out, watch a movie when  Max suggested they go swimming. He had noticed the hotel’s pool their first day there and had been dying to dive in.

The rest of them agreed that it was a great idea and quickly got changed.

When they all met up down stairs they wasted no time jumping in.

At first they just chatted casually and splashed around. As they tired the conversation took a different turn.

“So, what do you guys think of Emmie?” Jake asked their small group.

“Andrew thinks she’s beautiful.” Danny teased.

“Shut up Daniel.” Drew shot back splashing water in his direction. He had used his full name on purpose.

The others laughed.

“Really though, what do you guys think?” Jake asked again after a moment.

“She seems ok.” Max shrugged.

“She looks just like Brian.” Justin added.

“Yeah, no joke.” Danny agreed.

“Something seems off with her though.” Jake added to the conversation.

The guards sitting off to the side of the pool quietly listened to them talk.

“You noticed too?” Drew asked.

“Yeah, I thought it was just me.” Max nodded hoping up on the side of the pool.

“She’s really quiet and keeps her distance.” Justin kept going.

“Yeah but remember you guys, she said her mom died. That could explain it.” Drew offered a hypothesis.

“Well, I’m not supposed to say anything, so all of you keep your mouths shut, but…” He paused and lowered his voice. “Dad told me Uncle Brian said she’s had a really rough past. I’m gonna say that’s why she’s… different.”

“Did he say what happened to her?” Drew asked.

“Nah, and I didn’t figure it was my place to ask.” He replied then let himself dip completely under the water.

“Weird.” was Jake’s response.

“I bet she was really poor or something. She seemed really fascinated when we showed her AJ’s jewelry.” Justin casual splashed Max.

“You dip shit!” Drew smacked the back of his head. “My dad will kill you if he finds out your playing around with his stuff.”

“I wasn’t playing with it.” Justin argued.

“I don’t care. Stay out of it. That stuff cost more than the two of you are getting paid for singing on this tour.” Drew warned. He didn’t feel like having to put up with his dad being in a pissy mood for something happening to his stuff.

“Alright, alright.” Justin caved then splashed him.

Just then they heard the dad walking into the room.

“Hey guys!” AJ called walking in.

“Hey.” Some of them shouted back.

Drew rolled his eyes, his dad was a nerd. What was worse was that he was being a nerd in front of Emmie.

“You can join them if you want.” Brian told her.

She looked at the shirtless boys in the water. She thought of herself in a swim suit swimming with them. The mere thought made her uncomfortable.

“N- no.” She shook her head.

“Are you sure? I don’t care.” Brian wasn’t catching on.

“Yeah, I uh, I don’t have a suit anyway.” It was true. She didn’t. It made for a perfect excuse.

“Oh, well that’s not a problem. We can go get you one.” Brian still had no clue.

Deep down she knew he meant no harm but on the surface it felt like he was pressuring her.

“No, please. I don’t want to.” Her voice elevated and cracked a little.

The room stopped and looked at her.

Feeling completely embarrassed she fled from the room.

Chapter End Notes:

Special shout out to my friend who helped me with this chapter. I kinda got stuck and blocked and she was a huge help!