The plane landed roughly in Cologne many hours later at 6:30am, Germany time. Isabelle yawned from not getting quite the best rest that she wanted. She pulled her rolling suitcase behind her as the group exited the airport and flowed onto the tour buses awaiting them. Each one of the guys got their own bus, and then Q, Marcus, Brady and Isabelle shared the last one. “Beautiful, how about you go to the bus and get situated. Marcus, Q and I have to tag up with AJ to talk about what he arrangements he wants us to make to have his girlfriend flown in.” Brady kissed Isabelle’s cheek quickly and headed off to AJ’s bus without any other discussion.
Nick could see the hurt and confusion spread across Isabelle’s face. “Hey,” he caught her arm gently as she began to walk past him. Instead of keeping that strange expression across her face, she quickly wiped it away and formed a smile. “I know you don’t really know me…but it gets lonely on these buses. It’d suck if you had to be on one by yourself. How about you just crash on my bus and then you can switch over with Brady when we stop?” Nick offered politely. Typically he’d offer that to some beautiful woman he wanted to shack up with. But not Isabelle.
Isabelle shrugged with a grin. “That sounds nice. Do you have a spare bunk?” She asked as they stepped onto Nick’s bus. Nick nodded and helped her set her bags down in one of the corners, then set his own down as well.
“It’s not much, but it’s enough to travel around a country for a little while,” he shrugged as he showed her around his tour bus. “Looks like they stocked up on…” he trailed off as he opened the fridge with a chuckle. “Lots of Evian, apples and eggs.” He grinned. “I’m on this diet thing…and so…” he tried to explain.
“Ah, I’m the same way,” Isabelle smiled. Nick frowned, wondering why she would ever need to be on a diet. “My body doesn’t just come naturally. I used to be a chubby kid when I was younger. I started eating stuff like this when I went to college.” She explained. “And I lost all the weight. Now I mainly just eat this stuff.”
“It kinda grows on you,” Nick shrugged and shut the fridge, a silly grin playing on his lips. He couldn’t believe all the stuff he had in common with this girl. It was one thing that he found her attractive. That was one point of interest that always made him attracted to someone. But then it was another thing that blew his mind that they had so much in common. Usually girls he dated were the complete opposite of him. He never really knew what to look for in a relationship. But the fact that she was able to have a conversation with him not because he was a celebrity but because he was entertaining to her, which was point three that made him crazy.
“It does,” she agreed with a smile as she glanced around the rest of the bus. “So, you really live out of these things for months on end?” She questioned with a slight grimace as she examined the dining area and the bunks. Nick nodded and shoved his hands in his pockets. “Doesn’t it get…lonely?”
“Well…” Nick licked his lips. He really didn’t want to tell her that he was used to having his female friends over all the time. He didn’t think that’d go over too well. Instead, he decided to take the approach of, “You kinda get used to it after a while. Besides, if we get really bored, we usually hang out on one bus and play Play Station or something.” He shrugged.
“Sounds fun,” Isabelle nodded and looked around a bit more. “It would be kinda fun to travel. I’ve always enjoyed it.” She smiled. “But I’m not sure if I’d like to do it for a living.”
“Understandable,” Nick chuckled and smirked at the bus driver as he came on the bus. “Hey Marcel, this is Isabelle. She’s going to be our manager of merchandise for the tour this time around.” Nick smiled, and then turned back to Isabelle. “Marcel was my driver for our Never Gone German leg, too.” He explained.
“Nice to meet you,” Isabelle smiled politely with a small wave.
“You too,” Marcel smirked in a strong German accent.
As the bus began to pull away from the airport, Isabelle texted Brady to let him know that she was traveling on Nick’s bus. “Have you ever played Guitar Hero?” Nick asked as he pulled his gaming things from a bag and set them up by the TV in the front of the bus.
“Oh my gosh,” Isabelle giggled. “All the time. I have two brothers back home and they both got me into this game.” She grinned and tucked her long dark hair behind her ears as she sat Indian style in front of the TV.
“Sweet,” Nick laughed. “I haven’t met many girls that know how to play this. I got the third version that just came out. Have you played it yet?”
“No!” She beamed wide-eyed. “That’s so cool that you have it! Is it much different?” She asked, completely interested now, holding the guitar in her hands.
“Nah, not too much,” Nick couldn’t believe this girl. She was beautiful, easy to talk to and she liked to play video games. “It’s the same concept, just new songs and shit.” He shrugged.
“That’s awesome,” Isabelle grinned as Nick set everything up. “Brady isn’t really into the whole game thing.” She scrunched up her nose, somewhat disappointedly. “He thinks it’s for kids.” She sighed with a roll of her eyes.
Nick wasn’t sure whether or not he should say what he felt. He had only known this girl for about twenty-four hours. “Why exactly are you with him?” He asked so softly, he wasn’t even sure if she had heard him. She gave him a blank stare, completely shocked he had asked her that. “I’m sorry, it’s none of my business.” He quickly tried to recover and turned on the TV to act as a distraction.
“You’re right, it’s not,” Isabelle scoffed. She cleared her throat, as if she had something to say, and then continued. “I’m not really sure why I’m with him…I mean, I know it’s not your business…but for some weird reason I trust you.” She shrugged. Nick looked over, surprised she had decided to answer his question. “I guess it’s my family loving him that makes him so attractive. My family is so important to me.” She sighed and played with the hem of her t-shirt.
Nick decided to drop the topic. He didn’t want to say anything prematurely. She seemed like a sweetheart, but he didn’t want to scare her away. “Are we playing teams or single mode?” He asked with a small grin tugging at the corners of his lips. Isabelle was glad he decided to change the subject and grinned back.
“Um, let’s play teams first. That way I can get used to the game so I can kick your ass,” she winked. Nick chuckled and set it all up. Isabelle wasn’t really sure what had just happened, but she sure felt comfortable around Nick. She knew that he would become a person she could talk to about absolutely anything.
Author's Chapter Notes:
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