BLOOM • awsten knight

14

MARCH 2018

"Hey, when were you going to tell us that Elle plays guitar?" Geoff turns to Awsten, with a smile.

"What?" Awsten looks back at him, briefly confused, before Geoff shows him a picture that Elle had posted earlier today, of her on her bed with a guitar. "Oh, yeah. Cool, right? She sings, too."

Awsten stares at the post for a second longer, before handing Geoff back his phone, a small smile playing on his lips; seeing Elle sat with a guitar in her lap makes Awsten's heart race, though, he isn't sure why.

Something he is sure of though, is that he wishes she could be at every show; he felt a rush, whenever he looked up to see her in the crowd last night, and he wants to feel that every night.

Seeing her expression when they played her favourites, just made Awsten want to sing them better than he ever has, and he noticed how energetic she was throughout every song, except for one.

He couldn't help but notice Elle's absence during Lucky People; he didn't like looking up to the balcony and not seeing her smiling face. That song was hard enough for Awsten to sing at the best of times, so it just makes his heart ache even more to think that it could hurt Elle, too, and for similar reasons.

"Why don't we head up to the mall?" Geoff suggests, as he shoves his phone back in his pocket, pulling Awsten away from his thoughts.

"Uh, yeah, sure," he shrugs, following his lead.

Lucas and Otto soon wander elsewhere, browsing through various stores, leaving Awsten and Geoff near the entrance.

"What are you doing?" Awsten narrows his eyes at Geoff, curious as to why he looks so suspicious, as if he's looking around for something.

Geoff ignores him for a moment, before turning around with a smug smile. "Turn around."

Awsten shoots him a quizzical look, before doing as he says and turning on his heels.

"Elle?" His eyes go wide, as he almost chokes on his own breath.

She grins widely, walking closer, and it takes Awsten a moment to register that she's actually here, before he bends down to her height and wraps his arms around her waist tightly.

Elle giggles into his hair as he holds her close, which only makes Awsten want to hold her tighter.

"What are you doing here?" He pulls away, just enough to look at her, still with a firm grip on her sides, to make sure she doesn't disappear.

"I wanted to see you," Elle answers simply, and her words make Awsten's heart trip over itself as she shrugs, and he pulls her into a hug again.

She just drove half way up the country, Awsten thinks to himself, just because she wanted to see me.

For some reason, it feels so unreal to him.

Sure, his last girlfriend would visit him on tour, but for the most part, that was arranged, and planned for weeks in advance; this is different.

"Does this mean you're coming to the show tomorrow?" Awsten questions excitedly, as the thought seems to click in his head, and Elle nods in response. "Wha- where are you staying? We're in a hotel tonight, we can book you a room or-"