Carefully Keely looked around the corner of the hallway, making sure she was hidden almost entirely. The hallway was completely inoffensive, the beige walls typical of a hotel. She had the hood of her baggy grey hoodie pulled over her rather tell-tale hair, hiding her from anyone that might have the chance to recognize her, the hood shadowing her face as well.

Finding that there was a clear path, she hastily moved down the hall, running as lightly as she could manage.

At the door with the right number, Keely skidded to a halt, peering over her shoulder to make sure no one was watching. Once again seeing nothing but empty hall, she turned the door knob, sneaking into the room quickly.

With a sigh, she closed the door softly, leaning back against it with her eyes closed.

“What are you doing?”

Unsurprised she just pushed the hood off her head, shaking her hair out of her eyes as she finally looked further into the motel room. “I’m hiding from the cameras,” she replied to Seth, pushing off her sweater completely as she shoved off the door and moved into the room.

Slinging her sweater over the chair in the fancy room, she just frowned, crossing her arms over the baggy striped tank top she was wearing. “What are you reading now?” she questioned, peering down at where he was lying on his back with his head on the pillows, the book he’d been reading still posed above him despite her abrupt appearance.

“Victor Hugo,” he replied, running a hand lightly over his face and sending her that crooked grin.

Stepping closer, she leaned over the edge of the bed, hoping to see the pages. “Language?” she interrogated.

“French,” he answered, moving so that the tattered paperback was held in just one of his hands. Keely frowned slightly as he shifted forward towards her, but didn’t have the presence of mind to back off before he was gripping her lightly by the hand and tugging her forwards onto the bed.

Startled laughter escaped her lips as she fell forward inelegantly into the comfortable mattress. Not staying long in her sprawled position, she crawled hastily up so she was kneeling on top of the soft duvet.

Gripping one of the many pillows having been provided, she smacked him lightly across the face, making Seth laugh loudly, snatching it from her hands and tossing it to the side. “I knew there was a reason I didn’t like you,” she accused jestingly.

“You love me,” he joked, sending her a quick look through his smiling eyes before turning his gaze back to his book.

Even though it was said in a joke, her whole body tensed in nerves. He couldn’t know, could he? Training her facial expression, she twisted around, sending the door a distrustful look. “Do they know where your room is?”

“I’ve been able to keep it hidden for now.”

With a sigh of relief, Keely flopped back, landing beside him companionably. Being stuck in the bus with Meredith and Ewan for the entire trip had been bad enough – she wasn’t in doubt that they’d show the shot of her in the morning to the entire world – but they followed her wherever she went since they’d gotten to California. She’d found that her best defense was simply to cut away from the boys, meaning that Meredith and Ewan had to make the choice of following her about or NSR.

But at the moment, she knew very well that their two person camera crew had gone out with Marco and Colton for a late lunch. And since they knew where her hotel room was, she’d fled to Seth’s. So as long as they didn’t find them here, this was her safe haven away from the constant camera lens focused on her.

Not to mention Seth being there wasn’t a horrible addition.

Huddling closer to him slightly so she could read the words, she found that he hadn’t been lying; the book was really in French. “What is it about?” she whispered, unsure why her voice had gotten so soft.

“It’s a poem anthology again,” he returned, his voice barely above a murmur. The slight rasp to his whispered voice from the tour caused a shiver to run up her spine. “This one is called More Strong than Time.”

“What does it say?”

As if it was the most natural thing in the world, Seth shifted so that he could wrap his arm behind her, pulling her closer.

Although her mind went blank for a moment and her body tensed, Keely let out a deep sigh, curling towards him. With one hand scrunched between them and the other lying lightly on his chest so she could feel every breath he took, she leaned her head back against his arm, pulling in a deep breath of his scent.

“Okay, this is just the beginning,” he replied. “Depuis j'ai mis mes lèvres…” Seth continued, but she stopped focusing on the words, knowing that it was helpless for her since she knew nothing of the language except hello and goodbye.

Instead she just let her eyes drift close comfortably, listening closely to the sound of his voice. Just because she had no clue what he was saying didn’t mean she didn’t like the way he said it, his voice running smoothly over the French words. With a sigh, she leaned her head against his chest above his heart, with her cheek pressed against his warm chest; she could hear the thud of his heart beneath her ear.

When he stopped speaking, she finally opened her eyes, turning her head slightly so her eyes could take in the yellowing pages, her cheek moving against the soft cotton of the shirt he had on. “What does it say in English?”

“You should just learn French, it’d make it easier,” Seth put in, the arm that had been her headrest moments before shifting so it wrapped closer around her.

When she didn’t respond, he gave a sigh, shifting comfortably back into the mattress. “Okay, but this is just what’s coming from me reading the French version, I’ve never read a translation so I might get it wrong,” he warned.

Grinning slightly, Keely replied, “I don’t care.”

“Okay, well, here we go. “Since I have set my lips to your full cup, my sweet, Since I my pallid face between your hands have laid, Since I have known your soul, and all the bloom of it, And all the perfume rare, now buried in the shade; Since it was given to me to hear on happy while, The words wherein your heart spoke all its mysteries, Since I have seen you weep, and since I have seen you smile, Your lips upon my lips, and your eyes upon my eyes.””

As he took in a deep breath, Keely tipped her head up so she could look up into his eyes. “It’s beautiful,” she murmured, feeling languid beneath his eyes that focused solely on her face.

“It’s better in French,” he replied, his gaze remaining intense on hers. “My favorite part isn’t until the end though. “My heart has far more fire than you can frost to chill, My soul more love than you can make my soul forget.””

Unsure how to respond, she just stayed silent, unconsciously running her thumb up and down across his chest as she searched his face.

Before either of them spoke, the moment was broken as the door of the hotel room opened with a bang. Not ready to move away just yet, Keely swiveled her head about in surprise as she found the door.

“… Seth’s room,” finished Colton, talking to Meredith and Ewan behind him. However the moment he looked forward, the boy halted in his tracks.

For a moment she just dropped her head back on his chest, squeezing her eyes shut. Maybe if she pretended that they weren’t there, they’d disappear? It appeared her hypothesis wasn’t logical, because after a long moment she heard footsteps coming further into the room and felt the muscles in Seth’s chest contract as he stretched up to look at them. With the shot of desire that flashed into her stomach, she found that it would be time for some space even if there weren’t people in the room.

With a groan, Keely finally peeled herself away, swinging her legs around so she could hop easily off the bed. Just mere moments after she left, she was already missing the heat he gave off. “And now I’ve got to go,” she announced, swiftly snatching her hoodie up and pulling it over her shoulders.

“Where are you going?” questioned Seth from behind her, his voice sounding husky for some reason.

Shoving a hand absently through her hair so it fell away from her face, she turned around; finding him still sprawled across the bed. For a moment her mind went blank, did she have anywhere to go? Her number one mission was to avoid the cameras, but not because she hated them so much but because they’d been zoomed in on her far too much for her liking lately. She just wanted to feel as if her every move wasn’t being documented.

“I’ve got sound check,” she decided at random. Although it was very true, she did have her sound check, though not for at least another couple hours. “I wanted to talk to Will about something before and… yeah, sound check.”

Although Meredith and Ewan had been quiet since they’d walked in the room, the woman decided to pipe up at that point. “Can we come with you?” she asked eagerly.

With one eyebrow arched, Keely simply stared at her for a moment; really? After all this? “Yeah, let’s go,” she sighed, turning towards the door without waiting for them. Yet when she got to the door, Keely sent a helpless look over her shoulder to find Seth still lying in bed with Marco and Colton at the sides.

In response, they all just sent her bright grins, making her scowl back at the trio.

Zipping up the front of her sweater, she tugged the hood over her head again before trudging down the hall, the camera crew buzzing around her.

“Okay,” Meredith began, trotting beside her. “We’ve gotten around to asking Marco and Colton these quick questions, but we need to ask you and Seth still. So are you fine with answering them now?”

With a small smile, Keely brushed her bangs from her eyes as she looked towards the camera. “As long as you’re fine asking them in a cab.”

As it turned out, the two were very fine with asking her the questions in cab. And it led her to sitting squished against the door of a rather questionable smelling taxi, the driver sending them suspicious looks over his shoulder.

“How do you feel about a clap reel in a song?”

“Freddie Mercury already made it cool,” she replied, leaning her head against the warm window. “Why not use it?”

“What’s going on between you and Seth?”

Wrinkling her nose slightly, she turned her head so she was giving them an incredulous look. “You asked Marco and Colton that?” However, when they didn’t answer, she just gave another sigh, returning her head to its previous resting position. “Nothing, he’s a good friend, my producer and co-writer. That’s all.”

“What’s your favorite color?”

“I don’t know… purple?”

“Favourite movie?”

“Forrest Gump.”

“Favorite song?”

“Intervention – no, it’s We’re Going To Be Friends­. Oh, no, never mind, it’s Lounge Act. Actually Strawberry Fields Forever. No, no, no, definitely Little Lion Man, no, it has to be But Honestly, but maybe Marigold, no Shine On You Crazy Diamond. Oh Ramble On. But wait–”

Finally Meredith found it was time to stop her rant after she and Ewan shared a look. “So I guess it’s safe to assume you don’t have a favorite song?”

For a moment, Keely considered it, sending them an amused glance. “Well, not one.”

“What’s your idea of the perfect date?”

“A concert.”

“One thing you want to do before you die?”

“Play at Reading or Leeds.”

Before another question could be asked, the cab driver pulled into a stop in front of the stadium that they’d be playing at for two nights before they moved onto the next city, they had countless California shows to play.

The moment the stadium came into sight; she straightened, tossing bills at random in the driver’s direction before shoving out of the door. It wasn’t that she hated cameras, she actually loved to take pictures and videos, but that was with friends. It felt awkward though when it meant more than just making faces and saying random things.

Following beside her Meredith continued to ask question while Ewan hurried ahead of them, singling her in the frame of the camera. “How old are you?”

“Eighteen,” Keely replied, shoving through the front doors.

“Are you excited for the movie premiere tomorrow night?”

Thrown off by the question that didn’t seem to fit with the rest, she sent the girl a confused look, yet replied all the same. “We’re so excited, Jenny Cooper is a good friend of ours, not to mention Marco’s girlfriend. We wouldn’t miss being there for the first showing for anything. Marissa James is flying down here for it as well, it’s like a miniature reunion even though we haven’t been apart all that long.”

“Is being in the music business serious for you?”

“Deadly,” she answered, quirking her lips up in a little smile as she followed the directions to the stage, finding stairs quickly.

However when Meredith didn’t ask another question, Keely just gave a sigh, glancing over her shoulder to where the two were trailing behind her down the stairs. “It’s serious,” she reiterated, looking forward because it wouldn’t be surprising if she tumbled down the stairs. “I left my entire life and family to go to New York; it’s serious.”

Not quite sure if she even wanted to know what their next questions would be, she hastened her pace down the steps with the stage in mind. Only when the last three steps came into view did she look up, the empty stadium around her giving a familiar nervous jolt in her stomach. However she ignored the feeling, it was becoming quite easy for her to do so, and focused her attention on the plain black stage, walking through the chairs that were yet to be set up correctly for the floor seats.

She was just in time to see The Cavern Jets had finished their sound check, standing about and chatting with the sound engineers. Will was still sitting behind his drums talking to a light guy who went by the name of Max, he laughed lightly, wiping his face with a towel before standing up.

It was then when his eyes caught her, lighting up excitedly.

“What are you doing here?” he called out loudly, causing all eyes to snap to him before they landed on her moving towards the stage. “Your sound check doesn’t start for a while.”

With a shrug, she made a face at him, thankful that the camera crew was behind her so they didn’t catch it. “I had a plan. It backfired,” she explained simply, taking the hand he offered to pull her up onto the stage.

Finding Aaron on the stage, she sent him a sugary smile, giving him a little wave. “Hey, sweetie,” she greeted.

Sending her a scowl, he tore his gaze away, turning back to talk to the guys that were with him. Keely pressed her hand to her heart and sent Will a mockingly hurt look. “Why doesn’t he like me?”

Will just rolled his eyes. “I think something about you making him into a bitch in front of hundreds of people, not to mention everyone who is going to watch that clip once it hits the internet.”

“He made himself a bitch,” she returned, dropping her hand with a smile at him.

Letting his gaze fall, Will once again muttered, “Thanks.”

Seeing as he was either constantly thanking or apologizing to her, Keely didn’t even bother to respond. Side stepping him, she rounded his drum kit, plopping down in the stool. Thoughtfully she ran her hand over the smooth drums, she’d never actually played them but that didn’t mean she wasn’t interested.

Picking up the drum sticks that were just strewn over top, she pointed one straight at Will whose mouth was twitching up in amusement. “I’m going to play your drums and you’re not allowed to laugh at me since it’s my first time,” she informed him.

“Scouts honor.”

Snorting lightly in the back of her throat, she chose not to comment as she put her foot on the pedal for the bass drum. Although she’d have liked to do a Dave Grohl impression, she held it in, knowing that the people around them wouldn’t appreciate her unskillful drumming, especially if she tried to be loud.

Instead she just kept up a steady beat with the bass as she began to tap the drums experimentally. She was finding so far it wasn’t hard to keep time and the steady rhythm as she went, consistently adding new factors into her simple playing as she kept up.

“You’re actually not that awful,” Will pondered aloud, looking down at her with his arms crossed over his chest.

Grinning even when she rolled her eyes, Keely kept tapping lightly, wondering how on earth Neil Peart drummed the way he did. “It’s because I can keep time,” she told him, “It makes me not that awful.”

“So what song are you going to do with NSR tonight?”

Giving a little shrug, she shook her head quickly in order to get her bangs away from her eyes. “We’re going to do some Joan Jett, she’s always a crowd pleaser; they go crazy when we do a cover. But I’m so tired of doing Bad Reputation all the time, I don’t care how much they like it, we’re going to do I Love Rock and Roll.”

As if he was about to respond, Will opened his mouth, but quickly did a double take. “What are you guys doing here now?”

Confused, Keely glanced to the side where his gaze was directed to see NSR strolling casually down the floor towards them as well. Biting her lip she couldn’t help when her eyes lingered on Seth who was wearing the same long sleeved cotton shirt he’d been wearing at the hotel shoved up to his elbows, his jeans hanging off his hips appealingly, held up by the plain brown belt.

The moment it happened Keely winced, for the first time falling out of time with her soft, boring drumming, her hand having paused and missed the beat. Squeezing her eyes shut, she turned her head back so when she opened them she was looking back at the kit.

“We were bored,” answered Seth, his voice running goosebumps up her spine as if he’d run his hand along it causing Keely to heave a great sigh.

Now she was just being irrational, wasn’t she?

“What are you guys up to?” questioned Marco’s voice, causing her to glance up at him.

Only then did Keely find that the sound and light guys had left the stage completely, probably setting up for her sound check that she was still much too early for. But what she did find was that the rest of the boys were huddled around the drums.

“We were going to go check out the dressing rooms,” said Aaron casually, “I think we might have gotten an actual room.”

Smirking at him, Marco shoved him in the shoulder. “Ha,” he spoke the one word with more enthusiasm than Keely would have believed possible. “We actually get three rooms now, one for each of us.”

Will sent him a confused look, his face scrunching up. “How is that fair?”

Amused Keely stopped playing, just resting her hands holding the sticks on top of the drums. There was much more bickering between the boys before they were out, rushing towards backstage, apparently with the intention of stealing one of NSR’s dressing rooms. Marco and Colton were on their tails, not about to let that happen.

Grinning she brushed her hair from her face, tipping her head back slightly so she could look up at the last person remaining with them. “Think there’s going to be any fist fights?”

“It’s likely,” Seth answered easily, “Why do you think Meredith and Ewan went after them?”