"But I miss screaming and fighting and kissing in the rain

And it's 2:00 a.m. and I'm cursing your name

Breakin' down and coming undone

It's a roller coaster kinda rush

And I never knew I could feel that much"

✰

"I feel like that girl is looking at me weird." Calum mumbles, tugging the bag of his suitcase closer to him.

Ashton squints his eyes sleepily, a round neck pillow resting on his shoulders as the boy fights the urge to fall asleep standing up. "Probably because you're wearing grey on grey." The green-eyed boy says with a slight gravel in his tone due to the early hour of the morning.

"You're using a neck pillow as an accessory." Calum fires back, crossing his arms over his chest. Secretly, he was kind of jealous of Ashton's neck pillow because he looked pretty damn comfy, but he could just admit that.

"You're using frat boy douchebag as an accessory." Ashton grumbles, scowling at the boy who is usually attached to his hip.

Calum gasps, rubbing the sleep from his eyes rapidly as his mouth drops in offense. "Oh yeah? Well-"

Arlo cuts off the tan boy by grabbing his hand and promptly beginning to drag him away. "I'm going to go get breakfast with Calum. Airline food makes me sick." She declares, ignoring the pout on Luke's lips as she leaves his side. The boy was using her as support to lean on and he already missed her body heat.

Calum frowns "I'm not hungry-"

"I need someone strong to walk with me." Arlo gives her most pleading eyes to the boy, despite the fact that everything coming out of her mouth wasn't the slightest bit relevant. She would do pretty much anything to keep the boys from bickering. "What if someone tries to rob me? Calum, you're the most intimidating."

A very sleepy, slightly grumpy, Luke grumbles something along the lines of "My fuckin' ass" as the words leave Arlo's lips. The girl shoots him a sorry smile that looks more like a wince as she begins walking towards the small restaurants in the airport.

The group had been at the airport for close to thirty minutes already and the sun still hadn't come up- it was that early in the morning. But, there were two music videos waiting to be filmed in Los Angeles and two days' worth of studio sessions. The band would have absolutely zero free time considering they were only there for five days and two days would be spent filming, two in the studio, and one full of interviews.

Arlo was more nervous about the interviews than she was willing to admit, not because she thought the boys couldn't handle it- they'd just never done such a thing before and the two hours of media training they were given the day before in the New York office didn't seem like nearly enough.

If the media were to try to paint out any of her boys as something they weren't to get a few more clicks the girl would be heartbroken. She wasn't in the spotlight herself, but she knew how brutal it could be. She only hoped that they were treated as the people they were, not industry plants or something disposable

"Those girls really were staring at me, Abbs." Calum nudges the girl with her elbow as he walks close to her. He was taking the job of making sure she didn't get robbed very seriously, his brown eyes darting around their surroundings skeptically.

Instead of ordering something fresh, Arlo leads them toward the shelves of prepackaged food. She wasn't really hungry, for she was far too nervous to even think about eating, and she knew Luke had skipped breakfast as well and she needed to get him something.

"Which girls?" She asks. The place where the boys are standing is still in sight, allowing her to look around the area from afar.

"Do you see Michael?" Calum points to the boy who's slumped into one of the uncomfortable chairs, knocked out cold. Luke stands beside him, leaning on his suitcase as he scrolls through his phone and Ashton checks their tickets over and over nervously.

"Yeah." Arlo hums, squinting her eyes in the fluorescent lighting of the airport. "The blonde and the redhead?" She asks, them being the only two girls in the area she can see. They're both dressed in clothes fit for a party, their hair and makeup perfectly done at what couldn't be later than five in the morning.

"Yes! Look!" Calum grips Arlo's jaw gently to maneuver her head to a certain angle. "Watch, that girl has her phone videoing Mikey!"

Sure enough, as Arlo narrows her eyes on the girl she can see them filming the unsuspecting boy sleeping on the chair before panning the camera over to where Luke and Ashton stand, and then finally, she watches as the girl seems to zoom in on Calum and herself in the background.

"I don't like that." Arlo mumbles, quickly paying for the bagel and juice she'd picked out for Luke. She shoves her change into the pocket of her loose sweatpants and takes Calum's wrist, dragging the boy along. "C'mon let's move somewhere else."

It seems as though she'd looked away for a moment, but as Arlo and Calum approach their group, the number of girls has multiplied. There are now close to twenty of them "discreetly" filling the area, acting as though they're supposed to be there.

Before Arlo and Calum can make it back, four girls suddenly appear in front of them, blocking their path with their phones recording.

"Calum? you play the bass right?"

"I love 5 Seconds of Summer."

"I watch the video of your performance at that bar every day."

"Are you going to release a recording of She's Kinda Hot? It's my favorite."

"You're so much hotter in person."

"Is there an album coming?"

"Is this your girlfriend?"

The last question causes Arlo to freeze. Earlier she'd been pulled aside by the label managers and been lectured on how essential it was to the success of the boy's career for them to remain seemingly single. Especially, considering Luke is the frontman.

Calum smiles proudly, his arm slinging around Arlo's shoulders lovingly. The boy was on top of the world- he was flying to LA and he was getting recognized for his music for the first time ever. He had real-life fans and they weren't just numbers on a screen anymore. "This is Arlo, she's my best fri-"

"I'm just the manager." Arlo cuts him off swiftly, doing her best to smile at the girls who look to be out for blood. They were nice to Calum of course, but she could see the way they were judging her.

Arlo was wearing one of Luke's old hoodies and loose sweatpants with the logo of her high school on them- which she was hoping the girls didn't notice and use to get information on her- her hair hadn't been brushed that morning, instead thrown up into a ponytail. Arlo looked like she'd just rolled out of bed because quite frankly, she had.

Calum senses the girl's panic and notices the way that the other boys had been surrounded, more fans flooding in by the second. "We have a flight to catch guys, I'm so glad I got to see you though." Calum smiles genuinely, wishing he had more time to talk to them.

"Can we take pictures?" One of the girls asks.

Trying to hide his wince, Calum complies, posing next to the girls as they hand Arlo their phones. Both of their chests were beginning to feel tight with anxiety. This whole thing was so, so new and they didn't know how to cope with it.

He takes a picture with every girl before hastily pulling Arlo along to convene with the rest of the band. They're all taking pictures as well, but he doesn't miss the way Luke looks around nervously. Calum would bet money that he was looking for Arlo.

He's only proven right as Arlo gets close enough to touch. Luke wastes no time in taking her hand, interlocking their fingers and pulling her into his side as they wave goodbye to their fans.

Arlo panics, her heart dropping as every girl in the area witnesses Luke's affectionate movement. In a split second, Arlo drops Luke's hand and turns on her heel so she doesn't see the hurt on his face. She beelines over to where Michael is struggling with his suitcase, beginning to help the boy.

Luke's heart sinks in the worst way possible, his stomach turning as Arlo so firmly turned him away. Had he done something wrong? He wasn't sure- all he knew was it hurt like hell to have her pull away like that. Especially, when he was seeking the comfort of her touch to quell the anxiety in his chest.

Luke spends the entire walk to the terminal replaying every moment of the morning and the night before in his head. Arlo had seemed fine- perfect even. The band ordered pizza to their hotel room and spent the night eating on the balcony and getting drunk on cheap beer they snuck out of the hotel bar as they talked for hours.

His girl had sat on the floor of the balcony between his parted legs, her head on his chest and his hands on her waist. Even when they'd woken this morning with a slight hangover and only an hour of sleep under their belts, she'd practically leaned on him for support the entire morning. She'd even peppered tired kisses along his jaw as they got in the car earlier.

What had happened?

Luke tries to ignore the sick feeling in his stomach as a result of her rejection as he climbs onto the plane with the rest of the band. Their seats were right next together and he allows her to take the window while he takes the middle seat for himself and Michael takes the aisle seat. Calum and Ashton sit in the row next to them.

The plane takes off, allowing Arlo to dig through her carry-on properly. She pulls out a packaged bagel and a small bottle of some sort of juice that looked a bit too healthy. "Here, Luke." She says, her voice quiet. "You need to eat."

Luke purses his lips, shaking his head. Everything about her seemed closed off, with the way her thigh was pressing all the way against the side of the seat furthest from him. "You eat it."

"Luke, come on-" The girl tries to argue.

Luke swiftly cuts her off, angling his body away from her. "I don't want it, Arlo." He didn't care if he was being childish. He was hurt and while he didn't necessarily want her to leave, he didn't know how to be around her with all of his nervous questions burning on the tip of his tongue.

Arlo sighs, trying her best not to get upset at his behavior as she leans across him to hand Michael the food so it doesn't go to waste. She doesn't miss the way Luke sucks in a sharp breath as her arm brushes his chest.

For the entirety of the five-hour flight, Luke and Arlo are silent. The girl had spent enough of her life alone- being an only child who went to a private school- to know how to entertain herself. She was good at looking out of the window and daydreaming but that didn't mean she enjoyed it; she'd rather be talking to her boyfriend.

By the time their plane lands and they make their way through the airport and into the car that was sent for them, Luke is buzzing with pent-up emotion. The boy hated things being left up to interpretation, he hated assuming the worst and he really fucking hated that Arlo dropped his hand in the airport when he needed her most.

Halfway through the drive, it begins to pour. It rains so hard that Arlo isn't too sure how the driver is managing to see the road clearly, but she can't even appreciate the beauty of the storm. Not when Luke was angry at her.

The rest of the band chatters excitably as their car pulls up to the house their label had rented for them to stay at. They were told that this house would be something they visited often and they'd be living there for a few weeks to finish the album in a month or so.

But, Luke couldn't give a fuck about the house- Not when he was still brimming with anger and Arlo, herself didn't look to be the slightest bit happy.

The rest of the boys run into the house, squealing as the rain soaks them. Meanwhile, Michael had left his suitcase in the car, far too excited about seeing the house to remember, leaving Arlo to drag it inside.

Luke was upset, but he wasn't going to leave her in the rain. "I've got it, Arlo. Go inside before you get sick." He instructs her lowly.

"I've almost got it." The girl huffs stubbornly, dragging the heavy suitcase. The rain had already soaked both of their clothes, but neither of them quite cared.

"Go inside, Arlo." Luke repeats, his voice leaving no room for argument. He reaches for the bag only to have her jerk it away. He freezes, the harsh moment catching him off guard.

Arlo crosses her arms over her chest, suddenly wishing he didn't tower over her for once. "Stop, treating me like that, Luke."

Luke's chest expands as he sucks in a breath, his blue eyes narrowing at her firm tone. "Like what? When have I ever treated you like anything but a fucking princess, Arlo? I have a right to be mad!" He raises his voice.

Arlo lets the rain soak her clothes, plastering the fabric to her body. "You're ignoring me for no reason! You pouted for the entire flight-"

"I do have a fucking reason!" Luke cuts her off, his voice echoing down the street as the volume of his tone increases. He takes a step towards her, their chests inches apart as he looks down at her with fire in his eyes. "I needed you at the airport, I was trying to comfort both of us and you fucking pulled away from me like you were embarrassed or something!"

"You know for a fact I could never be embarrassed of you, so don't even go there! There were fans there, Luke!" Arlo huffs, throwing her hands up in the air in disbelief. "I'm sorry I care about your career!"

"Fuck my career, I care about you!" Luke shouts, the loudest she's ever heard him. His hands hastily cup either side of her jaw, forcing her eyes to meet his own. "I care about you, Arlo! Is that so fucking hard to believe?"

Arlo purses her lips, her brown eyes watering with emotion. She wasn't crying because she was upset- she was just so frustrated her body didn't know what else to do, making her glad the rain did a good job of blending with her tears.

"That's dangerous, Luke." Arlo shakes her head in denial. "I'm not going to be the one to strip your dream away from you. Don't put that pressure on me."

Luke exhales, wanting nothing more than to kiss away their hurt and make everything alright again. But he had to learn to communicate, as much as the thought made him sick to think about. "I joined the band for you. This was never my dream." Luke tugs on his lip ring nervously. "It may be my dream now, but it never would have been possible if you didn't encourage me."

Arlo sniffles, her eyelashes damp with tears and rain as Luke's thumbs gently wipe the moisture away. "I just want you to get everything you deserve."

Luke pulls the girl into his chest, placing a kiss on the damp skin of her forehead. He exhales in relief as she nuzzles her head into his chest, wrapping her arms around his waist. "I've got you, Lo. That's already more than I deserve."