Van:

"What are you looking at then?" Bondy's voice smacked into my ear. I locked my phone, shoving it into my pocket and shaking my head.

"I swear to christ if you spit in my ear again Bondy." I mumbled, leaning back into the seat and staring ahead.

"You alright then? You look paler than usual, and that should be right impossible." He smiled, but I couldn't smile back. "Come on then, don't be so dense. Tell me what's wrong." Bob and Benji were asleep in the two seats in front of us, their slumped figures making me wish I could just use sleep as an excuse for Bondy to get off my back.

"I-I dunno. Something bad. I-uh-christ I can't even say it right. I can't even"- I took a deep breath. "I may have a kid."

"Carmen?" Bondy's face lit up.

"No."

"Christ. Well then. Tell me everything." I unlocked my phone again, opening the message and glancing at the picture again before shoving it in his face. He squinted, eyes jerking back and forth between the picture and me. Finally, he leaned back and laughed, rubbing his eyes.

"Bondy"-

He let out a louder laugh, making Benji suddenly jerk awake, and everyone around us probably think he was mad. He finally opened his mouth to talk, wiping at the corners of his eyes. "When your....when your mate's so fucking dense he thinks some random baby's his." He coughed out, shaking his head.

"What do you mean?"

"Did you turn int a bit of a loose goose while you had that thing going with Carmen? Absolutely. But impregnate someone? You just about stopped from crossing that threshold lad."

"This girl...?" I stuttered.

"This little girl. Was with us out on the grounds last year. I dunno if maybe you had too much to drink, or if you were too busy scoping out some girl who looked a little like Carmen but not enough to make it weird to sleep with, but I remember this little girl. You fucking took a picture with her mate. And you see that cropped arm around her? The one of the person who's been cropped out? That's me." He began to laugh again, turning it into a half wheeze half scream.

"So...someone played a prank on me?"

"Yes! CHRIST YES." Bondy slapped his thighs, leaning forward and hugging himself. "Almost scares me how gullible you can be. Imagine if you'd told Carmen something, that would've been a fiasco."

"So this...was....just a prank." I was still dumbed up.

"I really think I just pissed myself a little." Bondy exhaled. "Oh god, Van, lad."

"I..." Of course it made fucking sense now. In fact, as I looked at the picture, I started to remember a bit of that girl. But the fact that this had been a prank pissed me off. And like Bondy said, the fact that I'd been gullible was also extremely alarming.

I took a deep breath, crossing my arms around myself and looking at my feet. I was too gullible sometimes, I believed everything the first time, but no more.

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Carmen:

I stuffed a french fry in my mouth, crossing my leg underneath me.

"So like, fuck off right?" Nicole finished her story, rolling her eyes at me and then taking a drink from her milkshake. I nodded, biting into a hot fry and looking out the window.

It had been a couple of hours since we dropped off the guys at the airport, and now we'd come to gorge ourselves with food and hang out. "I want a puppy." I mumbled, as a girl walked by with a tiny white puff with short legs and a bright pink tongue.

"Get one. Surprise Van with his first fur baby. No offense but when people say fur baby it kind of..." Nicole stuck her finger down her throat, laughing.

"Ohmygod. Harsh. I know what you mean though, I wouldn't call our dog our baby, I'd call him our fur....acquaintance. Fur bud."

"Fur bro." Nicole finished, swirling the straw around in her glass.

"Yes." I checked my phone, yawning. "Why do I feel so tired?"

"Probably cause you had too much fun with Van last night and you were worn out." Nicole laughed and dodged the fry I threw at her.

"Honestly." I mumbled. "Come on, don't tell me you aren't tired. It was nine am when we dropped the guys off."

"I don't know. Not really. Maybe you're just getting old."

"I'm the same age as you." I looked at her.

"Yeah well sometimes I feel like an eighty year old woman. So there's that sugar baby. Ohmygod, last weekend I saw this documentary on sugar babies and sugar daddies, and you would not believe what this girl did to get a Chanel bag...."

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I huddled under the blankets, pulling the sheets closer. I hadn't washed the sheets yet, so they still had Van in them. And maybe that sounded weird, but for now I could just pretend that the feel of the sheet over my skin was the next best thing after his skin.

Sleeping in this apartment by myself was still a little off. Nevermind the fact that this was the first time in a long time where I was living on my own for a bit. But the guys would come back after a while and the silence would be replaced with Bondy's drunk yelling and Van's laughter in my ear.

Van was calling me in a few. Now. The phone rang loudly, a bright screen lighting up the dark room.

"Hello?" I answered excitedly, but whispering for some reason.

"Hello." He whispered back. I curled my legs underneath me, giddy with the sound of his voice, even though it'd only been two days since I'd seen him.

"How are you?"

"Missing you. Loads. More than ever. Impossible, I know, but I wish I could be back home with you." He breathed out slowly, and I heard the sound of sheets moving.

"Are you still in bed?"

"Yes." Of course, I could make out the sleep in his voice. He must've just woken up. "And I'm assuming you're in bed now, too."

"You assumed correctly. I miss you loads too. Maybe I'll get a pup so I can have some company."

"A pup huh?" I could hear his smile. "I like that idea. Just don't get one of those ones that like to bite."

"I don't think that's a specific breed." I laughed.

"Maybe not, but those are my requirements."

"I'll take them into consideration." I smiled.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Depends. I'm kidding, of course."

"Do you think I'm gullible?" His voice rang out quietly on the other end.

"Do I think you're gullible," I chewed my lip, "Sometimes. But everyone can be."

"Sometimes I think I'm right more than normal though. The things I'll believe."

"Does this have to do with anything specific?"

He got quiet. "Oh you know...Bondy's been pranking me more here and I'm just wondering how gullible I can get."

"I think everyone's a little gullible. Do you sometimes believe a lot of far out things? Sure. But I think you're in the normal middle of gullible."

"That's very reassuring, thank you."He said sincerely, then laughed. "Remember that time I told you I'd eaten raw elephant and you believed me?"

"Oh so this is what you're turning it into now?" I acted offended.

"Of course not. I miss you, I miss your body." His voice got low. "What are you wearing?"

"Van." I laughed, feeling the warmth creep over my face.

He laughed too. "I know I know, maybe a bit too to the point, but you know I love it when you talk filth to me. Always have."

"Me, talk filth? I don't know what you mean. I just speak romantically." I responded innocently.

"Is that what you call it? Alright sure, I'll go along with it." He said. "Romantic speak."

"And I don't think I can come up with any romantic speak right now. I'm so tired from work. I think I need a massage. I didn't even bother to change into pajamas, I just took off my pants and threw on a long sleeve."

"So you're lying in our bed without any pants on? Christ, that image will get me through the next week. I'd give anything to be there and give you anything you need." He responded slowly.

"Don't talk like that if you can't do anything about it right now." I threw an arm over Van's pillow, moving the phone away from my face.

"No, don't do that. Come on, ya know if I was there right now I'd be spreading your legs for me." He spoke with desperation.

"Spreading my legs for you? As if I wouldn't do that on my own." I replied, hearing him breathe out on his end. "So tell me what you're gonna do now babe, take care of yourself cause I'm not there to do it for you?"

"No, I'll just let it build up until we're either back home or you're here, and then I'll take it all out on you. Every single moment. Oh babe, you're almost gonna be begging me to stop. I'll eat you out until your legs numb."

I felt my face flush, this kind of talk wasn't new exactly, but it was always effective. "Van, I"-

"Hold on babe. One moment." I heard a rustle and then a minute later his whispers came flooding back over the line. "Totally had to talk to Benji while pretending I didn't have a..I wasn't in the mood."

"Ohmygod." I laughed. "At least I'll get to sleep and wake up with a cleansed mind tomorrow."

"Cleansed cause of all those wet dreams?" He responded.

"I should sleep. I have work tomorrow. And you have to do rockstar things."

"I'd rather be fucking my girlfriend."

"It's too early over there for you to be speaking like this. Be careful or Bondy's gonna pop in and yell at you."

"Why Bondy?"

"Because that would be the funniest."

"As usual, Bondy kills the mood. But ok, go to sleep, sweet dreams. Sweet dreams of me going to town on you, like I would like to."

"You're so dirty."

"And you're mad for it. My little romantic speaking girl who talks about getting me off."

"Shhh." I laughed. "Stop! Ok, but really, I'm falling asleep. So I'll talk to you later my love. Love you."

"Love you loads darling."

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I tapped impatiently as the screen showed Van's picture, but the call was going through ever so slowly. Finally finally, his grainy image appeared and then slowly began to clear as he waved at me.

"It's been years. Alright, three weeks, but still. How are you babe?" He leaned forward, tucking his chin in his hands.

"I'm great, we're great."

"We?" He frowned. I picked up the tiny furball and Van's face lit up. "You got him already?"

"Yes. I can't think of a name though, help me out."

"Uh, I'm thinking Rob, Robbie"-

"Robinson." I finished.

"Robinson." He repeated, a grin coming over his face. "I love it."

"How are you babe? Tell me everything's been going great." I asked afterward, letting Robinson curl up on my thigh.

"Everything's been going great. The fans are massive, every show is fantastic."

"Do you know when you'll begin part of the tour here?"

"Uh, probably this coming month, October. We're still wrapping up some last shows and all that, but we should be crashing back over there sometime soon."

I grew excited, because it didn't seem so far off until Van would be back and everything would be complete again. "Ok, well get back to your rockstar stuff, be careful, don't drink too much, and I love you."

"Love you always babe." He waved before the screen went black.

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Van:

We landed back in LA three days after I'd talked to Carmen. I wanted to surprise her and make it seem like I didn't have a clue when we'd be landing back in the States again, and now we were just gonna burst in back to our apartment and into our regular routine and I was buzzing. Sure we'd be leaving next week for New York to kick off, but until then we could just hang out for a bit.

We took a taxi back to the apartment, and I knew Carmen was at work so good thing Bob carried his keys with him, cause we would've been sitting outside on the curb until she'd gotten home if he hadn't. I thought of the bed waiting for me on the other side of the door as I heaved my bag to my other shoulder while Bob unlocked the door.

Small, frantic barking greeted us, and I saw little Robinson come at lightning fast speed, jumping up and down before trying to nip our ankles.

"Christ that is one excited pup." Bondy let his bag drop and tried to pick up the pup, but he jumped back quickly.

"Bondy he knows you're no good." Benji laughed.

"What are you talking about Ben? We'll be drinking buddies by midnight." Bondy stretched and the other two went to their own rooms. I tried to pick up the little fur ball, and finally he let me.

"Hey Rob, where's your mama?" I whispered, holding onto him while walking to Carmen and I's room. I threw the door open and took in the made bed with such a comforting relief that I immediately walked over and crashed down on it, still holding onto the agitated puppy.

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We stood there in the dark. "Like a load of robbers. Hope Carmen doesn't take you out with her bag Ben."

The key moved into unlock and then Carmen threw the door open and we all yelled surprise in harmony. "Ohmygod." Her face broke into a smile and she stepped inside, giving the lads a hug before finally engulfing me into one and bathing me with kisses. "I thought you didn't know when you were coming back."

"Wanted to surprise you."

"Love you Car, but I'm dead with jet-lag, I'll see you all in the morning." Bondy yawned after a bit, and disappeared quickly.

Bob and Benji went to sleep soon after, and I felt like nodding off a bit, but not as much. Carmen and I sat huddled on the couch, Robinson in her lap. "New York first huh?" Carmen asked.

"Yeah, what if"-

Robinson barked for no reason, startling us both before we continued.

"I kinda wanna go with you guys. I've never been to New York before." She admitted.

"I kinda really want you to go. I think you'd like it. Plus we're meeting Larry there, and he always likes to see ya."

"I'll ask for the week off at work. Today I had to watch some rich lady throw her coffee on one of my coworkers, and still help said rich lady find a dress afterwards." Carmen rolled her eyes, scratching Rob's head.

"Sounds horrible."

"It was. Do you have to go down to the label at all before heading to New York?"

"Yeah, we're heading down tomorrow, just for a bit of talk on revenue and sales and all that junk." I grinned.

"Ok cool." She yawned. "Aren't you tired?"

"A little bit. But with you I feel like I've just woken up from a nap." I massaged her head gently and she closed her eyes and leaned back, smiling.

"Don't do that unless you're ready to do it for like an hour."

"Alright maybe not that, but you know what I am ready to do for an hour?" I didn't wait for her to answer before pressing my mouth against hers. She broke apart for a second to let Robinson down on the ground, then pulled me into her.

She pushed me back a little, out of breath and smiling. "Not here in the living room? One of the guys can come out and see us."

"As if they wouldn't get off on it the little sickos. I'm kidding. But it's more exciting isn't it?" I pulled her blouse up and pressed my lips against her abdomen, feeling her hands wrap around my hair.

"Van..." She groaned, while I fumbled with her pants.

"Where the fuck's the button on these things?" I mumbled exasperated, until she finally undid them herself.

"I can't believe you couldn't find the button." She laughed until I cut her off with my mouth, grabbing her hands and pinning them up over her head while she wiggled underneath me. I bit her neck gently, feeling the warmth of her skin as I pushed her shirt off. "I'm seriously so paranoid one of the guys is gonna walk out right now."

"It's getting you off isn't it?" I laughed quietly, pushing her pants off. "Bet you I have to put my hand over your mouth to keep you from making any noise. You like to make noise sometimes."

She rolled her eyes in the dark, I could even see that. "Look who's talking." She brought her hands to the button of my jeans, undoing them and reaching a hand in to grab me. I shuddered, shoving my face into her neck.

"You didn't say you were gonna do that." I groaned, trying to keep quiet.

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Carmen:

"I like the element of surprise." I responded, feeling my legs tremble as he kissed my neck.

"Let's make a bet," he whispered into my ear finally, "whoever makes the first sound loses."

"Deal." I gripped him, feeling his groan in response.

"Remember what I told you that one time we were talking on the phone? I'd eat you out until your legs went numb? I intend to make on that promise babe."

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I pressed my hand against my mouth, but Van continued relentlessly, his hands gripping my thighs to keep my legs spread open. I bit my lip so hard I thought I'd draw blood, and thought my stomach was curling itself into the tightest ball. I tried to wriggle away from him, but he was barely getting started.

A door opening made us both crash off the couch with the thud. We crawled to the end of the couch and waited. Goosebumps covered my skin, and I was glad I still had my shirt on. Van didn't, but his pants were still on.

A flush sounded. Van pulled me closer. "What?"

"The bet's not over yet." He whispered.

"Are you serious?" I asked in disbelief.

"Does it look like I give a fuck if someone's in the bathroom? I'm a competitive person, you know this." He pulled me on top of him, fumbling with his jeans.

"So this is just a competition to you then?"

"Obviously not, but"-

The door slid open and footsteps made the floorboards creak. Instead of disappearing, they kept coming closer. I pressed against the wall, trying to hide from view. Van did the same, a ghost of a grin on his face. I would've gone off on him for still finding this funny, but I really did not want to get caught by one of his bandmates with my pants off.

The cupboard slammed quietly, and the sink groaned before the sound of water trickling sounded from the kitchen. "Bedroom." I whispered to Van, reaching to grab my pants from the ground. The lights turned on suddenly, bathing the whole room in light. I yanked back, wrapping my pants around myself as if they would do anything.

"What...?" Benji squinted in the light, and when he saw Van with his shirt off and me with my pants barely covering me, he opened and closed his mouth. "Really?" He turned the light off and walked back through the room and into the hallway without another word.

"Christ." Van whispered, before breaking out into a laugh.

"I'm going to kill you." I said, standing up and running to our bedroom.

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In the morning we both came outside and I figured that maybe just maybe there would be no backlash.