Mich and Lindsey stood outside the 98* bus and squinted as the sun glinted off of the shiney paint.
"Ummm," Mich said, not quite sure what to say that wouldn't insult them. She really didn't care if she insulted Jeff or Nick, but she had really just met Justin and Drew and wanted to make a good impression. Well, a better impression than she had on Nick and Jeff anyway.
"Isn't it a bit much?" Lindsey asked, saying what Mich had been thinking.
"What do mean, jellybean?" Nick asked. Lindsey looked at him strangely for the cute nickname before contining.
"Well, let's see, your faces are right on the side with a huge 98* and, well, you'd think you'd want to be a little more inconspicuous, that's all."
"That's what I tried to tell them," Justin said, shaking his head.
"What you said?" Drew exclaimed. "This was your idea. You said you thought the people should know who was coming!" Lindsey and Mich laughed at this. Mich knew from the start she was gonna like these guys, even 'Mr. Bitchy,' as she had called Drew the other night.
"It was Drew that thought it was a bit much," Justin told them with a laugh.
"I think that Justin wanted his face on there to remind people that he is actually in the band, and not just a roadie," Drew told the girls. Justin made a face.
"Okay, let's get going," Jeff said. "We're already behind." The girls stepped onto the bus with Jeff and Nick in front of them and Drew and Jeff behind. Nick sat and forced Lindsey to sit beside him. Lindsey frowned and shrugged her shoulders at Mich.
"It's okay," Mich said reluctantly. She ended up sitting beside Jeff, since Drew and Justin sat together. She smiled at him quickly, then remembered Lindsey mentioning that Mich liked him. She scolwed at this. Jeff smiled back until he remembered Nick saying that he wanted Mich. He began to scowl himself. Lindsey looked over at Mich and Jeff.
"I think they need to be separated," Lindsey said. Nick looked over at them and laughed.
"I think Jeff is scowling because I told him I knew that he wanted Mich," Nick told Lindsey.
"I think Mich is scowling for the same reason," Lindsey responded. Nick looked at Lindsey, almost shocked.
"You think that Mich likes Jeff?" Nick asked.
"Well, it wasn't exactly an 'eww' reaction, so I'd have to say yes." She wanted to drop the subject, so she turned to Drew and Justin who were sitting behind her and Nick. "So, Drew, I hear you took a hissy fit the other night." She tried desparately not to smile.
"What? Who told you that?" Drew glared at Nick. Nick looked guiltily back at his younger brother.
"It slipped," he began apologizing. "I really didn't mean to, it just came out."
"Oh, for the love of--Nick how could you do that? You know I was really tired." Drew turned to Lindsey. "I really don't act like that on a normal basis." He turned to Mich next, who was eyeing him, half a smile on her face. "Honestly, I don't. I'm really sorry I was so rude." Mich's smile widened at his fumblings to apologize. He turned back to Lindsey, thinking he was getting nowhere. "I really didn't mean to call you a cherity case." Lindsey raised and eyebrow at this. "I was just so tired and I didn't know what was going on and....."
"DREW!" Mich shouted across the aisle. Drew stopped his rantings and looked at her pathetically. "It's okay, we forgive you. Lindsey was just kidding."
"Really?" he asked. Lindsey nodded. "OMG, I feel like such an idiot." He reddened, embarrassed, but laughed.
"It's okay," Lindsey told him. "I'll even forgive you for the charity case crack." Drew reddened more.
"You look good in that shade of red," Mich added, trying to see exactly how red he would go. So far, she was succeeding. "It's okay, I called you Mr. Bitchy." Drew smiled, not saying anything.
"I heard you. I called you a few similar things back." Mich laughed at this.
"Okay, good. So we're even." Drew smiled even more and nodded.
Over the next few hours, Mich and Drew became good friends, laughing and joking with each other, and generally seeing how red they could get each other to go. Since it took an awful lot to embarrass Mich, and even when she was embarrassed, you generally couldn't tell, Mich was winning. They were having lots of fun. Lindsey alternated between listening in on or adding to Mich's conversation with Drew, and talking with Nick. Justin did the same, and Jeff just sat and stared out the window, or looked at everybody with a strange look in his eyes. Eventually, Nick tried to do something about it.
"Jeff, what the hell's your problem over there?" Everyone turned to look at him, even Mich, who was now in a pretty good mood. "You haven't talked once this whole trip."
"I'm fine," he said, looking back out the window.
"Oh, oh, I think someone's jealous," Justin intoned, looking from Jeff to Mich. There were 'ooh's' from the rest of the passengers. Jeff's head whipped around.
"What the fuck would I have to be jealous about?" Jeff demanded. The guys were taken aback by the intencity in Jeff's voice. Justin was the first to get over the shock.
"Well, because Drew and Mich are talking so much," Justin told him. "I know I would be if the girl I had the hots for was openly flirting with another guy.
"Flirting?!" Mich exclaimed, drowning out Jeff's own shout of denial. "I was not FLIRTING with anybody." Drew had to laugh at the frustration evident in Mich's voice. He leaned over and whispered that Justin was just trying to piss Jeff off in Mich's ear. "Oh, okay then," she said in a high voice, bouncing slightly in her seat.
"Well?" Justin said to Jeff, knowing Jeff would have something to say.
"I don't care who Mich the Bitch flirts with, okay?" Mich looked over at him with raised eyebrows at the nickname. "I don't care if Drew fucking fucks her. Just be careful, Drew," Jeff told his friend. "You don't know what you might catch." Mich stood up and ran to the back of the bus. Lindsey stood up immediately after. She looked at Jeff with fury in her eyes.
"You are the biggest bastard I have ever had the displeasure of meeting," she told him, then went to see if Mich was alright.
"That was a really shitty thing to do," Drew told him. "That was over the line.
"Even I have to agree," Nick told him. "And I don't like her that much."
"Really? I do," Justin said. "I think she's funny."
"So do I," Drew said with a nod of his head.
"Well, she does kinda grow on ya after awhile," Nick admitted. "It's almost like you have to like her."
"Would you guys shut the hell up?" Jeff yelled. He sat back in his chair and stared out the window.
"Ahhh, you're just feeling guilty," Drew told him. The guys turned back to their conversation on what a nice girl Mich was.
