Chapter 4.

I froze, feeling my face flush red. If I’d known that the Jess’s were planning this, I might not have agreed to this game.

Bill blinked, switching his gaze to me, then back to the Jess’s. “Uh… I… Um… Yeah…”

The Jess’s squealed each grabbing one of us, pulling me and Bill closer together. Bill kept his eyes trained on mine. I licked my bottom lip nervously. The Jess’s pulled our hands together and Bill’s fingers wrapped around mine; I felt a spark of electricity tingle up my arm. Suddenly it all happened so fast that, at first, I didn’t have a chance to take it all in. After a few seconds of being cross-eyed and paralysed, it registered that Bill’s lips were on mine. They were soft and warm and I felt my tummy melt. My eyes closed of their own accord and I shifted my head, encouraging his lips apart. I almost jumped back in surprise when Bill’s tongue brushed against my lip, but then I relaxed and let him slip it into my mouth. I vaguely noticed that Bill’s hands were winding around my waist. Bill’s tongue searched mine out and I found myself fighting for dominance with him.

I’d never really kissed anyone before, only a couple of hasty kisses goodnight with previous boyfriends. Bill was so much more experienced and he knew what he was doing.

Following Bill’s lead, I placed a hand on his neck, my heart fluttering even more than it had been. Somewhere in the back of my head, it registered that the others were whooping and cheering, but it didn’t matter because I was kissing Bill. Me. Kissing Bill. My other hand found his hair, tangling it through my fingers; it was long and soft to the touch. One of Bill’s hands was on my back and I could feel it warming my skin. The fight for dominance was over and I had won. I trailed my tongue across Bill’s and found his tongue stud, which he’d mentioned before. I played with it, before carrying on mapping out his mouth with my tongue. Suddenly my brain kicked in and I realised I was running out of air. I pulled away as gently as I could and when I opened my eyes, Bill’s hazel eyes were looking back at me. He was smiling at me, his pale cheeks flushed pink. My heart hammered in my chest as I panted to catch my breath.

“Um… Wow…” Bill said, still breathless.

“Yeah…” I said. I couldn’t think of anything else to say: my brain was still mush.

“Back to the game, then!” Jess2 said happily, apparently pleased that her plan had worked.

Bill flicked the bottle, making it spin. It stopped at Gustav, who groaned.

“My turn,” said Tom, grinning at Gustav, who promptly gave him the finger, making us all laugh. “Truth or dare?”

“Truth,” Gustav said, “it can’t be any worse than a dare.”

Tom smirked. “We’ll see about that… Who do you like, like… like like?” Tom finished, finally satisfied with his question.

Gustav blushed and looked down at his lap. “Jess.” He mumbled.

“Which Jess?” Tom probed.

“Jess1!” said jess2, bouncing in her seat.

“How do you know?” Tom asked, raising an inquiring eyebrow.

“We were, like… not… spying on you.” Jess2 replied, shifting her gaze to the ceiling.

“You were spying on us!? When we got dragged in here for spying on you?” Tom asked, exasperated.

“Oh, don’t act like you don’t want to be in here,” Jess2 said, flapping her hand.

I yawned, looking at the clock; it was 2:45am. Across the circle, Jess1 yawned as well.

“God,” she said, attempting to stifle a yawn, “it’s like 3am.”

Tom furrowed his eyebrows as he yawned, as well. “Geez, you guys have started a yawning chain now!”

Jess2 giggled, “Yeah, I guess we should sleep. We all know how Gego gets when we’re not up by 1!”

The Jess’s and I retreated to our respective beds, while the boys lined their makeshift beds up along the end of ours. I smiled to myself when I saw that Bill has ended up at the end of my bed.

Jess2 jumped up to turn the lights out, but even though I was exhausted, I couldn’t get to sleep full. It had started to rain outside and I listened to the raindrops hitting the windows. My kiss with Bill kept replaying in my head, no matter how hard I tried not to think about it; I couldn’t seem to turn my brain off. The rain outside was starting to get heavier, making the windows rattle. Everyone seemed to be asleep, judging by the heavy snores that were emitting from Gustav. I lay awake, silently listening to everyone breathing, until I heard Bill turn over. I wondered if he was awake, like me, or just a restless sleeper.

Suddenly there was a clap of thunder, making me squeak with fright, before clapping a hand over my mouth to stop myself waking everyone else up. A flash of lighting followed soon after and I buried my face in my pillow. I had always hated thunderstorms, but it was so much worse when I was away from home. I heard Bill rustle again by the foot of my bed.

“Lola?” he asked quietly. I froze.

I emerged from my pillow. “Yeah?” I said, feeling myself shake.

“Are you alright?” he asked.

The thunder rumbled again and I dived back under my covers, squeaking. I heard Bill laugh.

“So, you’re scared of thunder.”

I peered out of my covers, straining to see him in the dark. I could make out his figure sitting at the end of my bed, on the floor.

I tried to change the subject. “You can’t sleep either, huh?”

“No,” he replied, “I was just thinking.”

“What about?” I asked. I wanted to keep him talking; I didn’t want to be alone in the storm.

Bill didn’t answer. I was worried that I’d offended him somehow, by probing too far.

“If… if you don’t want to talk about it, I won’t be offended,” I said quickly, feeling my cheeks flush.

Bill shook his head. “No, I was just thinking, I was thinking about earlier,” he mumbled quietly.

“Oh,” I said. Somehow, I couldn’t think of anything to say. Eventually I found my voice. “So, what about earlier?”

“I was just… that kiss… it was really something, wasn’t it?”

My cheeks felt like they were going to catch fire. “It really was.”

My mind wondered back to the kiss and I shivered, remembering how it felt. Bill broke my train of thought.

“I recognise you from somewhere, like I really should know you, but I don’t know where from.” I saw him run a hand through his hair, obviously frustrated at the lack of information.

“I know,” I said, “I feel like I know you, too.”

Bill snapped his fingers. “Secondary school!”

“What?”

“We went to the same high school!”

My thoughts flashed back to my high school days, when I had lived in Germany. Then it hit me; the boy with the eyebrow piercing and the black hair. It had been Bill. I’d never noticed him much before, we’d never spoken.

“Oh my God!” I burst out, “I remember now! I had the bigger crush on you when I first moved!” I slapped a hand over my mouth, my eyes wide at my own stupidity, as Bill chuckled.

“Funny, I had a crush on you, too,” he said.

“Really?” I asked, not quite believing it.

“Yes, really,” he replied, “What? Don’t you believe me? You were one of the prettiest girls in the year.” He got up and sat at the end of my bed. “I remember the first time I saw you, at that talent show. I heard you sing and I thought you had an angel’s voice. But then… you weren’t at school anymore… I thought I’d messed up, missed my chance.”

“You did?” I asked, shuffling forwards. My mind raced; I couldn’t believe this was happening, like, really happening.

“But now, here you are,” Bill said softly. I could feel his eyes on me.

“Here I am,” I repeated. Everything was going foggy. I vaguely noticed that Bill’s face was a lot closer than it had been a moment ago, but I was too absorbed in his honey coloured eyes. And then…

Bill’s lips were on mine, engulfing all my senses and reducing me to a puddle. I thought I would keel over, but Bill wrapped his arms around me, cradling me to his chest. He teased my lips open and his tongue intruded into my mouth, seeking mine. His tongue stud accidentally clashed against one of my teeth, sending a wave of shivers down my spine. My hands moved of their own accord, caressing Bill’s neck. I could feel him breathing heavily through his nose, hot hair blowing on my cheek. Bill’s tongue was dominant this time and it felt its way along the roof of my mouth. Suddenly Bill pulled back, hot air against my lips. I didn’t open my eyes as he spoke.

“Be my girlfriend?” he whispered as he kissed me again.

I let him map the inside of my mouth, before giving him my answer.

“As if I’d say no,” I said, pausing between kisses.

Bill grinned against my mouth, gathering me closer. We kissed for another fifteen or twenty minutes before I pulled away. I was flushed pink and my lips were swollen.

“It’s late,” I murmured as Bill attached his lips to my jawbone.

“it’s nearly half three,” he agreed, his voice vibrating against my neck, making me giggle.

“Do you want to go to sleep now?” I asked, holding him at arms length and brushing his hair off his face. “You can stay in my bed.”

“Okay,” Bill replied.

I lay on my side, pushing the duvet back so that Bill could get in. He lay down beside me, his arm around my waist and his mouth by my ear. His breath tickled my skin. I rested my hand on Bill’s, entwining my fingers with his, and slowly drifted off to the rhythm of Bill’s gentle breathing.

The next morning, I was woken by a loud shout.

“For God’s sake! What is it with people and sleeping in other people’s beds?!”

I opened a bleary eye, not quite convinced that I wanted to wake up yet. Jess2 was standing in the middle of the room with her hands on her hips.

“What do you mean?” I mumbled sleepily. Jess2 pointed to my bed. I looked over my shoulder and saw Bill, still sound asleep. I suppressed an ‘aww’ and looked to where else Jess2 was pointing. It appeared that Jess1 and Gustav had had the same idea as me and Bill. Behind me, Bill stirred. I turned around to look at him as he rubbed his eyes, looking toddler-like. I smiled softly at him as he blinked in the bright light.

“You guys!” Jess2 whined, apparently annoyed at the lack of attention she was being paid.

I leant up on my elbows and looked across the room to where Jess1 and Gustav were. Both of them were still asleep, Jess1 with her forehead against Gustav’s chest, Gustav with an arm around her, his other hand in her hair, holding her to him. If I leant up a bit more, I could see Jess1’s hand clutching his t-shirt. I smiled again. They were cute.

“Why is everyone getting together except me!?” Jess2 wailed, flopping onto her bed, where Tom was spread out like a starfish. He let out a surprised wail as she sat on his stomach. I looked from Tom to Jess2 and back again.

“Why is Tom on your bed?” I asked, furrowing my eyebrows.

Jess2 shrugged. “I don’t know. He pulled me out last night, so I slept on the floor.”

Georg stirred on the floor. With a yawn, he sat up.

“You’ll never guess what,” Jess2 said, as Georg scratched his head.

“Where did everyone go?” he asked, looking around at floor level.

“Bill’s in Lola’s bed, Gustav’s with Jess1 and Tom decided he gets to sleep in my bed,” Jess2 explained.

Georg looked puzzled. “Gustav’s in Jess1’s?”

“Yeah, they got together during the night or something,” Jess2 said distractedly.

“Bill is in Lola’s bed?” Tom asked his eyebrows raised.

I nodded, tugging Bill up to sit next to me, even though he was still half asleep, so he just lolled against me.

“Yeah,” said Jess2, “but we knew that would happen.”

“Well, I didn’t,” Tom replied indignantly.

“Didn’t see Jess1 and Gustav happening, though,” Georg said, sounding slightly bitter.

“What’s your problem?” Jess2 asked, giving Georg a furtive glance.

“Nothing,” mumbled Georg, but I’d already sussed him out.

Jess2 sighed and leant against the wall, still sitting on top of Tom. After a moment, Tom broke the silence.

“Would you get off, already?” he asked, attempting to shift from under Jess2. “I need to pee and you’re not helping!”

Jess2 ignored him. “I want to go shopping,” she decided, “what do you think Lola?”

I nodded; shopping sounded good.

“Shopping? What? Where?” Bill’s ears pricked up and I laughed.

“Well, if we’re going shopping, someone should wake Jess1 and Gustav up.”

Bill immediately leapt up and bounded over to Jess1’s bed.

“Gustav! Gustav! Wake up! We’re going shooopppiiing!

Gustav rolled over and flipped him off, before wriggling back under the covers, pulling Jess1 closer.

“Wait, shopping?” came Jess1’s voice from under the duvet, “Gustav!” she ordered, “Get up! We’re going shopping!”

Bill grinned as Jess1 pushed the covers back.

“Mob mentality,” he said.

The boys shuffled back to their room to get changed, while the Jess’s and I headed for the girls bathroom.

“So, what happened?” Jess2 said, as we all stood in front of the mirror.

“Don’t know what you’re talking about,” Jess1 said innocently, glancing at me. I grinned.

“You do know!” Jess2 said, flicking Jess1 on the side of her head. “How did you two manage to get together with Bill and Gustav in less than 4 hours?”

“Lola, you go first,” Jess1 decided, splashing water on her face. Jess2 looked at me expectantly.

“Well,” I began, “I couldn’t sleep, since there was a storm outside and I’m afraid of thunderstorms, so Bill came and talked to me.”

“Yes, but how did you wind up so very… together?” Jess2 prompted.

“Well, we worked out that we knew each other from high school in Germany, then we both admitted that we had both had crushes on each other and we kind of ended up kissing and then he asked me to be his girlfriend and that’s about it…” I finished, trying to sound nonchalant, while inside my heart was dancing.

“Oh, that’s really cute!” Jess1 said, batting my arm and grinning soppily at me.

“Okay,” Jess2 said, turning to Jess1, “what about you?”

“Well, I woke up at like 4am and Gustav was watching me sleep,” Jess1 began, only to be cut off by Jess2.

“Stalker,” she muttered.

“Yeah, that’s what I thought,” Jess1 giggled, “so we got talking and he was being so sweet, so I just kissed him and he kissed back.”

“Well, that’s really cute!” I said, mimicking Jess1 and batting her arm.

“Well,” Jess2 huffed, “one day my prince will come.” Jess1 scoffed and I raised my eyebrows. “In the form of Bob Bryar.” Jess1 and I burst out laughing.

We finished getting ready and went out onto the landing to wait for the boys. I was wearing black boot-cut jeans with a white t-shirt with a black design. I had scraped my dark blonde hair back into a high ponytail, letting the fringe fall forwards over my forehead. Jess2 was wearing her infamous yellow skinny jeans and a black tank top with white stripes. She’d left her bleach blonde bob loose, but put on a yellow alice band. Jess1 was in black baggy combats, which were reminiscent of something that Tom would wear – they dragged along the floor when she walked – and a white tank top with black stars. Eventually, the boys emerged, dressed in clean clothes.

“Ready?” Jess2 asked and the boys nodded.

We all headed downstairs and out the back of the house, where a black people carrier was parked. Jess2 climbed into the driver’s seat and I restrained myself from asking whether it was really safe for her to drive. Georg climbed into the front passenger seat, looking grumpy, while Gustav, Jess1 and Tom bundled into the middle and Bill and I took the seats at the very back.

“No funny business back there, guys!” Jess2 called, starting the engine. Gustav and Jess1 were already entangled and Bill, Tom and I laughed.

We sped away from the house and drove for about 30 minutes before pulling up outside a large shopping mall called BlaueWaßer. On the way in, I snickered. Bill looked at me enquiringly.

“BlaueWaßer,” I said, by way of explanation. Bill nodded understandingly, but I had a sneaking suspicion that he didn’t really get it at all.

Jess1 and Gustav were walking ahead, his arm around her waist. Georg, however, has fallen behind us and was looking sullen, more so than earlier. I spotted a Hot Topic ahead of us and dragged everyone in.

After about two hours straight of shopping, my phone buzzed in my pocket.

“Hello?” I answered.

“Lola?” came Gego’s voice.

“Hallo,” I said, motioning for the rest of the group to wait.

“Where are you?”

“BlaueWaßer.”

“…What?”

“We’re at BlaueWaßer.”

“Oh. Well come back to the house!”

“Neeiin! BlaueWaßer!”

“Lola.” Gego was ruining my fun, using her warning tone. I rolled my eyes.

“Ja, bye.” I hung up and looked back at the group. “BlaueWaßer,” I said sadly. Bill nodded again, though no one had a clue what I was talking about.

We dumped the bags on the boys and made our way back to the people carrier. On the way back, Tom drove and Jess2 deliberately placed herself between Jess1 and Gustav. Jess1 sulked all the way home. I sat in the back with Bill again, my head resting on his shoulder. When we pulled up outside, a black Volvo was already parked in the drive.

“Whose car is that?” Tom asked.

“I don’t know,” Jess2 replied.

“Well it’s really pretty,” Tom said shortly.

Everyone groaned; apparently Tom had a thing about cars.

We all bundled out of the car and into the house. Gego was waiting for us in the hallway, looking flustered.

“Ah, there you are!” she said relieved. She grabbed my hand and pulled me towards the kitchen. “There are some people here to meet you!”

People. More people. What was it with this place and people?

All 7 of us trudged into the kitchen, where a man and a woman were sitting, both dressed in black suits.

“Everyone,” Gego said, “this Véronique Levert and Bruno Lebrun. They’re scouts from France, come to see how you’re doing.”

Véronique stood up, extending a manicured hand. I shook it, a bit unsure of what I was meant to do.

“We are so pleased to meet you,” she said, her French accent heavy. “We represent a workshop for young aspiring musicians, run by My Chemical Romance.”

Jess2 squealed and I was once again forced to consider whether she was really 20.

“Ah, I see you have heard of them,” Bruno laughed, also standing up and extending a hand.

“We were thinking that you guys might be interested in a private session,” Gego explained and we all nodded vigorously. “But there’s a catch.” We all groaned; there was always a catch. “We need you to do a photo shoot for Kerrang!.”

All 7 of us gaped at her. That was the catch? It wasn’t even a bad thing! We nodded again, grinning and glancing at each other.

“So, it is agreed,” Véronique said, “we will send a limousine this time next month to pick you up.”

“We have to wait until next month?” The Jess’s and I wailed, causing the boys to laugh.

Bruno chuckled, “Yes, I am afraid so.”

“We’ll be seeing you next month, then,” Véronique said, turning to Gego, “if you have any questions don’t hesitate to call.”

Gego nodded and we all shook their hands once more, thanking them as they made their way out. As the front door closed behind them, the Jess’s and I turned to each other.

“Wow,” breathed Jess1, “a real photo shoot!”

“It’s going to be so cool,” I agreed, as Jess2 bounced on the balls of her feet.

“Kerrang!” she squealed, “We’re going to be in Kerrang!”

“Dude,” Jess1 said, putting a hand on Jess2’s arm. “We’re going to meet MCR. You’re going to meet Bob Bryar!”

Jess2 froze, her eyes wide. “Oh My God!” she gasped. “I’m going to meet Bob Bryar! And he’s going to fall in love with me! And we’re going to have children!”

“…Yeah, don’t get too carried away!” I laughed, turning to Bill. He smiled and opened is arms ever so slightly. I nuzzled into his chest as he enveloped me in a hug, rubbing my bare arms with his thumbs.

“Should have worn a hoodie,” he said, grinning down at me.

“How can you care about hoodies when we just go asked to do a photo shoot for Kerrang!?”

“Because I’m not a girl and it’s not until next month.”

I reached up, with the intent of batting him on the nose, but was distracted by a soft kiss to my lips.

“That’s cheating,” I mumbled against Bill’s lips.

“So give me the red card,” he said, gathering me up in his arms.

I grinned into the kiss and Bill parted his lips, opening mine at the same time. I wound my arms around his neck, drawing him closer as I took control, slipping my tongue into his mouth. He jumped; I guess he was surprised by my sudden forwardness. I searched out his tongue stud and flicked it, making him shiver.

“Will everyone stop making out?” Jess2’s voice came from behind me and I reluctantly pulled away from Bill to look at her. She had her hands on her hips, glaring at something on the other side of me. I turned and looked over the other shoulder to see Jess1 and Gustav grinning sheepishly.

“Fiiine,” I said, turning round in Bill’s arms to face Jess2. “If we have to stop, then let’s at least go do something else.”

“Music room?” Jess1 suggested.

“Yeah,” Georg said, “we still have to finish writing that song.” Somewhere in the back of my mind, it registered that this was the first time that he had spoken today.

“We just need to finish putting the lyrics to the music,” Bill explained, taking my hand.

Jess2 lead the way down the hall to the music room. She twisted the handle and pushed inwards. The sight was still as breath-taking as the first time they had shown me the music room; everywhere I looked there was a guitar, or a keyboard, a drum kit, or a microphone. Jess1 strode forward and picked out a bass and handed it to Georg. It was black with white diamond checks. Five stringed, of course. Gustav took up his position behind a drum kit in the corner, while Tom flitted between guitars, trying to decide which one to play. Bill broke away from me to find a mic and turned the amp on. Jess2 and I made our way to the sofa which was placed at the side of the room.

“See if you can guess who this song is about,” Jess1 giggled, flopping down next to me. “The translation is hilarious!”

“I don’t need a translation.” I grinned, poking her in the ribs. “I lived in Germany for two years!”

“You should get it easily, then!” she laughed.

“So,” Bill said, speaking into the mic, “do you want to run it through and I’ll just do whatever at the end, or do we need to talk it through again?”

Tom strummed out a little melody as he considered the options.

“Play it through,” he decided, “you can improvise as well as the rest of us.”

Bill nodded, before winking at me. Gustav started up a drum beat and Tom began to strum the melody.

“Doong doongy doong doongy doongy doong doong!” went Jess1 beside me. I looked at her weirdly and she giggled. “I know the guitar part too well!”

After 8 beats, Georg came in with the bass line.

“Dong dongy dong dongy dongy dong dong!” went Jess1 again. I looked at her. “Yeah… I know the bass part too!”

I looked back at Bill as he started to sing in German. I knew what it meant instantly, accustomed to having to translate quickly from my time in Germany.

“Hallo. Du stehst in meine Tür. Es ist sonst niemand wer, ausser die und mir.”

I worked that out to be something along the lines of ‘Hello. You stand in my door. Nobody else is here, just you and me’.

I focused on watching the band play together. They worked so well as a team. The twins were obviously synced and Georg and Gustav kept them in time, laying down the beat and bass line. I felt someone looking at me and turned to see Jess1 studying me.

“Do you know who it is yet?” she asked, smirking.

“It has to be Tom,” I replied, laughing.

Jess1 nodded. “Of course. Who else has the intention of talking to someone and ends up sleeping with them?”

Both of us giggled as the song reached the chorus. Both Jess’s sang along and I strained to pick up the words.

Bill looked up at us and I caught his eye, He grinned and I smiled back. Jess2 grabbed my arm, pulling both Jess1 and I to our feet and insisted we danced with her. So we did. I nearly peed myself from laughing so hard. The Jess’s went to town with their dancing; one arm up in the air, bouncing up and down, banging their heads, their hair flying everywhere. I couldn’t help but join in.

The chorus came round again and this time I joined in, all three of us still hopping around madly. Jess2 grabbed mine and Jess1’s arms, stopping us. She was watching the boys and I guessed it had reached the part of the song they hadn’t played before. I watched Bill. He glanced at Tom nervously; licking his top lip before closing his eyes and leading into the bridge The Jess’s grinned and began dancing again, except this time, we all paused as Gustav stopped the drumbeat momentarily, leaving just the guitar, bass and Bill. Jess1 was looking at him and I smiled. They were cute. She stuck her tongue out at him and the drums picked up again and we all carried on our crazy dancing. The chorus came again and the Jess’s and I were now shouting the words, laughing at ourselves and each other. As the song ended, I collapsed over Jess’s shoulder, laughing so hard my stomach hurt. We all cheered for the guys, who smiled appreciatively.

“It was good,” Jess2 told them, leaping over to Bill. “But lay off the little squeaks on the end of words. They’ll kill your voice.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Bill rolled his eyes. He turned to me. “What do you think, Lola? Will they ruin my voice?”

“I don’t know,” I replied as Bill held out and arm for me. I stepped over to him and he draped it over my shoulders. “I think it’s cute, but Jess2’s the boss. If she says it will, then don’t do it.”

“I sucked,” Tom complained, putting his guitar down. “I kept messing up the chords.”

“No, you did well,” Jess2 said, turning to him.

“Yeah, especially since that was the first tine you’d played it through together,” Jess1 said, picking her way around the drum kit to stand behind Gustav.

I turned to Bill, winding my arms around his waist. He put his other arm around me, pressing his face into my hair.

“Jess, you need to help me with the bass for the bridge,” Georg piped up.

Jess1 nodded. “Okay.”

“We need to sort out the beginning and the end,” Bill announced, “and then it’ll be done!”

“Yeah, just a little tweak,” Tom replied.

“Well I thought it sounded really good, “I said.

“Thanks.” Bill looked down at me, leaning closer and pressing his lips to mine. I stood on my tip-toes, moving into the kiss. He parted my lips and I nibbled along his bottom lip, relishing in the small shiver it drew from him.

“Guys, stop it,” Jess2 said, shoving my shoulder. “Or do it in private so we don’t have to watch.”

“No, don’t do it in private!” Jess1 said. “Or we can’t stop it if it goes too far!”

“Good point,” Jess2 said, pointing at Jess1. “You know what, don’t do it at all. I think that’s safest.”

I stuck my tongue out at the Jess’s and turned back to Bill. He leant closer to kiss me again when there was a sudden hand on my forehead, stopping Bill and I from getting any closer. Jess2 took her hand away, grinning evilly at me. There was a clatter of a drumstick falling to the floor and we all turned around to see Gustav backing Jess up against the wall behind the drum kit, the stool overturned and a drumstick rolling across the floor. They were kissing heavily and I turned to Jess2, an eyebrow raised.

“They’re allowed to,” I said, smirking. I’d won this round.

“Jess!” Jess2 snapped. “Gustav, cut it out! Let her breathe!”

They didn’t show any signs of stopping, and Jess1 flipped us off. I giggled, adjusting my arms around Bill. The door opened ad Gego stepped in.

“Guys, I just wanted to let you know,” she started but stopped as soon as she saw Gustav and Jess1. Tom threw a screwed up ball of paper at them and they finally came up for air, turning around to face Gego. She started again/ “I just wanted to let you know David will be popping in tomorrow to check up on Tokio Hotel, and he has some gigs lined up for you.”

The boys looked at each other, grinning.

“Finally,” Tom said. “We’ve only been waiting forever.”

Gego smiled apologetically at them and turned to me and Jess2. “And girls, he may have some news about someone for your band.”

“Really?” Jess1 asked.

“Yes! We’ve been waiting for months!” Jess2 said.

“We’re finally getting a full band?” I asked. I couldn’t help but be excited. I missed the stage so much, and wanted to get back out there. But this time, with the Jess’s. I wanted to share it with them.

“Maybe, yes,” Gego said, copying our excited grins. “But for now, it’s time for bed. All of you. David’s going to be here early tomorrow.”

“But Gego!” We all burst into complaint.

“I’m 20!” Georg moaned.

“So am I!” Jess2 added.

“We’re 18!” the twins said.

“I’m 19!” Gustav put in.

“We’re 17!” Jess1 said, gesturing at me.

“So you’d rather stay up a bit later and miss your chance to get a gig or new band members than go to bed now?” Gego asked, folding her arms.

We all looked at each other and reluctantly trailed out of the music room.

“Good, I thought so,” Gego said, following us to the bottom of the stairs. “And remember, no boys in the girls’ room, no girls in the boys’ room.”

“Yeah Lola,” Jess1 said behind me, shoving my shoulder playfully.

“Yeah Jess,” I replied, sticking my tongue out at her. She giggled.

We reached the landing and Bill suddenly pulled me into his arms.

“In case I can’t get over to see you later tonight,” he murmured, pressing his lips to mine.

I welcomed them, immediately complying and granting his tongue access to my mouth. He ran it across my tongue, encouraging it to dance with his. My hands found their way to his hair and I grabbed a fistful in each hand to ensure he wouldn’t get away too soon. His hands slid around my waist, his fingertips slipping under the hem of my t-shirt, almost teasingly. For that, I flicked my tongue over his tongue stud. He pulled back ever so slightly, keeping his lips close to mine.

“You tease,” he mumbled and I could hear him grinning.

“No, that’s what you are,” I replied, standing up on my tiptoes to meet his lips again.

He deepened the kiss instantly but then pulled back after a few seconds.

“Goodnight,” he said, pecking my lips and patting my butt before backing towards the boys’ room, smirking. He knew he’d left me wanting more.

I waited until he’d disappeared inside the door and turned around to go into the girls’ room, when I saw that Jess1 and Gustav were blocking the door, entwined.

“Get a move on,” I said jokingly, poking Gustav in the back.

He looked over his shoulder at me and rolled his eyes. He quickly turned back to Jess1, murmuring something I couldn’t hear in her ear, which made her grin and push him away gently as she blushed, but he simply wrapped hi arms around her, kissed her gently, and was gone. As I walked past Jess1 on the way in the room, I nudged her.

“Looks like you two are getting on well,” I said as she shut the door and followed me into the room.

“What about you and Bill? You two look pretty cosy,” she replied, flopping down on her bed.

“We are,” I said, unable to hold back a grin.

Jess2 came out of the bathroom, dressed in pyjamas. She sat down on her bed and looked at Jess1 and I.

“You two look happy,” she stated. “What’s happened?”

“Gustav wants me to sneak into the boys’ room after Gego’s gone to bed,” Jess1 said.

“What for?” Jess2 and I asked in unison.

“Oh, wouldn’t you two like to know,” Jess1 replied, throwing a pillow at each of us. “And I don’t know. Gustav works in mysterious ways.”

“He certainly does,” Jess2 replied, casting me an uncertain look and chucking Jess1 her pillow back. “But seriously. Don’t rush into anything. Remember what happened last time?”

Jess1 went quiet, looking down at her lap. I looked to Jess2, who gave me a look to say “I’ll tell you later.” I nodded and looked back to Jess1.

“I won’t. It’s not like that. Gustav isn’t like that, you know he isn’t,” she said, attempting a smile. “Anyway I learnt my lesson.”

“Good,” Jess2 said, smiling. “But for now, time for some chocolate.”

I watched as Jess2 dived under her bed to retrieve her chocolate, contemplating how she had so much. Jess1 got under her covers and I glanced over at her. She was facing the wall, her back to me as she stuck out a hand to turn off her bedside lamp. Jess2 paused in her chocolate-diving and glanced at Jess1, her eyebrows stooping momentarily in concern before snapping back to hyper-mode.

“Looks like it’s just you and me, then,” she said, grinning at me.

I looked at Jess1 again and then stood up. “Can you help with my hair in the bathroom?”

Jess2 looked confused. “Your hair’s fine…” I raised my eyebrows and she cottoned on.  “Ooh! Yes, of course!”

We went into the girls’ bathroom and I shut the door, turning to Jess2.

“What’s up with Jess1?” I asked, keeping my voice down in case Jess1 had suddenly developed super sonic hearing.

“Promise you won’t tell anyone I told you?” Jess2 asked, biting her lip.

“I promise.”

“Nearly a year ago, now, Jess got a boyfriend. She’d only been in the house a few days, and she met this guy in town. Anyway, they started going out and then a few weeks later, Jess came home and she’d been crying. Also, one of her sleeves was covered in blood. Gego took her aside and she swore blind she was okay, but then, after hours, she went to the guys’ room and Georg was still up, and he asked her what was wrong. Now, I’m just repeating what Tom said Georg said, but apparently this boyfriend had been getting Jess to sleep with him, and one night she said no, so he cut ‘FRIGID’ into her arm,” Jess2 said, grimacing. I let out a gasp and she carried on. “She went to the boys’ room every night for a fortnight after that. Tom said she’d let it all out to Georg and then he’d hold her until she fell asleep. She only stopped because Gego was getting suspicious.”

“Oh… my God…” I whispered. “I never would have thought… Poor Jess…” I felt like crying.

“That also explains her crush on Georg,” Jess2 said, grinning to try and lighten the mood.

“Which seems to have vanished, now,” I replied, laughing a little. “Her and Gustav are cute together, though.”

“At least she’s happy. And we know he won’t do what that other bastard did,” Jess2 said. I nodded.

“So, hair fixed,” I said, opening the door. We stepped back into the bedroom, and I looked over at Jess1’s bed. She wasn’t there.

“Jess1 is gone,” I told Jess2, who lifted Jess1’s duvet, checking she wasn’t hiding.

“Her pillow’s gone. That means she’s gone to see Georg,” she announced finally.

“I feel bad now. She has to go to a guy for comfort,” I mused, sitting down on my bed. “She knows she can talk to us, right?”

“I think so,” Jess2 replied, going to her own bed and returning to her chocolate. “Maybe it’s a bassist thing. They can connect on a level we mere mortals can’t.”

I let out a laugh. “Maybe you’re right.”

Jess2 threw me a chocolate bar, chucked one on Jess1’s bed and then got one for herself. We spend the rest of the night discussing the photo shoot and the MCR workshop.