-Austin's P.O.V-

I slipped into her room as soon as the door opened, and engulfed her into a giant hug. Rocking us back and forth as she wrapped her arms around my torso. We stood there in silence until I couldn't stand it any longer.

"How have you been hun?" I questioned into her hair.

"I've been good. You know, still trucking along." She smiled weakly at me.

I let out a warm laugh, before letting her go and walking over to sit on the edge of the bed. Motioning with my hand for her to join.

Quietly, she did. "What about you? Are you doing okay?"

"Yeah. I'm doing alright I guess."

She looked so thin, it broke my heart.

"Austin, you don't need to come visit me so much, I'll be fine until we leave." She reached down and put her hand on top of mine. "I promise."

"I know, but Ariel I'm worried about you." I said quietly. Its hard not to be.

She sighed and put her head in her hands. A small bruise appearing underneath the cuff of her jumper as she did.

I looked away. Even the smallest signs of her past abuse made me shake with anger.

"I'm going to kill him for real next time." I said raising my voice and standing up.

"Austin.." She said barely audible. "Calm down." I saw her shift a little to cover up the bruise.
I was angry still, but I couldn't stay angry around her. I let out a long sigh and felt my emotions drain completely. As air might drain from a balloon someone let go after blowing it up.

Her large, chocolate brown fawn eyes closed in relief. They accented her light brown hair and high cheekbones. Ariel was a pretty girl. Very pretty in fact, and I loved her. I loved her like a brother would his sister, because she was my sister, and has been since before my mother died.

We weren't actually blood siblings, but we might as well be, since we shared so many of the same qualities. When I spent parts of my child hood in foster care, Ariel and I stuck together like glue, they couldn't separate the two of us no matter what.

"Will you be ready to go by Friday? We'll be flying back to L.A. then." I told her, while pacing the room.

She nodded lightly, making her soft curls bounce. "I'll be ready."

I noticed another fading mark on the back of her neck when she pulled her hair into a knot due to the muggy heat.

It must've been from the strangling incident that had finally put her psycho ex boyfriend in jail. His name was Jeremy.

I had gotten a weird call from her the night before and decided to jump on a plane and go see her. As sort of a check up. Since there had been previous 'accidents' with her boyfriend, I wanted to make sure she was okay.

I walked in on him trying to kill her. I pulled him off and almost beat him to death. I was released from the charges when they filed it as self defense. I don't know why, because he didn't come at me, I wasn't defending myself. I like to believe they let me go because, well, he's a fucking psychopath.

Ariel's been traveling along with us for Warped. But secretly. Taking different planes and staying in different places until we can get back to my house in L.A.

If people found out that I was hanging around with a girl, rumors would spread like wild fire, and publicity was the last thing she needed right now. So it was best that the band didn't even know.

"I should probably go, the guys might get angry if I'm gone for too long." She sighed when I said that.

"Of course. Drive safely, okay?" She stood up and walked me to the door.

I kissed the top of her head and put a hand on her shoulder. "Be strong my princess."

She grinned at that, recalling the Disney nickname I had given her because she made me think of Ariel from The Little Mermaid.

She shut the door tightly after promising not to answer it for strangers, and shooed me out into the hallway giggling.

I smacked directly into someone.

"Shit, I'm sorr-" I began before realizing who it was. Kat, the girl from the bus.

She dropped her bucket of ice onto the floor when we collided, and bent down to retrieve the pieces, glaring at me the entire time she leaned down.

I waited a minute before carefully kneeling down across from her, trying not to make too many sudden movements. I didn't want her to send me away.

I started grabbing the cold cubes and placing them back in the bucket to be thrown out. She glanced over quietly.

I noticed her hair was damp and she was wearing pajama bottoms now.

I liked noticing things about her. She was like art. Everything about her was mysterious and dark. She was really hard not to notice. I got that impression when I saw her that day in the hallway.

The tattoos up and down her arms intrigued me, and I wanted her to take off her shirt so I could look at the rest of them.. And maybe I wanted to see more than just her tattoos.

"Thank you." She hummed. Keeping eye contact with me as we stood up slowly.

To anyone passing by, we must've looked like two passive-aggressive dogs. Both waiting for the other to make a wrong move. It was probably comical to see two people as frigid towards each other as us, staring the other down.

I could tell that she hated me. It kinda bummed me out that she did, but I deserved it. She also had every right to slap me this morning, I have a short fuse sometimes and she triggered it with her sharp tongue. Besides I was disappointed when Alan brought her onto the bus to get her drunk so he could bang her. They never did anything and I didn't know why.

Kat finally narrowed her eyes at me. "You're just like Alan, you goddamn prick." She sidestepped around me and left me standing there confused, opening and closing my mouth like a fish.

"Wait what?" I asked, turning and following her with my eyes.

She kept walking and pointed a finger in the direction of Ariel's room.

"You. Are. Just. Like. Alan... It's all about sex for you guys isn't it." She shook her head and let out a caustic laugh.

"Well fuck you, is what I say to that." She called to me, holding her middle finger above her head as she walked away. Slamming the hotel door.

"Not even on your birthday sweetheart!" I smirked as I called back to her, not sure I she'd heard me.

I shook my head slightly as I walked passed her room and to the elevator. She was wrong about me, I wasn't like that at all.

-Kat's P.O.V.-

There was a note on the bed from Remmy saying that she met some guy at the coffee shop. I assumed she would be gone all night since he had asked her to dinner. Lucky. I thought.

After a long, hot shower to wash away memories of past two days, I clicked on the t.v and flicked through the sad amount of channels.

My throat felt a bit sore, so I mustered up the strength to go get something to drink. I unwrapped one of the plastic hotel cups and filled it with water. It was warm.

I groaned and grabbed a small container from the bathroom counter for ice. Pulling on some clothes before leaving.

I meandered slowly down the corridor. It smelled like fresh paint and lemon pledge.

The ice machine was located at the other end of the hallway, opposite side of the building then the elevators. I opened the freezer door and scooped some into the bucket, setting down the pail briefly on the ground to wipe my hands on my pajama pants. They were freezing as I picked the bucket back up and walked back to the room. Someone was pushed out the door into the path I was walking and ran straight into me causing me to drop the ice.
I heard the person start to apologize and then stop when they saw me. It was Austin and the look on his face was priceless.

He looked a mixture between shocked scared and uncomfortable.

I glowered at him in frustration and began picking up the ice, making my hands even colder. He knelt down timidly to help.

He was looking at me when I glanced over, and made me want to hit him. Was he sizing me up? After just finishing a different session with that girl in 533? (And might I add a very short session.)

What a dick.

"Thank you." I told him.

We both stood and he towered over me. Making him a lot more intimidating.

"You're just like Alan." I grumbled, "You goddamn prick." I went around him and continued on my way.

"Wait, what?" He questioned and turned.

"You. Are. Just. Like. Alan... It's all about sex for you guys isn't it." I shook my head at him and laughed sarcastically.

"Well fuck you is what I say to that." I said, flipping him off while walking away.

I slammed the door and set the ice on the bathroom counter. But not before hearing his reply, "Not even on your birthday sweetheart!"

I smiled, that was pretty good. I dumped the dirty ice into the sink and crawled into my queen sized bed, giving up on the cold water fantasy.

-

Tap. Tap. Tap. .... TapTapTap. .... TAPTAPTAPTAPTAPTAP. I threw the covers off and stormed over to the door pissed right off at who ever had woke me up.

When I yanked the door open, I saw a sheepish looking Austin. He smiled a little at me.
"What the fuck do you want!? Its fucking- We're not even friends! Why are you here in the middle of the goddamn night?!"

"It's only 8pm. Barely even dusk." He stated, raising his eyebrows at me.

"And?" I asked, raising my eyebrows back. "What do you want?"

"I came over here because what you said earlier isn't true. I want to prove to you that I'm not like Alan. Not at all."

I stared at him and didn't say anything, so he continued.

"Would you maybe... Do you think..." He crossed his broad arms and looked at the ground with a frown. He looked very uncomfortable and I found it hysterical.

He waited a minute to talk, and I got inpatient. He finally looked up and finished his sentence. "Would you let me take you out to dinner?"

"No." I said, and closed the door. His hand shot out and held it, then slowly pushed it wider until he could see me again.

"Why not?" He asked looking a little deflated.

"Why don't you just go ask your little girlfriend down the hall and get out of my hair." I said. Very well knowing I was being a bitch. But I wasn't going to have dinner with him all of the sudden. Besides, he made me want to hit him a lot.

"My girlfriend...? Do you mean Ariel?" He laughed a little. "Is that why you hate me so much? Do you think I'm sleeping with her?"

I didn't say anything for a second. "That's not why I hate you, you're just a dick." I said defensively. He was making me feel self conscious and I didn't like it.

"Well," he said happily. "I assure you I am not sleeping with her." He put one hand on each side of the door frame, leaning towards me. I watched the muscles in his arm flex, as he put his weight on them. "So what'd ya say? Let me take you out to dinner."

I hesitated. "No. I don't want to go for dinner with you.."

"But..." He asked, looking at me expectantly and cracked a small grin.

"But I will because you're like a big, stupid, lost puppy." I frowned, then opened the door a little wider.

"I need to get ready and shit. Where are we going? What do you want me to wear?" I asked, turning and going into the room, pulling my suitcase onto the bed and unzipping it.

He followed me in and closed the door behind us. "Wear anything you'd like.. My preference though, is nothing." He laughed and ignored my glare as he looked around the small room.
I wanted to hit him again. "Fuck off."

I went to the bathroom to change and put my hair up. Applying a light coat of makeup to go with the black taking over the rest of my outfit.

10 minutes later he held the door open for me as I went under his arm and out into the hall.
He shut it by holding onto the nob with both hands and leaning towards me. Almost falling like a little kid.

I pinched the bridge of my nose. "Oh my god, I don't want to do this."

"It's too late now!" He said grinning and leading the way to the elevator, me in tow.

Notes

So I know there is a lot of swearing in this. I'm sorry. Also:

Do you want me to write smut?

And I've been seriously down-voted and I think if it gets any lower, I don't know if I'll continue. :/

Please let me know, I'm super confused if my story is liked much or not.

Kat's outfit: http://www.polyvore.com/black_black/set?id=128235518