I was jolted awake when the tour bus hit a little bump in the road. I picked up my phone to see the time.
2:10 AM
Before I knew it I was scrolling through Facebook. And before I knew it I was wide awake again. I really needed to rest, we had a show the following night. I decided a warm cup of tea might help me fall asleep. I climbed down out of my bunk, trying to be as quiet as possible. As I headed for the front lounge I saw a light shining through the curtain that separated the bunks from the lounge. I peered around the curtain to see a drowsy Avi Kaplan looking down at his laptop.
I was glad to see him, he always put me at ease. Maybe his deep voice would help lull me to sleep. We don't really show it, but he and I are actually very close friends. We've been friends for three years now and we've shared some intimate secrets with each other. We have a whole list of inside jokes just between the two of us, and we love to discuss Game of Thrones. He's seen me laugh, he's seen me cry, I've seen him cry. We have a special bond. Unlike Scömiché our friendship is sort of private, and it's very nice. He gives me a quiet escape to retreat to, and I hope my friendship does the same for him. I love my AviBear (We have nicknames for each other too).
Of course there's an entire group of people who ship "Kavi". The idea makes me laugh, but I think it makes him uncomfortable. Avi's perfect and all but... we would never be a thing, trust me.
"Oh, hey Dirst." He noticed me first
"Hi," I say meekly, "Did you want to be alone?" I asked.
"No, no come on in." He said. He looked very very tired yet still gave a genuine smile. "There's still some hot water if you want tea." He offered.
"Yes, thank you!" I said. See? This is why I loved Avi. I silently moved into the kitchenette to fix myself a cup. The sound of faint typing from the laptop filled the dim room. When I finished making the tea I sat down on the sofa across from him. "Why are you still up, sleepy?" I teased.
"Well, I can't sleep," he sighed. He slid the laptop off to the side and rubbed his face with his hands. "This is a nice bus don't get me wrong, but sometimes I just can't get comfortable." He groaned, his sleepy voice unfathomably deep. You'd think I'd be used to the Bass voice by now but it still gives me chills. I hummed thoughtfully in response. I took a sip of my tea, he took a sip of his. He and I were good at being quiet together. Sometimes our best conversations happen when neither of us says anything at all.
He picked up his laptop and peered at me over the screen. When we locked eyes he stuck his tongue out at me like a child. I responded with a giggle and showed my tongue right back, earning a deep chuckle from him.
"Watch something with me!" He said patting the seat next to him. I got up and moved toward him. I saw his eyes trail down my body which made me realize I was only wearing I large T-shirt. I didn't care, it was just Avi. We decided to rewatch and episode of Thrones we'd both already seen. About five minutes in Avi got a bit restless, yawning and trying to get comfortable in his seat.
"You good?" I asked,
"Yep, just trying to get comfy."
"You wanna cuddle?" I asked. There's nothing wrong with cuddling. Right?
"Uhh..."
"Oh come on, I won't bite." I smiled
"That's ok, you don't have to-"
"Why not?" I asked, "You can cuddle me. I'm just a body..." he turned to look at me a moment.
"No you're not just a body, sweets" he said, reaching out to tug one of my braids. "You're Kirstie."
"So... you don't wanna cuddle?" I asked again. Truthfully, I'm the one who wants to be cuddled, and I know that he does too.
"Well, ok." He sighed in defeat. He lifted his arm up so I could snuggle into his side. I tucked my legs up and rested them against his thigh, my other arm wrapping around his abdomen.
"Wait," I said "You have a condom, right?"
He laughed quietly at my joke. "Stop making this weird!" He whined.
"Ok, ok I was kidding!" I giggled. We rested back against each other. The hand around my shoulder absentmindedly played with the sleeve of my shirt, brushing against my skin occasionally leaving goosebumps.
He let his head rest against mine and I felt his breathing slow and he began to gently snore.
That's all you need sometimes when you can't sleep; just a body.