Hearing James shout turned her off instantly. Flinching away from the shouting, Lili slumped her arms, letting go of her lover's neck, placing her hands on his chest. He was wearing a black, v-neck shirt and jeans, he'd not bothered tending to his messy bed head. Reaching for the doorknob, Danny twisted it to the left, listening for a faint click. As the door opened, Danny took her hand in his. He could feel her retreating behind him, shying away. "Guys, you've met Lili, right?" Danny laughed, gently pulling her out from behind him, still holding her hand. Lili felt like a toddler, she could feel the blood heating in her cheeks as she introduced herself to them. What do I say? Ben was the first person to greet her, opening his arms for a hug and smiling as she accepted it. His hugs were warm and tight, but the amount of aftershave he wore didn't disguise the fact he smelt like beer. Sam and Cameron introduced themselves, laughing as they did. "Welcome to the family." Sam blurted out, nudging at her with her elbow and laughing, Cameron joining in, "You're an honorary member, like a little sister!" He chuckled, picking her up and spinning her.
When Lili had stopped talking to Sam'n'Cam, she walked over to James, leaning against the door frame, looking around the room whilst the other talked. Danny and Ben were on the couch, laughing and sipping at their bottles. Did they ever stop drinking?! James had his hands in his pockets when she introduced herself. Lili opened her arms for a hug; all of the guys so far had asked for one, so naturally she offered this time. Instead, James took one hand out of his pocket and shook hers.
"James Cassells. Sorry about the shoes." He said, letting a small smile play across his face. Did he seriously think she didn't know who he was? After the handshake, he put his hand back into his pocket, and looked down to the floor, she could only just see his eyes under his hair. "The shoes?" Lili questioned, forgetting the black chucks on her feet. "Oh! The shoes! Thanks." Wiggling her toes, she remembered. James laughed under his breath, still not making eye contact with her. In an attempt to win his attention, Lili leaned closer to him and whispered. "If I'm quite honest, I think throwing shoes out of a moving tour bus is probably the coolest thing I've heard of all week." She laughed and he did too, finally looking her in the eye, smiling fully this time. She hated to think it but James's genuine smile really was gorgeous. "Tell me more about yourself." James asked, intrigued by his new acquaintance.
After 15 minutes of getting to know each other, James was interrupted. "Hey, princess!" Danny called from the couch, patting a space next to him. "Come sit down, I want you to talk to Ben." Lili looked her her shoulder, then back to James. "Looks like you gotta go. We can talk later if you want." James said, seeing the apology in her eyes. "I'll see you, uh, around?" Lili giggled, walking toward the sofa as James headed to the kitchen. Curling up next to her husband, Lili snuggled into his chest. "We gotta talk." Ben said, taking another swig from his bottle, turning right to look at her.
"We've got one last gig tonight in Reno, then we're headed to Arizona to kick off Warped. You up for that, sugar?" Danny announced, kissing her forehead. Lili couldn't believe her ears. Warped tour, for free? It was like a dream come true. Nodding eagerly, Ben began talking. "Dont sweet-coat it, Danny. We're only in Vegas for one more night, and your mom has been calling. You might want this back." Pulling something out of the pocket of his jeans and stretching it over to her, Lili knew what it was instantly. Her phone. 19 missed calls, all from 'Mom', and an inbox full of text messages. "What we're trying to say is, You're gonna need to make a big decision here. You gonna go home to Virginia or not? Whichever you choose, You're gonna need to tell your mom.".