A Love Like War – All Time Low (& Vic Fuentes)

"For a thrill of your touch I will shamefully lust as you tell me we're nothing but trouble. Hearts on fire tonight, feel my bones ignite. It feels like war...and the bitch of it all is that I'm running from the desire of the people to whom I belong...we go together or we don't go down at all. Is this the end of us, or just the means to start again?"

Danielle walked past the Of Mice & Men room as Austin opened the door and walked out. She barely even acknowledged him. The image of that girl standing beside him with his face filled with lust as she whispered something in his ear made her tightly clench her fists at her sides. Austin trailed nervously behind her, keeping his distance.

"Are we meeting fans outside?" He asked.

"No."

"Then where are you going?"

"Back to my bus. I'm expecting someone." She turned around, making him stop short only centimeters from her. "I believe you're expecting someone, too, am I right?" She raised an eyebrow and whipped around, continuing walking.

As she opened the back door, Austin closed it before she could walk outside. She angrily looked at him leering down on her. "Who's going on your bus?"

"Why does it matter? I'm single. I can flirt with whoever flirts with me, right?"

"It's not safe for you to let random guys on your bus. Especially after what happened at Warped."

"He's not a random guy. He's in one of the bands."

Austin's eyes narrowed and then widened. "Vic?"

She laughed. "Please, no. He's in the band from Southern California."

"I'll kill him if he lays one finger on you." His voice was hard.

"Why?"

"You knowwhy."

She stared at him. He stared back, anger deeply set in his pupils. "Get off the door, Austin."

"Not until you promise me you won't do something stupid." His voice sounded shaky.

Danielle suddenly felt really bad. But why? She knew she couldn't have Austin. She knew it wouldn't work. She loved him more than anyone and in some ways, she knew this was a stupid mistake. She just wanted to go back to Austin's bus with him and fall asleep watching some cheesy movie in the back lounge. But she knew that was next to impossible.

So instead, she looked him in the eyes and grabbed his free hand that wasn't leaning on the door. "I promise."

"Put my mind at ease, Dani..." he said quietly. "How many guys have you been with since The Thing?"

Danielle smirked and snorted. She wrenched her hand back and burst through the door. Austin leaned off of it and watched her leave, terrified to wonder what that meant.

.&.

"Andrew, our drummer; Erick, our guitarist; Jeff, our bassist; Eddie, our tour manager and Nick, our merch guy." Dani smiled at Jake as she introduced everyone on the bus.

Jake smiled and waved at all of them. "Nice to meet you all."

"I've heard you guys play." Erick said. "Pretty awesome. Could use some work. But I'm not one to talk." He laughed.

Jake shrugged. "A starting band always could use improvements along the way, you know?"

"Exactly, my friend."

"Yo, Dani," Jeff said, opening a new bottle of Jack Daniels. "Got a few girls coming on. You good?"

Dani smiled, looking at Jake. "I've got this guy."

And then, within a few minutes, several short skirted, tight topped girls walked onto the bus. They forced a smile at Dani, though she knew none of them wanted to see her there.

Jake and Dani decided to join the bandwagon and have a few drinks. Danielle did it just to forget Austin. To forget this whole bullshit situation. She just wanted to have fun. Three-fourths of a cup of Red Bull and Smirnoff later, Dani was pulling out her phone and sitting on the couch with Jake.

"Take a picture with meeee!" She opened the front camera and they both stuck out their tongues. Dani snapped the picture and laughed as she looked at it. "Instagram worthy right there."

"Sure your boyfriend won't get mad?" Jake asked over the loud talking.

Dani looked at him and shook her head. "I don't have a boyfriend."

"Carlile?"

Dani laughed. "We've barely spoken in three months! We just started talking again when we got back on this tour."

"So, you're completely single, huh?"

Dani raised her almost empty cup and cheered, "Hell yeah!"

Jake laughed. "Live it up, Dani."

Dani smiled and nodded. "I will, boy, I will."

The night went on and the room around Danielle became more and more of a blur. As the guys took the girls to the back room to smoke, Dani was alone with Jake in the front of the bus. She hardly even noticed she had laid her head on his shoulder.

"You don't smoke?" She asked.

"Oh, I do, sometimes. Why, did you wanna?"

Danielle laughed. "Nah, I'm not much of a pothead."

Jake laughed. Danielle finally sat up and stretched. "Man, I'm tired." She locked eyes with Jake, who was just staring at her. "What?"

"You're just very beautiful."

Dani smiled widely. "Well, thank you, Jacob."

He laughed. "It's no problem, Danielle."

As they sat there staring at each other, Jake hesitantly rested his hand on the back of her neck. He pulled her waist to bring her closer and suddenly kissed her. Being drunk, she hardly thought about what she was doing. His hands were running along her body and she was suddenly underneath him, trying to take his jacket and shirt off.

He sat up and helped her taking off his clothes, exposing both of his arms covered in tattoos, and a chest piece she had partially noticed from his low crew neck. As his hands explored other areas of her body, she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer.

She didn't remember when her clothes left her body, but she does remember feeling pure ecstasy only moments after she realized they were gone. And then, when she reached her breaking point, she suddenly realized what she'd done. And as he stared into her eyes, breathing raggedly, she bit her lip and softly ran her fingers through his hair.

"You're amazing, Dani." He said softly, staring deep into her eyes.

She smirked and shrugged. "Farthest thing from it, but thank you."

He laughed, leaning in to kiss her gently. She kissed back, feeling a pang deep in her chest that made her want to cry. Jake must have noticed because he backed off and stared at her concernedly. "Something wrong?"

She shook her head. "I just don't feel good. Maybe you should go back on your bus..."

They both collected their clothes off the floor and got dressed. She watched him leave and said goodbye as he walked off the bus and headed to his own across the lot. She grabbed her lighter and cigarettes before stepping out and sitting in front of her bus. She lit her cigarette and blew out the puff of smoke she just inhaled.

She tangled both of her hands in her hair, staring blankly down at the slowly spinning pavement. Did she really just do that? Did she really just have sex with a guy she barely knew?

She heard a bus door swing open. She looked over and saw feet moving under the Of Mice & Men bus. Before she could make the decision of getting up and hiding, Austin was walking out heatedly. When he saw Dani and Dani saw him, they both froze in place. He looked at the cigarette between her fingers and she stared at the hickey on his neck.

"You smoke now?" Austin asked.

She shrugged.

And then, she noticed he was looking at something else on her person. She nervously rubbed her neck, afraid she may have a mark of her own. He narrowed his eyes. "You fucked him, didn't you?"

"So we're playing the blame game now?" She snorted. "Looks like you were the one to got some real action tonight, bud." She tried her hardest to get to her feet without appearing drunk but she should've known better that he would notice.

"And you're drunk." He laughed. "I should've known, Danielle. How can you say you're still in love with me then go screw some other asshole in some shitty band whilebeing wasted?"

"I could say the same for you for those band sluts you bring on your bus and get drunk with every night!" Danielle pointed at his bus. "And why do you automaticallyassume I slept with him! You asked me how many people I've slept with, Austin? How about you?"

Austin grimaced at her. "You never answered that question."

Danielle shook her head in disbelief. "I didn't answer because it was a stupidquestion. After the reasons we broke up, it upsets me to think that you believe I was actually sleeping around."

"Then, your question's as stupid as mine."

"I don't believe you went that long."

"I've done it before, Dani! I went three months on tour without you!" He sighed, running his hands through his hair and messing it all up. "I wanted to be the last person you ever had because I love you. That girl in there—I just wanted to see you." He cautiously stepped closer toward her. "I kept having visions in my head of you and that—I just can't stand to watch you every single day without being with you. So many times after your set, I want to kiss you as I get ready to go on. Or when I'm about to go to the busses, I have an urge to find you first because we alwayswent on each other's busses at the end of the night. But then I remember I can't do any of these things. And it doesn't feel right doing them with anyone except you."

Dani wanted to cry. She waited forever to hear him say that. "Have you slept with any girls at all during this tour?"

Austin hesitated. He looked away. "Dani..."

"Austin." Her voice quivered. "Answer me."

He sighed. "One. Just one. I swear..."

She frowned. "I wanted to be your last, too."

Austin looked down in shame. "How did we end up like this?"

Danielle let out a small laugh. "I think we've both just been hurt so much to the point where we just couldn't accept that we were someone who loved each other and didn't want anyone else buteach other."

Austin nodded, one side of his mouth twitching up. "Shit happens."

Danielle took in a deep breath before letting it out. "Let me be the last."

He looked up at her and gave her a puzzled look. "What?"

She flicked her cigarette and walked closer to Austin, close enough where she had to actually look up to talk to him. "Let me always be the last no matter who intervenes."

Austin stared at her. "Danielle...you're drunk."

"So are you. Doesn't change how I feel and I know it doesn't change how you feel either." She stood on her toes and wrapped her arms around his neck, giving him a small smile. "I never had anyone like I had you."

Just as Dani was about to make a move, Austin beat her to it. He grabbed her hips and pulled them into his. His lips then found hers and kissed them over and over again. She ran her hands up his neck and intertwined her fingers into his hair tightly, never wanting to let go again.

Austin grabbed her hand and pulled her toward his bus. As he pulled her all the way to the back, the band and the other girls watched her the whole way. A giddy feeling rose inside of her as he swung her into the room and she landed on the couch.

He locked the door in the back and came at her with that same, lustful look she loved. He kissed her again gently as he laid her down on the big, wrap around seating.

He took off her shirt easily and kissed from her mouth, to her neck; chest; stomach; hips. And that's when she remembered why she loved being with Austin so much. He didn't just fuck her, he actually made love to her whole body and took his time to admire her.

Nothing could ever compare to the way he's made me feel, she thought as he tore the rest of her clothes off and she finally had him again. She finally got to be with the man she loved more than anyone or anything.