Long time no update, sorry guys... hope you like :)

Chapter 7

And we'll go, straight from oh-oh's to woah-oh's, from goodbye calls to overdose

I squeeze my eyes shut, refusing to wake up.

I write your name in bullets, so you're the last thing through my head!

I put one of my pillows over my head. I wait for Andy to answer his damned phone so I can go back to sleep.

It's for you, it's for you, lovers become us luscious red

I begin to hope that it may just be his message tone and will end shortly.

It's for you, it's for you, lovers become us luscious red

I am become madder with each catchy line and continue to wait for Andy to hear it and wake up. When it all starts again, I groan and drag myself over to grab the phone from the bedside table and hit answer with more force than necessary.

"Hello?" I say, trying my best to hide my annoyance.

"Ally? Is that you?" Shaun says on the other end of the line.

"Hey, Shaun," I say in a much lighter tone, shooting upright. "What's up?"

"Just ringing to make sure Andy's up," he tells me.

"Uh," I hesitate and I look over to where Andy is snoring under his covers, a pillow over his head. "Sure, he's just in the shower," I lie.

"He's still asleep isn't he?" Shaun guesses.

"Um, yes, but not for much longer," I say, a cheeky undertone in my tone.

"Okay, thanks," Shaun says. "Just have him downstairs for breakfast by half-past."

"Eye-eye Cap'n," I obey then hang up.

I flop back onto the bed and shut my eyes briefly. I want to go back to sleep so badly. Sitting back up and looking around me, I work up the courage to get out of bed. Walking out of the room, I stand at our kitchenette and see my pain-killers sitting behind the tap of the sink. I read the packaging over and see that it advises against caffeine with it—so I settle for making a cup of tea instead.

Once it's ready and I've taken two tiny pills, I re-enter the bedroom and kick Andy's legs gently. He merely groans so I repeat the action a little harder. "Come on, sleeping beauty," I say loudly. "Time to get up. You have"—I look at my wrist and realise I haven't put my watch on yet, so I guess it—"less than forty minutes to be ready." That sounded about right.

Another groan is the only response I get. "I'm going for a shower," I inform him. He waves his hand at me. I laugh because I know I'm not normally a morning person either, and respond just as badly as he does to waking up too early—if not worse than he does.

As soon as I am under the hot water of the shower, I feel much more awake and less sore than before—but that's most likely my drugs. I also realise it is my first shower in days. I only stay in for a few minutes though and quickly dry and dress before walking out to find Andy sitting up and on his phone.

"Anything interesting happening?" I ask. I flip my head over and unwrap the towel from my hair so I can try and dry it a bit.

"Not really," he says, but despite looking at him on an awkward angle, I can clearly see the small crease between his eyebrows.

When my hair is much dryer, I gather it in my hands and pull it into a loose bun. It takes half a second for the world to right when I stand up and then I go and join Andy on his bed. I wrap my arms around his waist and he locks his phone and puts it down before embracing me in a tight grip.

"Good morning," he says looking down at me with a massive smile. His mood is much brighter than I thought it would be and it makes me a lot happier.

I laugh. "Good morning." My smile matches his and I crane my neck up and my lips just scrape his jawline.

He kisses my forehead. "I'm gonna go for a shower, then we'll go get breakfast."

I nod. "Mind if I check my twitter with your phone before we go?"

For some reason, he laughs. "Are you some kind of addict?"

I try to convey my innocence. "Not a big one." He laughs again and kisses my cheek—half a dozen times—before getting up and wandering into the bathroom.

I lay on the bed in blissful thought for a moment before grabbing Andy's phone. I slide the little unlock thing and it asks me for a code. I ask Andy and he yells four numbers at me that I quickly enter before I forget them and the phone opens to a message. Not wanting to pry, I quickly press the home button.

I didn't even see who the sender was, but I did see the last message they had sent to him: Seventeen? Are you crazy?

Twitter doesn't tell me anything too interesting except a tweet from Andy last night about being in Cambodia with the other boys and how he's excited to start filming today. This, as expected, sparked thousands of replies from his fans, some related to his tweet, a lot of 'good luck's and 'glad you made it safely' and a few people even seemed to know about missing his original flight, which sparked more tweets from others asking why.

And of course, there were the tweets that simply had nothing to do with anything Andy said—'please follow me' and 'please reply to me' being the most common.

I was never one to stalk Andy's mentions, that was something a few of my friends liked to do, but I'd never done it in my life. I think I was only doing it this time because . . . alright, I had no explanation for it. Except that I was a stalker, which I couldn't admit to.

Nothing anyone says mentions me, something I have no problem with, and when I'm finished with Andy's phone, I lock it and put it back on the nightstand. I hop up and walk out onto the small balcony outside our room, sitting on one side of the small two-seated outdoor lounge, bringing my feet up.

The sun has risen facing the opposite side of the hotel so the building's not over shadowed by others glow a bright yellow orange as the day is getting lighter.

Andy joins me shortly after and sits next to me, putting his arm across the back of my shoulders. I lean my head on his shoulder and we sit in silence. At some point, Andy's hand falls down behind me and he starts playing with my elbow. I have a short intake of breath and sit bolt upright.

"Um," I say nervously. "We should get going, the others are probably waiting for us." I fidget as I talk and avoid his gaze. I can only imagine what he must be thinking at my reaction and I feel terrible—but that doesn't make me explain myself.

Filming takes almost the entire day and by the time we return to our room, I am in desperate need of more painkillers. After taking just one pill because I know I'll need the night ones in a few hours, I refill my glass of water and walk out onto the balcony.

I was wearing a singlet and shorts because the weather had been quite nice all day, but it had quickly turned really chilly. Andy joins me eventually and he is carrying an extra hoodie.

"You looked cold," he says, handing it to me and I accept it graciously. It's my black 'Himynameis' one. "I like that hoodie you've got there."

I smile, and try my best not to blush. "Thanks."

"Why'd you get it?" I notice his use of 'why' and not 'where'.

"Well, I saw the band dude who designed it wearing one, and I absolutely loved it, so I got my own," I answer. "But, mind you, I could have seen anyone wearing it and I still would have had to have one," I continue honestly. "I also like that it makes me look skinny," I add with a sheepish grin.

"You have good taste," he says, feigning obliviousness. He continues to stand beside me and we watch the town.

Andy had seemed okay all day, like the events out here this morning hadn't bothered him, but I wasn't so sure. I didn't think I was ready to tell him my reasons for what happened and I knew it was because I was scared. Telling him the truth could so easily ruin this young and beautiful thing we had started. I didn't want to end it before I even got to find out the best bits.

So, naturally, I chicken out of the confrontation, deciding to stand out in the chilly weather right next to Andy.

But after a little while, I realise that he was standing a few inches from me, with no sign of getting closer. I look over and he is very rigid, like he is trying to be as still as he can. When I think about it, I recall that he'd been like that all day. It's like he is avoiding any contact with me. I have a nagging suspicion he is trying not to upset me again.

So much for avoiding that awkward conversation, I think.

"Andy," I say softly, turning to look at him. I take a step and close the gap between us—I can barely look him in the eye. "What happened this morning wasn't your fault. Please don't punish yourself for it."

He exhales and looks up from his hands that he was fiddling with. "Okay," he says softly. "But you know you can tell me anything, right? I'll always be here for you."

I'd heard that line, those same six words before, and I'd believed them then, too. But I still trust Andy—he was still my friend. I lean in, wrap my arms around him and let him hold me.

After a little while he says softly, "Hey," to get my attention. I look up at him and he leans down and kisses me. He does it once and it's quite gentle, before he pulls back slightly. I smile and he kisses me again. His lips are delicate and cautious, but when I kiss him back they change to something else entirely.

My arms move up and wrap around his neck. I find myself completely lost in him; his kiss; his touch. His hands are on my hips, he moves them up to my waist and then he wraps them around me and pulls me closer.

We are disturbed by my phone ringing inside. I pull away reluctantly with a sigh. "That's probably Matt, checking up on me, I'll be back."

The phone call takes less than a minute and all I tell him is that I'm doing fine and when he asks, I tell him I am in hardly any pain—which of course is a lie. I return to the balcony with Andy and he holds me like he was before.

"You will tell me one day, won't you?" he asks. "Whatever you're going through in that mind of yours, you know you don't have to do it alone?"

I nod. "I know."

He gives me a tight squeeze and holds me for a little while longer. Once the sun sets over the city, we head inside and I go into the bathroom to get changed into something warmer and more comfortable. When I remove my singlet, I catch a glimpse in the mirror of something. I look closer to see a massive bruise on my left side ribs—one that I hadn't noticed earlier, because I hadn't had a good look at myself yet. I touch the mark, softly at first, then harder until I feel a light sting.

I pull my shorts off over my still heavily bruised knees. They also don't hurt too badly when touched. I've always thought I heal faster than a normal person. I pull on some trackie pants and a purple singlet that I wore to bed the night before.

When I open the door again, Andy is changed into boxer shorts and a loose shirt and sitting on his bed, looking at his phone—very much like how I found him this morning. I go to the kitchenette and get a glass of water and take the night time painkillers that help me sleep better.

Andy comes over and wraps his arms around me from behind and kisses the crook of my neck. I put the glass down and he pulls me backwards. I giggle loudly and he keeps tugging me along. I think his leading us over to my bed-my assumption proved correct when we fall backwards and I land on top of Andy. I flip myself over and looked at him as my hair falls down beside my face. I tuck it behind my ears and lean down to kiss him.

I only let it last for a second before pulling back and exclaiming, "Time for bed. Early start tomorrow." I leap off of him and go to lie at the top of my bed, slipping down underneath the covers. Andy just lays at the end of my bed, his legs hanging off the end before I nudge him with my feet. He jumps up and comes straight towards me so I pull the covers up above my head to protect myself.

"So that's how it gonna be?" he says, his voice muffled due to the sound barrier.

"Yup," I say, keeping a tight grip on the covers. But I notice it's starting to get very hot and the air underneath is thick.

Pulling the covers back, I peak over the top to see Andy above me.

"Can I help you?" I say.

"No cuddles for me?" he says with a pout.

I pretend to think about it and then pull my arms out and hug him tightly. "I guess you can cuddle with me tonight you baby." We both start laughing and I turn on the TV.

I flick through and land on some music channels. I flick between them and find nothing of interest. I continue channel surfing and find an old eighties movie being played that I just love.

"What is this?" Andy asks.

"Cocktail," I explain. "It's a good movie."

"Sappy and romantic?"

"Totally."

I didn't even realise I'd fallen asleep until I woke up the next morning. Today, Shaun and Bradie wake us up by knocking as loudly as they can on the door to our room. We meet them downstairs twenty minutes later.

Today we film at the King's Palace. We spend all day at the one location but it's just beautiful. There are crew members and locals everywhere. The boys film performance shots outside and inside before it finally comes time to get on the roof.

Unfortunately, the crane thing we were supposed to use to get up has broken, and our only other option is this really dodgy ladder attached to the wall.

I'm the first to refuse to climb it—and Bradie quickly does the same. Yet Andy still tries to convince me to join him and Shaun on the roof.

"You got on the pontoon thing yesterday," he pleads.

He was right, but I was terrified of it. "You were lucky I did get on the scary, rocking pontoon thing," I argue back. "But there is no way in hell I am climbing that thing."

"Okay fine," he resigns.

After Andy and Shaun are on the roof, Andy pulls his camera out and starts filming. He's talking and I can't hear what he's saying, but I know it's just about where they are and stuff. Bradie comes and stands beside me.

"Wanna find somewhere shadier to sit?" Bradie asks. I nod.

As we walk away, I hear Andy yell the last bit of his sentence. ". . . COZ THEY'RE TOO SCARED!" So I flip him the finger over my shoulder and keep walking.

We find a nice tree to sit under and I lean against it and watch Shaun and Andy get to work in the late afternoon sun.

Andy looks down at one point while Shaun is filming and waves to me like an idiot. I laugh and wave back, the smile not leaving my face.

"Okay, I surrender," Bradie says.

"Hmm?" I turn my head to look at him.

"I surrender," he repeats. "Ally, when I met you, I really liked you, and I tried to beat Andy to you. But I see now that he was always meant to have you."

It sounded so much like what Ryan had said to me at the hospital. Did everybody think me and Andy were destined to be together?

Bradie continued. "And he has liked you for months, and I knew that, so I guess I was being a horrible brother trying to get you first."

"What?" I say, utterly confused.

"But, like I said," Bradie goes on, pretending he didn't hear me. "I can see he was always meant to be the one to have you."

"Go back to the bit about liking me for months," I begin to interrogate.

Bradie shakes his head. "I . . . It's really not my place to say. . . . Oh, look, I think they're almost finished."

I follow his gaze to the roof of the temple and sure enough, it appears the boys are finished. Andy is taking pictures of the sunset and Shaun is chatting with the director.

I stand up and walk over closer to the palace, forgetting all about my strange conversation with Bradie—for now.

"Ally, you have got to come up here and see this sunset," Andy calls down. I hesitate—it does sound lovely. "Please? It's perfectly safe. You'll be fine I promise."

I sigh and shake my head. "Only Andy," I mutter, which makes Bradie—who is now standing behind me—laugh lightly.

I walk in the palace and up to the second floor where the ladder starts. I'm out on the small balcony and see the rusted ladder steps poking out from the wall.

"Just don't look down," a voice says above me. I look up and Andy has poked his head over the side directly above the ladder.

"Oh, you're so funny," I tell him sarcastically.

I let out a deep breath and grip one of the steps with one hand. Despite Andy's smart-arse comment, I look down. I see Bradie on the ground.

"If you fall, I'll catch you," he yells up to me.

Honestly, it's not so much getting up or even being up there that has me worried—it's getting back down.

I've gripped the step so tight that my knuckles are white. I stand on the top of the stone balcony barricade that stops people falling off and grip a step a bit higher with my free hand and then bring my other hand up to join it. I put one foot out onto a step parallel to my feet far enough that I can get the other foot on without trouble.

The process has only taken ten or twenty seconds but it feels like I'm taking forever. So I just climb, ignoring how high it is and all the other things that scare me about it and I listen to Andy, Bradie and even Shaun from somewhere out of sight, yell encouraging things to me—which really doesn't make a big difference, but I don't say anything otherwise.

When I reach the top, Andy leans down and offers me his hand which I take and he helps me over the edge. When Andy leads me over the front edge and shows me the view to the west, I believe him when he said it was worth it.

The sunset looks absolutely amazing and I'm breathless looking at it.

"Andy," one guy interrupts. He's the guy who's been doing some professional filming for the behind the scenes stuff which Andy told me would be for something different to Short Stack TV. I've forgotten his name and am way too embarrassed to ask. "We'd like some stuff with you talking about what we've just done, if you don't mind."

Andy looks at me, as if to ask if I'm okay with it. "Oh, yeah," I say. "Go for it, I'll just get out of your way."

"Yeah, Ally, come check this out," Shaun calls me over to where he and the director are looking at the footage.

Andy does his thing with the film guy while Shaun and the director show me some of the shots they got today. "Wow, that looks amazing!" I exclaim.

"Thanks I try," Shaun says egotistically. I laugh and that's when Andy calls me back over to him.

He stands up from where he was sitting and as a I get within reach, he grabs the belt loop of my shorts and pulls me as close as he can. I wrap my arms around his waist and look at him for a second. He takes me in too and then leans in and kisses me. I kiss him back, ignoring the spectators around as. It's a perfect moment and I attempt to commit every detail to memory but I'm so wrapped up in Andy that I find it hard.

I think I hear a click beside me, but I just keep kissing Andy. We finally break it when Shaun calls out to the pair of us, "Oi, that's enough, I wanna get back for dinner." He throws something and it misses, but we pull apart anyway.

Almost everyone has climbed down the ladder and we see everyone packing up the filming gear down below. Someone has taken the guitars down and it is only two crew members, Shaun, Andy and myself left on the roof. One crew member goes first, followed by Shaun. Andy offers for me to go first, but I say it's fine and that he can.

He climbs down and when he's about halfway, the other crew guy helps me over the edge and onto the old steps. I climb down slower than I climbed up, and I'm so nervous with each step. Andy stands at the edge of the balcony waiting to help me when I get there.

I'm three steps from the balcony edge and my thong gets caught. I let out a short scream and my foot slips down the inside of the ladder, scraping against the wall of the old stone building—my thong falls to the ground below. One of my hands was halfway between steps and I quickly grab the next one before my other hand slips away.

Andy, just as frightened by my sudden slip as I am, reaches out and grips my jeans. I don't know what good it would do me, but I realise if I had completely slipped away from the ladder, he would have probably just managed to grab my hand. I pull my leg out of its wedge and take the last two steps with ten times more care but twice the speed. My eyes are almost closed in fright when Andy calmly coaxes me into stepping off the ladder. I grip him in a wrist lock and he holds me tightly, reassuring me he won't let go. I step my bare foot onto the stone followed by the rest of me in one quick movement.

When I'm down and safe, Andy pulls me away from the ledge. I grip the front of the jacket he's wearing like my life depends on it and he wraps his arms around me. I feel like a terrified child as I wait for my breathing to slow and my whole body to stop shaking.

When I'm a little more relaxed, we leave the Palace and meet Bradie and Shaun outside. They rush up to me.

"Are you okay?" Bradie asks, frantic.

"You scared the hell out of us!" Shaun says.

I nod, still feeling a bit shaky. "I'll be fine."

"Well, this is yours anyway," Shaun says, handing me my thong.

I smile and put it on my foot.

It's beginning to get dark so we pack up quickly and head back to the hotel for dinner.

We all go some place really nice for dinner and the boys have a few drinks to celebrate our last night in Cambodia. Andy has taken his camera, but later in the night, the other boys have taken it and are taking random snapshots.

We all get in extremely late and Andy is more than tipsy. I find myself supporting him just to get across our room and into bed. It makes me wonder if it really is a common occurrence. I didn't want to, purely because he was so drunk, but despite myself, I changed into more comfortable wear and crawled into bed with Andy and his alcohol reeked breath.

When we wake up the next morning, Andy tells me he doesn't remember much from the night before, which I was half expecting.

"It's okay," I tell him. "You weren't too bad." I smile and he gives me a grateful peck on the cheek and we get ready for the day.

We film. We pack up. We head home.

And as much as I loved Cambodia, I can't wait to be back in Australia.