Popstar Chapter Seven I rolled over and looked at the clock on the night stand. It said six a.m. which had to be wrong because there was someone pounding on my door. I groaned before swinging my feet over the edge of the bed and stumbling towards the door. I looked through the peephole, then swung it open. "We need to talk." Ashley said, coming into the room. "It's six in the morning, Ashley. Couldn't we talk when I'm awake?" "You're getting a wake up call in ten minutes anyways, we have a photo shoot at eight and we have to be on the bus by seven." he replied, calmly. I shut the door behind him and I turned around. He quickly leaned forward and pressed his lips to mine. We kissed for a moment then I pulled back. "Ashley...." I whispered, knowing I couldn't do this. "Listen to me, Kerr. I didn't sleep at all last night because I couldn't stop thinking about you. I know it was just a little kiss, but..." he paused, searching for the words. "It just felt right." "Ashley.... I can't do this." I said, quietly. I quickly leaned up and kissed him on the cheek. "I'm sorry." I whispered. I opened the door and waited. Without another word, Ashley left. "I'll see you at the photo shoot!" I called out behind him, but he didn't acknowledge. I sighed before turning to get ready. *************************** "Okay, now I want you two here with Kerr." the photographer motioned for Ashley and Dan to come sit beside me. I took a deep breath. "Now.... Ashley, you put your arm around her and Dan, you can lean your head on her shoulder. I want to feel the love, people!" We all giggled as she threw in the photographer cliché. I felt a bit uncomfortable in such close proximity to Ashley, but I knew everything was fine. "Isn't this fun?" I whispered, jokingly to the two guys. "Yah, a blast." Dan replied sarcasticly. When Ashley didn't say anything, I knew he was upset. After the photo shoot, the band and I went our seperate ways for the day. I had three interviews to complete and when I returned to the bus at nine oclock, I was exhausted. But, I decided to wait up for Dan and Ashley to return so I could see if Ashley would talk to me. Twenty minutes later, the doors opened and Ashley came onto the bus. "Dan's staying with the other guys tonight." he said, as he breezed past me. Without another word, he got into the shower. I continued reading until he got out. He announced that he was going to bed and he disappeared into the back. I sighed, knowing I was the cause of this. Ordinarily, I wouldn't care, and I couldn't understand how it was affecting me so much. I was genuinely upset that Ashley was mad at me. Maybe it was because, deep down, I knew that Ashley and the guys weren't your regular 'pop stars' and that they were nice people, not that I would admit that to them at the moment. I put some music on softly and just sat there, listening to the words of one of my favourite bands. After the first two songs, I heard a voice behind me. "Switchfoot." he said softly. "I'm sorry, I didn't think you'd be able to hear it from the back. I'll turn it off." I said. "No. I love this band." he replied, taking a seat near me, but far enough away. We listened for a minute, without speaking, to my favourite song "I Dare you to move". I knew I had to say something. "Ashley, I'm sorry." I said, quietly. He didn't reply but the intense look he had on his face softened. After a moment, he looked at me. "Kerr, I'm not him. I'm not going to hurt you like he hurt your mother." I looked down at the floor, because Ashley had figured out why I was scared. "I know, Ashley, but I'm not ready." I whispered. "I mean, what would happen after the tour was over? We'd never see each other." "Don't think of that. We could deal with that when it came. Think of now, Kerr." "I am. And I just can't." I replied. Ashley stood up to leave, but I reached up and took his hand to stop him. He turned around and I stood up. I hugged him, resting my head on his chest. He rubbed my back for a moment, then he backed away from me. "If you can't do this, Kerr, then I can't dance around it and pretend we're just good friends. I'm going to talk to Erik and see if he'll switch busses with me, because I'm not sure I can handle seeing you constantly." I felt the tears come to my eyes. Everything that had happened in the last three days surprised me so much, but it felt so good. I was too scared to take it for what it was worth, though. Next... **********************