I woke up with a jolt.

Some thunderous noise had knocked me from my dreamless sleep and blinking through the darkness of my bunk, it didn't take me long to determine what it was: Harry's snoring.

The show had gone extremely well and the boys had been fabulous performers. I know I gave them some hard times for the pop stylings, but even I could appreciate a good show and the boys definitely did that. I had been to their shows before, and had been at nearly every taping of the X-Factor, but this was somehow different. Maybe it was because I wasn't in the audience being pushed and prodded by teenage girls, feeling like my head was going to explode from the screams.

This time, I got to stand backstage, watching from the side as they jumped and danced and sang their little hearts out. It was an amazing view from there; I could see the crowd swaying to ever note, hear the girls singing their songs back to them and see the pure joy they gave to each and every audience member. Not to mention, little Maya was front and center.

It was certainly invigorating.

The show had gone off without a hitch and afterward the whole big group got together for some celebratory drinks (non-alcoholic for us, sadly) for the kick off of the tour. Amusingly enough, Niall stuck by my side the entire time, no doubt assigned the role by Louis to keep James at bay. There really was no need, since I was not at all interested in James (Niall, of all people, knew that), but it was nice to have some constant company.

After the revelry, we all headed back to our buses for the long drive to Detroit. Now, when I say long, it was only about 5 1/2 hours, but that same amount of time could get you from London to Scotland, so it certainly seemed like a long drive for us.
I was still pretty tired, not entirely adjusted to the time different yet, so I fell asleep pretty quickly once I was tucked into my bunk, the steady rocking of the bus was oddly comforting. Unfortunately, though, Harry sounds like a hog with an upper-respiratory problem when he sleeps, and his snoring woke me up about four hours into the ride.

I lay there, now fully away, staring into the darkness. There was no way I was going to fall back asleep with him hammering on. Frustrated, I slid out of the bunk, hoping to find my iPod, which was somewhere in the front lounge. Before I could go searching, though, I saw some flashes of light coming from under the door to the back lounge. Someone was awake.

I quietly slid the door open and peered into the darkness. Stretched out on the couch, illuminated only by the TV screen was Zayn, glasses on and flipping through the channels absentmindedly.

"Can't sleep?" I whispered, coming all the way in and closing the door behind me.

"Not really," he replied with a gentle smile. "Jet lag is throwing me off still. What about you?"

"Haz woke me up," I replied and he nodded sympathetically. "What are you watching?"

"Power Rangers," he grinned, before straightening out and making room for me on the couch. "Care to join?”

"The white one is my favorite," I commented, curling up next to him.

"Mine too."

We lay there quietly together, watching the poorly made nineties TV show with interest. It wasn't long until I was yawning again and Zayn looked at me in amusement.

"Sleepy, JJ?"

"A bit, yeah. Though I'll never get to sleep with Haz in there."

"Sleep here," he said, shifting down even more. "You can use me as a pillow."

"This isn't an attempt to pull me, is it Malik?" I asked suspiciously, but adjusted myself nonetheless, sliding down along the couch and resting my head on his lap, turning onto my side to I could properly see the telly.

Zayn chuckled and pulled a blanked down and over me, resting his arm over my middle, since there was really no other place to put it.

"Damn, you caught me out," he joked. "I was using my best moves, too."

"Speaking of which," I said, suddenly remembering something. "Who was that girl at the party again? Carrie something?"

"Ah, you mean Perrie," he replied, and something in his voice made me turn to look up him.

Zayn was definitely the quite one of the group and not because he wasn't outgoing and crazy like the other boys - he just was harder to read, didn't wear his heart on his sleeve, so to speak. I studied his face. Even though it was dark, it was clear to see that Zayn was beautiful. I don't mean that in a weird way, but handsome just doesn't do him justice. He really is beautiful. And it surprised me to hear the slight heartbreak in his voice when he said her name - who could possibly turn this boy down??

"Tell me about her," I urged gently, watching him.

He hesitated for a moment, but then sighed. "I met her a while back, she was on the X-Factor a year after us. I've always fancied her, but we never made anything official, you know? She's a really great girl," he smiled a bit, running a hand through his messy, jet black hair. "She's always up for a laugh, but is a great listener as well. She is incredibly talented, but doesn't flaunt it really. Actually, she gets really embarrassed when you talk about it," he laughed softly to himself, amused at some memory. "She's a bit like you, too, actually," he added as an afterthought.

"Completely awesome, you mean?"

"Well, no one can compare to you, of course," he grinned. "But you both have that kind of attitude, that tough girl kind of thing going on. You also both have that vulnerable side underneath, though."

"Excuse me," I said, sitting up and pretending to be offended. "I have skin that is tough as steel."

Zayn laughed at me. "Ah, you can't fool me, JJ. I know you better than you think. You act all tough, but really you are a softie."

"Am not. I didn't even cry at the end of Titanic. That's how cold-hearted I am."

"That is pretty bad," he acknowledged. "Although, if I remember correctly, you were pretty distraught with the 2009 Champions League final."

I shuddered. "Please, don't bring that up. It was a dark time for me."

"I do think Louis cries more than you, actually," Zayn said, looking thoughtful.

"Of course he does," I replied, as though it were obvious. "Louis is a complete weeper."

Zayn smiled and I settled back into my comfortable spot on his lap.

"So, do you think you and Perrie will get together at all when we get home?"

Zayn shrugged. "I'd like to. I'd really like to have a girlfriend, you know? But it's so hard with all this going on around us."

I had a bit of trouble feeling sorry for him, seeing as he and the others could literally just point and choose from thousands of girls dying to be their girlfriends, but I let him have his moment of self-pity.

"Well, she's an idiot if she doesn't want to date you," I said, rolling over onto my back and shutting my eyes. "And I'll tell her that myself."

"Thanks, JJ," he said, brushing some stray hair off of my face. "I appreciate that."

When I woke up the next morning, Zayn was gone, but was I was still bundled up in the blanket and had a soft pillow under my head. Glancing at the clock, I saw it was approaching nine am and I felt a jerk of alertness. The boys had interviews this morning...and I was missing them.

I emerged from the back lounge and sure enough, the bus was completely quiet, except for some soft rustling in the front. I headed that way, and my heart skipped a beat when I saw Liam on the couch, lacing up his trainers.

"Good morning, Sleeping Beauty," he grinned when he saw me and I gave a pathetic little wave in return.

"I missed all your interviews, didn't I?" I asked, somewhat embarrassed.

"Yeah, you did," he replied, not unkindly. "There were only two of them, though, so no worries. Besides, you looked so cute back there all bundled up, we didn't want to wake you."

"Where are the others?" I asked, making a show of looking around to hide the blush creeping onto my cheeks.

"Went out to find some breakfast," he answered. "Niall was desperate to try the International House of Pancakes."

"But not you?"

"No, I ate already. Besides, I wanted to try and get a run in this morning before we get too busy. Feel like joining?"

Yes was right on the tip of my tongue. I would love to go running with Liam. It would give us a chance to talk a bit and hopefully, while running, I would be such a bumbling idiot. I was about to say yes, but then I remembered one crucial impediment.

"Can't," I frowned, pulling up the leg of my sweatpants. "Not supposed to run at the moment."

Liam winced apologetically. "That's right, I forgot about your leg. Mind if I take a look at it?"

I joined him on the couch and brought my knee up as far as it would bend, silently thanking God that I had shaved my legs the day before. Liam looked at my mangled knee, surprisingly me slightly when he traced one of the scars with his fingers.

"How'd it happen?" he asked with interest, though it was clear he was trying to be delicate. "If you don't mind me asking."

I shrugged. "I wish I could say that I was slide tackled while on a breakaway or something equally dramatic, but it was actually something completely lame. I missed a step coming off a the bus on my way home from the shops one day."

"Really? And it blew your knee out?"

I nodded. "Apparently it was a bit of a time bomb, really. Doctors said it was only a matter of time before it went. Though it was a bit of a rough day; not only was I completely done with football, but I also had huge scrapes up my face and completely made a tosser out of myself in front of a bus load of people."

"I'm sorry, JJ. Louis always went on about how mad you were about football. I know that that was what you wanted to do."

I shrugged again. I was getting used to talking about it by now, but it still left a hollow feeling in my stomach to know I would never play again.

"Well, I'm going to head out, enjoy the silence while it lasts," Liam said, standing up.

"Thanks, Liam," I replied, watching as he waved and disappeared out the door.

I spent the rest of the morning floating around the bus and trying to avoid going out into the bitter Michigan wind. Liam was certainly a brave lad, wanting to go running out in weather like that. I showered, got changed, checked my facebook, texted my Mum (didn't receive a response, she was still giving me the cold shoulder, apparently) and then decided to check my Twitter page.

Niall was right, I had over 8,000 new follower requests, and that was just in two days! I was completely gobsmacked by the sheer number of people who wanted to follow my movements, simply because I happened to eat Pizza with Niall. I wasn't going to let all of them follow me, so I spent a good hour going through them all and approving ones that seemed more sane than others. LouisSlut69 was not one of them, for example.

Then, just out of curiosity, I looked at the mentions. I had braced myself for some cattiness, but the general feeling of the mentions was just interest. A lot of 'who is this @JJintheSky' and 'so jealous of @JJintheSky eating with @NiallOfficial'. Not too bad, in my opinion.

I thought about updating, since I now had followers who actually seemed to care what I was doing. Thinking of something that might get them interested, I went with: “barely any sleep last night, thanks a lot @harry_styles”.

Only a few moments later, my phone began buzzing with responses.

ZaynMalik: @JJintheSky that’s what she said!

NiallOfficial: @zaynmalik @jjinthesky but...that is what she said...

Harry_Styles: guess I kept @JJintheSky up all night. ;) xx (see what I did there?)

I snorted at this lame pun, before jumping slightly as Liam reentered the bus. He was sweating, despite the cold temperatures, and wiped his forehead with the back of his arm.

“Aright, JJ,” he greeted, pulling his ear buds out.

“How’d the run go?” I asked, before choking slightly as he pulled his sweatshirt and tee up and off.

“It was just lovely,” he replied. “Not the prettiest area, but it will do. Alright, off to shower.”

I watched silently as he headed for the bathroom, swallowing hard as he disappeared. I tried not to think about the fact that he was naked mere feet from me, but then giggled slightly at the thought of the chaos that would ensure should I tweet about it.

‘Just sitting here, feet from a starkers @Real_Liam_Payne! Whatup!’

"Yeah, that would go over well," I muttered.

"The first sign of going mad is talking to yourself," Louis said, bursting onto the bus.

"This coming from a twenty year old that dresses like a pirate and talks to fake pigeons."

"Touche. By the way, do you realize how dirty your tweet sounded?"

"Hey, JJ," Harry greeted, joining us on the bus and pulling off his beanie. “Sorry about not letting you get any sleep last night,” he added, sending me a wink. I rolled my eyes.

Niall and Zayn entered then; Niall was carrying two take-out boxes of food and handed one to me.

"I got you some chocolate chip pancakes," he said. "Figured you might be hungry."

"Niall!" I beamed, getting up and planting a big kiss on his cheek. "You are the ultimate, you know that?"

Harry wolf whistled and Louis laughed. "Niall, you never bring me any pancakes," Louis teased, before wrapping his arms around the Irishman's middle and snuggling against him. "How come you don't love me, Niall," he sobbing mockingly.

"Geroff," Niall grunted, but laughed all the same.

The pancakes were divine and I had devoured half of them by the time Liam got out of the shower. I nearly choked when he wandered out in nothing but a towel, and Niall slapped me helpfully on the back. Luckily, Liam disappeared into the back lounge to change. Unluckily, we were shortly joined by another boybander that I really wasn't interested in seeing.

James followed Paul onto the bus and greeted the guys before catching sight of me.

"Hey, JJ," he said. "I was going to ask if you wanted to get some lunch, but it seems you're already having some."

"Yep, sorry," I mumbled through a large mouthful of pancakes. I shoved another forkful in to avoid talking to him. Harry was grinning at me, finding the whole situation completely humorous, while Louis stared suspiciously at James.

"Hey, maybe next time," Niall replied for me, though it was clear from his tone that there really shouldn't be a next time.

James, no matter who horridly he dressed, was not an idiot and caught on rather quickly.

"Right, well...I just wanted to check. See you guys around." He made a swift exit and once the bus door closed Harry burst out laughing.

"It's not funny," I reprimanded, setting down the pancakes, having suddenly lost my appetite. "It's awkward."

"And that's what makes it so funny," Harry replied, fixing his hair.

"He seems like a nice guy," Zayn tried, but held up his hands defensively as both Louis and I stared daggers at him. "Alright, he's a terrible person who I wouldn't wish on anyone!"

"Better," Louis said.

"Since when did you become so overprotective?" I questioned. "You didn't care when I was dating Nathan."

"Yeah and looked what happened, he was a total knob to you," my brother replied. "Like I'm going to let that happen again. Take this from me, JJ, boys are complete toss pots."

"He's got a point," Harry agreed. "I've been called a toss pot - and worse - many times."

"And boys in bands are just that much worse. Except for Liam here, who is a complete saint."

"What about me?" Liam asked, confused, as he rejoined us and sat next to me at the table.

"Apparently you're the only one Louis will let JJ date," Zayn filled in, and I felt myself turning red.

"What, out of the four of us?"

"Out of any bloke, apparently," Niall answered, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Yes, and since you are currently taken by the lovely Danielle," Louis continued, "JJ is just going to remain single forever. Or become a lesbian."

Harry let out a whoop, clapping his hands together in excitement. "Yes!"

"No!" Louis yelled back, realizing his mistake, while the rest of us laughed. "No, Harry! Forget I said that! I forbid you from picturing my sister as a lesbian! I forbid it! She's asexual - remember the rules, Haz!"

I was laughing hysterically now, as Louis tackled his best mate to the ground. Zayn jumped in just for fun and soon enough all six of us were on the floor of the bus, smacking each others arses and being all around idiots.

"Oi! What are you lot doing?"

We froze and looked up at Paul, who had just reentered, looking completely fed up. None of us responded, but Niall did fart rather loudly in Louis's face, which made us immediately scramble to different corners of the lounge, leaving the Irishman on the floor by himself.

"It was all them pancakes!"