Noortje’s POV

Silence consumed the bus. Everyone was asleep and it was dark out, but of course I couldn’t fall asleep. My eyes had been closed for over 3 hours, but my mind was racing and wouldn’t shut up. I missed Tony cuddling with me, holding me tight against his chest, placing kisses on my shoulders and neck. All this bunk felt like was cold and empty, the end of a happy relationship. The tears that fell on my pillow made a quiet plopping noise, slowly making it wet and damp. I couldn’t do this. I had to get over him.

I sighed and got out of my bunk. I stared at the red fabric and Tony’s bunk curtain and wanted nothing more than to open in and cuddle up beside him. But I knew I couldn’t. That wasn’t how things worked. My stomach rumbled and I craved to eat something. Not just anything, but I didn’t know what exactly. I slowly crept past the bunks, hoping not to wake up anybody and rummaged through the cupboards placed above the small kitchenette. In the very back stood the box of cornflakes I had bought not too long ago. Yes. This is what I wanted.

I didn’t bother grabbing a bowl and sat on the couch with the box. The cereal crunched as I bit on it. My fingers traced the bruise on my wrist. I was so happy Jaime noticed what was going on. Where would I have been if he didn’t come to the rescue and why did nobody else on the beach help? They clearly saw what was going on. And, yes, I did see Tony looking at me. But what did he do? He just walked off like he didn’t give a fuck.

My thoughts were interrupted by somebody walking into the front lounge. Yay! Maybe somebody came to join me on the journey of this sleepless night. But, no… It was Tony. Of course it had to be him; just my luck. He stopped 2 meters in front of me and looked at me weirdly. It was actually making me very uncomfortable.

“What are you doing?” He asked in his sexy morning voice… even though it wasn’t really morning yet and I really shouldn’t say sexy. I can’t think of him like that.
“Eating cornflakes.” I replied sharply.
“I thought you hated cornflakes.”
“I do.”
“Then why are you eating them?”
“Cause I fucking felt like it. Does it really matter?”
I went to stand up and left the box on the side table. As I walked past Tony he stopped me.
“Don’t be like that.” He mumbled.
“Be like what?”

Tony opened his mouth to say something, but I stormed past him and locked myself up in the bathroom. I knew eating something wasn’t going to be a good idea! Every single time I eat something I always seem to be nauseated afterwards. I kneeled in front of the toilet and hung over it. In a matter of seconds I was throwing up. It no longer affected me much, it was a daily occurrence and wanting to hold it back only made it worse.

I flushed the toilet and sighed. I wasn’t going to take the chance of bumping into Tony again. He’ll tell me that I’m starving myself and how he probably never wants to ever see me again. I was well aware that I was losing some weight, but I couldn’t do anything about it. I eat something and I throw up. It’s a continuous cycle. All I could do now was stay locked up in this small room and hope the nausea doesn’t come back.

----

I woke up to fast knocking on the door. What? Where was I? and what time was it? I lifted my head off the wall and saw that I was, in fact, still in the bathroom. Did I really fall asleep here? I lifted myself off of the floor and looked in the mirror. Great, I looked like I was fucking dying, the bags underneath my eyes looked that bad. The knocking still hadn’t stopped so I decided to open the door. Mike rushed inside and slammed the door shut.
“Ok then.” I muttered.

I walked to to the front lounge once again, but it was now occupied by more people. Jaime looked at me and frowned.
“Are you ok?” He questioned.
“Yeah, I think I fell asleep in the bathroom.” I answered with a yawn.
“You look tired.”
“I am.”
“So go sleep a bit more.”
“You see, I would if I could,” I sat down next to him, “But I can’t, no matter how I hard I try.”
“Oh.”
“Yep. I think I’m going to change.”

I put on a simple black sweater without bothering to wear a bra. Those things were really uncomfortable, especially the last couple of days. I didn’t want to show off and just wanted to wear comfortable clothes. Why bother looking good when you can wear something that is so much more pleasant? I grabbed the first pair of jeans I found in my suitcase and went back to the front and took my seat next to Jaime again.

Vic looked me up and down, “You know we have an interview today, right?”
“Oh, really? Cool.” I shrugged.
He gave Jaime a concerned look and looked back at me. He wasn’t saying it, but I knew he was questioning my clothing choice. My I seriously couldn’t give a fuck. I liked this sweater so I was going to wear it, no matter what anybody would think.

----

Vic’s POV

The camera was turned on and the interviewer looked through his questions one last time.
“So, I’m here with Vic, Jaime, and Noortje of Pierce the Veil. How are you guys today?”
“I’m good, I don’t know about you guys.” I turned to Jaime and Noortje who were sitting to my left. Noortje just gave a simple smile.
“I’m actually really good.” Jaime commented.
“So, how do you guys like it here?”
“Austria is quite amazing actually.”

For the entire interview only Jaime and I had answered questions. All Noortje did was look tired and bored and try to hold back the occasional jawn. I had no clue what was wrong with her, but something was up. She was never completely silent during an interview, and to be honest, she looked terrible. She looked like she hadn’t eaten or slept in days.

We were back in the bus and I saw Noortje was in her bunk. I took this as an opportunity to talk to her.
“Hey, Noortje, are you ok?” I asked honestly concerned about her.
“Yea, I’m just tired.” She smiled.
I sat in the bunk opposite of hers, “Why don’t you try to get some sleep?”
“Like I said before, I can’t.”
“Why not?”
“There’s too much on my mind and this bunk is way too empty.”
“Why don’t you ask Tony to join you?”
She shook her head and kept staring at me.
“What’s up between you guys anyway?”
She shook her head again and turned around so her back was facing me. I sighed and climbed in beside her. If this is what I would have to do to get her to sleep, I will do it. I just hope nobody gets the wrong message. I closed the curtain and wrapped my arms around her. She silently cried and I acted like I didn’t hear her. I knew she would want me to hear.

Something was going on, and it was not just her being tired.

Notes

I was going to update yesterday, but realised the chapter I wrote didn't fit in yet.

If you haven't noticed, I'm having serious writers block. Please give me some feedback and tell me what you want to happen.

Also, updates might not be as frequent the net couple of weeks. School is getting really busy (Seriously. Working on homework from 3-8 is not cool). I'll try to post at least 3-4 times a week, hopefully more. But I can't promise anything.

- DSN