Rock And Roll Ruined My Life – Chapter 45 – Pennsylvania

*Flashback *

“What the hell happened in here?” I heard someone ask.
“Whose shoes are these?” I heard another voice ask.
“Those look like Jack’s…” Flyzik’s voice reached my ears.

Suddenly, I was aware of the presence of Jack’s body half on top of mine. I was also aware that I was in nothing but a tank top – which was currently halfway up my stomach – and skinny jeans. This would not end well. At least Jack still had on his t-shirt…

“That’s Jack’s hoodie there... Oh crap. This smells like girl,” Matt’s voice audibly tensed up.
“Wasn’t Juliet wearing that hoodie last night?” I moved my head to see one of the crew guys standing next to him in the dim light. It couldn’t be earlier than 6 in the morning judging by the dark purple sky... I saw Matt pick up my discarded shirt.
“Oh no,” he shook his head and climbed into the van. I quickly closed my eyes and pretended to be asleep.

My heart was pounding a mile a minute, and I guess Jack must have felt it because he subconsciously wrapped his arms around me and snuggled into my neck in a comforting gesture.

“Thank God. Holy crap. I almost had a heart attack.”
“What? Who’s back there?”
“Jack and Julie.”
“What?!”
“Yeah, that’s what I thought. But it’s all good, they still have their clothes on… well, for the most part…”
“Lemme see-”
“-Hey, leave them alone. They were probably up all night.”

I opened my eyes and saw Matt push the crew guy’s shoulder before he pretended to be busy throwing our discarded clothing items in the back seat next to us. I silently thanked him for that. We had partied hard for three nights in a row and so far Jack and I had ended up in a van each time! This last time it got intense though – even my plaid button down shirt had gotten ripped off.

“Well you gotta wake them up at some point. We have to go in ten minutes.”
“Well, you guys are gunna have to go with different people. I’m only taking two people with me.”
“What? Who?”
“Zack and Rian. At least they won’t go and text everyone about it.”

I saw the crew guy look up from what was apparently his phone and sigh. Matt was nailing him and being an asshole for us. I would have to make it up to him somehow…

“Well, go and tell the other guys soon before we all leave and your happy asses are stuck out here.”

I saw the guy’s head disappear from view and Matt run a hand through his short black hair. That must have been rough to do.

“Matt?” I called out. I saw him jump and scramble into the car.
“Yeah?”
“Thank you,” I offered a weary smile.
“Aw, it’s no problem Jules. I’m the manager, it’s my job,” he smiled back.
“You didn’t have to do that though.”
“Well… I wanted to. You and Jack are my friends, I got your backs.”
“I wish I could give you a hug, but I’m stuck under this mashugana.”
“Ha ha!” Matt burst out into laughter. Jack stirred and let out a groan of tiredness. Matt clapped a hand over his mouth and I looked down to see a tired Jack staring at me through blood-shot eyes.

“Shh it’s okay, go back to sleep,” I reached out with my free arm and massaged his head.

Jack needed no further encouragement to drop back into his stupor. I looked up and saw Matt watching intently.

“That’s how you tame the beast,” I smiled.
“You’ve got him, alright.”
“What? Got who by the balls?” I heard a sleepy Zack approach the car.

This time, it was my turn to hold back my laughter.

“Zack! Oh my God!” I whisper-yelled.
“Just get in the car, man,” Matt chuckled and shook his head.
“Why did you text me so early? Where are we going?”
“We have to drive to Pennsylvania.”
“Oh, okay.”
“Yup! So get in and we’ll start driving. We have to get Rian too.”
“Alright,” Zack yawned.

As soon as Matt started the engine and turned on the heat, I was out cold.

* Present *

“Jules…. Julie… C’mon time to wake up!”
“Nooo,” I tried to turn over.
“Whoa! Don’t do that I’m gunna fall.”

I opened my eyes and winced. The sun was shining brightly through the windows of the van.

“I know it’s bright. Want some sun glasses?”
“Yeah.”

No less than 10 seconds later I felt sunglasses being pushed onto my face over my normal ones.

“Ow,” I muttered as the person next to me, which I had figured out to be Jack, pushed the glasses into my ear.
“Oh. Sorry,” he croaked.
“Where are we?” I asked.
“I think we’re in Pennsylvania.”
“Oh yeah, I forgot!” I exclaimed.
“Shh I have a hangover,” Jack plopped back down onto me. For once I was happy I didn’t have anything to drink.

“You weigh a ton,” I laughed softly.
“You know you like it,” he mumbled.
“True,” I smiled.
“You’re comfy.”
“Thanks. Glad to know I’m good for something,” I laughed.
“No problem… Holy shit. Did I do that?”
“Do what?” I quickly lifted up my sunglasses to have a look around.
“Your neck,” Jack laughed.
“Oh my God. What did you do?”
“Sorry, babe,” he leaned in and kissed my neck softly.

I took my free hand and ran it over where Jack had kissed. I felt a bump and immediately froze.

“Jack! It’s huge!”
“I know,” he winked. I slapped his arm playfully for taking my words the wrong way then went back to worrying.
“Please tell me you have some makeup in here to cover up this… this…”
“Hickey?” he laughed quietly.
“Oh my God,” I face-palmed.
“You’ve never had one before?”
“What do you think?” I turned to look at him.
“I think that it’s hot how you’re worrying about it.”
“You need to get your hormones in check,” I laughed.
“I can’t help it when we’re this close,” he wiggled his eyebrows.
“Oh my God. Get up, get up, get up!” I took my free arm and used it to push up off of the seat. Jack sat up and squirmed over to the seat next to me.

“Oof. I can’t feel my stomach.”
“Sorry,” he apologized.
“It’s alright. You were a good blanket,” I smiled.
“So, where the hell are we?”
“In the parking lot of the venue?”
“Look, there’s the Rev,” Jack pointed and leaned over to open the door.

“Hey! Jimmy!” Jack called out.
“Shh!” he covered his ears and began crossing over to us. I quickly fixed my tank top and hair, totally forgetting about the mark on my neck.

“What’s up guys?” The Rev asked, leaning on the frame of the car. He was so tall he had to crane his neck to see us.
“Nothing. We just woke up, you?”
“Same. It’s really nice outside but the sun’s killer,” he sighed.
“Thank God for sunglasses, right?” I smiled.
“Yeah,” he returned the grin.
“So, any plans for today?”
“Nope. The crew’s setting up and we’re recovering.” I saw Jimmy staring at me intently and I suddenly remembered Jack’s hickey. I quickly bent over and grabbed Jack’s hoodie off the floor of the van and pulled it on.

“So, are you off the meds now, Jules?”
“What? Yeah. Last night was my last night. I can party it up now,” I smiled.
“Mhm … You know, if I didn’t know any better, I’d say my eyes were playing tricks on me… I’m gunna go find some aspirins; I’ll see you guys later,” he smiled one last time and walked off.

“He totally saw it! Why did you call him over?!”
“What? I just wanted to know what was going on!”
“You should have waited! You came close to giving me one of these things,” I pointed to my neck, “two nights ago and now you gave me one and now I’m gunna get in trouble.”
“With who?”
“With- with Gerard and Lindsey and things are gunna be all awkward again!” I sighed.
“It won’t be awkward. We took care of the awkwardness already, remember?”
“I know but- but- I’m scared of what people will think,” I leaned over and put my head on his shoulder.
“Well, don’t be. We’re a couple, and let’s face it, we’re not saints.” I felt my face flush and I felt Jack shake with laughter.
“Don’t be scared. We had a damn good time last night, that’s nothing to be upset about. Unless you didn’t like it?” He furrowed his brow.
“Jack, you know I love you,” I looked up at him and smiled.
“Just checking!” he held up his hands.

“So, I’m hungry. Let’s go get something to eaaat!” I exclaimed, sitting up straight.
“Alright. But maybe you want to stop over at Hayley’s?”
“Why?”

He lifted up his glasses and stared at my neck intently.

“It’s a little noticeable…”
“Oh my God, Jack!” I whined.
“I’m sorry, okay?!” he laughed.
“Nooo, apology not accepted.”
“Well, it was just a suggestion…”
“Ugh! Let’s go find Hayley.”

Paramore’s van was only a few cars away – thank goodness. The real question was: was she awake yet?

“Hey, um. Is Hayley awake?” I asked Jeremy, who was leaning up against the side of the van.
“Yeah, she just woke up. She’s changing now.”
“Oh okay. I’ll wait.”

Tap, tap, tap

“Julie! I’m done, come in!” Hayley pressed her forehead to the glass.
“Okay,” I laughed and pulled open the door.

“What’s up?” she asked.
“Well,” I felt my face flush, “I kind of need some makeup.”
“Oh, sure, no problem. I have loads!”

She pulled out a big case and opened it. I felt my eyes pop out of my head; there was so much makeup. I didn’t know what was what!

“Whoa. You’re gunna have to help me.”
“Yeah sure, no problem! What do you need? Eyeliner? Mascara?”
“Actually, I need some cover up.”
“Oh! Yeah I have lots of that!” she rummaged through her case and looked for a color that matched my skin.
“Okay, here you go,” she passed me a little container of powder and turned her case so that I could look in the big mirror that was attached to the top lid.

Hesitantly, I pulled Jack’s hoodie off.

“What are you – oh. Oh I see,” Hayley stifled a giggle. I felt my face turn red and I covered my face with my hand.

“Jack, what the hell?” she asked.
“Hey, it happens,” he shrugged.
“What happens?” Jeremy asked. I hesitated before turning to face him. I lifted my head a little and I saw him turn to Jack with a look of shock.
“Bro!”
“Yeah,” Jack nodded, a big grin on his face.

“Please don’t tell anyone,” I pleaded.
“No, I won’t. You just better hope the rest of the guys don’t see it,” he shook his head.
“That’s why I’m here,” I held up the makeup then turned back to the mirror. I tried to get a good angle on my neck but the truth was, I had never put on cover up. I didn’t wear that much makeup.

“Do you want me to help you?” Hayley asked, seeing that I was having difficulties.
“If you don’t mind,” I blushed.
“Nope, not at all,” she smiled.

“Hey, guys, what’s up?” I heard Josh ask.
“Close the door!” Hayley and I exclaimed in unison.

Jack nodded and quickly shut the door.

“What’s going on?” I heard Zac ask.
“Hayley’s um…”
“-Helping Julie. Girl stuff,” Jack quickly covered for Jeremy.
“Oh, alright…” Josh trailed off awkwardly.

“So, what happened?” Hayley turned my head back to face her so she could work on my makeup.
“Well, we were partying and after I finished dancing with you, Tyson, and Nick I went to find Jack to make sure he was okay-”
“-Look up? Thanks. Continue?”
“Then, he kissed me and things got a little… crazy,” I blushed.
“Oh my God! Did you two… ya’ know?” She stopped working to hear my answer.
“Oh my God, no! I think I would die. No, no no,” I felt myself blush even further as I denied Hayley’s assumption of Jack and I… being extremely intimate.
“Oh, okay,” she laughed.
“Yeah. I think I would freak out if that happened,” I laughed, “I’m just happy I didn’t have anything to drink because I think that might have happened if I did!”
“Aw, but you guys are so perfect! And from what I hear, Jack has it for you bad.”
“What?” I stopped to look her in the eye. I was honestly taken aback by Hayley; she usually didn’t say stuff like this.

“Well, obviously he really likes you and you like him. But I heard Alex talking about how Jack’s been um… a little ‘deprived of action’ since you guys got together. He was a party boy before this- you know that. He used to go to parties and… you know, ‘hang out’ with his ‘girlfriends’ and crap and now he doesn’t because he has you.”
“Oh…” I trailed off. I felt my heart twitch with pain. My mind immediately began racing.

‘Is that really what Jack wanted from me? Sex? Was that all he wanted? I should have known better…’

“Hey, hey, hey! That doesn’t mean that you should just go and let him force you into doing it. Maybe Alex was just exaggerating. He was drunk. But I’m just telling you what I heard. Jack obviously loves you and I give you a lot of credit for being able to stay in control of yourself,” Hayley offered me a smile.
“Thanks, Hayley,” I leaned in and gave her a hug.
“No problem. I’m here for you, girl.”

Hayley finished and let me comb my hair to make it look like we were actually doing something more than just covering up Jack’s mark.

“Do you want a shirt too? Or are you going to wear Jack’s hoodie.”
“Nah, I’ll keep the hoodie. Thanks though.”
“Hey it’s cool,” she smiled.

“Ready?”
“Ready!”

I opened the door and stepped out into the sunlight. It was actually a really nice day out.

“Hey, guys!” I smiled.
“Hey, Jules!” Josh, Zac, and Hunter waved.

“Did you guys eat breakfast yet?” I asked.
“Nah, we’re waiting for lunch,” Josh shook his head.
“Oh, okay. Maybe we should do that?” I looked at Jack and he nodded.
“Yeah, sure. What ever you wanna do,” he smiled.
“I do want to change out of these clothes though. Falling asleep in skinny jeans isn’t comfy.”
“I feel your pain,” Zac nodded.
“Alright, I’ll be back soon!” I waved and walked off, leaving Jack there to talk to everyone else.

It didn’t take long for me to find the bus, and thankfully the door was open.

“Hey, look who showed up!”
“Ha ha, hey guys,” I waved to Gerard, Frank, Mikey, and Ray.
“Where’s Bob?”
“I don’t know… sleeping somewhere?”
“Oh, alright,” I nodded.
“Yup.”
“What time is it?”
“Umm, almost 12,” Mikey said as he locked his phone.
“Thanks! I’m gunna change then Jack and the rest of the guys want to go get some lunch.”
“Alright, sounds good. Have fun,” Gerard nodded.
“You guys look tired,” I sighed.
“We are tired. It’s hard being rock stars,” Frank laughed sullenly.
“Well, today’s our resting day! You guys should take naps.”
“You know what? That sounds good to me,” Ray nodded.
“Trust me, it helps,” I smiled.

I pushed off of the counter I was leaning on and walked to the back of the bus. Today would be a sweatpants day. I had been in skinny jeans for the past 72 hours, I didn’t care what everyone else was wearing – I was going to be comfy! I chose a pair of grey sweatpants and a ¾ sleeve shirt and retied my converses. I decided to keep Jack’s hoodie too. I already had one of his and another one of Billie’s from ages ago, but this one was really comfy.

“I’ll see you guys later!” I called out as I walked towards the front.
“Shh,” Ray winced.
“Oops. Sorry. I’ll see you guys later,” I whispered.
“Don’t forget your key,” Gerard called after me.
“Oh yeah, thanks!”

I grabbed my keys and ran out the door.

“You look comfy.”
“Thank you,” I smiled at Zack, “so do you!”

Zack was wearing a t-shirt with big basketball shorts with a bandana tied around his head.

“Where is everyone?” he asked.
“The last time I saw everyone they were by Paramore’s van.”
“Alright, let’s go.”

Together, we made our way past the buses to the van section.

“So, how’s Kat?”
“She’s good,” he smiled.
“Aw that’s good to hear… Hey, I know you like to skateboard, and this might sound really weird coming from me, but, do you think you could teach me how to ride?”

I bit my lip and waited for Zack’s response. He usually kept to himself and I felt kind of bad for just randomly asking him… He turned to face me, a smile on his face.

“Yeah, sure,” he nodded.
“Oh my God, really? Thank you thank you thank you!” I squealed and gave him a hug as we walked.
“Ha ha, no problem. The only thing is, we need a place to ride where there’s not so many cracks in the ground.”

I looked down and noticed how beat up the lot was.

“Oh, yeah. That could be a problem. Well, we can always find a place, right? Someone has to know a place that’s good enough.”
“Good enough for what?” Rian walked over to us.

“Hey Ri, and Zack’s gunna teach me how to skateboard.”
“Oh, sounds fun! Are we gunna go to a skate park or something?”
“Oh my God I hope not! I’ll be mortified! People who go to those are good, I’m not good at all!”
“We don’t have to go to one of those, don’t worry,” Zack laughed.
“Phew! You got me scared there for a second.”

“Hey guys!” Hayley waved as we came into view.
“Heyyy,” Rian returned the wave. Zack gave a nod and I just smiled.

“Ready to go get lunch?” Josh asked.
“Yeah, but guys,” everyone turned to face me, “Zack’s gunna teach me how to skateboard so if any of you guys have a board with you, you should bring it.”
“Zack, tryin’ to steal my girl?” Jack walked up to Zack and got right up in his face. Zack tried to hold back his smile but he couldn’t. We all knew Jack was joking.
“Nah. But at least she has enough sense to ask someone who can actually skateboard to help her.”
“OHHHHH!” everyone exclaimed.
“Guys, guys. Calm down,” I stepped in between them and pushed them apart.
“I will cut chu!” Jack put on a fake ghetto accent and we all burst into laughter.
“Yeah, okay. Just get in the car,” I laughed as I pulled him towards the van.
“Oh hell naw! Imma ‘bout to settle this!” He struggled out of my grip and charged at Zack.

Zack stood there, a smile on his face. We all watched as Jack picked up speed. At the last minute Zack stepped to the side and Jack stumbled past him.

“Just get in the car, man,” Rian shook his head. The rest of us were roaring with laughter, it was never a dull moment with Jack around.

“Shouldn’t we get Alex?” Jeremy asked.
“Nah, he’s still passed out,” Rian shook his head.
“Oh, alright. Well, everyone, let’s go!”
“Just let me get my skateboard,” Zack held up a hand.
“Yeah me too. It’s in the other van,” the other Zac explained.

Before we knew it, we were all off on an adventure.

*

“Go Jules go!” Hayley yelled after me as I rode Zack’s skateboard down this random street we had found off the highway
“Wooho!” I smiled, holding up my hands as I rode. It was then I lost my balance and jumped off. As I stumbled, the skateboard continued off down the block.

“Shit!” I exclaimed, running after it.

I felt myself beginning to sweat as I sprinted after the rogue board – I wasn’t used to moving around this much anymore! Finally, I got ahead of it and was able to stop it.

“Good job, Julie!” Jack gave me a big, sarcastic thumbs up.
“Shut up!” I yelled back, a grin on my face.
“Why are you walking back? You have a skateboard!”
“Because I’m tired!”
“Then let me try!”
“Okay,” I nodded.

I picked up my pace and made it back to the group, who all gave me pats on the back for my valiant efforts.

“I am dying!” I fanned myself with my right hand.
“Well, you did just sprint a block,” Hunter laughed.
“True,” I nodded as I began pulling Jack’s hoodie off. It was too hot for this!

“Ah the breeze feels good!” I held out my arms and let the wind cool me off.
“Ha ha, yeah,” Zack nodded.
“So, how’d I do? Y’know, besides that last part.”
“Not bad, you just need to practice.”
“Ugh, I don’t know if I have enough energy for all that practicing,” I chuckled tiredly.

“Hey, look at Zac!” Jeremy pointed down the block.

We all turned and saw Jack, Josh, Rian, and Hunter lying down in the middle of the street, Zac speeding towards them.

“Oh my God,” I muttered.
“If one of them gets hurt…” Hayley’s laughter trailed off.

The three of us held our breath as Zac came closer and closer. I gripped Hayley’s arm as Zac sailed over them, a huge grin on his face.

“Alright guys, my turn!” Zack yelled. We all held our breath again as Zack and Zac took turns jumping over the guys – who changed their poses every time.

After I had tried riding the skateboard a few more times, we went back to the lot and hung out for the rest of the day.

*

“Do you guys hear that?”
“Hear what?” Jack asked.
“It’s just the fans lining up,” Hayley reassured me.
“They’re gunna sleep here over night?!”
“Yeah.”
“Yup!”
“That’s horrible! Do they have blankets and pillows?”
“Julie, it’s their choice. They just want good spots,” Jack laughed and pulled me into a hug. I looked up at him and he kissed the top of my head.
“You guys better play good then, tomorrow,” I mumbled.
“Don’t we always play good?” Jack laughed.
“Well. Don’t we always play well,” Hayley corrected Jack.
“No! That sounds so weird! It’s ‘good’.”
“Well.”
“Good!”
“Well.”
“Good!”
“Well.”
“Good!”
“Well.”
“GOOD!”
“Well.”
“GOOD!”
“Oh my God, Jack, for the last time it is WELL!” Hayley laughed and shook her head.

I stifled a yawn then groaned in pain.

“What’s wrong?” Jack turned and looked at me.
“My legs hurt,” I pouted.
“Skateboarding is serious stuff,” Hayley added.
“Zack! You hurt my girlfriend!” Jack exclaimed. In actuality, Zack wasn’t anywhere to be found, but the whole lot definitely heard him. I laughed tiredly and leaned my head in the crook of Jack’s neck.

“Hehe! Stop!” Jack pulled away from me.
“What?” I pouted.
“Your hair was tickling me!” he giggled.
“Oh! I’m sorry,” I giggled back.

“I’m gunna head back to the van,” Hayley announced. I felt a pang of guilt. We just had a total couple moment there.
“Aw, alright. I’m sorry,” I leaned in and gave her a hug goodbye.
“It’s alright,” she assured me.
“Did that makeup stay on?” I asked her.
“For the most part, yeah!” she nodded.
“You’re so good! Would you mind doing it tomorrow?”
“And the day after that? And the day after that? No I wouldn’t mind,” she smiled.
“Thank you so much, Hayley! You’re so amazing! Gah I can’t take you!” I laughed and pulled her into one more hug.
“ ‘Night Jules, ‘night Jack,” she smiled and waved.
“Bye!”
“See you tomorrow!”

“So… is this goodnight for us too?” I wrapped my arms around Jack and leaned my head against him.
“Not if you don’t want it to be,” he replied.
“I don’t want it to be.”
“Let me get some pajamas?”
“Okay, sure,” I smiled.

Together, Jack and I made our way over to the van. Jack let go of my hand when we reached the van so he could pull the door open.

“Hey, man. What’s up?” Rian asked, giving me a nod as a “hello”. I smiled in return; Rian was such a good guy.
“Oh, I’m just changing. Where’s Alex?”
“He’s sleeping. He really didn’t feel good today.”
“Is he in the back?”
“Yeah.”
“Lemme see him,” Jack made hand motions for Rian to move his head. Jack leaned over the seat and stole a glance at him. I tried to peak but it was too dark.
“He’ll be alright,” Jack assured us. Rian and I nodded before Jack lifted up the floorboard in the van and started pulling out his pajamas.

I turned away as Jack began to strip down and change. I don’t know how he has no problem being naked in front of everyone!

“You can look now,” Rian called out. You could hear the smile in his voice.

I felt my ears turn red as I turned to face Jack, who had just finished pulling on his shirt.

“We’re gunna hang out on the bus for a little bit. Catch ya’ later man,” Jack nodded to Rian.
“Alright. Don’t get too comfy,” Rian joked.
“Oh yeah!” Jack humped the air. I rolled my eyes and laughed.
“C’mon, you,” I pulled his arm and together we walked back to the bus.

Jack seemed to calm down as we walked, and he took my hand in his. I felt a smile form on my face, things just felt right. That was one of the best feelings in the world. My stomach didn’t start doing flips as we approached the bus. Why should I be nervous? Jack and I were just hanging out. No matter what it looked like we were doing, I could tell tonight would just be a cuddling night.

“Hey Jul- oh hey Jack!” Frank greeted us as we stepped onto the bus.
“Hey.”
“Hey!” Jack nodded.

“What’s up?”
“Nothing much. Just walking around.”
“Yeah, I think everyone just needed a day to chill,” Frank nodded.

As Jack and Frank were talking, I took that as an opportunity to sneak back to my bunk and change into my pajamas. I was just about to put on my pajama shirt when I heard footsteps. Jack’s face appeared a moment later.

“Oh. Hey,” Jack laughed.
“Hi,” I laughed and quickly pulled on my shirt.
“So,” he leaned against my bunk, “What are we gunna do?”
“We could watch some TV? Or play video games or something?”
“Whatever you wanna do, I’m down.” I felt a smile form on my lips, Jack was so easy going and he just let me have my way.
“You are spoiling me! Choose something,” I giggled.
“Fine. Umm the first thing you said; let’s do that.”
“Watch TV? Okay,” I nodded and led the way to the back room.

Thankfully, the back room was empty. Jack sat down on the couch and I quickly grabbed the remote and sat down next to him. I turned on the TV and mindlessly flicked through the channels.

"What do you wanna watch?"
"Do you get MTV?"
"Lemme check," I slowly searched for the channel but came up short.

I sighed and Jack nonchalantly stretched and put his arm around my shoulder.

"This will have to do," I said as I settled on some cheesy investigation show.

As we watched, I ended up literally stretching out across the whole couch. My head was in Jack's lap and he was mindlessly playing with my hair. I felt an involuntary shiver go down my back as Jack wrapped a lose strand of hair around his fingers.

"What was that?" Jack laughed.
"Sorry, I just love it when people play with my hair."
"Oh, alright," he chuckled.
"Do you know how to braid?"
"Hair? No," Jack snorted and looked down at me questioningly.
"Let me teach you," I sat up.
"I'm gunna mess it up. It’ll get tangled.”
"That’s alright, that's why they invented brushes and conditioner."
"Alright, whatever you say," Jack shrugged, his smile bathed in the light of the television.

"Okay so I'm gunna take it out, and you separate it into three parts."
"Mm your hair smells good," Jack buried his face in my hair as soon as I took it out of its ponytail.
"Thank you," I grinned.

"Alright so three sections then what?"
"Then you take them and cross them one over the other. Look, lemme show you first."

I took my hair from Jack and showed him how to cross the three pieces in the proper pattern.

"If I mess this up I'm sorry," Jack apologized in advance as he took the half braid from me.
"It’s okay, you can do it!" I encouraged him.

Turns out Jack wasn't that bad after all! He only got my hair tangled a little bit, but it wasn't anything serious. He ended up taking the whole thing out and just running his hands through my hair. I stifled a yawn and lied back down on his lap, letting my hair fall whichever way. I felt Jack begin to massage my head and I smiled and looked up at him. I was usually the one who put him to sleep, so it was weird for me to be drifting off like this.

"It’s your turn," he smiled.
"Okay," I grinned and returned to my position facing the TV screen. I felt my heart throb as I remembered my mom and the late night conversations we used to have when she massaged my head. I fell drifted off 20 minutes later, Jack’s fingers gently lulling me to sleep.

*

The bands all had meetings to go to in the morning, so I was left to go and wander around the venue on my own. I decided to catch up with Kat. It had been forever since we last spoke.

*Ring *

*Ring *

*Ring *

“Hello?”
“Hey, Kat!”
“Oh my God, hey Julie!”
“How have you been?”
“I’m doing alright! I’m just glad it’s the weekend, I can’t stand school!”
“Aw that sucks. The guys had a meeting today so I’m just walking around. I think I’m gunna ask to stand in the crowd tonight.”
“Have fun!”
“Yeah I’ll try! There were people waiting, like, outside all night last night to get to the show today.”
“Whoa! I’ve never actually done that...”
“Me either, and I don’t plan on doing it anytime soon,” I laughed.
“Yeah that’s a little obsessive.”
“I mean, if I got tickets to an amazing show like this I wouldn’t completely rule out the idea, but I don’t think my parents would let me…”
“Same here. And ugh I can’t wait until June! Only two more months-”
“Wait. It’s APRIL?”
“Yeah!”
“No way!” I put a hand over my mouth.
“Yes way!”
“Oh my God I haven’t even looked at a calendar this whole tour! I’ve just been living day to day.”
“Hey, it happens. Sometimes I forget what day of the week it is.”
“Wait, what’s today?”
“Today is Saturday.”
“Oh my God seriously? What day in April?”
“Umm I think it’s the 4th or something like that.”
“Holy shit, man! I didn’t even know!”
“Pull yourself together, Jules!”
“Oh my God, I can’t believe it!”
“Well you gotta believe it!”
“Oh my God. I’m so bad,” I face palmed as I paced back and forth in front of MCR’s bus.
“Ha ha! It’s fine; rock star problems,” Kat laughed.
“Oh my God, yeah! I still can’t get over this.”
“You’ll survive… Listen, I wanna hang out soon!”
“Me too! It’s been too long,” I put on a fake dramatic tone and swooned onto the side of the bus. Even though she couldn’t see me, I didn’t care. It helped me act out my part.
“Yes, yes it has!” Kat replied in a similar voice.
“I’ll see if I can steal someone’s car or something so I can drive into Jersey sometime soon.”
“Alright! But wait, what state are you going to next?”
“Umm… well… honestly I don’t know but I think I heard someone mention something about Maryland or Virginia?”
“Well, I don’t know if I can go all the way down to Virginia, but maybe I can come to one of the Maryland shows?”
“That’s a great idea! And the guys are from Maryland so we’ll probably get a chance to go and stay in their houses or something instead of sleeping on the bus!”
“Oh… I don’t know if my parents would be okay with that, but I’d definitely try to convince them to let me sleep on the bus!”

I felt like such an asshole for getting excited to sleep over at someone’s house. Of course Kat’s parents wouldn’t want her to sleep over one of the guys’ house – my parents would flip too! I mean, Gerard and Lindsey would flip… But either way my words came out wrong. I got excited about sleeping over someone’s house because I haven’t slept in a normal bed for the past few weeks. She probably thought all I wanted to sleep over for was to sleep with Jack and party it up…

“Yeah! I know Gerard and Lindsey would be cool with it, so just lemme know! Anytime you wanna come over, just say the word and there’s a bunk for you.”
“Aw! Thanks,” the smile was evident in her voice, “same for you – if you ever want to get away from the touring life.”
“Well, I don’t plan on leaving the touring life any time soon. It’s so much fun, really. I can’t wait until we have a full band and we can practice!”
“Yeah, me too!”
“Well, I gotta go and claim my spot for the concert and what not, but I’ll text you okay?”
“Alright! Tell Zack and everyone I say hello.”
“I will,” I smiled, “Catch you later!”
“Bye!”
“Bye!”

I locked my phone with some difficulty, it was really beat up, and headed off towards the venue.

I made sure to pull up my hood and put on my sunglasses as I walked to the side door where all of the crewmembers and bands went through. I didn’t want anyone to see my face – I was paranoid about people finding out about me tagging along with MCR and me going out with Jack. I just didn’t want people to know about that right now.

I nonchalantly walked across the little crosswalk, unnoticed by anyone, and walked through the side door.

“Hey! You! Freeze!”

I stopped in my tracks, the door slammed shut behind me and I jumped. I pulled off my sunglasses to see better in the dark side-stage area. Andy, Josh, and Brad were all standing around me, security guards backing them up. They had to be at least 15 of them all together.

“Oh, it’s just Juliet,” Brad sighed with relief.

“Who did you think it was?” I chuckled and pulled off my hood.
“Sometimes we get crazy fans who think they can sneak backstage,” Andy shrugged.
“She’s cool guys, she’s with My Chemical Romance and All Time Low,” Josh nodded to the security guards, who hesitantly went back to their positions off to the side.

“So, Juliet, how have you been?” Brad asked me, walking closer so he didn’t have to shout.
“I’m good, I’m good, how have you been?”
“Ah you know, busy, busy, busy. But, I was wondering, what are you gunna do for tonight’s show? Hang out on the side or…?”
“Actually, I wanted to be in the crowd if that’s alright?” I bit my lip and looked from Brad to Josh to Andy, who looked back at Brad.
“Yeah! Sure. Do you have any friends you want to bring?”
“Oh, no. None of my friends are here today…” I trailed off.
“Crap. Sorry,” Brad apologized.
“No, no, no. It’s fine. I was actually just talking to my friend to see if she could come down to Maryland.”
“Yeah! That would be alright,” Brad nodded.
“Thanks,” I smiled.
“So, how close do you want to be to the stage?”
“Oh, I don’t want to get all picky, you guys must probably have a full house-”
“-I am the boss, and I say you can have any seat in the house,” Brad chuckled.
“Aw, alright. Well, I don’t want to be too close to the stage.”
“Alright, but remember there are mosh-pits.”
“Oh, yeah. Um, well, what’s a fairly safe row?”
“No row, really,” Andy laughed.
“Yeah, it all depends on which type of fans are in which row. But you can be guaranteed to have a pit in like the first 15 rows at least, and then maybe one in the back or in the middle too. It all depends on the fans.”
“Oh, I see.”
“It’s all part of the experience though,” Josh laughed.
“Yeah but we can’t let anything happen to this one, they’ll kill me,” Brad shook his head, a grin on his face.
“Who?” I laughed.
“My Chemical Romance, Avenged Sevenfold, All Time Low, Paramore – just everyone. Plus, you proved to be a valuable asset to our team.” Josh and Andy nodded in agreement with Brad.
“But I didn’t do anything! I don’t do anything, actually,” I laughed.
“That’s not the point. You’re a good kid, we’re not gunna throw you into a crowd like that!”
“Aw, I feel so loved,” I smiled.
“You better!” I felt someone tackle me from the side.

I stumbled and looked over to see Jack’s black and blonde hair in my face.

“Jaack! We’re gunna-”

Thump

“-fall!” I squeaked.

Jack was in a fit of laughter along with everyone else. I however, had taken the majority of the fall and was not thrilled.

“Ouch,” I muttered.
“Are you okay?” Jack asked.
“I just got tackled by the jolly Lebanese giant, no big deal,” I shrugged and rolled my eyes sarcastically. This sent everyone into another fit of laughter.
“Sorry, sorry. I couldn’t help myself.”
“I know you couldn’t,” I nodded, a smile on my face.

Jack stood up and held out his hands for me to take. He hoisted me up and everyone was just smiling and laughing at us.

“I think I’m gunna have abs like Zack’s if you guys keep it up,” Hayley laughed.
“Me too,” Jeremy agreed.
“Alright so Julie, I’ll get back to you an hour before the show, alright?” Brad called out to me.
“Okay! Thanks so much,” I smiled.
“No problemo, kid! C’mon guys we gotta go and get those boxes…” Brad walked off with Josh and Andy in tow.

“What’s Brad talking to you about?” Jack asked.
“Oh, nothing. Just talking about tonight’s show and stuff like that,” I nodded.
“Ahh, okay.”
“Yup! Oh and Zack! Kat says hi,” I shouted over Hayley’s head.
“Thanks!” Zack shouted back, giving me a little wave before he walked off to do his own thing.

“So, whaddya wanna do?” Jack asked me.
“Well, we could always go back to the bus and play video games, or we could try and find a mall, or we could have a picnic, or we could find a park and throw a football around, or-”
“-Geez, gurl! Stop it with all of these awesome ideas and let us choose one!” Alex laughed as he joined the conversation.
“Well, we could start out playing video games and we could go from there?” I looked up at Jack to confirm our plans.

It was out of the corner of my eye I saw Alex staring at me. I turned back and he looked away, a smirk on his face. I felt the blood drain from my face as I remembered that I didn’t go to Hayley to cover up Jack’s hickey. I nonchalantly brought a hand up to cover it, but it looked like I was resting my neck.

“Yeah sure,” Jack nodded.

So, after gathering more people to come back to the bus with us, we walked back to the lot. It was also in the process of doing this I saw Alex nudge Jack with that same smirk, to which Jack probably wiggled his eyebrows or something – I couldn’t see his face.

“How many days are we staying in Pennsylvania?” I asked.
“Um, I think three,” Jeremy nodded.
“Yeah, three sounds about right,” Hayley nodded.
“Wow, that’s a pretty long time!”
“Yeah well, it’s April so we have time to stay in certain states longer.”
“Mhm,” I nodded.

We approached MCR’s bus and I pulled out my key and unlocked the door.

Everyone filed in behind me and I stepped off to the side to wait for the last person to walk in. Naturally, Alex and Jack were in the back taking their sweet old time. I smiled at them as they walked in, mindful to keep my hoodie pulled up a little bit.

“So, Julie, ready to party tonight?” Alex asked making a fish face and sucking noises. I felt my face turn red and I slapped his arm playfully. Jack laughed and pulled me into a hug.
“You’re such an asshole, Alex,” I muttered.
“Ahh but you still love me.”
“True, true,” I laughed and unwrapped my arms from Jack’s torso.

“Can I just see it again? Look up,” Alex laughed.
“Oh my God, fine,” I sighed, feeling my face turn red again. I looked up and turned my head at an angle so he could see it. I felt one of Alex’s fingers run over it and I jumped. Then Jack ran a finger over it and I brought a hand up to my face. Was this seriously happening right now?

“Nice one, Jack! Usually the girls leave them on him,” Alex grinned. I snapped my head down and turned to face Jack, who tried to look innocent.
“It’s not like I got them a lot. Only twice,” he held up two fingers and hid behind his other hand.
“So, my neck was the first to get a Jack Barakat hickey?” I laughed, my face flushing at my own joke.
“Yes, m’dear,” Alex wrapped an arm around my shoulder and gave it a squeeze, “You should feel honored.”
“Get off!” I laughed and pushed Alex away. All three of us fell into fits of laughter.
“Well, thanks, Jack,” I leaned in and gave him a kiss on the lips. I held it for one second before pulling away.

“Wow, I think I just baby barfed,” Alex held up a hand to his throat and stuck out his tongue.
“You know it turned you on,” Jack said as he hip thrusted.
“Mm, maybe a little bit,” Alex laughed, biting his lip in fake seduction. This sent me into a fit of giggles; they were just too funny.

“Can you guys help me bring in some drinks?” I asked as I walked over to the refrigerator.
“Sure,” they nodded.

I pulled out a bottle of Pepsi and a bottle of Dr. Pepper, passed one bottle to each of them, and then I grabbed a bunch of paper cups and chips.

Thankfully, no one waited for us to start playing video games so we were able to walk in and just join in with the fun.

After video games got boring, we had a pillow fight with all of the pillows on the bus and ended up making a floor full of pillows that all of us, Jack, Jeremy, Alex, Hayley, Rian, Josh, and me, lied down on.

“Oh my God, that was hysterical!” Hayley laughed.
“I wish we could do this everyday,” I sighed.
“We can!” Jack laughed.
“Oh, yeah. I forgot about that,” I grinned.

I looked over to the side and saw Alex pulling on his shirt collar nonchalantly. I took the hint and fixed my own shirt.

“Thank you!” I mouthed to him before turning around to find Jack right next to me.

“Hey there,” I laughed.
“Hey!”
“Anyone else hungry?” I turned to the rest of the group.
“Yeah!”
“Yeah.”
“I’m always hungry.”
“Starving!”
“What time is it?”

“It’s like 1:30,” I said as I stole a glance at my phone.
“Alright. Let’s call Pizza Hut,” Alex sat up and pulled out his phone.
“You have a Pennsylvania Pizza Hut in your contacts?” Hayley laughed.
“Yes. Don’t judge me,” Alex pressed call and held up the phone to his ear.

We all waited in silence until…

“Hello? Hi yes I’d like a-”
“Oh YEAH!”Jack shouted, thrusting his hips in the air.
“I’d like to order-”
“Pass the weed!” I shouted.
“I’m sorry. I’d like to get 7 pies to be delivered-”
“HARDER!” Jack screamed.
“Unf! Oh, fuck yes!” I screamed back in reply. All the while I was holding my pillow and laughing hysterically.

Josh, Hayley, Jeremy, and Rian started adding in their own profanities, and it must have taken Alex about 20 minutes to place a 5 minute order.

“You people are so fucked up,” Alex laughed and ran a hand through his hair. We all continued laughing for another 15 minutes, until finally we were all too exhausted and hungry to move.

Around 2:30 my phone went off. I looked at the caller ID and showed it to everyone.

“Don’t you dare say anything,” I warned. They all nodded and I did a double take to Alex and Jack, who tried to look innocent.

I pressed the call button and held the phone up to my ear.

“Hello? Brad?”
“Hey, Juliet. Did one of you guys order pizza?”
“Oh, yes. Is it here?”
“Yeah it’s here. I’ll have Andy and another crew guy bring it to you guys. Where are you?”
“We’re on My Chem’s bus.”
“Alright. It’ll be there soon.”
“Thanks!”
“No problem. Enjoy the food.”
“Bye! Than-”
“FUCK YEAH! HARDER! OH YEAH!” Jack exclaimed.
“Jack! Oh my God! I am so sorry. Bye!” I hung up the phone to Brad’s laughter.

“Are you fucking crazy? That guy is like your boss!” I laughed and put my phone back in my pocket.

“That was great!” Rian and Alex roared.
“Her face! She looked so mortified!” Josh gasped for air.
“Jules, you’re too funny,” Hayley shook her head as she laughed.
No less than five minutes later, Andy and Vinny showed up at our door with the seven boxes of pizza.

“Yeah! Vinny Vegas bringing in the pizza!” Jack yelled as I let them inside the bus.
“You know you want some!” he yelled back, humping the air as he did so. Now I knew where Jack got it from…

“Do you want some pizza, Andy?” I asked.
“Um, okay. Sure. I love Pizza Hut,” he grinned.

We all dug in and devoured four out of the 7 boxes we ordered.

“What are we gunna do with the rest?” Rian patted his stomach and stuck out his tongue.
“We could give it to Zack and Hunter and Tyson?” Hayley suggested.
“Yeah, let’s do that,” I nodded.
“If I could move, that would be great, but I’m so full,” Alex slouched up against his chair.
“Same here,” Vinny sighed.
“We should have had Andy bring them over before he left.”

“I’ll take them,” I sighed and stood up.
“Thanks, Jules!” Vinny called after me.
“Yeah, yeah, yeah… Lazy fucks,” I muttered the last part, a grin on my face.
“What did she say?” I heard Rian laugh as I left.
“I don’t know,” Jack replied.

I stepped outside into the lot and made my way to the van section. I found Hunter and Zac chilling on the side of their van, and I gave them one box of pizza. Then, I went over to ATL’s van and I gave Alex a pizza; Zack was nowhere to be found at the moment. Finally, I walked into the venue and found AAR lounging around in their dressing room and gave them the remaining pie.

After I had finished my “deliveries”, I decided to stick around and hang out backstage; I wasn’t up to going back to the bus just yet. I took a seat on top of a big pile of boxes in the corner and leaned back on the wall. I was full and tired – I needed a nap. As I sat there, I looked around the empty space around me and sighed. I had no energy to move or do anything whatsoever; I didn’t even know why I chose to sit on top of all of these boxes… It was a nice day out, aside from the breeze… I wondered where I would stand in the venue later…

“Juliet?”

I snapped out of my daze and sat up straight. I turned and saw Brian from Avenged Sevenfold looking up at me.

“Oh, hey,” I felt my ears turn red.
“…You alright?”
“Yeah…”
“You sure?” he chuckled.
“I think so,” I nodded.
“What’re you doing up there?”
“Honestly, I don’t know,” I smiled.
“Ha ha! Happens to me all the time. One time I found myself in the rafters of this venue in California… There was such a cool view from up there.”
“Well, the view’s not so great from here; and on top of that my leg fell asleep. Ow!” I cringed as I tried to step down off of the boxes.
“Here wait, lemme help you,” Brian reached out and helped me jump down.
“Thanks!” I smiled, fixing my glasses, which had begun to slide down my nose.
“Anytime, anytime…”

Before the silence could get too awkward I continued the conversation.

“So, where is everyone?”
“Actually, I don’t know. I think they went on break or something.”
“Oh, alright. But, where are all the bands? My Chem isn’t on their bus. I haven’t seen anyone else from Avenged or MSI around either…”
“I don’t know… Sometimes people just wander off. They’ll be back though, no worries.”
“Oh no, I’m not worried. It just feels weird seeing everything so empty. Like, I’m used to having a lot of people around.”
“Yeah, being on tour does that to you,” he nodded, a reminiscent smile on his face.
“Well, I guess I better get back to the bus. I left Jack, Rian, Hayley, Jeremy, Vinny, and Josh on there, God knows what they’re destroying.”
“Ha! Alright. Catch you later!”
“See ya’,” I waved as I made my way to the side door.

The rest of the day was spent lounging around on the bus and by the vans. All of us were too tired to get in the car and drive anywhere. Before we knew it, it was time to head back over to the venue to do sound check.

“Juliet?” I turned and saw Brad walking up to me.
“Hey,” I smiled.
“Alright so, here’s your ticket. And, do you have your pass?” he held up his own, which was hanging around his neck.
“Yup!” I reached into my hoodie pocket and pulled out my lanyard.
“Awesome. So, you can head out there now to get there before we let everyone else in.”
“Okay! Thanks you so much!”
“No problem, kiddo! Enjoy the show,” he waved and walked off, immediately talking into his walkie-talkie and directing crewmembers as he went.

I wished everyone good luck as I walked by, and was about to make it to the side door when someone grabbed my wrist. I turned and saw Jack standing there.

“Oh, hey. Sorry I didn’t see you,” I smiled.
“You forgot about me?!” Jack shrieked, dramatically grabbing at his hair.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” I leaned in and gave him an apology hug.
“Apology accepted,” the smile was evident in his voice. I pulled away and we stared at each other for two seconds before leaning in and closing the space between our lips. It wasn’t until I heard someone wolf whistle that I pulled away.

“Damn,” Alex laughed.
“That was getting pretty serious, good thing we showed up,” Tyson laughed.
“Pretty soon they were gunna take each other’s tonsils out.”
“What? Did I hear what I thought I heard?” the Rev appeared in the doorway. He took one look at us and grinned, “Oh, well, I’m not surprised.”

I heard Alex and Tyson go “Ohhhh!” and I felt my mouth gape open.

“Fuck you!” I exclaimed as I gave him the finger, a smile on my face.

“Oh, she’s getting defensive cause she knows it’s true!”
“Seriously? You guys are so fucked up! Like you’re saints,” I retorted, “You guys go and sleep with anything that has boobs and thinks you’re hot, and here I am just kissing my boyfriend.”
“She has a point,” I heard Alex mutter.
“Exactly. So fuck off,” I grinned.
“You know we didn’t mean it Jules,” the Rev laughed.
“Yeah, but I still have to defend what’s left of my pride,” I laughed along. I let go of Jack and made my way to the door. “Break a leg guys! I’ll see you later,” I waved.

By the time I had kissed Jack and defended our relationship, they had begun letting fans in. I made my way to my designated spot and stood there awkwardly. I felt my phone buzz and I pulled it out. I had three text messages:

- Hey, Julie! What’s up? – Deanna
- can’t wait to partay later ;) - Jack
- Heard you were gunna be in the crowd tonight. Be careful! – Lindsey

I replied to all of the texts and shut my phone. Now, there was a stream of people flooding into the venue. I found myself surrounded by a small group of three friends on the left, and a group of guys on the right. In that group, I saw a tall guy with dark hair and green eyes. Even though it was dim inside, you could tell that they were a piercing green. He was wearing a plaid shirt with skinny jeans that had a rip on the knee. For some reason I felt compelled to go over and talk to him, but I resisted and turned back to face the group of friends on my left.

As soon as the opening acts came out, I noticed that there was a bunch of people who were really jumpy and pushy in front of me and behind me. I felt myself get pushed roughly from behind as All Time Low was playing Jasey Rae. Thankfully, I caught my balance and was able to keep on jamming to the beat.

By the time My Chemical Romance came on stage, I was thoroughly drenched in sweat. There were so many people around me and I had been jumping up and down and singing with every song. I slowly slipped one arm out of my hoodie as we bounced around to ‘Mama’. Finally, once I had both arms out, I tried to slip off my hoodie with out knocking anyone in the head. That turned out to be a fail as I ended up hitting a girl with my elbow.

“Oh my God! I am so sorry!” I apologized.
“It’s alright,” she rolled her eyes.
“Really, I am sorry,” I frowned.
“It’s fine.”

Finally, it was MSI’s turn to come out on stage, and I felt the crowd press up against me from behind. The mosh pit has sort of moved over for the first half of their time on stage, but during the last song, everyone lost it. I felt my shirt continually being pulled from behind, but I was able to shrug it off. I just wanted to jam out to the music, I didn’t want to be shoved around.

When the last song was almost over, I felt someone grab my ponytail and yank it roughly. I cried out in pain and felt tears stream from my eyes.

“Hey! That’s no way to treat a girl!” I looked up from my watered eyes and saw the boy with the green eyes holding the guy who pulled my hair by the collar.

“What the fuck? Let go! You don’t even know this bitch,” the guy struggled to get out of his grip.
“Yeah I do, actually. She’s my cousin,” the guy lied with ease.
“Oh yeah?”
“Yeah! So fuck off!” the guy let go and pushed him back into the mosh pit, where he stumbled and fell backwards.
“Are you alright?” he shuffled over to me.
“I-I’ll be alright. T-thank you,” I sniffed.
“That guy had no right to do that, I’m really sorry.”
“I-it’s okay. Th-thanks for sticking up f-for me. Y-you didn’t h-have to do t-that.”
“No problem, I’m James,” he offered me a friendly smile.
“J-Juliet,” I replied, still holding on to the back of my head.
“You should go sit off to the side, you don’t look too good.”
“I don’t feel t-too good,” I laughed.

“James! What the hell happened?” One of his friends called over the music to us.
“Some asshole just, like ripped her hair out of her head.”
“Oh shit! Do you want us to take care of it?” he asked me.
“I-it’s alright. I’ll be okay,” I replied. These guys were being so nice and they didn’t even know me! However, I wasn’t freaked out in the slightest. I felt like I knew them – it was so weird!

“You could go get ice?” his friend suggested.
“Yeah, I think we’ll do that. But isn’t this like the last song?”
“I don’t know! I’m not paying attention!”
“Thanks, Luke. Big help,” James rolled his eyes. I felt a small smile form on my lips; they were making me feel a little better. However, the smile was short lived when a piercing wave of pain went through my head. I turned to look at the crowd that was still jamming along, there were so many people - how would we cut through them all?

“G’NIGHT EVERYBODAYYYY!” Jimmy shouted into the microphone, his pointy dreads sticking out in every direction.

“Alright, as soon as they finish we can get you some ice. Who’s picking you up?” James shouted to me over the crowd.
“Oh, um…” I was at a loss for words, how could I say that my parents were backstage without making him think I was crazy?
“We could drive you, if you want?”
“Oh, no, no. I-It’s fine, really.”
“It’s okay, I understand. We’re a pretty creepy looking group,” he grinned.
“No, it’s not that. It’s just – Ugh, you aren’t going to believe me if I tell you this.”

MSI ran off stage and immediately the lights came up a little bit and the crowd started filing out the doors.

“Look, let’s just get you to security for now okay? You can call your parents to get you from there.” He led the way across the floor to the security guards, we got separated a few times and, since we still had a ways to go before we got to the door, he took my wrist and gently pulled me along with him.

“So,” James began making conversation as we attempted to cut through the crowd, “who’s your favorite band?”
“Um, I like them all really,” I smiled.
“Seriously? Same here!” he grinned, “Do you play any instruments?”
“Yeah. I play a little bit of everything, but I really like guitar.”
“I play bass.”
“Oh, really? How long have you been playing?”
“Since I was like 13,” he grinned.
“Oh my God, that’s so cool!”
“Ha ha, thanks. I always wanted to make it big, but it’s so hard when you live in Pennsylvania.”
“I’m actually in the process of forming a band,” I smiled.
“Oh shit, really? That’s so cool!”
“Yeah, we still need a bassist and a drummer, if you’re interested in trying out?”
“Holy fuck, yes!” I let out a small laugh, it really hurt to talk and move my head.

“But before we do any band business, let’s get you some help,” he continued to forge the way across the crowd. Finally, we made it to the side door where the security guards recognized me and walked over.

“What happened?” they asked, stealing a glance at James warily.
“It was during the last song. There were people moshing and one of the guys pulled my hair really hard.”
“Was it him?” One of them pointed to James.
“No, no, no. He helped me get over here, I almost got trampled.”
“Brad? We have Juliet here. Moshing incident,” one of the security guards said into his walkie-talkie.

No less than five minutes later, Brad, Josh, and Andy appeared with a paramedic.

“Are you alright?” Brad immediately began firing questions at me as the paramedic examined me.
“Yeah, I’m alright now. If it weren’t for him, I probably would have gotten really beat up,” I motioned to James.
“Thank you,” Brad nodded.

Suddenly, Hayley, Josh, Jack, Alex, Gerard, Lindsey, Frank, Mikey, the Rev, Matt Flyzik, Zack, Jeremy, Tyson, Nick, Matt from Avendged, Brian, Rian, and Johnny all came running out to crowd around me.

“Jules!”
“Julie!”
“Are you alright?”
“Who fucked with you?”
“Oh my God. What happened?”
“Who are we beating up?”
“Let me through!”

“Guys! Back up, back up, back up. She’s fine. No major damage was done,” Brad held up his hands and the paramedic stepped back, to examine the back of my head.

“Hey, who’s he?” I heard Jack ask. I turned to the side and saw James staring at me, his mouth slightly agape.
“He helped me get away from the mosh pit. If it weren’t for him I’d be missing chunks of my hair,” I smiled but winced as the paramedic prodded my head.
“Thanks you so much,” Gerard stepped forward and shook his hand.
“It’s no problem, sir.”
“Sir, oh my God!” Lindsey put a hand over her heart and pulled him into a hug, “Thank you so much.”
“What’s your name?” the Rev asked from the back of the crowd. He was so loud and tall he didn’t need to walk over.
“James.”
“Haha! I like this kid!”
“Did you like the show?”
“Yeah, it was awesome.”
“He’s a keeper!”
“Shut the fuck up, Jimmy,” Matt shook his head.
“You shut the fuck up,” the Rev replied in a mocking tone and stuck out his tongue.

“Alright, just take some Tylenol for the pain and try not to put a of pressure on it. You just have to stay still and not jump around too much. You lost a little bit of hair, but nothing too bad,” the paramedic said as he stepped back.
“Thank you,” I nodded.
“Thank you,” Brad, Lindsey, and Gerard added.

Once the paramedic was gone, everyone crowded around me all over again. James also moved in, and he was being questioned by everyone.

“Oh, guys! Guess what? James is going to audition for bassist for the band!” I announced. For some reason, everyone turned to stare at Zack, Lindsey and Johnny, who all gave him an approving nod.

“Now do you realize why I said you wouldn’t believe me?” I turned to James, who grinned and nodded.
“Yeah, I do.”
“Well, you probably have to get home and your friends are probably waiting for you, but if you give me your number I can call you and I’ll see if I can have the rest of the band come up or something. Hmm maybe we can Skype?”
“Um, sure. Whatever works for you.”
“Alright, here’s my phone, just type it in and I’ll get back to you!” Jack walked over and stood next to me. I handed James my phone and turned to face Jack for a second.

“Are you alright?”
“Yeah, my head just hurts… a lot.”
“We don’t have to go to the after party tonight.”
“No, no, no! Don’t let me hold you back you go and have a good time.”
“Julie, you know I don’t wanna do that,” Jack took my hands in his and stared me in the eye. I pulled away and turned back to James, who had just finished typing in his number.

“Sorry, I know they keys are tiny,” I laughed.
“It’s alright. I figured it out,” he smiled.
“Alright, well, thanks again!” I leaned over and gave him a big hug.
“Ha ha no problem.”
“Catch you later!”
“Bye!”
“BYE JAMES!” Everyone yelled as he made his way to the exit.

“Jack, I see that look in your eyes. Don’t be jealous,” I frowned.
“I’m not jealous.”
“Jack,” I gave him a knowing look.
“I’m not jealous!”
“Yeah, any second and his hair was gunna turn green,” Alex chuckled.
“Shut the fuck up,” Jack shot him a look.
“Alright! Let’s go back to the lot!” the Rev yelled and everyone around him joined in and made their way to the stage door.

“Honey, you can come back to the bus with me and we’ll sit and have some tea, alright?” Lindsey came over to me and wrapped her arm around my shoulder.
“Alright,” I smiled and gave a curt nod.

“I’ll see you guys tomorrow,” I waved to Jack and everybody else.
“Bye, Julie! Feel better!” Hayley called after me.
“Yeah, feel better!”
“Thanks!”

Lindsey and I made out way back to MSI’s bus and it was there we sat and just had mother daughter bonding time. We just sat at the kitchen booth in sweatpants and t-shirts and watched TV and drank tea and ate food.

During one of the commercials I decided to check my phone. I had no new messages, but I decided to text James.

- Hey, James! This is Juliet :D

During the next commercial break my phone buzzed.

- hey whats up? – James
- Nothing much, just watching some TV and chilling with my mom lmao I’m so cool xD
- haha i’m watching tv too. and no one else stayed inside with u?
- I don’t want to stop anyone from partying lol! I’ll be fine.
- ahh alright i got u. so, i don’t mean to like invade ur privacy or anything but was that tall guy you were talking to ur boyfriend?
- Omg yes. That’s Jack. He plays guitar for All Time Low. I apologize he can be a real ass sometimes lmao. Did he say anything to you?
- no he’s cool. i was just wondering.
- Ohh alright xD Well, it’s reeeally late I think I’m gunna hit the hay. I’ll text you tomorrow and I’ll see about the audition alright?
- okay sounds good bye
- Bye!

“Lindsey, I think I’m gunna go to sleep, okay?”
“Alright. I’ll be here if you need anything.”
“Thanks,” I smiled.
“No problem! Nighty night.”
“Night,” I laughed.

Over all, today had been a very interesting day. I couldn’t wait to see what tomorrow held in store.