Book Half Unread

I awoke early the next day; it was eight in the morning. I noticed London was gone; however, Colin laid beside me still, his arm draped around my middle. Wiggling from under his arm, I crawled out from the back doors of the van, shutting them as quietly as I could, before walking around to the side and grabbing my clothes for the day. Boys from different bands ran around, attempting to prepare themselves for the shows they were playing today. Everything would start in just a couple of hours.

Uneasily, I walked over towards the port-a-potties that were unused. I changed into my black footed leggings and my sleeveless long white shirt with black “ampersands,” “exclamation,” “money,” “number,” and “at” symbols all over. I wrapped my black and white checkered round scarf about my neck and placed my big sunglasses on my face. I did not feel the need for makeup today- not yet, at least. I kept some eyeliner and lipstick in my neon pink fanny pack; I love that thing, because it is so useful and not a hassle to carry around. I changed my shoes to flat black pointed ones and walked out, pulling my hair into a side ponytail. My hair, messily teased from last night, looked as if it was on purpose. I changed my earrings to black feathered ones and placed a black hair band atop my head before going off and wandering around with my camera.

I took pictures of and with bands like 3OH3! and local bands around here like Versa Emerge, Ocean Is Theory, and Seven Story Fall, which was the band that Wes, the boy I had met a day earlier, was a part. I took photos of crewmembers setting up equipment on the various stages and even went near the gates were there was already a lengthy line of people waiting outside of. Some females in line yelled at me for being inside already. It is quite intimidating when groups of savage females yell at you all together. I sighed, walked away, and took pictures of people setting merchandise and advertisement tents up. I walked by The Maine’s merch tent and smiled, seeing John bent over rummaging through a big box.

“Good morning,” I said, snapping a photo as soon as he looked up. A silly, wide-eyed and jaw slacked expression was on his face. “You’re too cute, you know?”

He gave a crooked grin. “Thanks. What are you doing up so early?” he asked.

“Oh, I couldn’t sleep any longer with all that commotion outside. Need any help?” I offered turning my camera off.

“Yeah we get pretty loud in the mornings, but if you really want to help... Hey, Aaron, come over here!” he called out to his friend. “Would you mind helping him to pin up sample shirts?” A boy with shaggy red hair walked over.

“I don’t mind helping him. Hi, I’m Aimee,” I said, introducing myself to him. I shook his hand.

He grinned at me. “So you’re the hot chick they were talking about for a while now. I’m Aaron Smith. Come on.” He waved at me to follow him. I did so, giving John a last look, and walked with him over to a big board. “Here are some thumb tacks. Just kind of, grab a shirt and make room for them all to be pinned. I have to go get price stickers.” He left me to do what needed to be. I was done quickly. It took only five minutes to organize the clothing and pin them safely. He came back and we stuck stickers on the shirts and hoodies. “Hey hold on a second,” Aaron said, as we carried the board over to put up behind the counter. I nodded and waited on him to come back. He had run over to The Maine boys. They chatted for a few minutes before Aaron ran off and dug around the boxes. He pulled something purple out before walking back over to me. “Here, I think you’re a size small. Thanks for helping me out.” He gave me a handsome smile. In his stretched out hand was a purple zip up hoodie with “THE MAINE” printed across it.

“Oh thank you so much, Aaron, you are just a sweetheart,” I said brightly, taking the clothing item from him. I gave him a hug. “So, I meant to ask earlier… I’m the hot chick?” I asked.

He laughed and nodded. “Yeah, you are. Garrett and the guys were bragging about how you wanted to take pictures of them to me and our friends Matt, Tim, and Halvo.”

“Well, would you take a picture with me?” I asked. He was such a nice person to me and he seemed like he was photogenic. Grinning, he agreed to the photo and I took one of us. Pressing the review button, we both approved of the photo. He demanded that I post it on twitter and tweet it to him. I said my goodbyes to the band before walking off again.

It had to be ten minutes later that I spotted a familiar face. He wore a sleeveless shirt and skinny jeans with the legs rolled up slightly. There was a pair of flip-flops on his feet. He was sitting in a lawn chair by a bus. Kneeling down, I turned my camera on and zoomed in on Alex from the elbows up. His elbows were propped upon his knees. His chin rested on his folded hands. He stared straight forward and looked to be in deep thought. I snapped a photo, once, twice, three times. The first in color, the next was in an antique sepia tone, and the last in black and white. Adjusting the large sunglasses on my face, I walked past him.

“Aimee! Hey Aimee, have you seen our TV?” I turned around to see Jonathon running over to me. I gave him a puzzled look as he stopped running.

“No, I haven’t. Your TV’s missing?” I asked, holding back a laugh. How could someone steal a TV? Their TV was a very large and heavy one. It would not be difficult to stop someone from taking it. “Do you think someone’s playing a joke on you guys?”

“…That’s a possibility. We stayed at a hotel last night with a couple other bands.” I watched as he pulled out his Blackberry and hit a few buttons quickly. “Aha! I found it.” Standing on the tips of my toes, I peered over and saw a picture with @JackBarakat right beside it. I giggled and stood flat on my feet again as Jonathon pressed a few more keys.

“What did you write?” I asked curiously. He handed me his Blackberry and I laughed. “‘@JackBarakat have you seen our TV?’ You know what he’s going to say, right?”

“Probably something like, ‘No.’” He laughed, putting his phone back into his pocket. “So hey, are you coming to see our set today?”

I shrugged. “I saw your set last time.”

“Yeah, well, this is Atlanta and you weren’t on side stage.”

“You mean I can watch from the side?” I asked him, my eyes wide from surprise.

He nodded. “Totally. Your friend, London, is going to be there too. You can take some awesome pictures of me.” A grin appeared on his face. We talked for a while longer before I went off again.

As I walked through some buses, I paused. This seemed familiar. Peering out from behind a bus, I sighed. Subconsciously, I had walked a large circle and ended up by the All Time Low bus. Alex was still outside, but this time Jack was outside with him. They were talking vigorously about something. A stern expression was on Jack’s face as Alex held one of defeat. I could not hear what they were saying from where I was; it was loud because of trailers and doors opening and closing and people nearby chatted loudly. Defeated by sound, I trekked away towards catering. They were sure to have breakfast still; it was only 9:30, which was a half-hour until the gates opened.

Finding the tent, I walked through and got myself scrambled eggs, slices of bacon, cheese, and toast. I threw it all together into a sandwich and ate. Suddenly my phone went off. Quickly setting my sandwich down, I wiped my hands and looked to see a text. It was Colin.

Told my parents. They want us to set a wedding date.

Next year?

As I set my phone down to go back to eating, it went off again. Sighing, I looked.

I want it in the spring, like March 20. We can have it in Maryland and my parents want to pay the expenses.

Sure that’s fine. You pick the date and then I’ll try to plan it. Tell your mom I love her.

I sighed and set my phone down. Waiting a few seconds, I went back to eating my food and finally managed to finish; thank goodness. I took my trash and threw it away. As I did, I brushed arms with someone. Looking up, I faltered. “I’m sorry,” I whispered to Alex quickly.

“Aimee?” He looked at me funnily for a moment. I nodded a little. “Do you… Can we talk?” Slowly, I nodded once more. Why was I so scared, nervous? I followed him through the lot of buses and followed him into the ATL bus. It seemed comfortable and lived in. I sat down on the couch, cross-legged and sat beside me with his body turned towards me partially.

We sat there awkwardly. I picked at the chipped polish on my nails. “How are you?” I asked him, speaking up first.

“I’m okay. How are you doing?” he asked in reply, watching me carefully.

Shrugging I looked up to him. “I’m okay.”

“So you’re engaged?”

I nodded my head. “I am.”

“Do you guys have a set date?”

“March 20th,” I replied, biting my lip. I struggled against myself to keep from pulling on my hair. This was so awkward. Why did I agree to this?

“Oh. So, just… nine months away?”

Again, I nodded my head in reply. “Yes.”

“Why?” His question threw me for a loop.

“What do you mean why?”

“I just… want to know why you’re getting married in the spring. I mean, you like fall weather better and you’re not even twenty-one yet,” he said. He remembered I liked the fall. I felt my heart flutter. I noticed the twitch in his fingers when I did not answer him. It bothered him.

“Aren’t you with Lisa?” I asked him, changing the focus.

He paused. “Yes, but what does that have to do with-”

“Then the reason why I’m getting married shouldn’t matter to you,” I said simply. He seemed surprised from my answer. I gave him a small smile and placed my hand on his that was on his knee. “I want you to know, I’m leaving after today. I will not be going along with Warped Tour for the rest of the summer. I want you to know that I’m happy for you.” With that, I quickly got up and ran off the bus. I quickly pulled my phone from my pocket as I rushed away.

Colin, I want to see my mom. I’m going home.

After I sent the text, I pressed 1 and called. “Hi, mom, I miss you,” I said when I heard her pick up. I spent an hour talking to her. I found out she has been working the night shift more often and that there was still no news of my dad yet. I told her about Colin and the wedding date. “Mom, I need a plane ticket from Hartsfield-Jackson to Dulles International. I want to go home.” We hung up and she went to buy the ticket for me. I found Marc and Kent sitting around and managed to hide away with them until their set.

At their set, I took pictures of them with the best of my ability and of the crowd. London was on the opposite side of the stage from me; he had not noticed I was there. Jonathon spoke to the crowd for a while before announcing that they would be playing a new song.

“So guys, I want to dedicate this new song to a new friend of ours,” Jonathon called out. “It’s called “She Likes”.” Kyle grinned right at me from behind his drum set. I rolled my eyes and smiled at him. I bobbed my head along to the song; it was good. Before their set was over, I waved a goodbye to Austin as we made eye contact and left. I found Colin sitting on the side of the van with his legs hanging outside the open doors.

“Aimee, finally. Your text- did something happen?” he asked, getting up and jogging over to me. I opened my arms wide for him and gave him a hug.

“No, nothing happened. I just think I should go home. Start working on wedding preparations, you know?” I suggested. Weddings always sounded easier said than done. It was a good excuse to head home already. “My mom bought me a ticket. I should go pick it up. Will you drive me to the airport?” He nodded and pulled his phone out, walking away from the van for a moment to call Colin. Meanwhile, I went ahead and started making sure I had everything I needed packed up. I finished getting everything together by the time Colin was off the phone with London.

I lingered around a bit longer, looking around at the buses near us. I finally pulled on the hoodie I got from The Maine boys today and got in the passenger seat. On the drive to the airport, it began to rain. It was not a terrible rain, but if you were outside, it would be best if you had an umbrella. Colin parked the car in the hourly parking deck and helped me take my luggage inside to check-in. He was silent the entire time, merely holding my hand firmly, rubbing circles over my knuckles. He walked me as far as he could go until the security line where he left me with a sugary kiss. He hugged me tightly.

“Bye, baby; I’ll see you after the tour,” he said softly in my ear, kissing my cheek. “Please call me when you land.” I smiled and nodded. As I went through the check, I waved goodbye to him. I would see him soon anyway.

The hour-long plane ride back was uncomfortable and awkward. I saw beside a husky old man who vaguely reminded me of Santa Claus; he was going to see his children. Throughout the entire flight, he talked to me about his wife who had Alzheimer's disease. I did not know how to feel. I was quite touched that he would tell me, a complete stranger, about his personal affairs, but I did not know how to respond. I merely patted his hand and told him to stay strong.

As the plane slowly pulled up exiting dock, the large old man patted my arm gently. “It was lovely speaking with kind, beautiful young girl. Thank you for giving me your time and listening to an old man babble.” I could not help but smile at him. It was such a kind compliment.

“I’m glad to have listened,” I replied with a warm smile. Minutes later, we stood and I exited the plane and grabbed some food at Five Guys before heading to the transporter shuttle that would take me from Terminal C to the main sector of the airport. The shuttles always reminded me of Star Wars. I called Colin and chatted with him for a little, letting him know I was still breathing. From there I took a cab over the border and to Baltimore where my mom would pick me up. I paid with a card because the hour and a half long ride was a heavy sum. I walked into the Zenith and took the elevator up to my floor.

When I walked into the empty apartment, I sighed and dragged my bag up to my room where I collapsed onto my bed. I laid there for a while before giving my mom a call, telling her to be at my place in three hours. I began going through and sorting all of my clothes from tour, even the ones I never touched, into bleach and color piles for laundry. I shoved each separate pile into two different bags and tossed them down the stairs. I dusted around the place, swiffered and vacuumed the floors, and scrubbed the counters and windows. Though I was going back and staying at my home in Lutherville-Timmonium, I refused to come back to the apartment and leave it dusty; since the boys’ rooms were left unlocked, I went ahead and cleaned their rooms for them as well. When I finished, I showered and changed my clothes, ending up lounging around on the couches until my mom called. I grabbed a backpack that had my makeup and other miscellaneous items I knew I would need at home and went downstairs where I carried my two laundry bags out and tossed them in the back of my old VW Beatle I kept at home. I gave my mom a hug when I got in the car.

The ride back home was peaceful. I mostly slept while my mom sang along to her oldies music. When I woke up, I saw the familiar scenery of my neighborhood. A smile appeared on my face as we pulled up to the large white home. Home is always the best place to be.