Warped Tour Should Be the Definition of Fun

“Dude, your voice is amazing!” Alex exclaimed excitedly, jumping up and down in front of me after my set was done.

I was chugging down another can of Rockstar and then he started poking me. After the whole can was empty, I put it aside to talk to him.

“What?” I asked, slightly annoyed.

“We should make a band together!” he grinned.

“…We’re already in bands,” I reminded.

He rolled his eyes. I somehow felt intimidated by his expression; it looked like it was saying I was stupid and never used my brain. “A side project – just for fun.”

I thought for a moment, and shrugged. “That doesn’t sound so bad.”

“Great,” he grinned again, but immediately replaced it with a frown. “I gotta go now. We’ll talk further about this later, okay?”

“Right.”

“See you later.” He winked at me before walking away.

I decided to go to the band’s merch tent and took a shower later on. I saw a glimpse sitting on a chair in the tent, a wayfarer covering a part of his face. With every step I took, the clearer of whose figure it belonged to, especially after seeing him in a black and white plaid shirt.

“Hey Garrett,” I greeted, standing beside him.

He looked up to me, but quickly looked away.

I raised an eyebrow. What’s with him?

“’Sup, Gar?” I asked.

He muttered something, but I couldn’t get a hint of what he was speaking.

“Uh, what?”

He sighed and I watched him running his fingers through his tea-colored-like hair. It looked so soft; I wanted to tangle my fingers in it –

Shut it, Namora.

He rose from his seat, and as he was walking past me, he said, “I think you forgot about our lunch today.”

I turned around, only to see his back walking away, slowly blending with other people.

Lunch? What lunch? Did I have a promise to grab lunch with him?

My mind searched around in attempt of memorizing, but I couldn’t remember. He wouldn’t be lying. if he was, why would he wait for me by my band’s merch tent, looking so pissed off at me?

I searched for a memory again but I still couldn’t find a hint.

Surrendering, I sat next to Seth. As I did so, my phone vibrated, syndicating there was a new message. I took it out from my pocket and slid it open to read.

From: Alex G. (15.15, 07/28/09)
Soo, when are we going to talk about our side project? I’m excited :D

I chuckled, typing a reply.

To: Alex G. (15.16, 07/28/09)
There’s this thing called IM. We can talk about it later on tonight.

From: Alex G. (15.16, 07/28/09)
Okay!

Bored, I scrolled down my inbox. The texts were after Alex’s were from Halvo, Jazz, Caleb,… And when it came to a text from Garrett, I clicked it open.

From: Garrett N. (19.17, 07/27/09)
Well that was awkward…

I think I replied that text three hours later because I had to collect my clothes.

I went to the sent I terms and read what I replied.

To: Garrett N. (22.58, 07/27/09)
Sorry I just replied, I had to clean the bus from my clothes. But yeah, indeed that was terribly awkward. Sorry.

From: Garrett N. (22.59, 07/27/09)
Not your fault at all, Amor.

Hey wait, I think Garrett is the only person outside Stockholm Lights that knows my actual nickname is Amor. Weirdd.

To: Garrett N. (22.59, 07/27/09)
Ew. Don’t call me Amor, Gary.

From: Garrett N. (22.59, 07/27/09)
Haha, I just like teasing you. You’re teasable. Like you’re meant to be teased.

I blushed a little at it, and continued reading.

Anyway, wanna grab some lunch tomorrow? Say, at one?

My eyes widened.

To: Garrett N. (23.00, 07/27/09)
Sure sure.

From: Garrett N. (23.00, 07/27/09)
I’ll wait for you in my band’s merch tent.

Crap, I really had promised lunch with him!

“Shit, shit, shit,” I repeated.

Seth noticed my panicking mutter and expression, so he asked, “What’s wrong?”

“I promised to grab lunch with Garrett earlier today but I forgot!”

“…No wonder he looks so pissed.”

“I know – what should I do?”

He shrugged. “Find him. Apologize. Explain. Something.”

“Alright,” I huffed. “Where do you think he is?”

“Bus.”

“Alrighty. See you around.” I got up and left the tent to The Maine’s bus. when I arrived in from of the door, my heart raced and when I raised my fist to knock, the door opened and I jumped in surprise.

Jared stared at me before laughing. “You’re so jumpy.”

I stuck out my tongue at him. “Shut up, you’re just jealous.”

“Jealous it is,” he said sarcastically, chuckling. “What brings you here?”

I thought for a moment, suddenly forgot what I was here for. “I’m looking for Garrett.”

He stared at me for a while with disbelief reflecting in his eyes.

“What? Why are you staring at me that way? Nothing’s weird for me to look for him.”

“Actually, it does look weird if your cheeks are in a shade of pink.” He grinned playfully.

I slapped both of my cheeks and kept my hands there to hide my slight blush. “Uhh, it’s because of the heat,” I lied.

“Yeah, it is actually very hot today, but you’re not even sweating.”

I blused even deeper. Maybe Garrett was right, maybe I was teasable.

He laughed. “You’re so cute, Namora.” He walked out from the bus. “Garrett’s in the back lounge with the others, by the way.”

“Thanks,” I muttered and went into the bus. I headed toward the back lounge after closing the door.

I heard some laughing in the other side of the lounge’s door. Pat was throwing his tantrum and the others were cracking up at it.

“Rat Boy wants his chicken wings back! RAT BOY WANTS CHICKEN WIIIINGS!”

I giggled at that.

“GARRETT SHALL NOT EAT RAT BOY’S CHICKEN WINGS!”

I smiled a little at his name. I knocked the door and opened it. the boys stopped laughing when they saw me, while Rat Boy was still upset.

“Namora!” Rat Boy shouted, approaching me. “Tell Garrett to replace my chicken wings!”

“Um,” I bit my lower lip. “I want to talk to Garrett for a while…” I said; my voice was barely audible.

Kennedy and John rose from their seats. Kennedy smiled at me a little at me before they went out, dragging Rat Boy along.

I paced forward and backward, feeling absolutely awkward.

“I’m sorry,” I muttered. “I – I forgot about our lunch—“

“You forgot about it, but you showed up for ATL’s acoustic set,” he responded bitterly, “Which was held at the same time we were supposed to meet.”

“It’s because Jack picked me up!” I defended myself. “If he didn’t, I would be over-napping and missed the set!”

He sighed, ruffling his own hair.

“I’m really, really sorry, Garrett. I could’ve set a reminder in my phone.”

He looked at me for a while. As every moment passed, his eyes went softer. He opened up his arms widely. I stared at him, confused.

“Come here, silly,” he smiled.

I walked over him and then he pulled me into a hug. His head lay right above my chest, making my heart thudded.

If people see us right now, it’d be sooo awkward.

“I’m sorry too,” he chuckled, sending vibrations through my body. “I shouldn’t be so pissed off. I mean lunch doesn’t only exist for today.”

I giggled a little.

“So,” he pulled away to look at my eyes. My heart leaped at his eye color. They were so beautiful. “Have you eaten lunch yet?”

I shook my head.

“I still have time until my set starts. Wanna grab some food?”

I nodded.

He got up and grabbed my hand.

“Let’s go,” he grinned sheepishly.

My heart thudded louder than before, and I hope he wouldn’t be able to sense it.

What’s wrong with me?