Hello Fascination

The gravel crunches underfoot as crowds of people walk back and forth from the venue, their arms either piled with boxes, filled with equipment, or blissfully empty.

The ones with boxes head over to the cleared parking lots, where tents are being erected. The ones with equipment head to one of the many stages. The ones with empty arms are probably heading back to the vans and buses to get more stuff or ducking work.

“Goddamnit!” My swear breaks the subdued, pre-coffee atmosphere. Below me, hot pink shirts litter the ground as I look dumbly down with a broken box in my arms. The bottom had given out.

“Cass, you’re good for nothing.” My friend, who’s also sort of my boss, walks on towards our tent, leaving me to collect the shirts.

“Thanks for the help asshole!” I yell at his retreating back. Grumbling, I toss the box to the ground and try to pile the shirts in my arms.

“Need some help?” I look up, squinting in the morning sun. A guy with messy, long black hair squats down next to me and begins to pick up the shirts.

“Thanks,”I say as he doesn’t hand me the shirts, but carries them himself.

“So today’s your first day?” He asks as we walk into the merch area.

“How’d you know?” I look at this guy I don’t even know and he smiles.

“Forever the Sickest Kids merch,” he explains and I smile back. “I’m David. I’m in Breathe Carolina.”

“Cass, merch girl for F.T.S.K.” He smiles again as we reach my tent. Thankfully my table has already been set up, probably by Austin or Caleb, and David and I put our load down.

“Seriously, Kyle? You can’t reach?” I glare at him, seeing him sitting in one of the camp chairs, just people watching, and the racks behind him, not hung up yet.

“Uh, no?” Kyle grins at me before I hit his head. Wincing, he tenderly touches the spot that will probably become a bump later.

“First, you make me carry a box half my size while you carry the racks! Then, when the box breaks, you leave me there to pick up all the shirts, by myself! And now you, Mr. Over-Six-Feet, can’t reach the tent support that’s almost two feet over my head?!” Once my tirade is over, I punch him on the shoulder, hoping I do damage. He winces again, but then gets to hanging up the wire racks.

“I hate being short,” I grumble to myself.

“You’re fun sized.”

I look up form the shirts I started checking for dirt. David’s smiling at me and I feel bad, since I forgot he was there.

“Well, I don’t feel too fun,” I joke and he laughs. Feeling self conscious, I finally notice how cute he is. I tug my oversized t-shirt into place and offer David a hesitant smile.

“David!” Someone calls and he looks at the tent next to us. “Finally! You said you were getting coffee an hour ago!” David grins a guilty grin at the guy. I guess he’s a dodger...

“Calm down Alan! Jeeze... do you know how elusive that coffee cart is?” David moves to the tent next to us, the sides embossed with his band name.

Kyle catches my eye and rolls his. “Seriously, we’ve been on Warped for less than three hours.”

“Seriously,” I hit him again on the arm. “I can’t help it if cute guys just seem to be everywhere! It’s Warped Tour! What do you expect?”

As Kyle and I head back to the trailer for more boxes of merch, I see David sitting on a curb, clearly dodging more work. He sees me and motions for me to don’t tell on him, grinning all the while. I roll my eyes, but I’m smiling too.

After Warped starts, the day’s hectic and moves quickly. Before I know it, it’s 2:18 and while almost half the merch we brought out is sold, I haven’t had any lunch and am beginning to get a little grumpy.

Just as I start to send an angry text to one of the guys to relive me so I can get food, a full plate drops down in front of me.

“You’ve been so busy, I thought you might want something.” David smiles at me and I smile back.

“Been watching me, huh?” A corner of my mouth lifts up in a smirk, flattered that he noticed. He smiles back, but a little red touches his cheeks.

“How’d you know to get me vegetarian food?” I ask after looking over the plate and seeing that it’s meatless.

“Kyle told me,” he pauses, looking down at a second plate in his hand and then shyly looks at me. “Can I eat with you?”

After I quickly nod, he walks behind the table and sits in the other chair. We eat silently for a little while, sneaking looks at each other, until I start to feel a little awkward.

“So what do you do in Breathe Carolina?” I ask after a mouthful of pasta salad. I’ve been keeping an eye on the tent next to me and I would have to be blind to have missed that long signing line at 1.

“I sing, Kyle screams, and we have a touring band, but they’re constantly changing. How long have you known F.T.S.K?”

“I defended Kyle on the playground in kindergarten. I’ve been watching over him ever since.” David looks at me, his brows scrunches together in confusion.

“You? Defend Kyle? He’s like, two feet taller than you!” He says, so shocked. I hit him on the arm and stick out my tongue.

“I’m not that short! And Kyle’s eleven inches taller than me, thank you very much,” I say in a dignified manner. He chuckles a little before I give him a look.

“No, I can see you defending him in high school... because his growth spurt was recent, right?” David asks, half joking, half serious.

“Nope. By fifth grade, he was taller than everyone and he didn’t stop growing. Still hasn’t, I think. But just because he’s tall doesn’t mean he’s smart.” I smirk as I think back on all the shit I’ve pulled him out of over the years.

“What’d he do?” David asks, reading my mind. Taking a deep breath, I start on the top five worst things Kyle’s gotten roped into.

The next day, after an overnight drive, I step off the bus. Yawning as I’m temporarily blinded, I finish pulling down my gray Glamour Kills tank that I picked up yesterday.

“You know that tank’s intended for guys, right?” A voice says, my eyes refocus on the speaker and I smile at David.

“Good morning,” I say as my smile grows wider at the sight of the two coffees in his hand and one outstretched toward me.

“Good morning. Hazelnut, two sugars, heavy on the cream?” I take the offered cup and smile.

“Well, you know how to charm a girl. Or at least me. Kyle tell you about how I take my coffee too?” I ask before taking a sip of deliciousness. Sighing lightly at the perfect temperature, I lean up to kiss David’s cheek.

“Jonathan, actually. He’s been running around all morning and when he saw me about to make a coffee run, he added his and yours to my list.” He offers his arm and I take it as we walk around the venue. Work can wait. I look up at David with a little smile on my face.

“Well, thank you. What do I owe you?” I ask him while I keep my eyes open for the merch area, Trojan and Bbycakes tents already being set up.

“Nothing but a real kiss.” He smiles down at me as a corner of my mouth lifts.

“You want me to kiss you, huh?” I cock my head to a side as I pretend study him, like I wasn’t thinking about him and how I wanted to kiss him all night. Having been confident before, his confidence fails under my gaze and he begins to be unsure.

“I told myself I’d never date a guy with tattoos,” I tell him and his eyes flick to his arms, completely covered in ink.

“Make an exception for me?” He asks weakly, stopping our walk. I look up at him, his messy black hair hanging in his eyes, a small smile on his lips, his eyes intent on mine.

“Only cause you’re too cute to deny,” I say before going up on my tiptoes and pressing my lips against his. He doesn’t react for a second and then his free arm comes around me, pulling me closer. My free hand presses lightly against his chest, backing him off a little because I don’t want to rush things. I can tell David’s special and I’m not going to want to ruin this.

Ending the kiss, David presses another quick kiss to my nose. Smiling up at him, I bite my lower lip as I try to control the butterflies. Looking behind me, his confidence seems to have returned.

“Oh look, you’re right across from me today.” Silently, I hope I’m near him for a long time.