Your Eyes Shine Like The Stars At Night

“Duck!” Seth ordered as he bent his knees downward to fit me through the entry door of the bowling alley. I bent my head down, and somehow, we made it. I was sitting on his shoulders, the rest of the guys following closely behind.

We walked up to the counter to tell the worker our sizes to rent shoes. The man behind the desk rang us up, and went into the back to retrieve our shoes. Poor guy had to make about four trips to bring all of our shoes out.

Everyone sat on the red-cushioned benches to change shoes, and Alex grabbed me by my ankle, yanking me off Seth’s shoulders. “Hey!” I yelled at him as I fell forward. Suddenly, I was caught by a pair of long, bony arms. I looked up, seeing Jack’s face smile down at me.

“Awww!” all the guys cooed, making both Jack and I blush before Jack gently dropped me to my feet.

“Look at them! They both blushed! You two are so cute!” Alex said mockingly.

“Oh shut up, you’ve got a girlfriend who you are sickeningly cute with,” Zack reminded.

“Yeah, but it’s okay because it’s Brittany and I. We’re cute no matter what,” Alex shrugged.

Zack just shook his head.

“Okay enough talking, let’s bowl!” Josh yelled. He went up to the machine and entered all of our names in.

“I just want everyone to know that I can’t bowl anything but a gutter ball,” I warned.

“Nah, it’s cool. I think most of us suck, really. Except for Jack and Seth,” Darren shrugged.

Rian went up first, rolling a gutter ball. Zack’s turn came next, and since he was so muscular, he could exert a lot of power into his back swing, making it seem like he’d be a great bowler, but he turned his wrist the wrong direction and the ball slammed into the pins in the next lane over.

“Why did we even go bowling? None of us have any skills,” Josh laughed.

“Some of us do. Watch and learn,” Seth instructed, taking a step forward and letting the ball slide down the lane. “Perfect strike!” he boasted, throwing his arms up with a smirk as he walked back to the benches.

Darren slapped the back of his head. “Shut up, man.”

Jack’s turn came, and he as well knocked down every pin. “Your turn, Scarlett.”

“Ah, do I have to?” I whined. “I’m gonna do worse than Zack!”

“I doubt it,” Alex countered. “I’m sure you’ll at least get the ball to stay in your own lane.”

Zack glared at him.

I did the best I could, and the further down the lane the ball went, the slower it got. It stopped right in front of the first pin, barely brushing against it. I shrugged my shoulders, going back to sit down next to Josh.

“Nope, you’re our little friend in training, you get to go again,” Josh grinned.

I sighed, grabbing another ball and getting ready to throw it. “Wait!” Darren yelled. I turned and looked at him. “We have to make sure you get a strike. Jack, show her how it’s done.”

He smiled smugly at Jack, who hesitantly pushed himself off his chair and moseyed over to me, standing behind me.

“So um…” he stuttered, awkwardly covering my right arm with his. “This okay?”

I nodded, and he took a step forward, instructing me to do the same. “Now pull your arm back like this…” he said quietly. “And follow through.” His arm led mine through the whole process until my fingers let go of the ball, allowing it to run down the lane. “Five pins, not bad,” he nodded.

“Thanks,” I said sheepishly, a small smile creeping onto my lips.

Everyone else took their turns, and we completed a second round, everyone doing relatively the same as the first round. “Who’s bored?” Darren complained.

“Me!” all the guys agreed in unison, throwing their arms up. We didn’t even get to a third round, which didn’t bother me, because I was failing miserably.

“I’m going to go order us pizza,” Rian said, walking up to the man behind the cash register.

We all sat down at a big table where they served food, and Rian sat back down with two pizza boxes. “I got us one cheese and one pepperoni.”

Each person greedily ripped at the pizzas, tearing slices off and nearly inhaling them. I just sat there quietly.

Jack lifted an eyebrow at me. “Not hungry?”

“Not really,” I shook my head. Lie. I hadn’t eaten all day. I was starving. But the more I stared at the greasy melted cheese, the more I felt like I was going to throw up. It was oily and gross, and I wanted no part in its digestion.

“Suit yourself,” Josh shrugged, stuffing another slice into his mouth.

They actually ordered another pizza, eating it no time. Three empty boxes and seven full boys later, they all looked like they were going to burst. Alex was walking around with his pants unzipped and unbuttoned, claiming that if he were to make his stomach fit into his skinny jeans, he would probably explode.

“Okay, who needs a ride home?” Seth asked. We weren’t leaving for tour for two days, so we were all headed back to our homes. Fortunately, the guys in The Catastrophe all lived near Baltimore, which was where the ATL boys lived, except for Zack, who lived in California. He was staying with Alex and Rian while he was in Maryland.

“I do,” Jack and I both said simultaneously. He quickly glanced at me, but then immediately looked away.

Seth, Jack and I waved goodbye to the rest of the guys, who drove home in their own cars.

We piled into Seth’s beat-up red vehicle, Jack taking shot-gun leaving me in the back.

“So,” Seth said, looking at me in the rearview mirror, “What do you think of the guys?”

I laughed. “You are all fucking crazy. But I think it’s great. I’m gonna love touring with you guys.”

Seth pulled into Jack’s driveway, waiting for him to get out. “Bye Seth,” he nodded. “Bye Scarlett.” He walked up his front steps and went into his house, and I got out of the back, sitting in Jack’s old seat in the front.

“What do you think of our little Jackie?” Seth smirked as he backed out onto the street.

I shrugged. “He’s pretty cool.” Pretty cool was a terrible way to describe him. He was gorgeous. But that, of course, was something I’d have to keep to myself.

“I think he likes you…” he said in a sing-song voice, grinning at me.

“Doubt it,” I disagreed. Truth be told, I had never had any trouble getting guys. But I felt like Jack would be a tough egg to crack.

He left the conversation there, parking in my driveway. “See you tomorrow. We’re having band practice at noon, then All Time Low will probably come over and practice, too, that way we all meet up before the tour. Here’s the address…” He scribbled a street address and house number on my palm in Sharpie. “It’s Darren’s house. Just come in when you get there and go down to the basement,” he nodded.

“Okay, see you then,” I smiled. He hugged me, and I got out, watching as he drove off. I unlocked my front door, immediately flopping onto the couch and closing my eyes.

The anticipation for what the next day held was swelling inside me. I didn’t know what to expect, but I just couldn’t wait to find out.