Your Eyes Shine Like The Stars At Night

“Day ten of tour…they’re barely alive. Look at them scrounging around for food,” Matt Flyzik said into the Buzznet camera, pretending to have an Australian accent. He was acting like he was filming a wildlife documentary as Jack, Alex, Zack and Rian searched their bus for lunch. Darren, Seth, Josh and I were laughing hysterically as Matt kept up his artificial accent.

“It looks as though the one they call Jack has found a banana hidden between the couch cushions! Wonder why it was there, of all places… Watch closely as the Alex fellow pounces on Jack, attacking him for the long yellow fruit!” Matt was losing his accent the longer he went, and I was laughing so hard that no noise was even coming out as he described the scene. “Oh, look there! The wild Rian has apparently given up on his hunt for nutrition and his now brushing his teeth in the sink…”

I almost fell over from laughter, and Josh had to catch me. Matt finally stopped filming, agreeing to pick up food for them since they were completely out – except for Jack’s infamous banana.

“Jack, why the hell did you guys have a banana in the couch?” Darren asked, smiling at the fact that Jack and Alex were still fighting over who got to eat it.

Jack just shrugged, which gave Alex enough time to rip it from his hands while he was distracted. “Hey! No fair! I CALL INTERFERENCE!” Jack yelled.

“Too late.” Alex’s words were barely intelligible since his mouth was full.

About an hour later, after the eight of us sat on All Time Low’s bus talking about anything and everything, Matt came back, grocery bags in hand. “Look what I got!” he grinned triumphantly.

Like a pride of rabid, ravenous lions, Alex, Jack, Zack and Rian sprung at him, ripping the bags, causing food to fall onto the floor. Even that didn’t seem to phase them as they got on the ground, going on a rampage to get what they wanted before anyone else did.

“Oh, Alex, I got two jars of peanut butter,” Matt smirked.

Alex’s eyes lit up, and he searched through the pile of food on the floor for the peanut butter, squealing in excitement as he found it.

After another grueling hour of watching the four boys eat themselves silly, I decided I needed to get ready for the photoshoot that both The Catastrophe and All Time Low had scheduled.

“Hey guys, I’m going to go do my hair, makeup, you know,” I called to them. They waved absentmindedly, still enthralled with the carbo-load they were engaging in. My bandmates had greedily joined the ATL boys in the binging session, so I walked back to my bus alone.

Thoughts raced through my head as my stomach growled hungrily. I ignored it, applying a thin line of eyeliner to my eyelids, and changing my outfit. I checked myself in the mirror, spinning around to get a full view. Satisfied, I went back to All Time Low’s bus, where everyone still was, and opened the bus door.

“Hey guys!” I smiled. They apparently were done eating, and seven sets of eyes unglued themselves from the television to look at me blankly.

“What the hell are you wearing?” Darren asked flatly.

“A skirt! What, you don’t like it?”

“No, it’s not that, it’s just… Well, see what we’re wearing?” he asked. I scanned my eyes around to the disheveled heads of hair and the wrinkly shirts of the boys around me and nodded. “We’re not changing,” he shook his head.

I just shrugged. “Okay.”

He furrowed his eyebrows. “You’re going to look really out of place,” he chuckled.

Just then, Brittany, Alex’s girlfriend who had just joined the tour, walked out of the bunk area, wiping her tired eyes from the jet lag she was trying to catch up with after getting here. “Oh, Scarlett! That outfit looks so cute on you.”

“Thank you!” I exclaimed. “See? I knew this would look good.”

Jack looked down at his hands that were folded in his lap. “It does,” he mumbled, smiling lightly at me.

I blushed, and Alex led the rest of the boys in a crowd “Awww!” to mock me while Brittany nudged my elbow with hers, grinning. I just rolled my eyes at them, situating myself on the couch between Jack and Alex. “Whatever, you guys.”

Matt walked in from the back lounge of the bus, eyes on his wristwatch. “Alright guys, time to go. Photoshoot, ten minutes. Asses off the bus,” he ordered seriously, shooing us away with his waving arms.

“Business minded much?” Josh mumbled, rolling his eyes.

“No, something just crawled up his ass,” Alex said, irritated as we stepped off the steps of the bus.

“Say what you will, this technically is my job,” Matt defended. “If I don’t take care of things for you, you’d be broke.”

Jack, Alex, Rian and Zack sighed heavily as Darren, Seth, Josh and I laughed at them. “I think Matt’s being a good mom to you guys,” Josh chuckled, receiving the finger from all four All Time Low members.

We stepped into the building where the photographer worked, checking in with the receptionist who pointed us in the right direction. As we entered the white room, we saw a huge green backdrop, bright lights surrounding the area. A tall lanky man stepped out from a back room, shaking dark brown hair from his blue eyes.

“Hello, everyone!” the photographer exclaimed, smiling brightly, camera in hand. “My name’s Jeremy, and I’m your photographer. I’d just like to say, it’s an honor to be shooting you today.”

“Shooting us?! That wasn’t part of the deal!” Alex said seriously, pretending to freak out with wide eyes.

I just smacked him, smiling at Jeremy, telling him to go on. “Alright, if the rest of you don’t mind, I’m going to start with All Time Low, for about fifty frames, then I’ll shoot The Catastrophe, with a few shots after with both bands.”

My bandmates and I grinned and nodded, letting him know we didn’t mind waiting to go second. Upon sitting down in the chairs provided, the four of us laughed hysterically at the poses that Jack, Rian, Zack and Alex were making. Alex smiled wide, jumping in front of the camera lens, shouting, “ERECT DONKEY PENIS!”

In the next shot, Rian took a drumstick in each hand, making a triangle shape around his private parts, smirking suggestively at the camera. Zack jumped in Jack’s arms, and we laughed at Jack’s expression when he nearly dropped the muscular blond boy. Finally, Jack got a frame of himself without his bandmates, and made a heart shape with his fingers, smirking at me after Jeremy took the photo. I smiled back, and as Jeremy called us up for our turn, my legs nearly collapsed beneath me. We weren’t even dating, and already Jack made me feel like I was going to melt.

“Come on, lovergirl,” Darren laughed, grabbing my sides and pulling me up before I hit the ground.

“Okay guys, I want you in the front,” Jeremy directed, pointing at Darren, “then you three stand behind him.” We did as we were told, smiling at the lens as the lights flashed and the camera made a pop! noise.

“Rotate, please,” the photographer said. Everyone moved over, and it was my turn to stand in the middle in front of the guys. I hadn’t anticipated how nervous I would get as my heart rate picked up. I tried to ignore my roaring stomach, attempting to make my smile look real.

My eyes widened, and as the lights flickered and flashed in my eyes, I felt overwhelmed. I couldn’t see anything but a sea of white as my legs went limp and I fainted, collapsing to the cold floor.