She's With The Band

Jack woke up with his tongue feeling like tissue paper and a pounding headache. He opened his sharp brown eyes, expecting to see Imelda’s slender figure lying next to him. When he remembered that she was with Cassadee and Hayley, he quickly climbed out of the bus to call her cell. He knocked right into her tall frame, holding her up by the hips so she wouldn’t fall. They laughed and straightened up before Imelda broke into jazz hands.

“Ta dah!” she announced, causing Jack to clutch his head and hunch over.

“Noooooo!” he moaned. Imelda ran her fingers through his hair, bringing Jack back up straight and smile.

“Did you like, totally have a blast?” Jack asked in the best impression of a valley girl Imelda had ever heard.

“Yeah man, we like, did,” she replied, reaching up to kiss him. He held her in a tight, concerned hug.

“Am I a retard for being sad you didn’t call?” he whispered, kissing her temple without letting go.

Imelda froze. She had completely forgotten about calling Jack. She’d never missed a call when she said she would. “Jack, I am so sorry! I just forgot, I mean, we were eating and playing Rock Band and watching movies and I am so sorry!”

Jack shook his head. “I don’t want you to think that I need to know exactly where you are and who you’re with and what you’re doing at all times. I’m not a total spaz about that stuff. I’m just used to you spoiling me by calling me all the time when I’m not with you.” He gave her a cheeky grin.

“Obviously…” Imelda sighed,burying her face in his bony chest. Jack held her tighter and started to swayback and forth, humming All the Small Things in her ear. She giggled and sang with him, gently rocking to and fro. Zack walked around the corner in gym shorts and sneakers, holding a pair of fifteen pound weights.

“Sup, lovebirds?” he greeted,sitting on the bumper of the van and stretching his calf muscles. Imelda rolled her eyes and Jack grinned. He let her out of his clutches and reached for one of the weights.

“Oh yeah, you know, I just be liftin’ this three hundred fifty pounder, bitches. The ladies love it…” Jack sighed, sliding an arm around Zack’s shoulders and struggling considerably to lift the weight with one hand. His long, skinny arm shook and trembled as his face turned red. He turned to Zack and smiled seductively.

“Hey baby, how you doin’?” he murmured, pretending to lean down and kiss him. Zack shrugged him off easily and snatching the weight back in one swift movement.

“Get the fuck offa me!” he demanded. Jack hunched over in laughter, leaning on Imelda’s shoulder while she chuckled along with him.

“Oh yes. That is rich,” he sighed,leading Imelda toward the merch booth to help get ready.

Their day off passed without another word about Imelda’s nightmare or the comments made to initiate it. She strutted past with a smile, a wave, a perverted joke and a song to sing just like always. Jack stood by her every second he could, constantly flattering her to no end, if only to watch that endearing blush creep across her innocent face.

Alex was still completely miserable, watching his friend fall head over heels for a girl that was absolutely nothing less than created just for him. He watched as Imelda waltzed around the Warped circuit with Hayley and Cassadee. Being jealous was never one of Alex’s things, but he found himself turning green whenever he watched Imelda poke, hug or kiss Hayley on the cheek. He hated himself for it, but it was there. He desperately needed to grow a pair and end his own misery.

Zack and Rian both considerably bonded with Imelda after recognizing their love of baseball. They’d listen to Orioles games on the radio, shouting and cursing as the players struck out or flied out to left field, quite a common result of the Orioles’ at-bats.

The day following the day off brought the D.C. stop of the Warped Tour. The band sat in the bus, waiting to arrive at Nissan Pavilion, the longtime home of the D.C. show. Imelda’s knee bounced up and down as she sang along to the Every Avenue CD in the stereo.

“I wanna be more than a phone call at four AM!” she cried, throwing her arms in the air, jolting Danny and Evan awake who sat in front of her.

“Jesus Chris to mother lover!”Danny shrieked, tossing his hands over his ears, his head still throbbing froma crazy night at a bar by the Yale campus.

Jack high fived Imelda and kissed the tip of her nose gently. They faced each other on the seat, cross legged and fingers interlaced, their foreheads propped up against one another. Jack’s eyes were closed as he played with Imelda’s hands. She felt herself silently begging for him to open them to lose herself once again in his dark chocolate irises.

“So,” he began, sighing his warm,minty breath across her face, “Do I call her Mae, Maeryn or Phoenix? And is it Darla? And then there’s Tabitha and James and his other friends… whose names I can’t remember and Holly’s your mom, but I should call her what?!” Jack asked excitedly, trying to memorize every aspect of Imelda’s guests.

“Call her Mae. Phoenix if she insults you. Darla is her official girlfriend now, I guess. Tabitha and Jame sand his friends Frankie and Drew. Don’t mess with either of them; I’ve hooked up with both of them and they are very scary. Frankie’s being trained to enter the family business,” Imelda explained with an Italian accent on the last part,“and Drew’s dad is an entertainment lawyer who can sue you into the next century. Call my mom Ms. Quinton unless she tells you otherwise,” Imelda instructed. Jack made a mental note of her instructions and frowned.

“Jesus Mellon, how many people did you hook up with?!”

Imelda rolled her eyes. “Does it really matter, dear? Oh look, we’re here!”

The van pulled into a space between the Hey Monday van and the Paramore bus, just as it normally did.Imelda was the first to leap out of the van and was already dragging merch boxex toward her tent.

Jack watched her as she set up,occasionally interrupted by Alex’s rude comments and greetings from friends.Someone clapped a hand on his frail shoulder.

“She’s a keeper, dude. Any girl that can haul around your merch shit, put up with your regular shit and look THAT good doing it needs to be clung to,” Elliot from Hey Monday laughed. Jack grinned and rocked back and forth on his heels.

“Fuck yeah, man. She’s a keeper.”