Sequel: Painting Flowers
Status: Completed!

What You Do to Me

018.

I sat on the floor of my new bedroom, emptying one of the many boxes that scattered the area. This one, however, was the one that was still full, packed to the rim with picture frames, memories from my twenty one years of life and the final pieces that would finally make this house a home.

It had been three weeks since the end of Warped Tour and since then I had said goodbye to Travis, flown to New York, had a CD launch party at Angels and Kings, flown back to LA for press releases and congratulatory dinner with the Wentz family, sold my apartment, gave my house in Philadelphia to Maggie and Holden, flew to Florida, purchased a new house, and moved my Nana and all her belongings into the guest wing of said house. It had been a whirlwind of activity and I was constantly busy – so much so I had been unfortunately neglecting Travis and our relationship. He had been in New York when I was in LA, in LA when I was in New York, and was currently in Miami working on We the Kings’ new album, set to drop in December.

I was going to drive out there the next day to visit with him and spend what little time we could together before he upped and headed off on another tour. The Rollercoaster Life was set to start another tour as well at the end of September, with Anarbor and A Rocket To The Moon, playing small venues up and down the east coast as we all promoted our new records. It was during this time that I knew it would be the hardest to be away from Travis, especially as I knew just who he would be with.

We the Kings was heading off on the Glamour Kills Tour with Hey Monday and the Friday Night Boys, with all three bands opening for All Time Low. When Travis clued me in on who he would be touring with, I couldn’t help but immediately worry about the conversations he and Alex would be having. Would they talk about me at all? There was no doubt in my mind I would be brought up eventually, seeing as Travis can’t keep his mouth shut for more than a minute and he considered us all to be “friends.” Alex, I assumed, would keep our true relationship under wraps as well as he could, but with so many drunken nights and out of control bus parties, I was sure something would slip out eventually. The thought terrified me.

I wanted to tell Travis, I really did. But not before this tour started. I couldn’t risk him and Alex not getting along or it being awkward for them all just because of me. It really wasn’t a big deal anyways, right? Our tour dates did match up, however, right at the beginning of December, and Travis had already insisted on my stopping by their show in New York to spend the day with him and perform ‘We’ll Be A Dream’ for the crowd. I couldn’t say no to him. So, I would eventually be facing Alex and Travis in the same room again, and this time I would probably have to do something about it. If he didn’t know by then, I would tell Travis everything. I owed it to him.

I pulled the remaining picture frames out of the box, setting them next to me on the plush white carpet. There were some from Warped Tour, some from award shows, one of my parent’s wedding. My favorite however, was in an understated frame, small and simple, but would occupy a prominent place on my nightstand. As I looked at it, a smile crept across my face. It was a photo from my high school graduation. I was standing there in my cap and gown, looking ecstatic to finally be done with that place. Flanking me on either side were Maggie and Holden, Maggie beaming at the camera and Holden kissing the side of my head proudly, affectionately. It was the closest to a real family portrait that I had, and as I sat there, I couldn’t help but think how happy I was that they were my family. Just add Nana in there and it would be perfect. I didn’t need anyone else.

I set the picture to the side and leaned back into the box, making sure it was completely empty. It wasn’t. Sitting there at the bottom, looking lonely and unloved, was a book. Picking it up, I wiped a small film of dust off its cover and stared at the world emblazoned on the cover: Alice in Wonderland. I sighed; I had forgotten all about this book, the one I found one the floor of Alex’s room all those months ago, the one I had kept in hopes of maybe returning it to him someday. No point in returning it now.

I cracked open the binding and flipped through the pages, wondering if maybe it would be a good poolside read before I left for tour. I noticed almost immediately the chicken scratch in the margins, Alex’s handwriting, high-lighting things here and there, no doubt for the song he was writing. Falling, mazes, dreams, flowers, cards, home. I continued skimming, until a book mark fell out, marking on certain page. I looked more closely at this one, as instead of just words Alex had written down lyrics in the open spaces. The passages itself was also underlined more vigourously and the chapter title had little stars around it.

’Would you tell me,' said Alice, a little timidly, `why you are painting those roses?'

Five and Seven said nothing, but looked at Two. Two began in a low voice, `Why the fact is, you see, Miss, this here ought to have been a red rose-tree, and we put a white one in by mistake; and if the Queen was to find it out, we should all have our heads cut off, you know.


I stopped reading and smiled softly to myself, remembering this part from the movie. That song had been stuck in my head for days afterward – the tune was just so Goddamn catchy!

“Painting the roses red,” I hummed softly to myself, glancing at the illustrations. “Not blue, not green, not aquamarine, we’re painting the roses red.”

My little daydream was interrupted with the sound of the front door shutting downstairs. Nana must have been home from running her errands. I shut the book and slipped it into an open spot on my bookshelf, thinking maybe I would go back to it some rainy afternoon with a magnifying glass to decipher Alex’s scratchy handwriting. Part of me wondered if perhaps I should give the book to Travis to give to Alex – maybe he needed to help with his writing, but I quickly squashed that idea, knowing it would raise too many questions.

I walked out of my room and leaned over the upstairs balcony that looked over the main foyer. Nana held a bag of groceries in her arms and was pulling her oxygen tank along behind her, heading for the kitchen.

“Nana,” I called, immediately heading for the stairs. “Put the bag down, I’ll get it.”

“Oh, I’m fine sweetheart,” she assured me, continuing on her way. “But I do have one or two more things out in the car, would mind getting those?”

“Nope,” I replied, jumping that last two steps and walking to the front door. As soon as I opened it, I was hit with the Florida humidity and was thankful I hadn’t put much effort into my hair that day. When I stepped outside, however, I was struck by something else – complete surprise at just what Nana had brought home with her. In the driveway stood a tall, lanky man, ring in his lip and fiery red hair pulled back underneath a knit hat and a bouquet of flowers in his arms.

“Travis?”

“Hey baby,” he replied with a grin. “Surprise!”

“Oh my God,” I beamed, walking over to him and wrapping my arms around his shoulders. “How did you get here, I thought we were meeting up in Miami?”

He placed a soft kiss on my lips before he answered, brush some unruly strands of hair from my face. “Nana picked me up from the airport. I thought I would surprise you. Besides, you don’t want to be in some hotel in Miami when you just moved into a new house. It’s gorgeous, by the way.”

“Thank you,” I smiled, realizing just how much I missed his cuteness. “And thank you for the flowers,” I said as he handed them over to me.

“Something beautiful for a beautiful girl,” he replied, leaning down to kiss me again. I smirked at his cheesiness.

“Come on in, I’ll put these in water and I’ll give you the grand tour.”

I had started to head back into the house when Travis stopped me with a hand on my arm.

“I got you one other thing,” he said. “Think of it as a house warming gift.”

I watched as he moved to the SUV parked in the driveway and opened the trunk before pulling out a large brown box. I was curious to what it was – an end table, a massive coffee table book, a blender? – but when the box started moving of it’s own accord, the bouquet dropped from my hands into the yard, completely forgotten.

“Travis!” I squealed, launching myself at the box as a little furry head popped up over the side. “You didn’t!”

“I did,” he chuckled, as I pulled the puppy from the box and held her against my chest. She was a little tan fur ball, already wriggling and trying to attack the strings on my hoodie, finally getting one her mouth and tugging on it vigorously.

“She’s part cocker spaniel with something else,” Travis continued, scratching the back of his head. “They weren’t sure exactly what she was at the shelter. But she’s two months old and is going to get a lot bigger, I hope that’s okay. I know you said you didn’t like little dogs.”

“She’s perfect,” I replied happily, forcibly removing my sweatshirt from her mouth and holding her up for me to see. She was creamy white all over, with darken tan splotches all over her body. Her feet were huge and I knew the ‘something else’ in her breeding must have been something big. But I didn’t care, she was the most adorable thing I had ever seen. Her ears flopped down in the cutest way and her golden eyes held such curiosity. She let out one sharp yip at me, tongue hanging out the side of her mouth as she looked around, tail wagging furiously. It was love at first sight.

“And I’m assuming you already got Nana’s approval on this right?” I double checked, not wanting to get to excited if Nana was allergic to dogs and the poor puppy would have to be taken back.

“Of course,” Travis replied, looking offended. “Who do you think I am? She’s the one who told me it was a good idea and would probably earn me some bonus points.”

“Well, it certainly did,” I smiled, standing up on my tip toes to press a kiss to lips, only to have a slobbery tongue lap its way across both our faces.

“Urgh,” I groan, wiping the drool from my chin as the puppy smiled up at me. “I should name you Red Bull with the amount of energy you have. “

Travis had thought ahead and already purchased most of the puppy’s accessories, which was in the bag Nana has carried in earlier, so we busied ourselves setting up a little area for her in the kitchen, with her food and water dishes as well as some chew toys. Her crate would be set up in my bedroom, as I already couldn’t stand to be away from the fluff ball for more than a minute.

“Want to give me the tour now?” Travis asked, wrapping his arms around my waist and pulling me into him. “The kitchen is amazing, I’ll have to cook you my famous Chili burgers sometime.”

“You can cook?” I asked incredulously.

“Yeah, I can cook. Just because I eat only Ramen and Chipotle on tour doesn’t mean I don’t have extreme culinary skills. Just you wait, I’ll cook both of you lovely ladies a delicious meal tomorrow.”

Nana beamed up at him and I knew she was smitten already with the red head. She probably would have like me to marry him right then and there, but I was happy just knowing she approved. I took Travis into the living room, tapping my leg and calling for the puppy to follow. Smart girl that she was, she bolted off after us, her big feet and uncoordinated legs making it nearly impossible for her to move in a straight line. I giggled as I watched her slip on the hardwood floor before running right into the sofa.

The living room was an open area, with an L-shaped leather couch facing a flat screen TV, flanked on either side by shelves, loaded with DVDs. I had gone a bit crazy at Best Buy when we went to get the electronics for the house, but when I realized just how many movies I hadn’t seen, there was really no stopping me from buying them. Plus, I was never a huge clubbing person. Sure, I had gone out on my birthday and had a fantastic time, but I definitely enjoyed sitting in and curling up on the couch. This was my official home now, not some place I was just based temporarily, so I wanted to make sure I would love being there.

From there we saw the dining room, the office (I had gone a bit Barnes and Noble crazy as well, always having a latent desire to have many leather bound books to make myself seem smarter), and Nana’s wing (which was a miniature version of the rest of the house) before meandering down to the basement. Puppy stood at the top of the stairs and whined at us as we descended, but was too afraid to come down herself, so Nana looked after her. The main area of the basement I had decided to make as a lounge area, a place where my friends could come and relax and goof around with threatening to break anything. There was a wet bar, a pool table, air hockey, foosball, another big screen TV, darts and surround sound stereo system. Travis was immediately attracted to the numerous game systems on the wall unit. Eric had provided me with both of them as well as a list of games just had to buy.

“I think I’m just going to live in your basement, if that’s okay,” Travis said, admiring one of the platinum records I had hanging on the wall.

“Fine with me, all you have to do it cook, because I don’t know how. That can be your rent.”

“Deal,” Travis grinned. “What through here?” he asked, opening a door on the far side of the room. We entered into the darkness and I flipped the light switch on the wall, watching as Travis’ face lit up in awe.

“Jen, this place is amazing!”

I smiled as I looked around the recording studio, the one part of the house I knew I had wanted and had spared no expense. The sound board and recording equipment sat in front of us, and through the glass we could see into the main studio, with microphones, a drum kit, piano, keyboard, three bass guitars and at least a dozen guitars in the stands scattered around.

“I’m beyond jealous,” Travis said, running his hand gently along the sound board. “Now I’m definitely living in your basement.”

“Yeah, I’ve always wanted one, so I decided to treat myself,” I replied, smiling at the room.

“So, I’m assuming that because this is here, that you’re looking to make this your home base, right?” he asked, eyebrows raised. “Like, you’re moving to Florida permanently?”

“That’s pretty much the plan,” I admitted. “I mean, the main reason behind it is Nana. I don’t want to be away from her and it would be unfair of me to ask her to move. Her entire life is here, so it only made sense for me to come down. Why?”

“I was just wondering,” he smiled. “Cause it means you’ll be that much closer to me when we’re not touring.”

I grinned back at him, before interlocking our fingers. “You’re cute, you know that?”

“I’ve been told once or twice,” he smiled cheekily. “Now, take me upstairs woman. I want to see where the magic happens.”

I snorted and rolled my eyes, but nonetheless took him back up the stairs and to the second floor. Puppy had no problem following us up the stairs, and trailed along behind us, nipping at the hem of our jeans. As I watched her bite down on the fabric around Travis’ ankle (and getting a bit of skin in the process), I knew that she was going to be a handful.

“Chomper,” I said, watching her as she bolted into my bedroom and sunk her Puppy teeth into one of my new Nike sneakers. “You,” I growled, yanking the shoe from her mouth, “are going to be called Chomper.”

She looked up at me with her big puppy eyes, let out a yelp, and proceeded to attack herself in the floor length mirror on my closet door. Travis and I watched her in amusement, wondering just how long it would keep her entertained. It was certainly entertaining to me.

“I’m not sure if this was a good idea or not,” Travis began, hesitantly. “She seems a little messed up in the head.”

“She’s hyperactive,” I agreed, as Chomper tried to bite the glass repeatedly. “But, in case you haven’t noticed, I have a fondness for ADD sufferers.”

Travis grinned and pulled me into him by my belt loops, capturing my lips with his. I let my arms wrap themselves around his neck and stood up on my toes to be closer to him. He took it one step further, however, by gripping the back of my thighs and lifting me off the ground. I let out a squeal of surprise as he dropped my softly onto the bed, sliding his body onto my own but never losing contact with my mouth. Our tongues danced together and bodies attempted to melt into one another. I felt his hand slide up the side of my shirt, feeling cool against my skin.

“I missed you,” he whispered, as he detached his lips from mine in order to pay more attention to my jawline.

“I missed you too,” I replied automatically, feeling tingles of pleasure course through my body. I was certainly wondering just how far I was going to let this go. I wanted to sleep with Travis, I could admit that. I missed the feeling of two bodies coming together as one, I missed the sweat and the smell and the sensations. I missed sex, simple as that. But here...now? With my Nana downstairs watching Days of Our Lives and Chomper gnawing her way through my room?

Travis clearly didn’t mind, until Chomper got bored with playing with her reflection and decided to go after his feet, which were dangling temptingly off the end of the bed.

“Ow!” he cried, as she took a bite of him. I snorted in laughter as he glared at the puppy, who just started up at him with big eyes.

“Serves you right,” I scolded him. “Trying to seduce me with puppies and promises of dinner.”

“Well, it almost worked,” he grumbled, before giving me a sheepish smile.

“Hey,” I said, pulling him back in for a kiss. “If those chili burgers are as good as you claim, I maybe have to let you attempt to seduce me again.”

“Who’s up for some burgers?” Travis grinned, clapping loudly. Chomper barked in agreement before squatting on my new white carpet.

“You know what?” I said, turning to Travis. “I take that back.”
♠ ♠ ♠
Bit of a filler chapter, but some fun little tidbits in there, I think. And, there's a puppy, so really, it makes everything that much better. If you want to see a picture of Chomper just click here

Also, feel free to comment on anything you liked/disliked about the chapter, maybe where you see the story going in the future. I have things planned out already, but if you have something you desperately want to see Jency do, let me know and maybe I can write it in :-)

chomp.