Don't Stop Now

The next morning, I was the last one to get up. I was in such a deep slumber, but what woke me was the television that was playing music videos and also the chatter that was coming out from all the guys’ mouths. I heard John scream and I only guessed they were playing with the Bop-It again. The guys had competitive competitions with that toy. As childish as it sounds, it was actually very exciting to watch. But like I said, I only guessed they were playing Bop-It.

“NOO! FUCK YOU, FUCK YOU!” John shouted. Yeah, they were playing Bop-It.

My head wanted to jump out of my bunk and go take a shower, but my body was too lazy and tired to even move an inch. I reached out for my phone and like usual, I checked my messages; tweets from the guys and random texts from my friends back home that missed me. I replied to some and while waiting, I tweeted:

Last one awake on the bus. I could hear @johnmaine shout at the bop-it toy. Not again…

Minutes later, I got an @reply from one of the guys.

Jaredmaine @norahraekirch PLEASE COME TO THE FRONT LOUNGE! ASAP

Laughing silently to myself, I jumped off my bunk and quickly made my way to the bathroom. I did my usual – brush my teeth and take a shower – then dragged myself into the front lounge where most of the guys were. As I walked down the hallway, Garrett awkwardly stopped in front of me and let me pass.

“Sorry,” he mumbled. I shook my head and jumped on the couch next to John’s lap.

“You dumbass, I heard you playing with this stupid piece of shit,” I said, reaching for the Bop-It which was now lying on the floor. Pat laughed as he stopped in front of it, attempted to “sexily” bend down and get it, then handing it to me. “Ew gross, don’t bend Pat. Don’t bend.” I joked.

I started playing with the toy and to be honest, it was addicting. I now understand why the guys are so interested with this play toy. I played at least 3 rounds with John, 2 with Jared, and half a round with Kennedy. The guy quit before the game told him to ‘Pass It’.

“I quit!” Kennedy laughed, tossing it aside. I couldn’t stop laughing because of how much a difficult time Kenny was having with the Bop-It. I jerked my head back as I obnoxiously laughed in front of all of them. Jared then, slowly, started to laugh. Then Pat and John in…

“I get it Nor, I get it,” Kennedy said as he reached for my waist, pulling me to his side and started ruffling my hair. I kicked my legs in the air as I tried to regain myself from laughing. “Hey! Hey!” I shouted out while his knuckles were messing with my damp hair.

Pat, who was behind of the Mac screen, looked up at everyone, “WE HAVE TO GO TO BIG SURF WATERPARK!”

Everyone looked at each other and a smile creepily formed on all of our faces. We raised our hands in the air and shouted, “YES YES YES YES YES! BIG SURF! BIG SURF!” I got up and started dancing around in the middle of the front lounge to the music that Pat was playing on his laptop. “Big Surf bitches!” John and Jared got up and started dancing with me. They showed off their awkward dance moves.

“What time did we leave Denver?” Pat asked Tim, who was lying down on the other couch.

Tim opened his eyes and answered, “We left like around 3 am.”

Garrett quietly walked in and sat down on the couch next to Kennedy. They both started talking to each other while the John, Jared, and I were dancing. He looked at us and smiled, “What’s dance worthy?”

“Big Surf Waterpark!” Pat exclaimed.

Garrett looked at his phone which was attached to the palm of his hand. “But it’s already 5. We’re going to reach Tempe in just a few minutes.”

“Doesn’t fucking matter, we’re still going!” John shouted.

“Dude, why are you always on your fucking phone?” Tim asked, as he sat up, pressing his back against the wall. Garrett rolled his eyes and put his phone in his pocket. At this point, I stopped dancing and went to go sit down next to Tim. Jared and John were still happily dancing.

“SHAKE WHATCHA MOMMA GAVE YA JOHNO!” Jared started singing.

“I GOT THE GOODS. I GOT THE GOODS.” John repeated as he started swinging his head in a circle, while holding onto Jared’s shoulder. It was definitely one uncomfortable sight.

Tim wrapped his arm around my shoulder and whispered into my ear, “Have you packed yet?” I nodded.

I really didn’t want to leave the guys so early in the tour, but I knew it was for the best. I honestly couldn’t stand my “best friend” right now. I didn’t want to talk to him, let alone look at the guy. This was really crushing me right now. I looked through John and Jared and saw Garrett, who was looking back at me. For some reason, I couldn’t look away and neither could he. He held onto his elbow while he bit down on his thumb nail, still staring. I leaned my head against Tim’s side and quietly said, “I called mom and she sounded surprised.”

“What did she say?” Tim asked, covering his mouth from a yawn.

I shrugged. “She just reminded me how much I’ve been excited for this tour and why I want to come back home. I just told her that I want to spend some time with Kaitlin and Morgan, but she’s still questioning me.”

Tim nodded. “Please don’t go. Stay here. And besides, you still haven’t told me why you want to stay.”

“I’ll tell you once we get home.”

Jared was tired from dancing and wheezed with laughter. He came and landed next to me, leaning against me. “Haha, tired Jare?” I asked him. He gave me a thumbs up and fell over to the other side of the couch, holding his stomach. John collapsed right in the middle of the lounge. Now, I had a perfect view of Garrett, who happened to be playing on his phone again. Kennedy was staring up at the TV, switching from channel to channel.

“I guess no water park today.” Pat said, looking over his laptop screen and analyzing the guys.

Tim laughed, “I think we should just kick back at the house and hit Big Surf tomorrow.”

“When’s the next show?” I asked him.

“On Friday. They get a break tomorrow.” He said, bringing out his phone. I looked to my left and there was Jared, eyes shut and snoring. Looking downward was John, who was also sleeping. Across of me was Kennedy who was busy watching TV and Garrett who was busy being on his damn phone. Why was he always on his phone? Rachael?

I stood up and said, “Why are you always on your damn phone, Garrett? I’m sorry for wondering but I really need to know why your on it 24/7 and never having the time to interact with your fucking friends!”

I walked to the back lounge and layed out on the couch. It was nice here; quiet and relaxing. From the front lounge, I heard Tim and Garrett talking. “I agree with my sister. You’ve been attached to it lately. What’s up?” I heard my brother ask him. And then, I couldn’t hear anything else because my phone started ringing to the song of California Girls. It was just my alarm.

I sat in the back lounge for a few minutes until Pat ran over to me and shouted, “We’re home!”

I smiled because I was happy we were back home; I was able to take a shower in my own shower. I was going to see my parents and my bed. Oh, my bed.

I just didn’t know how I was going to tell the guys.