Hello Sheffield

“America!” I screamed as we walked through the gate. There were a few chuckles and I cracked my back. All of a sudden, there were security guards surrounding us. “Wow, that was weird.”

Oli grabbed my hand and put on a pair of sunglasses. It didn’t register in my head why until the fans were present. They were screaming and reaching out for the guys. I kept my head down and kept walking. Occasionally they would reach out and sign something but mostly we were just ushered out to big black trucks. I was squished into one with Oli, Jona, Becca, and Matty.

We had flown into Salt Lake City, Utah. In two days, Warped Tour would officially start. I was excited beyond belief now that we were actually here. Bring Me The Horizon and crew were apparently one of the last bands to show up. We were staying in a hotel until the day we left.

“Well that was exciting,” Becca said and I laughed. It was overwhelming truthfully. Finally I would see what the fans were like. Suddenly, I was nervous. It was going to become blatantly obvious that we were dating now. I didn’t know if they would like me or not.

“Sure was. Not exactly the type of thing you look forward to as soon as you get off a plane but, yes, exciting,” I said, leaning my head on Oli’s shoulder. He patted my knee absentmindedly as he scrolled through his phone.

I had been in pictures with Oli obviously. My face was splashed around his blog more recently as the new girl working at Drop Dead. Now the pictures would be different. They weren’t posed or careful, they were of Oli and I walking through an airport, hands held.

There wouldn’t be any “Aw, she’s pretty” comments under pictures anymore but instead a speculation. I felt like I’d gotten myself into something way bigger then I’d ever imagined.

And as Becca and Matty reprimanded Jona for taking Lee’s seat next to Kelly on the plane and my boyfriend took Jona’s side, dread filled me. Panic of the very worst kind. I had won over Oli but now his fans could be the very ones to break me.

There wasn’t too much time to worry about it because we were already pulling up to the hotel. Fans lingered there too and this time, Oliver and Jona stuck around to sign things. I moved to go inside but Oli wrapped an arm around my shoulders, raising his eyebrows at me and smirking.

“Oli is this your girlfriend?” a petite girl asked. I smiled at her warmly as he said I was. She asked for a picture of us together so she could be the first one to confirm it on her blog. Oliver looked to me for confirmation, which I gave.

“You might want to be quick about it, a bunch of kids at the airport got pictures of us,” I said, smiling and handing back the camera. She’d let me make sure it was a good picture. Her eyes grew wide.

“You’re American?” she asked and her friend giggled.

“Oh yeah, I moved down the street from Oli’s parents a few months ago. Rotten luck really, now I’m stuck with this one,” I said. Jona laughed and offered me a high five. The girls burst out laughing and another group of kids approached cautiously.

“Oh shut up, yeh know yeh love me,” Oli said cockily. I hit his stomach playfully as he tucked me into his side.

“XOXO Gossip Girl,” Jona chirped and we all looked at him slowly before roaring in laughter. His cheeks turned a bright pink and he chuckled at himself. Slowly, I began to realize that my panic wasn’t warranted.

“Are you going to be on all of Warped?” one of the girls asked. I nodded and explained that I would have been all alone at home and that was the only reason I came out. Oli rolled his eyes and said it was really because I couldn’t bear the thought of being without him.

“In your dreams babe, in your dreams. I’m gonna go inside okay? It was so nice to meet you guys!” I said, giving them each a hug. Oli slapped my ass as I passed him and rolled my eyes before continuing into the lobby of the hotel.

Becca and Matty stood at the far side by the desk. I went over to them and they were talking quickly and quietly. I glanced around to see what the source of it was and noticed yet another Lee and Kelly fight ensuing.

Kelly was the girl that Becca was best friend’s with and went to live in Sheffield with. She was tall and brunette and obviously confused. She bounced between Lee and Jona without a care but secretly, we all knew she was just scared.

It was becoming a problem.

“Now what’s going on?” I asked solemnly.

“She’s just…confused I guess and Lee’s tired of dealing with it. Jona can hold up through it just fine but Lee really likes her,” Becca explained.

“She’s bein’ a right fuckin’ bitch,” Matty bristled and Becca slapped the back of his head. Despite Kelly actually being a bitch, Becca found that she was the only one able to say it and the rest of us could only voice it on pain of being slapped on some body part by her.

“She’s just fucking confused Matt. I know it’s wrong and she knows it too but you can’t blame her for feelings,” she hissed. I knew enough to steer clear of a battle zone and strolled over to Kean and Tom, who had successfully gotten room keys from Sheep.

“Well, here’s your key. I think yeh and Oli get to room with Jona and Lee that should be a pleasure,” Tom said, smirking and handing me a key. At the same exact moment, Oli and Jona walked in.

“Do either of you have any hardcore drugs? I’m gonna need a sedative to last through the night,” I said miserably. They both looked at each other and laughed. Kean pulled a baggy filled with a powdery white substance from his pocket, tossed it to me, and winked.

“Oh my god, is this cocaine? How the fuck did you get this already, we just landed!” I exclaimed, shoving it into my purse. My heart raced and then it really hit me, I was on tour with rockstars.

“I have my ways love,” he said smugly, “Yeh can probably get a few lines out of it, enough for yeh and Oli and then some.”

I’d done cocaine once in my life. In fact, I’d done almost every drug in my entire life not counting hardcore drugs like heroin or anything worse than that. I smoked weed throughout college. Being presented, however, with a whole baggy to share with my boyfriend of the white stuff was an altogether different experience.

Oli reached me then, whispering gently in my ear that I should be more discreet. My blood froze as I glanced around. Luckily, no one else seemed to notice as a full scale argument seemed to be brewing on the other side of the lobby.

“Oli!” a voice called and when we looked, Craig Owens from DRUGS was walking toward us. I’d gotten relatively used to famous people strolling in front of me, hell I was dating someone recognizable in the music industry, but sometimes someone just came out of the blue and my mind stopped.

“Craig! Hey man, what’s up?” Oliver said, doing some weird man hug thing. Craig did the same with Tom and Kean, who all greeted him. Oli wrapped an arm around my shoulders and then smiled down at me.

“This is my girlfriend Liv, Liv this is Craig Owens,” he introduced. I shook his hand tentatively and he did a little bow. Craig Owens, it went without saying, was ten times more gorgeous than any picture or music video could portray.

“I’m a huge fan,” I said, blushing slightly. He chuckled and clapped Oli on the shoulder. I heard a raised voice and then saw Becca pulling Kelly and Jona away from Lee, who was breathing heavily and obviously on the point of raging.

“I’ll have to introduce you to the rest of the band then! I have to go though, I have a meeting with the guys but it was so good seeing you guys!”

We promised to hang out with him during the tour and then Oli and I hefted our bags over our shoulders and trekked up to our room. I was exhausted from getting up so early and last minute cleaning in my house. Some of the guys had slept on the plane but Oli and I stayed up talking quietly.

We stripped to our underwear and lounged on the bed, talking and kissing. I found myself comfortable on the hard mattress of the hotel room. Oli went over some of the bands playing quietly under his breath as I drifted off to sleep. He kissed my temple.

“Welcome to Warped babe.”