Sweet Catastrophe

Tallahassee, Florida.

Today would be the first show, and I could see the excitement in my brothers’ and their band’s faces. They’ve always loved playing shows for their fans, and I couldn’t be any happier to see them doing it, especially for my two brothers who used to dream in big venues, and who used to dream of becoming who and what they are right now.

It was 1 in the evening, and the guys are out for lunch. They asked me if I’d want to go, but I decided to decline so I could socialize with the other people in this tour. I pulled my hair up into a messy bun and put on my gray tank top and some denim shorts. I slipped on my black flip flops and shoved my phone down my pocket, then I went outside the bus. There were atleast 4 tour buses parked outside the venue, and there was an enormous amount of merch tents with a bunch of fans forming long lines. It was a fair weather outside, and I liked it. I decided to visit the FTSK merch tent since Kyle used to tell me about how amazing the stuff in their merch are and I promised him that I’ll check them out soon. The shirts are even more amazing than I thought it would be, and I smiled as I looked at the people patiently waiting to buy whatever they want in this tent. Just when I was about to greet Gavin, their temporary merch guy, I felt a tap on my shoulder so I turned around, and saw a woman, with her shiny brown hair falling perfectly past her collar bones, holding a bottle of water and looking at me with her happy eyes.

“Hi!” she greeted.

“Hey” I smiled back.

“I’m Bethany” she introduced herself, asking for a handshake. “And you must be… Callie!” I nodded as I shook her hand.

“Yeah” I laughed at her excitement. “So you and Jonathan…” Jonathan told me about her while we’re on the way to the venue, and I could tell that he’s really happy to be in this relationship with her. Now I could see why, she was amazing, even though I just met her.

“Yeah, we’re dating” she smiled, and she seemed just as happy as Jonathan was. “Two years and counting”

“Awh, that’s cute” I said before giving her a hug. I admit, I felt kind of jealous, but it wasn’t because I like Jonathan or something, but I felt jealous because I’ve always wished to have be in a relationship with someone that would last that long. The longest relationship period that I’ve ever had was 9 months, and it was with Luke, whom I’ve met in Senior year.

“Wanna go somewhere for some food? It’s pretty crowded here and I just feel hungrier” she asked.

“Sure. I haven’t had lunch” I responded. “Denny’s?” she then nodded and linked her arms with mine.

We then went to Denny’s for lunch. We talked about a lot of things – how she met Jonathan, how crazy the whole band gets whenever there’s a night party, the weird noises they could hear in Caleb’s bunk, slapping someone from the band while they’re sleeping, and all those crazy stuffs that happen in the FTSK tour bus. She also told me about the guys trying to get in her pants but ended up fearing Jonathan’s wrath. “I swear, it’s terrible. They’ll introduce themselves in like, four minutes then the rest is history in either the hotel room or the bunk. But no, I never slept with anyone here but Jonathan” she narrated, feeling a bit disgusted remembering all those guys. “Anyway… I’ve been telling a lot of my stories. Now’s your turn” she said after sipping from her bottle of iced tea.

“Uh... I don’t have any interesting stories to tell. Like, really. My life’s pretty boring” I shook my head before shoving the spoon of mushroom soup unto my mouth.

“You’re lying. Marc and Kyle are your brothers, and those two are crazy but awesome. How does your life get any boring?”

“Nah, I didn’t live with them these past few years. I moved to Brooklyn when I was 15, and the only time I get to see them was during the weekends. But when they started touring and get busy with the band and stuff, all those visits stopped and we only talked through the phone and sometimes, video chat” I was then reminded of all those times I had in Brooklyn where I want to do nothing but see my siblings in person. Sure, I was successful and made a lot of friends, but it wasn’t complete without them. I even cried in my sleeps ‘cause I missed them so bad, and when I found out I’m going to live with my brothers for a few months, I looked forward to nothing but it.

“Oh alright. But do you have you know, a boyfriend?” Bethany asked.

“Yeah I do. But we’re like, on this distant relationship or whatever you call it. He’s a douchebag” I rolled my eyes, since I’ve always hated talking about Paul.

“You must hate him a lot” she snorted, giving the bill to the waiter. I just shrugged and continued talking to Bethany about other things on touring and stuff. We spent almost an hour just talking to each other then we decided to get out of the restaurant since the boys are probably wondering where we are. We climbed in on her Mustang and jammed with some ATL songs she had on her iPod. Bethany was a cool person, we have a lot in common, and I know we’re gonna get even closer.

We then reached the venue and climbed out of the car. There were still a lot of people in the merch tents and fans waiting by the steel barrels. After a few seconds of walking with Brittany, a tall guy in a slender frame approached us.

“Hey Bethany” he smiled at her, and she smiled back. But I could see the disgust and the can-you-please-fucking-move feeling on her face. “And you must be…” he looked at me.

“Callie” I said, trying to be as friendly as I can since I’m pretty much a newbie here.

“I’m John. I sing in this band called The Maine, and you’re going to like me” he winked before turning his back and walking away. But before he could get any further, he stepped back and gave me a small piece of paper he pulled out from his pocket. I looked at it and a mobile number was written on it. Ugh, now I know what Bethany was exactly talking about.