Until the End

It was two days later and I was rushing to pack up the stuff I thought I would need for the tour. I had procrastinated last night and today, the day we left for tour, I was stuck trying to hurry to pack for the bus which should be here in ten minutes. Shockingly talking my jobs weren’t hard. I explained the situation and they told me they had no sore feelings. They gave me a layoff and said if I needed a job when I came back, well, I knew where they were.

“Okay, okay. I got toothbrush, toothpaste, shampoo, conditioner, body wash, brush, straightener, deodorant, jewelry box, wallet, phone charger, what am I missing?” I muttered to myself, going over a mental checklist. What the hell was I missing? I paced in circles, looking at everything I owned. I picked up my iPod cord with a smirk. Almost forgot this. Suddenly Guns N’ Roses ripped me out of my thinking. I pulled out my phone to see Jimmy’s name flash across the screen. “Hello?”

“Hey, we’re almost to your street. Do you need any help bringing down your luggage?” I walked into my room to see the two big suitcases and a medium sized duffel bag. Having a man with huge muscles might be easier than me struggling to bring them all down the stairs.

“Uhhh, that might be best.” Jimmy chuckled on the other end of the line.

“Okay. Me and Matt should be at your place in about two minutes. Go outside and flag us down, will ya?”

“Yeah, sure.” We said our quick goodbyes and hung up. I headed back to the living room, walking though to get to the front door. I stood outside my door leaning forward on the railing two feet in front of it. I suddenly felt conscious about my rinky dink apartment I was struggling to pay for. These guys were used to big, fancy homes and I was stuck in this shitty apartment. I turned around to nervously stare in the OCD clean living room. Suddenly a deep honk made me turn around.

“We’re here!” Jimmy exclaimed, jumping off of a huge silver bus. I chuckled, waving my arm. That was when Jimmy and Matt, who had also just stepped off, really noticed me. They waved back with smiles before heading to the stairs. I waited as they walked up the staircase to emerge right next to my door. “I missed you so much!”

I was took aback by Jimmy suddenly taking me into a tight hug. He had missed me? Matt scoffed as Jimmy let go of me after a few moments of spinning me in circles. “Jimmy, you told me that when we came with the bus when I had saw you twenty minutes beforehand.”

“So? It’s true!” Jimmy pouted. Oh, he did that with everyone. I tried to not let it bug me so much as I also hugged Matt.

“Anyways, you ready to go?” Matt asked, ignoring the sulking Jimmy. I smiled, letting out a ‘mhm’ as I nodded. I stepped over the threshold of my apartment with Jimmy and Matt in tow. I suddenly began to feel uncomfortable with all the luggage I had the second my eyes met them. I turned to the two men behind me who seemed unfazed.

“Well, she packed less than Brian and Zacky,” Matt remarked, picking up one of my suitcases like it weighed nothing.

“I think she packed less than all of us,” Jimmy corrected. I let out a breath I hadn’t noticed I was holding. I picked up my duffel bag as Matt left and Jimmy stayed behind to walk with me. “So, you excited?”

“You have no idea,” I replied with a huge grin. I was. I was dying from anticipation on the inside. My head began to swarm at the possible scenarios that could happen on this tour. When we were outside I locked my door with my key. Thor, their manager I had learned, had already covered my rent for the time we would be gone. I pocketed my currently useless keys before following the drummer down the staircase.

“Well, here is our home sweet home for the next three months,” Jimmy said when we finally reached the bus. He let me enter first. I stopped on the top step of three with my mouth agape. It was even more amazing on the inside. Jimmy stopped behind me and chuckled. “Yeah, pretty cool, huh?”

“Yeah,” I agreed, barely hearing myself speak. He gently urged me forward which I complied to. Matt smiled at me from where he was perched in a booth, laptop in front of him. It was then I noticed that everyone else was missing. “Where are the others?”

“Sleeping. It seems that nine o’clock is too early for all of them,” Matt replied with a smile and roll of his eyes. I giggled and nodded. “Jimmy, why don’t you show her the rest of the bus?”

“Yes sir,” Jimmy said, mock saluting Matt. He motioned me to follow him through a doorway. I did just as the bus started to go into motion. I tripped, falling into Jimmy’s back. He craned his neck to look at me over his shoulder, causing me to blush.

“Sorry,” I quickly apologized, getting my balance back.

“No problem. After a while you won’t even notice you’re walking on a moving bus,” Jimmy explained. I nodded and smiled up at him. He smiled back before walking forward past a few bunks. He stopped between the third, and last, set of bunks. He turned to the right and pulled back the curtain of the top one. “This is yours.”

It was huge! My suitcase Matt had brought in sat upward neatly at the end of the bunk, and there was still a shit load of room for my five foot four form to fit. Jimmy carefully placed my other suitcase next to the first and smiled at me. “These things are huge!”

“Yeah. You should have seen the bunks we had before. Tiny little things,” Jimmy informed, shaking his head. I chuckled at the mental imagine of Jimmy laying in a bunk, his knees bent to hit the ceiling of his bunk. “I might want to let you know who sleeps where.”

“Could help,” I replied with a small smile. He laughed and nodded his head.

“Okay, first bunks on the right is the Berry twins. They are already at the venue. They are the roadies who you’ll be helping. Across from them is Thor on top and the one below is empty. Second set on the right is Brian on top and Zacky on bottom.”

“That sounds naughty,” I automatically said flirtatiously without thinking. I blushed a crimson color as Jimmy raised an eyebrow. “Sorry, bad habit I picked up in high school.”

“Okay then,” Jimmy chuckled. “Across from them is Johnny and Matt below. Lastly we have these bunks with nothing below them. You are obviously on the right and I am on the left.”

“Okay. Cool.” I knew I was going to mess up everyone’s bunks but mine and Jimmy’s. But that’s just because we were so special with no neighbors below us. I turned to look at the door next to Jimmy’s bunk and the doorway that led into another room. “What’s all that?”

Jimmy turned around to see where I was pointing. “Oh yeah. That’s the bathroom and what we call the lounge room. The bathroom is complete with sink, mirror, toilet, and a shower. We made Thor go out for a shower. Last tour was not pretty smelling.”

“Too much info,” I stated, nose scrunching up in disgust at just trying to imagine the smell of eight grown men who hadn’t showered in a while. It just sounded repulsive.

“Sorry. The lounge is just simply that, a lounge. There’s a couch that covers the bottom half of three walls and windows on the outside walls above that. In the middle of it is a table. On this wall,” Jimmy paused to tap the wall separating it from the bunks. “Has a flat screen TV with an XBOX, Playstation 2, and Nintendo. Us being guys are usually in here the most.”

I popped my head in to look. It was exactly as Jimmy described without the small detail of small lights wrapping around the roof which was a huge mirror, just like the front of the bus which I happened to notice. The lights look like the small, circular ones that are sometimes on the steps at a movie theater. “Cool beans.”

“You still use that phrase?” Jimmy asked astonished I returned to stand beside him. I blushed staring down at my Misfits Converse.

“Yeah, one of my many embarrassing qualities.” Jimmy laughed which caused me to look up. Instead of some kind of disgusted or 'you're weird' face, he was grinning widely.

“Good, I was hoping I wasn’t alone.” I let out a sigh of relief. Suddenly Brian’s head popped out of his bunk’s curtains. He had slight bags under his eyes and his hair was wild making his glare less terrifying than he was trying for.

“Shut up already! Hayden, you’re new so I hold nothing against you. Jimmy, however, you know talking does not exist in here while people are sleeping. Get out of here!”

“Gosh, so bossy,” Jimmy scoffed, walking past the guitarist to head out of the bunk room. Jimmy motioned for me to follow him which I did, not wanting to piss of the man anymore.

“Sorry Brian,” I apologized right as he went back to his bunk. I heard no reply, only his snoring. I rolled my eyes, stepping into the ‘living room’ area of the bus. Jimmy was going through the pantry while Matt was reading some article on the computer. I walked around Jimmy’s butt which was sticking out obnoxiously, probably just to try to blow my way, and sat one of the couches cross legged. I pulled out my cigarette pack from my back pocket and looked around. “Are we allowed to smoke on board?”

“Knock yourself out girly,” Jimmy replied, waving his hand towards me. I turned on my couch and saw an ashtray on the small ledge between the couch and window. I placed the ashtray on my right knee before light the cigarette in my mouth. After I took a drag I turned to glare at Jimmy.

“Hey Jimbo?”

“Yeah?” He surfaced his face from the mini fridge to stare at me. I flipped him the bird with my left hand, smirk on my face.

“Don’t call me girly.”

“My bad, geeze,” Jimmy scoffed, returning to his hunt for food. I rolled my eyes before picking up the ashtray to uncross my legs and place my feet on the couch across from me. It was about four feet of a gap, but I managed, almost lying down on the couch I was currently on. “A little short there, huh?”

“Fuck you Jimmy,” I muttered.