Chasing the Night

“You talked to Travis Clark? And you told him that you liked his song Check Yes Josephine?” Lukas repeated for what seemed like the hundredth time, clutching his stomach in laughter. Arianna punched him in the arm roughly, but he continued to howl with laughter.

“Check Yes Josephine!” Embry joined in. “Classic!”

“I didn’t know, okay?” Arianna said, folding her arms over her chest in irritation. How embarrassing, she thought. The boys continued to laugh at her, besides Jase, that is. Although, he was trying extremely hard to hold back his laughter, a small smile slipped out. Arianna didn’t miss it.

“Hey! Not you, too!” She exclaimed, throwing her arms up in the air. “Sorry,” Jase said with a chuckle. “It is pretty funny.”

“Maybe I should go back over there and apologize?” Arianna suggested, chewing on her nails nervously. Lukas and Embry laughed even louder. “Are you crazy?” Lukas hollered. “Do you want to make things even worse for yourself?”

“I should do something,” Arianna insisted, standing up and pacing outside the van. Jase watched her walk up and down and he reached out and grabbed her arm, pulling her to him. He looped his arms easily around her small waist and rested his forehead against hers. “If you want to do something, you go on over there. I won’t be mad, I promise,” he said with a small smile. Arianna smiled back up and him and wrapped her arms around his neck, before kissing him softly on the lips.

“Okay,” she whispered, once they had broken apart. “I will.” Jase gave her a reassuring smile and released his grip on her. Arianna turned and took a few steps in the right direction before walking back to Jase. “What’s the matter?” He asked her. “I can’t do it,” Arianna admitted. “It’s too embarrassing.” Jase laughed and brought her into a tight hug. “I think it’s cute,” he whispered in her ear. Arianna laughed and wrapped her arms around his back, resting her head comfortably on his chest. “I think you’re cute,” she said with a smile. Jase bent down to kiss her on the cheek. “You’re adorable as hell.”
______

Travis Clark was still smiling. The little blonde girl had somehow made him feel so much better, and he didn’t even know her. Her bright blue eyes, her brilliant, white smile, her slight, short stature. The cute little dimples that played around the corners of her mouth, deep in her cheeks. She was just so damn adorable. Travis couldn’t get her off his mind.

“You’re looking happy,” Danny commented, sitting down on the couch beside Travis on the bus. “I’m not sure that’s the right word for it,” Travis said carefully, still daydreaming about Arianna.

“Well, slightly less-sad, then,” Danny said, glancing sideways at Travis. “What happened?”

“I fell on top of a girl,” Travis blurted. Danny laughed loudly. “You fell on her? Aw, man, is she okay?”

“I guess,” Travis said with a shrug.

“Does she have a name?”

“Who?”

“The girl you fell on,” Danny said.

“Oh, yeah. Arianna,” Travis said, a small smile playing on his lips.

“Nice,” Danny commented. “You never know, Trav. Things could be looking up for you already.”

“Maybe,” Travis said, his smile only growing wider. And he honestly believed they would.
______

That night, Arianna couldn’t sleep. As usual. All the guys always complained about her insomnia. Her fidgeting drove them crazy, especially when they were on tour. It was a tight squeeze, sleeping across the seats in the van, and when one person couldn’t sleep, they usually kept everyone else up as well. Arianna tossed and turned, stirring Jase awake. He yawned and reached out his arms for her, pulling her into his warm embrace. He rested his head in the crook of her neck and closed his eyes once again.

“Can’t sleep again, Arianna?” he whispered in her ear. She turned in his embrace to face him, wrapping her arms around his neck. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me,” she said. “Nothing’s wrong with you,” Jase replied, sensing her saddened tone. He opened his eyes and stared into hers in the darkness of the van, before kissing her softly. “I could go for a walk with you outside,” he suggested after a moment. “That might help.” Arianna sighed and rested her cheek on Jase’s broad chest. “You stay, you’re obviously tired. I’ve kept you up enough as it is,” Arianna said, sitting up. Jase took ahold of her hand, and she glanced back down at him. “Just be careful, okay? I care about you too much,” he said, his eyes earnest. “I will,” Arianna assured him, placing a small kiss on his forehead before getting out of the van.

The night air was warm against her skin and Arianna took a moment to take in a few deep breaths, enjoying the calmness and silence that surrounded her. She grabbed her wallet from the front seat of the van and headed off in a random direction, not really knowing where she was going. She’d never been a planner. She’d always just made things up as she went along.

She ended up in a twenty-four-hour diner in the city they were playing in. She sat down in one of the booths to order when she saw him. Sitting a few booths away, with his back to her, was that ginger-boy, Travis, whom she knew she’d be too embarrassed to speak to know.

Travis didn’t sleep much these days. He just couldn’t. The nightmares that always came were too much to bear. Other times, he’d lay awake in his bed, unable to sleep due to all the thoughts that raced through his mind. He hated remembering. He just wanted to forget. That particular night, he’d decided that he didn’t want to pace the bus, or go online, or read or write or anything. He just wanted to get away. And so, he’d left, and ended up in the one place Arianna had as well.

Travis sat in his booth, staring down at the plate of fries in front of him. He’d eaten a few before feeling sick, and slightly pushing the plate away. He continued to stare at the plate intently. He’d already counted how many there were – thirty-six, to be exact – and now he was trying to estimate what percentage of ketchup covered them. A shout broke him out of his trance. He was certain that he heard someone call out his name. He turned in his seat and his eyes landed on a slight blonde girl a few booths over. Arianna.

Arianna met Travis’ gaze and immediately looked away, a blush working its way across her features. Why did he have to turn around and see her? And – oh God – now he was standing up, walking across the linoleum floor, over to her. When he reached her table, he sat down across the table from her and placed his hands on top of it. “Hey,” he said with a small smile, his eyes locking with hers. “Hi,” Arianna replied cautiously, gazing back at him, confused. What was he doing here? She glanced down at her watch to see that it was 2am. They were the only customers in the diner. “What time is it?” Travis asked her. He didn’t really care, but he didn’t know how else to start a conversation. He wanted so badly to talk to someone, but he hadn’t felt this nervous it was seemed like forever. Eight years, to be exact.

“It’s 2am,” Arianna informed him, dropping her wrist to the table and looking away. “Why won’t you look at me?” Travis asked after a moment of silence. Was he really that hideous? Travis suddenly felt self-conscious. Was it his long hair? Maybe he should have pulled it back with a rubber band, instead of letting it hang limp. Maybe he should have worn a better shirt, nicer jeans…

“I guess I’m embarrassed,” Arianna admitted, meeting his gaze with a shy smile. Travis raised his eyebrows in surprise. “Why?” He asked curiously. “Because I thought your song was ‘Check Yes Josephine,’ when it’s actually ‘Check Yes Juliet,’” Arianna said with a sigh. Travis let out a soft chuckle. “It doesn’t matter,” Travis said with a half-smile. “It does to me,” Arianna replied. “I feel kinda stupid.”

Travis laughed again and stood, getting out of the booth and holding out his hand for hers. It was one of the boldest moves he’d made in a long time. “Come on,” he said, looking down at her. She hesitantly took his hand and let herself be pulled up and out of the booth. “Where are we going?” Arianna asked as Travis lead her out the door.

“To have an adventure.”