The Love Letter

I woke up around 9 the next morning from hitting a pot-hole in the ground.
“Morning, sleepy head!” James smiled as I walked into the lounge where all the guys were sitting on the couches and watching a music video countdown show.
“G’morning.” I mumbled, taking the available seat next to James. I sat and listened to each of the boys talk with one another. Making their guesses on what video would have the top spot.
“We have been driving all night, so we’ll be in Salem around 1-ish and we’re playing a show around 6. D-Belt is somewhere, and he’ll be giving you the rundown of what to do tonight.” James smiled.
“Don’t I just throw your tee-shirts at random fangirls?” I said. The boys automatically stopped what they were doing and glared at me.
“Not quite,” James explained. “You need to set up, take down, the ‘fangirls’ need to pay for the merchandise, and you need to help Dustin set everything up on stage.”
I scrunched my nose at the thought of all of the work I had to do.
“Nobody said this was an easy job, Madelyne.” Kendall spoke.
“Well, I didn’t know what the job entailed, I didn’t want to do this, so relax.” I spat at the concerned boy.
Kendall muttered something along the lines of, “No need to be a diva about everything.”
“Yeah, I’m now going into the back room, please don’t follow after me to yell at me some more.” I said with an irritated tone. I got up and walked away, making a quick pit stop at my bunk for my cell phone and iPod. I turned on the song Edge of Glory by Lady Gaga and opened my cell phone to see that I had one unread text message.
Hey sweetie! We all love and miss you already. I love you so much! -C.
I smiled at the text Caleb had sent to me.
I quickly texted back, “Thanks, baby! I love you so much too, and I miss EVERYONE like crazy! I hate this!”

We continued to text for the remaining time I was on the bus about my new job and everything that was going on back in La Jolla.
“Hey, Addy. I hate to bother you back here, but we’re at the hotel now.” James said timidly as I was through the first chorus of Written in the Stars by Tinie Tempah.
“M’kay, Thanks.” I smiled apologetically at him. I was sad that I made my brother feel uncomfortable, “Hey, James?” I said, pulling my earbuds out.
“Yeah, Add?”
“I’m sorry I made you feel uncomfortable out there,” I looked down at the moccasin slippers I was wearing. “This whole thing is a pretty big change for me.”
“No problemo, little sister.” He perked up, “Hey, I got you something at our last show in Memphis.” He smiled, moving quickly to his bunk and back into the back room. He was carrying a hot pink journal with an orange heart in the center.
“Mom and Dad said that you decided to go to New York University for Journalism and you are really good, so I decided to get you a little congratulatory gift.”
“Thanks, Jamey.” I smiled at his thoughtful-ness.
“and I was going to give it to you later, closer to when you start, but I figured I could give it to you now so you can write your experiences on the road so when someone asks what you did this summer, you can remember.”
“That’s very smart of you, James. Thank you so much.” I reached over and gave him a hug.
“C’mon guys, We have to go check in!” someone yelled from the front of the bus. We quickly grabbed our day-bags from our bunks and hurried outside where everyone was waiting. Then, it dawned on me that I was still in my pajamas that I changed into at three in the morning. Light pink Juicy Couture pajama pants with a white tank top. I was a little embarrassed, but didn’t quite care. The six of us, including the elusive Dustin, marched together into the hotel where Logan and Carlos took the liberty of checking everyone in.
“Okay, so Logan and Dustin are rooming together, and me and James are together and that leaves Madelyne and Kendall together.” I squinted with the pain of knowing I had to share a room with Kendall for a night and it looked like Kendall felt the same way.
“Woah, I made it clear that I was rooming with Madelyne this entire trip, so you guys don’t try anything funny.” James said with concern in his voice.
“Sorry, Bro. We can’t change it, hotel rules.” Logan said. James pulled Kendall aside to give him a talking to, with lots of finger pointing and a loud laugh from Kendall. I heard something along the lines of “Not in a million years!” from Kendall as well. I rolled my eyes and took my room key from Logan and made my way to room 512. Once I got into the quiet room, I took out the necessities I needed to take a shower which included shampoo, conditioner, soap, blow dryer and a change of clothes. I slipped in and took my time because I wasn’t in any rush to sit painfully with Kendall for the next four hours. Once I finished my shower, I blow-dried my hair and put on a pink tank-top with a baggier shirt over it which read ‘Maybe Partying Will Help’, and a pair of boyfriend jeans. My hair wasn’t quite dry yet, so I put on a light pink beanie hat. I cleaned up the bathroom, and walked out into the living area where Kendall was waiting.
“Come with me, Madelyne.” He spoke harshly.
“Why?” I spat at him.
“Just come this me.” His voice was stern. He made his way to the door and out into the hallway. I quickly slipped on a pair of pink converses and followed him out where he was already waiting for the elevator. I ran to catch up with him, and sat awkwardly in the elevator, “Good, you wore supportive shoes.”
“What?” I asked, and he just smirked at the door in front of him. We walked through the reception area and out the front doors where Kendall had a rental car waiting.
“Where are we going, Kendall?” I asked, getting irritated with him. He still didn’t answer. He pulled into a small parking lot and walked out to the beginning of a trail. I followed his lead and looked at him weird, “What are we doing here.”
“I’m going to tell you a little bit about myself while we walk a hardy five point eight miles.” I cocked my head while he began walking. I let out an irritated sigh, and gave into walking.
“Well, My full name is Kendall Francis Schmidt, I’m from Wichita, Kansas but I’ve lived in California for a majority of my life and I have two older brothers. My birthday is November second and I’m twenty years old. I love music and acting, much like your brother, but I have a side project I do with D-Belt.” He paused for a little bit, “I love the bands Incubus and Taking Back Sunday. Spiderman is the man, and I love Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough ice cream.”
I still didn’t quite comprehend why he took me here or why he was telling me about his life, so I just stayed silent. We stayed silent for a majority of the walk, until we hit a block. A river.
“I want to hear your story.” Kendall spoke after I sat down from being tired and frustrated.
“I’m Madelyne Leigh Maslow. I’m eighteen. I have one older brother.” I paused after each fact, “I really don’t know what you want me to say.”
“And, that’s what your problem is. You care way to much what people want you to be and say that it’s taken over your whole life. You can’t be your own person! It’s driving me insane, and I haven’t even known you for twenty-four hours!” Kendall asserted. I was thrown back and Kendall’s comment.
“You have no idea, Kendall. I am my own person! Like you said, you only have known me for twenty-four hours, how do you judge a person like that?” I asked.
“Easily. You’re stuck-up, you don’t care about helping your brother, you are too ignorant to see that this is your job!” He paused for a second, “You have it easy, compared to most people. You get to see this, every single day.” He threw his hands out to the river to make a point.
I kept myself quiet for most of the angry walk back, until Kendall finally spoke up once we were on the road again.
“You know what?” Kendall turned to me.
“What?” I said quietly.
“We’re going to do stuff like this for the rest of the tour.” He nodded. “Yeah, You’ll never know when. But I am going to get you to change your attitude.”

We got back to the hotel, and Kendall immediately went into the shower to get ready to go to the venue. I realized I never texted Caleb back, so I went and checked my cell phone.
‘5 unread text messages!’ My phone yelled.
Make the most of this, Madelyne. -C

Where are you? -C

How come you aren’t texting me back? -C

Are you mad at me, Maddi? -C

Are you with the guys, Madelyne? Be careful, please! -C

All from Caleb, I quickly sent him a message back, telling him I was okay, and I went for a walk with Kendall. I told him everything Kendall had told me, and how we were going to do stuff periodically through out the tour.
I don’t trust this kid. He might take you from me. -C

I quickly replied with ‘I’ll be fine, Caleb. I’m a big girl.’ and threw my phone back into my bag. Shortly after, the rest of the boys of Big Time Rush were knocking on the door.
“Are you ready to rock the pants off of Salem, Kendall!” Carlos yelled. I smiled at his excitement.
“Hey! You smile?” Logan joked.
“Yes, I do. I wasn't in the best of moods this morning, and I’m sorry.” I apologized.
“No problem, Madelyne. We all forgive you,” He smiled, giving me a quick side hug. “I think Dustin is waiting for you down stairs, he wants to ride with you in the car so he can tell you whats going on.”
“Alright, thanks.” I said, moving out into the lobby, where of course Dustin was waiting. He told me everything I needed to know about my jobs and we got right to work when we got to the venue. The show went off without a hitch.
“One day down, a million more to go.” I mumbled to myself sitting in the car on our way back to the hotel.