What Separates Me From You

July 3rd: Ventura, CA

Ventura, CA was one of my favorite locations. It was hard not to hate on Ventura and its rich inhabitants because the city was so clean and venue was literally on the beach. Bands frequently walked in and out of the venue to take a dive into the water and no matter how hot it got the ocean kept a cool breeze in the venue. Traffic to the Vans tent was slowing down which meant the day was coming to a close. The sun was also starting to set in the horizon. I stared at the sky from inside the tent, admiring the orange hues and the white clouds.

“Am I interrupting something?”
I jumped in my seat, surprised when I saw Alex standing in front of me. Well, this was new. Alex stared at me with a curious expression.

“Oh,” I said loudly. “No, no you’re not. How can I help you?”

The drummer shook his head, “I just wanted to extend an invitation to you to drink with us after our set.”

Oh right, the extended weekend thing. July 4th was tomorrow so a lot of guys would be celebrating (aka partying) tonight while their drivers drove the hungover bandies to Kansas for the July 6th event. A voice in my head was fiercely telling me to say no. it was scolding even. But…

“We’ll be at the tables that our tour bus is parked next to. Kevin and Josh are getting the drinks. We’ll probably start around eight if you want to stop by,” Alex informed me, interrupting my self-scolding.

I nodded distractedly, “Alright. Thanks.”

At least I had until eight to talk myself out of embarrassment. I glanced at the time on my phone and grumbled to myself. It was already quarter to seven.

Later, a little after 8pm:

The sun was barely visible now and the ocean had gotten louder since the park closed; however, it was still extremely warm. Even though my feet were carrying me towards A Day To Remember’s tour bus my mind was still battling it out on whether or not I should attend this gathering. I mean, what are the chances I’ll actually have fun? I thought to myself as the bus came into view. Slim to none, I tried to convince myself.

When I got to the table by the bus, I found Kevin and Neil—the other two members who I had not interacted with much before tonight—sitting on the floor with their backs against the bus. Both obviously already drunk. I looked at my phone to check the time again; 8:17. I wasn’t that late. The door to the bus open suddenly and out stumbled Josh barely holding a clear bottle of unlabeled alcohol in his right hand. It looked like he was having a hard time keeping his eyes open… and standing.

Josh stumbled towards me and placed both of his hands on my shoulders; I put mine on his as well… only to help him keep stable. He smiled drunkenly at me and I shook my head.

“Where’s Jeremy?” I asked.

“I think,” Josh paused for a few long seconds. “I think he went off with Alex. To get something. Somwhere.”

Great. Real specific. I let Josh go and watched as he made his way over to the table. I watched as he somehow sat himself properly on the bench and hugged his bottle. The other two on the floor joined him as well. It was quite an event to watch them move about. It was like watching baby orangutans figure out what to do with their arms before they could start walking. Hm, not sure if that image helped.

They started to pull out shot glasses from nowhere and placed them heavily on the table. Josh, who had sat with his back to me, turned around and glared at me, he was surprisingly alert. Maybe this was all a gimmick. “What are you doing standing over there, Olivia? Drink with us.”

I hesitated for a moment before my mind said “Oh what the hell…” and made my legs carry me to the table and join the guys.

It was an hour later before Jeremy showed up and by then I was gone if you catch my drift. These guys had a love for games and their drinks. Somewhere along the way, someone had started to play A Day To Remember songs which turned out to be a bad choice. In my drunken stupor, I decided it would be a good idea to climb on the table and belt out the lyrics… wrong.

I nearly died from excitement when “All Signs Point to Lauderdale” started playing. The table creaked as I stood up straight on it. I grabbed an empty beer bottle and used it as a microphone. The song was already into the first verse when I started to sing alone.

“Remember when I tried… never stray… youuu.. And now I never nose, sings to youuu-“

There was fear in the guys’ eyes as they watched me drunkenly dance and sing on the table made out of wood. Who puts a wood table next to the beach?

“What is this I’m missing?” asked a familiar voice walking toward the group.

“Jeremy!” I screamed happily as I struggled off of the table. I threw me arms around him and buried my face into his neck. Surprised—and slightly scared that I may hit him—Jeremy slowly put his arms around me.

“Olivia!” he greeted with the same amount of enthusiasm as I had greeted him with. “What’s happening?” he asked as he let me go. I swayed a little when I stood by myself. Jeremy reached out to steady me. “Woah. You’ve been drinking a bit, missy.”

I ignored his statements when I heard the chorus of the song coming on. A look of glee slapped itself on my face. “Jeremy! It’s your song!” I said with a wide grin.

I forced myself out of his arms and started my drunken dance moves and karaoke again. “I HATE THIS FROWN. I’M SO FUCKED UP. AND ALL MY FRIE-“

“Ok, where’s my drink?” Jeremy said quickly to the guys with his eyes glued on my drunken performance. Kevin handed him the bottle we had been taken shots out of.

I was still dancing.

It took all of the next thirty minutes for Jeremy to get caught up to where we were drinking-wise. I don’t know how he did it or how he managed it but I’m going to assume that his liver would be shriveled in the morning.

The other guys had called it night. It made sense since they had started drinking before us. Way before. So they passed out on the ground around the tour bus. I think Alex was the only one who managed to make it into the bus. Jeremy and I were still outside. He had taken up a spot next to bus, sitting with his back against it. My head was in his lap so I could stare at the dark sky above and so that he could play with my hair. We both stayed in our own thoughts; not talking to one another.

“And hey darling,” Jeremy started to sing softly. “I hope you’re good tonight. And I know you don’t feel right when I’m leaving.”

It was nice hearing him sing. It was relaxing. I closed my eyes and listened to him. My own personal lullaby singer.

“Yeah I want it but no I don't need it. Tell me something sweet to get me by. 'Cause I can't come back home till they're si— Olivia?”

“All-live-ee-uh,” said Jeremy. “Olive! Olive Greene! OLIVE GARDEN!”

My eyes snapped open and I sat up quickly, “I’m fine. I was napping.“

When Jeremy didn’t say anything I turned my head around to look at him. He was staring at me like I wasn’t even there. Like his mind was off thinking about something deep. I was suddenly aware that he was closer to me and that his gaze was unmoving. Even with the very little sobering up I had done in the past few minutes, I still couldn’t register what was happening. Our foreheads touched gently and Jeremy took my face into his hands, angling it so that our lips were barely touching. My heart started to race when I felt his breath on my lips. A tingling feeling spread from my lips throughout the reste of me.

Then my brain started to work.

I pulled myself away from him and stared at him like a deer stuck in headlights.

Then my legs started to work.

And they carried me far away from Jeremy McKinnon.