Something Else

We arrived at the second venue soon after our stop. Most of the guys left to bus to meet up with the others. Kennedy, Jared and I stayed behind. I wanted to work on things for my gallery, which I was hoping to open as soon as the tour was over. I was sitting in the back lounge, with my mac in my lap, switching back and forth between two possible locations, when Kenny emerged from the bunk area. I glanced up at him briefly, and then returned my eyes to the screen.

"You and John seem to have fallen right back into your old ways," he said as he plopped down on the couch next to me. "He told me you two fought last night."

I nodded, still focusing on my work. I knew Kennedy was looking at me expectantly, because John would never tell him what our spat was about. Kenney always came to me to figure it out.

"Care to explain, KC?"

"You only call me KC when you’re worried about me, Kenny" I said, giving him a stern look.

"Well, maybe I am worried about you. I know how you and John can get. You guys blow things way out of proportion."

I rolled my eyes. "Don’t worry. New York made me a strong independent woman. I can deal with Johno myself."

"That’s what I’m worried about," he said, leaning back into the couch. "Don't be too hard on him, alright?"

I laughed and nodded. Kennedy smiled, kissed my temple, and then left me in the lounge. As he left, I thought of how we were back in high school. Any bloke that wanted to get to get close to me always had to go through Kenny. He'd always acted the protective big brother when it came to me, and he put up with all his shit I gave him. I had worried, coming back from school, that being away for so long may have changed the dynamic of our friendship, but then, and over the course of the entire tour, Kenny proved that our friendship could outlast anything. He'd welcomed me back home as if I'd never left, and the way he treated me when it came to John hadn't changed a bit. The normalcy of it all was very comforting.

I was left to my devices in the back lounge for at least two hours before Jared poked his head in, smiling and a little red in the face. "We're going out for food, Keagan. You comin'?" he asked.

I nodded and quickly shut down my mac. Jared waited for me at the door and then escorted me out of the bus, where most of the guys were waiting for us. I hopped down the last step and onto the blacktop, blinking in the sunlight I had been deprived of.

"So where're we eating, lads?" I asked, only gaining the attention of Matt and Garrett.

"Not quite sure yet," Garrett answered. "No one can decide between Mexican and Italian, and by 'Italian' I mean 'pizza.'"

I nodded and made my way over to John and Kenny, who were talking with someone I hadn't met before. I recognized him from my arrival. He and Garrett walked off before I was introduced, but there was no forgetting that face, or that mustache. His hair was tousled chocolate, and it framed his face, falling over some of his beard. He wore sunglasses halfway down his nose, and an outfit that seemed like it was pulled on in a hurry. He twirled an unlit fag in his fingers, lighter in his free hand. He lit up as I squeezed myself between Kenny and John, throwing a lazy arm over the former's shoulders.

"Hey boys," I said. "Who's this?"

"Who's this?" the stranger said. "I'm pretty sure you're the new kid, babe."

"Austin this is my best friend, Keagan Young. K, this is Austin Gibbs. He's a friend of ours who's opening for us."

Austin shoved his lighter into his pocket and then held out his hand with a cheeky smile. I took it, but just before our hand shake ended, he brought my knuckles to his lips. "Pleasure," he said.

I rolled my eyes and pulled my hand away, latching onto Kennedy again. "Where'd you two find this flirt?"

"A lot happens when you move to New York for a few years."

The way John spoke was almost demeaning. I turned my head to look at him, but he had his eyes to the ground. Austin brought my attention back to him with the story of how he'd known the guys. I listened, but only enough to seem polite.

;;

We ended up at a small, local pizzeria. The guys had eaten two meat lovers and were ordering another pie. I had given up after my second piece. I found it very easy to get along with Kenny and John's tour mates, apart from Austin, who was becoming some new version of the John I knew in high school. Kennedy, unfortunately, didn't kick him in the shins every time he hit on me. As the third pizza was laid on the table in front of us, Austin made another comment that I didn’t quite catch. To this day I still don't know exactly what he said, but it must have been bad, because John and Kennedy flipped shit.

"Dude, shut the fuck up," Kennedy said, glaring at Austin.

"Honestly, Gibbs, that was shit. Back off. Leave her alone."

John's words were simple, but the way he practically growled them made Austin lean back in his chair with hands up in surrender. I looked across the table at John, who was just looking away from Austin. His eyes met mine for a moment and then dropped back down to the table as he pulled a slice of pizza on his plate.

It was the first of many times that John would stand up for me when I didn't need him to. It was the first glimpse of the John I would come to know over the course of the next three years. The first of many firsts, as they say.