Mistakes and Misunderstandings

We were now three weeks into tour and all the bands were spending the day doing photo shoots. ETF was currently posing and doing their own thing, so I was passing the time with MIW. While on tour, ETF, including Max, and the rest of TLL spent the majority of their time drinking. I never joined them; I couldn’t go back to what I was before. So, I spent time with Ricky, who had become my new best friend. I felt like I’d known him forever and trusted him. He’d gotten me to open up around his band, but I was still trying to open up to the others. I was better than I was at the beginning of the tour, but I still wasn’t completely comfortable.

But as I was saying, ETF was in the middle of their photo shoot, my guys were off drinking somewhere, and I was hanging out with MIW. At the moment, we were holding a contest to see who could hold their breath the longest. We really were that bored, and couldn’t go anywhere until we finished our photos. I should mention that I wasn’t looking forward to this. I hate posing for photos, especially professional ones. The cameramen are always telling you “turn this way,” “no face this way,” “no, tilt your head like this,” and all that shit. But it would meant publicity for our band, so we had to do it.

“Aaand Blaz wins this round!” Chris cheered.

“So far, Balz is the reigning champion,” Chris announced. “Now it’s time for Ry and I to see who will beat him.”

“You’re not going to beat me, I’m the ultimate winner,” Balz said. “But did you do that on purpose? ‘Ry and I’ kind of rhymed!” We all looked at him, wondering if he’d held his breath so long his brain was fucked up from suffocation. “Just try beating me,” he said finally.

“Enough stalling. On the count of three, both of you hold your breath for as long as you can,” Angelo said.

Chris and I sat facing each other, listening to Angelo count slowly. On three, we took a deep breath and held it. We ended up holding a staring contest at the same time, which I managed to win. Eventually, I go to the point where I couldn’t hold my breath any longer, letting Chris win.

“Yes!” Chris shouted.

I fell backwards, my head landing Ricky’s lap. “Comfy?” he asked.

I shrugged. “Could be better, but it’ll do for now.” I watched as Chris and Balz held their breath. For once, our group was silent as we waited to see who would win. Their faces began changing colors, but they didn’t give up.

“Boo!” We all jumped when Matt ran up, yelling in Balz’s ear.

“What the fuck man? You just made me lose!” Balz whined.

“And what exactly did I make you lose?” Matt asked.

“We were trying to see who could hold their breath the longest,” Angelo explained. “And Chris didn’t win because he saw Matt coming and was ready for him to suddenly be here. So he and Balz have to do a rematch.”

“I tried to help you,” Matt said to Chris. “By the way, did I miss something?” he asked, looking at Ricky and I.

“No, she and Max are still together. We’re just amazing friends,” Ricky said as I sat up, moving so I was sitting next to him. “So…Did you just come by to say hi? I thought you guys were done with you’re shoot.”

“We are, but I wanted to tell you that Andy’s girlfriend is here. So if you see a blonde chick wandering around, it’s most likely her. But I don’t think she’ll be far from Andy while she’s here. And now, I’m off to find some of the others.”

As Matt ran off looking like a hyperactive kid, Aaron found us and said we were up next. I reluctantly got up from my seat on the ground and followed him to where ETF was having their last photos taken.

When it was our turn, it was exactly as I imagined it would be. But it did help that Max and the MIW guys were standing off to the side making faces and acting stupid the entire time, making me laugh. If it weren’t for them, I don’t think I would have smiled in any of the photos. My favorite photo though was when I was standing on a stool behind my guys, holding those wooden Xs with strings attached to everyone’s arms so it looked like they were my puppets. I don’t know who came up with that idea, but I loved it.

We finally finished and Max and I left. He was taking me out for the night since we weren’t leaving for the next venue until the next morning. This way, we wouldn’t have to worry about being back to the bus by a certain time. As we began walking towards whatever town we were in, I heard Craig yelling at us. “Use protection! Leila doesn’t need cousins yet!” All we heard was laughter when Max flipped him off.