I Will Play My Game Beneath the Spin Light

The trees passed by through the foggy window of the tour bus, a sea of endless evergreens. Tyler itched at his arm, a nervous habit that made it quite clear something was on his mind.
“‘Sup with you, man?” Michael asked, smiling sympathetically. “Don’t worry about it,” Tyler replied easily, used to masking his homesickness for the sake of keeping his pride.
“Don’t give me that, Ty. I know you miss her,” he persisted, wanting to just help the kid. Tyler rolled his eyes, not in the mood for that heart-to-heart crap. “Whatever, man, I chose this for myself,” he shrugged, but any person with half a mind would be able to see right through it.
“Whatever,” Mike sighed, Tyler’s gloomy mood having a contagious effect. He walked away without the talk that Tyler desperately needed but wouldn’t own up to.
Tyler’s ocean eyes darted, following the line of trees, and he bitterly rolled them. He shot a text at the girl he wouldn’t own up to missing, a simple “hey.” He tapped his fingers impatiently against his thigh, a cold feeling leaking into his heart.
“I miss you,” was the reply, causing Tyler’s fluctuating moods to take a sudden u-turn. He tried to stifle the silly smile on his lips, but it’s all he could do. It was impossible not to feel a warm sensation when reminiscing on the way her bright smile contrasted her dark eyes.
He shivered at the thought of having to “reminisce” on the girl, rather than being able to look directly at her gorgeous face with porcelain skin.
“I miss you so much, Natalie,” he responded, typing quickly and sending the message, rather than thinking about it any more. As if sending the message would send away his thoughts- he so desperately wished it would work that way.

The weather outside was very much a reflection of Natalie’s insides. The bleary winds rattled every leaf and muddy, trampled on snow was waiting outside her window.
It wasn’t just the fact that there was nobody to take a lunch break with her that had Natalie wallowing in self-pitty, and it wasn’t necessarily all about the fact that she was busy mindless with her teaching job.
It was okay to not see Tyler all day, when he was home. It was okay sitting alone for twelve hours when she knew there would be a warm body to cuddle up to that night.
She laughed, a noise that had no humor in it nowadays, and thought about how stupid she was. What kind of idiot falls in love with a band kid? She must have completely lost her mind to let herself fall head over heels for a man who would spend his life on the road.
When she was a little girl, Natalie had always pictured what her life would be like down the road. By twenty-two years old, her silly young girl mind had pictured having a fiance. Being with someone day-in-day-out. She figured she would find some prince charming by now.
The silliest of all, she thought she was going to be hopelessly in love with someone, and it would work out perfectly. At the very least, she could say the first part was true.
Her phone lit up, notifying her that she received a message. A small smile washed over her previously stressed features, the creases in her forehead disappearing.
That just happened to be how they made each other feel. That spur of the moment emotional metamorphosis defined their relationship. Maybe when they though about one another, they had a tendency to get a little cheerless, but on contact- physical, verbal, you name it, a vibrancy instantly made its way into their eyes and a smile adorned their lips in an automatic fashion.

Three in the morning, Tyler’s phone was going ballistic with vibrations. “What the hell,” he muttered through a cloud of sleep, shielding his eyes from the brightness of his cell.
“Hello?” he heard his mother ask, her sweet voice exasperated. “Mom?” he asked, annoyed a good amount by his mother’s ignorance of the difference in time zones.
“Baby! How’s tour? Are the other boys behaving? Are you behaving?!” she rapid-fired questions from her mouth, amazing Tyler with her speed-talking skills.
“Yeah, Mom. Everything’s going fine,” he sighed. “Don’t lie to me, son. I know you inside out. What’s wrong?” he could almost picture the worry etched across her face, making him sick to his stomach. What made him sicker was the fact he had to picture it. He wasn’t there to see it.
“Nothing. I’m sort of homesick, Ma, but it’s nothing,” he confided slightly in the older woman, feeling like momma’s boy of the century. He laughed in his head at how badly he deserved a “Kick Me” sign taped onto his back.
The word home processed through his head, and he couldn’t help but to think of her army green eyes and her quirky style.
Natalie nagged every thought that swam through his head, consistently resurfacing. Why am I such a pussy?! he thought, a random outbreak within him. His every thought was screaming why haven’t you admitted to her that you love her?.
This moment was revolutionary for him, considering he had yet to even admit to himself the whole of his feelings for the girl.
“Mom, I- I have to go. I have something to take care of. Love you,” he said hastily, clicking end more times than necessary, intent on doing this before he lost the nuts.
“Natalie, answer. Answer. Answer,” he willed out loud. “Hello?” her cheery voice answered, and then a long pause was followed by a soft laugh and a “I’m joking. I’m busy right now, but leave me a message and I will definitely call you back... where’s the pound button?”
Tyler would have normally laughed at her away message, but a terrible dread was taking over him, for a reason he couldn’t name.
He hurriedly called again, not even bothering to leave a message. “Hello?” a woman with a strong Irish accent answered in a panic-stricken matter.
“Mrs. McHale? Is Natalie there?” he asked hurriedly, an unpleasant hunch consuming him. “She’s... she’s hurt,” the woman sobbed, barely comprehensible.
“What? What do you mean by that?” he laughed sarcastically, unsure of what to do. “She was fine! She was just texting me! What the hell do you mean she’s hurt?!” he started to yell, forgetting about his intentions of not offending the woman.
Without another word, Tyler was leaving the parked bus, without his jacket or suitcase, running with his wallet to wherever he could find.
Cars zoomed by him, some honking and others cursing out the window, but he couldn’t give less of a damn.

A tell-tale sign of a terrible day is a tired flight attendant being met with a flustered and tear-stained young man.
“I, when’s- when can I get to New York?” he struggled to find the words, a whirlwind of things going through his mind. “Luck is on your side, sir. Next flight board in three minutes. Hop to!” the English woman replied cheerily, as was her job.
Tyler snorted at the thought of luck being on his side. The longest three minutes of his life were spent waiting for that plane, and an unbearable wait was spent in flight.
A growing hate for airplanes developed inside him as he sat there, fidgeting and thinking himself sick. His phone lit up six hours into the flight, and he answered it, disregarding the fact he was on a plane. “Hello?!” he answered in a loud whisper. “Tyler?” Natalie’s small voice answered, dry and broken. “Natalie?! Natalie, what happened?!” he yelled, his nerves bugging out of control.
“I, uh,” she laughed uncomfortably, “I uh drank a lot. They called it a ‘rum fit,’ rude name, I think. I uh,” she was fumbling with her words, “I uh, I had a seizure. I’m sorry Ty. The boys’ll probably wake up soon, right? Get some rest,” she suggested, causing a pang in Tyler’s heart.
“I love you, Natalie,” he spur of the moment blurted out, deciding now was as good a time as any. “I uh, what?” she asked, sounding taken back. “I love you so much, Natalie, I can’t do this. I’m coming home.”
That was the scariest decision Tyler had ever made, but as they say, love conquers all.