Nicotine and Faded Dreams

The day had finally come, we were in Hartford, Connecticut. We had a day off tomorrow and I would be able to visit my mother and some friends in my hometown tonight. My two very best friends, Kaycee and Stella, would be coming to Warped today as well. They had been texting me a ridiculous amount in the past few days out of excitement and I was extremely ecstatic and very emotional. I hadn’t seen them in over a month now. I know that seems like nothing but I went from seeing them every single day to not seeing them at all. I missed them so much. I never knew when I would be going on a new tour so I always made the most of my trips home.

My two mischievous friends were also very excited to meet Travis. I, on the other hand, was dreading that part. When I say their mischievous, I really mean they take pleasure in embarrassing me in any way they can find. Hey, we’ve been friends since 5th grade. That’s what happens.

Speaking of Travis, things have been wonderful with him, as usual. The only thing that was proving to be a definite problem was finding a minute alone. Since our, uhmm…close encounter when we were supposed to be dyeing my hair, we haven’t been able to find another minute alone on the bus. It was frustrating for me, I can’t comprehend how the hell Travis was feeling, but he sure hid it well. I did eventually end up dyeing my hair, so that’s good, I suppose.

I was currently seated at our tent with Scooter, helping customers, when I heard somebody yelling in the distance. I stood up and looked around.

“LEILA!!” I heard from a voice who I knew was Kaycee. I saw her in the distance standing by a tree. She is much taller than me with long natural dark hair and bright blue eyes. Stella was next to her, much shorter, about the same height as me, and much shier with her dark brown eyes, short choppy blonde hair, and nose ring. Stella just stood their smiling while Kaycee continued to yell things I couldn’t quite understand. They both began making their way over to me and I ran to them, bringing them both in for a hug with tears in my eyes.

“I missed you guys so much.” I stated cornily, but I meant it. They were my family. My sisters. It didn’t matter if it wasn’t by blood.

“Hey Lei” Stella whispered in my ear, squeezing me tight.

When we finally all let go we remained there, in the middle of the walkway, talking for a while about tour and life back home.

“So,” Kaycee began. I knew what she was wondering before she said it, “When are we going to meet lover boy?”

I blushed and looked down, “Later today, after the set. Oh yeah also there’s a surprise for you guys during the set.”

“A surprise?” Kaycee looked confused.

“What kind of surprise?” Stella asked.

“You’ll see, just make sure you watch We The Kings.” I smiled. I hadn’t told them about my singing on stage. I wanted them to see it firsthand.

Stella smiled at this, Kaycee still looked confused.

“I can’t believe you’re dating Travis fucking Clark,” Stella proclaimed excitedly. She was a fan of the band. Big fan. “And we get to meet them all. Did I mention I love you?”

I laughed at this and hugged them both once more. It was great to be home.

-------

When it came time for the set I said goodbye to Kaycee and Stella, telling them I needed to go back to the tent for a little bit to do some work. In reality everything was worked out with Scooter ahead of time and I ran backstage to be met by a smiling Travis.

He brought me into a hug and kissed the top of my head. I smiled, “I’m so excited.”

“Are they here?” Travis asked. He seemed excited too.

“Yeah.” I looked out behind a large speaker backstage and inconspicuously peered at the audience of people. I spotted Stella standing at the very front barrier smiling wide, Kaycee by her side. Stella was always more of a concert goer than Kaycee ever was, “That’s Kaycee and that’s Stella.” I smiled pointing them out to Trav, “They don’t know I’m going to sing, they’ve never seen me sing on stage before. They’ve always wanted me to.”

“They’re gonna be proud of you.” Travis smiled happily , “I’m proud of you.”

I smiled and gave Travis a kiss on the lips before we were interrupted by Danny.

“Alright.” Danny began, placing his hand on his hip in a girly way, “Would you two stop being so disgustingly cute already?”

I smiled into the kiss I was giving Travis and pulled away just quick enough to say, “Never” before rejoining my lips with Travis’s once more. I felt him smile too before he pulled away and ran out on stage with the rest of the guys.

Soon enough it was time for Travis to introduce me, I watched Kaycee and Stella through the crack in the speaker to see their reaction.

“Make some noise for the beautiful Leila Jones.” I heard Travis yell.

I looked at Kaycee and Stella’s faces which immediately morphed into shock. I laughed to myself as I walked out onstage and began to sing. I watched as their faces went from shock to wide smiles. I watched them the whole time. They were screaming, cheering, and jumping up and down. I was so happy that I was able to share this with them.

After the set I knew Kaycee and Stella would be looking for me so I threw Travis’s hoodie at him just as he ran off stage.

“What the…” He began confused as the hoodie landed on his head.

I started laughing as Travis pulled the hoodie off his head, “I’m sorry, I thought you would catch it. Will you come meet my friends?” I asked happily.

He just smiled and pulled the hoodie over his head. He put the hood up and his sunglasses on before grabbing a bottle of water and following me out into the venue. I figured our best bet was to head back to the merch tent and sure enough I saw one blonde and one brunette staring at me from the same tree they were standing at earlier. Before I knew what was happening I had been completely tackled to the ground by my two best friends.

“I can’t believe you did that!” Kaycee began excitedly.

“You were amazing.” Stella said. Mind you I was still on the pavement, with two girls on top of me, and Travis was standing above us just laughing.

“Thanks you guys, but I…I can’t breathe” I laughed before we finally all got on our feet and brushed ourselves off.

“Guys,” I became nervous as I started talking, I grabbed Travis’s hand, “This is my boyfriend Travis. Trav these are my best friends in the entire world, Kaycee and Stella.”

Travis shook their hands and we all made small talk. They seemed to all hit it off, and I was incredibly relieved.

“You always did love gingers,” Kaycee whispered to me as we all walked back to the Merch tent. I just laughed.

_____

When the day was finally over, we all decided we would meet up at a local bar in my hometown later that night. I had introduced my friends to the band and they hit it off as well, especially Stella and Danny. I saw a little something between them.

Kaycee and Stella headed home to shower and change. They had taken two cars so they went home together in one and left me Stella’s car so I would be able to go see my mother tonight. I headed back to the bus and decided I would get ready at my mother’s house and take advantage of her shower. I told Travis he could do the same and he seemed more than happy to do so. We said goodbye to the rest of the band and told them Stella and Kaycee would be back to pick them up later.

I drove Stella’s car to my mother’s house, since I knew where it was and Travis had no idea. He seemed more than happy to be meeting my mother. I, on the other hand, was nervous. What else is new?

I pulled into my mother’s driveway with a huge smile on my face. Looking at that big blue house that was still surrounded by trees and still so familiar to me brought back so many memories. We lived in a very secluded area and didn’t have many neighbors. The yard wasn’t very big but that never stopped me from running around in it almost every day of the summer when I was younger. My mother must have heard the car pull up because in a second she was outside. I opened the door of the car and ran to give her a big hug, Travis trailing behind me.

“I missed you.” I said hugging her tight. I hadn’t actually seen my mother in more than 4 months now. She worked nights as a nurse and my last break before this tour was short and never coincided with her schedule.

“Oh I missed you too Lee” I was so glad to hear her call me that familiar name. I pulled away from my mother and looked at Travis who was now next to me and looked very confused. I realized it was because of the name.

“When I was little,” I explained, “I didn’t like my first name so I made everybody call me my middle name, which is Lee, and it lasted for years so my mom still calls me that.”

Travis just smiled and then I realized I had some introducing to do.

“Mom this is Travis. Travis, my mom.”

“Mrs. Jones, It’s so nice to meet you,” Travis said extending his hand for my mother to shake.

My mother smiled and shook her very blonde short head of hair from side to side, she never changed, that mother of mine, “It’s Miss dear not Misses, but never mind that. Get over here” In typical “my mother” fashion she pulled Travis into a hug. He just laughed thankfully and hugged her back. “Call me Molly.”

When they pulled away my mother just stood back and stared at the two of us, “You two are just the cutest. Oh my gosh your babies would be adorable.”

“Woahhhh mom, calm yourself there.” I said awkwardly, my mother always got a little too carried away.

Travis just laughed, “You know we definitely would make cute babies.”

“You see,” my mother began while guiding us inside the house, “He agrees.”

I slapped Travis on the arm playfully, “Don’t encourage her.” He just laughed.

____

After Travis and I talked with my mother for a while, we finally decided it was time to get ready. My mother would be leaving for her shift in an hour so we would be able to say goodbye before we left for the night. We would be leaving in the afternoon before my mother got off her shift so this would be our final goodbye for the rest of tour. Even though I only got to see her for a few hours, it meant the world to me. I had missed this place and most of all I had missed her.

Travis and I went to get ready, leaving my mother to get ready for her shift as well. We had talked for too long and were running late so I didn’t have time to show Travis around my old house, though I promised I would after our night out. My mother had insisted we sleep in my old room tonight, since the house would be empty. She had told us that we deserved a night in a real bed, even if we wouldn’t be getting much sleep. Then she winked at us. My mother loved to make things awkward. I guess I took after her.

After showering, I had looked through my old room and found loads of my old clothes. I decided to wear something old, and found that most of my old clothes looked like they would still fit me. I felt like dressing up tonight. Travis had only ever seen me in shorts and tank tops every day. I wanted to celebrate. I decided to wear a short black dress that I had worn to my high school graduation. I was amazed it still fit, and that I hadn’t taken it with me when I left home. After doing my makeup and straightening my hair a little, I slipped on an old pair of black rainbow speckled vans. I never felt comfortable wearing heals and I hadn’t seen these vans in years. I didn’t care if it didn’t go.

I stepped out of my old room and walked into the kitchen to find Travis there waiting for me, reading a cook book that had been set out on my table. The sight of him reading that amused me. My mother was nowhere in sight, probably in her room getting dressed for her shift still. Travis heard me approach and looked up from his book. He was wearing a grey short sleeved V-neck and his usual black skinny jeans. His hair was freshly washed and wild as usual. I smiled as he looked up at me. He smiled wide and got up quickly.

“Leila…” He paused. “You look beautiful.” His eyes were wide.

I blushed and looked at my feet, “Thank you.” Was all I could manage to say.

Travis walked over to me and brought me into a hug. I snaked my arms around his neck and his arms went around my waist. He placed his chin on the top of my head, our height difference still astounded me. He kissed the top of my head and I smiled, my head on his chest. I could stay like this forever, just safe in his arms. He leaned his head down a little and I felt him begin to press soft kisses on my neck. I giggled and nearly fell to the ground at the same time.

“Save that for tonight you two.” My mother said walking into the room with a smirk on her face. We pulled away from each other quickly and Travis and I followed my mom out of the house.

“Don’t worry, “ I whispered into Travis’s ear so my mother wouldn’t overhear, “We will.”

I couldn’t be sure but I think I felt Travis shiver. I smiled to myself.