Smash Into Me

8:30. Kayleigh smiled to herself as she tucked her phone into her back pocket. She turned and started to take down the shirts hanging on the metal backdrop. She folded each one, putting them back into their respective bins. She unclipped the notecards and threw them into the one bin before putting the top on it.

“Kayleigh!” Someone yelled, making her turn around. She was met with the stare of her best friend, Sierra. “Got you that water you wanted.”

“Ah, thank you, my dear!” She laughed, taking the metal can from her friend. Canned water was the greatest thing to exist. She swore canned water was way better than bottled water. Everyone on Warped swore it. “Can you carry this bin back to the trailer?” Kayleigh asked, slamming bin number one down on to the table.

“Sure,” Sierra nodded, taking the bin. Kayleigh grabbed the other, setting her unopened can of water on the top. She slammed that down on the table before crawling over it. “Today was insane.”

“Damn straight it was,” Kayleigh nodded, grabbing the bin. The two walked through the grounds, chatting about their day. Sierra had ventured off after her set so she hadn’t spent any time with her best friend. That would change tonight, though. They would be partying and spending all their time together at the barbeque.

“So, have you met our new bus mates? Pretty alright dudes, if you ask me,” Sierra said, changing the subject from the barbeque later to the blue-eyed boy Kayleigh had met earlier. The grin on her best friend’s face told Sierra all she needed to know. “Which one is it?”

“What?” Kayleigh asked, surprised by her friends question. How had she known?

“Which one of them have you met already, you ass,” Sierra laughed, setting the tub down by the equipment trailer. Kayleigh set her bin down before running her hand through her long hair.

“I met Josh,” Kayleigh shrugged, unhitching the lock to the trailer. She opened the back, then picked up the tub, carrying it inside the trailer. She set it down in the back. Sierra followed suit, setting her bin down on top of Kayleigh’s. “When’d you meet them? I thought you ran off after the set,” Kayleigh asked as they walked out of the trailer.

Sierra watched as she locked the trailer back up. When Kayleigh turned to Sierra, she was met with a shrug and a small smile, “I met them before I went on. Mike introduced us.”

Kayleigh nodded as she popped open her can of water. The two made the small journey from the trailer to the bus, walking on the air conditioned heaven.

The talking in the front lounge immediately stopped when the two girls stepped on. All eyes were on them; something that was not new to either of them. Honestly, they both loved attention.

"Hey, Kayleigh," Josh smiled, raising his hand to wave at the small girl making her way through the crowded lounge.

"Hey," She muttered, stepping over someone's backpack that was sitting in the entrance of the bunk hallway.

Dan's eyebrows shot up as he watched his friend sitting across from him follow the girl with his eyes. He watched as Josh shifted on the couch, biting his lip. This wasn't good. Josh had a girlfriend. He couldn't be drooling over this Kayleigh girl.

Kayleigh bent over, picking up a pair of Sierra's pants. The guys watched her carefully, all admiring her. She knew they were watching her. She didn’t care.

"Kayleigh, stop that," Sierra laughed, jumping on her best friend's back. Sierra knew all too well what Kayleigh was doing. And, even though she knew that Kayleigh would never let any of those guys act on the thoughts running through their heads, she still felt it should stop. Stop teasing the poor boys with something they would never get.

"I need to clean, though!" Kayleigh squeaked as Sierra wrapped her arms around her neck, hanging on for dear life. Kayleigh collapsed under the weight. The two crashed to the dirty bus floor, screaming with laughter.

Sierra reached over and punched her best friend in the shoulder. Kayleigh returned the gesture, but with a little more force. They erupted into more laughter.

The boys all stared at the two, confused as to what the hell was going on. Sierra and Kayleigh were weird as hell, and that was shining through.

"Guys, what the fuck?"

The two shot up, hair sticking up and out in random places. Devin was standing at the foot of the lounge, shaking his head at them. "I see you've met Dumb and Dumber," He said to You Me At Six, rolling his eyes.

Sierra turned to Kayleigh, "I'm Dumb."

"That you are, my special little friend," Kayleigh smirked, ruffling her friend's hair. She sprang to her feet, stretching. Her shirt rode up, exposing a tattoo just above the top of her jeans riding low on her hips.

Josh's eyes traced the tattoo, smiling as he recognized the lyrics.

"Die young and save yourself" was tattooed in cursive, from one hip bone to the other.

Josh made a mental note to ask her about that tattoo later, whenever they were alone.

"Fuck, I'm tired," Kayleigh sighed, plopping down right next to Dan. She threw her head back, shutting her eyes tight. She wanted nothing but to sleep. The sun and heat took all the energy out of her earlier.

"Don't sleep, bitch," Sierra said, throwing an empty beer can at Kayleigh.

Kayleigh's eyes stayed shut as she raised her middle finger. Everyone laughed, making her smirk.

***

Kayleigh woke up with her face pressed into the carpeted bus floor, an empty bottle of Jack Daniels next to her head.

She laid on the floor, holding her eyes shut, groaning at the noise coming from the kitchenette. Her head was pounding and her mouth tasted like whiskey and cigarettes.

Last night’s barbeque was fun as hell. The taste in her mouth was an indication of that. She could not remember half of it; she blacked out after Devin gave her a sixth cup of whatever.

“Shut up in there!” Kayleigh screamed, immediately regretting it. She winced from the pounding in her head. She clutched her head, wishing the pain would stop.

Startled, Josh dropped the spoon he was holding to stir his coffee. The spoon clattered to the floor and he instantly scrambled to pick it up, knocking over cans and bottles in the process.

The pounding in Josh's head was a little like Kayleigh’s, only less intense. Josh hadn’t drank as much as the brunette on the floor in the lounge. He had learned last night that Kayleigh was insane when it came to drinking.

“Holy shit!” Kayleigh yelled, sitting up. Her eyes narrowed in on Josh. She shot him the coldest glare, her blue eyes looking as cold as ice.

Josh stared, nervous as hell. He didn’t want to get on her bad side; he wanted to stay on her good side. Apparently her bad side was miserable as hell. He had talked to Devin last night about her. Devin had told him that he spent the first two weeks of tour on Kayleigh’s bad side because he said something bad about her. She had made every single day hell for Devin, throwing his clothes out on to the dirty ground if they weren’t in his bag/bunk, “accidentally” spilling beer all over him, ruining his chances with any groupies, that sort of thing.

“S-sorry, love,” He stuttered out, finally picking up the spoon. He set that gently down on the counter next to his cup of coffee. An idea sparked in his mind. He grabbed the cup, holding it out in front of him, offering the cup to the girl as a sort of peace offering.

Kayleigh’s icy stare melted as she focused on the cup in his hand. She then focused on the small smile on his face. She couldn’t be mad at the boy standing there, offering his cup of coffee to her. She stood up slowly and made her way to Josh.

She took the cup from him, giving him an awkward smile.

“Sorry ‘bout waking you up like that, love,” Josh said softly, itching the back of his neck. He watched as Kayleigh drank his coffee, her eyes fluttering shut as the warm liquid made its way down her throat. She adored coffee.

“Are we the only ones awake?” Kayleigh asked after a moment. Her voice was rough and scratchy, like someone had taken sandpaper and shoved it down her throat. She coughed, trying to clear that sandpapery feeling in her throat.

Josh nodded, running his hand through the mess he called his hair. Kayleigh nodded as well, walking over to the small table across from the couch. She slid across the bench, resting her back against the wall, shutting her eyes tight.

Josh watched, mesmerized by the girl. She looked like an angel sitting there, her knees tucked up softly to her chest, her breathing soft, eyes shut soft. Everything seemed so soft and innocent on her. But he knew that was wrong. She was no angel.

“When’d you get that tattoo?” Josh asked, breaking the silence Kayleigh was enjoying.

She peeped her eye open, looking at him with a small smile, “Which tattoo? I’ve got seven.”

Josh smirked. Seven tattoos. He had only seen two. He wondered where the other five were placed. “The one on your stomach. Brand New lyrics, yeah?”

Kayleigh set her cup of coffee on to the table. The smirk on her face matched Josh’s perfectly. It was like a mirror image. “Well, Joshua, I got it two years ago, when I was sixteen,” She replied, stretching her legs out in front of her, then lifting up the hem of her shirt so he could see it better.

His eyes floated down from her soft face to her stomach, his eyes reading and rereading that tattoo in cursive.

“So you like Brand New, then?” Kayleigh asked, snapping Josh out of his daze. His eyes shot up to hers, meeting them. He instantly smiled.

“Like ‘em? Fuck, that is a massive understatement,” He chuckled, moving from the couch he was on to the bench across from the one she was on. The table separated them. Josh wanted to be closer, but knew better.

Kayleigh laughed, pushing her hair out of her face. She tucked some behind her ear as she looked down at the cup of coffee. She pushed it across the table to Josh, offering him some.

Josh looked down at the cup on the table in front of him, then to the girl sitting in front of him. She had a tiny smile on her face. Josh had put that smile on her face, but she wouldn’t tell him that.

He already knew, anyways.

“Favorite song by them?” Kayleigh asked as he took the cup, sipping lightly from it.

Josh set the cup down, thinking about the question she just asked. He pushed the cup back to Kayleigh, who took it with a smile. “I’d have to say Jesus Christ, Guernica, or Sic Transit Gloria,” He answered, nodding a bit.

Kayleigh brought the cup to her lips, smiling. Those were her favorite songs from them, too. The boy in front of her was getting better and better by the minute.

“I take it from the way you’re smiling that those are you favorites, too?” He smirked, already knowing her little quirks. “You’ve got good taste, sweetheart.”

“Same goes for you,” She laughed, sipping her coffee.

The two sat in silence. Kayleigh rested her head against the wall behind her, shutting her eyes once again. She didn't know what time it was, but she knew it was early because not even Mike was awake.

They were still in motion, too. Usually the bus arrived by six or seven am, long before anyone woke up.

Josh stared at Kayleigh with a small smile on his face. She was beautiful to him, stretched ears, tattoos, and all.

His girlfriend was the last thing on his mind as he watched Kayleigh's chest rise and fall in shallow, uneven breaths. He wanted nothing more than to wrap his arms around her, hug her, fall asleep with her.

He had only known her one day, but that was all it took for him to fall for her.

Kayleigh had trapped another boy.