Seize The Day.

The two of them stayed on the bus for a few more minutes, just talking. Not about anything much in particular, but Zacky liked having normal conversations with people every now and then. It was nice to talk about something other than the tour for once.
Meanwhile, the rest of the guys were walking around town. Syn turned to Johnny, “So what do you want for your birthday man?” Johnny shrugged, “I dunno really. I mean, I get to be home for my birthday this year. I’m not sure I can ask for much more than that, ‘cause that like, never happens haha.” All the guys laughed and they kept walking. After a while, Johnny looked at Arin, “So what’s gonna happen with you and Jenny? When the tour ends I mean.” Arin looked down at the ground and kicked a rock as he walked, “To be honest, I’m not really sure. I mean, I want to stay together, but whether she’ll stay is a different story.” Johnny nodded understandingly, “Maybe you two should talk about that. We’ve only got a few more stops before the tour is over.” Arin nodded but didn’t look up from the sidewalk, “Yea, I know.”
Jenny and Zacky met up with the guys at a little café the guys knew about. It was kind of like one that she had been to on a trip to Maine with her cousin. It had that rustic kind of feel to it. They all sat down at a table and looked around, they stood out like sore thumbs. That wasn’t uncommon for them though. A bunch of guys totally decked out in tattoos in any place kind of stood out. The waitress brought them their menus. She must’ve known the guys, “Good to have you guys back here again,” she said with a smile, “Oh, we have another new one! Who’s she?” Jenny smiled at her, “My name’s Jenny. I’m a backup vocalist they picked up along the way haha.” The woman smiled at her, “Nice to meet you Jenny. I’m Kari.” Kari turned to the guys, “What’s looking good today?” Johnny gave a playful wink, “You.” She laughed, “Besides me, hun.” They all laughed and placed their orders.
When Kari walked away Jenny turned to the guys, “Wow, you guys know people everywhere you go don’t you?” Zacky shrugged as he toyed with one of the sugar packets on the table, “It happens when you make a tradition of going to certain cities. You make friends and stuff.” The waitress brought their coffees and donuts and other assorted things to the table. Jenny took a sip of her iced coffee, “So, I haven’t asked this since it really hadn’t mattered before, but where are we?” Brian paused from eating his donut, “We’re two days away from Huntington Beach.” Jenny’s eyes grew wide, “Are you serious? Shit, how long have I been with you guys?” Arin laughed, “A pretty long time. You came on board about half way through the tour.” Jenny leaned back in her chair, “Damn, that’s crazy. I feel like it’s only been a few weeks.” Syn laughed, “It’s been longer than that, trust me.”
They finished eating and decided that they’d stay and chat for a while. Jenny turned to Johnny, “Wait, that means you get to be home for your birthday this year!” He smiled at her, “Yea, I know. I’m excited about that. I get to see my family and everyone this year. It’s gonna be great.” She smiled, “That’s so awesome. You finally get to be with everyone.” She just shook her head; she didn’t really know what else there was to say. Johnny looked over to her, “Well, I usually have a party and stuff and the guys always come over. Do you wanna come?” She smiled and blushed, “Oh, that’s okay. I don’t want to like, intrude on anything. It’s your day to spend with your family and stuff. I don’t wanna just, disturb that haha.” Johnny laughed and shook his head, “Are you kidding me? You’re basically family at this point. If you wanna stick around for a while, you can definitely come over for the party and stuff.” She smiled, “Alright, sounds awesome. But umm, I need a place to crash. I don’t really own a house there or anything haha.” Zacky laughed and nudged Jenny with his elbow, “You can crash with loverboy over there. He’s got a place.” She smiled and turned to Arin, “That okay with you?” He laughed, “Why wouldn’t it be?”
They left the café and continued walking around town. Jenny dragged them into a bunch of different stores. Each time the guys would complain and not want to go in, but they always ended up having a good time, even if it wasn’t a store for people with their style of clothes. Jenny loved watching them try on all these fancy business suits, or the preppy college-boy clothes. It just looked so odd on them, but somehow, they made it work. In the oddest, most dysfunctional way, it worked. “But,” said Jenny with a laugh, “I wouldn’t make it your new style for the band or anything.” In one of the last clothing stores they were in, the guys pushed her into a dressing room and threw a bunch of different dresses and skirts over the door, telling her to try them on. Jenny banged on the door, begging to be let out, but the guys wouldn’t let her until she tried on the things they gave her. She finally stopped trying to escape and began to rifle through all of the dresses that they’d given her. A few of them she could actually see herself in on stage. After a few edits with a pair of scissors of course. One by one, she tried on the dresses and skirts and showed the guys. When she finally came back out in her normal clothes, with all the dresses draped over arm, she looked at the guys, “Am I done now?” Zacky laughed as he took a few of the dresses from her, “Yea, I guess you are for now. But,” he said as he held up a few of the dresses, “you’re going to keep these.” Jenny cocked her head to the side in confusion, “But why?” Zacky laughed, “If you’re gonna be a part of the band, you’ve gotta have some formal clothes too.” She smiled, “Alright, whatever you say Baker.”
And, before they started heading back to the bus to get ready for the show, Matt took her into an old record store. Where they still sold old-school records and things like that. Jenny stared around the store in awe, “Whoa, I didn’t know places like this were still around. There’s none out where I live.” Matt put his hand on her shoulder, “That’s what I figured. And that’s why I brought you here.” She looked up at him and smiled; it was nice to see him getting back to normal after a few rough nights. He showed her all the different records of all the greatest old rock bands. It was so interesting to her, to see how buying music started. The old records always fascinated her, but she had never been able to see them up close like this. Matt looked down at her as she rifled through the rows of artists. He loved seeing her so interested in something like this. He had always assumed that all the kids and teens had just forgotten about records since they could so easily get everything online, but Jenny proved him wrong. She might only be one of the few who still took interest in things like this, but he loved watching her go through everything, eyes sparkling with eagerness and anticipation.
When they were walking out of the store, she told him, “You know, I know I’ve only done a small handful on concerts with you guys. I guess that’s why I didn’t think that I’ve spent a lot of time with you. I guess I just never realized how much downtime was in between shows. I mean, we spent a lot of time on the road.” He nodded, “Yea, that’s how it usually goes. We spend more time on the bus than we do on stage. But it’s so worth it man. I mean, when you see the faces of people in the crowd, you know that all those God-forsaken hours on the bus had a purpose.” She looked over at him, he was kicking stones down the sidewalk as they walked. She wished that she knew what was going on inside his head right then. Because he looked happy but at the same time, it almost looked as if there was something missing from the picture. She thought about what they had done in the store, but they were just looking through old records, nothing seemed to bother him. He actually looked really happy in there. She nudged his arm, “What’s up man?” He looked at her, “Huh? Oh, nothing.” She stopped walking, “Don’t lie to me bro. Come on, what’s wrong? You know you can talk to me.”
He sighed and sat down on the bench on the sidewalk and Jenny slid down next to him. He looked at her, “Well that was where Jimmy and I always used to go when we had down time when we were touring here. He would wreak havoc in that place. It was the funniest thing I’d ever seen. He’d put records on every player and then go around and start them all. And they were all different songs and different bands. So it sounded like a radio malfunction or something. And the dude who owns the store wouldn’t even get mad. He’d just laugh and go around and take all the records off. But Jimmy would do that every time. It was great. I guess I’m still getting used to the fact that that kinda stuff won’t happen, you know?” She nodded, “Yea, I know the feeling.” He looked over at her, “Do you ever still get that feeling where you wanna tell Joe or Theresa something but they’re just, not there?” Jenny slowly nodded, “Yea, all the time. I actually started a notebook. I’ll show you when we get back to the bus. But it’s filled with all these things that I’ve wanted to say to them, even though they’re not here. It helps me cope with the whole thing. I also have one where I write to Jimmy.” Matt looked at her, slightly shocked, “Really?” She nodded, “Yep. I call it my “Dear Jimmy” notebook. No one’s ever read it besides me and, well, Jimmy. But whenever I get really upset or anything, I write in that. It helps a lot. Even if he can’t say anything back, it’s nice to know that he’s there to listen.” Matt couldn’t help but to smile a little. It was amazing to him that someone like her could be so open about those kinds of things. He wouldn’t admit those kinds of things to anyone. He kept so much to himself when it came to stuff like that.
He waited for her to look at him, “Who would you say you’ve become the closest with out of all of us in the band?” She leaned back on the bench and thought about it for a minute, “I don’t know. I mean, I know the obvious option would be Arin, but there’s still a lot about me he doesn’t know yet. I think that it’s a tie between Zacky and Johnny. Then it’s you and Arin, and then Brian. Brian and I never really became close. I think there’s always going to be that wall between the two of us.” Matt cocked his head to the side in confusion, “Why do you say that?” Jenny toyed with her necklace, “That first night I was with you guys, something broke inside Brian. I know that sounds overdramatic, but I think it’s true. Something in him changed when Johnny gave up this necklace. I don’t blame Brian for being mad at all, but I think that there’s always going to be something between the two of us. I feel like he thinks that I stole a piece of Jimmy that wasn’t rightfully mine. I don’t blame him for that. But I think that’s what it is.”
Matt put his hand on hers, “You’ve given this a lot of thought haven’t you?” She nodded, “Well yea. I mean, I wish I could be as close with all of you guys as I am with Johnny or Zacky, but I just don’t think that that’s possible, you know?” He looked at her, her hazel eyes so confused and a little hurt. He slightly tightened his grip on her hand, “Look Jenn, Brian is gonna come around. He’s sensitive. I know that’s probably a shocking bit of news to you haha. But it’s true. We lost a part of him when we lost Jimmy. And he hasn’t quite recovered yet. And yes, Johnny giving up his necklace probably didn’t help the cause, but it’s not gonna make him distant from you forever okay? I think that once we get back home for a while and get back into the swing of recording and seeing our families and everything, he’ll get a little better. He’s gotten better; he’s trying. I can see that, and I hope you can too. But trust me Jenn,” he said as he looked into her eyes, “it’ll get better.” He wrapped her in a hug and Jenny just tried to control her breathing. She was so close to breaking down but she refused to do it. She wasn’t going to cry. Not here, not now.
They walked back to the bus in silence. Matt had his arm comfortingly around Jenny’s shoulder. He figured that this was the least he could do for her after all she’s done for him and the rest of the band. This time it was Jenny who was looking down at the sidewalk as they strolled back to the bus.
When they got there they were greeted by the laughs of all the guys inside. She walked in and saw them all sitting around, drinking their beers. It made her smile a little; it was always nice to see the guys like that. She liked seeing them just be themselves with each other, joking around and everything. She sat down next to Johnny on the couch. He smiled at her, “You good?” She nodded, “Yea, I’m fine.” He kissed the top of her head and then went back to talking to Zacky. They were arguing about something that had happened at a concert a few years ago. Jenny laughed, “Why are you guys arguing about that? It happened forever-ago haha.” Zacky smiled at her, “Johnny just doesn’t like admitting that he’s wrong.” Johnny opened his mouth to say something but Jenny put her hand up to stop him, “Nah man, I don’t wanna hear it. I’m not getting into this.” Johnny gave her the puppy dog eyes, “Not even for your favorite bassist?”
She smiled at him, “Look, you may be the most amazing bassist known to this planet, and you may have been the first guy on this tour bus to kiss me, but I’m still not getting into that argument with you two.” Johnny’s face went beat red as Jenny, Arin, and Matt burst out laughing. Brian and Zacky looked kind of lost. “Wait,” Brian said as he looked back and forth between the three of them laughing, “Johnny did what?” Jenny tried to catch her breath from laughing so hard, “Didn’t Arin tell you guys? That one night after the show when we went to the bar together, the three of you guys got hammered and Zacky and Johnny were all over me. And Johnny kissed me on the lips.” Johnny’s head was in his hands, “I was hoping you’d all forget about it. Brian and Zacky did apparently. Why couldn’t you?” Jenny laughed as she opened a beer, “Because, why would I forget a dream come true?” Matt looked at her in shock, “Haha wait, what?” Jenny giggled, “You’ve never been inside the head of a fangirling teenager. You should be thankful for that. You’d see stuff going on up there that would make you not want to let girls into your concerts anymore haha. But, I’m pretty good about it. But I won’t deny the fact that ever since I started listening to you guys all that time ago, Johnny has always been that one person that has…yea…you get what I mean haha.” Jenny’s face was turning redder by the minute as she explained it all to them. Brian tossed a pillow at her to get her attention, “Who else have you fangirled about in the past?” She laughed, “Oh jeeze, all of you haha. But, my friend Melody talks about you all the time bro.” Syn nodded in a approval, “Sounds like your friend has a great taste in men.” She laughed, “Yea, that’s the one.”
The guys went back to making fun of Johnny and the fact that he kissed Jenny. Jenny just shook her head as she listened to them. She tuned out all of their voices and just looked at them. They were all smiling and they were all so happy. Between Matt’s dimples, Syn’s warm brown eyes, Zacky’s adorable smile, Arin’s little spazzums that he had when he laughed really hard, and Johnny’s beat-red face, she couldn’t help but to smile from ear to ear herself. They were all so different, but they were exactly the same. It worked. Whatever friendship they had, it worked. They got along almost flawlessly. Even with Arin and he wasn’t even supposed to be there. They guys had this energy about them that made them so easy to get along with.
Finally, she was snapped back to reality when the guys had Johnny pinned down on the couch. She laughed as she started trying to pull all the guys off of him. She felt a pair of arms wrap around her waist and pull her backwards. She turned her head and saw Arin there. She smiled at him and he kissed her neck, “Not this time,” he said with a wink. She just laughed and put her hands over his.
She turned back to the guys but didn’t move her hands, “Alright guys, let him go. We’ve gotta start setting up anyway. It’s our like, second to last show. Let’s not fuck it up because we took too much time torturing Short Shit over here haha.” The guys reluctantly let go of their hold on Johnny and let him get up. Johnny brushed himself off, “Thanks Jenn.” She laughed, “It’s what I’m here for man.”