Cowards Are Golden

Dan tried to remember why he had let somebody like Josh talk him into what he was about to do. This was such a terrible plan and if it worked Dan would be shocked to hell. He kept his eyes on the tall blonde only feet away from him and walked at moderate pace. The snickers from Josh were much too loud and the minute the girl looked at him, Dan turned around and walked back to the merchandise tent quickly.

The brown haired boy laughed out loud and grabbed Dan by his shoulders, “Mate, being a chicken shit isn’t going to get you anywhere.”

Dan’s jaw tightened and he stared at Josh with wide eyes, “It was your fault.”

Josh took a step back and cocked his head to the side, “My fault?” He turned around to face Matt, “Did you hear this, man?” Matt just nodded and went back to signing a fan’s Sinners Never Sleep album. “It’s not my fault you can’t even say ‘hello’ to a bird.”

“No, but you had to catch her attention before I could even attempt to say shit to her.” Dan scooted around his arrogant friend and took his place next to Chris and Max. Josh just shook his head as he put the metallic sharpie to the black tee-shirt of a fan.

Chris tilted his head to the side, “Don’t worry, mate. Josh is just jealous cause’ he’s held down to Abigail.”

It could have been the truth, but Josh should have been used to being held down. Over the last five years he had only been single for about three months. Those three months he had become the biggest flirt and after a few drinks he became quite the feisty one. It was never embarrassing to his band mates for they thought it was the most entertaining thing. But then one day Josh announced he’s taking some new bint out on a date and that was the end of that. Josh went back to his old self, so for him to act like this towards Dan because he was jealous was just ridiculous.

Hours later after the signing and a set that was beyond amazing, Dan found himself laying in his bunk texting his sister, Sarah. “I don’t think I’ve ever been this homesick.”

“You can’t let this get you down. You’ll be home in a few weeks.”

Dan rolled onto his side as he tucked the iPhone into the pocket of his jeans. Sarah was right; only a few more weeks and he would be home in his own bed. The exhausted man moaned as the curtain to his bunk slid open with an obnoxious sound. Dan turned over to see Max’s girlfriend, Christine smiling at him brightly.

“Get your ass out of bed! I have somebody I want you to meet.” Christine grabbed Dan by the collar of his gray v-neck and pulled him from his bunk. “Put your shoes on and meet us outside.” Dan struggled to maintain his balance as the petite blonde exited the tour bus. He slipped his feet into his black Vans and moseyed off of the bus.

Like most nights on Vans Warped Tour, all of the bands and personnel would gather around all of their buses drinking and carrying on. Dan was greeted by a very drunk Josh, “Aye, you’ve made it!” He bent over and pulled a beer from the cooler and tossed it to Dan, “Drink up! You’ve got a lot of catching up to do.” With a wink, Josh back to his conversation with Chad from New Found Glory. Dan scanned the scene before him until he found Christine, Max, and a tiny girl with dark hair and bright eyes.

Christine noticed Daniel and quickly waved him over. The unknown girl turned her attention to the approaching figure and smiled brightly. She stuck her hand out proudly, “You must be Dan! I’m Kate.”

The look on Dan’s face had to be one of pure shock. This girl was so small, yet her voice was so loud and prominent. He could already sense her personality was ten times the size of her stature. “Nice to meet you, Kate.”

Kate smiled brightly as she spoke to her friends and it almost made Dan’s heart skip a beat as cheesy as that sounded. Every time she would share an anecdote she would throw her hands up into the air being dramatic as possible. It was odd how small and low her laugh was though, even when there were tears falling from her eyes from the hilarity of the joke. Dan hardly noticed how hard he was staring until Kate stuck her tongue out at him. All he could do was let out a short chuckle.

The dark haired girl took a sip of her beer and smiled softly, “You seem bored, Mister Flint.”

In return, Dan took a swig of his own brew and smirked, “Tonight isn’t exactly my night.”

“Yeah, today has been kind of shitty. I take pictures for All Time Low and somebody stole my memory card. So, about two weeks of work and blog updates are gone…poof!”

Dan placed the palm of his hand of the small of Kate’s back, “That does suck, love. Hopefully you’ll be able to make up for the lost photos, eh?’

Kate wiped a stray hair from her face and gave another smile, “You are very optimistic. I like that.” She paused for a moment contemplating what her next move would be. Dan seemed nice enough to actually spend some time with on a personal level. He was kind and well-spoken; just what the doctor ordered. “Hey, why don’t we get out of here?”