Props and Mayhem

Emme hung of the phone and pinched the bridge of her nose. She went back into the bedroom and plopped down beside Tony and Jaime.
In the kitchen area, Vic was blasting AFI. She paused to mentally applaud his choice.
“I am in so much trouble,” moaned Jayne, coming out of the kitchen, cell phone in hand. “It took so long to convince them to let me come in the first place.”
Emme let her eyes close for a minute. “Me, too. My mom is freaking out.”
“We knew they would.” Jayne tossed her phone on the bed and it bounced, once, twice.
Tony glanced over, vaguely sympathetic.
Suddenly, Emme turned to Jaime. “Wait, what are you guys going to do? Where’s your next show?”
He grimaced. “France. The plane was supposed to leave early tomorrow morning, but—”
“We’re all stuck,” finished Emme, pressing her hand flat against her knee. She’d be excited for more time with everyone, but her mom was stressing her out too much. She groaned. “I can’t believe this right now.”
To divert their stress, Mike made more coffee—as if they hadn’t had enough on their morning adventure—and they sat around in a circle, Vic strumming his guitar and improvising as he went.
Jayne, who didn’t like coffee, was instead trying to mimic Vic’s chords on the guitar Jack had left in the suite earlier. Her eyes met Emme’s and she shrugged sheepishly. Vic was too quick for her.
It made Emme realize that she and Jayne had received their music lessons from Gabe and Justin. It didn’t hurt to remind them now—after all, what else were they supposed to do? They were, in effect, stranded. To get anywhere else—whether home or France—they’d have to cross an ocean.
“Can you get Justin and Gabe to come and teach us their ways?” asked Emme, leaning into Jaime.
“I’ll do anything for you,” Jaime answered her. He flicked the end of her nose, and Emme couldn’t help loving that he made even the cheesiest lines sound sweet.
So Mike went to get them, and soon enough, the entire band, minus Kellin, was filing in. “He’s Skyping his fiancé,” Gabe said by way of explanation.
Lame. Emme shrugged. “His loss,” she sang brightly. Her eyes cut to Gabe and Justin. “Are you ready to teach us?”
Gabe held up his bongos. “I have these. They’re sort of an intro course.”
Emme, Jayne, Gabe, and Justin split off from the group to do their own thing. Gabe was a good teacher in that he was soft-spoken and patient. Emme wished she’d bonded with him earlier. He really was sweet.
The music was certainly a distraction from the stressful situation, but neither Emme nor Jayne were able to forget it completely. It would figure that something would happen to prove their parents’ concerns right. Of course, Emme also knew that as soon as the air strike was lifted, she’d be wishing it wasn’t over yet.

Emme and Jayne slept in the next morning, and when they saw that someone had arranged breakfast to be delivered to their room.
“Breakfast in bed,” Jayne declared sleepily, getting out of her bed.
Emme moaned and rolled over, closing her eyes again. They shot open again at an increase in pressure on the bed by her legs.
Jayne had sat down with one of the trays, and she transferred it to Emme’s lap.
The smell of the waffles and maple syrup—real maple syrup— wafted to Emme, and she sat up, cautious not to spill her orange juice.
Jayne returned to her own bed and her own breakfast. “There’s a note on your napkin,” she added, pointing with her fork.
Emme stopped with her glass halfway to her mouth, and she picked up the napkin with the thumb and forefinger of her other hand. “’I love you. Hope you had sweet dreams. –Jaime’,” she read aloud.
“Sweet,” Jayne cooed. They ate quietly, forks clinking against their plates.
“I’ve run out of clean outfits.” Emme gulped down more juice. “I don’t want to wear the same clothes—they’re dirty.”
Jayne nodded solemnly. “Not to mention that everyone’s already seen you wearing them.” She was planning on majoring in fashion design, so these details mattered to her.
Then Emme noticed two bundles by the door. “What are those?” she asked, hoping that Jayne would go over and look. She didn’t want to get out of bed.
“They’re clothes. They think of everything,” laughed Jayne incredulously. She took one of the bundles, hugging it to her chest and bringing it to the bathroom to change. When she returned, she was dressed in Mike’s blue T-shirt and sweatpants.
“You look comfy.” Emme sorted through her own bundle. Of course the clothes were Jaime’s.
Jayne was adjusting Mike’s beanie on her head. “I am comfy.”
Once they had both changed, they headed upstairs to thank Jaime for breakfast—and what else would they do but hang out with the guys, anyway?
It was Mike who opened the door for them, playing with his lip piercing. “Hey, come on in.” He stopped, though, and stared at Jayne in his clothing.
“He can’t help it,” said Jaime when the girls entered. “A guy can’t resist a girl wearing his clothes.” He tugged at Emme’s sweatshirt. “Speaking of, you look adorable.”
Emme nudged him and smiled. “Thanks.”
All they did that day was lounge around, and watch a few Bryan Stars interviews. It was nice to relax with the guys, but after a while it was painfully boring. She and Jayne didn’t know the area well enough to go out or go shopping, and it was surprisingly difficult to come up with something that they hadn’t done before. Emme almost—almost—wished she was back at home.