Baby Steps

I woke the next morning to the familiar and welcomed smell of waffles coming from the front of the bus. I got up slowly, trying not to hit my head on the bunk above me, (It’s happened more often than not…) and made my way to the kitchen area. Tony was standing at the counter, a fresh platter of his homemade waffles next to him. I stopped and gazed at him for a moment.
He was truly perfect to me. He has been ever since we met, but it took me so long to realize just how amazing he really was. Tony was probably the sweetest and most caring person that I had ever met, and I was lucky to have him as my best friend. I just hope that when the time comes, he’ll understand how I feel about him. I’m not asking for him to return my feelings, although that would be preferred, but I just want to be accepted.
I must have been staring again because he turned around and noticed me standing there.
“Morning Mike, breakfast is ready.” He grinned and I felt heat rise to my cheeks.
“M-morning…” I stuttered out before taking a seat at the table next to him. He walked over towards me and leaned up to grad a plate from our cabinet. I inhaled sharply at the close contact, having his chest almost directly in my face.
“Excuse me,” he chuckled and set a plate in front of me. I smiled my thanks and helped myself to a waffle. Not long afterwards, Jaime and Vic emerged from the bunk area.
“Hey Mike, you got a txt.” Vic yawned and handed me my phone. It was from Taylor.
*Today is a new day. Make it a good one =)*
I chuckled before putting my phone into my pocket. Tony took the seat next to me and began eating. His leg brushed against mine and I paused for a moment. He didn’t realize my actions and continued eating. I was getting to the point where any time he touched me, a little electric jolt would shoot through me. Something really had to be done about this.

After breakfast had finished, we had gotten to our first venue of this tour. We had to all head inside for a sound check then we were allowed to wander around for a little while before calltime. Vic and Jaime wandered off somewhere again, which was beginning to make me believe they did it on purpose. It had been happening ever since I told them about my feelings. So that left me and Tony. Alone. Again.
He looked over at me and grinned. “So what do you wanna do?” My immediate thought to that question was definitely not something that I would have said out loud.
“Let’s go into town for a little while.” I suggested as he stood beside me. “I saw a few record shops that looked pretty cool.” He nodded in agreement and we headed off. It was a little awkward walking quietly along a street in an unfamiliar town. I wasn’t sure exactly where we were, but this place was pretty small compared to our usual venues. I felt myself zoning out as we walked down the street.
“-ike… Mike!” I felt something grab at my arm and pull me backwards. I collided with something solid and looked up in time to see a car speed by about two feet from where I was standing. The passenger yelled something incoherent out of the window and flipped me off. I rolled my eyes and went to straighten up, but something was holding me back. That’s when I noticed that Tony had his arms wrapped tightly around me. “Christ Mike, you need to pay attention.”
“S-sorry.” He gave me a stern look before I removed myself from his arms. I felt my cheeks heat up and he looked down nervously.
“Just… be more careful okay?” He punched my arm lightly and began crossing the street.
“Yeah.” I followed suit.
It took us only a few more minutes to reach the first store. I was quite surprised to find that this store had a rather large selection of music. We split our separate ways and began to explore the shop. This place literally had everything from Poison to Abba proudly on display. I doubt that I had ever seen such a large collection of music in my life. Scratch that, I know this one guy, but he has no life… like seriously. Anyway, I began searching through some records when I noticed these two girls walking up to Tony.
I clenched my fist a little as I saw the smile that he greeted them with, longing for him to look at me the same way. I could tell that these girls were trying to flirt with him and it was beginning to really bother me. One of the girls, a really tall blonde, reached up and played with the little braid on the side of his head, batting her eyelashes. It was enough to make me sick. I could hear him laugh at something she said and I nearly lost my mind. I began to walk towards them.
“Oh my god! Mike Fuentes!” I heard a female voice yell and suddenly I was surrounded by a large group of people.
“He’s so much cooler looking in person!”
“Look at those tattoos!”
“Can I touch you?” I was beginning to get really angry, but these were our fans and I knew that I had to be gentle with my actions. That was until one of the girls tried to kiss me. I moved so that she missed my lips and got cheek instead. She squealed and ran off. I looked up to see a weird look on Tony’s face. If I wasn’t mistaken, it looked like he was jealous. But that would be crazy. As I tried to escape from the group, I saw Tony hug the two girls and exit the record shop.
“Tony!” I yelled, but he either couldn’t hear me or chose to ignore me. I sighed in frustration and wiggled my way to the doors. As soon as I was out I ran after him. “TONY!” I yelled again. He stopped at the crosswalk, and I’m sure that was only because there was traffic coming. I finally caught up to him. “Dude, you okay?”
“Fine.” He replied bluntly. I gave him a skeptical look.
“You don’t look like you’re fine.” I argued.
“Just leave it alone, Mike.” His tone was fierce and I was taken aback by it. The light signaled that it was safe to cross and Tony wasted no time walking away. I, however, was rooted to my spot. I’m not sure why, but I just watched him walk away. I didn’t get it, why was he so angry. I wasn’t the one flirting with fans, they just gathered around me. Would he really be upset that they gathered around me or was there something else bothering him. I ran a hand through my hair and headed back towards the venue.
By the time I had returned, Vic and Jaime were back in the bus. They asked where Tony was, but I didn’t respond and just went to my bunk and laid down. I wasn’t in the mood to explain things to them. Not that they wouldn’t understand, but because I didn’t have the emotional strength to do so.
I reached for my phone and quickly typed out a message to Taylor. I knew that she was an outsider and that her opinion wouldn’t be biased like my brother’s or Jaime’s. It didn’t take her long to respond.
*What happened? –Taylor*
*To be honest, I have no clue… -Mike*
*Well something had to have happened to make him mad Mike. –Taylor*
*Well I kinda got mobbed at the record store and this girl tried to kiss me… but idk if it was that or the fact that I was surrounded by people. –Mike*
It took her a little longer to reply this time.
*I think that once he cools down, you should talk to him about it. If you leave this to fester then there might be a real problem down the road. –Taylor*
*Yeah… you’re right. I’ll talk to him after the set tonight. –Mike*
*Keep me posted =) –Taylor*
*Will do. –Mike*
I put my phone to the side and breathed deeply. This was definitely something easier said than done…