We Say Summer

“Are you sure that this looks okay?” I asked Lisa, then smoothed down my teal skirt once again. “I don’t want to look like I’m trying too hard.”

Lisa’s face, which was currently on my laptop’s screen, broke into a reassuring smile. “You don’t. You look great,” she promised me. “Are you going to tell me who this is for?”

“What do you mean?” I shrugged my shoulders and smiled innocently. “I just wanted to look nice for the first big party.”

Lisa rolled her eyes before raising one of her eyebrows, silently daring me to lie to her again. Unfortunately for her, I was feeling rather brave today, so I widened my smile and assured her that I simply wanted to look good because there was a party going on.

“Mm-hm, I’ll bet you do,” Lisa said, though she looked as though she didn’t believe me at all. “So, are there any girls there for you to hang out with?”

“Jaime from Pierce the Veil brought his daughter along and she’s, like, a year older than me. Stephen claims that there’s two other girls on this tour, but I haven’t seen them around yet, so...”

I finished off my rambling with a lazy shrug and plopped down in my bunk, taking my laptop with me. The bonfire had already started, but Stephen was taking longer than expected to get ready, so I, being a great best friend, agreed to wait for him. To pass the time, I had decided to video chat with Lisa and ask for her thoughts on my outfit.

“Any guys for Stephen to be manly with?” Lisa asked.

“Stephen doesn’t know how to be manly,” I said with a snort. “But yeah, there’s a few guys here for him to hang with.”

Lisa hummed under her breath, then nodded her head slowly, obviously thinking hard about something. A few moments passed before she asked her next question, “Any cute ones?”

My mouth dropped open into an ‘o’ shape and I pointed an accusing finger at my computer. “I am not falling for that one, Lisa! You must think that I was born yesterday.”

“Well, excuse me for wondering who you’re dressing up for!”

Not trusting myself not to spill the beans on my newfound interest in The Sixth (I had been known in the past to ramble to Lisa about my crushes), I reached out to slowly inch my laptop closed. “Oh, I think I hear Stephen calling me,” I lied. “Thanks for all your help. Bye, Lisa!”

With that, I shut my laptop completely and set it down in my bunk. After making sure it was safe, I climbed down from the small space and shuffled into the small bathroom near the back of the bus, checking that my hair was cooperating with me and not pulling a ‘I can’t be tamed’ moment. Once I found that it was tame, I ventured to the front of the bus.

“You look nice,” Dad complimented me before patting the spot next to him on the couch.

“Thanks, Daddy,” I said with a sweet smile and plopped down next to him.

Hey, I could be a good daughter when I wanted to be.

Dad reached over and wrapped his arm around me in a half-hug. “So, which boy is this for?”

“All of ‘em. My goal is to have all three of them fuck me by the time Warped is over.” The sweet smile on my face transformed into a smirk. “Maybe a few band dudes, too.”

“You better be kidding right now.” When I shook my head, Dad gave me a warning look. “Haley, I’m serious about the no sex rule.”

I threw my hands up in surrender. “Okay, okay! I’m kidding. None of them are gonna fuck me.”

With a loud sigh, Dad shot a glare at me. “Don’t say that,” he scolded.

“Okay, I wasn’t kidding. All three of them are gonna fuck me.” I let out a laugh, but stopped when Dad’s eyes narrowed into slits. “What? You told me not to say that.”

“I meant don’t say ‘fuck me,’” Dad said with a sigh while shaking his head.

Feigning innocence, I scrunched my eyebrows together and shrugged my shoulders. “Oh, well, you should be more clear on those things.”

Dad looked like he wanted to reach out and strangle me. The vein in his forehead was very prominent and throbbing, which was a bit of a usual occurrence when the two of us had a conversation.

“You knew exactly what I was talking about,” he snapped, his teeth gritted.

Again, I shrugged my shoulders and smiled innocently. “Hm...maybe...” I looked around the front lounge, which was deserted except for Dad and I. “Where is everyone?”

“They all headed for the bonfire,” Dad informed me. “I told them that we’d be there soon.”

“Stephen left without me?” I pouted and crossed my arms over my chest. “His slow ass is the reason I stayed behind in the first place! When I get my hands on him...”

“Haley Marie Gaskarth, don’t lay a hand on Stephen. Last time you gave him a black eye, Sam nearly attacked me.”

Rolling my eyes, I flopped back against the couch. “It’s not your fault her kid’s such a little bitch sometimes.”

A lot of the people that I come in contact with are shocked by my mouth. I have a bit of a problem where I just blurt out the first thing that pops into my mind and most people are offended by it. Usually, Dad hardly bats an eye at the ridiculous things that come out of my mouth. But there are times when even he has trouble finding a way to reply. Right now happened to be one of those times.

“You did not just-- Haley, I--” he sputtered out before slapping his palm to his forehead. “Jesus Christ. Let’s just go.”

He pushed himself up from the couch before outstretching his hand to me. I took hold of his hand and he pulled me up from my spot on the couch. Once I was standing, Dad slung his arm over my shoulder and we made our way off the bus.

As soon as we got to the bonfire, I gave Dad a peck on the cheek before going off to find Stephen. I was still a bit miffed that he had left me, and had plans to let him know about my annoyance.

“You look cute.”

Startled, I stumbled over my own feet and let out a loud gasp. A hand took hold of my arm, saving me from falling flat on my face. When I managed to catch my breath, my gaze drifted up to the handsome face smiling down at me.

“You shouldn’t sneak up on me like that. I have a mean right hook, y’know,” I warned, flashing a teasing smile. “But thanks for saving me from eating dirt.”

“Not a problem,” The Sixth said while glancing around. “Where’s your twin?”

Apparently Stephen and I acted so similar sometimes that it had become a joke among some of the band kids to call us ‘the twins.’

“I’m actually looking for him right now,” I explained and tilted my head toward the forbidden fruit in The Sixth’s hand. He handed me the brown bottle and I took a few sips before handing it back. “Daddy Oh doesn’t care if you drink?”

“You come up with the weirdest nicknames for people,” The Sixth chuckled and took a final sip of beer before handing the rest over to me. “And to answer your question, no, he doesn’t really care. As long as I don’t go overboard, he’s cool with it.”

“You’re lucky your dad’s so chill,” I sighed. “Mine gives me a long lecture about how I can’t drink, party too hard, or have casual sex every time I leave his side. How can I get the whole Warped experience without having at least two flings?”

The Sixth laughed. “I’m not allowed to party hard or have any flings, either. Dad said he’d kick my ass if I got any girls pregnant.”

“Then you better use protection, O’Callaghan.”

The Sixth let out another laugh, and his laugh was so contagious that I couldn’t help but join in. For the people who weren’t offended by it, my lack of control over the things that came out of my mouth usually got a few laughs. Don’t get me wrong, I liked being able to bring a bit of joy to people’s days and give them a laugh, but I usually didn’t get butterflies in my stomach when someone laughed at something I said. But as I listened to The Sixth’s guffaws, there was a fluttering in my belly.

Unfortunately (for him) I spotted Stephen across the lot, chatting it up with one of the merch girls that I had seen around a few times. “Hey, Douchebag, thanks for leaving me!” I shouted, cupping my hands around my mouth to amplify my voice. “Asshole!”

In response, he stuck his tongue out at me and flipped me off before turning his attention back to the girl he was talking with.

“Right backatcha!” I hollered at him, then turned my attention back to The Sixth. “He’s such a pain sometimes.”

Appearing concerned, The Sixth asked if everything was okay between Stephen and I.

Waving off his concern, I nodded. “You know how it can be between twins; always getting into silly arguments over nothing.”

“Oh, I know all about that, trust me.” The Sixth shook his head as a small smile tugged at his lips. “You two are so weird sometimes.”

Chuckling, I shrugged my shoulders. “With our dads, how could we not be weird?” I asked before turning on my heel, heading for the nearest cooler.

- - - -

After the bonfire, the party moved to the buses. And, of course, All Time Low’s bus had one of the biggest parties happening on it. I had partied for a while, but eventually got tired and retired to my bunk.

I was now snuggled under my Spider-Man blanket, watching The Breakfast Club on my laptop and fighting to stay awake.

As Mr. Vernon chased Bender through the empty hallways of the school on screen, the curtain to my bunk was pulled open.

“Hey,” The Sixth greeted as he popped his head into my bunk. “Whatcha doin’?”

“Watching a movie,” I told him as I reached over to pause the movie. “Wanna watch with me?”

“Sure.”

He pushed himself up into the bunk, and I scooted over to make room for him. Once he was situated, I unpaused the movie and rearranged my blanket so that it was covering us both.

While I tried my hardest to stay awake, I was exhausted from the long day I’d gone through. Eventually, I had dozed off for a few minutes, but The Sixth nudged my side to wake me up.

“I don’t know how much longer I can stay awake,” I told him, stifling a yawn. “So if I suddenly fall asleep, g’night.”

“Night, Haley,” he replied with a small grin.

I rolled over onto my side and closed my eyes, preparing to board the express train to Dreamland. Just as the train was about to leave the station, The Sixth called my name out softly.

I turned back to him, my eyebrows raised out of curiosity. “Yeah?”

He looked back at me, his gorgeous green eyes searching my face for a moment before a smile tugged at his lips. “Don’t let the bedbugs bite,” he teased.

It looked like he wanted to say something else, but I was too tired to get it out of him. So, instead of pestering him until he spit it out, I just smiled back before closing my eyes and falling asleep within minutes.

- - - -

“Haley Marie Gaskarth!” a voice said loudly. “What did I tell you about having boys in your bunk?”

My eyes snapped open and I, without thinking, shoved The Sixth out of my bunk. He landed on the floor with a thud and I heard him groan loudly. A familiar laugh sounded and I realized that I had been tricked.

“Stephen, you fucker!” I shouted as I scrambled out of my bunk to make sure I hadn't broken any of The Sixth’s bones. To him, I began apologizing profusely, “Shit, I am so sorry! Douchebag scared me and I guess my immediate reaction was to shove you out of the bunk. Oh my God, I am so, so-”

“It’s fine,” The Sixth assured me as he struggled to sit up. “I’m okay.”

“Do you need to see a medic or something?” I asked him and reached out to help him up. Then, I turned my attention to Stephen, glaring. “Look what you made me do!”

He crossed his arms over his chest and glared back at me. “I didn’t make you do anything! You’re the one who decided to push him. I didn’t tell you to do that, idiot.”

“You know I don’t like being screamed at when I’m asleep, dumbass!”

“I was just playing around!” He rolled his eyes. “Sorry, your royal grump-ass!”

“Guys, I’m fine, really,” The Sixth insisted, interrupting Stephen and I’s arguing. “I didn’t break anything, just might be sore for a few days. No big deal.”

“Ass,” I hissed at Stephen and stomped to the front of the bus, where Dad and Uncle Jack were hanging out.

The Sixth, Stephen, and the girl he was talking to last night (who I hadn’t noticed was here until now) trailed behind me.

“Oh, hey, John and...random girl,” Uncle Jack greeted with a wave. “What are you doing here?”

“John crashed with me last night,” Stephen lied, shooting me a ‘You owe me’ look.

I nodded my head quickly, feigning innocence. “Yeah, and, uh...” I trailed off, realizing that I didn’t know the girl’s name.

“Lydia,” Stephen coughed.

“Lydia crashed with me last night,” I fibbed lamely, glancing over to Stephen, letting him know that we were now even.

“Mm-hm,” Dad hummed. “Sure she did.”

I could definitely tell that he didn’t believe either of us, but, luckily, he didn’t call us out on it.

Probably figuring that it was a good idea to get the heck out, The Sixth inched his way toward the bus door. “Dad’s probably wondering where I am.”

“Yeah, and my dad’s probably wondering where I am, too,” Lydia said, following him. “See you guys later.”

The two made a break for it, while Stephen and I hurried back to the bunk area before Dad and Uncle Jack started asking questions.

Once we were a safe distance away from our dads, I turned to Stephen with a teasing grin on my face. “Ooh, you had a girl other than me in your bunk!” I sing-songed.

“We didn’t do anything,” he insisted, rolling his eyes at my childish antics. “And you had John in your bunk.”

Just to mess with him, I stuck my tongue out at Stephen, saying, “We didn’t do anything but sleep together.”

His eyes widened. “What?”

“We fell asleep...in the same bunk...together,” I explained slowly, shaking my head and rolling my eyes.

Stephen stared at me, skepticism clear on his face. “No sexual activity involved?”

“No sexual activity involved.” I shook my head again and shrugged my shoulders. “We didn’t even kiss. Yet, that is.”

Though I had only been reunited with The Sixth not even twenty-four hours before, I was somewhat fairly certain that there was a possibility that he had at least an inkling of interest in me, romantically. So with such promising odds in my favor, I was slightly insulted by Stephen’s reaction.

“You seriously think John’s going to kiss you?” he asked, screwing his face up in surprise.

“Well, why wouldn’t he?” I snapped back, narrowing my eyes at him. “I’m kissable, aren’t I?”

His face screwed up even more as he shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know. I guess you are. I don’t think about if you’re ‘kissable’ or not. That’s almost like incest or something!”

“You are ridiculous, Douchebag. I really hope you know that.”

He scoffed at this, rolling his eyes and throwing his hands up. “Oh, I’m the ridiculous one? Please, Haley.”

Having enough of his condescending, ‘I’m Stephen and I’m so smart’ attitude, I turned to climb back into my bunk. Before hoisting myself up into the small space, I looked back over my shoulder and, rather childishly, snapped, “He’ll kiss me soon, and then you’ll see that you are the ridiculous one to think that he couldn’t possibly be interested in me.”

Falling easily for my guilt trip, Stephen stood outside of my bunk curtain for nearly ten minutes, trying to convince me that he hadn’t meant that. I didn’t say a word back to him, and instead, pulled my blanket over my head and fell back asleep.