Making Up.
A Little Different.
'You are really good' 'aww, well thanks, we just do this for fun, we're all lecturers, just do it to kill time' 'what do you lecture in?' 'Philosophy and History, we listened to The Smiths and Death Cab too much' John smiled, 'I begun a Philosophy degree and if you had been my lecturer, I'd have a 100% attendance' 'aww, thanks, I'm Lucy, Doctor Lucy Caswell, but most people call me Lucy or Doc' John smiled, 'Lucy, I'm John' 'nice to meet you' as two guys joined her, 'these are my colleagues, Liam, he's a Physics doctorate and that's Tom he is a what do you do?' 'I do a Music doctorate, well composition and theory, and you're John O'Callaghan' 'you know him?' 'Lucy, I wrote my masters on 8123' 'how, what?' 'It was the best example of a completely independent music company, I interviewed Pat and Tim?' 'Oh, cool, you're so weird' 'thank you, we're Academics, that's the name, Academics' 'I like you' laughing.
'So did you write your own?' 'well, Lucy does, she's good at writing and telling us what noise she wants us to make' 'you make me sound terrible, but I get a melody in my head and try and transfer it to reality that's all' 'do you have an EP?' Tom smiled, 'here take a copy' John smiled, 'thank you, you called it Freshers' 'when it comes to music, we never wanna graduate, we always wanna be learning about it and seeing what we can do with it really' Lucy smiled, 'that's cool' John smiled, 'I'll be in touch, you'd be great support, but I know you have other commitments' 'we don't, our deadline was today' John laughed, 'awesome, it's a shame you're not on Warped' 'haha, that's the dream' Lucy smiled, 'how old are you?' 'Lucy's 24' 'I studied in England and then came home' 'and we're 25' 'nice, and you do this for fun but wanna do it seriously' 'that would be awesome' Tom smiled, 'can you put up with us?' 'Course' laughing.
John walked with her, ‘I do the same with my band, but you are really good’ ‘thanks, I didn’t know I was any good at this I’ll be honest, people clap and cheer and come out, and we meet them and they buy stuff but never say anything’ John smiled, ‘I’m glad I did’ ‘I’m reassured you did’ laughing a little, ‘this is mine, old’ Rusty’ John smiled, ‘we’ll see each other again’ ‘I sure hope so, you make those braces, I think they brought them back for you to wear them’ John grinned, ‘thank you’ ‘no problem, need a ride or anything?’ ‘so you can continue to ogle me’ ‘I will not feel bad for admiring beautiful things, I don’t feel guilty when I go to a gallery’ leaning on a car door, John looked at her, ‘fine’ getting in, ‘come on Rusty, you need to move old mucker’ John smiled giving her an address, ‘thanks’ ‘absolutely no problem’ he grinned heading inside, thinking she was incredible.
-x-
John smiled seeing her play, ‘you’ve got it made, you’ve got it made, you’ve got it made, I’d love to be you so I don’t have to be afraid, tell me are you happy now, tell me did it all work out, it’s too late, do you feel the same?’ singing the song and leading the crowd, John was a bit stunned, ‘do you feel the same?’ holding on her mic stand recovering, ‘I love that song, it reminds me how far I’ve come’ John smiled, ‘now, I think time to lighten the mood?’ ‘How about the Best Thing?’ ‘You’ll love this, you really will, I hope y’all join in’ swigging a beer, John admire from afar, ‘this is the girl?’ Jared asked, ‘oh, god yes’ as she got people clapping, ‘I think I’m in too deep, it’s time to pull the chord, you’re only cool when you think I’m getting bored, I hope your holiday ends, tear down the walls..’ getting in to the set, ‘I can see why you would want them on 8123’ laughing a little, ‘she’s such a flirt but in a really forward and brilliant way’ ‘well, good cos you wanna get to know her?’ Jared smirked, ‘oh, I do’.
Lucy got drinks and brought them over for the band, ‘hey’ ‘oh, John and you must be Jared, his long suffering committed best friend’ ‘oh, you know’ ‘I got to know your repertoire, we have so much in common’ she winked, Jared laughed, ‘you guys are really good’ ‘thanks’ sipping her drink, ‘so, what do we have in common’ Liam smirked, ‘I think it’s your musically and excellent technique’ ‘I was thinking the sex, but yeah that works’ John smirked, Jared laughed, ‘sorry’ ‘you are shameless’ ‘thank you, I think it’s my liberal education’ ‘I heard you are on Warped’ ‘we wondered if it was possible and so we made some calls and we got our fans to beg and boom on Warped’ John smiled, ‘that easy’ ‘no man can resist the idea whose time has come’ ‘Victor Hugo’ ‘ten points to Ravenclaw’ laughing.
John looked at her, ‘are you really all that?’ ‘no, but I quite enjoy watching you blush’ John smiled, ‘you’re trying too hard, I was into you the moment I met you’ ‘but I know how fans work, I wanna try hard’ John smiled, ‘also jus because the flag is in the top of the hill, doesn’t mean you’ll always have the advantage, you get sieged’ John smiled, ‘well, you got the flag in trust me, and it would have to be the battle of troy to change my mind’ ‘let’s go find some pancakes’ he grinned, ‘good idea’ as she pulled on his hand, he grinned.
-x-
John smiled ‘you’re getting quite the crowd’ ‘we are the in crowd, kind of literally’ walking past their stage, John smiled, ‘good band to tour with’ ‘yeah well, I doubt we will ever be on hopeless, but it would be awesome’ watching for a bit, ‘enjoying it?’ ‘yeah, we always have a busy tent and the merch is doing good, Liam did all the designs and he’s quite proud of himself, also we get a lot of people heading for college asking us questions about studying’ John laughed, ‘which I think is quite cool’ ‘really?’ ‘well, better to come to people who have collectively studied for 15 years than some dumbass telling them university is not the place for some, university is very fulfilling for a certain kind of people’ talking and walking to the beer tent, ‘it’s prom night tomorrow night, would you come with me?’ Lucy smiled, ‘love to’ he grinned, ‘good’.
'Lucy!' 'hello' 'I'm Derek' 'Mayday Parade' 'you're really good' 'ahh, thank you, we're quite new at this, we're just getting to grips with touring' 'doesn't seem like it' 'no, I'm glad you think that' laughing a little, 'so, have you got any fall tour plans?' 'No, not yet, we just wanted an opportunity' 'well, how about us in the fall if that's not too bad' 'I think we'd be fine that' 'what's with the name?' 'oh, we were all in university before' Lucy smiled, 'we're all quite highly educated, but it wasn't our thing, except Tom he got us together, he studied music' talking all the way back to the bus, 'guys, you know Derek?' looking up from Madden, 'oh, damn, yeah' he smiled, 'we could be supporting Mayday Parade in the fall' 'you will' 'that's awesome' talking with him, John smiled knocking, 'I came for my prom date' 'I apologise, five minutes' 'women' 'haha, thank you' changing quickly and putting on heels, putting her hair in a sock bun, 'right, I'm ready' '4 minutes and 25 seconds to make a miracle' 'thanks'.
John spun her, ‘thank you for inviting me’ ‘prom tradition’ he smiled, ‘I suppose’ ‘I saw you hanging with Derek’ ‘hmm, we’re on a fall tour with them’ ‘awesome, do you have enough music’ ‘we will by then, John’ ‘you can always use the 8123 studios’ ‘good to know thank you’ ‘I think you and Tay would be awesome’ ‘hmm, we’ll see’ as people joined them, ‘John, and’ ‘this is Lucy, she’s the lead singer of Academics’ ‘nice to meet you, Tay’ John grinned, ‘it’s been since Europe with All Time Low’ ‘it has indeed’ Lucy poking him, ‘what?’ ‘nothing’ Lucy muttered, ‘how’s your Warped going’ ‘better than the last’ ‘good, the new album is awesome, I really like Windows From Heaven, I lost my mum when I was eight, it’s not the same, but I get that, I did what I did to make her proud’ John looked at Lucy’ ‘thank you’ talking, ‘did you?’ ‘Would I like about something like that, my dad is my hero, pretty much’ John smiled, ‘8’ ‘hmm, car crash, it was insane’ she murmured, ‘let’s dance’.
'Why did you nudge me?' 'cos Tay and Alex were banging, it's quite simple' 'oh' laughing a little getting drinks, 'not when' 'it doesn't matter where it begun, it ended and messily, I remember reading about it in AP' 'you're a fan of anything Hopeless' 'I hate knowing too much' 'you know too much about me' 'haha, I don't see you as a band, I see you as a person, probably the problem with that' John smiled, 'is that you don't' 'exactly, makes me realise just how juvenile I am at this' John grinned, 'that's why you're kind of exceptional cos you admit you're wrong' 'academic experience, if you'd seen my first journal' shaking her head' John laughed, 'you're amazing' 'thank you' finishing her drink, 'come on'.
'Alright this song is kind of about the people I used to teach, it's called Girls' Tom smiled, 'really?' 'What?' 'sorry' laughing a little, getting in to the song, 'that line where I was ripping off your blouse now you're living in my house, I heard in my tutorials, go to uni kids' Liam laughed, Lucy giggling, playing the rest of the set and then meeting fans, 'what are your plans?' 'oh, we're on tour with Mayday Parade in the fall and when we get home we're making a new EP to drop before the end of the year' 'and our interview schedule is mad so you'll probably know our favourite chocolate bar is Hershey's Cookies N Creme' laughing, 'that's not a hint or anything' laughing, Tom shaking his head, Liam smiled, 'I can't believe we're doing this' 'neither can I'.
-x-
'Hey' 'Tay' 'we're on tour, we're co headlining with Mayday Parade' 'oh, awesome' Lucy smiled, 'do I get to hear Long Live the Kids every night?' 'Probably' 'good, I love that song' 'you're a doctor aren't you?' 'I am, we all are' 'how old are you?' 'I'm 24' 'you're the same age as me' 'indeed' 'geez, I thought I was clever' 'don't have an existential breakdown come in, we didn't like it much, we swapped dorms for Warped' Tay smiled, 'excellent point' 'oh, guys, ladies present' 'you a lady' 'see what I mean' 'I mean Tay' 'haha' 'she's so cute' Tay smiled, 'oh, you actually, oh sorry' 'no problem, you aren’t so bad either' Lucy smiled, 'don't get his hopes up' laughing, Tay grinned, 'haha, Tom loves Tay' 'they don't know we're touring together' 'it's like looking after kids' 'what?' Tom asked, 'Tay is co-headlining with Mayday Parade' talking on the bus...
Lucy got them up, ‘we have interviews’ ‘fine’ getting up, ‘I’m from Rock Sound in Europe’ ‘we’ve heard tell of this beast’ ‘I trust their reviews, is that weird’ ‘no’ ‘being academics we know how reviews work’ ‘haha, you’re much older to begin a band, why?’ ‘it was actually just messing around to get through the monotony of writing a thesis and teaching America’s undergraduates at Arizona State University’ ‘what were your disciplines?’ ‘I was in Physics, Lucy was History and Philosophy and Tom is Music’ ‘I think it all helps, to be honest, I have a lot to write about, Tom pushes us to make sure we do something different and Liam well he’s good at technical stuff and can learn new stuff really quickly’ Lucy smiled talking in the interviews and finishing up before set.
'Becca' 'hmm?' Lucy asked one of the techs, 'you just doing Warped?' 'yeah, no one's stolen me yet' laughing, 'mind if we stole you, you'd be a great tech for us and we need someone like you' 'that would be awesome' 'also, you don't think we're dicks' 'people think that' 'people are terrified we'll out smart them, but it's bullshit, you know? Everyone is a genius, but you tell a fish to climb a tree, it will spend its life thinking it's stupid' 'I didn't go to university, I went to Gilbert School of Music' Lucy nodded, 'you'd be awesome' Becca grinned, 'I don't mind' 'we can afford a good amount, on the money we're making is 20k good' 'it's good' 'oh, good, we'll be making an album probably in the future too' 'cool' talking plans, 'that's an awesome tour' 'glad you think so'.
John smiled meeting her, ‘I wanna spend time with my girlfriend’ wrapping his arms round her, ‘I love you’ ‘I love you too John’ he smiled, ‘good’ heading on the bus making love, ‘where are the guys?’ ‘Liam is at the Starlit Drive set and Tom is hanging with Tay, cos they get on so well’ John grinned, ‘never made love on a bus, never done that anywhere’ he blushed, ‘I love making you blush’ John grinned snuggling into her.
-x-
'All I want is the taste your lips allow, my, give me love' the crowd going wild on tour with their new EP, Tom grinned, 'damn' Lucy smiled, 'that was the best thing on this tour' after hearing people sing their songs back at them, 'we're going to lighten a little, this song was about a girl I knew in my class, it's called Candy' a cheer going up, John grinned watching on the final Arizona date as Lucy prepared to sing the song with Tay, 'you were awesome, hometown heroes' 'we have a lot to choose from to be honest' laughing a little, 'is Tom around?' 'He’s on the bus being nervous' 'oh, why?' 'You should go see' Tay grinned, John smiled, 'girlfriend question?' 'They’ve been dating all summer' 'oh, nice'.
'So hang on be strong, love live the kids in us all, fate may cheat us but we will die trying' standing on a speaker, 'you can't tell us no..' leading the audience, 'thank you' taking a bow and clapping Tay, she laughed, 'thank you' 'no problem, it's been a real pleasure this tour' heading off, 'she said yes' Tom grinned, 'she's so amazing' Liam looked at him, Lucy smirked, 'she is pretty darn good' 'come on Doc Miller, let's get you to the bus' Tay smiled, 'Tom' 'hmm?' 'When do I see you again' 'do I have to stop?' 'I think he's smitten' Liam smiled, 'what are our plans?' 'Australia with Yellowcard, with their new album January, and we have our first festival' 'amazing' 'it's on my birthday' 'nice work' 'thank you'.
John took her hand, ‘isn’t that you?’ hearing a song blast out of a bar, ‘yeah, it’s New In Town off Sophomore Slump’ John smiled, ‘that was about me and you’ ‘it was’ John grinned, ‘it was well mixed’ John smiled, ‘it was, Colby did a great job’ ‘he did’ wandering to his and falling into bed making love, John held her hand, ‘glad we’re together’ ‘me too’ ‘I love you’ ‘I love you too’.
-x-
6 months later:-
'You just came off tour with Panic at the Disco, but you did a tour with Yellowcard, versatile?' 'when we got in a band we wanted to make music we liked to make, and we can put on a good rock set and a good pop set, and it works so well' 'what would you like to do?' 'ermm, we've played in all kinds of Arena's now, Europe tour would be amazing, but we're doing that with The Maine in two weeks, Looking forward to the Edinburgh show cos I wanna Hume's tomb' 'such a weirdo' 'thank you' laughing, 'you two are both dating people in band's' 'we do' Tom grinned, 'I have no idea what she sees in me' 'but if he's happy, we're happy' 'I can't believe you did that' Liam laughed shaking his head, 'do you feel left out?' 'I have a wife at home and my daughter Skylar, I am quite content' Lucy smiled, 'who is the most adorable thing in the world' Liam grinned, 'we're bringing her on tour in Europe, be fun for her' laughing.
Lucy smiled, ‘you ok Liam I know you miss them’ ‘I do, why I mentioned it’ Becca arranging stuff, ‘we need another tech soon, people, your stage is getting bigger and taking me longer, I’m getting help off other techs here’ ‘we’ll get it sorted for Europe, I think Halvo is free, we’ll see if he won’t mind’ ‘thank you’ Becca smiled as Lucy got in touch with him, ‘Halvo you still need a job?’ ‘I do, god’ ‘do you wanna work for us?’ ‘How, what?’ ‘We really need some tech support, be good if you could come to Europe, no?’ ‘absolutely’ ‘awesome, we can afford a good wage and stuff’ ‘I don’t even care, I’m so bored’ laughing, ‘does Becca work for you’ ‘yes, she does’ ‘hmm’ ‘Halvo be a professional’ ‘sorry’ laughing a little, ‘Becca smirked, ‘he fancies me?’ ‘It seems so’ ‘get in’ ‘be professional what I said’ laughing a little, ‘sorry, he’s just kind of cute’ ‘I suppose, got an odd face’ laughing.
'Wonder what it would be like to live with her?' Tom sighed, 'why can't you?' 'cos we're in AZ' 'could have fooled me, we know our sets well, we can pick a good one and go with it, and Rian does in All Time Low' 'hmm, but they're on hiatus' 'they are, should have seen that coming' laughing a little, 'you can only ask right, and you two are cute' 'hmm, we'll see' Tom smiled, 'think we could' 'yes, Tom I think you could, we're adults and established, we'd be fine, Liam moved his family to California cos of recording and our label stuff' 'you'll be the only one in Arizona' 'well, I have a good reason to be there, we're not deserting' laughing a little, 'ok' 'good luck' 'and New York would be useful, where our management is' 'that's true' talking it all out.
'Tom' Tay grinned taking his hand, 'Tay' 'hmm?' 'Think we could ermm, we could live together?' 'in New York' 'well, if you're there I don't mind, and our management is here and I really don't mind, I've talked about it with the others, I just think we could, I don't know' Tay kissed him, 'you're so cute when you're nervous' 'haha, sorry not used to women quite yet, bit of a nerd' 'well, I love you, and I'd love to live with you' Tom picked her up, 'good' she giggled, 'my apartment, or own apartment' 'well, darling, I know you like a library, I kind of hope ours' 'you're such a babe, Tom' he grinned, 'you should see the girl I'm lucky to be with' she grinned, 'thank you, I heard you're doing an All Time Low tour?' 'I know, but it's out of my hands and we kind of set in motion before' 'I know' 'but it's water under the bridge, we have songs about us?' 'Do we?' 'Lucy was inspired' giggling.
John smiled, ‘we could get married, and we’re good you know?’ ‘Serious?’ John grinned, ‘hmm’ Lucy kissing him, ‘you’re amazing Lucy, I’d love to be your husband’ ‘finally get a cool surname’ ‘thanks’ giggling, ‘you’d change it’ ‘people don’t listen to my name, they listen to my songs, and it’s tradition’ John grinned, ‘fine with me’ giggling, ‘you’re all alone in Arizona’ ‘I’m not’ he grinned, ‘good’ kissing her, ‘it’s not too soon’ ‘no John’ ‘good’ ‘didn’t expect it’ ‘good’ laughing a little, ‘you’re going places, and I’m just’ ‘you’re my inspiration and my music, don’t you dare’ John grinned, ‘fine’.
Liam got in, Skylar packed already for Europe, ‘where’s mummy?’ Rose coming through, ‘so good to have you home’ ‘it’s good to be here’ ‘I saw your DVD from your Brazil headliner, you were amazing’ ‘aww, thank you’ ‘I’ll always support you in your work now, I’m sorry I tried’ ‘don’t be, I understand, and so do Tom and Lucy, I wanna look after you two’ ‘mummy has news?’ ‘Oh?’ ‘Well, I think Sky here is a getting a sibling’ ‘oh, Rose’ Liam hugging her, ‘I love you all’.
-x-
3 years later:-
Lucy massaged Tom’s shoulders, ‘go in there and ask Tay to be your wife’ ‘can you do it?’ ‘Sorry bud but she’s not into girls, she’s into you’ ‘how did John propose?’ ‘He just asked me?’ ‘Ok’ Tom nodded walking in there, Lucy followed a little after, ‘Tay?’ ‘Tom’ she grinned, ‘I need to ask you something, close your eyes?’ ‘sure’ looking puzzled he got on one knee, Mike smiled, ‘awesome’ ‘Tay’ ‘yes’ ‘will you marry me?’ ‘yes!’ hugging him, everyone clapping, Tom smiled, ‘thank you’ ‘aww, darling, you’re cute when you’re nervous’ ‘well, you make me seasick still, I’m so glad we met on Warped and I didn’t know you were on the bus’ Tay grinned, ‘me too, you fixed Warped for me’ kissing him, Tom grinned, ‘got style, huh?’ Lucy nodded, ‘absolutely’ ‘so Doctor and Mrs Miller, huh?’ ‘you don’t have to’ Tom muttered, ‘I’d like to’ laughing a little, ‘Tay Miller’ ‘stop it guys’ ‘she’s been practicing’ ‘I’ve never been so glad’.
Lucy held John, ‘hey’ ‘hello’ ‘what’s with the break?’ ‘oh, well Tom is marrying Tay’ ‘awesome’ ‘you’re invited to the stag’ laughing a little, ‘and I’m expecting a baby’ John looked at her, ‘you’re having a baby’ Lucy nodded with a smiled, John hugged her, ‘I love you, how far’ ‘about 13 weeks’ ‘John grinned, ‘I can’t wait’ ‘I hope it all goes well, but we have a Australia and European tour then I will be home for about a year’ John grinned, ‘we can take it in turns to take her on tour right?’ ‘or him’ ‘I kind of hope it’s a girl’ ‘you surprise me’ ‘well, I want a little princess’ John grinned, ‘thank you’ ‘no problem, we’ll be good parents’ ‘I think we will, wow, so weddings’ ‘and Liam is moving back to Arizona as he doesn’t like LA’ John laughed, ‘I know how he feels, ‘doesn’t want kids there’ ‘me too’ kissing her, ‘I can’t believe I’m going to be a dad’ ‘me neither, kind of shocked myself’ giggling, ‘I’m glad you’re happy about it’ ‘I am’.
Lucy held Ella Beth on her lap in the church, as Liam was sandwiched between Skylar and James with Rose at the end, John smiled, Tom holding Tay’s hand, ‘I now pronounce husband and wife’ Ella clapping her hands and giggled, John grinned, ‘I remembering doing this with you’ ‘I hope they’re as happy as we are’ ‘me too’ John kissing Lucy’s head and then Ella’s, ‘thank you for always encouraging him Lucy’ ‘a band is a family, I know that better than anyone’ ‘agreed’.
They all lived happily.
'So did you write your own?' 'well, Lucy does, she's good at writing and telling us what noise she wants us to make' 'you make me sound terrible, but I get a melody in my head and try and transfer it to reality that's all' 'do you have an EP?' Tom smiled, 'here take a copy' John smiled, 'thank you, you called it Freshers' 'when it comes to music, we never wanna graduate, we always wanna be learning about it and seeing what we can do with it really' Lucy smiled, 'that's cool' John smiled, 'I'll be in touch, you'd be great support, but I know you have other commitments' 'we don't, our deadline was today' John laughed, 'awesome, it's a shame you're not on Warped' 'haha, that's the dream' Lucy smiled, 'how old are you?' 'Lucy's 24' 'I studied in England and then came home' 'and we're 25' 'nice, and you do this for fun but wanna do it seriously' 'that would be awesome' Tom smiled, 'can you put up with us?' 'Course' laughing.
John walked with her, ‘I do the same with my band, but you are really good’ ‘thanks, I didn’t know I was any good at this I’ll be honest, people clap and cheer and come out, and we meet them and they buy stuff but never say anything’ John smiled, ‘I’m glad I did’ ‘I’m reassured you did’ laughing a little, ‘this is mine, old’ Rusty’ John smiled, ‘we’ll see each other again’ ‘I sure hope so, you make those braces, I think they brought them back for you to wear them’ John grinned, ‘thank you’ ‘no problem, need a ride or anything?’ ‘so you can continue to ogle me’ ‘I will not feel bad for admiring beautiful things, I don’t feel guilty when I go to a gallery’ leaning on a car door, John looked at her, ‘fine’ getting in, ‘come on Rusty, you need to move old mucker’ John smiled giving her an address, ‘thanks’ ‘absolutely no problem’ he grinned heading inside, thinking she was incredible.
-x-
John smiled seeing her play, ‘you’ve got it made, you’ve got it made, you’ve got it made, I’d love to be you so I don’t have to be afraid, tell me are you happy now, tell me did it all work out, it’s too late, do you feel the same?’ singing the song and leading the crowd, John was a bit stunned, ‘do you feel the same?’ holding on her mic stand recovering, ‘I love that song, it reminds me how far I’ve come’ John smiled, ‘now, I think time to lighten the mood?’ ‘How about the Best Thing?’ ‘You’ll love this, you really will, I hope y’all join in’ swigging a beer, John admire from afar, ‘this is the girl?’ Jared asked, ‘oh, god yes’ as she got people clapping, ‘I think I’m in too deep, it’s time to pull the chord, you’re only cool when you think I’m getting bored, I hope your holiday ends, tear down the walls..’ getting in to the set, ‘I can see why you would want them on 8123’ laughing a little, ‘she’s such a flirt but in a really forward and brilliant way’ ‘well, good cos you wanna get to know her?’ Jared smirked, ‘oh, I do’.
Lucy got drinks and brought them over for the band, ‘hey’ ‘oh, John and you must be Jared, his long suffering committed best friend’ ‘oh, you know’ ‘I got to know your repertoire, we have so much in common’ she winked, Jared laughed, ‘you guys are really good’ ‘thanks’ sipping her drink, ‘so, what do we have in common’ Liam smirked, ‘I think it’s your musically and excellent technique’ ‘I was thinking the sex, but yeah that works’ John smirked, Jared laughed, ‘sorry’ ‘you are shameless’ ‘thank you, I think it’s my liberal education’ ‘I heard you are on Warped’ ‘we wondered if it was possible and so we made some calls and we got our fans to beg and boom on Warped’ John smiled, ‘that easy’ ‘no man can resist the idea whose time has come’ ‘Victor Hugo’ ‘ten points to Ravenclaw’ laughing.
John looked at her, ‘are you really all that?’ ‘no, but I quite enjoy watching you blush’ John smiled, ‘you’re trying too hard, I was into you the moment I met you’ ‘but I know how fans work, I wanna try hard’ John smiled, ‘also jus because the flag is in the top of the hill, doesn’t mean you’ll always have the advantage, you get sieged’ John smiled, ‘well, you got the flag in trust me, and it would have to be the battle of troy to change my mind’ ‘let’s go find some pancakes’ he grinned, ‘good idea’ as she pulled on his hand, he grinned.
-x-
John smiled ‘you’re getting quite the crowd’ ‘we are the in crowd, kind of literally’ walking past their stage, John smiled, ‘good band to tour with’ ‘yeah well, I doubt we will ever be on hopeless, but it would be awesome’ watching for a bit, ‘enjoying it?’ ‘yeah, we always have a busy tent and the merch is doing good, Liam did all the designs and he’s quite proud of himself, also we get a lot of people heading for college asking us questions about studying’ John laughed, ‘which I think is quite cool’ ‘really?’ ‘well, better to come to people who have collectively studied for 15 years than some dumbass telling them university is not the place for some, university is very fulfilling for a certain kind of people’ talking and walking to the beer tent, ‘it’s prom night tomorrow night, would you come with me?’ Lucy smiled, ‘love to’ he grinned, ‘good’.
'Lucy!' 'hello' 'I'm Derek' 'Mayday Parade' 'you're really good' 'ahh, thank you, we're quite new at this, we're just getting to grips with touring' 'doesn't seem like it' 'no, I'm glad you think that' laughing a little, 'so, have you got any fall tour plans?' 'No, not yet, we just wanted an opportunity' 'well, how about us in the fall if that's not too bad' 'I think we'd be fine that' 'what's with the name?' 'oh, we were all in university before' Lucy smiled, 'we're all quite highly educated, but it wasn't our thing, except Tom he got us together, he studied music' talking all the way back to the bus, 'guys, you know Derek?' looking up from Madden, 'oh, damn, yeah' he smiled, 'we could be supporting Mayday Parade in the fall' 'you will' 'that's awesome' talking with him, John smiled knocking, 'I came for my prom date' 'I apologise, five minutes' 'women' 'haha, thank you' changing quickly and putting on heels, putting her hair in a sock bun, 'right, I'm ready' '4 minutes and 25 seconds to make a miracle' 'thanks'.
John spun her, ‘thank you for inviting me’ ‘prom tradition’ he smiled, ‘I suppose’ ‘I saw you hanging with Derek’ ‘hmm, we’re on a fall tour with them’ ‘awesome, do you have enough music’ ‘we will by then, John’ ‘you can always use the 8123 studios’ ‘good to know thank you’ ‘I think you and Tay would be awesome’ ‘hmm, we’ll see’ as people joined them, ‘John, and’ ‘this is Lucy, she’s the lead singer of Academics’ ‘nice to meet you, Tay’ John grinned, ‘it’s been since Europe with All Time Low’ ‘it has indeed’ Lucy poking him, ‘what?’ ‘nothing’ Lucy muttered, ‘how’s your Warped going’ ‘better than the last’ ‘good, the new album is awesome, I really like Windows From Heaven, I lost my mum when I was eight, it’s not the same, but I get that, I did what I did to make her proud’ John looked at Lucy’ ‘thank you’ talking, ‘did you?’ ‘Would I like about something like that, my dad is my hero, pretty much’ John smiled, ‘8’ ‘hmm, car crash, it was insane’ she murmured, ‘let’s dance’.
'Why did you nudge me?' 'cos Tay and Alex were banging, it's quite simple' 'oh' laughing a little getting drinks, 'not when' 'it doesn't matter where it begun, it ended and messily, I remember reading about it in AP' 'you're a fan of anything Hopeless' 'I hate knowing too much' 'you know too much about me' 'haha, I don't see you as a band, I see you as a person, probably the problem with that' John smiled, 'is that you don't' 'exactly, makes me realise just how juvenile I am at this' John grinned, 'that's why you're kind of exceptional cos you admit you're wrong' 'academic experience, if you'd seen my first journal' shaking her head' John laughed, 'you're amazing' 'thank you' finishing her drink, 'come on'.
'Alright this song is kind of about the people I used to teach, it's called Girls' Tom smiled, 'really?' 'What?' 'sorry' laughing a little, getting in to the song, 'that line where I was ripping off your blouse now you're living in my house, I heard in my tutorials, go to uni kids' Liam laughed, Lucy giggling, playing the rest of the set and then meeting fans, 'what are your plans?' 'oh, we're on tour with Mayday Parade in the fall and when we get home we're making a new EP to drop before the end of the year' 'and our interview schedule is mad so you'll probably know our favourite chocolate bar is Hershey's Cookies N Creme' laughing, 'that's not a hint or anything' laughing, Tom shaking his head, Liam smiled, 'I can't believe we're doing this' 'neither can I'.
-x-
'Hey' 'Tay' 'we're on tour, we're co headlining with Mayday Parade' 'oh, awesome' Lucy smiled, 'do I get to hear Long Live the Kids every night?' 'Probably' 'good, I love that song' 'you're a doctor aren't you?' 'I am, we all are' 'how old are you?' 'I'm 24' 'you're the same age as me' 'indeed' 'geez, I thought I was clever' 'don't have an existential breakdown come in, we didn't like it much, we swapped dorms for Warped' Tay smiled, 'excellent point' 'oh, guys, ladies present' 'you a lady' 'see what I mean' 'I mean Tay' 'haha' 'she's so cute' Tay smiled, 'oh, you actually, oh sorry' 'no problem, you aren’t so bad either' Lucy smiled, 'don't get his hopes up' laughing, Tay grinned, 'haha, Tom loves Tay' 'they don't know we're touring together' 'it's like looking after kids' 'what?' Tom asked, 'Tay is co-headlining with Mayday Parade' talking on the bus...
Lucy got them up, ‘we have interviews’ ‘fine’ getting up, ‘I’m from Rock Sound in Europe’ ‘we’ve heard tell of this beast’ ‘I trust their reviews, is that weird’ ‘no’ ‘being academics we know how reviews work’ ‘haha, you’re much older to begin a band, why?’ ‘it was actually just messing around to get through the monotony of writing a thesis and teaching America’s undergraduates at Arizona State University’ ‘what were your disciplines?’ ‘I was in Physics, Lucy was History and Philosophy and Tom is Music’ ‘I think it all helps, to be honest, I have a lot to write about, Tom pushes us to make sure we do something different and Liam well he’s good at technical stuff and can learn new stuff really quickly’ Lucy smiled talking in the interviews and finishing up before set.
'Becca' 'hmm?' Lucy asked one of the techs, 'you just doing Warped?' 'yeah, no one's stolen me yet' laughing, 'mind if we stole you, you'd be a great tech for us and we need someone like you' 'that would be awesome' 'also, you don't think we're dicks' 'people think that' 'people are terrified we'll out smart them, but it's bullshit, you know? Everyone is a genius, but you tell a fish to climb a tree, it will spend its life thinking it's stupid' 'I didn't go to university, I went to Gilbert School of Music' Lucy nodded, 'you'd be awesome' Becca grinned, 'I don't mind' 'we can afford a good amount, on the money we're making is 20k good' 'it's good' 'oh, good, we'll be making an album probably in the future too' 'cool' talking plans, 'that's an awesome tour' 'glad you think so'.
John smiled meeting her, ‘I wanna spend time with my girlfriend’ wrapping his arms round her, ‘I love you’ ‘I love you too John’ he smiled, ‘good’ heading on the bus making love, ‘where are the guys?’ ‘Liam is at the Starlit Drive set and Tom is hanging with Tay, cos they get on so well’ John grinned, ‘never made love on a bus, never done that anywhere’ he blushed, ‘I love making you blush’ John grinned snuggling into her.
-x-
'All I want is the taste your lips allow, my, give me love' the crowd going wild on tour with their new EP, Tom grinned, 'damn' Lucy smiled, 'that was the best thing on this tour' after hearing people sing their songs back at them, 'we're going to lighten a little, this song was about a girl I knew in my class, it's called Candy' a cheer going up, John grinned watching on the final Arizona date as Lucy prepared to sing the song with Tay, 'you were awesome, hometown heroes' 'we have a lot to choose from to be honest' laughing a little, 'is Tom around?' 'He’s on the bus being nervous' 'oh, why?' 'You should go see' Tay grinned, John smiled, 'girlfriend question?' 'They’ve been dating all summer' 'oh, nice'.
'So hang on be strong, love live the kids in us all, fate may cheat us but we will die trying' standing on a speaker, 'you can't tell us no..' leading the audience, 'thank you' taking a bow and clapping Tay, she laughed, 'thank you' 'no problem, it's been a real pleasure this tour' heading off, 'she said yes' Tom grinned, 'she's so amazing' Liam looked at him, Lucy smirked, 'she is pretty darn good' 'come on Doc Miller, let's get you to the bus' Tay smiled, 'Tom' 'hmm?' 'When do I see you again' 'do I have to stop?' 'I think he's smitten' Liam smiled, 'what are our plans?' 'Australia with Yellowcard, with their new album January, and we have our first festival' 'amazing' 'it's on my birthday' 'nice work' 'thank you'.
John took her hand, ‘isn’t that you?’ hearing a song blast out of a bar, ‘yeah, it’s New In Town off Sophomore Slump’ John smiled, ‘that was about me and you’ ‘it was’ John grinned, ‘it was well mixed’ John smiled, ‘it was, Colby did a great job’ ‘he did’ wandering to his and falling into bed making love, John held her hand, ‘glad we’re together’ ‘me too’ ‘I love you’ ‘I love you too’.
-x-
6 months later:-
'You just came off tour with Panic at the Disco, but you did a tour with Yellowcard, versatile?' 'when we got in a band we wanted to make music we liked to make, and we can put on a good rock set and a good pop set, and it works so well' 'what would you like to do?' 'ermm, we've played in all kinds of Arena's now, Europe tour would be amazing, but we're doing that with The Maine in two weeks, Looking forward to the Edinburgh show cos I wanna Hume's tomb' 'such a weirdo' 'thank you' laughing, 'you two are both dating people in band's' 'we do' Tom grinned, 'I have no idea what she sees in me' 'but if he's happy, we're happy' 'I can't believe you did that' Liam laughed shaking his head, 'do you feel left out?' 'I have a wife at home and my daughter Skylar, I am quite content' Lucy smiled, 'who is the most adorable thing in the world' Liam grinned, 'we're bringing her on tour in Europe, be fun for her' laughing.
Lucy smiled, ‘you ok Liam I know you miss them’ ‘I do, why I mentioned it’ Becca arranging stuff, ‘we need another tech soon, people, your stage is getting bigger and taking me longer, I’m getting help off other techs here’ ‘we’ll get it sorted for Europe, I think Halvo is free, we’ll see if he won’t mind’ ‘thank you’ Becca smiled as Lucy got in touch with him, ‘Halvo you still need a job?’ ‘I do, god’ ‘do you wanna work for us?’ ‘How, what?’ ‘We really need some tech support, be good if you could come to Europe, no?’ ‘absolutely’ ‘awesome, we can afford a good wage and stuff’ ‘I don’t even care, I’m so bored’ laughing, ‘does Becca work for you’ ‘yes, she does’ ‘hmm’ ‘Halvo be a professional’ ‘sorry’ laughing a little, ‘Becca smirked, ‘he fancies me?’ ‘It seems so’ ‘get in’ ‘be professional what I said’ laughing a little, ‘sorry, he’s just kind of cute’ ‘I suppose, got an odd face’ laughing.
'Wonder what it would be like to live with her?' Tom sighed, 'why can't you?' 'cos we're in AZ' 'could have fooled me, we know our sets well, we can pick a good one and go with it, and Rian does in All Time Low' 'hmm, but they're on hiatus' 'they are, should have seen that coming' laughing a little, 'you can only ask right, and you two are cute' 'hmm, we'll see' Tom smiled, 'think we could' 'yes, Tom I think you could, we're adults and established, we'd be fine, Liam moved his family to California cos of recording and our label stuff' 'you'll be the only one in Arizona' 'well, I have a good reason to be there, we're not deserting' laughing a little, 'ok' 'good luck' 'and New York would be useful, where our management is' 'that's true' talking it all out.
'Tom' Tay grinned taking his hand, 'Tay' 'hmm?' 'Think we could ermm, we could live together?' 'in New York' 'well, if you're there I don't mind, and our management is here and I really don't mind, I've talked about it with the others, I just think we could, I don't know' Tay kissed him, 'you're so cute when you're nervous' 'haha, sorry not used to women quite yet, bit of a nerd' 'well, I love you, and I'd love to live with you' Tom picked her up, 'good' she giggled, 'my apartment, or own apartment' 'well, darling, I know you like a library, I kind of hope ours' 'you're such a babe, Tom' he grinned, 'you should see the girl I'm lucky to be with' she grinned, 'thank you, I heard you're doing an All Time Low tour?' 'I know, but it's out of my hands and we kind of set in motion before' 'I know' 'but it's water under the bridge, we have songs about us?' 'Do we?' 'Lucy was inspired' giggling.
John smiled, ‘we could get married, and we’re good you know?’ ‘Serious?’ John grinned, ‘hmm’ Lucy kissing him, ‘you’re amazing Lucy, I’d love to be your husband’ ‘finally get a cool surname’ ‘thanks’ giggling, ‘you’d change it’ ‘people don’t listen to my name, they listen to my songs, and it’s tradition’ John grinned, ‘fine with me’ giggling, ‘you’re all alone in Arizona’ ‘I’m not’ he grinned, ‘good’ kissing her, ‘it’s not too soon’ ‘no John’ ‘good’ ‘didn’t expect it’ ‘good’ laughing a little, ‘you’re going places, and I’m just’ ‘you’re my inspiration and my music, don’t you dare’ John grinned, ‘fine’.
Liam got in, Skylar packed already for Europe, ‘where’s mummy?’ Rose coming through, ‘so good to have you home’ ‘it’s good to be here’ ‘I saw your DVD from your Brazil headliner, you were amazing’ ‘aww, thank you’ ‘I’ll always support you in your work now, I’m sorry I tried’ ‘don’t be, I understand, and so do Tom and Lucy, I wanna look after you two’ ‘mummy has news?’ ‘Oh?’ ‘Well, I think Sky here is a getting a sibling’ ‘oh, Rose’ Liam hugging her, ‘I love you all’.
-x-
3 years later:-
Lucy massaged Tom’s shoulders, ‘go in there and ask Tay to be your wife’ ‘can you do it?’ ‘Sorry bud but she’s not into girls, she’s into you’ ‘how did John propose?’ ‘He just asked me?’ ‘Ok’ Tom nodded walking in there, Lucy followed a little after, ‘Tay?’ ‘Tom’ she grinned, ‘I need to ask you something, close your eyes?’ ‘sure’ looking puzzled he got on one knee, Mike smiled, ‘awesome’ ‘Tay’ ‘yes’ ‘will you marry me?’ ‘yes!’ hugging him, everyone clapping, Tom smiled, ‘thank you’ ‘aww, darling, you’re cute when you’re nervous’ ‘well, you make me seasick still, I’m so glad we met on Warped and I didn’t know you were on the bus’ Tay grinned, ‘me too, you fixed Warped for me’ kissing him, Tom grinned, ‘got style, huh?’ Lucy nodded, ‘absolutely’ ‘so Doctor and Mrs Miller, huh?’ ‘you don’t have to’ Tom muttered, ‘I’d like to’ laughing a little, ‘Tay Miller’ ‘stop it guys’ ‘she’s been practicing’ ‘I’ve never been so glad’.
Lucy held John, ‘hey’ ‘hello’ ‘what’s with the break?’ ‘oh, well Tom is marrying Tay’ ‘awesome’ ‘you’re invited to the stag’ laughing a little, ‘and I’m expecting a baby’ John looked at her, ‘you’re having a baby’ Lucy nodded with a smiled, John hugged her, ‘I love you, how far’ ‘about 13 weeks’ ‘John grinned, ‘I can’t wait’ ‘I hope it all goes well, but we have a Australia and European tour then I will be home for about a year’ John grinned, ‘we can take it in turns to take her on tour right?’ ‘or him’ ‘I kind of hope it’s a girl’ ‘you surprise me’ ‘well, I want a little princess’ John grinned, ‘thank you’ ‘no problem, we’ll be good parents’ ‘I think we will, wow, so weddings’ ‘and Liam is moving back to Arizona as he doesn’t like LA’ John laughed, ‘I know how he feels, ‘doesn’t want kids there’ ‘me too’ kissing her, ‘I can’t believe I’m going to be a dad’ ‘me neither, kind of shocked myself’ giggling, ‘I’m glad you’re happy about it’ ‘I am’.
Lucy held Ella Beth on her lap in the church, as Liam was sandwiched between Skylar and James with Rose at the end, John smiled, Tom holding Tay’s hand, ‘I now pronounce husband and wife’ Ella clapping her hands and giggled, John grinned, ‘I remembering doing this with you’ ‘I hope they’re as happy as we are’ ‘me too’ John kissing Lucy’s head and then Ella’s, ‘thank you for always encouraging him Lucy’ ‘a band is a family, I know that better than anyone’ ‘agreed’.
They all lived happily.