Roadie

The show on opening night was phenomenal. Although I didn't have the best view from the merchandise tent, what little view I had was still something amazing. Just being there and meaning something was enough to get me going. Afterwords was when it was my time to shine. Hundreds of anxious teenage girls and a select few boys had stopped by to purchase a T-Shirt or bracelet from the tent. The buzz and the gossip of what was happening after the show or who liked who had me smiling and laughing the entire time. Pierce The Veil's fan base was surely a good one. Very sweet, pretty respectful, and highly stalker filled, but I couldn't blame them for the last part.

Once the venue cleared out and the gates were locked, I made my way back through to the rear parking lot where the buses and trailers were parked. That's where everyone who was anyone was hanging out. Celebrating the first show on the new tour. A few of the other Roadies said hello or the classic "What's Up", but I wasn't focused on them, I was dead set on finding the band. My intentions were to congratulate them on the show, it was an amazing start and I wanted to develop a friendship with them as well. I found them just outside the tour bus, drinks in hand, chattering to some people I didn't know. Maybe crew or a member from the opening band, either way, it didn't matter.

"Hey guys, I hope I'm not interrupting." I said shyly, scooting in to the little group.

"Of course not! Boys, this is Sutton, our merchie. Sutton, these are the boys, who's names don't matter." Tony said, throwing an arm around my shoulders, his drink sloshing out onto my shoe.

The "boys" greeted me respectfully and welcomed me in to their conversation with ease. I stayed fairly quiet, allowing them to carry on their conversation as if I wasn't even there.

"Sutton, do you want a drink?" Vic asked, interrupting whomever had been talking.

"Oh, um, sure." I smiled in apology to the rest of the group and ducked out from under Tony's arm, following Vic onto the bus without another word.

No one was inside, which was expected, it was time for a celebration, not time to just sit. There was plenty of time for that while on the road. Vic handed me a Mike's Hard, something fruity, and laughed a little.

"I had someone pick these up for you. I figured you wouldn't like beer or anything else hard. I hope these are okay." He stated, smiling lightly up at me.

I rolled my eyes and took the bottle from him, "This is just fine." And popped the lid off by myself, which obviously shocked Vic. He closed the fridge and kind of loitered in his spot, as if there was something he wanted to say to me.

"You looked pretty miserable out there, just standing with the rest of us. Boy talk is boring, isn't it?" He asked, taking a swig of his beer.

"It's not so bad. It's something I'm going to have to get used to, I suppose. You didn't look so happy yourself." It was true. The entire conversation, Vic was quiet. His eyes wandered elsewhere, obviously thinking of something else or wishing he were somewhere else.

He just shook his head, took another sip of his drink, and motioned toward the door. It was obvious that this conversation was now over. Whatever he had been trying to avoid, I don't know, and I wasn't sure if I would ever find out.

⚓ ⚓ ⚓ ⚓ ⚓

The party was in full swing. The music was blaring, people were dancing, drinks were flying, and I was lost amongst it all. At this point, I was a bit drunk, to say the least. Tony kept passing me drink after drink. As if he wanted me to be drunk. It was a celebration, of course he wanted me drunk.

At that moment, someone grabbed onto my waist from behind and started moving to the beat with me in perfect time. I looked up to see Jaime behind me, swaying his hips and chugging a bottle of who knows what. I threw my head back laughing and raised my drink in the air with a shout. Jaime returned in, causing a few others to do the same. It was obvious that he was drunk, far more than I was, but he sure as hell was having a good time. That was all that mattered. I turned swiftly in his grip to face him, never missing a beat, and continued our little dance, taking several big swigs in the process.

"My drink is empty!" I shouted over the music, pointing at the bottle.

He just nodded and released me from his grasp, dancing off to find another partner. I weaved my way through the mess of people, trying to manage my way to the fridge. That's when I noticed Vic, sitting alone, at the little table. I grabbed myself another Mike's Hard and him a beer and sauntered over. Plopping myself down next to him, causing him to quickly look over.

"I brought you another." I said, popping it open and handing it to him.

He smiled and chugged a decent bit of it before setting it down in front of him. This wasn't like him, to be so alone at a party. Something had to be up. Although he had been distant all day, a party should have lightened his mood.

"Come with me." I stated, standing up and taking him by the hand. He gave me a questioning look, but stood and followed me anyways.

⚓ ⚓ ⚓ ⚓ ⚓

We found ourselves far away from the bus, at least a mile or two from the rear parking lot, on some street we didn't know the name of. The night air was slightly chilled, but it was a perfect night for a walk. I still wasn't sure what was wrong with Vic. Then again, I didn't ask, nor was I sure if I wanted to. Was it any of my business? Probably not and I didn't want to intrude on his personal life. After all, I'm nothing but a Roadie to him.

"So, what is it that were doing, exactly?" the singer asked, looking over at me.

"You've been so... down today. Then at the party you were alone, getting drunk alone, might I add. That isn't like you. I figured maybe if we went for a walk you could clear your head." I added, kicking a few pebbles with my shoe.

He sighed. Well, that was a start. For awhile, no one said anything at all. It wasn't an awkward silence, everything felt natural. Just two people, walking to no where together.

"My thoughts are just jumbled up today. I think it's my nerves. It's the start of a new tour, with new people, new cities. I'm hundreds to thousands of miles away from everything that I know, everyone that I love. I think it all just hit me at once." The look in his eyes was heart breaking, "Let's just go back."

And so we did. We turned around and started back in the direction that we came. No other words were said. Vic had said it all, confessed his deepest emotions to me right there on the street with no name, and I had said nothing. Just looked at him. Pleaded to him with my eyes to tell me more, but he hadn't. That was it.

Back on the bus, the party had died down. Everyone had gone back to where they were meant to be and those who were meant to be there were obviously trashed. Tony was passed out on the couch, cuddling a pillow as if it were his best friend. Mike was on the other couch, still awake, but obviously exhausted. His head kept lulling back and shooting straight back up again. As for Jaime, he wasn't anywhere in sight, so I assumed he had gone to bed. Which is exactly what I had planned to do. I started off in that direction, but no sooner than I had done so, Vic grabbed my arm.

"Thank-You for tonight, Sutton. It meant a lot." and then he eased past me and climbed into his bunk.

I found myself smiling, looking in the direction in which he had gone. At least I was able to help someone today. It was the perfect ending to a perfect day. I walked off in to the back lounge, popped a movie into the DVD player, and cuddled up for bed. I closed my eyes and drifted off.