...And a Happy New Year

May 26, 2014

Chaney woke up to her phone vibrating on her nightstand. With a groan, she rolled over and picked up her phone. Without looking at who was calling her, she groaned out a tired “hello”.

The voice on the other side of the line laughed, “Indy? You awake yet?”

“You asshole. You know I like to sleep in on holidays. Why are you calling me at,” she pulled her phone away from her face to see the time, “8 o’clock in the morning?! Are you fucking with me Halvo? Why would you call me this early?”

He burst out into laughter. “Aw c’mon Indy. It’s all in good fun! Buuuut, now that you’re up, do you have any plans for today?”

“You mean besides smacking your face when you get here?” she sarcastically replied, slowly becoming more awake.

“Only if that means you’re smacking your lips against mine, then I think we’re good,” he teased.

“Oh lay off. Seriously, why did you call this early? You know I never get to sleep in,” she groaned.

“You’ll have plenty of time to sleep when you’re dead. Now c’mon and open the door. My hands are full and I can’t get to the key myself.”

“Fine. I’ll be right there.” She hung up and threw on one of his sweatshirts over her boy shorts and went to answer the door. She opened the door to find an over-eager Halvo standing on the other side.

She groaned as she opened the door to let him in.

He had coffees for the both of them in a cardboard cup holder in one hand, and a bag of something in the other. He made his way to the kitchen, setting both on the bar. He motioned for Chaney to take a seat on one of the stools. He made his way into the kitchen and began to grab a couple of plates from her cabinet and set them on the kitchen bar with their food and drinks.

Chaney had sat on the stool, and was slumped over the edge of the bar, her cheek propped up lazily against one of her palms as she struggled to keep her eyes open. She watched as her boyfriend made his way around the kitchen like it was his own. She wouldn’t admit it, but she was glad he felt so comfortable here. If she could choose who would be comfortable in her kitchen, or her place, she would choose Halvo.

“Alright Sleeping Beauty, here’s you a fresh cup of coffee and some fresh croissants. I got your favorite from that small bakery that we used to go to in high school.”

Her eyes lit up as she sat up straighter in her seat. “You mean you got the—”

“Yes, I got your chocolate chip croissant, extra chocolate chips. I also felt like splurging since I knew I’d be waking you up, and got you an extra large chocolate chip scone.”

She couldn’t hide the grin on her face as she pulled Halvo by the collar of his shirt and kissed him. “Thanks babe, I really appreciate it,” she said against his lips.

“If I knew you’d be this happy over just pastries, I would do this more often,” he said as he quickly kissed her back before joining her on the stools to enjoy their breakfast.

He waited a few minutes to talk more to her, knowing she needed her morning caffeine before she’d be herself. Halfway through breakfast he tried his luck, hoping the caffeine kicked in already. “So Indy, I know I asked on the phone, but did you have plans with your family for Memorial Day?”

She glared at him.

“Haha that’s what I thought. Do you wanna join me and the guys for a cook-out tonight? We’ll be over at the 8123 offices out back. Close friends and family only.”

She contemplated for a moment before replying, “Sure, I’d love to.”

He grinned, “Perfect, because I have a surprise for you, and you won’t get it if you don’t show up.”

“A surprise? Eric James Halvorsen what have you done now?” she mock scolded.

“Why must you always assume that I’m up to no good?” he laughed in defense.

She challenged his question with a knowing smirk.

“Alright fine, I do cause trouble sometimes,” he met Chaney’s challenging look, “alright a lot of the time, but this time you’ll be more than pleased with this surprise.”

“So it’s not like that one time when we were eleven and you told me you had a surprise?” she joked.

“Oh god, please don’t remind me of that. I’m still mortified that I even thought it was a good idea.”

“Aww c’mon Halvo, that stuffed squirrel was adorable,” she teased.

“Hey, you said you thought they were cute…” he defended.

“Yeah, but that doesn’t mean you had to get me a stuffed one. It wouldn’t have been so creepy if it hadn’t once been alive…”

They both shuddered at the thought.

“But for real Halvo, the sentiment was really sweet. So long as you don’t try to give me a dead animal, I think we’re alright,” she winked at him.

His face turned red as he tried to forget about this memory. “Yeah, you’re not getting a stuffed animal…real or fake,” he muttered.

She leaned over and kissed his cheek. “Even if you did I’d still love you.”

He smirked a bit, and turned his head to face her. “You really mean that?”

She smiled and nodded her head.

Content, he turned back to his breakfast and continued eating.

The two of them ate in silence, occasionally looking over at each other and smiling. The two of them were acting like love-struck teenagers suddenly, and neither knew what caused the sudden burst of giggling between them.

They finished their breakfast and Halvo stood up and stretched.

“Alright Chaney, let’s go.” He then grabbed her hand and began to lead her out of the door.

“Hey now, I can’t go out like this!” she laughed.

He turned around and looked her over, taking her hand that he still held and twirled her around. “Eh, I can’t complain. I quite like your outfit. I don’t see any reason for you to change.”

She gave him a daring look. “As much as I’m sure you love my sweatshirt and boy shorts look, I can’t go out in public like this. Give me five mintues and I’ll be right back.”

He groaned but eventually released her hand to let her go and get changed. True to her word, she emerged from her room five mintues later in a more public-friendly outfit. Not knowing what he had in mind for the day, she decided to wear her bikini underneath a pair of jean shorts, and a tank top. Moments like these reminded her so much of her childhood. They spent all of their summers sneaking off and causing trouble. As much as she gave him grief about casuing trouble, she knew she was just as bad, if not worse, than he was. That fact alone is one of the main reasons they got along so well in the beginning. She was able to keep up with him and his crazy ideas, often challenging them with her own.

With a whistle of approval, Halvo took her hand as they left her apartment and climbed into his car. He shuffled through the CDs on his visor, looking for a particular album before ejecting what was in the player, and replacing it with what he had in his hand.

Chaney didn’t have to ask what album it was as she recognized it as soon as he put it in. “Oh my god. I haven’t heard this album since…”

“Since we were like, what, 13 or so right?”

She laughed and nodded. “Yeah. Wow, listening to this takes me back to being that age. Who knew American Idiot would become what it has huh?”

“I know…I just remember being so excited about this album and I immediately made my mom drop me off at your house as soon as I bought it so we could listen to it,” Halvo recalled.

“Pretty sure that was the only album we listened to that summer. I’m surprised I can still sing along with it word for word. I haven’t listened to it since that summer.”

He laughed, “Me either. To be honest, I forgot I had it in here until a couple of weeks ago. I figured I should take you on a drive and let us relive our more…innocent days.”

“Yeah right. When have we ever been innocent? We’ve never done anything but cause trouble since we became friends,” she laughed.

“True, but admit it, compared to now we were more innocent then.”

“Hmmm, I don’t know about that. I’d like to think I’ve grown and matured a lot since then. You on the other hand…you still talk like an eighth grade boy.”

“Well, I am a boy…” he defended.

“Yes, but your brain never matured past that. Your mind is just as much in the gutter now as it was then, if not more so,” she jibed.

“You make that sound as if it’s a bad thing…”

“Hon, you turn 26 in a couple of days…I would hope your brain would have matured past 13,” she chuckled.

“God don’t remind me.”

“Aww, is Halvo afraid of getting older?” she cooed, pinching his cheek.

He swatted her hand away while laughing. “No, it’s just a reminder that things keep changing and won’t stop changing.”

“But change isn’t always a bad thing…” she mumbled.

Halvo looked at her, seeing her defeated look and realized she took it the wrong way. “I’m not saying change is always bad. I don’t know. It’s more of just a reminder that things will never go back to the way they were when we were kids ya know? Like everything was much simpler then. We didn’t have to pay bills, worry about putting food on the table, find a steady job, pay insurance…things were easy then. ”

“Yes, but look at life now compared to then,” she challenged. “We have more freedom. We aren’t under our parents’ constant supervision. We can go and do things like this without having to worry about sneaking out of the house to do so.”

“Chaney, look, I don’t want you to think that I’m upset with all change. Especially the change that pertains to us. You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me. Being with you in any capacity, whether it be in friendship or otherwise, has been one of the best things to happen to me. You’re my best friend Chane. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

She smiled, and locked her left hand in his right as he continued to drive.

“But I mean, life just keeps throwing me these curveballs and I’m having to learn to adapt because what else can I do? There was all those other bands I was in before Rocket. Then a semester of college after graduation. Then there was Rocket. That became such a big part of my life for so long. I struggle to believe at times that it’s really over. Sure I have done odd bass parts for my friends here, but still. It doesn’t make life any easier. I’m just starting to feel like there’s nothing left for me here anymore. Everyone is moving on to bigger and better things and I’m just…stuck.”

Chaney looked over at him, the normal, care-free expression he always wore now gone. Replaced were worry lines on his forehead and stress in his eyes and face. This wasn’t the same Halvo she grew up with or become accustomed to seeing. This Halvo was vulnerable and scared of the future ahead of him. Chaney never saw Halvo like this as he always acted as a confidant for her. However she knew that if he was willing to show her his fears, this must be weighing pretty heavily on his mind.

“Eric, just because your friends’ lives have taken a different direction than yours doesn’t mean that you aren’t still needed. Yes, Rocket breaking up wasn’t easy; however didn’t you say it was a mutual split between you all?”

He nodded.

“Right, so obviously while you were in the band you felt there were other things out there for you. Just because you haven’t found that something yet, doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. Just keep looking. Something will come of it. You just have to be patient. Sometimes what you’re looking for is waiting for you just around the corner.”

“I know,” he sighed, “I just don’t feel like my new start is here. I feel like it’s elsewhere. I don’t think Arizona has anything for me anymore. All of my friends have grown up and moved on with their lives and careers. You’re the only constant I have right now. Everyone else is gone most of the year.”

She nodded in understanding. “I get that, I do. But just because you feel discouraged about it now doesn’t mean you need to go off on some journey to find yourself. You know exactly who you are and have for years. Where is all this coming from?” she tentatively asked.

“I’m not really sure. It’s just been something I’ve been mulling over off and on for the last year. Here lately though, it’s especially hit me hard. You’re right though, I’m not going anywhere for now. Just remind me from time to time that I do have some purpose alright? Because sometimes I forget,” he chuckled lightly.

“Of course babe. So, mind telling me where the hell you’re taking me Halvorsen?” she jested.

“Now where would the surprise be in that if I told you?” he chuckled.

“Ugh, fine. I’ll let it go. Just let me write a note if you plan on taking me out in the middle of nowhere to kill me.”

He laughed, “Don’t worry. If that were the case,” she glared at him, “which it’s not, I would let you. But I’m not taking you out in the middle of nowhere to kill you. I just wanted to spend some time with you before I had to share you with the rest of the guys tonight.”

“You act like you won’t see me for a while…” she teased.

He didn’t respond, but tightened his grip on the steering wheel with his left hand.

Chaney dropped his hand that she was holding. “Eric, you are still going to see me right? You’re not disappearing on me again are you?”

“Look, I’ve tried finding a way to tell you—”

“Just tell me,” she said defeated.

He swallowed thickly. “I uh, I’m going on Warped Tour with The Maine this summer as part of their crew.”

“When do you head out?” she asked flatly, concentrated on the road stretching in front of them.

“Tour starts June 13th in Houston. We’ll probably drive out a couple days prior,” he replied sheepishly.

“How long have you known?”

“A couple of months.”

She then turned to him. “When exactly did you plan on telling me about this? I mean, you’re going to be gone for—”

“About two months…”

“Two months, and you tell me about two and a half weeks out. Awesome. Thanks babe, you’re the best,” she replied sarcastically.

“Look, I told you I’ve been trying to find a way to tell you sooner. I don’t want to spend what little time we have left this summer fighting. Please, for the sake of us, let’s not fight. At least for today. Can you pretend to love me for at least today?” he turned and asked her with his best pouting face.

She couldn’t hide her smirk. He knew she was a sucker for his pouting face and couldn’t ever say no to it. “You know I could never pretend to love you because I always have. I may be mad as hell at you right now, but I still love you. You’re right, let’s just enjoy today together, and we’ll talk about this later.”

He smiled, grateful that she was willing to let this go for now. He knew it was terrible of him to wait until so close to him leaving to tell her he would be gone for such an extended period of time. However, the timing never seemed to be right. He was just glad she hadn’t heard about it from someone else before he had the chance to talk to her about it.

Halvo takes her to a park she hadn’t been to before, but he was taken to a lot by his parents. They spend the afternoon lounging around the park, eating a light picnic lunch that he packed, and walked around. They didn’t say much as they spent most of the day out in the sun. They had to leave mid-afternoon so they could have enough time to travel back to Phoenix and to stop by the store to pick up their share of food before meeting everyone else. They make a quick stop to the store to grab a case of beer and a giant bag of chips before heading over to 8123 for the cookout.

When they arrive, the street and driveway is already full of cars; alerting them that the party is in full swing. They both get out of the car and Halvo leads them both towards the back of the house. As they walk, she loops her left arm around his right. As excited as she was to see the other guys, she wasn’t really feeling like sharing Halvo at the moment after the nice, relaxed day they had both shared.

Halvo opens the back gate, and they’re greeted with a chorus of “hello’s” from all over the backyard. They quickly drop off the beer and chips at the food table before he leads her around to greet everyone. Greetings were kept minimal so they could visit with others at the party. There were a couple of guys in particular that Chaney was interested in seeing, and scoped out the backyard to find them. She was interrupted by Halvo stopping them in front of John.

John seemed pre-occupied when they got there. He barely kept eye contact with either of them, which was highly unusual. He also wouldn’t speak much. Chaney looked at him questionably as Halvo started to drag them away, and John wouldn’t budge. He just continued to stand in his spot in the back of the yard, nursing his beer.

She soon forgot about whatever could be troubling John as the two men she’d been looking most forward to seeing, she finally spotted talking together by the pool. “Jared! Pat!”

They both turned around and waved to her as she led Halvo over to where they were standing. She hadn’t really talked to either guy in a while and she was anxious to catch up with them. They were just as excited as she was.

Once the three of them started talking, Halvo released his arm from Chaney’s grip to go get a drink. She nodded him off, and continued talking with Pat and Jared. They were both telling her about the five new songs they were releasing as part of a deluxe edition of their newest album.

Jared was telling her about how the newest single they’ve released from the set is one they’ve actually had for a few years, but polished up and were finally ready to release it.

Pat added in whatever he could as needed, before animatedly telling her about his new-found love of producing. He was telling her about producing Nick's album, set to be released the following day.

Chaney couldn't help but be enthusiastic for them both. She could see the passion they both had for music and it radiated theoughout their entire being whenever they spoke about it. She was so engrossed in what they were saying that it wasn't until she finished talking with them both that she realized Halvo was gone. She looked around the yard, but couldn't find him. She started asking anyone around if they'd seen him, but no one had.

She made her way into the 8123 offices to see if she could find him there. She called out his name as she searched the house. Luck wasn't on her side because he wasn't responding. She looked out the front door and saw his car still parked out front, so she knew he was still here. At least she hoped so. She continued looking through the office and came across the recording studio. Intrigued, she peeked her head inside, calling Halvo's name once again in hopes of finding him.

She almost screamed when she felt someone from her right grab her arm and bring her to the couch sitted on the other side of the door. She couldn't see who was in there, the only light in there coming from the giant window in the door. She was still worried about who was in there until she felt a very familiar pair of lips starry kissing down her jaw towards her mouth, finally connecting their lips.

She smiled into the kiss, grabbing both sides of his face. "You know Halvo, if you wanted to kiss me all you had to do was ask,' she said against his lips.

"Less talking, more kissing," he said against her lips in between kisses. He started lowering her back against the couch they were sitting on. His hand was starting to skim the bottom of her shirt when she gently pushed him away.

"Hey, let's uh, put this on pause for now," Chaney said breathlessly.

"But why? This isn't fair," Halvo groaned, burying his face in the crook of her neck.

She chuckled, beginning to play with the ends if his hair. "Babe, I don't want anyone to walk in on us. There is a giant window on that door...unless you've forgotten about that?" She teased.

"Ugh, fine. But we finish this later," he stated as he reluctantly got up.

"Naturally," she laughed, as he led her back outside with their arms interlaced.

They make their way outside and Chaney notices that everyone outside is crowded around something, or someone. She looks at Halvo questioningly, but he doesn't reply one way or the other.

As they get closer to the group of people on the other side of the yard, she can't stop her curiosity. Everyone's talking in hushed voices and she can't understand what anyone is saying.

Halvo turns to her and sees her curious expression. He figured now was as good a time as any to fill her in on what is going on. "Soooo, remember how I told you this morning that I had a surprise for you tonight?"

Chanel nodded, starting to get a bit skeptical about what this surprise could be.

"Well," he gestured towards the crowd of people in front of them, "here's your surprise."

As they got to the crowd, everyone dispersed and there in the center of the crowd was Alex.

"Alex?!" She said incredulously.

"Uh, hey Chaney," he sheepishly said.

"Don't take this the wrong way because I'm ecstatic to see you, but what are you doing here?" she asked.

"I can answer that," Halvo interjected. "Now don't be mad at me, but for the last few months I've been hanging out with Alex and trying my dead-level best to try to help you two mend your relationship. I know how important your relationship with Alex is, and I've tried relaying to Alex how important his relationship with his older sister is."

"Well, I'm still mad as hell about what went down between us, however with Halvo's persuasion, I'm more willing to work it out with you," Alex spoke up.

Chaney's eyes started to fill with tears as a grin adorned her face. She instantly engulfed Alex in a giant hug.

Alex was a bit thrown off at the gesture, but eventually returned the slightly awkward hug. "Look sis, I know you uh, offered me an empty room a while back, but-"

"Oh my gosh, yes! You can still move in if you want! The room is still yours if you want it. I'd love to have you living with me!" she exclaimed.

With a lop-sided grin, he nodded, pulling away from Chaney's embrace. "Alright, thanks. I'll move in this weekend if that's alright?"

"Of course! I'm looking forward to it! I'll call up the guys have them help out," she supplied.

"Cool, well I'm going to go find John. I haven't talked to him in a while." Alex then waved and made his way to the other side of the yard where John was standing alone, nursing his second beer of the night.

Once Alex was gone, Chaney turned to Halvo, wrapping both of her arms around his neck and smiling as much as she could muster. "You, my dear, are quite the sneaky one..." she trailed off.

"Perhaps, but did I not say you would love your surprise?" He challenged with a smirk as he moved his hands to her waist.

"Hmm, I'm thinking you did. Now, just how do I repay you?" She teased.

Halvo leaned in for a quick kiss before replying, "Oh, I can think of a couple ways. Besides we need to finish what we started before," he smirked against her lips. He the pulled away, leading her to his car as they waved goodbye to everyone there.