Stealing Glances

With only 2 days left in 2015 and The Maine was in New York taking a meeting with Jonathan Daniel to talk over potential touring with Fall Out Boy. They all walked into the building immediately greeted by staff and lead into a conference room with Jonathan sitting across the glass table. Jonathan immediately stood up and walked over to them with a smile.

“Jonathan Daniel, nice to meet you.” Jonathan introduced himself letting out his hand for Tim to shake.

Tim accepted Jonathan’s hand and shook it. “Tim Kirch.”

“Have a seat.” Jonathan motioned to the empty seats across from him. “We have a mini spread for you guys, please utilize it.” He pointed at the table, which was filled with water bottles, coffee, and various breakfast items like bagels and fruit.

“Thank you.” Pat said, as he took a water bottle and banana while the others took coffee and bagels. Once everyone was settled, the meeting began.

“So, we’ve been throwing this tour idea for months now but we couldn’t think of an opening band then you guys came into the picture and it worked out.” Jonathan explained, as small smiles formed upon everyone’s faces. “By the way, new record sounds amazing.”

“Thank you.” Garrett said, as everyone followed along and said their thank you’s.

“That took awhile to muster out.” Jared said, half jokingly with a laugh causing Jonathan to smile.

“So, we’re calling this tour “These Friends Are… New Friends Are Golden” the line up has been basically set—we’re just working out some minor scheduling with the other opener, Jamison—“

“Jamison?” Kennedy eyebrows rose in shock hearing the familiar name. “As in—“

“Jamison Song.” Jonathan confirmed, with a nod causing everyone’s eyes to widen a bit.

John was a bit shocked to hear her name. “Jamison?” He repeated, wondering if this was a weird dream he hadn’t woken up from. The mood in the room had shifted a bit from nervousness to semi-awkward.

“She’s a small reason why we wanted you guys on this tour—it’s all about friends, old and new. We wanted everyone to be interconnected in some way… Fall Out Boy to Panic! to Jamison to you… the guys picked you cause of your music and great live show but they also realized the connection with Jamison and thought it was a sure sign to have you guys.” Jonathan explained, giving a hopeful smile turning to turn the semi-awkward vibe into the room into anything else but.

“Small world.” Tim chuckled, mostly in disbelief.

“We all know in this industry, it’s even smaller.” Jonathan chuckled, he knew to an extent the history that came with Jamison and John would have them reluctant. “I’ll give you a minute to talk this out and stuff—I actually have to make a quick call.” He stood up from his seat and walked out the room.

“So, what should we—“ Pat looked at his fellow band mates and brother. “What do we do?”

“It’s Fall Out Boy—arena tours… it’s the next level and they picked us—“ Tim reasoned, as everyone kept looking at each other trying to gauge reactions from one another about the situation.

John sighed, thinking about the idea of seeing Jamison again after running into her the other month, on tour no less. “But it’s because of—“

“Beyond that, do we really give up this kind of opportunity? This just opens a whole new door to get your music out there to more people—to have them enjoy, love, and even help them…” Tim argued, “The bigger picture for all this… the possibilities.”

Those words really got to John; those were some of the reasons why he made music— to give back to it, like it had done for him. There was no doubt they wanted to expand their fan base. If you had asked any musician in the world, they would agree with that. John knew this would be another step in that direction, who was he to say no to that?

“I say let’s do it…” Garrett said, looking at everyone who seemed to want to agree with him.

“We’re all in?” Tim asked, looking at John. The band had always been about everyone agreeing with the decision together as a whole—not leaving anyone behind.

“We’re in.” John said, with a nod. He wasn’t going to be the one to hold back the back from such an opportunity.

Jonathan walked back and took a seat, putting his phone on top of the table then looked up at the guys. “Sorry, about that…” He said apologetically.

“Not at all.” Pat said, shaking his head.

“So, what do you guys think?” Jonathan asked, looking at everyone and trying to figure out their responses.

“We’re in.” Tim said, nodding his head. “How could we ever even think of passing up such an opportunity?”

It had been 3 days since John ran into Jamison and even though he had put it in the back of his mind, he felt guilty. He felt bad for not being a better boyfriend to Molly because of what Jamison had done to him despite her being beyond understanding and welcoming of every aspect of his life and the people within it.

The two finished having dinner together and retreated back to Molly's apartment. John thought this would be a good time to let out his thoughts to her. He walked into the kitchen to see Molly sorting through her fridge.

“Hey Molly, can we talk?” John asked, feeling nervous.

“Sure, what’s on your mind?” Molly said, closing the fridge door and faced him.

“Listen Molly, I like you. I do but—“

“This sounds like a break up—“ She looked at him, reluctant to hear where he was going with his words.

“No, not at all. I just—“ He chuckled nervously. “I have to be honest with you about something.”

“You don’t have a secret wife and kid, do you?” She asked, jokingly as she looked at him with mock worry.

John laughed sheepishly at her joke, she was always trying to make a situation brighter. He liked that about her. “No… nothing like that.”

“Keep talking then…”

“I went through a really bad breakup and it’s kind of distanced me from everything… and sometimes, I feel like I haven’t opened myself up enough to you as you have with me.” He began explaining. “I just feel like—I know it’s unfair. But I just needed to let you know that it isn’t you, it’s me… gosh this all sounds so cliché. But I like you—I do, I just feel bad for not expressing as much as you do.” He wondered if anything he had just said made sense.

Molly took in his words and was silence for a moment causing John to be even more nervous. “Thanks for being honest with me. That means a lot…”

“If you want to end things now, I get it.” John rambled, causing Molly to look at him completely confused.

“No, why would I? I mean Tessa mentioned slightly you were going to be a bit shut off. I knew that… it hasn’t really changed anything for me.”

“Well, I’m glad the blow was lessened by the forewarning from Tessa.” He chuckled sheepishly, “I just may not be giving you everything you want… it might take some time.”

“Maybe this is a chance for you to break down the walls you’ve built up.” She said, “You’re a nice guy, I enjoy our time together and I’d like to see how this works out. If it doesn’t work out, at least I know we both tired and did the best we could till the end. I don’t want to just end things cause fear. I don't want the “what-if’s” and things to eat up for either of us.”

John smiled at her words; Molly Jones wasn’t Jamison Song that was for sure.

“Molly Jones, I really do like you.” John smiled.

“I would like to think that is the case.” She giggled.


They had spent the rest of the meeting going over tour dates and logistics. After the meeting, they had spent the day exploring the city like they always did before everyone but John had decided to go out for dinner and a night out in city. John had sat in his hotel room watching re-runs of “Check It Out! with Dr. Steve Brule”. His phone began ringing he looked at the screen to see it was Molly.

“Hey you…” John answered, as a small smile formed upon his face.

“Hi.” Molly said, happily. “How was your meeting?”

“Good.” John said, giving a weak smile over the phone.

“Guess what?” She asked excitedly.

“What?”

“I got a job doing PR for the upcoming Fall Out Boy tour.” Molly announced proudly.

“We’re going to be on that tour…”

“No way.”

“We are.” John let out a speechless chuckle, the world felt smaller by the second.

“That’s insane. Congratulations!!!” She yelled, happily. “And I just got the email for it… with Panic! At The Disco and Jamison Song.”

John heard the last name on the list and his mood had shifted, feeling awkward. “Yeah…”

“That great you have at least you have one familiar face on that tour.”

“Yeah…” John agreed mindlessly, if only Molly knew.

“I’m going to make sure this tour is going to be the biggest tour for 2016.” She said, excitedly. “You get extra treatment cause we’re dating.” She teased causing John to smile.

“You’re the best…” He chuckled; her enthusiasm was always contagious.

“Are you ready for 3 straight months on the road though?”

John thought over he question for a minute before answering. “I’m going to have to be…”

--------

Eric knocked on the door of Jamison’s house nervously; it felt like he was going behind John’s back. But truth be told, despite the bad ending between the two. He had missed having Jamison as a friend, he wondered if she felt the same way.

The door opened and Eric was greeted by Jamison who looked a bit surprised, “Eric… you made it.” She said happily.

“I brought wine. I wasn’t sure what to bring…” Eric said, a bit nervous as he handed her the wine bottle he was holding.

“You were supposed to come empty handed. But thanks… this will be quickly consumed.” Jamison smiled, as she opened the door wider to let Eric in.

The two walked into the living room to see a group of people conversing with one another.

“Eric!” Jake said, walking over to Eric with a beer in his hand. “Glad you can make it out.” The two shook hands.

“Thanks for inviting me.” Eric said, with a smile feeling like the new kid in school.

“Meet our friends—that’s Tyler, he’s an actor, comedian, artist, and hand model extraordinaire.” Jake chuckled, pointing at the sandy blonde hair man sitting on the couch. “And his wife Ashley—she’s an interior designer, she actually helped us greatly with our house.” He pointed over at the girl sitting next to Tyler as they both gave him warm smiles and waves.

“Hey, nice to meet you.” Eric gave a small wave and nod.

“That’s Kenny and his wife Victoria. You might recognize Kenny, he plays for Panic! now, he was in a band with Jake. Victoria is a photographer and just creative doer.” Jamison introduced the couple who were standing behind Tyler and Ashley. “And our friend Beth, she’s a stylist in many aspects and does all our hair.” She pointed over to the girl in the kitchen who raised her hand and gave an enthusiastic wave at Eric.

“Hi.” Kenny said, giving Eric a wave.

“Someone get this man a drink and let’s have some fun!” Tyler yelled, causing everyone to laugh.

Game night had began with playing various board games then finally lead to conversations over drinks. Laughter and smiles were infected all around, everyone sharing stories, thoughts, and ideas with one another.

After a few hours of games and drinks, everyone but Eric and Jamison had gone into the kitchen to grab a snack. The two sat on the couch in a somewhat awkward silence.

“So, having fun?” Jamison asked, looking over at Eric who had a small smile upon his face.

“A blast… surprisingly.” Eric admitted, looking at Jamison who let out a relieved sigh.

“Thank god, I was so worried.” She admitted, letting out a chuckle.

“You’re not the only one…” He chuckled sheepishly. “I felt like this would be the most awkward thing, hanging out with you again, even seeing you again just was weird and surreal.”

“I’m sorry my existence is making you feel that way.” Jamison said, half jokingly but beneath her light-hearted tone, she meant every word of it.

Eric shook his head before looking behind him at Jake who was in the kitchen arm wrestling with Tyler and everyone making bets. “So are you and Jake…” He asked, just watching the two throughout the night, he couldn’t help but realize how in sync the two were.

“No.” Jamison shook her head and smiled, “We are not together. Despite having a house together and being around each other all the time.”

“I just thought—“

“Everyone does, I don’t blame them…” She chuckled, running her hand through her hair and pushing it over to one side.

“Have you, you know since John?” He asked, cautiously.

“Nope.” She shook her head, “No time and no energy. What about you?”

“I am dating a very nice girl named Meghan. We’ve been dating for a few months.” Eric said, shyly as he felt his face go a bit red.

“You deserve a very nice girl. I hope she knows how trophy husband worthy you are.” She joked, as they both laughed.

They sat in silence for a moment, taking in the ease that both thought had been lost between them.

“I like the familiarity to this, it’s nice… I’m sad it all had to end so abruptly.” He admitted, causing Jamison to have a wash of guilt run over her.

Jamison looked over at Eric, her eyes seemed so sad suddenly. “I’m sorry… for everything.”

“Jae—“

“I’m going to go make sure no one is drinking out our entire house.” She said, suddenly seeming chipper as she quickly got up from the couch and walked to the kitchen.

“Hey man, you having fun?” Jake asked, taking a seat next to Eric on the couch.

“A blast.”

“I invited you here hoping you two would reconnect.” Jake admitted, glancing over at Jamison who was talking to Bethany. “Glad the awkward slump was gone for most of the night. I was worried more for Jae than you, to be honest.”

“She’s been doing well for herself since I last saw her…” Eric said, thinking to her career as “Jamison Song—musician”.

“Professionally—she has… and for the most part, it seems fine on the surface…” Jake thought about his words for a moment. “But she’s been in this weird mode lately, she’s not unhappy but… she’s so hard on herself for what happened with John and the ripple effect of all the relationships she broke off. Don’t be too hard on her, she’s already hard enough on herself.”

“Okay.” Eric shook his head, looking over at Jamison who seemingly looked happy. “You seem to really know her… and are there for her.” He said to Jake causing him to smile to himself.

“She’s been there for me in every way possible…” He explained. “I’m just doing the same.”

“It’s good to see she has good people around her—not surprising though.”

“Despite that, I think she still feels lonely not having certain people in her life anymore.” Jake admitted. “Like you.”

“Maybe I’ll be around more.” Eric said, “We are like neighbors now. Maybe she can even make me breakfast.” He joked while he looked at Jake hoping this could be the start of something new.


New Years Eve, Jamison and Jake were opening up for Butch as Sin & Song for his infamous NYE show. Everyone was in the green room having a few drinks before the show. Everyone excited to end the new year with a bang and with each other.

“Jonathan just emailed me—the tour is finalized. 3 months, Fall Out Boy, Panic!, and… The Maine.” Jamison said, staring at her phone and reading the email she had gotten from their manager.

“How the fuck did that happen?” Butch yelled, sounding almost a bit angry.

“Wasn’t Jonathan’s doing completely—label thought it was a good idea and the band wanted them.” She explained, reading over the email again. “It’s fine Butch… work is work.” She looked up at him with an assuring smile.

“You’re taking Jake with you.” Butch said, pointing at Jake.

“What?” She looked at Butch in disbelief. “You’re letting me take Jake? Is the world ending?” She said sarcastically, looking over at Jake who was drinking Jameson with a smirk upon his face hearing Butch’s suggestion.

“I have Todd.” Butch smirked, referring to his assistant engineer. “And you need the best.”

Jamison smiled; she knew how much it meant for Butch to let go of Jake. ”Thanks.”

“Anything for you.” Butch pulled her into a side hug before resting his chin on top of her head. “I mean it.”

“And I always know it…” She nodded, “How the hell do you replace Butch Walker and Brendan Benson as your guitarists… and I don’t have Adam since he did the tour as a favor—he has his life and family in Colorado.” She thought out loud, scratching the back of her head.

“Take Fran, Chris, and Patrick.” Butch said, like it was nothing.

“Basically you want me to take Brendan and your band mates on tour?” She said, gesturing over at Chris and Fran who were (officially) part of The Black Widows and Butch’s longtime friends as well as Patrick who was part of The Raconteurs, helping Butch out with drums as his former drummer Darren had left the band.

“Only the best for you.” Fran mimicked Butch with a laugh. “At least I’ll be at ease knowing your set will sound the best every night and that you’ll be safe.”

“I can hold my own.” She assured them with a chuckle.

“We don’t have a shred of doubt—but it’s good being with family.” Chris said, “And at least we all already can stand each other living in small confined spaces.”

“Jamison Song and The Black Widows has a ring to it, don’t you think?” Patrick joked, causing Jamison to laugh.

“Sounds so damn good.” Jake agreed happily, putting his arm around Jamison and looking at her with a smirk.

“Better than Butch Walker and The Black Widows.” Chris joked, causing everyone to laugh.

“Damn you and your marketable name!” Fran yelled jokingly, shaking a fist at her and causing another wave of laughter amongst everyone.

“3 months… you ready for it?” Jake asked Jamison, the two looking at each other with blank expressions.

Jamison gave a small sigh and shrugged. “Even if I’m not, I’m going to have to pretend I am.”