Swing Life Away

Nervous. That’s what I was, to say the last. My band’s first big performance. Our band was opening for Of Mice and Men and letlive. on a week long tour through the Northeast before Of Mice and Men go back into the studio to record their next record. “Alright, guys. We’re on in five minutes. This could be our shot at getting big.” Phlip, which is pronounced like flip, peptalked us through what is our first big break. Phlip is the lead singer of my band, The Lost Boys, and he wasn’t nervous one bit, but he also was used to the attention on stage since he played many shows before The Lost Boys became even an idea.

“Alright, we can do this. Just make sure you remember to look at the set list every time we end a song, and we’ll nail this.” Phlip reassured us, and I had faith in him that if we did what he said, we would have a very successful show. Collin and James nervously twiddled their thumbs, but I can say anything because I was just as nervous as them. I was somewhat capable to hide my heart pounding loudly in my chest. I was almost certain that everyone could see this, but no one said a word.

“Alright, are you guys ready for this?” The manager of the venue asked. We all nodded our heads. I peered out over the stage. People flooded the small venue. Holy shit. My anxiety just skyrocketed. Phlip grasped the solid black microphone that the manager passed to him. Goddamnit, Phlip, why did you have to be the only one who wasn’t nervous?

“Hello, New York City!” Phlip announced, as we all ran on stge. An enormous roar came from the crowd as they were already pumped to see whoever they came to see. The set was a blur. I was ready to party after we finished. By the end of the first song, I was ready to hit the bar and drink until my liver was dead...

And there she was. The light froze on her and radiated like she was an angel. I could have sworn that I saw wings and a halo about her head. I stared at her, absolutely entranced by her beauty. I had almost forgotten that I was even playing a show. As soon as I remembered to keep playing after my bandmates gave me an almost death stare, I wasn’t performing for the audience. I was playing for her. Our eyes connected throughout the entire set. I squeezed and stretched my face with goofy grins and wiggly eyebrows. Bouncing around the stage, I chased my shadow hoping to reattach it to my toes. I kept my eyes stuck on her with every movement she or I made.

Before I even knew it, we left stage at the end of the set. I handed off my guitar to Phoebe, a friend of the band, who said she’d help out for tour. “Where are you going?” Phlip asked while I passed him. I grabbed a plain white towel to wipe the sweat I perspired after a very extensive exercise. My brown hair that was drenched in sweat now damp from being absorbed by the towel, but I wasn’t too concerned about being soaked in sweat. I had to find that girl.

Where was that girl? I broke down the door. The crowd started to panic, mistaking me for some member from the other bands. Once they noticed that I wasn’t who they thought I was, they continued their chit-chat, patiently or impatiently waiting for letlive. to play next. I wiggled through the sea of people. It seemed like I’ve seen a million faces before she finally caught my eye. She bobbed her head to the beat from the music over the PA.

From the distance between her and me, she stood at my height, which meant she wasn’t nearly that tall. Her eyes lifted up and connected with mine for a brief second before dropping down again. I couldn’t physically see it, but I knew she was shocked, and her eyes shot open faster than a bullet. My smile expanded when she took her second take. A glowing smile emerged from her full lips. She was even more gorgeous than when I saw her on stage. I walked toward her, smiling and gently pushing everyone out of the way. The moment felt like one of those cheesy moments in romance movies when the boy and girl notice each other and spotlights shine down on them, and the room emptied leaving them in the spotlight by themselves. She stepped toward me. I stopped and froze in my tracks. What the hell am I supposed to say? And I thought I was nervous earlier. I’ve been with girls before, even fucking them at one point, but I was never this nervous about well, anything ever.

I pushed more people out of the way, finally in talking distance of her. “I-I’m, uhm. I’m-ah. I’m Jace.” My hand rifled through my shaggily hair that was in the dire need of a haircut. I stared down at her hands. She twiddled her thumbs and messed around with the hemline of the Acacia Strain t-shirt she was wearing. “What’s yours?” I finally had the courage to ask her what her name was since I swallowed my ego and my pride.

“I’m Laurie Angela Charlene Darcy.” I peered up seeing her almost curtsey toward me, giggling. I bowed to her in a silly manner that amused her. I grabbed her hand and pulled her through the crowd back to the door I came out of. Her giggles echoed behind me, and it sounded angelic rather than annoying and screechy. Us running to the back was literally a blur. It was a I-was-here to here-I-am situation. And where we arrived at was behind the venue in the back near the dumpsters and the vans or buses depending on which band you were on. I hopped up and immediately hung my legs off the ledge, and my eyes dropped to her level. I contracted my cheeks into a grin. This girl. I don’t know what it is, but this girl is special. She’s gonna impact my life somehow, and I couldn’t seem to pin-point what it was, but I know I would find it soon.

“So, what’s a pretty girl like you doing in a dump like this?” That almost sounded creepy, and I burst out laughing like a hyena at the fluctuation of my vocal chords. I threw my head back, howling with laughter until I smashed the back of my head off of a hollow iron rod. Immediately my brain smashed against my cranial cavity, completely disorienting me for a brief moment.

“Are you okay?” A high pitched voice calmly questioned. I opened my eyes, and my vision blurred briefly before refocusing in on the location of the voice. Wow. She really was an angel. Her pin-straight deep brown hair lay across her shoulders gracefully. A smile crept onto her face, further showing the angelic mannerisms of her. She was maybe five feet, five inches in height with a thicker build. I glanced at her ass, and holy-badonkadonk. I wondered momentarily if it was actually that big or if the skinny jeans she was wearing were actually giving her booty a nice perky push.

I shot her a genuine smile, signifying that I was okay, and she had nothing to worry about. “Yes. Getting knocked on the head like that can really change your mind on being careful.” A small chuckle came from her. Even my bad jokes make her giggle. This girl definitely wanted the dick. Well, who could blame her? I’m handsome as hell and funnier than a comedian. “So before I hit my head, I was asking you why you’re here in this dumpy place.” I reached my hand out and curled her hair behind her ear. After touching her hair, she shied away from me a bit, twirling her hair around her fingers, almost avoiding the subject. “I-I didn’t mean to startle you. I’m not creepy. I promise.”

She was hesitant, but she did relax some. “My parents told me I had to grow up.” She stated solemnly. She must have been at least eighteen-years-old. She looked like it, but you never know these days. “I don’t want to grow up!” She exclaimed, childlike. She made a grumpy, pouty face and crossed her arms in a very annoyed manner. I can’t blame her I don’t want to grow up, but really who does? No one. At least almost no one. She sighed loudly and jumped up to join me on the ledge.

We sat there in an awkward silence, watching the other bands scurry about. Equipment was being moved in and out of the building at what would seem to be an alarming rate, especially since I realised more were leaving the building than entering. Of Mice and Men was on the stage now, which means we would be leaving soon for the next date on the tour. That meant I had to leave Laurie behind. Or do I? The idea train made a pit stop in this guy’s head. Silently, I started to smile, which slowly turned into this large, sheepish grin, which turned into me laughing loudly at my dumb, but yet brilliant idea. Laurie turned toward me with a very confused look on her face. “What’s so funny?”

I looked back over at her. “Come with me on tour. You’ll never have to grow up or ever have to worry about grown up things again.”

Her deep brown eyes fluttered up while the words flowed from her delicate, dainty lips. “Never is an awfully long time.”