Dusk & Summer

tom.
aug 24, 2005.
london, england.
"Nah man, it's just a short break." I laughed down the phone, moving my bag to allow a blonde girl in her twenties to sit down in the seat beside me. "Sorry." I whispered to her, and she smiled politely at me before flipping open the magazine in her lap.

"Yeah only about a week. We're ahead of schedule with the album so it shouldn't do any harm." I then said back down the phone as I glanced up in time to see a black stretch slowly pull up into the parking bay I was currently sat outside.

"David I gotta go, my limo's here." I said quickly down the phone. "I'll give you a call when I'm back in California- yeah- okay. Okay, bye David. Have a good week." With that, I hung up my cell and quickly shoved it into my pocket as I stood up and grabbed a hold of my backpack and suitcase.

"Mr DeLonge?" The smartly dressed limousine driver approached me with a pleasant smile, and I nodded as I smiled back.

"Let me take that for you, sir." He then said, quickly prying my suitcase out of my hand and wheeling it round to the trunk of the limo.

"Thanks." I said, opening the car door and climbing inside to the spacious backseat. I settled back with a sigh, letting my backpack sit in the empty space beside me. I heard the front door open and then the driver climbed in, before repeating the name of the hotel I'd be staying at just to make sure he'd received the right information.

"Yep, that's it." I said, leaning forward in the seat so that he'd hear me better. Then I grabbed a bottle of water from the sunken ice bucket and twisted the cap off. I took a big gulp as I settled back in my seat and looked out the window with interest. I hadn't been to England for months, and I enjoyed seeing the somewhat familiar sights and landscape once again after so long.

"Is there anywhere you'd like to stop at before we go to your hotel, Mr DeLonge?" The driver asked me, and my stomach did a little flip as my mind immediately answered, "Camden."

"I- um, no, just to the hotel is fine, thanks." I said nervously. I hadn't spoken to Anna in months and months. It would feel so weird talking to her and seeing her again. But at least I had an excuse to, because I did want to see her. I always got a strange, pleasant feeling when I was around her.

aug 25, 2005.
I coughed nervously as I slowed to a hesitant stop after I stepped out of the tube station and saw the long, long queue of kids winding down the road outside the Electric Ballroom. There must be a band playing there tonight, and unfortunately I could already spot a few blink-182 hoodies and tee's amidst the thriving line of teenagers.

I shut my eyes briefly as I exhaled heavily. Maybe if I stuck to the other side of the road none of them would notice me. For the past couple of trips here, I'd managed to go unnoticed. But I had a feeling that at least one of the hundreds of kids lining the street would notice me; I just prayed differently.

I quickly crossed the street and ducked my head low as I walked considerably faster than normal, trying to stick to the bigger groups of people.

"Oh my God!" I suddenly heard being yelled, after making it pretty far down the street. I groaned inwardly as the same voice screamed, "It's Tom DeLonge!!"

Before I could even blink I was surrounded by screaming kids, trying to shove their way to the front and holding out caps or the edges of their t shirts for me to sign. I sighed slightly, before smearing a wide grin on my lips.

"Hey guys." I said in a fake, cheerful voice as dozens of questions were thrown at me in fast, excited voices. I signed t shirt after scrap of paper after cap after arm...hoping the crowd would eventually melt away. Unfortunately, more and more kids kept tagging onto the back.

"Tom!" Someone suddenly called, but I barely heard it over the dozens of voices already talking to me. "Tom!" They called again, a bit louder than before. I finally looked up, distracted, until shock jolted through me.

"Anna!" I called back happily, and she shot me that dazzling grin as she waved.

"Kids- hey, guys- I- I gotta-" I tried hard to sidle out of the side of the crowd, but I just got more and more things thrust into my face for me to sign. I stopped trying to disappear with a desparate sigh, looking around me frantically for Anna again. I spotted her and waved for her to come over. She raised her eyebrows at the flock of kids in front of me, before stepping forward and trying to push her way through the crowd.

She didn't get very far as the crowd barged and pushed in attempts to get in front of me, so eventually she gave up trying and stepped back with a helpless shrug of her shoulders. I groaned under my breath in frustration, looking around me again and hoping to see a way to escape.

"Wait- wait there!" I called desparately, and saw her mouth back, "What?"

"Wait there!" I called again, but she just shrugged, indicating she couldn't hear me.

"I'll- I'll call you!" I called, even though she couldn't hear me. I indicated that I'd do so by holding my hand to my ear in the shape of a makeshift phone, and she smiled and nodded. Then she stood there awkwardly for a few seconds, before giving me an uncomfortable smile and beginning to continue walking in the direction towards the tube station.

I groaned again as I scribbled my signature - less and less legibly - on whatever was thrown underneath my nose. My heart was beating faster than it had been a few minutes ago. What if Anna was put off by me now, because she just realised that this was what I had everywhere I went? I couldn't just go anywhere without being harassed unless I was lucky. Maybe she didn't really want to socialise with someone like that.

After about ten more minutes I finally signed the last kid's shirt, before holding my hands up.

"No more." I said with a fake laugh, seeing more people approaching me excitedly. I quickly hurried off - back in the direction of the tube station - already pulling my phone out of my pocket and flipping it open. I quickly rang Anna and held the phone to my ear, holding my breath as it rang and rang. I was afraid she wasn't going to answer.

"Hello?" I heard, just before I was about to give up. My face lit up as I quickened my pace to the tube station.

"Anna, hi!" I said, slipping between people and hurriedly making my way through the barrier. "How are you?"

"I'm good." She replied, laughing lightly. "Why didn't you tell me you were in England?!"

"I- I only got here yesterday." My cheeks flushed with pleasure as I answered her. "I was just on my way to see if you were working."

"Oh, I don't work on Wednesdays. I was just taking Mel some lunch." She told me. "Where are you now? Still surrounded by screaming fans?"

I squirmed uncomfortably as I stepped onto the escalator. "No, I'm in the tube station now. Where- where are you?"

"Oxford street." She replied, and I hesitated nervously.

"Oh..well..if- if you're busy, I'll just let you-"

"I'm not busy." She interrupted me quickly, and my heartbeat sped up ever so slightly as a grin smeared over my face.

"Would I- would I be able to come and meet you? I'd like to- to catch up and stuff."

"Sure." She said, and I could tell that she was smiling. "I'll meet you in the Oxford Circus tube station, is that alright?"

"Yeah that's great. I'll be there in about ten, fifteen minutes." I told her.

"Okay, see you soon, Tom."

"See you soon." I replied, smiling happily to myself as we both hung up. I quickly made my way towards the tracks, and had to wait a few minutes before a tube pulled into the station. I was hit by a wave of hot, sweaty air as I climbed onto the train and squeezed between two people to the relatively empty corner. I fidgeted uncomfortably as the tube slowly began to move and was plunged into darkness. People coughed and shifted about, occasionally nudging me as I became more and more irritated from the cramped conditions and the unbearable humidity. This was the only downside to London in the summer.

After another five or ten minutes, I finally pushed my way off the tube only to get onto the central line for the short few stops to Oxford Circus. That only took about two or three minutes but the tube was even more crowded, and by the time I was climbing up the stairs of Oxford Circus station a thin layer of sweat was forming on my hairline. I quickly wiped my forehead with the back of my hand and ruffled my hair as I pushed my ticket through the slot and stepped through the barrier. After looking around awkwardly for a few moments, I spotted Anna standing by the side of the stairs, picking at the skirt of her dress casually as she waited for me.

I smiled and started walking towards her, and just before I reached her she looked up and saw me. A big grin spread across her lips as she stepped forward.

"Tom." She said happily as I reached her, and I grinned. There was an awkward moment where neither of us knew what to do, before Anna stepped forward hesitantly and leaned up on tiptoes to press her cheek against mine in a friendly kiss.

"How are you?" She asked me as she pulled away, and I grinned shyly.

"I'm okay thank you. And you?"

"I'm great. I'm..I'm great thanks. Shall we..." She motioned up the busy steps to the street outside, and I nodded quickly.

We started ascending the stairs as I cleared my throat and said, "So...what are you doing in Oxford Circus?"

"Oh, I was going to go shopping." She told me with a grin. "I don't go shopping often but when I do...I buy a lot."

I laughed. "Cool."

We stepped out into the bright sunlight and onto the busy street, and I looked around interestedly as we started walking.

"Do you..would you mind if we went and got a drink somewhere? That tube was really hot and gross." I said, and Anna smiled up at me.

"Of course. Where do you want to go?"

"You tell me." I replied with a smile, and she sucked on her lower lip thoughtfully.

"There's a Café Nero round the corner, shall we go there?"

"Sure."

"So what have you been up to?" Anna asked me as we sat down at a small table outside, each of us holding a cold frappuccino in our hands.

"Oh um, just..band stuff...divorce stuff..." I said, sipping my drink through the straw as I put my wallet back into my pocket.

"Oh, do you have a new band then?"

I looked up at her and smiled.

"Yeah. Called Angels and Airwaves. We're making our album right now, it's sounding really great so far."

She grinned and nodded.

"That's so good. I can't wait to hear it."

I blushed as I smiled shyly, before clearing my throat.

"So how about you?"

"Oh, erm...not that much. Our stall's been doing a lot better. I'm still working at the spa, as well." She said, and I nodded.

"That's really good about your stall." I said with a grin, and she nodded enthusiastically.

"Yeah I know. I hope for it to go somewhere bigger than Camden Market one day."

"I'm sure it will." I replied, smiling at her. Our gaze held silently for a few seconds and I noticed for the first time how big her eyes were. I couldn't see for certain but they looked a pale gray colour.

Anna quickly looked away, her cheeks flushing a delicate pink as she tucked some of her long, unruly hair behind her ear.

"So how long are you here for?" She asked me, and I snapped myself out of my trailing thoughts.

"About a week. Go home next thursday."

She nodded and sipped her drink, looking around at our surroundings casually. We both watched the middle-aged couple sitting at the table next to ours bickering loudly, and Anna glanced at me as she smiled. I smiled and shook my head, before sighing and squinting into the bright sunlight.

"The weather's really good today." I commented, and Anna laughed.

"You live in California, it's probably like this every day."

I joined in with her laughter. "Yeah but it's never like this when I come over here, so I'm appreciating it."

We continued to talk casually as we slowly finished off our drinks, but my thoughts began to drift from the drowsy heat and the fact that I couldn't stop thinking how pretty Annabelle was. I'd always thought she was beautiful before, but now...there was a spark there. There was something more that I felt when I looked at her.

Maybe it was because I was finally starting to get over Jen and the divorce. Or maybe it was just because I hadn't had sex for about 10 months.

Whichever it was, when I looked at Anna now I just wanted to grab her and kiss her. Despite the age difference and the distance and the fact that she'd never go for an older guy like me.
Snap out of it. She's about ten years younger than you.

I could feel my cheeks flushing at the very idea of kissing Anna and tried to concentrate on what she was saying to me.

"...alright?" Was all I heard, and I jolted.

"Sorry, what?" I said, and Anna furrowed her eyebrows.

"I said are you alright? You seemed a bit dazed."

"No no, yeah I'm..I'm fine." I replied with an embarassed smile. "Shall we go?"

She nodded and quickly finished off her drink, before we both stood up and began wandering down the street.