Rain on My Parade

As early Wednesday hit Massachusetts, I was hovering over my cereal, trying my best to suppress my yawns. Dylan either wasn't awake yet, or he was outside, shoving bags into his car. My eyes were burning, and I was certain that no amount of makeup was going to be enough to cover up how exhausted I looked.

The doorknob clicked and I peeked over to see Dylan rushing back inside. He flapped his coat and rubbed his hands together. "Morning."

"Morning," I mumbled.

"Grumpy?" He teased, grabbing a granola bar off of the counter.

I glared at him, unwilling to begin conversation, but caved in anyway. "I had trouble sleeping. Weird dream."

"Oh yeah? 'Bout what?"

"Not a big deal." I waved him off, taking another bite. "Maybe I'm just worried about the tour. I don't know what to expect."

It was silent for a while, and I watched the clock on the wall tick tick tick until Dylan pulled a chair across from me. He had finished his bar, and attempted to toss the wrapper into the trash. Missed, by an inch.

He folded his arms on the table and placed his head upon them, maintaining eye contact with me. "Not gonna lie, but you're probably one of the purest twenty somethings I've ever known."

I snorted and said, "that's saying a lot actually. You do live with delinquents most of the year."

"Don't call them that," he tsked as he playfully shoved my arm. "You're the one out of place here. This is their turf, not yours, so you need to play nice."

I rolled my eyes and brought my bowl over to the sink. As I grabbed the sponge and began washing what was left of the dishes, I heard Dylan stand up. He wasn't finished.

"My advice to you is keep your eyes and ears open, always. Don't get too involved, you'll see what I mean by that." He placed his hands on my shoulders and hugged me. "Don't take yourself, or anything else, too seriously. Unless someone just walked by and swiped a shirt. Then that shit is unforgivable."

I grinned, spinning a plate underneath the water.

"And last but not least... Don't be so naive. You'd make it way too easy for someone to take advantage of you."

As he listed off his bullet points, I made a mental note for each piece of advice. Saying I was nervous would be the understatement of the year. Most of the time, having these talks with my brother would make me feel better, but his magic, this time, did the opposite. I swallowed hard, flicking the kitchen light off. I could see Dylan faintly in the morning light, his smile wide and warming as he held onto my small backpack. "Ready? Everything else is in the car. Did it before you were up."

After making sure the backdoor and windows were tightly shut, not that they weren't already but it would literally bother me the entire tour if I hadn't checked, we were out and on our way. Dylan was too patient with me, but I couldn't help but be grateful that he invited me into his life like this. I only caught glimpses as years of his job passed by us, and I was too busy with school to put real interest towards it. By finishing my third year earlier than the average student, I was positive that this was a plan Dylan had worked out in his head. He knew I'd come along anyway.

--------------------

We met up with everyone else at the same location as last time. The only difference was that buses were everywhere, standing out among the dozens and dozens of vehicles.

"Jesus Christ, way more people than last time," I complained against the window, watching my breath cloud up the glass.

I quickly drew a cat as Dylan said, "well yeah. What'd you expect?"

"I dunno. The same amount as last time?"

"Less than half of the crew were here on Sunday. Welcome to touring 101. Nobody shows up until the day of."

I glared in his direction and attempted to gracefully exit his car. I went to grab my backpack when Dylan stopped me. "We'll get the bags after. First, morning introduction!"

"Seriously?" I closed the door and watched him skip towards the building's front. I stuffed my hands in my parka and slowly trailed behind. It was my sudden wish that I wasn't going to encounter more of this mood as I got inside. As usual, I was wrong. Everyone was all giggles and smiles. And this was no exaggeration. Groups of men (and fewer women) were as happy as little children on Christmas. I smirked, bringing myself closer to Dylan so I wouldn't lose him in the crowd.

I followed him over to a far corner of the room, where a shorter man was standing behind a microphone. He was pushing a soapbox towards the stand, while trying to have a conversation with... Tyler. The scrawny one from last time.

"Just about ready," Dylan whispered to me, looking around the room, completely unfazed. I tried acting normal about all of the eye contact I was experiencing, but it was too much of a rush. There was no way I looked like I belonged here. To make it even more embarrassing, I couldn't tell which band was Bring Me The Horizon, although I had searched them the night before.

"Boo!" My erratic thoughts were interrupted by Meghan, who had body checked me right into my brother.

"Um, ow," I snapped, rubbing my arm but Dylan hardly noticed. "What's your problem?"

She laughed, loud and hearty, as she began playing with her bracelet. "Not a morning person?"

"Hardly."

"So good to have you on board," she winked, turning towards the microphone. "Wonder if you'll be riding the same bus as us."

Sweet Jesus, please no. But I wasn't about to say that. Play nice. Dylan's voice rang out in my head, the sickly reminder of being back in a place like high school.

"Oh yeah, I sure hope I can be with my merch crew," I beamed at Meghan, who didn't seem to catch onto my sarcasm.

"It'd be nice." She hooked her arm into mine, once again without asking. I should honestly be used to this by now, especially if it's her. Physical contact must be her form of bliss or something. "So the girls can get used to you, and vice versa."

I nodded, not in total disagreement, but feeling a little rattled by the idea. What turned me off about it was that I didn't want to end up fighting with any of them. I didn't want them to have to stop the bus over some girly brawl. As introverted as I was, I realized how silly it would be if it got that bad to the point where they'd have to pull over. I doubt it would ever get to that point... Maybe.

"Hey guys! Excuse me," the man at the front spoke into the microphone, tapping it a couple of times to check the sound. "What's up everybody?"

Quiet conversations were replaced with shouting and cheering, which was loud and clear behind me, so this pleased him very much. He waved his hands rigorously, and then pumped his fist towards the ceiling.

"All right, all right. My name is Mike. Welcome to the Anthem Of East tour! We are about to journey onto one of the longest tours any band has ever been on. Five months with our brothers and sisters, all over the East coast. Your managers have the itinerary with them, including rest stops and showtimes. If you're confused about anything, please find them as soon as possible and get the lowdown. We'll be heading out to our first location in a half hour. I think it's Boston, I'm probably wrong."

"You're right!" I heard a random voice yell and Mike pumped his fist again.

"Thanks brother! Anyway, space involving the buses is entirely up to manager discretion. So if you need an A-okay to hop on a bus, please find the band's manager for that as well. I think that takes care of the basics. I'll be over here if you have any more questions. I'll talk to you guys again in five months. Let's make this a great tour and have fun!"

As soon as Mike's introduction was over, conversations once again filled the room. Meghan untangled herself from me and left without saying anything, and I turned towards Dylan who was motioning me to follow.

"I was looking for Bring Me The Horizon earlier," he said as I squeezed through other people, trying to keep up behind him. "Aha."

We walked right up to a group of tattooed guys, one of many, but this was our band apparently. I recognized the back of Oli, whom Meghan had told me was the lead singer. I remembered that as well when I looked them up online last night. Unfortunately, since I hadn't come into contact with the others, I had a hard time remembering their names and their roles in the band. Four of them were hunched over the breakfast table, while one of them had hung off to the side, leaning against the wall.

"Hey Jordan, this is Natalia." My brother nudged me towards Jordan, who appeared to be as charming as he looked.

"Nice meeting you," he smiled, holding out his hand. "What's your business here?"

He wasn't rude the way he asked, but I had hoped Dylan mentioned me so we could skip the awkward intro. "Oh, I'm sorry, I'm the Merch Manager for your band."

"Interesting." He grinned. "Are you riding with us?"

"No," Dylan cut in, a little too quickly for me to respond. "Not right now anyway. I'll be taking her on the tech bus with me."

"Oh... Too bad." He pushed himself off of the wall and grabbed a roll from the buffet. "Thought you'd be along with the other birds."

It took me a beat to comprehend his English dialect but Dylan interjected again. "Not doing that either. I'm a little protective of her right now."

"Yeah, all right mate. Can she speak for herself?" Jordan teased, and then bit into the roll. It appeared like he was waiting for a response but Dylan had given up and gave him a playful punch at his arm instead.

We left Jordan alone and continued introducing me to the rest of the band members. After two Matts, and a Lee, I was convinced that their drummer was going to undoubtedly be my favorite member. Jordan followed in second place. Probably a little early to call favorites, but I was going by first impressions here.

And then I finally got to meet Oli. The goofy act of us bumping hands for the same piece of fatty meat was engraved forever in my mind. He also looked rather charming, as I remembered his face quite well from the other night, but much more standoffish than everyone else.

"I'm Natalia, I'll be your Merch Manager for the entire tour." I held out my hand for a shake but he just stared at it.

"What?" Oli folded his arms across his chest, looking displeased. "Where's Molly?"

I turned to Dylan, unsure how to respond since who the hell was Molly?

"Molly is who you're replacing." He replied, turning from me to Oli. "Last minute thing. I guess she had some family stuff going on."

"Huh," Oli dropped his arms and held his hand out to me. "One of the best things 'bout tour was Molly. You've got some large trainers to fill."

I grabbed his hand reluctantly, his cold grip giving off the same vibe as his attitude. I avoided eye contact and removed my hand from his as soon as possible. And surprisingly, in that moment, I actually wanted to find Meghan, just to find a way to get on Oli's good side. He, unfortunately, had an aura that drew people to him. Some people have it naturally. I could tell he was well liked by his peers, including those in other bands, which was very frustrating for me. I hardly said anything, and was already being punished for something I had no control over. I felt more determined than ever to be a better Molly. But I could tell you one thing: Oliver Sykes had definitely made my list, and not in a favorable way.