A Story to Tell Your Friends

Forty-Nine.

The month passed in much the same way as the months before. Jack and I spent far too much time together for a couple who had only been together a matter of months (not that either of us cared, of course) and I continued to work, excluding our short trip to Disney with Lisa and Alex. I felt like I didn’t see Tammy, given that she was spending as much time with Chris as I was with Jack, so much so that I had seen her for all of an hour in the past week.
We were currently around halfway through February and I was at work. Half of the department were run off their feet, given All Time Low were off on their European tour in a matter of weeks and we were still finalising certain details with Fuelled by Ramen, having jointly organised the tour to prevent people from figuring out the guys had switched labels. I, on the other hand, was nice and chill because no one wanted me in on the All Time Low stuff so that I basically wasn’t shitting where I slept. I was taking it for the blessing it was, because it meant I didn’t look as run down as Sam or Anya.
“Hey, Clara, can I have a word?” Clive stuck his head out of his office door, motioning for me to come inside. I threw a confused glance at Sam, who just shrugged and returned to his work, standing up quickly and shuffling through the still open, but now vacant, door. I closed the door softly behind me, sitting on the free chair in front of Clive’s desk and trying not to remember the last time he’d asked ‘for a word’ and all that had entailed. I figured, however, it had something to do with the meetings he’d been in for the last day and a half.
“What’s up?” I asked, trying to appear as calm and collected as normal, while internally freaking out and wondering what I had done wrong this time. I felt my phone buzz once in the pocket of my trousers, knowing it was Jack and trying to ignore that also.
“Look, I know you haven’t been here that long, and tell me if I’m overstepping and this is absolutely not what you want, but I – we – have a favour to ask of you.” I tried not to let out a sigh of relief, my brain finally accepting that I wasn’t in trouble and this wasn’t another check up on me.
“Shoot,” I grinned.
“We were in a planning meeting,” he started and I nodded to show I was listening. “And, well, one of the bands are a little shorthanded on their upcoming UK tour. We’ve been throwing ideas around for who could help and tried reshuffling crew to fit the needs. You know, all the usual stuff.” I nodded again, hoping he was planning on getting to the point soon. I’d never seen him use so much fluff before, and especially not waffle on for so long. “So, I threw your name into the mix and the rest of the departments went for it. We wouldn’t usually send you off to do things like this, we wouldn’t, but once I explained everything, they were all for it. We’d pay everything, of course: travel, board expenses, all of that.” I grinned brightly at his words. He wanted me to go to the UK, fully paid for, and he thought I’d say no? I don’t think so. Jack saw this all the time, I wanted to be able to say I had actually been somewhere and seen some of the things he had.
Crap. Jack. He was leaving for a month so soon. I didn’t want to go away while he was gone and double the time we were away from each other. It was the first tour he was going on since everything had happened, and while I trusted him beyond belief, I knew being away from him was going to be difficult enough as it was.
“You don’t have to,” Clive said, hurriedly, noticing my face dropping.
“No, no, I want to,” I assured him. “I’m just not sure about timing. I mean, thank you so much for the opportunity, really, I know there are plenty of people here much more qualified for this than I am, but I don’t know dates or anything. And then,” I paused a second, debating whether or not to actually tell my boss I was debating not going on this fabulous opportunity for my boyfriend and risk his annoyance. “Well, Jack’s going away for a month soon. I don’t really want this to extend that too much.” Clive looked confused for a second before hitting his open palm to his forehead.
“I didn’t tell you why everyone was so on board for this,” he chuckled. “They think it’s a brilliant idea sending someone the boys are familiar with, that they get along with. Clara, you’ll be going to the UK with Jack.” I emitted a short squeak before stopping myself short and containing my excitement. Scratch my previous reasoning about any of this: they wanted to pay me to not leave my boyfriend’s side for a month. “I mean, this isn’t a vacation. You’ll be busy all the time, but you’ll be doing basically what you’re doing now. Liaising with venues about our needs and scheduling appearances, arrival times, all of that.”
“Don’t take this as a no. Really, really don’t take this as a no, because I’m almost positive I’m going to say yes to this, but I think I’d better ask Jack first. I mean, he could be totally against the idea and it’d ruin the atmosphere for everyone. So, I’m saying a conditional yes, but I’ll get back to you on the definite answer.”
“Go call him, let me know what he says,” he chuckled, implying I was okay to go. I jumped up, pulling my phone from my pocket as I left the room, trying not to grin too wide at my co-workers.
“Babyyy!” I sang, as Jack answered the phone, turning the corner out of my office so I could keep the conversation from everyone else for the time being. They were too stressed to listen to my happiness and I didn’t want anyone to know if Jack was set against the idea. Besides, the reasoning Clive gave felt kind of like my relationship was getting me further in this place. I was taking it based on the fact that it got me time with Jack somewhere new and exciting, plus it was no longer going to be an issue soon, given they were leaving Hopeless.
“You’re chipper this morning,” Jack laughed at me. I was pleasantly surprised that he awake and even willing to laugh as he’d only returned from England a day or so ago and I had been expecting him to bee surly from the jetlag still.
“I am in an absolutely fabulous mood this morning,” I continued in the same bright tone as before, though dropping the tune I was adding in to it. “Ask me why cutie pie.”
“Okay, okay, why, cutie pie?”
“I’ve been offered a development opportunity. Not a promotion, just something different and a bit more responsibility.”
“Holy crap, Clara. You’ve worked there six months: are you sleeping with your boss?”
“Clearly not, ass hat, I’m sleeping with the bands,” I snapped back at him playfully.
“Okay, whatcha gonna be doing?”
“Touring,” I grinned. I heard a brief sigh escape Jack at my words, clearly thinking the same thing I had about being away from him for longer.
“This is brilliant news. I love you, and I am so excited for you, but our schedules are going to clash like crazy, aren’t they?” I could hear the pout in his voice. I absolutely adored it when he acted like I did. It was unbelievably cute to know I wasn’t the only one who worried about us occasionally.
“Nope,” I grinned, popping the ‘p’ and continuing to grin down the phone. “They said you guys are short staffed for the UK tour.” I heard a sharp intake of breath through the phone and waited for his response. The seconds passed as I waited and I began to feel a little jittery. Was I right in telling Clive that he might not want me there?
“You mean our old label are paying my girlfriend to tour with me?”
“I did need a small bribe,” I shrugged.
“What did you say?”
“I said I’d have to ask you before I could say for definite.”
Why would you need to ask me? This is your career, not mine. I don’t control you.”
“But, but you might be planning on sleeping with other girls while I’m on a different continent. I didn’t want to cock block you or anything.” I felt myself pouting to coincide with faux upset tone and I had to remind myself that he couldn’t see me.
“As long as you aren’t cock blocking me with yourself, I can stay away from the British girls, I guess.”
“You mean you want me to come?”
“Shit, Clara, I’m begging you to come.” I let out the excited squeal I’d been holding in for the last ten minutes.
“We’re going to England!”
“I’m going to show you everything. It’s going to be incredible.”
“I’m so excited,” I breathed, trying to calm myself. “But, right now, I’m going to have to go back to work. I love you, and I will see you later, and I will see you for an entire month in England.” I hung up the phone after Jack said his goodbyes, tucking my phone back in my pocket and walking back to the office with a grin plastered across my face.
“And?” Clive asked, looking up at me from my own desk.
“Absolutely no problem whatsoever. We are all good to go.”
“Well, congratulations. You’re going to Britain for a month. I’ll put the paperwork through for you.”