Status: Completed!
The Reckless and the Brave
x one x
"Wait. You're telling me that not only do I have to see him every day all summer long, I also have to share a fucking bus with him? Come on, Jack," Lily Abernathy whined to her best friend, Jack Barakat, at the news he'd just given her. She'd found out a week before that the band that she was the lead singer of, Reckless Summer, was finally getting its shot at the tour that everyone always wanted a spot on; Warped Tour. The only kicker had been that her ex-boyfriend's band All Time Low also happened to be on the tour.
"It's the only arrangement that they could figure out. Since you guys were late signers on the tour, there isn't time to get you set up with your own thing. ATL always travels with two buses for band and crew, so there's room leftover. It was either this or you were going to have to bring your own cars and rent vans or something for equipment," Jack explained, causing Lily to heave a heavy sigh.
"Fuck," she said, and heard him try to stifle a chuckle on the other end of the phone. "So not funny," she told him, and he chuckled again without even pretending to hide it.
"It's either this or you deny your band the chance of a lifetime. Hell, I know about half of our fans came from Warped. They've always been one of our best audiences," Jack told her, and she wished he was actually in front of her because she wanted to punch him.
"I know. I know I can't say 'no'. But that doesn't mean I don't wanna whine about it for the next week straight," she told him, and he laughed again.
"I've gotta go for now, but I'll see you tomorrow. I look forward to hearing you whine all summer," Jack told her, and she wished he didn't have to go. She wanted to ask him about Alex; to ask him how he was doing and if he was dating anyone. She wanted to know what she was walking into. She wasn't sure how she'd handle it if he was dating someone. In fact, that thought hadn't occurred to her until that very second.
She was about to bring it up to Jack even though she'd promised him a long time ago to stop mentioning Alex. Before she could say anything, however, she realized that Jack wasn't there anymore. Sighing, she tossed her phone down on her bed and continued to pack.
The bus call time the next morning was 6AM and Alex barely got any sleep at all. He was nervous even though he didn't want to be. He was giddy and excited to see her even though he wasn't sure if he should be. He fucking missed her, even though he'd never have admitted it out loud to anyone. She'd been such a big part of his life for so long, and he wasn't sure he'd ever completely healed after they'd broken up. For a long time after, he'd fought with himself about trying to get back together with her. But then life happened and they both had so much shit going on in their personal lives and with their bands that it just never seemed like the right time.
As he walked up the steep stairs onto the bus a while later, he was surprised to find that it was pretty much empty. He was rarely early, but apparently he'd been in such a rush to have a possibly awkward interaction with Lily that he'd gotten up and ready much quicker than usual.
People poured into the bus; all three of his band mates arrived shortly after him and then all three of Lily's boarded groggily one by one.
"You seen Lil?" their mutual best friend Jack asked, sitting beside Alex on the bench seat in the front of the bus.
"No. You?" Alex asked as casually as he could.
"No. You nervous?"
"No."
"Bullshit."
Before Alex could reply, there was a commotion at the front of the bus and Lily's three band mates re-emerged, this time with her in tow. Seeing her instantly punched Alex in the gut. Her smooth blonde hair was much longer than it had been the last time he'd seen her and it seemed to almost glow in the early morning sun. Somehow she'd managed to apply her makeup perfectly and precisely even though it was so god-awfully early and her t-shirt and jeans looked like they were brand new. She was... breathtaking. Words escaped him completely as she walked past him, obviously trying her best to be sure her eyes didn't connect with his.
As soon as was a good distance away in the back bunk area of the bus, Jack patted Alex on the back slowly. "You might wanna wipe the drool off your chin," Jack said, smirking.
"Fuck you," Alex mumbled, shaking his head.
"I told you she's changed," Jack told him, and Alex continued to shake his head more and more forcefully.
"She's beautiful. I forgot how fucking beautiful she is," Alex whispered, looking toward where she'd disappeared into the back.
"Dude. I love you, you know that, but if you break her fucking heart again I'll break both your legs," Jack said, only half kidding.
"I have no intention of anyone breaking anything," Alex assured him, giving him one last look before venturing back to his bunk to try his best to clear his head enough so that he could nap once the bus started rolling.
"It's the only arrangement that they could figure out. Since you guys were late signers on the tour, there isn't time to get you set up with your own thing. ATL always travels with two buses for band and crew, so there's room leftover. It was either this or you were going to have to bring your own cars and rent vans or something for equipment," Jack explained, causing Lily to heave a heavy sigh.
"Fuck," she said, and heard him try to stifle a chuckle on the other end of the phone. "So not funny," she told him, and he chuckled again without even pretending to hide it.
"It's either this or you deny your band the chance of a lifetime. Hell, I know about half of our fans came from Warped. They've always been one of our best audiences," Jack told her, and she wished he was actually in front of her because she wanted to punch him.
"I know. I know I can't say 'no'. But that doesn't mean I don't wanna whine about it for the next week straight," she told him, and he laughed again.
"I've gotta go for now, but I'll see you tomorrow. I look forward to hearing you whine all summer," Jack told her, and she wished he didn't have to go. She wanted to ask him about Alex; to ask him how he was doing and if he was dating anyone. She wanted to know what she was walking into. She wasn't sure how she'd handle it if he was dating someone. In fact, that thought hadn't occurred to her until that very second.
She was about to bring it up to Jack even though she'd promised him a long time ago to stop mentioning Alex. Before she could say anything, however, she realized that Jack wasn't there anymore. Sighing, she tossed her phone down on her bed and continued to pack.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
The bus call time the next morning was 6AM and Alex barely got any sleep at all. He was nervous even though he didn't want to be. He was giddy and excited to see her even though he wasn't sure if he should be. He fucking missed her, even though he'd never have admitted it out loud to anyone. She'd been such a big part of his life for so long, and he wasn't sure he'd ever completely healed after they'd broken up. For a long time after, he'd fought with himself about trying to get back together with her. But then life happened and they both had so much shit going on in their personal lives and with their bands that it just never seemed like the right time.
As he walked up the steep stairs onto the bus a while later, he was surprised to find that it was pretty much empty. He was rarely early, but apparently he'd been in such a rush to have a possibly awkward interaction with Lily that he'd gotten up and ready much quicker than usual.
People poured into the bus; all three of his band mates arrived shortly after him and then all three of Lily's boarded groggily one by one.
"You seen Lil?" their mutual best friend Jack asked, sitting beside Alex on the bench seat in the front of the bus.
"No. You?" Alex asked as casually as he could.
"No. You nervous?"
"No."
"Bullshit."
Before Alex could reply, there was a commotion at the front of the bus and Lily's three band mates re-emerged, this time with her in tow. Seeing her instantly punched Alex in the gut. Her smooth blonde hair was much longer than it had been the last time he'd seen her and it seemed to almost glow in the early morning sun. Somehow she'd managed to apply her makeup perfectly and precisely even though it was so god-awfully early and her t-shirt and jeans looked like they were brand new. She was... breathtaking. Words escaped him completely as she walked past him, obviously trying her best to be sure her eyes didn't connect with his.
As soon as was a good distance away in the back bunk area of the bus, Jack patted Alex on the back slowly. "You might wanna wipe the drool off your chin," Jack said, smirking.
"Fuck you," Alex mumbled, shaking his head.
"I told you she's changed," Jack told him, and Alex continued to shake his head more and more forcefully.
"She's beautiful. I forgot how fucking beautiful she is," Alex whispered, looking toward where she'd disappeared into the back.
"Dude. I love you, you know that, but if you break her fucking heart again I'll break both your legs," Jack said, only half kidding.
"I have no intention of anyone breaking anything," Alex assured him, giving him one last look before venturing back to his bunk to try his best to clear his head enough so that he could nap once the bus started rolling.