If We Jump

Stephen and I sat at one of the picnic tables but we were turned around to face the fire. There were other tables around us filled with bands or other groups of friends that came along on the tour. Some people were roasting marshmallows over the fire and some were just hanging out. It was dark out, around 11 o'clock, but no one cared. Jess and John were at the table to my right and Josh was across from us with some people he knew. The fire was going strong and people were well on their way to being drunk. If I wasn't there, I'm sure Stephen would have joined in on it. I hated knowing that he felt like he couldn't party when I was around. I didn't care if he drank but he still didn't when I was there.

It was a little bit awkward sitting with Stephen. He acted like nothing had happened, like he'd never kissed me. I seemed like neither of us knew what to say. John walked over to our little table and offered us some drinks but Stephen declined. He raised his eyebrows, clearly surprised that Stephen was turning down a good time and walked away. "You can drink if you want, I don't mind" I told him quietly. He shook his head. "I'd rather talk to you" he smiled.

After a few hours, people started dispersing and retreating back inside there buses so we could drive to the next venue. Stephen took my hand and led me back to the bus once we were almost done cleaning up the bottles. He said goodnight to me and I went to get ready for bed. I was out the second I hit the mattress. I was exhausted.

When I woke up the next morning, it was around 10a.m. I didn’t hear anyone talking or anything so I assumed everyone was goofing off somewhere. When I climbed out of my bunk I heard soft music coming from the back of the bus. I made my way to the source and saw Stephen on the couch with a guitar and a notebook. He put his guitar down and smiled when he noticed me. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt...” I told him. He shook his head. “You’re not.” I sat down near him on the couch.

“What are you playing?” I asked. “Nothing, I was just messing around” he said.

“It was good though, you should play more” I smiled. He picked up the guitar and began playing a soft melody. He looked adorable sitting there. He was so concentrated on it. You can tell just by watching him play, whether it’s on stage or on the couch, that music meant everything to him. I think that’s why we got along so well. Music had saved me from doing many things I’d regret. Stephen had once told me it saved him as well.

When he was finished he looked up at me. “What’d you think?” he asked. “It was amazing, did you write that?” I wondered. He was one of the most talented people I’d ever met. He could play guitar, and bass, and he was a great singer. His dance moves weren’t too shabby either. “Yeah, I’m still working on the words to go with it though” he explained. “Well I love it” I smiled. He looked down to my lips the way he had the day before when he gave me a light kiss. I almost thought he was going to do it again but the door swung open and he averted his eyes from me.

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I played her the song I’d been writing for the past few days and she said she loved it. To be honest, her approval sent my heart racing. I liked the fact that she loved something I made. Right then and there, I wanted to kiss her so badly. I needed to kiss her. Not a light peck like before, but a real, full-on kiss. I wanted to feel the way her lips could move with mine. I wanted to feel the warmth of her skin brush against mine. I wanted her to feel the way I felt about her. As I was working up the courage to actually do something like that, the door opened. I sighed. It was John warning me about the time. We had a show in an hour and I knew I had to get going.

She asked if she could come watch us play. Of course I agreed. I felt more confident on stage when I knew she was close by. Something about her, changed my whole level of happiness. I kissed her forehead and left. She was going to get changed and meet us there.

We went on in five minutes and she still hadn’t shown up. I was beginning to worry something had happened. They called us onto the stage and we began to play. Our first song was When We Were Young. The song seemed to drag on and I continuously looked on each side of the stage for her. We started playing Someone Like You next. About halfway through the song, I saw her on John’s half of the stage. My face lit up and everyone seemed to notice. When we finished the song I walked over there with my bass. Brian and Josh were bickering about the spotlights. I was just glad the audience was focused on them and not on me. I didn’t care about people knowing we were friends but if the fans found out I was interested in her, they’d never leave her alone. I didn’t want her to have to deal with that.

From the audience you were able to see me, but you couldn’t see who I was talking to. For all they knew, I could be talking to a wall. “You want to go out after this?” I asked her. She nodded and I smiled. Then, as if he read my mind, Brian spoke. “Can we get a round of applause for Stephen and his woman?” obeying his request, the crowd erupted into cheers and screams. I quickly kissed her on the cheek and apologized for Brian before returning to my spot. The set flew by and soon enough I was leaving the venue with Dakotah.

“Are you sure you don’t have to stay with them?” she asked me. The rest of the band stayed after to meet fans and sign autographs. I hated the attention that came with it so I didn’t usually go. “No I don’t have to. You want to go get dinner?” I asked.

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I didn’t want Stephen to get in trouble or disappoint his fans because of me but he insisted that it was fine for us to leave. We walked down one of the main streets in town until we found a decent restaurant. Our waitress brought us to a table and let us sit down. I assumed she knew of The Summer Set because she wouldn’t take her eyes off of Stephen. That or she just thought he was hot, not that I would blame her. We ordered our food and she reluctantly left our table.

“Listen, can I talk to you about something?” he asked me. I nodded and he started explaining the fans to me. He said once they found out we were friends they would tear me apart. They did it to Brian’s ex-girlfriend too, apparently. I told him I could handle it but he was still worried. We finished eating and made our way back to the bus, hand in hand. Instead of going inside, we sat at a table we found. “There’s something I’ve been wanting to do for a while…” he started, turning to face me. “I really want to kiss you, like a real kiss” he said, looking up at the sky. That caught me off guard. Stephen wanted to kiss me? But, why? Of course I wouldn’t say no, I just don’t get it. Maybe Jess was right about this whole thing…

“Then do it” I said quietly. He looked back down and met my eyes. His hand touched my cheek and his face grew closer to mine. He tilted his head and I closed my eyes. As cliché as it sounds, kissing Stephen felt different than it did with anyone else. He was gentle but assertive as well. He started to pull away, but kissed me once more instead.