Time & Time Again

I hit the floor of the tour bus with a thud and looked around, realizing I was in the bunk area. I made my way forward, following the sound of voices and ended up in the front lounge, laughing as I saw Jaime dancing around Vic who was trying to pour himself something to drink. Mike was sitting on the couch with Casey, both of them looking at something on Mike’s phone. I didn’t see Tony though. Everyone looked my way when they heard me laugh.

“Scottie?” Vic asked, shock and confusion taking over on his face.

Jaime let out a squeal and lunged toward me, engulfing me in a hug, picking me up and spinning me around.

“Fuck,” I muttered with a laugh as Jaime set me down. I was dizzy from him spinning me and stumbled as I tried to walk forward, landing right in Vic’s arms. He gave me a hug, laughing as I tried to hug him back, my head still spinning.

“Hey guys,” I finally managed to say once Vic released me, keeping his hand on my arm until he was sure I wouldn’t fall over this time.

“What are you doing here?” Vic asked, taking his hand off my arm, smiling at me as he crossed his arms, leaning back against the counter.

“Oh, I found her and Tony on the roof, getting cozy,” Mike smirked as he got up and started walking towards me. Before I could even respond he had wrapped his arms around me tightly, too tightly and I could barely move.

“Mike!” I screamed, trying to get out of his grip while he laughed and hugged me a little tighter before he finally let me go, I smacked his arm as he went back toward the couch.

“So, you and Tony?” Jaime asked, giving me a wink as he headed back toward the table.

“Yeah what’s up with that?” Vic asked, suggestively raising his eyebrows. God, these guys were so obnoxious.

“What’s up with what?” I heard Tony ask and I turned around to see him coming up behind me, his clothes changed and a snapback on his head. He smiled when he noticed me looking at him.

Before anyone else could say anything I felt my phone vibrate in my waistband and I jumped, the feeling of the vibrations scaring me a little. I quickly pulled out my phone and when I noticed it was Fin I answered it.

“Hello?” I asked and was immediately answered by the sound of Jace crying in the background I heard someone, I think Jake, yelling and then I finally heard Fin.

“Hey, Scott, can you please come back, Jace finally realized you were gone and he won’t stop crying.” Fin said in a rush.

I sighed and laughed a little. “Yeah, I’m on my way.” I said and I laughed as I heard Fin mutter thank god before the line went dead.

I laughed and looked up to see all the guys staring at me, realizing they had probably heard the commotion over my phone, Jace was pretty loud.

“Everything alright?” Tony asked.

I started making my way toward the door. “Yeah, well kind of, Jace is giving his uncles a hard time.” I said with a laugh. “I have to get back, I guess he won’t stop crying.”

The guys nodded and I couldn’t help but notice the frown that appeared on Tony’s face before he quickly regained his composure.

“Hey, when do we get to see the little squirt again?” Mike shouted to me as I put my hand on the door. I heard the other guys agree with him and I looked over my shoulder.

“Uh, I’ll be on the bus all day today, come by whenever,” I said with a shrug and I locked eyes with Tony, and he gave me a small smile which I returned before I headed out the bus and into the shining sun.

-----*-----

“Jace, no!” I shouted and jumped up from my spot on the couch. I was too late though as Jace threw my phone, letting it land on the floor with a smack and I watched as it broke open, the battery popping out and everything.

“Jace” I groaned, bending down to pick up all the pieces of my phone and trying to put it back together. I heard Jace giggle and run towards the back of the bus and I groaned again and set my phone on the counter, running to catch up with him, being trapped in a bus with a two year old was turning out to be a lot worse than I imagined, and it had only been one day.

“Oh, no you don’t,” I said as I bent down and scooped up Jace in my arms, just as he was about to grab Frank’s laptop which he carelessly left on the floor. Balancing Jace in one arm I picked up Frank’s laptop, setting it out of Jace’s reach. I heard a pounding coming from towards the front of the bus but I ignored it as Jace struggled against my arms.

“Mommy, no!” he whined as I set him down, quickly lifting his shirt above his head before he managed to escape. I heard the pounding again and I realized that someone was knocking on the bus door. Jace used this distraction to take off running toward the front of the bus and I sighed loudly as I grabbed him a fresh shirt, following him.

Jace sat down on the couch, laughing as he saw me walking by, he covered his eyes, thinking that just because he did this I couldn’t see him. I couldn’t help but laugh as I made my way to the door, hearing another knock, this time softer, the person on the other side probably about to give up. I quickly jumped down the steps and flung open the door, almost hitting the person standing in front of it.

“Oh, hey,” I said as I was met with the big brown eyes of Tony Perry.

He grinned and was just about to say something when I heard a crash come from behind me.

“Shit.” I muttered and ran away from Tony, leaving the door open. “Just come in here,” I yelled to him as I ran back toward the front lounge, finding Jace, on the floor a bag of Frank’s drumsticks scattered all around him. “Damn it Frank,” I cursed under my breath as I made my way towards the still shirtless Jace.

“Jace. No, we don’t play with these.” I scolded as I crouched down, picking up all the drumsticks and putting them back in the bag.

Once I had all them back in the bag and back on the counter I realized that Jace was unusually quiet. I looked down at him and saw him staring at something behind me; I turned, just now remembering that Tony was here. Tony was standing in the opening of the front lounge, looking uncomfortable as he fiddled with the snapback on his head, he would glance down at Jace then look around at nothing, a small smile playing on his lips. I couldn’t help but laugh as I looked at the two of them. Jace was just staring at Tony, barely blinking.

I stood up and Tony looked over at me. “Sorry, I tried calling, you didn’t answer.” he said and went back to fiddling with his hat.

“Yeah, well this little booger decided to throw my phone and the battery fell out.” I said, nodding toward the counter where my phone was and I saw Tony reach out and pick it up, turning it on.

I felt a tug on my shirt and looked down to see Jace looking up at me, hiding behind my leg. I smiled down at him and he reached his arms up and I bent down to pick him up. I adjusted him on my waist and started walking towards Tony and I couldn’t help but try and hide back my laughter as Tony’s eyes widen when he saw the two of us getting closer.

“Relax Tone, he doesn’t bite, well for the most part” I whispered as I got closer and Tony laughed quietly, actually relaxing. “Jace, this is Tony. He’s Mommy’s friend. Can you say hi to Tony?” I asked and bounced Jace, getting his attention. He snuggled his face in my neck, being shy.

I giggled and bounced him again. “C’mon Jace, say hi,” Jace finally turned around again and looked over at Tony. I watched as Jace took his arm away from my neck and gave Tony a little wave before he smiled shyly and went back to hiding in my neck. I grinned and looked up at Tony who was looking at Jace, so many emotions going across his face, one of them amazement, as he looked up to me with a wide grin.

“Hi Jace,” Tony said quietly as Jace had turned and looked at him again and Tony waved a little.

I was a bit shocked when Jace suddenly reached out and grabbed Tony’s hand, though not as shocked as Tony was because he all but froze where he stood and I bit my lip, trying not to laugh at his expression. Neither of us said anything as Jace leaned forward in my arms, bringing Tony’s hand closer to him and then he let go of my neck completely, bringing his other small hand to grab onto Tony’s, this time pulling on his hand, making Tony take a step forward. I suddenly realized what was happening when I noticed the way Jace smiled, looking down at the top of Tony’s hand.

“Your tattoos,” I said simply and Tony relaxed once again, smiling up at me. I continued to hold Jace in a sitting position in my arms as he continued to examine Tony’s tattoos. “So what’s up?” I asked Tony and took my gaze off of Jace to look up at him.

“Oh, uh,” Tony said bringing his eyes up to meet mine, he was careful not to move as Jace looked up at Tony for a second before he looked back down at his hand. “The guys and I were going to go get food at the catering tent, we ran into Fin and he said you and Jace were here so we thought we would come invite you.”

“So where is everyone else?”

“Oh, right, well they told me to come get you, because, um, I hadn’t met Jace yet.” He smiled down at the little boy in my arms and I couldn’t help but smile at the sight.

“Jace are you hungry?” I asked, bouncing him in my arms again.

“Food, food please!” he said and struggled in my arms and I set him down as Tony and I laughed. He walked over to the couch and sat down on the floor, grabbing his shoes and he furrowed his eyebrows, knowing that they went on his feet but unsure how to do it before he looked up at us. “Shoes?” he asked, holding one out to us.

“Uncle Tony will help you okay baby?” I said and Tony looked over at me, a shocked expression on his face. “Mommy has to get ready,” I was saying this to Jace but I was looking at Tony while I said it, pleading with my eyes.

Tony bit his lip nervously and sighed, walking closer to Jace who was now watching Tony come closer; he held his shoe out to him, his shyness all but gone.

“Oh, here’s his shirt too,” I said to Tony as he crouched down in front of Jace, taking his shoe from his hand. I placed the shirt on Tony’s shoulder and he grunted as a response looking up and squinting his eyes at me.

I grinned back at him. “Thank you Uncle Tony!” I said as I headed toward the back of the bus smiling at the sound of Tony’s laugh.

I quickly changed, taking off my oversized tee-shirt and yogas and exchanging them for some short denim shorts and a flowy white tank top, slipping on my white Converse and pulled my hair into a messy bun on top of my head. I didn’t have any makeup on but I didn’t really need it if I was being honest so I just grabbed mine and Jace’s laminates off my bed and headed back up to the front of the bus. Tony had actually managed to get Jace’s shoes and shirt on and they were now sitting on the floor, a toy bin in front of them. Jace was handing Tony a little toy pig, though his hands we all but full by now with other toys and I couldn’t help the grin that took over my face.

“What’s this one?” Tony asked Jace quietly as he took the toy and added it to his collection.

“Piggy. Oink oink.” Jace answered and Tony laughed.

“Good job.” Tony said and Jace looked up and smiled at him before reaching into the toy bin and grabbing another one and held it out to him.

“Mommy’s favorite,” Jace said before Tony could ask and Tony looked closer at the little green toy Jace had just handed him and I furrowed my eyebrows as I noticed a grin break out on his face because I couldn’t see what it was.

“What’s Mommy’s favorite?” I asked, making my presence known as I started to walk towards them, I stopped at the counter, grabbing my phone and putting it in my back pocket.

Tony looked up at me and I couldn’t help but notice the way his eyes roamed over my body. He smiled and held the toy out to me.

“Turtle,” Jace spoke, getting up and taking the turtle from Tony’s hand and brought it to me so I could take it. I laughed and bit my lip, feeling Tony’s eyes on me.

“Yup, Mommy loves her turtles,” I said with a laugh and looked over at Tony who was smiling at me, a thoughtful look on his face. I gave him a questioning look and he just shook his head, looking away with a smile and putting the toys back in the bin.

“Ready for some food little man?” I asked as Jace held his arms out and I picked him up.

“Food!” he agreed and I felt Tony come stand beside us.

We made our way to the front of the bus, I let Tony go first and I closed to door behind me, shuffling Jace in my arms and locking the door. We started walking toward the food tent, which unfortunately meant we would have to walk in the crowd for a little ways, not that I minded but I wasn’t sure how Jace would act if we suddenly got mobbed by fans, which was a huge possibility. My twitter had been blowing up all day with people now knowing that I was back on tour with Fin and the guys and many people were looking forward to seeing me again, plus we were also walking with the Tony Perry.

We had almost made it through the crowd with a few people noticing us, some just saying hi and waving and one girl had actually stopped Tony and asked him for a picture and Jace seemed okay, his little eyes darting everywhere, taking in all the things happening around him.

“Oh fuck,” I heard Tony muttered and he placed his hand on the small of my back, gently pushing me a little faster as he put his other hand up to pull his snapback down a bit.

Confused, I looked to where he was watching and noticed a group of about ten girls about ten feet away, all of them wearing Pierce the Veil shirts. I locked eyes with one of the girls and she started to grin, seeming to recognize me, she was just about to say something to another girl when she suddenly looked over and noticed Tony.

“Oh my God! It’s Tony!” another girl shouted before the other girl could say anything.

What happened next was a blur as I heard Tony swear again and I gripped Jace a little tighter as we both started to walk a little faster but unfortunately these girls were quicker. I felt Jace stiffen in my arms as he turned to see the crowd of girls standing extremely close to us. They started asking Tony questions as we tried to keep walking, though we soon had to stop as they formed a circle around us. Once they realized I was there too some girls focused in on me and I suddenly had questions being thrown my way as well. I tried to ignore them as I looked down at Jace, feeling him start to shake in my arms.

“Mommy,” he said and his bottom lip quivered and I saw tears in his eyes. He was getting scared. He put his little hands up to cover his eyes.

“Tony,” I said and he quickly turned my way, ignoring the fan who was trying to take a picture with him, when he heard the tone of my voice. His eyes met mine and then quickly flashed to the now crying boy in my arms.

“Guys, please,” Tony yelled and came closer to us. At the sound of Tony’s voice, Jace uncovered his eyes and looked at Tony. “You’re scaring Jace.” Tony said and I could hear the anger in his voice, though he was trying not to let it out too much.

Tony came and stood in front of Jace and I and he was about to put his arm around me when suddenly Jace reached out to him, holding his arms out and leaning out of my arms. Tony and I were both shocked at the gesture and shared a quick look but without even thinking twice, Tony reached up and took Jace in his arms, placing him on his hip and grabbing my hand as he turned around but stopped when he realized we were still blocked in by the fans. I came to stop behind him and looked at Jace who was now sobbing into Tony’s neck and I tried letting go of Tony’s hand so I could get in front of him because I was physically going to push these girls out of the way but he suddenly tightened his grip and pulled me closer to him.

“Move, please!” He yelled and even though he said please you could tell he was pissed. One girl, the one I first noticed, finally moved out of the way and Tony took this chance and quickly walked forward, tugging me along with him. I mouthed a thank you to the girl as we passed because even though her friends were crazy, I could tell by the look on her face, that she wasn’t expecting them to be like this. There was a chorus of aw’s and wait’s as we finally broke free from the girls. Tony continued walking, our hands still entwined, until he came to a stop at the entrance of the catering tent.

I felt Tony loosen his grip on my hand and even though I never wanted to let go of him I slid my hand free, focusing my attention on my son.

“Jace, sweetie, hey,” I whispered and began to rub his back. “It’s okay, there’s no more yelling.”

Jace slowly lifted his head and sniffed, looking at me. He then looked around; when he realized where we were he relaxed and leaned out of Tony’s arms, reaching for me. Tony handed him over and I couldn’t help but laugh as Tony pulled his tank top up to wipe Jace’s tears off his neck. He chuckled, shaking his head and then leaned forward so he could wipe Jace’s face with his shirt as well, drying his tear stained face.

“Whoa! What happened?” I turned when I heard Fin’s voice coming from behind us, and saw him stepping out of the tent, a chicken leg in his hand.

“We got ambushed,” Tony answered, his eyes flashing as he let his shirt fall back down, I could tell he was still pissed.

“They scared Jace,” I explained more. “They were surrounding us, shouting questions.”

“Shit,” Fin muttered, chucking his now finished chicken leg in the trash. “Why do they have to do that?” he asked more to himself than us. “Come on little dude, let’s go get some food.” He said and reached for Jace who gladly went to his arms. Fin set him down on the ground and grabbed his hand, and they walked slowly into the tent.

Tony began to walk forward but I grabbed his hand, pulling him back. He turned and looked at me.

“Hey, thank you.”

He smiled. “Anytime.”

“Wait,” I said as he began to walk forward again. “Why did you stop me back there? When I was going to get the girls to move?”

He laughed. “Fuck, was that all you were going to do?” I looked at him confused. “Scottie, you looked like you were going to murder someone, I’ve never seen you like that, you saw Jace crying and just, fuck I don’t know, Mommy Scottie is pretty scary.” He said with another laugh and I laughed too, lightly pushing his arm as we started walking into the tent. “She’s also pretty fucking sexy though too,” he added, turning around and giving me a wink.

I paused, watching him head towards the table where I saw all the other guys, most likely a goofy grin on my face but I couldn’t help it.

Mommy Scottie is pretty scary, she’s also pretty fucking sexy though too.

Notes