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The Way Down

Chapter 12

I groaned, bringing my hand to my throbbing skull, squinting in the harsh light of the morning. I sat up slowly, recognizing I was in my own bunk, with my Boba Fett throw and large amount of gray pillows. Everyone else’s bunks were empty with curtains pulled back. All except for one. I got up and ripped the tan curtain back, making Gabe groan and shield his eyes from the unwelcome sunlight.

“What the hell?” he moaned into his pillow, refusing to look up.

“What happened last night?” I scratched the back of my head, feeling my hair more knotted than it maybe had ever been. I looked down and saw that I was still in my black denim shorts and black shirt from last night. I smelled like smoke and tequila.

“Can we talk about it when I’m less hung over?” Gabe narrowed his eyes at me and I pulled his curtain shut again, stumbling my way over to the bathroom. My eyes felt puffy and my lips were chapped. As I approached the bathroom door I looked up to see Dan standing in the kitchen area with a cup of coffee in his hand. The aroma filled the air, and I stopped what I was doing, swaying over to get some of the heavenly liquid.

“You…” he eyed me up and down, “look like absolute shit,” he laughed handing me his mug, going to make a new one for himself. I closed my eyes as I reveled in the warmth radiating from the cup, sending waves of comfort over me. I took a sip and felt my senses catching up to me. “Fun night you had,” Dan teased, leaning against the cabinet , crossing one leg over the other as he drank his coffee. I rolled my eyes.

“I am not ready to have this discussion with you,” my voice was raspy and soft, like it had given up on me.

“Yeah, I can tell,” he sighed, staring at me for a long moment. “Please don’t make us worry like that again.” His voice was serious now, and that was a rare occurrence for him.

“Oh, Dan,” I sighed, walking over to him quicker than I knew I had the energy for, setting my mug on the counter. “I’m sorry I scared you guys. You know I don’t usually do that kind of thing. Please don’t be mad at me,” I pouted at him, giving him my best puppy dog eyes, my hands latched onto his arm. He rolled his eyes, but smiled nonetheless.

“Yeah, okay. I’m easy, but Shae’s the one you have to convince. She was freaking out, mostly because you don’t do shit like this. Side note, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you that drunk,” he laughed, ruffling my hair before throwing his arm over my shoulder and pulling me into his side, squeezing me in a one armed hug. I felt a weight lift off my chest and grinned up at him, relieved I had quelled the ire of at least one of my closest friends. I felt bad for making everyone worry about me last night. I hadn’t told anyone I was leaving at all, and we were on tour. What would they have done if I hadn’t returned when it was time to depart for the next city? Or not at all? If the roles were switched I knew I’d be just as upset. We were like a tight knit family here.

“Anyway, I need a shower,” I yawned, trying to run my hands through my hair and only being met with big, unruly tangles. Dan nodded at me and I grabbed my coffee, making my way into the bathroom. I looked into the mirror as I set my cup on the sink, seeing makeup smudged beneath my eyes. I didn’t wear much, but what had been there was now smeared across my face. I ran the water in the shower and stripped as I waited for it to warm. As I stood there I had the time to see some bruises forming on my legs, mostly on my shins, but some on my thighs as well. I had a few on my arms, too. I mentally awarded myself for being the clumsiest drunk in existence and climbed into to the warm water, goosebumps erupting all over me. I let out a deep sigh as my muscles relaxed, my dark brown hair going from completely unruly to soaked flat on my head, hanging down just above my mid back. My body wash smelled like pomegranates and I was relieved to rid myself of the scent of last night.

I stayed in the shower a little longer than usual today, letting the water wash over my face and neck, a little lost in thought. I was pretty drunk last night, but I still remembered some details surprisingly well. Jeremy carrying me back to his bus. Him pressed against me on top of the counter to make sure I didn’t fall. Me nuzzling into his neck…

I groaned, turning off the water suddenly and jumping out of the shower. I toweled myself off roughly, trying to shake the embarrassing memory from my mind. I looked like a complete idiot! In front of Jeremy! I raised my hand to my forehead, cringing outwardly. I slipped on some comfortable clothes, a baggy black shirt that reached almost mid-thigh, and some gray cloth shorts beneath it, not much longer than the shirt itself. I slipped on some knee-high cable knit socks, and wiggled my toes, reveling in the comfort. I was dead set on not going anywhere today. I didn’t take sick days often, but today I would make an exception. I brushed through my hair and put on a tiny bit of mascara, making my way out of the bathroom and into the living area. Dan looked me up and down.

“Well aren’t you cute.”

I smiled and curtsied, making him chuckle.

“Staying in today?” he asked and nodded with defeat, falling backwards onto the couch. It didn’t take him long to follow suit. “It’s good for you to take a day off every once in awhile. Try to take care of Gabe while you’re here. He’s much more miserable than you,” he motioned his head towards the bunks, and I imagined Gabe, still buried into his pillows, avoiding sunlight. I laughed lightly, nodding in agreement.

“He drank a lot more than me. And I bet no one make him drink any water, either. That’s probably why I feel halfway decent right now,” I said thoughtfully. Dan turned to me, smirking.

“And who was it that nursed you away from a hangover when you were piss drunk?” he said evilly.

“I’m not answering that,” I turned away from him, crossing my arms across my chest.

“Trick question. I assume it’s loverboy who carried you, unconscious, back over here, and took your jacket off for you, and tucked you into bed, all nice and cozy. He even made you take some aspirin, though I can see you don’t remember that,” he wiggled his eyebrows. I turned to look at him so quickly I’m surprised I didn’t get whiplash. Blood rushed to my face.

“You’re lying,” I breathed, mortified.

“Why would I lie about that? It was adorable,” he teased, lifting off the couch and walking towards the door. I groaned, my face falling into my hands. “Don’t treat it like such a bad thing. This is good. This is progress,” he pointed at me, raising an eyebrow in a smug way.

“Progress?! I humiliated myself! I smelled like alcohol, I was drunk beyond belief, I made a complete ass of myself! Oh my God, what did I do?!” I fell to the side and buried my face in a couch cushion, rolling my face in it. I continued muttering obscenities into the pillow until Dan interrupted me.

“Well, have fun coping with your life decisions. I’m gonna get to work. Everyone else is already out, so just make sure Gabe doesn’t wither and die back there, okay?” he smiled softly at me as he opened the door, and it slammed shut behind him. I stared at the empty doorway, my cheek pressing into the cushion, my hair sprawled across my face. Sighing, I stood. Tiptoeing to the back, I peeked into Gabe’s bunk. Sure enough, he was face deep in a pillow, snoring away.

Just as I decided to let him sleep it off I heard a soft tapping at the door. I cocked my head, wondering who it would be. Did Dan lock himself out? It wouldn’t be the first time. I quickly walked out of the back, being sure not to wake Gabe in the process, and bounded over to the door. I opened it, peeking out not to see Dan, but Jeremy standing at the bottom of the steps. My eyebrows rose in surprise and I hid behind the door a bit, embarrassed of my bare legs. There was a short silence until I found my voice.

“Good morning,” I said softly, eyes focused on the ground.

“Good morning. I… brought this for you,” he said, lifting two Starbucks cups of coffee into the air, looking kind of off to the side, a blush creeping on to his cheeks.

“Thank you,” I said, surprise evident in my voice. “Um, come in,” I stepped nervously to the side as he walked inside slowly, as though not to disturb the peaceful air of the bus. I mentally praised myself for shaving the day before and cleaning up before he got here. At least there was some mercy in the world.

“I thought you might need it,” he said quietly, walking around me and over to the table, setting the coffees down. “How are you feeling?” he asked as I shut the door and caught up with him, us sitting on opposite sides of each other in the booth.

“Pretty good, considering. I have you to thank for that,” I said the last part quietly, staring shyly down at the warm drink, wrapping my hands around it.

“I didn’t do much,” he said, eyes trained on the table. Both of us were too shy for our own good. “I expect you to do the same for me next time I’m shit faced,” he laughed quietly, the tension easing a bit.

“Deal,” I chuckled, finally picking up the drink and taking a sip. I sighed happily as the warm liquid hit the back of my throat, tilting my head back. “Usually I drink tea, but when it comes to hangovers, coffee is the way to go,” I smiled behind closed lids. He nodded.

“That kind of suits you,” he smiled softly, almost to himself, fiddling with the cup in his hand. I leaned my head down, trying to hide my blush with my hair. An awkward silence settled over us, neither of us really looking at each other for a while, before I decided to break the tension.

“Your set starts at ten tonight, right?” I said the first conversation topic that came to mind. He cocked his head to the side.

“You’re not working it?” This seemed to pique his interest, to my surprise.

“I’m taking a sick day. The first one in a long time,” I replied. His look of confusion turned into a blank stare and he nodded slowly.

“That makes sense… If you want… If you need someone to…” he was getting tongue tied, a look of frustration crossing his features. My brows furrowed, not at all sure of what he was trying to get out. He broke eye contact, staring hard down at the white table. “If you need someone to take care of you, or keep you company… I don’t have sound-check until nine…” he was scratching the back of his head awkwardly, not making eye contact at all. His brows always seemed to be furrowed around me. A smile tugged at the corner of my lips, my heart skipping a beat. A sudden amount of excitement flooded into me, and I seemed to be possessed by Jeremy’s actions, staring down at the table as well, though I felt considerably more giddy inside than he appeared.

“Company would be nice,” I nodded, trying to suppress the grin that ate at me. His head popped up, a rare smile reaching his own lips.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah...” I laughed softly. “Is there anything you want to do?” I asked, trying to be a little less anxious as I sipped on my coffee. There was still a palpable tension hanging in the air. I never could find a way to relax around Jeremy. I felt like I was always on edge when he was around, constantly second guessing myself, wondering if I looked okay, worried the things I said would sound stupid or uninteresting. I definitely wasn’t used to it. The last time I felt this way around a boy was in high school. I felt like a teenager, always checking my hair in the mirror and wondering what to wear around him.

“Anything is fine with me,” he said quietly, obviously feeling a little stiff himself. He seemed very timid, determined not to make any sudden movements lest he scare me away. I smiled at the thought.

“Do you want to watch a movie?” I asked, trying to think of a decent activity for multiple people to partake in. If it was just me I would probably play a video game or scroll through my Instagram, which was mostly filled with tattoo work and dogs. He nodded at the suggestion and we both stood, walking over to the couch. I opened the cabinet beneath the television hanging on the wall, digging through the movies we had all piled in collectively.

“What do you like?” I asked, slightly muffled by the wood above my head.

“I’m not picky,” he answered, and I saw him sit slowly at the other end of the couch in my peripheral vision. I nodded to myself, grabbing a few I hadn’t seen yet.

“Well, we have a couple of horror movies, a romance movie, and a documentary on South American crops,” I shrugged as I turned to face him. “I personally really like horror.” I gave him a cheesy smile.

“Horror is good,” he answered, giving a light chuckle.

“Do you care which one? We have one about a serial killer, or one about haunted dolls,” he shook his head at my question and I decided on the dolls, popping it into the small dvd player on top of the cabinet. Plopping down a few feet away from him, I pulled my feet up onto the couch, my knees pressed into my chest. The opening credits began appearing on the screen and I turned my head to Jeremy.

“Do you want a blanket or anything? It’s kind of chilly in here,” I said, scooting forward to go retrieve some covers, pausing the movie. He moved to get up as well.

“Do you want me to get it?” he asked, perched on the edge of his seat.

“I’m hungover, not helpless,” I laughed as I stood before him, walking back towards the bunks. “Do you want me to grab you one?” I looked at him over my shoulder and he nodded bashfully.

“If it’s not too much trouble,” he said quietly, almost grudgingly, like he had lost a coin toss. I smiled inwardly. He was so nervous and polite. It was very different from my initial impression of him, which was cold, and distant. It wasn’t too far fetched from my thoughts on him now, but he was slowly developing layers the more I got to know him. He was turning out to be an unexpectedly warm person, who cared more than he liked to show. Like today. He showed up to my bus with coffee after nursing me to sleep the night before, but he acted like nothing had happened. I was having a hard time deciding if he was shy or just stubborn.

I tiptoed into the back room, feeling relieved as I heard Gabe’s rhythmic breathing and soft snores. I slipped the Boba Fett blanket off my bed and retreated out quietly, shutting the door softly. I locked eyes with Jeremy, tossing him the throw and stepping onto the chair in the booth, reaching into a cabinet above the table for another one.

“I’ll let you use my favorite blanket because I’m so nice,” I teased in a sing song voice, straining to reach inside the tight space, being reminded of how vertically challenged I was. Suddenly I felt something brush my lower back and I yelped, almost falling backwards onto the floor, but sturdy hands gripped my sides. I looked below me, my heart racing after my near accident, seeing Jeremy inches away from my face, my hair brushing his cheeks and neck.

“I didn’t mean to scare you,” he breathed, his eyes not leaving mine. I let out a shaky breath, straightening myself out.

“It’s okay,” I murmured, stepping down from the chair.

“We can just share that blanket. It’s big enough for two,” he mumbled gruffly, his hands shoved deep into his back pockets. I had never seen someone look simultaneously shy and intimidating before. I swallowed, nodding. I glanced at the door to the back, wondering if my small scream had woken Gabe, but I heard no movement.

We bumbled back over to the couch, looking at each other in an awkward show down to see who would sit first. In the end, Jeremy sat at the end, the blanket sprawled over him. I precariously perched myself on the edge of the couch beside him, taking only a small chunk, covering my right leg, shaking a bit from the shock of almost falling and being saved, again, by Jeremy.

“Are you okay? You don’t look very comfortable…” he observed, and I shook my head, pressing play on the dvd screen.

“I’m fine,” my voice betrayed me, sounding incredibly unconvincing.

“You barely have any blanket,” he said, shifting to give me some more.

“I’m fine, I don’t want to take too much.”

Jeremy stared at me for a long second before he nodded slowly, looking down for a moment, seeming to be thinking deeply. After a few seconds he looked back up with an unsettled expression on his face.

“Let me know if I make you uncomfortable at any point,” he said as he moved, reaching out towards me. My breath caught in my throat. I looked at his outstretched hands, feeling panic stricken. His hands slowly wrapped around my wrists, and he began to pull me towards him. I fell in a small ball at his side, curled into myself, the most awkward I had possibly ever been. He let go of my arms, reaching around, pulling the blanket over me. And there we were, Jeremy in the corner seat with me tucked neatly into his side, both of us draped in the warmth of the throw, his arm above my head along the back of the couch.

“You were trembling,” he said quietly. I didn’t have it in me to tell him it wasn’t because I was cold.

“Thank you,” I squeaked, trying my very best to concentrate on the movie, but all I could hear was the sound of my heart beating in my ears

Notes

Comments

@Pikaponn
I literally just started reading it last night. I'm also building up the courage to post my own. And thank you!!!

@Miss Hathor
Ask and you shall recieve! Haha I'm sorry I haven't been keeping it as updated on this site, I didn't know I had anyone who was really into it! It's up to chapter 13, so I'll keep it updated here, too ^ ^ Thank you for the comment :)

Pikaponn Pikaponn
2/19/16

I absolutely love it!!! We need a chapter 10.

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Pikaponn Pikaponn
1/17/16