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The Way Down

Chapter 3

“Has anyone seen a gray bag around? It has my hygiene stuff,” I asked as I walked out of the back of the bus, ducking into the bathroom as I searched around. I didn’t see it, turning back to check the dining area. As I rounded the corner, I ran into someone, my face hitting their chest.

“Oh! My bad,” I said as I lightly rubbed my nose, looking up and seeing Gabe. He was tall and tan, with dark brown hair and a thick beard. He had a lean, muscular body, with only a few tattoos and a soft face that almost seemed classic, like he was plucked right out of a movie.

“Were you looking for this?” he chuckled, holding out my bag.

“Thank you,” I smiled politely up at him. Everyone on the bus seemed really nice, and I wasn’t worrying too much about if we would all manage to get along for the next half year. I had experiences in the past where not everyone was able to be friendly with each other, some people are just too aggressive to live with strangers. But this time it seemed like everyone was really thrilled to be here, and I found myself getting more and more excited with each moment that passed.

We had been on the road for the past four hours, and were nearing our first destination. We would spend the night in the next city, play a show there the following day, and then leave the night of the concert, so we could sleep in transit. A lot of the tour would be spent like this, unless we were spending multiple days in one town. And on a few occasions, when they take the buses in to be checked, we’d stay in a hotel overnight, though this is only once or twice in the entire tour, and not for a few months at least. For now we were stuck with the tiny bunk beds to rest in. They weren’t so bad once you got used to them, though.

I yawned as I unpacked, stuffing things in a container under my bunk. The vehicle was humming rhythmically as we drove, and my lids started to get heavier with each moment that passed. Standing, I decided to fight my sleepiness and headed to the living area. I plopped down on the couch between Gabe and Dan, picking up a fantasy novel off the counter on the way over.

“What’re you reading?” Gabe lowered the newspaper he was scanning over and leaned forward with his elbows on his knees as he inspected my book.

“It’s called the sword of truth, it’s about a guy who doesn’t know he’s a wizard and he starts travelling to defeat the evil dictator that’s taking over the country, and his wizard grandpa has to train him,” I said in one breath, not taking my eyes off the passage I was reading.

“You must really like it,” he chuckled. I flashed him a quick smile and continued reading. All of a sudden my book was grabbed out of my hands. I looked over at Dan, who was reading out loud in a silly voice.

“And then! A burst of lightning shot from his hands!” He gasped, “and the hero was deeeead,” he faked dying.

“Richard would never be defeated that easily,” I scoffed, referring to the main character, standing in an attempt to take my book back from him. Every time I reached for it Dan pulled back in an irritating game of keep away. “If you don’t give it back I’m going to do something drastic,” I warned as I crouched, my fingers raised in a tickling position.

“Hah, as if you could, shorty,” he smirked back menacingly.

“Don’t test me,” I was smiling darkly as we slowly circled each other. I lunged at him and he jumped out of the way and up on to the couch. Gabe was standing out of the way with his arms crossed over his chest, an amused look on his face.

“Are you the hero in our time of need?” Dan mocked as we slowly mirrored each other. Finally I jumped onto the couch, too, just as he got down. It was my chance!

I pounced, but just as I leapt in the air, the bus hit a bump. Yelping, I flew up. And right into the arms of Gabe. He had rushed over, catching me just in time. We must have looked awkward, my forearms on his shoulders, one of his hands on my side, the other on my leg, and my chest in his face.

“I’m so sorry!” I said as he set me down, and I made a cringing apologetic face to show my remorse.

“It’s okay, I’m glad no one was hurt,” he said politely, seeming a little shy. I wondered if all my first impressions on this tour would turn out like this. Dan started cackling from a few feet away, and I glared at him. I was about to tell him where to shove it when Gabe started laughing too, muffled at first, and then genuinely laughing a good amount. A smile cracked across my face, too, and it seemed it was contagious because before long I was giggling into my sleeve.

“What is going on up here?” Shae and Natalia emerged from the bunks, confused at the sight of us all laughing, me and Gabe’s clothes slightly disheveled from the fall.

“Just Casey doing what she does best,” Dan teased. “My hero,” he said in a high pitched sing song voice as he lightly tapped Gabe’s shoulder.

“Please shut your mouth,” I shrieked, smiling as I shoved him playfully. Shae and Natalia looked more and more entertained as they fully entered the room.

“Look, Dan, she can’t help it,” Shae defended me, and I looked at her thankfully, “that’s she’s the clumsiest motherfucker on the planet. She’s just doomed to a life of eating shit all the time,”

“Traitor!” I gasped, faking a look of shock. She began to laugh mockingly as a voice yelled from the front of the bus,

“We’re here!”

I heard the breaks whine as the bus lurched to a stop.

“Thank god, I’m starving!” Shae declared as she threw the door open, climbing down the steps.

“We ate not long ago,” I scoffed, the rest of us following her out of the vehicle.

“I need sustenance,” she muttered, looking at our surroundings. We were at a campsite, the other buses all parked nearby. There was a small general store, a set of outdoor showers, a seating area, and a campfire ring. The clearing felt very woodsy, tall trees towering over the circled clearing. The air was crisp and fresh, and I stretched after being cooped up for so long. The first show was tomorrow so today we could rest up and adjust to life on the road.

We approached the seating area, seeing we were one of the last buses in, judging by the number of people gathered there. We made our rounds, introducing ourselves to everyone else on the tour. There were roughly thirty people, only three bands were on this one. We met the members for the bands that weren’t headlining, Nothing More and Adakain, and then mingled with the other roadies. As I was chatting, something caught my attention. I looked to the side to see Jeremy only a few feet away, talking with everyone else. My embarrassment from before had dissipated some, and I could look at him without feeling incredibly awkward. I made my way over to him.

“I didn’t get a chance to introduce myself earlier, but I’m Casey,” I said softly, my head angled towards him so I didn’t ruin the conversation the others were having. He stared at me blankly for a few seconds before nodding.

“Nice to meet you,” he mumbled, low and monotone, averting his gaze. I cocked my head to the side.

“I’m sorry about this morning,” I probed, my brow furrowed, wondering if that was why he being so cold.

“...Don’t worry about it,” he replied after a few seconds, his jaw clenched, him looking more agitated.

“...Okay… sorry,” I said meekly, turning to walk away. Once again I felt embarrassed, this time just for trying to make amends and introduce myself. I wouldn’t have come over here at all had I known he would still be acting that way. Frustration started to bubble in my chest.

“Sorry about him,” a friendly voice rang from behind me a few feet away. I turned on my heel to see Alex with his usual goofy and comforting smile. He was so personable, I was able to relax with him almost instantly. “He’s just grumpy from being on the road. I promise he’s not usually that rude,”

“Oh, it’s okay, you don’t have to apologize for him or anything,” I waved my hands in front of me. “I’m not too sensitive, so it doesn’t bother me,” usually that wouldn’t be a lie, but for whatever reason it was getting under my skin. I hadn’t felt like any of me and Jeremy’s interactions had been particularly bad, so I was a little lost as to why he would dislike me so much already. Sure, I plowed right into him earlier, but was that really enough to have someone irritated enough to barely look at me? I guess I just didn’t like feeling so annoying right off the bat, especially with someone who was so attractive.

Wait, what?

I looked up and over at Jeremy, my brows furrowed. He stood with one hand in his pocket and the other holding a drink, chuckling as everyone cracked up when someone made a joke. His black jeans hung loose from his hips and the arms of his solid black hoodie were pulled up a bit, revealing some of his tattoos on his wrist. He was slim and attractive, his broad shoulders shaking as he laughed, low and throaty. He turned his head and our eyes met suddenly. I snapped my head forward, eyes wide, really hoping he didn’t realize how hard I had been staring. Alex cocked his head to the side, his smile still hanging casually onto his lips.

“So!” I tried to distract myself from my stomach churning with nerves. “Um, tell me about yourself,” I say to Alex, shaking the awkward thoughts from my head, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear.

“Not much to tell. I’m the drummer for those guys, we’ve been on tour for a while now. This is the smallest tour in a while, though. What about you? Your name was Casey, right?”

“Yeah,” I smiled, finally feeling a little more relaxed. “This is a pretty small tour, but that’s not so bad. A lot fewer people to meet, but everyone is already getting along pretty well,” I said as I glanced around at the groups of people chatting and laughing, a lot of them with beers and cigarettes in hand.

“That’s true,” he looked around as well. “I’m betting there will be a bunch of guitars around the campfire in no time.”

“Oh, I hope so, that’s one of my favorite parts of tours,” I grinned.

“Yeah? Do you play?”

“Mmmhm, my dad is a musician, so there were instruments all around when I grew up. He’d probably cry if I didn’t know how to play at least a little,” I chuckled, thinking fondly about my family back home.

“What kind of music do you like?” he asked curiously.

“Blink 182 and Four Year Strong are my favorite bands, but I like a lot of music, like everyone else here,” I laughed.

“Do you know any Blink songs on the guitar?” his eyes lit up as a shit eating grin spread across his face. His energy was infectious as I began beaming, already knowing what he had in mind.

“Pick one: Online Songs or Every Time I Look For You,” I said.

“...Everytime I Look For You,” he decided after a moment.

“Yes! Let’s do it!” I cheered and he got excited, too. We took off for the buses and emerged with a couple of acoustic guitars.

“Dan!” I shouted, and held up the guitar for him to see. He caught my eyes and lit up, quickly setting down the drink in his hand and jogging over. This caught the attention of the others around us and they started cheering. This was a tradition on most tours. You would think that people got tired of playing music every single day for so long, but this is just what everyone here is passionate about. It never gets old.

We sat down near a the campfire that someone had just started, everyone gathering around and grabbing seats or just sitting on the ground, getting comfy. We started in on the song and there was an excited buzz in the air.

Never found out why you left him,
but this answer begs that question,
Too blind to see tomorrow,
too broke to beg or borrow.
Young and Stupid, left wide open
Hearts are wasted, lives are broken


Everyone started bouncing around with the music, and I felt a smile force it’s way onto my face as I saw them enjoying themselves. This is what music is all about, bringing people closer together. I felt my chest swell with excitement as I played the guitar to the upbeat tempo of the song, my fingers sliding up and down the fretboard. The copper strings felt good under my fingertips and I couldn’t help laughing out loud sometimes as we tripped over ourselves during the song. We were laughing and singing in sync, our bodies swaying as we got more and more into the song. Alex was drumming on a bucket he found, and some others went and retrieved tambourines. Most of the group was singing together, our voices loud and filled with cheer. My face was starting to hurt from all the smiling.

As the song came to an end I handed the guitar off to another roadie, grinning as I stood and brushed myself off. Everyone started in on another upbeat song and I scanned around and met with a familiar set of eyes. My lopsided grin slowly faded and I glanced shyly down at my feet. Jeremy stood at a distance with a small group. Everyone else was chatting but his gaze was locked on me. I swallowed roughly and turned, walking towards the bathrooms. I felt the familiar warmth spread across my face, which I was starting to associate Jeremy with. It was really hard for me to feel at ease with him around and I didn’t like it.

I hurried into the small white-bricked building nearby, and walked into one of the few spacious stalls of the bathroom. I sat on the toilet and lifted my feet onto the seat, my face pressed into my knees, and sighed. Is this really how to first day of the tour is going to end? It was undoubtedly one of the longest days of the tour every time, but this time I just felt unsettled and warm in the face. Were things going to be this awkward around Jeremy for the entire tour? I was hoping I would get along with everyone and everything would go smoothly, too. There was just something about him that made me antsy. Maybe it was how cold he was right off the bat? Usually I would just avoid it if someone didn’t seem to like me, stay out of their way and steer clear of trouble, but this entire day it was just awkward eye contact and accidental run-ins with him. What did I do that was that wrong?! I groaned in frustration, letting my head fall to the side and dangle for a second before I sighed and stood. I flushed the toilet just to make people think I wasn’t a weirdo who would just go and sit in a bathroom stall to think (even though I was), and washed my hands. I needed to get back out there or Dan and Shae would start to worry.

I walked briskly out of the bathrooms, but I didn't get far before a hand wrapped around my wrist, making me jump.

“What the Hell?!” I yelped, a hand flying to my chest. “Jeremy?”

Notes

Any thoughts or comments are welcome! I hope you guys are enjoying my new story. I haven't written in a long time, so any constructive criticism or encouragement would be wonderful ^ ^

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