The Way Down
Chapter 9
“What are you hoping to accomplish by dressing like that?” I asked as I looked Dan up and down, him wearing only plaid boxers, black crew cut socks, and one of Shae’s tank tops stretched painfully across his torso, which was much wider than hers.
“Getting all the ladies, obviously,” he replied, shooting finger guns at me. I rolled my eyes.
“Please change before you embarrass yourself,” I told him, hopping off my bunk, making my way around him and towards the kitchen on our bus.
“It’s a fashion statement,” he smirked, following me. I looked up just in time to see Shae’s eyes land on him, looking him up and down as her jaw dropped open, and her blank stare turned dark.
“Is that my shirt?!” she shrieked, storming over to him.
“You borrowed my shirt yesterday, so I was just assuming we were making trades,” he sneered jokingly.
“Dan! You’re ruining it! Take it off!” She yelled as she tugged on it, and Dan turned away and wrapping his arms around his torso.
“No! This is sexual assault!” he gasped, waddling in the opposite direction of the angry girl.
“Dan, seriously, I really like that shirt!” she fumed, now tackling him to the ground. He went down with a loud thud, his limbs flying around in defense as he wailed dramatically.
“I really liked the Slipknot shirt you stole from my bag!” he retorted, blocking her fingers as they pried at his clothing, the both of them writhing around against the laminate flooring.
“That’s different!”
“How?!”
“I didn’t ruin your Slipknot shirt forever!” she grunted as she finally got her fingers under the fabric, ripping upwards towards his head.
“You should have asked first!” he moaned, trying to block the shirt from coming off by throwing his arms upward towards the ceiling.
“We’re past that point in our friendship!” She was clearly very frustrated as she wriggled around atop him, their limbs smacking into each other repeatedly and her hair dangling in his face.
“True. But this shirt just looks so good on me,” he was laughing now, fighting less and less at her attempts to strip him as he lay giggling beneath her lanky frame. As they continued flailing around the floor, the bus door creaked open, and Natalia emerged with several people in tow behind her.
“Hey, I invited the guys over since we’re parked for a while, and-” she stopped talking as her eyes rested on the events unfolding in front of her. “What the hell are you doing?” her eyes widened and her brows furrowed, her jaw gaping open. Behind her, Neil, Kevin, and Jeremy stepped in more to get a better view. They all had mixed looks of surprise and amusement. I, on the other hand, became increasingly more self conscious upon realizing Jeremy was here, and straightened up. Shae finally got the shirt over Dan’s head and stormed to the back of the bus, probably making a feeble attempt to salvage her ruined tank top.
“Why do you treat the poor girl that way?” Nat sighed, shaking her head as she made her way inside, the guys filing in behind her and shutting the door.
“Because we need some excitement in our lives,” he winced as he stood up, clearly a bit sore from Shae’s rough handling, walking slowly over to me with a hand rubbing his side.
“We literally live on tour, where we travel daily and meets tons of bands and are surrounded by music and partying all the time. Our lives are the epitome of excitement,” she stared at him with an eyebrow raised. He gave her a toothy grin and shrugged, jumping up onto the counter with his back to me. I inched my way behind his back, out of sight from the doorway, a newfound shyness creeping over me.
“Case, why are you hiding back there?” Dan called me out, looking over his shoulder and I gave him a surprised look.
“Who’s hiding? I’m not hiding, I’m… Getting an apple!” I grabbed the fruit from the counter, holding it up defensively. He cocked one eyebrow.
“Oookay,” he said, finding my behavior strange. He looked at me for a few seconds before getting a lopsided grin on his face, jumping down from the counter, coming around and grabbing my upper arm.
“Come on, Casey, I need your help finding new clothes,”
I gave him a strange look, not sure what he meant. All his clothes were in the same duffel bag under his bunk. I followed him nonetheless, regretting it as soon as he closed the door behind us in the bunk room.
“You’ve got a crush,” he stated in a matter of fact tone, leaning against his bedframe. I rolled my eyes.
"I knew it." Shae pulled the curtain back from her bunk, the events that just took place washed away by her interest in this subject. "You totally have one," she grinned as she joined the conversation.
“I do not. Let me out,” I said, trying to maneuver around Dan, but to no avail as he blocked my way to the exit.
“Yes you do, I can tell!” He whispered excitedly. “Though I’ve never seen you have a crush before in the year and a half I’ve known you.” He cocked his head to the side. “Usually you think of every guy as an instant friend or brother figure,”
“Yeah, for real” Shae shook her head disappointedly.
“I can’t help it, I grew up with a house full of guys, I just relate to them,” I pouted. “I don’t have a crush, can I just go please?” I pleaded with them, trying to dodge around him, only to be blocked again.
“Not until you spill,” they were both staring at me intensely, hovering in closer with every passing second. I sighed, crossing my arms across my chest.
“Fine. I might. I don’t know, okay? Maybe? It’s been years since I had a crush,” I grumbled, scuffing my shoe against the floor, not meeting their eyes. Shae began squealing as quietly as she could and Dan started smirking. “But I’m not telling you guys who,” I said obstinately.
“That’s fine, you’re easy enough to read,” Dan smirked as he finally let me by, and I gave him a frustrated look as I exited the back, grumpily returning to the front. Nat gave me a questioning look and I pouted.
“They’re just bullies,” I muttered, plopping down onto the couch. She laughed, nodding understandingly. Everyone began finding their seats and after a moment the only real space left was on either side of me. Neil dropped onto one side, and Jeremy made his way over cooly, perching himself on the other. Dan’s words that I was easy to read echoed in my mind and I tried not to be too awkward, too obvious.
“Do you guys wanna play some video games?” Nat asked as she turned on the television. A chorus of yes’ and cheers broke through the room and she set everything up, slipping Halo into the Xbox.
“This is like the only multiplayer game we have,” she said. “So if you don’t like it then tough titties,” she passed around four controllers, to me, Neil, Jeremy, and Kevin. “I call next,” she said and sat at the table, sitting back and crossing her leg over her knee.
“Sorry, Casey, but I won’t go easy on you just because you’re a girl,” Neil teased.
“Oh no, what ever will I do. Neil doesn’t want to go easy on me,” I mocked. He made funny faces at me for the next few minutes while we set up the game, and immediately as it started I found him and got a headshot. I grinned victoriously.
“That’s not fair! I wasn’t paying attention,” he was fixated on the TV now, his whole body moving with the controller. We continued playing and my kill streak continued to climb, the boys becoming bitter over time as I killed them off repeatedly.
“What the fuck, Case, you didn’t tell us you were this good. At least give us fair warning,” Kevin grimaced as I meleed his character and he died.
“I didn’t know I had to make an announcement about it,” I laughed.
“Well you do!” Neil whined as he tried to sneak up on me but I tossed a grenade at him before he could reach me. I was feeling really confident until all of a sudden I was sniped, dying for the first time the entire game. I glanced over the name that read across the screen, realizing Jeremy had killed me. I turned to him, a little surprised, and he gave me a smile that could make me melt. I gave a shy smile and turned back to the screen.
After some time passed I was able to settle down, finally feeling comfortable despite the fact that Jeremy was sitting so close. We were all getting a little competitive, to the point that most of us were shouting as we played, me and Neil standing in front of the TV, our eyes fixed with intensity on our characters.
“You won't get me this time, Holt,” he said, his tongue sticking out of the side of his mouth, set with determination.
“Try not to cry when I crush you,” I retorted. Just as I was about to kill him I felt a hand wrap around my wrist and pull me down. I fell backwards onto the couch, considerably closer to Jeremy than I had been before. I looked at him, confused, just as I heard Neil begin celebrating.
“Yes!! Fucking suck it!” he shouted, jumping up and down as he killed my character. Jeremy made an apologetic face.
“I couldn't see the screen,” he said guiltily.
“Sorry! I didn't realize how into it we were getting,” I tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. He gave me a soft smile and shook his head.
“Sorry for giving Neil a chance to kill you. It kind of didn't count, though,” he directed at Neil, and Neil’s head snapped in our direction.
“I will take literally anything I can get,” he said with no trace of remorse.
“You ass,” Jeremy chuckled, shaking his head. I smiled and settled into the couch next to him as we continued to play for a little longer, but eventually handing our controllers off to Nat and Dan, who had regrouped with everyone at this point. Dan narrowed his eyes at me, looking between Jeremy and I. I refused to meet his gaze, instead focusing intently on my fingers as I twiddled my thumbs. A few moments of silence passed as everyone played and I grew more nervous without the game to distract me from Jeremy’s presence. I could feel a warmth spread through my stomach and up into my cheeks, feeling like I was suddenly struck with a fever.
“Have you guys eaten yet?” Jeremy asked leaning towards me, pulling me from my thoughts. I looked up at him abruptly, a little surprised by the sudden question, and shook my head ‘no’. “We should probably grab some food before the buses leave again for the night,” he said. I nodded in agreement. Everyone heard him say this and began to set down their controllers and stand, making their way towards the doors, starting to chit chat as they exited the bus. I followed suit, began to descend the steps as I felt a hand graze my arm and looked up to see Jeremy lagging behind.
“Hey, can I talk to you for a second?” he asked, rubbing his hands nervously. Though I
was confused, I obliged, stepping back into the entryway of the bus, shutting the door. I heard the voices of the others trail off as they walked away, and soon it was just the two of us in an almost deafening silence.
@Pikaponn
I literally just started reading it last night. I'm also building up the courage to post my own. And thank you!!!
2/20/16