The Music We Make

I waited for my baggage nervously, wondering if I brought too much. I hadn’t seen Brian yet, though he said he’d wait for me near baggage claim, making me more and more nervous by the minute. Where the fuck was my bag?

Finally I spotted it crammed against the edge of the track and I reached over, pulling with all my might to detangle it from the mess of all of the other suitcases. Sighing, I pulled up the handle and walked away from the track, giving others room to scour over their own luggage. I moved over towards a wall out of the way, leaning against it while keeping my eye on the door. After what seemed like an eternity I saw him, my rockstar clad in all black from head to toe, sunglasses over his eyes. I grinned at the sight, knowing that we were finally together at last.

I bounded over to him, practically skipping the whole way there. He was looking around, trying to spot me in the business of the airport. When his eyes landed on me, a huge grin came across his face, making my heart melt.

“My Rose,” he said softly when I approached him, taking me into his arms. “I missed you.”

“I missed you too, love,” I said, snuggling into him.

We broke apart and he took my hand, leading me out of the airport towards his car that he had parked outside, even though you weren’t supposed to do that. I noticed that it was running when we got there and gave him a funny look. He told me it was a taxi since he didn’t have a car while on tour and I almost rolled my eyes at myself for not thinking that through.

I was glad we were still in California; even though we were away from home, it didn’t feel as weird or as scary because it was only a few hours away, or a one hour plane ride. Once we left the state I knew it would really hit me then. For now, it just felt like a dream.

Because this was a stop on the Warped Tour, we would be staying in the tour bus the whole time. I felt a little nervous about this, knowing it would be crammed, but I also knew that people would be in an out all day and night, participating in the tour life. I bit my lip thinking about it, not knowing what that would entail for me. But I was determined to let go and have fun.

The guys weren’t playing tonight, so we literally had the whole day free to go see shows or do whatever we wanted. The whole car ride there, Brian shared what a typical day was like and explained what the girls did while the guys were busy. He told me that I could help Val and Andi with merch, I could just enjoy the concerts, or maybe both.
We finally arrived to the tour site and were dropped off by the cab driver. Brian paid him and grabbed my things, not letting me lift a finger. We walked over to the tour bus area and I was amazed to see how many were parked there; bands from all over the country had gathered here to share their music. I hadn’t heard of some of the groups, but there were others I was really excited to see. Some I was sad weren’t there, like Good Charlotte for example, but was still excited about the other groups.

Brian held my hand the whole way and the grin would not fade from my face, even with the summer sun beating on my back. He looked so cool, even though I’m sure he was burning up from the heat, but it didn’t matter. He was incredibly sexy and he was mine.

Brian stashed my suitcase with the others in the storage compartment under the bus then led me inside where everyone else was. As soon as I walked in I heard cheers and I was practically tackled by a very tall, slender man.

“RING AROUND THE ROSIE!” Jimmy screamed in my ear as he hugged me, making me laugh and grimace all at the same time.

“Jimbo! I missed you,” I said.

“It’s weird,” I heard Andi say, “Even though you were gone for less time it felt even harder! We were all so excited for you to come back!”

Jimmy let me go and I let Andi give me a hug. I was so excited to see my best friend again and to be around all of these wonderful people. I bit my lip to hold back the tears, wishing that I had done this sooner.

Brian sat on the bench on the side of the bus and pulled me down with him, having me sit right on his lap. I giggled and let it all happen, not caring that everyone else was around because I was just happy to be with him again. We all had time to kill, so it was nice to catch up with everyone; last time I was here I didn’t really get the chance to talk with everyone and see how they were doing. The whole time I talked with the rest of the group, Brian held onto me tight, occasionally squeezing my thigh. Every time he did it I felt myself feel flushed, secretly wishing that we were alone.

Andi and Val wanted to show me around, so after awhile we decided to leave the boys behind and explore the grounds. It was already so hot outside and I knew my pale skin would probably be aching with sunburns by the end of the day. I lathered myself with sunscreen and threw my hair in a ponytail, not wanting to take any chances.

“Are you excited to be back?” Val asked me as we walked around. She was showing me where everything was located- the bathrooms, shower area, food, merch booths, and the stages. It was cool to be on a campground where there were actually nicer bathrooms and showers; I guess not every tour stop was like that.

We arrived to the merch booth where A7X sold their items. There were certain times we were expected to work back there, usually when the guys were about to go on, while they performed, and for an hour after. Andi admitted that it kind of sucked that we didn’t get to see them perform every night, but they needed our help in the booth. The merch was one of the main ways they made money on this tour, so we knew it was important for us to do what we could to help.

While Val was pointing out some things in the booth, I heard someone yelling my name. I whipped my head around, not recognizing the voice, and I squinted at the figure running towards me. Once I saw who it was, I yelled out, totally shocked.

“JoJo!” I yelled, hugging him right away.

“Damn, Rosie! It’s been ages,” he said as he pulled away from me. He looked different from the last time I saw him; his once short blonde hair now reached his shoulders and he mad tattoos lining his arms instead of just the one or two he had before. He seemed more muscular now and definitely more tan, and I could help but admit more handsome.

“Seriously!” I said. Then I turned to my friends, introducing them. “Joe, this is Val and this is Andi.”

“Andi like your old roommate?” he asked with a smile. “I think we met once at a party.”

Andi bit her lip and shrugged, clearly not remembering. I clarified, “Joe used to work at the studio with me. He is a brilliant sound engineer. What are you doing here? I thought you lived in New York now.”

“Well, I did for awhile until I started working with this band called Bullet for My Valentine. So now I actually go on tour with them as one of their sound techs,” he explained.

“Holy shit. That’s amazing, Joe! They’re an awesome band!” I told him.

He nodded. “Yeah, it’s been surreal but I love going on tour with them. We’ve become great friends. You know me, I’m not one to stick in one place for long. So a job like this was perfect.”

I agreed, remembering that we only got to work together for about a year before he had the itch to relocate. He was a really adventurous guy, always wanting to try new things and travel different places. He had been so fun and interesting to work with and I was sad when he left.

“What have you been up to?” he asked politely.

“Well, I got fired from the studio because David hit on me and I told him off,” I admitted. Andi and Val yelled out then, not knowing that had happened and I had to fend them off, telling them it was fine and I was over it. I really was too; I was happy not to deal with things like that anymore.

“Shit, that sucks, Rosie,” Joe said, biting his lip.

“It’s fine, really,” I said. “I am actually touring with Avenged Sevenfold now. I’m, uh, dating the guitarist.”

“Zacky V or Synyster Gates?” he asked, a grin adorning his face.

“Gates,” I said, feeling weird about using his stage name. “Brian Haner.”

“That’s awesome, Rosie. Trust me, the tour life is a blast. Takes a minute to get used to, but you’ll love it. You’d be crazy not to.”

“Thanks, Joe. Today’s my first day actually.”

“You’ll do great,” Val said then, linking her arm around me. “Like he said, it’s a blast.”

“Listen, the guys from Bullet for My Valentine are going to host a little party tonight if you girls want to join,” Joe said. “By the bonfire.”

I looked over to Andi and Val, not sure if I should accept, but they were both nodding in excitement. I accepted the invitation for us.

“Bring the A7X guys too,” Joe added. “Might as well. The more the merrier.”

He left then, waving goodbye as he sauntered off. I looked over to my friends, trying to see their reactions to what just happened.

Andi spoke first, “Is that the Joe who had the really short buzz cut that you had a major crush on?”

I giggled and nodded, biting my lip. “Yeah, but nothing ever came of it.”

“Well, regardless, the party will probably be fun. It’s always cool with the tour stop has a bonfire or something like this one does,” Val chimed in.

We kept walking around the grounds then, getting some food and finding a spot to sit and chat for awhile. It honestly just felt so normal. There were bands playing in the background, but I didn’t know who they were, and we hardly paid attention to anyone around us as we caught up. Before we knew it, hours had passed. We decided to head back to the bus to invite everyone out to the party and to get ready.

“You’re back!” Matt said as he saw us walk up to the bus. He grabbed Val’s hands and tugged her towards him, kissing her deeply. The sight made me smile; it wasn’t often that they were affectionate in public.

“Ew, mom and dad are kissing!” I heard Johnny exclaim from inside of the bus where he was looking at us from the window. I laughed before running back into the bus, wanting to be back with Brian. Andi followed me, but walked directly over to Zack as soon as she was inside.

“I ran into an old friend,” I told Brian as I sat down next to him on the bench. He had been playing guitar and moved it to the side, sitting up straight to listen to me.

“Oh yeah?” he said, cursious.

“Yeah, Joe Stenson. He was a sound engineer that I used to work with, but now he works for Bullet for My Valentine. Anyways, he invited us to come out to a party tonight. They’re having a bonfire.”

“Hm, well. I wanted to spend some time alone with you,” Brian said softly, placing his hand on my leg. Zack, Andi, and Jimmy were all in the room so he didn’t say much more, but I still couldn’t help but blush.

“I feel like I should stop by at least. I told him I would,” I admitted. “But we can leave early.”

Brian chuckled and nodded. I told him I had to get ready, so he showed me to the back of the bus to the tiny bathroom that just had a sink and toilet. I freshened up in there anyways, figuring it didn’t really matter what I wore, and just fixed up my hair.

Tonight I would be experiencing my first party of the tour and my first night on the bus. The day was already a whirlwind and an overload of information, but I was loving it. I couldn’t help but feel nervous thinking about what was to come, but I was ready. Just knowing that Brian was right outside waiting for me was enough.

Notes

Oh my God, I am so sorry for the long delay. I have had writer's block and have been so stressed. Sorry the update isn't even the most interesting. I know where I want this story to end,I'm just having a really hard time figuring out how to get there.

Thanks for the comments last time and hope you stick with me! I will try my best to update quicker!