Starry Eyes

I had always said that I loved music for the way I didn’t have to see it. It was all about the sound, and the way it made you feel on the inside. I never imagined that seeing it would enhance the feelings even more.

But it did. Phoebe and I had gotten a car service to take us to Santa Cruz, where the guys were having their last show of the tour. Seeing them all on stage was amazing—being able to see the passion they felt for the music up close was amazing. Seeing the man I loved do what he loved to do, seeing the excitement and focus on his face and the energy in his body while he played the drums, was absolutely amazing. It was all amazing.

As much as I loved everything about the music, though, I loved Mike even more. The last note had barely been played and Mike was already colliding into me for a sweaty hug, peppering kisses all over my face.

“Babe!” he exclaimed. I laughed and managed to maneuver my face around his spastic one for his lips. We held it for a moment and then he pulled away, kissing me a few more times repeatedly. “I’ll be right back,” he said, holding up a few drumsticks. With that, he ran back onto stage. I watched as he flung his sticks out into the crowd for some lucky fans to catch.

“Hey, Faye.” I turned my head to see Vic walking towards me, a grin stretched on his face. Phoebe followed behind, beaming.

“Hi Vic!” I smiled and gave him a hug. “Awesome show! You guys look great!”

Vic smiled back and pinched my cheek. “I was hoping you’d say that,” he chuckled.

We greeted everyone else—their band mates, Tony and Jaime, and some of their crew. Mike hooked his arm through mine and I tilted my head onto his shoulder. With the venue clearing out, we walked through the back to where the buses were parked. When we got around to the door side of the bus, we spotted a few kids sitting on the curb. Their heads popped up in excitement as soon as they saw the boys approaching. I nudged Mike and dropped his arm so he could go talk to them, only for him to hold my arm more securely and take me over there, too.

The kids stood up. I could tell that they were nervous—I didn’t know what nervousness really looked like, but I knew that they were. They smiled so wide I thought their mouths were going to fall right off of their faces.

“Hey guys!” Mike said to the group of three.

“H-Hi,” one of them spoke up while the other two shyly waved. “It was an awesome show! Thank you,” she continued.

“No, thank you,” Mike said. “Hey, hold on,” Mike leaned over to the bus and banged on the side. Vic and Phoebe had already been in, sneaking away quickly after the show while everyone else lingered for a bit. Tony and Jaime were still inside talking to the other bands that they were on tour with. “Vic! Get out here!” he called into the bus. I watched the girls’ eyes widen at this. Moments later, Vic hopped off the bus, immediately spotting the three girls.

“Oh, hey girls,” he grinned. “How’s it going?”

“Good,” they all chimed. “Thanks for coming out,” one of them added. “C-Could we get a picture with you guys?”

“Of course!” the boys replied.

“Here, I can take it,” I offered, letting go of Mike’s arm. One of the girls held out her phone and I gently took it. Vic and Mike stood between them, their arms around the fans, and smiled wide. I took a few pictures in a row just in case they didn’t turn out, but they were standing right next to a lamppost so it didn’t need flash. “Here you go,” I handed it back to them. “I hope it’s okay,” I added.

“It’s perfect,” they beamed. “Actually, can we get one with you too? You’re so cool,” they said with a nervous laugh. I looked up at Mike who was laughing a little and he gave me an encouraging nod.

“Oh! Sure,” I said, stepping towards them with a small blush reaching my cheeks. Mike took a picture of us and the girls’ san another chorus of thank you’s when it was done.

“It was really awesome to meet you guys,” they said.

“It was great to meet you girls, too! What’re your names?” Vic replied and asked.

“Alex,” one said, “Amanda,” the other said, “Steph,” the last one said.

“Cool, thanks for coming out you guys!” he exclaimed. Mike and Vic each gave them all a hug and then the girls shuffled away. I could hear them giggling the entire way out.

“Aww,” I cooed as we stepped onto the bus. “That was so sweet.”

“Well, I am a sweetheart,” Mike said proudly. I rolled my eyes.

“So, what’s the plan for tonight?” I asked, sitting on Mike’s lap on the couch. He wrapped his lanky arms around my waist. I placed my hands over his tattoos. Phoebe and Vic disappeared again and Tony and Jaime were playing video games already in the lounge with a few of their friends. “We can socialize with everyone,” I said, nodding towards the rest of the crew.

“Nah, I wanna be with you,” Mike said, leaning forward and kissing my shoulder. I turned a little so I could face him. “Want to watch Harry Potter?” he asked. His eyes glinted in excitement.

“Blah blah blah, I wanna be with you,” I mocked. Mike chuckled.

“I wanna hold you while we watch my favorite. It’s the best of both worlds,” he said. I giggled and threw my arms around his neck.

“Sounds good to me,” I said happily, resting my forehead against his. “Let’s go!”

Mike cheered and stood up, throwing me over his shoulder like the good ol’ days. This time, I could see as my line of gravity altered. It made me a bit dizzy but it didn’t make me stop laughing.

Mike set me down on his bunk and pulled out his laptop. I scooted over and he slid in next to me. He placed his laptop on our laps and put in the first movie, “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.”

I curled into his side while I watched and listened to not only the movie, but also Mike whispering along to all of the dialogue.

“Do you sometimes wish that you lived in the Harry Potter universe?” Mike asked as the credits rolled. He closed the laptop, slipped it into its case, and set it aside.

“Hm, I don’t know. Magic is cool but it seems a bit too dangerous. Those kids are going to shoot their eyes out one day with those wands by accident, I bet,” I teased a little.

Mike chuckled for a moment but then paused, his face thoughtful. “I think it’d be awesome. Not just the magic stuff, though. Like, these little dudes here,” he said, pointing to the characters’ faces on the DVD case, “they’re going to save the entire world. Everything they do is so meaningful and important. They go on crazy adventures and form awesome friendships along the way and they all go through so much, but it’s all for such an important purpose… to save the world. It’s… sometimes I wish I was there, or somewhere with such an important purpose,” he said, his voice quieting a little. I furrowed my eyebrows a little and looked at him carefully. If I wasn’t mistaken, he looked a little sad.

“But, Mike,” I said softly. I reached around and gently touched the side of his face. He tilted his head into my hand and closed his eyes. I had never seen him like this before—so sad. I could almost feel it aching in my chest, too. “Look at me,” I encouraged. He opened his eyes, his pupils rolling towards my direction. “You do have an important purpose. You go on crazy adventures… you form awesome friendships along the way… I’m sure you’ve been through plenty of ups and downs… and you’re also saving the world. Didn’t you see the looks on those kids faces earlier?”

Mike bit his lip and nodded a little. “They were so happy to see you… you. You saved their worlds,” I said. “And you have a pretty damn important purpose to me, too, let’s not forget that,” I added. “Okay?” he nodded again. “Okay?”

“Okay,” he said quietly. I leaned over and gently kissed him on the lips. “I love you,” he mumbled.

“I love you, too,” I said back easily. We laid back together, but this time it was me holding him, comforting his sad moment, running my fingers through his shaggy hair, and gently caressing his cheek. Eventually his breathing stabilized into a calm sleep, his body relaxed with mine. I lightly kissed his cheek and then closed my eyes, sinking more comfortably into the bed and into him.

The world to save might be smaller than an entire magical universe, but that didn’t mean that it wasn’t there and that Mike wasn’t a huge part of it. All the way down to the most specific level, he was saving my world. I knew that because even though we were on the road in a smelly, crowded, slightly uncomfortable bus, in his arms it felt just like home.

Notes

Hi friends
Sorry it's been so long since an update! And sorry that this is so short--but it's sweet, I think!
Life is hectic, I hardly have any time to write any more. But I have a week of winter break left so I aim to get a lot of writing in, before I will have absolutely no time for anything at all.
Hope everyone is doing okay! Let me know what you think if anyone i still reading this hahah
Much love,
Claire xoxo