How to Convince a Tour Manager to Tour with All Time Low
1.Walk in to the building, preferably with a gang of Mexicans with you.
2.Sass the security guard and keep on walking.
3.Knock on the door.
4.Offer Jules Chocolate.
5.As soon as he’s all happy, threaten to send him on a plane to a third world country. (Mike will take care of the ticket)
6.Demand your demands.
7.Demand them.
8.All.
9.Of.
10. Them.
11. If Jules let you tour with All Time Low, cancel plane ticket.
12. If Jules doesn’t let you tour, call the pilot. You need to make him disappear, ASAP.
13. Don’t let the cops catch you.

It had been three days after the pool party night. It seemed like Jaime was on my tail the entire time. He never let me out of his sight, as if he was my own personal security guard. If I so much as sneezed, a panic bell went off in his mind and the man completely freaked out. My mom had to calm him down a few times.

I had no clue what was going on. I’m not some delicate rose!

I was tired of being cooped up in the house on recovery. I actually did (kind of) have a job at the moment! I was the Official Unofficial Assistant to the Bassist! I had my own Official Unofficial title! Come on!

So this afternoon, I had Jaime drive me to the record label’s studio. The band’s tour manager, Jules Ackley, was in the studios, reviewing some tracks. Jaime called up the other members of the band and we all met in the parking lot.

Thing was, I had actually kind of planned this thing out! I had written in my how-to manual all the steps, even though I wouldn’t be able to read them. Normally, I kind of winged it on these occasions, but now I was prepared.

The door slammed closed on the driver’s side. I fumbled on my door for the latch. Unable to find it, I waited for my boy to come out and help me. I sat there for a good five minutes before I heard Vic start yelling at Jaime that he had left me in the car.

“YOU IDIOT! You left her sitting there!” Vic’s muffled voice called through the car. I sat in my complete darkness, just listening to the hurried footsteps as Jaime came back.

“Sorrysorrysorrysorrysorrysorry…” Jaime mumbled as the door opened and he took my hand. I jumped back at the sudden touch. It launched him into another bout of apologies. Jaime wasn’t normally this touchy…

“It’s fine, I’m fine.” I grumbled and stood up. Jaime led me a few steps and closed the door behind me. The cool afternoon air kissed my face sweetly. I only wished I could see my surroundings.

Right now, I was just trying to picture the parking lot. There would be cars of the different managers surrounding each side. I would have to be careful to not trip over the cracks in the cement. They littered the lot like the cigarette butts.

“Ready?” Jaime asked me, holding onto my arm tightly.

“Himes, I’m losing feeling in my arm.” I complained, frowning at him. He didn’t let go.

“Oh, sorry.”

“You can let go.”

“…” He didn’t have a response to that. I pinched him arm until he whimpered, but refused to let go. I glared at him, but allowed for his guidance to let me into the building.

So we began step one.

Pretending that I could actually see, I held my chin up high and pushed through the door. The chattered softened of the people in the lobby. Swallowing the panic that rose through me, I knew that I had to do this.

I wanted to go back on tour with the boys again. I wanted to hang with Jack and the others. I wanted this. I did. But I had to ask, or demand, for our tour to happen.

“Hello, boys. I didn’t see a studio session for today…” The nice lady at the security desk waved them in politely.

“We ain’t here for recording. We here for da man!” Tony tried using his the non-existent inner gangster. I had to give him props for trying to complete step two.

“Um, Jules?”

“Yeah! We goin’ now!” Tony said and marched off. I followed the sound of his voice.

Step two: complete

“Tony, you fool! What was that?” Mike groaned. Imagining a layout of the building, I tried to follow the inner compass but kept getting mixed up. I nearly tripped over Vic who whimpered like a kicked puppy.

“Come on, let’s go!” Autumn cheered. I wobbled forward in my own little disorienting darkness. Jaime still held tightly to my arm. I was getting more and more frustrated with the fact that he was making it so I couldn’t feel my right arm anymore.

“Jaime, let go!” I whispered harshly.

“Not until you sit down!” He responded back. There was a click as a door in front of me opened. Autumn placed something in my hands. Running my fingers along the edges, I realized that the oddly shaped package was the box of chocolates.

“Thanks.” I murmured to her.

“Um, hello?” Jules’ hesitant voice waved us in. Jaime let me walk forwards but someone held me back as I nearly ran into a wall. Sighing in frustration, I turned around.

“Hey, Jules!” I smiled sweetly at wherever I thought he was. Jules was a brown haired man with mischievous golden eyes that sparkled like amber. I could almost “see” him in front of me.

“Oh, it’s our own MD! I heard about the accident, I’m so sorry.” He touched my shoulder lightly. I bit back a shiver as I forgot that he was a hugger. Thankfully, I now knew where he was.

“It’s just a new adventure. That’s the way to look at it.” I smiled back and held out the chocolates. Jules always had a sweet tooth and one time made us stop at a fudge factory in the middle of tour because it was labeled as “the best fudge in the world!”

“What is this?” His curious voice questioned. Jaime hand released my arm and lightly rested on my shoulder. I kept the smile on my face. Our group had this entire afternoon planned out.

“Chocolate! For you.” I grinned. He gasped.

“No way!”

“Yes way!” I laughed back. He took the box from me and the pop sound openly rang the invitation for him to dig in. Jaime gently led me to a chair and helped me sit down. He plopped back down next to him. The soft seat swiveled underneath me as I kicked my legs out gently. We must be in the sound room.

“Thanks, guys.” He smiled.

“Well of course. We just stopped by to discuss some things and decided to bring you a little gift.”

There was a pause at that. The munching stopped as the squeaking chairs ceased.

“Oh no-“

“We have a plane waiting for you. It’s going to take you far, far away…”

“No one will ever find you. It’s not even on the map…”

“There’s a bag with twine and a plastic butter knife lying under the third tree forty steps to the left of the rock that looks like a bear…”

“But not the bear that looks like a rock….”

“You have thirty seconds to say yes or we send you on that plane, never to be seen again.” They all chimed in with the threats. Tony seemed very pleased with the bear that looks like a rock comment. The entire band was deadly silent, leaving their comments that hung in the air.

The clock ticked on.

“What was the question?”

“Idiots, you didn’t tell him the question!” I grumbled, running my fingers through my hair. Jaime squeezed my hand.

“What?” Jules asked, both confused and scared.

“We want to go on a tour with ATL. We’ll figure out details later. Yes or no?” I asked him quickly. Mike had already taken care of the ticket, or so he said. Maybe he had been bluffing.

But I didn’t think so.

“The plane is waiting…” Vic murmured.

“Fine! Yes! Yes! Just don’t send me anyplace without chocolate!” He rushed. Jules had heard the almost-sending-someone-to-Djibouti story. Our tour manager must be scared out of his wits for this.

“Yes! Mission accomplished!” Everyone cheered and high fived each other. I grinned happily.

That was another score for the how-to manual!

“Damn, now I have to go cancel that plane!” Mike yelled as he rushed out the door. Jules shooed us out of his office, telling us not to threaten him again. I chuckled as we walked down the hallway.

Jaime kept his hand tight on my arm once again. I glared in his general direction before returning to the conversation at hand.

“Hey, we should go celebrate!” Autumn suggested. We paused at the elevator, waiting for the bell to ding.

“Wait, we don’t know all the details yet!” Tony complained. Autumn sighed.

“Still, we should do something fun! That took a lot less time!” She grinned. I leaned into Jaime’s side, mostly to relieve his tight grip, not really to be cute. My mind raced as I tried to analyze why he was being so overprotective and holding me so tight.

Honestly, what was going on? I wasn’t this fragile!

“Let’s go cliff diving!” I suggested. I’ve always wanted to do it. Now that I couldn’t see the water, I couldn’t weenie out of the tall heights.

“Yes! Please, Tony?” Autumn begged. I nodded anxiously.

“Um, I think we’re a little busy.” Jaime chimed in.

“No, we’re not-oh wait…..yes we are.” Tony finally admitted, as if he had just remembered something. The entire group fell silent. I had the distinct feeling they knew something that I didn’t have a clue about.

“But we-oh.” Autumn murmured.

“What, why can’t we go cliff diving?” I scowled. The elevator dinged and we stepped in. The walls bounced our voices back to us as the doors shut. I tapped my foot while waiting for their answer.

“Jaime…was…um…going to…go….wait…play chess with you! Yes, that’s it!” Mike announced suddenly. I shook my head. Either they were hiding something, or they had already forgotten I was blind.

“Yes, that it.” Jaime spoke through gritted teeth. I looked at him in wonder.

“You guys are terrible liars. Now what’s going on?” I demanded. Our floor came way too soon. The others made terrible excuses of not wanting to interrupt our needed chess game.

“We can save cliff diving for later.” Autumn added glumly. I softened a bit. I knew she wanted to go just as much as I did. There were some cliffs we had scouted out and wanted to try that overlooked a beautiful lake just twenty miles north of us. Autumn had been as excited as I was when I told her about it. I felt bad that she wouldn’t go just because of me and my ‘chess game’ appointment.

“No, no, you guys go on. I’ll stay with Jaime.” I smiled.

“It’s okay, you really wanted to go to. We’ll just save it for when you can go with us.” Autumn patted my shoulder. We slowly made our way back out to the cars. Once I felt the cool breeze again, I knew we were outside. Jaime kept a tight grip on my arm and I squirmed under it. I felt a note of anxiety creep into my mind. He should know I don’t like it when he squeezed me really tightly for long periods of time.

“Are you sure? We can wait.” Tony added in.

“No, have fun! I’ll catch up later. Just push Vic off a cliff for me.” I added to cover my disappointment. Vic exclaimed at my comment. I grinned to hide the sadness. Tucking a strand of hair behind my ear, I followed Jaime back to the car.

“Oh, thanks, MD! You’re awesome!” They all called. Jaime opened the passenger’s door as I slid in, staring at my hands in my lap. I should at least be excited that we can tour with All Time Low, right? There should be a good side to this day, shouldn’t there?

Well, then why am I feeling like they’re all hiding something from me?

Jaime jumped in the passenger’s door and laughed, trying to lift the heaviness of the air. We pulled out of the lot and he blasted music. There was a whirl as the sunroof went down of his little convertible.

“Hey, we got the tour deal!” He gently squeezed my shoulder. I smiled and looked out the windshield, just seeing darkness.

Being blind really sucks.

“Yeah, it’s awesome!” I smiled weakly. At least I’m going to play chess with Jaime, right? As if trying to add to the mood, Alex came on, singing I Feel like Dancing. Jaime and I always rocked out to this song. We’d scream along and pretend like the highway wasn’t watching our wacky movements. It was a great song and really did make me feel happier.

But today, it didn’t.

I leaned one arm against the window and rested my chin against my elbow. My shoulder hurt from Jaime holding it so tight. The car was silent except for the band singing. The chorus hit and this would be the point where I would say, “Have you seen Jack in the music video? It looks like a penguin doing the polka.” And we would both laugh along while teasing our friend.

The chorus ended. I didn’t say anything.

“Hey, are you okay?” Jaime asked me, turning down the radio a bit so as to be heard over it.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” I added a smile to convince him. My eyes said leave the subject alone. He did.

The car slowed down and the rocks under the tires crunched. We had arrived back at my house. This time, I actually found the latch and managed to get out. My steps were heavy towards the door. I could only imagine Autumn and Tony pushing Mike and Vic over the edge of the cliff. Their laughter seemed to be so loud in my mind, I could’ve cried.

Jaime took the same tight hold on my shoulder. I pulled away from him, sending glares in the general direction. Himes tried to touch my shoulder again and I backed off.

“Jaime, stop squeezing my shoulder.” I told him firmly. There was a rustle of fabric. I could only imagine him shoving his hands into his pockets.

“Sorry ‘bout that. Did I hurt you?” He asked softly.

“Yeah, you did.” I stated coldly. As soon as I turned to where my door was, I felt alone and blinder than ever. Jaime wasn’t there to guide me.

“There’s a step in front of you.” He warned. I sighed and stopped in front of my porch, kicking the step with my toe. There was softly silence for a minute. Footsteps broke it as he came forward. I allowed him to gently rest his hand on my shoulder. Looking down at the ground, I wrapped my hands in my sweatshirt pocket.

“Himes, what’s going on?” I whispered softly. While the others were off having fun cliff diving, I was stuck here, all because of some secret. I knew there was a secret; they can’t hide it. Jaime had no response to my pleas.

“It’s…it’s nothing.” He muttered.

“BS.” I growled angrily. He took his hand off my shoulder as I took a step up, slowly planting my feet on the wooden planks.

“It’s hard-“

“If you guys are being all secretive about me being blind, I’m pretty aware of that.” I bit my lip. My mom wasn’t home. She was out getting groceries. Right now, I wish she’d knock some sense into Himes with her pan.

Jaime didn’t respond after that. There was long, awkward silence. I hated it. I hated every minute of it. If there was a stronger word than hate, I would use it right now. I kind of hated Jaime Preciado, too.

“So, no chess?” He whispered half-heartedly.

“Why can’t I go cliff diving? You’re not my mom. You can’t tell me what I can and can’t do, but why won’t you let me go cliff diving? Why are you holding on to my shoulder so tight? You know I hate it.” I growled, attempting to stare him down.

“B-because…” He stuttered and tried to find a plausible excuse.

“Yeah, I thought so.” I grumbled as he came up empty handed. Taking another step forward, I nearly face planted into my porch. Shuffling forward, I held out my right hand to feet for the door.

“What are you thinking, Ding?” Jaime asked me quietly. I clenched my hands into fists. I was seriously ticked at Jaime. Can he please not?

“It’s Willow.”

“What are you thinking, Willow?” He asked, slightly deflated.

“That you’re hiding something from me, no wait, I know that already.” I grumbled and let my hand trace over the familiar pattern of the door. After a minute, I let my hand drop to my side, a tear streaking down my face. The one thought that had come up made me feel like crap, like I wasn’t good enough.

“You’ve found another girl, haven’t you?”

“What? No! No! Of course-“

“Yeah, I get it.” I whispered softly. I kind of had a feeling it would happen. Being mute was tough, sure, but being blind, yeah, that’s different. Ever since day one of blindness, I knew it would get to this point.

He would hate having to help me with everything. He would get fed up of trying to babysit me. I’m blind, so I can’t see the other girl, can I? It’s easy enough. He could even take her on our dates, since I wouldn’t be able to see another girl sitting next to him.

It was just the perfect opportunity for him to leave me.

“No, please listen, Willow.” He grabbed my shoulder. I jumped back, bumping my head against the door. I frowned as my head throbbed.

“Ow, okay, what is it? Explain what you’re hiding from me.” I rubbed the bump forming on my head as he took a shuddering breath.

“I…I can’t.” He finally breathed out. I let the tear finally fall, dripping off my cheek.

“Yeah, I knew it. I might be blind, but I’m not some stupid little kid. I’m not that oblivious.” I growled at him. He touched my shoulder, whispering my name.

“Get away, Jaime Preciado.” I muttered, choking on my own tears. He backed off. I heard him go down the steps.

“Willow, I’m so sorry.” He whispered, he begged, he pleaded. He did everything he could to try to get me to listen.

I don’t want to hear about how hot she is.

I don’t want to hear about how long they can make out.

I don’t want to hear about all my faults, why I can’t be normal.

I don’t want to hear this.

“Please, go.” I begged and turned around before he could see me sob any harder. When I heard the tires roll out of my driveway, I knew it was over. After furiously searching for the doorknob, I collapsed on the dirty front mat, just sitting there in a puddle of tears.

Notes

Hello everyone, I'M BACK!!!!

A week long hiatus was much needed. I'm feeling better about where i'm at, so thank you all for the waiting! I hope it was well worth it. For making you guys wait, I wrote an extra long chapter.

But that ending tho...

Or so MD thinks....

Oh Jaime, you've gotten yourself in a hole deeper than you can crawl out of. Poor, poor, Jaime.

Get ready for the next updates! They're important!