California

We pulled into the San Diego venue at around eleven in the morning. I gripped the camera around my neck in anticipation. I love touring and being exposed to new opportunities every day. I could see the buses of the other bands and bit my lip, my excitement dying down a little. I was not very good with meeting new people, and several times throughout the years more than a few bands we’ve toured with have misinterpreted my shyness as rudeness. That’s a quality both Tony and I share, but as his band has gotten more and more famous, he has gotten better at being himself around new people.

As soon as the bus came to a complete stop next to PVRIS’s bus I shot out of my seat. I heard chuckling behind me as I made my way to the front of the bus. “I’m going to go take some pre-show shots of the venue. See you guys later!”

I walked down the steps and into the hot California sun. I sped across the parking lot, the enthusiasm getting the best of me. I showed my pass to the security guard at the door and she let me in. I looked around and grinned, my mind picturing all the different places I could get some decent photographs of the guys. I maneuvered through the hallways for several minutes before I found the floor.

I walked in front of the stage and looked through my lens, steadying my arms and snapping several photos. I angled my body in a different direction and frowned when I could not get the whole stage. I took a few steps backwards and crashed into something and fell down.

“Oh my god, are you okay, love?” a British accent filled my ears. I looked up from my broken camera and stared into the most beautiful pair of brown eyes I’ve ever seen. Messy ginger hair was sticking out in every direction and the man had a genuine look of concern etched onto his face.

I nodded in a daze and took the hand he was offering to me. Once I was up he flashed me a sad smile. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to break your camera! I can replace it if you’d like.” I looked down and noticed that my camera was beyond repair.

I shrugged at him. “No, I wasn’t looking where I was going. It’s my fault, really.”

“Are you positive? It’s no trouble.” I nodded and tucked a stray piece of hair behind my ear.

He smiled at me. “Alright, then. Are you a photographer or something?”

“Yeah. I’m the official photographer for Pierce the Veil.”

“Oh, cool. I guess I’ll be seeing a lot of you, then.”

I furrowed my brow. “What do you mean?”

“I’m the singer for Mallory Knox.”

“Oh! Yeah, I guess you will,” I said, looking down at my feet. Why was he so hot?

“What’s your name, love?”

Heat rushed to my face. “Skylar Morgan. What’s yours?”

“Mikey Chapman,” he extended his hand and I shook it.

“This is your first time in America, isn’t it?” I asked, remembering what Jaime said a few weeks ago.

“Yeah. It’s pretty exciting. We’ve been wanting to tour here for years.”

“How are you liking it so far?”

“Well, so far I’ve only been in airports, the bus, and now here. I don’t know if I can make an accurate judgment just from that,” he chuckled.

I smiled. “If you ever need a guide, I’m always free. I’ve been to a lot of these places before.”

“I might just take you up on that,” he smiled at me again. “You’ve been on tour with them a lot, then?”

“Ever since they first started out.”

“If you don’t mind me asking, how could they afford a photographer so early on?”

“I’m an old friend. I come cheaper than most.” We laughed.

“That’s nice. Do you like touring?”

I nodded. “I love it! I love getting to capture all these special moments and be on tour with my friends. It beats life behind a desk.”

“That it does. Touring is the best.” He looked around and noticed all of the crew and venue members starting to get things set up. “Would you like to walk with me to the dressing rooms?” I looked down to hide my blush and nodded. We started walking towards the backstage area and began walking through the hallways.

He turned to me and was about to speak when a shout from Jaime interrupted him. “SKY!” I turned around and barely had time to brace myself before he threw me over his shoulder, making me giggle. He faced Mikey and asked, “Who are you?”

“I’m Mikey, from Mallory Knox.”

“Oh. Hi! I’m Jaime, I’m the bassist for Pierce the Veil.” I smacked Jaime on the butt repeatedly.

“Hime, can you put me down? The blood is rushing to my head.” He chuckled and set me down, flashing me his famous smile, showing his dimples.

“Do you know where the rooms are? Mikey and I have been walking in this hallway for years.” Jaime looked at Mikey, who was frowning slightly, and then to me with a disbelieving look on his face.

“You are so dramatic.”

“Look who’s talking!”

He shrugged. “Come on,” he began leading us through several doors and down another hallway before we reached several rooms. He opened the one that said Pierce the Veil on it and stepped in. Mikey gestured for me to go in first and I bit my lip and followed Jaime.

The rest of the guys were in there, along with some faces I did not recognize. One of the men looked up at Mikey and smiled. “There you are, mate! We lost you there.”

Mikey returned the smile. “I ran into Skylar,” he said and gestured towards me. I nodded towards him and the rest of them.

Vic spoke up and introduced me to Mikey’s bandmates. He pointed towards the one who spoke, “This is Joe,” he pointed towards a man with a long beard, “Dave,” next was a guy with messy brown hair, “Sam,” and then another man with facial hair, “and James.”

“Pleasure to meet you,” Sam spoke and held his hand out to me as I walked over to him. I shook his hand and greeted the others before I sat next to Tony, leaving the open space for Mikey.

“This is Mikey,” Jaime said and pointed towards him when he walked over to the couch Dave and Mike were sitting on. Vic and Mike nodded towards him and Tony leaned over me to shake his hand. A nice buzz of conversation started and I noticed that Jaime wasn’t participating as much as usual. I raised my eyebrow at him and he shrugged and pulled out his phone.

Seconds later I received a message from him saying ‘Jess and I got into a fight’. I looked back towards him and frowned. I put my phone in my pocket, accidentally brushing Mikey’s thigh. I stuttered an apology and looked away, making him chuckle.

“Hey Hime, do you want to walk with me to get some food? I’m starving,” I said after a few moments. Jaime looked up and nodded. I stood up and walked over to him, reaching my hand out. I pulled him up and then turned towards the rest of the room. “Would anyone like anything?”

“Where are you going?” Vic asked.

I shrugged. “Probably Carl’s Jr. It’s closest.”

“What’s that?” James asked, looking confused.

“You don’t have Carl’s Jr. in England?” I asked in disbelief, looking around to see them shaking their heads. I shook my head. “They sell the best burgers ever. I’m bringing you all something. What about you guys?”

“I want a Famous Star,” Vic and Mike said at the same time. They exchanged glances and burst into laughter. I rolled my eyes and turned towards Tony. “Turtle?” He shook his head.

“Turtle?” Dave asked and looked from me to Tony.

“His favorite animal is a turtle and he has a lot of turtle tattoos. He’s a turtle,” I shrugged.

“If you’d like I could come along to help you carry the bags,” Mikey suggested. I looked over to Jaime, knowing we needed to talk, but there would be a lot of bags to carry. I nodded towards him and he stood up.

We walked out of the back exit of the venue to avoid the line of fans in front and headed towards the restaurant a block away. It was relatively silent except for a few comments by Mikey or Jaime. We entered the restaurant and went to stand in line.

“Everything looks so good,” Mikey commented, staring at the menu with wide eyes. I giggled at his expression.

“Everything is good,” I spoke up. I already knew what Jaime was getting, seeing as it was always the same. I looked over to him and saw him looking at the floor. I reached over and squeezed his hand, making him give me a small smile. I looked over to Mikey again and saw him staring at Jaime’s hand that I had just squeezed.

I raised my brow at him and he smiled. “I think I want what Vic and Mike are getting.”
I smiled and nudged Jaime. He gave me another smile and stepped up to the counter and began ordering. Mikey gave me a strange look. “What was that about?”

“I really, really hate ordering food.” Jaime walked over with three cups and handed them to us. “We’ll eat our stuff here and then bring everyone’s food back.” Mikey extended his nicely tattooed arm as he reached for the ice tab and I quickly pulled his hand back.

“Did you know that ice in restaurants is dirtier than toilet water 70% of the time?” Jaime mocked me as he filled his cup with Dr. Pepper. I glared at him and then looked back to Mikey.

“It’s true. Look it up.”

He chuckled. “I believe you.” We finished getting our drinks and Mikey grabbed our food as we headed towards a booth in the corner. Jaime and I sat on one side and Mikey on the other.

“This looks amazing,” Mikey said as he unwrapped his burger. I chuckled and looked over to Jaime, who was looking sad once more. I nudged him and smiled, but he didn’t return it. I frowned and looked at Mikey. “Can I see your straw?” I whispered.

He looked confused but handed it to me. I shoved his and my own up my nose and nudged Jaime again. This time I got a laugh from him. “That’s so gross! You ruined your guys’ straws.”

I removed them from my nose and set them on the table. “Come with me to get more.” Once we were out of ear-shot from Mikey I asked, “What was the fight about?”

“Going on tour. It’s still really hard for her,” he said.

“I’m sorry. It’s still hard for you, too. It doesn’t make it easier for either of you if you fight about being away from each other.”

“I know. I just wish there was a way to see her more often.”

I gave him a smile as we reached the straws. “Well she’s coming tonight, right? And in a few weeks she’ll be flying out. Plus there’s always texting, phone calls, Skype.”

He offered me a smile. “Yeah, I guess.”

“You guys can work it out. You guys are perfect together and everyone knows it. Just tell her how you feel.”

His phone started ringing and he pulled it out. He bit his lip as he stared at Jess’s name lighting up the screen.

“Go talk to her, we’ll be in here.” He nodded enthusiastically and walked out the door. I went over to Mikey and handed him his new straw. “Sorry, but he needed some cheering up.”

He smiled. “It’s alright. You were right, by the way. This burger is amazing! I can’t believe we don’t have this back home.”

“I can’t believe you don’t either. How do you survive?” I said and bit into my own burger.

He shrugged. “Plenty of tea and Nandos.”

“I had Nandos when we went to Europe a couple years ago. It was really good,” I said.

“It is. It’s my favorite place to go, but it might have competition now.” I grinned and took another bite.

“Oh, you have a little sauce on your cheek,” he said. I wiped my cheek and he shook his head.

“No, more to the right.” I wiped my face again and he chuckled. “No, here let me.” He reached across the table and gently wiped the sauce away with his thumb. I made eye contact with him and he slowly retracted his hand.

“S-sorry, I was just-” he started, but Jaime walked up and slid into the booth. The wrapped his arms around me and squeezed the air out of me.

“You’re the best. Do you know that?”

I shrugged and smiled. He picked up his sandwich and started eating. I looked to Mikey and saw him staring at his food quietly.

Notes