Fanfiction: Safe and Sound (Part 3)

Casts   : Jenna McDougall (Narrator), Whakaio Taahi, Cameron Adler, Jake Hardy, Matt Best, Ben (Tour Manager), Jeff Todd (I Call Fives)
Setting : Salt Lake City, Utah.
Author : Me

I'm not gonna lie I'm so freaking nervous right now. I'm not afraid anymore, just nervous. I woke up at 4 and do my daily vocal exercise. Just to relax my throat. Our Warped Tour bus is waiting outside. We're going to go to our first ever Warped Tour venue and do the sound check at 6am, crazy isn't it?. The boys are downstairs already, having their breakfast in the restaurant. So I put all my stuff back into my luggage and head straight to the restaurant.

Down at the restaurant, the boys are busy with their food, I just stare at them. I have no appetite. My nerves ruin it all. Whak raises his head and frowns.

"Why don't you eat?", he asks.

I shake my head. "No appetite," I reply.

"Well, I'll eat that," Jake says, stretching his hand across the table, attempts to grasp my plate.

I just laugh silently. These boys are predators, they eat everything, anything, everytime, anytime.

"I'm not responsible if you get sick then," Ben says.

"I'm not gonna be sick, last night I ate like a pig," I say.

"Well, alright then," he says briefly.

We go back to our room to pick up our luggage. Our Warped Tour crews have been waiting at the lobby with our stage gears. Guitars, amplifiers, effects and all. From here we're going to encounter our private tour bus for the first time. Ben says that it's gonna be marvelous, and big and clean.  And I'm so excited.

We meet up with our crews, they have just landed two hours ago and I feel bad about it. They're gonna need some rest, but they just greet us casually, take charge of our luggage and stage gears and lead us to the parking lot where a lot of  enormous tour buses are parked still under the summer heat.

I'm speechless, my tongue's frozen, our bus is amazing. It's big, it's tall, shiny. It's got a toilet and a small wash room, 8 bunks, a lounge with a TV, a pantry complete with the dining table and a refrigerator. I can't think of something better than this. It's perfect.

We jump into our fancy tour bus. We swear a lot.

"Fuck man! Damn it's fucking good!!! Man!", Matty swears. Hi picks his bunk and dives into the blanket on the bed.

"Holy shit! Fucking hell!", Cam shouts, picks his bunk, throws his backpack on the floor and goes straight to the lounge in the back.

I just laugh. I realize that I got to pick a bunk immediately, and yes now every strategic bunks are taken. I pout and fold my arms on my chest.

"I want that bottom bunk near the toilet!", I say. Nobody's listening. "Hey!".

"I'm sorry, Jen. It's mine!", Whak pops out of the bunk.

"Please, Whak," I beg him.

He laughs. "No, Jen. It's mine!".

I pout and walk to the bunks aisle. I throw my backpack to the bunk above Whak's. I climb the small ladder, and jump into it.

"Now you have to smell my socks everytime I go up here. Eat that!", I say.

He laughs louder. "It's still mine, Jen!".

I take off my socks, wrap it, and throw it to Whak in his bunk. "Eat that!".

"Eiwwwh, you're a snob!", he shouts.

***

The sound check goes well. The sound men are amazing. They know what they do and so professional. Our venue is magnificent. It's a vast arena with a beautiful sight of Salt Lake City's outback. We hang out in the back stage container. We're going to perform at 3pm.

I sit on an amplifier, a water bottle in my hand, I stare at nothing, try to overcome my nerves and the hunger that has just suddenly come. Ben is talking with one of our crews, Matty and Jake are sleeping on the floor, Cam's busy with his bass, and Whak is missing. Where is he?

I'm thinking about going back to the bus. Maybe I can watch some TV before we perform, just to relax my thoughts. But Ben doesn't agree, he asks me to just stay in the backstage container until we're gathered for the final briefing before the Warped Tour is officially started at 11. So, I sit back on the amplifier and do nothing.

I can't lie I'm so hungry. It's 9pm and I haven't eaten anything yet. Our Warped Tour meals will be delivered at lunch time. But, isn't it lunch time already? No, it's not. So, I drink my water, hope that it will fill my tummy a little bit. Suddenly, I'm thinking about McDonald's.

"Ben," I call him.

Ben turns his head. "Yes?".

"Can I leave for a sec to get some McDonald's?", I ask.

He smirks. "See, you're hungry now."

"I'm sorry," I say.

"Well, the final briefing will be started like in, an hour. I'm afraid you'll get lost and late. You better just stay here. I'll get the crews to buy you some food," he says.

"Alright, then."

I wait, and wait. No food. I'm getting a little bit mad at Ben. I don't feel good about asking the crews to buy me food by my self. They look extremely tired. I sigh.

Just right at the time, Whak walks into the container with a skateboard in his left hand and a McDonald's takeaway bag in the other hand. Is that for me? Or he wants to eat it himself?

He walks to my way, he's sweating like shit. No wonder, outside is burning like an oven.

"Where have you been?", I ask.

"McDonald's," he replies.

I take a gaze at the takeaway bag. Drooling. "How can you? Ben doesn't allow me to go anywhere, even to the bus."

"I sneaked out," he says. "Here you go. Eat some shit.," shoving the bag to my face.

I frown. "What?"

"Just eat. It's all gonna be intense, don't underestimate breakfast. It's important and we're not going anywhere if you get sick," he says. "Move."

I move slightly, leaving a little space on the amplifier for him to sit. "You're sweating like shit. I don't wanna touch you. Eiiwh!".

He turns his body and leans forward. He places his sweaty forehead on my shoulder and rub it on my shirt. I slap his arm.

"Whak!!!!!!!", I squeal.

He raises his head and laugh. "Hahahaha. I rode my skateboard under the sun, for almost a kilometer down the street, and I bring you McDonald's. It's just sweat, Jenna. Haha. Manly sweat... uuuww," he says.

"Okay. Thank you, then." I open the bag. I find a BigMac, 2 french fries and McNuggets. My stomach rumbles. I smile to him sincerely. "Owh Whak, it's wonderfull. Thank you again."

"Well, yeah."

I look at him. "Did you sneak out to the McDonald's only to buy me food?".

"No, actually. I just need some air."

I laugh. "Well, that's good."

I eat carelessly, scattering a lot of bread crumbs on the floor. Whak watches me with a disgusted face.

"Eiwh, Jen!", he says.

"What?", I say with a mouth full of BigMac.

He laughs. "Alright, then. You have to finish'em all. I'm going to the bus to get change."

I nod without even looking at him. And he leaves.

I think to my self, how can he just know? I mean, do we have some kind of telepathy or something? Well, I don't care though. I need to just eat.

***

The crowd is squealing, screaming, howling. The noise is so deafening. Some of them scream our band's name. I don't know if it's going to be this crazy. We're off to the stage in 5 minutes. I control my nerves and just breathing.

"Alright, alright, all of you, make a circle," Ben orders.

We make a small circle, hands on each other's shoulders. I can feel my body's trembling out of my nerves, so is Cam. But Whak, his shoulder is still and even, he breathes normally. I don't know what happen to him but he always seems to be so quiet and calm when the rest of us are pissing in our pants.

"We're gonna nail it! Jenna, save and control your breath, don't move too much. Matty, keep the beat. Jake, interact more with the audience, they love you, and you too Cam. Whak, don't miss a note. Alright, any last questions?", Ben says rapidly.

We shake our head in a same time.

"Okay, let's go!", he shouts.

"LET'S NAIL IT!! WARPED TOOOUUUR!", we scream as loud as we can. Trying to get rid ourselves of nerves and injects some spirit into our lungs.

We burst out of the back stage. The crowd goes wild. They scream my name, I look at them and smile. They go even wilder. Whak looks at me and nods, gives me a sign that the show must be started.

So I grab my microphone and shouts, "Hello!! You guys look extremely good! How are you?", I say enthusiastically. The crowd screams. "We are Tonight Alive from Sydney, Australia, it's good to see you today. Alright, let's give you guys some ass! Our first song is.... WASTING AWAAAYY!".

The crowd gives an amazing reaction.  They throw their fists in the air, howling, dancing, jumping. I know that this show is gonna be sick.

I look at Whak, he smiles at me. Suddenly, it all just feel extremely good.

***

We're sent back to our bus by a golf cart. The show went amazing and dreamy. We can't think of anything better. Ben's smiling widely from ear to ear, I can spot satisfaction on his face. I can't help but smile too. Suddenly I feel relaxed and can't wait for the next show to come. It will be tomorrow. Yes, Warped Tour is playing serious here.

We climb into our bus. Drink some water and have a little rest. I wash my face and sit comfortably on the dining couch near the pantry. The boys just seem like they still got a lot of energy, they beg Ben to let them go outside and see the other bands play. Ben lets them running excitedly out of the bus like a bunch of 11 years old girls who just got a call from their crushes. I just laugh.

"You don't want to go with them, Jen?" Ben asks.

I shake my head. "No. I'm going to go by my self later. If you wanna go, just go, Ben", I say.

"Alright. I'll go then. But when you're going already, just remember you have to get back here at 9, okay?".

I laugh. "Yes, Daddy!".

And there he goes. I'm alone now. Let's see what I can do here. I look around the bus. It's like I want to live here forever. And from here, I can hear our fellow Fearless Record band, Chunk! No Captain Chunk is playing outside. I've seen them play couple times before, so I think I don't need to go outside and see them.

And then I hear something from a bus that parks next to ours. Somebody is practicing, with a guitar and singing passionately and loudly. I peek from the pantry window and laugh. It's I Call Fives' frontman Jeff Todd. Maybe he thinks that nobody's gonna hear him, so he sings like that. But I can hear him as clear as I can hear my own breathe.

I lean back to the pantry couch, still peeking at the I Call Fives' bus. Jeff is a good looking guy, blond, sturdy. His voice is angelic. Maybe if we have a duet, it will be amazing. Haha. And suddenly, he stops singing and looks around.  Makes sure that nobody's around. And there he sees me. I chuckle and hide behind the curtain. I know that I'm officially busted.

So, I decide that there's no need to hide. I stand up, back against the window, too ashamed to see his face and get out of the bus.

I walk around the venue. I'm not as recognizable as I think I was so it's fun. I don't have to worry about getting smushed by a crazy group of people that running to my way, attack me with their kisses and ask me to sign thousands of merchandises, even I might like it though.

After an hour of walking around with nothing to do, I sit down with the rest of the crowd in front of an acoustic stage. And there he goes. I Call Fives' playing their acoustic songs. Jeff Todd is sitting there, singing beautifully. Some girls from the crowd are squealing like they're giving birth of something. I giggle silently. Coincidentally, my eyes meet Jeff's gaze. He grinds and shakes his head.

"Hey, look. Jenna McDougall is here," he says through the microphone. "Say hello to her."

I raise my head and look at him with my eyes widened. "No!", I say silently. Try to tell him that I don't want any exposure right now, I just want to enjoy my time.

Now everybody is looking at me. Maybe some of them doesn't know who I am, which is good. I smile hesitantly. And think to my self, "You're dead Jeff."

"Hello Jenna," he says. "Okay, the next song is More Than I Can Handle. Hope you like it. Jen."

That song is exactly the song that he played back at the bus. I love it. He seems nice and friendly, finally I can actually make some friends here.

After the acoustic show, Jeff comes to me and asks me if I want to hang out a little bit. Of course I say yes. We walk together to his band's bus. I'm a little bit hesitant because I don't know any other I Call Fives member so I don't feel good about entering their private bus. But Jeff convinces me that his buddies will be cool about it.

"Hey guys, look who's here!", he says as we enter the bus.

I can name one of them, it's Chris. He raises his head and shouts, "Wow, it's Jenna McDougall! What have you done, dude?".

"Why you ask me that?", Jeff says.

Chris laughs. "Well, welcome to our bus, Jen. Have some fun. I'm sorry it's a little bit stinky here."

"Haha. It's all right. Mine is worse."

All of them laugh. I feel so welcomed, and it's nice.

Jeff leads me to the back lounge. We sit down side by side. It's a little bit awkward since I've just known him like, 2 hours ago. But eventually we talk. He asks me about my hometown, I ask him back. And about our last show today, and I find out that he watched it. And so on.

After a long talk, he asks me whether I want some food or not. He offers me a box full of McDonald's french fries and some chickens. I laugh. I just had McDonald's earlier today, but I can't refuse to eat it. We eat together, talking about stuffs, laughing. And time flies to fast, it's 9 pm already. I've spent almost 4 hours with him.

"Well, I need to go. My bus will leave at 10 and my grumpy manager will kill me if I'm still out after 9. So, see you then," I say.

"Okay, then. I'll see you tomorrow. I'll walk you to your bus," he says.

"Mate, it's only 2 meters away, well, 6 feet in american measurement. haha"

He laughs. "It's just formality, you know. And you never know what could possibly happen to you 2 meters away."

He walks me to my bus. It's funny, because our buses are parked next to each other and it's impossible if somebody can get hurt or endangered while walking from bus to bus. But Jeff makes me feel so safe and secure. He has this warmth inside of him that reminds me of Whak. I think we can be friends... or more.

"Well, so that's it for today?", he asks.

I smile. "I think so."

"Unfortunately. I had a good time with you. Thank you for that. Hope I'll see you soon. Really really soon," he says.

"You will. All right. Good luck for tomorrow. Bye!"

"You too. Bye!". And there he leaves.

I raise my hand and grasp the bus door handle. But before I'm able open it, it opens from the inside. Ben appears from behind door. I grind innocently.

"It's almost half past nine," he says.

"Sorry, can I come in?", I reply.

"Come on we're going now," he says.

I get into the bus. Drag my feet to the bunks aisle. I'm about to climb the small ladder that connects my bunk to the floor, but I see my back pack's laying inside Whak's bunk. And he's not there. And my bunk's curtain is closed. I lift my hand and open it, and yes, Whak's there.

"What are you doing in my bunk?", I say. Shoving his body to wake him up.

He wakes up and roll to his side, facing me. "What, Jen? Just sleep, okay? I'm exhausted." He closes the curtain in front of my face.

I stare at the black curtain and wondering what is he doing. But something pops up in my mind. I smile. He just gave me my dream bunk. So he was just teasing me earlier this morning. Hmm... I lift my hand again and open the curtain. I grab his face and pinch his nose tightly.

"Thank you, Spongebob!", I say.

He murmurs in his sleep. "Mmmm. Your welcome, Patrick."

Fanfiction: Safe and Sound (Part 2)

Casts   : Jenna Mcdougall (Narrator), Whakaio Taahi, Matt Gravolin, Cameron Adler, Jake hardy, Matt Best.
Setting : Sydney and Salt Lake City.
Author : Me

Tomorrow I'm going to fly to the States for The Warped Tour. Everybody says that it will be intense. I need to sleep early today. But I just can't. I'm not sure I'm stoked or afraid, everything seems alright, but I need to expect the worst to happen, just to prepare my self. It's 7 pm, I'm ready for bed to have a nice deep sleep. Cameron will pick me up tomorrow morning. I can't be late. He's going to be freaked out. But he's a chilled dude though.

Just before I dive into my fluffy blanket, my cell phone vibrates. I'm about to ignore it but it keeps vibrating. Well, it must be something important, I guess. I grab my cell phone, and yes, it's Whak. I sigh. What the hell is he doing, calling me when I'm about to have my last long sleep before the hectic tour. I tap the answer icon on the screen.

 "Well, dude, I really need to sleep now," I say.

"I just want to remind you, Cameron will pick you up with a Taxi at 6, don't forget your passport, ticket, make sure you have your breakfast first, don't be late or I'll kill you," he says.

"Six? Whakaio, at six? You're a dead man! I'm the one who's gonna kill you now," I say.

 "Whatever Jenna, we can't be late."

"Alright. Since I have to wake up really really freaking early, I need my sleep now, okay, dude?"

 "Okay, then. See ya," he says.

He's about to end the call when something hits my guts. "Whak, I'm afraid," I say.

He sighs. "You're not. It's gonna be fine. You're just nervous."

"Really? We're gonna be on the road for like, all summer long, around somebody else's country, different cultures, with a lot of strangers. How if we get sick, or mess things up? Plus the whole idea of the crowd won't like us, and stuffs, it's killing me. And I'm gonna be homesick," I say.

"Well, you're not gonna be homesick. I'll make sure you won't. It's not our first time there. And I don't care if those Americans won't accept our music, that's fine. We do what we like, just, don't listen to them," he tries to calm me down.

"At least they'll adore our accent, haha," he chuckles.

I laugh lightly. "Haha, yes they will."

"Okay. See you at the airport, Jen," he says.

"Bye, Whak. You're gonna need some sleep too."

"Yes I am. Bye," he says. And he ends the call.

I sigh and put my cell phone back to the table next to my bed. I know that I'm not supposed to be afraid. I have the boys. They will always be by my side all the time. And Whak will make sure that I'm safe all the way around.

I admit that I think Whak is like my own keeper, my guardian. The first time I knew him, he was like this crazy boy, he was a total dork, haha. Then I got to know him. We talked a lot. I've been a friend of Cameron for like, eight years, and I met Whak like, 4 years ago. But there's something different about him, it's like we were made to be best-friends. We always have the same point of view of things, we write songs together, he completes my melody, I complete his. Just perfect.

And I know that I need to kill all of the thoughts in my head now. Close my eyes and drive to sleep. But then, again, my cell phone vibrates. What the hell is Whak doing? I wonder if he's actually afraid too, or he just forgot to say something. I grab my cell phone hesitantly, not sure if I actually need to answer it.

But then I see it's not Whak's name on the screen, it's Matt. I hold my self for a while, wait for my cell phone to stop vibrating. But it won't stop, and then I know I have to just answer it. Maybe he just want to say something casual, like, "goodluck" or "be safe". He's still my boyfriend anyway.

"Hello, Matt, what's up?", I say casually.

"Hi, Jen, how are you?", he replies.

Something inside of me speaks, what does he want actually. "I'm fine. Thank you."

"I'm kinda missing you here, Jen. You're off to The states tomorrow, eh?", he asks.

 "Yes I am," actually I just want to end this call because I really need my sleep now. Talking to him is just wasting my time.

 "Okay, then, you're going to have so much fun there," he says.

I roll my eyes. "Duh, I will. What do you want Matt?"

There is a long pause and then, "Well Jen, actually, I need you to be a guest vocal in one of my band's song. Is that alright? But since you're off to the States, maybe we're going to wait. If you don't mind," he says.

"We'll talk about that later okay. I'm not really into this stuff right now. I just want to focus with my own band. I'm going to give you an answer when I come back. Alright?"

I can hear he exhales hard. "That's fine. We'll wait."

"Good, then. I need to sleep, Matt. See you, okay?", I say, trying to end the conversation.

"But Jen, how long this break will last? I can't stand it anymore. I love you, Jen," he says.

I dive into my blanket. Try to built a brief, simple line in my head, I really want to tell him that I don't want to think about this romance and stuff. "I just don't know. I'll think about it later. I'm not sure. And I need to sleep now."

He sighs. "Okay. Good night. Have a nice dream. And good luck. I love you-"

Before he continues, I end the call. I don't need those sweet stuffs.

I stare at my room's ceiling. Another evidence, I think to my self. I'm trying so hard to believe him, but it's just getting clearer that he's just using me after all this time. How can he just asked me to be a guest vocal in his band's song when we're still in the middle of a break? Why didn't he just say sorry to me, or say something to make me sure that we're gonna be alright? Why?

***

It's early winter in Sydney. No snow, just cold winds and rains. I can see Cameron's Taxi stops in front of my house. I'm ready to go, but I'm gonna need his help to bring the luggage downstairs.

I open my window and shouts. "Mate, I think I need some hands here!", I shouts to him.

He raises his head and look at me. "Okay, I'm coming." Cameron goes upstairs and help my with the luggage.

We get into the Taxi and drive away from the Sydney suburbs to the airport where Whak, Jake, Matty and our manager, Ben are waiting for us.

 The last time I saw the Sydney Airport was when I got back from the last Australian tour. It was like a month ago. I'm kinda like the place though. It's bright and busy. Makes me feel alive. And I can see Whak waves his hand to my way. He's wearing a black boxer and a grey T-shirt. He doesn't look like someone who's going to have a 24 hours flight. It's time for me to be mad at him.

"You're not wearing that, are you, Whak?! You can't!", I shout loudly.

"What?", he says.

"It's a 24 hours flight you cannot wear a boxer!", I say firmly.

 "It's gonna be hot when we arrive there!", he insists.

"Look at Jake, he's wearing a pair of jeans!", I point my finger at Jake. The dude grinds innocently.

 "Because he's a virgin!", says Whak and then he giggles.

"Hey!!! Does it really have anything to do with that?", shouts Jake from behind. "And I'm not a virgin! I told you!".

 Whak laughs. "Just saying, mate!", he says.

We all laugh. And at this point, I know that I love my boys. I realize that I have missed them so much during the whole month off. I'm going to give all my best for them this Warped Tour season. I don't want to miss any moment with them.

Our plane takes off at 7am. We are all seated close to each other. I sit between Whak and our manager, Ben. Jake, Matty and Cam sit in the row in front of us. We got nothing to do so mostly we spend our time watching movies on the screen in front of us. I'm dreading this 24 flight. It makes my muscle stiff and my back hurts. I try to talk to Whak and Ben, but they all are so sleepy so the conversation doesn't last long.

We arrive at the United States the next morning at 9, and what funny is, we're still in the same day when we went here. The whole jet lag thing hits me right in the face. Suddenly I feel sick and so sleepy. Our first destination is Salt Lake City, Utah. It is burning here.

We're all collected in a hotel, and tomorrow the Warped Tour will be started, we're going to sleep mostly on the road all summer long. So I'm not gonna take my last sleep on a real bed and a building for granted tonight.

Our room is a suite. Well, it's not as fancy as you think but it's big enough for the six of us. After we put all of our stuffs in the room, we're herded to the hotel restaurant to have our first ever Warped Tour breakfast.

The restaurant is already crowded. So many other bands have arrived earlier than us. We have met some of them before, but have never really talked to them. We have our breakfast, and after that, we get back to the hotel room. We're absolutely jet-lagged and exhausted. It's better for us to just sleep and rest because we know that hard days will come and Warped Tour is not a joke. We don't spend much time talk to each other. We go straight to bed and sleep.

***

It's already late afternoon when I wake up, and I'm starved to death. Jake, Matty and Ben are still asleep. And I can't find Whak and Cam anywhere. They must have been gone somewhere to get some food. Agh, I hate them. I need some food right now. So, I decide that I'll go outside by my self. Maybe there's a store nearby. I don't know. I grab my jacket, but I realize that it's not winter outside, it's a burning summer. So I put it back and go outside on my flip flop.

Hell, summer in America is hell. It's so hot, my head is spinning from the heat. I'm not kidding now Warped Tour is gonna be really really intense. I can see there's a 711 about 500 meters from here. So I walk slowly to the shop. I can see so many other band members are strolling along the streets, some are familiar, some are just strangers. Maybe it's gonna be good to make some friends here, but my belly doesn't agree with that now. All I need now is some food.

 "Hey, Jenna! Where are you going?!", somebody shouts from across the street. And I know it's Whak.

I turn to him. "I'm going to get some food. I'm starving!", I shout to him back. He stops and crosses the street. Cam is behind him. Holding a big bun of 711's bread. My stomach rumbles.

 "Give me some Cam. I'm starving to death!", I say to Cameron pleadingly. He keeps chewing the bread.

"No. I'm starving too." He turns his back at me and enjoying the whole bun alone.

Whak laughs. "Well, I'll walk you to the shop. I forgot to buy some ciggs for Ben. Is it alright, mate?", he asks Cameron.

 "Okay. I'm going back to the hotel room then. It's boiling out here I can't stand it," Cam says. And then he leaves.

 We walk to the shop together. Have nothing to talk about, so we just look around and enjoy the weather. I'm sweating badly under my black T-shirt and Jeans, and Whak looks just fine. I think the idea of wearing boxer makes sense here. But can he just put some outer pants on? Doesn't need to be jeans, maybe cargo shorts or something.

"Hey, I heard that there's a nice music store a around here. It's an old one, you know. They sell vinyls and stuffs. Are you interested to go there later?", Whak asks. I raise my head and look at him. "Interesting. Okay, then."

We buy some food at 711 and a box of cigarettes for our lovely manager. And then we walk straight to the music store that Whak has talked about earlier.

 "I can't believe you're still wearing those jeans in this kind of weather," he says.

"I don't know. I just woke up and starved to death. All I can think about is just how to get some food. Haha," I giggle.

"You're screwed then. Are you sure we don't need to go back to the hotel room first -so you can take off those excruciating jeans- before we go?" he says.

 I shake my head. "No. I'm just fine, mate. Haha." And then we continue to walk.

Salt Lake City is an interesting place. It's not that big actually, but I love it here. The air is so clear. There is one big relief of mountains surrounding the city. We can see it hiding behind the buildings.

"I think this is the place," he stops and examines the store behind us.

 It's an old store in an old building, with old school rock posters on the front glass windows. I can see some number of racks and shelves full of old cassettes, vinyls and some modern Cds from the outside. I know it's gonna be awesome.

"It's awesome, Whak. Let's go," I grab his hand and pull him into the store with me.

We're starting to get busy with piles of old school recording products. I find some old Beatles records, Janis Japlin, The Ramones, and many more.

 "Look Whak, it's Fugazi!", I say enthusiastic.

He stands up and takes a look at the record in my hand. "Wow, rare stuff. Take that, Jen," he says. And he goes back sitting on the floor, stroking his eyes all over the rack in front of him.

"What are you looking for?", I say.

 He raises his head. "I don't know. It's like I want to buy everything. Haha."

I laugh and then sit next to him on the floor. It's kinda weird though, sitting on a music store's floor. I doubt that it's allowed in many other stores actually, but I think the shopkeeper doesn't care.

"Have you ever think about it, Whak? Someday, like, in 30 years, we both will be old as fuck, and where do you think our music will go?", I say lightly.

 He stops staring at the records and looks at me. "Well, why are you asking me that question? You know I'm not good at deep thinking and stuffs, haha."

I smirk. "I just want to know. Do you think it's going to be last? I mean, us. Will this moment ever happen again, in like 10 years? You know, just hanging around with you on the floor in a music store."

"I'll make sure it will, Jen," he promises.

 "Is that a guarantee or what?", I say.

 "You can take my word. When we have enough money, and rich as fuck, I will bring you back to this country, this very place. We'll sit here together again, in the same position," he says reassuring me.

I smile wildly. "And, how if we won't be rich as fuck forever?".

 He looks me in the eyes and smile. "Sell my house maybe.. or my guitars."

"Your wife will kill me then," I say.

He laugh. "Well, I don't know what to say about that. Hemm," he pauses to think. "I'm not gonna marry anyone then."

I nudge his elbow and laugh. "You're silly!".

We laugh together, looking at each other eyes. I love this guy. He's my best friend and I'm not gonna leave him anywhere in my life. So I stop laughing and lean forward to kiss his cheek. It's a friendship kiss so I think it will be just fine.

 I lean back and say, "Thank you, Whak."

He frowns. "Thank you for what?"

"Everything. I don't wanna be emotional and sappy here. And you hate that, don't you?", I say.

 He smiles. "Yes, I hate that. Haha. Let's just finish our business here, tomorrow's a big day!". He stands up and go to the cashier. I grab my Fugazi record and follow him.

 "Give me that record," he says in front of the cashier table. "I'm paying tonight."

"No. I don't want you to pay. I'm going to owe you. I don't want to do your laundry, forever!"

He chuckles. "You're not gonna do my laundry. We're going to be rich as fuck in the future, you can pay me then."

"But if we're not gonna be rich?", I ask.

 He grabs the record from my hand and hands it to the cashier. "Well, you just have to stay the same and never leave. That will pay."

 I'm just speechless. All I can do is smile. He's my smile machine.

 He pays everything and give me the bag with the Fugazi record inside.

"Let's go!" he says. He takes my hand and get me out to the store. "Tomorrow is the first day of our first ever Warped Tour. How do you feel now? Still afraid?", he asks in our way back to the hotel.

 "No, I'm not afraid. I'll be safe and sound."

 "Sure, you will."

(End of part 2)

Fanfiction: Safe and Sound (Part 1)

Cast: Jenna McDougall (Narrator), Whakaio Taahi, Matt Gravolin.
Setting: Sydney, Australia
Author: Me

Well, it's been awhile since the the last time I went outside. The boys have been calling me these past few days. I know that I should've called them back and tell them that I'm okay. But, I'm just not okay.

First, I'm having this kind of problem with my throat, my voice sounds terrible I can't even sing. And it's obvious that I'm not going to rehearse anytime soon. Warped Tour will be off its head in like, two weeks, but I haven't attended any rehearsal yet. Whak will be mad at me. No, I know that he's mad at me now. I can picture his angry face in my head, with that mustache on, I don't know if I'm aloud to laugh now. He's just hilarious.

Second, I'm having this kind of problem with my boyfriend, Matt. We had a big fight last week and I haven't had any message from him, or calls, or, at least something that tells me that he's okay and sorry. Just. nothing. Everybody has been telling me that he's just taking advantages from my fame, and my band's ascending popularity, but I believe he's not that kind of guy.

The last thing is, I think I'm just tired. I love my job, I love the boys, the fans, everything about what I'm doing. But I'm just tired. I need a break. These past two years has been so hectic. Non-stop tours, writing, recording, interviews. Sometimes I need a little space to breathe, just to enjoy my self alone. Well, actually I'm kinda missing the boys right now. But I'll have enough time to be spent with them at the Warped Tour. And I don't think they need me during this one month off, except for rehearsals.

I turn on my computer. Just for checking. Twitter has been so crowded by mentions lately. Seems like every girl is talking about how cool my hair was. I like that though. If I can thank them for all of their compliments, I will. But I just don't know how to do that without sounding like an attention bitch. Well, there's one direct message. Duh, it's from Whak.

"WHERE ARE YOU????? DIE??"

Haha. I just laugh. From all of the boys, Whak is the most annoying one for me. He always be so protective, grumpy, snappy. He always be the one that shouts angrily everytime I do something stupid or coming late to a band practice. It's okay though. Sometimes he's so caring, just like a big brother to me, or even a father. But, I wonder, if he's really looking for me right now, why doesn't he just come here, to my house and pick me up?

And yes, I hear somebody's knocking the door. It must be him. I drag my feet on the floor and open the door.

His face is full of rage, red, frowned.

"Hi, dude!", I say innocently.

"Hi? You said hi? Where have you been? We need to practice for the Warped Tour you stupid!", he says madly.

"I'm sorry. I just..."

"You just what?! Let's go, get your jacket and we'll go, now!"

"What? Now? I need to shower, eat.. and...", I say.

"No time for that!", he shouts. He's absolutely angry now.

"Dude, it's just.. it's just. My throat is fucked up you know. I can't sing right now," I say. Trying to make an excuse.

"Shit. Jen. What's happening to you? You used to sing whatever happens to your freaking throat. You even sing when you got a severe cold and.. and a tonsillitis! You sound okay right now. I'm sure it's not a big deal," he says, a little bit pleadingly.

I look down. Don't want to see his reddish face. "Well, actually... I'm sorry. I just need a break. You know."

"A break? Come on, it's not even you. You don't need a break," he says.

And I can feel his hand pushing me back to my room. We sit down on my bed side by side. Just like what we always do every time we need to talk something up.

"Just tell me. Spill it," he asks.

"It's a little bit cheesy. Well, I had this fight with Matt," I answer reluctantly.

Whak frowns. "Matty?"

I shake my head and laugh lightly. "Not our Matty. It's Matt. My boyfriend."

He laughs. "Thank God, I thought that he's a man now."

I shove his his body hard. "What do you mean by that?!"

We laugh together. I can see his face lighten. Now I know that this is the right time to just spill it to him. He's my best friend, what's the worst thing that can happen?

I clear my throat and start to speak. "Well, Whak. People has been telling me that Matt is just taking advantages out of me, I mean, us."

He frowns. "It's my turn. What do you mean by that?".

I look down again. "You know. Agh. I don't know how to explain you this without sounding so... biggy," I sigh.

"Okay, okay. I get it. Taking advantages from your... popularity? To keep his band floats?", he guesses.

I nod. "Well, yeah, pretty much like that."

He chuckles. "Haha, Jenna, so what's the big deal? Well, I don't know him, but you know him. So, what was the fighting about?".

"Because, I always think that he's not that kind of guy, but all of the evidences say otherwise," I say desperately.

He exhales hardly. "Fuck that then. If those evidences are true, he's fucked".

"What do you mean he's fucked?", I ask.

"It's not your own popularity that he's taking advantages from. It's ours. So... five against one? He's fucked. Haha," he answers.

I laugh silently. In some cases, I know I'm lucky I have him. "Well, Whak, I think I need to see him and talk. Just to clear things up."

"You sure? Alright then. I'll drop you off. Let's go."

"Let's go!"

***

We get into his car. As always, Thrice is played out loud. Whak has been a die-hard fan of Thrice since he was like.. I don't know, but it's been like as long as I can remember. Lol.

Once he starts the engine, I'm feeling like I'm about to sleep. The sound of his car running and the smell of his car seats are really familiar to me, it always calms me down and makes me feel sleepy.

"Wake me up when we're there, okay dude?", I ask.

He nods lightly without turning his head off of the road. And then I rolled to my side and sleep.

Thirty minutes later, we're already in the other part of the Sydney suburbs. The car stops gently just right after I opened my eyes. Whak nudges my elbow to wake me up.

"Hemm. I'm awake," I say. I stretch my back and rub my eyes, just to sober up from my hollow sleep.

"I'm leaving you here. Call me when you need a ride back home, just in case," he says.

"Yep. I will," I say and then get out of his car immediately.

I can see Whak's car drives away, leaving me alone in front of Matt's house. I pull my self together, take a deep breathe and then drag my feet all the way across the front yard to the door and knock it.

I can hear somebody's walking towards the door. I brace my self. I know that I need to talk this up. If this is really need to be ended, then end it is. There's something more important in my life than this toxic relationship.

Matt opens the door. He looks high and I can smell alcohol in his breath.

"Well, it's only 5pm and you're drunk," I say harshly.

His face turned annoyed. He's absolutely not expecting me coming this afternoon. "Jenna.. Hi. Come in," he says.

I step in. His house is a disaster. Full of amplifiers, drum snares, cigarette ash, guitars, surf boards. Well, it's not the first time I ever entered a boy's house, but I'm certain that Whak's place is not this creepy.

"I'm sorry, I don't know you're coming. Why don't you call me first?," he says.

I shake my head. "To surprise you."

He laugh. "You always surprise me, Honey." He leans forward to kiss me, but I push him back. I can't stand the smell of alcohol in his breath.

"You're high as hell. You need to shower, just to sobers up," I push him to the bathroom. He resisted.

"I'm not taking shower, Jenna. I'm sober as fuck!" he shouts.

I look into his eyes. Full of more inquiries than rage. "You're shouting at me. You're high."

"I'm not high! And I don't want any fights right now!" he continues to shout.

"I don't either. Well, listen. I need to talk right now. Talk!"

Matt looks startled. "What do you want to talk about? I thought that everything is clear."

I shake my head. "No, no, Matt. It's not clear. Our last fight was awakening for me. We're not alright."

"No. No, Jen. What's wrong with us?", he says.

"It's just. The idea of us together is not healthy anymore. It's like, you want something from me. It's not love. It's something different," I take a breath and continue. "It's something that makes you mad every time I didn't introduce you as my boyfriend in parties, or I didn't say what you want me to say every time there's a question about my love life in an interview."

Matt looks downward. Avoiding my gaze. "Well, it's not what you think, Jen. I just want everybody to know that you're mine. That's it."

I push his chin up so I can see his face. "Perhaps that's true. But I will show the world that I'm yours even when you're not asking it. I will. You just have to believe me."

I sigh desperately. Walk backwards and sit on the floor. Try to make up my mind. I know that in some point he's right. He's my boyfriend and it's important for everybody to know that. I feel bad now.

"I believe in you, Jen. Sure I do. I just don't think that you believe in me," he says. He sits down on the floor by my side. Grabs my hand, and I look at him.

"I believe in you. It's just, you need to try harder. Because, I made songs about you, it's just unbelievable if I'm not in love with you. But these last few weeks just hard for me. For us. I think I need a little break," I say. Collecting all my guts, waiting for his response.

I can see his face hardens. Confused. "A break? You mean? Break up?".

I shake my head. "No. We're not breaking up. Just, a break. For a little while. I'm off to Warped Tour next month, I just need to get my head out of this, you know".

He looks in to my eyes. Trying to speak something. "Jen..."

"Well, I'm calling Whak to pick me up now. You better get to shower. I'm not leaving you high as fuck like this, go go go!" I get up off the floor and help him stabilize and drive him straight to the bathroom.

***

I wait for Whak to come while Matt is in the bathroom. I'm having this little pain inside my chest. My conscience tells me that I don't want to hurt him. What I said to him earlier was heartbreaking. But, I need to set my guard up for a while. Just, until I'm sure that he's not taking any advantages out of our relationship and all he want is love, and that's it.

I take a deep breathe. I know I'm not good at this. This romance and stuffs. I hate this now. I'm not blaming my band for being big and popular at all, it's just me. Maybe it's better for me to just focused. Leave these matters behind, write more songs, touring... yeah. That's it.

It's been only ten minutes but I can hear Whak's car honking outside. Matt is still in the bathroom but I should leave now.

So I step out, leaving Matt behind. Something inside of me shivers. I love this boy. For sure. But I know that from the first step I make out of his house, that everything's going to be different. I'm not holding on on an uncertainty.

I get into Whak's car again. Thrice is playing. Whak's watching me settling my seat belt like I was a kid who just stole something from an old lady. I look back at him and frown.

"What?", I say.

"So fast. Was it that bad?"

I laugh slightly. "Yes. It was that bad."

He starts the engine and I lean back to my seat. Inhaling his car's scent. My head is foggy from crazy thoughts.

"So you're feeling better now, eh?", he asks.

"Not that better actually. I feel bad for him," I answer.

"Why?", he turns his head to me.

"I said that we need a little break-"

"You're breaking up?!", he shouts.

"Chill, dude. Not that breaking up. Just a break. We're going to get back together when I'm ready, and ensured," I say.

He chuckles. "I thought that you're that manned up. Haha."

"No, of course. He makes me happy sometimes. It's just hard....," It's crazy all of a sudden I'm about to cry.

"Jen? You're okay?", he asks.

I roll to my side. Facing the window. Try to clear my head. I'm not going to cry in front of Whak. I'm not. Why should I cry? But I feel really bad right now. Really really bad. I haven't cried since I was, like 15. And I tried to cry last week, after the fight, but I just couldn't.

"We're going to get some Taro milk alright?", Whak says.

My heart's warmed after he said that. I love Taro milk. It boosts my mood, it's my favorite drink. Whak knows me more than I thought.

"Alright," I say lightly.

"You're gonna be fine, Jen. You're a tough girl. The toughest person I've ever known. I don't think there's any other girl out there that can stand it playing in a band with four stinky dudes like you do," he says brightly.

His words fix me. I just feel fine now. I roll to my other side, facing him. He looks down at me and smile.

"When is the rehearsal?", I ask.

Whak laughs. "Whenever you want."

I smile. "Tomorrow, okay?"

"Alllllright!"

I look at him. I'm not gonna make it without this guy. I know that as long as I have Whak beside me, I will be safe and sound.

(End of Part 1)