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."