ORLANDO
“Has anyone seen my favorite shirt!” Erik called. It was the day that they were leaving on the tour and like always, Erik had left his packing until the last minute.
“Have you checked your laundry basket?” Trevor asked, passing by Erik’s door, a duffle bag over his shoulder. He kept walking, not bothering to wait for an answer.
As Erik finished up his packing, Trevor joined the queue of people that were already waiting downstairs. Mike C. took his duffle bag and carried it out to the waiting limo. The he returned and sat down next to Mike M. It was only Erik they were waiting on now. Ashley, Dan, and Jacob were already there. Ashley and Dan sat on the floor and Jacob sat in a chair, his head resting on his hand. His eyes were closed but Trevor knew he wasn’t asleep.
Finally, Erik came downstairs, carrying two duffle bags. It seemed he had tried to pack his whole closet again. Mike C. shook his head as he took the bags from Erik and carried them to the limo. When he returned, he clapped his hands and everyone stood up.
“Okay now listen, there are a few more things Mike and I need to tell you before we leave for the studio.” The guys glanced at each other and then back at him. Mike M. went to stand beside him.
“Oh great!” Jacob said. “What now?! Haven’t you made things complicated enough?!” Mike C. frowned.
“I understand that you’re unhappy with the circumstances Jacob, but I’m afraid there is one more thing we forgot to tell you guys about Miss. Star.” Jacob glared at him. Ashley, Erik, Dan, and Trevor looked interested. Mike C. cleared his throat and took a deep breath. “Miss. Star will be having a friend along on the tour with her since her manager can’t be there.”
“So now you’re putting two girls on our bus?!” Jacob said angrily. He turned and stomped out of the house to wait in the limo. Mike C. looked worried.
“Don’t worry about him,” Erik said. “He’ll be alright. His just doesn’t like the thought of girls invading his privacy. You know how much he values his privacy. It took him forever to get used to having cameras on him twenty-four/seven.” Mike C. nodded. He turned to Mike M. who picked up.
“Secondly, we just wanted to say, regardless of all the hard work, have fun. You’re doing what you love to do so don’t make it look stressful.” The guys nodded and followed the Mikes out to the limo.
“How long do you think it’ll be until they get here?” Bree asked Alyssa. They were standing in the studio parking lot where the bus was sitting, ready to go. Alyssa shrugged. Mark stood a little ways away, talking on his cell phone.
“I have no idea, but I hope it’s soon, I’m anxious to get going.” Bree laughed. “Here comes Mark, maybe he knows something.” Mark had gotten off the phone and was heading towards them.
“Hey girls,” he said smiling. They smiled back.
“Hey Mark,” Alyssa replied. “What’s the scoop?”
“Well, that was Mike M. on the phone, one of the group’s managers. He said they were on they’re way here. Then Mike C., their other manager, came on and said I might want to warn you not to bother Jacob, he’s apparently in a foul mood.” Bree nodded. Alyssa, although a bit hurt, Jacob was the one she had been most excited to meet, managed a small smile.
No more was said. The three of them stood there in the studio parking lot waiting for O-town and their managers to arrive. Finally, they saw the big white limo pulling into the parking lot. They watched it drive up and park in front of them. Alyssa could feel her heart start to beat faster as it stopped and the limo driver got out to open the door.
Mike C. got out first, followed by Mike M., Ashley, Dan, Trevor, Erik, and finally, Jacob. Alyssa noticed that Jacob did not look very happy but she didn’t say anything. Mark walked up and shook the Mikes’ hands.
“I’m Mark Devland, Alyssa’s manager.” He turned to Alyssa. “This is Alyssa Star and the girl next to her is Bree Shauffer. Alyssa, Bree, this is Mike Morin and Mike Cronin, O-town’s managers.” Both girls smiled and shook hands with the Mikes.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you Miss. Star,” Mike M. said. Alyssa smiled and giggled just a bit.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you too. Please, call me Alyssa.” She glanced around the group. Ashley, Dan, Trevor, and Erik were all looking at her, smiling. Jacob on the other hand, was looking away, his head turned towards the street, watching the cars drive by. Mike M. followed her gaze and shook his head.
“Don’t mind Jacob, he’s not so happy about the whole girls-on-the-bus thing.” Alyssa nodded.
“I understand. I watched the show so I know how he values his privacy. I don’t blame him for being angry. If it’ll help, I won’t bother him.” This got Jacob’s attention. He turned and looked at her. Alyssa could tell that he was surprised to see that she didn’t look like your typical pop princess. She smiled at him and he turned away again. Again, Mike M. shook his head.
“Well, we better get going,” Mike C. said. They all nodded. Mark turned to Alyssa and pulled her into a hug.
“Well, this is where I leave you, Alyssa. Take care, and try not to cause any problems.” Alyssa laughed.
“Don’t worry, I won’t.” Mark smiled. After saying a quick good-bye to everyone else, he got in his car and drove off.
After mark was gone, the Mikes ushered everyone onto the bus. They went into the sleeping area to set up and get settled in. Jacob went immediately to the bottom bunk at the end of the left-hand side and disappeared behind the curtains. Alyssa glanced at the Mikes, a curious look on her face. Mike C. smiled.
“The guys all have assigned bunks, that one’s his. After everyone else takes their bunks, we’ll get you girls situated.” Alyssa nodded. She watched patiently as the other guys claimed their assigned bunks. Erik had the bunk on top of Jacob, Dan, the one on top of him, Ashley, the bunk in the middle across from Erik, and Trevor, the one on top of Ashley across from Dan. Mike C. took the first middle bunk on the right-hand side and Mike M. took the bunk across from him. After putting his bags down, Mike C. came back to the girls.
“Wow, eighteen bunks for seven people?!” Alyssa exclaimed. Mike C. laughed.
“Well, this time it’s nine but yes. We need the extra bunks in case others are going to be traveling with us for a while. Now, you girls have all three bunks on each side in the middle, the upper and lower bunks in the front, and the bunk under Ashley in the back to choose from. Whatever you don’t choose will be a designated junk bunk.”
Alyssa took a moment to look at the available bunks. Then, she picked up her bags and headed for the bunk under Ashley’s. She thought she heard Bree groan but saw her head for the bunk in the middle on the right-hand side. Alyssa smiled as she threw her bags on the bed.
“Why’d you choose that bunk?” an annoyed voice asked her. Alyssa turned to see Jacob poking his head out of the curtains in the bunk across from hers. He didn’t look very happy. Alyssa figured it was because he felt she was invading the band’s personal space.
“It looked lonely,” she said, shrugging. Jacob frowned. Alyssa sighed. “Look Jacob, I’ve seen the show and I know how you value your privacy, so I won’t bother you.”
“Good,” he said and disappeared behind the curtains again. Alyssa sighed. After that, she didn’t feel much like unpacking anymore. She too, crawled into her bunk and disappeared behind the curtains.
Jacob had already finished unpacking. He was lying on his bed looking up at the bottom of Erik’s bunk. He wasn’t really comfortable with Alyssa using the bunk across from his. But she had said she wouldn’t bother him and that was good enough. As long as he didn’t have to acknowledge that she was there, he would be fine. The problem was going to be the other girl. Jacob didn’t think she seemed to be the type not to bother. He sighed, grabbed his guitar, and headed for the back of the bus.
Ashley peeked out of his bunk just as Jacob passed through the door to the back. Curious as to what was going on, he climbed off the bunk and followed Jacob into the back. He entered to see him sitting on the couch tuning his guitar. Jacob did not look up. Ashley sat beside him. “Hey man,” he said.
“Hey,” Jacob replied, still not looking up from his guitar. He continued to tune it. Ashley looked down at the table in front of them. A notebook sat open, revealing Jacob’s work on a song. Ashley picked it up, Jacob seemed not to notice.
VERSE: HAVE YOU SEEN / WHAT YOU’VE DONE TO ME / DO YOU KNOW / HOW YOU’VE MADE ME FEEL / I USED TO THINK / THAT WE’D BE FOREVER / NOW I KNOW / OUR LOVE WASN’T REAL
“Is this about Janie?” Ashley asked, looking up from the lyrics he had been reading. Jacob finally looked at him. He snatched the notebook out of Ashley’s hand.
“You shouldn’t be reading that!” he snapped. Ashley frowned.
“Why not? It’s good.”
“Because it’s private stuff. That song is not something I was thinking of submitting for our next album. And if you must know, yes, it is about Janie. Just do me a favor.”
“Anything,” Ashley said. Jacob looked him in the eyes.
“Don’t tell any of the other guys about it. Like I said, it is private stuff and I really didn’t want you to see it. If I had known that was the page it had flipped open to, I would’ve taken it from you in the first place.”
“Dude, alright, I get the point Jake. I promise, I won’t tell anyone.” He got up to go and Jacob looked back down at his guitar.
“Hey Ash?” Ashley stopped in the doorway, holding the door open.
“Yeah Jake?”
“Thanks man.” Ashley smiled.
“No problem dude.” He turned and left the room.
Jacob put the notebook back down on the table. He turned the pages until he came to a blank page. Then he set to work on a new song. He was so into his writing, he didn’t notice the door open and someone enter the room.
“SOMETIMES I FEEL / SO FAR AWAY / AND NOW I KNOW / THERE’S NOTHING LEFT TO SAY,” he sang. He stopped playing long enough to make some notes on the page. It was quickly filling up with an untidy scrawl. He didn’t usually write so messy, he was just writing a bit fast, due to frustration.
“That was really good,” said a voice. Jacob jumped. He looked up to see Alyssa standing there.
“How long have you been standing there?” he asked annoyed.
“Only about a minute. Mind if I sit down?” Jacob shrugged. She sat down on the couch. Jacob returned to his music.
“YOU ARE MY EYES / YOU ARE THE LIGHT / BEING WITH YOU / JUST FEELS SO RIGHT / YOU ARE MY HEART / MY WILL TO BREATHE / I WOULD BE LOST / IF YOU EVER LEAVE,” he sang, playing the cords on his guitar. He made some more marks in the notebook and got up. Not looking back, he left the room.
Alyssa sighed. She reached over and turned on the TV just as Erik came in. He sat down next to her. She looked at him and smiled. He smiled back.
“I saw Jacob come out a minute ago. He didn’t look too happy. What happened?” Alyssa sighed again. She could hear the soft hum of the engine as the bus moved.
“Nothing really. I think he was just upset because I came in while he was playing. I guess he just didn’t want to write anymore with me around. I don’t blame him, I told him I wouldn’t bother him but I had no idea he was back here when I decided to come watch a little TV.”
“Don’t let Jacob get to you. He’s very serious about his work and is always very focused. He hates any kind of distraction and counts girls as a major distraction. He’ll come around eventually.” Alyssa sighed for a third time.
“I hope so. It would be really great to get to know him better. No offense to you or the other guys but Jacob’s always been my favorite. He’s such and individualist.” Erik laughed.
“I see what you mean. If I were in your shoes, he’d probably be my favorite too. Bur of course, I’m another member of the group so I pretty much think of him as a pain in the ass!” It was Alyssa’s turn to laugh. “That’s better. So, what do I call you?” Alyssa shrugged.
“You can call me Alyssa, Lissa, or Lissy. I don’t really care. Just don’t get all formal on me, I hate that.” Erik laughed again.
“Okay, I won’t, Miss. STAR.” Alyssa hit him with a pillow that was sitting on the couch. “Hey that hurt!” Erik said, grabbing another pillow and hitting her back. Within minutes, they were engaged in a pillow fight. Both of them were laughing. They finally fell to the floor in hysterics.
“What’s going on in here?” came a voice from the doorway. Erik and Alyssa looked up, still laughing, to see Trevor standing there. Erik got up and put the pillows back on the couch.
“Nothing Trevor, we were just having some fun.” Alyssa stood up too and helped straighten things out. Trevor rolled his eyes.
“Whatever. Listen, the Mikes want us at the front of the bus. They want to go over the schedule with us.” Erik was the one to roll his eyes this time. He unwillingly followed Trevor to the front of the bus. Alyssa shook her head and brought up the rear.
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