Do It Now, Remember It Later

Chapter Two - Big Things Have Small Beginnings

“Why are you even wearing a Christmas jumper?”

Cailey looks at me, the blush in her cheeks still visible. She's sat opposite me at one of the little picnic tables, trying to eat her burger without getting sauce all over her face. It's not really working, and she keeps wiping the back of her hand across her mouth as discretely as possible.

She shrugs, swallowing a bite before she speaks. “I like this jumper.”

“It's June,” I say, yet Cailey continues to stare sheepishly at me. “Not only are you wearing a jumper, it's also six months till Christmas.”

“Oh well,” she sighs, the corners of her mouth attempting to tug into a smile, “Kellin liked my jumper and that's all the matters.”

She grins at me and I grin back, fully aware that my mouth is full of food but not really giving two shits. “I dare you to go up to him and tell him he has a really nice bum,” I say.

“Piss off!” Cailey retorts, blushing all over again. “You know I don't do dares.”

“Fine then, dare me to do something, and if I do it then you have to do a dare of my choosing later on.” Cailey doesn't usually take me up on propositions like this, and if she does she always finds a way to wriggle out of them, as though her confidence ebbs and flows. But she's smirking at me and her eyes are brighter, and I know she sees this tour as a new start, a new challenge. This could be it, the first time she chooses 'dare' instead of 'truth'.

She sighs again, dropping her burger into her box, and says grudgingly, “Okay.”

If I smiled any wider then my face would crack in half like it's made of china. “Excellent. Alright, hit me with your best dare.”

Cailey begins to scan the space around us, her eyes roving from person to person. She knows full well that I'm going to make her dare embarrassing as hell so I know she's going to try her hardest to embarrass me in return. I'm excited though; it's not like I get easily embarrassed.

“Got it,” she exclaims, her eyes returning to mine. “David Schmitt from Breathe Carolina.”

I narrow my eyes at her. “What about him?”

She nods at something over my shoulder and I turn to see David walking between the rows of buses, heading our way. “Take your guitar from Ella and just drop it, trip over it, whatever; just be your usual clumsy self in front of him.”

I glare at her. “I am not letting any harm come to my Gibson Hummingbird.” That guitar is my life. It's got a few scratches and nicks in the wood but so far I've managed not to completely trash it or lose it like I do everything else.

“The guitar is in the case, it'll be fine,” Cailey answers, “just trip over the case as you're carrying it, I've seen you do it before.”

I laugh out loud at the memory. “Alright, I'll do it.”

“Go on, Mills!” Cailey says, banging her fist on the table.

I quickly finish my burger and head on over to the bus. Ella, our roadie, is dragging some equipment out of the hold. I see my guitar case propped up beside her, and as I go to grab it she says, “Don't lose that, I know what you're like.”

I clutch the guitar case to my chest and look at her in dramatic disbelief. “This guitar is like my child, I would never misplace it.”

She rolls her eyes at me, but she's laughing as she drags another case from the hold. “Go on then, get out of my way.”

I take my guitar, but I wait just before I round the corner of our bus. I look back to where Cailey still sits, attempting to stifle laughter as she watches me. “Where is he?” I mouth at her.

She mouths something indistinguishable back, but as she holds up five fingers for me, then four, then three, I realise she's counting me down.

Two.

One.

“Go!” she mouths.

I take a couple of steps forward, then on the third step I purposefully kick one foot into the heel of the other. I over do the stumble but it doesn't matter, because in just a few seconds I'm sprawled on the floor like a floundering fish, making a show of reaching out for my guitar case. I manage to soften its fall and for that I breathe a sigh of relief, but it's all I can do not to burst out laughing. I sneak a quick glance at Cailey to see her sat watching me with her hands covering her mouth and her shoulders shaking with silent laughter. Other people have looked up and are laughing at me, and I struggle not to laugh too hard with them.

“You okay?” someone says, their words tinged with amusement. A shadow falls over me and I look from my guitar case to see David Schmitt crouching there.

“Yeah, thanks, just clumsy,” I reply, returning his smile. “As long as the guitar's okay I'm good.”

He laughs, his smile wide and genuine. His eyes are hidden behind sunglasses even though it's not that sunny, and I feel like snatching them from his face, explaining to him that this is England. “The guitar comes first,” he agrees.

He stands up then, picking up my guitar case before reaching out a hand towards me. I take it and he helps me to my feet.

“Thanks,” I say, dropping his hand almost reluctantly as I brush dirt from my knees.

“Don't mention it,” he replies, “just don't do that on stage later.” He flashes me a crooked smile.

I laugh, and at this moment in time I'm glad I don't blush as fiercely as Cailey. “I'll try not to.”

There's a few seconds of awkward silence and I think to myself that this has never really happened before; I'm not usually lost for words. Then, to dust away the quiet that has settled between us, David extends his hand in my direction. “I'm David,” he says, his smile still crooked.

“Milly,” I answer, shaking his hand.

He laughs again, but it's high and more like a giggle, and the sound of it makes me grin. “You're in... As We Fall?” he guesses.

“Correct, and you're in Breathe Carolina.”

“That's right,” he says. “Well, I need to find Kyle. It was nice meeting you though.”

“It was nice falling over in front of you,” I answer.

He walks off, chuckling to himself, and I give it a few seconds before I head back to Cailey. She bursts out laughing as soon as I sit down, and I do too.

“That was probably the most over-dramatic fall I have ever seen,” she comments, mimicking how I flailed about.

“Oh well, it did the trick,” I answer, “and that, my dear sister, is how you attract those of the male species.”