Do It Now, Remember It Later

Chapter Three - When I Step Out On The Scene

“Alright mate, we'll be there,” Dean replies, “seeing as you went to so much trouble with these posters and everything.”

Vic and Mike laugh, and I'm laughing more at the fact Dean called them 'mate' like he's known them forever. “Hey, we heard some of your set,” Vic says, “you guys smashed it.”

“Aww, thank you,” I answer, and I know I'm grinning like an idiot but I can't help it.

“Yeah, it means a lot,” Dean chips in. As I glance at his face I can see his cool and calm façade is about to crack at any moment. His grin is a little too wide, his cheeks a little too red. He tries so hard to act like he isn't star struck.

“See you later then,” Vic says, “midnight sharp.”

“Is that even a proper phrase, 'midnight sharp'?” Mike questions his brother, laughing at the slightly confused expression on his face.

“Beats me,” Vic replies. “Anyway, see you later.”

“We'll be there!” Dean calls, dragging me along again.

* * *

A few hours later I find myself outside Pierce The Veil's bus, along with the majority of Warped Tour itself. Mostly the bands are here and a few officials, but it feels as though half of London is here. Someone has built a camp fire and it casts out a flickering, orange light that accentuates shadows and illuminates faces. It's not exactly cold outside, but then it's not that warm either, and I find myself inching a little closer to Nicholas and Milly to steal their heat, hugging my arms across my stomach. My jumper was a little pungent to say the least so I changed it after our set, swapping it for just a t-shirt. My hoodie is back on the bus and I'm really tempted to go get it.

“Guys, I'm gonna go get my hoodie,” I say, and both Milly and Nicholas nod, telling me to hurry back.

I squeeze between people and head for our bus, which is luckily only a few yards away. I grab it from my bunk and shrug it on, feeling a little warmer already; I haven't had enough alcohol yet to become weather-resistant.

There's music blaring from some pretty high-tech speakers and people are singing and shouting and laughing and I can't quite remember where I left Nick and Milly. I start twisting through the crowd, mumbling 'excuse me' over and over again. I find myself at the edge of the camp fire, next to the 'refreshments table'. While I'm here I decide to grab a cider.

I'm just about to open it when a voice pipes up, “Uh, not that one; Gabe shook it up.”

Kellin smiles at me and takes the cider from my hand, replacing it with another. He has a red beanie on and his hood up too, and I wonder if he isn't a little too warm. “There, that's better,” he says, “wouldn't want anything too embarrassing to happen to you on your first day of Warped Tour Europe.”

I take a sip of my cider and say, “I think that's the second time you've helped me out today.”

He leans on the rickety table and I'm surprised it doesn't topple over like it would for me. “I'd say you owe me but seeing as I'm a Warped Tour senior and you're a freshman I feel obliged to help you out.”

“Well that's very kind of you,” I reply.

Seeing as we're blocking the way to the refreshments table, we move closer to the edge of people surrounding the camp fire. The heat of it caresses my skin, but it makes the back of me feel even colder. I shiver and Kellin notices.

“Here,” he says, pushing down his hood and pulling off his beanie. He puts it on my head before I can protest.

I'm glad that it's dark outside because that way Kellin can't see me blushing. “Thanks,” I say. I pretend not to notice him edging a little closer; I'm sure it's just to keep me warmer.

“So how has your first day been?”he continues, putting his hands in his jacket pockets.

“Pretty good,” I answer. “Playing live was the best part. Oh, and meeting you, obviously.”

“Obviously,” he agrees, flicking his hair in mock arrogance. “Is that the biggest crowd you've played for yet?”

I nod. “By far. I thought I was gonna faint beforehand, I was so nervous.”

“You seemed fine up there to me,” Kellin says, and I look at him and he looks at me and we share another smile. “Great, in fact. No wonder you guys got yourselves a slot on one of the main stages.”

I giggle; I can't help it. “Seriously stop, I don't know how to handle compliments.”

Kellin laughs, and I can feel myself cringing at the fact that the girly part of me just took over for a second. “Well I won't tell you that you look nice tonight then.”

We were both looking at the camp fire, but at that comment my eyes flick to look at him and he meets my gaze, smirking a little. “You just did,” I answer.

But whatever reply he has gets lost as a cheer goes up through the crowd.