Today was the day.
The big day.
Today, my parents were going to come out on stage to their fans. My parents were also going to inform the crowd about me being their daughter.
Today was also my last day at warped tour.
I was still sad about dropping out of the tour so early. I am going to miss Johnnie.
Although a part of me was kind of glad. I do not understand why I was beginning to have feelings for him, especially since he has a girlfriend. The girlfriend part made me feel guilty.
I think that being across the country from him might be a good thing. Although, I still do not think I can shake these feelings.
Today my parents are coming out to their fans as a couple and introducing me as their daughter.
My parents offered to buy my best friend Dakota tickets to warped tour so that she would not be mad at me. Honestly though, I have not been a great friend, with everything going on I have kind of neglected to keep up with her and I feel bad.
I also felt that it was very last minute and did not want to spontaneously show back up in her life and drag her to another city without explanation.
When I found everyone in the Collab channel aside from Austin Jones at the my digital escape tent I decided it was time to say my good byes.
"Hey." I greet.
"Hi." Johnnie was the first to greet me.
The rest said their hellos but I think my mind was most focused on Johnnie.
"So, um," I rock back and forth on my heels, "today's my last day on this tour." I state.
"We're going to miss you!" Shannon says to be polite.
"Thanks, I'm really gonna miss you guys." I reply, "well, most of you guys." I state as I glance at Bryan Stars. I would not be missing that man that's for sure.
They all laugh at that knowing what I mean.
"Thank you guys for being my friends, I hope we can all keep in touch after this, maybe I'll even see you all next year." I was kind of rambling but I really did not want to go. I did not want to leave knowing this is probably the last time I would see them.
"We'll keep in touch." Johnnie states.
"We have too." Kyle adds.
"You're one of us now." Shannon declares.
"I hope so." I state.
"I'll miss you guys a lot, thank you for ev-" before I could finish my sentence we were interrupted.
"Oh, hey, Stella, what are you doing here." I heard Austin Jones' voice coming from behind me.
My body tensed up.
"Why are you here?" Shannon demanded.
"To meet fans? This is our tent." He replies.
"You shouldn't be anywhere near Stella, or any underage fans for that matter." Shannon threatens.
"Shannon, can we not." Bryan Stars tries to diffuse the situation, "let's not go throwing around accusations we can not back up."
His statement made my blood boil but I bit my tongue.
"Shut up," Shannon's tone was angry, "stop defending him."
"I should go." I state nervously before leaving the situation as fast as possible. I didn't even wait for them to say goodbye.
So much for one final goodbye.
My parents set was about to begin anyways and I needed to get to the stage.
I made my way to the front of the crowd to watch my parents show. I was lucky enough to make it all the way up to the barricade.
When they went on stage the show went as normal. Dad even waved at me when he noticed me at the barricade.
"Before we play this last song," Alex says into the microphone, "we have an announcement to make," that's when papa stood up from his drum set.
Papa came right up beside dad and held his hand, "Rian and I," dad looked into his eyes, "are married."
The crowd screamed. It was so loud I thought I was going to lose some of my hearing.
"But that's not all!" Papa said into the microphone as the cheering died down.
"We would like to introduce you to someone who is very important to us." Papa begins.
I start rushing to the side of the stage so that I can get in. I show my VIP pass and am let in without a problem.
"We want you to meet our daughter Stella!" Dad says as he welcomes me into the stage.
The crowd was even louder this time.
Two big and unexpected announcements in one short thirty minute set. No one was expecting that.
Papa went back to his drums, "thank you for being here tonight Maryland!" Dad says into the microphone as the beginning of Dear Maria, Count me in began playing.
Dad danced around with me on stage to the last song they would be playing at warped tour.
The crowd cheered louder than any other night this entire tour.
Being in stage felt amazing. Being adored by so many fans, being loved by so many people I've never even met, even if it was a small crowd compared to other tours, this all felt amazing. The rush of adrenaline felt almost euphoric.
When it ended, when I left that stage and went back to my bus, I felt almost empty. I never wanted that amazing feeling to end, but it did. Now, we were back on the road again, only this time heading home.
The drive was not too long. I think the worst part about coming home was the unpacking. When I opened the door the familiar scent of my home hit me in the face. It has been so long I had almost forgotten the smell.
I had missed my home dearly, it looked just as we had left it. Not a single thing was moved. It felt weird being home, yet still comforting.
I was happy to be back with my drum set. I missed my drums so much. I was worried that I may not even remember how to play.
Most of all, I missed my bed. My oh so comfortable bed. So much more comfortable than sleeping on the buss bunk. Not to mention, having my own space again. I missed my privacy greatly.
Even though I had missed home so much, it felt weird to no longer be on your. Especially with the tour still going on. I missed the friends I made. I missed getting to meet all of my favorite bands. I missed the experience. But I think I was only focusing on the good parts.
My parents seemed happier than ever together.
I definitely did not miss my parents fighting on tour. Although, I guess that happened at home as well.
"Hey, Stella!" I hear dad call from down stairs.
"Coming!" I should before quickly running down stairs to see what my father wanted.
"Yeah?" I say as I get down stairs to see dad and papa standing together.
Dad glaces at papa before looking back at me, "We wanted to ask you something."
"Am I in trouble?" I ask.
"What?" Dad was confused, "you rarely get into any trouble, why would you think that?" He asks.
I shrug.
"Well, anyway," he continues, "we wanted to know," Dad and papa's fingers interlocked as dad became increasingly more excited for what he was about to ask me, "how you would feel about maybe having a new baby brother or sister?"
"Are you pregnant?" I ask.
"What?" Dad was once again shocked.
Papa started laughing really hard at my question.
"No, we're talking about maybe adopting a baby." He replies.
Papa wipes tears from his eyes, "That was funny."
"I think a new little sibling would be so cool!" I was happy about the idea of a baby, "babies are so cute!"
"We think you would be such an amazing older sister." Dad replies.
"A baby." I say thoughtfully.