"Is it good, love?" Van asked from across the table, taking a sip of his orange juice. He had dragged me to a small little diner he saw on the way home last night and we were now sitting down to breakfast. A large stack of chocolate chip pancakes sat in front of Van on white plate that was bigger than my head, and a ham omelet sat in front me, steam rolling off of it as it had just been delivered to our little booth in the corner.
The diner was cute, it was one of those kinds that you'd see in movies, with black and white checkered floors and red leather booths and chairs. And of course, all the waitresses are sweet old ladies who care about your lives more than their own. Van and I both wanted chocolate chip pancakes and an omelet of some sort, so we decided to just share a little of each.
"Yeah, delicious. Here, try it." I said, picking up a fork full of the egg concoction and handing it to Van. He shook his head and opened his mouth instead, signaling for me to feed it to him. I laughed and did so, leaning across the table so that I could reach his mouth. He made a stared up at me as I placed the food into his mouth, his full lips closing around the fork. We held eye contact for a bit, his grey-blue eyes piercing into mine. I cleared my throat awkwardly and sank back into my side of the booth.
"So?" I raised my eyebrows, waiting for his response.
"Ace." He smiled at me with his full cheeks, resembling a chipmunk. I giggled and continued eating.
Once we had finished devouring our small feast, Van insisted he paid the bill, despite my constant protests. We walked out of the restaurant and the chilly air met my face, instantly taking my breath away. I smiled, it felt nice.
"Alright, love?" Van asked, stopping in the middle of the sidewalk, worry etched across his face.
"Yeah, it's just colder than I expected." I chuckled, pulling my jacket closer around my body. I was now thankful that I had brought it.
Van and I continued down the streets of Kansas City, cute little window shops passing us by as we talked about the most random things. He told me how his favorite color was black and how he loved his mom to pieces. How he'd always been the outcast in high school and how Larry was pretty much his only friend back then. He went on and on about how music was really the only thing that allowed him to be himself. I smiled, falling deeper in love with this oblivious boy the farther we walked.
"Wait, there's a record store!" I squealed, noticing one of the small window shops that had "Tony's Records" painted across the display window, a vintage record player sitting just inside it. I grabbed his hand and pulled him through the door. A little bell rung over the door as we entered and I heard him laugh from behind me. The place looked kind of run-down. The walls were a yellowish-beige and the carpet was black. There was a rather large man behind the counter and he sat there with his arm propped up next to the old cash register, his head lying in his hand as he glumly stared off into space, not even welcoming us in. I didn't care though, I just ran over to where all the records were, eager to find some good albums.
All of the vinyls were shelved in alphabetical order, making it easy for me to sort through the good and the bad. I could still feel Van's cold hand in mine, but I didn't dare let go.
I scanned the "A" shelf, smiling as I saw AC/DC, Adele, and Aerosmith all filed there. Arctic Monkeys soon came into view and I squealed, taking out the vinyl to look at it. It was identical to the one I had in my collection at home.
"D'ya like that one, love?" Van asked from beside me.
"Yeah, but I already have this." I sighed, putting it back on the shelf.
I scanned the shelves for more albums that I liked, finding The Beatles' vintage "Abbey Road". I grinned, my dad has this same exact one, but it was in much better shape than this one, which had lots of tears in the cover.
"Oi, here's my band! This is sick!" Van gasped a little ways down the isle, tearing my attention away from the records in front of me. He held his first album, "The Balcony", in his hands. Little did he know I already had it at home, probably still sitting on my record player.
"This is your first album, right?" I asked walking over to him. I was trying to play it cool, he still didn't know I was a fan.
"Yeah, how'd you know that?" He asked.
Shit.
"Um, I, uh.." I trailed off, trying to come up with an excuse off the top of my head.
"You don't have to lie to me, Kat. I know you're a proper fan." He sniggered, putting the vinyl back on the shelf in its rightful place.
"How did you-"
"You know the night we met at the bar? After the lads and I had our concert?"
"Yeah...?" I said, although it came out as more of a question. He dug in his pocket.
"This fell out of your purse on your way out." He laughed, handing me the Catfish and the Bottlemen ticket with my name clearly printed right on it. I blushed.
"I'm sorry, I wish I would've told you sooner. I just didn't want you to be all creeped out and not want to talk or hang out with me or-"
"Kat, it's alright. I don't think that way about you, you're proper class. Also, I love how you are a fan of the band. It makes me happy that you support me and the lads." He smiled sweetly.
"You have no idea." I laughed.
"How long have you listened to us?" He asked, gazing at the other vinyls in the "C" section casually.
"Three years.." I whispered. His eyes nearly gauged out of their sockets.
"Three years," he whispered yelled, causing me to nod, not exactly sure if it was a good or bad thing,"holy shit, Kat. You, love, are our most dedicated fan, I believe." He winked. I breathed a sigh of relief, smiling a bit.
"Do you see your second vinyl anywhere? I haven't bought it yet and I really would like to have it." I asked, looking in the same area that "The Balcony" was placed.
"No need, love. We have tons of merch in the bus, and I think a certain vinyl is calling your name." He smiled, showing off his beautifully crooked smile that I adored.
"Thank you," I smiled, "what time is your guys' concert tonight, anyways?" I asked, changing the subject.
"Nine, I believe." He said absentmindedly.
"So, we have about six hours before we should probably go back to the bus." I smirked.
"Yeah, sounds about right. Why, love? Have any ideas?" He asked. I nodded.
"I have a few." I took his hand and pulled him out of the record shop, waving to the grumpy register guy even though I knew I wouldn't get a response.
"Where are we going?" He called from behind me as I raced down the streets, dodging several businessmen and woman as they took their lunch break.
"I don't know!" I called, laughing as a I ran down the block. I felt so free as I ran, with Van's hand tightly intertwined with mine and the cold wind blowing through my hair. This was a new feeling, my anxiety usually binding me to be completely shy and quiet.
I stopped in front of a subway shop, letting go of Van's hand as I ran into the store. The smell of fresh baked bread and smoking meats filled my nose as I ran to the counter. Van caught up with me, huffing and puffing, trying to catch his breath.
"What are we-"
"Pick a sandwich." I interrupted.
"What?" He asked, laughing.
"Pick a sandwich that you like, just do it." I laughed back, nudging him with my shoulder. He didn't even budge.
"Alright, fine. Um, the Philly cheesesteak sarnie sounds class. I've yet to have one of 'em since coming to America." He said, licking his lips as he gazed across the counter and into the back where the kitchen was located, probably spotting the meats. I was too short to be sure, though.
"Excellent choice." I grinned, waiting for someone to come to the counter before ordering a Philly cheesesteak sandwich for Van and an Italian sandwich for myself.
"Here, let me pay." Van said quickly, digging his wallet out of the back pocket of his tight, black skinny jeans.
"No, this is my idea. I get to pay." I swatted his hand away, grabbing my wallet out from my purse and placing a twenty dollar bill on the counter to pay for the two sandwiches and drinks that we had bought.
"Where exactly are we going?" Van chuckled, holding the bag of food as we walked further into town.
"For a picnic!" I squealed, leading him towards the park that I had seen on the way into town last night.
"You're bloody mad, Kat!" Van called from somewhere behind me.
"I know." I shouted behind me as I kept going towards the park.
Once we finally arrived at the park, I found a spot under a tree in the shade to sit down and have our picnic. It was quiet, most kids were at school still since it was only about 3 o'clock. The shade was comforting, even though it was kind of chilly out. I didn't mind though, I had been running around all afternoon and was now hot and sweaty in my jacket.
"You picked a great spot." Van complimented, sitting down in the grass with an "oomf."
"Why thank you, McCann." I laughed. He handed me my sandwich and drink and I gladly accepted it, thanking him.
"Cheers!" He exclaimed, taking a bite of his sandwich. I repeated his hilarious saying before taking a bite of my own sandwich.
We talked and laughed while we ate. I told Van what my favorite songs were from each album and he explained the background stories to them. It was nice, getting all of my questions finally answered about the band. Especially since all of them were coming from the lead singer himself.
"So, tell me more about yous, love. I don't really know much other than your name is Katherine Wells and you're obsessed with me and my lads." Van winked at me. I rolled my eyes.
"I don't know, there's really much to tell." I shrugged, not wanting to get into it. I didn't like talking about myself, it made me uncomfortable. There were too many things that I had to tiptoe around.
"Oh, c'mon, lass. There's gotta be something. Tell me your favorite things and why." Van pressed on. I sighed, here goes nothing.
"Alright, well, my full name's Katherine Anne Wells. My favorite color is a light turquoise because that's the color of the ocean when it gets closer and closer to the shore, and it's quite beautiful, in my opinion. My favorite animals are sea turtles and dogs, I'm not really sure why, they're just both really cute. I want to be a marine biologist when I'm older so that probably explains the last two things. I'm taking a year off before I go to college just to get my priorities set. Um, I'm obsessed with drinking tea at night because it relaxes me. I love running, which might seem like pure hell to some people but it's a way for me to clear my head. Same with music really, I play piano and guitar. They make me really happy. That's it really, I'm getting too sappy." I laughed, finishing my long talk. Van looked at me with wide eyes.
"What?" I asked, slightly concerned.
"You, Katherine Anne Wells, are one of the most intriguing people I have ever met." Van smiled. I blushed, looking down at the grass, picking at a small flower I found.
"Thanks." I whispered.
For the rest of the evening, we walked around the park, talking and laughing about random things. We found a playground and took turns pushing each other on the swings, earning dirty looks from mothers as they pushed their children as well. We just laughed, not caring what they thought about us.
At around 6:45, Van and I decided to start walking back to the tour bus hand in hand, and I couldn't wait for their show tonight.