I felt a tightness around my stomach and slowly opened my eyes to see the red suede curtain fully closed to block out any kind of light that would try to slither in. I turned to my side and see Jaime with his eyes shut gently, small snores coming out of his mouth.
I smile then gently remove his arm from around my waist then maneuver my way out of the bunk and towards the bathroom. I took one look at the mirror and decided it was a bad idea, my hair was up in a messy bun, strands of hair falling out all over the place. And my mascara was now smeared around my eye seeing as I forgot to take it off last night after the show in Texas.
I went through the small cabinet and grabbed a baby wipe then quickly cleaned up the masterpiece on my face, I untied my hair and quickly put it back up, still messy but without all the crazy stray pieces of hair.
I walked to Jaime's junk bunk and rummaged through my small duffle bag, retrieving some jeans and a t-shirt then went back to the bathroom to change.
I discarded my night clothes then slipped into the skinny jeans before putting on my t-shirt, it was one of my favorites, it was black and had 'I love Pierce The Veil' on it with a heart where the word love would be. I left the bathroom and walked back to the junk bunk and threw the night clothes in the dirty laundry bag I brought then pulled out a pair of black and white Vans.
I heard the curtain to Jaime's bunk open and see him peek his head out, "Where are you going?"
I look up at him while tying my shoe and give him a small smile, his eyes squinting at the sudden light, "Going to get coffee."
"Are we already in Oklahoma?" He whispers.
"Yeah, I assume so since we're not moving." I say standing up.
"What time is it anyway?"
I shrug then grab my phone from the side pocket and pull it off of the charger then take a look at the time, "Um five forty-five in the morning." I say.
"And you're actually awake right now?" Jaime asks with confusion on his face.
"I woke up hungry." I say with a laugh.
"Well I'm going back to sleep until Vic decides to wake me up, be careful and call if you need me." He instructs.
"I will." I smile leaning in to place a kiss on his forehead.
I grab one of Jaime's jackets and place it around my body to keep me warm before taking my cross over bag from the front lounge and sling it over my body then walk off the bus, the cold Oklahoma air hitting me like a thousand bricks.
It was towards the end of November, the day before Thanksgiving to be exact, and we've planned to all spend Thanksgiving here in Oklahoma together. I was going to pick the girls up from the airport later on where Spencer will be bringing Lilah with her as well.
I had decided to leave Lilah with my parents for these past two days that I've been on the road with Jaime seeing as I wanted a bit of time with him before Lilah got here. But as much of a good time we've had without her here, I miss her like crazy and am ready to hold her in my arms again.
I began passing by the House of Blues, where the show was going to be taking place at, I crept around the corner and saw about ten or so fans outside waiting, all of them had blankets wrapped tightly around them, sleeping bags and pillows.
I count exactly how many people were out there then turn to walk towards the Starbucks that my GPS told me was around the corner.
I walk in the fairly small building and am instantly warmed by the heater that was blasting inside. I made my way to the barista who gives me a small smile and asks what I wanted.
"I'll have a peppermint hot chocolate and twelve plain hot chocolates." I say getting her to look at me as if I were crazy.
"Twelve?"
"Yes please." I smile.
She rings me up and gets to work on the order I requested, I decide to play on my phone while I wait to hear my name be called, receiving a text from Spencer who sent me a picture of Lilah on top of her suitcase.
Spencer: She won't stop talking about how she gets to see her mom and dad today. (Smiley face emoji)
I smile at the picture then reply back to her just as I heard the barista call my name. I get up from my seat and walk over to where she was standing.
"Did you want me to put these in a box for you so you don't drop them?" She asks with a smile.
"Oh yes please, that'd be nice." I smile in return.
"Can I ask what all of these are for?" She asks while putting them inside the box carefully.
"Oh there's a group of kids outside of the House of Blues waiting for a concert and it's super cold outside so I decided to buy them all hot chocolate." I smile.
"That's so sweet, who's playing?"
"Pierce The Veil."
"Oh yeah, one of the girls who works here is going to that tonight, are you going?"
"Yeah, my fiancée is the bassist so it'd be bad if I skipped out." I laugh.
"No way, wait until she hears this." The girl laughs.
"Thank you." I say while grabbing the box from the counter.
"It's no problem, enjoy your day." She smiles.
I nod a thank you then walk out of the shop holding the semi large box in my arms, thankfully the venue wasn't too far of a walk because all these drinks were actually heavy and I was afraid they'd get cold.
As I walked closer to the line I saw some of the kids give me a strange look before realization hit them and they stood to their feet with wide eyes and slightly parted mouths.
"Aren't you guys cold?" I ask as I was just a few feet away.
"Oh my God you're, holy shit." One girl said which made me laugh.
"I brought you guys something to keep you warm." I say with a smile while handing out the cups of hot chocolate, starting at the front then making my way to the end of the line.
"How long have you all been out here?" I ask.
"We've been here since three." A girl in the front says taking a sip of her drink.
"You guys are insane." I laugh.
"I'm sorry but can I please have a picture with you?" Another girl says.
She was about the age of seventeen, she wore a Pierce The Veil hoodie and her red hair was braided neatly to the side.
"Of course." I smile.
I move next to her and drape my arm around her shoulder then lean my head onto hers as she snaps the picture on her phone. This of course made everyone ask for a picture, which I was entirely okay with, the guys were probably still asleep which meant I would be bored on the bus so anything was better than that.
"I would've brought blankets for you but Vic hogs them all." I laugh with an eye roll getting all the girls to giggle.
"This is literally the greatest thing ever." A girl spoke up.
"Can I sit with you guys? I don't wanna go back to the bus yet." I say with a laugh.
"Yes." They all say at once.
I take a seat on the ground with them all gathered around, they of course all began to ask questions which I freely answered, some being about the guys, others about Lilah and the rest about me.
I don't know what made me want to get to know all of these kids but I did, I wanted to hang out and fan girl over bands with them because in reality I'm just like them, just a fan girl who got lucky enough to meet her favorite band member.
"What's it like being friends with them?" A girl I learned whose name was Alex asked.
"It's crazy, that's for sure. There's never a dull moment." I say remembering all the fun memories I have with them.
"When did you start listening to Pierce the Veil?"
"I wanna say a few months before I met Jaime, I had just gotten into them."
"Was Jaime your favorite?"
"I think it's safe to say he was. I think it was the dimples." I laugh getting them to do the same.
"What's your all-time favorite song of theirs?" The questions kept coming from every direction.
"I'd probably have to say Tangled in the Great Escape." I say thinking for a moment.
"Are you guys going to have another baby?"
This one startled me then made me laugh, "Not any time soon, Lilah is enough."
Just as I was about to say something I heard my phone begin to ring so I took it out of my pocket and saw Jaime's face illuminate the screen, "Hold on guys it's my baby daddy." I say getting them to laugh and freak out at the same time.
"Yes?"
"Where are you, you've been gone for like two hours?"
"I've been outside talking to your fans." I say before pulling the phone off my ear.
"Say hi you guys."
They all scream 'hi' and 'I love you's' before I return the phone to my ear, "See told you." I laugh.
"Tell them all I said hi and I love them too."
"He says hi and he loves you guys too." I say seeing them all freak out again.
"When are you coming back to the bus, we're about to go get breakfast really quick."
"Ooh I'll be right there." I say before hanging up.
"Guys I have to go." I say with a pout.
I get up from my spot and begin to give each of them a hug, "You guys stay warm and enjoy the show, don't get sucked into a mosh pit and don't talk to strangers."
They all laugh and nod their heads, I say one last goodbye before walking off towards the bus where the guys stood outside waiting.
"Are you trying to steal my fans Vespillo?!" Vic says with a glare.
I laugh and shrug my shoulders, "Maybe."
"Well don't do that, it hurts my feelings." He glares again as he crosses his arms.
"Aw poor baby." I say pinching his cheek as soon as I get closer to him.
"I'm not friends with you." He says as he begins to walk in another direction assumedly towards our breakfast spot.
After breakfast I quickly got dressed into something a bit more presentable to go get the girls from the airport, I left my blue jeans on but switched tops, going for a tan colored top then threw on a dark brown leather jacket over it.
I slipped on some tan booties then let my hair down from the bun I had it in letting my waves fall freely around my face. I fixed my makeup and sprayed on some perfume then grabbed my Michael Kors bag last before taking my all access pass from the counter in the front lounge so I can tell the guys I was leaving.
I walked through the backstage area and went straight for the green room knowing very well that's where I'd find them instead of actually rehearsing.
I walked into the room and found them all sitting around talking while Tony was strumming his guitar, "Hey pretty lady." Vic says getting Jaime to snap his head in my direction.
"Hey babe what's up?"
"I'm about to go get the girls, my cab is on the way." I reply making my way to where he was sitting on the couch.
"Okay, well are you sure you don't want one of us to go with you?" Mike asks while he taps his drumsticks on his practice pad.
I shake my head in response, "No it's fine, you guys need to practice. I'll be back shortly."
I lean down and place a kiss on Jaime's lips then say bye to the others before making my way back out of the venue and to my waiting taxi.
I tell the driver where to go and watch as he peels off the curb and towards the airport which actually wasn't too far away like I thought it would be.
When I got to the airport I asked him to wait for another twenty minutes while I went to go grab the girls, he nodded in reply as I stepped out of the cab and into the busy airport.
I went straight for the baggage claim where I knew they'd be then immediately saw Danielle's red hair, I walked over to her and saw Lilah propped securely in her arms. Lilah turned in my direction and quickly pulled a smile to her face then began to wiggle around while pointing to me.
Danielle noticed and looked in my direction as well then as I got closer put Lilah on the ground who began to run towards me with a smile spread widely across her face.
"Baby!" I say kneeling down to her level with both arms out as she runs into my embrace.
"Mommy." She coos into my ear which ignited all the happiness inside of me.
I took her into my arms then slowly got up and greeted the others while Lilah began to play with my hair.
"How was the flight?" I ask as we wait for their bags.
"Eventful." Alysha laughs.
"Why do you say that?" I ask with a head tilt.
"Well, Lilah got into an argument with the baby behind us." Danielle says while stifling a laugh.
"What?" I ask with wide eyes.
"Yeah the baby was being a little loud and Li was on my lap, she literally stood up and looked behind me towards the other baby and pointed her finger at him while yelling in baby talk." Alysha explains.
"The other mom told him to quiet after she stopped laughing at what happened."
"Then!" Spencer goes on.
"The baby got loud again so Lilah thought it was a good idea to be louder, that of course got Joyce to speak up which resulted in a lot of angry people who gave us dirty looks but we just laughed it off." Spencer laughs while holding a very asleep Joyce in her arms.
"Oh my God, my child." I say with a laugh as well.
I helped the girls pile their bags in the trunk of the cab then got settled in to our seats for the short trip back to the venue.
When we arrived I took them directly to where I was supposed to, finding the guys on stage running through their set.
"Babe!" Vic shouts into his microphone before gently placing his guitar back on the stand so he could hop off the stage and take off in a dead sprint towards Danielle.
The other guys follow his lead and each run to their girlfriends, Jaime coming towards me but straight to Lilah who is quick to lean forward so he can carry her.
"Hey princess, daddy missed you so much." He says as he gives her a tight hug.
She then begins to babble on which he quietly listens and acts like he knows what she's saying, "You've gotta hear the story that the girls just told about Lilah's first plane ride."
"What happened?" He asks with furrowed eyebrows.
After telling him the small story he burst into laughter and looked at Lilah with his hand out, "Give me a high five."
She smiles and places her small hand in his large one, "Just like your mother."
I drop my jaw and swat him in the arm, "Not true." I laugh.
"Okay guys we gotta get back to practice before they kick us off to start decorating." Vic says from the stage.
We leave the guys to their practice and go back to the bus where we sat in the front lounge, Spencer and Alysha playing Mario Kart on the Xbox while Danielle and I watched.
"So where should we go for your bachelorette party?" Alysha asks, her eyes still glued to the TV.
"I don't know, how about you guys surprise me." I smile.
"I have the perfect idea actually." Danielle says with a grin.
"We'll talk about it later ladies." She says to the Alysha and Spencer who nod in agreement.
"Oh! I forgot to tell you guys." I say in remembrance to the conversation Jaime and I had last night.
"I want to tell you in advance that New Year's will be at our house, and we're doing a theme." I say getting Alysha to pause the game and look at me as well as Spencer.
"The theme is Roaring Twenties." I smile
"Hell yeah I'm in." Danielle shouts.
"That'll be fun as hell, I'm already ready to go shopping for it." Spencer says.
"Yeah that's the only reason I'm telling everyone in advance, so they can find an outfit to wear."
"Good thinking, time to shop." Alysha smiles.
A few hours later the guys entered the bus, going straight for their suitcases to find something to change in for the meet and greet.
"Does this look okay?" Jaime asks Lilah who looks at him and laughs.
"Are you making fun of me? That's it your grounded." He says getting her to laugh more.
He picks her up and begins to tickle her in his arms, "Tickle monster is here to get little girls who laugh at their dads." He says in a monster voice as she squirms in his arms with laughter.
I take my phone out and record the scene until he stops and puts her back down on the bunk, "Seriously though, does this look good?"
He was wearing a black Drop Dead shirt with black skinny jeans and a pair of black and white vans, the sight of him making my heart pound in my chest, "Yeah, you look hot." I wink.
"Stop." He laughs while trying to conceal a blush.
"Are you ready Hime?" Mike says coming from the front lounge.
"Yeah I'm coming." He says before placing a soft kiss on my forehead and on Lilah's.
"I'll see you in the green room." He smiles then walks out of the bunk hall and to the meet and greet.
The girls and I take the liberty in using this time to change out of our day clothes and into the outfits we'll be wearing for the show.
I pull out my outfit from my suitcase and go straight for the back room and quickly get to changing, sitting Lilah on the couch while she plays with her tablet.
I stay in my light blue jeans but replaced my top with a black lace crop top, covered by a rose gold bomber jacket which was my absolute favorite at the moment. I slipped my feet into some black zip up booties that had a block heel and a tassel in the front.
I placed a few random pieces of rose gold jewelry on including a beautiful thin chain choker that had little morganite diamonds on it that matched my engagement ring perfectly.
I quickly pulled out my makeup and began covering my eyes in rose gold colors giving it a small smoky effect with thin winged eyeliner and two coats of mascara, leaving my lips with some soft nude lipstick.
Once I was done I quickly sprayed myself over with perfume then grabbed Lilah who I dressed first and walked to the front lounge where the girls were waiting to go to the green room.
"That is so cute." Alysha says point at my outfit.
"Why thank you kind lady." I smile.
I follow them off the bus and towards the room where all the guys sat talking and laughing.
Once we entered Mike was quick to whistle at Alysha who was looking hot as usual, Jaime turned toward me and quickly walked over.
"Breath taking." He says into my ear, making a blush form on my cheeks.
"Stop." I say mocking him from earlier.
We stayed in the back joking around, going to listen to the other bands every so often before it was time for Pierce the Veil to perform.
Once the other two bands were finished with their sets the crew rushed to set up the stage, which happened to be my favorite thing ever.
Since this was an acoustic tour they decided to go with something more homey to set the mood of playing without the usual amount of sound.
The stage was amazingly set up to resemble a garage, empty boxes that had things written on them like 'Vic's shoes', 'Jaime's trophies', 'Mike's hats', and 'Tony's Star Wars toys' which made me laugh.
There was a beat up couch on the left of the stage and a red car prop on the right of the stage that had a license plate that read 'I LUV PTV' on it.
Overall the set up was cute and made everything feel at home, but the performance was different, it was more intimate and beautiful to hear the songs stripped down and in a whole new way.
As soon as the guys walked on the stage, the crowed went nuts. They each sat on their stools except for Mike who went to his drum set which was a bit smaller than usual seeing as he wasn't going all out on them tonight.
Vic sat in the middle with Jaime and Tony on either side of him, with Mike behind them on a riser so people could see him as well.
"How are you guys doing tonight?" Vic asks into the microphone.
Everyone shouted a response, "I don't know if that was a good or a bad." Jaime laughs into the microphone.
"I can never tell; I just go along with it." Vic replies getting everyone to laugh.
"Okay, well let's dive into this shall we." Vic says as Jaime begins to strum to the beat of Dive In.
The fans ate up the performance, all of them singing along to the words with Vic and Jaime who was harmonizing with him,
"And just because you're screaming for my attention
Does not mean I will waste my time
So hold your breath and swim under the ice
I know that it's not safe here
You did this to yourself but have no fear
Just hold your breath and swim under."
The song faded out and began another, this one wasn't from Misadventures though it was from an older album,
"Don't react when I tell you...
And don't react when I tell you...
That bright lights mean nothing to you
'Cause no one would know the sound of a ghost
And I might be something to you
Beyond beautiful is the sound of a ghost."
This song gives me chills each time I hear it, it was one of my first favorites and always has been.
The set went perfectly and by the end of it the guys all had smiles on their faces from the reaction of the crowd. Lilah watched Jaime in awe the entire time and actually beat her record for the longest time she's been quiet.
The guys each walked off stage after their encore and handed their instruments to their tech guys, Jaime walking over to me in an instant.
"For once I'm seeing you walk off that stage without being covered in sweat." I laugh.
"I know, it's weird to be dry after a concert." He chuckles.
"Hey guys, we're gonna go find something to eat before going to the hotel are you in?" Mike says from the door.
"Yeah we're in. I'm starving." I say getting a thumbs up as we follow him out of the venue.
I take Jaime's free hand while he holds Lilah in his other arm, we walk out of the building and towards the awaiting SUV to take us somewhere other than here, with all of our friends that I'm more than thankful to have.
[A/N: STORY TIME! Not sure how many readers I have from Dallas, Texas on here but the idea behind Ari taking hot chocolate to the fans actually came from the last concert I went to which was the Misadventures show at the HOB. A girl from the front of the line with me tweeted a radio station saying that we had been out there since 3 & 6 AM and were hungry, so the radio station sent us all pizza and waters. As soon as that happened, this idea sparked and thus landed in this chapter.]