we had our first show of our tour that day, it was right in cinncinati, thankfully. i got anxiety just leaving the city, never mind the state. before the show, i decided that i'd form some ritual. maybe explore the city a bit, meet some fans, whatever i feel.
i skated around the city, not exactly caring where i was going. someone told me once that if i want to go for a walk without direction, just go straight. when i asked about turns, she just said to go left. though, i couldn't quite remember who had told me this.
as i aimlessly wandered and gave myself a boost every so often, i passed a hospital. that would be normal if i hadn't almost hit someone sitting on the curb with their head on their hands.
to try and get out of the way of me the only direction they could go was straight, making them jump right in front of an oncoming car. luckily, i had the reflex to grab her right before the car got to her. the car didn't even slow down, it just beeped at her.
i had them in my arms, as we both landed on our backs on the sidewalk once i had pulled them back. we both panted heavily and soon got enough willpower to sit up straight, my skateboard having already stopped a bit down the sidewalk.
"are you okay? oh my gosh, i'm so sorry, i wasn't looking where i was-" my rambling would have gone on forever if i hadn't met their eyes. well, her eyes. "rosemary?"
she seemed to have recognized me too because all feeling in her eyes flushed to her usual state and she just shrugged me off. i hadn't even realized my arm was still around her.
"jesus christ rosemary, i almost just killed you!" i exclaimed just as rosemary was getting up from the curb. she shrugged and turned on her heel, a brown paper bag with something in it in her hand. drinking in public?
i was stunned. frozen in place. i had almost just killed this woman, yet she has the audacity to shrug it off like i had only slightly bumped into her. i shot up to my feet and grabbed my skateboard running after her.
"rosemary!" i called after her, my legs carrying me to catch up with her. she didn't run, though. strange. she didn't bother looking at me as i approached heaving, she just continued walking and day drinking. "really? it's noon!" i referred to her obvious beer. "why are you drinking in public in the first place?"
the girl didn't say anything, as usual. but, she did surprise me when she took out a pen and pocket sized notepad. she scribbled something down and ripped it out of the notebook, folding it and holding it out to me.
we were stopped now, me just staring at her hand. rosemary instead reached her petite hands to my shirt pocket, tucking the folded slip of paper into it neatly and patting my chest. she put the notepad and pen back into her pocket and kept walking, leaving me in the only state i ever was around her.
confused, intrigued, and stunned.
but i had to admit, there was a kind of adrenaline in me whenever i was around her. the only this predictable about her was her unpredictability. hell, i still expected her to talk to me at any moment.
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the only time that damn girl would leave my mind was when i was banging. my drums, that is. get your heads out of the gutter.
the crowd in the arena was massive, bigger than we've ever played. it made me anxious.
usually, i'd just pretend they weren't there. i'd pretend we were back in tyler's basement, but i couldn't with this one. it was too big. i just drummed though. it helped me, definitely. especially when tyler decided to climb. that gets me really worried for my baby boy.
the concert ended and we took our bow, and we literally were there for upwards of 5 minutes as they applauded. the applause would die down, then it'd just start right back up. tyler finally got up and thanked them all again, and i'd be lying if there weren't tears in my eyes. though, they didn't fall thankfully.
someone in the crowd caught my eye, but they were rushing out of the venue. they had a trench coat, a hat, and they were dragging someone with them. that someone didn't seem very willing. they were resisting actually. i hoped they'd be alright. it kinda hurt knowing i couldn't do anything.
the venue finally cleared, and we cleaned up the stage. as they cleaned the floors of our confetti, i snuck back out onto the stage and just sat there. right in the middle, looking at the now empty seats. the place was giant, it was overwhelming. that wasn't even close to the biggest arena we'd be playing.
i sighed and finally got up, heading back out to our bus. yes, bus. not a van anymore, an actual tour bus.
then i remembered the small piece of paper in my other shirt's pocket. my face lifted and i started to jog to the bus, digging through my stuff to find the shirt. i found it and dug in the pocket, unfolding the perfectly folded paper. her handwriting was incredible, it looked like it took hours. though he had seen her scribble it down in second. there on the paper in a perfect cursive font;
the same reason everyone else drinks, joshua. stay safe.
she used my full name. i could imagine her voice, though i couldn't at the same time. it was strange. why does everyone else drink? i barely ever drink. it's actually really rare. i had heard the phrase 'drink to forget' quite a bit, but she didn't strike me as the type that would want to forget much. though she didn't strike me as the type for a lot of things and she'd proved me wrong each time.
and most importantly, why the 'stay safe'?
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a/n: because fuck the schedule, right? i was never good with planning. i'm gonna start updating more i promise. and i'm not trying to push out chapters fast, don't worry. i'm still going through my system. also, don't worry about me. i like being under pressure, it gives me something to worry about. i need something to worry about though, worry isn't bad for me. i dunno. i don't make sense ig. sorry
