Always

Zack's Mr. Grumpy Pants today. He's so angry that we woke him up at 5AM and disrupted his "beauty rest." So now he's sleeping in his bunk. Thank fucking God. A tired and grumpy Zack = no fun.

I'm at the front lounge of the bus with my dad, Mike, and Tré. Mike and Tré are pretty much family, to be honest. Even though they aren't blood-related, they're still my uncles. You don't necessarily have to be blood to be family.

Mike is pretty quiet, like Zack, but he still has his moments.

And Tré? Well, let's just say that it's hard to calm him down, so we just let him go crazy until he tires himself out. It doesn't faze us. It's actually quite entertaining to watch him in action.

"So, Alex, how excited are you to be on the road with your father?" Mike asked me. Currently, Tré was showering, and my dad was making a sandwich in the kitchen.

"I'm stoked, Mike," I replied honestly. "My dream has come true. I've always wanted to go on the road with you guys." Mike smiled.

"Well, we're happy that you finally get to," he said. "When do you think Zacaroni will be up?" I laughed at the horrible nickname he had always called Zack.

"Not sure. Should be an hour or less, though."

"It's definitely less, douche bag." I heard Zack shout from his bunk. Mike, dad, and I laughed.

"Why am I a douche bag?" I asked innocently.

"Because you woke me up at five in the motherfucking morning, douche bag," he replied as he sat down next to me, yawning and rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "Where's the first show?"

"Tempe," my dad said. "It's eleven o'clock now, and we've been on the road for about 5 hours. We should be there between twelve and three."

"Tempe is so fucking hot." I groaned. Zack scoffed.

"No, shit, Sherlock," Zack replied sarcastically. "Water is fucking wet."

"You're mean today," I said. "Remind me to never wake you up that early ever again."

<>

I checked the weather before we got off the bus. It was 104° F at the time of two o'clock in the afternoon. How the fuck are people living in this Hell hole?

Anyway, the venue wasn't very far from the freeway. It's called The Marquee. I guess it was pretty infamous for bands. It wasn't very big, though.

Once we had gotten off the bus, I noticed some fans waiting in line to get in the venue. It's quite funny how they wait our here for hours just to see a couple bands. I don't understand how they were going to wait out here for another four hours, though. The doors don't open until 6.

I decided to talk to a few. What could be the harm in that?

I walked up to a couple of girls about my age. One wore a Falk Out Boy shirt, while the other wore a Rage Against The Machine shirt. These girls seem rad.

"What's up, girls?" I asked, and the brunette smiled flirtaciously. Cute.

"You're Alexander Armstrong, aren't you?" The blonde one with an Australian (or was it British?) asked. I nodded, smiling.

"Just call me Alex," I replied. "How are you today, ladies?"

"We're doing well, thanks for asking," the brunette said. "I'm Tay, the blonde is Jenna."

"It's a pleasure to meet you both," I replied. Tay and Jenna. Sweet. "Is that an Australian or British accent, Jenna?"

"Australian," she replied. "I moved here 3 years ago."

"That's rad! What city?"

"Sydney."

<>

Jenna, Tay, and I talked for about 20 minutes before I realized that I gad to leave, so I invited them backstage.

Why not? They were hella rad chicks.

Notes

Yay, Jenna and Tay. You may love me now. If you didn't already. -carynxo