We hadn’t even been home for a week, and we had already left. I would have complained were it any normal year, but with my new future, this was going to be a norm. Jack definitely had gotten used to it, and so I had to do so as well. For now, though, we were still in this together. Soon, things were going to get way more hectic and our schedules weren’t going to align anymore. This time we were lucky that we had to fly to LA at the same time. But while I was going to spend quite some time there, Jack was going to have to leave two days after we had arrived again. Where to? Australia and then Japan, so that was going to be two weeks of getting late replies to texts and no phone calls.

His short trip to LA was because All Time Low was playing at the MTV Movie and TV Awards. My longer trip was because we, that is the band ‘Her Words’, wanted to record some demos and sign a record deal. So, what better place to stay than the band house they all lived in when Cam was still alive? There was a recording booth for us to make said demos, which was useful because there was no way we could find a recording space through our label just mere seconds after signing a deal. And it was also a whole lot cheaper than staying in a hotel room the entire time.

So, Jack decided to stay over with us the first night and then sleep at a hotel the second night before he had to get to the airport. Staying in the house with Jack there made it feel like I was just at another vacation home doing whatever. But without him there, I wasn’t sure how I felt. I had this queasy feeling in my stomach. Not only did I have a past here that I didn’t know anything about--it definitely didn’t feel right--but I also got the room that used to be Cam’s. Some of his belongings were still there since this was his home when he died. Everybody else had moved back to Baltimore since then, and most of Cam’s stuff was taken away, but there were still traces of him.

The closet was empty except for a leather jacket, all the shoes were gone except for a pair of flip-flops, a picture frame of us when we were teens was still on the dresser. The bed might have had different sheets on it, but it was still in the same exact place as Cam had it. Of course Jack had to go and make a comment about Cam having had sex on the bed we were sleeping on. Usually, I would have gotten annoyed at him saying something like that, but this time it brought humor to it. Without Jack, though, it was just a bed Cameron used to dream in.

I desperately was trying not to spiral downhill again, getting so in my head that even my medication wouldn’t help, but it all felt so surreal.

Luckily, I didn’t have to spend much time there. I actually got to watch the concert All Time Low was playing. Yes, that’s right, I had my connections… those connections being Jack. I wasn’t that special. He could have taken more people along if he wanted to, but I was the only one to go.

I was stood backstage with Jack, trying both the stay out of the way, but also not constantly being alone or following Jack. It was quite difficult to find out where I could stand. Well, that was until I realized that he just stood wherever he wanted and people would just work around him. So, I just stayed close to make sure nobody would walk through me, somebody that wasn’t important.

Jack laughed at me for what seemed to be the millionth time that day. “I swear, every single time I look at you, I just can’t help it!”

I glared at him, not thinking that what he was talking about was that funny. In my mind, what I was doing made perfect sense. “Well, excuse me! I’ll have you know I believe it’s going to be very useful!”

“But a neon green raincoat? Really?” He managed to get out through his laughter.

“Hey!” I crossed my arms and stomped my foot a little. “We’ll see who’s laughing once it starts raining!”

“It’s LA, babe, it never rains here.” He threw his arm over my shoulder and pointed at the blue sky.

“Don’t you ‘babe’ me!” I pushed his arm off me and took a step away from him, my look still stern and my arms crossed yet again.

“Oh my god, I love this relationship you guys have,” Alex chuckled, wearing a studded leather jacket despite my warnings. “Somehow you don’t fight about large things, but small stuff like this gets you guys going.”

“It’s all Isle, not me.” Jack raised his hands in defense and shrugged.

I didn’t even bother to say anything back. This needed an action greater than words. Instead, I flicked the side of his head with my finger, creating a knocking sound. Nothing too painful, but enough to show my annoyance.

“Ow! What was that for!?” He pouted and rubbed the spot with the palm of his hand.

“Are you fucking with me?” I exclaimed, already having been fed up with his shit half an hour before.

“No, but I did last night.” He smirked, causing my annoyance to reach a point it hadn’t reached in ages.

I started hitting him wherever I could reach. No, it was nothing too serious. I didn’t really condemn that type of stuff--if he did it to me, people would frown upon it. I usually never hit him unless it was purposely done like I had no muscles in my arm. This situation just called for me slapping him as he playfully cowered away.

“Ow, ow, ow!” He yelped, jumping at the soft impact every time I touched him. “Abuse! Abuse!”

I stopped hitting him, deciding it was enough and that going any further would cross boundaries and make it serious. “You wish you had last night,” I muttered.

Rian whistled beside me, having heard me clearly. Jack might have made a sexual comment, but that stuff only got me to stop if it was actually true. Whenever it was the truth, I would be too embarrassed to continue the conversation. But when it was just a whole load of bullshit, I could hit him with comebacks just fine.

“That’s just unfair!” Jack whined, knowing just as well that he didn’t get any the night before. “It wasn’t by choice!”

“Well, it was mine,” I shot back, getting another holler from Rian.

“Oh, man, this keeps getting better and better.” Alex smiled brightly, watching everything unfold with amusement. “Can I record some of this? It’s all I need if I ever feel down. It’s like you’re a couple from some comedy TV show.”

The guys were called up to get their instruments, that they had to go up in a few minutes. I followed them like I usually did to wish them good luck and give Jack a kiss. However, this time, it went a little differently, as you can probably expect.

“You know what? I’m just going to heckle you as you’re performing,” I said in a threatening tone, not even joking about it. I would do it any day in good fun.

“That’s just mean,” Alex frowned, nearly pouting in the same way Jack had done when I first flicked him again his head.

“No, not you,” I brushed him off and turned to Jack, “but you! You make fun of my jacket, I make fun of your playing.”

Before Jack could answer back anything witty, the band was called up on stage. Jack went in for his usual good-luck kiss, but instead of receiving my lips on his, he got a shove out of me. Although I wasn’t really mad, I still sure as hell wasn’t going to give him that. He shouldn’t have made fun of me the entire time if he wanted any affection to come from my direction.

And guess what! I rained… and hailed… during their entire performance… it only ending when they came off stage.

I really was the one laughing in the end.

----

The next day, we were supposed to go out and sign the record deal. It was quite early in the morning. No, not like early I-had-to-wake-up-at-five-am early, but at a time most people went to work. Unfortunately, I did end up having to wake up at five am. It wasn’t that I wanted to or that I couldn’t sleep any longer. Although jetlag would have caused me to wake up early, it wasn’t going to be that early. No, I was woken up by my phone buzzing on the bedside table.

I had gotten a few panicked texts from Jack that paid no attention to grammar or spelling. But before I could decipher them, he called me. He was super relieved when I answered within a second. Why you may ask. Despite me having asked him multiple times if he had everything he needed to take to New Zealand, he had left his passport with me and only realized at the airport.

So, out of bed I got. I found his passport on the dresser, quickly threw on a bra and a t-shirt, slipped on my shoes, and went straight to the airport. Luckily, it was still before rush hour and most people were still asleep, so I managed to get to the airport in no time. Well, ‘no time’ still meant that everybody in All Time Low and crew was freaking out for half an hour. But that was why it was always useful to have some extra time, and they often got special treatment that allowed them to get through the airport way quicker.

I delivered the passport and got to briefly say goodbye to Jack again. There wasn’t much time for extensive hugs, but we had already done that the day before. I did get many pats on the back from everyone. It was like I was some hero that day.

The only problem was that I had to drive back in rush hour… That did not go well at all. I assumed that I could go back to the house, get some breakfast, take a shower, get dressed, and then leave. But when I checked the time, I realized I wasn’t going to make that even if I managed to get back in the same time I had taken to get to the airport.

So, I bought some breakfast to eat in the car--this only took five minutes of my time--and drove back, hoping I could at least change quickly. Only once I was in the traffic, did I realize that even going back to the house wouldn’t be possible anymore if I wanted to be on time. So, I re-routed to the office we had to be and prayed to any gods out there to let me be on time.

But everybody’s heard of LA’s horrible traffic jams. I was literally freaking out in the red rental car every time I came to a halt. And then there was the trouble of finding a parking place. This was not how I wanted the day to go. But I made it eventually… with minus twenty minutes left to spare… I was late.

I rushed inside the building, quickly got directions from the receptionist, and hurried towards the office where I was expected. After trying to calm down my breathing and straighten out my pajamas, I knocked on the door and slowly walked in.

Everybody stared at me as I tried to get to the last empty seat at the conference table. My three band members were dressed quite nicely for their doing, Pete Wentz and some other guy sitting at the far end of the table.

Before I could get to said chair, which was the seat furthest away from me, Carter blurted out, “the fuck!”

I flinched a little and took a deep breath, hoping this wouldn’t ruin our contract. “I’m sorry… I got stuck in traffic--”

“Where the hell were you?!” Carter continued to interrogate me despite John trying to get him to shut up. Him getting mad at me and using that language in a meeting didn’t exactly look all that great either.

I could tell that he believed that I had woken up in the middle of the night and snuck out to go see Jack. We could all imagine what other scenarios Carter was thinking of for what exactly I did when I was in a hotel room with Jack. He probably thought I stayed there, forgot to set an alarm, and woke up too late.

I sighed, still standing in front of everybody in plaid pants and a plain black top. “I should have left a note. Jack forgot his passport and everybody was freaking out. I had to go and bring it to him. I got stuck in traffic trying to get back.”

“So it’s not your fault, it’s Jack’s fault,” Pete pointed out, stopping Carter from making another remark that definitely would attack me.

“I mean, I guess. But if I had put it in his bag instead of his hands, I wouldn’t have been in this situation in the first place,” I retorted, not sure where this was going.

“But you did force it in his hands, meaning you did remind him a few times to not forget it.”

“You could look at it from both sides,” I shrugged, “but in the end I did get it to him on time.”

“Jack sounds like a whole load of trouble.” Pete smiled and leaned back in his chair.

I took this as a sign that it was ok for me to sit down and that we weren’t going to be sent away. If anything, it broke the ice quite nicely between me and Pete. No need for any formalities. I did still agree with him, though. “You should know, you toured with him in 2009.”

He looked confused at first, then he put on his thinking face, and finally realization hit him. “Oh my god, I feel sorry for you.”

“I might be stuck with him, but I can’t be blamed for All Time Low not making it to New Zealand.”

And that was how I managed to sign my first record deal.

Notes

Getting motivation again! YAY! I just literally planned out all chapters now and actually got a little excited. There will be some time skips, but that will mainly be around the times either of them are on tour.
Also, I'm seeing ATL again tomorrow! I"M SO EXCITED.
Oh, and expect to have some time skips in an actual chapter a few times. I don't necessarily have them planned, but I might combine idea occasionally.