“There’s room for two, six feet under the stars.”

“Ready to party, bro?” Jack asks, as he grabs my shoulder to steady himself. Tonight, we’re in Columbia, Maryland and it’s the first night of Warped Tour. It’s the only show of the tour set in the woods, and to kick it off the bands and their crew members are getting shit-faced around camp fires.
“Hell yeah, I need to get wasted.” I reply, yanking a beer off of Jack’s six pack. Maryland is the state I call home, so it hasn’t hit me yet that tour is happening. I’m still too close to the place I’m trying to escape. A few weeks before Warped, I came home to my girlfriend fucking another man, in my bed. Don’t get me wrong, I love Maryland, but ever since Clair kicked me out of my house, I’ve been living in a tiny apartment and I needed to get the hell away from there.
I knew I didn’t love Clair anymore, but falling out of love with her didn’t fill the void I felt being away from her. Clair was all I knew, she was my first everything. Even though we’ve been on and off, we spent the last 10 years of our lives together. You don’t just get over the fact that she was fucking someone else. I downed half of my Bud Light by the time we made it to the party. Everyone was already here, and the forest echoed with the sounds of laughter and music. I could feel my excitement rising at the thought of being on tour again, nothing felt like home more than this. I took in the sight of everyone making smores, or shot-gunning beers and made my way to an empty spot on a log bench. Thankfully, Jack passed me another untouched six-pack of beer before I sat down. I turn to see a girl sitting next to me, her long ombre’ hair falling down her back in waves, like she’d just gotten out of bed and threw on a beanie with the words “Neat Dude” patched on to the front.
“Bud Light. That’s gross.” She says, scrunching up her nose. I look over at her, realizing I don’t recognize her. All around me were familiar faces but hers didn’t stick out.
“Bud Light is good if you want to get shit-faced fast.”
“Red’s does that just fine for me.” She laughs and proudly holds up her raspberry ale. “I’m Caroline.” She extends her hand for me to take. I shake her hand swiftly then try to nonchalantly wipe my hand against my jeans. Caroline is cute, but not your typical everyday cute. She was pale, with maybe six freckles laid out across her nose; her green eyes reflecting the fire back to me. Her long sleeved turtle neck and jeans were tight enough to see her curves. I tried not to pay them much attention, but damn. I tried to carefully readjust myself without drawing too much attention.
“I’m Alex. Uh, are you in a band or with a crew? I don’t think I’ve seen you before.”
“I’m in a band. Heartlines. This is our first non-local tour.” She smiles proudly, and I can tell she’s excited. I remembered back when my band, All Time Low, was just starting out. Our first Warped Tour was one of the greatest experiences.
“Congrats then. This is huge for you. I’m with-“
“All Time Low.” She finishes my sentence and laughs. “I like your music. It’s pretty fricken good.” I laugh now too, god she’s so cute. Who says “fricken” anymore?
“Big fan?” I have to ask.
“Uh, somewhat. I definitely don’t own all of your albums or anything.” She rolls her eyes and giggles some more. I can tell she’s just getting tipsy, and when she laughs she smells like mint and raspberry beer.
"Well, I’m flattered. I guess I’ll have to check out your music sometime.”
“Yeah, that would be cool.” She blushes, like she’s embarrassed. “I hope you’ll like us.”
“I’m sure it’s great stuff.”
“Alex! Come here!” I look over and see Jack waving me down. He’s standing with our friends Vic and Rian, as they’re popping holes into beer cans. “Shot guuuun!”
“Well, duty calls. I’m sure I’ll see you around?” I stand up and hold out my hand for a better handshake. She takes it and this time I feel the softness of her palm against mine and the callouses on her finger tips.
“Yeah, I’m sure you will.” I smile, and make my way to my group of idiot friends, yet my eyes are on Caroline all night.

****

The next day is an early morning for us, and I’m wondering why the hell we stayed out so late. After hitting snooze on my alarm more time than I can count, I tumble out of my bunk, more aware of the headache from hell pounding in my brain. I grab some ibuprofen and head out for the day, watching booths get set up, lineups being made, setting up schedules.
I see the band Heartlines playing at noon, seven hours before we play on the same stage. The night before I drunkenly searched YouTube for them. More importantly, I googled Caroline; she was twenty, six years younger than me. She grew up in Lafayette, Louisiana with her mom and two brothers, one who is the guitarist for her band. They had a pop-punk sound inspired by the works of Green Day, and the Foo Fighters, and that was it. I thought about searching for her on Instagram but thought it best to wait it out. I walked around, checking out all of the different booths and activities until kids started showing up. Then I made my way back to the tour bus, but I never saw Caroline.
****

I decided to hide side-stage to watch Heartlines for the first time, and I could feel the excitement rising in my gut like I was a little kid with a big crush. I did not have a crush on Caroline, I just met her.
“Alex?” I turned to see Caroline walking up behind me. She was wearing tight high wasted shorts and a black crop top. Her midriff was exposed and her shorts hugged her body in all the right places. And the way her hair fell over her shoulders and right over her breasts made me think otherwise; maybe I was crushing a little. I could feel my cheeks getting hot, and hoped to God she couldn’t see my embarrassment.
“Hey! I told you I would check out your music. What better way than to watch your set?”
She smiled an angelic smile, and my stomach did a flip. I wished I could just fucking act normal; why did she have this effect on me?
“Oh, thanks. I hope you like it.” Then she walks away. I stare after her, wondering why she abandoned our conversation so quickly. I started to wonder if maybe she didn’t want to know me. I push my thoughts aside and head to side stage. Their set starts and she hops onstage, so enthusiastic.
“How y’all doing today, Warped Tour?” She yells in the mic and the crowd yells back. The music is pop punk, with a little dark side to it. I focus on the lyrics and the sound of her voice, it sounds so much better than on YouTube. She hits all the notes flawlessly, leaving my arms covered in goosebumps. The lyrics are deeper than expected, and I find myself wanting to know where this comes from, if she writes them all herself, and who the hell hurt her if she did? I want to know the Caroline that no one else gets to see, the one behind the lyrics, the one behind the stage presence. I don’t know why but I’m so drawn to her.
After the set, I tell her how great they are and I meet the other guys in the band. We all talk, except for Caroline. She seems far away, and very reserved. I want to ask her if I did something wrong or if I came on too strong. When everyone starts to clear out, I try again. “So, you guys really are awesome. I really like the sound. Do you do most of the song writing?”
“Thank you, that means a lot coming from someone like you. And I do the majority of it.”
“Someone like me?”
“Yeah, you know…really successful with music.” She blushes again, and shifts nervously. I can’t help but laugh because I wouldn’t say we’re that much more successful.
“Thanks, I guess. Success isn’t defined by however many fans you have. Personally, I think Heartlines is smashing All Time Low in the game.” I feel relieved when she finally offers me a smile back. “So, don’t sweat it, love.”
“Caroline, we gotta head to the signing!” Someone calls for her.
“I have to go. But thanks, Alex. You’re sweet.” She gives me one more smile, before she starts to walk away. But I can’t let her go this time.
“Wait, Caroline. Would you wanna, uh, hang out later or something?”
Whenever she turns back to me, she looks caught off guard, like I’ve said something wrong. “Where?”
“Oh, I don’t know…I just thought it might be cool to hang out, get to know each other?”
She looks like she is deep in thought, really determining whether or not she wants to hang out with me. I feel my mood deflate, like I’m bothering her, and I’m about to tell her not to worry about it when she responds, “meet me where the camp fires were last night after your set.” Someone calls for her again, and then she’s gone. I am determined to uncover the mystery of Caroline tonight.

Notes

It's been a long time since I've written anything like this, so let me know what y'all think!