On the road. Time and time again we spent on the road. Cities and tours, everything you could possible imagine, we we're doing it. We had been steady, every day and night, sometimes booking a double or triple header. It seemed we never stopped! I was not at all used to the speed of things here, but everyone else was. They took it all normally because this has become their lives. I was struggling, but slowly making my adjustments to this lifestyle.
I missed the girls and couldn't wait until I was able to go back and see them. Daniela called me about two months ago, telling me that college was out, that Aunt Maharet needed them to stay to help her with the hotel. I was about ready to kill someone. My girls couldn't go to college because of the hotel! Their dreams were crushed!
I was at the studio, sitting by my drums, when it hit me. Two months. It had been two months already. I hadn't even known it had flown by, but it had.
"Alright Brandon, drop those sick ass beats."
And I did.
~••The Girls••~
"I'm going to New Orleans." I said.
"Why?" Daniela asked. She was sitting on the end of my bed in her denim shorts and leather jacket. Her hair was thrown back very messy-like. She still sported her Converse; the red ones this time.
"Because. There has to be something worthwhile there. Maharet talks about it all the time." I walked around the room. "And besides, what else do I have to do? Wanting to go to college was a basic waste of our time."
Daniela nodded. I could see her eyes shift across the floor and over to the ankle bracelet she had on. "When are you going?"
I shrugged. "I'm not sure. Sometime within the next few months. When I get the money up and all that good stuff."
"What about Brandon?"
"What about him?"
"He'll be coming back then," she said, her voice so soft. "He'll be coming back with the band I presume for their break off from touring. He said they would be within the next few months."
I came and sat by my virtual sister. It's been a long time since it was really just me and her, since we sat together like we did and did so in silence. I stared at her legs and my own. I then looked at her hair and her face, that glow that came from the inside of someone beautiful. Her eyes were sad- from Brandon's leave and the disappointment of no college. We tried to keep those thoughts out of our minds because they were depressing as hell. I grabbed her hand and rubbed her knuckles, then gave her a gentle smile.
"Hey, I've got a perfect idea." I said after a while.
"And what would that be?"
I pulled out a round of hundred dollar bills-a few partially saved in paychecks from my job.
"Let's go make ourselves over."
Her eyes lit up then.
~••A few mønths later••~
~••Brandøn••~
I was finally able to go back home and see them! Months and months of touring, from May to October has left me homesick and desperate to see them. I talked about them all the time. Every story I had had something to do with them. The boys were all so tired of listening to my stories with them in it and not knowing what they looked like.
"Don't fucking tell us shit like that!" Zach joked. "It's like a surprise and surprises suck."
We planned to stay at the hotel where the girls were. They knew I was coming back, but I purposefully left out The Neighbourhood part. They were staying too. Surely the hotel was a little small and quant for their experiences, but they'll find it very worth their while. After all, they'll have two beautiful women around that they'll see everyday.
°Are u on ur way in?° Daniela texted me.
•Yeah. I'll be there in like fifteen minutes•
I began to remember all the sites we were passing. The Subway that was crammed way too close to the McDonalds in town, and the post office that hardly stays running across the street. The tattoo parlor Dakota works at managing clients and booking appointments. Further down is City Hall and the Fine Arts Center where they hold special events. Further down is the police station, then right around the corner from us and to our rights would be the fire station. From there we came across houses and a few open fields, and a horse riding ranch that the girls both have jobs at grooming the horses and mucking out stalls.
The big house behind the hotel rose before anything else did, even before the sign itself. The tree that Daniela and Dakota used to climb back into their rooms was still there, looming by the house. The walkway was pristine and clean as always, and then there was the hotel. A few cars were parked outside. I looked for Daniela's Nissan Juke and Dakota's Mustang, but there was only the Juke. Maybe Dakota went to the store or something.
"This it?" The tour bus driver, Riker, asked.
"Yeah. Just turn in the parking lot."
"This is really small. Are you sure this is where we're staying?" Zach asked. I gave them a grin and nodded.
We parked. I was so freaking excited! I immediately got off the tour bus and looked around for anyone. I ran to the other side of the bus, and there came Daniela with a basket full of towels and soaps. I grinned so wide my face felt like it was ripping while I ran up to her. She stopped and then dropped the basket and ran out to meet me. The closer and closer she got, the more and more I realized how she changed.
"Brandon!" She squealed. Her arms wrapped around me tight and swayed me around. I immediately felt so at home in her heat and her hug and the smell of lavender and ocean water. I pulled back and kissed her cheeks, then admired her from an arm-length's distance.
Her hair was straight today, and she wore some round black glasses and a denim jacket that was a bit bigger, but still looked great as it virtually swallowed her. She had on a black shirt and matching black shorts with black tights that allowed the color of her skin to show against the strain of the fabric. Her solid black Cons were on.
"My gawd Daniela." I said, looking her up and down. "You look so beautiful."
"Thank you." She blushed and smiled, moving some hair behind her ear and looking at the ground. It was then I saw the many, many piercings she had in her ear and the shiny trinkets in them. There was also a tattoo of some French words on her wrist. Her nails were a nice shade of dark dark purple.
"Is this your tour bus?" She asked, gesturing to the machine in the parking lot.
"Yeah, it is."
She picked up her basket and walked back toward me. "Where's your band at?"
I grinned like an evil dog. I never told them I was in The Neighbourhood, and I tried hard to keep it a secret, because Dakota and Daniela both ŁØV3 The NBHD. They know every song, know every word, and are in love with their aesthetic. They always dreamt of meeting them.
Daniela's basket dropped again. Her jaw was slack and her body was frozen. I looked behind me to where everyone was filing off the bus and making their slow way around to this side; Jesse with a cigarette in his mouth and Zach kicking rocks.
She started hitting me.
"Ow ow, what was that for?"
"You never told us you were in The NBHD." She hissed. Her eyes went back glued to them as she picked up the basket and I heard them come over.
"Hi Jesse," I said. "Guys, this is Daniela. Daniela, this is Jesse, Mikey, Zach, and Jeremy."
She nodded and shook their hands.
"Hi." She weakly managed.
"Well hello there Daniela." Jesse took her hand and kissed its top. "It's so nice to finally meet you."
Ahhhh romance.
