The Last Cabin

Chapter 5

I woke up feeling a little worse for wear, with a headache that desperately needed some coffee to cure it. As I wrapped my hair up into a half-hearted bun, still clad in my pajamas, I made my way down to the lobby cafe, hoping that it was too early for anyone else to see me in such a disheveled state.

As the elevator door opened, I saw Carson standing right in front of the cafe. I sighed, wondering if I should jump to hit the close door button and retreat back to my suite to order room service instead, but he saw me and waved. With a grin spreading across his face, he came over to me. Reluctantly, I stepped out of the elevator and walked up to him. "

Hey Poppy, long night? How late did you guys stay out?" he asked.

"Oh, not much longer after you left," I lied. "Cool, cool, so what's on your schedule for today?"

"I have a couple of podcasts, and then meet and greets the rest of the day."

"Very cool, so you want to grab some coffee with me? I was about to go."

We walked together, and as he joked about how drunk his friends had gotten and the silly things they'd done, I was struck by how he didn't speak in a negative way about them. He simply found their antics amusing. He had a way of lightening everything, and before I knew it, I forgot that I was even in the presence of a Youtube celebrity, still in my pajamas. His kindness shined through in everything he said, and he made me feel at ease by his acceptance of people as they were, finding something to love in everyone.

I ordered a latte while he got a mocha, and we sat together, talking about the day ahead. He asked me to go out with his friends again, and although my head was pounding, his sheer energy and the prospect of hanging out with such an amazing group of people convinced me to say yes.

We finished our coffees; I waved Carson goodbye and walked back up to my hotel room to shower and get ready, only to run back downstairs to start another long day. I did one podcast, then had to sprint to another room to do another podcast, as I watched the day go by in a blur. With only a ten-minute break to eat a protein bar before going to the meet and greet to sign more paraphernalia, I answered questions, hugged fans, listened to more life-changing stories, and took endless pictures. The exhaustion in my eyes reminded me to glace at my phone, only to realize it was already 9pm.

Wondering where the day went, I waved any lingering fans goodbye, made my way back to my hotel room, grabbed another protein bar, put on jeans and a t-shirt, and remembered to wear a jacket. Even though in the back of my mind, I wondered if I should forget it again to get Finn to lend me his, but I thought that would be too obvious. I rushed back downstairs after changing- now looking like I fit in more with the rest of the group - found the high energy crowd of people waiting outside and we left for the bar.

Once we were there, to our surprise, the bar looked to be more of a club, and more wild than the night before. Again, the group got in immediately, with a line of fans cheering for us as we skipped to the front to go to our exclusive booth. As I walked in, the hyperactive horde radiating within sprung on me. Everyone was dancing, laughing, falling over each other, there was movement everywhere. While floating through, I couldn't make out a distinctive face. Everything blurred together, like a colorful painting that the back of a forearm had smeared. Nothing was sacred here, and it seemed like there were no rules. I questioned my decision to come. I looked back at the front door, that was slowly disappearing behind groups of people, as if it never existed ,wondering if I should leave now, and get some work done.

While we were getting seated in our private booth, Carson came up to me. "Hey sorry, I didn't pick this place. We didn't know it was like this. I don't think anyone is going to stay long, lets chill for a minute," he said in a loud voice over the booming music.