Chapter Text
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When Jimmy decided to throw his life away and join a band, he had mentally prepared himself for public scrutiny, awkward fan interactions, and even the occasional breakdown backstage. What he did not prepare himself for, however, was the forced manual labor.
“Lift with your legs dudes, you’re almost there!” Joel shouts from across the vacant parking lot of their labels studio, failing to encourage his bandmates Jimmy and Skizz to lug an offensively heavy speaker to the tour bus faster.
“Easy for you to say, man!” Skizz shouts out from the other side of the hefty piece of equipment, all the while Jimmy puts all his strength to not dropping the speaker on his bandmates toes. “Jiggle’s legs are living up to his nickname right now while you're just standing there!”
Joel couldn’t help but laugh before holding up some loose cables and cords in his arms, sluggishly shouting back, “Sorry my hands are full!”
Skizz scoffed at the response, shouting some kind of insult back at the irritating man. Jimmy usually loved to join in on the scuffles between his new bandmates, playing up situations just for the sake of it, but the weight of the speaker in his arms was currently too distracting to do so.
Even with all the focus the blonde could muster, he could only give a weak warning to Skizz before his arms gave out. Thankfully, due to the lack of strength between the two men, the speaker only fell an inch or so onto the ground. Jimmy would’ve been profusely apologizing, but even he knew that the fall was absolutely pathetic and didn't cause any damage to their equipment.
Joel at least had the decency to stop and check if his bandmates were okay after his stunt. Jimmy would've mocked him for the sudden change of heart, but he could only sit back on the problematic speaker, completely exhausted, as Skizz started to mock the drummer for him.
The blonde could try to defend his bandmates, saying this kind of bickering was beyond them, but that would be a blatant lie. Even though Jimmy has only been the lead vocalist of the Rejects for a few months now, he has witnessed more petty grudges and prank wars than he could count using all his bandmates fingers and toes. The dynamic would’ve been dysfunctional for literally any other group, but somehow it was the perfect harmony for all the big personalities that made up the Rejects.
“What’s all this ruckus about?” A steady voice from behind the group asked, easy to identify purely from the chill tone.
“Joel is trying to kill the newbie!” Skizz shouts at Big B, pointing towards the drummer like a twelve-year-old trying to get his friend in trouble with their teacher. Jimmy, the newbie in question, just gave Big B a thumbs up to show that he was not, in fact, dead.
“It’s not my fault you guys can’t carry a bloody speaker a few meters!” Joel defends, arms flailing out in exaggeration, leading to one of the cables in said arms to hit the dramatic man. That was the thing to drag the group out of the bit, laughing as Joel rubbed his soon-to-be-bruise skin while trying to stay angry.
“Well if you were having trouble with the speaker you could’ve just said so.” Big B says nonchalantly, before picking up the piece of equipment with ease, Jimmy still on top of it. Panic flooded through the vocalist’s veins, only for Jimmy to calm down once he realised he didn't have to walk to the bus anymore.
“Way to show off Big B.” Jimmy jokes as he starts kicking his legs, dangling carelessly off the speaker, earning a laugh from the man underneath him.
It has always been a not-so-hidden-secret that the band both admired and envied Big B for his absolutely insane build; packing more muscle than the other three combined. It has basically become an elaborate game at this point, the man finding new and creative ways to showcase his superiority over the others.
Joel and Skizz complained the whole way to the bus, begging to also be carried by the bassist. Knowing Big B, he probably could carry all three of them, so Jimmy cherished the favoritism he received in the moment. As if sensing a need to even the playing field, the bassist purposely shuffled the speaker in his arms once they reached the bus, causing Jimmy to fall off with a yelp.
“I’ve fallen!” The vocalist shouted out dramatically, as if it was the end of his life or something, getting a laugh out of Joel.
Skizz rushed to help Jimmy off the ground, which the man was extremely thankful for, considering his legs were still shaking a bit from moving equipment around all morning. Slightly clinging to the guitarist, Jimmy watched as Big B carefully slid the speaker in the storage bay of the bus, Joel throwing his armful of cables along with it carelessly. Once done, the drummer pumped his fist, as if celebrating some kind of victory.
“And with that, we are officially packed up for the first Rejects headlining tour!” Joel shouted out, getting the best reaction his exhausted bandmates could muster.
“Or at least our equipment is packed. Were your siblings able to drop off your stuff, Jiggles?” Skizz asks, and Jimmy quickly steadies himself before grabbing the phone hidden within his pocket.
Lost in the excitement of getting his first tour started, Jimmy fully forgot to grab the bags he packed last night before leaving the house. His sister Pearl was already at work, so he had to beg Grian to bring his stuff to the studio, which was about as reliable as asking an ant to carry an anvil across the world.
It only took one glance at the screen to see the countless, most likely angry, notifications from his brother. Quickly, Jimmy excused himself, running through the backdoor of the studio; forced to ignore how good it felt when the cool breeze of the AC hit his skin.
He must’ve looked like a madman, running through the studio carelessly while his hair stuck to his forehead, evidence of the laborious morning the singer had. After arriving at the lounge in the front of the building; Jimmy was greeted by a familiar man, sporting his signature red sweater, waiting for him.
“I cannot believe you, Tim!” Grian shouted, startling a few of the people around them. “How do you spend over six hours packing, only to then forget your absurd amount of luggage in the morning!”
Jimmy couldn’t find it in himself to be offended by his brother's loud display. It was rather silly that he forgot his bags honestly. The vocalist spent an unnecessarily long time last night packing; lost in the debate between everything in his closet. He wanted to fit in with the band, being his first tour with them and all, but he also didn’t want to dress like an emo tween that bought all their stuff from Hot Topic either.
“And you made me wait twenty minutes for you, ridiculous.” Grian mumbles, handing the several bags over to his brother.
“Hold on, weren’t you supposed to be here two hours ago?” Jimmy teased as he pulled out a towel from one of his many bags, wiping the sweat off his face.
“It’s not my fault I have actual responsibilities,” Grian deflects, a common trait he exhibited whenever his siblings brought up his tardiness. “Not all of us can avoid life by jumping on a tour bus and wearing questionable fashion choices.”
Jimmy ignored his brother's jab in favor of counting up all his bags.
“Grian, please tell me you picked up my bathroom bag?” Jimmy asked, making eye contact with his brother for the first time during the interaction, only to be met with the very smirk that haunted the vocalist his entire life.
“Yeah, I shoved it into your backpack cause I didn’t want to carry it.” Grian responds, before slyly adding, “I did take something random out of it though as payback for the hassle, so have fun figuring out what.”
“Oh my god, why are you like this!” Jimmy shouts out, getting a cackle from his brother, distinct enough that the vocalist could recognize it from anywhere.
“Real talk though,” Grian says, snapping out of his laughing fit. “How are you feeling?”
Jimmy takes a moment to respond, fighting back the whiplash he always feels whenever his brother goes from tormenting him relentlessly to having a normal conversation.
“Feeling pretty pumped, and tired. They worked us like dogs this morning, moving all the equipment and stuff, but that was probably better than forcing the roadies to move everything.” Jimmy rambled on, all the while Grian gave him an unreadable expression.
“Not feeling nervous about leaving home?” Grian asked, and the vocalist couldn't help the sigh that left his lungs.
Jimmy has always been really close with Grian and Pearl, a side effect of them never really having parents he reckoned. They’ve all lived together, even into their adult lives. With him being the youngest, Jimmy knew his older siblings were going to worry about him leaving the hypothetical nest. He already had a conversation with Pearl about his anxieties regarding the tour, and leaving them behind, but he should have assumed Grian would have the same concerns as their sister.
“Truthly, I am.” Jimmy responds quietly, his brother waiting for him to continue. “I got the band though, plus I’ll still be calling you guys at least once a week. Y'know Grian, you could just say you will miss me, you don’t have to make a show out of it.”
With the tease, the two brothers fall back into an all too familiar rhythm. Grian sucked in an offended gasp, about to speak up, but Jimmy beat him to the punch. “It’s only two weeks until I’m back in town for a show, though I'm sure you already knew that, because y'know, you're my biggest fan.”
“Don’t let such a small amount of fame get to your head.” Grian scoffs. “Plus, I already have plans on that day, so I’ll be an hour or so late.”
“Oh glad you finally learned how to block out a schedule, all you need is time management and you might actually be a functional human soon.” Jimmy quips back and Grian rolls his eyes, trying and failing to suppress the smile rising on his face.
“Whatever Timmy. Have fun getting sick on that bus.” Grian laughs out before shoving his brother's shoulder. “Now, I’m gonna go home and take a nap. I deserve it after you woke me up so early.”
With that, Grian was gone. Leaving Jimmy with a ridiculous amount of bags and the regret of not reminding his brother that he called him at one in the afternoon. All Jimmy could do was shake his head before heading off to the bus again, this time with his many bags in tow.
With a little bit of recruitment from his bandmates, Jimmy moved all his stuff into the vehicle. The bus itself wasn’t anything special. The front console and drivers seat were divided from the lounge by a cheap wall, most likely a thin veiled attempt to make the space more homey. Two couches faced each other, worn teal leather cushions still holding up despite probably being installed in the 70’s. The right couch was cut off by a counter to the kitchen, in an attempt of some sort of mock bar set up, while the left couch just ended with a small swivel table.
The kitchen followed the theme of being nothing special, just containing a fridge which Jimmy was surprised still ran, a sink with a leaky faucet, and a pantry that was bound to be filled with junk food and hangover snacks very soon. The space felt cramped, but there was something almost comforting about the small size.
Moving on from the common room, the door from the kitchen led to a hallway that contained a small closet and bathroom for everyone to share. Beyond those community areas were the sleeping quarters, triple bunk beds stacked on top of one another until the end of the interior.
It honestly felt a bit like a morgue, the cramped spaces holding only enough room to carry a person and a few belongings in order to fit the twelve bunks.
The back wall of the bus was a huge window, showcasing the soon to be moving road within it. Every space of the bus felt used, being passed around and rented out for decades before them, and now the Rejects were joining the history of the vehicle.
The band celebrated on the old couches as they felt the ancient engine of the bus turn on, their travel officially starting, but everyone was quickly snapped out of the moment by Skizz immediately claiming top bunk, despite there literally being four top bunks.
With that, the band took on the task of figuring out their new living situation, trying to put some sense of order in place before absolute anarchy began. The order they could come up with was Skizz gets top bunk at the left back of the bus, Joel underneath him in the middle, then Big B on the bottom.
The bottom bunks were the slightest bit bigger than the others, making it the obvious choice for Big B. Jimmy quickly claimed the bottom bunk to the left of his band, hoping to hide some of his bags underneath the mattress with the extra space, becoming more and more aware that he grossly overpacked.
The front bunks of the sleeping quarters were mostly assigned to the stage crew, since it would make their lives the slightest bit easier in the mornings, oftentimes having to wake up before the bands. That left the two bunks above Jimmy and one of the spare beds in the front to the opening band.
Speaking of which…
“How come the opening band wasn’t able to meet up with us at the studio?” Jimmy asks his bandmates, while attempting to shove his third bag beneath the small space under his mattress.
“Oh they’re way out of the city,” Joel starts testing out the flimsy privacy curtain while laying down in his bunk. “It’s gonna be a day or so before we reach them. This is their first tour, so the label agreed it would just be easier to drive to them rather than having them transport everything.”
“While we're on the topic,” Skizz speaks up, basking in the height he has over his bandmates in the top bunk. “Why did the label pick some random college band to work with us this time around? No hate obviously, but it just doesn’t make much sense when we have signed bands that opened for us in the past.”
Joel was silent for a small moment, just long enough for Jimmy to take notice and check on his friend. The curtain Joel was playing with shielded the blonde's view, preventing him from properly seeing the drummer's face before he replied, “The label used to work with the vocalist of the band, but he left after some drama. You didn’t hear it from me, but I think they're trying to win him back over.”
“If they’re trying to win him back over, then they should’ve gotten a bigger bus! I don’t think Life Records thought this one through.” Skizz remarks, reaching down a hand to move Joel’s privacy curtain out of the way of his face.
“Yeah, I don’t think they have.” Joel states to no one in particular.
“Well that must be one hell of a vocalist! I can’t imagine the label would care much if I left after some drama.” Jimmy states, finally shoving the majority of his bags out of sight from the other guys.
“Well they sure didn’t when our last vocalist 'left'.” Big B retorts from the floor, making his bed.
“Big Bopper!” Skizz shouts, throwing his pillow down to hit the bassist on the head, getting a laugh out of the band; well, everyone in the band except for Jimmy.
The blonde didn’t know exactly what happened to the old vocalist, his bandmates couldn’t tell him about it because of some kind of NDA. From what Jimmy was able to piece together, the ex-member seemed really demanding, having a very specific way of doing things. Life Records would’ve gotten rid of him sooner if he wasn’t the face of the Rejects, but apparently he stole something valuable from Joel and that was the label's last straw, cancelling his contract the next day.
“All I’m saying is,” Big B laughs out, holding his arms over his head to block any further attacks from the guitarist. “I think our label enjoys Jimmy’s company much more than the last guy.”
“I hope the fans think the same.” Jimmy mutters to himself, overestimating his ability to keep something to himself in such a small space.
The Rejects weren’t famous by any means, but they were successful enough to have a headlining tour. Ever since Jimmy officially joined the band, he’s only performed a couple times on stage, and it felt like every time he did he had to prove himself to the fans. He wasn’t the singer they fell in love with, he’s just some random guy that auditioned with a label because he didn’t know what else to do with his life and lucked out, and now he’s supposed to be the new face of the band.
It was stupid sure, Jimmy knew he was a good singer, he worked his ass off in choir and created a short-term band back when he was an angsty teenager. If he was a bad singer, he would’ve figured that out by now. Still, he couldn’t help but worry about not filling the shoes that were left for him, even if those shoes belonged to a douchebag.
Jimmy got up from the floor after smoothing out his mattress, testing his bed for the first time. It wasn’t the most comfortable thing ever, but he could make it work. It was only then, as the vocalist looked towards his bandmates that he realized they were all staring at him.
With a blink, Jimmy started nervously laughing at the attention, mustering up a confused, “Hello?”
“I hope the fans think the same...” Skizz repeats back to him, and it was only then that Jimmy realized he said the previous thought out loud.
“Jimmy, are you still nervous about how our fans are gonna react to you?” Joel asks, making the effort to peak out from his bed to make eye contact with the vocalist.
Knowing he’s been caught and there wasn’t really a point to lying, Jimmy sighed.
“Yeah, a little bit.” The vocalist confessed, fidgeting with the fabric of the cheap sheet on his bed. “So far the fans have been nothing but nice don’t get me wrong, but this is kinda making it official you know? I can’t help but think they won’t like me as much as the last guy…”
The comment hung in the air for a minute while his bandmates tried to formulate a proper response.
The three knew more than anything that their fans were nothing but supportive, but they couldn’t blame Jimmy for worrying. There are many cases of fans hating new members of a band purely because they replaced someone, and the previous vocalist was in good favor of their audience. It wasn’t an unrealistic fear, so that made it ten times harder to address.
“Don’t make me come down there and hit you!” Skizz threatens from the top bunk and everyone turns their attention, trying their best not to laugh. “You keep talking bad about yourself and you’re going in time out.”
That officially broke the group, laughter being heard all the way in the front of the bus, maybe even from the outside if someone was keen enough to listen out for it. The tense atmosphere melted around the four men, feeling the weight on their chest be lifted slowly but surely.
“To word what Skizz said better,” Joel laughs out, still not completely recovered from the previous comment. “We can’t really control how the fans will react, but we got your back dude. If any of them give you trouble we’ll just have Big B take off his shirt to distract them or something.”
“I would gladly do that.” The bassist chimes in and everyone rolls their eyes, of course he would.
“Thanks guys,” Jimmy responds, grabbing his bathroom bag that he thankfully thought to leave next to his pillow rather than under the mattress. “I’m gonna go test out our new bathroom.”
“Awww look at him trying to ignore our affection.” Skizz teases, trying to kick his legs in the air, but fails miserably due to the limited space of the bunk. You could still hear his feet thud against the roof of the bus though, which is enough of a visual to make Jimmy smile.
“You know I would never,” Jimmy laughs out, pretending to blow a kiss towards Skizz. “But since I packed everything last night I didn’t have a proper chance to get ready this morning.”
“Yeah yeah whatever babe,” Joel calls out from his bunk and Jimmy couldn’t help the way his face heats up in confusion. “Just go take a piss already.”
“Hey so let's not make that a thing please.” Jimmy says as he opens the bathroom door.
“Love you too, babe!” Joel shouts back and the vocalist retreats into the pathetically small room to hide his face. God this band was gonna be the death of him.
Jimmy tried to take some stuff out of his bag and set them on the sink, but he learned pretty quickly that wasn’t a good idea while the bus was in motion. Keeping everything in his bag, he pulled out his hair brush, trying to make the nest on his head look somewhat presentable after being subjected to humidity for hours on end this morning.
While trying to fix himself up, Jimmy couldn’t help but take note of how plain the bathroom was. White tile stretched up from the floor to the roof, a vent sitting at the top of the room ominously. There was a shower, which was where Big B and Skizz decided to store away their instruments for the time being, a glass wall showcasing the many stickers the two have collected over their years in the band.
There was a small window in the room, but it was completely frosted over, which just seemed rather pointless to Jimmy. He won’t be too harsh though, considering he has no experience designing tour buses, or tour buses in general for that matter.
With a sigh, Jimmy gives up on his hair, accepting that it will look a mess until they stop somewhere with proper tools to fix it. The blonde decides to just brush his teeth and call it good after applying another layer of deodorant, figuring that he didn’t have to look all that presentable to the very few people on the bus.
Shuffling around in his bathroom bag, Jimmy searched for his tooth brush, but was only finding the random makeup he decided to buy for the tour. The old vocalist used to do these gothic makeup looks, so Jimmy figured he should give it a whirl at some point.
It was only when he dumped out his entire bag into the sink in search of his tooth brush, still having no luck finding it, that Jimmy remembered exactly what his brother told him back in the studio.
“God damn it, Grian.”
♫ ♪ .ılılıll |●̲̅̅|̲̅̅=̲̅̅|̲̅̅●̲̅̅| llılılı. ♪ ♫
As the brakes of the bus activated and the engine turned off, Jimmy couldn’t help but bury his head further into his pillow.
He hasn’t been getting the best sleep on the bus for a variety of reasons; whether that be the uncomfortable lumps in his mattress from the bags he hid under it, the snoring of a band member he will not name, or the consistent movement underneath him; it honestly didn’t matter.
He would have fallen asleep again, welcoming the stillness of the bus, but the world had other plans for him tonight. Jimmy felt something shoving against him, and it wasn’t until he opened his privacy curtain that he realized it was Big B’s foot.
The vocalist startled awake, looking properly insane with his messy hair and Captain America pajamas, pushing away his bandmates leg.
“Come on man,” Big B says, words slightly slurred from his own tiredness. “Openers just arrived, Skizz wants all of us to meet and help them get settled.”
“Why does he have to be such a Dad?” Jimmy complains while crawling out of his bunk, much to Big B’s amusement.
“No clue,” The bassist responds with a laugh, helping Jimmy to his feet. “All I know is they’re probably gonna wake us up anyway so might as well not be an anti-social weirdo.”
It took Jimmy blinking a few times to properly see the man in front of him, god he needed to get used to sleeping on this bus before his first show. The energy he has right now on stage would be a disaster waiting to happen.
“I better get a cup of tea for this.” Jimmy states, getting a weak laugh from his friend before heading towards the lounge.
He did end up getting that cup of tea, Skizz thankfully thinking of everything before waking up his bandmates to greet their new colleagues. Jimmy laughed to himself wondering if this is how Skizz treated some of his co-workers at his old office job before he joined the band.
Taking a seat on the couch next to the guitarist, Jimmy curled in on himself with his cup of tea, slowly waking up. It was only then when he realised Joel was the only one in regular clothes while all the rest of the band were in pajamas, or pajama adjacent clothes; none of them truly as childish as Jimmy’s choice in apparel.
“Joel, mate, did you sleep in your jeans?” The vocalist asks, still blinking the sleep away from his eyelids.
“Oh I didn’t go to bed.” Joel replied, crossing his arms as he leaned against the counter of the kitchen. “Couldn’t.”
“Probably that energy drink from earlier, I told you not to get it.” Skizz tsked out from next to Jimmy. It’s been a new joke between the band to find the most ridiculous drink they could at each rest stop, started by Big B after he bought some kind of lavender infused soda. Today Joel found an energy drink that allegedly was flavored to taste like the sun itself, and how are you not supposed to try that?
“Yeah.” Joel says, bouncing his leg up and down. “Probably shouldn’t have.”
The soft sound of someone stepping into the vehicle could be heard, and everyone’s attention immediately turned to the front of the bus. Stage crew members walked up the entrance steps, immediately heading for their bunks, and Jimmy couldn't blame them. It was four in the morning, no one should be up this early.
It was a few moments before the sound returned, and one-by-one the members of the opening band entered. The first person to enter the bus was a red headed woman, glasses resting on her nose, perfectly framing her tired eyes. She was wearing comfortable clothes, just a simple cardigan with some sweatpants, which Jimmy could respect, along with carrying a few bags which Big B was quick to offer help with.
She gave a smile and wave to everyone before being interrupted by a groan from the staircase. With a roll of her eyes, she reached down to help the other member up. He was less presentable than the first member, but Jimmy wasn’t one to judge considering his current state.
The man that entered seemed a bit older than the rest of them, probably around Skizz’s age if Jimmy had to guess. He was wearing some kind of graphic tee with just a yellow ‘i’ printed in the middle of a black shirt, being paired with black cargo shorts that couldn't be comfortable at this hour. A backpack could be seen if you squinted, but it blended in with his clothes pretty well.
He gave a shy greeting to the group, clearly not expecting to be met with four strangers staring at him the moment he entered the bus. Honestly Jimmy didn’t blame him, this was kinda a weird first impression for everyone involved, the vocalist didn’t know why Skizz was so insistent to do this.
With a few more steps, the third and final member of the band began their entrance, Jimmy immediately taken aback when he saw bright blue hair start to enter the bus, clashing with the dark surroundings. When the member fully revealed himself to the group, the air was knocked out of Jimmy's lungs.
The man was dressed in regular clothes, a simple outfit really. Just a light-wash oversized jean jacket that reached his thighs, layered over some kind of retro shirt and a pair of regular jeans. An outfit that, in theory, shouldn’t work. Clashing denim and random colors thrown about carelessly, but somehow it made the man look like an angel; the white messenger bags wrapped around him acting as his wings.
Jimmy couldn't prevent the blush that formed on his face when the man made eye contact with him, quick to curse his sleep-deprived mind for not being able to keep his cool. Raising the cup to his mouth, the vocalist takes a sip of his tea in order to cover what he can of the rather pathetic display.
The man's eyes were absolutely stunning. Appearing gray with just a hint of cyan blended within them, captivating anyone who dared to take a closer look. Jimmy tried to come up with something to compare to the absolute beauty of his eyes, but simply nothing could compare.
Sneaking another glance Jimmy realized the man was wearing makeup, which felt like a foreign concept to the blonde at the current moment. It was just simple mascara, but still, it’s four in the fucking morning; Jimmy can’t handle this.
Everyone stared at each other in silence for a moment, that was until the third member of the newly arrived band started laughing, unable to handle the awkwardness of the situation; which caused Jimmy’s heart to melt on spot.
“So are we just gonna sit and stare at each other all night orrrr…” The man speaks up, speaking in a Scottish accent that Jimmy would do anything to hear again. Before the man was able to speak up again though, Skizz jumped at the opportunity to introduce everyone.
“Right, where are my manners?” Skizz jumps up, holding out a hand and taking turns shaking hands with each band member. “We are the Rejects, pleasure to officially meet you! I’m Skizz, the guitarist. Holding your bags is Big B, our bassist. In the kitchen is Joel, our drummer; and right here,” Skizz takes the time to wrap his arms around Jimmy in a tight hold, slightly shaking him. “Is our brand new vocalist Jimmy, it’s his first tour too so y’all have something in common!”
Jimmy doesn’t think he’s ever wanted to jump out of a window more in his entire life. Having the full attention of the new band on him, his attention on him, only to have them laugh at his expense.
It was only then when he remembered he was in his Captain America pajamas with probably the worst case of bed head known to mankind while a literal angel was staring at him. Just kill him now.
“Nice to meet you guys!” The woman spoke up, a Canadian accent seeping through her tired speech. “Gem and the Scotts here! I’m the bassist, Gem. Right next to me is our drummer, Impulse. Then at the end is our very own vocalist, Scott!”
They all said hello in unison, laughing at the accident. Everyone fell into a pleasant conversation with each other, complaining about the ungodly hour they were expected to board the bus. However, Jimmy was far too preoccupied to engage in small talk.
Scott was the vocalist of the band. He is the vocalist that their record label was so desperate to be with, and Jimmy got the hype now. No, actually no, he needed to stop right now before he started to get weird about this, this was a random guy that he was going on tour with.
This was a random guy that he was going to travel around the country with. This was a random guy who he was probably going to be talking to everyday for the next couple of months. This was a random guy that he will be sleeping in the same room as for- Jimmy takes a sip of his tea.
Trying to urge his mind away from its new fixation, Jimmy turns completely away from the group; instead focusing towards the kitchen, noticing Joel. He was physically separated from everyone by the kitchen counter, leaning against the fridge with his arms crossed, not engaging with the conversation at all, just looking towards the ground.
Jimmy was utterly confused by this, Joel has always been the first person to try and make everyone get along; usually functioning as the leader of the group in most cases. This might be the first time ever that he saw Joel sit out on the chance to meet new people, maybe he was having a bad reaction from the energy drink or something, but the vocalist still took note of it.
“Well I don’t know about you,” Gem says, gathering the attention of everyone. “But I’m so ready to crash, which bunks are still available?”
Immediately Skizz and Big B were quick to explain the system they have set for the sleeping quarters, which bunks are available and what not. The group led the two towards the back, Scott following in tow, but falling behind due to the weight of his extra bags.
“Here, let me help you with that.” Joel offers, reaching down to grab one of Scott’s bags, only for the vocalist to turn and give him a glare that would’ve killed Jimmy on the spot. The kind of glare that could only be given with the expressed purpose of getting someone to back the fuck off.
“I think you’ve done enough.”
With that, Scott followed behind his bandmates, leaving Joel with an empty look on his face. Jimmy just sat on the couch in absolute shock, once again sipping his tea because what the hell else was he supposed to do.
He was waiting for the moment Joel would acknowledge the fact that the vocalist was in the room, but that moment never came. The drummer just stared at the crusty tile of the kitchen as he balled his fist, completely spacing out as everyone else settled down for the night. What the hell was that?
* . °•★| 1:24 ───ㅇ───── 3:13 |☆•° . *
Dress rehearsals went by without too many problems, which Jimmy was forever grateful for. His nerves were already trying to outcast the sandwich he ate earlier from his stomach, the singer didn’t also need to deal with malfunctioning equipment on top of that.
Without much else to sort out, the bands returned to the back, enjoying the luxury of the two dressing rooms the venue offered them. They weren’t anything special; worn brick covering every wall with a variety of different social media handles written into the grime using sharpie.
There were a few mirrors, the fancy kind that had light bulbs lining the frame of it, which Jimmy felt like an absolute idiot for failing his makeup in. An absolute mess of eyeshadow and eyeliner decorated his face, framing the tears building up in his eyes.
“Hey Jiggles, you all good over there?” Skizz asks from across the room, running a few exercises on his guitar before the show. He was sitting on a couch that has probably not left this room for the past century, age evident with the amount of marks and tears in it.
“Just fine.” Jimmy grumbles, once again pulling out a make up wipe to remove his failures.
“You know, I can do your makeup if you need help.” Big B speaks up, grabbing an energy drink from the ancient vending machine to the left of the couch. Of course he would offer to help out; with his perfect guyliner and perfect muscles and perfect everything.
“Nah I got it.” The room went silent as Jimmy tried once again to match the makeup of his bandmates, only to let out a frustrated shout when he failed yet again.
Skizz and Big B made eye contact with each other, silently debating the best way to approach their bandmate. It didn’t take too much introspection to realize this had nothing to do with the makeup, after all, Jimmy has been rocking this very style ever since he was a teen. With a nod, the guitarist got up from the couch, the cushion indented where he sat.
“Gotta grab some replacement strings from the bus real quick, be back in a jiffy.” Skizz announces as he leaves the room, Big B taking the opportunity to sit down at the mirror next to the vocalist.
They were silent at first, Big B pretending to scroll his phone and fix his hair. Taking a sip of his energy drink, the bassist’s facial expressions strained as he coughed.
“Wow, this one might rival the one Joel had yesterday.” Big B laughs out to no one in particular, but Jimmy turns from his reflection to check the flavor of the beverage.
“Who in their right mind would flavor an energy drink after coffee?” Jimmy questioned, getting a laugh out of the other man. After some pestering, the blonde tried the drink, being hit with a ridiculous amount of caffeine with only one small sip.
“If you don’t throw that out, I will B.” Jimmy coughs out, desperate to try and get the bitter taste out of his mouth.
Big B offered Jimmy a soda, which the vocalist downed immediately, not helping his stomach feel any better. However, he couldn’t find it in him to care about that when he was too busy laughing at the ridiculous interaction.
“What’s up, losers.” Joel greets as he enters the dressing room, Skizz following close behind, lacking the guitar strings he went out to fetch.
The drummer immediately settled next to Jimmy on a flimsy directors chair that was left out from earlier, ruffling the vocalist's hair as he sat down. With a small grumble, Jimmy tried to smooth out his hair for the hundredth time that day.
“Oi watch it,” The vocalist speaks up, shoving Joel lightly. “I spent, like, an hour on my hair this morning.”
“Wouldn’t expect anything less from our little diva.” Skizz jokes, hugging Jimmy from behind, purposefully resting his chin on top of the vocalist's head.
“Mate, what did I just say?” Jimmy tries to shoo away the guitarist, but doesn't have the heart to push Skizz away.
The group continues to bicker like that while Jimmy attempts to perfect his makeup, still having trouble getting it just right. It was no longer bringing the man to tears though, so that was a major improvement.
“Wait bro,” Joel speaks up, grabbing Jimmy’s eyeliner from his hands. “No wonder you’re having trouble, this brand actually sucks to apply. Hold up a sec.”
The drummer started digging through his pockets, laughing about how much random junk he had in there before he pulled out his own eyeliner, showing it to the vocalist. It seemed like any other brand you would find at the drug store, by definition nothing special compared to what Jimmy was using previously.
“Here let me show you.” Joel said while grabbing a makeup wipe to clean off Jimmy’s face once again, creating a clear canvas. He reached up to grab Jimmy’s chin and started applying the eyeliner, smearing it as he went to get that signature guyliner look the band had.
The applicator felt cheap against Jimmy's eyes, and he couldn’t help the soft smile that appeared on his face. He wasn’t stupid, he knew this had nothing to do with the brand he was using, or even the makeup in general. Joel was trying to get him as comfortable as possible before the show, and it was working.
“There you go.” Joel announces as he pulls his hand away from Jimmy’s face, giving him a pat on the back before getting up from his chair. “Now you look better than all of us, god I’m too good at this stuff.”
“Whatever you say babe.” Jimmy rolls his eyes, and he could see the smirk on Joel's lips in the mirror at the reoccurring joke. In all honesty, the makeup was probably no different from what the vocalist kept doing earlier, but if Joel thinks it’s good enough for the stage, who is Jimmy to disagree?
Getting up from his seat, and untangling the chains that got caught on the chair arms, Jimmy stretched. His black shirt rode up enough to showcase his fishnet top, which was 'covering' his stomach, getting him a playful cheer from his bandmates. The vocalist was about to tease the band for their rowdiness, but the room shook before he could.
Caught off guard, the blonde jumped and held back a yelp, quickly realizing that it was just the show starting and not an earthquake ruining the first night of their tour. Faintly, he could hear a familiar voice through the walls as Gem and the Scotts started their first performance of the tour. The walls buzzed slightly from the power of Gem and Impulse’s instruments, being hooked up to an ungodly amount of speakers and soundboards.
“Shows officially started then.” Jimmy says to no one in particular, a surreal feeling taking over the vocalist’s body. His first tour has officially started.
“Sounds like it, come on mate lets go get a closer look.” Joel grabs Jimmy by the arm and practically drags him out the room, leaving their other bandmates behind.
Joel led his friend through the several winding halls that made up the venue’s upstairs, nearly tripping on the staircase as it appeared unexpectedly. With a laugh, the two made their way down to the ground level, being able to easily view the stage from where they lurked; and an amazing sight greeted Jimmy as he looked towards their openers.
The tired strangers from last night have completely transformed themselves into absolute rockstars, with the screen behind them looping a pixelated cherrywood forest animation. Gem wore a pair of overalls with a black and yellow color-blocked shirt underneath, a yellow contact in her right eye to match the shirt and the yellow heart on the front pocket of her overalls. Paint decorated the right side of her face, shining in the glow of the headlights.
Impulse was a bit harder to see due to sitting behind his drumset, but he wore all black with yellow accents sewn into the fabric, a patchwork heart shaped in the middle of his chest to match Gem. Yellow face paint showcasing intricate patterns on the guy, putting Jimmy’s guyliner to an absolute shame.
Then there was Scott, jumping in the flashing lights of the stage, effortlessly hyping up the crowd before the chorus of the song they were performing. He was wearing an off the shoulder white top with a green heart printed on the front; a mesh jacket layered overtop of it, the see-through garment matching his hair perfectly in the light.
A pair of jeans accompanied the outfit with a matching pair of chains to Jimmy’s own, and if Jimmy looked closely enough, he could see the jeans were patchworked with slightly different shades of denim. On his face, Scott painted several stars amongst his freckles, all matching perfectly with his hair. Jimmy couldn't help but gawk at him.
Scott was a natural, completely owning the stage despite probably getting lackluster sleep the night before. There was a moment when Scott kicked the air in sync with Gem as they hit a big note in their song, and Jimmy felt the exact moment he realized he was fucked.
He chalked up last night, or rather this morning, to his sleep-deprived mind trying its best to function at the ungodly hour; but he couldn’t avoid it anymore. He was head-over-heels for his tourmate, god help his soul.
If Jimmy wasn’t so preoccupied by the show, and Scott, he would’ve noticed how Joel stood just out of view of the performing band. Watching the stage with an unreadable expression before patting Jimmy on the shoulder.
“That's gonna be us in a few, how you feeling?” Joel asked and Jimmy had to force his eyes away from the stage to respond, thankful that the lighting was dark enough to hide his blush.
“Insanely intimidated by our opening band.” Jimmy answers honestly, which gets a laugh out of Joel.
They watched the band perform in silence, the vocalist itching to join them on stage. The energy from the group was absolutely contagious, and Jimmy couldn’t help his cheer as the three wrapped up their set, thanking the crowd for a good night.
The band left the stage, quickly being replaced by stage hands rushing out to get everything in order for the Reject's performance. Jimmy and Joel made their way backstage, just waiting as things got set up.
Skizz and Big B eventually made their way to the others, meanwhile the stage crew worked fast to set up equipment and perform a sound check with the technicians in the back of the venue.
Jimmy’s chest grew heavier and heavier as he watched their instruments get set up; from anxiety or excitement, he had no clue. He was going to find out in a few minutes though.
The lights on the stage completely dimmed as a fog machine started working to cover the ground. A stage hand gave Joel a thumbs up, which the drummer responded with a nod before turning towards his bandmates.
“Alright guys, first headlining tour, you ready to make history?” Joel asked, excitement clear in his voice as his friends hyped each other up. With a smirk, Joel waved goodbye to his bandmates, entering the stage. The moment he stepped out, he was met with the screams of their fans, despite the crowd not being able to properly see him.
Skizz and Big B went out together next, carrying their instruments and making sure the cables sticking out of them didn’t cause any trouble. The crowd only got louder as the two got in position, anticipation building with every second that passed. With a deep breath, Jimmy closed his eyes and walked out to the center of the stage in front of the rest of his bandmates.
With a knot in his chest, the vocalist turned to look back at his friends, and each of them were giving him the proudest look he could've ever imagined. Smiling, Jimmy turned back to the restless crowd, pulling the microphone left for him on stage closer while he waited for his cue.
“Ready as I’ll ever be.” Jimmy whispered to himself, too weak to be caught into the microphone. Just as he said it, the lights illuminate the stage and his bandmates start playing their instruments.
“Who’s ready to get this tour started?” Jimmy shouted out, face illuminated to the eager fans in the room, being met with even more screaming. With a smile, Jimmy starts singing the beginning lyrics to an all too familiar song.
‿︵‿︵୨ *.·:·.✧ ✦ ✧.·:·.* ୧‿︵‿︵