the mixed tape [will]

[amethyst hartlet]

Amy was really bummed out. It had been a long week and the only time she really enjoyed herself was when performing and meeting fans. Other than that, it sucked. She was just feeling hopeless and lonely. Everyone had seemed to find somebody. Except for her. The girl who couldnt have a serious relationship without freaking out and calling it off. She'd had more boyfriends than there had been presidents of the United States and STILL she had not found the right guy. It was so weird. Amy, the optimistic one, always ready to give anything a shot. And yet... she was alone again. It sucked, really badly.

So she'd needed some comfort food. The only thing she could think of was eating outside on the uncomfortable ground in front of the McDonalds. She had a small bag in front of her, as well as a sandwich she was eating, some french fries and a large milk shake. So there. Who cared if she got fat. She didnt have anybody to impress anyways, so it didnt matter.

[will kellough]

Being from a small town in the Midwest, Will learned at an early age how to entertain himself. Of course, his sisters were wholly responsible for turning Will into a one-man Broadway show at an early age. He had a vast imagination thanks to them.

Once his sisters moved out of the house, Will was left on his own a lot, with no one except his alcoholic mother for company. This caused Will to be gone most of the time, staying with Te or Seb for weeks at a time. Will also discovered what a solitary person he was. It was more like a defense mechanism for him. It was like a defense mechanism. He liked being off on his own, sitting by lakes or oceans and staring into the water. One of his favorite pasttimes was tree-climbing, and, in his picket-fence-lined piece of suburbia back home in Ohio, there was never a shortage of trees. His neighbors would often call his mother and complain that her "wild son" was in their yard, up a tree, and refused to come down. Even now, on this tour, when Will felt like he needed to get away, he would find a tree, and climb it, and basically see how long it took for someone to notice that there was a guy up there.

The tree that Will had selected today just happened to be by a McDonald's. Will hated McDonald's food, but the smell of the French fries were intoxicating. As long as he didn't have to eat it, there was nothing wrong with smelling it. As he hugged a tree branch, he observed the patrons zooming in and out of the yellow archways. There were a lot of parents with a lot of children. A few older people. Nothing really exciting. That is, until - hello, there. Will leaned over his branch a little bit and spotted a dark-haired girl, thin, tattooed and pierced - one of the most exotic-looking girls Will had ever seen. There was no one who looked like her back in Ohio. He rested his chin on the bark and observed her for a few moments.

[amethyst hartlet]

Amy finished her cheeseburger after picking out the pickles, and then she got out her box of french fries. Her glum expression changed to a smile as a bird hopped a few feet away from her, tilting its head and waiting expectantly. "Okay, here you go you little punk," She smirked, tossing a couple french fries to the bird. He flitted out of the way and then came back to eat them. Amethyst watched him curiously and then glanced over as another bird joined him to fight over the french fry. "Hey boys, theres enough for everybody," she said with a little laugh as she tossed them a couple more french fries. "I think I'm really going crazy, I'm talking to birds." She smiled slightly and sat back again, sighing as she watched the birds attacking the french fries. Amy was unaware of Will watching her from the tree.

[/blockquote][/blockquote]

[will kellough]

Will watched the girl enter the McDonald's and then reappear a few minutes later with a bag. She sat outside, eating methodically. He felt like the Wes Bentley character in American Beauty - observing a pretty girl from afar as she went about a dailey routine, except the only difference was, while Ricky Fitz had his video camera, Will was up a tree.

He was sure that he was high enough that she wouldn't see him unless she looked straight up and back a little. He was a small dude already, and had a tendency to wear darker clothes. He should have blended in with the leaves and branches. This would also get him into trouble as a kid - he had had the cops called on him more than once after being mistaken for a burglar. The cops in his small town knew him by name, but they would never arrest him or anything - there were no charges to be filed against him. They would simply ask him to come down, then escort him home.

Will watched her tossed a few French fries to a small bird that had hopped close to her. She laughed and spoke to it, offering it more of her food. How generous. If it was Will, he'd take his fries and go somewhere else. That was the one food he would never share.

He folded his arms under his chin and watched some more. The girl now had a bevy of small little birds fighting over the fries she had tossed on the ground. It was cute, in a storybook way. It was like Snow White and her animal friends.

Then, horror of horrors, Will released quite a loud sneeze. This one had snuck up on him - he was usually silent when he was up a tree and was able to muffle his sneezes in time. But this had caught him so off-guard that he nearly toppled, but quickly regained his balance, hugging the branch he straddled.

[amethyst hartlet]

"No! You guys are eating all my food, I'm sorry, go find some worms to eat or something." Amy said as the birds devoured her french fries and looked at her for more. "I refuse to be the bird lady." She said with a mock stern tone as she stood up, throwing her bag in the garbage and just holding the little red box with her remaining french fries. "Okay, one more," she rolled her eyes and tossed a couple to the birds before turning to go someplace else. She hadn't really decided but it didn't matter since she was already distracted. She heard the sneeze and the sound of someone or something scrambling in the tree and she had jumped a little, startled by the sound. Amy looked up to see what it was, smiling in amusement when she saw it was a guy, hugging himself to a tree branch.

"Stalking is generally frowned upon," She joked, still smiling and looking rather amused. She recognized him from one of the other bands though. He was one of the quieter guys and she didn't really know who he was but she did recognize him vaguely. It bothered her though, that she couldnt recall his name or the band he was in. It was kind of sad. "I'm Amy," She said finally, deciding that was the best method of going about this. "What are you doing up there?" she asked him curiously, forgetting about her bad week for a moment.

[will kellough]

Will wished the tree would swallow him. He'd never been caught in broad daylight before and he could feel his ears turning bright red the way they always did when he was embarrassed. He pressed his face against the bark and tried to build up the courage to talk to her. He hated talking to girls. He always felt so fucking awkward. He liked girls, he liked them a lot - but that talking thing...therein lay the issue.

This is why the tour was so hard for him. It wasn't the being-away-from home-aspect. It was the fact that the air around whatever fairgrounds they were curretnly occupying at the time always reeked of sex. Everyone was out to hook up. Everyone, that is, except Will. He'd rather stagedive into a pit of cobras than approach a girl and talk to her. Why was everything always about sex? It was obnoxious and unfair. But, as Seb would tell him, it was only a part of the three fundamentals of being on tour - the other two being drugs and rock-and-roll.

"...Sorry," was Will's meager reply. "I'm...I just...I'm sorry. I didn't...I mean, I'm sorry I was...I...um..." Shut up. Shut up. SHUT UP. "I'm...Will."

[amethyst hartlet]

Amy smiled, resisting the urge to laugh. Poor guy, he seemed all in a jumble of confusion or something. "Its okay," she assured him, shrugging as she slid her hands into the pockets of her jeans. "So... you're with a band right?" she asked, squinting a little as she tried to think of which one. Nothing was coming to mind "I'm with Scheduled Nurses," she went on, "Rhythm guitar and back ups, whoo hoo" she laughed a little, shrugging. Amy didn't mind shy people... as long as they didn't mind that sometimes she did talk too much. Not all the time, just... most of the time? Ah well. Either way, Amy liked to talk and sometimes it even helped make a situation less awkward. However it was a little odd talking to a boy in a tree.

[will kellough]

Will couldn't find his tongue; he let Amy do more of the talking, but she didn't say much either - just identified herself by her band and what she played.

He felt like a tool, but he was paralyzed with his adolescent fear. After a long pause, he finally said in a low but sincere voice, "...I like Scheduled Nurse." He sat up a little in his tree branch. "I've been listening to you guys on MySpace for about a year." It was true. A friend had sent Will the link to the Scheduled Nurse MySpace page, and he had been hooked ever since. Getting to do the Euphoria tour with them was pretty much a thrill for him.

Will cleared his throat a little bit, trying to gain some confidence. "I play with the Shake It Ups," he said. "Lead guitar. And I sing."

[amethyst hartlet]

Amethyst looked a little surprised but also quite thrilled that he was a fan. "Cool," she said smiling. "Thanks," She felt like she should always be thanking people. One day, she'd gotten really bored and just walked around the festival saying thank you to everyone. But yeah, she wanted their fans and listeners to know that they were appreciated.

"Oh, right," She said, suddenly remembering as he refreshed her memory. "Thats where I've seen you before," She grinned, "I can't keep everybody straight sometimes." Amy laughed a little, looking around so that her neck didn't permanently cramp in that position. Then she looked back up at him again "So what are you doing in a tree?" she asked curiously.

[will kellough]

"You're welcome," Will replied shyly. "You guys are really great." He still wasn't one hundred percent comfortable with coming down from the tree, but it was awkward talking to Amy from a high level. Grow some balls; go down there and talk to her.

"It's okay, by the way. The not keeping people straight thing," he said. "I can't some of you straight either. But some of you are pretty distinguishable. Like you." His ears burned red hot. Is this flirting? I can't tell.

"Oh...this? Well...it's just a compulsion I have," Will admitted sheepishly. "I...I like to climb trees, that's all. It's something I do when I feel...out of control. I retreat. Our ancestors lived in trees." Those were probably the most words he had ever spoken to a girl. Ever. And he didn't faint or vomit or die. Maybe this wasn't going to be so bad.

[amethyst hartlet]

"Thanks, you guys are pretty good too" Amy smiled when he said she was distinguishable. That was a new one. no one had ever called her that before... but it was kind of cute. He was certainly different and she liked different. She listened curiously as he explained his tree thing and nodded in understanding.

"I totally understand what you mean... kind of like when I stuff my face with marshmallows or lock myself up someplace alone." Amy grinned a little. Marshmallows were her comfort food and sometimes when things got crazy she just went away for a little while. So if his was climbing trees, she could totally understand. Plus it was good excercise.

[will kellough]

"...Marshmallows?" Will perked up a little. He loved marshmellows. They were one of his guilty pleasures. As a kid, his sisters would entertain him by putting marshmallows in the microwave and letting him watch them expand five times their normal size. "...I love marshmallows."

Hmm. So this girl was not only a knock-out, but she was funny and sweet, liked marshmallows, played a kickass guitar and when he talked to her, she didn't giggle or play with her hair like there was nothing intelligant going on underneath. Also, when he talked to her, he didn't feel like he was going to throw up. Okay, so maybe there was hope for him after all. Now, if he could just convince himself to come down out of the tree...he wasn't quite ready to let go of that safety blanket.

[amethyst hartlet]

Amethyst laughed "Me too," She grinned. "I ate a whole bag once, I wasn't paying attention and all of a sudden I looked down and the whole bag was gone. I had a really bad stomach ache after that one." Amy laughed in amusement at herself. "I never did that again... I just bought bigger bags," she joked, smiling. "Milo and Alex always tease me and steal them though..." She mused rolling her eyes a little. "They don't want me to get fat," Amy added in a mock-concerned way. "I told them to shove it and give me back my freaking marshmallows..." Okay so she was talking a lot. Amy decided to shut up before she scared her new friend away. He definitely seemed kind of quiet but he was also rather interesting. Quiet people generally surprised people the most right? Thats what Amy had always learned and she was curious about Will.

[will kellough]

"You're not fat," Will said with a small smile. "You're perfect."

Oh God, did I just say that?! DID I JUST SAY THAT?! Will's ears burned so badly that he thought they would catch fire and burn right off. He seemed to be getting bolder - or more foolish - the more he talked to this girl, this hip chick who intrigued him. But still, his body refused to let him come down out of the tree. It was like a compulsion.

"My sisters...they would give me marshmallows," Will continued slowly. "They were like a comfort food. Like what you do. They would...put them in the microwave for me. I thought it was funny the way they would expand."

[amethyst hartlet]

Amygrinned, looking down at her feet for a moment. This cute, shy boy kept complimenting her and Amy was such a sucker for compliments. It was quite sad. But she liked nice people, so sue her. "Well thanks," she smiled, looking back up at him again. She laughed a little as he mentioned putting marshmallows in the microwave. "I've never done that before," She admitted "We tried making smores in the microwave once, it was pretty sad. My brother had this genius idea to wrap it in tin foil and it caught on fire." She grinned, shaking her head at the memories.

She glanced down at the box of french fries in her hand that was starting to get cold. Her hand was tired and she wasnt that hungry anymore. "Do you like french fries?" she asked finally, looking up at him again "They might be a little cold by now" she admitted sheepishly "But I hate to waste them... if not i'll give em to the birds or something" se shrugged.