“I played for the first time,” I teased. “That would be like me handing you a soccer ball and letting you loose.”
“We played baseball,” Ross said, pointing to him, Jesse, and Aaron. “The athleticism ended with me.”
“Baseball and soccer aren’t comparable,” Aaron said. “But way to brag.”
Jesse sat the Cheez-Its box on the ground, next to the door. “I’m going to watch a movie.”
“Don’t start the new Marvel movie yet,” Ross called after him.
“Bet you he’s watching Harry Potter,” Aaron said to Ross.
Ross scoffed in response. “I’m not taking the bet because it’s obviously true.”
Through the many magazines I’d devoured about Skyline, I’d learned that Jesse was a Harry Potter nerd. “He’s a Slytherin, right?”
“Yep,” Ross said. “Says a lot about him right there.”
“I’m a Ravenclaw,” Aaron said, before pointing to Ross. “And he’s a mix between a Hufflepuff and a Ravenclaw. A Ravenpuff. Or a Huffleclaw.”
“And Zach is a Gryffindor,” Ross said. “Basic.”
Of course he is. “Guess that makes me basic too.”
“Gryffindor?” Aaron asked. He tilted his head to the side, studying me. “Yeah, I can see it.”
“I hear Harry Potter talk!” Jesse called out.
We went out to the main area, where Zach was sitting on one of the couches.
My heart did a flip in my chest as I witnessed Zach in pure form, a white T-shirt and black sweatpants with his hair sticking up in all the wrong places. It was clear he’d tried to smooth his hair down with his hands, but it was a perfect bedhead look. And I was swooning for it. As predicted, Harry Potter was playing on the screen. It looked like The Chamber of Secrets, but I wasn’t sure.
“Feeling better?” Ross asked Zach.
Zach nodded, standing up as the two boys sat down. “I’m going to the back for a bit.” He glanced over toward me. “Want to come?”
More than anything. “Sure.”
I took a seat on the couch as Zach grabbed his guitar stashed in the corner.
“You going to write me a song?” I teased.
“I actually am in the middle of writing a song.” His smile faded a little. “But I’ve got a killer headache, so no new melodies are coming from me today.”
I tried not to think about the fact that Zach Matthews was sitting in front of me, a guitar in his hand. It was every dream I’d ever had coming true all at once.
“Sing an old melody then,” I said.
He raised an eyebrow. “Like what?”
“I want to hear ‘Honorable Mention.’”
A full-blown smile spread across his face. “You’re kidding.”
“Do you remember it?”
He strummed the guitar a few times, quietly humming. “I think so.” He looked back up at me. “How did you remember ‘Honorable Mention’?”
Because I’m obsessed with your work. “Just popped in my head.”
“Shit, what key was that in?” he asked, as he continued to strum.
“I think that was a C major?”
“C major, with a C, G, A minor, and F progression.”
This time he fully paused, his eyes studying mine. “You play?”
My body felt numb as I gazed into his caramel brown eyes.
“Sometimes. Not seriously.”
He held out the guitar toward me. “Let’s hear it then.”
“You’re not getting out of serenading me with ‘Honorable Mention’ that easily.”
We paused as I took a moment to process what I’d said. I knew the blush was coming before I felt the heat rising.
Zach recovered first. “Of all songs to choose to be serenaded with,
‘Honorable Mention’ is a pretty shitty choice.” I managed a small laugh, the embarrassment seeping through me. “But if you insist.”
And he did just that. His voice was deep and gravelly, a contrast to the prepubescent Zach who had sung this song three years prior.
It was an entirely different experience with only an acoustic guitar, and Zach’s voice, and I never wanted it to end.
“That live up to your expectations?” Zach asked.
My racing heart answered for me. “Beyond exceeded.”
He strummed his guitar, humming once again. “Give me something that won’t make me cringe.”
“Say what you want, ‘Honorable Mention’ is still one of my favorites.”
He gave me a disapproving look. “We need to work on your taste in music.”
That I had to laugh at.
“Give me something from the new EP,” I said. “As a music fan, I feel as though it’s my duty to give you my honest review.”
A smile played on Zach’s lips. “A music fan? Or a Skyline fan?”
“Music,” I said.
“Right. Because all music fans know the chord progression for a deep cut off our first EP.”
“This music fan does.”
He let out a soft laugh, but began to strum again. “Okay. This one’s called ‘Henrietta.’”
“‘Henrietta?’” I questioned.
“You’ll see.”
And with that, I was lost in the world of Zach Matthews’s voice once again.
HOUSTON, TX
CHAPTER 12
Another sound check. Another meet and greet. Another show.
I couldn’t even remember what city we were supposed to be in, what the schedule breakdown was. All I knew is that I couldn’t sit through another repetitive routine.
Connor was off on a radio interview. Mackenzie had rented rehearsal space to practice the choreography for her new dance number. And I hadn’t seen Skyline since I’d left their tour bus last night to sleep in ours.
Another me day.
I checked my Maps location. We were in the heart of Houston, Texas. There had to be some good food around here somewhere.
My phone buzzed as I started my walk, an Instagram Live notification from Skyline. I brought up the notification as I walked. It was almost like having company on my adventure. Almost.
“Hey, I’m Jesse.”
“I’m Aaron.”
“Ross.”
“And I’m Zach. And we’re Skyline.”
It was a Q&A, the boys taking some time to announce some upcoming interviews they’d be doing and doing some promotional work for ticket sales for the tour.
“All right, I’m going to start scrolling for questions,” Jesse said.
“You have the next sixty seconds to spam us in the chat. To fill in those next sixty seconds, Aaron and Ross are going to arm wrestle.”
A barbecue restaurant. It was only appropriate that I try something that Houston was famous for. I grabbed a menu, half listening to the Skyline live chat as I scanned the food choices.
“And we’re done!” Jesse announced. “Ross the clear champion.”
“That’s only because he’s a drummer,” Aaron argued.
“That doesn’t make any sense,” Ross said.
I placed an order at the cashier’s recommendation before taking a seat to wait for my food. The boys were scrolling through the chat, reading out some of the questions.
“Our next single is dropping mid-July,” Ross said, with a smile.
“We haven’t released the name yet, but stick close because it’ll be any day now.”
“Yes, the rumors are true,” Aaron said. “We are looking into headlining our own tour after we finish with Connor Jackson Live.
More information to come on that when we get it.”
“No, I don’t spend fifteen minutes on my hair,” Jesse said, looking into the camera. “What kind of question is that?”
“Yes he does!” Ross said. “If not more.”
It felt like I was spending my lunch with the boys, my solo Katelyn adventure turning into a lunch date. As I finished up, I took one of the napkins with the restaurant’s name printed on it.
Memento for Houst
on? Check. As I tucked the napkin into my pocket, I couldn’t help but realize how ridiculous the items were that I’d picked up from each location so far. But that’s what made them special, because they were my memories.
I walked back to the tour bus, dropping my napkin into my memento box before changing into Limitless Apparel shorts and a tournament T-shirt. I pulled on my sneakers, grabbing my soccer ball before heading back outside.
All I needed was a large, empty wall.
And the exact one was back where the crew buses were parked. It was a decent size, and nobody seemed to be around this area.
The repetitive sound of the soccer ball hitting my foot and then the wall brought on a calmness that had been lacking over the past few tour stops.
“Whoa, there.”
I let out a surprised yelp, turning to see Zach coming up behind me.
And then the soccer ball hit me in the calf. Hard. “Ow, dammit.”
He had a black journal in hand, a pen sticking out of his sweatpants’ pocket. “Are you trying to dent the arena?”
As a force of habit, I picked up the tail of my shirt to wipe the sweat off my face. Only to then quickly realize I was flashing Zach my sports bra.
I quickly let my shirt fall back down, “Sorry, I was in my element.”
“I could tell,” he said. “I’d been standing there for like, three minutes, waiting for a chance to run past you without getting hit.”
Oops. “Sorry about that.”
“Nothing to be sorry about. Passion is something you should never apologize for.”
“Thank you.”
“Next time I cross your path, I’ll bring you a towel,” he said, with a teasing smile. “Though I think you look cute either way.”
Before I had the chance to process, to respond, he was leaving. He continued into the arena, pulling his pen out and writing as he walked.
I took a few moments to play with the soccer ball, doing some more intricate footwork before I slammed it against the arena wall again.
Wall, foot, repeat. This was my favorite way to spend a hot, summer afternoon.
And it did a really good job of keeping me from overthinking the fact that Zach Matthews had just called me cute.
“Can I get one of the Skyline shirts?” I asked my mom.
“What do you need a merch shirt for?”
“Because it’s important to me.”
She shook her head, but I could see her smile. “Yes, Katelyn. Go ahead and grab one.”
I picked a simple white T-shirt with Skyline written across the front in block letters. On the back it had a professionally drawn portrait of the four boys. I also grabbed a Connor Jackson Live T-shirt, with the list of the tour dates on the back.
“Is that all you wanted?” Mom asked.
“For now.”
“I’m guessing you’re sitting in on the show tonight?”
I nodded, holding up my Skyline shirt. “Time to be the fangirl I truly am.”
“You should get the boys to sign your shirt.”
“Are you offering me a meet-and-greet pass?”
She shook her head. “You’re too much.”
“Is that a yes?”
“I don’t have a meet-and-greet pass to see Skyline,” she said. “Just go and see them yourself before the show.”
Instead of crashing their meet and greet, I went back to the tour bus.
Up until this point, I’d always found a way to entertain myself, to keep from getting bored. And it looks like that streak was coming to an end.
After reorganizing my suitcase, catching up on my social media, and playing a round of solitaire, there wasn’t much else I could force myself to do.
And then there was a knock on the door. Unsure who exactly would be taking the time to knock before entering, I slowly crept toward the door, peering out of the peephole.
Zach?
I quickly yanked open the door. “Hi!”
He offered up a smile. “I was trying to take a nap but have had a little too much caffeine to lie down. And your mom said you were looking for a friend.”
Of course she did.
“Come in,” I said, pulling him inside before closing the door behind him. “I was . . . cleaning.”
He slipped his Vans off by the door before turning to face me with a quizzical expression. “Cleaning the tour bus?”
It sounded a lot better than playing cards alone. “A little.”
We crossed over to the couch, and I realized this was his first time in our bus. “Want a tour?”
“Sure.”
I spread my arms out wide. “This is the couch area.”
“Living room?”
“I’m not sure it’s big enough to be called its own room.” I led him past the couch, placing my hands on the table where my cards were.
“This is where we eat breakfast.”
“That’s usually what tables are for.”
We then walked down the hallway. “These are the six bunk beds.
My mom and dad sleep on the top two bunks. I have the middle left. And then the other three bunks store clothes.” I pulled back the curtains of my suitcase bunk. “Here are where my clothes live.”
Zach peered over my shoulder. “You sure do have a lot of soccer shirts.”
“Are you calling me out?”
“Only slightly.” And then he saw my memento box. “What is that?”
Pulling the box out, I handed it to him to sift through. “I like to collect an item from each city that means something to me.”
He held up the napkin from today. “This means something to you?”
“That’s where I had amazing barbecue for lunch,” I said. “Each item is something that I’ll remember.”
He slowly nodded as his eyes swept over the contents. “Some people make scrapbooks. Some people journal. You collect things. I like it.”
“I have one from everywhere we’ve been except Portland.”
He raised an eyebrow in question. “Why Portland?”
“Because while on my run, I got so caught up in the city itself that I forgot to take a piece home.”
“Understandable.”
Zach’s hand brushed against mine as he passed the box back to me, sending tingles down my spine. I turned away from him to put the box back, taking a deep breath to calm my nerves.
Pulling the curtain shut, I turned back toward Connor’s room.
“And this is where His Majesty sleeps.”
“You mean he doesn’t have a bunk?”
“Of course not.” I pushed open the door to the back room. Inside was Connor’s full-size bed, as well as his overspilling suitcase and acoustic guitar.
“I’d have to fight Jesse, Aaron, and Ross for this,” Zach said. “No way I’d win that battle.”
We made our way back to the couches, Zach pausing at the table covered in playing cards.
“What were you playing?” he asked. “You know, while you were cleaning.”
Caught red-handed. “I might have played some solitaire.”
He headed toward the door, slipping on his shoes. A sense of disappointment washed over me as I realized he was going to leave.
“I have something for you,” he said, before opening the door.
I followed him outside. He stepped off to the side of the tour buses, picking up a rock. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out his marker.
“What’re you doing?” I asked.
He scribbled something on the rock, before turning around to face me. “For you.”
I took the rock from him, flipping it over to see Portland written across it in bold letters.
“I definitely remember picking that up in Portland, don’t you?”
Zach asked, with a playful grin.
It was perfect.
DALLAS, TX
CHAPTER 13
I was set to fly out for the Limitless Apparel Showcase this afternoon. But trying to kill my nerves after our overnight travel was proving to be rath
er difficult. I took to pacing the “rooms” of the tour bus, much to my mom’s dismay.
“Why don’t you pop out for a bit?” she suggested. “Burn some of that excess energy.”
“I can’t. I have to pace. I have to think.”
“It’s eight in the morning; what do you have to think about?”
A knock came on our tour bus door, and my mom glanced toward me before answering it, as I was already heading toward the back of the bus on my pacing circle.
“Hi, Mrs. Jackson.”
Ross.
My mom let him inside the bus. And of course I was still dressed in my pajamas: a pair of shorts with cats playing soccer and an over-sized Connor Jackson shirt. I looked absolutely ridiculous.
“Morning, Katelyn. I was checking to see what you’re up to.”
“Yes, Katelyn. What are you up to?” my mom teased.
I didn’t have a good answer. “Thinking.”
Mom let out a small laugh before retaking her seat on the couch.
“I was coming to see if you wanted to come to the studio with us this morning,” he said. “We’re recording a new song, and I thought it’d be fun with an audience.”
“Such a difficult choice,” Mom said. “Stay here and continue to think, or go with Skyline to the recording studio to hear their brand-new song.”
My face flushed with embarrassment, my mom smirking behind Ross. She was exposing me in a way she knew I couldn’t refuse.
“I’ll come,” I said. “Give me a minute to get dressed.”
Ross’s eyes flickered down to my cat shorts. “I mean, I don’t know how you beat those shorts, but you can certainly try.”
Mom ushered Ross off the bus, and I waited for the door to close before exploding.
“Mom! Could you be any more obvious?”
She shrugged. “I’m doing what is best for my daughter.”
“You’re embarrassing me.”
“That’s what moms are for.”
As much as I wanted to continue the argument, I didn’t have time to. I was nowhere near ready to go out into society. “This conversation isn’t over.”
She waved me along. “Want me to braid your hair? You know how adorable I think you look with those Dutch braids.”
Along for the Ride Page 10