Spin Harmony (Jaya Week 2023)

Day 2: Gift

Jay wished he could just stop making jokes for once.

Sure, it was fine on television, but in real life, it just made him embarrassed. Then again, he usually felt embarrassed around people, especially next to Kai, Cole, and Zane. They were so cool compared to him, at least when they were in the public eye. When they were alone, they were normal, unserious guys like him, but when they were doing band stuff, it was different. They were the cool older brothers, and he was the baby. Sure, their personalities shone through, but they were less awkward, like they knew what they were doing.

He hoped that was because they had been training for longer. Obviously; they were older. Kai was eighteen, Cole and Zane were nineteen. Meanwhile, he was still two months away from seventeen.

Maybe that was why he'd liked talking to Nya so much. Sure, she was more mature at sixteen than her brother might ever be, but she was also fun. She'd agreed to do silly things with him that his bandmates wouldn't understand why he cared about.

She was also pretty.

He didn't like to admit that that was part of it–he didn't want to be one of the superficial guys who only cared about a girl's looks and not her personality. And he wasn't. He did care about her personality, a lot. He was excited to have met someone who had the same hobbies as he did, even if she wisely didn't test out the invention ideas she had. But that was only part of why he was laying in bed thinking about her when he should be getting up and getting in the "show day mindset" as Zane would say.

Then again, breakfast had probably already started. And he wasn't going to miss it.

Nya was already in the dining hall when Jay arrived, and so were Kai and Zane. He contemplated sitting next to her, but then he remembered how, the night before, she had sat between Kai and Zane, pointedly not taking a chair with an empty one next to it. He sat next to Zane instead.

Nya watched Jay stumble in, looking tired but, unfairly, still good. For some reason, she found herself noticing every detail of his appearance–his auburn hair was tousled, like it hadn't quite been properly brushed, he wore dark gray sweatpants and a blue band tee for an artist she didn't recognize. The color of the shirt matched his eyes, which flitted towards her and then down to his breakfast.

"Um, so," She looked back at Kai, hoping he hadn't noticed her staring. "I guess you guys will be busy all day, right?"

Her brother looked up from his pancakes. "Oh, yeah, pretty much. Sorry. But you can do whatever you want around here, I guess."

"Could I look around onshore when we're docked for your concert?" She asked.

Kai shook his head. "I don't like the thought of you wandering around alone, and all our security will be focused on the concert."

"And you're responsible for me, I know." As soon as she said it, she realized how petulant she sounded. "Sorry. I'll stay here."

"Hey, guys. How did you get up so early?" Cole walked up to the table and sat down between Jay and Kai.

"How did you not?" Kai teased, shoving him a little.

"I would've thought the food would be enough motivation to get even you here earlier." Zane said.

"Hey, at least I didn't completely miss breakfast. That's all I care about."

Zane sighed. "We have a full schedule today–we didn't get to rehearse as much yesterday as we were supposed to, what with Cole's seasickness and Kai being late. But I know we can do this."

"Sorry," They both said, their mouths full.

Zane laid a paper schedule out of the table, and explained who needed to be where at what time for how long and why. Jay did his best to pay attention, but none of the information seemed that important–mostly, they had group rehearsal all morning, and that afternoon the ship would dock and they would leave to get ready for the show. Now that he was a little less tired, he was excited–they hadn't been on tour in a while, and he remembered just how much he liked performing. It always made him think about how lucky he was to have this job, a reminder which he could definitely use at the moment.

The hours of rehearsal certainly didn't help. They drilled their set over and over, then broke down small sections into even smaller ones. They rehearsed right up to the minute the ship docked, with only a small lunch break, then hardly had time to shower and dry their hair before they were all loaded into the car to drive to the stadium.

Jay wondered what Nya was up to. He wished she could come to the show, but of course Kai, being Kai, hadn't had the forethought to secure tickets for her before it sold out. He knew she would come see them soon, but still, he felt bad for her, all alone back on the ship. Most everyone would be gone, except for some of the ship's crew, since their technicians, stylists, musicians, and pretty much everyone else would be going ashore.

When they got to the stadium where they would be performing, people had already started setting up. Their driver brought them in the back way to try to avoid any fans or paparazzi who might be waiting around outside, and they were given directions to where they would be eating a quick dinner, then getting dressed and their hair and makeup done. As Jay followed Kai, Cole, and Zane through the stadium halls, they passed the merch table, which was already being set up. As he glanced at it, a sudden idea struck him. Who knew if he would have the courage to carry it out, but he stopped in front of the table.

"Um, could I take one? For a friend." He asked the vendor, who was pulling shirts from a cardboard box. "I'll pay you back," He added.

She looked up at him, seeming only then to realize who he was. "Yes, of course. You can have it for free. Take anything." She gestured to the table, and he grabbed a t-shirt from the top of one of her piles. "Thanks."

Before she could say anything back, he hurried after the others, stuffing the shirt into his bag.

Jay was starving, and in his opinion, they didn't get enough time to eat. Zane, however, claimed it was probably a good thing that they had to stop eating and start getting ready, or they would be too full and not have the energy levels their fans expected from them. Jay had never enjoyed hair and makeup, but he was used to it. After that, they got into their opening outfits, and did lighting and mic checks onstage to make sure everything was in order for the show. Then they were ushered backstage again and people poured into the stands. And before he knew it, the show was about to begin.

---

Nya pressed her nose to her window, wondering if she could see the stadium where the boys were performing. Probably not–it would likely be downtown, not so close to the harbor. Besides, if it had been close, they would probably be back by now, and she didn't think they were back. She sighed, and left the window to start preparing for bed. When she was done and had changed into a t-shirt and shorts to sleep in, she got out a book and got into bed, pulling up the covers around her. It was already later than she usually stayed up, but she was hoping that if she was still awake when Kai got back, he might drop by and tell her how it went. She couldn't shake a feeling of disappointment that she hadn't gotten to go, even though she had never cared about his concerts before in her life, and she hoped that talking to him would make her feel better.

She was almost about to put her book down and give up when she heard a knock at the door. She sat up in bed and tried to be fast as she marked her page, pulled back the covers, and went to open the door, but by the time she got there, whoever it had been was gone. She looked around, but she couldn't see anyone in the hall. Then she looked down, and saw something on the floor in front of her door.

Nya picked up the thing–a grayish-lavender colored t-shirt–closed the door, and sat down on her bed to look at it. As far as she could tell, it was merchandise from the show. The front was plain, except for the band's name–Spin Harmony–in small print. On the back were photos of the four boys printed in black, and below that, something hastily written in magic marker–

XO Jay Walker