That One Marching Band Romance: Movement One

Don't Forget Your Sticks On the Way Out

Danny:

"Battery get your stuff on the truck now! It's a bad thing when pit beats you at loading!" Mr. McDougal shouts at us.

"Alright, you heard him! Move your asses!" Kendall shouted and I was the first on the truck.

"Danny!" Mike called as I jumped off the truck.

"Yeah?" I walked over.

"Just to let you know, the buses are in class order, so please find someone good to sit by," I nodded and looked around to find Jackson sitting at the lunch table eating.

"Hey!" I exclaimed and he looked up from his sandwich with a grin, "Do you want to sit with me on the bus ride to the comp?" I asked, hoping that he would say yes.

"Yeah sure," he took another bite of the sandwich and patted the spot next to him. I sat down next to him and stole an apple slice off of his plate, "Sneak! Put it back!" he playfully shouted and I smirked, eating the rest of the apple slices.

"Alright, let's board the buses and get a move on," Mr. McDougal said from the band room.

"Let me load my drum onto the bus. Do you want to grab a seat for us?" I asked, standing up.

"Sure," he stood up with his trumpet, backpack, and water. He walked over to the bus and boarded. I walked into the band room and picked up the bass two drum case.

"Are you ready for your first comp Danny?" Ty asked grabbing his fifth bass. I nodded and followed him out to the bus. I slid my drum under and picked up my backpack. I boarded the bus and started my search for Jackson. He waved his hands and stood up.

"Do you want the window seat?" I nodded and slid into the bus seat. He sat down and his leg brushed up against mine. I looked out the window and pretended not to show how much that affected my heart rate, "So..." he cleared his voice.

"Yes?" I looked at him and he smiled at me.

"Do you want to play a game?" he said as the bus started to move.

"That sounds very kinky," I said and he laughed.

"It's called top five and the way it works is you pick a topic. After the topic is picked, you say five favorite things related to the category," he stated and I thought about it.

"Okay. What is the topic?" he put two of his fingers on his chin and thought.

"Favorite fruits. Go!" I put my brain to work.

"Okay. First would be cantaloupe, second would be green apples, third is cranberries, fourth is honeydew, and lastly would be star fruit," I stated and he nodded and started to state his five.

"One is green apples, two is pineapple, third is raspberries, fourth is cantaloupe, and fifth is watermelon," I laugh and he pointed at me.

"Don't judge me, Danny," I shook my head and started laughing louder.

"I would never judge, Jackson. I promise," he leaned in closer to my face. I could smell the mint gum in his breath.

"You are judging me right now," I rolled my eyes and tried to control my blush, "Okay your turn to pick a topic," I took a deep breath to recollect my thoughts.

"Favorite genres of music," I said with a huge smile on my face.

"Okay... Rock, Pop, Rap, Jazz, and Country," he listed and my nose scrunched when he said country.

"Mine are Classic rock, R&B, Classical, some Pop, and 1920s-1940s Jazz," he smiled and I realized besides the country difference, we have a lot in common. We spent the rest of the bus ride to Randy Morris High School getting to know more about each other. I watched as we pulled into the high school and took a huge breath and Jackson's hand brushed over mine. I froze in my seat and look at our hands.