Mercurial (Brendon Urie)

2

*two months later*

I awake to the madening sound of my alarm clock. I slam it off with my fist and pull my blankets over my head, dreading getting up for work. I know that even without sleeping in, I'll probably end up late, so I don't lay in bed for very much longer.

After I accept the fact that I'm inevitably going to have to get up at some point, I pull the blankets off my head. The sun in California is almost as bright as the sun in Italy, and I guess I didn't pull my curtains all the way shut because I'm immediately hit by a ray of blinding light. I throw my hands over my eyes and groan.

Once I'm finally out of bed and on my feet after who knows how long of stalling, I walk to the small bathroom across my one bedroom apartment and take a fast shower. I usually take as long as possible getting ready, just because I enjoy it, but I don't have time today. Once I'm out of the shower, I get dressed and put on some makeup.

Now that I'm awake, I remember that today isn't going to be just any old day. Today is the day that I get to go on tour with one of my favorite bands: The Neighborhood.

My job isn't ideal. Sometimes I go months without an assignment, leaving me with little to no money, and sometimes when I finally do get an assignment it can be for something I really really don't want to do. However in times like these, I'm extremely grateful for my job.

The company that I work for specializes in hiring on-tour assistants for bands, which basically means that I get payed to hang out with famous people for months at a time. Of course I still have to do work, like arrange good for the members, sometimes take pictures at the show, set up meet and greets and keep the band sane, but for the most part, the band managers take care of the hard stuff.

I've gone on tour with dozens of bands, some not as well known like Morissey and Moses Sumney, some that have had their fair share of hits like The Black Keys, Foster The People, Weezer, and Paramore, and just a few bands that are most definitely way too big of a deal for me, like the time I went on tour with Ed Sheeran for 8 weeks.

When I saw the long line up of alternative bands that are going on tour for the next six months, and when I saw that my name was listed under "The Neighborhood" I was thrilled. I've always wanted to meet Jesse Rutherford, and now I'm going to be in extremely close quarters with him for quite a while.

I take a deep breath and grab my phone. My bags have been packed and sitting in my car since yesterday afternoon, so now that I'm ready I can just leave. I bolt out of my apartment and lock the door, then run down the stairs to my car.

I drive like a maniac on my way to the tour bus lot, partially because of my excitement and partially because the buses are taking off at 9 AM and it's already 8:38. A few ignored red lights and near accidents later, I pull into the lot and park my car for the next 25 weeks. I get my huge suitcase and a backpack out of the trunk and walk over to my boss who looks extremely stressed. "Where the hell were you?" he yells at me. I open my mouth to explain, but he cuts me off. "No time, Penny, we both have places to be. Now, where is your bus..."

Jeremy looks down to his clipboard and scans the list of names. "Ah hear you are! Smith comma Aspyn, bus 325, Panic! At The Disco."

My heart sinks

"Um, I think there's been a mistake. You told me a month ago that I was touring with The Neighborhood." Jeremy scratches his hair and looks back at his list. "Sorry my dear, I told you wrong. It looks like I got you and Ashton Smith mixed up, because you are definitely signed up for Panic! At The Disco."

I run my hands through my hair in frustration. Brendon Urie was my one night stand, and that's all I ever wanted him to be. Now Jeremy's trying to tell me that I have to spend the next six months with him?

"Jeremy please, is there anything at all that you can do about this?" He immediately shakes his head. "Definitely not. But if it makes you feel any better, The Neighborhood and Panic! At The Disco are on the same tour, which means they'll be at all the same destinations." This doesn't make me feel any better, but I don't bother telling Jeremy that.

"Alright, we're already running very late, so it's about time that you got yourself to that bus," Jeremy says with a wave of his hand. I nod and hurry away, searching for the bus with Panic! At The Disco branding on it. I eventually find it all the way at the back of the lot and see that the bus isn't even packed yet. I see a very tall and broad shouldered man throwing suitcases and musical equipment into the bus's side storage compartment. I don't know who he is, but he looks like the type of person I'd ask a question to.

The man stops loading bags when he sees me. "Can I help you?" He asks me with a friendly smile. Thank God at least one person on the Panic! team isn't a total dick. I smile back at him and put my hand out. "Hi, I'm Aspyn, the tour manager." He shakes my hand and then continues to load bags. "I'm Zack, the band manager. We're just about to take off, so you can go ahead and get in the bus." I nod and walk back to the head of the enormous vehicle, where the doors are propped open. I put my bags in the bus first since it's a pretty high step from the ground to the bus, or at least for my small 5'6" frame.

I grab on to the rails on either side of the doorway and pull myself in, just barely saving myself from falling over. Then I grab my bags and start walking down the length of the bus.

It's definitely one of if not the nicest tour bus I've ever been in. It has a modern interior and furnished more like a small house than a traveling bus. When I get to the section of the bus where the bunks are, I see that there are curtain dividers, which is a luxury I've never had before. To the side of each of the 8 bunks (they're stacked on top of eachother like bunk beds) I see a moderately sized storage space. Three of the beds already have stuff laid across them, so I find one that looks unoccupied before putting any of my stuff down. I open the storage unit closest to it, which is where I store my suitcase and backpack.

I've just finished putting away all of my things when it dawns on my that the bus is extremely quiet. The only thing I can hear is Zack continuing to load bags, and that's only if I try. I figure that the band must have gone walking around or went to get food or something.

I sit on my bunk for a moment before realizing that I don't know where the bathroom is. I stand up and wander aimlessly throughout the bus. Eventually I find a door just past the bunk area, and I figure that this must be what I was looking for. I push the door open and don't see at all what I was expecting.

Instead of seeing a tiny bathroom, I see a moderately sized bedroom. It has a queen sized bed in the middle and at least three times more storage space than what any of the other bunks have. I also see someone sprawled out across the bed, face down. I see the dark brown hair and fit build of the person and quickly realize that I'm looking at a sleeping Brendon Urie. All of a sudden, he begins rolling over and I start to freak out as I think about how he's going to react to see me standing in his room.

I turn around and try to silently sneak away, but I don't make it far. "What the fuck were you doing in my room?" I hear Brendon call out. He couldn't possibly know who I am because my back is turned completely towards him, so I think that I might still be able to get away. Then I realize that with the amount of time I'm going to be spending with him, it's genuinely impossible for him not to realize who I am.

I slowly turn around and walk back into the room. Once Brendon realizes who I am, he doesn't even look surprised. He sits up in his bed and smirks at me. "Couldn't get enough of me, could you?" I roll my eyes and cross my arms. "I promise you, I wouldn't be here if I could help it." He looks a bit confused when I say this, so I elaborate. "I'm your tour manager."

Brendon smiles smugly and gets out of his bed. He walks towards me and puts his hands on the either side of me, trapping me against the wall. I know that he's trying to intimidate me, but it most definitely isn't working. He moves one hand towards my face and tries to move a hair away from my eyes, but I swat it away. He just laughs and moves his hand back to the wall behind me. "I'm gonna have fun with this."