In My Life(BVB, Palaye Royale)

{12} - Pranks

Bethany liked Warped. She really did, but that didn't mean she didn't get bored sometimes. In need of something to do she had decided to play a prank on Palaye Royale. Or two thirds of Palaye Royale. She walked up behind the three boys while they were doing their TEI thing. She held a finger to her lips, indicating the small crowd of fans should be quiet. They complied. Luis backed up a little bit so he had a better view for what was about to happen. She positioned her herself behind Remington and took a deep breath. Then she swiped her hand across the top of his head, effectively flattening his hair, grabbed Emerson's hat and took off running, laughing hysterically the entire time. Emerson's hand went to his head. He rolled his eyes and stood up. Remington touched his hair and felt the cool hair gel. He knew exactly what she'd done.
"You little fucker!" Remington yelled, standing and knocking his chair over in his haste to go after her.
"Come back here!" Both he and Emerson yelled. They took off after her. She kept running, hat now on her head, one hand holding it there. Remington caught up with her first and knocked her down. She hit the ground hard and laughed breathlessly. Her hand that still had hair gel was now covered in grass. She grinned and rubbed the hair gel/grass combination on Remington's face. He spluttered and began wiping at his face. She wiggled out from under him, losing a shoe in the process, and took off again just as Emerson, who had switched to walking when he saw Remington knock her down, reached them. Emerson groaned and took off running after her. She laughed harder. She rounded the stage and headed toward the buses.
"Get. . .back. . .here!" Emerson called.
"No!" She ran between buses and ran directly into Jake.
"Hey."
"Hi!" She said, breathing hard and trying not to keep laughing.
"Bethany Harris! Where did you go?"
"Oh shit. Gotta go!" She pushed past Jake and kept running.
"You're crazy!" He called after her. She grinned and looked at him over her shoulder.
"I know!" She ran in a circle ending up back in the TEI tent. She dropped into the chair that had been Emerson's and closed her eyes. She took deep breaths.
"What are you doing?" Sebastian asked.
"Hiding from your brothers. What about you?" He raised his eyebrows.
"Well I was trying to do this," he gestured at the group of kids sitting in front of them, "but you're interrupting. Again." She grinned and sunk down into the chair. Sebastian shook his head and went back to talking about scarves of all things.
"There you are! I've lost you like five times." Andy said staring down at his sister.
"For fucks sake!" Sebastian said as Andy walked into the tent. "Why am I even bothering?" Everyone laughed.
"What the hell are you doing?" Andy asked Bethany.
"Hiding. I pulled a prank on Em and Ratface and they're trying to find me."
"You're supposed to be manning the merch table in fifteen minutes."
"I know. But I can't go yet, because they'll be looking for me there."
"I wouldn't count on that." Sebastian said, looking past Andy and Bethany. Bethany leaned back to look past Andy. Emerson and Remington were headed in their direction. Remington had attempted to fix his hair, but it was still mostly flat and he still had little bits of grass stuck to his face. The two of them were talking and not looking in the direction of the tent.
"Fuck." Bethany stood and ripped the hat off her head. "Take this." She shoved it against Andy's chest. "I gotta find my shoe and then I'll head to the table. Bye!" And she took off running in the same direction she'd run earlier. Her shoe wasn't there. She wandered around looking for it.
"Looking for this?" She spun and came face to face with Emerson who was holding up her shoe. Remington and Andy were a few feet behind him. Andy had Emerson's hat on his head.
"Yes." She tried to take it from him and he held it up above his head. "You dick. Give it back." He grinned.
"I don't think so." She raised her eyebrows. She walked past him and up to Andy and Remington. She grabbed the hat off Andy's head, plopped it on hers and sauntered off. Andy started laughing. Bethany glanced over her shoulder and laughed. Emerson looked so done with the entire situation. He held up her shoe. She gave him the finger and kept going. She switched to jogging and weaved through the buses. She found BVB's and knocked on the door. It opened to reveal CC.
"Hey, kiddo, what's up?"
"Not much. Just need a pair of shoes." He nodded.
"Where'd you get the hat?"
"It's Emerson's. If he shows up, I'm not here." She said as she walked down toward the bunks. She dug through her suitcase and eventually found her only other pair of shoes, black and white converse high tops. She pulled them on and tied the laces.
"Is Benny in here?" She heard Emerson ask from the front of the bus.
"Yeah. She's in the back." CC told him.
"You dick!" She called back. Laughter was the only response. Emerson joined her. He grabbed his hat off her head and dropped it onto his.
"Here's your shoe." She took it and threw it in her bunk.
"Thank you. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to man the merch table." She pushed past him and headed for the door.
"I'm gonna get you for that, mister." She poked CC as she walked by him.
"Mmhm. You do that." He wasn't paying attention. She rolled her eyes and walked out past him. Emerson followed her, hands in his pockets.
"Why are you following me?" She asked without turning around.
"I don't know." She rolled her eyes. She tripped over a crack in the pavement and threw her arms out in front of her to catch herself. She was saved from the pavement by Emerson who grabbed her arm to keep her from falling.
"Thank you." He smiled and nodded while putting his hands back in his pockets. Once in the merch tent Bethany began sorting through bins of shirts and sweaters and other things. She began arranging them on the table and Emerson helped. They talked while they worked, joking and laughing and thoroughly enjoying each other's company.
"Wait. . . put that bin over here so I can find it when I need it." She pointed to the far end of the table and Emerson sat the bin there.
"Thank you." He nodded. "Don't suppose I could get you to help me fold some of these shirts?" She gestured at the pile of unfolded shirts on the table.
"Sure." He grabbed a shirt and started folding it.
"Not like that." She grabbed the shirt from him.
"How am I supposed to do it then?" He asked.
"I'll show you." She showed him, folding the sleeves toward the back of the shirt and then folding the bottom back and up. "Ta-da!" She laid the shirt on the table and picked up another one. Emerson grabbed one and folded it the way she had shown him.
"Perfect." Bethany said.
"That felt patronizing." Bethany laughed and bumped hips with him which made him laugh.
"It wasn't supposed to."
"Sure." He said sarcastically.
"Are accusing me of lying?" She raised her eyebrows and put her hands on her hips, black t-shirt dangling on her left side.
"I'm voluntarily helping you, you know."
"That's. . .a valid point. Thank you." He shrugged.
"No problem." They shared a smile and continued folding shirts. When they were done with the shirts Emerson left to find his brothers and Bethany dropped into her folding lawn chair to wait for kids who wanted to buy merch.

———

It was late and cool. The stars twinkled and the moon was surprisingly bright. Bethany couldn't bring herself to enjoy it. Everything was too much. She knocked on the door and waited. A shirtless Remington opened the it.
"Hey, Ben. What wrong?"
"I need a cigarette. Please." She was close to tears with dark circles around her eyes. "C-can't sleep. Barely breathe 'coz of anxiety and stress." She closed her eyes and tried to hold back her tears. "Please." She pleaded.
"Sure. Come in. I'll find you one." She followed him inside. She wrapped her arms around herself, feeling self conscious in only her tank top and sweat pants. Emerson was sitting in his bunk, drawing with earbuds in, Sebastian was texting on the couch and Daniel was sitting at the table reading a book.
"Hey. . . Bumblebee are you okay?" She shook her head and wiped her eyes before the tears fell.
"Not really. I-I-" She choked up and was afraid she'd start crying if she tried to speak. She shook her head and rubbed her arm, focusing on the floor.
"Here." Remington offered her a cigarette. She reached for it with a shaking hand. She stepped off the bus and pulled her lighter from her pocket. She was too shaky to get it to light.
"Here." Sebastian took her lighter from her and lit her cigarette for her.
"Th-Thank you." She inhaled deeply, enjoying the calm that washed over her from the nicotine.
"What's wrong?" Sebastian asked. She shook her head and took another drag on the cigarette. "Sorry. Sorry. I won't pry." He lit his own cigarette. She stayed by Palaye's band wagon until she finished her cigarette. She was feeling significantly calmer. Breathing came easier and she no longer felt like crying.
"Gonna go." She mumbled.
"Wait." She turned to look back at Sebastian. He was holding a tin of cinnamon Altoids. "You came here so Andy won't know, right?" She nodded. "Cinnamon helps hide the smell."
"Thank you."
"And if you ever need another cigarette, or an altoid, come find me, okay?" She nodded. "I'm not as much of a douche as Remington and Emerson like to think." She gave him a barely there smile.
"Thank you." She said again as she took an altoid and her lighter when he offered it to her. She started to walk away again, "Um, it's just I'm stressed out from all the driving and shit and it's making me anxious and sometimes I can't calm down without a little help." She wasn't sure what made her say it, "But I can't buy my own 'cos Andy's against smoking now. I know he'd try to be okay with it, but it would kill him. Normally I use clove cigarettes, but sometimes they just don't cut it. And I don't know why I'm telling you all this. I-sorry. Goodnight."
"Bethany. . . It's-I-Goodnight, Bumblebee." He called after her.
For the first time in close to three weeks she fell asleep and didn't dream. She didn't sleep very long, but it was better than nothing.