Chapter Text
This was a pit stop, a short break in this leg of their travels. Jenna had gotten so excited when she caught a glimpse of the snow falling. She had immediately grabbed her hoodie from the bunks and was pulling on her converse before the bus had pulled into the parking lot. She was giddy at the thought of playing in the snow and had shoved his shoes into his lap, tearing his attention from the emails he was reviewing.
“Come on, come on!” she bounced. He smiled at how radiant she was in her excitement and quickly pulled his shoes on.
Jenna was off the bus long before he’d dug his jacket out. Josh laughed and pushed Mark out of his way to grab his own shoes as Tyler exited. When he stepped onto the snowy parking lot and took her in, that was the moment he knew.
He couldn’t believe how absolutely beautiful she was. His breath caught in his throat at the sight of her standing in the middle of an empty parking lot somewhere near Chicago on a cold January night with the snow slowly falling around then. Tyler’s heart swelled and his lips quirked upwards. He stood in silence and just took her in. She lifted a hand up in front of her, catching the flakes that fell. Her face was turned up towards the night sky, lit up by the street lamp of the parking lot.
She turned and smiled at him, her eyes so vibrant. Mark quickly snapped a photo of the couple in the moment. He briefly glanced at the preview before bringing the camera back up and capturing the next few moment of his best friends from the steps of the bus. He could feel Josh hovering behind him impatiently but didn’t care. This moment needed to be permanently captured.
But Josh had a different idea as he admired the way his best friend eyed Jenna. He quickly ducked past Mark and balled a hefty amount of snow up and took aim. He squinted and stuck out his tongue in concentration. Mark reacted automatically, turning the camera in Josh’s direction and quickly flipping to record.
And Josh lobbed the snowball at the back of Tyler’s head, laughing when the snow exploded over his hair. Tyler squawked when the cold snow impacted. Soon, snowballs were being thrown in every direction. No one was safe, not even Mark who was desperately trying to stay out of the line of fire and document the interaction instead.
Jenna’s beautiful laughter fell on Tyler’s ears as he crouched down to make another snowball. He looked up at her in time to see her throw a ball in his direction. He dodged and tossed one back. She caught it and turned to throw it at Josh, who was currently hiding behind the back of the bus, a huge area of dark pavement visible around him. Josh’s hand were bright red and numb, but he continued to gather snow into a large pile. He was building a barrier, a fort.
Tyler and Jenna locked eyes and quickly scurried around the bus. They gathered a few snow balls quickly and motioned to Mark to go first, to get a good shot of their plan. Tyler moved first, pointed for Jenna to go around. She slipped away and he saw her feet from under the bus where he was crouched. He slowly moved behind Josh as he shaped the walls.
Jenna tapped twice on the bus, the signal. The sound alerted Josh and Tyler. It was go time. Just as Josh’s head snapped up towards the sound, Jenna came around the corner, a snowball clutched in her red hand above her head. Tyler stood at the ready behind him, silent. Mark spun around the three, zooming in on Josh’s surprised face.
“Put ‘em up, Joshua!” Jenna sternly threatened, eyes flickering to Tyler.
He nodded as Josh lifted his arms, slowly standing. Tyler tackled Josh right as Jenna launched the snowball at him. Tyler and Josh landed onto his snow fort, promptly destroying it. They wrestled in the snow, shoving snow into each other’s faces, both yelling out from the cold. Jenna threw snow at them both, laughing as the two struggled in a mess of limbs and snow.
Mark documented the interaction, swinging his camera towards Jenna. In the most interviewer voice he could muster, he questioned, “So Jenna Black, please tell me! What do you think of Tyler and Josh of Twenty-One P?”
Jenna giggled and turned to Mark with a smile.
“You mean best friends!” Tyler called, untangling himself from a laughing Josh. He looked up at Jenna, kneeling in the snow beside his drummer. Her baby blues glinted and she winked.
“Those dorks,” she laughed, an indignant sound coming from the two in protest. “Are the most inspiring pair. Just look at them!” She motioned towards the two. Mark turned the camera to them, zooming in as they fell together in a side hug, both red faced and covered in snow. “I am jealous I can’t be like them. They’re bond is… special.” Her voice was serious until then. They all burst into loud laughter that echoed across the night at her implication.
And Mark knew, zooming in on Jenna as the realization hit him.
They all were piled back onto the bus, drinks warming their hands and souls, blankets surrounding each of them. Mark was kicking their sound guy, Jared, butt at a 1 v 1 round of Smash. Tyler, Jenna and Josh watched from the opposite couch. Tyler and Josh shared a blanket. Jenna was curled into Tyler’s side, her own blanket wrapped around her tightly. He had an arm draped over her, his other hand was preoccupied with a strand of her hair.
Josh smiled at the two from Tyler’s left. He was so happy that this woman could make his best friend so happy. A thought occurred to him as he turned his gaze back to the television. It wasn’t just Tyler that Jenna’s absolute radiance and friendship effected. He chuckled to himself and nodded slightly. No, she definitely effected the entire crew. She brought this… energy that none of them knew was missing until it was there.
“Nooo!” Jared yelled, tossing his controller onto the table in front of him.
“Yes!” Mark shouted, pumping a fist up into the air. He turned, a large grin on his face, and said, “I challenge you, Mr. Dun!”
“Watch him, Josh! He’s a cheat!” Jared stated, tossing the controller into Josh’s open hands.
Josh caught it and sat up straighter, adjusting the blanket before rolling his shoulders. Tyler reached over and gave them a quick rub. “You got this man,” the singer said before resuming playing with his girlfriend’s soft blonde hair.
“You say that now,” Josh grinned at Tyler. “Once I kick Mark’s butt, you’re next, bro.”
“That’s only if you can.” Tyler nudged Josh in the ribs with his elbow, causing him to jump slightly.
Jenna’s voice suddenly sounded from Tyler’s lap. “Ten bucks says he doesn’t.”
“Ooh, you think that I suck that bad, now?” Josh quipped back. “I’ll show you all. Get ready to go down, Mark. Down!”
And they quickly selected their characters and readied up. Josh always chose the Ice Climbers and Mark, knowing this, decided to go with R.O.B. The countdown was tense, both boys leaned forward in their seats, concentrated on the game. As soon as the timer was up, the bus filled with the sounds of rapid button mashing and fight sounds. Tyler cheered Josh on, while Jenna, now sat up and staring intensely at the screen, gave Mark all the support she could muster.
Tyler looked over at Jenna with a smile as he rubbed Josh’s shoulders. Mark was losing and Tyler couldn’t help but rub it in Jenna’s face just a little bit. “Whose gunna owe who ten bucks, hm?”
“The match isn’t over yet,” Jenna shot back, situating herself to sit on her knees. “Come on Mark, get the upper hand! You’re really gunna let Josh beat you that easily!?”
The buttons were mashed harder. Tyler felt Josh’s muscles tense under his hands and patted him on the back. Mark had landed a few good hits and Josh faltered. With one last hit, Josh was knocked out of the map.
K.O.
Jenna jumped up out of her seat, her blanket long forgotten in the excitement. “Yes!” she shouted, high-fiving Mark. “I knew you could do it!” She turned to Tyler, a smug look on her face. “Not so cocky now, are we?”
Tyler hung his head and slumped his arm over Josh’s hunched shoulders. Josh sighed and looked over at Tyler, a sad look on his face. She was right. He’d gotten over-confident and the defeat was great. Tyler looked at Josh’s face and sighed.
“I’m sorry, man,” he lamented, voice even. “But I got to kick you from the band. Can’t have such a defeat on our record.”
Josh let out a dramatic sob and fell back onto the couch. “And you’re out ten bucks, too. The band’s done for, can’t even afford gas after that….”
Mark laughed and tossed his controller to Tyler, who caught it with ease. “Here man, reunite the band. I kind of still want something to film.”
Josh bumped Tyler. “If I win, you’re out of the band!”