[In Between by Beartooth]
I didn't get much sleep last night, but that didn't matter now because it was time to go on tour. My alarm went off at 6 am. I had exactly one hour to get ready and that was going to be easy because my suitcase was already packed. I got dressed to impress. I put on a Scorpions shirt with jean shorts and fishnet tights. I put on my heeled black boots and a belt around my waist.
Truth be told, I kind of had a crush on Lars and I hoped he would notice my badass outfit. I didn't know him well yet though, so I didn't want to tell him. I wondered what James would think if he found out. I hoped he wouldn't be jealous.
My thoughts were interrupted by the phone ringing. I went to answer it and it was James.

["Hi James. What's up?"]
{"I'm leaving to pick you up. I have to stop and get Kirk, but that won't take long.}

I twirled the phone cord in my hand to calm my frayed nerves. Very soon I would be in Metallica's van with James and Kirk. The thought made me both so happy and so very anxious.

["Okay. I'll be ready when you get here. I'm looking forward to it."]
{"It's going to kick ass! See you in an hour!}

He hung up and I put the phone back on the stand.

I yawned and put on my makeup. I grabbed a purse to keep it in and packed a few other essentials in it. I went downstairs, said goodbye to my parents and got myself some breakfast. By the time I had finished, James pulled up in the van.
The van was white decorated with a black Metallica logo on the side and detailed with other things. It looked a bit dirty on the outside, but it was big and looked like there was ample room to live in it.
I had to take in that this moment had finally arrived. James walked out of the van, with Kirk waving from the window. He walked to my front door. "You ready to rock?!" He yelled and hugged me. "You know it" I smiled. We walked outside and got into the bus.
"Riley!" Kirk got up from his seat and hugged me. "Hey Kirk" I smiled. "Ready to rock??!!" He yelled and threw up the horns. "You know it" I said. "What's the matter? Tired?" James chimed in when he noticed I didn't look excited. "Uh yeah. I didn't sleep much last night. Can we get coffee?" I replied stifling a yawn. James laughed and agreed to get me coffee. Kirk and I sat down while James made his way to the driver's seat. He started driving and honestly my nerves got the best of me. I was sitting next to Kirk, trying not to look nervous. But I was. I couldn't stop thinking about how Cliff died on a bus and how I was going away for a few weeks. This was the longest I had ever been away from home without some sort of family with me. Now I had no supervision. Normally that would be spectacular, but I was really scared for what might happen. What if we crash? What if I end up in the hospital? Kirk will have to call my parents and explain that I got hurt while in his care. They'd be so upset. What if I die? How are they going to explain that? James would cry as he told my parents something they would have to live with for the rest of their lives. They'd never forgive him and then blame themselves for letting me go with him. I'm too young to die. We're too young to die. "Riley? Hello? I said your name six times. Didn't you hear me?" Kirk tapped me on the shoulder and snapped me out of my thoughts. "Uh no.. sorry. What's up?" I said shaking my head. "We're at the coffee place. James wants to know what you want." He replied, looking concerned. "Uh just a regular coffee please. Two creams and one sugar." I said looking at James up front. "Thanks James." He nodded and went inside, leaving Kirk and I alone.

"Riley. What's wrong? You seem spaced out or something." He said looking me in the eyes. "It's nothing. I'm just really tired. I didn't sleep much last night." I shrugged him off, hoping he'd believe that. I mean, it's the partial truth right? Kirk shook his head. "No, not that. It's something else. You can trust me. I'm your friend." He said, seeing through my façade. "No really. It's fine Kirk." I pushed on with it. I really didn't want to tell him what was going on in my head. "Alright. You don't have to tell me what's going on. Maybe you'll tell me when you've had your coffee or you feel more comfortable around me or something. I'm here for you even if you're not going to open up to me." He said giving up the fight. I nodded and turned my head away from him.

I saw James leave the coffee shop with two cups of coffee. I put on a smile for him as he walked onto the bus. "Here's yours Riley." He smiled and handed me the coffee. "Thank you so much." I grinned and took a sip. "Just the way I like it." James took the other cup with him to the front of the bus. I looked at Kirk "Why don't you have one?" "I don't drink coffee." He shrugged. I drank my coffee as James started the bus back up. "We're about 10 minutes away from Lars now." He said. My stomach did the thing again. I literally picked out an outfit to impress him and now I was nervous. What's gotten into me? How am I going to hang out with this dude if I'm going to be this nervous? I need to just relax. James kept driving while I was in my thoughts. Kirk looked out the window beside me, trying not to bother me. All was quiet except for the radio playing at a low volume. James knew that I wasn't ready to party or get wild just yet. I hope I'll get over this soon...

Just as I finished my coffee, we pulled up at Lars' place. He walked out of the door with his bag. He really looked great. His hair swayed a little with every step he took. He ran his hands through it and smiled at James as he approached the van. Lars walked onto the van and greeted James. He walked down the aisle to Kirk and I. "Hey Kirk! Hey Riley." He grinned at me and I froze up inside. I managed a smile "Hi Lars." He made some sort of hand signal to Kirk and looked over at the empty two seats on the other side of the van. Kirk nodded. "Hey Riley. Come sit with me." Lars sat in the row across from Kirk and I, then he patted the seat next to him. 

Oh god he wants me to sit next to him. I got up from my seat, nerves very frazzled, and sat down next to him. I smiled anxiously and James looked at us. "Uh okay then. Should we be going now?" Kirk chimed in "Yeah, I'm ready to rock!" He threw up the horns and grinned. This is going to be quite a ride...