CAN'T GET OFF, CAN'T GET OVER

[ANTON DAVIS THOMPSON]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 400px; background-color: #ffffff; line-height: 85%] this life's becoming too predictable even if it was the beginning leg of tour, anton found that he was already in the swing of things. while others slaved away over their notes and textbooks for college, this whole touring deal was something he was actually good at and something he strived to be on his game for. after a couple flights from los angeles to delaware and back for him, he was pretty ready for the bus rides after the initial prep travel. which luckily, the bus time wouldn't be too long between stops for the first couple of days, seeing as they were starting out in california. he had already made himself at home on their tour bus, and admittedly he did have a bigger edge and a little more certainty that could have been mistaken for cockiness in this environment, but simply because he knew his way around this trade after doing it repeatedly for the last 4 years. he had passed cammie a couple of times in the lounge, doing what would be his daily routine of wandering when he had nothing else to fixate his attention on, and he recalled making her a little annoyed at his figety behavior, something he only smiled off while he retreated back to his bunk. they had steadily begun to talk a little more, even if she was openly resilient. that was one thing he didn't understand about her, nor about any other person, either. how people could be so closed off to others, even if it might have been a defense mechanism of some sort. sure, anton was kind of inept when it came to boundaries sometimes, but as he had commented to cammie before, on one of the nights earlier in the week where they had found themselves chatting over their connect accounts - you couldn't be on tour and expect to not get personal with anyone. it might have sounded cocky or stupid to her, but it was the truth. from personal experiences and from those of his friends' as well, he couldn't remember a time where there weren't complications between so and so because of tour. oh well, whatever. he was spending way too much time thinking about this anyway. this summer was like a season of change, and not just with the increasingly hot weather. new beginnings were like always with every tour - new friends to be made if they didn't know each other already, new people to impress, new things to be done. it was probably what everyone else needed lately, with the toll of all the work they had been doing in the studio and otherwise to prep for the summer plan being a very draining factor on the overall band morale. all they needed to do was get back out there and not give a fuck about reality. that was the beauty of music, it was a form of escapism and one that he heavily indulged in. by the time the week had come where it was hell for prep time, anton was already itching to get out of his hometown. he knew he himself was stoked to be out on the road again, perfectly happy to be calling a tour bus his home for the next two months. his focus was back after that long break, and other than all the new music they had written on the latest album that they were adding to their setlist that he was concerned about playing, anton was only really focused on the new management of the band - cause let's be honest, he was still getting used to that to begin with. this was the first tour down over dover was going to be doing under the supervision of cammie greene. anton hated that word, supervision. it made him feel like a six year old, and oddly enough he had been feeling like a child a lot more often lately, now that she'd been around. but it wasn't a bad thing to have someone so driven as cammie as a manager. she knew what she wanted, what she needed to get done, how to get it done and when she wanted it, and he wouldn't ever discredit her for her work ethic at all. but this was now her test - he had found himself out of his element even in truth's offices, simply because she was a new face that had a tougher skin than he thought, but while she was the office type of girl, now cammie was entering his world. the first day had been pretty okay, and checking the clock on his phone as he quickly handed off his guitar to one of their techs and got off the main stage, it was going by pretty fast. midday had come and gone and the afternoon was way hotter than he had expected it to be, and he desperately wanted to get a shower in before their signing at their merch table. alright, for being "settled" into the old routine, the heat was always going to be a thing to readjust to. anton wiped at his forehead with the towel he had been thrown by their roadie and made a face as he went back off to the venue's main building, that place they had all been told that a) they could abuse the facilities and b) buy alcohol. brilliant way to treat your bands. fifteen minutes and a change of clothes later he was out and about the venue grounds again, a half-filled solo cup of miller in one hand as his fingers gripped the top of a bottle of water. his tour pass and keys jingled along with each step he took, and anton luckily avoided the crowds of fans at the festival who could potentiallly be seeking him out by taking a different route behind the fences that separated the grounds from the bus parking lot. finding his band's merch tent among the row of other vendors and his fellow official bands, he tossed his cup away into a nearby trash can already filled with many empty water bottles and empty aluminum cans of energy drink. damn, he should have gotten one of those instead of a beer even it might not have helped any of his nerves or anything. even now anton still had a certain anxiety whenever he had to do signings, and on some days it worked out just fine for him while on others it didn't, and today was just one of those in-betweeners that he would have rather taken precation on. the fact that he did have a drink before talking to his fans might have been the reason why cammie assumed so much negativity about him and his personality, but as much as he hated to admit he had one side of himself and then another, it was clear that he wanted to keep some things from her as much as she did from him. adjusting his sunglasses, he thought he spotted riley wandering the line and he waved at her, shaking his phone in the air in a gesture that he'd text her in a while. well, at least she was here for griffin and also for cammie - he'd have to make a note to harass her about what the other girl was already saying about him behind his back. cracking open the water bottle in his hand as he approached down over dover's tent, anton's insides felt funny in that pang of nervousness and 'oh man, here we go' as he already saw the line of fans he had familiarly saw barely a half an hour ago at their set. the ones from the front row were already silently flipping out to each other, he noticed. sunglasses always were a good tool for tour, you could watch and judge people without them knowing your eyes were on them. he spotted cammie already standing by the table, looking pretty enough for the first day of skylinefest and still looking busy and authoritative enough with her earpiece on. he slid swiftly through the space between their tent and the next tent and basked for a moment in the shade, making it a little more dramatic with some arm movements as he stretched and turned his head to look at their manager, a grin on his face. "damn you, i thought you would have made our signing a little later so we'd have a gap," he remarked, running his hand through his still wet hair. "and yet, ah hah, i'm still the first one here with like, five minutes to spare." he put his hands on her waist, gently moving her out of his way so he could sit at their merch table. "heyyyyy!" he said to pretty much everyone around him gathered at the table, a general conversation breaker whenever they were buying their shit. small talk. a smile was already on his face as he pulled out his phone to tweet about the signing, and anton looked back at cammie briefly in a slightly triumphant way of 'see, i'm reliable and no one else is.' but really, inside his head he was chastising griffin and the rest of his band - god damn it, why were they so unreliable sometimes? tati / 1547 words / oh here it goes~~~ like kenan and kel

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[cameron delaney greene]

UNDERDOG, JUST LOOK AT THE MESS YOU MADE

to be quite honest, cammie did not want to be on tour. sure, she was being a little childish about the whole thing, but she didn't want to be here and she wasn't very good at hiding it. she would have much preferred to be back in new york, in an actual bed, where there were actual stores and actual food and actual friends. alright, maybe she was judging everyone a little too harshly - she had immediately clicked with riley, and eli from strike the seas had surprisingly become one of her good friends. but she missed her family, her apartment, her best friend in the whole world (who she had been filling in on every little detail of her california life, sans anton because she figured that was unnecessary and awkward), and being in her city. sure, this touring life could be great for people who didn't have any attachments, or for people who really loved the music... but cammie didn't fit in either of these categories. she felt like the one person on tour who wasn't enjoying herself, and honestly felt a little bad when people came up to her to tell her how much they desperately wanted to be a part of this touring life. if only they knew how hard it was to drop everything on a dime for a bunch of boys and a girl that she didn't even have that good of a connection with. honestly, would they even care if she was replaced as their touring manager? she knew anton would, but that boy had been following her around like a lost puppy since they first met.

she really didn't know what to do about him. she had explained time and time again that she wasn't interested - hell, she had even tried blaming it on his eyebrows once or twice, since he absolutely wouldn't accept that she didn't have any sort of feelings for him, and that she never would because she was their manager. he simply told her time and time again that he'd change her mind, and it drove her crazy to no end to think that he wasn't listening to her. he was extremely thick-headed, and possibly even more stubborn than herself... which wasn't the best combination at this point in time. sharing a tour bus, sharing such closed quarters for the next few months... she just hoped that anton would eventually understand that cammie was an extremely professional person, she didn't date co-workers of any kind. and on top of that, anton just wasn't her type - he was much too difficult, didn't listen to a word she said, and was a little too full of himself. he was the type of guy that cammie wouldn't even give the time of day if he had hit on her in any other social situation. she liked boys who were sweet, caring, and most importantly, who didn't challenge her at absolutely every conviction she had. and the fact that he thought he could use his good looks and beautiful baby blue eyes to charm her, well, it just made her even more frustrated.

even though it wasn't her job, cammie sat at the merch tent, a fake smile plastered across her face as she dealt with down over dover fans. it had been four hours, and their temporary merch girl still wasn't back from her bathroom break - had she just cracked over pressure, or was she off getting drunk while cammie was stuck doing a job that wasn't hers? either way, she'd be fired as soon as the merch tent was closed and then cammie would have to go on the hunt for someone a little more reliable. doing merch probably wouldn't have been that bad of a job if cammie wasn't still so bitter about being on tour, and about the band in general - but now she was dealing with rabid fan girls, something she had decided she hated ever since she ran into her first pack of them. they surrounded the tent, throwing money at her, making her life difficult by asking to try on every single size, and of course, asking the single question that she did not want to hear for the life of her - "when's anton getting here?" she had heard rumors of his "friendliness" with fans, and obviously they did too. while griffin was still an extremely popular member, riley was around, and even the fan girls knew that if riley was around, griffin's eyes would be on her. she had been informed by one of the girls in line that down over dover was doing a signing today, at this very tent. somewhere in the back of her head, cammie knew this was some kind of huge conspiracy - of course the merch girl would run off, making it necessary for cammie to spend even more time with a boy she couldn't stand.

she heard a few girls squealing, and when cammie looked over to her right, she saw anton sneak through the tent to catch a little bit of shade before he was thrown back into the blazing sun again. "i knew if i made it any later, you'd all forget about it and never show up." she replied, still not over the fact that half the band missed their first meeting together. she didn't really feel respected by any of them, as they were constantly showing up late and giving her migranes. she did note that anton was early though, so that gave him a little bit of a good mark in her book - for now. "yeah, you are. snaps for you for doing your job!" she replied, feeling a little extra sassy today. hey, she could always blame it on the heat. when she felt his hands on her waist, pulling her away from the table so that he could have a better view of his fans, she scowled and tried to slap his hands away. "hey grabby, how about you don't do that again." she murmured, leaning on the merch table about six inches away from him. she heard a voice coming from behind her, and she turned to see a girl staring straight at her, a question obviously forming on her lips. "what's it like to work with down over dover?" the girl asked excitedly, clutching a d.o.d. poster from a completely different tour - oh lord, one of these. "it's interesting." she stated, a little hesitant to crush her dreams with the brutal truth. "they're... they're entertaining people." she looked over at anton and kicked one of the legs of his metal chair. "this one is a pain in my ass though."

YO STEPH THIS IS 1121 WORDS CAUSE I CAN KEEP IT SHORT... (;

[ANTON DAVIS THOMPSON]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 400px; background-color: #ffffff; line-height: 85%] this life's becoming too predictable anton looked up at cammie with one of his trademark shocked faces, mixed with the wrinkling of his nose that kind of signaled the fact that he was mocking her just a little bit. it was no secret that he was rather enjoying her company on this tour, though the nature of those sentiments was still really undetermined, and he didn't fail to remind her that technically she worked for them, not the other way around. admittedly, he liked to play games with people, and something about their new manager's lack of ability to take a joke made him more inclined to make her see the opposite side of business, and it was as if he had kind of made it his to break her out of her shell... or get her off her high horse. either way it was going to be a fucking challenge, and it probably would take the whole tour, as much as it might have taken for him to actually follow through on that bet they had made. "okay cool, i expect my gold star later! no seriously, get me one, it's your job." he actually hadn't expected cammie to be hanging at merch, since he figured she'd be off with riley or one of the other band managers, or lounging in the cool and hiding away on their bus instead. shrugging, he put his phone down in his pocket again after he finished texting riley, giving a glance and another smirk back to cammie as she chastised him for touching her. "get over it, it wasn't that personal you were just in my way," he said, slightly grinning. "i need to get through to all these lovely kids." his hands rested on the table after he spent a few minutes fumbling for his sharpie. "you need to stop lumping me into categories that i don't fit in, cammie," he said, rolling his eyes beneath his sunglasses as he smiled for a fan and their picture. the fact that her assumptions were still carrying her over through this week was actually kind of annoying - not all of them were always off doing something else, the band was loyal enough to everything they did and even if they got caught in watching a friend's band's set and were a bit late, at least they showed up at different points of the day. that's how it worked, tour didn't have a more detailed structure the way she might have assumed or wanted it to be. since well, she seemed to want everything her way anyway. he felt the kick of his chair and he stuck his tongue out at cammie before turning back to the crowd. "alright, who's first? just saying, i don't do kissy pictures so don't ask. and who's buying some merch and tipping our hot manager?" yeah, maybe one day he'd get smacked, he was forseeing it in the near future. there was no denying that even if anton knew he could be an annoying little shit towards the people he had to see every day, he was still a good person at heart with a polite and friendly demeanor, especially when it came to fans. the kids who came out to their shows on any tour and talked to him whenever they spotted him made him appreciate his talent and this opportunity ten-fold, and it sort of validated his life choice whenever he was told how nice he was and how inspiring and helpful the music that the band made was in their lives. and all his meets and hang outs were always genuine and never fake, even through the fact that somedays were good and other days might have been shitty. at this venue there were a lot of those fans here today at this tour date, and some familiar faces he could actually recall - having a good memory was a bonus for daily life, plus of course brownie points with the people who paid your salary via tickets and merch sales. he just hoped that there wouldn't be too many of the crazy ones for him, since griffin was the one who had the crazier ones most of the time. "thanks for hanging out," he said to the last girl that had just snapped a picture with him, a genuine smile on his lips for her before he turned the other way and talked to the next fan in line. aside from being very business oriented when it came down to all the background details of the band, anton was also probably the one that won a lot of hearts from the band because of his quirky personality and how he seemed to draw fans in through their conversations. he even went as far as to answering all their weird questions, which of course, always included the 'do you have a girlfriend' question that he secretly hated so much. ironically, the girls in the next bunch had asked if he was still single - the fact that they used 'still' made him laugh. "haha, yeah, i am," he replied smoothly and shortly, scribbling his signature on the back of one of their shirts. and of course, the next question fired - was she his girlfriend? "hey cameron, he started saying, knowing at least by calling her by her full name he would get her attention, "i dunno, are you my girlfriend?" the look on her face was priceless, it was so hard to turn away from it to go back to what he was doing. waving it all off, he reached for the cd case he was being given. "but really, i wish but you heard, she thinks i'm a pain in the ass!" as he stood around, signing merch that fans either brought or just bought minutes beforehand, anton kept glancing in cammie's direction. for the life of him he really couldn't figure out what it was about her that made him feel a little obsessive in the way that he seemed to be trying harder to be something in her eyes, especially since well, anton either didn't go for a specific girl because his priority was the band or he'd be so retarded that he couldn't really deal with girls in a situation like this. "you'd think i was set up by my whole band to do this by myself all the time," he mused to everyone who was in earshot, mostly towards cammie. maybe this WAS a conspiracy, maybe griffin and riley and the others set him up, cause these semi one-on-one situations with cammie were happening way too often. he took a sip from his water bottle again, still thankful he wasn't getting dehydrated even after the beer he had had prior to getting to the tent. the next batches of people hanging around weren't too bad, and after the time between the next ones started to increase and the girls who still lingered were simply waiting for griffin now, anton sat back down in the chair from before, but not before he moved it closer in proximity to wherever cammie was situated. he crossed one of his legs over the other casually before taking his phone out again and checking his messages. "soooo..." he began, their conversation a little quieter even amogst the bustle going on on the gronds in front of their tent, "how's adjusting to the job going for you, now that we've been out a few days?" he turned his head and looked in her direction, giving her a once-over through his shades again. more casual today, he observed. the first day of tour he remembered her in heels, and remembered shaking his head in reaction to how funny it kind of was to see her walking around. but to her credit, she was gorgeous - he wasn't complaining about that at all. "at least you've gotten the hang of a few things by now, right?" anton paused for a moment, thiinking over whether he should just shut up and stop trying to pry or be her friend. but judging the look on her face, he could tell that she was elsewhere. he knew by default that because she was new to california and this job and scene in general that she was adjusting and found it harder than she thought - he wasn't THAT much of a moron to not see it in their daily interactions. i mean, why else would she always be snappy at him? "look, you know, you can go back home if you really hate this that much." he glanced back forward out to their row of space and the tents around them., not really knowing why he said that, as he would probably get a response telling him he was wrong, and he left it alone - he didn't really know how to follow that statement up, anyway. tati / 1481 / this fail took me all day smh cant keep short

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[cameron delaney greene]

UNDERDOG, JUST LOOK AT THE MESS YOU MADE

cammie stared right back at anton, an unamused look splashed across her face. why anton was so interested in her, she had no idea. it had been going on for the past couple weeks now, since they met, really. was it the chase that he was so into? cammie wasn't stupid, she knew she wasn't an ugly hag, but she had given him constant 'no' signals... maybe he was just so hardheaded that he thought he could change her mind. cammie was very strong with her values, and no amount of puppy dog faces or compliments was going to change that. she laughed a little - alright, she had to admit that anton had his funny moments. "i'll get right on that... expect one on your forehead when you wake up." she shook her head, watching him fiddle with the phone out of the corner of her eye, and couldn't help but wonder who he was texting. she pulled hers out for a second, checking twitter to see if it was a tweet or something - nope. "well next time, you can ask me to move, instead of trying to cop a feel. she said quietly so no one else would hear, giving him a stern look. she watched the line get excited, as he addressed them. it was funny really, how such a big group of people was so stoked to meet him, just him. she never really understood the whole fame thing. these people on tour were just people, but most of these girls didn't seem to understand that. she caught the look in one of the girls' eyes as anton looked at her directly - was she really swooning? honestly, she didn't see the appeal. "and what category would that be?" she asked sincerely, wondering exactly what she had said. pain in the ass? oh, that was funny, she thought anton would at least admit that he was bothersome sometimes.

"oh, no kissy faces? that's a surprise." she laughed, leaning on the merch table, her body angled towards anton as she continued to sell merch as girls came up for the meet and greet. she laughed silently and looked away, hoping none of the rabid fans would come after her for having the cute lead guitarist calling her hot. "not happeninggg." she sang, continuing to exchange cash for shirts, keeping the assembly line going so that this could get done with faster, and she could make anton go away so she could enjoy the rest of her day in peace. she actually admired the way he was currently handling himself, it was way different than she had read online and actually quite impressive. he was being quite mature, and was curbing the flirting as much as possible, which came as quite a surprise as she could faintly smell alcohol on his breath, which she chose not to comment on. there was no point in calling him out on it, especially not in front of the girls who practically idolized him. that was such a weird thought, that these girls had pictures of anton hanging in their bedrooms, that some of them probably knew more about him than his own family did. hell, these girls probably knew more about anton than cammie did, hands down. the way they looked up to him... hey, maybe he wasn't that bad after all. then again, they were probably just blinded by his baby blue eyes and thought anything out of his mouth was the word of god. cammie rolled her eyes at practically every question that came at him, the ones about his love life especially. her head snapped towards him as he used her full name - a big no no in cammie's book - and she scowled, a look that seemed to be constantly on cammie's face whenever anton was around. "absolutely not." she stated loudly, turning to face the girl who asked the question. "but he's single, so, i could give you his phone number if you wanted." she joked, giggling at her own evil hilarity. "kidding of course... he'd kill me. and yes, he's a huge pain in the ass, you wouldn't want to date him anyways." she replied, pushing his head over playfully. really, if she could show these fans how persistant and stubborn anton really was...

she could feel anton's eyes on her while he interacted with the line, and she tried to ignore it as she kept the line moving along, using her manager authority to keep the chats short and sweet. she heard him talk again, and it took a second for her to realize he was talking to her, not someone else. "yeah, this is what, the second time?" she made a mental note to talk to riley about this - was this really some big conspiracy, was the rest of the band trying to get them to spend as much time together as possible? or was it their way of trying to drive her absolutely mad so that she'd just quit, and leave the tour for good? she heard him talking to her again, and she bowed her head down, hoping her hair would cover her reddening cheeks. she was a little embarassed that she was being this whiny and emotional about this tour, maybe she needed to suck it up and just deal. the fact that everyone was asking her how she was handling it.. "it's... been okay. i guess." she mumbled, running her hands along her jeans, wishing she would have packed more shorts. "yeah, it's definitely gotten better. things are easier." she lied a little. sure, she was getting used to the work, and the tasks she was appointed day by day seemed to fly by faster and faster as each day went on. on the other hand, being away from home and her family was getting even more difficult - it didn't help that she was constantly busy, not having a spare moment to call her mom to cry and vent, or to chat with her best friend back home on facebook. she had riley, and she had a few other friends here and there, but no one along the same caliber as the people at home. no one that she had known since elementary school, or who had the same life goals as her, making conversation a breeze. she felt extremely out of her element here, with all the partying and the mentality that you could do whatever the fuck you wanted and it wouldn't make an impact on the rest of their lives. she found herself looking back up at anton, her eyes meeting with his - a few of her walls were breaking down as he spoke, wondering if she was being too harsh, too mean to him. "anton, i don't hate you." she said softly, putting a hand on his shoulder - a kind of reassuring gesture that cammie didn't extend very often. "sorry if i make it seem that way." she didn't really know what else to say, because anything that came out after would probably offend him.

she waved the next group forward, wondering when on earth this line would end. was down over dover really that popular? she had to admit, she had never even really given them a good listen to, just hearing little snippets when the band was jamming on the bus, or catching seconds of songs while she was walking sidestage during their set, running little errands and doing other things that no one in their right mind would want to be paid for. "just... is it that big of a surprise that i don't want to date you?" she asked quietly, hoping no one would overhear them - surely this was a conversation that should have taken place on say, the bus, but she found herself constantly avoiding the bus whenever there was a chance that she might be alone on it with him. "i mean, if you don't want to talk about it, that's fine. i just don't see why you're so fascinated with me." she continued, wondering when this word vomit would end. she flicked her eyes up at the girls standing at the table, glaring a little as they gave her the 'this bitch' look - alright, maybe she would have to be more careful about what she said in earshot of fan girls. she looked back at him, waiting for a response.

YO STEPH THIS IS 1410 WORDS BECAUSE YOU GIVE ME MUSE LOL

[ANTON DAVIS THOMPSON]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 400px; background-color: #ffffff; line-height: 85%] this life's becoming too predictable she didn't answer for a few seconds initially after he spoke, and he kept his eyes on his text messages. even if he didn't have anything new in his inbox, phones were always a form of distraction and a tool of feigning being busy that he used a lot lately. anton resisted the urge to lift his head and have his eyes focused on cammie again when she finally spoke back to him, his finger hitting the twitter icon on the home screen of his iphone and scrolling through his recent tweets. "yeah, i think it's the second or third time by now," he said, shrugging as the corners of his mouth turned up in slight amusement. "but i did warn you the first day that you'd be spending a lot more time with me than the others. not even saying that to be creepy. just truthful." there was no way she could really contest that thought, since obviously - regardless of the fact if they were being set up or it was just a coincidence that most of the band was off doing something else - it was a prediction made that came true. he listened a little bit to her response, stealing a few glances through his shades again to watch her movements. clearly she was getting uncomfortable, either by his doing or the fact that she was wearing jeans on such a hot day. right, girls weren't really used to that kind of thing. anton nodded a little bit in accordance to her replies. "yeah, it's hard the first couple of days, you know. even for the rest of us who do this for nine months out of the year when we're not in studio or something. but it does get easier, being away from everything you think and know is normal." he hoped that some sort of situational relation would make her feel a little less uptight about talking to him - it's not like he was trying to get her life story out of her whenever they spoke. well, not just yet. a few more fans came by and called him over by his name again, and anton readily obliged, getting up from his chair again with a smile and a hi-five at the group of girls before him. he liked to think that he was likeable because he was genuine, that without regarding the crazy things he said or did he was still an okay person, and by that logic he figured that it was enough to keep cammie's opinion of him pretty clean aside from maybe one or two things. like that bet. once the group was gone he felt her hand on his shoulder and truthfully he was surprised, his body feeling a little tingly in the way of... he didn't really know what it was, but it was just some good feeling, he guessed. hopefully it wasn't just that alcohol buzz. in a way he didn't think of her as being capable of extending something like that in the fact that she was so go-hard about her separation between business and pleasure or whatever - and after he had just touched her to move her out of his way before and gotten a reprimand, this was definitely something that was out of the ordinary. anton smiled back at her, shaking his head. "it's okay. i copped it up to stress, cause i know how hard this probably is." he glanced around again, hoping no one else would come up to the tent to interrupt their talk, since he was quite enjoying this civil, normal talk with her for a change. "i mean, a lot of people think that i'm a pain in the ass, so it's not something i haven't heard before. i'm just glad you don't hate me. riley said the same thing but i didn't really believe her. i guess i shouldn't try as hard sometimes," he continued a little thoughtfully, his voice trailing off to quiet. "oh, and thanks for not giving anyone my number, by the way," he remarked back, stretching a little as he continued to stand. "one of our last crew members did that on twitter for fun and while it's a good idea when you think about it, it's a pain in the ass for everyone, not just me." he laughed a little bit, moving to sit down in the chair next to her again. "look at it this way, it'll get funner and easier. i don't know how much work was fun for you before this job - i mean, it probably was fun for you because you were in your element and stuff. but trust me. this experience changes everyone. makes you more in touch with yourself." maybe he was sounding a little too weird now - she probably didn't care to hear his opinion anyway. "i used to be scared as hell," he continued, but he was interrupted with another approaching fan and their sister. damn it. this was one of the most trying things to do - you couldn't catch a breath or a break whenever you were working your own merch table. checking his twitter again after he got an alert that griffin had tweeted, anton texted a reply to him and slipped his phone into his pocket again and exchanged it for his sharpie. "also, i'll talk to the rest of the band cause this is unfair to both you and me," he added, speaking in cammie's direction before taking the money from the fans and signing the cd for them before handing the purchase over. anton could tell that everyone around that had been coming to the table in the last half an hour were giving both he and her skeptical looks, the kind that when noticed you could tell that they were judgmental. and the way fans' brains worked, especially the younger more obsessed girls, most their thoughts were potentially not good. when cammie posed the questions that were really on her mind, anton didn't respond initially, just because there were fans around - and for that same reason, he didn't want to make them the potential subject of more tour gossip than there already was. "thanks for coming to see us," he said to the girls, watching and waving at them as they walked away from the tent, noticing that they were whispering in each other's ears and glancing backwards even as their legs carried them further. sighing, anton turned around to face cammie, and he removed his sunglasses from their place resting on his nose and move them to atop his head, his eyes probably bluer now that they had been shielded from the light for so long. for once he felt like he wanted to and was able to convey his thoughts into the right words for the first time, whatever those thoughts were to begin with. he wasn't really sure. "i do want to talk about it, actually," he found himself saying without thinking. "but not in front of them. now that they're gone, i can tell you that it wasn't really that much of a surprise. and that it wasn't about the dating part but more about that i felt from the beginning you just harbored some great dislike for me when i barely did anything to you but show up a few minutes late to a meeting." anton folded his arms against the other, looking at her and watching her reaction. "that's all it is, i guess. but since you said a few minutes ago that you don't hate me, then we're okay, right?" he shrugged, sitting down again in the chair next to hers and giving her a pathetic smile. i know you're not here to make friends, you're here to do your job. i get that. and i know you must be homesick and all that, everyone gets that way on tour. which is why i understand that you probably want to get the fuck out of here since your group is practically bananas sometimes." he laughed a little bit, trying to lighten the mood. "but i just wanna tell you, even if i probably sound like i've been repeating myself already, for a girl who has no experience at this kind of thing you're doing a good job, i'm impressed and i'm sure other people are too. and i'm not saying that just because." not once did he break his stare from her eyes, showing that he was a serious person when it came down to it - and perhaps if she saw this side of him it would appeal to her, show her he wasn't all like anything she may have read might have said. anton shrugged again, sighing. "...but if you wanna know the real truth, yeah, i am surprised you don't wanna date me. i don't think i'm that terrible of a guy." he hoped she could tell he was joking, trying to make her laugh or smile and get off the too serious topic, and he smiled slightly again to reinforce that fact. "then again, i usually give it a week til the girl stops resisting and tells me she likes me." tati / 1538 / this sux + so much tension i want to die

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[cameron delaney greene]

UNDERDOG, JUST LOOK AT THE MESS YOU MADE

cammie was really starting to get concerned that the entire band was out to get her. not in a mean way, of course - but every time there was a band event that no one but anton showed up to, she couldn't help but to wonder if this was riley and griffin's doing. it was no secret that anton had a crush on her, nor was it a big secret that riley would be super excited if cammie got over herself and gave anton a real chance. and while she wasn't sure how griffin felt about her - his tweets were sometimes hostile, and he was always a little weird around her - she knew he had his bro's back, and who's to say they each other's wingmen? maybe cammie was overthinking it all, obviously anton didn't like her so much that he'd purposely want to have his band let down fans by not showing up to their signing, but sometimes it seemed like anton would do absolutely anything to get cammie to give him the time of day. "that's true, i guess. although it was creepy at the time." she laughed a little, remembering the very first time she met - she had gotten a bad impression from the beginning, as he showed up late and was incredibly cocky for someone who had such huge eyebrows. surprisingly his words were somewhat reassuring to her - knowing that it affected everybody helped her think she wasn't alone in all of this, even though obviously everybody else was adjusting better than she was. she supposed that everyone else was just better at faking it, but still, she did feel like a fish out of water around here. "that's good to know." she answered, keeping her words short as her thoughts traveled back and forth from home to tour, to los angeles to new york, wondering if she could handle another two months of this. she knew he had to buck up and not be a quitter, but sometimes she just wanted to learn how to fly a plane so she could get a personal jet and just take the trip back and forth every week. part of her wanted to know what anton's backstory was, how he could go away from home for months at a time without feeling bad about not seeing his family. then again, she knew she couldn't get too close, because then their relationship would tread in a place she was entirely uncomfortable in being.

fans came and went, wandering around the tent for a while before gathering the courage to come say hi. she smiled softly as he gave a few some hugs, or high fives, or even words of advice on getting into the industry. it was cute, she had to admit. she also had to wonder what lead some of these girls to get those love sick looks in their eyes whenever anton said two words to them, how girls could 'fall' so easily for someone in five seconds. she supposed anton could be charming, hell, he had been trying to charm her since day one of their meeting. maybe cammie was uncharmable, as she did grow up in new york and guys she worked with had been known to spit mad game. "you know, if you really were a huge pain in my ass, i would just not talk to you. don't feel bad." she mumbled, hoping that she wouldn't take any of her words to mean something more. she was beginning to feel more and more guilty about how she had been treating him, now that he was telling her that he took it rather hard - she knew what it was like to have bosses who were constantly stand-offish, and now was realizing that her approach was probably not as effective as she thought it was. her eyes focused on his when he told the story of their old crew member, and she giggled a little, hiding her laugh behind her hand. "that's terrible. i wouldn't do that, your phone would probably keep me up at two am when i'm trying to sleep." she nodded, wondering how many people his number would get to before he had the chance to change it if she was mean enough to give it to someone - the power of the internet. anton continued to spew off advice and touring wisdom, for which she was both grateful and annoyed by. she didn't like that anton had some power over her, some deep tour knowledge that she was clueless about. she was used to being the smartest, the most logical person around, and she was realizing that maybe she pegged anton wrong from the beginning. "back home... i loved work. i know that sounds silly, 'cause it's not like i was on stage playing music or doing something most people consider to be a fun career... but it was my element. i like being the best, in case you haven't been able to tell." she rambled for a minute, her cheeks warming slighly as she realized that she was talking more about her life than she ever wanted to in front of him. she never wanted him to have any sort of leverage over her, whether it be the ability to compare touring to her old job, or knowing aspects of her personality that she didn't show to people normally. "and there, cammie's officially talked about herself more than she ever will again." she said firmly, wondering if what he said about becoming more in touch with yourself through touring was true. she could see how that would be accurate for musicians, or for people who were in love with the music. but hell, cammie barely liked down over dover's music, and honestly couldn't care less about most of these other bands. was this really a place that she could find herself?

cameron nodded at him, hoping that if he was the one to go to the band, they'd actually listen. she was going to have to start being more strict with the lot of them, although she wasn't sure if that was really the best way to get their attention. this was no where near the typical job she was used to, and was using all sorts of new tricks to get what she wanted out of the band. as anton continued to talk with his fans, cammie stared at the clouds, running her hand through her hair, trying to ignore the girls standing in front of her. honestly, she would have to get over her dislike of these fans if she was going to continue to get thrown into the merch table on occasion, or else she'd probably go insane. or end up biting someone's head off, which would probably be bad for the band as well as her own reputation. she wondered if her distaste was because of their unrealistic 'love' of band members, or of anton in particular, because even if the feelings she had for him were ones of annoyance and displeasure to be around, they were still strong none the less. she could complain about griffin, and the other band members, but she could complain about anton for hours if given the opportunity. it wasn't to the point of obsession, it was just a weird fascination she had with finding his flaws and pointing them out to herself. it made it a lot easier to deny his advances, that was for sure. she figured that most of the girls that she had talked to today would call her absolutely crazy for not giving the guitarist the time of day. well, at least anton was being tolerable right now, and for that reason she was sticking around the merch tent while he was there. she supposed she could have wandered off for a few minutes while he was signing things, and she probably would have if it was griffin or anyone else - it wasn't that she feared the rest of the band, but they didn't treat her quite the same as anton did. the goo-goo eyes were tolerable, the snarky remarks about her being there were definitely not. and at least anton was trying to encourage her to stick around, giving her tidbits from his experiences to help her adjust to this life. she had to admit that sometimes, he could be useful.

as the last girl came and went, her attention snapped back to him - well, whether she really wanted to have this discussion or not, it was coming, as anton had the habit of rambling whenever she gave him the opportunity. "well, i can see why you'd say that." she admitted, knowing that she did hold something against him for something that he didn't quite understand. the more she was in this scene, the more she realized that everybody slept with everybody, whether they be co-workers or bandmates. from what she had gathered, the music industry had consumed anton since graduation, he didn't know what the "real" world was like. she could give him that, at least. cammie looked down at the table, playing with a piece of tape on the edge so that anton couldn't quite see how much talking about home affected her. her stomach tossed and turned, and she felt like she could puke - the worst feeling in the world was realizing that the person you were judging so harshly really did understand what you were going through, and that they understood. she wanted to shake anton, and tell him to go back to being an egotistical pain in her ass so she could quit feeling bad about making his life difficult. as he laughed, she looked back up, and realized that he was continuing to look at her... damn it, she didn't want to show any weakness. "thanks." she mumbled, not really knowing how to respond to the compliment. it was one of the better compliments that she could recieve, as it was on her work and not on her appearance, but she was still bad with them in general. she didn't need the constant reassurance that she was good at what she did because she knew it, and dealt with enough people back in new york who thrived off of compliments to never want another one, ever. "i'm glad you think that, it means you won't be firing me any time soon." she laughed half-heartedly, knowing her jokes weren't funny and that there was that little nugget of hope behind that statement, hoping that somehow he would fire her, and life could go back to normal.

cammie's mind pushed all of those negative thoughts out, trying to lighten her own mood before she started crying, or moping even more than usual. she laughed as he conveyed his surprise at her denial of him again - she had asked him, so she had brought the truth upon herself, but still... there was the cocky eyebrow monster that she had grown to want to hit sometimes. "a week? oh really?" she laughed for a moment, until her tone turned more seriously. "i doubt that. it's been a few now, and there are definitely no feelings here." she stood up from her seat and walked to the bins containing t-shirts behind them - which had become a complete mess, thanks to the rush of costumers that had appeared when anton did. "unless you haven't been bringing your best to the table, in which case... i'd like to see you try." she laughed, not serious at all - she really, really did not want to have him harassing her to date him any more than he currently was. she started to fold some of the loose t-shirts up carefully, the perfectionist side of her needing to fold each and every one of them perfectly so that they'd rest better in their tubs during the long bus ride to the next city. she looked over at him, a crooked smile plastered on her face - maybe she was getting herself into something that she shouldn't, but she wanted to put him back in his place. make him realize that she would never bend her morals for him, even if he did have pretty eyes and an even prettier voice. as she sat and laughed to herself at the ridiculousness of her falling for anton, a few more girls approached the tent - the fan girls of the worst variety, the ones who dressed like whores and cooed at him to get his attention. cammie rolled her eyes, knowing that anton would give them the attention they wished for, and tossed a shirt back into the purple tub - this wasn't her job, and she wasn't going to do it just because their flaky merch girl, well, flaked. "now, you have fun with your fans, maybe you'll have better luck getting them to fall for you. they'd be more fun anyways." she stated, nodding towards the girls in the bikini tops and short shorts. she hurried away from the tent, on the search for riley to vent about the egotistical guitarist and what he had just posed to her.

YO STEPH THIS IS 2202 WORDS.... UHHHH......