#jaket

Sam and Danny joined Josh, who was standing at the edge of the stage, staring around the venue in wonder and bobbing his head to their new song. Off in the distance, the fans in the pit had started singing along, which Sam marveled at.

“I can’t believe we’re done,” he found himself saying to no one in particular. 

“Until the next tour,” Danny pointed out. 

The song went into the second verse and Josh let out a sigh of content. 

“I’ve got a big old salty dog waiting for me in the green room, see you back there.” 

Sam and Danny watched him hop down the steps, wave goodbye to the fans in the seats who had stuck around, and then disappear backstage. 

“You were on fire tonight,” Sam turned back to Danny. 

“Thank god, that would have been bad with all those cameras,” Danny joked, playfully leaning into Sam’s side. “You didn’t sound half-bad yourself.” 

“I got through that stinking song, that’s all that matters to me,” Sam chuckled. 

The sounds from the crowd had started to die down which Sam took as his cue to get off the stage, finally putting an end to their Dreams in Gold circus. He motioned for Danny to lead the way and, one after the other, they hustled down the stairs and to the back. After passing through the curtain, they were immediately greeted by Karen and Kelly, who gave them large hugs. 

“That was incredible!” Karen exclaimed after releasing Danny. “The new banner looks so good!” 

“You were on a different level tonight,” Kelly congratulated them. “Way to finish the tour strong.” 

“Do you want to head back to the green room?” Sam nodded down the hall. “I could use a drink.” 

With a collective laugh they all retreated back to the green room and were greeted by Jaket and Josh, who were sprawled on the sofas, cradling their own cups of booze. They both were a mess: Jaket’s face was still red from playing his ass off, his shorter hair dampened against his forehead in sweat and Josh had obviously accidentally wiped at his face, because his gold eye makeup was spread from cheek to cheek. They turned to look at their family as they came in, but could hardly move a muscle to acknowledge them. 

“I think I need a trip to Tahiti,” Jaket groaned out. “Maybe it’s time I get a timeshare.” 

“Let’s take the next flight out of here,” Josh agreed. “God, the second I sat down, my adrenaline rush immediately stopped.” 

“So I take it we’re not gonna have much of an after party,” Sam stated the obvious.

“How much of an after party could we really have while our parents are here?” Jaket grunted out as he rolled over to look back at Sam. 

“Hey,” Karen protested, “we know how to party.” 

“And Jaket doesn’t smell like ass right now,” Josh poked fun. 

“Please stop calling me Jaket,” Jaket moaned. 

“Sorry, that’s your name now,” Josh countered. Jaket took a hearty swig from his bottle of Jack and twisted around so his face was planted into the couch cushion with a huff. 

Aside from the twins, everyone else stood around, still riding off the high of the show, but unsure what to do with themselves, until Sam broke the silence. 

“I owe Danny In N’ Out,” he remembered. 

“Oh shit,” Danny commented, “yeah, you do.” 

Sam walked to the corner of the room where he had tucked his phone into his backpack and retrieved it so he could find the nearest one. 

“Huh,” he mumbled, “looks like we’ll have to drive. Mom?” He turned back to face Karen. “You have a rental car, right?” 

“Yup.” 

“Can I borrow it?” 

“Only if Danny drives. I saw you drinking out there.” 

“I can’t argue with that,” Danny spoke for Sam. “You’re awful at driving city streets anyways.” 

“The roads are so narrow,” Sam defended himself. “And one way streets are confusing.” 

Karen silently passed Danny her rental car key, which Danny quickly pocketed. 

“It’s the white Nissan Versa parked by the bus,” Karen told Danny. 

“A Nissan? Wow, nice wheels, Mrs. Kiszka,” Danny joked, earning him a playful push from Karen. “Seriously, thank you though,” Danny added. 

“Just bring it back in one piece, please.” 

“Of course.” 

Sam and Danny quickly changed out of their stage outfits into their own Starcatcher t-shirts and sweats and filed out of the green room, leaving Josh, Jaket, Karen, and Kelly on their own to unwind after their eventful evening. 

“Are you keeping the makeup on?” Sam joked with Danny as they made their way to the back doors. 

“It’s not every day you get to go through the In N’ Out drive through in full glam,” Danny gave a shrug, which earned him a good laugh from Sam. 

“You know, I can’t say I’ve ever actually had In N’ Out.” 

“What?” Danny stopped in his tracks. Sam walked a few paces ahead and then whirled around when he realized that Danny had fallen behind him. “Are you kidding me? Not even during Coachella? Or that time we went to Temecula?” 

“Danny,” Sam retreated back to put a hand on his shoulder, “I’m vegetarian. What would I get at a burger restaurant?”

“Fries? A shake? A grilled cheese? I don’t know, Sam. It’s, like, the quintessential California experience. I can’t believe you’ve been missing out all these years.”   

“Well now I’m really curious to see what all of the hype is about.” 

They started walking again and, after waving goodbye to some of the techs and roadies, quickly found Karen and Kelly’s rental car. 

“That’s a rental car alright,” Sam looked down at the white car with an air of disgust. “I can’t believe we just headlined a sold out show at the Golden 1 Center and we’re driving to a fast food restaurant in a Nissan.” 

“We’re really living the rocker lifestyle,” Danny laughed at Sam’s disgust. “Come on, get in, Princess.” 

Sam wasn’t happy with the nickname, but he trudged around to the passenger side and threw the door open after Danny unlocked it, plopping into the seat. 

“God, it smells like a rental car too,” he complained. 

“I’d hope it would, considering it’s a rental car and all,” Danny retorted. He quickly buckled his seat belt and pulled up the map to In N’ Out on his phone, handing it over to Sam. “You’re in charge of directions.” 

“You got it, boss.” 

Danny successfully got them out of the back of the Golden 1 Center and Sam stared out the window in awe at all of the fans who were still standing around, almost all of them looking as if they were in a daze. He felt the same way on the inside, but he was trying hard not to think too much about the fact that the tour was over. He knew that he would just get emotional, which was probably the last thing Danny wanted to deal with. 

“Do you remember what the rock station is here?” Danny’s voice snapped Sam out of his head. 

“I’ll find it,” Sam said, leaning forward to mess with the tuner. He settled on 96.9, which was playing a Tom Petty song that felt like it fit the mood. 

“Turn left on 3rd Street,” Danny’s phone spoke over the radio. 

“Nice navigating, Sammy,” Danny joked. 

“You know I have trouble multitasking,” Sam frowned. Since he had the music figured out, he focused all of his attention back on Danny’s phone. 

“You’re gonna turn right on P Street and then that should take you onto the freeway, westbound,” he shared. 

“There we go, thanks,” Danny nodded. They sat in silence, only the sounds of Tom Petty singing Mary Jane’s Last Dance filling the rental car, and Sam snuck a peak at Danny. His left elbow was resting on the driver’s side window while his right hand grasped onto the bottom of the steering wheel. He looked to be deeply contemplating something. 

“Penny for your thoughts?” he tried. Danny’s face scrunched up. 

“I’m just trying to figure out my order,” he obviously lied. Sam decided to leave their conversation at that. Danny revved the engine as he entered onto the freeway, and they started to zip past the other cars out on the road. Sam tugged on his seatbelt to make sure that it was as tight as possible, and then looked forward out the windshield at the roadlights ahead of them. 

“You’re, uh, gonna want to take exit 1A in around 4 miles out towards Reno.” 

“Yup,” Danny said, pressing farther down on the gas pedal. 

“You know,” Sam nervously cleared his throat. “I really don’t want to die in Sacramento.” 

Danny luckily took the hint and removed his foot from the gas pedal so they fell back in line with the flow of traffic.

“Sorry,” Danny’s voice sounded distant. “I didn’t realize how fast I was going.” 

“The burgers aren’t going anywhere,” Sam tried to kid, though he knew that probably wasn’t what was eating away at Danny at all. Danny reached the exit and carefully flicked on the car’s turn signal so they safely entered the highway ramp. “Okay, you’re gonna take the Reed Ave exit and then it should be on our right,” Sam added. “We’re almost there.” 

Sam was relieved that they made it to the drive thru in one piece, and he was even more glad when Danny took the reins on placing their order. Sure, he was starving after they had played their hearts out, but he didn’t know the first thing about what to order and didn’t want to think too hard about it. 

“We’ll get two orders of animal fries, two large chocolate shakes, a double double, and a grilled cheese,” Danny leaned farther over his window to speak into the intercom. 

“You got it,” a teenager’s voice said from the other end. “That’ll be $19.87.” 

“Oof,” Sam pretended like he had been shot. “That’s gonna put a dent in my wallet. Do you think they accept interest payments?” 

Danny rolled his eyes and moved the car forward in the long line. 

“The animal fries will be worth it,” Danny said as he looked ahead at the car in front of them. “They’ve got onions.” 

“Something’s bugging you again,” Sam spoke up. Danny let out a sigh and dropped his head into a slow nod. 

“I’m sorry,” he murmured. 

Sam turned down the volume on the radio and then tried to position himself in his passenger seat so he could entirely face Danny. 

“Hey, don’t apologize to me,” he corrected Danny. “You’re allowed to feel things. Especially around me. I’m always airing out my grievances to you.” 

“I just don’t want to be a burden,” Danny said. The cars in front of them started to creep ahead so Danny slowly let his foot off the brake, letting them slowly roll forward. “I’m sure I’m just gonna start sounding like a broken record soon, and I don’t want you to have to put up with that.” 

“You could never be a burden!” Sam exclaimed. “You know what’s a burden? Josh playing the harmonica at 3am. That’s a fucking burden, Danny. You telling me what’s bothering you is the farthest thing from a burden. I don’t like seeing you like this.” 

Danny opened his mouth to respond but just as quickly shut it when he saw that it was their turn to approach the In N’ Out register window. Sam gave his head a small shake in disappointment that he was going to have to wait longer to help Danny out, and handed over his credit card to Danny, who passed it to the employee. 

“Nice eye makeup,” the girl commented when she handed the card and receipt back to Danny. Both Danny and Sam’s faces flushed a crimson red. 

“Thanks, we wanted to look pretty for dinner,” Danny said without thinking, and then hit the gas in a panic to shoot forward, away from the window. Sam stared at Danny in a mixture of horror and awe and, when they screeched to a halt one car before the food window, he couldn’t help but let out a cackle. 

“What the fuck was that?” 

“What the hell else was I supposed to say?” Danny turned to Sam, his eyes wide. He looked forward again and started to white knuckle the steering wheel, his arms stretched out in front of him without a single bend in his elbows. 

“Literally anything other than that,” Sam continued to laugh. 

“My brain is all scrambled,” Danny removed a hand from the steering wheel to nervously pass it through his sweaty hair. “I don’t know what I’m doing.” 

“Well,” Sam started, “you’re driving my parent’s shitty rental car through a drive thru with some really precious cargo in the front seat.” 

“You know what I mean,” Danny gave Sam a quick look. 

“It’s our turn,” Sam mumbled, motioning to the car in front of them that had just pulled away from the food window. Danny let out a frustrated huff and lurched the car forward, slamming on the brakes again so Sam was thrust forward and then back into his seat. 

“Thanks,” Danny tried to put on a smile to the employee who was eyeing them while handing their food over. 

“Want any ketchup?” he asked. 

“You betcha,” Danny said. 

With their food secured, Danny flew out of the drive thru and back out onto the city street, causing Sam to choke on his milkshake in shock. 

“Are we not gonna just eat in the parking lot?” 

“I need an empty field.” 

“Why? To murder me?” 

“To clear my head.” 

Sam knew better than to challenge Danny any further, so he focused on nervously downing the entirety of his (really good) milkshake while Danny re-entered the freeway and drove towards a town called Woodland. Sam couldn’t help but let out a sharp exhale in relief when Danny put the car into park and shut off the engine. Sure, they were out on a sketchy country road in the middle of nowhere, but at least Danny wasn’t doing road rage anymore. Without saying a word, Danny grabbed the bag of food, tore off his seatbelt, and jumped out of the car. 

“Hey, wait!” Sam called after him, rushing to unbuckle his own seatbelt. He managed to get out of the car in record time and was glad to see that Danny had just moved around to the back of the car so he could sit on the trunk, hanging his feet over the muddy dirt. “I thought you were gonna take off,” Sam admitted as he joined Danny on the trunk with a grunt. Danny grabbed his burger from the bag and started to unwrap it. 

“Your grilled cheese should be in there,”  he motioned towards the bag with his head. Sam took Danny’s cue and retrieved his meal, unwrapping it so he was greeted with the warm smell of melted cheese and grilled onions. “Tell me it isn’t delicious.” 

Sam took a solid bite out of it and chewed thoughtfully.

“It’s no Southern Engine Deli, but it’s still pretty good.” 

Sam waited for a response from Danny but returned back to his sandwich when he realized that Danny was preoccupied, inhaling his own burger. They sat under the stars in their own personal bubbles for the next few minutes, and Sam was starting to shiver from the cold, post-rain air, but he tried to hide his discomfort. Danny had moved from his burger to shoveling his tray of animal fries into his mouth as if he hadn’t had anything to eat in weeks. Sam wasn’t quite sure what to do other than gawk at his friend. He was really starting to resemble a ravenous lion. 

“I needed this,” Danny announced, his mouth filled to the brim with half-chewed junk food. 

“I’m not sure what this is,” Sam replied, “but I’m glad?” 

“I didn’t eat enough before we went out tonight, I think the nerves got the better of me.” 

“Hey, what were you gonna say back in the car before we had to pay?” Sam talked over Danny. He was really getting tired of beating around the bush. 

“Huh?” Danny sounded caught off guard. 

“You said you didn’t want to be a burden, I told you that was stupid, you were about to say something, but then we got interrupted. What were you going to say?” 

“Oh,” Danny said, returning back to his hunched position as he gingerly placed his empty tray back on the trunk. “I don’t know.” Sam continued to look at him and, obviously uncomfortable by the silence, Danny made a small grunting noise. “We’ve been through so much this tour,” his voice was just barely audible over the distant sound of the cars on the highway. “Like, so much. And so much has changed too. But I’ve been able to avoid all of it because I’ve been so engulfed in our music and playing live and traveling and everything. Now that the tour’s done, I’m gonna just be sitting at home. I’m gonna have to face all of it head on. I don’t think I’m ready to do that.” 

Sam nodded. He knew exactly where Danny was coming from. Between both of his brother’s health scares and stress about what direction they were moving in, Sam had a lot on his mind as well that he had been actively avoiding. Even though they had enough planned down the road to keep themselves busy for the most part, life off the road was a lot different than constantly being on the move. 

“You can stay with me if you don’t want to be alone,” Sam suggested. 

“I was thinking about spending some time with my parents,” Danny looked apologetic. “I think it might be good to be around family for a bit, to spend some time back in Frankenmuth.” 

“I totally understand,” Sam offered him a supportive smile. “You can relax at Bronner’s.”

“It’s impossible to relax at Bronners,” Danny bumped Sam’s shoulder. “That’s, like, the most stimulating place on the planet.” 

“Aw, but you know all those Santas staring at you is the only way to really feel peace on Earth,” 

Danny pulled out Sam’s tray of animal fries from their to-go bag and offered them to him, which he graciously accepted. For what it was worth, they did smell really good and he was starting to get distracted by them. While he grabbed a messy handful and fit them into his mouth, Danny leaned his head back so he could take in the night sky. It was mostly overcast, but a few stars were peeking through the low clouds. He squinted his eyes to try to make out any recognizable constellations, and then slowly lifted his hand up, as if he was trying to touch the brightest star in the sky. 

“You’re gonna be okay,” Sam told Danny after swallowing down his fries. “You’re super resilient, Danny. You’re gonna go through some tough times and feel some intense emotions, but I know you. I know you can bounce back from this, and you’ll be stronger than ever.” 

“I hope so,” Danny took a break from scanning the sky to turn back to Sam. Without thinking, Sam grabbed his hand and gave it a tight squeeze, which seemed to surprise Danny. 

“I know so,” he promised. 

That seemed to bring enough comfort for Danny since he snagged a couple of fries from Sam and then leapt back to his feet. After reaching his arms up in a large stretch, he clapped his hands together. 

“Okay, I’m getting cold.” 

“Back in the car?” Sam asked. Danny nodded. 

“Back in the car. I’ll look up at the stars another night. Knowing that they’re always up there is enough comfort for right now.” 

“Okay, Starcatcher,” Sam kidded.