Still Into You {Jamie}

[JOEY ROOKS]

Texts had been exchanged back and forth, despite the slamming of Joey's heart into her chest. She was currently passing the vaccuum around the baby who was now sitting up on her own, happily clapping two large plastic lego blocks together along with the songs from Bubble Guppies. So there was a little all-ages music lounge downtown, and he and his band, Breathe would be playing. All ages. As in--bring the baby.

Joey took a deep breath, and lowered her phone to her pocket. Well. At least there would be other people around, so she wouldn't have to deal with an awkward conversation with Jamie alone. Scooping Ariel up, and positioning her on her hip, Joey carried the baby to her bedroom in order to get her dressed. They would be out in the evening, which meant little black stockings and black socks for Ariel. And simply because Joey needed some sort of a hero--she tucked the yellow and black tutu around her daughter's waist, over the batman onsie. Pulling a tiny black jacket off a tiny hanger, Joey wiggled Ariel's squirming arms into the jacket, despite her frustrated gurgles.

Leaving the baby in the crib for a moment with the bar up, Joey meandered into her own room. She could use the extra super power, so she pulled a worn Spider-Man tank top, and a pair of dripping latex paint stockings, then fastened a pair of black shorts over it. Kicking her small feet into a pair of avengers sneakers, she trudged back to Ariel's room and started to pack the diaper bag. Securing an extra binkie, a blanket, diapers, formula and a few small jars of sweet potato. "C'mon, kiddo. Time to meet your daddy." Joey sighed as she hoisted the six-month old out of the crib and tucked her into the stroller.

Honestly, the stroller was a heaven send. It had a nice awning that could close all the way over Ariel if she angled her seat back. A nice undercarriage, thick rubber wheels so it didn't shake. And nice and comfy, made even more so when she tucked a little blanket around her daughter. The material of it had been embroidered by Edie--a baby shower gift. Running her thumb over the handle for a moment, Joey leaned over to double check that Ariel was buckled in, before tucking the baby bag into the undercarriage. And on they went. Joey's pink and orange split hair was still curled around her shoulders the earlier that day when she went to the studio.

Though now the curls were loose, and a bit messy--Joey still looked...different. She was her, but something was off, but in a good sort of way. Checking her phone again for the address to this place, her short legs pushed the stroller down the road, the hood pulled down slightly to shield Ariel from view. Finally, when she saw Orphan's Tears lounge up ahead, she smiled in relief. She angled the stroller into the lounge, to which she was told that it needed to be checked, and the baby would have to be taken out. Fine, no problem.

Slinging the bag over one shoulder, she unclasped the car seat from the stroller, and lifted Ariel out. Her skinny arms having built up a delicate string of muscle from doing this quite often. With a wrist band, Joey managed to make her way to an empty table. Situating the car seat on a chair, she pulled Ariel from it, and held the baby in her lap, and finally took attention to the stage, which she wasn't too far from. Ariel gurgled again under her breath, shoving her fist into her mouth as she stared up at the stage with her mother. Listening to a voice she had never heard, but was all too familiar to Joey's ears.

Her murky green eyes finally registered Jamie. He hadn't changed much--but it had been several months. Things tend to change--and he looked at home on the stage. Even though Joey felt like her hands were shaking, and that her heart were going to jump out of her throat--she smiled up towards Jamie.

Outfit

[JAMIE SHOEMAKER]

It was just your average, ordinary day for Jamie. Waffles in the morning and a live show at night. Nothing too fancy since the band was just back together. The name Breathe was resurrected but the band needed serious CPR before it could really live again. Ha, see what he did there? Jamie was halfway through his first waffle when his phone buzzed. None of the band would be texting him because they were probably asleep. He picked up the phone and then dropped it. Jamie continued to stare at the phone for a solid minute before he picked it up and texted back.

His heart did somersaults as they began to text back and forth. It was awkward and formal. Too formal for his taste. He was glad she was back. He wanted to see her more than anything even if they were stuck as friends. Again he stared at the phone. She kept the baby and named her Ariel. A smile, a true one formed on his face as he thought about her. Jamie had to see his daughter. He had to be in her life. Something he wanted more than even a music career was to be a good father. He wanted t prove to himself that he wasn’t his dad. Jamie took a leap and invited them both to the show tonight.

Now as he fiddled with his mic on stage, Jamie couldn’t help but feel excited and even a little nervous. He looked out over the crowd for a moment hoping to see them. He scanned the chairs but found she wasn’t there. Not yet, he told himself. She’d show. Focusing back on his music, Jamie looked to his other two bandmates. “You ready?” he said with a small giggle. They both gave a thumbs up and the people in the crowd started to settle down. “Okay, hey guys. We’re Breathe. So just relax, and let us serenade you. No, sleeping though okay? I see you there back at table two,” he joked before they began to play the intro to Silver Estacy. He took a deep breath and sang the first verse.

“You can't measure love
It has no start
It has no end
Ask me what I mean
There's no in-between
There's only you and I...”

As he looked down to the crowd and continued to sing. Walking to the very edge of the stage he noticed bright pink and orange. That had to be--he saw her face and broke into a grin right before belting out the chorus. He jumped around a little as another surge of adrenaline rushed through him. It probably look silly but he didn’t mind. She looked amazing even at just a glance and he was just glad she came here. Besides who didn’t expect some weirdness at a place called Orphan’s Tears? Jamie slowed down and caught her gaze. He even looked down at the little girl she was holding. There she was just chilling. Jamie bit his lip as the song came to an end and looked away. “Alright, anyone want to hear something? Anything at all?” he asked fishing for a cover song. Hopefully the crowd wouldn’t be too quiet tonight. He felt too hyper for a dull set.

[JOEY ROOKS]

Joey could see his sudden surge of energy, taste it like candy on her tongue. That was familiar, that was good. And connected as they always were, she felt it in herself. Which resulted her wiggling in her seat, causing the little baby in her lap to wiggle with her mother's motions. The offspring of the energetic duo had more than enough excitement to spare. She might night understand it at the moment, but Ariel's giggle bubbled over when the song came to an end, her chubby hands clapping together after she plucked her fist from her mouth.

To quell the urge to leap onto the stage with Ariel, Joey leaned in and kissed the chubby cheek of the redheaded mini-me in her lap, and looked back up with bright eyes. What had she been so worried about before? Her heart was singing to a song that wasn't being played on stage, and all that she could do was ride it out. "Jamie!" Her voice carried over the crowd. She was a singer herself, she could make herself heard if she wanted to. As though urging her on, Ariel kept slapping her little hands together. Joey's mouth haulted. Our song. She was about to say that, but after a quick glance about the room, and the eyeful of girls eagerly trying to get Jamie's attention--she thought better of it.

Those brownish green eyes looked back towards Jamie, sparkling and bright. Just like the day she had met him. Her lips closed, and she had a little smile on her face. The Joey smile. And for that moment, no one else was in the room. "The song." She substituted the word, but the lift of her brow, and quirk in her lips made the meaning clear. Their song, the one that was just theirs. The thriller, the killer. The damn good time. The one that summed them up as a whole, the one she had caught him singing once before, and asked him to repeat it for her.

And even though it was never outright said, it was their song. They both knew it, and there wasn't anyone alive that could take that away from them. Her cryptic words that Jamie would understand earned a few strange looks from the people seated nearby. She was even sure she heard the teeth click, and without knowing--she knew that those looks had started. What kind of bubblegum princess would bring her baby to the show, and dare try to pull Jamie's attention away from them? Oh yes--those looks.

And just for once in her life since Ariel came into it--she didn't give a single flying fuck, or a rolling rimjob what they, or anyone else thought. It was just Jamie, her, and Ariel tonight.

Outfit

[JAMIE SHOEMAKER]

He heard that giggle. It was the cutest thing. He found her in the crowd again and waved. Jamie didn’t even notice the looks or anything else. The smile on that little girl’s face and Joey’s to match was the only thing he saw. Cheers were drowned out by hearing her voice say his name. Typical song names were being tossed around by girls who liked to pretend he was John Mayer or Ed Sheeran. “Awwww, guys,” he said leaning over. “I need something with something pazazz! You know what I’m sayin’?” He laughed again when he heard Ariel’s giggle. Something about it just made his heart melt. Maybe that was a dad thing.

“What does batgirl want?” his drummer asked also noticing the toddler.

“Batgirl?” Jamie asked looking back at the drummer.

“Don’t you see her? She flew in just to listen to our set,” he replied with a grin.

“Lemme see,” Jamie looked out and saw Ariel’s shirt and tutu. “Aw, how cute,” he cooed. Jamie’s face went red.

“Our manly lead singer, Jamie Shoemaker everyone!” the guitarist Mike chimed in, stealing Jamie’s mike for a second. He usually didn’t have a mike and when he did it was really confusing to find Mike’s mike. Jamie nudged him away.

“Get out of here, I’m manly as f--- as a firetruck!” Jamie said laughing. He looked over at the duo again and noticed Joey saying something. She said the song. Their song. The one that was basically the theme song that played in the back of his mind whenever he was around her. The first song he wrote after a long break. Jamie smiled and nodded to Joey. He knew it and so did his band. Jamie covered the mike and said, “Sweet Perfection, guys.” That’s all it took for them to get into gear. He felt weird being the lead again. It wasn’t as stressful as last time and he actually felt like he could do it. There was something exciting about being a leader that he never saw until recently. That and it was pretty cool to call the shots every now and then.

“Okay, so... this is about a girl I met in a park,” he said before playing the harmonica. Cheers rang out. “The rest... was history,” he said with a small giggle. He waited for the drum and then skipped around the mike stand before sitting down on the stage. He sang to Joey and Ariel, letting the others disappear for a song. This was her song anyway. A grin plastered on his face while he sang.

“So I took her for a walk
And damn that girl could talk
We talked about all the pretty things,
And all the shitty things--oops
--the little things that fall, between...”

The little things. Like the matching smiles of Ariel and her mother. Those were the best. He took a picture in his mind hoping that this would be the first time of many that he saw this. All he could do was hope. The song continued and he rocked the harmonica solo like a boss. His foot kept a beat on the stage. It was all he could do to stop himself from just getting down and wrapping his arms around them both.

[JOEY ROOKS]

Joey's grin widened, and it felt like it might split her face in two--this time it was the good kind. Apparently, Ariel thought her dad's antics were hilarious, because her peals of laughter kept coming until her pale face was bright pink with the efforts of laughter. Joey's smile softened when he introduced the song--good. He got it. She leaned forward a little, gently resting her chin on Ariel's head as the baby continued to laugh. However, the sound of the harmonica caused her tiny little mouth to pop open. She hadn't heard that sound before, and her blueish green eyes remained transfixed on Jamie.

Joey's mouth moved along with the words of the song. It was their song, but in a way...it was sort of telling Ariel. She may not comprehend it yet, but this was the story of her parents. When the harmonica picked up again, Ariel grunted, and squirmed in Joey's grasp. Her fingers trying to reach for the shiny instrument with the interesting sound. Her face contorted slightly, making noises of disapproval as Joey scooped her daughter sideways, cradling her. Her face nuzzled into the tiny belly, distracting her daughter from squirming again. Ariel stopped struggling, but that look of surprise and curiousity was still on her face, transfixed by Jamie.

More than anything, she wanted Jamie to have his time to shine. But god, she also wanted him off that stage. Just so she could talk to him, just so he could take the wiggle worm out of her arms for a moment. Joey was very protective over Ariel, and who got to hold her. But for some reason, maybe her own curiousity, she wanted to see what Ariel looked like in Jamie's tattooed arms. "But dear, I'm found." Joey sang quietly under her breath, her foot tapping along with the harmonica--her own tiny body wiggling in her chair.

What on earth had she been worried about? For a little, she thought Ariel might have been the final straw. The final pin in the voodoo doll of her and Jamie's relationship--or whatever they had. But for some reason, she felt like the glue. Because Joey felt like she had never been away, that she and Ariel had always been part of his life. And that was the magic of Jamie. Joey leaned into Ariel's ear, "That's your daddy." She whispered quietly, only for the baby's little ears.

"Daaaa?" Ariel cooed, still distracted by the harmonica. She wasn't forming whole words yet, but there was definitely some intention. Mimicing of words. Joey smiled into the tiny curls of red hair, peeking over the top of Ariel's warm head to look at Jamie. Joey was luck Ariel was in her arms, because the amount of patience to get Jamie alone to talk was wearing thing.

Outfit

[JAMIE SHOEMAKER]

When Joey started to sing along, Jamie found himself sure things were gonna be all right. Something told him that Joey missed him maybe half as much as he missed her. That something probably being Pinocchio. The boy was tickled awake by Jamie’s great mood and danced a little on the stage before hopping off to look at Ariel. It didn’t bug Jamie much because he was sure no one but people like him could see the boy. Pinoch poked one of the baby’s cheeks curiously. The boy was going to have a field day with her once he figured out that she was real.

The set moved much too slow for Jamie’s taste but he still played it as best he could. Pinocchio helped by distracting him from the never ending urge to jump off the stage and give them both the biggest bearhug he could offer. Squished face were most likely a guarantee. That could happen later though. Jamie closed his eyes and played a few more originals and some covers. He made a game of not looking at the clock and almost won but the in between set ups were killer.

Once the hour was done, he jumped on the mike and said quickly, “Okay, so I need a certain Joey and Ariel to meet me backstage. The rest of you... go home!” He laughed and shook his head. “I’m just kidding. Stick around, I hear the drinks are good. Place is open til 3 AM for all you nightowls who like to party hard on a Tuesday night,” he joked before helping his bandmates take everything down to the van. Mike was the only one with a car in this band so he usually stashed everything in his garage. Normally Jamie would get a ride back to his house and practice some more. “Hey, guys, uh, don’t wait up,” he said after closing the backdoors. Before they could ask questions, he ran back inside.

There, sitting in the back room were Joey and Ariel. A smile grew on his face and his heart did a backflip. (Okay, not really but it felt like it.) He sat down next to them on the couch and did a shy little wave. “Hey,” he said looking at them both. He probably looked like a sweat mess. The sets usually did that to him. Jamie put a hand through his hair and mumbled, “You’re back.” He still couldn't believe it.

[JOEY ROOKS]

It shouldn't have been a surprise to Joey that when she tried to go to the back room, there was at least two other people trying to claim they were Joey or Ariel. However with a show of ID, and a happy coo from a baby--security lead her to the backroom, carrying the empty carseat while Joey held onto Ariel. While she waited for Jamie to finish unloading their equipment, Joey was carefully spooning Ariel some mashed sweet potato. She managed to look up when he finally came back into the room--and Ariel was quite done with the food.

"I am! I stayed in Buffalo for a little with Ariel, before deciding to come back." She explained simply, putting the lid back into the jar and putting the spoon in a tiny plastic container. "We miss Edie and Benny, don't we Ariel?" She cooed, though the baby didn't seem to have any attention for her mother at all. Joey undid the straps to the carseat that was doubling as her feeding chair, and hoisted her out. Settling their baby on her lap, she turned towards Jamie on the couch , and raised her brows. "Ariel Tessa Rooks." Joey introduced, and the baby silent from all her giggling stared up at the tattooed man with wonder.

With a moment's hesitation, Joey gently lifted the infant out of her lap, and held her towards Jamie. "She just turned six months old. Just starting to move to solids, so--she kind of likes to chew on things if she can get to them. She just learned how to sit up on her own a few weeks ago, and she's scooting. Not crawling just yet." Joey gave him the lowdown on what he had missed, and Ariel's progress. It had been scary for Joey. Who had an overbearing mother, basically no father; to suddenly be responsible for a little life. However, Edie and Benny had been good for them, and helped Joey through Ariel's milestones. So luckily, it wasn't as hard as it could have been.

Joey pressed her lips into a thin line, almost trying to quell a smile before it finally broke out over her face. "We made a cute kid." The sentence was equipped with a low giggle. Babies were ugly, and maybe it was a little biased, but to her--Ariel was the cutest baby she had ever seen.

Outfit

[JAMIE SHOEMAKER]

“I’m glad you did,” Jamie said looking at the little girl curiously. They seemed to be having a bit of a staring contest and it made him crack a smile. She was adorable with her bright orange tufts of hair and gummy smile. Not to mention those big brown eyes that scrunched shut when she laughed. He watched Joey take her out and grinned at the name. “I like that,” he said simply.

He looked at the baby for a second realizing he wasn’t exactly sure how to hold her. “I uhm,” he started but then she started talking. He held his breath and took Ariel into his arms remember something about supported their head because it was all soft and fragile. Babies were fragile. Holy moly... Jamie was holding his baby. “Oh my God,” he whispered feeling his heart squeezed by the sudden realization. He looked up at Joey and felt his eyes get kind of watery. This was totally not the right time to be crying. What was he doing?

Jamie laughed softly and looked back down. “Yeah, we did. Luckily she got most of your looks,” he said snickering. Ariel seemed to find that funny too and giggled again. She reached her hand up and pulled on his lip. “Whaaa awe ewe dowin?” Jamie asked as she pulled his lip down. Ariel giggled louder and he playfully nibbled on her tiny fingers making her squeal. “Tastes like sweet potatoes,” he said laughing. She pulled her hand away and poked his neck tattoo making some sort of questioning sound. “Yep, that’s my tattoo. I gotta a lot of those,” he said wrinkling his nose a bit at her slimy fingers. He looked up at Joey again and finally asked, “Am I uh, doing this right? I took like a parenting class but that was a long time ago and the babies weren’t real or anything. This is wow, a lot different. Whaaa--” he was interrupted mid-rabble by Miss Sticky fingers again. This time she found his one of his lip piercings.

[JOEY ROOKS]

Joey smiled proudly when he complimented the name, before dipping into the baby bag to try and look for some wipes. Holding the small package, her head snapped up when he said 'oh my god', before the surge of panic relaxed. Joey quietly settled the wipes in her lap, watching the scene for a moment. She was afraid to breathe too loudly. Wishing that she remember where she put her phone in the bag, she wanted a picture. But the idea of moving made her think that she would ripple the calm surface of the air.

"She definitely got your eyes though." A grin broke out on Joey's face as Ariel pulled on him, a laugh shaking her shoulders. She had nibbled on the fingers too, on the little toes in her socks. Kissed all over her soft face and tummy. Joey's head tilted to the side, and she shrugged. "Unfortunately, she didn't come with an instruction manual." Joey relaxed against the couch, propping one arm on the back of it, and resting her head in her hand.

Joey jumped when those pudgy little fingers grabbed onto the bits of metal that went through Jamie's lips. With a tiny snort, Joey leaned forward and pressed her lips against the red curls. "Think about it, kid." Joey said in a low tone--dreadfully serious. Ariel froze, as though she was debating pulling, before Joey moved into action. Her small fingers gently coiled around Ariel's, wiggling her tiny fingers away from the piercing--in result, causing her own hands to brush against Jamie's face. Managing to cope with this by focusing on prying those little fingers off without damage to Jamie, masked the hesitation that she would have had after coming into contact with his skin.

Using an empty hand to pull out a wipe, Joey managed to pry her fingers off, and grab them. "Let's not get your nasty child mess on Daddy, alright?" Wiggling the baby wipe inbetween her fingers, and thoroughly cleaning her hands, Joey saved Jamie from the mess that those fingers would have brought on. Sliding off the couch and leaving Ariel in his arms, she tugged down her Spider-Man tanktop and wandered over to the trashcan to drop the wipe in it.

"How long has Breathe been back together?" She asked, placing her hands on her lower back for a moment. Small talk. Joey was bad at it. Really bad. Smoothing her hands down the latex paint stockings dripping down her hands, she made her way back over to the couch before sitting back onto it slowly, sandwiching her hands between her knees. She didn't want to look at Jamie, but she felt like she needed to drink in the sight of Ariel and Jamie together.

"Do you wanna work something out?" Joey finally blurted. Before she realized how strange that sounded in her head. Color rushed into her face, and she stiffened slightly. "I mean like. For Ariel. Like, do you wanna work something out with Ariel? I remember you telling me your dad wasn't around, and another reason I came back is because I don't want Ariel to have to go through the same thing. So I want her to have a relationship with her father, but only if. Everything's good. I mean, I can bring her to you after shows, but not...not if you're involved with those people. Is that rude to assume? I just want you to be around her, and get to watch her grow up. And see her first steps, and hear her first words. But I also want her to be safe. And not just her--I want you to be safe too and--" Joey managed to cut herself off, clamping her lips shut tightly as she stared at Jamie reproachfully.

Outfit

[JAMIE SHOEMAKER]

“My eyes?” he wondered out loud. Jamie looked down at Ariel again and got lost in to big brown eyes. No way his were as pretty as hers, he thought. No flipping way. He held her close to him hoping he wasn’t squish her but also worried she might squirm loose. Oh good bejesus, this was so strange. He couldn’t help but laugh as Joey pulled the baby fingers away. He felt Joey’s fingers against his cheek and they heated up at her touch. It made him realize he didn’t give her a hug. He really wanted to but... why did it seem like a bad idea?

There was still some hesitation to it. He wanted it to be easy like it was before. Easy to talk and just get along. He’d messed that up majorly though. So this, was all he got. It seemed fair but Jamie was really terrible with people being awkward.”Uh, well... a few months. We’re just messing around really,” he replied. It took a lot of convincing but the boys finally admitted that they missed the music. It’s was strange at first but quickly they went back to writing songs and hanging out like old times. That was nice... the music really got out his frustrations and other things he couldn’t explain through just words alone. He wanted to say this to all of her but... his mouth wouldn’t open that much. Maybe this was what shy felt like.

Ariel had discovered Jamie’s arm tattoos and began poking each one with her chubby fingers when Joey asked the next question. He tilted his head in confusion but didn’t have to say anything to get her to explain. He listened and began to shake his head. “I’m not--They’re in jail. Joey... I wouldn’t even think of asking you out-- I mean seeing you, ya know, like in person if I was still with them. Especially with Ariel I mean, I couldn’t at all. I never wanted to be with them but-- I-- I got a wake up call that made me realize I can’t be a coward right? I had to fight back... We did some snooping and found out their names... and the ones we couldn’t there were license plate numbers. It was like I was Sherlock Holmes or something. Turns out, a lot of them were wanted criminals,” he said quickly finally tapping into all the things he wanted to tell her.

“There were even rewards and all of it was just crazy. Somethin’ about busting a drug trade made me real cool with the cops. I kinda waited until they found about my being in their group but even that they really-- Well, they made me do community service but it wasn’t too bad. I’m just--I feel safe for once. Like, I’m not dangerous or anything. Like--” He stopped, getting distracted by Ariel’s stare. She seemed entranced by his mouth moving. He soon realized it was his spider bites. Jamie laughed and kissed her cheek. Her eyes went big and she touched where she kissed her. Looking at her hand, Ariel started to baby babble. He smiled and remembered he was talking.

“I... I really want to see her. I know I haven’t made the best choices but I can’t-- I just want to be in her life. You’re right, part of it is because of my dad. I don’t want to be anything like him. I was getting there too. But-- If you need help with anything I’ll try my best and I just want to be there. I just-- I’ll take whatever you want to give me,” he said finally. Jamie found himself almost breathless just trying to get out those words. Nothing was really sounding right when he said it. He might as well be baby talking.