Incite My Riots Chapter 8

Today’s a free day. There’s no set, there’s no concert, there’s no meetings. We have a day to take a break from the touring life, not like we don’t like it, but it gets a bit tiring at times.

But today, today, we’re free. Praise the Lord.

Everyone’s gone out exploring or sight seeing, but Josh and I are doing absolutely nothing.

Almost.

“So Hayles, I was thinking about the lyrics we wrote last night, and I put them together in my head.” he told me.

I did the usual routine.

He’d come up with a brilliant idea, tell me, wait for me to ask him what it was, then I’d be awestruck. The usual.

“Okay, shoot.”

I’m sitting in a room made up of only big white walls and in the halls there’s people looking through. Do you ever wonder if they’ve got anything else to do? Don’t look back just let them think, there’s no place that you’d rather be.

You’re always on display, for everyone to watch and poke fun at, don’t you know by now, you can’t turn back. This road is all you’ll ever have.

I read the lyrics aloud.

“Wow.” I commented.

“I know it’s not much, but we’ve got nothing but time on our hands.” Josh told me excitedly.

He is so proud.

For once since all this Paramore buisiness started, he’s been stressed out, over worrying, and overall being a party pooper.

Don’t get me wrong, he has his reasons to be, but I just hate seeing him furrowing his eyebrows every ten seconds.

I know what makes him happy no matter what.

Songwriting.

“Josh, I’ve been working on some lyrics too.” I admitted.

I looked down, because these lyrics that I was about to show him, they were personal. They’re not going on the album (Josh doesn’t have to know that), but they’re meant to give him some inspiration.

“You do? Hayley, that’s great! Why didn’t you tell me, we could-” he rambled, but I cut him off by pressing my finger to his lip.

“No, shh, less talky talky, and more walky walky.” I told him in an Australian accent… at least I think it sounded Australian.

I grabbed his arm and sprinted for the door.

“Hayley, where are we going?” he asked nervously, I onlyy grinned more.

“Okay,” I breathed in. I sat down at the piano. In the middle of Costco. I know it’s not the best place to play a secret song, but the building had great acoustics plus a great piano that was available for our use.

Okay, maybe it wasn’t completely available for our use, but it was on display.

I cracked my fingers, a habit reserved for when I’m terribly nervous.

I let my fingers roam over the keys before I started playing.

I hummed the song I knew so well, but couldn’t find the words to speak.

“Okay,” I repeated once more, feeling Josh’s confused stares burning through my cheek.

I am watching, and I’ve been waiting for the sun.With my wide eyes, I’ve seen worlds that don’t belong.My mouth is dry with words I’ve never seem to choke out.Tell me why we live like this.Keep me safe inside with your arms like towers and tower over me.Yeah, cause we are broken. What must we do to restore our innocence? And oh, the promise we adored. Give us life again ’cause we just wanna be whole. Could you, lock the door? I’d like to capture this voice that came to me in a dream, so everyone will have a choice, and under bright lights, I’ll show myself it wasn’t forged. We’re at war, I don’t want to live like this.Keep me safe inside your arms like towers and tower over me.‘Cause we are broken, what must we do to get back pure innocence? And oh, the promise we adored. Give us life again Cause we just wanna be whole. Tower over me, tower over me. And I’ll take the truth at any cost.‘Cause we are broken what must we do to get back pure innocence, and oh, the promise we adored. Give us life again, ‘cause we just wanna be whole.

I heard applause surround me. I didn’t realize we had drawn a crowd. I blushed furiously into Josh’s shoulder. I grabbed his hand and sprinted towards the door.

“Hayles, that was, that was amazing.” Josh told me, and my face was soon getting redder by the second.

We walked in silence back to our bus after that.

We said all that had to be said, there was no tension whatsoever. I was perfectly content with the silence. Swimming in silence.

Sometimes I write things and have no idea where I’m going with them. Currently in this story it is 2005, first time on the road, first time on Warper with their very first album out. Riot! debuts in two years… Yeah, but don’t worry I think I have a solution to this hot mess I call a story. In my head I’ve outlined this entire story and it’s absolutely perfect and I am so proud of it, I just have no freaking clue how it’s going to turn out. I change my mind like a girl changes clothes, and yes Katy Perry is talking about me. I know I’m rambling because I have like eight bajillion things to do and I don’t want to and it’s already nine at night and ugh why is life so hard.