Rock And Roll Ruined My Life- Chapter 30- The Hangover

I felt the light of the winter sun shine on my face. I tried to turn over in my bed but something was stopping me. I reached out blindly with my hand to see what it was. There were two arms around my waist. I froze and slowly turned my head and opened my eyes. I gasped. The pain in my head was so bad I couldn’t help but moan. Jack’s eyelids fluttered open before me.

“ ‘Morning,” he smiled, wincing at the light coming in through my windows.
“Hi,” I replied, still unsure of how he got here. Better question: Why was he here?
“You okay?” he asked. His voice was heavy with sleep; I loved it.
“I think so,” I said putting a hand on my forehead and pressing down to alleviate the pressure on my sinuses.

“Hangovers suck,” Jack laughed softly. I nodded my head in agreement but regretted it. The world was spinning and my head was throbbing with pain. Suddenly everything came back to me and I remembered almost everything about the “Pre-Tour Party” that happened last night. Jack’s laughter increased as I grabbed my head again.

“Do you have one?” I asked him, referring to my migraine.
“Yeah.”
“Why aren’t you in pain?”
“I am,” he smiled, “but I got to hang out with you all night so it was worth it.”
My heart fluttered and I felt my eyes begin to water.
“Don’t cry! Fuck. I’m such a fuckup. I’m sor-”
I cut him off by snuggling closer to him. I felt him sigh in relief and pull me closer. I smiled quietly to myself. We both drifted off to sleep again.

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“Hey!” I heard someone whisper-yell. I opened my eyes and felt Jack do the same. It was Alex.
“You guys up?”
“Now we are,” I smiled.
“Okay, I suggest you guys get up. Everyone else is starting to come to.”
“Thanks, Alex,” I smiled.
“No problem. Need help getting up?”
“Yes,” I replied holding my hands out. I felt Jack let go of my waist, and slowly Alex helped me sit up. My waist felt cold from the lack of contact, and my head was spinning. I noticed I was still wearing the same outfit I had on last night. I mentally sighed in relief; I would have been worried if I hadn’t…

“What time is it?” I asked, stretching.
“Like 1:30,” Alex replied snapping his phone shut.
“Crap, it’s lunch time,” I muttered holding out my hands so that Alex could help me stand up. Alex and Jack laughed.
“You’re hungry?”
“You aren’t?” I replied walking towards the door.
“Where are you going?” I heard Jack call after me.
“I’m going to the super market,” I said as I walked down the steps.
“Why?”
“I need to go buy tons of orange juice!”

I heard Alex and Jack laugh as they caught up with me on the steps.
“You read that interview?”
“Yup,” I nodded, blushing slightly.
“That’s awesome,” Alex smiled.
“Ha ha yeah,” I replied, focusing on the steps in front of me.

When we got to the bottom of the steps we saw that there was a crowd of people standing in the front room. I turned to Jack and Alex, eyes wide; it was Frank. What if we were going to get in trouble?

“Go back!” I mouthed, shooing them back up. We were half way back to my room when we heard.

“Juliet!” I froze. Maybe if we stayed silent no one would think we were up yet.
“We saw you on the steps, get down here.” I gulped nervously and turned back around.

“Good morning?” I said hesitantly. Zack Vengeance, Jimmy, Gerard, Lindsey, Steve, Kitty, The Rev, Johnny, Zack, Rian, Ray, Matt, Brian, and Bob were all up.
“What happened?” I asked trying to sound worried, which I was.
“Did you see what happened to Frank?” The Rev asked, a smirk on his face.
“No…” I trailed off.
“What happened?” Alex and Jack asked from behind me. I jumped. I thought they were still upstairs.
“Someone pulled a prank on him. Check it out.” Everyone stepped aside and, low and behold, there was Frank. He was still passed out; none of the bottles knocked over. He must have drunk a lot…

I clapped a hand over my mouth in fake surprise. Everyone laughed at my reaction.
“Who?” I asked.
“We don’t know… Actually we don’t remember,” The Rev laughed. Everyone joined in quietly.
“Who’s gunna wake him up?” I asked.
“Not me,” almost everyone said in unison. Frank was not a happy camper after big parties like this.

“Just poke him with a broom or something,” I suggested.
“Good idea!” The Rev said walking into the kitchen. How he knew where we kept our cleaning supplies was beyond me.

He came back, a hand pinching his nose. I guess everyone was hung over today. He crept around to the side of Frank’s face

“Cover your ears,” he mouthed, swinging the broom dangerously close to some bottles as he made the hand movements. We all obeyed and The Rev slowly leaned over, the broom hovering inches from Frank’s cheek. He held it there for about three seconds before jabbing him in the face, hard

“WHAT THE FUCK?!” Frank yelled.

*CRASH*

All of the bottles fell everywhere. Frank jumped a million feet up in the air, grabbing his head in rage and pain.

“WHO THE FUCK DID THIS?!” he yelled. We all fell into fits of laughter.
“HOLY SHIT!”

“If you think that’s bad, you should see your face,” the Rev said walking back into the kitchen to put away the broom.

“Jimmy I swear if you did this I’m going to fucking kick your ass!” Frank yelled through his teeth, jumping up. Immediately he gasped and held his head in pain. I walked over to him and put a hand on his shoulder.

“Are you okay?” I asked.
“Do I look like I’m fuckin’ okay?” he spat, shaking my hand away. I cringed away, feeling hurt. I felt a hand on my shoulder; it was Alex.

“He’s being a dick to everyone right now, it’s nothing personal.” I looked at him and nodded.
“I guess you’re right.”
“Still want to go to the store?” He asked, a smile on his face.
“Yes, very much so,” I replied smiling back.
“Yo, guys! Let’s go to the super market.” He called out to his band-mates. We all headed towards the door. By now everyone had basically followed Frank into the bathroom to see his reaction. Only Gerard was left standing there is the corner, pinching his nose.

“Gerard?” I asked softly.
“What,” he replied, his voice extremely raspy.
“We’re gunna’ go to the super market okay?”
“Yeah.”
“Be right back,” I said walking back to the foyer.

The guys all had on jackets and boots. I began rummaging through the pile of scarves and gloves.

“What’re you looking for?” I heard Jack ask.
“A hat,” I muttered back.
“Here,” Jack said placing his lopsidedly on my head. I laughed and put it in place.
“Thank you,” I smiled, linking arms with him.
“Anytime.”

“Let’s go,” Alex said opening the door and stepping out into the brisk winter afternoon.

I felt myself wince as my eyes took in the light reflecting off the bit of snow on the ground. There were a million cars parked in front of my house.

“Which one’s yours?” I asked.
“This one,” Alex said unlocking the doors to a big black, stalker van. I burst into a fit of laughter. I was literally doubled over in the middle of the sidewalk.

“You don’t like it?” Rian asked. I cut my laughter off short and stood up straight.
“I love it!”
“Seriously?” Jack asked.
“Seriously,” I nodded.
“Most girls don’t think that way,” he said.
“Yeah, but I’m not other girls,” I replied staring right into his eyes. I climbed into the passenger seat and shut the door before he could say anything else.

“I’m surprised you don’t want to drive,” Alex chuckled climbing into the front seat and starting the ignition.
“I wish I knew how,” I muttered as I strapped in.

“You don’t know how to drive?!” They all exclaimed. I felt my cheeks flush.
“No.”
“Dude, why didn’t your parents teach you?” That stung, big time.

“Because my parents died before I was old enough,” I retorted turning my head and staring out the window. There was an uneasy silence in the car as Alex drove down to the nearest shopping plaza. We got into the parking lot and Alex cut the engine.

“Juliet, we’re sorry about your parents. We didn’t know.” I turned to face them, my eyes glassed over in unshed tears.
“It’s okay. I didn’t expect you to know. No one does.”
“Not even your friends that were over?”
“They know, but no one else at school does, and I don’t want them to know.”
“That’s understandable,” Alex said. Everyone else nodded.

“If it’s any condolence, I lost my brother not too long ago.” I felt the tears gush out of my eyes as I flashed back to the crash. I almost lost Sarah that night. Sarah almost lost me. It doesn’t make a difference though, because I never see her anymore anyways…
“I’m so sorry, Alex.” I brought a hand up over my mouth to silence my uneven breathing.
“Thank you,” he replied in an even tone. I could tell he was really holding himself together.

“How do you do it?” I ask.
“Do what?”
“Go on everyday, smiling, joking, laughing?” I took in a shaky breath.
“I could ask the same to you,” he replied, smiling soberly.
“I-don’t-know,” I sniffed. We all sat in silence. The only sound was my shaky breath and runny nose.

“You stay in the car. We’ll get you some orange juice, okay?” he said patting me on the shoulder. I nodded and curled up in my seat. I saw Jack hesitate before closing the door. I wished he had stayed.

As I sat there I thought about everything that had happened so far. How many times I’ve held back tears in school and at home, and how long it’s been since I last visited my parent’s graves. I took in a deep breath and tried to stop the tears, but I couldn’t.

I closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep. I hoped things would get better soon.

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“Juliet?” I heard someone whisper. I shifted in my sleep.
“Juliet?” the voice asked again. I didn’t want to wake up.
“C’mon, we have lots of food and orange juice waiting for you,” the voice tempted me. I took a deep breath and moaned in pain. My headache was five times worse than it was before.
“You’re awake, I know it,” I heard the smile in Jack’s voice. I felt myself grin before opening my eyes.
“Good Evening,” he smiled.
“Good Evening?” I chuckled.
“Yeah, it’s dinner time.”
“I’m starving!” I said slowly sitting up. I was still in the guys’ van. I held my hands out to Jack who tried to pull me up. When I wouldn’t budge I looked down and saw my seatbelt was still on. We both looked at each other then fell into a fit of laughter.

“I’m so retarded!” I laughed.
“I didn’t even notice!” Jack exclaimed. This made me laugh even more.
“Oh my God, I can’t!” I said reaching around and unbuckling my seatbelt.

“Let’s go eat!” Jack said pulling me up and shutting the door behind me. We got inside, still laughing about our stupidity.

“Feeling better?” I heard Alex’s voice ask from the doorway.
“Yes,” I replied, looking at Jack.
“We ordered pizza. Avenged and MSI are still here and there are a bunch of other girls Lindsey’s age here too. I think they’re MCR’s wives or something,” Alex trailed off
“They’re here?” I exclaimed.
“Yeah,” he nodded.
“Oh my God! I haven’t seen them in forever!” I said hanging up my coat hurriedly and running into the dining room.

“Hey, Jules!” everyone smiled. I saw Alicia, Jamia, Krista, and Kaitlin and ran over to them and hugged them.
“What’s up, guys?” I asked them.
“Nothing much, what’s up with you?” Jamia replied.
“Just chillin’,” I smiled.
“Eat something! We all helped make dinner,” Krista joked.

I didn’t need to be told twice. I took three slices and sat down.

“I like this girl! She likes good music, can play guitar like a boss, and she eats like there’s no tomorrow,” The Rev said, “Jack definitely got a good one.” I choked on my pizza.
“Excuse me?” I said. I heard Zack Vengeance, Alex, and a bunch of other people stifle laughter.
“Jack’s your boyfriend, isn’t he?” The Rev asked. I felt my face flush.
“No. This is only the second time we’ve hung out…”
“Oh. Well you guys looked pretty close to me,” he said wiggling his eyebrows. I rolled my eyes and focused on my pizza. I knew everyone was laughing at my discomfort and obliviousness. I thought about this morning when we woke up together. It just felt so right. It was like we fit perfectly together…

“Jules.” I snapped back to reality.
“Sorry, what?” I said, blushing again.
“Are you mad at me?” The Rev asked, keeping the conversation between us two.
“No, not really.” He sighed in relief.
“Sorry about that.”
“It’s alright. In a way you sort of helped me… Did Gerard hear what you said?” I asked getting nervous.
“Um no. Him and Frank are passed out in the front room again,” he chuckled.
“Oh okay, good.”
“Why?”
“I don’t want him to flip out.”
“Ah he’s just an old man trying to look out for his kids. I don’t think you’ll have a problem,” he smiled.
“Thanks, Jimmy… So, you approve?” I asked jokingly.
“Duh! Hell, I wish there were more people like you in this world.”
“Why?” I laughed.
“Because, you’re just awesome and you’re you. This world is sick, so it’s a relief when you see someone normal, you know?”
“Yeah,” I nodded before taking a bite of my slice.

Everyone finished their pizza and then all of the touring bands got together for a collaboration project they were working on. I guess from now on weekends would be like this. That is, until everyone goes on tour… I really had no idea what I wanted to do: stay home and go to school, or tell everyone about my family issues and go on tour. Tour sounded really promising but I also had some people I really wanted to stay friends with. It would be hard to keep my friends close while traveling all over the US…

“Hey!” I heard Zack say to me. This was, like, the first time he talked to me.
“Hey, Zack! What’s up?” I smiled.
“Come outside… And wear sneakers and stuff you can move in. No heavy coats.” A confused look spread across my face. Zack laughed. He was so adorable! I had to get him and Kat together!

“I’ll be right out,” I replied, walking towards the steps. I ran upstairs and changed into my pajama pants, a baggy t-shirt, and an oversized sweatshirt. I took my hair out of its braid and threw it up in a bun. Hey, Zack said did say to be comfy. I ran back downstairs, laced up a pair of converses, and walked outside.

I shivered as I walked out to the edge of our walkway. It was freezing! If I get hypothermia I was so making them pay for my amputations…

I saw a pair of headlights turn down the street. The van honked loudly as it pulled up to the corner. I heard the bass of the music the van was playing through the windows. The whole ground was vibrating with sound. The window rolled down and New Found Glory was blasting through the speakers. I saw Jack behind the wheel of the van, Alex in the front seat, and Zack and Rian poking their heads out from the back seat. I laughed and ran over to the car.

“What the hell?” I asked over the loud music.
“Come over to this side! We’re gunna’ teach you how to drive this motha fucka!” Jack exclaimed.
“Noooo,” I shook my head. It was only 7:30 and the sky was almost completely black.
“C’mon! Get over there!” Alex said. I shook my head again.
“Pwease?” He asked me through his eyelashes.
“Fine,” I sighed, walking over to the driver’s side.

Alex climbed into the back seat and Jack moved over to the passenger seat. I climbed in and shut the door. The music was so loud. I reached over to the volume dial and turned it down almost all the way.

“Ah! It was just getting to the good part!” Jack exclaimed.
“Um, I won’t be able to focus if we have music blasting, sorry,” I replied.
“Ugh, fine. Okay, so, in order to be a good driver, you have to look good,” Jack began in a serious tone. I stifled laughter as Alex hit Jack on the back of the head.

“Let me explain,” Alex continued, a hand over Jack’s mouth.
“Okay so there are two pedals. One’s the gas, and one’s the brake.”

“Which one is the brake?” I interrupted
“The one on the left. Now, when you drive, you want to ease your foot on the gas, not stomp down-”
“Okay so the pedal on the right is the gas?” I interrupted.
“Yes. Now look at the steering wheel. There’s a lot of crap going on here. Okay so that stick on the right with the handle on it is what you use to put the car in Drive, Reverse, Neutral, and all that stuff- don’t touch it yet. Now look on the left side. There’s a signal knob there. You turn that up on down to tell people whether you’re going to turn right or left. Got everything so far?” he asked. I nodded nervously. My hands were beginning to sweat.

“Okay so put your foot on the brake,” he instructed. I did and nodded for him to continue.
“Now take your right hand and push the stick to the “D”.” I nodded again.
“Both hands on the steering wheel, and take your foot off the brake slowly. You don’t want to pull a Jack…” he trailed off. I stifled laughter and checked my mirrors before easing my foot off the brake. The car began to move and I screamed and stomped on the brake. Alex’s torso was halfway to the windshield.

“Are you okay?” I asked, almost hyperventilating. All of the guys were laughing.
“Yeah, I’m fine. Jack, think you can take it from here? I need to strap in for this one,” Alex replied, a grin on his face.
“Yeah I got this,” Jack nodded.

I turned to face him, waiting for his commentary.

“Okay, first things first. You don’t scream and step on the brake unless someone is, like, dancing in the middle of the street with no clothes on. Secondly, you’re fine. There’s no one else around here. Just stay in the middle of the road, and get us to the corner.” I licked my lips nervously and nodded.

Still paranoid, I checked all of my mirrors again before easing off the brake. This time I didn’t scream as the car kept moving. I decided we were going to slow so I stepped on the gas a little. The whole car jerked forward and I couldn’t help but laugh at my lack of driving skills. I turned the steering wheel so that we could get into the middle of the road. No problems there. The end of the block was approaching. This time, I was ready to step on the brake. The car stopped, not a hair falling out of place.

The guys clapped and I felt myself turn beat red in dim light of the evening.

“Wanna’ go around the block?” Rian asked.
“Oh crap. Sure! Let’s go! Um which way do I signal again?”
“Right.” Alex and Jack said in unison. I nodded and turned down the block. As I began to get more comfortable in my surroundings, I wondered how the hell I got Chris and I home that night. I barely knew anything about driving a car and I got us home, not a scratch. It really was a miracle…

“Hey, you’re doing pretty good!” Alex patted me on the shoulder as I stopped at the last corner before turning onto our block again. I pulled over to Chris’s house and pointed to his mustang.

“You guys see that car?” I smiled.
“Holy shit! Its beautiful.” Jack exclaimed.
“I drove that car home on Friday. From my first high school party. That was also the first time I had a beer,” I told them.
“Ha ha, you’re funny. That was good. You see, that car is still in one piece,” he said matter-of-factly. I shook my head.

“I drove that car home, carried Chris’s drunk ass inside his house, and walked back to my house.”
“You had no problems at all?” Alex asked. I shook my head “no” again, a chill running down my spine as I thought of what I was going to tell them.

“It was complete déjà vu with the night my parents died. I was at the intersection, not a car in sight, so I begin to crawl out and suddenly, WOOSH! A black car with no headlights drives past, almost crashing into us. I’m pretty sure I stayed in the middle of the road for five minutes in shock… but somehow I got us home.”
“You really are the female version of Jesus,” Alex said in disbelief. I laughed and drove down the block to our house.

“Do I dare ask how you park?” I laughed as I turned to face the guys. They all exchanged looks.
“Maybe I should park it,” Alex said quickly jumping out and coming over to my door. I pouted and rolled down the window.

“I don’t wanna’ move.”
“C’mon it’s freezing out here!” He said stamping his feet. I laughed and held my hands up to the vents where the hot air was and smiled at him.
“Please just go sit on Jack’s lap!” He whined. I looked at Jack quickly before unbuckling my seatbelt and scooching over onto the passenger side He looked a little… nervous, for lack of a better term.

Alex jumped in and put the car into reverse. I felt myself get pushed onto Jack’s chest with the inertia of the car. He put two arms around my waist like he did this morning. He was my human seatbelt. As Alex was adjusting his tires, Jack and I just stared into each other’s eyes; oblivious to almost everything else. The cutting of the engine broke our concentration.

I opened the door and slid off of Jack onto the sidewalk.

“Thanks for showing me how to drive,” I smiled at all of them.
“No problem!” They all replied.
“So, are you guys going to stay or go home?” I asked, sadness in my voice. It wasSunday, after all…

“Oh yeah I forgot you have school,” Alex said.
“I want you guys to stay,” I pouted.
“Well, let us say goodbye to everyone and we’ll see what happens,” he said. I nodded and walked back up the path to our house. I opened the door and stepped inside. Immediately the warmth of the house warmed my skin.

I walked into the dining room where everyone was still hanging out and talking. Everyone looked like they were having so much fun and here I am telling going to tell everyone good night because I have school. If only I was a little older things would be perfect…

“Guys, I have to hit the hay. I have school tomorrow,” I announced, rolling my eyes.
“Oh yeah I forgot about that!” Lindsey exclaimed. She was sitting in a little powwow with Alicia, Kitty, Kaitlin, Krista, and Jamia.

“What? School? You actually go?” The Rev asked, a bewildered look on his face. Everyone laughed.
“Yeah,” I nodded solemnly.
“Look at that face! Why don’t you home school her?” he asked Lindsey. She smiled and shook her head.
“She’s entitled to live a normal life. Plus, what are your teenage years if you don’t feel the agony of going to school everyday?” she asked, winking at me to show she was joking. I smiled and nodded just to agree.
“Um, you hang out with your friends all day and you get to do whatever the hell you want?” he said, looking at Lindsey like “what-the-fuck-you-know-its-true”. She shrugged her shoulders and shook her head.
“Off to bed!” She shooed me away. I went around the rooms and gave everyone hugs. The guys were standing in the doorway. I felt my mood immediately change. I was upset knowing they weren’t going to be around.

“I don’t want you to leave,” I told them, my forehead creasing in depression.
“Aw, Julie. Don’t be upset. If you want you can come to our next show?” Alex suggested. I felt my eyes widen in happiness.
“That’s a great idea!” I exclaimed. They all laughed. “Where are you playing?”
“We are playing at this joint close to where we’re staying now in Bergen County.”
“Bergen County? That’s so far away.”
“Yeah but our show doesn’t start until 6:00,” Rian pointed out.
“Okay,” I nodded, “I’ll do my best to make it there.”
“Sounds awesome!” Alex smiled. I crossed over and gave him a hug.

“We’ll see you soon,” he smiled. I returned the smile and nodded, moving on to Rian and Zack. Zack gave me one of the hardest hugs ever. It was like he had a layer of cement under his skin! Jack was the last one left. I smiled and gave him a hug.

“I’ll miss you,” I muttered.
“I’ll miss you too,” he replied. I wanted to stay there in that hug forever, but I felt him slowly pull away. I walked with them to the foyer and opened the door. They all smiled at me one last time before walking down the pathway to the sidewalk.

As they were walking I took in the front yard. There was only a tiny, miniscule bit of snow left on the ground. March would be here soon; it was January 20th. Next week I’d have to make the decision of whether or not I wanted to go on tour. Alex had said they weren’t part of the tour though. So if I went on tour, I wouldn’t get to hang out with them…

The honk of the stalker van broke my concentration. I waved until they were at the corner. I sighed and closed the door. I had already said good night to everyone so there was no point of going back into the dining room. I trudged up the stairs and threw myself onto my bed. As I was lying there, face first, I smelled Jack’s cologne. I smiled and snuggled closer to the sheets as I drifted off into a peaceful sleep.