Login with:

Facebook

Twitter

Tumblr

Google

Yahoo

Aol.

Mibba

Your info will not be visible on the site. After logging in for the first time you'll be able to choose your display name.

Rock and Roll Ruined My Life

Forgive, Forget, and Tour’s Starting?!

Rock and Roll Ruined My Life- Chapter 38- Forgive, Forget, and Tour’s Starting?!

“Julie,” I heard someone whisper in my ear.
“Mm?” I responded, still half asleep.
“I think they’re home.”

It was at this moment that I realized that Jack’s arm was still around my waist and we were laying down in the same bunk on MCR’s tour bus. I didn’t go into panic mode, however, I just turned around to face Jack. I rubbed the sleep from my eyes and smiled at him. He returned the expression and kissed me on my forehead.

“Just go back to sleep. They’re probably hung over,” I whispered, making sure not to exhale too hard so that my morning breath wouldn’t reach his nose. He nodded and I turned back around and let him put his hand around my waist again.

*

“What the hell?” I heard someone exclaim. I jumped and woke up, instantly elbowing Jack in the ribs.
“Oww,” he moaned, taking his arm off my waist to clutch his side.
“What is going on here?” I opened my eyes to see that our curtain had been pulled from halfway shut to fully open and there was a little group of people standing over us. I felt my face turn beet red as Gerard, the Rev, Bob, Matt, and Flyzik came into focus. I felt Jack stiffen in surprise when he saw everyone, including his manager, staring down at us.

“Wow, Gee. I can see why you’d be worried about Juliet. She’s always falling asleep in the oddest places,” the Rev said to Gerard, who wore an expression of complete horror. It took everything inside of me not to burst out laughing. I covered my laughter with a cough.
“Oh she seems to not be feeling well either!” Matt gasped, playing along with the act.
“You should take her to the doctor, she might have caught something. From who I just couldn’t imagine!”

“Guys, this is not what it looks like,” Jack said, running a hand through his hair. His voice was still heavy with sleep.
“Oh, okay. Sure,” the Rev snorted.
“Just give them a chance to explain,” Bob muttered. Everyone fell silent and I thanked him for that.

“We had a fire going and everyone came over,” Jack began.
“Paramore was there, I was there. We were all just hanging out,” I added.
“Then it got really late and Julie wanted to go home, so I walked her back-”
“-But by the time we got here it was 1:30 in the morning and we were both exhausted so he just crashed here,” I finished.

“Do you hear their voices?” the Rev said, completely ignoring our story.
“Mhm. I know how people’s voices get like that,” Matt said, wiggling his eyebrows.
“Oh my God. We didn’t do anything! Literally we fell asleep as soon as we got here!” I said, flopping my head back down on my pillow. When I did I saw Jack was propped up on one elbow, his hand supporting his head. I saw him steal a glance at Gerard, and a small smile break out on his face. He quickly shook it off when he saw the Rev turn his head back around to us.

“Look. We know how it is. We all know you and Jack are good kids, but we also know that things happen when two people decide to just “fall asleep” next to each other,” the Rev said, using air quotes.
“I believe them. There’s no way they could’ve,” Bob said, beginning to walk back to the kitchen.
“How would you know Bryar?” he called back, a grin on his face.
“Look at their clothes. There’s no way,” he answered, his voice getting fainter and fainter as he traveled toward the front.

I felt the need to cover up as everyone took in our clothing. I nonchalantly moved my arm so that I felt a little less exposed.

“I guess he’s could be right. But their voices, I mean c’mon.”
“That could happen to anyone. Didn’t you hear all of us this morning?” Bob called back.
“Don’t yell! Geez,” Matt covered his ears.

I saw Flyzik “talking” to Jack out of the corner of my eye. I realized then that Jack was telling him what really happened. At least he was on our side… I think….

“Look, you guys are lucky they canceled practice today,” Flyzik suddenly spoke up after he had gotten the whole story from Jack.
“What?” Jack and I said in unison.
“Yeah. They canceled practice because everyone,” he pointed to the Avenged guys and Gerard, who was still horrified, “got themselves hung over. They’re gunna have double practice tomorrow.”

“Wait a second. If they canceled practice, and you guys are standing and functioning like human beings, what time is it?” I asked, suddenly remembering that I had driver’s ED.
“Umm, like, 5:45,” Matt said, looking at his phone.
“Oh thank God. Okay, well, if you guys are done criticizing us about stuff that we didn’t do, I have to get ready for driver’s ED,” I swung my legs off my bunk and stood up, putting me almost face to face with the Rev. I pushed past them to the bathroom and shut the door.

“You know we’re just bullshitting you guys, right?” I heard the Rev say to Jack.
“Yeah. Julie just has to get used to living with a bunch of dudes,” I heard Jack reply, a smile evident in his voice.

I felt my ears turn red, was I really that serious? But on the other hand, I’m not used to all of this relationship stuff, I have a right to defend myself. I would keep it in mind, I decided, the next time someone said something about us.

“Gerard, are you okay?” Matt from Avenged laughed.
“Yeah,” he replied curtly.
“Jack wouldn’t do anything to Jules,” Matt Flyzik spoke up.
“Yeah. I wouldn’t pressure Julie,” Jack said sincerely. I silently agreed with them as I brushed my teeth. So far we both seemed to be on the same page when it came to kissing and stuff.

I wiped my mouth with the towel on the door and washed my face before I began brushing my hair into a regular ponytail, no braid today. I finished, feeling refreshed, and opened the door. Jack was still sitting on my bunk and Matt was there talking to him.

“Sorry about keeping your guitar player hidden from you,” I apologized.
“Ah, it’s fine,” Matt shrugged, a smile on his face.
“Oh! Julie’s picking out an outfit for driver’s ED!” Jack squealed in a girly voice, running over to me and my suitcase.

“Oh my gawd you have to wear this shirt!” he gushed, holding out a hot pink Hollister t-shirt. I glanced over to Matt, who shook his head.
“He’s your boyfriend,” he said as he walked back toward the front of the bus.

“And these!” Jack squealed, holding out a pair of dark blue skinny jeans.
“Okay, so far so good. What shoes?” I asked, a smile on my face.
“These, obviously!” he held out my converse to me.
“It’s cold out, I need a hoodie… Wait, don’t show me yet,” I said, stepping into the bathroom to change. I quickly threw everything on and walked out, only to be smothered by a bunch of black fleece.
“This!” came Jack’s muffled response.

I laughed and pushed his hand away. It was a black NorthFace.

“Very nicely chosen,” I grinned.
“I know,” he said, pressing his lips to mine. I pulled away before anyone came back and saw us.
“Let me just put my other stuff away,” I said, holding up my pajamas. He nodded and stepped back,
“I’ll be in the front, okay?”
“Okay,” I nodded.

I opened my suitcase and saw that Jack had messed up everything in the process of picking out my outfit. I sighed and began re-organizing. I searched for my phone to check the time. It was 6.

“Crap!” I exclaimed, zippering my suitcase hastily. “Guys, I have to go, I’m late!”
“I’ll drive,” Jack volunteered.
“I don’t have time to walk back to the van. Gerard, Bob, someone whose car is here?” I said, turning on my “parental guardians”. Gerard stood up and motioned for me to follow him.
“I’ll see you guys later!” I called before shutting the door behind me.

The car ride with Gerard was stressful and awkward. He seemed as paranoid about all of the teasing as I did.
“Gerard, you believe us, right?” I asked, referring to Jack and I sleeping next to each other.
“Yeah…”
“Seriously. I know that you and Lindsey have been worried about this kind of stuff. And if you guys don’t trust me… I don’t even know….”
“It’s not that we don’t trust you-”
“-You don’t trust Jack?!”
“No, we do, but- we don’t want you to feel pressured into doing something by anyone.”
“Psch,” I snorted, “I feel more pressured to not hang around Jack because of you and everyone else! So maybe if you stopped assuming that we are trying to get into each other’s pants all the time- that’s right I said it!” I nodded as he cringed at the term, “- I could feel like a normal teenager!” I yelled before I slammed the car door and walked into driver’s ED ten minutes late.

“Sorry,” I apologized as I walked into the classroom.
“Tardiness doesn’t go unnoticed,” Ms. Robbins said as I took a seat.
“I had a few issues,” I snapped back.
“Next time, do your best to try and resolve them before class.”

I felt the tension in the air build as everyone waited for me to come back with another reply, however, not only could I not think of one, but I didn’t feel like letting the whole class know about my personal life. Instead, I sighed and held back an eye roll until she turned around to the board. After a few minutes of teaching she then pulled out a seating chart and set us up into groups. I ended up being with three other people: Alyssa, Joseph, and Taylor.

“Hi, guys,” I offered a small smile, not really feeling up to making contact with other human beings.
“Hi.”
“Hey.”
“ ‘Sup?”

“Ms. Robbins was being really bitchy before you came in,” Taylor said, giving me a sympathetic look.
“Yeah she was being annoying,” Alyssa added.
“Oh, really? Well, I guess that makes me feel a little better,” I laughed.
“So, what school do you go to?” Taylor asked.
“Well, I went to Belleville High in New Jersey before we moved.”
“What school are you going to now?”
“I don’t know yet,” I replied.
“Oh, okay,” they both nodded, raising their eyebrows a little bit. Joseph seemed indifferent to the conversation.

“I don’t know if we’ll be around for much longer though, my parents might get moved again by their company.”
“Aw, that sucks,” Alyssa pouted.
“Yeah. But you get used to it after a while,” I shrugged, giving another small smile.
“Where’re do you think you’re gunna go if you move?” Taylor asked; her long blonde hair falling over shoulder in a way only popular girls could make it.
“They could get placed anywhere along the East coast.”
“Oh, alright.”

“What school do you guys go to?” I asked, turning the conversation back to them.
“There’re only two high schools up here: Holy Cross Academy and Madison Village High. All of us go to Holy Cross except for,” she paused to take a look around the room, “8 other people.”
“Oh,” I let my mouth form a small “o”. This was a close-knit group. Probably in school together since pre-k and will probably still be nosing around each other’s business until they all went senile. I knew I was definitely being talked about by all of them.

“Yeah,” Alyssa grinned, “but don’t worry, we don’t bite.”
‘Yeah, sure,’ I thought to myself as I laughed along with them. I guess it was a good thing Jack had chosen me brand name clothes because they were definitely eating my appearance up.

“This group will be with… Mr. Rankin,” Ms. Robbins said, barely glancing up from her clipboard at us.
“Okay,” we all replied, shuffling outside and shivering in the cold as we waited for our car to pull up.

An old Saturn station wagon pulled up in front, the breaks squeaking just a bit. I saw the other girls look at each other in horror, but to me the jalopy seemed just fine.

“Hey, kids. My name’s Mr. Rankin,” Mr. Rankin introduced himself, stepping out of the car to shake all of our hands. I saw Taylor and Alyssa dab some hand sanitizer on their palms after they exchanged greetings. I held back a laugh as I imagined Jack imitating them.

“Who wants ‘ta go first?” he asked. I hesitated before raising my hand. It was between Joseph and me.
“Ah, lady’s first,” Mr. Rankin said, motioning for me to come over to the driver’s side. He shrugged at Joseph apologetically before walking around to the passenger side.

“Okay, Ms…?” he trailed off waiting for me to fill in my name.
“Juliet,” I smiled.
“Juliet. Okay, Ms. Juliet. Is this your first time driving?”
“No,” I flushed.
“Oh! Then this makes my job a little easier,” he joked. I smiled in return.
“Okay, so ya’ know t’ use your right foot, and you know which pedal's which?”
“Yes,” I nodded.
“And do ya’ know how t’ work your signals?”
“Not quite,” I replied.
“Aha! I caught the expert!” He wagged a finger at me. I smiled; he reminded me of an old neighbor of mine from Manhattan, it was refreshing to hear his old-fashioned lingo.

After a few more instructions, we set off out of the parking lot. Just as we were about to turn the corner, saw a bunch of cars pass by, one after another. I shrugged it off, traffic came in waves and I was a New Yorker, I’d seen worse. However, as we made our way down the block I saw one of the cars had double-parked. I sighed and stopped behind it. I didn’t want to try and squeeze around since it wasn’t my car.

“Just give ‘em a second. They’re probably picking someone up.” However, after three minutes they still hadn’t moved. The hazard lights just continued to flash. As I stared, I noticed something familiar about the truck. I read the license plate and grinned.

“Am I allowed to honk?” I asked.
“It’s a little late, but since we have to let other people drive afterwards, I’ll allow one honk,” he held up a finger to emphasize his point. I nodded and held the note for just a second. The truck blared back. We all jumped in shock.
“I cannot believe him,” I muttered.
“Alright, you’re gunna have t’ try and drive around. Slowly, slowly! Keep ya’ foot on the brake,” he said. I followed his directions.

When we were almost level with the car I pretended to hesitate. I took this as a chance to steal a glance at the obnoxious driver. I had to fight with every cell in my being not to roll down the window and stick out my middle finger. It was the Rev and Johnny. I saw them catch sight of me and double over in laughter.
“You’re doin’ fine, keep going,” Mr. Rankin encouraged.

As soon as we had passed the car I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket. I knew better than to check it. No sooner than that, I saw another big car up ahead. I sighed in annoyance; I had a pretty good guess as to who this was.

“I can’t believe this,” I muttered, trying not to sound too annoyed as I squeaked by yet again only to catch Matt and Zack laughing their heads off as well. What, was all of Avenged Sevenfold out to stop me from doing well in my driving classes?
“I’ve never seen so many ninnies on the road,” Mr. Rankin said.
“I have,” I muttered.

Block after block, cars seemed to intentionally get in my way, block the road, or tailgate me. The last car was what really got me. As I was driving down the last block before the plaza parking lot, a big black van pulled out from a random driveway and decided to drive at the speed of 0 miles per hour.

‘I’m going to kill them,’ I thought to myself as I slowly followed behind. Just as they were about to turn, I saw Jack, Alex, Rian, Matt Flyzik, Mikey, Frank, and Jeremy pop their heads out of the trunk and make faces at me. I fell into a fit of laughter and had to stop the car. I heard Alyssa and Taylor giggle behind me.

“Did anyone else just see that?” I asked, pulling into the parking lot and setting the car in park.
“I saw it all right,” Mr. Rankin shook his head, chuckling a bit. I stepped out and let Joseph take the wheel. It was then I realized I’d have to sit in the back with Alyssa and Taylor. Thankfully, I got the seat next to Alyssa, who seemed less nosy than Taylor.

As soon as Joseph started driving, I pulled out my phone and held it low so that Mr. Rankin couldn’t see it. I had so many text messages I was sure they went on forever

- Don’t you hate it when people double park?
- Ppl who tailgate are douchebags
- Don’t honk at innocent bye-standers!
- did u see us?
- Lol don’t hate on slow drivers
- how’s drivers ed going?
- Remember to wear your seat belt!
- i miss drivers ed. brings back memories
- We finally found you
- YOUR FACE OMG
- lmao ur face
- You know you wish we were in your class :P
- We missed you so much all day ☹ why are you being so mean?
- hey do those girls in the backseat have boyfriends?

I locked my phone and put it back into my hoodie, a grin plastered on my face. Paramore, All Time Low, My Chemical Romance, and Avenged Sevenfold continued to be a nuisance to the rest of the driver’s ED class and the neighborhood for the remainder of the session. One of the highlights was Jack, Hayley, Hunter, and Mikey creating an obstacle course with their cars when Taylor took the wheel.

“Oh my God! What are these people doing?!” She shrieked. I held back laughter as Alyssa tried to talk to her.
“Shut up, Alyssa!”
“Sorry. I was just trying to tell you that the guy in the back of the van was hot…”
I pretended to clear my throat as I held back more laughs.

I felt Joseph watching me the entire time. I don’t know what I was doing that was so fascinating but he just kept watching me… Maybe he realized I had a connection with all of the people driving? I felt a wave of fear come over me. However, as I stole another glance at his face, which was as blank as a whiteboard, I relaxed. There was no way he could put two and two together.

Finally, after a hysterical and torturous hour, the class was over.

“Bye, Mr.Rankin! Thank you!” I called as I pulled out my phone to call Jack.
“No problem! See ya’ next time, kids! Sorry about all a’ those terrible drivers!” he called as he pulled out of the parking lot. I heard a few girls fan-girling over Hayley, Alex, and the guys from MCR and Ax7.

“Jack?” I asked after the line came to life after the first ring.
“I’m sorry, Jack’s not here right now, I’ll take a message,” I heard Alex’s voice answer the phone.
“You guys can’t come into the parking lot to pick me up. People noticed you guys. All of you,” I said, keeping my voice low.
“Alright, so who do you want to come home with?”
“Obviously you guys,” I snapped.
“Okay, okay, geez. Don’t get bitchy.”
“Don’t call me bitchy,” I said, all playfulness dropping out of my tone.
“What? I say it all the time.”
“Well don’t say it to me!” I retorted.
“I’m not calling you a bitch, I just said bitchy!”
“Yes you are! Just put Jack on,” my anger was rising and I didn’t feel like getting into an argument in front of everyone. I heard him grumble a few incoherent words before calling out,
“Jack! Your girlfriend’s on the phone!”
“Give it to me, you ass!” Jack’s voice could be heard over the line. I felt a small smile reach my lips, his voice just made me feel better.

“Hey beautiful, have fun in driver’s ED?”
“Yes. Now can you guys pull up outside the plaza so that I can go home?” I asked as I walked through the parking lot.
“Yeah we’re pulling up now.”
“ ‘Kay, bye,” I hung up.

The van rolled up and I climbed in, not bothering to see who was inside. I sat down and realized I was on someone’s lap. I looked down and saw Alex, smiling there.

“Oh no, not you!” I sighed, closing the door and trying to wriggle away from him.
“Jack, your girlfriend and I have some issues.”
“What the hell?” Jack turned around from the passenger seat to see me sitting on his lap.
“I just sat down without looking,” I huffed as I moved to the empty seat next to me.
“That wasn’t the issue,” Alex said.
“He called me a bitch!”
“WHAT?”
“No! Dude! Oh my God I called her bitchy. Emphasis on the ‘y’!”
“Don’t call her that.”
“Oh now she’s brainwashed you too,” he threw his hands up in the air. The van was filled with awkward silence.

“Listen, Alex. I’m sorry. It’s not just you,” I said after a minute.
“What is it then?”
“I… I had a fight with Gerard,” I ran a hand through my ponytail nervously.
“What?” I heard everyone exclaim, including Zack who was driving. I looked in the back and saw Hayley, Jeremy, Matt Flyzik, Rian, and worst of all Frank and Mikey.
“About what?” I felt the blood rush to my face as I began talking.

“He always looks so horrified whenever he sees Jack and I together. He doesn’t say anything but he just stares. And when I try to talk to him he gives me these- thesebullshit answers. And then he acts like its fine and then he decided its okay to get wasted afterwards! It just makes me so upset! Why can’t he just get over the fact that I have a boyfriend and that we’re not trying to get into each other’s pants all the time and- and he’s just ruining everything for me.” Silent tears streamed down my face. Almost no one noticed except Alex, who patted my hand awkwardly so not to make a big show.

I guess no one realized how mortifying this whole experience had been for me so far, and how guilty I felt for making Lindsey and Gerard worry so much to the point that he had to drink. Worst of all, they brought almost all of the other bands into it except for All-American Rejects. It was just too much for me. Maybe not for anyone else, but it was for me.

We got “home” (the van site) and everyone piled out and said goodbye. Hayley paused to give me a final hug before running off with Jeremy. I saw Frank and Mikey hesitate, as if waiting for me to come along with them. I didn’t talk to them, but I turned to Jack and the guys,

“Would it be okay if I stayed here tonight?”

I heard Frank sigh in defeat as they both began to walk home. The flash of a lighter popped up in the darkness as Frank lit up a cigarette.

The guys looked at Matt.
“Yeah, sure,” he nodded, walking off to the other van. The chairs from last night were still around the blackened fire pit.
“Just letting you know, we sleep like a can of sardines,” Rian chuckled as he pulled back one of the seats in the van to pull out luggage from the floor of the car.
“It’s fine,” I shrugged, feeling totally indifferent to everything.

“Do you want some pajamas?” Jack asked. I nodded and sat down in one of the chairs.
“Are these okay?” he asked five minutes later. I looked up and saw a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt in his hands. I nodded, not even bothering to look if they had designs on them or not.
“Umm you can change in the van, no one’ll look.” I nodded again and stood up, walking towards the van. At this point, I was done with everything.

I shut the door and began stripping off my clothes, layer after layer. I didn’t even bother ducking down so that the windows hid my back, which was bare for a good remainder of the time. I decided to be an old biddy and take off my bra too. I just wanted to feel comfortable. I wrapped my clothes up tightly in a bundle, using my jeans as “string”, and pulled my NorthFace back over my head. I opened the doors and saw everyone sitting around; they were already changed. I took the seat next to Jack and said nothing, just hugged my knees and sat there.

“I don’t know about you guys, but I’m fucking hungry,” Alex announced, picking up his phone and pressing call.
“Hi, Virginia… Yes the usual… Oh, um, add another one of those,” Alex added as he counted the number of people sitting around him.
“Yup, that’s it. Thanks, bye.” He hung up his phone and stood up, leaving to probably go find Matt.

“We’ll be right back!” Matt said as he climbed into the car with Alex. They drove off two minutes later, leaving us in the darkness again.

Zack and Rian were on their phones; each had a grin on their faces. They were probably texting Kat and Kara. Jack just sat there, a glazed look covering his eyes.

“Sorry about all of this,” I said.
“Hey, it’s alright.” He took my hand in his and offered me a small smile. I took his hand and shivered.
“Want a blanket?” he asked.
“It’s fine. I’ll live.”
“Bull!” He shook his head and opened the van again. As if by magic he pulled out a big flannel blanket and wrapped it around my chair. I smiled and hugged it closer to me; it smelled like downy mixed with Jack’s cologne.
“That’s better,” he smiled.

Fifteen minutes later, Matt and Alex returned with bags of food and firewood. I smiled and held the bags as the guys all attempted to get the fire going. Finally, it caught and the warmth immediately made me feel better. I helped distribute the food, an assortment of home-style soul food, and sat back down next to Jack. As the night went on I felt a little better. I talked with the other guys and we laughed a bit. At 11 Matt ordered all of us to sleep. They had a big day tomorrow.

I waited awkwardly for the guys to figure out who was going in what van. Finally, it came down to Jack, Alex, and I in one van and Matt, Rian, and Zack in another.

Somehow I knew this would happen. Thankfully, Jack caught my drift and let me sleep next to the wall so that he could be on my other side. Alex was on the other end with his own blanket. Just when I was about to ask for a pillow, Jack pulled out three and passed one to each of us.

“G’night guys. Try not to have sex in front of me,” Alex said.
“Okay,” we both laughed. I was getting used to the crude remarks from Alex. It made me feel better to know he was just joking.

Jack laid his head down on the pillow, facing me. I offered him a small smile and he returned it. After that we kind of just stared at each other. Out of nowhere I leaned over and closed the gap between us, pressing my lips to his in a soft kiss. I pulled away and smiled again, but this time, I rested my head down on my pillow and closed my eyes. I felt Jack do the same.

*

“Whoa, they are totally spooning,” I heard Rian’s muffled voice. I opened my eyes to see him, Zack, and Matt staring in at us from outside. I saw them wave at me before motioning down to Jack, who’s arms were wrapped around my waist and legs entangled in my own. I shrugged innocently- I really had no idea what happened last night- and lifted my head to see Alex also sleeping in the same direction as us, but hugging his pillow instead. I laughed and they joined in. It was then that they both woke up.

“Wha?” Alex mumbled. His eyes fluttered open and he saw the pillow in his arms.
“The fuck?” He exclaimed, pulling his covers back over his head. He was probably embarrassed.

I stopped laughing immediately and looked down to see Jack, wide-awake but still attached to my torso. I smiled and kissed his forehead before sitting up fully. Jack still wouldn’t let go.

“Jack, you gotta wake up,” I said, my voice tainted with sleep.
“I don’t wanna,” he mumbled.
“C’mon you two!” Matt tapped on the glass. Alex and Jack both sat up and rubbed their eyes in unison.
“Wow,” I laughed.
“What?” they asked, turning to face me- in unison.
“You guys are really alike.”
“Oh, yeah.”
“Yeah, we know.”

I shook my head and motioned for one of the guys outside to open the door. Zack took my hand as I stepped out onto the grass.

“Oh, thank you!” I smiled in surprise at his chivalry.
“Hey, that’s my job,” Jack said tiredly. I gave Zack a just-go-along-with-this look and turned to face Jack.
“Well, you’re doing a pretty bad job at it! I don’t want you anymore,” I placed a hand dramatically on my forehead and fainted into Zack’s arms, “Zack is the one I need.”

Zack grinned and scooped me up bridal style. Jack gaped at me unbelievingly and marched forward to us.

“Put my girlfriend down!” Jack yelled.
“Okay,” Zack shrugged, letting me go in midair. I screamed and waited for my butt to hit the floor, but it never did. I slowly opened my eyes to see Jack smiling down at me.

“Thank God,” I sighed in relief.
“We would never let you fall,” Zack said as he walked over to the van.
“Yeah,” they all nodded in unison.
I wouldn’t let you fall,” Jack said only loud enough for the two of us to hear.
“Too late,” I smiled.
“Hey! No PDA!” Rian called at us. I jumped out of Jack’s arms and stood up.

“Well, I should probably get going,” I said, pulling out my bundle of clothes out from the open van.
“Aren’t you going to stay for breakfast?”
“Do you want one of us to come with you?”
“What about a ride to practice?”
“Are you even going to go to practice?”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa. One at a time,” I held up a hand. I paused to think before saying:
“I don’t want to steal anymore of your clothes, but I don’t want to go back to the bus… I could run and get clothes and come back-” I stopped as I felt around my pockets for my key- which wasn’t there. I groaned in annoyance and ran a hand through my ponytail.

“What happened?”
“I forgot my key.”
“Well there goes that…” Alex threw his hands up in the air.
“Wait! How about you borrow stuff from Hayley?” Rian said, snapping his fingers.
“Have you seen the two of us standing next to each other?” I held a hand up to the side of my arm; there was a definite height difference.
“Well, maybe you can get a shirt and wear the same jeans?” Zack suggested. The rest of the guys nodded in agreement.
“Umm I guess I could… Kind of gross though, no?”
“Have you ever lived with a guy? We’re the kings of recycling!” Alex grinned.
“Oh good Jesus,” I sighed.
“Let’s just call and see if she can lend you something,” Matt pulled out his phone and held it up to his ear. We all waited in anticipation.

“Hey Mark? This is Matt… Um, Julie needs some help and we were wondering if she could come over so Hayley could help her? … Okay. Okay. Bye.” He snapped his phone shut and turned to face us,
“You guys can go over. They are in the van site five rows down.”
“Yes! Okay let’s go,” Jack said, taking the lead. All four of us followed behind. As we walked, I realized that the guys had formed a square around me, like bodyguards. I felt safe, in a way, like they had my back. When we arrived, Hayley and the guys were standing around outside- they had left their chairs at the guys’ site.

“Oh crap! I totally forgot we have your chairs!” Alex said as we greeted them.
“We’ll get them later,” Josh shrugged.
“Julie, are you okay?” Hayley walked over to me and pulled me into a quick hug.
“Well, you know how I had that fight with Gerard?” I asked, keeping my voice low.
“Mhm,” she nodded.
“Well I don’t have my key and I really don’t want to go back there and get clothes. So I was wondering-”
“-If you could borrow something?” she finished my sentence. I nodded, blushing slightly.
“Oh don’t be embarrassed! Come, come, come,” she took my hand and led me away to one of their vans.

Just like the guys, they kept their stuff underneath the seats. She pulled out a maroon suitcase and flipped it open. They clothes weren’t as organized as mine, but it still looked neat.

“Um, I don’t know what I can do for you about pants,” she said, scrunching her nose
“Oh it’s fine I got that covered,” I held up my bundle. She nodded and began rummaging for a shirt.
“Here ya’ go!” she passed me a black and white striped top.
“Thank you so much, Hayley,” I leaned over to give her a hug.
“No problem, girl. You can change in the van,” she said, shoving her suitcase back into the floor of the car. I nodded and stepped inside to quickly change. The curtains had been pulled down so I didn’t have to worry about anyone seeing me. Five minutes later, I stepped out of the van. Everyone turned to smile at me.

“Hey, pretty lady,” Jack said, wiggling his eyebrows at me. I laughed and pushed him away, turning to talk to Hayley.
“This shirt is perfect! Thank you so much,” I pulled her into a hug..
“Aw, stop. You’re making it sound like I donated a million dollars to a charity or somethin’,” she snorted.
“You saved me a trip I really didn’t want to make.”
“Anything to help out a friend,” she smiled.
“Same for you!” I nodded with a smile. We both turned to face the rest of the group.

“So,” I addressed everyone, “whose idea was it to ruin my whole driver’s ED experience?” Everyone fell silent. “Oh come on, you really think I don’t know one of you guys did it?”

“Hey, guys, we should get going,” Alex started backing up slowly, motioning for Jack to follow.
“Oh! Don’t run away from me!” I warned.
“No, I think we will,” Alex said, breaking out into a sprint. Jack followed and I didn’t hesitate to run off after them. Even though they had the lead, I was slowly gaining on them. They made a turn and I cut across the vans and met them on the corner.

“Fuck!” They screamed, turning to run in the opposite direction. It was then I sprinted and caught them both by the arms. The tried to twist away and I went with my arm, knowing they were trying to make me let go. I had played too many games of Mercy to know not to follow them. I heard everyone laughing as they watched. It probably looked like some weird wiggly tribal dance.

“Please don’t kick me in the nuts!” Alex pleaded when they finally stopped. I tossed my head back to get my bangs out of the way and gave a short laugh and smiled superciliously,
“I wouldn’t dare give you that pleasure.”

With that I took my foot and stomped on both of his feet in unison. I let his hand go and turned to face Jack. Alex began yelling curse word after curse word and kept hopping back and forth on his feet. Jack took one glance and gulped nervously. Instead of stepping on both feet, I stepped on one. I winked and began walking back to everyone else.

“That was totally uncalled for!” Alex called after me.
“Ha ha, I only got one,” Jack said, sticking his tongue out as he balanced on his good foot.
“What? That bit-” I turned around sharply and stared at him.
“-That, that… Fuck that hurt!”
“Mhm. That’s what I thought,” I laughed. I decided to go back and give them both a hand as they walked.

Alex leaned on me more heavily than Jack did. It was hard to hold them both up but slowly we made our way back to everyone.

“You guys shouldn’tve run,” Jeremy laughed.
“Bro, she got you guys so good!” I let go of both of their arms and Rian walked over to me and gave me a high five.
“You really didn’t think she would catch up?” Hayley asked.

“Owww,” Alex moaned.
“You guys did it to yourselves,” Matt shrugged his shoulders, “C’mon let’s start walking back so we can drive to practice.”
“Oh damn!” Jack said as he took a step on his own. I rushed back over to his side to help him walk.

“We’ll see you guys, okay?” I asked as I waved goodbye.
“Okay! Bye, Julie!” Hayley called after me.

*

“Hey guys! Oh, what happened?” I looked up to see Brad walk out onto the stage before All Time Low began practicing.
“Julie should have been a flamenco dancer,” I heard Alex reply. I smiled and quickly went back to looking at my phone.
“You guys shouldn’t blame her. Did you guys trip or something?”

I laughed out loud at this, but was able to pretend it was the video I was watching on my phone.

“Never underestimate Jules,” Rian shook his head.
“She’s probably not even texting anybody, she’s probably trying to look innocent,” Alex said into the microphone. I looked up, smiled, and fought back the urge to give him the middle finger.

“No! She’s watching a video!” the Rev said, looking over my shoulder.
“Is she chasing you guys?” Matt from Avenged asked, looking from my phone to the Jack and Alex.
“Damn,” Frank laughed.
“Jeremy! I told you not to send it!” Jack yelled into his microphone.
“Woops!” We heard a muffled reply from back stage.

At this we all burst into laughter. That was when I saw Gerard and Lindsey walk into the arena. I stopped laughing and walked out, brushing past them as I went.

“Julie!” I heard Jack call my name through the microphone. I kept walking, I didn’t want to talk to them or be in the same room with them. They were acting like paranoid idiots and I was fed up. I walked to the front of the arena where I saw Josh smoking outside.

“Hey,” he greeted me, taking a long drag.
“Hey,” I put my hands in the pockets of my NorthFace.
“You alright?”
“Yeah, I just needed some fresh air,” I shrugged.
“Oh, okay… So… practice is gunna be over in a month or so.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, next week is the last week of January, and then we just have February and two weeks of March. Then we hit the road.”
“Wow, that was fast.”
“Yeah, tours go by so fast sometimes.”
“I can see…”
“Well, I gotta go back inside. The merch guys are gunna practice setting up their booths today. You can help if you want?”
“Will I be working with any of the bands?”
“Nope, just the merch guys.”
“Alright, I’ll help,” I nodded.
“Awesome! This way,” he returned the smile and opened a side door I had never noticed.

We walked down a dark narrow hallway and came out backstage. I tried not to let my mouth fall open- there was so much going on back here! I caught a glimpse of Paramore and the All-American Rejects but didn’t have time to say hello. Josh kept walking until we reached another side door, which he opened and revealed two vans.

“They don’t come every day, so it’s always like showing them around for the first time,” Josh rolled his eyes. He motioned for them to drive around to the front. The two cars pulled away, and we were left standing on the side of the building.

“If any other vans pull up, look for this pass,” he pulled out a laminated one from his pocket which had Musical Revenge written all over it in cool fonts, “in the front window and then tell them to drive around to the front.”
“Okay,” I nodded.
“Andy could come out and get you when everyone’s here. There are 6 bands and two vans just showed up, so there are…”
“Four left,” I finished the math in my head before he could.
“Yeah that’s it!” he snapped his fingers. “Take this walky-talky and beep us if any crazy shit goes down.”
“Okay,” I laughed.
“Alright! Remember, look for the pass!” he called before he began closing the door behind him. I let him walk a few steps down the hall, and then caught the door before it closed. It might have been unlocked, but I didn’t trust it. I kicked a rock over to the door and put it in the jam. At least I could make a fast get away if I had to.

After a few minutes of waiting, another van pulled up. I looked for the sticker but didn’t see it. I fixed my glasses and approached the driver’s window. The guy looked about my age, maybe a bit older.

“Hello, can I help you?” I asked.
“Maybe,” he shrugged with a smile. I rolled my eyes and took in his appearance. He was wearing a black baseball hat, a neon blue t-shirt, and a black hoodie.
“What’re you looking for?”
“I think you know,” he said, biting his lip. He knew he was getting under my skin.
“If you don’t tell me, you’re going to have to leave.” I placed a hand on my hip, where the walky-talky was.
“Don’t pull the interrogating cop move on me,” he laughed. I tried to hold my gaze but after a while, I let a small grin break out onto my face.
“Seriously, though. What’re you here for?”
“I’m a merch guy.”
“Wanna show me your pass?” I asked, waving my pass around to show him he needed it.
“Oh! Crap, I think I lost it,” he began searching everywhere in the front of the car. After a few minutes searching though, he found it in his sun visor. He pulled it out; the corners bent, and held it out to me.

“I don’t need it, just hang onto it and drive around to the front,” I smiled, “You’ll see a guy named Josh or Andy. They’ll tell you where to go.” He pulled the car out of park and began rolling forward slowly.
“Thanks…” he waited for my name.
“Juliet,” I replied, unwillingly.

Who was he to ask me my name?

“See you around, Julie- whoa, whoa, whoa.” He stopped the car short and turned to face me. It was like he was seeing me for the first time.

You’re Juliet?”
“Yes,” I nodded, feeling confused.
“I’m Vinny,” he said, looking at me like I should know him.
“Um, okay…” I replied, turning to stand by the door again. First he “flirts” with me, and then he gets all confused. Sometimes, I really did not understand guys at all. I pulled out my phone and saw a text message from Jack. It was from a while ago but I decided I’d better reply.

- hey…u okay?
- Hey sorry for the late reply. I’m helping Josh and Andy with the merch guys. One of them was flirting with me it was so awkward :P
- thank god ur alive. where are u? i’ll kick that guys ass
- I’m down this tiny hallway on the side of the building. He’s gone now, I’m okay.
- turn around

I looked up and saw Jack walking along the outside of the building towards me. I smiled and waved enthusiastically. He laughed and continued to limp his way toward me. I felt bad; I shouldn’t have stepped on his foot that hard.

“I’m sorry about your foot,” I said before I gave him a hug. He pulled back a little to kiss me on the lips.
“It’s alright,” he sighed tiredly.
“Did they say anything to you?” hoping he’d catch my drift.
“No, they just stayed with Avenged and MSI- Look here comes another van,” he said, letting go of my waist and leaning against the wall. I flipped my bangs out of the way and stepped up to the driver’s window. He rolled it down and pointed to the pass on the windshield.

“Hi, just go right around to the front of the building. Josh or Andy will help you from there.”
“Thanks, lady,” he nodded before driving off.

“Anyways,” I said, leaning against the wall next to him, “they didn’t bother you?”
“No. But I got you this,” Jack said, holding up a key on a piece of lanyard.
“Who’s key is that?” I asked.
“Frank gave it to me.”
“Really?” I felt a little guilty; I had basically ignored all of them because of Gerard and Lindsey… Mostly Gerard.
“Yeah. He just gave it to me.”
“He understands,” I said, pulling out my phone to text him.

“So, who was the merch guy who flirted with you?” Jack asked. I could hear the displeasure in his voice.
“A guy our age.” I saw Jack fidget in my peripheral vision. I decided to play it up a bit, “He seemed nice.”
“Did he tell you his name?” I looked up and nodded, trying not to smile at his protectiveness.
“He kept answering all of my questions with suggestive replies.”
“What was his name?”
“He asked me mine first.”
“And you told him?” Jack raised his eyebrows.
“Well obviously. I didn’t want him to interrogate me. Plus he was driving away when he asked me.”
“What was his name?”
“Vinny-”

“-VEGAS! WHY ARE YOU HITTING ON MY GIRLFRIEND?!” Jack yelled into his phone, a grin on his face. He talked for a few more minutes, asking him how he was. I didn’t bother trying to listen in; I’d probably meet him later.
“Watch yourself,” he warned playfully before hanging up.

“That was our merch guy, Vinny. He probably acted weird because he realized it was you after you told him your name,” he laughed.
“Oh, okay. I feel a little better now,” I laughed along. I stood up as another car drove up the alleyway.

“Hey. Do you know where the merch guys go?” the driver asked me, he was on the young side too.
“Do you have a pass?” I asked, raising my eyebrows.
“Yeah, right here,” he said, quickly pulling out the wrinkled sheet.
“Okay, keep driving until you reach the front. Josh and Andy will help you there.”
“Thanks,” he waved and drove off- not before he checked me out.

“You guys are really hormone crazed,” I rolled my eyes.
“We can’t help it with all of this sexiness going on,” he grinned, pointing to himself.
“Jack, I honestly don’t think I’m that pretty. It’s a miracle I’m with you, really,” I smiled solemnly.
“You are fucking perfect,” he looked into my eyes as he spoke.
“I’m far from it.”
“No. You don’t get it. You’re you. That’s why you’re perfect. You’re yourself and you don’t take anyone’s shit, and you like videogames and rock music and partying and you play guitar and sing like a boss. That’s what makes you perfect!” Jack ticked off the list on his fingers.
“Thank you,” I smiled, fixing my glasses and bangs. I felt my face flush with all of his flattering. Sometimes he was so cuddly, and other times…

“Hold up a second. Why are you wearing your glasses right now?”
“I wear them during the day so I can see. You’ve seen me without them, haven’t you?”
“Yeah when you wake up and when you’re sitting around at home they’re on your head.”
“Yeah, so?”
“I don’t know, I just realized you were wearing them.”
“Good way to be random,” I laughed.
“Hey, don’t judge,” he replied. We heard the crunch of metal and turned to see another van pull up.

“Hello,” I smiled politely as the guy rolled down the window.
“Hey,” he smiled back. He looked like he was in his early twenties.
“Where’re you heading?” I asked, my voice snapping to its business tone.
“Um, I’m a merch guy. I’m here to set up.”
“Do you have a pass?” I asked.
“Yeah, right here,” he pulled it out and held it out to me.
“I don’t need it, just drive around to the front and talk to Josh and Andy.”
“Okay, thanks.”
“No problem,” I replied before turning to walk back to Jack.

“That’s the last of the cars,” I smiled. I unhooked the walky-talky from my pocket and held down the button so I could speak.
“Hey, Josh? Andy?” I waited for their reply over the crackle of the sound waves.
“Hey.”
“Hey.”
“I just sent the last merch guy to the front. I’m gunna go inside, okay?”
“Okay, awesome.”
“Thanks.”
“Bye!” I put it back in my pocket. I pulled open the door and kicked the rock out of the way.

“Ladies first,” Jack took the door from me.
“Why, thank you,” I smiled, taking the lead.

When the door shut behind us it was pitch black. I stopped short at the blindness and Jack bumped into me.
“What happened?”
“I can’t see. My eyes have to adjust.”
“Mine too,” he laughed.

I leaned against the wall and I felt him do the same. As we sat there in the darkness the faint sound of music could be heard. It was a My Chemical Romance song: House of Wolves. Jack heard it too and grabbed my hand to comfort me. After a few minutes of painful listening, I stood up and pressed my lips to his.

I felt him jump in surprise, then smile as he leaned into the kiss. I put my hands on his hips his time and let him put his hand on the side of my face. He put his other hand over one of mine. Our mouths moved in sync and we kissed until the bridge of the song. I pulled away, almost gasping for air in the miniscule space.

“Remind me to walk you down dark hallways more often,” Jack grinned as he wrapped his arms around my waist. I leaned my head on his chest and together we waited for our breathing to slow down. After the song ended we had basically both gone back to normal and we continued to walk.

“This is so cool,” I said as we emerged backstage.
“Yeah, you wouldn’t expect it to be this big, right?” Jack nodded.
“There’s so much stuff going on back here! Do you guys have a dressing room or something?”
“They have dressing rooms here, but none of the band’s have one. This is what the other arenas will look like though. Like, this is a replica almost.”
“Oh, alright.”

My Chemical Romance began playing their next song; it was so loud I jumped and let out a small scream.

“Shit. You alright?” Jack laughed, wrapping his arm around me comfortingly.
“Yeah I just got scared,” I smiled.
“Someone’s jumpy,” I heard the Rev say. I turned around and smiled politely. I wasn’t exactly thrilled with him either. He was part of that interrogation party. The only ones I appreciated out of that whole group were Flyzik and Bob, who defended us.

“I didn’t think it was going to be that loud,” I said, shrugging my shoulders. I pivoted to continue talking to Jack
“Jules, can I talk to you?” he called after me, I nodded and he crossed over to us.

“Listen, I know that you’re mad at us, but Matt and I were just joking.”
“I’m not mad at you guys,” I shook my head.
“Really?”
“Yeah,” I chuckled.
“Oh, alright. Thanks!” he pulled me into a hug and I hugged back.
“You’re mad at Gerard, aren’t you?” he said, pulling back to look me in the face. I nodded.
“You can’t be mad at him and Lindsey. They probably thought they had more time to wait with all of this until Bandit grew up. They’ve been worried sick about you; you should take it as a good thing, not a bad one. They’re looking out for you, we all are.”
“I understand that, Jimmy,” I used his real name to show him I was serious, “but they’re being paranoid about Jack and me, and it’s making me really upset. I don’t want to be upset, I want to be happy.”
“Did you ever think the reason you might be upset is because you’re not getting along?” he asked before turning to walk away.

I sighed and fixed my bangs.

“He might be right…” Jack trailed off, a hand placed philosophically on his chin. I felt a pang of anger rise up in my gut. He was right. It was like a repeat of what happened before the accident. Was I going to let Gerard and Lindsey slip away too? No. No, I couldn’t do that.

“Take me home?” I asked Jack.
“Okay, but everyone else is gunna have to come too. We only have one van today.”
“That’s fine,” I nodded.
“Alright let me ask,” he pulled out his phone and began texting furiously.
“I’m gunna go give the walky-talky back to Josh.”
“Okay. We’ll meet out front?” he called after me.
“Yeah!” I called back, rushing off to the side door.

I quickly cut across the arena, I heard Gerard pause for a second in his song but quickly continued singing. I saw Hayley, Zac, and Flyzik wave at me and I waved back. I continued walking down to the entrance of the arena and saw all of the bare, empty booths being set up.

“Hey!” I called out to Andy.
“Hey, Juliet! What’s up?”
“Here’s the walky-talky. Thanks for letting me use it.”
“Yeah, no problem. Thanks for helping!”
“Do you guys need any more help?”
“Um, no not right now. I think the hardest part was getting all of them to show up,” he laughed. I laughed along and said my goodbyes. I passed Vinny and his booth and he gave me a sheepish grin. I waved and walked outside.

It was still chilly out, but not as bad as it could have been. There was still some snow up here and I saw a little piece of ice. I stepped back and got a head start before kicking the cube from the sidewalk onto the grass.

“She should have been a soccer player,” I heard Alex’s voice say from behind me. I turned around and smiled.
“I really should have. But, I think I’ll work on my flamenco skills first,” I smiled.
“No! No,” he said, his eyes growing wide with terror.

They all caught up to me and we began walking toward the parking lot. Jack and Alex on one side, Rian and Zack on the other. When we climbed into the car, Matt was driving, Zack took shotgun, and I was in the back with Rian, Jack, and Alex.

“Turn on the radio!” Alex clapped his hands. Zack grinned and pressed the “on” button. The music filled the empty space around us.
“Thanks for bringing me home,” I said during the commercial break. We pulled into the RV Center and headed straight to the bus.

“No problem,” Matt shrugged, “We all wanted to get out of there anyways.”
“Yeah.”
“True dat!”
“What do you need to get anyway?” Alex asked.
“Oh, nothing in particular. I just wanted to go back and do stuff without them around.” It was then my stomach grumbled.
“And maybe eat some food?” Matt asked.
“Yeah,” I laughed.

We pulled up to the bus and I took out my key.

“You guys can come inside, just don’t mess up anything.”

I unlocked the door and pulled it open. I quickly went to the back where my bunk was and pulled out my key and phone charger from under my pillow. Then I got out my suitcase, took out extra clothes, and shoved them in an old tote bag that I had owned since before the crash.

“Okay, I’m good. Thanks guys.”
“That’s it?”
“Yeah, I just needed to get my stuff.”
“Where’re you going?”
“Well I was thinking I’d stay on Avenged’s bus tonight.”
“Are you going to spend the whole tour hopping from bus to bus?” Rian frowned. I sighed and ran a hand through my ponytail.
“I don’t want to talk things out. I really don’t.”
“Why? Just get it over with. There might be some yelling, but then you’re done. It’s like ripping off a band-aid,” Alex shrugged.
“You guys don’t understand,” I said, thinking about my mom and dad.
“Help us then?” Jack asked in a soft voice.

“It’s like a repeat,” I muttered.
“A repeat?”
“Of me and my parents.”
“Oh.”

The guys didn’t know my whole story. I guess it would be time to tell them. I looked at my phone, it was only 3:30; Matt said they got out at five.

“You guys should sit down,” I ushered them to the table and sat down at the head.

“Jack knows this story,” I said, glancing at him and remembering that day in the den. A look of realization came over his face. It was soon replaced with a frustrated look, like he was mad at himself for not putting two and two together.

“Sophomore year was not a good year for me. Between school and fighting with my parents and little sister, I was overwhelmed. I was in AP European History, Honors Chemistry, Honors Geometry, Honors British Literature, and extra college credit classes. My mom was a college professor; my dad was a music teacher. Only my dad pushed me to try and learn an instrument. Even then, it wasn’t on the list of priorities. My mom couldn’t be bothered either. Between her college students and Sarah, who wasn’t an A+ student like me, she just wanted me to get 100’s and do my chores. But that’s beside the point… Things were just getting worse and worse.” Jack gave me a supportive nod to keep going. I was doing pretty well so far. Alex, Rian, Zack, and Matt all stayed quiet. They understood this was hard for me.

“Then, one day, I stopped to help this guy- who turned out to be Gerard. He took me to their tour bus and showed me what it was like to live with a band. I did all sorts of crazy things to hang out with them and learn how to play- and replay, guitar, bass, drums, and a little bit of vocals. One time I came home so late my parents almost called the cops. My mom whooped my ass that night,” I shook my head, trying shake off the tears that threatened to pool in my eyes.

“Then, things went uphill. I got better grades, had a boyfriend,” everyone raised their eyebrows in shock. They glanced from me, to Jack, and back. “That’s another story… I was nothing but a little puppet. We didn’t even hang out. He cheated on me before anything could happen,” I said flatly. They nodded for me to continue.

“Going back to the uphill part, my relationship with my parents got so strong. My mom and I could speak to each other without having an argument, my dad saw that I was practicing guitar in my room and offered to help me learn new stuff. We went on family trips to the park and museums and by the time May came around, my mom was planning a 16th birthday party for me at our apartment…. The first week of June, my sister went home with her friend to hang out. We ate dinner, then got in the car to go and pick her up. We were going to get ice cream at Ben’s…” I trailed off as my voice cracked. Jack took my hand and held it. I felt tears well up in my eyes and I blinked them back.

“It was such a beautiful night out. There weren’t any major traffic jams and everything was going smoothly until we got to one of those big intersections… We were the first ones up when it turned green, and naturally, my dad started off slow. We were going the speed limit and everything and then this car on the left took the light… Everyone was killed upon impact except for me. I had just told my parents I had loved them, and that I was sorry for all of the crap I put them through. And they forgave me,” I felt the tears roll down my cheeks. I quickly brushed them away so that I could finish.

“They forgave me and then they were gone, just like that… I spent my 16th birthday in intensive care. I woke up and Gerard and Lindsey were there, they took care of everything. My Aunt Mary and Uncle Joe, who have four girls around our age, offered to take one of us in. Only one. I hated my aunt for that. I let Sarah go with them, of course, and I began to physc myself up for being put into foster care or adoption or whatever. But Gerard and Lindsey took me to the courthouse and signed my legal guardian papers. They didn’t leave me when I was alone. They paid for everything and moved me out to Jersey. They always looked out for me and made sure I had a ride to school and the rest of My Chem became my family too,” I paused to sniff in-between sentences. I was staying so put together right now I had no idea how I was doing it.

“But the thing is, I don’t want to lose them like I lost my parents. Sure, they might not get into a car crash, but I don’t want to ruin everything we spent so long building up. Do you know how hard it is to refer to them as my mom and dad? I’ve tried, and when I talk to new people I tell them that they are, but I don’t look like them. I love them but I know I’ll always be the adopted kid. I don’t want everyone to think I’m a spoiled brat and I’m just being bitchy,” I stole a glance at Alex, who smiled solemnly, “I just want things to be okay again. I don’t want to mess this up and lose them.”

I finished and let the tears roll down my cheeks. Zack passed me a napkin so that I could blow my nose, I took is graciously.

“We’re sorry Julie,” Matt said, reaching out to pat my hand. The other guys followed suit except for Jack, who had my other hand in his.

“Thank you… It’s so hard to retell this story. Even though I must have told it at least five times, it’s so hard to go back and relive it. I’m getting better though,” I nodded, talking more to myself than any of them.

“So, what are you going to do when they come back?” Jack asked. They all waited for my response.
“I guess I’ll stay… Are you guys hungry? Do you want some food?” I asked, wiping the last few tears off my cheeks before standing up and walking over to the “kitchen”. I didn’t want to dwell on the subject too long.
“No, it’s alri-”
“Yeah I’m starving!” Alex cut off Matt.
“Don’t make her cook for you!”
“Trust me, I’m not going to cook. There’s a bunch of chips overhead and I have some dip and bread and cold cuts over here. You guys can turn on the TV. The video games are in the back, back though, “ pointed in the directions of everything as I spoke.

The guys made themselves at home and basically cleaned out the fridge. I myself had a big bologna and cheese sandwich with mayonnaise. After that we just snacked and I set up the TV in the back so that we could all play Super Mario Brothers. I kicked ass.

“Geez, Julie!”
“Damnit!”
“How the heck is she doing that?”
“She’s such a boss!”

I laughed and after I was done winning, I set up one of those confusing games that Gerard and Mikey always played for them. They figured it out pretty quickly and before we knew it, it was 4:59.

“Hey, what time did you say everyone got out of practice?” I asked Matt.
“Five. Oh crap. We should go. C’mon guys.”
“But I don’t wanna go.”
“Yeah.”
“Please?”
“No! Let’s go, all of you,” he pointed to Jack who was trying to hide behind me. The rest of the guys filed off the bus and it was just him and me.

I sighed and turned around to face him.

“You’re gunna be okay,” he nodded. I looked into his eyes and shook my head.
“Yes, you’re going to be fine.”
“I messed up,” I said, tears welling up in my eyes again.
“But that’s okay.”
“No,” I shook my head again.
“Julie, they aren’t going to be mad at you. I saw them before, they miss you.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah,” he gave me a small smile. I felt one tear cascade down my cheek. He pulled on the sleeve of his hoodie so that it covered his hand, then reached up and dabbed it away. I smiled and pulled him into a hug.

“Thank you,” I whispered.
“No problem… Next time though, I’m gunna beat you in Super Mario Brothers!” he warned before hopping off the bus.
“Okay,” I laughed, waving good-bye.

I sighed and went back to my bunk. I lied down and pulled my curtain shut all the way. I’d just take a little nap until they came home. I had at least 20 minutes; that should be enough.

*

“Look, Frank, here’s your key,” I heard Mikey say.
“Oh, thanks man,” Frank replied.
“That practice was killer,” Ray said.
“That’s what you guys get for getting wasted,” Bob shot back, a smile evident in his voice.
“Hey, you weren’t exactly Sober Sally either.”

They all burst out laughing and I stretched in my place. My hand hit the back wall of my bunk. It didn’t hurt but it made a sound loud enough for everyone else to stop talking.

“I’ll be right back,” I heard Gerard say. I stiffened and pulled myself up so that I was sitting. His footsteps got closer and closer, but he walked right past me to the bathroom.

Slowly, I pulled back my curtain and cautiously stepped out of my bunk. The talking didn’t stop yet. I walked down the hallway and stepped into the light of the kitchen. Now it did.

“Hey, guys,” my voice cracked, it was still messed up from my crying.
“Jules!” they all stood up from the table to give me hugs- even Bob!
“Are you okay?”
“We missed you!”
“You’re staying right?”

“Well, I um actually came back to apologize…”
“Oh, please.”
“That was, like, nothing.”
“You didn’t do anything to make us mad.”
“Yeah, but I ignored you guys and it wasn’t even your fault.”
“It’s alright!”
“It’s been so boring, you have no idea.”
“Oh, really?” I laughed. They all joined in and we talked for a few minutes. Suddenly, the guys stopped talking again.

I turned around and saw Gerard in the doorway. He looked… awful. The circles under his eyes were prominent and his hair was all messed up.

“Hi,” I said.
“Hi.”
“I’ll call Lindsey,” Mikey said, pulling out his phone.
“Hold up. I think I have driver’s ED. What time is it?” I asked.
“5:50.”
“I got in trouble for being late last time. I promise I’ll come right home so that we can all talk.”
“Okay. Let’s go,” Mikey grabbed a set of keys off the counter and opened the door.
“I’ll be back,” I said, looking right into Gerard’s eyes. He nodded and sat down at the table.

“Thanks for coming back,” Mikey said as he pulled out of the RV Center.
“I wasn’t gone for a long time,” I shrugged.
“Long enough. They would have killed themselves if you didn’t.”
“It’s their fault… mostly.”
“Just try and talk to them. They’ve both been beating themselves up about this.”
“Alright,” I nodded.
“I’ll be on the other side of the parking lot,” Mikey told me, putting on a pair of sunglasses. He pulled up in front of the classroom and let me out. I saw a few people trying to see who was driving the car. I quickly unstrapped and got out.
“Okay. See ya’,” I shut the door.

Today was just another lecture class so I could space out. I thought about what I was going to say to them the entire time.

*

“We’re back,” Mikey called as he opened the bus door. I stepped on behind him and shut the door. The sound of music could be heard from the back of the bus. I walked into the kitchen area and saw Gerard and Lindsey there.

“Hey,” I said sitting down. I put on my poker face, I was still upset, but they didn’t have to know that.
“Juliet, we’re so sorry,” Lindsey said immediately.
“I’m sorry too.”
“We were just being paranoid and we didn’t trust you and we were really out of line. We’ve never raised a teenager before…”
“It’s fine. I know.”
“Please just hear us out,” Gerard spoke up. He saw through my façade. I looked at him and I felt my anger subside. He really did look beat up. His expression reminded me of my dad’s when my mom used to yell at me: tired and hurt.

“I’m sorry for freaking out about you and Jack… It’s just that, I feel like I missed you growing up, and now that you have a boyfriend, I feel like it went by too fast. Between you and Bandit, I feel like time is going by too fast. I can’t cope with it.”

I dropped the poker face and felt tears well up in my eyes. I had to let things go, it was wearing me down.

“It’s okay, really. To be honest, I’m so tired of being angry and upset. I know it doesn’t look like it, but I appreciate you guys so much. And… I just don’t want this to be a repeat of what happened with my parents.”
“Sweetie, it’s all of our faults,” Lindsey reached out and took my hand in hers, “Let’s just start over, okay? It’s okay.” She looked at Gerard, pressuring him to say something.
“Yeah, let’s start over,” he added quickly. I laughed and dabbed at my eyes. He was so awkward sometimes and it made my day.

“Okay, okay. So, what’s for dinner?” I asked.
“We’re gunna have to go out to eat. I didn’t realize how low we were on food,” Gerard said, shaking his head in an I-could-have-swore-there-was-more way. I burst out laughing and they both looked at me suspiciously.

“It wasn’t all me,” I said through my laughter.
“Oh! Can we find an IHOP or something?” Lindsey suggested.
“Ew, I hate breakfast,” I scrunched my nose.
“Why? Its so delicious!” Frank yelled as he walked into the kitchen.
“I just do Frank, I just do.”

We bantered about where we were going to eat for another 10 minutes, and as we did I felt a sense of home come over me. It felt like we were back in New Jersey and nothing had happened.

Finally we all decided on going to T.G.I Friday’s. We went and laughed like the good old days. Even Bob came along! I was happy he was starting to hang out with us more. I finally felt like we were all back together again.

After that, January flew by and before I knew it, it was the week of Valentine’s Day. I had spent a lot of time getting Jack a gift. I decided on a funny card and a picture of us. I had to have Alex drive me to the library in Paramore’s van on a Saturday morning to find a library that was open just so that I could connect my phone to a computer and print out the picture. Talk about stressful!

Thankfully, Jack and I didn’t have a lot of time to snoop on each other because it was crunch time for everyone on Musical Revenge Tour. Not only did they add light effects and smoke machines to most of the acts, but the major groups also got a few tiny wedges that they could do slides and jumps onto other areas of the stage. It all looked cool but I made sure to leave when they began practicing, I had to leave something to my imagination!

This year, Valentines was on a Tuesday, so Monday night I made sure to pick out a cute outfit, with the help of Hayley and Kat of course. Between the both of them, I had a personal stylist on call, literally, any time. I laid out my outfit and put Jack’s card next to it. I made sure to climb into bed around 10, I never knew what everyone had planned until that morning and I wanted to get some sleep. Butterflies filled my stomach as I thought about Tuesday, I just a good vibe from it. For the second time before tour began, I fell asleep with a smile on my face.

*

I rolled out of bed and headed straight for the bathroom to get ready. I had no idea what time it was, but it was light out and that meant I had to wake up. I picked up the clothes on top of my suitcase and threw on my dark blue skinny jeans with my red long sleeve t-shirt and a pair of socks with hearts all over them, and brushed my teeth and hair. I decided to leave it out today. I shuffled into the kitchen and saw roses and a big box of chocolate on the table surrounded by a million little ones.

I put on my glasses and walked over to read the labels on all of them. I expected to see Lindsey, Alicia, or Jamia’s name written on the labels, but I realized that I was the only one on the bus. Everyone else was nowhere in sight. Instead of their names, I saw mine written all over the little ones. I looked at all of the “from” names:

- From Frank
- From Bob
- From Mikey
- From Alex
- From Zack
- From Matt
- From the Rev
- From Johnny
- From Hayley
- From Zac
- From Josh
- From Jeremy
- From Ray
- From Lindsey
- From Gerard
- From Rian
- From Hunter
- From Johnny
- From Zack
- From Matt
- From Brian
- From Mark
- From Josh
- From Andy

I looked at the clock on the stove; it was only 11:00! How early did everyone wake up and exchange gifts already?!

I turned back to the big box of candy and the roses. I was astounded to find my namewritten on both! I looked at the “from” and felt a big grin and a blush spread across my cheeks.

“Jack is too much,” I giggled out loud.
“I’m too what?”

I jumped and turned around to see Jack standing in the doorway. I ran over to him and crashed my lips against his. I pulled away, a smile plastered on my face.

“Where is everyone else? Why isn’t anyone at practice?”
“They gave us the day off. Everyone drove out or flew out to be with their ‘significant other’,” Jack replied matter-of-factly. He was probably quoting the message Matt had gotten and read to them. I laughed and suddenly remembered my card. I turned and jogged to my suitcase

“Where’re you going?”
“I’m getting your card!”
“Oh, alright.”
“Here you go,” I smiled, placing it in his hand.

He ripped off the envelope and opened it. The picture fell out and I quickly knelt down to get it as he read the card.

“This is fucking great,” he laughed. I smiled and handed him the picture of us. We were sitting by the van, the fire roaring in front of us. Jack and I were sitting next to each other, wrapped up in flannel blankets, big smiles covering our faces. I’m pretty sure Zack had taken it one of the nights after driver’s ED last week. I had totally forgotten about it until I was looking for a gift to give him. It knew it wasn’t the best thing to give to your boyfriend for Valentine’s Day, but I figured when we leave for the West Coast it would be a good reminder of us.

“Thanks, Julie,” Jack smiled.
“Sorry I couldn’t get you a big box of chocolate.”
“Hey, that’s alright. I’ll just eat all of the other boxes you got from everyone else,” he grinned.
“Okay, sure,” I laughed.

“So, Alex, Rian, and Zack are all with-”
“Lisa, Kara, and Kat. Yup.”
“Aw I wish I could see them, but I don’t want to ruin their day. I can wait until the first show I guess,” I shrugged.
“So, what do you want to do?”
“I don’t know, is it cold out?”
“Actually, yeah.”
“Oh, so maybe a walk wouldn’t be good. Maybe we could… umm… I really don’t know…”
“How about we start here?” Jack said, slowly leaning down to kiss me. I met him half way and I put my arms around his neck. He backed up to lean against the cabinets and hit his head on one of the handles.

“Ow!”
“Oh my God! That was a fail!” I burst out laughing. I clutched my sides in pain, I was laughing so hard.
“It really was,” he said, grabbing the back of his head with his hand.
“C’mon,” I giggled, taking his other hand in mine and leading him to the TV area. He sat down on the couch and I sat down on his lap.

“Well, don’t mind if you do,” Jack laughed.
“You know you love it!” I rolled my eyes and pressed my lips to his.

It didn’t take long for Jack and I to end up horizontal on the couch. As usual, I was on the top. My hands were resting on the armrest of the sofa and the rest of my body was pressed against his. We were really going at it this time and Jack was running his hands through my hair. I jumped as Jack squoze my waist and ran his hands up and down my back. At one point he even grabbed my butt. I pulled away from the kiss to stare at him. We were both gasping for air.

“Really? You couldn’t help yourself?” I laughed.
“Mnm,” he shook his head, a serious expression on his face. I laughed and then Jack closed the gap between our lips again.

I’m pretty sure we spent the whole day like that on the couch, but it was great because we were both able to do whatever we wanted without worrying about someone walking in on us.

Around 5:30 we both fell asleep, and we woke up at 9. Who knew kissing could make you so tired?

I felt Jack’s stomach growl and mine answered back.

“I think out tummies are talking,” I said.
“Yeah, I’m starving.”
“Wanna order food?”
“Okay. Pizza?”
“Yes, definitely.” We both smiled and stood up. Immediately we both fell into hysterics.

“We look like we had sex,” I stated the obvious.
“With clothes on,” Jack added with a grin.
“Can we take a picture?”
“Yeah, let me get my phone.”

“We should go back on the couch like we were,” I laughed, thinking about how funny it would be to see people stumble across these pictures on our phones.
“Okay, c’mere,” he said, laying down and patting his stomach. I grinned and jumped on him.
“Oww,” he groaned.
“Sorry?” I offered.
“Just turn around? You elbow is in my side.”
“Oh! Sorry, sorry,” I apologized, moving so that my back was against his chest.

“Okay so how should we look?” I asked.
“Well, smile for the first one,” he said, holding out his phone at the MySpace angle. I nodded and gave my best smile. He held it for one extra second- just in case- then turned to look at it.

“We’re such happy fuckers,” I laughed.
“That’s what I’m naming this picture,” Jack laughed, typing it into his phone.
“Okay so, what next?” I asked.
“Okay um, maybe like this?” he put one hand through my hair where he had pulled at it, and I turned my head so that he could press his lips to mine. We stayed frozen until we heard the snap of the camera. He brought it back so that we could see it.

“Oh my God. Okay send those to me,” I laughed.
“Okay,” he grinned.
“Wait until Alex see’s those,” I cracked up.
“We’ll never hear the end of it.”
“I know,” I nodded. After that we just sat there for a while, too lazy to move.

Suddenly, I realized the Jack and I had never said a certain something to each other. I was kind of nervous, but I figured I should tell him now. How would I start? I had no idea. I decided to just go with it… But what if he didn’t feel the same way? Butterflies pooled in my stomach as I thought about all of the possible outcomes of the situation…

“Jack?” I asked, turning my head to face him again.
“Yeah?” I knew he could sense my nervousness.
“I-I love you,” I felt a blush creep it’s way across my face. I had said it, finally.
“I l-love you too,” he replied, his eyes wide with an emotion I couldn’t read.
“Are you sure?” I asked.
“Yes, I’m positive.”
“How positive?”
“This positive,” Jack cupped a hand around my face and pressed his lips to mine in the tenderest way. We had never kissed like that before.

“Jack,” my voice cracked. Tears began to fill my eyes- that’s how happy I was.
“Crap. Did I fuck up again?”
“No… That was one of the best kisses yet,” I smiled, a tear rolled down my cheek.
“Oh, Don’t cry!” Jack smiled.
“Sorry, I can’t help it. I’m an emotional person,” I giggled, dabbing at my eyes with my sleeve.
“Well, maybe some pizza could fix that?” he asked, his stomach growling again.

“Alright, Let’s go get the menu,” I sat up and walked into the kitchen. I grabbed a menu off the fridge and punched the number into my phone.

Jack came up behind me, wrapped his arms around my waist, and rested his chin on the shoulder opposite the phone. I smiled and waited for someone to pick up on the other line.

“Happy Valentine’s Day, this is Mario’s Pizzeria. How can I help you?” A girl answered the phone, her voice going a mile a minute.
“Hi, can I get…” I waited for Jack to tell me what he wanted.
“One large pie!”
“One large pie with two bottles of Dr. Pepper?”
“Okay, is that all?”
“Yes.”
“To pick up or-”
“Delivery to the Harrison RV Center? Site 342.”
“That’ll be 20.36.”
“Okay, thank you.”
“No problem have a nice day,” she finished quickly, hanging up the phone.

“Alright, it should be here soon,” I locked my phone with a grin.
“Awesome!”
“Let’s make room for the food,” I walked over to the table and began stacking all of the chocolate hearts against the counter right next to it.

“Wanna be a cock block to Alex and Lisa?” Jack grinned.
“Oh my God, yeah!” I laughed. He put his phone on speaker and dialed Alex’s number. At first, it went to voice mail but then he dialed again and this time we heard voices.

“H-hello?” Alex’s voice came over the line. He was completely out of breath. I pretended to gag myself and Jack laughed.
“Hey, Alex,” Jack said in a singsong voice.
“What-gasp- the fuck-gasp-do you want? Make it fast.”
“Julie and I wanted to know how your Valentine’s Day was going.”
“Hi, Alex!” I made my voice sound more girlish than it really was.
“Oh, um – gasp- hey, Jules,” embarrassment was evident in his voice.

“Alex, get off the fucking phone!” I heard a girl’s voice moan. It was most likely Lisa, but I couldn’t tell, I had kind of forgotten what her voice sounded like- what she looked like for crying out loud.

“It was so cold outside today, wasn’t it?” Jack said, trying to start a conversation.
“Look, I have some- gasp- things to take care of. Gotta go- bye.”

We heard Alex fumble with the “End-Call” button, but not before we heard:

“FUCK YEAH!”

Jack laughed and snapped his phone shut. I shook my head vigorously to try and clear all of the disturbing mental images from my head. I was happy Jack wasn’t pressuring me into doing anything like that with him; I was just fine with my clothes on, thank you!

We waited for an hour before our food finally came.

“Finally!” I said as I reached for my wallet.
“Nah-ah-ah!” Jack said, pulling out a bunch of assorted bills.
“How about half and half?” I asked.
“Um, okay, sure.” I passed him my 10 and let him answer the door.

“Hey,” Jack greeted the delivery guy.
“How ya’ doin? 20.36,” the guy responded in a raspy voice. Jack passed him the money and took the food from him. I saw the guy eyeing Jack’s hair. I fought the urge to laugh as he tossed Jack back his change.
“Thanks!”
“Happy Valentine’s Day,” he said before climbing back in his car.

“His face when he saw your hair!” I finally burst.
“Oh crap! I forgot about that!” His eyes grew wide with embarrassment as he tried to flatten it.
“Don’t worry, I have a brush. Let’s eat first though I’m starving! I didn’t even have breakfast.”
“Sorry that was my fault.”
“It’s okay, I’m eating now so it’s all good,” I smiled.
“PIZZA!” Jack yelled as we opened the box.

When we finished eating there was only one slice left. I had three and Jack had four. I looked at the clock, it was almost 12 AM!

“I’m not tired at all,” I laughed.
“Me either!”
“Ugh. This is the hardest part about living up here. There is almost nothing to do.”
“Agreed. But, maybe Zack and Rian would wanna hang out?”
“Okay, let’s see what we can do.”

I pulled out my phone and Jack did the same. I selected Rian, Zack, Kat, and Kara’s numbers and typed:

- Heyy how’s your Valentine’s Day going? – Juliet

A few minutes later I got replies:

- Heyy girl! It’s going fabulously :D How about you? – Kat
- hey julie it’s going good hbu? – Rian
- Omg hey Juliet! It’s going great ;D How’s yours?- Kara
- hey juliet it’s going good. everything alright? – Zack

“Zack is so adorable,” I said as I typed my replies.
“What did he say?”
“He asked me if everything was okay. Which obviously means he thinks you’re trying to kill me,” I stuck my tongue out at him.
“I would never try to kill you,” he said in a creepy voice as he stood up and hunched himself so he looked like the wicked witch. I pretended to be afraid and inched away to the spot next to me.

“I don’t bite… hard,” Jack said, wringing his hands and creeping closer.
“You’re so weird,” I laughed as I continued to inch back.

Now I was fully pressed against the wall, nowhere else to go and he was still trying to be a creeper. I sighed and put my chin in my hand, trying to look bored in hopes he would drop the act. And he did, but in the process he leaned over to kiss me. I sat up and met him half way, my arms around his neck. This time I realized I was on the bottom; where would Jack go?

“Isn’t it supposed to be reversed?” I asked, pulling away for a second. I looked down and saw Jack half straddling me- he was kneeling, knees on either side of my waist.
“Probably,” he shrugged before closing the gap between us again. I felt my lips form a smile as he put his hands through my hair again. I felt a small gasp escape my lips as he bit my lip.

“See?” He grinned, referring to his previous statement.
“Mhm,” I smiled.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. I felt myself freeze on horror, I had told everyone to come to the bus!

“I’ll answer the door, you go brush your hair,” Jack said, knowing what I was worried about before I even said anything.
“Okay.”

He climbed off of me and gave me a chance to get to the bathroom before opening the door.

“Heyyyy, guys! Happy Valentine’s Day!”
“Hey Jack!”
“Hi Jack!”
“Hey, man!”
“Hey!”

I heard Rian and Zack give Jack man hugs.

“Where’s Julie?” I heard Kat ask.

I tried running a brush through my hair and winced.

“Damn, Jack!” I whispered. He had made a huge-ass knot in my hair. I decided to spray some conditioner in it to see if it would help. To my surprise, it worked. My hair usually laughed in the face of products like this, but apparently the odds were in my favor. I quickly checked myself over again before opening the door.

“Hey guys!” I said, jogging into the kitchen.
“JULIE!” Kat yelled, jumping into my arms. I gave her the biggest hug ever.
“School has been SO boring without you!” she exclaimed.
“I’m sorry!”
“It’s fine! We’re seeing each other now, so it’s all good!”
“Yeah!” I pulled back and gave Kara a big hug too.

“Hey Kara!”
“Hey Juliet! How are you?”
“I’m good, I’m good. You?”
“Fine, same old same old, ya’ know?”
“Ha ha, yeah!”

“You girls can talk, we’ll be in the back playing video games,” Jack said, taking the lead to the back of the bus.
“Hey, wait a second! This is my house-”
“-bus,” he interrupted me.
“-Bus, house, whatever. Secondly, I didn’t get to say hello to the guys!” I ran over and gave Rian and Zack big hugs.

“Thank you all for the chocolate, by the way,” I smiled, pointing to the many stacks of little heart-shaped boxes.
“No problemo.”
“Yeah, no biggie,” they smiled.

“Okay now go do whatever the heck you want,” I laughed, sending them off.

“So, this is where you’ve been living?” Kara asked, sitting down at the table. Her eyes were scoping the place out, critiquing everything in sight.
“Yup!”
“This is so awesome! I wish I were in a band that I could tour with,” Kat pouted, taking the seat next to Kara.
“Oh! Guys! I have to tell you something,” I rushed around so that I could face them, a big smile on my face.
“What?”
“What is it?”

“I’m-gunna-start-a-band!” I blurted, a big grin on my face.
“Omg really?”
“That’s so awesome! Who’s in it?”
“No one right now,” I laughed, “but while we’re on tour I’m gunna look for people who might be interested!”
“Can I be in it?”

I raised my eyebrows at Kat; she never told me she had any musical talents.

“What do you play?”
“Guitar,” she grinned. I reached over and hit her on the arm.
“Ow! Why’d you do that?” she frowned.
“You never told me?! Why didn’t you tell me?!” I exclaimed.
“Well, I didn’t want you to think I was all about trying to use you to make a band or anything!”
“Oh, yeah, I guess that makes sense... But still! I’ve known you for almost a year now and you never told me!”

“Okay, okay, calm down you two!” Kara said, a small smile on her face. I felt bad; as far as I knew she didn’t have anything to do with music except her boyfriend.

“Do you want to be lead or rhythm?” I asked.
“I took lessons for lead, so I guess lead!”
“Okay, I’ll be rhythm!”
“We still need drums and bass,” she pointed out.
“And a singer,” I added.
“Why? You’re a good singer!”
“That the thing. I’m good not great. I have no problem doing harmonies.”
“Alright, but that makes our job harder! Not everyone can sing.”
“Yeah, that is making it harder,” Kara added.
“Oh well,” I shrugged, “we’ll see… Anyways, tell me about your Valentine’s Day!” I asked, wiggling my eyebrows. I was hanging out with Jack way too much.

“Okay,” Kara laughed, “Rian and I spent the day at the same hotel Alex and Lisa did. Those two are crazy. I think they fucked each other’s brains out. They’re both so sexually frustrated it’s not even funny,” she waved a manicured hand as she talked. Kat and I burst out laughing and exchanged looks. Kara was borderline popular girl and it was hard to relate to her, I had never had friends or issues like this- I was a nobody in high school.

“Wow,” I managed to say.
“Yeah, I’m ready to, like, not talk to her because all she ever thinks about is getting in his pants. It’s gross! But whatever, Alex is the same way I bet?” she asked me.
“I try to avoid him at all costs, but the one time I stayed over-”
“What?!” They asked in unison.
“A lot of stuff happened before you guys came over. I’ll explain later,” I assured them.

“No, talk now! You spent the night with Jack in the van? I didn’t take you as that type of girl,” Kara raised her eyebrows with a grin.
“Please, stop. We’ve never had anything close to sex…until today I guess… but that’s besides the point. I stayed over that day because I got into a fight with Gerard about him thinking that Jack and I were having sex. It was one of the most humiliatingthings in my entire life!” I finished, my face flushing in the process.

“Aw, that’s awful! You’re such a good person, why would they do that?”
“I can’t believe you got into a fight with Gerard!” Kat added. I shrugged,
“It wasn’t just him, it was Lindsey too. And the guys from Avenged Sevenfold.”
“Ick, I don’t like those guys,” Kara shuddered.
“They aren’t bad once you get to know them. We all made up a few weeks ago and so far things are okay. But the whole reason everything started was because of Alex. He kept ripping on us about kissing and, since I’ve never had a boyfriend-”
“What?!” Kara gasped in shock. I broke out into laughter,
“There’s a lot of stuff you don’t know, I keep forgetting, sorry. But yeah since I’ve never been in a situation like this, I took it hard. I still do but it’s getting better. I just have to suck it up and be tough.”
“I knew it! Alex is such a horn dog,” Kara snapped her fingers. We all burst out laughing and I got us some drinks- non-alcoholic against Kara’s wishes.

“So, Kat, how was yours?” I turned the conversation back to her.
“It was amazing!” Kat blushed.
“Aw! You’re so adorable!” Kara squealed.
“Did you guys go anywhere?”
“Zack took us to the movies and then we went back to the van and we sat around the fire.”
“Oh my God that is so sweet!” I exclaimed.
“Thanks,” she blushed.

“So, what about you?” Kara asked, eyebrows raised.
“Well, I woke up and got changed right away because it was almost 11. There was no one on the bus except for me and when I woke up there was a big box of chocolate, a bouquet of roses and then Jack showed up and we just spent the day here. We ordered pizza around like 10:30 or something because we fell asleep at like 5.”
“Sounds a little too… uneventful,” Kara grinned, knowing she was making me embarrassed.
“Oh, trust me, it was eventful,” I blushed.
“Jack’s a horn dog too. I’m surprised nothing else happened,” she laughed.
“Yeah,” I laughed.
“It sounded cute,” Kat said, a reassuring smile on her face. She knew Kara was borderline popular girl too. She was most likely just looking for gossip to tell Lisa later.

“Wanna go bother the guys?” I asked.
“Yeah!” They both said in unison. We all stood up and tiptoed to the back of the bus.

“-Bro, I can’t believe you two stayed in here the whole day.”
“Yeah, we just… hung out…” I heard Jack respond, a grin evident in his voice.
“Oh yeah, sure like I’m supposed to believe that,” Rian snorted.

We all froze in our tracks. They were talking about us. I held up a finger to my lips and told them to take a seat on the bunks next to us. Slowly we all sat down to listen.

“She’s so fucking hot, man,” I heard Jack say as the click of video game controllers filled the space in-between their sentences.
“She’s a good kisser?”
“Yeah,” Jack grinned.

I buried my face in my pillow as Kat and Kara turned to stare at me.

“What about you, Zack?”
“I don’t really like to pressure people into sucking my face,” he responded.
“Oh stop. We all know you’ve been dying to get some action!” Jack joked. We heard Rian laugh and thump Jack on the back.
“Damnit I died!” he exclaimed.

“That’s what you get,” Zack said.
“Oh c’mon. Tell us something.”
“We may have kissed… a few times…”
“Oh yeah!”

I picked my head up and saw it was Kat’s turn to burry hers. I peered around the corner and saw Jack hip thrusting in Zack’s direction. I brought a hand over my mouth to stifle my laughter. I motioned for Kara and Kat to stand up, I squared my shoulders and went in for the kill.

“You know something,” I walked smoothly into the TV area, Jack froze in his tracks, “I think guys gossip more than girls do.”
“Agreed,” Kara added in that classic popular girl voice of hers. We were SO playing it up right now, it took every ounce of my strength not to laugh. Kat’s face was still flushed from Zack’s blabbing. We saw his smug smile fall as he realized we had heard everything.

Jack dropped his arms. His mouth moved wordlessly- we had got them good.

“Maybe next time you should keep your voices lower,” I picked up the controller Jack dropped on the floor, took out the game they were playing, and popped in Super Mario Brothers.

“Anyone up to lose?”
“You play video games?” Kara asked, staring at me in wonder.
“I don’t play many, but the ones I do play I always win.”
“Not even Alex could beat her,” Rian added.

I looked over and saw Zack give Kat an apologetic hug.

“Kat, come here. Let’s show them how it’s done.” She nodded and took Zack’s controller.
“You can play too!” Kat said to Kara.
“Yeah its not that hard, trust me,” I chimed in.
“Oh no, that’s fine. I’ll just watch.”
“Just try it,” Rian said, placing the controller in her hands.
“Well, I guess I could. But I’m only playing one level or mission or whatever you call them.”
“Okay this I have to watch,” Jack laughed, sitting next to me.

As we waited for the game to load I explained the buttons to Kara, who looked utterly lost.
“Rian’ll help you,” I finished before pressing play.

I had never heard a person curse as much as Kara had until that day. I couldn’t stop laughing and neither could anyone else. This, of course, made her curse even more:

“It’s not fucking funny! That mother fucking mushroom needs to get the fuck out of my way! I didn’t know that shit could fucking jump! Why the fuck are you people laughing? I almost fucking made it! Shit this game is so fucking hard! How the fuck are you two so damn good at this? Oh great turtles, just what I fucking need!”

She continued on making comments like this until we reached the flag.

“I’m done with this shit,” she said, tossing the controller to Rian- who was laughing so hard he didn’t catch it. Needless to say we laughed even harder when it hit his crotch.

“Kara!” I gasped, my sides felt like they were ripping.
“Mhm?”
“I love you! Oh my God that made my day!”
“I’m glad someone’s happy,” she yawned, throwing her manicured hands up in the air.

I looked at the clock and yawned, it was 2:30 in the morning!

“Okay, okay. Guys, I don’t know about you, but I’m exhausted.”
“Agreed,” Kat nodded.
“It’s so cold outside! I better get my jacket,” Kara said, walking back to the kitchen.
“Wait! You guys can stay here,” I said.
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah, no one's coming back today.”
“Are you positive?”
“Yes!”
“Okay, fine with me,” Jack shrugged his shoulders.

“Come here, all of you,” I stood up and walked everyone over to the bunks.
“Alright. I don’t care if two people sleep in the same bunk, but this one of the end here is mine. Everything else is up for grabs,” I pointed to the last bottom bunk as I spoke.
“I call this one!” Jack jumped into my bunk. I smiled and let everyone choose their beds.

“Oh! You guys must want pajamas. Come here,” I walked over to the closet, and pulled out my suitcase and Gerard’s suitcase.

“Girls, I have almost 6 pairs of sweat pants and a million t-shirts, so choose away. Guys, I’m gunna have to pick out stuff.”

I unzipped Gerard’s suitcase and began rummaging through the clothes. As I was pulling out a pair of sweatpants, I heard something fall to the floor. We all looked down and saw a bunch of condoms. I felt my face turn purple with embarrassment.

“Well, that’s not awkward,” I said, quickly picking them up and throwing them back in the suitcase.
“Hey, Gerard’s getting some action!” Jack began hip thrusting again.
“Oh my God it’s three o’clock in the morning, calm down!” I hit his arm.
“Ow!” he pouted.
“She has you in check,” Rian laughed.
“Yeah, props to you, Julie,” Zack grinned, patting me on the shoulder.

“Where should we change?” Kara asked.
“The bathroom’s right there,” I pointed to my left.

“Okay, back to clothes. Jack, you can take these- I could have sworn those were Ray’s but oh well. Rian you can take these, and Zack you can take these,” I passed out the clothes and zippered the suitcase hastily. God knows what else I’d find in there.

I heard rustling coming from behind me. I didn’t realize had begun Jack ripping of his shirt and pants, and Rian and Zack were too.

“Guys!” I shrieked when I turned around and saw them.
“What?!” They asked, looking around like there was a spider on the floor or something.
“Can you at least wait until I leave?” I asked, shutting the closet.
“We didn’t think you’d mind,” Jack shrugged.
“Well, I kind of do,” I laughed, pushing past them.

“You know you want this!” Jack called jokingly after me.
“Yeah, okay, in your dreams,” I rolled my eyes.

I picked up my pajamas from my bunk and walked to the back of the bus.

“Sorry they’re acting insane,” I apologized to Kat, who was waiting outside of the bathroom.
“It’s alright. I have two brothers so I’m kind of used to it.”
“Bless your soul,” I laughed patting her shoulder.
“Thanks!” she laughed.
“You know what? There’s a big closet back there if you want to change,” I pointed behind me.
“Alright I’ll do that, thanks!”
“I’ll just change over here,” I backed into the corner away from everyone and pulled my shirt over my head.

Suddenly, I heard someone walk into the room.

“Julie? Oh!” It was Jack’s turn to be surprised. I quickly brought up my shirt to my chest, which only had a pink bra covering it. I felt my ears turn red, but to be honest, I wasn’t worried about Jack walking in on me. I was worried about everyone else seeing him walk in on me.
“I – I was- I- I’m gunna go,” he stuttered, jogging out.

I quickly pulled my shirt over my head and decided to wait until Kara or Kat came out to put on my sweats.

Kara walked out five minutes later, looking comfy in my clothes.

“What happened?” she asked, looking confused.
“Nothing. Jack just being Jack,” I shrugged.
“Oh, alright. Listen, is it okay if I put on some music? I can’t fall asleep without the TV or something playing in the background.”
“Yeah that’s fine. There’s a radio in the kitchen that goes up pretty loud. Set it to whatever sound you need,” I smiled.
“Okay, thanks,” she walked past me.

Kat emerged from the closet, also looking comfy.

“He walked in on you, didn’t he?” she asked before I shut the door.
“Yup!” I nodded, giving her an “oops” look. She laughed and walked off to the front of the bus.

I quickly changed, brushed my teeth, and walked back out to see everyone climbing into bed. Kara and Zack were nowhere in sight, I guess they had already laid down. The music form the radio wasn’t too loud, but it was loud enough to cover up any talking.

Jack was sitting upright, feet on the floor waiting for me.

“G’night everyone!” I yelled over the music.
“Night!”
“Night!”
“Good night!”
“G’night!”

Jack wiggled his eyebrows and climbed into our my bunk. I giggled quietly and climbed in next to him.

“Why are you so hyper right now?” I asked, turning to face him.
“Why wouldn’t I be?” he asked. I smiled and shrugged. I felt my eyes clouding over with sleep. I wanted to be awake but I could barely function.

“Your breath smells minty,” Jack pointed out.
“Thank you?”
“It was a compliment,” he nodded, affirming my question.

I turned around and pulled the curtain shut so that the light that was on in the kitchen was blocked out. Most of the music was muffled too. Geez those curtains must be thick!

“Julie,” I heard him wine.
“Mhm?” I turned to face him.
“Can I have a kiss good night?”
“Sure,” I smiled tiredly, leaning in to kiss him on the cheek. However, right before my lips touched his cheek he turned his head so that our mouths met.

“Jack,” I laughed, shocked at the energy at which he kissed me.
“I’m sorry I can’t help it,” he said, leaning in to kiss me again. This time, he wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me in so that we were pressed against each other completely. I don’t know where I got the energy from, but I found it in me to kiss him back.

Things got heated up pretty fast again, and from the sounds I heard coming down the hall, Jack and I weren’t the only one’s kissing.

“Julie,” Jack he panted in-between kisses.
“Mm?” I asked, my voice growing horse from the lack of sleep and the clashing of our tongues.
“We need to stop,” he moaned, before leaning in to kiss me again. It took me a while to catch what he meant but when it did hit me- almost literally- I pulled away.

“Are you alright?” I grinned.
“It’ll pass…” I heard the embarrassment in his voice.
“I’m sorry. Do you need to go to the bathroom?”
“It wasn’t your fault,” he took a second to catch his breath, “and no, I kind of caught myself.”
“That’s good,” I giggled.
“Yeah I guess so,” he chuckled back. His voice had gotten horse too.
“Alright, let’s go to sleep,” I gave him a kiss on the forehead and turned back around, a grin still on my face.

After a few minutes I felt Jack drape a hand around my waist. I made sure to try and keep my distance, just in case.

As I was drifting off to sleep, I heard the radio go to a commercial break. It was also during this time I heard another moan down the hall. How are they still going at it? I thought to myself as I reflected on all that I had done today.

I pulled the covers closer as I shivered from a draft. I felt Jack shiver too, a light snore escaping his lips in the process. I smiled and snuggled closer to him; today had been a great day.

***

"Julie," I felt someone tap my shoulder. I opened my eyes slowly to see Frank squatting, fully dressed, next to my bunk.

"What happened?" I muttered
"They’re gunna start driving, so if you feel the bus shaking don't freak out."
"What time is it?" I turned my head and pulled back my curtains a tad. It was still dark outside.
"6:30," He snapped his phone shut.
"Ugh too early."
"I know I'm sorry. You can go back to sleep, we'll wake you up when we get there."
"It’s too late, I'm up now."
"Aw alright. C'mon I'll help you up," he held out his tattooed hands. I took them and stood up, stretching in the process.

I wrapped my arms around myself and looked for the hoodie jack had lent to me the nigh I had a fight with Gerard. It seemed like a decade ago. I found it and pulled it on. Frank was already half way to the kitchen.

"You gotta’ strap in," I heard a voice address me. I looked up and jumped; the bus driver was already here and ready to go. I hadn't expected that.

"Have a seat, Jules," Gerard patted the seat next to him. I went to the fridge and grabbed a juice bag before sitting down. The bus driver nodded, at the guys outside, who moved the blocks in front of the tires, and pulled out of our campsite.

Tour had officially begun.

Comments

.

MyChemFREAK MyChemFREAK
2/7/15

Please keep writing it cant end here I've spent two days reading this, PLEASE I need to know what happedns.

McRbAnDfReAk McRbAnDfReAk
10/21/14

NOOO! This can't be the end! Please keep writing, you're amazing at it!!!

AShotToRemember AShotToRemember
4/27/14

At some point I do believe fall out boy should make an appearance