S-I-N, I, S-I-N

Gerard and I spent a couple of hours at Mikey's house, talking to him about various things although it's was pretty hard to get his attention since he was really excited about the thought of being an uncle which still surprised me.

After a while we had to leave because I took one glance at the the time on my iPod and remembered I had a concert I needed to line up for and that if I didn't get back to the school in an hour or so then Iris could possibly kill me. She really wanted to see Pierce The Veil and it'd really suck to miss them and it'd really suck for me because as I've already said, Iris would kill me if we didn't see them.

I'd had to nudge Gerard a couple of times to get his attention but once I did we were in the car and after a drive were back at the school, sitting in the car with me trying to find the guts to get out because of how cold it was.

"Thanks for helping me find a place." I said, putting a hand in my jacket pocket as Gerard turned the car engine off and clicked the keys onto his belt.

"It's no problem, I want to make sure that you have somewhere to stay. What kind of person would I be if I didn't help you? I'd probably go to hell and I really care for you, I'd rather know you're safe and happy living with someone like Mikey instead of living with your brother and in another country where you don't want to be." I nodded and smiled, I didn't have anything to say, I was grateful but at the same time feeling awkward, things were so much easier when he was just being a jerk and flirting with me.

I didn't like him being nice, I didn't have to worry about all these weird feelings that confuse one and make me unable to tell whether I was just happy he was helping me out of if I was happy because I was being around him and having him actually care about me.

"Um, well thanks again. I should probably get back to my room now, Iris and I have that concert to get to." I leant over to his side of the car and gave him a brief kiss on the cheek before getting out and running across the chilly school grounds, feeling my cheeks burning bright red from the embarrassment that came with kissing him and it being something a little more than a heat of the moment thing.

Just as I expected her to be Iris was by her desk, half dressed for the concert and switching between putting on makeup in a hand compact and reading from a textbook. I'm not sure if the textbook was explaining how makeup was supposed to be applied or if she was studying for something else but she didn't seem to notice that I had come in.

"Where'd you get the makeup from?" I asked, pulling my jacket off and throwing it onto my bed, we didn't have long to catch the bus at the end of the road and I didn't have much time to get dressed because of how slowly Gerard liked to drive; I swear he's like an old man on the road at times.

Iris jumped slightly before turning around to look at me with an almost sickeningly innocent smile, "I borrowed yours, sorry. You don't mind do you?" She asked, I could hear the apologetic tone in her voice and knew I couldn't be angry at her since she had always been that one person who has the best intentions, plus she's the only friend I have here.

"Nah, go ahead. Where did you learn to put it on though?" I was curious since I couldn't ever remember seeing her wear makeup aside from putting moisturizer on her lips before she went to bed and I don't think that even counts.

"I had to watch some videos on the internet," Iris mumbled and under a layer of foundation I could see her face go red which was pretty funny, the whole makeup thing had come rather naturally to me and I'd never had to watch any kind of video, "what did you do earlier today?"

"I found a place for me to stay for once I leave this school. I'll be living with Gerard's brother, Mikey. He's really nice, I think you'd get along really well with him." Aside from how excited he got at my pregnancy Mikey seemed to be the more reserved type that Iris was and I could quite easily imagine them sitting down to have a conversation.

"Father Way has a brother? Wait, how did you like arrange moving in with him?" As she talked I went through my chest of drawers and pulled out the top and shorts I had been saving for the upcoming concert and put them on, Iris instantly looking away and very clearly turning her back so she wouldn't see anything 'unsavory' as she would probably describe it.

"Yeah. As I said his name's Mikey and Gerard told me that he was looking for a roommate, suggested it was me then we drove out to the house this morning. You'd be surprised with how happy Mikey was to be an uncle, I thought he was going to explode into sunshine." Try as I might I couldn't help but snort, the Way's were truly into unconventional reactions, I wonder if their parents act the same or not.

"Looks like you hit boyfriend jackpot," Iris said standing up so I could sit at her desk that was partially taken over by all my makeup that had been laid out as if it were on expo, I don't think she realized she could just use it out of the bag.

"He's not my boyfriend," I told her as I began to put foundation on, "he's just somebody who's helping me out." Even Iris who was really naive when it came to things like relationships could tell I was bullshitting, I knew it as well but I wanted to deny any forming relationship no matter how early on it was for as long as I possibly could since I was a complete wimp like that.

There was silence in the room as I put on the rest of my makeup, Iris didn't know how to respond and I had nothing else to say that wouldn't make me more of a liar than I already was, things would be much simpler if I just kept my mouth shut.

While I was distracted by increasing my narcissism Iris was finishing getting dressed and by the time I had finished she was eagerly bouncing on her bed (while sitting) waiting to leave, I'd never thought she would so badly want to break the school rules. As far as I knew she was freaked out by the prospect of sneaking of the ground but now it seemed as if she were a casual rule breaker, just like me when I was back in America and a little bit like I am here.

I pushed my hair out of my face before standing up and grabbing the same jacket I'd abandoned on my bed, once it was on and zipped I headed for the door and gestured for Iris to follow me, "come on, make sure you move quickly because if we don't hurry we'll miss the bus."

We jogged lightly down the hallway and outside, moving even faster once we were on the grounds so a.we could get out of sight in case any staff began walking around and asked what we were doing or more likely, why we were acting so suspicious. With a bit more running and sneaking Iris and I were soon sitting on the bus that would take us to the music hall, of course we didn't get to go straight in for the magical concert, it would more or less be an entire afternoon of sitting out in the freezing snow but it was still really worth it.

Iris mainly kept quiet during the bus trip, I couldn't tell exactly why but it seemed that she was praying, since I knew her the prayers would likely be for God so he would forgive her for sneaking out; yeah, that seems like the exact kinda thing she'd do.

As I expected her calm, religious silence only lasted for so long before the excitement bubbled up, pulling at her serious face until she wore a big grin that I'd seen on my other friends (the ones back in America) when I went with them to concerts. There was no doubt in my mind that I looked the same either, I was going to be seeing one of my favorite bands live.

"Where'd you get your shorts from?" I wondered as I looked at Iris, I recognized her shirt since I'd seen her wear it on occasion but she shorts were definitely new, as far as I'd come to understand of her she didn't feel comfortable in things that didn't cover her up completely.

"Um, Mum and Dad sent me some jeans a while ago but the legs were to big so I never wore them. I know that some people cut up pants to make shorts so that's uh, what I did." It was no surprise that Iris would be the one girl I knew who actually had a problem when it came to jeans being too big, that girl was like a twig and I've seen her eat a shitload.

"Cool," I told her and Iris smiled at be before excitedly jumping up when the bus stopped outside the music hall we would be sitting in front of for the next few hours.

Instead of waiting Iris ran out before I was even standing and stared somewhat bewilderedly at the small line that had begun to form outside the hall. I'd mentioned that we would have to wait a few times before but it seemed she hadn't taken me seriously, Iris' idea of waiting was probably something closer to waiting in a queue at a ticket booth for a few moments. Not sitting on the freezing pavement for the next seven or so hours, at the very least there will be some interesting people to talk to in the meanwhile, she may even make some friends other than me and Luka.

There wasn't much chance of me starting up a bunch of conversations, I was going to be too busy focusing on not barfing on myself, the sidewalk or the people around me for that matter.

I'd been pretty lucky when it came to having pills to help me out, on the car trip from Mikey's place back to the school Gerard had done me a favor and stopped at a pharmacy so I could get some nausea tablets that would hopefully prevent any unnecessary puking that may occur while waiting or being in the audience while the band was on.

"Where, where are we supposed to go?" Iris asked, I could see the look in her eyes that meant she was on the verge of freaking the hell out, right here and right now was more than definitely not the time for a full-blown social anxiety fueled breakdown.

"It's alright; you can calm down, nothing bad is going to happen." I grabbed my friend by the arm and pulled her down the sidewalk to the end of the line, I'd have thought the line would be longer since it was really starting to get into the afternoon; there were only about ten or so people out here, suppose it could have been worse.

I sat next to three girls at the end of the line that had a large blanket wrapped around them before tugging Iris down next to me, her yelping when her skin touched the cold ground, she didn't even realize how much it would have sucked if the sidewalk hadn't been swept for the crowd that would form.

"Hey, I'm Lainey, this is Iris. What's your names?" I asked the girls beside Iris and I, waving slightly at the three that turned around from their conversation to look at me.

"Megan and this is Jenn and Poppy, nice to meet you. Did you guys decide to line up early as well?" The one who called herself Megan said, pointing to herself then her friends, Jenn wearing a shirt that seemed to be based around Collide With The Sky and Poppy having the kind of bright pink hair that you often see in the rock music scene.

"Yeah, it's the only way you can get nice and close to the stage. Unless you want to be the douchebag who goes dancing to the front like a complete asshole." The three laughed but the blank expression on Iris' face suggested she didn't understand what I was referring to, if I didn't already know that she'd never been to a concert before I would have guessed then.

"My legs have started to go numb," Iris mumbled almost absentmindedly, making a crystal clear observation that just about every other girl and guy in line could understand, I'm pretty sure I could see ice crystals forming on the edges of the sidewalk.

"Come over here then." Poppy held the blanket the trio were wrapped in out enough for Iris and I to sit on and under it which caused me to smile, everyone at concerts like this are always so nice, I'd know since I've had a fair few queue friendships before.

"Thanks," Iris said to her as she made herself comfortable in the blanket, smiling ever so briefly at Poppy, the whole concept of making instant friends with people she'd only just met probably screwed with her head, it'd taken a long while for Iris to feel comfortable near me and now she was rubbing shoulders with a stranger she only knew the name of; it was kinda funny to be honest.

"So what's your favorite album?" Jenn wondered, looking up from her i something that was nestled into one of those fancy radios that ships itself with all of Apple's products.

"Selfish Machines." My friends response was so quick it actually made Jenn giggle before she tapped on the touchscreen and sound poured from the speakers in the form of the opening track for the exact album Iris mentioned, Selfish Machines.
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Although she was shy and often didn't speak that much I could still see the smile on Iris' face as Jenn turned up the song, loud enough for the rest of the line to hear it and there was some cheers from the others girls and guys, even from the ones that had just sat down to my right. It was a wonderful vibe and I could feel myself getting a buzz from the energy, it was a special kind of high that you could only get from being around people that loved something just as much as you did.

The five of us sat like that for a while, talking amongst ourselves about music and the like, chatting loudly and getting along damn well, even Iris who always seemed to be on the verge of a panic attack had calmed down while in the presence of good music and other girls the same age that loved the exact same bands and music as her.

It was nice to see my constantly self-conscious friend chill out for a while.

"Well, I think I'm gonna get baked," Poppy said after an hour or so of sitting out in the freezing cold, shifting under the blankets so she could stand up. "This is a one time offer, does anyone want to come with me?" She looked at her friends (and now my friends I guess) Jenn and Megan who were in the middle of a conversation and stopped to shake their heads, she then turned to at Iris and I with a rather daring smile.

"A month ago I would have insisted of going but now it's a no-no," I told her as a put my hand on my lower stomach, getting a strange frown from Jenn and Meg that seemed to recognize my rather simple gesture.

"Isn't smoking that stuff illegal?" Iris whispered as she looked at Poppy, she was the exact kind of person who would freak out the moment she heard mention of pot even though it wasn't all that bad of a thing, most it did was make people giggle all the time and feel hungry; in my opinion I think it'd be the solution for nearly all the wars going on.

"Iris, go with her." I pushed my friend until she was forced to stand up beside the pink haired girl.
"What, why...no I couldn't do that. It's wrong," she protested, almost tripping over her words as she tried to sit down once more but I put my leg in her place, blocking her with a big smile as I gestured for her to go with Poppy who was now walking off.

"Do it, trust me. We're gonna be sitting out here for a while and what's the worst thing that could happen? We've snuck off school ground and are attending a concert that would disappoint both our parents, relax and go with her. Poppy'll know what she's doing." The look I got from her suggested she probably wouldn't ever believe another word I said but when Pop came back and grabbed her hand to pull her along Iris didn't protest.

I waved her as she went down the block and disappeared from sight before having to face the two other girls and their stares, I definitely should have expected this.

"Are you pregnant?" Megan asked, moving over once I'd crossed my legs again and looking at me as if I were some strange animal she had found on the side of the road; it was a look I often saw when I walked around Rosehill, ever since it came out that I was expecting.

"Yeah," I still felt awkward about admitting it but my hesitation wasn't because of that, it was because I was wondering if I would need to move away from them.

"What's that like?" Jenn was the next person to add in on the conversation but she gave me a lot more room than Meg (who was pretty in my face) did and I was feeling rather appreciative of that since I was the kind of person who really liked my personal space.

"I puke a lot," I said as I pulled my jacket on, "and I've started to like eating weird things but not that much is happening since I'm only a month along."

"Where's your boyfriend then, shouldn't he be taking care of you?" It was obvious Jenn noticed the uncomfortable expression on my face before Megan did and she whirred something into her mates ear before the both of them sat back, leaning against a wall. "I'm sorry," Meg added.

"No it's fine. I haven't really got a boyfriend but um, if I did, like officially, I guess I could say he's at work." Although I did get along well with Jenn and Meg there was no fricken' way on earth that I was gong to be making mention of how the guy (partially) responsible for this was a priest who worked at my school because that would trigger a long conversation I was in no mood for.

Before any other questions could be asked Poppy and Iris returned, both of them sitting down with a couple of bags of potato chips and two big packs of Coca Cola and Lilt; Jenn, Poppy and Megan had obviously come prepared for the wait.

I'd tried to convince Iris to get stoned with Poppy I couldn't tell for sure as to whether or not she had actually done it since she mainly sat under the blanket, not saying much and sipping from a can of soft drink. I knew I could have asked if I wanted to know but I was nearly positive I would have been able to tell if she was baked by her body language but after a short while Iris seemed to notice my staring and looked at me.

"My eyes feel really big, do your eyes feel really big?" She mumbled before taking the potato chips as they were offered to her. "have crisps always been this good?" There were a few people who would have been able to answer for her but before any of us could reply she answered herself quite simply.

She laughed.

Notes