Sticks and Stones May Only Break Your Bones, but At Least I Know Words Will Always Kill You

Someone was humming 30 minutes by TaTu,

“Thirty minutes of bliss, thirty lies” I whispered, hoping whoever was humming wouldn’t stop.

I opened my eyes. I was in my bunk. No. I was in a bunk, the curtains guarding it were the wrong color. I looked down, expecting the worst, but I was wearing my night shirt that reached my knees but no pants. There was a masculine arm adorning my waist whose hand was intertwined with mine but I couldn’t tell which two of the four legs belonged to me.

“I'm sowy, did I wake you Angelface?”

“Yeah but it’s no prob’, Griff.” He was the only one I let call me angel anything.

“Well go bah' to sleep, weh still 'av a ways tah go.” It was then and only then that I noticed the bus under us was moving.

I un-intertwined myself and turned on my other side to face him. He looked tired and had a slight smile on his lips. I cuddled my face into his bare chest and he put his head above mine on the pillow, which is easy, due to the fact I sleep on the edge of everything, including pillows. We stayed like that for awhile before I spoke.

“Did I wake you when I got on?”

“Well Santana stopped to get some coffee and you managed to sleep walk off the bus. Dunno how, but he realized you weren’t on board after he left and radioed Marcus and that’s what woke me. Marcus stopped when we got to the rest area. When lookin, found you and escorted you onto our bus. I was gett’n back to sleep when I heard mumble’n. Turns out you and Jack were have’n a sleep conversation.” I giggled because, if he ment what I thought he ment, Jackie and I were damn near inseparable. “You jus kinda flipped yourself onto the bunk ‘n layed thar for awhile.” Ha it was amazing how slurred Griffen was without rest…or when he was drunk.

We lay in silence, save for the rustling of sheets above us in Aiden’s bunk, across us in Vincent’s or Jack’s above his. The idle humming of one and the singing of the lyrics by another began to fill the air. After one song ended it either mingled in our ears or another began.

We became so consumed in or Aimless Activities (capitalized because it’s a song by Cry, Robot, Cry) that we were unaware that the bus had come to a stop outside the venue.

I awoke from my dreamlike trance when I heard a faint and distant knocking.

“I bettah geh thah, da guys ‘obrably ‘rn’t up yeh.” He slurred.

I slid to the floor and stood. For a second I swayed, regaining myself from standing so fast.

“You alright?” Griffen asked, in the dark our eyes had become accustomed to.

I grabbed his hand and said yeah. He hit the button and the door ‘swooshed’ open and the blinding sunlight hit us. How long had we been talking?

By instinct I closed my eyes and covered them with the arm that wasn’t clinging to the older man. This same hand I was holding beckoned me to walk forward by doing so itself.

I heard the brisk “morn’n” and Jack’s joking “Put your arm down, angel face” that usually accompanied me when I came out of the bunk area and when I woke when I slept on their couch. But really, how long was I in there?

I responded with my typical “no it isn’t” and “dun call meh that.” He never listened. I put my arm down and opened my eyes to reveal the rest of Our Toxic Love sitting on one of the two couches and the rest of my band standing on the other side of the lounge near the door. Not that I could actually see any of them. Then Trace walked to me and handed me something green. I held it in my hand. Ah my glasses.

“Thanks, Trace.” I put my thick green rimmed glasses on my face and everything got sharper. I looked down. Awwww he also brought me some clothes! I took them and went back to the bunk area to change.

I slid off my sleeping shirt and pulled on my tight ‘MIKEY FUCK’N WAY’ shirt. It was from some old band whose lyrics I liked but never bothered to look up. I thought it was funny because Mikey Mouse never curses. Next I pulled on my neon green and pitch black striped tights. My REALLY short miniskirt that foofed out like a tutu came next. I am so scene.

I walked out and took in the sight before me. Aiden, Sean and Mikey watched the TV on the wall on my right opposite them, mindlessly. Cyk and Jackie both read their books next to them. Opposite them, under the tv, Griffen sat sipping his coffee while Trace wrote next him. Both Vincent and Ryan read gaming magazines on the same couch.

I went and drowsily plonked myself down on Aiden. He wrapped his arms around me and I put my right arm around his neck, all the while his eyes stayed glued to the TV. I too began to watch, when I looked up most everything had stayed the same except Griffen had finished his coffee and was drawing.

Then I heard someone let themselves in. Springer appeared.
“Afternoon all.” Really? “You’ll be having a new opener tonight, they should arrive soon. Maria,” he walked over to me and handed me my “medication and sugar.”

You see my doc says I should take my meds with pure sugar if possible. So I take them with those icing decorators, you know, the ones that are shaped and colored to look like specific things? Anyway I like those and they’re pure sugar so it works.

“Take them and then take your stupid dog for a walk. She’s bark’n like crazy.”

“Wait a minute, I'm draw’n her!” Griffen protested. I chuckled.
I’ll admit it, I'm an attention whore. But not as much as you may think so, I'm not a regular whore. You see my mother once said “the human body is beautiful and shouldn’t be kept hidden.”

I asked her, if that was so, why do we wear clothes?

She responded “because we go out and mingle among people we don’t know. Those people might want to abuse and take advantage of your body. But you know your family wont take advantage of or abuse your body.” She was wrong, but none the less I got back on my horse, so to speak. “Once your body develops, you’ll become protective of your body and won’t want people, like daddy, to see you naked.” I denied it.

I was right though, I didn’t care and he respected me and never asked.