Brighter

As Michelle got all the things she needed for her lunch date with her best friend, she chose on wearing her all time favorite jeans that were ripped up somewhat around the knee and her favorite graphic tee she had gotten for her birthday that year. Her hair was down and styled to where her bangs would be swept to the side and everything else was pin straight. Her make up was nice and simple, nothing too over the edge; she went for the more natural look. Just enough charcoal eyeliner and mascara. After making sure everything was fine, she made her way to her closet and picked out the perfect black flats her friend had bought for her on the day before she had left.

With only an hour to spare before she left, she made sure she had everything she needed in her Dooney & Bourke signature handbag. Stuffing her cell phone in the correct pocket along with her light rose lip-gloss, she was ready to head out and meet with the friend she hadn’t seen in a very long time.

Just a couple of hours away, the boys and Anny were getting ready to leave the bus and enjoy their afternoon, well, if it was even possible. Let’s just say that their argument from the previous night was still in effect. Neither one of them would exchange a word with one another. The tension could be felt throughout the entire bus, and both Kevin and Nick were getting annoyed by it all. The frightening silence that filled the room was like watching a scary movie on the couch and just waiting for that scary part to occur. Well, the scary part had made its appearance before anyone else could know about it.

“I think they’re taking all of this too far.” Kevin sighed staring at both the couple who only seemed to glare at one another. Nick let his head fall back and rest on the window of the bus.

“You’re going like that to see your friend? Aren’t you supposed to be going a bit more decent?” Joe blurted out as he propped his head up with the palm of his hand. He had said it in a cold selfless way, just like he always talked to her, basically.

“Another reason why I should leave this bus looking like this.” She spat back without thinking of how she was going to answer him. At the moment she was fed up with everything that happened the night before. That’s when she remembered something, something Michelle had told her to do whenever she felt like murdering Joe. She slightly closed her eyes and pictured it all, she felt herself smile and maybe a giggle or two had slipped out.

“Yeah, it’s official… she has gone, what’s that word? Crazy!” Joe stomped his way out of the small table and lay down in his bunk. Anny’s eyes shot open as she heard the loud stomping that echoed in the bus. The perfect image she had of him, shattered into million pieces in her mind.

“Well you guys, I’ll be back around two-ish?” Her question was more like a statement. Grabbing her belongings, she walked towards the entrance of the bus and pulled open the door.

“Have a splendid time, love” Joe said sarcastically as he stood a couple of feet away from her. The smile on his face was identified more like a grin. She rolled her eyes and slipped on her Aviator Shades and ignored her boyfriends comment. She wanted to respond to him, but just decided to keep her mouth shut.

XXX

A couple blocks later, Michelle sat at the local Starbucks shop that Anny and she would hang out after every football game. The smell of the coffee filled the air like a swarm of bees would invade a flower field. Taking a small sip of her Mocha Frappuccino, she looked at the time and noticed that it was ten past twelve. Either there was a lot of traffic, or her best friend had gotten into another argument, like every day. Her phone lay beside her Vogue magazine she was reading as she drank her frappuccino. She grabbed her phone and dialed her friend’s number. No more than to rings, there was an answer.

“I’m so sorry Mich; I’m like five minutes away, tops.” Anny apologized trying to pick up her pace to get to the Starbucks her friend was at sooner.

“It’s okay; just make sure you have enough money to buy me another frappuccino, which should make up for it.” Michelle laughed softly at her own comment. “Just get here safe, my dear.”

“Alright, but any who, I’ll let you go. I’m like a minute or two away.” The girl laughed and opened the door to the Starbucks her friend was waiting at. Michelle turned around to look at the entrance and there she finally saw her best friend standing there, slipping the phone in her pocket. Both of them quickly walked towards one another and embraced each other in a warm loving hug. It had been days, weeks, and months since they last had seen each other. To both of them, it seemed like an eternity without being in each other presence. They only communication they had was over the phone.

“It’s been long since I last saw you, and you sure have changed.” Anny commented her almost sister, Michelle. “Don’t worry; you’ve changed in a good way.”

“Thanks, but you’re not that far behind either.” Taking a seat at a small table in the corner of the Starbucks that contained many great and bad memories, they began chit chattering like they always used to.

“I needed a Caramel Frappuccino so bad,” Anny admitted taking a long sip of her cold caramel coffee that Michelle had ordered for her. “Actually, I just needed to get off that bus.”

“It can’t be that bad, c’mon you’re on tour with the guys a lot of teen girls would want to be on tour with.” Michelle added as she crossed her arms over the table. She understood why it was that her friend wanted to get off that bus so bad. Maybe if the problems with her beloved boyfriend were gone, then maybe the whole story would be different. Maybe, just maybe if one would be able to knock sense into either one of their heads, there could be a shot of what they once had before.

“Hm, well I don’t want to just come here and talk about that, let’s change the subject for today.” Anny admitted as she wanted to just leave all her problems behind for a while.

“Okay, well what do you plan on doing for today’s fine afternoon?” Mich questioned Anny as she played with the green straw that was sticking out of the cup that had her frappuccino in. She knew that the Jonas boys were going to have their show in about less than 8 hours. Sure enough, Anny wasn’t going to be there in the front row reserved for family and friends. The girl was used to it, she had been doing it for the past month or so.

“Staying on the oh-so-fun bus! Especially since I can’t go anywhere without the fear of bumping into my mom.” She admitted. Anny knew that if she were to bump into her mom that she was going to break down right in front of her. Of course, Mrs. Callisto would start telling her daughter how she was right about everything. “I want to see her so bad, but at the exact time, I want to stay away. I feel like I’ve caused her too much pain.”

“Sweetie, trust me when I tell you that she is fine.” Mich had to confirm that even though her best friend’s mother was hurt that her only daughter had left her, she was fine. Mrs. Callisto just went about her life, being a teacher at a near elementary school that was about five to seven minutes away from their actual house. “Yeah she would love to see you one day, but that’s pretty much it.”

“One question Mich,” Anny paused and looked at her friend straight into her hazel-ish eyes. “Do you think I made the correct decision in leaving the house, having a scholarship that I’ve always wanted? Just leaving everything I dreamed of behind, for someone I wanted?”

Mich knew how to respond, it was just difficult letting her friend know on what she should’ve actually done in the first place.

“It wasn’t the best choice you could’ve made, but at the moment it was.” Admitting everything, Michelle sighed and told her friend what she thought. “Yeah it wasn’t such a great idea to get into an argument with your mom, leaving your hard earned scholarship for… for a boy. Even though at that moment, you guys seemed so cute and adorable, this made everything seem that it was okay. Now you look back at it and regret it, why? Because things aren’t going right. I bet that if everything was great, you wouldn’t be thinking too much about that choice. Actually, why did you ask that?”

Anny sighed and knew Mich was right. Right at that moment in life, everything between her and Joe were going great. Before, she could care less about that past, but lately she had been thinking of it all. The comment Joe had made to her last night was the one that really made her hurt deep inside, the one that made her regret ever doing what she did.

“Nothing, just a comment someone made last night, but c’mon let’s head to the bus so that you can meet the boys.” Anny didn’t even let Mich ask her who it was that had made this comment, and most of all, what had they said in this comment? Both girls hooked arms and strolled down the street making their way to the famous Jonas Brothers bus.

XXX

“I still don’t understand why you said that.” Nick admitted as he played with his older brother Kevin on the Xbox 360 they had received as a gift from a party they attended. Even though he was speaking to Joe, his eyes were glued to the television set like a three year old is with crayons. Kevin didn’t budge an inch, he was too busy trying to beat the level in the famous game of Halo. Frankie was too entertained on his bunk playing around with the million toys he had. Half of them which were gifts from Jonas Brothers fans.

Joe wasn’t paying attention at all to what Nick had to say. His thoughts were in some other place, possibly Mars. Somewhere out of place. He was lost, confused, frustrated, disappointed and sad all at once. The only thing he could concentrate at the moment was the two birds that were pecking at the hard cement outside the family bus. He knew something was terribly wrong, but he couldn’t make what. He couldn’t see it in himself. Everyone around him noticed it when they were around him. He tried and tried to figure out what it was, but yet nothing came to mind.

“What’s wrong?” Eight year old Frankie questioned his brother as he took the empty seat beside his older brother. He was a real observing little squirt. He basically could figure out something was wrong with the people that he loved. Lately, he knew something not so good was up. “Earth to Joe, are you listening to me?”

“Sorry Frankie, what did you ask?” Joe shook his head and turned his undivided attention to his younger sibling. He couldn’t avoid his little brother like he did with Kevin and Nick, and certainly couldn’t take out his anger on him like he did with Anny.

“Are… you… okay?” The youngster asked Joe with a tone of frustration.

“Yeah, of course. Why do you ask?” The older of the two questioned. His honey eyes looking straight into the younger ones deep, brown eyes.

“Just wondering,” with that answering Frankie’s question, he jumped off the couch and made his way back to his bunk full of toys.

“Don’t worry about it, you’ll love the boys!” a familiar voice came from outside the bus. A voice everyone would hear every night along with another one that spat out stupidity to each other. Joe quickly turned his head and looked out the window seeing Anny her friend Michelle. Both girls stepped into the bus and we greeted by Frankie.

“Did you bring me anything?” Little eight year old Frankie asked with both his hands in front of him.

“Oh, was I supposed to bring you something back?” Anny questioned with a confused look on her face. Frankie nodded and put on his famous puppy dog face. “Don’t worry Frankie, of course I brought you something!”

Shoving her hand inside of her purse, she then revealed the two cookies that she had gotten at Starbucks. “Cookies!”

“Sugar rush?” Michelle questioned with an eyebrow raised.

“24/7” she laughed.

“Ahem,” Nick cleared his throat. “Aren’t you going to introduce all of us?”

“No, I was just going to kidnap her and make her stay here.” Anny sarcastically responded following with a laugh. Nick shook his head and extended his hand out to greet Michelle.

“Nick,” he nicely introduced himself shaking her hand.

“Michelle,” she said letting go of his tight grip he had around her hand. “You must be Kevin, the on-” she noticed the way Kevin’s eyes widened and it immediately sent a reminder to her brain and remembered that no one knew that Kevin had called her last night.

“You already met Frankie.” Kevin smiled. His perfect row of pearly white teeth seemed to hypnotize Michelle, but then again the color of his eyes seemed to drive her insane. They weren’t green, yet they weren’t hazel. It was a beautiful mix between both colors.

“Nice to meet all of you guys, and Joe, of course I can’t forget you.” Unlike with his other brothers, Michelle and Joe hugged one another. They knew one another for a while now, and they both felt comfortable with greeting each other with a nice comforting hug.

“What time is the show?” Anny questioned as she scanned through the mini fridge that was by the small sink. The only things in there were Vitamin water’s and weird foods that Jonas boys loved. One funky looking mixture made her forget that she was even thirsty and that she wanted a drink.

“Why would you care? You don’t even go.” Joe barked from his position on the couch. She hadn’t said anything bad, yet Joe had the gut to say something and try to throw more wood at the fire that was already burning underneath her. Michelle saw the way they looked at one another. The death glares that were being exchanged into each others eyes. She could now sense the tension along with Nick and Kevin. Surely something she was going to have to get used to sooner or later.

“Oh let the games begin” Michelle thought to herself.