Mental Fiction Follows Me

Mystery Person's POV:

"Later!" I called over my shoulder before slamming the door closed. That should be a good enough sign for them to know not to follow me. Some things just need to be done alone. I walked across the parking lot, feeling the wind whipping around me. It was the first of October, and I wasn't sure if the mellow weather was right. Then again, I wasn't even sure what state I was in.

I saw two busses across the lot, and it was easy to tell which one I was about to bust onto. I always did love having the element of surprise. I walked up to the bus slowly, and I was surprised at the lack of noise. The bus next to it, however, sounded like someone was getting killed. I leaned against the bus and listened to see if I could understand anything coming from the other bus.

"You idiot! That was my cookie!" a girl yelled.

"Finders keepers!" someone yelled back.

"Can't we all just get along?!" a different guy yelled. It was followed by a loud crash and more yelling. Interesting. I turned my attention back to the bus at hand. I took a deep breath and threw the door open. I skipped one step and stood in the middle of the bus, but my actions didn't faze the couple in front of me.

Zacky's POV:

"Well, isn't that hot." I froze at the sound of the voice, and so did Brian. I slowly pulled away and looked up to see who was filling our doorway. Green eyes, brighter than my own, met mine. I felt my lips turn into a smile, and I jumped up.

"Ryanne! What took you so long?" I asked as I finally released her.

"You know how things get," she said and smiled.

"You missed our show last night," I said sadly.

"There's always the next venue, right?" Ryanne asked and looked up at me.

"Right," I said. I smiled and then hugged her again.

"Come on, Zacky! You're gonna squish me to death!" she yelled.

"Sorry," I said and quietly and let her go.

"It's okay. It's been way too long," Ryanne said.

"Way too long," I repeated. Someone cleared their throat behind me, and I turned to see that Brian was now standing. He looked a little confused, and I felt heat rising to my cheeks. I stepped away from Ryanne to stand next to Brian.

"Bri, this is my cousin, Ryanne. She left for Britain a few years ago, so I haven't seen her in a really long time. Ryanne, this is Brian," I said.

"Your boyfriend?" she asked.

"Yeah," I said, waiting for her reaction.

"Awesome! You two are so cute together," Ryanne said with a smile. I felt relief spread through me and I smiled.

"It's all him," Brian said and wrapped an arm around my waist. I just rolled my eyes.

"So, who else is touring with you? I saw the black bus with some green on it, but the green paint doesn't look professional," Ryanne said.

"No, that's Deandra and Tiana when they get bored," I said.

"So, who is it?" Ryanne asked again. I smiled, knowing the guys were one of her favorite bands.

"Escape The Fate." Ryanne let out a scream and jumped forward to hug both Brian and me.

"Hey! Shut it up in there! Some people are trying to sleep!" Syd yelled. Ryanne stopped with one arm around my neck and the other around Brian's. She stared at Syd, and Syd stared back. She looked half asleep and mad as hell, until she realized Ryanne wasn't one of the other girls.

"Who's the crazy lady?" Ryanne whispered.

Syd's POV:

"Oops. I thought you were a loud mouth from next door," I said.

"Watch it, granny!"

"Did I tell you to come out of time-out!" I yelled. The poor girl still wrapped around Brian and Zacky looked confused, and I felt sorry for her.

"Craig ate my last cookie!" Tiana yelled.

"I'm telling ya, Syd, you found one weird ass bunch," Tara said.

"I'm scared," Krys said quietly.

"Why are you guys back on the bus?" I asked.

"Because we got bored," Tiana said and flopped onto the couch.

"The guys went to go do a sound-check," Krys said.

"And I just love pushing your buttons," Deandra said and walked over to me. She slung an arm around my shoulder, and I glared over at her.

"Yall got anything to eat?" Tara asked.

"I think Johnny wiped us out last night," Aiden replied. She ducked under Deandra's arm and stood in front of us.

"Damn gnomes," I mumbled. A rib pushed at my ribs, and I smiled innocently down at Aiden.

"Hey! Who's the new girl?" Aiden asked.

"I was getting to that," I said.

"How?" Deandra asked.

"I heard yelling and I thought it was one of you, so I yelled at her. I was going to apologize until you charged in," I said and looked over at her.

"You called me a loud-mouth," Deandra said defensively.

"Do you deny that?" I asked.

"Coming from you? Yes," Deandra said.

"My name's Ryanne!" Everyone stopped and turned to look at the girl standing in front of Brian and Zacky. Her eyes were the same as Zacky's, but you can never really be sure.

"Hi!" everyone yelled back.

"Sorry for yelling," I said.

"It's okay. It sounds like everyone's always yelling here," Ryanne said.

"Oh, you have no idea," I said.

"Are you in the band that's joining us?" Tiana asked.

"No, I'm a friend of the band and his cousin," Ryanne said and pointed to Zacky.

"Welcome to the family!" Aiden yelled.

"The dysfunctional family," I mumbled.

"Agreed."

"This is gonna be fun," Ryanne said.

"You have no idea," Zacky whispered in her ear.

~~~ | ~~~ | ~~~

"This is so awesome!" Ryanne yelled from beside me. Just us girls had been hanging out for the past few hours, and she was already one of us.

"I know!" Deandra yelled from her other side. Escape The Fate was currently playing, and we were all backstage watching. The Avenged guys had decided to just stay on the bus and take a much needed break from our feminine insaneness, whatever that's supposed to mean. I listened to the next song, and when I opened my eyes I could see that Craig's eyes were locked with someone's. I turned to see who he was looking at, and then I smiled as I listened to the lyrics.

You are so beautiful, You are the kind of girl
that has the chemicals that makes me fall in love
Beautiful, you are the kinda girl, that has the chemicals
That makes me fall in love
Fall in love

"Sorry, gotta go," Craig said. Many pairs of confused eyes followed him as he ran off the stage, and only a few of us could see him pick up Tiana without missing a beat.

"Don't! Look! For! Us!" Craig yelled as he ran off. The remaining band members looked around at each other, and us girls looked at each other as well.

"Um, any one got any ideas?" Max asked as he ran over to us.

"Make Andy sing!" Nikkita yelled.

"What?"Deandra asked.

"Oh, come on! We've all heard you sing in the shower," Nikkita said.

"That's the shower, this a stage," Deandra said.

"Close your eyes and think about rubber duckies," I said.

"Do you know the lyrics to all of our songs?" Max asked.

"Of course," Deandra said.

"Come when I call," Max said and ran off.

"Well, that sounded naughty," Nikkita said.

"No, what you did last night sounded naughty," I said. I felt arms wrap around me from behind and Nikkita propped her chin on my shoulder.

"Sorry for keeping you up, Syd," Nikkita said.

"You're forgiven," I said.

"This was so not in the job description," Deandra mumbled. I just smiled and put an arm around her shoulders.

Deandra's POV:

"You'll do just fine, kiddo," Syd said and leaned her head against mine. Syd and I might fight like cats and dogs, but we understand each other on some weird level. Her words, no matter how simple, actually made me feel a little better.

"Okay! Our lead singer has been kidnapped, unofficially, for the moment! So, we have a guest singer for you! What song would you like her to sing?!" Max yelled at the crowd. Just about every song was yelled, even the ones that had already been played. Max walked to the very edge of the stage and leaned down to hear.

"It's Just Me?! You got it! Andy, get your ass out here!" Max yelled. I felt two pairs of hands on my back, and then I was pushed forward. I smiled and bounced my way to the mic, hoping I didn't look as nervous as I felt. Max winked at me, and I stepped up the mic. I licked my lips and then the song began...

I'm creeping my way out so you can see me
I'm crawling my way around 1,000 cities
You all stop and stare, I don't need your pity
I'm living my life in this hell

Now I'm crawling away cuz the stress has killed me
I feel like I fell from a 10 story building
Best run and hide before the devil starts forbidding
I'm living my life in this hell

I'm not one for the crowd to see
It's just me
It's just...

Just a little more, come on and satisfy me
Just a little more, come on and terrify me
Just a little more and I'll be done with it
Take my life and then I'll feel okay

Cut it out of my mouth
Put my tongue on a pole
I won't sing any more
I'm losing control

Cut it out of my mouth
Put my tongue on a pole
Take the air from my lungs
Take the heart from my soul

I'm not one for the crowd to see
It's just me
It's just...

Just a little more, come on and satisfy me
Just a little more, come on and terrify me
Just a little more and I'll be done with it
Take my life and then I'll feel okay

Okay
I'll feel okay
Okay

Cut it out of my mouth
Put my tongue on a pole
I won't sing any more
I'm losing control

Cut my tears of the sound
The erosion of my soul
I won't sing any more

I'm creeping my way out so you can see me
I'm crawling my way around 1,000 cities
You all stop and stare, I don't need your pity
I'm living my life in this hell

Just a little more, come on and satisfy me
Just a little more, come on and terrify me
Just a little more and I'll be done with it
Take my life and then I'll feel okay

Just a little more, come on and satisfy me
Just a little more, come on and terrify
Just a little more and I'll be done with it
Take my life and then I'll feel
Take my life and then I'll feel
Take my life and then I'll feel okay

I finished with a genuine smile, and the crowd was cheering "Andy!" In all honesty, it felt great! I took a small bow, and then I felt a palm on my derriere. I jumped up and looked around to see Max standing behind me. His hands were behind his back and he was looking up.

"You are so dead, Maxwell," I said, into the mic.

"Bye, everyone!" Max yelled and ran off.

"Bye!" I yelled and chased after him. Everyone watched as we ran by, and Max, the coward, ran to Avenged's bus. He jumped and landed in someone's lap, instantly wrapping his arms around their neck.

"She's gonna kill me!" Max yelled. I bent over and placed my hands on my knees. I heard everyone walk up behind me and wait.

"No, you're gonna get something worse than death," I said.

"Please no," Max said like a little kid and cuddled closer to the guy.

"We're going out tonight!" Jimmy yelled. I turned to look at him and he smiled.

"Oh no, not again," Syd mumbled from behind me.

"We're not in Texas anymore," Jimmy said defensively.

"What's wrong with Texas?" Ryanne asked.

"Long story," Nikkita said.

"We went to jail the last time we went out," Syd said.

"That's the short version," Tiana said.

"I like the longer version better," Tara said.

"That's because you're the only one who was there for it all," Nikkita said.

"Shouldn't we be getting ready?" Krys asked. We all turned to look at her, then we looked at each other, and the craziness began again.