Mental Fiction Follows Me

"I really hate going out," I mumbled.

"I love going out," Curtis, as in Curtis Ward, said. We had found out that we would now be touring with Bring Me The Horizon, who are also Ryanne's best friends.

"It's all fun and games until everyone gets thrown in jail," I said.

"Jail's not so bad," Oli said.

"You would know," Ryanne said and smirked at him.

"And so would you," Oli said, smirking back.

"You've been to jail?!" Zacky yelled across the table.

"Shut up and kiss Brian!" Ryanne yelled back. Zacky shrugged and went back to kissing Brian. Some people were missing because they were out on the dance floor, and it only takes one guess to know where Nikkita and Matt are. Matt forgot his wallet, so they had to go back to the bus and get it. Yeah, right.

"I said I was sorry!" Max yelled as he started to run by. Deandra tackled him right in front of the table, and his head was right next to my left foot.

"Your time has come, Maxwell," Deandra said. She quickly flipped herself around, so that she was sitting on Max's back and facing his feet. Everyone was staring down at her, waiting. Then, with a very determined face, she started playing the drums using Max's ass. Max started laughing, and so did the rest of us.

"I think I need to go to the bathroom," I said.

"Me too!" Ryanne yelled. She climbed over Oli and then we both climbed over Curtis before starting to the bathroom. It didn't take us long to get to the bathroom; we passed Aiden and Johnny on the dance floor, and I saw Krys and Monte sitting at the bar. After we had done our business and were washing our hands, I asked Ryanne something that had been bothering me all night.

"Are you and Oli...you know...together?" I asked. I had seen the way she looked at him, and the way he had looked at her.

"No, he doesn't give me the time of day. I'm just like another one of the guys," Ryanne said.

"Meddling is wrong, Syd," Sage said sarcastically.

"Oh, hush up! She's being helpful!" Lillian reprimanded.

"I don't know, Ryanne. The way he's been looking at you tonight says something different," I said. Her eyes gleamed for a second, but then she looked away.

"I don't know..."

"I've got an idea!" I yelled. Her eyes went wide and she looked at me as if I was crazy, but she really had no idea. I grabbed her wrist and started pulling her through the crowd. Something caught my eye though and I stopped in my tracks. Ryanne slammed into my back.

"What's going on?" Ryanne asked.

"Robert?! Tara?!" I yelled out. They pulled away from each other and blushed.

"I think I found myself husband number three!" Tara yelled.

"You've been married?!" I yelled back.

"Tell ya about it later! I'm kinda busy!" Tara yelled. I looked back at Ryanne, who just shrugged.

"Moving on," I mumbled. I pulled Ryanne through the rest of the dance crowd, and I pushed her back into her original seat. Instead of sitting back in my original seat beside her, I went to the other end of the table and crawled into Brian's lap. I threw my feet in Zacky's lap and leaned my head back against Jimmy's shoulder.

"Comfy?" Brian asked me.

"Very," I said and glanced over at Ryanne. She looked back at me, and I winked. I started to tell Brian my plan, but something interrupted me.

"Hello, everyone!" Tiana yelled. She was on Craig's back, and they were both smiling from ear-to-ear.

"Where have you two been?! You left us!" Max yelled. Him and Deandra were now sitting in the booth, crammed between Lee and Matt N. It was going to be very confusing having three Matt's around.

"I had some business to attend to," Craig said. Tiana slipped off his back and started laughing. She walked around to stand beside him, and she tugged on the bottom of his tee shirt.

"Ladies and gentleman! I now present to you, the human leopard!" Tiana yelled and lifted Craig's shirt. He was covered in hickeys of various sizes, and he really did look like a human leopard. The entire table erupted in laughter and there were a few comments.

"So, it's safe to say you two are together, eh?" Deandra asked. Tiana shook her head, and Craig grinned.

"She can't keep her hands off me," Craig said.

"Says the guy who kidnapped me," Tiana said. Craig smiled down at her, and I could have sworn that I saw a small blush on his pale cheeks.

"You two! Dance! Now!" Aiden yelled. She grabbed Tiana and pulled her onto the dance floor, and Craig happily followed. Everyone returned to their conversations, now that things had calmed down a bit. Well, calmed down a bit for us.

"I hate calm. Can't we go have some fun?" Sage asked in a whiny voice.

"We don't have to party all the time. Can't you be happy with just relaxing?" Lillian asked.

"We have been relaxing! Where's the fun at?!

"Shut up! It's already loud enough in here! I don't need you adding to it!" I thought.

"Well, someone's grumpy," Sage mumbled. Lillian remained quiet.

"You okay, Syd?" Brian whispered. I opened my eyes, which I hadn't realized I closed, and looked at him.

"Yeah, just a small headache. I think I'm going to go outside for a few minutes, get some fresh air. But can you do me a favor?" I whispered back.

"Sure. Anything," Brian said.

"Go dance with Zacky, and make sure you don't go alone," I whispered and glanced over at Ryanne and Oli. Brian followed my gaze, and a smile stretched his features.

"No problem. See you later," Brian said. He kissed the side of my head, and then I pulled myself out of the booth. It didn't take long to get through the dancing crowd, and I slipped out the back door. It opened into a dark...alley, and there were a few scattered bottles. There weren't any making out couples though, and I was thankful for that much. I paced down the alley, running my fingers through my hair.

The past couple of days had been pure hell. Mom had called two days ago, crying hysterically. It took her twenty minutes to calm down, ten minutes to tell me the news, and then there was another hour of crying. I've been sleeping ever since and trying to pretend it wasn't real. I knew I had to tell everyone, and soon. I had another week. At the end of that week, I had better be where I'm supposed to be, or they're going to come looking for me. I really don't want to spend the rest of my life in Mexico, so I'll go where I'm needed.

A hand curled around my shoulder, and without thinking, I twisted and grabbed the attacker. I threw him into the wall with one forearm pressed tightly against his throat.

"Dominant type, eh? I like that in a woman," he said, his voice slightly muffled from the pressure on his windpipe.

"Jimmy, you idiot! I could have just killed you six different ways!" I yelled.

"Just six?" Jimmy asked.

"Well, I could get inventive and come up with a few more," I said.

"That's more like it," Jimmy said. He grabbed my arm and pulled it away from his throat and wrapped it around his neck.

"So, why'd you sneak up on me?" I asked.

"I called your name a few times, but you didn't answer. So I thought physical contact was the next step. What are you doing out here?" Jimmy asked. I had spaced out? In an alley? Great, I really was losing it.

"I think you lost it a long time ago..." Sage said quietly.

"Sage!"

"No, I think she's right," I thought.

"Syd, you're doing it again!" Jimmy yelled. I snapped out of my thoughts and sighed. This was starting to become a recurring problem. One I didn't know how to fix.

"Ah, shit!" I whispered and furiously wiped at my cheeks with my good arm.

"Are you crying?" Jimmy asked.

"Just a little bit," I mumbled.

"I didn't mean to make you cry, Syd. It's okay to space-out! People do it all the time! It's completely normal!"

"But I'm not normal!" I yelled. I felt my eyes widen at my outburst, and I slowly looked up at Jimmy. His blue eyes were wide too as he stared down at me. I opened my mouth to apologize, but nothing came out. Sage and Lillian couldn't even come up with anything to help me. I felt a few more tears spill over, but I didn't look away from Jimmy's gaze. His hands held my head, and this time he wiped away my tears. No more followed.

"Syd...it's...I...Oh, fuck it!" he yelled before crashing his lips to mine. Saying I was shocked was an understatement, but it took only seconds for me to kiss back and wrap my good arm around his shoulders. His fingers dug into the flesh of my hips, and I pushed him back into the brick wall. Our tongues wrestled like old friends, and I completely forgot about everything else in my life. Jimmy was all that mattered.

Jimmy's lips left mine, and a second later my back was against the wall with Jimmy standing in front of me. His breathing was heavy, and mine was starting to slow. I looked up at him and saw that he was smiling down at me. I rolled my eyes and pulled him down for another kiss.

We were in the middle of round three, with Jimmy's hand halfway up my shirt, when a loud yell split through the semi-quiet. We both froze, and then we slowly pulled apart. A few feet away from us, Brian and Zacky were illuminated in front of the back door.

"It ain't right, dammit!" Brian yelled.

"I'm confused," Jimmy whispered.

"Me too," I whispered back.

"Brian, calm down," Zacky said.

"All of those idiots in there stole the good places! Matt and Nikki are still on the bus! And these two stole the alley! There's no justice in the world!" Brian yelled.

"There's a cheap motel across the street and to the right," Jimmy said. Brian stopped ranting, stared at Jimmy, grabbed Zacky's hand, and then they both disappeared.

"Those two scare me sometimes," I said.

"He's your family," Jimmy said.

"You don't pick family, but you do pick your friends," I said, looking up at him.

"Touché," he said.

"Jimmy...what have we been doing?" I asked. My voice came out in a whisper, as if it was a secret.

"Having an amazing wonderful time?" Jimmy asked.

"Besides that," I said.

"I don't know," Jimmy said. He scratched the back of his head in confusion.

"Why'd you kiss me?" I asked.

"Oh, that's an easy one. Because I like you," Jimmy said.

"Why?" I hadn't meant to ask that particular question, but I had anyway.

"Because you're not like any other woman I've ever met," Jimmy said. His eyes were sincere, and I knew he was telling the truth.

"Jimmy, that's a bad thing," I said with a small smile.

"No. It makes you perfect," he said before kissing me again. All I could think about was how much this was going to hurt in the morning.