Mental Fiction Follows Me

“Okay, the name of the game is poker. The twist is that it’s strip poker. Is anyone afraid?” Aiden asked. We were currently in a moving tour bus and on the way to meet the band that the guys were touring with. We had four hours until we got there, so we had come up with a way to entertain ourselves.

“Bring it on,” Johnny said and propped his elbows on the table. Aiden, who was sitting directly across from me, smiled. I, who knew why she was smiling, smiled back.

”This is going to be so much fun!!”

”I guess it could be worse. Just don’t get carried away, okay?”

”Don’t worry, Lils. I got this,” I thought with a smile still plastered to my face. I was a pro at poker, because I had nothing but guy friends for years who taught me every trick in the game. As for Aiden, I don’t know how she got so good. She just is.

“Are we gonna play or not?” Matt asked.

“Anxious to get naked?” I asked as Aiden started dealing. Matt smiled, flashing his dimples, and threw his arm around Nikkita’s shoulders.

“We’ll see who gets naked,” Matt said.

The first ten minutes were tense and everyone was looking suspiciously at whoever their eyes landed on. Aiden and I played along, because why should we let them know who great we are? Surprises are so much more fun, in my opinion. Everyone slowly laid their cards down, and then all eyes turned to one particular person. Jimmy and Johnny both started laughing, and I smiled at the person sitting next to me.

“So, Bri, what’s it gonna be?” I asked. He peeked under the table and groaned. My eyes followed his, and I started laughing.

“What is it?” Nikkita asked.

“He’s not wearing any shoes or socks!” I yelled. I was actually wearing two pairs of socks, just in case. I’m great, but not perfect.

“So, the shirt or the pants?” Aiden asked. Brian tapped his chin and then stood up.

“I think I’ll go for the shirt, this time,” Brian said and peeled it off. I saw peel, because it was already stuck to him like a second skin. The shirt disappeared to reveal a slim yet muscular body. My once scrawny cousin had definitely grown up nicely. I turned my attention back to everyone else, and something (or should I say someone?) caught my eye. I smiled to myself and tucked the small realization in a corner of my mind, so I could bring it up later.

“One of you is next,” Brian said and pointed to Johnny and Jimmy, who were sitting on either side of Zacky.

“I think this is gonna get interesting,” Nikkita said.

“Agreed,” Aiden said and started dealing out some more cards. There was another long stretch of silence as everyone studied their cards. Eventually everyone was ready to lay down their cards, but no one was willing to make the first move.

“Fine, I’ll go!” Johnny yelled and slammed his cards on the table. Aiden quickly followed suit, and then everyone’s cards were laying face-up on the table.

“Aha! Told you so!” Brian yelled and pointed.

“Unlike you, Gates, I was smart enough to wear some extra clothing,” Jimmy said and loosened the tie he was wearing. He took it off and threw it in the air, and an invisible wind blew it onto my shoulder.

“Well, I guess it’s mine now,” I said and slipped it over my neck. It laid against my vest-covered chest, and I smiled across the table at Jimmy. He winked, and the next hand was dealt.

Two Hours Later

I smirked at Aiden from across the table, and she smirked back. I shifted my eyes and graced Jimmy with the same smirk. We were the only three left with some form of clothing. Jimmy was stripped down to just his boxers, and Aiden and I only had on our bras and panties. I had an advantage though. I still had Jimmy’s tie on.

Brian had been the first one to lose everything, Johnny was after him, Zacky followed, then Matt, and Nikkita had lost it all in the last hand. Now it was down to us three.

“Alright, let’s see ‘em,” Aiden said and laid her cards down. I laid mine down, and I saw Jimmy’s eyebrows come together. Johnny stood between Jimmy and Aiden started laughing.

“Shut up, gnome!” Jimmy yelled.

“Jimmy, you wouldn’t happen to have the losing hand, would you?” I asked sweetly.

“I might,” Jimmy said and sighed. Everyone else, who was still sitting around the kitchen table, started laughing.

“You know the rules,” Aiden said.

“Yeah, I know the rules,” Jimmy said and laid his cards on the table. I felt my jaw drop, and Aiden’s eyes went wide.

“But...” Aiden said. Johnny popped up behind her chair and started laughing hysterically again. Aiden swatted at him, but he ducked down before her hand could make contact.

“Here, Aiden, you can use this,” Johnny said and popped up on the other side. Aiden snatched the tee shirt from him and held it in front of her while she removed her bra. She kept the shirt clutched to her chest and then glared over at Jimmy.

“This isn’t over, giant,” Aiden mumbled.

“I don’t even know why you two argue. We all know I’m going to win,” I said and smiled.

“It ain’t over yet,” Jimmy said and smiled back.

We kept playing, and Jimmy was the next one out, which made Aiden happy. Aiden and I stared at each other, barely looking at our cards. Everyone around us was silent, waiting to see who would win. I had only beaten Aiden five times, and she had been beaten me ten times more than that. Okay, well, maybe only twice as many. She was still normally the winner.

“Alright, Aiden, moment of truth,” I said. Aiden rolled her eyes and looked down at her cards. I placed mine on the table and leaned my head against my hand.

“What’s this make? Six times now?” Aiden asked as she laid her cards on the table.

“My six to your seventeen?” I asked.

“Try nineteen, hun,” Aiden said and stood up.

“Close enough,” I mumbled.

“I’m going to get dressed. Bye, losers!” Aiden yelled and disappeared down the bus.

”WooHoo! We won!” Sage cheered.

”We won, this time,” Lillian said. I just ignored both of them and pulled my jeans back on. After they were buttoned, I grabbed my black vest from the back of the chair. I quickly did up all the buttons and then smoothed it down.

“Well, it’s past my nap time. See ya later!” I called and walked into the bunk area. Aiden and I had gotten lucky, we had our own bunks. Nikkita, obviously, shared a bunk with Matt.

I laid down on top of the blankets and closed my eyes. I’d had enough excitement for a few hours, and I wanted to catch up on some much-needed sleep.

An hour passed, and I drifted in and out of consciousness. I could hear everyone up front talking and having a good time. It would probably disrupt some people, but to me, it was like a lullaby. I didn’t even have a small nightmare. I felt the bus jerk to a stop, and it was easier to hear everyone up front.

“Are we all going inside?” Matt asked.

“Is this where we’re meeting them?” Nikkita asked.

“Yeah, they should be here in another thirty minutes,” Zacky said.

“I think we should all go in,” Johnny said.

“I’ll go get Syd,” Brian said.

“No, let her sleep! She probably needs it,” Aiden said.

“Are you sure?” Jimmy asked.

“Yeah, we’ll just leave her a note,” Aiden said. I heard a few more light murmurs, and then everything was silent. I rolled onto my back and arched, and then let out a quiet moan as my back popped. I stretched a little more and then stood up. I peaked out a window to see where we were, and I was greeted with a Waffle House sign. It seemed like an odd place to meet someone, but I wasn’t complaining.

I leaned my head back and listened to my neck pop, and then something caught my eye. I smiled up at the ceiling, and then I started digging under Brian’s bed. I found what I was looking for and went back to the same spot I had been at only moments before. Directly above me was a little door that looked like it was glowing. It was probably just a street light, but I didn’t care. I grabbed the handle and threw it open. I climbed up on Aiden’s bunk, which was above mine, and slipped through it.

The sky stretched out above me, and the top of the bus was deliciously cool. I laid down on my back and placed the old guitar on my abdomen. I smiled to myself and began to sing the first thing that came to my mind.

Aiden’s POV:

We were still laughing and eating when four guys walked in and stopped at our table. I looked up and swallowed the waffles in my mouth. The guys looked really familiar, but I couldn’t place them just yet. Maybe my sugar high had something to do with that.

“Hi!” Johnny yelled from beside him.

“Hey. There’s some chick on top of your bus singing,” one of the guys said.

“Syd!” I yelled and jumped up. I crawled over Jimmy and Johnny and then ran outside. I stopped next to the tour bus and strained my ears.

”Walk the city lonely
Memories that haunt are passing by
A murderer walks your streets tonight
Forgive me for my crimes;
Don’t forget that I was so young
Fought so scared
In the name of God and country...”

“Sydney Haner, you get off that bus right now!” I yelled. Her voice faded, and then a head popped over the side of the bus. Light brown hair framed her face, and pale, wild eyes met my own. Tanned, toned, and tattooed arms supported her weight and kept her five-eleven frame from falling over.

“Aiden Fiction Angelis, get your ass up here right now!” Syd yelled back.

“Your middle name’s Fiction?” I turned my head to see Johnny standing beside me, and everyone else was outside as well, including the four guys I didn’t know.

”Doc, I’m dying...”

“Syd, I mean it!” I yelled.

”I’m feeling compromised
And so dehumanized
I lost my final fight to disease
I feel that this is where it ends
I need that shot to enter my vein
My Brompton Cocktail blend...”

“I didn’t know Syd could sing,” Nikkita said. She was standing to the other side of me, with Matt right beside her. Syd’s popped over the edge again and she smiled at me.

“Aiden can sing too! Come on, Aiden. Sing the next few lines, and I’ll come down,” Syd said.

“Promise?!” I yelled back.

“Of course, little Fiction,” Syd said and disappeared again.

“Leave it to Syd,” I mumbled and waited.

“Cause I can’t feel my face. I won’t struggle on. In a world so cold. In a world so wrong...” I sucked in a breath and picked up where she left off.

”I’m not running away
Been fighting this so long
Such a price that we pay
We gotta be so strong
In a lie!”

I made sure to sing the last line the way Syd loved it, and then I kept my mouth closed. I could feel the stares that were sending shivers up and down my spine, but I refused to turn around.

“Alright, you win,” Syd said and smiled back down at me. This time something dangled loosely in one of her hands.

“Is that my guitar?!” Brian yelled.

“I bought it, so I thought you wouldn’t mind,” Syd said.

“Just let it down gently,” Brian said and stood directly beneath her. Syd inched it down, and then it fell perfectly into Brian’s awaiting hands.

“Now get down!” I yelled for what felt like the thousandth time.

“Yes, Mot-” Syd’s eyes looked away from the semi-crowd, and her usually full lips formed a thin line. Her eyes turned dark, and her knuckles were gripping the edge of the bus so hard that her knuckles turned white.

“Syd, what is it?” I asked. I saw the muscles in her arms contract slightly, and then she jumped.

Syd’s POV:

The balls of my feet absorbed the impact of the landing, and I was gone almost as soon as my feet hit the pavement. I saw Aiden’s shocked and slightly angered face as I ran by, but I knew she’d understand why I had risked killing myself. I got to the other end of the parking lot in what I was sure was record time, and the right side of my body slammed into a guy about twice my weight before he could bring his fist down again.

An elbow landed in my ribs, and I returned the favor. There was one small adjustment; my elbow struck his left temple. The guy wavered on his feet, and then he slid down the car. I smiled in accomplishment and turned to face the person I had rescued.

Slim hands rested on curvy hips, and a pair of electric green eyes stared back at me. She didn’t look happy. Her long, black, Betty-Paige styled hair (with teal bangs) blew softly in the wind to reveal a pale, light freckled, flushed face. I was surprised to realize that we were the same height and could see eye-to-eye. She looked younger than me though, about Aiden’s age. She had a few piercings and many tattoos, but it was too dark for me to make them out. She was dressed in a pair of green shorts and a black “Escape The Fate” tee shirt.

“Are you okay?” I asked.

“I was fine until you jumped in. I could’ve had his ass!” the girl said and threw her hands in the air.

“Well, from my point of view, he was kicking yours,” I said without thinking.

“He got in one lucky hit,” the girl said and glared at me.

“Is it too hard to just say thank you?” I asked.

“I didn’t ask for your help,” she retorted.

“What? I’m not allowed to help when I think someone’s in trouble?”

“Nope. Wait for them to yell ‘help!’”

“I apologize, from the bottom of my heart, for thinking that you needed help,” I said sarcastically.

“Sydney Haner! I’m gonna kill you one of these days!” I heard Aiden yell.

“What’d I do?!” I yelled back. Aiden reached my side and looked at the person standing in front of me. You could see a bruise forming along her jaw line. Then Aiden looked down at the ground.

“Everything okay?” Aiden asked.

“No! She ruined everything!” the girl yelled.

“How’d I ruin things?!” I yelled.

”Stay calm, Syd. Everything will be okay if you just stay calm,” Lillian said. I focused on her voice and nodded my head.

“He was my problem, and I could have taken care of him. I didn’t need your help,” the girl said.

“Well, you got it anyway,” I said.

“Syd, quit arguing!” Aiden said.

“Why me? She started it,” I mumbled.

“What’s your name?” Aiden asked. The girl looked her over and then bit down on her bottom lip.

“Deandra DeLuna,” she said.

“Awesome name,” someone unfamiliar said. Nikkita, the guys, and some other guys I didn’t know surrounded us.

“Deandra, my name’s Matt. This is my girlfriend, Nikkita, and my friends Zacky, Brian, Jimmy, Johnny, Max, Monte, Craig, and Robert.”

“Avenged Sevenfold?” Deandra asked and pointed to our guys.

“Yep,” Matt said.

“And Escape The Fate?” she asked and pointed to the four remaining guys.

“That’s us,” Craig said.

“Groupies?” Deandra asked and turned to look at me.

“Family,” I said.

“Well, this keeps getting weirder and weirder,” Deandra said. I silently nodded my head in agreement.