It's Really Happening

The whole way from Michigan to Louisiana I had the same song stuck in my head: Mayday Parade’s “Kids In Love.” Somehow, this song always started playing in my mind in the hours leading up to when Josh and I became reunited but I knew exactly why. Obviously, the lyrics had something to do with it, “we were just kids in love, the summer was full of mistakes we wouldn’t learn from,” but it was something more than that.

The last tour Every Avenue had been on with Mayday Parade, I had been sitting with Derek talking about whatever popped into our heads when he brought up my relationship with Josh. At first I was worried that he was going to reveal something I didn’t want to hear, but he assured me that it was quite the opposite. It was then that he showed me some ideas that I didn’t know at the time were going to be that song.

At first I just brushed it off because I hadn’t known what to say, because I wasn’t used to having songs written about me. But the more I thought about it and the longer I looked at the words on the page, the more it all fit. And that’s when I realized that Josh and I weren’t the only ones who thought we belonged together.

As much as I hated to admit it, knowing the people closest to both of us felt the same way about our relationship as we did gave me a feeling of comfort I would never be able to fully explain. It was as though everyone who knew us believed as strongly as we did that we were meant to be together.

When I saw Josh that afternoon, I barely noticed when Eris and the others left our side. When the initial shock of both of our changes in appearance subsided, Josh took me in his arms and held me tightly as he kissed the top of my head. With all the time we had spent apart, I would’ve been happy to stay in his arms in the hallway of the hotel for the rest of my life.

The voices of those passing by seemed muffled as we stood in each other’s arms, but one sentiment rang clear: time was passing by and we needed to get going. But before we were going anywhere, Josh had another idea in mind.

“Come on,” he said as he smiled at me and took my hand in his. I followed him a few rooms down and passed Jimmie by as he was exiting the room we were walking into.

“Hey, ten minutes, guys.”

“Yeah,” Josh answered absentmindedly as he grasped my hand tightly.

“Not kidding!” Jimmie yelled just before Josh shut the door behind us.

The room looked a bit worse for the wear, but that may have been because the guys’ shit was strewn all over the place. Being neat was not their forte, never was and never will be.

I paused as I glanced at the bathroom, letting go of Josh’s hand for a moment so I could slip in to freshen up. In reality, I needed a moment to remember that this was really happening, that I was really there with him. I closed my eyes and when I opened them, Josh was standing behind me with a smile on his face.

I turned around and brought my arms up to put them around Josh’s neck as he slipped his own around my waist. He bent down slightly to press his lips to my own, and the moment they touched his grip on me tightened.

Next thing I knew, I found myself sitting on the bathroom counter with my back practically pressed up against the mirror behind me as Josh and I rediscovered each other. But we weren’t so lost in one another that we didn’t hear the resounding knocks on the bathroom door and the sound of Dave’s voice.

“Hey! We gotta go!” Josh and I broke away from each other and fought to catch our breaths while Dave continued to pound on the door.

“All right!” Josh yelled a moment later. The pounding ceased but Josh and I barely moved apart from our chests rising and falling.

“We should go,” I whispered.

“Yeah,” Josh replied as he leaned forward and kissed me again.

To prevent Dave and the other guys from breaking the bathroom door down, Josh and I opened it and proceeded to follow everyone downstairs. The conglomeration of assorted bands in the parking lot of the hotel was quite a scene, and I could only imagine how odd this looked to someone who didn’t understand what was going on.

As per usual when I rode in the van with the guys, Josh and I took up the back row. At least the van wasn’t as full as it normally was because Matt and Jimmie chose to ride with The Audition. Josh put his arm around me as I curled my legs up underneath myself and leaned against his shoulder.

“Oh, I almost forgot.” Josh chuckled as he looked down at me. “Did you bring it?”

“Mhmm,” I replied as I nodded and leaned down to grab my bag. The “it” he was referring to was the book I had compiled of all our wedding plans. Bits and pieces of paper and scraps of fabric were sticking out of the edges, but that’s the way I liked it.

On the way to the venue, Josh and I flipped through the book as I explained all the things he had missed in the planning. Unlike before, on this tour Josh had made an extraordinary effort to keep in touch and asked about the wedding planning moreso than before.

But even with all the communication, it was still better in person. Not to mention I had a secret love for scrapbooking so when Josh came up with the idea for the book, I jumped at the chance.

“I love you,” he whispered as he kissed my temple. I smiled as I closed the book and secured it in my bag.

“I love you too.”

When we pulled into the parking lot at the venue, I’ll admit I got a bit nervous. This was the first show of theirs that I had been to since they had posted my debut video on the internet. I wasn’t sure how I was going to be received by fans, or if they were going to pay me any attention at all. I was sort of hoping for the latter.

Josh and I were the last two to climb out of the van, and I was a bit hesitant to leave the sanctity of tinted windows. When I mentioned this to Josh, he chuckled and kissed me, telling me not to worry.

“You’re here for me, not them.”

As he helped me out of the van, I did my best not to stare at the line of kids as I was sure they were all staring at me. After all, wasn’t it the M.O. of all fans to be innately curious of the bands they loved?

Thankfully, Eris appeared at my side momentarily and put her arm around my neck. Despite the stares of every kid in line, having Eris next to me immediately put me at ease. After all, they had to be wondering about her.

“Fuck ‘em.” Eris chuckled. I raised an eyebrow and glanced at her. “They’re just jealous.” I laughed and shook my head.

“If you say so.”

“Think about it,” she said as we followed the guys into the venue. “You’re marrying a guy who they spend half their time begging for an autograph or a hug. You’re living the dream.”

“Don’t forget, you’re in this boat with me.” I linked my arm with hers and Eris grinned.

“Yeah well, you’re in the forefront. I ain’t engaged.”

“Yet!” Eris took a swing at me but I ducked just in time. Unfortunately Alex was in the wrong place at the wrong time and Eris ended up hitting him.

“What the hell!” Alex groaned as he rubbed his chest. “That hurt!”

“You pansy.” Eris rolled her eyes and looped her arm around my neck. “Let’s go explore.”

The venue had two floors, and the bands mostly stuck to the second floor, especially when the doors opened and the kids started filing in. There was a balcony on the second floor that overlooked the stage, which was where Eris and I spent most of our time prior to doors.

“So why do you care about what the kids think of you?” Eris asked.

“I don’t know.” I sighed. “I just feel like they’re going to hate me no matter what I do.”

“So what if they hate you? They’re just jealous!”

“You said that already,” I said with a chuckle.

“Well…it’s true.” I rolled my eyes.

“If you say so.”

“And I do!” Eris smirked. “Now, go find your man. I’mma find mine!”

After we parted ways, I decided to go back out to the van and find someone who’d want to wander around outside of the venue. Dennis and Josh were hanging out by the van talking to Timmy and Rian when I walked up. I leaned against Josh as I listened to their conversation, keeping quiet myself.

“Hey,” Josh said softly as he nudged me a few minutes later. “Wanna get some food?”

“Sure,” I answered as we left the other three and started walking towards the street opposite of where the line of kids was curled around the corner. Josh put his arm around me as we walked, unsure of our destination.

We ended up at a little café about a block away from the venue that smelled like delicious Cajun food so I couldn’t resist. As we sat down in a corner booth, I kept an eye on the door because I knew it couldn’t be long before some fans would come in.

As we ate, Josh kept his eyes on me and would occasionally pause to kiss my temple or say “I love you.” I was finally starting to feel like we were in the perfect place in our lives to get married; it finally felt completely right.

About halfway through our meal, as I predicted, a few fans entered the café and immediately started whispering when they saw us. I mentioned it quietly to Josh and he chuckled and shrugged his shoulders.

“I bet they’re staring at you, not me.”

“Like hell they are,” I replied. Josh laughed and pulled me towards him so he could kiss me properly. I could feel my cheeks turning bright red as the three fans approached us cautiously.

After they took pictures with Josh and chatted for a short while, one of them spoke directly to me and took me by surprise. I looked at Josh for a moment before I answered her question.

“Yes, I’m Abby.”

“So you two are really getting married?” Josh and I nodded and the girls all “aww’d.”

“That’s so cute!”

“You guys are perfect for each other.”

“Thanks…?” I chuckled.

“Well, see you at the show!” The three waved as they left the café and I buried my face in my hands once they were out of sight.

“That was so awkward. I don’t know how you handle it.” Josh laughed and shrugged.

“You’ll get used to it.”

“Not bloody likely.”

Once we made it back to the venue, the line was finally moving inside and that meant it was time for us to go inside as well. Just as I was about to open the back door, it flew open and Zack came storming out.

“Zack? Zack!” Josh yelled as Zack took off without saying a word.

“What was that about?” I wondered aloud as I looked at Josh.

“I don’t know, but he better come back.” Josh ushered me inside and we immediately headed upstairs to find out what the hell was going on.

Somehow, there wasn’t a single person in the hallway as Josh and I wandered around. We eventually split ways, convinced that we might have better luck that way. The next room I popped my head into was where I found Eris sitting by herself with her head in her hands. I immediately sat down next to her and put my arms around her before asking what was wrong.

Before I could get an answer, we were interrupted by Rian poking his head in the door and asking where Zack was.

“He took off,” Eris answered flatly. Rian looked at me and I motioned for him to leave. I turned back to Eris to ask again, and she sighed heavily.

“Zack found out about my…thing with Danny. Whatever it was.”

“Is that-“

“Hey, where’s Zack?” We looked up to see Flyzik in the doorway and I sighed in exasperation.

“He took off. Go away.” He frowned but disappeared nevertheless.

“Is that why he stormed off?” I continued. Eris nodded.

“He just took off without letting me explain! What kind of a person does that? It’s completely inconsiderate, and he fucking knows it’s going to fuck shit up because there’s a goddamn show to play!”

“Hey, hey,” I said as I tried to calm her down. “Relax. Don’t think about the show right now. Breathe.” Eris breathed in and out forcefully and let out a harsh chuckle.

“Everything I touch turns to shit.”

“It does not! Shut your whore mouth!” Eris laughed and put her arms around me.

“Thanks.” She smiled. “Bitch.” I smiled back at her and we sat in silence with our arms around each other.

“Hey, have you seen Zack?” Jack asked while standing in the doorway.

“He. Took. Off!” Eris and I shouted together, completely terrifying Jack to the extent that he stumbled back and ran off. It was really quite a sight that neither of us could help bursting into laughter.

“I swear, if one more person comes in here and asks “Where’s Zack?” I’m going to-“

“Hey, have you-“

Without another word, Eris picked up the nearest thing (which happened to be a rather large hardcover book) and threw it at the figure in the doorway. I looked up just in time to see the book collide with Alex’s nose.

“MOTHERFUCKING- WHAT THE HELL?!” Alex shouted. Despite the fact that Alex was obviously in a hell of a lot of pain, I couldn’t help snickering.

“Stop asking stupid questions!” Eris yelled. Alex stared at her as he clutched his nose.

“Twice in the same fucking day,” he grumbled before walking away.

“Serves him right,” I commented. “I think.”

“Gaskarth always deserves what he gets.” Eris chuckled. “He is the resident scapegoat, after all.”

“Indeed he is.” I paused for a moment before speaking again. “Do you want to go and find a good spot for the show or would you rather stay here for now?”

“Let’s just chill here for a while.” Eris leaned back on the couch and let out a long breath. I leaned back beside her and grasped her hand.

“Eventually everything will return to normal.” She let out a chuckle and rolled her eyes.

“With this bunch, normal is anything but.”