Heartaches Grow a Little Bit Stronger

Careful not to run anybody over, I maneuvered my cart through the crowded sidewalk. There were a lot of people out, some enjoying the view of the San Francisco Bay from the Embarcadero, while others were just going home after spending the day at Warped Tour. Making my way through, I stopped short when I heard someone calling my name.

Looking around, I didn't see anybody I recognized, let alone anyone who was looking in my general direction, so I continued on. Once more, I heard someone calling my name, and I look to the street, spotting two girls standing on the platform before the streets, waiting for the Muni, waving at me.

Smiling in return, I waved to them and then flashed a peace sign, causing them to laugh. Waving one last time, I turned my attention back to the cart I was pushing. Setting off once more, I only stopped short when I heard a familiar voice call my name.

"Burns, are you the one causing all this congestion on the Embarcadero?" Alyssa teased.

"No," I said defensively. "There's more than enough room to walk around me."

In response, Alyssa stuck her tongue out at me and then giggled softly. Examining her with my blue gaze, I found her to be carrying a large box of merch.

Nodding to it I asked, "you want to throw that on the cart?"

"Your cart is already heaping as it is." Alyssa pointed out. "It won't fit."

"I'll make room for it." I assured her.

Taking the box from her, I carefully rearranged my drums and other boxes, making room for the box. Within a few seconds, I had everything situated neatly. Admiring my handiwork, I stood back and gave Alyssa a quirky smile.

Suppressing a smile, Alyssa nodded her head. "Impressive." She said.

"Come on, I'll give you a lift." I grinned.

"Kyle, I'm not climbing on there." She shook her head.

"Don't be a sissy." I sighed as I placed my hands on her hips. Without another word, I picked her up with ease and then set her on the back of the cart.

"Kyle, I'm gonna fall." She protested as she clung onto the handlebar.

"You're fine." I replied, coming up behind her. I wrapped my arms around her and grabbed the handlebar on either side of her. "Hang on." I instructed before I set off down the sidewalk.

Alyssa giggled quietly to herself as we earned some strange looks from those who passed us on the street. Keeping quiet for the most part with the exception of Alyssa pointing out each and every bump that we hit, we made it to our bus within a couple of minutes.

"Help me with these boxes." I whined as I unlocked our small trailer.

"I thought that the Smart Punk semi hauled your gear for you?"

I nodded my head, pulling open the trailer door. "They do, but I have a couple boxes of merch with me too." I explained.

"Did you take the box of stickers too?" She asked. "I was fucking looking everywhere for those. I had some people who were asking for them and I felt like a dumbass because I didn't know where they went." She growled.

I smiled sheepishly as I began to hand her some boxes. "Sorry."

Alyssa rolled her eyes as she suppressed a smile. "Jerk." She smirked.

"I said I was sorry." I laughed.

"Whatever." She grinned. "So how was your guys' set today?"

"It was pretty much awesome." I replied. "You should have been there."

"I would have, but you brought me along for merch duty." She pouted.

"Aww, don't be like that." I said. "Tomorrow we'll get David to take over merch for a little while so you can come and watch us. How does that sound?"

Alyssa eyed me momentarily before she asked, "you promise?"

I nodded my head. "Promise." I confirmed.

Alyssa wrinkled her nose as she thought to herself, and then smiled cutely. "Alright." She said before she grabbed another box from the cart and fit it neatly into the trailer.

Smirking to myself, I reached over and smacked her butt, causing her to yell in surprise. "Burns!" She yelled.

"I couldn't help it." I laughed as she turned around and hit me playfully.

"Keep your hands off me, Kyle." She teased. "I'm saving these goods for the cute boys."

I rolled my eyes slightly. "Saving it for Caleb?" I mumbled.

Alyssa's cheeks flushed a soft shade of pink and she opened her mouth to reply but stopped short when someone else spoke up.

"Who's saving what for me?" Caleb asked, appearing around the corner of the trailer.

"Nothing," Alyssa replied. "Kyle's just being retarded."

A soft, playful smirk pulled across Caleb's lips. "When isn't he?"

"Shut up." I mumbled.

Caleb laughed to himself before he made his way to Alyssa and then hugged her tightly.

"Alyssa! I haven't seen you all day; I've missed you." He said.

"Because you were out, running around, meeting all the girlies." Alyssa accused.

"I was trying to make my way back to the booth." He said defensively as he tightened his arm around her. "But they kept finding me."

"Sure, sure." Alyssa grinned.

"Anyway, how's merch going? You getting the hang of it?" Caleb questioned.

"It's going pretty good. I get to meet lots of cute boys." She grinned. "There was this one guy hitting on me, and he was getting pretty freaky. My brother was only able to catch a few things he said by reading his lips, and even that was enough to send him into a frenzy. I had to get rid of the guy before Tomas beat his fucking face in!" Alyssa's light green eyes grew darker as her eyes grew wide.

"What'd you do to get rid of him?" I asked.

Alyssa blushed slightly as she thought about her answer. "I told him that I'd meet him around the back of the AT&T booth, but I had to take care of some things first." She blushed, hiding her face in Caleb's chest. "That's why I'm out and about, away from the booth."

Caleb and I looked at each other for a few seconds before we erupted into a fit of laughter.

"Poor guy," I laughed, "he'll probably be waiting for you until they start to dismantle the AT&T booth."

"Shut up," Alyssa mumbled. "I didn't know how else to get rid of him. He was freaking me out."

"Point him out and we'll take care of him for you." Caleb said.

Alyssa pulled away from Caleb's embrace and stood back, looking back and forth between him and me before she shook her head slightly. "I honestly don't think you guys could take him."

At her words, a sour look crossed Caleb's face. "Gee, thanks a lot. You sure know how to boost a guy's ego."

"Caleb, the dude looked like a professional body builder." Alyssa protested.

"Oh," Caleb said offhandedly, "well, in that case, how about you just continue to avoid him." He said, a half smile clinging to his lips.

Alyssa rolled her eyes, suppressing a smile before she turned back to me. "Ready to go put your gear away, Burns?" She asked.

"Yeah." I replied. "Come on."

Alyssa made a move to hop back onto the cart, but Caleb took his hand in hers, grabbing her attention.

"Come on, Kyle, you're always hogging Alyssa." He said. "How about you give her permission to come with me, and take a walk along the Embarcadero."

"But, after I got done with my gear, I was going to take her downtown to pick up her birthday present." I said awkwardly.

"You were?" Alyssa asked slowly.

Every year for her birthday, I get Alyssa something that has her birthstone on it. I know it sounds cheesy, but Alyssa likes it. I never know what to get her, so I let her go with me and pick out whatever she wants. When we were in high school it'd be little things like those stuffed animals that go along with your birth month, but as we got older, the stuffed animals got upgraded to small pieces of jewelry. Nothing too fancy, though, I'm not made of cash.

"Yeah," I mumbled, "I mean, I just figured that since we're here in San Francisco, we could go to that store at the Westfield that you're always talking about going to."

"Oh, Kyle, you don't have to get me anything this year for my birthday." She said softly. "Besides, that store is kind of spendy. I just like to go in there and look."

"I have to get you something, though." I said. "You need to come and pick something out."

"Kyle, just surprise her for once." Caleb grinned. "Something other than jewelry," he added with a laugh as he tugged on Alyssa's hand.

"Kyle, you don't have to get me anything." Alyssa repeated.

"I'll get you something." I promised. "You two go have some fun on the Embarcadero." Seeing Caleb's eyes light up mischievously, I added. "PG rated fun."

"Oh, of course." Caleb grinned before he pulled Alyssa away, leading her back toward the piers.

I watched as Alyssa disappeared around the corner, and then sighed heavily to myself. I didn't know what to do, now that Alyssa was single, and there were obviously other guys interested in her. I know that when I had invited her along, I said that it was a good opportunity for her to meet other people, and possibly find herself a new boyfriend.

But proposing that idea, and realizing that it was actually taking place, made me realize actually how jealous I was. I wanted to be one of those guys showing interests in her, I wanted to be the one flirting with her, I wanted to be the one pointing out how gorgeous her smile was, how pretty her eyes were. I wanted to be the one making her blush from all the compliments she was receiving.

Standing back and watching her walk away with another one of my best friends? I didn't know how to handle that. I didn't know how to just let her go, and be swept off her feet by someone else. I had always said that if she and Mason ever broke up, I would be the one to piece her heart back together for her. But that's not going to happen now. Now, I would have to sit back and watch as someone else made her fall for them.

Shaking my head to myself, I locked our small trailer back up before I pushed my cart to the semi truck that hauled my gear for me. After I had everything put away, I found myself on the Muni, waiting for the stop at Powel station. The Muni was packed with plenty of people who had just come from Warped Tour, but luckily no one bothered me.

Once at the mall, I wandered around for a little while before I came across the store that Alyssa was always talking about. Glancing around the windows, I decided to go inside and see what they had. Once inside, I was greeted by a friendly sales associate.

"Good afternoon," she smiled, "can I help you with anything today?"

"I was just looking for a birthday present for my friend." I said hesitantly. "She's always talking about this store, but when I invited her with me today, she said that I didn't have to get her anything. She," I paused momentarily, smiling sheepishly, "she said that you guys were sort of spendy."

The lady laughed softly and nodded her head. "We do tend to carry the pricy type of jewelry." She admitted. "But, if your friend is worth it ... " she trailed off, giving me a soft smile.

I nodded my head slightly as I thought to myself. "She's worth it." I whispered.

"You can go ahead and take a look around." The lady replied quietly. "If you see anything that you think she'll like, I'll be more than happy to help you."

"Alright, thank you." I mumbled as she left, letting me wander around to look at their jewelry.

The store had many pretty pieces, and I could see why Alyssa was always talking about this store. I could almost picture her in there, swooning over each and every piece she saw. I was in there for about fifteen minutes, but nothing stood out to me. Sighing softly, I made my way to the exit, but stopped short when a pretty ring caught my eye.

Seeing me stop, the lady who had greeted me earlier came to join me.

"Finally see something you like?" She asked.

I shrugged my shoulders slightly when I saw the price tag. "Your entire collection is beautiful." I said simply before I stepped away from the display case, and made my way out of the store.

In this six story mall, I was bound to find something else that would be a suitable gift for Alyssa's birthday.