This Is the World We Left for Dreamers and Believers

“Halvo! No! Put me down! Jared! Dammit put that camera down!” I yelled. I had been calmly sitting on the beach snapping a picture every now and then when I was bombarded by band bitches. That’s right bitches.

“You have to get in the water just once!

“I don’t want to! It’s cold and gross! There’s germs in there!” I whined pounding on his back.

“Just once and then you don’t have to get in again!” He said wading into the waves. They splashed against his legs.

“Not too deep!”

“That’s what she said!” Garret yelled. I laughed and sighed. He sat me down gently in the cool water. I shivered slightly and stood there.

“You just going to stand there?” Eric asked. I smirked devishly up at him.

“No. I’m going to do this.” I said throwing myself at him. He fell backwards into the water, screaming like a girl.

“That was Kodak perfect.” Jared said standing a few feet away. I looked up, my heart pounding.

“Jared! Get it back on shore now! Please?!” I begged, panic filling my voice. Eric looked up.

“Dude, oh shit. Carry the camera above your head and walk slowly.” Daray said watching with fear. I was seconds away from crying, my head was filling with worse scenarios, and my heart was pounding. It was a full on panic attack. I followed him close behind. He made it to shore safely. I grabbed the towel Katy was holding out to me and quickly dried my hands. I snatched the camera and walked over the towel that I had laid out and sat down, slowly inspecting it.

“Are you okay?” Matty F asked walking up and sitting down next to me wrapped in a Star Wars towel. I laughed and pointed to his towel.

“That’s a amazing towel. Seriously. Yeah, I’m fine. Now. Still shaky but my nerves will calm down in a sec I suppose.” He smiled sympathetically.

“You had the whole beach staring. Strangers and shit.”

“I didn’t mean to scream like that it’s just….that’s my baby. Imagine if you had a child and someone was dangling it above concrete that would inevitably kill said child. You’d freak too.”

“Dude, that’s super demented.”

“But you get my point right?” He nodded.

“Hey we should probably start packing up and heading back.” Tim said towel drying his hair. It was strangely sexy. Paired with the dark tan, scruffys on his face, and toned tummy he was cute.

“Mmkay. Thanks for coming over and talking to me, Matty. I was lonely.” Matt laughed and wrapped his warm arms around me.

“You’re very welcome. By the way, your face is a little red and your shoulders are awful.” I looked at my very red shoulders and cursed under my breath.

“If I hadn’t been made to wear this shit my shoulders wouldn’t have burned. Ugh. How do I lift my arms to take pictures if my arms are going to hurt?!” I whined.

“Stop your whining! It’ll heal with a nice little tan.” Tim said dropping into the sand beside me, completely contradicting what he had said moments before.

“With a chance of cancer! Do not want.”

“Look at me. I don’t have cancer and I’m bronzed up.”

“Your skin is going to get leathery and wrinkly and then you’re going to look gross!” He huffed and picked up the towels that the guys had carelessly thrown onto the ground in a mad rush to get in the water.

“Can you call them up here? It’s obvious now you have a mad set of pipes on you.” I shook my head and yelled for the guys who all whined like children when Tim told them it was time to go.

“It’s like Bella and Tim are our parents who just ruined the whole day.” Pat muttered sliding into his favorite seat in the van.

“I don’t wanna make babies with your brother. I’d much rather they be yours.” I said snuggling up against him.

“Kirch babies are beautiful.” Katy commented walking past the van door. I chuckled quietly and shook my head.

“She’s very blunt.” Tim said laughing in the front seat.

“She keeps things interesting. She’s just a really good friend and wasn’t like she was lying. Cutest set of brothers after the Richards’.” I said pinching their cheeks. They both scowled.

“Who broke them?” Kennedy asked. I shrugged and looked away innocently.

“Annabelle. Look at her face. You fail.” Jared said. I turned and stuck my tongue out at him.

“I have an idea where that tongue can go.” He muttered under his breath.

“Ah. Too awkward, Jared.”

“You enjoy it.” Garret said. I climbed over the seat and sat on his lap, my ankles bent awkwardly outside of the arm rest. My back rested against the window where someone had written a interesting message to the guys. Some things never change.

“No one asked your opinion Gare-bear.”

“If you get me pulled-”

“We’ll all be fucked. The only two who are buckled are you and John.” I said playing with Garrets hair. He sighed and closed his eyes.

“Aw. She got Garret to relax. That’s cute.” Pat said watching with mild amusement.

“Aw. You wish it was you.”

“What’s Halvo groupie doing? Hey! You can’t cheat like that! This isn’t tour groupie! It’s just Halvo!” John said, his smile widening with each word.

“Suck a fuck, John.”

“Will you do it for me? I’m tired.”

“This seems like it could take an awkward turn at moments notice so I’m going to stop now. Mmkay?” He rolled his eyes and turned away.

“She never said no.” Tim mentioned meeting my eyes in the mirror.

“I dislike half this van right now. Kenny and Garret are awesome. The rest suck.” I said climbing over the seat and sitting down where I belonged.

“Thank you.” Tim said slipping Anarbor’s CD into the player.

>>Later.

“So, how’s the Justin thing going?” I asked kicking back on the couch. Katy was on the one opposite of mine. Across The Universe supplied the only light in the room.

“It’s going well. He’s such a sweetheart and oh my god. I adore him so much! He’s just-ah. I don’t have words to explain it.” She said shyly. I giggled.

“Aw. He’s nice. The man deserves someone who isn’t going to treat him like total shit or use him cause he’s in a band.”

“He really does. I just don’t know that we’ll work. Two different worlds, two different people.”

“Dating someone like you would be both conceited and super uneventful. You’d know everything that would happen. Not fun.” She nodded.

“That’s true. I’ve just really liked him for a long time and now that its actually happening-”

“You can’t believe it and you’re waiting for someone to come wake you up from this nightmare slash amazing dream. Depending on how you look at it.”

“I would be so mad if mom came and woke me up. I wouldn’t sleep for days if this was a dream.” I laughed.

“It’s not a dream. I promise. Believe me, the first week I pinched myself all the time to check and it always turned out the same. A light bruise.”

“So, lets see- you may or may not Halvo but you’re also best friends with The Maine and I have the Justin Richards.”

“Our lives fucking rule.” We said in unison. Light flooded the room causing both of us to wince.

“Hey Justin.”

“Hey Bella. Katy! I’m bored! We should go walk the board walk or something!” She looked at me and then to him. I nodded my head to him.

“Are you-”

“Get out of here! God knows what he’ll do if he’s left alone too long.” She laughed and followed Justin out of the room, shutting the door behind her. I sighed and sank deeper into the couch. I’d watched the movie a million times, knew all the words to every song, and owned the soundtrack. It was an amazing movie. Someone’s arms wrapped around my shoulders. I opened my mouth to scream, a hand covered my mouth. I recognized the soft smell of Axe and sweat.

“Don’t scream. Just come on.” John softly whispered in my ear. He removed his hand and opened the window that led onto a fire escape.

“What are you doing?”

“Escaping. Come with me.” He said his foot already stuck through the open window. He climbed all the way through and offered his hand. I sighed and took his hand. We silently made our way down the fire escape.

“John-” He put a finger to his lips and looked around the corner, his fingers laced through my own and he pulled me along.

“I just need a break. I love the fans with all my heart but sometimes its too much.” He said not meeting my eyes. I shrugged and walked beside him.

“What did I do to deserve this great pleasure of joining you on your break?”

“I didn’t want to be alone and the guys all wanted to hang with fans. I got off stage and went in search of you.”

“This was planned? You could have included me. I look like crap.” He chuckled quietly.

“Your messy hair is cute. Don’t worry about it.” I looked up at him. He hadn’t said it to be awkward, he’d said to be cute. I let it slide.

“Where are we going?” He shrugged.

“I don’t have a destination.”

“So were going to wander the streets of Georgia in the dark? Skinny little white kid who couldn’t fight his way out of a bag and me who’d scream like a five year with a spider on its arm. God, were great together.”

“I can fight!”

“A plant.”

“I can fight more than a plant!”

“Mhm. Whatever you say.” He huffed and shuffled beside me. We had somehow made it to a small beach, no doubt that connected the main part we had all been on hours before. The waves washed onto shore. The wind a soft whisper around us.

“It’s beautiful out here.” John said slipping his shoes off and stepping onto the beach.

“It’s always prettiest at night. Everything is. More of a mystery than the day time.”

“You’re just nocturnal.” He said smirking. I shrugged and shuffled through the sand kicking my shoes off inches from the water. The water rushed over my sand coated feet leaving them soaking wet and the feeling of sand eroding with the wave.

“You are so different.” John whispered from somewhere close behind.

“Thanks?”

“It was a compliment.” I turned to him.

“I was really the only one willing to sneak away from you?”

“Eric said he’d come.”

“Where’s he at then?”

“At the venue. I wouldn’t have relaxed at all with you two hanging all over each other.” I rolled my eyes.

“I adore Halvo but….I don’t know. He’s a sweetie. He’s nice. Maybe that’s the problem.”

“What?”

“We’re super close…..as friends.” I said sitting down.

“Friends can’t hook up?” He asked his voice closer this time.

“It’s not a good idea most of the time. You have to be close and understand that this isn’t going to change anything. Like, when you see someone you once slept with what’s the first thought to come into your head?”

“I fucked that.”

“Exactly. Imagine being best friends and having that there all the time. It’s just…no.”

“I don’t know. It could still work.” His hands were on my shoulders.

“No. It wouldn’t.”

“You seem so sure.”

“I don’t want to mess something up. If its good why mess it up? Live with what you have.” I realized we’d left the discussion of Halvo behind this was about something bigger.

“But what if the reward is better than the risk? Wouldn’t you want to at least try?”

“And lose a possible life long friend? I’m not sure.”

“Annabelle, you can’t live life without a few risks.”

“Is there a reason for this conversation?” I asked turning to him. Misgauging how close he was I slammed straight into his chest.

“Of course there is.” He said, his hands now on the small of my back holding me to him.

“Dude! Is that them?” I jumped away from him at the sound of Tim and Halvo’s voices piercing the air.

“Halvo! My night in shining armor!” I yelled dramatically collapsing into his arms.

“John and you just disappeared.” Tim said watching me closely.

“He needed a break. I was the only willing participant in his voyage through downtown Atlanta. Genuis’ we are!”

“Seriously. Smartest things you two have ever done! Walking around in the dark in a state where you know where the venue, Wendy’s, and the beach are. Nobel Peace Prize winners.” Tim said.

“Sarcasm not appreciated.” I muttered.

“Come on. We have to go. It’s a good twelve hour drive this time.”

“Is this Tim time or GPS time?”

“It’s Tim time. Fuck you.”

“Well…..It’s a little sandy and there’s two other people here but if you’re comfortable enough then why not? Lets do this.” I said pulling at the hem of my shirt.

“No! Annabelle! Leave your damn clothes on! You’ll get us all arrested!” Tim yelled shaking his head and walking ahead of us.

“I wasn’t serious.” I whispered to Halvo. He laughed.

“Tim’s wreck. Ya’ll running off and Jared’s incident earlier with the camera. Poor guy.” I looked at the ground.

“I didn’t know he was that stressed. Now I feel bad.”

“Aw. He’ll be okay.”

“Tim! I love you, man!” I yelled. He turned to us and smiled.

“Thank you. Love you too, Bella!” Behind us John was sulking quietly. I ignored him. He’d known what he was doing. I was secretly thanking the two for showing up when they did. Honestly, I was more confused than I had ever been.

Do I stick with the sweet, innocent one who wouldn’t hurt a fly or did I give in to the deep, sexy, charming one?