Goodbye Blues

Story time rolled around far too quickly for Joy to comprehend. Her mind was still clouded with thoughts of Matthew's letter to pull herself together in the most convincing way. As she strolled up to her plastic white chair, the fake smile was clearer than ever before. No one except Delilah noticed though.

"Hello Joy," Delilah greeted kindly. She hoped that acknowledgment would send a real smile to the old lady's face. But Joy's sad eyes just looked towards the blond little girl and sent the same fake smile her way. It brought Delilah down a bit, her excitement for story time taking a large scoop downwards.

Instantly, in hopes she'd get back to her bedroom quicker to be alone, Joy started the story right off the bat.

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A celebration was in desperate need, Pete had stated once the night was through. It was just past eleven and everyone was sitting in the dress room after applauding The Hush Sound and the first show altogether.

"Agreed," Ryan spoke up. He sat next to Greta on the couch, a smile on his pink lips. His shaggy brown hair was hanging in his eyes and his cheeks were still had a tint of pink in them from playing.

"Clubbing?" Sisky piped up casually. Everyone began muttering to themselves about the pros and cons of going clubbing a second night in a row. Joy watched as people glanced towards her; she was obviously kept in mind as a con.

"How about just a casual get together with some other bands around here in the venue after all the fans leave?" Butcher replied with. A pause came from the dressing room before everyone slowly began nodding.

"Bring Me The Horizon went on tour with some bands recently and I think they're taking a break here," Andy from Fall Out Boy chirped and some of the guys nodded. Others began taking out their cell phones and checking what other bands were in town.

Before Joy knew it, nearly ten other bands were coming to the venue to party and she was being whisked off by Greta towards the tour bus to get ready.

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Joy stepped out of the tour bus in black, ankle leggings, a light purple, long sleeved v-neck that fit her like a dress, topped off with black heels and a black high waisted belt. Her long hair held loose curls at the ends and her make up was done perfectly.

In her hands, a box of Camel cigarettes were held along with her cell phone and a lighter. As she stepped off the last stair, Sisky ran past her with two beers in his hands, shirtless, and yelled, "Party!"

Joy smiled to herself and followed him to a random spot in the venue. Music was playing softly in the background, and tons of guys stood around with cups in their hands, conversing. Joy couldn't tell who was who because the light was so dim. The only person who stood out was Greta in her bright red, silky dress.

Joy started walking towards her, looking down at her feet. As she looked up, she bumped into someone carelessly and dropped her phone, cigarettes and lighter. The other person dropped their drink, letting it spill all over the ground in the opposite direction of Joy's stuff. "Oh God, I'm so sorry."

She bent down to grab her things and his cup quickly and he joined her politely. They scrambled to grab the things then stood upright. "It's alright, love."

His British accent caught Joy off-guard. She couldn't think of anyone who was on the tour who had a British accent - only Australian ones. He had to be in a different band. So Joy smiled kindly at him. "Thanks for grabbing my things."

"Oh, right," He said, handing back her cigarettes and phone as she handed him his cup. He glanced at the yellow box and smirked but through the dim light and from underneath his hoodie, Joy couldn't see it. "Camel cigarettes, nice choice."

"Why thank you. They're only my second favorite," She said, the smile not escaping her lips just yet. She glanced at the box before taking one out then offering one to him. He gladly accepted it, sticking it between his lips automatically. In a nice gesture, he lightly took the lighter from Joy's hand, putting the flame towards her cigarette before lighting his.

Joy took a deep intake beside the stranger who did the same. He blew out the smoke then pulled off his hoodie. Joy glanced at him, noticing his long, dark hair and neck tattoos. She couldn't really make out his face yet.

"I'm Oliver, by the way," He said, turning his body towards her. "But you can call me Oli."

Joy started coughing on the intake of smoke she inhaled ungracefully the moment he finished his sentence. She had seen pictures of Oliver before and heard some not so great things about him. He was a sleaze - and handsome one at that.

Oliver's hand gently rubbed Joy's back as she put a hand to her chest and finished her coughing fit. "Oy, you alright there?"

"Yeah, sorry about that. I don't know what came over me," Joy said, mumbling the last part. She turned to him then smiled. "Hi, I'm Joy."

Oliver chuckled a bit, looking down at his black vans, before looking back up at her and smiling as well. "Hello Joy. It's very nice to meet you."

"Likewise."

"Can I get you a drink?" Oliver asked politely, pointing with his thumb at the long table behind him filled with different kinds of alcohol and sodas. For a moment, Joy's mind drifted off to the night before. But she shrugged it off her shoulders and nodded.

Oliver excused himself to refill his cup and get Joy a drink. Awkwardly, Joy glanced around as she finished off her cigarette and watched people talk to one another. Before now, Joy didn't notice the increase of girls but now that she was observing, she saw more skirts than she thought she would.

Her eyes scanned over the crowd and Joy watched as Andy Horst flirted with a blond girl in a short black skirt and William talk "casually" with a fiery red head. She rolled her eyes as the girls giggled at all their lame jokes and touched their arms.

As she went on observing the crowd she thought she knew so well, she saw Greta and Ryan talking with red, plastic cups in their hands. Ryan would say something, Greta would giggle and a smile would appear on Ryan's face. Watching this made Joy smile as her eyes looked towards a not so pretty sight.

Brendon was leaning against a light-post, hands in his pockets, talking to a girl with two-toned hair - blond on top, dark brown underneath. Her make up was caked on, her dress was two sizes too small and her heels were way too high. She was laughing as Brendon smirked at her, his eyes colder than usual. They looked blood-thirsty as they watched the girl laugh and then put her hand nonchalantly on his arm. Reacting, Brendon pulled one of his hands out of his pockets and brushed some of her hair out of her face.

She blushed, looked down to the ground then back up to him, and a moment afterwards, they were pulled together into a kiss.

"Here you are," Oliver's voice came in, bringing Joy out of her stalker trance. He held out a cup towards her and Joy smiled at him, taking it into her small hand. As he took a sip of his own drink, she looked into her cup as saw an unfamiliar yellow-brown liquid inside. Her eyes fell back towards the spot where Brendon and the skank were, but they were gone.

With an inwards sigh, Joy brought the cup to her lips and took a big, long drink of it, downing half the cup. Oliver watched her, a smile forming on his lips that Joy later noticed after she grimaced. The alcohol burned her throat, but she instantly knew it as whiskey mixed heavily with a little bit of Coca-Cola.

"Nice," He said, unable to hide the humor behind his voice. Joy smirked as she stared at the spot. If Brendon could have fun, so could she.

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It would take a couple of more drinks before Joy was intoxicated enough to openly flirt with Oliver without hesitation. She pulled all the moves the girls had been doing before - giggling, putting her hands on his arm and dancing a bit with him.

As they moved their bodies together on the "dance-floor" - if you could even call the open, black ground that - Joy's hand mindlessly moved up to the back of Oliver's head, tangling her fingers lightly within his hair. She smiled as she saw Oliver's pretty pink lips curl upwards. His hands, already on his her waist, pulled her closer to his heating body.

Unlike Brendon, Oliver didn't take any time to slowly bring their lips together. His pierced lips crashed onto Joy's immediately and her arms wrapped around his neck without any thought. She couldn't lie and say it didn't feel good - Oliver was a pro at kissing, his lips moving perfectly with hers. The ice cold metal of his lip rings didn't hurt all too much either. But there wasn't much of the spark Joy remembered with Brendon.

She didn't let thoughts of him ruin what she had going for her though. As Oliver's tongue slipped into her mouth, Joy was determined to be just like the skank that Brendon had hooked.

Her thoughts were jumbled as her lips pulled away from Oliver's, her hand grabbed his, and she let her feed guide her to a tour bus.

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"Joy, it's time to go inside," The nurse sighed, putting her hand gently on the old lady's shoulder, stopping her from going on. The girls, like always, groaned as they packed up their things, pouting sadly.

Joy watched them grab their lunch bags and walk off, talking about the highlights of the story. A reoccurring topic was Oliver. As Joy's mind wandered off on thoughts about the British, tattooed and pierced musician, Delilah walked over to her.

"Why would you cheat on someone if you loved them, Joy?" Delilah asked softly, her eyes looking at the dazed old woman. Joy looked at her and bit her lip. For a moment, she thought over the words she felt were the right to say.

"I didn't know I loved Brendon then. All I wanted was bittersweet revenge," Joy returned. The two statements clashed horribly as they rang in Joy's ears but Delilah took them contently and walked off to the waiting monkey bars.

As Joy got out of her plastic chair, her conscience yelled back to her, It seems you didn't know what Karma was then, either.