Goodbye Blues

The next bright and shining morning, Joy woke up with a hacking cough. Her daily headache seemed to be ten times worse, and every limb on her body ached to it's very extent. She felt like a looming death as she walked over to her mirror.

Althought the sight she normally saw wasn't very pleasing to Joy, the sight she saw in this moment scared her as well. She was paler than normal, her lips a pale pink as her other skin lay chalk white beside it. The dark circles under her eyes seemed even more bruised than she remembered and she could see the weakness her body was radiating.

"Joy?" The nurse's voice came from the door. "Can I - Oh dear! Joy, you don't look to well."

Joy's eyes didn't rip away from the mirror, though she mentally scolded the young nurse. She felt like her time had come and that in a day she'd be laying lifeless in her bed, but in her heart, she knew it wasn't coming true.

"I came to say that it was story time," The nurse said, her hands on her chest melodramatically, "but you cannot go outside like that."

Joy turned her head towards the clock. Sure enough, it read 12:29 P.M. The little girls were sitting there, waiting for Joy in antisipation. Some of the girls knew what exciting part of the story today was, Joy thought. Delilah didn't.

With determination, Joy got up, put on her coat, grabbed a blanket, and began walking towards the door, only to get stopped by the nurse. "I'm sorry, Joy, but I can't let you go outside. It's freezing cold."

Joy ripped her arm from the nurse's grasp and kept walking at the steady pace her body would let her. The nurse followed her, trying to persuade her into going back to her bedroom to rot away for the day, but Joy thought of Delilah and kept moving until she was sitting in the plastic chair.

"Hi, Joy!" Delilah said brightly. She chewed with her mouth open on an apple which made Joy smile, but the smile was quickly interrupted by a horrible cough. Delilah's eyes went wide as Joy tried to pass the cough by with a little fake smile.

"Are you sure you'll be able to tell your story, Joy?" Jasmine asked, giving Joy a skeptical look. Joy let her tired smile droop a little at the lack of faith the girls had in her.

"Of course, dear," She said softly. To prove it, she quickly dove into her story with much confidence, holding the blanket tight to her body.

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All the way from the airport in the little suburb the Hush Sound and Joy were once in, to the moment the bus pulled into the venue in Chicago, Joy could feel the excitement through everyone's body. Now, she was feeling it a bit herself. She was about to live her life on the road with her best friends. She had heard that touring brought out a sort of freedom nothing else could bring out. She was about to see if it was true.

Everyone filed out of the van and William crowded Joy, seeming very into the condition of her toe, "It might be swollen."

"I'm sure it's fine, William. The pain will subside in a matter of minutes," Joy said reassuringly. He smiled and nodded but offered his arm to Joy anyways, who gladly took it as they followed the rest of the The Hush Sound and Ryan towards the buses.

Young men and a few young ladies walked around outside the buses. Joy could tell which ones were tour managers or workers for the bands and which ones were the real musicians. Very few musicians seemed to be outside their buses, though. The couple that were nodded at Ryan and William noncalantly.

One of them wasn't wearing a shirt and was covered in tattoos. He wore black skinny jeans and a thing Joy liked to call mandals. He has an almost buzz cut and stubble on his cheeks and chin. The other one was a red head who's hair came down to his shoulder. He also had a lot of tattoos but they were covered with his clothes. He had a beard that matched his hair color and black framed glasses. He wore all black; a PETA shirt, skinny jeans, and vans.

They waltzed up to William and Ryan saying hello, in their own unique way.

"Are these the newbies?" The one without a shirt said. Ryan and William chuckled a little but nodded. "Sup, newbies? I'm Andy Mrotek, but you can call me The Butcher. I play drums in The Academy Is..."

"And I'm Andy Hurley. I play drums in Fall Out Boy," The other introduced himself. They shook hands with Darren, Bob, Chris and Greta kindly, although Joy could tell these guys weren't into all around gentlemanly manner.

"So what do you guys call yourself?" The Butcher asked, swaying his foot. He seemed not to be able to stay still. Greta took it upon herself to answer his question.

"The Hush Sound."

The Butcher nodded, muttering an, "Oh, that's pretty cool," before a familiar face walked out of a big, black bus. He walked over to them, and although he looked shorter than everyone else, he was taller than Greta and Joy.

"Are these the new kids?" He asked Ryan. Ryan smirked and nodded and the other guy smiled at Chris, Darren, Greta and Bob. "Hey, I'm Pete Wentz. You guys signed onto my label, Decaydance."

Bob, Darren, Chris and Greta said their own hello's, a chorus of, "Sup's" and "Cool's."

"Yeah, so I'm going to let Ross here take you to your bus so you can take your junk and leave it there, then meet the rest of the dudes on tour," Pete instructed. Ryan began walking and waved us over to the bus. William followed Joy, holding her arm still and one of her suitcases politely.

"We get our own bus?" Bob asked, loudly. A huge smile was plastered on his face, but it was reflected off of Chris's, Darren's, and Greta's.

"Yeah," Ryan said, smiling too. He opened the bus door and let everyone file in, William and Joy last, then came in behind them. Everyone went into the bunks and put their stuff on their bunk bed. Joy was the bottom bunk, Greta on top. Chris was the bottom bunk with Bob on top, and Darren got his own two beds.

"So a little farther back is a room with some couches and a closet; pretty much a lounge room, oh! And it's where your toliet is," William said, pointing back there. He pointed through the room they had come through to get to the bunks and said, "Over there is the sort of living room with the couches and television. Unfortunately, Panic at the Disco has all the tricked out videogames in their bus, so if you're in the gaming room, just crush their bus. And a little further ahead is sort of kitchen area. It's decked out with a microwave, small fridge and cabniets."

"A couple of warnings to you guys," Ryan said, his hands digging into his pockets. "You're only allowed to piss in the bathroom or else you risk stinking up the whole bus, and you can't really put anything but liquids down the toliet, so uh, yeah. The closet in this bus is fucked up and the doors will fly open when the bus stops or starts to move, so I either suggest just keeping your own stuff or taking a bungee jump rope and tying it closed. And lastly, if you break the television set, you pay for it. Got it?"

A chorus of "Got it's" were shared before Ryan and William both exchanged smiles then looked upon The Hush Sound.

"Good, then we wish you the best of luck with tour, and we free you to wander about until it's time to leave," William said. The Hush Sound cheered as Ryan and William made their exit through the bus and out the door.

Chris took this time to wander the bus towards the lounge room. Darren looked in the living room, and Greta and Joy met up in the kitchen.

"I'm super excited," Greta said as Joy looked in the empty fridge and cabniets. She turned towards her best friend and smiled, leaning towards a counter.

"I am, too. This is going to be crazy," She agreed, her smile growing wide. Greta squealed and hugged her best friend. Joy returned the hug, and letting out a little squeal herself.

"Did you see how adorable Ryan was? All shy but demanding and superior?" Greta said after letting go. Joy laughed at her best friend's observation, but nodded, tucking some hair behind her ear.

"What about William? He's such a gentleman and very adorable," Joy admitted. Greta giggled and nudged Joy's leg with her foot affectionately. Joy rolled her eyes and lightly kicked Greta's foot away, chuckling a little.

"Yo," Bob said, walking between the two girls, Chris following. He stopped at the bus's door, and said, "We're going to check out the venue, are you coming?"

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Joy let out a loud, alarming cough. She covered her mouth to quiet the sound but it was impossible. The girls sitting around her looked at each other, their little brows furrowed.

"Joy, are you sure you're okay to go on?" Little Delilah said. Her big blue eyes looked deeply worried as she sat there, her hands folded in her lap. She had finished her food and had been listening intently to Joy's story up until the loud cough that Joy had been keeping in.

"Of course, deary," Joy said sweetly. She let out a little cough, but quickly resumed without taking questions.

_________________

"Yeah, sure," Greta said, looking at Joy. Joy didn't mind so she just shrugged in agreement. Greta smiled and followed Chris and Bob out, Joy stepping out as well.

Chicago was cold, the winds hitting Joy's body hard. She hugged herself in attempt to fight off the winds, but it seemed useless, as they walked towards the tent in front of all the buses in the middle of the venue. There, they were offering coffee and snacks for the bands who were about to get ready to start tour.

Chris and Bob helped themselves to some Cheez-Its while Joy and Greta got some hot coffee. They stayed under the tent for a while, but Joy quickly got bored with the one spot and began wandering on her own.

People passed her by without much thought. It was a small venue so Joy couldn't really get lost, but she felt out of place. People walked in pairs or had destination to where they had to go where they were probably going to meet up with the people they knew. Joy was just a piece of dust in the midst of all the craziness.

Deciding it was too cold to stay outside much longer, Joy stepped inside the building of the venue, to be greeted to a hallway with a bunch of doors. Slowly she walked down the hallway, not sure if she should have kept wandering or turned back.

Suddenly, a few doors ahead swung open and a girl walked out followed by a boy. The girl was wearing a skimpy skirt and tight shirt with a thin cardigan and belt. She stepped out fixing her hair, clothes and lipstick in a cliche matter. The boy ruffled his hair with his hand, but Joy couldn't see his face from this far.

"Mm, Brenny, when are you getting back from tour?" The girl pouted. She put a finger on his cheek and let it slide down to his lips. He smiled and grabbed her finger, letting him hold it in his grasp.

"Three months, honey," His deep voice echoed through the hallway. Joy processed this, though it was hard, because his voice was so soft but clear and defined, it almost hypnotized her. He was going on tour for three months. This could only mean that he was in one of the bands that Joy was with.

"That's too long," She whined, her eyes growing wide with fake care. He leaned down slowly and pressed his lips to her cheek, almost longingly.

"I'm sorry, babe, but I can't help it," He said, a fake tone of apology in his voice. Even Joy could hear it. She was surprised when the blond bimbo dangling onto him sighed in defeat, believing that he cared for her, he just couldn't do anything.

"Promise you'll come back to visit me?" She whispered, trying to be seductive. Joy felt the crease in her brow overwhelm her face, but the boy just smiled and nodded. She kissed him one last time before walking away, towards the door Joy entered. She sneered at Joy as she passed by, but Joy just rolled her eyes.

She looked at the boy who was now staring at her. She could see his face now and almost gasped at how beautiful he was. His short dark hair fell nicely in place and countered his white skin perfectly. Joy could see his dark, chocolate brown eyes staring her down, his cheekbones pursed upwards in a bored expression. His big lips reflected the blank expression in his eyes as he didn't smile nor frown.

He leaned on the door, his hands in his pockets. He wore a red shirt that fit his lean body nicely and dark blue skinny jeans that were tight against his legs. His big shoes had the Nike sign on them in red, but the rest of them were black and white.

Joy stood across from him, staring him down as well, her dark straightened hair in a ponytail, bangs tucked behind her ears, in a big sweatshirt, pajama pants, and sandals. She felt ridiculous like this, looking at him, so she turned around and was about to walk out the door when his voice rang in her ears.

"Hey!"

Joy slowly turned around and saw the boy walking towards her. He stopped within a few feet and Joy noticed that he was a lot taller than her - but not as tall as William. She looked up at him, waiting for him to say whatever he wanted so she could rush away from him as quickly as possible.

"Do you know what time we leave?" He asked, staring at her. He furrowed his brow for a moment and asked suddenly, "Wait, are you even going on tour?"

"Uh, I'm on tour with The Hush Sound," Joy murmured, feeling his breath on her cheek. She swallowed the lump in her throat and grumbled, "I think I heard Ryan say something about leaving at noon."

The boy's face brightened in that moment and he smiled, a genuine smile that made Joy swoon a bit. She looked at him with wide eyes, shocked that he was so beautiful. It was beyond her.

His calm voice suddenly whispered, "Thanks." And with that he walked outside, letting the cold Chicago air hit Joy. She hugged herself suddenly, but it wasn't because of the weather.

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"Joy, it's really time to go inside," The nurse insisted, her voice biting with anger. Joy looked at her, a cough tickling her throat. She was about to protest but instead of words, the cough came through. The nurse glared at the old lady, who sighed in defeat.

The girls sighed, smiles on their faces, as they packed their lunches and whisked off to their mothers. Delilah stayed back like she usually did, playing with her sleeves. Joy stayed seated for a moment and watched her until she looked up.

"So...the beautiful boy was Brendon," Delilah confirmed. Joy smiled and nodded. Delilah let her smile grow wide as well, to reveal that two teeth were poking out of the front gums. Delilah was growing in her two front teeth. "I can't wait until tomorrow."

"Neither can I," Joy agreed as the nurse helped her up and towards her room.