It Was The Roar Of The Crowd That Gave Me Heartache To Sing

&Tara&

“You so are! You are so scared of clowns!” Reina yelled. Okay, she couldn’t be any more wrong. Me? Afraid of clowns? Ha! I grew up reading Stephen King and watching every scary movie known to man! How could I be scared of a freak in bright clothes and razor sharp teeth? And those wide, calculating eyes...and that wild, maniacal laugh...

“Who’s afraid of clowns?” An elbow connected with the side of my head and then my face was pushed into the pits of hell! No, seriously, the pits of hell! Have you ever smelled the armpit of a man who’s been sweating ferociously for the past few hours? Well, let me tell you, the smell is enough to knock a skunk unconscious. I could hear Sam giggling as I fought to get away, and I made a silent vow to get my revenge on her later. If I survived, that is...

I saw someone else approach our little group, but I couldn’t tell who it was until he said hey to Matt. I saw Sam’s back go ram-rod straight, and then I watched as she stalked off. Not that I can blame her... The guys have remembered their glory days and are picking up right where they left off, and I’m getting dammit-tired at all the groupies randomly strutting around. The rest of the girls are getting restless too.

At this newest dilemma, Gerard loosened his grip slightly and...ESCAPE! I pushed away from him and took in a few deep breaths of clean air. His hazel eyes were slightly wide, and he raised his arms in defeat.

“I could have almost suffocated!” I yelled as Gerard started moving backwards. I could hear laughter behind me, probably at my messed up hair...There’s only one thing to do in this situation... “I’m gonna give you a bath, you dog!”

&Juliet&

I had just put the cell phone to my ear when I felt someone sit in the lawn chair beside me. I looked over to see a shirtless Mikey smiling at me. He mouthed something at me, but a voice on the other end of my phone kept me from seeing what it was.

“Casey! How the hell are ya?!” I yelled into the phone. I loved my boss, I really did. If it wasn’t for her, I’d probably still be struggling just to find something to eat.

“The ratings are off the charts, and I don’t know what to do with all this fanmail! How are things there?” Casey asked.

“Eh, just the usual. Nothing too interesting today...Wait, hold on a minute...”

“Mikey! Save me!” Gerard yelled as he was pulled by. Tara was walking behind him with an insane look in her eye, and Angel had tied a very complicated knot around his hands.

“Does he deserve his punishment?!” Mikey yelled back.

“YES!” Tara and Angel screamed.

“Farewell, brother!” Mikey called after the trio.

“Asshole! You are out of my will as soon as I escape!” Gerard yelled.

“No escape!” Angel yelled.

“No mercy!” Tara added. The three disappeared from view, and I shook my head to get rid of the images of what was about to occur to my idol.

“What was that?!” Casey yelled from the other end.

“Just another day on tour,” I replied with a smile. There was no such thing as a boring day around all these nutjobs...and I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.

&Angel&

I brought my phone up and quickly snapped a picture at the scene in front of me as ideas swirled in my head. I did hear Juliet talking to Casey about getting more pictures...maybe they could use this one as a cover shot? Oh, the possibilities! Or maybe a YouTube video would be better? I bet Gerard’s fans have never heard his voice this high before and it would be a real treat for them....

Sam stopped just between me and Tara, and I waited for her to speak. She looked like she had something to say, until she saw how Tara was torturing Gerard. I’m sure speech will come back in a few moments...

“Why are we giving him a water thong?” Aha! Speech returns! Tara smiled and lifted a can of coke to her lips. I think, over the years, she has perfected the art of having cokes appear out of thin air.

“He arm pitted me.” I listened as Sam and Tara talked for a few minutes, and then I caught on to what they were saying. It was Halloween...it was Halloween...IT WAS HALLOWEEN!

“Great! I’ll go give them thumbs-up to grab the tickets...” I heard a small gasp slip from between my lips, and then Tara and Sam were both staring at me.

“We have to go get costumes!” I yelled. Paty came around the bus, froze at the sight of the torture, and then continued on like there wasn’t a soaking wet person tied to one of the busses. I could hear them talking, but I couldn’t pay attention long enough to hear what they were talking about. The only thing I heard was “costume” and then we were off!

&Audrey&

All it took was one look for me to give in and go shopping again. Sam and Angel had grabbed me earlier and forced me into running towards the center of the town we were in. During said dragging, I was finally told that we were going shopping. Shopping for Halloween costumes. That got me running with them. It was easy for me to find my costume, a no-brainer really, so I had never planned on going back to the mall.

“This one?” Dan asked.

“No.” It was the only thing I’d said since we walked into the store.

“How about this one?” Quinn asked.

“No.”

“This one’s kinda—”

“No.”

“Maybe a—”

“No.”

“Ooh, how about—”

“NO! Where are all the decent costumes?!” I yelled.

“Tonight! We dine! In Hell!” I turned around at the voice and saw Jeph standing on a bench. Dan and Quinn dropped to their knees in front of him and began chanting. I just stayed in the back with my mouth dropped open.

Jeph was wearing a pair of blue slacks and a red jacket, with only one button actually done. A red bow tie was around his neck, but he was pretty much shirtless. A bright red tail was sticking out from behind him, and a pair of horns were sitting on top of his head.

“I always knew he was the devil in disguise...” I jumped and looked over my shoulder to see Bert smiling at me. He had a black bag in his hand and was laughing as Dan and Quinn started dancing around Jeph while singing praise for their master.

“How’d you already get a costume?” I asked.

“I went to the store over there,” Bert said and pointed. There was another store selling costumes across the way, and I groaned. Why hadn’t I seen that sooner?

“Dan, Quinn, move out! Jeph, go pay before you get kicked out!” I yelled and waved to the very angry-looking manager. All three men saluted me and then moved off to do as I asked. Oh, it was good to be in control...

&~&OCTOBER 31&~&
&Raven&

I put the finishing touches on my Sally costume and smiled. I loved Halloween. It was the best holiday in the whole wide world! I hope there’s candy later...

Something wrapped around my head and everything went dark. I heard quiet laughter, and I swung my arm. I felt it hit something, and I smiled as I heard the small groan of pain. Serves whoever right for sneaking up on me.

“Dammit, Raven, don’t hit so hard!”

“Frankie, is that you?” I asked.

“Who else would it be?” he asked.

“The Easter Bunny?” I asked. Frank’s hands were on my shoulders now, and he was slowly leading me...somewhere.

“He’s vacationing in the Bahamas right now,” Frank replied. I was led down the steps of the bus, and I felt the wind lightly run through my hair.

“That bastard! He was supposed to take me with him! Is that where we’re going, Frankie? To the Bahamas with the Easter Bunny?”

“Not this time. On another note, how long have you been a mind reader?”

“Off and on for the past few years. Why?” I asked.

“Oh, you’ll see later. And...here we are!” Light pressure on my shoulders made me sit down, and I felt something soft wrap around my wrists.

“Please tell me that what I think is happening is not actually happening,” I said with a small groan.

“Sorry, Raven. I’m just following orders,” Frank said. I felt fingers run through my hair and then he was gone.

The next twenty minutes were filled with sounds that I’m sure would have been funny if I could have seen what was happening. There was a lot of yelling, and cursing, but at least I wasn’t alone. I wonder why we’re all tied up though?

“I love you guys, I do, but I don’t like being tied to things...blindfolded...with a high hemmed dress...” I heard Patti say from beside me. I think it took four of the guys to hold her down long enough to tie her, and I really wish I had been able to see the guys get their asses semi-kicked. This being tied up thing is really annoying.

“Don’t worry...they’ll let us go soon...Right?” Ah, that was Bryan. He sounded close too, like he was on the other side of Patti. I could hear a quiet giggle, and I instantly knew it was Tara. I had lived with the girl for crying out loud! She never could be quiet long enough to sneak up on people, and all because of that giggle. Well, I always did get my revenge in the end...

I could hear movement and almost lustful sighs, which really got me upset. I swear if there’s another half-naked groupie walking around I’m going to have to kill someone...

“Guys, what’s really going on? We’ve been sitting here for twenty minutes.”

“My ass is falling asleep!” Lindsay yelled. You know, I hadn’t thought of that...but mine had gone numb about five minutes ago...

“I swear I’ll take pictures of you all and sell them! I’M A PROFESSIONAL!” I screamed. Ha! That oughtta get them going! I spaced out a little after that as I thought of all the ways I could get my revenge. I’d start with Frank, for capturing me in the first place. Then Tara, because of that giggle. Hmm...maybe I should get Patti to help me...

“ALRIGHT! PLACES!” Aiden hollered loud enough to snap me out of my thoughts of revenge.

“ONE!” Oh no...not the dreaded countdown! Someone! Save me! Where’s my Jack Skellington when I need him? “TWO! THREE!” My eyes were finally uncovered, but I wasn’t blinded by sudden light.

A giant cake was sitting in front of us, and I have to say that it was beautiful as it sat there and shone through the darkness. I could hear everyone in the tent singing happy birthday, and I realized that it was, in fact, my birthday. How had I forgotten my own birthday? A loud shout of “ZORRO!” interrupted my thinking this time, and I looked up just in time to see Jimmy carve a giant Z on the cake.

“CAKE TIME!” Jimmy yelled, and the wonderful cake was soon devoured. I hope someone took a picture...

&Paty&

After everyone had finished eating the cake, which disappeared in record time, we decided to head out to the haunted place. Field of Screams sounded appropriate, because the place definitely looked creepy as we pulled up. We all stood grouped together and stared around. I heard someone clapping, and I looked over to see Tara looking around.

“ALRIGHT! All those who would prefer the haunted house go that way, all those that prefer the hayride,” here she paused and shook her head slightly, “may go that way following Sam.” Hmm...tough choice. House or Hayride? I had never really liked hayrides, so haunted house it was! I watched as the Avenged and Escape guys walked over to the hayride, which left My Chem and The Used to go into the haunted house.

“Paty, you coming with us or them?” Tara asked, narrowing her eyes at the hayride. I looked over the pirate outfit and smiled. Her hat was on perfectly, and she was gripping her fake sword.

“I’m following you, matey!” I said with a laugh. She looped her arm through mine and started walking, and we stopped in front of the massive house.

“Welcome to Frightmare Asylum! You may choose one...buddy,” the creepy man in front of the door said. We all looked around and shrugged, and I felt another arm go through mine.

“I’ll leave you to the safety of the mighty Frankenstein! I’m off to find myself a hero!” Tara yelled and bounced off. I looked up at “Frankenstein”, and Lee smiled down at me. I raised my eyebrow in question, and he just shrugged.

“I figured an angel would be able to protect me better than anyone else here,” he said with a smile.

“And I need my own monster to scare everyone else away,” I said and smiled back.

“Everyone paired up? Good! Now look at your partner, go ahead!” the man yelled. We all looked at each other and then turned back to him. He smiled, it was really creepy, and then said, “Hold on tight, but you may leave...alone...” With that the doors were thrown open, and we were led inside.

&Juliet&

I! Hate! The! Dark! Seriously, why does it have to be so dark? I gripped the furry appendage wrapped around my arm, and I felt a paw cover my hand. I almost regretted wearing the short skirt that went with my Little Red Riding Hood costume as the cold air wrapped around my legs, but it would be okay as long as I had the Big Bad Wolf by my side. Even if he was wearing that ridiculous nightgown.

“You okay?” Mikey whispered in my ear.

“I’m fine,” I mumbled. Okay, so maybe that wasn’t the complete truth...but I couldn’t tell him that.

“When are things going to start popping out?” Angel whispered from the back.

“Shh! They might hear you!” Tara whispered back. Something cold wrapped around my leg, and I froze. I felt Mikey pull me forward as Raven bumped into my back, and I slowly looked down. A white face stared up at me with blood oozing from between his lips, and I felt some of the sticky liquid slide down my leg. He opened his mouth in a smile, and more blood poured. My body came alive in a shudder, and I screamed bloody murder.

Mikey’s arms wrapped around my waist and picked me up, and I locked my arms around his neck as he tried to pull me out of the...thing’s grasp. The thing had a good grip on my leg, and I screamed again as I felt fingers tracing along my calf. The thing let go suddenly, and Mikey and I went flying backwards. I heard the thing laughing, and then it was gone.

“Oh, shit, are you okay?” Mikey whispered. My hands had a deathgrip on his neck, and I was shaking just a little.

“Don’t let go,” I whispered.

“I won’t,” he whispered back. The rest of the group was silent, and we slowly started walking forward again.

&Raven&

The good news is...I finally found my Jack Skellington. The bad news is...we’re in a haunted asylum. My heart had been pounding ever since Juliet’s scream, and I wasn’t letting go of Frank’s hand anytime soon. My Jack was just going to have to deal with it.

“You know, this place ain’t so bad,” Frank said as we walked.

“You say that now,” I mumbled. Things had been quiet since the last incident, which was never good. Silence always means something bad is about to happen. Juliet and Mikey disappeared around a corner, and Frank and I tried to follow after them. Something sticky covered my face, and I jumped back. Well, I tried to. Hands were holding me still, and I felt Frank’s fingers thread through mine.

“Raven? Frank? What’s wrong?” Paty whispered.

“We’re stuck in...” My sentence was cut off as a scream ripped from my throat, and I felt Frank’s hand nearly crush mine.

“Spiders!” Frank yelled. We were caught in a spiderweb, filled with spiders. A deep voice chuckled in my ear, and I felt my spine stiffen.

“Not thissss way...that way!” a voice hissed and pulled us away from the web. My side instantly went to Frank’s, and we were both turned in an opposite direction.

“What about our friends?” Lee asked. A laugh rippled through the air, and a face appeared out of the shadows.

“Gone!” he screamed and disappeared, still laughing.

“Come on, let’s go. We’ll find the others later,” Angel said.

“Yeah, they can’t be too far,” Jeph added. Frank wrapped an arm around my waist, and we started walking in a different direction. Tara, Gerard, Juliet, and Mikey were lost for now.

&Angel&

I’ve been to a lot of haunted houses in my day, but this one...This one was different than all the others. For one, I was actually starting to get scared. Which is weird...how can the devil be scared? I mean, Jeph’s a devil and he looks fine. Very fine.

“Psst! She-devil!” Jeph whispered.

“What?” I whispered back.

“Can you see anything?” he whispered back.

“No. Can you?”

“Not a thing.” I felt Jeph tug on my hand as we turned a corner, but my forehead connected with a wall.

“Shit!” I yelled and took a step back. Something hard was pressed against my chest, and it was breathing. Raven, Frank, Paty, and Lee had been ahead of me, Jeph’s hand was still holding mine, and Ray had been directly behind me.

“Angel? Where’d you go?” Hey...that sounded like Ray...But, Ray should be standing behind me. A deep chuckle echoed in my ear, and I felt a hand lightly close over my throat.

“Why don’t you...stay...for a while?” the voice asked. Something slid across my throat, and I started screaming as I pushed away from the laughing maniac. Jeph caught me, and we both went falling backwards. Another person caught us as well, and I stared up into a pair of red eyes. A doctor’s mask covered most of his face, and Jeph pushed us away from him as I started screaming again.

More sounds could be heard in the mostly dark room, but I was more worried about being stuck between two psychopaths. Jeph’s arms were wrapped around my waist, and I was pressed so firmly against him that I don’t think I’ll ever be able to step away. Light suddenly flooded the room, and I looked around.

Ray, the zombie rocker, and Officer Dan were strapped into dentist chairs, and they each had a tall figure standing over them. Bob had dressed up as the Phantom of the Opera and Quinn was a caveman, and they were using a rose and club to get rid of the men trying to stick something in Ray and Dan’s mouths.

“Angel?”

“What?!”

“Where’s Bert and Audrey?” Bert and Audrey, who had been at the end, were gone.

&Audrey&

I could hear Angel screaming, but Bert and I had been shoved in a completely different direction. There was no one around but us, and random screams that seemed to echo throughout the house. One scream sounded like it came from three floors up, and my hand tightened around Bert’s at every scream.

“I wonder where we’re going,” Bert whispered. The hallway we were in had some light, but not very much.

“I dunno,” I mumbled and glanced over at him. His black and red hair was all over the place, and his eyes shone out of a green mask. His bright green outfit clung to his skin, and I was still marveling over the irony. Of course...if I was the Joker then he had to be the Riddler. And Batman is running around here somewhere...

“Hey, light!” Bert started tugging on my hand, and I let him pull me towards the dull light just ahead of us. We walked into a semi-lit room, and I pressed closer to Bert. Hospital beds lined the room, but something didn’t feel right.

My eyes adjusted to the light, and I realized what was wrong. Something slipped from between my lips as I stared at the now moving sheets, and I tightened my grip on Bert’s hand. There was a body in every bed and all of them were sitting up now. The sheets slipped down to reveal ten pale faces and bloodstained gowns.

“Oh shit is right,” Bert mumbled. Is that what I had said? Something tugged on my jacket, and it felt like I was moving in slow-motion as I looked over my shoulder at the figure. Eyes peered up at me through a tangle of barbed wire, and I screamed as the dead-looking man started to laugh. The people in the beds began screaming as well, and the high-pitched sounds became deafening.

“This way!” Bert yelled and wrapped an arm around my waist. We ran down the length of the room, but a pair of footsteps echoed behind ours. We were being followed...

&Tara

“How did we lose everyone?!” I yelled and stomped my foot. The heel I was wearing made a soft clanking sound, and I heard a chuckle beside me. I hit the black clad figure with my sword and nearly growled as he just laughed louder.

“You’re like a two year old. Quit throwing a tantrum,” Gerard said.

“Listen here, Batty—” My amazing comeback was cut off at the sound of wild laughter, and my legs suddenly refused to move.

“Tara? Something wrong?” Juliet whispered. A figure appeared just ahead of us, and I felt my skin tighten. Oh, they weren’t supposed to be here!

“Clowns,” I whispered.

“Tara? Walk!” Mikey yelled. I had only taken one step when hot breath washed over my ear and I froze again. Gerard had kept walking, but Juliet slammed into my back.

“Tara...stay...with us...” a voice whispered. I turned my head to see a white face and a mouth full of razor sharp teeth. Fingers wrapped around my wrist as I started to scream, and I fought against the clown that tried to pull me away. I reached forward and found Gerard’s cape, and I used that to pull me away. The clown let me go with another wild laugh, and I wrapped both of my arms around one of Gerard’s.

“You really are scared of clowns, huh?” Gerard asked and smiled down at me.

“Leave her alone, Gee,” Mikey whispered.

“Or we’ll call Dr. Needles back,” Juliet added. Gerard shut up at that and started walking again. We had been in this house for what felt like hours, but I hadn’t screamed until just then. Dr. Needles had freaked me out though...

“It’s the exit!” I yelled. A bright red EXIT sign was hanging over a doorway, and we all nearly ran for it. The door opened easily, and I breathed in the fresh air. A sound from our left caught my attention, and I turned to see four people pour into the backyard.

“Tara! Juliet!” Raven yelled as Frank hollered, “Gee! Mikey!” Paty and Lee looked over and smiled, and we all came together.

“Remind me, why’d we do this again?” Lee asked.

“Because we’re idiots who like being scared?” Juliet replied. The sound of another being thrown open sounded, and we all turned to see...no one. It was just an open doorway.

“Men! Let’s go out like heroes!” Yeah, that was definitely Jeph’s voice.

“Put me down!” Jeph walked out the door holding Angel in his arms, who was calling him every name in the book and then some. Ray had Dan thrown over his shoulder, and Bob was carrying Quinn bridal style...and for some odd reason, Quinn had half of a rose clenched in his teeth.

“Where’s Audrey and Bert?” Paty asked after they were in the yard. Jeph, Ray, and Bob put their buddies down and shrugged.

“We lost them at the same time we got separated from those four,” Angel said and pointed to the other group.

“So, they were completely alone?” I asked. Quinn opened his mouth to say something, but a loud rumbling sound cut him off. I blinked and saw Angel’s face as she ran, and it took me another few seconds to figure out why she was running. A grinning man with an undone straitjacket was charging at us with a chainsaw in his hands, and my eyes connected with his before I started running.

“Come on!” Lee yelled and grabbed my hand. I felt something touch my hair, and I gave another scream as I increased my speed.

&Lee&

Tara’s strides started matching mine, and it didn’t take us long to reach Angel and the others back in the front yard. The sound of the chainsaw had disappeared, and we pushed our way to the front. Tara’s fingernails dug into my hand, and I felt my jaw drop as I looked at the scene in front of us.

Audrey was laying on her back with Bert lying on top of her, and a large spike was sticking out of Bert’s back. The entire area around them was red with blood, and Audrey’s eyes were closed. The spike was right next to the house, and the window on the second floor was open above them.

“They’re with us now!” a voice from the front porch yelled.

“You sonofa—” Angel was cut off as Jeph pushed us out of his way, and he stopped next to Audrey and Bert’s bodies.

“Get your asses up! We ain’t got all night!” Jeph said and kicked at Bert’s body. A loud groan came from the green-spandexed figure, and Audrey’s eyes popped open.

“Ha! We got you good!” Audrey yelled. I could hear the sighs of relief, and then a few promises of revenge. Jeph threw the fake spike at the front porch, and the man standing there yelled for us to come back soon. Yeah, I ain’t coming back. I don’t know why I let these people talk me into these things in the first place.

We walked away from the haunted asylum and slowly met up with everyone coming off of the hayride. I looked around at the rest of the group, and most of them looked freaked out. Huh, at least we weren’t the only ones who spent the past however many minutes freaking out.

“Hey, where’s Aiden and Jimmy?” Ray asked. The second group looked around, and then a rustle in the cornfield next to us caught our attention. A tall black figure stepped out of the field followed closely by another female pirate.

“Let’s go party!” Jimmy, or Zorro, yelled. We all cheered, and I knew that everything would be okay.

&Tara&

All the horrors of Frightmare Asylum were forgotten as the party raged in the party tent, and I smiled in my seat as I looked around. My sword was laying across my legs, and a can of coke was in my hands. To top it all off, there wasn’t a groupie in sight! Yeah, tonight was perfect...

Gerard was getting ganged up on by the Audrey and Bert, both of who were determined to be the one who brought Batman down. Light music was playing, but it was still funny as hell to see Lee and Ray dancing together and randomly yelling out, “Monster Mash!” Raven and Frank were ballroom dancing between everyone else, and I could hear Raven softly singing the finale from The Nightmare Before Christmas.

Patti and Zacky were dancing too, and they’d stop every few moments to make their steel claws clash. Johnny was laughing and clapping as Lindsay did a flapper dance around him, and Brian and Reina had disappeared after the party got started. The light weight on my legs disappeared, and my eyes widened as Aiden turned just in time to start a swordfight with Jimmy, who had been chasing her.

“I’ll bring it back later!” she yelled as she was pushed back.

“I told you swords were better!” I yelled after her. Paty was sitting on a table on the other side of the tent, and I could see a slight blush on her cheeks as she continued to talk on the phone. Lee was on his phone as well, and he was smiling as he nodded his head. The rest of our friends were running around and acting crazy, except for two.

I watched as Sam walked out of the tent lightly rubbing her temples, and I couldn’t stop my frown. I knew she was stressed, we all were, but hers was starting to show. I didn’t want to point any fingers, but the six-foot tall man watching her leave was probably what had triggered her current migraine.

“Hi!” The sudden voice made me jump, and I glared at the person next to me as I wiped spilled coke from my chest.

“So, I’m guessing you were finally defeated?” I asked. Gerard smiled and pointed into the middle of the crowd where Audrey and Bert were wrestling.

“I admitted defeat, and they started arguing about who the better villain was. I left before I could get caught in the crossfires,” Gerard said.

“Wise decision.”

“Speaking of decisions, how long are you going to stick around here?” he asked. I heard the hidden question in his question, and I quickly thought it over.

Gerard and I had gotten drunk together a total of three times (once while we were all paranoid and waiting for something bad to happen), even though we were both recovered alcoholics. Of course, we never admitted to each other that we weren’t supposed to be drinking because of our past histories. I never mentioned it to anyone and neither did he. No one questioned what happened when we disappeared, because they trusted us. And I hate abusing my friend’s trust, but sometimes...Sometimes I just need a drink. And I can’t have one with my friends because then they’ll constantly worry about me falling off the wagon, and...yeah, you get the picture.

“I was thinking of walking into town, smiling at all the people who look at me like I’m crazy, and finding a motel room. The only question is: will I be alone tonight?” I asked and looked over at him.

“What kind of hero would I be if I let you walk the dark streets alone?” Gerard asked and held out his arm.

“Not a very good one, so thank you, oh brave hero,” I said and grabbed his arm. I used his shoulder to jump down off the table, and I gave my legs a second to get the blood rushing through them.

“Okay?”

“In a minute. Why don’t you go on ahead? I’ll catch up in a minute,” I said. Gerard looked confused, but he nodded once and then left. I waited until he was out of the tent before I started making my way through my partying friends. I stopped right next to the entrance, but I didn’t turn my head to look at the man now standing next to me.

“You should go to her, and maybe this time, you could try apologizing for being an ass. She’s been through a lot of shit, Matt, and I won’t see her get hurt again. Alright?” I asked.

“I—”

“I’m glad you understand. Now quit standing around and looking miserable. Go kiss ass until you’re back in her good graces. I want to see you both smiling when I get back,” I said and slipped out of the tent. I knew Matt would do what I said, because he wanted to go to her all along. He just needed a little extra push.

“So, ready?” I jumped at the voice and turned to look up at Gerard.

“Yep, and I hope you brought your wallet because I don’t have pockets,” I said and looked down at my skirt. An arm wrapped around my shoulders, and I was pulled against his Gerard’s side.

“Don’t worry; it’s my turn to pay anyway.”