Warped Tour Should Be the Definition of Fun

That night, everybody was having barbecue outside, but I stayed inside my bunk, cuddling with my pillow. A while later I heard someone was coming in. Seth stared at me with a can of Sprite in his hand.

“Why don’t you join the barbecue?” he asked. “I thought you weren’t a loner.”

“I feel like being one right now,” I mumbled through my pillow.

“What is it this time?” he asked, sitting on the floor so he could look directly at me.

I sighed, looking at him.

“Come on, tell me.”

“Right, well, I saw Dani kissed Garrett and I almost knocked her dead,” I answered.

“Did you knock her dead though?”

“I didn’t even confront her.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Are you okay? Are you sick?”

I shook my head. “I don’t even know why I’m like this, Seth. I feel so... weak. I run and hide when I should be confronting.” I sniffed. “I’ve never felt like this before. I like Garrett, Seth, I really do. I thought we had something between us, but then again a nearly-one-night-stand will always be a nearly-one-night-stand, will it not?”

Throughout the whole rant, Seth just sat there on the bus floor, calmly listening to me. It felt good when you knew someone was listening to you when you were getting things off your chest and they didn’t say anything in response. Sometimes, being listened to without having any comment as a reply felt really, really good.

When I was done, my cheeks were wet by tears and I wiped them with my pillow. “Thanks for listening,” I sniffed.

“No problem, Namora. You needed it.” He stood up, still holding the can of Sprite. “Are you coming?”

I shook my head. “I’ll just rest. Screaming and being angry took me a lot of energy.”

He laughed. “But the screaming was worth it, eh? The crowd loved it.”

I chuckled. “Yeah, they sure did.”

“Just make sure you’re not going to lose your voice tomorrow.”

“I won’t.”

Seth smiled before leaving me alone again in the bus. I grabbed my iPhone and listened to music while stalking people’s Facebook and Twitter.

Seth
I walked around the venue’s parking lot where the barbecue was held. The lighting source was from band’s buses and vans headlights and the moonlight was pretty bright tonight. Some people were holding either a red cup, a beer bottle, or a soda can.

I found Garrett talking with Sierra and I walked up to them. I lightly held Garrett’s shoulder, earning attention from both of them. “Sierra, can I borrow Garrett for a moment?”

“Yeah, sure,” Sierra answered, sipping her drink. “We just finished talking anyway.”

“Thanks!” I smiled at her before dragging Garrett with me, going to an emptier space and we sat on the curb.

“Is this about Namora?” Garrett asked.

I nodded and let silence filled us for a few moments. “The last time I saw her crying because of a guy was on fourth grade,” I started, “They were fighting over a Power Ranger action figure.” I chuckled at the memory. From the corner of my eye, I saw Garrett smiled. Probably imagining ten years old Namora fighting for a Power Ranger action figure.

“She just cried,” I said. “She felt pathetic for not confronting your or Dani, and that made her feel weak. Just so you know, she hates being weak. She hangs out with boys too much.”

“Yeah, I can see that,” he mumbled.

“Do you know the necklace she’s always wearing?” I asked and he nodded. “Inside the locket, there is a picture of her parents. She always says she hates her father but she always keeps it. She says hates him so much that she dyed her hair blonde; it's originally dark brown.”

Her eyebrows scrunched in confusion. “Why does she hate –“

“She’s gone through a lot of things in her life,” I cut him off, “And by a lot, I mean a lot. She was backstabbed by one of her close friends, her father left her when she was three months old, her mother passed away, and she doesn’t really have a family anymore.”

“Doesn’t she have a grandmother?”

“Exactly, but her grandmother pretty much dislikes her. She doesn’t have a relative in California, either.”

He stayed in silence, staring at nothing. “She must’ve felt so alone, then...”

I nodded. “And then you came along, making a mistake.”

He sighed. “I didn’t mean that to happen.”

“Save the explanation for her.” Another few moments of silence. “It just feels kind of weird seeing her like this – sure, she’s still a girl, she still has feelings even though she’s one of the boys. She didn’t cry when bad things happened to her – except when her mother died – and she cried when it came to you,” I paused to take a sip of my Sprite and continued, “You must have a place in her heart somewhere.”

He smiled a little.

“But still, you fucked up.”

His smile disappeared, replaced with a frown.

“You could’ve explained to her right there, but you didn’t.”

He hesitated. “Should I explain to her now?”

“I’m sure she doesn’t want anyone else to see herself crying. You can wait for tomorrow.”

He nodded, pursing his lips together. “You love her so much, eh?” he asked.

I shook my head. “More than you could ever think, Garrett – but not more than a bestfriend.” I stood up. “Come on, let’s socialize.”

He laughed as he stood up and we rejoined the huge group.