The Long Journey Ahead

The line for autographs from the only band I came here to see was shockingly long. I'm not implying their music sucks. I just didn't know they would have over 100 people waiting in a line for them. They really deserved this.

What sucked is that the three of us were the last people in line. Literally, we were. I expected some more people to line up behind us, but nope! We were the last ones to reach the other waiting fans.

At last, all the people in front of us were gone, happy with their autographs and pictures. Ash was the only person in the band sitting down with a sharpie and poster in his hands. All the other guys stood in the background drinking bottles of Gatorade.

"Your name please?" Ash asked; that accent ever so dominant.

"Jes," I answered, waiting for him to look up to my face.

"Jes. Well thank you for being a fan. We appreciate it," Ash sighed, finally looking at me. "Jes! You've grown up bebé!"

I laughed and nodded my head. Ash rounded the table and hugged me. He then decided to touch my hair and feel the texture of it between his fingers. He smiled approvingly. He poked at the piercings on my lips and smiled with his teeth showing.

"You really have grown up," he smiled.

I blushed, scratching the back of my head. "Can I have a picture with you?"

"Sure, sure!" he exclaimed, placing his arm around my shoulder.

Darren fumbled with the camera before placing it over his eye and snapping a picture of Ash and me. Ash surprised me when he kissed me on the cheek.

"I'll definitely make sure to come back to meet you again," he flirted, winking and kissing my cheek.

In the car, we were all quiet. Darren was driving sanely this time without his music turned on. Frank and I were sitting on the opposite sides of the car. He refused to look at me.

If he was going to stay angry with me for no reason, then I'll play along. He's been acting weird ever since that kiss. I liked it, I liked it a lot, but I'm not so sure he did. Maybe he did it because it was an "in the moment" thing. He probably regrets it.

"What did he mean by he's coming back to see you?" Frank asked, anger clearly in his voice.

"What are you talking about?" I questioned, looking at him.

His eyes reduce to slits and his eyebrows scrunched together. "You know what I mean. Are you dating this guy?"

Darren decided to turn his music on at that time. It wasn't loud but it wasn't too quiet either. It was at the perfect volume so he wasn't going to eavesdrop in our argument.

I sighed, "No! He has a girlfriend!"

"So? He can still have another chick on the side."

"What does it matter? Ash and I are friends! He's freaking 19!"

"That didn't stop Darren did it?"

"Oh boy," Darren sighed. The car spluttered, halting every few inches, and stopped completely.

I poked my head through the space between the front driver and front passenger seats. "Is something wrong?"

"Yeah, the car broke down," Darren sighed, hitting the steering wheel.

"Great," Frank muttered.

Frank and Darren pushed the car up the road until we reached a motel. There wasn't a gas station near us. Frank and I had to watch the car as Darren walked into the motel's main lobby, asking for a station or a car mechanic. He came back out with a gym bag.

"I booked a room for the two of you," he said, giving us a look. He was silently telling me to behave or I'd be in trouble.

"Wait, why only us? And what's in that bag?" Frank quizzed, his voice raising an octave higher.

"I'm going to fix the car. I hope it isn't a big problem. If it is then we'll have to call a tow truck in the morning. Oh and I called your mom and told her the car broke down. She's okay with you not going to school for a day. Now go inside and get some sleep."

Frank and I opened our mouths to protest but Darren cut us off with an exasperated breath and pointed towards the motel.

The whole walk there, I huffed loudly, followed by Frank doing the same thing. We had a huffing contest until we reached the door. We pushed each other to the side, trying to fit in through the door first. I won, punching him in the arm.

Standing at the desk was a balding man. He had a friendly smile on his face that brightened even more once we caught sight of us.

"He's a creep," Frank mumbled behind me.

I walked up to the man and tapped the table. "Hi!" I said cheerfully. "My brother came in here and booked us a room. It's under the name Darren."

"Oh yes!" the man nodded, taking an intricately decorated key from its perch and placing it on the desk. "Anything for you my dear!"

My smile faltered as I took the key and read the room. In engraved lettering, 'The Suite' was on the key. I raised an eyebrow at the title. Why would Darren order us such an expensive room when we would leave the next day?