The Beginning of the End

This 85-degree weather is killing me. After lugging my suitcase out of the Way's house and placing it somewhere in the tour bus parked in front of their house, I walked back out to make sure all the other guys were awake by now.

The driver informed me that he would have to depart to whichever venue in one hour and he couldn't leave any later than when the hour ticked by or they would never make it to the city in time.

I sighed, walking back into the house to make sure they were all ready. I passed by Mikey raiding his parents' fridge for the last time for a few months. Gerard and Matt were arguing about stealing each other's shirts out by the laundry room. Ray was in the backyard, kicking dirt around.

"Are you okay?" I asked, closing the back door.

He turned around; shocked someone else was here besides him. He gave me a smile before nodding. I stood next to him, bumping him to get him to say something. As an added effect, I added a lower lip pout.

"Ah you can't do that all the time!" Ray groaned, covering his eyes.

"Please?" I begged.

He chuckled and sighed. "Okay. This all seems like a dream to me. We really didn't think that we'd end up going on Warped Tour. Lilly, it's really happening isn't it?"

"It sure is," I answered, giving him a hug he really needed.

"Yeah," he sighed. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. Now, where's Frank? He's going to be late!"

Ray gave me a raised eyebrow.

I raised an eyebrow back. "Is there something I'm missing?"

"He's sleeping on the bus," Ray laughed.

"Oh...What?!"

"I'll go get the rest of them on the bus. Go look for Frank."

I couldn't tell him no because he pushed me towards the bus. Yet again, I walked in there, saying hello to the driver and went on a manhunt for Frank.

I don't see why I have to watch over these guys. They're all a year older than I am! Everyone except Frank. He's a year younger than I am and I find it cute. No one teases him for being so young except for me. I don't take it too far though. I could never be that mean.

Anyways, back to the situation at hand. I opened the curtains to each bunk I passed by. There were six in total to make things even.

There were two bunks left I hadn't checked yet. If Frank wasn't in either one, well, that sucks for him. I wasn't going to try to find him. He knows he's supposed to be around this general area so we can leave on time.

Before I was able to reach the remaining bunks, I saw Frank's hand push the curtains out of his way and he sat up from his bed. He saw me and smiled.

"Hi Lilly," he greeted, waving politely.

"Hey," I replied.

"When are we leaving?"

"About 45 minutes," I answered, looking at my wristwatch.

An awkward silenced followed my words as I stood at the doorway in a rag doll manner and Frank sat on his bed, staring seemingly into space.

"Can I ask you something?" he asked.

"Sure."

"What's wrong?"

"I-"

"I know something's up. I may be the new kid here but I can tell when something isn't okay."

I furrowed my eyebrows together. How does he know? Better yet, how can he tell? I thought I was doing okay since the funeral. I cried everyday for a week but then I felt better. I'm not going to say I'm happy because I'm not, but I'm dealing. Now, what was this kid talking about?

My curiosity got the best of me. I sat down next to Frank. He locked a stare with me. I looked into his eyes, debating internally if I should tell him or leave it be.

Would it be fair to leave him out of the info even though he's a new addition to the best friend group? That is, besides Nicole and Melissa. They were off at college, right smack in the middle of their exam week.

"My mom died and I'm doing this in a fruitless attempt to solve my problems," I told him truthfully. I never even told Gerard this. I knew running away wasn't going to solve problems but it gave me some hope that it might. Technically, I'm not running away. I'm taking a breather and hoping time will heal everything.

Frank nodded and placed a hand on my shoulder. "I've dealt with death before. It isn't a happy feeling but it takes time to help at all. You'll be fine, especially since you have Gerard. He's a very compassionate person you know."

"Yeah, I know," I smiled, more to myself than Frank.

"I may be young, but that doesn't make me ignorant of things. I'm as well informed as anyone else. If you ever want to talk, I wouldn't mind." He shrugged; making it seem like what he offered wasn't a big deal.

In actuality, to me, it was. I gave him a big hug and sighed. "Thank you."

In a sense, Frank was right. Age doesn't matter when it came to unspeakable ordeals. Some people live their entire lives knowing nothing but bliss. Others deal with pain and sadness for all their lives.

Frank is young but he sounded like he held a lot of wisdom. I could already see him as a brother to me, a brother that would have to look out for me instead of me looking out for him. This sounded like the beginning to a beautiful friendship.