Learn From Cigarette Burns

Readjusting my sunglasses slightly, I tightened my hand around John's and tugged him toward the front entrance of Best Buy. In response, he growled lowly but picked up his pace to match mine. Soon, we approached the automatic doors, and they opened before us, letting a cool blast of air escape from the building and wash over us.
 
"Babe, I feel weird." John mumbled as we wandered through the store.
 
"Why?" I asked as I took a left, and led us into the music section of the store.
 
"Because," he insisted, "it's like ... I don't know." He mumbled. "I feel weird buying my own bands music."
 
"John, it's your guys' first full length album." I pointed out. "We have to buy it."
 
"I don't want to buy it; I can just get it for free."
 
"I'm going to buy it," I said. "And then I'm going to make you guys sign it, and then I'm going to frame it."
 
John gave me a quizzical look, "why?"
 
"Because," I mumbled before I stood up on my tip-toes and kissed his lips softly, "for memories."
 
"Memories?" He questioned.
 
"For when we're both old and wrinkly, and going senile, and our great-grandchildren ask about when we were younger, you can bust it out and tell them all about your band and how awesome you guys were." I said simply.
 
John gazed at me thoughtfully for a few seconds before a smile slowly pulled across his lips. "I love you." He said cutely.
 
"I love you, too." I whispered.
 
John leaned over and kissed my cheek gently before he pulled away and released my hand. Moving his hand to the small of my back instead, he guided me through the aisles and to the 'M's' so we could search for their CD.
 
"Matchbook Romance, The Matches, Megadeath ..." I muttered through myself as I read through the bands.
 
"You're going the wrong way." John pointed out.
 
"But," I paused momentarily, thinking to myself, and then felt my cheeks start to flush slightly, "oh yeah." I blushed. "I had a retarded moment there."
 
John laughed quietly and then reached over, grabbing a CD. "Here." He said, handing what I recognized to be their album to me.
 
Smiling to myself, I took it from him and turned it over in my hands, looking over everything. As I was reading through the songs, another boy who looked to be the same age as us approached us, he too looking through the CD's. Glancing up at us, he gave us a quick smile before he noticed the CD I was holding.
 
"Are those guys any good?" He asked. "My girlfriend came across them at Warped and she said they were pretty good, but I don't know if I can really trust her judgment."
 
"Why not?" John asked.
 
"I mean, she does have good taste in music, but then again she can have some really bad taste." He explained. He hesitated slightly and then glanced around as if he were looking for any eavesdroppers, and then leaned closer to us. "She swears by Jeffree Star." He mumbled. "And I seriously can't stand that shit."
 
At his words, I couldn't help but laugh and then I nodded my head. "I can't stand him either." I admitted. "But these guys are pretty good." I said, motioning to the CD I was holding. "Any they're sweethearts." I added. "Well ... most of the time they are, but they do have their PMS days as well."
 
"You know them?"
 
I nodded my head and felt John's posture stiffen up behind me. "This guy right here," I said, pointing over my shoulder to John with my thumb, "is actually their vocalist."
 
The guy was somewhat taken aback by my words, and he looked up at John as if he were just now noticing that he was standing with me. "Oh?" He asked John. "I didn't realize that you guys were from here. I thought you were from like ... Texas or something."
 
"Nope," John replied, "you're probably thinking of Forever The Sickest Kids." He said. "We were both at Warped." He explained.
 
"Oh yeah ... that's another band I was going to check out." The guy said. "Well, alright, you two convinced me." He laughed quietly. With that, he reached over and grabbed a copy of the guys' CD for himself and then waved to us. "It was nice to meet you two." He said as he turned around and made his way toward the 'F's'. "And good luck with your band." He called over his shoulder.
 
"Thanks." John replied, loud enough for the guy to hear him. When the guy was gone, John sighed quietly and then reached over, snatching the CD away from me. "Come on, let's get going; we're going to be late for the party."
 
"John, its only 8:30." I said as we made our way toward the front of the store. "It's not even dark out yet."
 
"Dee, its summertime in Arizona." He replied. "It doesn't get hard here until like ... fuckin' midnight." He pointed out.
 
"Not midnight." I giggled.
 
"Fine," he sighed, "10 o'clock. But if we wait for it to get dark before we go to the party, we'll still be late."
 
"Okay." I mumbled. "We can go over there right now. But you're not going to start drinking until later on, alright? I don't want to keep an eye on you all night."
 
"You're assigning me my own drinking hours?" He asked with a sound of fake shock in his voice.
 
"Yes." I insisted. "From midnight to 2 o'clock."
 
"Two hours?" He asked. "That's weak sauce."
 
"O'Callaghan, you can do a lot of damage in a span of two hours." I said.
 
John wrinkled his nose and then sighed in defeat. "Yeah." He finally agreed. "But tonight I promise I won't get too drunk. Not to the point where I black out, puke all over the place, and need you to help me stand up straight."
 
"You'd better not, or else you're going to find yourself on your own, boy." I threatened.
 
John pouted slightly as he looked down at me but didn't have a chance to respond because we were now at the checkout stand. I handed over the CD for the guy to scan, and then gave him the appropriate amount of money. When he gave me my change and CD, I thanked him quietly and then let John take me by the hand, leading me out of the store.
 
Once we were outside, he tugged on my hand lightly, causing me to look up at him. "Would you really ditch me if I got all crazy shitfaced tonight?" He mumbled.
 
"Of course not, babe. I would probably get frustrated with you, and storm off for about fifteen minutes or so, and then come back to take care of you." I said. "But, I definitely wouldn't be happy with you in the morning."
 
John smiled sheepishly and then turned his gaze to the other cars in the parking lot. "I think I learned my lesson the first time I tried to pull that stunt with you." He said.
 
"When I punched you because you pissed me off?" I asked.
 
John hesitated slightly, his stare lingering on an older couple walking hand in hand to their RV, before he looked down at me. "Yes," he said quietly, "and then you said you were breaking up with me." He paused, licking his lips before he continued, "And then after you left I started crying because I thought you really meant it."
 
"At the time I did mean it," I admitted, "but then when I pulled into my parents' driveway, I didn't mean it anymore so I went back to your house. I remember you were still crying when I showed up."
 
"I didn't think you were ever coming back." He mumbled. "I thought you hated me."
 
"Just momentarily." I mumbled.
 
John sighed quietly before he brought my hand up, kissing the back of it. He stared at my engagement ring for a few seconds before he brought his stare back to mine.
 
"You ever take it off?" He asked. "When I'm gone? Do you take your ring off?"
I shook my head as I tightened my grip on his hand. "The only time I take it off is when I jump in the shower because I'm afraid that it will fall off while I'm in there, and I'll loose it down the drain." I said. "But other than that, no, I don't ... I want everyone to know that I'm off the market."
 
At my words, John blushed slightly and then reached over, kissing my cheek once again. "When I get mine, I'm never gonna take it off." He said. "It's gonna take me some time to get use to it though."
 
"It's not too bad." I said. "I never wore any rings before my engagement ring, but I got use to it fast enough."
 
John thought to himself and then shrugged his shoulders. "You wanna drive? Or you want me to drive?" He asked.
 
"I'll drive if you unwrap the CD and put it in the stereo for me." I said.
 
"Fine," he replied before taking the CD from me, and going around to the passenger side of the car.
 
After I unlocked it, we climbed in and were soon on our way to the party Jared and the guys were throwing in celebration of the release of their full length album. It been a year - give or take a couple of months - since the guys were first signed, and already they have an EP and a full length record out. They've worked hard to get this much done ... they needed a party to loosen up a little bit.
 
*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *
 
Sighing quietly to myself, I listened to the sound of five intoxicated boys giggling around the table. As to what they were giggling about? I'm not exactly sure of that.
 
"Dee, what aren't you laughing?" John asked as he wiped the tears from his eyes.
 
"John, I don't know what you guys are laughing at." I admitted.
 
"We're laughing about the time," Garrett paused, laughing loudly at the mere memory before he continued, "when we went to that one place, and then stopped by that one store ... " he trailed off, laughing loudly once more.
 
"And then he was like ... " Kenny's explanation soon trailed off into an uncontrollable fit of laughter as well.
 
"Yeah," Jared laughed, "and then we were all ... "
 
I shook my head slowly as they all erupted into laughter, still not having a single clue as to the story behind it. I sighed quietly once more and then glanced over to John when I felt him place his hand gently on my leg. His face was flushed from laughing - or drinking - but the smile on his face was more like a shy schoolboy than a drunken teenager.
 
"What's up babe?" I asked.
 
"You wanna go now?" He asked shyly.
 
"Only if you wanna go home." I said. "We can stay a while longer if you want to, I don’t care."
 
"I don't really wanna go home," he slurred slightly, "but, I just want to get out of here."
 
"Alright, babe." I said before I turned my attention to the rest of the guys. "You guys, we're gonna take off." I announced.
 
"But, Dee," Jared frowned, "it's still early."
 
"Jared, it's nearly 4 o'clock," I pointed out, "and plus, you guys need to go out and mingle with your guests; we're not the only one's here you know, there's still a living room full of people that you haven't been paying any attention to."
 
Jared looked at me momentarily and then blushed slightly. "Oh yeah." He mumbled before he got up and disappeared into the living room where the rest of the party was happening.
 
Rolling my eyes slightly, I suppressed a smile as I stood up, and held my hand out, helping John up as well. Once I was sure he still had enough control over himself to stand up, I released his hand and made my way around the table, giving the rest of the guys a hug and a kiss on the forehead goodnight.
 
Before long, John and I were in the car, driving aimlessly down the street.
 
"Babe, where do you want to go then?" I asked.
 
"I don't know." He mumbled as he reached over and took my hand in his. "I want to sober up, and then go somewhere and watch the sunrise with you."
 
At the party, John had done as I told him and stopped drinking around 2 o'clock, and he wasn't exactly smashed. He had a little way to go, though, if he wanted to sober up.
 
"Alright." I sighed before I shook off his hand. When he let out a small whine, I shook my head. "I gotta shift." I said, downshifting into first gear as we approached a stop light.
 
Growling slightly, John reached over and instead placed his hand on my leg, squeezing it gently before he reached over with his other hand and rolled down his window. Breathing in the night air, he closed his eyes and then began singing a nameless tune to himself.
 
Smiling softly, I turned my attention back to the road as the light turned green, and quickly made my way toward a small deli that was open all night. When I pulled to a stop in front, I explained to John that I would be right back before I went inside and ordered John a pastrami sandwich; if he wanted to sober up, he needed something in his stomach to absorb all the alcohol he had consumed in that small amount of time.
 
I went inside and saw that my friend Eric was working. Upon seeing me, he gave me a big smile and leaned over the countertop to give me a hug.
 
"Long time no see, missy." He teased. "I was hoping to see you at the party tonight, but then I got the call that told me they needed me to work here instead." He frowned.
 
"That sucks." I sighed. "The guys were looking for you too."
 
"Is John with you?" Eric asked as he pulled on a pair of plastic gloves.
 
"He's in the car," I said, "He's trying to sober up so I'm getting him a sandwich."
 
"Ah, alright." Eric replied. "Pastrami?"
 
"Yup."
 
Eric nodded his head and set of, putting John's sandwich together for him. He didn't need to ask what he needed to put on John's sandwich; we were in here enough that Eric knew what we liked and what we didn't like.
 
"Did you want a sandwich too, Dee?" Eric asked as he wrapped up John's sandwich and placed it into a paper bag.
 
"Umm ... no, not tonight; I'll just steal some of John's." I replied. "But ... can a get a vanilla Pepsi and a bottle of water?"
 
"Sure."
 
Eric quickly mixed my vanilla Pepsi, and slipped a bottle of water into the paper bag. He took my money, and went to get my change before he spoke up once again. "So the guys' CD is pretty good," he said. "I picked it up before I came in to work. When are they going on tour again?"
 
"Pretty soon." I sighed as he handed me my change. "They're going to be gone for the rest of summer." I frowned.
 
"Aww ... well, maybe you can go with them for a little while." Eric suggested. "I'm sure they wouldn't mind if you tagged along for a week or two."
 
"I can't, I have to work." I sighed.
 
Eric only responded with a sad look before he handed my food to me. "Tell John I said hi." He said softly.
 
"Alright," I replied, "I'll see you later, Eric."
 
"Bye, Dee."
 
Careful not to spill my drink, I made my way outside and expertly hooked my pinky finger through my handle to open the door. I sat down behind the wheel, and put my drink in the cup holder before I pulled out John's sandwich and handed it to him.
 
"Eat." I instructed. "And I have some water for you too." I added, setting the bottled water beside my Pepsi.
 
John unwrapped his sandwich and then picked out a few pieces of pastrami, shoving them into his mouth before he took a big bite of it. Watching him in amusement, I laughed softly before I started up the car and backed out of the parking lot.
 
"Eric said hi, and that the CD is awesome." I told John.
 
"Tell him I said hi too, and thanks." John mumbled through a mouth full of his sandwich.
 
"I can't tell him now," I grinned, "he's back at the deli."
 
John swallowed what food he had in his mouth and then smiled sheepishly. "Oh yeah."
 
I laughed softly and then pulled out onto the empty street. "Where to now, babe?" I asked.
 
"The high school." He mumbled before taking another bite of his food.
 
"High school?" I questioned.
 
John nodded his head and wiped his mouth. "Let's sneak up onto the roof, and then watch the sunrise."
 
"We still have a couple of hours before the sun comes up though, John." I said, but took the street that led to the high school nonetheless.
 
"We can just lay on the roof and bull shit about high school." John offered.
 
"Alright, we can do that." I said, nodding my head in agreement.
 
We drove the rest of the way in silence, me focusing on the road while John ate his sandwich. We pulled into the parking lot of the high school where John and I went to school, and I couldn't help but smile at all the memories we held here. I parked the car, and turned it off before turning to John.
 
"Are you still hungry?" I asked, pointing to his half eaten sandwich, "or are you gonna save that for later."

"I'm gonna save it for the roof." He said, giving me a cute smile.
 
"Alright." I replied and then got out. On the other side, John followed suit, holding his sandwich in one hand while the other held tightly to his bottle of water. Studying him, I saw that he was sobering up pretty fast now that he had some food in his stomach. I grabbed my Pepsi before I shut the door, and met John around the front.
 
"How are we going to get onto the roof?" I asked.
 
"A ladder." He said simply. "You know they never really lock up any of the storage closets."
 
Knowing he was right, I followed him around the school until we got to a storage closet. Handing me his things, John opened the door and dug through the endless supply of cleaning products and buckets, before he got his hands on one of those extendable ladders. Muttering a few choice words under his breath when he knocked over some buckets, John pulled out the ladder and kicked the door shut behind him.
 
"Come on," he mumbled before he led the way to the nearest quad, and then stretched out the ladder, propping it up against the side of the building.
 
"You'd better not slip and fall off that ladder, John." I mumbled.
 
"I won't, babe." He replied. "I'm just feeling a little buzzed right now, I'll be fine."
 
Taking his word for it, I watched as he climbed up the ladder and onto the roof. "Babe, I can't climb the ladder packing all this." I said, motioning to his sandwich and water.
 
"Toss it up here." He said, and I did as I was told. He caught them both and set them beside him before he placed his hands on top of the ladder, holding it still for me while I climbed up.
 
When I was safely on the roof, John picked up his things, and took my hand in his before he led me up to the very top of the building. Glancing around, he decided it was a good enough spot and then sat down, tugging me down as well. Taking a deep breath, John let it out in a soft sigh before he leaned over and kissed my lips softly.
 
"I love you." He mumbled against my lips."
 
"I love you too." I mumbled back before setting my drink aside, and wrapping my arms around his middle.
 
John automatically wrapped his arms around my shoulders, holding me as close to him as he could. Closing my eyes, I tried not to think about how within a week he would be leaving me for tour. He was only home for two weeks this time ... that wasn't nearly enough time for me.