Katy's Summer

The sky was dusky and dark when we were in the venue at Portland. I stayed in the bus with Serena, who was spending a long time in the bathroom, ‘peeing’. I played my fingers as I looked out from the window.

I narrowed my eyes on the familiar brown haired girl, who was giggling and playing with a blond guy. Suddenly, the door slid open hardly, and Aubrey stumbled in.

“Katy cat!”, she giggled and I looked behind her, she was holding the blond dude’s hand. “Oh, this is Bryan, you know, he’s the bassist of Boys Like Girls.”

“Oh yeah.”, I stood up and stuck my hand out. he took and shook mine. “Nice to meet you, Bryan.”

“Pleasure’s all mine.”, he smiled. Aubrey dragged him off to the back lounge and a minute later, I could hear them, playing bowling on Wii Sport.

I sighed and decided I needed a little walk. The thunder already rumbled when I stepped out and I rushed to the merch tent.

“Hey, kitty!”, Dexter waved her hand as she put her hair into a pony tail. “I thought you would be in the bus all day.”

“No. Aubrey brought a guy back and Serena spent her day in the bathroom.”

Dexter stopped at her activity and looked at me with wide eyes. “A guy? Bathroom?”

“Yeah, but, Aubrey was just playing Wii with him and Serena…I don’t know about her.”

She nodded. “Well, I don’t want to bother her own things.”
I sat down on the beach chair and noticed a fancy handbag was sitting on top of the cooler. “Whoa, who owns that bag?”

Dexter looked at the bag and rolled her eyes. “It’s Leisha’s.”

“Leisha? Who’s that?”

“All summer, I just wished you won’t have to meet her or, know her.”, Dexter sighed and sat down on the chair across me. “Leisha is Alex’s Brother’s girlfriend.”

“But…his brother died almost two years ago, right?”

She nodded. “Yeah, and Leisha remain as the Gaskarth’s family friend.”

“…And?”

“Katy, Alex believes Leisha like he believes his brother. To be honest, none of us likes her, even the Hustlers and the other fans!”

“She doesn’t consider as an ATLG?”

Dexter shook her head. “Nope, and none of us want to. She’s cruel to the core!”

“Okay, is she that bad?”

“Yeah, she is.”, Dexter said with all her might. “All I’m saying is, just stand your ground around her. She even criticized me for my weird last name, and bring it up in front of Zack, mocking me and all.”

Her face was red from the anger and I could see her gripping the shirt in her hands, almost ripped it up apart. “Dex, the t shirt.”

She looked at me for a second then she looked down to the t shirt she was holding. “Oh god!”
************
“There she is!”, Alex’s face lit up when I walked towards him and a red haired girl, who I could guessed, Leisha. “Leish, I want you to meet Katy, my girlfriend.”

Leisha’s eyes widened in surprise, but she pulled me to a hug and kissed my cheeks. “Nice to meet you, Katy!”, she said in a thin French accent.

“You’re French?”, I asked when I pulled away.

She waved her hands and snorted. “No, but I lived in Cannes for the past two years.”

I nodded and stepped back to Alex’s side again. “Are you staying?”

“No, I’m just visiting my little so called brother here.”, she giggled as she pinched Alex’s cheek. My eyes widened when she did that. It felt like, I wanted to rip her hand off or just threw her off a cliff.

“Katy?”, Alex called snapped me out from my thoughts.

“Yeah?”

“You wanna head back to the bus?”

I shook my head. “Nah, I’m just gonna walk around.”

I looked up to him, hoping he would beg or whatever to make me go with him, but he instead waved it off with a simple “okay” and went away with Leisha.

It was like someone punched a big hole through my chest, and I can feel the wind blew through it. It was like someone pour hot wax onto me, feeling my skin burned and melted.

“Katy?”

I sighed hardly and turned around, greeted by Paul’s tall figure. “What, Paul?”

“Ouch, no need to be rude.”

“Sorry.”, I breathed and wrapped my arms. “I’m in a horrible mood right now.”

“It’s okay.”, he huffed. “Do you wanna do something right now, instead of standing here?”

“How about your set?”

“It was done an hour ago.”

“How about going to your bus?”

He smiled and took my hand, pulling me to the buses. From all the buses, we stopped at a black bus, same like ATL’s, and went inside. A guy was with his MacBook on the booth, and I realized he was the lead singer.

“Martin, I want you to meet someone.”

Paul pushed me a bit and Martin looked up to me. “Hey, you’re the girl Paul talked about, right?”, Martin stood up and shook my hand. “Martin.”

“Katy.”

“So, Katy, what brings you to our bus today?”, Martin asked with a smile.

“Well, I am curious about your bus, and I’m going to raid it up.”

Martin and Paul laughed in unison, and I joined. We went to the back lounge and decided to play Rock Band. After a couple songs, the rain started to fall.

“Shit, I have to get back.”, I muttered as I took off the guitar. “Thanks for the game, guys.”

“Hey, let me walk you to your bus.”, Paul offered.

“It’s okay, and it’s raining. I don’t want you to get sick, you still have three weeks of touring.”

Paul rolled his eyes and pulled out an umbrella from a closet near the lounge. He led me out to the door, and opened the umbrella when the door slid open. He pulled me closer and wrapped his arm around me, not wanting me to get wet.

“Thanks.”, I said awkwardly.

“No problem.”

We stayed quiet through the walk, just the sound of the raindrops, smashing on the buses’ windows or the pavement. When we were in front of the door, I turned around and hugged him. “Thanks, for being my friend.”

“It’s okay, Katy.”

I nodded and let him go. I went inside and it was warm in. no one was inside, and I walked to the back lounge to check. There were voices from the inside of the lounge.

“Well, she looks like a kid!”, Leisha’s voice exclaimed. “How far is she from you?”

“Well, she’s 18—“

“That means 3 years apart, huh?”

“Yeah, but that’s not too far.”, Alex said, but there was a hint of doubt in his voice.

“Alex, she doesn’t understand the life of us, you know. Maybe, she just think about the happiness of dating a rockstar, and she doesn’t know what’s coming.”

“But, she acts like an adult all summer.”, Alex defended me, but it doesn’t made me feel better.

“Alex, Alex, Alex. I’m here for you, you know that? I love you, like a sister. Katy’s just a child who doesn’t understand the world after high school yet.”

I can’t stand another word, and then, I yanked the curtain open. Alex and Leisha were shocked to see me on the doorway. “Katy…”, Alex started, but I rushed to my bunk, pulling out my bag.

“Katy, please listen to me.”, he begged as he gripped my shoulders.

“Let me go!”, I screeched as I shook his hands off. I shoved every article of clothing I had into the bag and zipped it closed. I rushed to the door and it slid open.

“Katy, let me explain!”, Alex called out as he caught up with me.

“What?!”, I shouted. “What? That I’m just a kid? I’m just a kid who doesn’t know the real life?! I’m not good enough for you!”

Alex froze on his spot after I was done. “You were the best.”

“You know what? Save it for someone who believes you.”, I spat and walked out to the venue. I hailed a taxi and told the cabbie to go to the airport.

I pulled out my phone from my bag and dialed my home’s number.

“Hello?”

“Mom, it’s Katy.”

“Katy! Katy Cat, where are you? We were worried about you? Are you okay?”

I nodded and tears started to well up. “Yeah, I’m coming home.”

“Where are you now?”

“Portland, but I’m going to catch the soonest flight to New York, and I’ll try to get the train to Baltimore.”

“Do you want your dad to pick you up in New York instead?”

“No, I want to try to ride the train, and check out NYU for a bit.”

“Okay, have a safe flight, honey.”

“Okay, bye mom.”, then I hung up.