Such a Typical Thing

The very thing that I need, look at how you get to me;

Danny

Dammit, dammit, dammit, dammit, dammit.

I repeated that in my head, over and over again, trying to think of anything but the fact that Remy had slept with Jack. Multiple times at that.

If I hadn't been so shell-shocked, I would have punched Jack over and over until I just couldn't anymore.

There was a heavy lump in my throat, just at the thought of what had happened the night before, probably less than an hour after we'd kissed. The kiss that she didn't even remember. The kiss that had made me realize how hard I was falling for her.

All I could think about was her; the faded scar along her jaw, the birthmark on her shoulder blade, the little shrug she did when she felt indifferent. Just everything. The little frown that graced her brow when she was texting someone. The flowery scent of her perfume that filled the air whenever she shook out her air. The way her eyeliner was always smudged a tiny bit in the corner. The small flip on the ends of her hair if she didn't straighten it completely.

God, I needed to stop thinking about her so much.

Then I thought of Jack, who would fuck anything with a vagina. Seriously, of all the girls on Warped, even the groupies, why did he have to pick the one that I wanted.

Thinking about last night, I wanted to shoot myself for leaving her when I did. If I hadn't left, last night would have panned out in an entirely different way. Entirely different.

I would gladly have taken those punches from Matt had I spent the night with Remy. Images filled my head and forcibly, I shoved them out.

I ran a hand through my hair with a sigh and continued on walking.

Dammit, dammit, dammit, dammit, dammit.

Remy

When I woke up the next morning, it was early. I'd slept on the floor of The Maine's bus, so it was just like being home. Well, home referring to All Time Low's bus. I gathered the few things I'd brought with me, stepped into my shoes, and tried to quietly sneak off the bus.

My entire plan was foiled when I ran into Garrett on the stairs of the bus. Like, literally ran into him.

We both kind of looked at each other for a moment before I offered him a small smile, a sort of apology. He nodded, seeming to understand my actions. He continued up the stairs while I headed down.

I stepped on the bus to find Danny already awake. In fact, he looked as though he hadn't even slept. His laptop was in his lap and his eyes were rimmed with red. When I entered the bus, he didn't even look at me, just stared straight at the screen.

"Is anyone else up?" I asked, wondering if he'd even answer.

"Nope. Half up them were up until five. You missed a massive Call of Duty war," he said, looking over at me with a small smile.

"Sorry I missed it," I said, sitting down beside him on the couch.

I was still in my pjs. I had a bad case of morning breath, and my eyeliner was, without a doubt, smeared beyond repair. I didn't even want to think about my hair. But there I was, sitting with Danny.

"Danny?"

"What?" he asked, turning to face me.

"Will you be honest with me?"

"I always am."

"What happened last night?" I was to the point that I didn't want to try and put the pieces of what had happened two nights ago together. I just wanted to know.

"We had some drinks, that was it," he said, a tone of sadness in his voice.

I sighed, knowing that he wasn't telling me the whole truth. "You said you'd be honest."

All of a sudden, his expression went from hurt to angry.

"Even if something had happened, you don't even remember it. And you were more than happy to go off and fuck Jack," he snapped at me. My brow creased slightly and my eyes burned a bit.

"Danny, I'm sorry. I know I upset you, but I honestly don't remember a whole lot from the other night. I wish I hadn't slept with Jack, but I did. I was wasted, thanks to you, so don't go blaming the whole thing on me. You're the one who kept getting me drinks," I snapped back, angry all of a sudden too.

"Maybe if you weren't such a slut, you wouldn't have fucked him at all. And besides, you were asking for the drinks," he said, his voice louder than before. A chill ran down my spine and my eyes stung again.

"Fine. I'm just going to go, because you obviously have better things to do than talk to a slut," I said coldly before standing up. Sniffling a bit, I grabbed a change of clothes and my shower bag. I wiped my tear laced eyes before heading down the stairs.

"Remy," I heard him say with a sigh just before I stepped off the bus, into the morning heat.

Several hours later, I was standing side-stage for All Time Low's set. I wasn't standing in my normal spot, by Danny. Instead, I was with Matt, who still seemed to be a bit tense.

"Okay, okay, okay," Jack was saying, waving his arms wildly. "Who wants to hear a story?!"

The crowd cheered and yelled.

"So, two nights ago, I'm chilling in my bunk on the bus and Matt's little sister, Remy, climbs in with me. She's a great girl, seriously. But anyway. I had a good time and from her vocals, she did too," he paused to look over at me and wink. My jaw dropped. "But, anyway. Last night, Matt finds out. And this was the first time this little rendezvous had gone on. So Matt decks me. Like, legitly. That is why I have a black eye right now. Thank you, Matt fucking Flyzik."

"Think the fans will lynch me if I go out there and punch him?" Matt asked, his voice grave.

"Probably. But, you already got to punch him. Let me," I said, stepping onto the stage.

"Well there's the little nymph now!" Jack said excitedly into his mic, pointing in my direction.

"Give me that," I snapped at Zack, taking his mic.

"No problem," Zack said, stepping back. He seemed frightened.

"Fuck you, Jack Barakat!" I yelled. A fair amount of people cheered. "One thing you failed to inform the crowd is the fact that I was severely intoxicated, thanks to a certain guitar tech, who is now royally pissed at me."

"Well, that's your fault," Alex said, adding his two-cents.

"Nobody asked you, Alex," I mentioned, giving him the finger. "Oh, and you forgot to mention something else to the crowd, Jack."

"And what is that, my Remy dear?"

I looked to the crowd and winked, holding up my pinkie. "Only this big."

"That is so not true!" Jack yelled in his defense.

Alex cracked up. "But it totally is, bro!" he exclaimed, nearly doubling over in laughter.

"Thank you, ladies and gentlemen," I said, taking a bow. "I'll be here all tour." The crowd cheered as I walked off stage.

Matt was waiting for me, hand up. I gave him the high-five he'd been waiting for and smiled.

"Good call on the dick joke," Matt said, nodding in approval.

"It wasn't a joke. I mean, I've only seen it twelve times."

"Wait...twelve?"

"Yeah, twelve," I told him with a nod.

"Jack told me eight," Matt said, his jaw locked.

"Yeah, that's about how many times actual sex took place," I said, looking over at him to gauge his reaction. He closed his eyes and his face turned a strange color. I smirked in success.

A few hours later while wandering around a bit, my phone rang. I fished it out of my pocket and didn't recognize the number on the Caller ID.

"Hello?" I asked, ready for a telemarketer or a wrong number.

"Remy, it's Danny," he said, rather hesitantly.

"Hey," I said, unsure what to expect.

"Can we meet up somewhere? I want to apologize for earlier."

"Uhm, alright," I said, nodding to myself. "Where are you?"

He laughed. "About ten feet behind you," he admitted.

I turned around quickly and saw him several feet behind me. He smiled, walking quickly to catch up to me.

I couldn't help but laugh. "You're a grade-A creeper, you know that?" I teased as we started walking again.

He shrugged. "I'm really sorry for what I said earlier. You're not a slut."

"I am though," I said a sigh, shrugging a bit.

"No you're not," he assured me.

"I am. Trust me, you don't even know the half of it."

"Then tell me 'the half of it,'" he said, looking down at me.

"I lost my virginity when I was 16. Since then, it's been guys and booze. Yeah. There are entire nights that I don't remember, like part of the night before. I know guys have taken advantage of me, and I've taken advantage of guys. It's a never-ending story," I told him after taking the time to think of what I wanted to tell him at the exact moment.

"It's up to you to put an end to it. I mean, it's your life."

"I know, I know. But every time I say I'm done partying and sleeping around, something happens and I get pissed off and I just need to get away from it. It wouldn't be so bad if my parents weren't such control freaks. It's always, 'you have to do this,' or, 'your dreams won't happen if you don't,' when, in reality, my dreams aren't what they want or care about."

"What are your dreams?" he asked, continuing to pull information out of me.

I liked this. No one ever really talked to me about my dreams, or what I wanted.

"I don't even know. Since I was six, I've basically been preparing for med school. And I don't want to be a doctor. I can't tell people they're going to die. I can't lie to people and tell them they're going to get better. I can't fix my own life, so I sure as hell can't fix a sick person."

By this point, we'd found a spot to sit, in the shade.

"I've always like to write. As a doctor, the only thing I'd really be writing is prescriptions, and that's not a whole lot. 'There's no money in writing,' my dad told me when I had mentioned it to him." I shook my head, trying to clear the thoughts that were racing through my mind. "They're putting me through med school, they're paying the rent on my apartment, so I may as well deal with it."

"But you're not happy," Danny said, stating the obvious.

"I am, now. Free of everything, but as soon as tour's over, it's back to school and dreading the future," I said before pressing my lips together and blinking rapidly. My throat constricted and my eyes burned a bit with tears. I let out a bit of a laugh and tried to keep the tears from spilling down my cheeks, but failed.

Danny gave me a sad smile and leaned forward, wiping my tears away with his thumb. I pressed my lips together again, but not to keep from crying.

I felt a sense of familiarity and frowned.

"Danny, what happened the other night?" I asked, hoping for an honest answer this time. A strong chill started in my spine and made it's way though my limbs. The tingling sensation lasted, going all the way to my fingertips.

“You need to be happy,” Danny told me, his voice quiet.

I offered him a weak smile. “I'll try,” I said, meaning it.

“You're beautiful when you smile.” He was smiling absentmindedly and glided his thumb over my bottom lip.

KISS ME!, I was screaming in my head.

I wanted nothing more than to lean in and kiss him, but my body wouldn't.

Soon, our eyes locked and Danny leaned in. My eyes fluttered shut and a second later, expected his lips to touch mine. Except they didn't. He pressed his lips to my forehead instead. A feeling of disappointment clutched my stomach.

As he pulled away, I let out a breath I didn't know I'd been holding.

He looked me in the eye and was frowning a tad. The look in his eye, the sincerity and care, made me just want to stay there until the end of tour, when reality settled in and I went back to school.

Danny nodded once before standing up and walking away. I wanted to go after him, but if I were to stand up, my shaking legs wouldn't hold me.

Instead, I watched him walk away.