Contagious

Parker laughed as Orion pulled into her driveway. Her fingers were laced with Paul's and they were sitting on her front porch. She stood up, dragging Paul with her, her free hand running through her hair. “You've got to be kidding me,” she said, mostly to herself.

Orion climbed out of the gold Trans Am, over-sized sunglasses shielding half of her face from the first sunshine they'd seen in months. “Isn't she the most beautiful thing you've ever seen?”

“Too bad I'm too scared for my life when you drive to notice the beauty of the car,” Ross said, leaning out the passengers side window. “Come on, bitches. A Day to Remember waits for no one!”

Parker smiled, zipping up her jacket over her white Homesick shirt. “You weren't kidding when you said it was gold,” she muttered before climbing in the backseat. She buckled up as Paul sat down next to her. She leaned forward, chin resting on the back of Ross' seat. “Should I be afraid?”

“Very afraid,” he told her, tone serious, as he nodded.

“I'm loving the hair, Parker,” Orion said, sliding behind the wheel.

Parker subconsciously touched her hair, a look she had tried to recreate from a past music video: bangs sticking up almost like a fauxhawk. “Thanks.”

“What about my hair?” Paul asked, pouting.

“Well, I didn't want to hurt Parker's feelings by saying yours looked so much nicer when I know she spent more time on hers,” Orion said, tires squealing as she backed out of the driveway.

Parker's hand gripped the back of Ross' seat, holding tightly.

Paul laughed and pushed his hood off of his head as he tongue played with his lip ring. “Can you try not to kill us before the show?”

“Bu I can after?”

“Totally. At least I'll die happy,” he told her.

It was Orion's turn to laugh. “Okay, who has directions?”

“I told you it was all up here, Orion,” Ross said, two fingers tapping his temple. “I don't need directions.”

“I need directions. I'm not getting lost because a man doesn't think he needs to have them.”

Parker smiled and dug a folded slip of paper out of her too-tight skinny jeans, tossing it up to Orion. “I got your back.”

“Us girls gotta stick together!” Orion exclaimed.

“She still sees you as a girl?” Ross asked, mocking surprise. “She must have never heard you belch.”

Parker rolled her eyes. “I tour with guys. What do you expect?”

“She's one of us,” Ross agreed.

She shrugged. “He's kind of right.”

Paul laughed. “Who wants to hang out with a girly girl anyway?”

“Martin,” Orion and Ross said at the same time. They looked at each other and laughed.

Paul rolled his eyes.

Parker was about to respond when her BlackBerry buzzed in her pocket. She pulled it out and answered the call. “Hello?”

”Parks! Where are you guys?”

“Um, somewhere on the highway,” Parker told Jeremy. “We should be there in a few hours.”

”Hours?! What about our pre-show ritual of Taco Bell?”

She laughed. “How about I pick up Taco Bell and bring it backstage to the guys?”

”That's the Parker we know and love!”

She rolled her eyes. “I'll text you when we're almost there, yeah?”

”See you soon!”

She shook her head as she hung up the phone, shoving it back in her pocket. “Jeremy and the guys want Taco Bell.”

Ross laughed. “It is on!”

“Is there any significance to the Taco Bell?” Paul asked, confused.

“Pretty much,” Parker said. “We toured together for a while and before every single show, we would have to eat at Taco Bell. We tried to spend as little money as possible and Taco Bell is cheap and easy. So it just became a ritual of eating Taco Bell, gossiping, then a quick huddle and chant before we all went on stage,” she explained.

Paul paused. “Are we going backstage before the show?”

“Yeah, why wouldn't we?” Ross asked.

“Well, I just. I just assumed that we were gonna watch from the crowd?” he said.

“We are,” Ross told him.

Paul paused again.

“We're gonna meet 'em backstage then head out into the pit,” Parker told him. “You think I'd miss a chance to mosh with the fans?”

“Will there be alcohol?” Orion asked as she swerved in and out of lanes, speeding up and hitting one hundred, which Parker didn't think was a good idea considering how old the car was but she didn't protest.

“I'm sure the guys can get you some if you really want it,” Parker said slowly. “As long as you're not going to drive home drunk.”

“Hell naw,” Orion said, nodding over to Ross. “He's driving. I'm drinking. And even if not, I have some whiskey in my purse.”

Parker couldn't help but laugh.

+

“Someone order Taco Bell?” Parker asked opening the door to their dressing room with her hip, Taco Bell bags hanging from her hands.

Jeremy looked up from his shoes and a smile covered his face. In less than ten seconds, he had crossed the room and ripped the bags from her hand. “Where's my burrito?”

Parker rolled her eyes.

Ross set a couple of bags on the table. “Nice to see you guys, too.”

“Oh, yeah, hi, man,” Alex said, distracted, tossing his drumsticks onto the couch before tearing into his tacos.

Jeremy took a bite of his burrito before wrapping an arm around Parker. “Good to see you.”

“You, too, douche,” Parker said, smiling. “Missed you guys.”

“When are we gonna tour together again?”

She shrugged. “Whenever I decide to set it up.”

He laughed. “Hey, wanna do If It Means A Lot To You tonight?”

She shook her head. “No. No deal. You cannot rope me into that tonight.”

“Come on, P! We haven't in months!”

Parker shook her head and turned away, dragging Paul into the room. “You okay?” she asked, her voice soft.

Paul nodded slowly, trying not to let his jaw drop. He was still in shock that he was just hanging out backstage with A Day to Remember. He suddenly felt conscious, as if his jeans didn't fit right, his band tee too tight, his jacket zipped too tight, his shoes were on the wrong feet. He pushed his hair out of his face and couldn't help but think about how extraordinary the whole situation was.

“Paul, this is Jeremy, Alex, Kevin, Neil, and Josh” Parker said, making introductions and pointing to each member. “Guys, this is my boyfriend, Paul.”

“And you keep breaking my heart, Parker,” Jeremy said, sending her a wink before holding his hand out to Paul's. “Nice to meet you, bro. You keeping little P happy?”

Paul smiled, shaking his hand. “I'm doing all that I can to do so. It's a pleasure to meet you. You guys are incredible.”

“Thanks, man,” Jeremy said sincerely.

“And this is Orion,” Parker said.

Orion smiled and laughed, already slightly tipsy from the whiskey she had hidden in her purse and she threw her arms around Jeremy's neck. “You smell so good,” she told him.

Ross rolled his eyes and wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her back. “Ignore her. She's drunk.”

The guys just laughed.

Neil held up a beer bottle. “I think the girl's got the right idea if you ask me,” he said, taking a drink of his beer.

Orion smiled. “Hell yeah!”

“We gotta go in in five, Jeremy,” Alex said, scarfing down another taco.

“You guys will be in the front, right?” Jeremy asked.

Parker nodded. “Always, always.”

“Even if I have to beat bitches down to do so,” Orion declared, reaching into her purse and pulling out her water bottle, taking another drink.

“Alright, man. Let's do this shit.”

+

I'm looking down at this mess that you've made,
And I can't believe that I stayed,
So unhappy for so long.
Where did I go wrong?
I've got to get out of this,
My hand is on the handle.
We're leaving everything behind,
Goodbye for a lifetime.

I'll make my stand, right here with my friends.
I'll make my stand, right here with my friends.
I'll make my stand, right here with my friends.
I'll make my stand, right here with my friends.
I'll make my stand, right here with my friends...

Parker threw her arms around her best friend's necks, screaming out the words as if she were on the stage herself. There was something she felt every time she was at a concert, whether she was in the mosh pit, in the photo pit, standing beside the stage, and especially on the stage that made her feel whole. There was nothing in the world that compared to how she felt when she was surrounded by music.

+

The drive back was quiet. Orion was passed out in the passengers seat, having consumed beyond enough alcohol with the guys of A Day to Remember. Ross was driving, the radio just loud enough to help keep him away since his eyes were threatening to close with each passing mile. Paul and Parker were curled up in the backseat; Paul's head resting on Parker's lap, her fingers threaded through his hair, as her head rested on the seat, dozing in and out of consciousness.

Ross' head fell forward ands napped back up when there was a loud thud. He was half over the median and corrected the wheel as the engine started to smoke. “Shit! What the fuck is going on?” he yelled steering towards the side of the road, barely managing to get off the interstate before the car died.

Paul sat up straight, head knocking into Parker's chin. “What the fuck was that?”

Parker winced and rubbed at her jaw.

“Shit, I'm sorry,” Paul said, eyes still half-glazed with sleep and he brought his fingertips up to her jaw. “I'm sorry, babe.”

“Is okay,” Parker said before looking up at Ross. “What the hell happened?”

He shook his head, scratching at the back of his neck. “I guess I dozed off a little. Woke up when we were half on the other side and then...it died.”

Parker glanced down at Orion, who was still fast asleep, before climbing out of the car. “Pop the hood, Ross,” she said, pulling the hood of her jacket over her head. The wind was blowing, mixed in with the force of cars passing, and she was starting to feel cold again.

Ross popped the hood and followed her to the front of the car. “How can we fix this?”

Paul climbed out as well, standing behind them as they stared at the smoking engine. “How much do you know about cars, Parker?”

“Some,” she said, pointing to the far right. “That's where you check the oil.”

Paul laughed.

Ross groaned. “We're fucked.”

“No, we're not,” she said. “I mean, does Orion have triple A?”

Ross sent her a look. “No.”

“Okay,” she said, nodding slowly. “Paul, you know anything about cars?”

“I know that, generally, steaming engines is not a good thing,” he told her.

“Can we all stop being smart asses and try to figure out how the hell we're gonna fix this?” she snapped.

Ross dug out his phone and sighed. “Dead.”

“I forgot mine,” Paul said.

Parker dug her BlackBerry out of her pocket, scrolling through her contacts. “Who can we call who will drive to New York at three am to get us?” she asked. “Bryce, no. Josh, no.”

“They'll kill you if you wake them up, Parker.”

“Hence the no,” she told him.

“What about your mom?” Paul suggested.

Parker laughed. “No. She didn't want me to come in the first place.”

“Well, I know my parents won't either,” Ross said.

“Or mine,” Paul muttered, dejected.

Parker wasted another minute scrolling through her contacts. The rest of the people were either on tour or halfway across the country or even the world. “I think we're fucked.”

Paul sighed. “There is one person we could call.”

She shook her head. “Not happening.”

“Parker, we don't have a choice.”

“Yes, we do.”

“Stay out here until some creep kills us? Stay out here until the sun comes up and we can walk to find a mechanic?” he asked, sarcastic.

Ross sighed. “Parker. I think he's right.”

She shook her head. “I'm not calling him. We can find someone else.”

“There is no one else,” Paul said, taking the phone from her and scrolling down to find Martin's name. “We don't have anyone else, Parker. He's our only hope right now.”

She sighed. “There has to be someone else.”

Paul shook his head. “Martin's our last chance. You know he'd run out here if you asked,” he said. There was a tone in his voice that was sad, yet hopeful, and Parker couldn't exactly place it. “Please.”

“Dammit,” she muttered, running her hands through her hair again. She ripped the phone out of Paul's hand, sending him the worst glare she could muster in the middle of the night, and hit the call button. “Fine.”