The Distance Between Us

I finished signing for some girl when John came up. “Hey, you’re staying with us tonight.”

“What? Why?” I asked, signing for another girl. She stood between John and I before her friend took the picture.

“We want to cheer you up! It’s like the second week of tour already and you just mope.” He frowned. “We don’t like seeing our friends sad.”

“You still aren’t getting in my pants.”

He grinned. “I know. But I don’t like you like that… Nothing personal.”

“Good,” I mumbled.

“Alright, we gotta go. Like, NOW.” He grabbed my hand and pulled me towards the bus after letting me apologize to the few people left.

He gave me the tour of the bus and then let me change into my pajamas. I found John in the back lounge playing Left 4 Dead 2 with Garrett. “Wanna kill zombies with us?” Garrett asked. “It always cheers me up.” He smiled.

“No thanks,” I mumbled, sitting beside John. I pulled my feet up beside me and rested my head on his shoulder. I stared at the screen with a bored expression for a little while before I pulled my phone out to play Brick Breaker.

“Awe man! I died!”

Garrett and John paused and stared at me. “Are you playing Brick Breaker?” John asked, suppressing a laugh.

“Not anymore,” I said with a pout. I put my phone down on my knee and closed my eyes as John wrapped his arm around me.

“Kennedy, play for me,” John said, tossing the control. “Want to go to bed?” I nodded and before I knew it, he was picking me up like Maika used to. My phone fell to the floor, in the process. He carried me into the bunk hall. “Where would you like to sleep tonight?” He pointed out the empty bunks and I pointed to the only one on the bottom.

“Can you bring me my phone?” I asked, turning on my side. “I gotta call my sister.”

“Sure,” he said, closing the curtain halfway. He walked away and I heard my phone ringing.

“Who is it?” Kennedy asked.

“The asshole that broke poor Mel’s heart,” John said in an annoyed tone. “Hello?” Would he really answer my phone?? “This is John.” Yes, yes he would. “No. She’s sleeping.” He sounds pissed. “No, I’m not. What’s it to ya? You broke up with her so get the hell over it.” Go John!!“No, I’m not going to wake her up! Some of us have a heart.”

I heard footsteps coming towards the bunk hall. “Here’s your phone,” John said, sitting on the edge of my bunk. “Do you mind if I ask you something?”

I pulled him in beside me. Something flashed in his green eyes and he smiled. “Sure.” His warm hand landed on my hip and he looked into my eyes.

He hesitated for a second before he asked, “Why does Maika keep calling you? I mean, he broke up with you… Isn’t it the least he could to do to leave you in peace?” I cringed when John said his name and he gave an apologetic look.

“I don’t know,” I admitted. I bit my lip. “It kind of feels like he’s just doing it to rub it in… make it worse.” I frowned.

“I lied before.” He looked down at the small amount of space between us. “When I said I didn’t like you like that…”

I sighed. “Life is too fucking complicated.”

He frowned. “I’m sorry. I should go.” He quickly kissed my cheek before he got up and left. I rolled onto my back and pulled the blanket up around my chest after I closed the curtain. I let out another sigh before I started to type out a text to Kylie.

I ran out of the bunk hall wearing a plaid tank top with shorts. “Are we there?” I asked anxiously.

Garrett looked up from his video game. “Yeah, why?”

I grinned and bounced in excitement. “I wanna go get a new tattoo to surprise my sister.”

“Cool! I’ll come with you,” he offered, getting up. He followed me outside the bus and down the street to the tattoo shop. I told the guy that worked there what I wanted and within an hour, my new tattoo was finished. I paid him and we quickly left.

“You know, last time I got a tattoo, I got my nose pierced too…” I said, remembering the event. I cringed—the thought of my last tattoo brought back memories with Maika.

“Which one did you get last time?” he asked. He looked at my shoulder. “I’m guessing it wasn’t your band logo…” Garrett smiled.

“The one on my collar bone,” I said with a shrug.

“So why did you get a star this time?”

I grinned. “Kylie looooves Tokio Hotel; Bill has the same tattoo.” I pulled up the bottom of my shirt to admire my new ink.

“Isn’t your sister in your band?” he asked in a confused tone.

“More or less right now,” I shrugged. “She got knocked up last tour… She’s kind of… Uhh, huge right now.” I nodded to myself. “But yeah, she’s the drummer.”

“So you’re going to be an aunt?”

“I get to spoil my niece, and, or, nephew!”

“You know, last week, I would’ve sworn you were the most depressed person I ever met.” He laughed. “You’re pretty fun, though.”

I shrugged. “It depends on my mood. I wanna go show…” I paused in the middle of my sentence when I saw Kylie talking to John on the sidewalk. “KYLIE!” I ran and hugged her.

“MEL! Get the hell off me.”

I pouted. “I get a new tattoo for you and I get verbally abused! What the hell?”

“Cool!” John exclaimed. “Let us see!” I pulled up the bottom of my shirt again.

“You just made my day!” Kylie squealed.

I grinned. “Yeah. I do that sometimes.” I yawned. “Now if you excuse me, that bunk I slept in last night is calling me for a nap before sound check.”

Garrett laughed. “You just woke up two hours ago.”

“I didn’t say I slept much,” I shrugged. “Unless there’s a trip planned for food, I’m taking a nap.”

“Well,” John said with a grin. “Our bands were just about to go to Panera…”

“I’m there!” I shouted. “Jooohn, can I have a piggyback ride?” He laughed and nodded.

“Whore,” Kylie coughed.

I glared at her. “I heard that, prego bitch!” I smirked. “When you pop that baby out, you’re going doooown!”

Garrett snorted. “Melody, you have some issues.”

I turned and stuck my tongue out at him as I hopped on John’s back. He grabbed my thighs as I loosely wrapped my arms around his neck. “Coming from the Zombie King…”

“Hey! That’s a cool name. I’m keeping it!” He smiled. “I’ll take that as a compliment, too!” I rolled my eyes.

I started thinking about what I wanted as we walked up the road. “Wait a minute,” I said, thinking aloud. “Where’s everybody else?”

“We were waiting for you, fat ass,” Kylie said with a grin.

I pouted. “My butt is not big!” I rested my head on John’s shoulder. “But I know what I want.”

“Everything on the menu?” Kylie smirked.

“No! I don’t eat meat.” I stuck my tongue out at her. “But I do want a Mediterranean veggie sandwich, a low fat garden vegetable soup, one of those frozen mango things, and a cinnamon scone.”

“Pig,” Kylie snorted.

Garrett chuckled. “And how do you stay so skinny?”

I stuck my tongue out at him. “At least I don’t kill zombies all day.”

“It’s fun!!” he protested.

John jumped when my phone vibrated. “Holy SHIT!”

“Sorry,” I giggled, attempting to dig my phone out of my pocket. I sighed when I looked at the screen. I frowned and decided to get this over with. I pressed the answer button and held the phone to my ear. “What do you want?”

“Melody, it’s Chris,” I let out a sigh of relief. Kylie and Garrett were staring at me. I jumped down from John’s back and followed a few steps behind them. “Look, you have to get back with Maika.”

I cringed. “I don’t have to do anything. I’m perfectly happy.” Lie. “I’m enjoying being single, just like he should be. He dumped me. He can get the hell over whatever it is.” Only part of that was a lie.

“Melody, you don’t understand,” Chris sighed.

“I understand perfectly,” I hissed. “He didn’t want me. I moved on.” Liar.

“He still fucking loves you!” My breath caught in my throat and I stopped. Garrett, John, and Kylie were all staring at me and I almost dropped my phone.

“W-what?”

Chris sighed into the phone. “He still loves you. Every day he’s been going crazy trying to figure out how to get you back. He’s gonna kill me for saying this, but he broke up with you when he was drunk.”

I probably looked like I was going to cry. “I don’t believe you,” I choked out. “I have to go. Bye.” I hung up and stuck the phone in my pocket.

“What was that about?” Kylie asked.

“Nothing,” I mumbled. John slung his arm around my shoulders.

“Cheer up, buttercup.”

“Did you just call me buttercup?” I looked up at John. “Are you on drugs?”

Garrett laughed. “No, he’s just weird.”

“Again, Zombie King, why should I agree with your opinion?”

Kylie smirked and elbowed me. “Because he doesn’t sleep around.”

“I do not sleep around, dammit!” I could feel Garrett and John staring at me as we walked into the restaurant. I pushed John’s arm off me and quickly went to order my food.