Early Sunsets Over Newark

And there is was. Two years worth of waiting tables at the grill, getting soggy crayons thrown at me, and long foot soaks. There was seven boxes, each representing a stage in my life that i wasn't quite ready to part with. Everything was gone. My car was totaled, by what I could only assume to be an RV bus. The driver, a bald, beer bellied, cigar smoking man, was eyeing over the damage, and writing everything down on a piece of receipt paper. I dropped my cigarette and ran. It felt like I had floated across the lot in three seconds or less and immediately began to cry.

"What the fuck did you do?!"

Sammy appeared from almost nowhere, still puffing away, and staring down the man who would later be known as Gary. She stared him down, good.

"What did I do? Maybe you shouldn't park right in the middle of the whole freaking lot."

His voice was gruff, harsh, annoying. I immediately shoved him, not quite off balance but with all of my force. "You idiot! This is my car! That was my life! You owe me two years of my life!"

I didn't even know what I was saying. I was just screaming words in order to form sentences that didn't make much sense, even to me. Gary looked annoyed, Sammy tried to hug me and rub my back. And then a boy got out of the RV. I couldn't see him from where I fixated my stare on the ground. But I could hear his voice not far from me.

"Look, we're really sorry. We'd be happy to pay for the damages to your car."

I started sobbing, more distinct, much harder than before. "That was more than my car! That was everything I own! I worked two years for that piece of classic shit!"

I kicked the back bumper, so hard that my foot instantly throbbed and as I grabbed my shoe and began bouncing around, I finally saw him. For that mere second, my world had stopped. It was like a dream. A horribly wonderful dream. It also didn't help that he stood right in front of a sunset, giving him a bright halo.

There, before me, stood one of the best musicians of all time. Sammy's cigarette dropped from her mouth, as her jaw dropped in awe. We looked at each other, and then back to Gerard Way, and then back to each other.

"We could give you a ride, maybe. To wherever it is you're headed. I mean, we are really, very sorry about this mess."

I felt like all new tears were forming. I wiped my face, stood upright, and nodded slowly.

"We could use a ride."