Status: finished

Fly Until You Crash

time is useless.

“We’re really glad to have you back in your rightful place,” Slade whispered to Addie, who smiled in return. It was a Friday near the end of February, and Anarbor were playing a show. It was the first time Addie would be in attendance and manning the merch table since everything with Justin had happened.

“It feels good to be back here,” she replied, holding her smile in place. She continued to set up the bins of t-shirts while the band set up their equipment. She thought she heard a voice calling her name, so she quickly scanned the room, but saw no one that would want to get in contact with her. A few minutes later, she heard her name again, coming, she thought, from outside the venue’s main doors. Curious, she walked to the door to investigate.

“I thought that was you in there!” Addie jumped at the familiar voice. Looking up, she realized it was Justin that had been calling her. She avoided eye contact and strode back into the venue, mumbling about having work to do. “Hey now, don’t give me the cold shoulder! I’ve missed you!”

“Get away from me. Seriously,” Addie said assertively. She would have nothing to do with him anymore. As she attempted once again to go back inside, he grabbed her arm, preventing her from walking away.

“I just wanna talk to you, geez! There’s no reason you have to be such a bitch,” Justin barked, not letting go of Addie’s arm.

“Let me go, you have no right to come and talk to me, especially when I don’t wish to speak to you,” she spat, finally yanking her arm free. As she turned to walk back inside, yet again, she ran into Slade, who apparently had witnessed everything that had just happened. He looked pissed, to say the least. “He’s not worth it, Slade. C’mon, let’s just go back in.” Slade made no movement to go back inside. He continued to stare at Justin, as if contemplating an attack of some sort.

“I swear to God, if you so much as come near her again, you’ll be a dead man,” Slade spoke calmly. Justin struggled to start an argument, but Slade rushed Addie back inside the venue. “What the hell happened with him?” he quickly asked Addie, a look of rage still apparent on his face.

“I-I, he grabbed me, and-“ she started.

“Not just now. What’s everything that’s happened with him? You haven’t told me anything, and something must’ve gone down for you to freak out like that.” With this comment, Addie did everything in her power to keep from breaking down and crying. Confused at her reaction, Slade pulled Addie into a hug and whispered things about everything being okay into her ear.

“We’ll talk later, okay? You have a show to put on. I just wanna say…I’m sorry. You were right. About everything,” Addie said, pulling away from Slade. He nodded and went back to the stage, his bandmates questioning the somber look on his face. He waved them off, telling then that Justin had just tried to talk to Addie, and all their faces immediately turned sour. After a quick glance at her friends to tell them she was fine, Addie busied herself with getting the rest of the merch set out. After doors, she looked around for Justin, but he was nowhere in sight. She held her breath until Anarbor were done playing, thankfully not seeing Justin at all. Slade quickly ran over to Addie, telling her that Adam was coming over to work the table so the two of them could leave. She began to protest that she could finish out the night, but he cut her off and pulled her away.

Slade drove Addie’s car back to his house, and after forcing her inside he set up a movie and mumbled something about making them food. Addie mindlessly stared at the television, contemplating her words for when Slade returned. She knew she’d have to tell him about everything, which was the last thing she wanted to do. Slade returned with two plates, each adorned with a half of a frozen pizza, and mumbled a sorry about not having any other food in the house. Addie accepted the plate and nibbled on her half, buying as much time as she could. She figured she’d have at least the rest of the movie in silence. Once it did end, Slade gave her an expectant glance, and Addie took a deep breath before launching into the entire story. She knew that at some point she had stopped making sense and only seemed to babble, but Slade let her finish before saying anything. When she was done, she had once again broken into tears and repeatedly apologized for not listening.

“You don’t need to say sorry, Addie. It’s not your fault that any of this happened,” he stated as he drew her in for a hug. He was furious at Justin for putting his best friend through hell and basically making her do things she was clearly against, but for now all that he could do was be there for her.

“It’s completely my fault though,” she began to protest before Slade cut her off.

“You needed to do some things on your own, and that’s okay. It sucks how everything turned out, but you’ll be a better person for it,” he whispered, evoking more tears from his friend. He knew that in time she would realize that everything had worked out for the best, but it would take awhile to get to that point. He vowed to never let anything like this get by him again, and to always be there for his best friend from now on. “We do need to get you off of whatever you’re taking right now, though.”

“Don’t you think I could go get a prescription for it? I mean, I could just blame this sudden failure on ADD or something…” Addie trailed, knowing what his answer would be.

“No one’s going to believe you if you say that you just got ADD now, you know that,” Slade half-laughed. “You don’t need that shit, you don’t need anything. Look how far you’ve come to this point, college is going to be no different. Everyone deviates off the path sometimes, yours just came a bit later than most people.”

“I guess. I’m just glad it’s all over with, and high school will be over soon, and I can start a completely new life.” Slade gave her a face that was almost a pout, before she rolled her eyes and hit him. “You’re going to be in my new life, duh! If it weren’t for you, I seriously wouldn’t have cared about getting back on track.” Addie was once again choking back tears as she realized the impact her best friend had had on her life, and how he wouldn’t be just a mile away next year if she needed anything. College would be a whole new playing field that she wasn’t quite sure she was ready for.

“I wouldn’t let you forget about me, anyways. I’d call and text you all the time, write on your Facebook wall every hour or so, and even show up unexpectedly at your dorm,” Slade tried to say seriously, but ended up laughing.

“Could you do that anyways? Especially the randomly showing up at my dorm thing? That would be the best,” Addie replied, trying not to sound too hopeful. She didn’t want her best friend to know that she was relying on him a lot more than he though.

“I will definitely do that, and bring a car full of people each time I do,” he smiled.

That sounds like the absolute best idea ever. I will hold you to that, just so ya know.”

“I expect to be held accountable for everything I promise to do.”

The two of them exchanged more promises before calling it a night. Addie texted her mom to let her know that she was staying at Slade’s, actually meaning it this time around, and they settled into his bed. Addie knew that he would always be there for her, and that her new life in California would be everything that she could hope for, even though she’d be miles away from her best friend.
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Okay I just wanted this done and out of the way. I really ended up disliking this story I could've made it a lot better but oh well. Comment anyways?

Since this is done, check out this story, but read this one first, if you haven't yet!

Also, Tina and I are starting to discuss a joint story, so be on the look out for that soon!! Thank you for reading and sticking through my rants. :)