Inside of You

You’re twenty-one
I see your eyes, you’re barely sober
I hear your voice
You’re calling out
From me to you

It had been exactly one week since Babe woke up next to John in his bunk. Exactly one week since she started sleeping on Nevershoutnever!’s with Maddy bus so she wouldn’t have to worry about accidently running into John. Exactly one week since she had replied to any of her any of the guys from the Maine’s text messages or anxious calls. It had been exactly one week, since Babe De Luca’s heart was had been terribly confused.

Now while Maddy didn’t understand why Babe was so upset about the situation, Babe was certainly sure why. First of all she was embarrassed that she hooked up with John exactly one week ago, she didn’t want John to think she had no morals. Especially now that Babe was so sure, that she had feelings for a certain John O’Callaghan.

Babe started packing up the Merch table as fast as she could before any of the guys could find her. She still wasn’t ready to face them, when she heard a familiar voice say, “Hey there.”

“Hey Alex,” Babe said without really paying too much attention to him, after his party, she had really lost all respect she had for him.

“You know, your friends seem to think you may have disappeared,” Alex said referring to the guys from the Maine.

Babe said and turned around to face him, “Look Alex. I don’t know what you’re trying to do right now, but I don’t want to deal with you and your whoreish tendencies, mmkay?”

Alex laughed, “I’m not trying anything. I was gonna just offer you a beer to take your mind off things?”

“I’m not really a fan a beer. If you had rum and coke with you by chance, then it be a different story,” Babe answered putting the last of the boxes away, “Now if you excuse me. I have somewhere I have to be.”

“Come on Babe. It just so happens that I DO actually have some rum back at the tour bus. What do you say to a drink or two? Strictly as friends,” Alex asked again.

Babe sighed knowing he would pester her until she caved in, “Alright. But I have your word you’re word that nothing sketchy will happen?”

“Scout’s honor,” Alex promised.

----------------------------------------------------

Babe laughed ridiculously loudly before taken another sip of the amber liquid from her bottle. The rum and vodka leftover from the party had long be finished by the duo as they sat on the ground outside All Time Low’s bus. They were now finishing off the rest of the beer.

“No Iswear to god! It actuuualy happen’d,” Alex slurred, finishing telling Babe a story.
Babe hiccupped, “I don’t! I don’t believe you.”

“You know. YOU, uhh, yeh you look realllly good rightnoww,” Alex drunkenly said turning to Babe.

Babe shook her head, “You promised me no sketchy business Alexander! I think I’ve had to many I should. I should probably leave. The guys, they will want to know where I am…”

“But your wit mehh now Babe,” Alex slurred once again grabbing Babe and forcefully kissing her. It was awful for Babe, it was rough and lustful, exactly the opposite of John’s. And then Babe realized in her drunken stupor, even know she would much rather be with John. Babe tried to push him off when she heard a voice, “Wow.”

Alex stopped kissing Babe and she turned around seeing the person she would have least wanted to catch her doing that, John. “This, this isn’t wait it looks like,” Babe said trying to stand up to go talk to John.

“Well Babe I’m pretty sure I know what it looks like. It looks like you hooking up with Alex completely wasted after you’ve been ignoring me and the guys all week,” John shouted at Babe.

Babe tried to walk over to him but only ended up stumbling, “John. Please you have to believe me.”

John just shook his head, “We’re done Babe. All of this is done. I thought finally after what happened with us last week, things were finally looking up. But I guess not.”

“John,” Babe yelled out to John but he just walked away. She stumbled away from All Time Low’s van to where she knew the Maine’s bus was. She brought her beer bottle up to her lips again, hoping it could calm her nerves.

But it only made things worse.

Luckily, Pat Kirch happened to be walking to the bus when he saw Babe De Luca laying on the ground. “BABE! There you are, where the hell have you been,” Pat said running over to her. “Babe don’t ignore I can see you laying on the ground right now.”

Then Pat realized that Babe wasn’t responding because she possibly couldn’t. He ran over to her and checked her pulse, “SHIT!” Pat ran into the bus and saw a very pissed off John
and a confused Kennedy. “Guys, Babe’s passed out outside,” Pat exclaimed.

“So what,” John practically spat.

Pat shook his head trying to get his point through John’s thick skull, “I checked her pulse! And it’s barely there, hell I’m not even sure if I felt it for sure.”

“Are you sure,” Kennedy practically shouted and jumped up, “Well fuck. Why are we still sitting here?”

“That’s what I’ve been trying to get through to you guys,” Pat yelled throwing his arms up into the air. As all three guys ran outside to get Babe help.

--------------------------------------------

“Is she gonna be okay,” Jared shouted rushing into the emergency room with Garrett.
John, who was pacing around the room, stopped and shook his head, “they said she has
alcohol poisoning.”

“Holy hell,” Garrett said taking a seat next to Pat and Kennedy.

“When is she gonna wake up,” Jared asked nervously.

Pat looked up sadly from the cup of hot chocolate he was holding, “They don’t know. She could go into a coma. They said we’re lucky we found her when we did, if we waited any longer she could have died.”

Suddenly, a doctor walked in and looked around, “are you guys here for a Ms. De Luca?”

“Yes sir,” John answered for everyone, he was extremely nervous. The doctors told all the guys when they got to the ER that alcohol poisoning could lead to death, and John definitely didn’t want the last thing he said to Babe was they were done. Especially when that was the exact opposite of what he wanted.

The doctor looked at his clipboard and then up at the boys, who stuck out like sore thumbs in the hospital waiting room, “Well, she’s awake. And she can see you now, but only one at a time. So, whoever wants to go see her first, she’s in room 102. It’s the second door, to the right.”

“I’ll go first,” John said jumping up; he wanted to be the first one she saw. He walked anxiously to her room.

“Johnny,” Babe said excitedly as she saw John walk in. She had a smile across her face but was blushing like mad, “I’m sorry.”

John sat down next to her bed, “Do you even remember what happened?”

Babe looked away from John and started looking at her fingers, “No,” she answered honestly. Then she said, “But, I’m sorry that I’ve been such a bitch. What happened last week was special to me, and I didn’t want you to think that I had sex with you just because I was drunk or had low moral standards. Cause, since this tour’s started, I’ve come to the conclusion that I do really like you Johnny. And when I say that I mean as more than a friend.”

John looked at Babe, but for some reason he couldn’t get the image of her kissing Alex out of his mind. John sighed and ran his hands through his hair, “Babe, I don’t know if that can work out.”

He could see Babe’s face drop, she looked heartbroken. Which only broke his heart to see
her so upset. Babe turned back to face John and stared him straight in the eyes, “Why not?” Her voice was unwavering.

“Because, Babe. Ever since this tour started you’ve been acting weird. I know you’re my best friend and everything. But you can’t just ignore us for a whole week after something like that.
Especially when I finally find you, you’re hooking up with Alex!”

Babe shook her head, “I hooked up with Alex? No I didn’t I stayed with Maddy and Chistofer the entire time!”

“Well I didn’t know that! Cause you never answered any of my texts or calls,” John countered.

“Well I KNOW I didn’t hook up with Alex,” Babe said getting angry.

“Babe you were drunk out of your mind. When I found you, you were kissing him,” John explained, reaching his last straw.

“YOU’RE LIEING TO ME,” Babe shouted at John.

John yelled right back at him, “WHY WOULD I LIE TO YOU ABOUT SOMETHING LIKE THAT?”

“You know what John? Just leave. I don’t want to see you anymore,” Babe said almost to calmly and she watched John walk away out the hospital room door.

The real tragedy of this whole scene is that both John O’Callaghan and Babe De Luca were left heartbroken.