12 Bullets to the Head

Aiden crawled into his bunk and closed the privacy curtain. The sounds of his band mates sleeping hung in the morning air. Aiden was too tired to search for his pajamas so he pushed his jeans off and to the end of the bed as he pulled his hoodie off. He crawled under the warm covers, making sure to pull the blanket Mardella made him when he was younger over the other blankets. He drifted off quickly.

Aiden looked around quickly, making sure that no one was following him. He crept out of his hiding place behind a rack of clothes and dodged behind another. His heart was racing, pounding in his chest. He had to move, he couldn't be found. He ran out from the rack and into the dressing room nearby. He locked the door and turned around.

The dressing room suddenly turned into a bathroom. White tile covered the floor and walls, making Aiden feel like he didn't belong in such a clean room. Instinctively, Aiden crossed the room to the vanity mirror above the marble sink. He glanced at himself in the large mirror then did a double take. Standing right where he stood wasn't the Aiden he recognized. No, it was a boy with bright green eyes, short dark brown hair and a tan face. The biggest difference was that he was all that Aiden wanted to be; skinny.

The boys lips were moving, but there was no sound Aiden's ears could pick up. Aiden leaned closer, thinking that he might be able to hear the boy better if he got nearer. The boy in the mirror didn't lean forward as Aiden expected. He stayed where he originally was as Aiden leaned so close that the tip of his nose was mere centimeters from the glass. As his nose touched the glass, a cold rushing feeling spread through Aiden's body. It felt like he was being sucked forward and in fact, he was. He was pulled from the bathroom's tile flooring and into a strange nothingness.

Suddenly Aiden was in a dim room. He didn't land, he was just... there. Again, he was in a bathroom, but this one was very familiar. He was in the small dim bathroom at Mardella's house. He was knelt on the red stone floor in front of the toilet. His hand was grasping the edge of the bathtub that wasn't taken up by the glass door. His other was on the toilet seat, holding himself steady.

His stomach convulsed unpleasantly as a foul smell reached his senses. Aiden looked down into the bowl and gagged unexpectedly. In the bowl was just what Aiden had expected; his own stomach contents of what looked to be a salad and tomato soup. His throat clenched violently and his mouth began to water, he knew it was coming and he knew that he wouldn't be able to stop it either. His stomach squirmed and Aiden leaned forward slightly as the rest of the contents splashed in the bowl, mixing easily with the rest. Aiden heaved, trying to rid his body of the sin that churned about his stomach.

That morning, after Aiden did fall asleep in his bunk, the band arrived at Salt Air venue. Aiden was the last up and ready as he had a bad nights sleep. The nightmare he had was still on his mind as he quickly got dressed in the small bathroom on the bus. He couldn't shake the thought of it off of him. He knew this was a sign; a bad one at that. He couldn't be back, could he? After all the help and support Sam gave him?

He tried to brush it aside once he left the bathroom. Maybe he could just leave that part of him there? Maybe he could forget about him for just the day, deal with it later...

Aiden walked out into the front of the bus, putting on a smile for his band mates who were sitting at the table talking. They smiled back at him, standing up.

"Ready, Aiden?" Levi asked, smiling. He was always happy when Aiden was happy.

"Yeah," Aiden said. "I wasn't feeling too good there for a second. I'm fine though."

"You sure?" Ryan asked concerned. "Don't think you have to preform just because you're in a band. If you're feeling sick, just let us know, kay?"

"I know."

Their plans didn't falter for Aiden's supposed sickness. They still played a few games of catch outside the venue and they even had a jumping competition between Aiden and Jose, the two shortest people between the bands, before the show. But soon enough, they had to stop the fun and get ready for their show as Devten took the stage.

Aiden's good mood seemed to wear thin by the time they hit the stage that night. Sure, he pulled it off by using all that bad energy to deliver his songs but by the end of the set, he was ready to curl in a ball.

"First shower!" Levi called as they gathered in the dressing room.

"Second," Ryan and Brenden called together.

Ryan look at Brenden sadly before lowering his head. He mumbled that Brenden should get the second shower, using the excuse that Brenden had started first. Ryan sank into a chair, hoping he hadn't hurt Brenden by being selfish.

"No, Ry," Brenden began as Levi left the room and Aiden gathered his own clothes. "You can have second." Brenden sat down on the chair next to Ryan, talking quietly with him.

Aiden glanced over to see that Ryan was looking down at his hands as Brenden whispered to him. He thought something was up with those two, but he didn't know if he should ask. It was blatantly obvious that they were both acting oddly around each other. Aiden brushed that aside (they would figure it out) and picked his cell out of his pocket in his street jeans. He always checked his phone after a show. Tonight was no different; one new text message from Sam. He smiled and opened the message. He knew was it was, it was always the same.

"How the show, Aid?"

He quickly texted her back. She always waited till he responded. He always told her 'great' but tonight wasn't that, not even close.

"dfrnt"

Aiden hit send and slumped down into the couch, resting his phone on his stomach. The room was almost silent; the only sounds being Brenden's voice murmuring to Ryan. He couldn't necessarily hear what they were talking about, but he caught some words. To him, it seemed like Brenden was concerned why Ryan was acting differently and was getting mad that he wouldn't just come out and tell him.

Aiden jumped slightly as a cell went off in the room. He looked over to see Brenden pull out his from his back pocket and look apologetically at Ryan before answering. Aiden looked back at his phone, waiting for it to vibrate. He heard Ryan sigh lowly and stand up. He watched as the boy walked over to his trunk and began to gather his clothes. His face was expressionless, almost sad. Aiden was about to stand and go give him a hug, but the cell on his stomach vibrated.

"Hey Sam," he mumbled, keeping his eyes on Ryan.

"Hey Pretty-Boy," she greeted quietly. "How was the show different?"

Aiden paused, watching Ryan cross the room and leave just as Levi entered, freshly showered. "I'm not sure. Everything wasn't right..."

She sighed. She never liked it when he wouldn't answer fully. "Well, what didn't feel right?"

Aiden hesitated. Should he tell her about the dream? Should he be honest with her and come forward that the thoughts plagued him once again? Aiden decided that was better than hiding it and creating something worse for himself.

"I had a dream..." he said slowly. Sam was silent on the other end. She was waiting for him to continue. "He's back, Sam...."

Aiden began to explain the dream to her in full detail. She was silent on the other end the entire time, just listening to him recall the dream. She then gave him advice that if he ever got that urge to push it aside and to tell the guys. They would help look after him and keep him on his course. Aiden thought about her advice as they closed the call. He wasn't sure if he wanted to tell them. Last time they didn't help much, they didn't seem to even care what he was going through. So why would they care now? Why would they even want to help him out of this demon's grips when they thought he was insane?

Aiden never told them, not after his shower, not after they left the venue and boarded the bus and not even after they watched a short movie on the bus. He kept the demon to himself, at least for the time being until it showed it's true colors and reeked havoc on it's host.