Farewell to Shady Glade

We held hands as we left the hotel, laughing at the receptionist and how she eyed up Shayley. "You're such a looker!" I said, over exaggerating every word. He laughed at me, squeezing my hand and blushing. I laughed too, internally thanking God for putting this being on the planet. We reached the buses within minutes, and there wasn't anyone in sight. The van was empty, the street was empty, and I wondered where everyone could be.

I cringed at the feedback as Phil checked his guitar. It sounded like nails on a chalkboard, and thankfully, sound check was before any of the fans got in. "Fucking sound guys." I mumbled under my breath, knowing too well that everything was hooked the way it should.
"Monitors!" Jerry yelled once the screeching ended. The sound booth checked the settings, as I assumed, and Jerry checked his microphone again. He put his hand on his head in exasperation and groaned out loud. Tonight was going to be a long night.

Where were we? It was bad I didn't even know. The only thing I did know was that Of Mice weren't planning on coming back to this venue, wherever it was. Everything that could've gone wrong that night did. The mics cut out halfway between Westbound & Down, the guitars cut in and out the whole set and the drums were too low for anyone to hear. Nonetheless, they played their hearts out, like every night. It just disappointed me that the fans couldn't see them in their fullest potential.

I said nothing as I took down the set, rolling up the cords, and whatever else. Everyone was pretty much silent, minus Jerry and his swearing about the sound guys. I hated seeing them all like this. This wasn't anything any of them could've predicted or done much about. I sighed as I walked towards the van, knowing too well that this ride would be as silent as a morgue.

Shayley had his head in my lap, his feet underneath the seat Phil lounged on, with Tino in the back, and Jerry and Jaxin in front. I sat behind the driver's seat as Jerry head banged his way through another CD of his. I couldn't even hear it; I was too busy staring into Shayley's eyes. No one really said anything as Jerry drove us to another city, for one reason or the other. I looked up to see Jaxin looking back at me and Shayley and just shaking his head. "You guys are weirdoes." He said it with amusement. I laughed at him and Shayley smiled.

The way in which we told the guys about anything was walking around with little drawn hearts floating above our heads as we looked at one another. Holding hands, laughing, and petty little kisses drew most of the attention. Jaxin pulled me aside one night, his face in ultimate shock. "What the!" he exclaimed, and I laughed. Shayley was packing up his guitar in one of the equipment vans as Jaxin spoke in whispers.
"Yeah?" I said and he groaned.
"When did this happen?" he asked, moving his gaze from me to Shayley to back again.
"A couple days ago…" I said a little ashamed I hadn't even told Jaxin.
"So are you guys together?" he asked and I shrugged.
"I don't know." I said and he groaned again. I smiled. I didn't need to know if we were together, all I knew was that I was happy.

It felt like weeks before Shayley and I had a moment of privacy, when in reality it had only been about a week and a half. We hadn't talked about our situation, anything at all. It was weird, carrying on the charade, but not knowing where it stood. My mind was frayed with what this all meant, and what his feelings were. I needed the closure, just to know, for me.

Shayley's POV

How could I answer her? What was I supposed to say? Yeah, I'm totally in love with you babe. It didn't work that way. She posed the question without anything behind it, her voice nonchalant, bored even. This question meant everything we had shared in the last few weeks. I knew her, I knew this was bothering her beyond words. "Shay." She said my name, like she always did, to get my attention, to make me realize she was there. Didn't she recognize I knew her every move?
"Chris." I said her name, with so much meaning behind it.
"What is this?" she asked me again. I knew what she meant, she meant us. "Are you leading me on? Because if you are, I don't need it, I--" she said and I cut her off by kissing her. Her breath caught in her throat as I watched her eyes, staring back into mine. I broke away from her, and she said nothing. Always jumping to conclusions, this one was.
"Christine White, what would you do if I said I loved you?" I said, putting my heart and my emotions on the line. She bit on her lip ring and looked away from me.
"I would say I didn't believe you." She whispered and sighed. I groaned and looked away from her, standing up and pacing.
"This isn't something I just say to people. This isn't something I confess to my best friend, to someone I've known for such a short time. I don't know where this came from." I spilt my guts on the ground I was walking on. She reached for me, grabbing my arm, instantly calming me and made me stop pacing.
"Shay." She said my name with admiration. I blushed and she let go of me. She stood up and came to me, just hugging me. "I love you too." She whispered, and I guessed this was all she needed.

We had talked for hours. About our future, what we wanted out of one another, and how much she meant to me. How much I meant to her. She didn't believe me, any of my heartfelt, sincere words. She said "I don't deserve anything like you" and I laughed. She was serious. I kissed her, letting her know that she was all I needed. Hopefully that was enough for her.

Chris's POV

The room was like the first room we spent the night in, not much was different but the comforters we slept on. "Shayley!" I exclaimed, as he tickled me as soon as we closed the door behind us. It was days since we talked, since he told me he loved me, since I said the same. It meant a lot more to me then it did to him, but regardless, it helped me. I fell back onto the bed, laughing uncontrollably as I moved up the bed to lay my head on the pillows. He kneeled on the foot of the bed, coming closer to me, and slinging his leg over my waist. I laughed as he sat on me, then moved closer to my face, keeping himself inches above my body. I laughed some more and he kissed me. His lips moved ever so slowly from my lips to my cheeks to my jaw to my neck. I stopped laughing, and breathed heavier as he started biting on my neck. He leaned away from me, staring me in the eyes, his full of lust and passion already.
"I love you, you know." He said and kissed me again.
"I love you too Shay." I said and shed the shirt off his body. His tattoos trailed from his sleeve to his chest, as my eyes traveled down his body. I had seen him shirtless before, but in this situation, it made it all the better. He laughed at me and how I took him in, blushing ever so slightly. I smiled to myself as he reached down to shed my shirt. I lifted myself up for him to do so, not even giving it a thought. He took me in with his eyes and I laughed back at him, blushing ten fold. He began to kiss me again, and we made the most out of our off day.

I came up panting, my mind and body in utter and complete bliss. Shayley collapsed beside me, sweating, and I just went to him, laying my head on his chest. His heart began to calm, his breathing coming back to normal, and he laughed. I heard it in his being as his body rumbled beneath me. "Well, well, well." He whispered to himself, and I just smiled at him. He kissed the top of my head, and put his arms around me as we lay there in the afterglow.