I Am Invincible

It was a very emotional farewell at Sydney airport on the day I left to go back to America. Saying goodbye to all my friends was the hardest part about leaving. Jackson had borrowed a mini-van from someone he knows and drove Jake, Rhys, Mark, Silver, Ivory, Ebony, Tiarna and I up to the airport for our final goodbyes.

After hearing my flight number being called over the intercom about twenty minutes after Jackson parked in the massive car park and my luggage was checked-in, I stood up shakily with tears in my eyes and turned to face my friends who were either sitting on the chairs or on the ground surrounding me. They stood up in one movement and pretty much attacked me with hugs, all at once so I was crushed in between eight bodies. By the time my friends allowed me to breathe again, tears were falling steadily down my face.

“Aww, baby, don’t cry,” Ivory said to me. For some reason, she calls everyone ‘baby’. “It’s not like we’ll never meet again. Maybe next time we can come visit you?” she said encouragingly and ran her thumb under my eye to remove the tears that kept building there.
I nodded miserably and hugged her one more time and, once again, I was crushed between my friends. When my flight number was called a second time, everyone pulled away and looked at me sadly.
“I’m gonna miss you guys. You’re the best friends I could ask for,” I said with a sob. ‘Thank you for everything. Really.”

A mixture of ‘You’re welcome’s and ‘We’ll miss you too’s came flooding from my friends mouths and my heart broke with the knowledge that I wouldn’t be seeing them in a long time. For a fleeting second, I considered just not getting on the plane, but when I heard Jake tell me to ‘get my ass on the plane before it leaves without me’ I pushed the thought out of my mind and grabbed my carry-on bag that contained my iPod and a couple of other things that would keep me from being bored on the flight.

“I love you guys,” I told them sincerely before I headed over to where other people were lining up to get on the plane.

A few minutes later I was seated on the plane with a fat, sweaty middle-aged man on my left and a teenage girl on the right. Straight away, I pulled my iPod out and shoved the earphones in my ears, turning it up loud to drown out the roaring of the plane’s engines that were just starting up. I was much too upset to be afraid of the take-off like I usually was.
The twenty-eight hour plane trip was agony. It was the longest I’d ever gone without talking since I said my first word – ‘mama’. I think dad was a bit disappointed that it wasn’t ‘dada’ but he can’t complain; after all, my first sentence was ‘shut up, Alex’. But that’s beside the point, the point is, is that I didn’t say a word the entire trip, communicating to the air hostess with only nods and shakes of my head when asked if I wanted certain things off the trolley.

~~~

It was a happy reunion with my family and friends when I got off the plane with a numb ass from sitting down pretty much the whole plane ride. I ran straight into my mother’s arms as soon as I saw her and sobbed into her shoulder, babbling about how much I missed her and how much I’ve needed her since all that shit with Zach started. I pulled away and looked at her face through teary eyes and smiled a watery smile before I was dragged out of her arms and smothered by someone’s chest. Stupid tall-ass freaking people, hugging me without even allowing me to see who it is, I thought before they grabbed my shoulders and held me at arm’s length. Jack was smiling widely at me and I grinned back before looking around at all the other people that were surrounding me. Dad was rubbing his chest with an angry look on his face and I figured that Jack had elbowed him out of the way to get to me and I giggled.

“You’ve grown, shorty,” Jack stated. I pouted at the nickname, he knows I hate it, and yet he still calls me it constantly. But that’s Jack for you; ‘annoying’ is usually one of the first things to pop into anyone’s mind who knows him if asked to describe the lanky giant who was still gripping my shoulders tightly. I shrugged uncomfortably and Jack got the hint, releasing me to allow me to turn and throw myself at my best friend. Emilie was surprised when suddenly I pretty much tackled her to the ground and only just managed to stay on her feet. I hugged her for a long time before I was pulled away by dad, who nearly broke my ribs. I went around hugging everyone who had come to greet me after such a long time away. I was just pulling away from hugging Zack when I heard my next flight number over the intercom. Mom pulled me into one final hug before she gave me a slight push towards where everyone else was gathering to travel to California.

“Miss you, honey,” mom called, “Call when you’re settled in, okay?”
“Alright, mom. Bye guys,” I said to everyone before turning around and following the line of people.

As I settled down in my designated seat (which was near a window this time) I let my head lay back on the headrest behind me and I closed my eyes, but it wasn’t long before the plane roared into life, shocking me and making me grip the arm rests on both sides tightly.
“Dude, chill,” said the random guy sitting next to me before he grabbed a thick book from his bag and opening it where his bookmark rested. His eyes immediately started scanning the page as I tried to calm down.

Eventually, my breathing slowed down to its regular pace and I started acting like a normal person again. Drawing my iPod out of my bag and turning it on, I discovered that I only had 10% battery left. I prayed that I’d make it to Cali without it dying on me. I placed the earphones in my ears and selected ‘Play’ when I found a song that I liked. I leaned my head back once more and allowed myself to fall asleep.

~~~

Stepping off the plane feeling more tired than before I decided to get some rest, I was a little worried about whether or not I’d be able to find who I was looking for at the busy airport. I spotted the luggage carousel about a hundred metres ahead of me, but that didn’t help me much unless I could find the person whose house I’d be staying at for the duration of my time in California. I scanned the crowd for a little while until I spotted a familiar face. It wasn’t the face I was looking for but I assumed that the one I was looking for wouldn’t be too far away. I made my way through the airport, dodging people left and right until I found the person I had spotted before. He was facing away from me now, and it was obvious he was searching for someone – most likely me.

I reached up slightly and tapped him on the shoulder, obviously shocking him, because he jumped about a foot in the air. He turned around, clutching his heart, before a big smile stretched across his face.

“Cameron! Hi, bud. How are ya, man? Haven’t seen you since… Well, I don’t know, but it’s great to see you,” he said, pulling me into a hug.
I pulled away from his shoulder so I could speak. “Hi!” I said brightly, “I’ve been better, but… y’know. Did you come to pick me up by yourself?” I asked, searching around for anyone who looked familiar.
“Nah, man. The other one’s gone to the bathroom… about half an hour ago actually. He’s probably gotten himself mauled or something. Either that or he’s found some chick to chat up… that one seems more likely,” he replied with a smirk.

“Or, he’s standing behind you, waiting for you to notice his presence,” a new voice joined our conversation and I spun around. I looked at the slightly taller man for about three and a half seconds, taking in his shoulder-length dyed black hair, snakebite piercings, tattoos and rock star clothing before I flung myself on my uncle.

“Hi, Max!” I screeched in his ear, making him flinch. Can you blame me? I haven’t seen him in almost two years, since he was on all sorts of tours last year and I was in Australia for most of this year.

“Hi, Cameron. Welcome to California,” my uncle said to me with a smile… right before all the screaming coming from a group of girls wearing way too much eyeliner and black skinny jeans that did not flatter them in the slightest started. “Oh, shit,” Max muttered. “Sorry, I know you must be tired, but hopefully this won’t take too long. Why don’t you sit down?”
I nodded and sat, placing my elbows on my knees and resting my head in my hands as I watched the fangirls fawn all over Max Green and Craig Mabbitt for at least half an hour before my uncle and his best friend finally decided that they’d had enough of teenage girls telling them that they want their babies and practically carried me out to the car park after they found my luggage. I fell asleep pretty much as soon as the car door was closed.