Driven to Distraction

“Smile!” both my dad and John’s parents yelled at once, blinding us with the flashing lights of their cameras.

“Are we done? I’m going blind, ma,” John complained, rubbing his eyes.

“You and me both,” I laughed, rubbing my own eyes.

“Oh, just one more!” my dad pleaded, giving me sad eyes.

I sighed and nodded my head before turning so John could wrap his arms around my waist. Once the flash went off, we instantly began rubbing our eyes again.

“Well we better rush home and get started on putting the food out. We’ll be seeing you later, Scott?” Mrs. O’Callaghan asked, looking at my dad with hopeful eyes.

“Oh, of course!” he smiled before giving them a wave.

“We’ll be seeing you in a little bit, sweetie,” she told me, giving me a big hug to which John’s dad followed. “And my big boy, we’re so proud of you!” she gushed, cradling John’s face in between her hands.

“Mom,” he whined, causing everyone to laugh.

“Let the boy be, Cindy. We’ll see you at home, son,” Mr. O’Callaghan stated, giving John a hefty pat on the shoulder before ushering his wife and younger sons out to the car.

“I guess I’ll head home and make a few calls before heading over. Do you two have anything planned?” my dad asked, looking between John and I.

I shook my head. “We’ll be over at John’s in a little bit. We’re gonna meet up with the group for a little while.”

My dad nodded his head and gave me a tight hug, followed by a kiss on the top of my head. “I love you and I’m so proud of you, pumpkin.”

“Thanks, dad. I love you, too,” I smiled.

He gave John a firm handshake, trying to act authoritative but he couldn’t hide his friendly smile. “I’m proud of you, too, John. You know you’re like a second son to me. If you need anything - anything - just give me a ring, you hear me?”

“Of course. Thank you, Mr. Morrison,” John smile genuinely before my dad disappeared behind us.

“So, how do you feel?” I asked him, grabbing his hands.

“Relieved. I’m not meant for school.”

I laughed. “Yeah, none of us really are, but we can’t all be rock stars, can we?” I joked.

He rolled his eyes before pulling me into his chest and looking down at me. “I love you, Key.”

I smiled and placed a kiss against his lips. “I love you, too, John.”

“Oh, please, break it up!” Jared joked as he and the rest of our friends walked up behind John.

John laughed and gave him a playful punch against the shoulder. “Are we all going to my house or is everyone doing their own thing?”

“We’re all coming over,” Kennedy stated.

“Well let’s head out then,” John said, grabbing my hand before pulling me out to his car.

______________________________________________________________

The gathering at John’s house had gone perfect, all of our parents mingling amongst themselves and gloating over our achievements. Everyone had gotten full on Mrs. O’Callaghan’s lasagna and apple pies, which seemed to be slightly more delicious that night than ever before.

Of course, being fresh high school graduates, we had a party that was waiting for us. And so once it seemed appropriate, we all bid our goodbyes and headed over to Michelle Dreyer’s house, who was rumored to be hosting the best party of the night.

“Fuck, this place is packed,” Garrett stated as we stepped through the front door.

“Seriously,” I agreed, looking around the jam packed living room.

“To the kitchen!” Jared said, holding his index finger in the air, earning him a laugh. Once we had all gotten our drinks of choice, a toast was proposed. “To the best fucking group of friends a guy could ever have and to the best fucking graduating class ever!” he yelled.

“Cheers!” everyone yelled in agreement, downing back the first round of shots.

I’d be lying if I said that I went slow on drinking, because I didn’t. All that I could remember from that party was repeatedly asking John to get me another drink, and being just as drunk as I was, he had never objected. And as foolish and irresponsible as it sounded, I don’t even really remember how we ended up back in John’s room at his house. But somehow, we did.

And in a haze of blurry eyes and drunken kisses, I found myself wanting John more than ever before. His lips still tasted of alcohol and his skin was warm underneath my cold fingertips. Our clothes were hastily discarded from our bodies and thrown on his bedroom floor without a care.

Our tongues wrestled for dominance and with one hand, John was able to unclasp my bra. He flung it to the floor before hungrily moving his mouth down to my breasts. His touch made me squirm and made my breathing become short and rugged. His left hand was fondling my left breast and his right was hovering over the front of my underwear, his quick motions causing moans to escape my lips.

Although we’d done other sexual things, we’d never actually had sex. And although I probably should have been a lot more aware of what was going on, I wasn’t. I was eighteen, drunk and being touched sensually by my boyfriend, who I happened to be in love with. I couldn’t have cared about much else.

John wasted no time in pulling down my underwear before doing the same to his own. He hovered back on top of me, his mouth connecting to mine once more. I spread my legs as he got himself situated, and it wasn’t long before his length entered me. I gasped loudly, a pain shooting through my body. John immediately stopped his thrusts and looked me in the eyes, his own seeming a bit more sober than mines.

“Do you want me to stop?” he whispered. I shook my head, not trusting myself to open my mouth. “Are you positive, Key?” I nodded my head again, and hesitantly, he began moving his body against mine once more.

After that night, I could officially say that there wasn’t one part of me that I hadn’t given wholly to John.

_______________________________________________________________

It hadn’t been but two weeks after our graduation when the guys had announced that they were leaving for tour. It wasn’t anything big, but it would be enough for them to start really getting their name out there. Although they had offered to let Kelsi and I be their ‘merch bitches’, I had college starting in the fall and there was still a million things that I needed to do before then. Kelsi, however, always being the smart one and getting things done on time, didn’t have a thing to do all summer long before school, and so she had agreed to join them on their tour.

I had laid awake in bed all night, staring at the clock on my wall. John’s family had wanted to spend his last night at home with him, but he had agreed to come over in the morning to say goodbye.

In all honesty, I couldn’t imagine going the majority of my summer without my six best friends; I had never had to experience that before. The thought of having to be alone was enough to give me a small heart attack, but I tried to be positive, to look on the Brightside of things – like the fact that my best friends were finally having their dreams come true, but it was hard. It was hard to be so happy for them when I was feeling so terribly miserable inside.

Six o’clock arrived quicker than I would have liked, but there was nothing I could do to slow time. I trudged downstairs and out to my driveway, where a large white van with a small U-Haul attached the back was parked. John, Kennedy, Pat, Jared, Garrett and Kelsi all jumped out, walking up to me.

“Oh, move out of the way! I’m going to miss you, Jewel! You better call me!” Garrett stated, giving me a big hug.

I laughed. “You better call me, too, Gary! Don’t forget about me!”

“Never!” he smiled.

Pat was next to wrap his arms around me. “I’ll make sure to watch John for you,” he winked.

“Thank you, Patty,” I laughed. “I’m going to miss seeing your face around.”

He gave me a big grin. “I’m going to miss you, too.”

“Ah, I hate saying goodbyes, but this isn’t really a goodbye. We’ll be seeing you soon, K,” Kennedy told me, giving me a hug.

I nodded my head. “You better keep my best friend safe, Kenny, or I’ll find you and bust your balls.”

He chuckled and nodded his head. “Agreed.”

“Well, I really wish you could come with us, but I understand why you can’t. I’m gonna miss you, Ketely,” Jared smiled, giving me a bear hug.

“I’m gonna miss you, too, Jare. Try not to turn into a lobster and always wear your sunscreen!”

“See, this is why you need to come!” he pouted, causing me to laugh.

Kelsi pushed through them and wrapped her arms tightly around me, tears in her eyes which instantly made tears spring to my own eyes. “I’m going to miss you so much, K! I’ll call you every day!”

“You better! And you better not make any new best friends to replace me! It’s K and K all the way, remember!?” I smiled, trying to stop my bottom lip from trembling.

She laughed and nodded her head. “Of course.”

John was the only one left who had to say goodbye and Garrett cleared his throat, giving everyone else the hint to head back to the van. John stood in front of me with his hands in his pockets, looking me straight in the eyes.

“You can still come, you know?”

I smiled sadly, shaking my head. “I can’t, John.”

He sighed and wrapped his arms around me. “I’m going to miss you so much.”

“I’m going to miss you, too. You have no idea,” I cried, finally letting my tears fall.

He sighed and cradled my face in between his hands. “I’ll call you every chance I get. You’ll probably get sick of hearing my voice.”

I laughed. “That could never happen. You have a beautiful voice.”

He twisted his mouth to the side. “Can’t you say I have a handsome voice?”

I smiled and rolled my eyes. “Excuse me, you have a handsome voice.”

He smirked and gave me a long, hard kiss. “I love you, Morrison.”

“I love you more, O’Callaghan. Try not to let any groupies get into that head of yours.”

He laughed. “You’re my only groupie, Key.”

I pinched his forearm and smirked as he ‘owed’. “That’s so you know I’m not playing around.”

“John, we gotta go!” Jared yelled out the window, causing John to sigh.

“I’ll miss you,” he told me, giving me a sad smile.

“And I’ll miss you.”

He gave me one last kiss before turning around and walking to the van. Once he was inside, Jared started the ignition and within a matter of thirty seconds, they were driving down the street and out of sight.

As they say, out of sight – out of mind.