Beginnings Aren't So Simple
Paranoia
Two weeks or so had elapsed. Joe, not suspecting Roxi’s guilt, was enjoying their relationship, as any other would have. Roxi, on the other hand, had been more paranoid than she’d ever been that summer.
It was a Tuesday. The last Tuesday in July. There was only five more shows left in the tour… Wednesday was Salem, Oregon; Thursday was somewhere in Idaho; Friday was Sacramento; Saturday was a free day for the boys and crew; and Sunday was, as Roxi noticed, Las Vegas. Her home city being the last show of the tour was a big deal to her, it made her happy, though she didn’t show it.
Roxi woke up to a ray of sun shining perfectly on her forehead. She swung her feet over the bed, jumping onto the floor. As she shrugged into her robe, swinging around the corner, where the hall of the bus went from narrow to wider, a pair of arms caught her before she could run into the person they belonged to.
“Oh… gah, morning,” Roxi laughed to herself nervously.
“Goooooood morning,” Joe mumbled into his girlfriend’s shoulder.
Roxi uncomfortably shifted on her feet, though Joe didn’t seem to notice. She spoke to keep herself from fidgeting. “What are we all doing today?”
“Hmm,” Joe hummed in thought. “Well, I was thinking since the show doesn’t start until… well, late, maybe we could go out somewhere.” There was a pause. “Just us, you know?”
Roxi stopped, partially paralyzed. Oh, no, no, no. I can’t have another chance for him to… I can’t fall for him anymore.
Joe got nervous with Roxi’s silence. “So, what do you think?”
“Uh, I, uh… Joe,” she began, not even knowing what to say. She took one look in his eyes, saw the pang of fear, and decided to lay off. “Sounds like a good idea. You decide, though, I’m not thinking clear today.”
The worry was lifted from his eyes. “Alright, uh, how about we… go find somewhere to see a movie?”
Roxi smiled. “That sounds good.”
He smiled back. Roxi breathed out, and he released her from his arms, as Kevin came skidding into the room.
“Joe, what are you doing?” he asked, shrugging on a jacket. “We’re supposed to be in a meeting with Michelle! Remember? Because she wanted to change something up, since someone offered her to--”
Roxi tuned the rest out as she sat down on the couch. She felt dizzy, maybe vertigo. Before she knew it, Joe stood up and flew out of the room.
“Where’s he going, Kev?” Roxi asked, her hand on her forehead.
“Didn’t you hear what I just said?” He smiled in a friendly way. “We have to go meet with Michelle. He forgot, I guess.”
“So you guys’ll be gone?”
“Yeah… sorry, so early, Roxi…”
“It’s cool, Kev.”
After a flurry of brunette boys came and left the room, chatting amongst themselves, they all left through the door with Michelle, after she arrived, all waving goodbye to Roxi.
She reluctantly waved back.
She didn’t want her Aunt to be right.
But, twelve hours later, she was doubting her side. Her day was spent in the bus. Her aunt walked around, Roxi checked her internet accounts, her email, her cell phone, and back again. She shuffled around in slipper-socks. She sung to Mayday Parade and called Alexa, missing her best friend, wishing she were there to prank-call old enemies from elementary school.
Finally, at eight PM, the bus door opened back up, the clatter of teen boys entering the hall. This woke Roxi from her nap on the couch. She was still in her day clothes; jeans, a tee-shirt, and socks. Kevin and Nick carried on their conversation, while Joe walked over to Roxi, combing through her hair to make herself look more presentable.
“Rox? Rox, I’m so sorry I’m late,” he said, sneaking a kiss on her cheek before his brothers walked back into the room. “Things happened… and, you should have seen me, I was sooo bored! I couldn’t wait to get back.”
Roxi listened to his ranting, smiling through her disappointment. “It’s alright, Joe. But I’m gonna turn in early tonight.” She hugged Joe, got up, and walked over to her bed.
Her boyfriend. Hers. It seemed more pleasant in the beginning, before she heard what her Aunt had to say.
”When the celebrity would go off somewhere for a tour, a movie, and whatnot? They usually leave their boyfriend or girlfriend at home to be mobbed and alone.”
Before she got to her bunk, she tugged on the end of her ponytail, distracting herself from the tears rolling down her face.
It was a Tuesday. The last Tuesday in July. There was only five more shows left in the tour… Wednesday was Salem, Oregon; Thursday was somewhere in Idaho; Friday was Sacramento; Saturday was a free day for the boys and crew; and Sunday was, as Roxi noticed, Las Vegas. Her home city being the last show of the tour was a big deal to her, it made her happy, though she didn’t show it.
Roxi woke up to a ray of sun shining perfectly on her forehead. She swung her feet over the bed, jumping onto the floor. As she shrugged into her robe, swinging around the corner, where the hall of the bus went from narrow to wider, a pair of arms caught her before she could run into the person they belonged to.
“Oh… gah, morning,” Roxi laughed to herself nervously.
“Goooooood morning,” Joe mumbled into his girlfriend’s shoulder.
Roxi uncomfortably shifted on her feet, though Joe didn’t seem to notice. She spoke to keep herself from fidgeting. “What are we all doing today?”
“Hmm,” Joe hummed in thought. “Well, I was thinking since the show doesn’t start until… well, late, maybe we could go out somewhere.” There was a pause. “Just us, you know?”
Roxi stopped, partially paralyzed. Oh, no, no, no. I can’t have another chance for him to… I can’t fall for him anymore.
Joe got nervous with Roxi’s silence. “So, what do you think?”
“Uh, I, uh… Joe,” she began, not even knowing what to say. She took one look in his eyes, saw the pang of fear, and decided to lay off. “Sounds like a good idea. You decide, though, I’m not thinking clear today.”
The worry was lifted from his eyes. “Alright, uh, how about we… go find somewhere to see a movie?”
Roxi smiled. “That sounds good.”
He smiled back. Roxi breathed out, and he released her from his arms, as Kevin came skidding into the room.
“Joe, what are you doing?” he asked, shrugging on a jacket. “We’re supposed to be in a meeting with Michelle! Remember? Because she wanted to change something up, since someone offered her to--”
Roxi tuned the rest out as she sat down on the couch. She felt dizzy, maybe vertigo. Before she knew it, Joe stood up and flew out of the room.
“Where’s he going, Kev?” Roxi asked, her hand on her forehead.
“Didn’t you hear what I just said?” He smiled in a friendly way. “We have to go meet with Michelle. He forgot, I guess.”
“So you guys’ll be gone?”
“Yeah… sorry, so early, Roxi…”
“It’s cool, Kev.”
After a flurry of brunette boys came and left the room, chatting amongst themselves, they all left through the door with Michelle, after she arrived, all waving goodbye to Roxi.
She reluctantly waved back.
She didn’t want her Aunt to be right.
But, twelve hours later, she was doubting her side. Her day was spent in the bus. Her aunt walked around, Roxi checked her internet accounts, her email, her cell phone, and back again. She shuffled around in slipper-socks. She sung to Mayday Parade and called Alexa, missing her best friend, wishing she were there to prank-call old enemies from elementary school.
Finally, at eight PM, the bus door opened back up, the clatter of teen boys entering the hall. This woke Roxi from her nap on the couch. She was still in her day clothes; jeans, a tee-shirt, and socks. Kevin and Nick carried on their conversation, while Joe walked over to Roxi, combing through her hair to make herself look more presentable.
“Rox? Rox, I’m so sorry I’m late,” he said, sneaking a kiss on her cheek before his brothers walked back into the room. “Things happened… and, you should have seen me, I was sooo bored! I couldn’t wait to get back.”
Roxi listened to his ranting, smiling through her disappointment. “It’s alright, Joe. But I’m gonna turn in early tonight.” She hugged Joe, got up, and walked over to her bed.
Her boyfriend. Hers. It seemed more pleasant in the beginning, before she heard what her Aunt had to say.
”When the celebrity would go off somewhere for a tour, a movie, and whatnot? They usually leave their boyfriend or girlfriend at home to be mobbed and alone.”
Before she got to her bunk, she tugged on the end of her ponytail, distracting herself from the tears rolling down her face.