Gone Isn't Forever

Chapter 9

The Syn of Envy

(Jimmy)

As a indigenous tortured soul sentenced to endure hell on earth before stepping foot on the clouds of heaven, you couldn't have found a sadder life form in all of creation. When Melinda actually did come to bed, she said nothing and curled up next to my side. She seemed to be haunted and for some reason I could not read her. That worried me. Why was she acting so off? I laid there and watched her fall asleep next to me. The expression on her face as she slipped into the boules of unconsciousness displayed itself as being truly troubled to the core. And being the tortured soul that I was at the moment, I could not relieve myself of the conscious world. I couldn't sleep. But that was no news. Being an angel in training I hold no need for slumber. So I laid there, forced to conquer my wandering mind.

As I laid there, I shifted next to Melinda who was folded into herself, and propped my head up with my right elbow on my side. When I moved she shifted closer to me, clinching my shirt in her petite fists, and shrinking down into herself once more. I couldn't help but to crack a smile. Although once I did, it faded immediately beyond straight. I realized at that moment that no matter how much I care for her, I won't always be here to satisfy her discomforts. But then I started to wonder if God sent the right guy for this job. Maybe I wasn't cut out for this whole guardian angel thing. To be quite frank, I sucked at the damn job! What kind of guardian angel falls in love with the very person he was sent to defend? Apparently this guy! And then there was another problem with this job that would hurt most of all...I was going to have to leave eventually.

I knew how much I meant to her and how I inspired her. I was the reason she pressed on to become who she was today. It was me who pushed her to be all that she could be and to raise herself and her friends to the top. That was the reason I had chosen Melinda from the beginning. Little did I know it was going to get so complicated. What the hell was I supposed to do now, Big Guy in the sky? No answer? Okay... I guess it was all up to me to figure it out on my own. Being a guardian angel sucks ass sometimes.

(Melinda)

The next morning I woke up to a strange, yet familiar face staring down at me. “Whose the whore in Jimmy's bunk guys?” His voice was smooth, yet it dripped with the utmost hatred of a pissed off A7x fan. He was probably angry that I was in Jimmy's old bunk, yet the guys never let ANYONE even touch his bed, including him.

Despite actually thinking he was attractive before, I didn't give a damn who the hell he was. There was not a soul on this earth that could insult me like that and expect for me to just take shit. “Excuse me Frodo, but you're not the most innocent purity either.” I said to him, sitting up. I bore holes into his puny soul, my piercing gaze fixed on his dark brown eyes. His lips twisted up into a sly grin until a gruff voice beamed its presence.

“Ilejay, meet Melinda Bliss. She has special permission on behalf of the band to take over Jimmy's bunk for the length of the tour. So don't be an ass Arin.” Matt called from the lounge room in the front. I turned back to Arin and flashed a triumphant smile. Take that Ilejay!

“What, seriously? Dude, I thought no one was allowed to even touch the Rev's bunk? What's so special about her?” It was pretty entertaining to listen to the inflections of Arin's voice as he practically freaked out at the fact that I had permission to reside in Jimmy's sleeping quarters, yet he wasn't allowed to even touch it. You could literally see the jealousy brewing. This gave me pleasure in a weird way. Shadows roaring laughter pulled me out of my thoughts.

“Come on dude, we just told you that to fuck with you. But she's cooler than you so she has dibs for this tour. Better luck next time buddy.” Matt said as he made his way back to the bunking area. He patted Arin on the shoulder and motioned for him to follow, turning around to exit the way he came. Arin rose and gave me this weird mixture between the stink eye and a sly cocked grin. What the hell was his problem? He left and followed M. Shadows outside, presumably to grab his things and bring them in. That rose another question. Where was he going to sleep? All of the rest of the band was sharing a bunk with someone already. Everyone except for me. But then I started to think about it... The couch, of course!

I heard a door creak open and glanced down the hall to see Jo emerge from the back room. She looked different. But I couldn't quite put my finger on it. She was more bright and beaming than in all of the years that I had known her. Her hair was frazzled and her glistening blue-gray eyes were highlighted with glee. The smile plastered on her face seemed goofy to me. In all honesty, Jo's entire appearance was quite hilarious. She waddled her way down the hall and stopped in front of me. Turning toward me she developed this priceless expression in which her eyebrows shot up and her eyes widened into round saucers. Her already tipped up lips spread wider than I had ever thought was even possible. At this point I just couldn't contain myself and I burst out into a fit of laughter. I wondered if she actually even knew or remembered why she was glowing.

“It's a good day. Do you think it's a good day? I think it's a good day. Do you wanna know why it's a good day? Because IIIIIIIIII feel AMAZING! I'm off to CONQUER THE WOOORRRLLD!” Jo said this very fast and quite energetically before taking off down the hall and out the bus door in nothing but her lacy red underwear and a black and red Blame The Victim tank top. She rose both arms up above her head like Jimmy used to when he terrorized people. I stopped laughing my ass off and watched her crazy rampage and wondered if I should be worried or if I should go retrieve her and make her put some pants on at least. Damn...I've seen Jo in a good mood before, but in all of my 14 years of knowing her, I have never seen her that ecstatic. Zacky must have lived up to his reputation...

Thinking about what had happened with them already, it hit me like a ton of bricks. I remembered that the reason why Zacky was probably so persuasive last night was because she was probably drunk, or at least buzzed slap happy. Oh shit! This was my fault then. If Jo ever found out that I let her drink a spiked monster, she would not be happy with me. She would have my head on a silver platter and serve it to the cartoon version of the Rev. I suddenly heard a loud “ahhh” outside of my window. I twisted around to examine what was going on. I saw the greatest thing to distract me from my sudden fears. First Arin with a terrified body language streaked by. Then came Jo to terrorize him, shouting “He's not scared at all!” But not only Jo was chasing after him. Jimmy had joined in, presumably for old times sake. Initiation? I didn't have a clue, and I was not going to question it. I had created a monster. I guess Jimmy hadn't helped much to prevent that either.

Johnny strolled in shortly after the facade. His smile was infectious and I couldn't help but to flash a wide grin back at him. His little crooked smile had always been adorable. “Hey Gnome.” I beamed at him. His smile vanished and it seemed as if his entire face had been sucked into the center.

“Oh no, not you too!” He exclaimed after a few seconds of wallowing. I giggled and hopped off the bunk. I was just about as tall as Short Shit. I didn't have to physically look up to him. That made me happy. I had jumped off of Jimmy's bunk and stood about 5 inches away from Johnny. I leaned into him because I caught a whiff of a familiar fragrance. I sniffed him and he rose an eyebrow at me. I leaned away and shot an eyebrow up at him and tilted my head slightly.

“You smell like Harper.” I stated nonchalantly.

“Oh, I do?” He asked surprised. I smiled and nodded. He pulled his shirt up to his nose and inhaled. He let it drop back down over his naval and his gaze was fixed on the ceiling to the left. After a few moments had passed he straightened up and stared back at me. “Yeah, I guess I do. Huh. Well it might have something to do with the fact that I share a bunk with her and she sure does like to cuddle... and kick.” Johnny finished. He backed up to give me a little more room.

“So, where are we?” I questioned after I had finished laughing. Man, I was starting to believe that I had laughed more that morning than in the last two years or my existence. I think it had something to do with Jimmy. Now that he was here, I felt invincible. The only thing was, I knew this feeling wasn't going to last forever.

“We are at the first concert arena of the tour. Your welcome to join me in taking a tour of the grounds if you would like.” Johnny offered. I looked outside to see how high the sun was in the sky. It seemed to be about noon from the looks of its position. I turned my gaze straight and my eyes fell on Jimmy. He seemed to be glaring at Arin for some reason. I thought maybe it had something to do with him filling in as permanent drummer. But then I could never be sure with James.

I turned back towards Johnny and gave him a genuine smile. “I would love to. Just let me get dressed first.” He returned a smile and nodded once. I grabbed my bag out from underneath the bunks and booked it to the bathroom to get ready for my little expedition with Johnny.

(Jimmy)

I stood there glaring at this new kid, Arin Ilejay. What a punk. And this was who they got to replace me? We'll see if the kid can live up to my legacy. As for his thoughts when he first saw Melinda earlier, he could just forget about it. Melinda wasn't that kind of girl. I knew her. She wasn't going to fall for someone like him. Twisted kid.

I could read people like an open book if I so chose to do so. That was just one of the perks of this whole guardian angel thing. This Arin guy had liked the way Melinda snapped back at him at little too much. He must be the type who liked them feisty. I won't lie, feisty is kind of hot, but I didn't like the way he smiled at her when he left. The thoughts he had weren't anywhere near inappropriate, but I still didn't like it. It was going to take me a while to get used to this guy. I didn't like him. I didn't like him at all. Regardless of his intentions, I was not going to let him slip in and whisk Melinda away. It would have to be over my dead body.