Shooting Love in Real Time.

“So, when are you guys abandoning us then?” Marissa asked as she and I lay on my bed, watching our boyfriends ready themselves for the night ahead. We could see the pair of them looking at us in the mirror momentarily before returning to their own reflections and messing with their hair. It was 2pm on the day of their home town show and the pair needed to leave to set up any time soon. Marissa and I were planning on using the time between now and five to eat, ready ourselves and decide where we should position ourselves for the night.
“I don’t know, what time are your lovers appearing to ravish you? We couldn’t miss that,” Jack replied. Marissa shrugged.
“I’m not sure - he normally appears in the dead of night and takes me while you snore away.”
“Then I suppose I won’t be leaving until after the ‘dead of night’ then, will I?”
“Oh, poo! Don’t be a spoil sport or he shan’t come!”
“That’s what she said,” Alex and I interjected. Jack and Marissa raised their eyebrows at us and turned to each other.
“You know, I’m really glad I’m with you and not one of these losers,” Jack told her. Marissa made her ‘aw, you’re such a cutie!’ face and Jack returned to his hair.
“Personally, I think I’m a catch,” Alex told Jack.
“Speak for yourself! I think you’re a pain in the ass,” I told him before Jack could reply.
“I’m a good pain in the ass, though,” Alex winked. I pulled a fairly disgusted face at the insinuation but allowed it to pass. After all, I had just called him a pain in the ass. Best girlfriend ever? I think so.
“You guys are so gross.” I laughed at the look on Jack and Marissa’s faces and grabbed my cup of coffee from the floor by the bed. I watched as Alex returned to his styling and couldn’t help but wonder why we fought so much. It had felt almost perfect since he’d returned and I felt the same fluttering around my stomach that I’d felt at seventeen. Was it just me? Just my jealousy over-powering all the love I so clearly had for him?
“Can I be totally gross and tell you guys how much I’ve missed you?” I asked my two best friends, the two boys I knew would always be there when I turned around. “I mean, I know I’m a giant bitch, but you do know I missed you both so much? You’ll always be my favourite people.”
I could see Alex smiling to himself in the mirror in front of me. I think he knew it was my inept way of an apology, that I wouldn’t be saying ‘I’m sorry, I was wrong’ any time soon, but that underneath it all, I still loved him more than I had ever thought possible.
Jack turned around, grinning from ear to ear. “What’s with the cutie patooty nonsense, Jase? Last time I spoke to you, you were screaming profanities!” He’s right, of course. The last conversation we had before they returned involved him taking Alex’s phone away from him while we were screaming at each other over God only remembers what. I continued, of course, to spew the remaining profanities at Jack for interrupting before bursting out crying and hanging up the phone. I knew what trouble I had caused them all.
I scrunched up my face before answering, trying to find a way of saying what I felt without getting too emotional.
“I just wanted you to know that the screeching psycho you met on tour still has me buried somewhere underneath it all.” Jack’s grin slipped a bit, turning into a slightly more sympathetic smile. He quickly turned back to the mirror to hide the way his grin had fallen. Marissa nudged me slightly, tilting her head with a concerned look on her face.
Of course, she knew it all. What I’d forgotten to tell her curled up on the sofa each night, Jack had been quick to fill her in on. She was just as concerned as I was as to where this was all coming from. I don’t know whether it stemmed from fear or insecurity, all I knew was that everything I’d said in the moments, came only from anger and the notion that I was completely justified in feeling what I felt and saying what I said.
I shrugged at her and shook my head. Now wasn’t the time to talk.
“We have to go,” Alex sighed, looking at his watch. I pouted, knowing I wouldn’t see him for hours and still having that feeling in my gut that I had to spend the next two weeks making up for everything I had done.
“Are you sure you have to go now?” I asked, blindly hoping that he would say no and stay for a little longer. That smile he’d previously had made its way back on to his face, soft and simple and happy; truly happy. He pulled me up from the bed and into his arms, his chin resting on my head like he always used to do when we were younger. It seemed like all our happy memories came from when we were eighteen.
“And I always get told we’re the sappy ones,” Jack snorted. I pulled away, grinning at Jack.
“You’ve just had more practice, give us time,” I retorted. Jack laughed and we all left the room so the boys could get going.