This Is A Story About A Girl

I decided to try to keep Cameron out of my sight. I figured that if I caught him somewhere alone I would end up giving him a firm talking to. And we still had two weeks of tour left. I couldn't get hostile yet.

I wouldn't have really called it hiding. That would be juvenile. It was more like, creative avoiding. Like when he walked by the stage, I creatively jumped off of it and hid underneath. And when they played, I creatively took a nap in the van.

The day was pretty much a blur, because I was shooting whiskey down every time I thought about Liz and Cameron together. As if to sooth my aching head, the bus driver told us that there would hardly be a drive tonight. Travis decided that it would be a good idea to set up a party behind the venue, because for once it wasn't at a Six Flags.

"John, grab that bottle of whiskey from the van, will ya?"

"Don't need to, here." I handed off the bottle to Jess, and she noticed it was half empty.

"Jobe! John needs his therapist!" She called out.

"No, I don't. I just need a drink," I scoffed, grabbing the liquor off of the table and swigging it back. The burn was the only thing that kept me sane. Her eyes dawned up at me worriedly.

"It's nothing, really," I said trying to be convincing. I even pushed out a weak smile to her. But she knew something was up, and she wasn't about to leave it alone anytime soon.

I inhaled deeply, and began to explain to Jess everything. Everyone was already at the party, mingling and what not. I had to whisper so that no one nearby would hear. She nodded at everything I said, taking in my emotions and expressions more than my words. I pointed off in Liz's direction, and she noticed that Cameron was stiff beside her. I threw my head down in shame at how pathetic I felt.

"Well, let's go stalk them!" She voiced with determination.

"I've spent all day avoiding him Jess," I replied.

"But if we watch them, we can see if she has feelings for him!" She reminded me.

We ended up going to a couch near where Liz was. She seemed to be having a good time, and Cameron was whispering in her ear. It fuelled every flame I had in my body to see them together like that.

"They're coming over here!" Jess whisper-yelled at me. We bolted off of the couch, and sat behind a wall near the area.

"Look at him. He's all over her. And she looks uncomfortable," Jess spat. I was seeing red. I couldn't take this shit anymore. No one takes Liz away from me without a fight. I stood up with force, but a small hand grabbed my wrist.

"John, stop. If you go over there, you'll hurt him. Please, let me get Josh or someone."

If Jess hadn't have been one of my very best friends, I wouldn't have listened to her. But the pure pain in her eyes was enough to know that she was right. We were both worried about Liz. She wasn't the type to start conflict, and we knew that if we didn't step in, it would only get worse.

"Hurry," I pleaded, sitting back behind the wall. My body twisted back around to see them again. He was nuzzling her neck. I shook my head and bit my lip to keep from bursting.

A blonde muzzle of hair stood near the couch. I couldn't make out what they were saying, but Josh looked furious. Cameron was holding Liz even tighter.

He was fucking choking her! I slammed my fist against the wall. The second I stood up to save her, Josh pulled her into his arms. Josh said something colourful to Cameron, and walked off. All of a sudden, it hit me. I was worthless. I couldn't save Liz. I tilted my head down to the wall, and took a deep breath.

"John, C'mon. Liz needs her best friend right now," Jess put her hand on my back.

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"And he choked you?" Stephen said shocked, "What a fucking asshole!"

Everyone just shook their heads and agreed with the swears that were chosen to describe him. By then I had calmed down, and was just holding Liz.

That's right Cameron, I'm holding Liz, not you.

During the conversation, Brian pulled out a couple packs of cards to get our minds off of it. We didn't want to go back to the party. It was already going to be the talk of the tour, as if we needed to make it worse. Liz clutched my hands with her tiny little fingers. I swallowed hard. I didn't want her to be like this. I could have prevented this.

"John," she choked out, "will you protect me tomorrow?"

I bit my lip at the sound of her voice. I quickly nodded, and put my head down onto her shoulder. I can't look at her like this. I just can't.

"Of course. That's what besties do," I mumbled. She smiled, remember how we called each other that when we were younger. When we were young, nothing like this happened. But then again, it was all different back then.

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After the third round of poker, everyone was slowly drifting off to sleep. LIz decided that she wanted to play Call Of Duty, to get her mind off of it. I figured she just wanted to shoot people and pretend they were Cameron. I mentioned it to her, and she laughed.

"Don't worry Lizzy, I'll be doing the same thing," I grinned at her. She tackled me onto the couch.

"Oh, don't start anything or I'll open a can of whoop ass on you!" I shouted, chuckling at her mere attempts of an attack.

"Bring it Baby Go!"

I threw her thin body off of me, toppling myself onto her. She scrunched her nose like a bunny, and stuck her tongue out at me. Our bodies collided, and fingers wrapped around each other. I tickled her stomach, making her laugh loudly.

"Shut up!" Someone yelled from their bunks.

We giggled quietly, stopping the tickling. I was above her, looking into her eyes.

This is it! Kiss her. Kiss her!

I leaned down to her, about to close my eyes, when she pecked my cheek and smiled warmly.

"Goodnight John," she muttered before jumping from underneath me. I collapsed onto the couch and sighed.

Why was I so bad at this?