Here's to the Friends That Were Alibis

Lex's P.O.V. (The Next Day)

"Well, you're free to go." The older balding doctor chuckled as I pulled on the outfit Mattie grabbed me from the house. I just nodded absent mindedly.

I pulled my silver stud belt through the loops on my skin tight acid washed skinnies. I pulled on my phillies baseball jacket over my black tank top. I fixed the laces on my black chucks and nodded at Mattie, who was leaning up against the door frame of the hospital room, smiling at me slightly, with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Thank you." I nodded at the doctor quietly one last time before walking over to Mattie.

"Ya ready?" He looked down at me and I nodded as we walked out into the hallway.

"Let's get the fuck outta here." I sighed. Everything to me as of right now to me, is nothing but gloom and doom. I was so confused, sad, and angry, especially at Ronnie. I honestly thought he loved me, but I guess not. I know after him doing this, without even telling ne this himself, I should probably hate him.

But I don't. I never could. He's everything to me. Even in this small amount of time, he's become more then I'd ever hoped for. So much for my happy ending, right?

I sighed again and put on my light brown aviators. I felt an arm go around my shoulder and snapped my head in Mattie's direction and he smiled sadly.

"It'll get better babygirl, you know everyone's here for you." I shook my head and opened the passenger's door to his green 2004 Honda civic. I sat down and shut the door, with him following suit before starting it and pulling out on to the road.

"I know, but there's nothing to really talk about. He wants it to be done." I said in a monotone like voice, making it seem like everything wasn't affecting me. Of course, it was tearing me apart. My heart sped up a little more with each minute that passed by. My breathing was short.

"Do you have a cigarette?" I looked over at Mattie from behind my sunglasses.

"I thought you quit?" He took his eyes off of the highway momentarily to give me a condescending stare.

"Yeah." I sighed.

For Ronnie...

"Well... fuck that." I reached over into the the pocket if his leather jacket and pulled out his half empty pack of Newport 100's. I pulled one out, stuck it in between my lips, lit it up, and took a long, satisfying drag. I rolled down the window and put on Metallica's Fade To Black album and let the smoke out.

"I'm keepin' these." I held the pack up before putting stuffing it into my jacket pocket.

"Sure." He shrugged. "I got a whole carton back at the house."

Jacky's P.O.V.

"He really said that he didn't wanna be with her anymore?" Dylan questioned quietly from next to me on the couch.

"Yeah, I couldn't believe it. Ronnie's my friend and all, but he's being a complete twit as of now..." I shook my head and sighed.

"But dude, he loves her. He went all the way back to Philadelphia to get her." Ryan raised a valid point as he flipped through the channels on the TV.

"With Matt being there, no less." Jesse stated from the recliner where he was laying.

"Exactly, he has to have a good reason for hurting her." I mumbled, trying to figure with my friend made so many stupid choices.

"Maybe someone should ask him." Ryan muttered from the opposite side of the sectional.

"Yeah, good look with that." Dylan snorted as he ripped open a bag of Doritos. "He hasn't spoken a word to anyone, let alone left your room." He looked at me.

"I know." I pinched the bridge of my nose. "I'm just going to take Derek's room, since he's staying at stina's."

"We're back!" I heard Mattie's voice follow the sound of the front door opening. He and Alexandria stepped into view and I smiled, with her giving me one in return. Everyone said hello, hugged her to death, asked if she was okay, about tour... and just about everything else known to man. The poor girl almost forgot how to answer. After a few minutes she walked up the steps and Mattie filled us in.

Lex's P.O.V.

I walked up the steps and made a sharp right to the bedroom that I shared with Ronnie. I couldn't help but notice all the doors were closed, including Jacky's, who leaves his open when he's here. I shrugged it off and stepped into the room, my heart dropped at the sight before me.

Everything.
Was.
Gone.

He wasted no time moving his things out of here. I laughed bitterly and worked on getting my bags together that were already packed, for tour of course. Next, I worked on getting the clothes, make up, chargers, my laptop, and flat iron in two bags. I sat down on the bed after opening a window and lit up another cigarette.

I removed my sunglasses and jacket, before tying my long layers into a low ponytail, leaving my bangs free. I looked the room once over, and realized, that only my pictures remained. One by one, I picked up frames off of the dresser and placed them in a Nike shoe box. I was perfectly fine that is until I saw the last one.

It was the picture Ronnie had given me for my birthday, he was running while holding me bridal style, the shit eating grins on our faces apparent, almost as much as the soda on our shirts. I felt my eyes become glassy and felt sad. So, I did what I do best. I covered it up with anger. I tossed the frame into the small trash can next to the bed, feeling my heart and the glass break all at the same time. I took another drag of my cigarette and ashed it out of the window as I sat down on the bed next to it for fresh air. I looked out and watched the California sun set.

A thought crossed my mind for a second. A heart wrenching though as that. Usually the sun set and warm air put me at peace back home, which meant a lot considering that I never really had time to watch the sun set. It didn't do that for me today.

I sighed and took another drag of my cigarette before I heard door open. I snapped my head in the same direction to see Ronnie standing there with worry practically written on his forehead. My heart started to pound but I ignored it, giving him a blank, expressionless look.

"I um... I thought I heard glass break..." He looked down and let his arms hang at his sides.

I repeated my bitter laugh from earlier as I turned back to the window and took another drag. "You did."

A few minutes passed before he said anything else. Actually, I wasn't expecting him to speak at all.

"Um... o-okay. What's with the bags?" He asked nervously.

I spun my head around so fast, I thought I was going to have whiplash. My jaw dropped as I looked at him incredulously.

"Are you fucking serious? You have to be joking!" I stood up and he looked at me in confusion.

"Um... I-" I cut him off.

"No! It's none of your damn buisness what I do! You asshole! You're a liar!" I shouted at him, something about that set him off because he actually replied.

"I am not a fucking liar! What have I ever lied to you about? Huh?"

"You said you fucking loved me!" When I said that, I saw his expression slightly soften.

"I do love you!" He responded. I shook my head and walked over so that I was directly in front of him before I spoke.

"NO. If you loved me, then you wouldn't have broke my heart through Jacky. If you loved me, you would've came to see me, if you loved me, you would've been there the whole time. Like Mattie was." I saw his jaw set and his eyes become glassy as I said this. I flicked the cigarette out of the window before stepping around him and grabbing my bags and jacket.

"Oh yeah," I looked over my shoulder. "We still have the music video to do, and tour."

He nodded, even though he wasn't facing me.

"We're strangers." I said soullessly and walked out while wiping the tears from my eyes. The tears I was hiding from Ronnie...

Ronnie's P.O.V.

"We're strangers." Those words felt like a million shards of glass tore through my heart. I sat down on the bed as soon as I heard the front door slam and re-open, I'm guessing one of the guys going to see what's going on.

I put my head in my hands as I let tears fall. I've been doing this a lot lately. The whole room smelled faintly like her perfume and the most recent addition, cigarettes. I sighed and ran my fingers through my messy black hair as I wiped the eyeliner from under my eye. Manly, right?

I stood up and looked at myself in the mirror on the other side of the bed, where the closet door was. I grimaced at my red puffy eyes, my rat's nest of hair, and dishevelled black t-shirt and skinnies. I sighed and sat down, right before something shiny caught my eye. I picked up the small black trash can and reached inside.

"Fuck!" I hissed in pain as I yanked my hand right back out and examined my bleeding bleeding middle finger. "Karma's a bitch, huh?" I laughed humorlessly and turned on the lamp on the end table so I could see what this object was.

"Oh my God." My breath hitched in my throat as I seen what the broken glass was surrounding. I pulled it out by the frame, carefully so that I didn't slice myself again.

I smiled sadly as I looked down at the picture in my hands. More tears fell, onto the broken glass this time. I sighed and shook my head.

But, I do love you...