For the Sake of Saving Us

"Are you still planning on doing Warped?" It's after the show now, and Poppy is surprised she's even still here, having planned on jumping back on a train to New York pretty much straight away, but alas, she's sipping orange juice as the guys cool down and prepare to go meet the fans still waiting.

They'd both decided to leave it a little while to tell anyone else, Poppy worried it might affect the last few days of tour if Jack was flip his lid while Alex wanted to work up the balls to tell Lisa - thinking maybe a nice night out and a few large glasses of red wine might make it slide easier.

"Yeah, I mean, I'm only doing the first half as it is, and I'm barely going to be showing or anything by then so I don't see why I need cut out."

"Sure it's healthy? There's a lot of unhanded stuff that goes on, you know that."

"I'm not exactly going to have my drink spiked, am I? I'll keep myself hydrated and safe, don't worry. Nothing bad has ever happened to me while at Warped."

"Except when that burly guy tried it on with you."


Poppy can feel she's had enough beer by now, the mixture of brands swirling in her stomach and veins, the tainted blood being pumped around her system making her head feel sluggish and legs a little like jello, wobbling on each step she makes, slowing down her normal pace and making the trek back from the main stage to the bus park even longer.

Cass was still drinking with the boys, having started later seeing as she'd had a set to play and was sensible enough to turn down at yells of 'chug'. Most of the show goers had cleared out by the now, the stewards doing a good job of shooing anyone without a laminated pass out of the compound gates and back onto the streets, but there were still a few milling around, trying to find band members they were fans of or haggling for cheap prices on merch as people packed up for the night.

She's ready for bed, the mix of alcohol and fatigue making her drowsy after a long day in the heat and once she reaches the many parked buses and vans she can' wait to find the old beat up truck and collapse on the back seats until everyone else was ready to leave.

Except by the time she's spotted the dirty white van at the other side of the lot, a guy who has clearly been abusing steroids since the start of High School has spotted her.

He'd had a crappy day, having had to accompany his little brother here to see the stupid amount of bands play, and to make it worse, he was excepted to drive to another town in a few days to do it all again. He really didn't get the appeal.

The only upside, was the beer.
It was cheap, effective and readily available at so many tents.

He was furious, anyway , his little brother having scampered off to go to see a band in the signing tent, and he hadn't seen him since. His parents would kill him if he wandered home without him, but having searched the entire empty field and around the tented area, ducking between buses was his last chance.

And that's when he spotted Poppy. With her slightly drunken walk and lost look, he was drunk enough to hope that she was intoxicated enough that she wouldn't mind wasting some time with him, not looking for his brother.

It only took him a few large strides to dodge around the back of the white van she had just opened, and he smiles the grin that always got the girls swooning at school, only to get a glare in return.

"Can I help?" She squints as she sits in the trunk, pulling her shoes off only to throw them onto a seat, "You lost?"

"Nah, I found just what I was looking for."

She laughs in spite of herself, "Look, dude, I'm not even going to respond to that in a smart way, so just fuck off, yeah."

"Come on darling, just a quick one."

"If you don't fuck off, I swear to the almighty fucking god-"

"We'll kick your ass."

The guy turns, some what shocked at the group of guys suddenly behind him, and yeah, they're all pretty skinny and he still plays football three times a week for the local team, but he's drunk and he doesn't particularly want to take the chance.


"But hey, look on the bright side, you guys saved me, as per usual."

-----

Poppy always thought telling Alex would be the stressful part, but no, in comparison to how utterly nervous she feels now, that was a walk in the park.
Telling her Mom hadn't been easy either, what with her mother retaliating with the "baby's can't be mistakes in this day and age, what with all the contraceptives! How could you be so stupid?" rant.

But now it was time to tell Jack, who had been oh so easy to convince that Poppy had a touch of food poisoning at first, but now was becoming suspicious as she was still prone to being sick every now and again.
Maybe it had been a mistake to agree to him staying in New York for a few weeks, she probably should have held off the visit until her stomach stopped rebelling against her.

"Jack, buddy, I want to talk to you."

"Shoot."

He's not really paying attention, eyes fixed on the episode of Blue Bloods on Marky's flat screen, feet kicked up on the coffee table as he sips casually on a beer.

"I actually need you to listen, fool."

"I am doing."

"Jack, stop watching Tom Sellick pacing around and pay a little attention, just for a half a second." Poppy doubts he'll finish watching the episode once she tells him, but whatever, it'll be repeated.

"God, bossy." He pauses the channel, "What's eating you, cuz?"

She looks at him for a few seconds, contemplating whether or not this is a good idea with him being on the same land mass as Alex, but she'll never get a better opportunity, what with him leaving to LA in a few days, joining Alex and everyone else to record the next album.

"You best not yell, Jack, because I'm in the mood to slap someone silly as it is, OK?!" She warns before she takes another breathe, "I'm pregnant."

He gives her a blank stare for almost a full minute before he's up off the couch and grabbing his coat, "I'm gonna kick his ASS!"

"Woah!" Poppy isn't scared to raise her voice back, "You're going to sit the fuck back down and finish watching TV. You hear?"

"Is this why he broke up with you? Fucking prick. I'd break his spine if he had one."

Poppy laughs at the idea of Alex ever splitting up with a girl he knew was pregnant and then the image of Jack trying to fight with his best friend.

"Neither of us were aware of the situation when we mutually parted."

"Is he aware now?"

"I told him while you were all in Boston. "

"And?"

"And Alex wants to be as involved as he can be." Poppy shrugs, sure she and Alex hadn't ironed out any fine details, hadn't really had the chance to talk properly either.

"You're going to raise this thing alone?"

"No, with Alex's help." She squint, surely her mention of Alex's want to be involved having already answered that question.

"How is he going to help from a different state, never mind continent or whatever?"

"We'll work it out."

"Bullshit. You'll end up stuck with a snotty baby while he's still milling around with his latest fuck." Jack is clearly the least impressed about this situation, despite the blunt fact, that in reality, it had nothing to do with him.
Poppy would never let anything jeopardize the band, especially not something that could have been prevented with a little more care on her and Alex's behalf, and if that meant she had to care for this child like a single parent for the most part, then that was what was going to happen.
People less privileged than her self managed with flying colours, so there was no reason she couldn't.

"I wish you'd act more like his best friend sometimes, Jack."

"He can fuck being my best friend when he screws over my cousin."

"He's not going to screw me over! Would you have a little faith? He keeps calling to check how things are with me and he's flying here for my first scan in a few weeks - he's doing everything he can."

"It's all well and good while he's in one place, P, but what about when we're across the pond, huh? Or in Australia? What then?"

"We'll figure it out."

"You keep saying that, Poppy, but with no real explanation. He'll not change for this, you know?" Jack looks exhausted, like she'd handed him a puzzle to solve and left it at that.

Poppy tried to understand is protective nature sometimes, what with them being so close, but there were times where she just wished he'd take the side of his band mates over me so she didn't feel so crap in his picking of me over them.

"I'm not asking him too. I've got no expectations from him, other than him acknowledging this is happening - he can't act like this is just a coincidental immaculate conception."

"He might give it a good try."