Seize The Day.

Jenny slid quietly onto the bus and looked around. When she didn’t see Johnny on the couch she assumed that he was in the back. She walked back to where his bed was and slowly opened the door. He was laying in his stomach reading and she came in and sat down on the bed across from him. She realized that he had headphones on so he hadn’t heard her come onto the bus or walk into the room. So she just laid down and watched him. She looked at his eyes, they seemed so concentrated but she could tell that his mind was somewhere else than the book he was reading. His brown eyes were so sad and filled with hurt.
She couldn’t take it; she couldn’t just watch him while he was like this. She got up and sat down on the edge of his bed. He took his headphones off and turned to see who it was and when he saw that it was Jenny, he looked back down at his book. “Please,” Jenny whispered, “please don’t do this. Please don’t shut me out like this…” He looked up at her, “You think I like doing this?” She wiped the tears off her face, “Well, how would I know? You haven’t said a word to me since this morning. And even then, it wasn’t much.” He finally sat up and moved over next to her. He sat cross-legged just like that had at the concert the night they met. He looked down at his hands, “I just, I don’t know what to do with you Jenn. I just want to help. But I can see that that’s not what you want.” She took a deep breath, she could barely choke out her words, “You think that I like being like this? You think I like hurting myself and the people that I care about? You’re the closest thing I’ve ever had to a brother and a dad. You think that I wanna fuck this up by doing something like this? If I had control over it I wouldn’t do it, but I don’t; that’s not how it works.” He looked at her and waited for her to meet his eyes, “Well then what am I supposed to do? I can’t just let you do that to yourself time and time again. But I also don’t wanna feel like a babysitter.” She looked back down at the ground, “I don’t know Johnny. I just, I don’t know.” He looked down at the ground as well, “Well, me either.”
She turned to him and slid the necklace off from around her neck. She took his hand and placed the necklace in it, “Take it back. I’m not worth it.” When he realized what she’d given him, tears started to grow in his eyes, “What did you say? Did you just say that you’re not worth it? If you weren’t worth it, I wouldn’t have given it to you in the first place. If you weren’t worth it, I wouldn’t be so goddamn worried about you all the time. If you weren’t worth it, you wouldn’t still be here on this bus,” he paused and looked at her, “Don’t you ever think that you’re not worth it.”
Jenny put her head in her hands as tears continued to fall. Johnny put the necklace in her sweatshirt pocket and then put his hand on her shoulder, “Please just talk to me next time before you do something like that okay? It doesn’t have to be about what you’re upset about, but please for the love of God say something.” She looked up at him, “I’ll try okay?” Johnny nodded, “Thank you.” She wiped the tears off her face and turned to him, “Are we okay now?” Johnny shrugged, “Honestly, I don’t know.” Jenny nodded understandingly, “Okay.” She silently slid out of the room and onto the couch.
She was out cold within a few minutes and didn’t even hear the guys come on to the bus. They all slid off to their beds. Arin lagged behind and looked at Jenny; there were tears still on her cheeks. He wiped the tears away and then picked her up and carried her to his little section of the bus. He pulled the covers over her and tucked her in. He looked at her, wondering what must’ve been going on in her head to make her do something like that again. He shook his head and kissed her on the cheek, “Goodnight Sleeping Beauty.” He went back and took her spot on the couch.
Jenny was the first one up the next morning. She sat up and looked around and realized that she wasn’t on the couch anymore. She turned and expected to see Arin and when she didn’t, it made her a little nervous. She got out of bed and walked back to where she normally slept. She saw Arin sleeping on the couch and couldn’t help but to smile as she shook her head in amusement. She pulled the covers up over him since he had kicked them off throughout the course of the night. She smiled at him as he tossed and turned in his sleep.
She went over to the fridge and looked at what they had for food. When she noticed that they didn’t have much, she put on a pair of jeans and one of Zacky’s sweatshirts and slid off the bus to go to the grocery store. There weren’t that many people there at 9:00 in the morning, so she was able to slide through the aisles without being noticed too much. Although she did get a few odd looks from the workers for skating through the aisles in her socks since she had taken her shoes off once she got inside the store. She picked up pancake mix, milk, chocolate chips, and Nesquick.
When she went to the register, the guy behind the counter was someone who was about her age, maybe a little older. He reminded her of someone, although she couldn’t quite put her finger on it. “Maybe someone from school?” she asked herself in her mind. He had long brown hair that swooped over his forehead and was cut right above his eyes, which were dark brown. She looked at him for a minute and it was finally starting to freak him out a little. “Umm, may I help you?” he said unsurely. She smiled and shook her head, “Sorry, you just remind me of one of my friends back home.” He nodded, “Oh, okay.” She looked at his arm and saw a lyric tattoo spiraling down it. It was lyrics from Avenged Sevenfold’s song Gunslinger, “The stars in the night, they lend me their light, to bring me closer to heaven with you…” And it had a date after it. She cocked her head to the side, “What’s the date for? If you don’t mind me asking…” He looked up at her from scanning out her groceries, “Huh? Oh, the tattoo?” he said as he nodded towards his own arm. She silently nodded. He took a deep breath, “That’s the day my sister died.” Jenny looked down at her hands, “Oh my god, I’m so sorry.” He gave her a small smile, “It’s alright. You’re the only person I’ve ever met who’s cared enough to ask, let alone feel bad for me. People see the tattoo and they automatically put me in the “bad kid” category, you know?” She nodded, although it never happened to her, she remembered her dad always going on about how tattoos are for gangsters, druggies, and white trash.
She helped him put the groceries into plastic bags, “Good song too by the way.” He looked up at her in surprise, “You like Avenged?” She laughed and nodded, “Yea, I guess you could say that haha.” He smiled, “I’m Tyler by the way.” Jenny laughed as she tucked her hair behind her ear, “I’m Jenny.” He looked over the counter at her, “I get off my shift in like, five minutes. You wanna grab a coffee or something?” She smiled, “That’d be great. I just gotta run these home really quick. I’ll be right back though. I’m only a couple blocks away haha.” He nodded, “Alright, sounds good.”
She grabbed her bags and went back to the bus. Everyone was still asleep when she got there. She put the groceries in the fridge and cupboards and wrote Zacky a note, “Out having coffee with someone. Call my cell if you need me back.” She stuck it on the top of his bed since he was sleeping on the bottom bunk that night. She ruffled his hair and walked out of the room. She looked at herself in the mirror, thinking that she should probably fix herself up at least a little before going out in public with someone. She brushed her hair and pulled it back into a ponytail and grabbed a t-shirt that actually fit her to put on under Zacky’s sweatshirt. She put her cell phone and her wallet into the pocket of her jeans and took off out the door.
She walked back to the store and Tyler was standing outside waiting for her. She smiled and waved to him. He smiled as he walked up to her, “Ready?” She nodded, “Yep. But you’re gonna have to show me a good coffee place. I’m new here haha.” He laughed, “Yea, I didn’t think I’d ever seen you around here before. And I’m usually pretty good at finding Avenged fans since they’re far and few between.” She smiled as she played with her bangs. He opened the door to a little café for her. She smiled as she walked inside and waited for him to direct her to a table. She looked up at him, “So, what’s good here? And don’t say their coffee haha.” He smiled, “They’ve got lots of good stuff. But, if you’re looking for a wakeup call, I’d suggest their blended mocha madness. So much chocolate, mocha, and whipped cream in one drink haha.” She smiled at him, “Sounds good to me.” He called over to the counter, “Two mocha madnesses please? Oh, and two chocolate glazed donuts,” he turned back to Jenny, “Their donuts are to die for.” She chuckled as she leaned back in her chair, “I’m sure they are.” The waiter brought over their drinks and donuts and Jenny thanked him. She took a sip of her coffee and smiled, “Good choice sir haha.” He nodded as he started to drink his as well, “I thought so. It’s the only way I survive through my shifts.”
He looked at her, “So, are you going to the concert tonight?” She looked up at him from her donut, “Huh? Oh, the Avenged one?” He nodded, “That’s the one.” Jenny smiled, but she wasn’t quite sure how to explain her situation to him, “Umm…yea, I’m going. You?” He nodded, “Yep. I’ve been waiting forever for them to come back here again. It’s my first time seeing them without The Rev though. So, it ought to be interesting.” She smiled, “Well, Arin’s a pretty good drummer. He’s no Jimmy, but he’s good.” Tyler looked up at her, “You’ve seen them before?” She looked down at her drink, she knew that she had to tell him now or it’d just get really awkward, “Actually, I’m touring with them right now. I’m the new vocalist. I’m probably not gonna be a permanent thing, but for now, they’re stuck with me haha.” His eyes widened, “I knew I recognized you! I’ve seen concert pics of you on their website. They were up when I went to get the tickets. Wow, I can’t believe it took me this long to realize it!” She smiled as she stirred her mocha madness, “Yep, that’s me haha.” Tyler just shook his head in disbelief, “Wow, I never thought any of you guys would be so down to earth. I thought, I don’t know, I thought you’d be…” his voice trailed off. Jenny laughed and picked up where he left off, “You thought we’d be conceited assholes?” Tyler laughed, “Yea, kinda. No offense.” She waved her hand as if to dismiss the comment, “None taken. I don’t blame you for thinking that, most celebrities are.” He drank some more of his coffee, “So what are the guys like?” She smiled, “They’re like…they’re the brothers I never had. They’re pretty amazing.” He nodded and smiled, “Cool. I can’t imagine what it’d be like to tour with them.” She leaned back in her chair, “Yea, it’s pretty cool. Hey, do you guys have any little bookstores around here? I’ve been dying to find something to read so I don’t die of boredom on the long bus drives haha.” He laughed and helped her up out of her chair, “Yea, there’s one right down the street from here.” He left the money on the table and they walked out of the café.
He nodded down the street, “It’s about a block or so down. You wanna go?” She smiled at him, “That’d be awesome.” He smiled and slid his hand into hers as they were talking and walking down the road. She smiled but didn’t say anything. She knew that she should let go, tell him that her and Arin have a thing, but the moment seemed all too perfect. It seemed like something out of a storybook. She didn’t want to ruin it. They talked about everything, books, music, family, friends, life, and love, all of it. She couldn’t help but to smile at the fact that the guy she met at the grocery store a few hours ago talked to her like they’d been friends for years. Tyler smiled as she dragged him through all the aisles of the bookstore. “There’s something about her,” he thought to himself, “something special, something different.” He laughed as she kept pulling out more and more books, telling him whether they were good or not and telling him what the plot was. Tyler smiled at her, “I hope you know, I’ve read practically every book in this store.” Her eyes widened, “Really?” He nodded, “Yea, I come down here when I’m not working and they let me set out front and read. As long as I don’t steal the books, they have no problem with me.” She smiled and sat down in one of the chairs in the aisle, “That’s so cool. I wish I could just lounge at the bookstores back home.” He cocked his head to the side in confusion, “Why can’t you?” She sighed, “Well, when I’m at home, I’m pretty much the parent of the house. I told you about my dad, and it’s just, well, I have to take care of both of us. I don’t have time to go to the bookstore. I usually have my friend Melody pick something up for me if she has time.” He sat down next to her, “Look, that’s not fair. You’re not the parent. You shouldn’t have to worry about taking care of your dad.” She shrugged, “I don’t know. That’s just the way it’s always been.” Tyler shook his head in disbelief, “Well, we better make this trip worthwhile then huh?”
She smiled as he helped her up and followed him around as he kept taking books off the shelves. She looked at the titles as her pile grew higher and higher. When he finally stopped, they both had huge stacks of books. He smiled as he leaned around so he could see Jenny behind her pile of books. “Alright,” he said with a laugh, “these are some of the best ones.” She laughed as she set her stack down next to a chair, “Alright, well, I don’t think I’m gonna get all of these haha.” He chuckled as he sat down next to her with his stack, “Okay, well then, we gonna go through them?” She nodded as she started separating hers into two piles. He looked at her, “How are you organizing them?” She looked up at him, “Oh, this pile is of authors that I like, this pile is of authors that I don’t like, and this one is for authors I’ve never heard of haha.” He shook his head and laughed as he kept handing her books to sort.
When they were done sorting, you could tell that there weren’t very many authors that Jenny didn’t like. There was a good amount that she’d never heard of though. Tyler shook his head in disbelief, “I can’t believe you’ve never heard of these people.” She gave him a playful shove, “Sorry I’m not as worldly literate as you haha.” She started going through the pile of authors that she knew and picked out a few books from there, and a few books from the pile of authors that she’d never heard of. When she was done, she had ten books and Tyler was just shaking his head in amusement, “You’re gonna be busy with those haha.” She laughed, “Well, it’s worth it.” She walked up to the counter and set them all out. She sales lady smiled at Tyler, “I see your hooking other people into your obsession now.” He laughed, “She wanted to know where a good bookstore in town was.” The woman put all of Jenny’s books into a brown paper bag. Jenny smiled at her, “Thank you.” The woman smiled back, “You’re welcome. Have a nice day.”
Her and Tyler walked out and she had her bag in one hand and his hand in the other. She smiled as they wandered aimlessly around town talking. It was nice to have someone to just talk with about nothing in particular. Even though she knew she might never see him again, it was nice to have him here and now.
Jenny’s cell phone went off and she looked at the screen, it was Zacky. She set her bag down and answered it, “Hello?” Zacky sounded like he’d just woken up, “Hey, where are you? I saw your note and I was just curious.” She smiled, “Umm, I’m wandering around town.” Zacky chuckled, “With who? Who’s this “someone” you mentioned in your note.” She laughed, “His name’s Tyler. Here, Tyler say hi.” Tyler called hi into the phone. Zacky laughed, “Alright, I’m glad you’re having fun. But come back soon okay? All the guys see the pancake stuff and want some…but we’re too lazy to make it for ourselves.” Jenny laughed, “Wow, you guys are helpless haha. But yea, I’ll be back soon.” They said goodbye and she hung up the phone. Tyler looked at her expectantly, “Who was that?” Jenny picked up her bag and looked at him, “Oh, that was Zacky. He was just wondering where I was.” He nodded, “Oh, okay.” She smiled at him, “Yea, he’s a good kid haha. Hey sorry, but I’ve gotta start heading back to the bus.” He looked at his watch, “Okay. Well, that works ‘cause I’ve gotta start getting back to work.” She smiled, “Well, I’ll walk there with you because I have no idea how to get back to the bus from here haha.” He laughed as he slid his hand into hers again. All he could think about was how he couldn’t believe that all of this was actually happening.
When they got to the store, Tyler looked at Jenny, “Well, I guess this is it.” Jenny sighed, she didn’t want this to end, “Yea…I guess so. Hey, here’s my cell number, call me or something sometime okay?” He smiled and nodded, “Will do.” She looked at him, “Oh, and if you want, if you’re still going to the concert tonight, go to the back door of the stadium thing and I’ll introduce you to the guys. If you want that is…” He smiled, “That’d be awesome.” She tucked her hair behind her ear and smiled, “Cool. See you then I guess.” He looked at her, “Yea, see you then.”
He was about to let her walk away when he reached out and grabbed her hand. She turned around and looked at him, “Yea?” He looked at her for a second before pulling her closer and giving her a quick kiss, “Bye…” She blushed and smiled, “Bye…”