Scream Over The Sound

I reached home feeling down as ever. Vic hadn’t really hung out with me that night and it was killing me to figure out that after tonight he’d only have 3 more nights left with me, and here we were wasting away. I kicked my shoes off and climbed into bed, not bothering to change my clothes. Heaving a big sigh, I closed my eyes, trying not to think about how depressingly awkward Vic and I were earlier.

I could feel tears prickling at the back of my eyes and decided to look to my iPhone for some sort of distraction. Just as I unlocked my screen, I received a message from TB.

U PROBS DUN WANNA C THIS RITE NOW BUT I THINK YOU SHOULD; he texted and I awaited his next text.

Ding! Ding! In came a photo attached to his text. It looked like a screen shot from his Blackberry, a screen shot of a series of tweets.

@MantaRae: Busted. Little miss band slut in the dressing room looking rejected.

@Joanie93: @MantaRae Omg! Are you serious?! What happened?!

@MantaRae: @Joanie93 Saw my hero walking out on her, looking flushed, and she was there all face in hands and shit! HA! Loser!

@Joanie93: @MantaRae Can’t believe she’s at it again! Can’t wait to tell the gang about it. Someone oughtta spay her!

@MantaRae: @Joanie93 Ikr?! Well, time to grab hold of the reigns that rightfully belong to me.

@MantaRae: Band boys are your thing, huh? Sadly you’re not theirs. Serial Band Boy Rapist.

Ding! Ding! Another message came in from TB. PLS DUN LET THEM GET TO YOU. I KNO THIS SUX. DO U WANT TO GO GRAB A DRINK?

I turned over onto my stomach and buried my face in my comforters. This is not happening, I thought to myself. Ding! Ding! I turned over again and looked blankly at my phone, eyes refusing to release any tears. I was holding them back so hard that my throat started tightening up.

All I could think of is how she’s going to take Vic away from me. DON’T HOLD IT IN. JUST TALK TO HIM. My eyebrows burrowed when I realised I didn’t recognise this number.

Ding! Ding! IT’S YOUR FAVOURITE GUITARIST, TONY, BTW.

I couldn’t help but smile. Ding! Ding! This time another unknown number. KEEP YOUR HEAD UP, FIGHT FOR YOUR RIGHTS. LUV YOUR FAVE BASSIST. Jaime. Oh, they were really cheering me up.

Ding! Ding! I’LL SMACK HER AROUND WITH MY DRUMSTICKS – YOUR FAVE DRUMMER.

Who would have known my favourite band would be taking the place of my supposed true friends? My heart felt warm and I suddenly felt ready to open up to Vic. I grabbed my car keys and trotted back down the stairs, slipped on a pair of flip flops and opened my gate to get to my car parked outside.

Stopping dead in my tracks, I saw what seemed like a million sticky notes stuck onto my car. Angrily written on each of them were all the possible cusses you could think of. Slut. Whore. Bitch. Band groupie. Band rapist.

My knees started shaking. Why would anyone go through all the trouble to do this to me? I pinned my lips together, trying not to cry. Feelings so rushed by the adrenaline of embarrassment, I ran to my car and started pulling off all the sticky notes, throwing them to the tar road. It seemed like I couldn’t take them off quick enough; there were still tens more all over my windows. I didn’t care if anyone saw it anymore. I just needed to run.

So I did. I ran down my street and kept on running, until I passed five blocks of houses and two neighbourhoods. Until I got to the main road. Cars were quietly whizzing on the road, serenading a hush lullaby to my ears. I stopped before I climbed the flyover bridge for pedestrians, closing my eyes and taking in a deep sniff of the still night air. Do not cry, do not cry, I chanted to myself.

My eyes shot open and I ran across the bridge, and then leaped down two steps at a time, just rushing to the apartments. I ran down the street that had a fantastic view of the twin towers. I closed my eyes as I ran, feeling the bright beams of the towers on my face, as if it were the sun. Running and running, I took a left, then a right and found myself at the lobby of the apartment the boys were staying at.

I ditched the elevators and climbed up the stairs. 18 floors were quite far fetched but I had all this sudden adrenaline in me. I also didn’t wanna have any quiet time alone—like in the elevator—to cry before I saw Vic. Finally, I got to their door, and I knocked on it as hard as I could, not even remembering at that moment that the apartment had a door bell.

KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK! I leaned my head against the doorframe and waited for an answer. I saw the light switch on from under the door crack.

Vic opened the door.

His eyes sleepy with night and his mane standing up in all directions. He just stood there, eyes examining me. Vic’s eyebrows suddenly formed its worry line and he reached out and pulled me into his arms, “Why are you crying?”

I hadn’t even noticed. I had been crying the whole way here.

“Why are you sweating too?” he pushed my hair back off my face and looked at me closely. He then pulled me in close again, allowing my face to nest in the crook of his neck. He smelled like peppermint shaving cream. I closed my eyes and breathed his scent in.

Before I knew it, my tears were rolling as if there were a faucet switched on at the back of my head. My arms found its way to his back, pulling him close. It was the first time I had held anyone this close since my last boyfriend. It was the first time I was this close to Vic Fuentes.

The apartment was still. I couldn’t feel anything around us except Vic.

“Did you walk here from your house?!” he tore me from the embrace, holding me firmly by the shoulders.

I sobbed, “Ran.” It was the only word I could manage. “Can I sit here for a while?” I sniffed, putting a hand on his hand on my shoulder.

“Don’t be crazy,” he whispered. “Yes, of course you can stay here,” he placed a gentle hand at the back of my head and pulled me into an embrace again. At that time, I didn’t even realise he had just quoted his own song. My favourite song.

He took my hand, laced it with his and pulled me out the door. We went to the elevators and he punched number 6 on the panel of buttons. The lift took us to the pool area of the apartment.

The pool was gorgeously illuminated with its pool lights shining against the turquoise glass tiles. The pool also over looked the gorgeous city across from us. Vic pulled me to the far lounge chair that sat closest to the fence that over looked the tall twin towers.

He sat himself down, and then pulled me into his arms on the lounge chair until I was nuzzling in his arms like a sick child with her mother. Vic squeezed me a little, making close my eyes with comfort.

“I can explain,” I whispered, voice tired.

“Shh,” he gently hushed me, running his hands through my hair to keep it out of my face. “Just close your eyes for now, we can talk about it later. But for now just rest with me, okay?”

And just like that, I forgot all about Manta, all about whosever’s humiliating prank, all about all the bad things and soon drifted into sleep.