A Match Into Water

A MATCH INTO WATER

CHAPTER ONE: BULLS IN THE BRONX

VICS POV:

I looked at the small alarm clock next to my pillow in my tiny bunk. 3:06AM. "Great. I'm exausted and can't even sleep," I muttered to myself as I looked tiredly around the small room to see if anyone else was awake. No such luck. Tony and Mike were passed out in a drunken slumber. I wonder where Jaime's at. I slid to the edge of my bunk and hopped out landing with a quiet thud. Thank God for my light weight.

I shuffled to the fridge, pulled out a bottle of water and searched the rest of the bus for Jaime. No Jaime. Where the hell is he? I looked out of the window and noticed we had stopped at a gas station. I quietly opened and closed the door, careful not to wake up the two in the back. "Damn, it's freezing." Jaime jogged over to me.

"Hey, man. why're you awake? Oh, hot damn, you look like hell." I rolled my eyes and pulled my hood over my head. "The Sleeping With Sirens guys are here too. Their bus broke down. We stopped to help." My eyes widened.

"Is everybody OK?" Is Kellin alright? What if something happened? What if they got hurt? My breath quickened as I started to panic. Jaime grabbed my shoulders, forcing me to look at him. His face was twisted into concern.

"Dude, did you hear a word I just said? They're all fine. Just a small issue. They're fixing it right now. Calm down. I promise your precious Kelly is okay," Jaime joked.

Everybody joked about how close Kellin and I were. We were always texting or on the phone. Jaime went so far as to even call us "lovers". Kellin never took well to the teasing of the band members. He always got so upset over the small jokes Jaime and Mike made.

"Oh, right. Sorry, I'm still a little out of it." Jaime nodded and walked me over to the other bus. The five members of the band were sitting or standing around the bus, looking severely upset. Everybody had gone out drinking earlier that night and had gotten completely wasted. Especially Kellin. "Hey, Kells. What's up?" I rubbed my eyes and shoved my hands in my pockets.

Kellin looked at me, his eyes red. Has he been crying? "Walk with me?" Kellin nodded and followed close behind me. I stopped somewhere at the back of the building and turned toward Kellin. "What's wrong, bro? And don't tell me some bullshit lie. I've known you long enough to tell when something is wrong with you."

Kellin shook his head and shrugged his shoulders. "It's no big deal. Just got a little too drunk. My head is still spinning. I feel awful." I nodded slowly, not believing a word of it. I sat on the ground and patted the cement next to me, requesting him to sit. He sank to the ground and put his head into his hands. Damn, he looks horrid.

"Kells, that's not all that's wrong. Come on, baby. Spill." I said, using the 'baby' jokingly. He lifted his head up and glared daggers. I put my hands up in surrender.

"Not now, Vic. I'm not in the mood for that shit. I just- Fuck!"

He shouted the last word and threw his fist into the ground. I jumped a little, startled. "Sorry," he said, calmly.

"Come on, Kellin. Talk to me. You're my best friend. You can tell me anything." I put my hand on his shoulder, reassuringly. He hung his head and shook it violently, as if to push away thoughts.

"It's her. She- She took Copeland and moved.", he said, his voice shaking slightly. "She won't talk to me. She won't tell me where she's at. Vic, she's got my fucking baby girl and I don't know where she is. I am such a shit father... Just like mine was." Tears welled up in his eyes, threatening to spill over. He wiped them away quickly, trying to hide them from me.

I slid an arm over his shoulder and gave him a squeeze. He looked up at me, his sea green eyes silently pleading for comfort. I pulled him close and hugged him. He pulled away slowly and looked at me again.

Before I knew what was happening, his lips were on mine. My eyes shot open wide and I stilled. What the hell? What do I do? Do I push him off? No, I can't he's already hurting. Oh shit, am I actually enjoing this? No, I am not. No. "Kellin." I said as he moved back a little, immediately feeling his warmth leave. He closed his eyes and shook his head. He stood up and began jogging back around to the front. "Kellin, wait!"

I grabbed his wrist and stopped him. "Kellin, stop. Would you talk to me, please?" He stopped dead. Without looking at me, he jerked his wrist out of my grip, and swiftly continued to walk away.

I shook my head. "God damn you, Kellin."