So Much For Keeping This Just Friends.

Charles was the only one she found, however, once she’d made it onto the We The Kings bus. He wasn’t sure what to say or what to do. The young girl had sat down on the couch next to him, trying to speak words that would only come out as sobs. He gently put his arm around her and pulled her into his side. He rubbed her arm gently, trying to get her to calm down so that he could understand what she was trying to tell him. By the time Travis had rushed into the bus however, the girl’s state hadn’t changed. Her silent prayer had been answered. The redhead was aware of what went down. Matt had come back in to the venue, fuming after he’d gone back to the bus to look for his phone. Both Jack and Minnie had gone AWOL since the end of the set, which to Travis could only mean one thing.

“Oh, Min,” he cooed, pulling her up from the couch and away from Charles’ embrace. He held her tightly rubbing her back, trying to get the poor thing to stop crying. She fought against him though. She couldn’t stand the thought of him touching her or even being this close to her. She felt dirty and disgusting. Moments ago those were Jack’s hands running over her body. Those were Matt’s eyes staring at her with disappointment and disgust.

“Can I take a shower?” she choked out, still trying to push him away. Travis agreed as he let go of her, telling her that he would find her some clothes that she could change into. Michelle spent half an hour under the water, scrubbing her skin until it was red and raw, but no matter how much she tried, she couldn’t wash away the feeling that she had in the pit of her stomach; the one where she felt like a disappointment, not only to her brother but to herself. How could she have been so stupid? How could she have thought that Jack would treat her better than any other girl? Better than any other band whore. Stupid, stupid girl.

There was a knock on the door before Travis let her know that he had put some clothes for her beside the sink. With that she shut the water off, drying herself before pulling on one of the boys’ shirt, shorts and hoodie. She met Travis in the back lounge and curled up beside him.

“He knows,” she whispered so softly it was barely audible. “He found us.” She would have continued crying, but there weren’t any tears left in her body to do so.

“I guessed….He looked pissed when he came back from the bus…”Travis said.

“I’ve fucked up so bad Travis,” the girl whined, pressing her face into his side. “I’ve ruined my relationship with my brother. I’ve probably ruined my credibility as an aspiring tour manager and on top of everything, Jack….” She paused for a moment; feeling tears she thought she couldn’t produce anymore rise up in her eyes. “Jack said I didn’t mean anything to him. I ruined it. I ruined everything.”

“Minnie, shush, it’ll be okay. You didn’t ruin everything. It just seems bad right now because you’re caught in the middle of a shit storm. Once things die down, you’ll be able to work things out.”
Michelle stayed silent, not sure if she wanted to believe what Travis was saying just yet. She felt like nothing would ever be right again.

“You’ve just gotta face things one thing at a time,” Travis continued. “Look at things with a different perspective.”

“How?” she asked.

“Well, maybe if other bands find out that you sleep with members they’ll be more willing to hire you,” he chuckled, laughing. Michelle didn’t laugh though. It felt like he was confirming what Jack had said about her being a slut, but she knew he wasn’t. He was just trying to make her feel better. “Or,” he continued. “Maybe no one will ever find out.”
That was true. No one really knew. And those who did wouldn’t really gain something from spreading the truth around, right?

"Then, Matt, well I think you should talk to him. You guys are really close, I'm sure he'd hear you out. He's just hurt right now. And as for Jack...I'd say talk to him as well, but I'm sure you're not really in the mood. I sincerely thought he was interested in you Min. I'm so sorry I pushed you towards him if it wasn't the case..."

"Don't apologize Travis; it's not your fault, I brought this all on myself." The both sighed and sat there on the couch, holding each other, trying to keep Michelle from falling apart.

"Tell you what. Take my bunk, let things simmer down, and tomorrow you can make some decisions on what you're going to do, alright?" Travis suggested.

"Fine, but I'll sleep on the couch Trav, I don't mind." But of course the redhead insisted she had to take his bed, claiming that if he wasn't comfortable on the couch, he would go cuddle with someone.
The girl made her way to the small bunk, climbing in and getting comfortable. Tomorrow was a long way off.

"There she is!" Travis exclaimed as Min stumbled out of his bunk the next morning. "How's it going hun?" he asked, handing her a Starbucks cup and bag. They should be at the venue in Philadelphia by now. The girl shrugged, taking a seat at the table, not touching her food.

"I'm going home Travis. I've made up my mind."

"There are only a couple stops left Min..." Travis pointed out; clearly disappointing that she would be leaving.

"I can't stay here. I can't live with the judgment from Alex, Rian or Zack. I can't stand my brother being disappointed and disgusted with me. And I especially can't face Jack without bursting into tears. I'll wait until lunch when the boys will be out of the bus and Matt will be alone, working. I'll pack my stuff, book a flight and head home..."

"Can we stay in touch?" The boy asked quietly.

"Of course, Trav." She stood up and pulled her friend into a hug. "You know I'd stay, but I really need some alone time to get past this. Tell you what, when tour is over, bring Lindsay up to New York and come visit me okay?" she suggested. Travis agreed and they sat back down. He made her eat the food he'd bought for her and the watched a movie, so that Michelle could keep her mind off of things until noon came around.

Right before 12 o’clock, Michelle called a cab to come pick her up at the venue in about half an hour. She said her goodbyes to Travis, promising that they would make plans to see each other and Lindsay after tour. She grabbed her clothes from the night before and made her way to All Time Low’s bus. Travis had seen the four band members leave only moments earlier, so she knew she wouldn’t see anyone she didn’t want to. She pulled open the heavy door for the last time and made her way up the four tiny steps. The front lounge was empty; Matt must be in the back. With a quick pace, she made her way past the bunks and into the back lounge. Matt’s eyes flicked up from his computer screen as he heard someone walk into the room but they shifted back downwards just as fast when he saw his sister. His jaw went stiff as he tried to prevent himself from saying anything he would regret later.

“Matt…” she said quietly, earning no reaction from the boy. He just sat there, keeping his gaze on the glowing screen. “Matthew…” she tried again. This time he pursed his lips but still didn’t respond. He scratched the back of his neck and shifted in his seat. It was a hard task to ignore his baby sister. She was pretty persistent when she wanted to be. “Matty….” Silence. Michelle sighed, feeling tears accumulating in her eyes, threatening to spill out at any second. “Mickey...?” she whispered, her voice cracking. That did it for Matt. She’d found his weak spot. He glanced back up at the girl who was now silently crying in front of him.

“What do you want Michelle?” he asked, sighing and running his hand thorough his short hair.
“I’m, so sorry Matt…I didn’t mean to…” she sobbed quietly. The oldest sighed again and opened his arms, going against his will to comfort her. She stepped over to him, seating herself on his lap and let him hold her as she sobbed quietly. He didn’t say anything, only rubbed her back comfortingly.
“Matty….I’m in love with him.” Well that did it, not more mister tough guy for Matt Flyzik.
“Minnie….” He muttered under his breath, pulling her closer. “Come one. Go get your stuff; I’ll book you a flight.” He patted her leg and they both stood up. The young girl only packed the bare essentials. Matt would get the rest of her stuff at the end of tour and bring it back to her then. Once some of her clothes and her electronics were stuffed into a rut sack she made her way to the front of the bus where her brother was waiting for her with a printed proof of a purchased ticket.
“I really am sorry Matt…” she told him again as they hugged one last time.

“I am too Michelle…I am too…” was his only reply. A car horn sounded and the siblings pulled away from their embrace. “I’ll see you after tour.” Minnie nodded in agreement, swinging her bag up onto her shoulder and made her way outside to the yellow cab that was waiting to bring her to the airport.

The cab ride was short, but that didn’t stop it from starting it to pour buckets outside. The driver parked next to the sidewalk, and after paying, Michelle grabbed her bag and stepped out into the heavy rain. She didn’t have the energy to run towards the doors like everyone was doing. Instead, she simply walked at a normal pace, letting her hair fall flat and stick to her face while her clothes soaked threw and clung to her body. She felt like it would help her wash away the past weeks and help her start fresh again. She gave herself the three hour wait before her flight to get over Jack because come on, a girl could only hope that someone would tell him that she was going home and he would jump into a cab and rush down here to try and find her, sweep her off her feet and tell her that he hadn’t meant what he said. Instead, he was in love with her too. Then, they would kiss, make up and live happily ever after.

Seconds turned into minutes, which turned into hours. Finally, her flight was called. With a sigh and a last glance around the airport, looking for that all too familiar skunk patch, she made her way towards the gate to board her flight. She had called Fae earlier to let her know that she was coming home and that she would need a ride from the airport, so that was settled. She had nothing holding her back now. With a deep breath she made her way past the airport employee, down the small hallway and onto the plane. Everything she had lived through in the past few weeks was the past now. It had happened, but she had to move on. She had to move forward. She was going home to her best friend. Going home to finish school. Going home to move on with her life. Yes, she was disappointed that she wouldn’t be able to move on with Jack by her side as a friend, or more, but she couldn’t think of that. She promised herself that by the time her plane touched down in New York City she would be over him for good. Until then though, she could imagine what things would be like if all of this had gone a different way…