A Far Cry From Innocence.

I followed Brian onto the bus and sat on the couch next to Jimmy. I watched my brother walk back to the lounge and slam the door behind him. "This feels like such a nightmare," I sighed, shaking my head.

Jimmy stared at me curiously. He put an arm over my shoulder and pulled me into a headlock, ruffling my hair, "Then just wait until you wake up! Everything'll be okay, Avi-Monster." He beamed a grin down at me and I couldn't help smiling back. Jimmy was always good at cheering my up. He was the comic relief in my life. Loosening his grip on me slightly, he drooped his arm around my shoulders. "Have you talked to Nate?"

I looked down at my hands and shook my head slowly as my smile slowly faded. "Only a couple times since we left... I've sorta been avoiding him since the whole blackout night where I, uh... Where you dared me to do what I did." I slumped down, laying my head on his shoulder.

"Kiss. You kissed. It wasn't anything so bad. If I woulda known things would turn out this way, I wouldn't have dared you to do it... I woulda dare you to, like, slow dance with Johnny or something." He shrugged with a soft chuckle, but looked at me. "Do you think Nate would be mad?"

I sighed and nodded as my throat tightened and tears welled in my eyes. "He'll be furious... but I have to tell him." I shook my head and chuckled lightly, wiping the tears from my cheeks. "I guess I deserve it... So, uhm, why did you dare me to kiss Zacky anyway?"

Jimmy laughed and rolled his eyes. "Honestly? I was hoping to get the whole Zavi love boat going." He eyed the bus door carefully before leaning a little closer, "That and I really don't like Roni that much." He put a finger over his lips with a mischievous smirk and he snickered.

I giggled at what he had called Zacky and I. "Zavi?" It made me smile, but it quickly turned into a sneer as I rolled my eyes. "Roni? I hate her... She's psychotic. And I can't wait for her to go home tomorrow."

"Aw, and I thought we were becoming such good friends."

I looked over to Roni pseudo sad face. She managed to whip up some tears and looked over at Zacky, "You don't believe her and Syn, do you?" A tear slid down her cheek and she whimpered pathetically, causing me to roll my eyes.

Zacky looked between Roni and I before he hung his head and rubbed his temples. "Let's just go to bed, I can't think about this right now..." He pulled her toward the bunks, not saying another word.

Jimmy quietly hummed the Psycho theme and mimed stabbing the air with a terrifying grin on his face. I cackled, covering my mouth to muffle it but not doing a very good job. "Hey, it's true. I don't trust her with sharp objects," he whispered with shifty eyes. He grinned at me and snickered. "Hey, you should go to bed. Big day tomorrow, don't you have a big math test?"

I rolled my eyes and groaned. "You had to remind me..." I sighed and pushed up off the couch. "Goodnight, Reverend Plague." I gave him a polite bow before wandering over to the bunks.

x-x-x-x-x

"Five minutes left, Miss Haner." The tutor looked at her watched then at me, her brow arched dramatically. She was such an annoying extra person to have on the bus every day. I wanted to shave her eyebrows off almost every night. As soon as her head was turned, I mocked her with a sneer. I snapped my head back to the test as she turned back to look at me.

I finished the paper and slid it to her, sitting back and crossing my arms while she looked it over. I glanced over as Roni walked down toward the door with Zacky, bags in hand since we were where she was being dropped off.

"Av, come say goodbye!"

I growled and rolled my eyes. I looked at my brother as he started walking toward the door. "Bri, do I really have to? I hate her, you hate her... And she knows it! Why do I have to pretend I give a fuck if I ever see her again?"

He shrugged and sighed, "Because it'll make Zack happy." He shrugged again before starting on his path again, hands shoved in his pockets and his lips in an annoyed, straight line.

"Excuse me," I hissed as I stood up and stomped off the bus. I stood between Brian and Jimmy, my arms crossed tightly over my chest and I grumbled incoherently just to express my annoyance and ignored Jimmy's hushed snickers.

I watched her hug Johnny and give him a kiss on the cheek. She stood on her tiptoes to give Matt a hug and he returned it awkwardly. When she looked at my brother, she awkwardly smile and held her arms out; I looked over to see him raise a brow skeptically and reach forward to shake her hand before walking back into the bus. She looked at Zacky and frowned before turning to look at me, her face blank and almost terrifying. Suddenly, she smiled widely and nearly tackled me in a hug, "I'm sorry for our misunderstanding, Hazz! I hope we can be really good friends!" She leaned in closer so her lips were at my ear, and a shiver ran down my spine, "Stay. Away. From. Zacky." When she pulled back, she looked at me sternly before looking back at Jimmy who looked completely bewildered.

"Fuck off," I hissed. I immediately turned and stormed back onto the bus, not even caring what the others thought. I stomped passed my tutor into the back lounge where Brian was smoking a cigarette. "I hate that stupid fucking bitch," I snarled, dropping onto the couch and glaring straight ahead at the window

"After this, we probably won't really see her again unless we play a show in this area again. I think Zacky had his fling and we all know he's not a distance guy." He was trying to sound calm, but I could see his hands shaking by the way the smoke from the cigarette was waving back and forth. He took a long drag and lowered his aviators over his eyes as he handed me his box of cigarettes. I took one out a lit it.

"Actually, I think things are different for Roni. Zacky really seems to like her... a lot." Johnny beamed a grin as he stood in the doorway. He frowned at the look that both Brian and I mirrored. "You know, sometimes I can really see that you two are brother and sister... What, you don't like her?"

"Fuck no," we both barked in unison, taking long, hard drags from our cigarettes.