I Could Write It Better Than You Ever Felt It

I was squished in a booth between Becki and Alex. Across from me was a very comfortable looking Jack. His back was to the wall and his legs were sprawled out on the extra space he had in his booth.

"Erm...why is it that three of us need to squeeze in on this side while Mr. Barakat over there has a whole side to himself??"

"I want to sit next to Alice." Becki began, but then Alex spoke and the tone of his voice said he was determined.

"I'm not moving until I'm absolutely sure that Alice isn't going to disappear on me again."

"I don't bite!" Jack smirked, moving his legs and making room for a slightly irritated Becki. She seemed to get over it fast though, as she joined in with the guys and I as we talked and made jokes.

"Guys, wait, we're forgetting the whole reason we're here right now!" Jack gestured to the 24 hour diner we had managed to find after our strange encounters at the high school.

"I don't want to think about it anymore." I said, honestly. I kind of surprised myself with my response, but it was a subject that had become redundant. I had no answers or ideas anymore.

"I agree. Alice and I thought we had things pretty much figured out, but that creepy guy appearing at the school was deffinately a game changer..."

Alex reached for my hand under the table and gave it a quick, reassuring squeeze. It was obvious that Alex and I didn't care about why the journal did what it did, or why we were all here. We had a bond from the moment he found me on his tour bus, and I think that's all that really mattered to us anymore. We were together, in the real world finally, in real time.

"That was really, really scary..." Becki added, and I shivered a little at the thought of the shop owner.

"Let's all just agree that it was real-it really happened, it was fucking creepy, and we won't try to explain it to anyone else unless it's completely necessary." Jack spoke up. The rest of us were quiet for a few moments.

"Agreed." Alex was the first to reply, followed by Becki.
"Yep, me too."

I thought about everything that happened again. I guess there was a part of me really wanted to sit down and analyze it all night long. A part of me wanted to track down that shop owner, and do a background search, and figure out why everything that happened, happened. I wanted to tell someone, but then again, who would believe me?
And then there was a part of me, a bigger part, that wanted to embrace the fact that Alex and I were together again, in a booth with out best friends. They knew the truth and that was all that really mattered. That same part of me didn't want to waste time analyzing something that couldn't be explained. I wanted to believe what the shop owner said, and call it fate. I looked at Alex who was smiling at me.

"Just so you know, we already voted, so your say really doesn't make a difference." He smirked. I laughed.

"Agreed."

And just like that, it was over. Just as suddenly as it had began. Our twisted fantasy world was back to reality, and it was just as unscripted and awkward and perfect as I had imagined. We continued to laugh and talk at that diner until early morning, when Alex and Jack would book a flight back home to Maryland. Becki and I would go back to my house, where our inner preteen girls would come out, as we squeeled with delight about everything that was happening. We all kept in touch, Alex and I talking every day, until we eventually started to date. Well, date at a long distance. Luckily Pennslyvania to Maryland isn't much of a journey. It wasn't a perfect relationship, we fought, as all other couples do. We fought from the very first day we met, so it was inevitable that we would while dating. We fought about the distance, about the touring, and even about how we met. It was easy to wonder if we were forcing our relationship just because of everything that happened. The journal was gone, and never made another appearance.

During one particular fight, I was putting off going to visit Alex and the guys. It was my turn to make the drive and I was not in the mood. Isn't it funny how when you first start seeing someone, you'd do anything to spend any amount of time with them, and after time it almost becomes a chore? Maybe that's a cold way of putting it, but we had been arguing about taking the next step in out relationship. I wanted to live with Alex, I cared a great deal for him. I couldn't imagine life without him at this point. But I was selfish and I didn't want to leave my hometown. The same goes for him. Regaurdless, I was not really in the mood to drop arms and make up just yet. But Alex pressed on.

"You have to come, Alice. You just have to, I promise you, it'll be a good time. No fighting."

After a million variations of that over phone calls and texts, I finally gave in and packed my car for the weekend getaway.

The drive gave me time to think, and by the time I had parked and ran into Alex's arms I had softened up a bit. I didn't want to fight anymore.

"I have a surprise for you, but since you got here kind of late, we have to leave right now, is that ok?"

I nodded as I looked at my cell phone for the time. It was about 6:30PM, and I had no clues as to what we could be running late for. We hopped in Alex's car and on our drive to wherever I could tell he was tired of all the fighting as well.

"I missed you, Alice. I've been trying to remind myself of everything we've been through and how much I missed you those days when our meetings had to be written down. And that got me thinking, so I hope you like this surprise..." He grinned at me and any trace of anger I had left towards him vanished. I smiled back.

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"Surprised?!" Alex shouted over the music as I watched Patrick Stump sing his heart out from where I stood backstage.

Fall Out Boy. He had taken me to see Fall Out Boy. I was just as nervous and excited as I had been the first time, only this was real life. I suppressed my nerves as best I could as I smiled and sang along to the music. Everything was coming full circle.

"...and this is my girlfriend, Alice." After some brief small talk, Alex had finally introduced me. I smiled at all of them, and couldn't help but giggle at the thought of Joe taking shots on the tour bus that night. Now that he was in front of me, I couldn't see that happening. They all seemed much more calm than I wrote them, and at the moment I vowed no more fan fiction.

I greeted all of them and shook their hands, but I couldng help but grin when I got to Pete. He must have thought it was because I was a big fan, which was fine by me.

"Very nice to meet you." He smilied, and I thought of a million and one witty remarks Alice Wentz would make in this situation.

"You too, you guys were all really great out there!" Was my boring, realistic response. There was a bit more chatter between Alex and the band, as one by one they each excused themselves and made their way past is, further backstage.

Once it was just Alex and I, I leaned up and kissed him on the cheek.

"I love you, that was pretty funny." I grinned.

"I love you too. So are they everything you imagined?"

"Not in the slightest. Joe and Andy don't look much like avid partiers, and Pete definitely seems like less of a brat. But I think I had Patrick down to a T..." I joked.

"I'm glad I was immune to your story. I'm glad I still remember you now that it's over." He smiled sweetly at me and kissed my head. I'll admit that it was kind of awkward having this sappy Hallmark moment backstage surrounded by a bunch of sweaty roadies, but I ignored that for the time being.

"Me too. I think fate exists."

"It must. There's no other explanation."

"Alex, I don't want to fight about living arrangements anymore. I just want to be with you."

"I was going to tell you the same thing. We'll figure something out, don't worry." He wrapped his arms around me and we stood like that for a short while.

"We'll figure out something," he said again. "Because we were ment to be together, Alice. I know that sounds corny and cliche, but for us, it's exactly right. We were ment to be together, so we will be."

He took my hand and led me back the way we came. Once again I didn't know where we were going, or what we were doing next, but I didn't care. I felt like I was on a cloud, everything felt so easy. Despite the fights, the complicated situations, the confusion of journal. We had made it through all of that.

I didn't know what was going to happen, and that scared me at first, especially without the journal to control my own fate. But Alex was right, him and I were 'exactly right', and I was beginning to realize that I didn't need to plan out and script my future for it to be perfect anymore.

Because it already was.