Quiet Actions

"You never come with us."

Astrid tried to ignore her best friend of 20 years by spray painting on a small canvas. She heard him sigh before squatting next to her. From her peripheral, she saw his aggravated face. She put the spray paint down.

"I'm busy, Tony." She looked at him.

Tony's face fell. His long black hair fell down his shoulders, but his jedi braid went past that. The dermal on his face glinted whenever he moved. His brown eyes went from angry to sad. Astrid pursed her lips and turned the other way. There was no way she was falling for that.

"Astrid, please," Tony begged, grabbing her dirty hand. "Never have I asked anything of you!"

Her green eyes snapped to his brown ones. "Tenth grade, you asked me to tell the girl you were dating you weren't into her anymore."

"I haven't asked any of you recently. Come on. It'll be fun. You can paint on the road, too."

Then, the puppy dog eyes came back. Astrid shook her head, muttering how much she hated her closest friend. Tony only made the puppy dog eyes more intense. She sighed loudly.

"Fine," she rubbed her paint covered hands on her jeans. "Don't ask for anything again. Ever."

Tony laughed, brown eyes glinting. "I can't promise you that."

Astrid punched him lightly on the arm. It was true. Tony always did ask things. He usually got his way with most of it. This was the first time she was going to go on tour with them. And, Warped started tomorrow.

"Tony! Why couldn't you have asked earlier?" She stood up, knocking over bottles of spray paint. "I only have tonight to pack."

Tony picked up the fallen bottles and stood up with her. "I did. I asked you for the past week. Like, every single day."

Astrid rolled her eyes and ran into the small house she shared with Tony. It was always lonely here. But, she didn't mind it. She enjoyed the quiet sometimes. She didn't have to worry about waking anyone up by being too loud about three-quarters of the time. She even got to lounge around naked. That was the one of the things she was really going to miss while on the road. And, who was going to take care of their herb garden while away? She'd have to call her parents.

Astrid tied her chestnut colored hair into a bun as she made her way into her room. What the hell would she bring? A whole summer spent in a tour bus with men. And, she just knew they wouldn't act any different if there were a girl to come along. She crossed her arms over her chest, not wanting to deal with any more farts and sex jokes than she had to. She looked at her hands before stepping into her bathroom.

When Tony and Astrid bought the house, there was three bedroom and two bath. They played rock-paper-scissors to see who would get the master room. Obviously, Astrid won. She thinks Tony played horribly just for her. He knew she liked her privacy, so he let her win. Whenever Tony went on tour, he'd apologize to her over and over again until she had to tell him to shut up. Even after 20 years of friendship, Tony could never get angry at Astrid. Sure, there was frustration, but never anger. They loved each other too much to ruin their years together. Of course they tried to make something out of nothing, but it sizzled out in no time. Now, they were the best of friends and closer than ever.

He makes Astrid happy.

She didn't need anyone else. Tony was all she needed.

But, she sure got lonely. Especially while Tony has his girlfriend. It made her feel insignificant. Mostly because they had done literally everything together - save for graduation. Tony was two years older than Astrid. He still called her a baby, just because she was younger.

"Yo, Astrid," Tony's hand was waving in my face. "Have you finished packing? You've been in here for, like, two hours."

Her eyes flickered to his. "Uh, almost. Sorry, I was spacing out."

"For two hours?" He was suspicious.

"I'm almost done packing, Tony! I just lost track of time and I started thinking."

He pursed his lips and nodded. Tony didn't want to push it. He finally got Astrid to come along with the gang. She watched as he left her room. Astrid sat on her bed, taking in the mess of clothes on her bed. Most were folded neatly in her suitcase. The rest were scattered among her purple sheets. She started folding her clothes in silence. Her mind raced with thoughts on Warped Tour.

What if I find someone? What if I'm alone? What if nothing good comes out of it? Astrid shook her head, pushing those thoughts aside. She didn't need to think about relationships. She didn't need to think about men. She had all she ever needed - a great freelance job and the most greatest friends ever. She didn't need anything else.



"Dude," Mike was helping the other men pack the trailer. "This summer is gonna to be great. Can't wait for the kickoff party tonight."

Astrid nodded, absently mindedly. "Yeah, me too."

Mike looked at her, brown eyes watching her like she was a stranger. And, she knew exactly why. Astrid was most definitely not a party person. She was not the one who drank excessively or smoke or did any drugs. It was also 5 in the morning. She was unable to sleep last night, so she ended up staying up all night. All she wanted to do was sleep in her bunk. But, she couldn't until everything was done and packed away.

"Astrid, you look half dead," Jaxin slung an arm over her shoulder.

"Wow, thank you," she said, sarcastically.

She looked over at the man, who now held a smirk. Astrid snorted and gave him a side hug, placing her head on his shoulder. This man was one of Tony's other best friends. He was also a good friend of Astrid's.

"How's Nat doing?" She asked.

Jaxin shrugged. "She's doing good. Acting a little strange, though."

Her brows shot up. "How strange?"

He laid his head on top of Astrid's. "Since we got married, I don't know. I love her more than anything. But, I feel like she's hiding something from me."

"I bet you're just freaking out. You're new to this; she's new to this. It'll pass."

He grabbed Astrid by her shoulders, making her face him. "What if she's cheating on me?"

Astrid looked at him through narrowed eyes. "She married you, idiot. Why would she take the time to marry you and then cheat on you two months afterward?"

A knowing look flashed through his eyes for a moment, then it disappeared. "Uh, yeah… I sound stupid."

Astrid chewed on the inside of her cheek. She didn't know what to say, so she just hugged him. He wrapped his long arms around her and sighed. She felt horrible. Natalie wasn't cheating on Jaxin, no way. She loved the man more than anything. They were always so happy. Natalie was newly pregnant. Just a month in a half. The older woman told Astrid to not tell anyone, that the first two months were always prone to miscarriages. Natalie wanted to be sure that she was going to be okay. She didn't want to get Jaxin excited for a moment, and then disappointed the next.

"You're not stupid," Astrid mumbled into his chest. "Just a little slow."

The laugh rumbled through his chest, vibrating into Astrid's ear. She smiled and rubbed his back, trying to comfort him. Jaxin kissed the top of her head before pulling away. His blue eyes stared at her green ones, a smile behind them.

"Be careful, Astrid," he said. "Tony needs you."

At the mention of her best friend, her head turned to the left. She watched as he and the rest of the band conversed. Tony didn't need Astrid; it was actually vice versa. She needed him. Not because she was one of those clingy people, but because they spent so much of their lives together, she couldn't imagine life without him. As if he knew she was thinking about him, Tony turned his eyes to her own. He beamed, causing Astrid to laugh.

She really did need Tony in her life.