Lost Kitten

We made it to our destination of Austin, Texas in the morning. We would start in Texas and work our way around the entire US, doing two or three towns in each state. The morning was bright and hot, but that was too bad for me because I had to wear a long-sleeved shirt and long jeans. I was covered in cuts; some were recent, but that was okay because relapse was part of recovery. But I didn't want any one to see my arms and legs, which were coated in scars from blades and lighters. I had to cover myself up. I was fairly used to it; I just doubled up the deodorant and pulled my hair up so I wouldn't get too sweaty.

Yves told me that I could've just showed my scars and no one would've made a big deal out of it. I tried that once, but Anthony stared and kept whispering to Cable. It made me feel to uncomfortable so that was a no-go.

“What a beautiful morning,” Pete said, walking down the hall with two bags of Fruity Dino-Bites. They were an off-brand of Fruity Pebbles, but they tasted much better to me. You got a big, super-sized bag for a great price and the flavor held up longer. I grabbed a bag from him and ignored the dirty look he gave me. “Eat up, we get to meet the other bands in an hour. After that, I want...”

I ignored him, since he obviously wasn't talking to me. I ate a big bowl of cereal and went to go do my hair and make up. My teeth were scrubbed, my eyelids donned a black stripe, my eyelashes were volumized and my hair was typical. It was blonde, messy and just how I liked it. The bangs and a few other strands always hung out and the rest was pulled back into a sloppy bun. There were wisps of my hair flying about here and there, but I looked good. I smiled in the mirror before putting on some clothes; I wore my normal, boot-cut jeans and my white, long-sleeved shirt with red and navy blue striped going across. I liked how I looked. I wasn't pencil thin, but I only packed on an extra six or so pounds. It wasn't a big deal. I was taller so it wasn't the end of the world. Pretty on the outside and ugly underneath was as good as I got.

“Come on, Kena,” Cable whined. “I have to pee.”

“Hold up.” I shoved my make up into my bag before noticing something. Anthony had an older razor, with the old-fashioned blades. It was what gave him that close shave, and he had an open back of blades sitting there. My mind spun as Cable pounded on the door.

“Kenadee!”

“Ten seconds,” I begged, pulling a blade from the package. I pressed too hard around the edges and sliced my finger. I cursed as the blade fell right into my bag. “Hey, Cable, do we have any band-aids?”

He was silent as I frantically zipped up my bag. I realized how bad that sounded. “Cabe--”

“Yves!”

“Cabe, I'm not--”

“Yves! Come here!”

“Cable, I just cut my finger!” I groaned and open the door, only to come face-to-face with Anthony. “Uhm, hi, I was--”

“What the hell are you doing?”

I held up my finger. “I just nicked my finger, okay? I was trying to get the chunk of eyeliner out of my pencil sharpener--”

“Get out.”

“I--”

Anthony grabbed me by the arm. I dropped all my things outside the bathroom door, my eyes widening. Fear instantly rippled through my body. “Let me go,” I murmured, my hand trying to pry his fingers off.

“Stop it, Kena,” he muttered, clearly pissed. “Come on.”

“Let go of me, them.”

“Yves,” he shouted. “Where are the band-aids?”

I tried my hardest not to cry as Yves shouted back to Anthony. His fingers were too tight for me to pry them off, so I was left with a strong sense of fear clouding my mind. Pete glanced at me, judging me; Leon shot me an apologetic look but he said nothing; Gavin rolled his eyes and murmured something to Pete. I wanted to use the blade I stole so bad.

Anthony shoved me into a seat and bent down my front of me, pulling a box of band-aids out of the cupboard. I suppressed all whimpers successfully, but gasped in pain when Anthony grabbed my hand. “Chill.” He wrapped the Mickey-Mouse band-aid around my finger and kissed it. “All better. Don't touch my blades.” He got up and left me there, highly confused and shaking.

>>>

“Front and center, perps!” Pete yelled. “While the crews are setting up for you guys, ever so generously, you guys will be meeting up with the bands. Don't be weird because everything depends on this. Understood?”

We all nodded.

Pete smirked. “Good. Your job is to be yourself and don't screw anything up. Tour with the bands, hand with them, show them you're awesome, and you guys get good press and more popularity. Don't screw anything up. I mean it.” He held up some sort of ticket. “You guys are going to a water park. Don't be a bunch of babies and hang out, okay? Good friends make good press.”

We were each given a ticket and I swallowed the lump in the back of my throat. A water park... You were supposed to wear your swimsuit at a water park. I was dead. Pete would've killed me. Yves tapped me on the shoulder. “You don't have to. Just watch our electronics and chill out, okay? You'll be fine.”

I smiled and nodded, but my knees were shaking.

>>>

We were supposed to meet them at two-fifteen sharp. A cab dropped us off at two-ten and we waited for twenty minutes for a van full of band members to show up. I had no idea which bands they would be from since everyone decided to surprise me. I had an awful feeling in my gut. I didn't want to get excited and have everyone think I was lame.

Anthony, Cable and Yves wore their swim trunks and I had my bag around my shoulder. It was filled wit plastic bags, snacks and everyone's cell phone. They were all talking about going on the water slides and stuff, but I was worried about how long I would have to sit on my own.

The sun was beating down and I was glad that I remembered to put an extra thing of deodorant in my bag. I was sweating like crazy and we weren't even half-way through the day. I was thankful I wore sandals and my toes could at least breathe.

Cable groaned. “When are they going to be here?” he whined, trying to spray sunscreen on his back by himself. “Kena...”

“Gimme.” I took the can from him and shook my head, spraying down his back. “Anyone else.”

Anthony and Yves mumbled a yes in unison, so I made sure to spray them down before tucking the can in my bag.

I was about to say something, but a white van pulled up in front of us and Yves glanced at me. “Ready to meet who we're touring with?”

Honestly? No. I was too afraid even though excitement ran through my entire being. I couldn't wait to see who picked us up as an opening act. I just hoped they were amazing people and not some dumb groups that saw us as a popularity stunt. I just looked up at Yves and have a nod. “They better be awesome.”

I looked up to see Tony Perry and Rian Dawson standing in front of us while the others scrambled to get their belongings. I blushed. Rian smiled. “I hope we're awesome.”

This was the greatest and most embarrassing moment of my entire existence.