Stomachaches

Oli had held me throughout the entire night. Listening to me cry, murmuring comforting words into my hair, and even giving me kisses. However, once I had stopped crying, I had tried to come onto him. And he was a gentlemen. He said that he wasn't going to have sex with me when I was drunk. That he had made that mistake once and it nearly cost him his sanity. Knowing how that felt, I didn't push him into fucking me. We just sat in bed, holding each other until the both of us fell asleep.

I had woken up before him, hangover and all. He seemed content, however. His lips were turned up at the edges, signaling that he was smiling in his sleep. His arms were still wrapped tightly around my waist, holding my body to his. I could feel each lazy breath he took, and his exhaling breath drawing slowly down my neck with each second. His lips were pressed to my neck, and I questioned whether or not there was a love bite there. I sat up in bed when there was a knock at the door. Oli's sleeping frame jumped at my side as the guest bedroom door was pulled open by a smiling Vic.

"You guys are still sleeping?" My best friend asks, his eyes scanning the both of us, silently wondering what we had done in this shared bed.

"We were," Oli says sarcastically, sitting up beside me, tightening his grip around my waist. "Well, at least I was." He mumbles, resting his head on my shoulder.

"Sorry," Vic blushes, before looking to me. "We ran over to Rian's and got a few of your things. I hope that's alright." My heart sunk down into my stomach, but I nodded nonetheless. I guess I hadn't come to the sudden realization that I was in fact leaving them. I wouldn't wake up and wonder downstairs to find Rian drinking coffee at the dining room table, or find Zack getting high in the living room. I wouldn't wake up anywhere near Alex. I told myself that I needed to move on, that Alex never really loved me. Well, maybe he did. But it's just that he didn't love me enough to tell me the truth. I understand his perspective, not wanting to hurt my feelings, but I'd rather him tell me like a normal person than blurting it out on accident. I didn't want him to babysit me, and if that's what he felt like he was doing, I don't want him to anymore. I was under the impression that love is a situation in which someone doesn't need you in the slightest, but chooses to be with you because they care for you like they do no other human being.

"That's fine," I nod, pulling the comforter off of my now shaking body, ignoring the unsteadiness of my legs as I stand up. I reach up into the air, stretching out my back, and the rest of my bones. "I'd rather have you guys do it than me having to do it myself."

Vic nods in agreement. "Yeah. I don't really want you going back there." I nod back, since I knew that I wouldn't be able to go over there without bawling my eyes out. I know it sounds weird to say, but I miss them. I miss Rian's over protective nature. I miss Zack's corny jokes. And most of all I miss waking up next to Alex. But now I knew that it was much too late to go crawling back to them. After all, the damage had been done, and I knew I had already broken their hearts. After all, that's all I'm good at. Hurting people.

"We're having a little party later," Vic informs us, leaning against the door frame, a smirk playing across his lips. "A welcome party, if you will. Just for my precious little Princess." I blush at the nickname, feeling Oli's chest rise and fall as he chuckles beside me.

"You don't have to do that, I mean-" I begin, but jack interrupts.

"Yes we do, don't be modest. After all, it couldn't do you any harm to meet a few more people, so you might as well, right? You can live now, Jack. You can move forward and do things that you want to do! And Kel and I will always be right behind you, supporting you along every step of the way." Vic smiles, before opening the door. Kellin walks in, carrying a box full of my things, as his friend Tony comes in with another box. "Be ready by eight, please." Vic says one more sentence before exiting the room, Kellin and Tony smiling as they follow him. After the door closes, I turn to Oli, not expecting him to press a kiss to my lips.

"Well, good morning to you, too." I giggle once he'd pulled away, ignoring the tingle he'd left on my lips.

"I'm gonna leave you to unpack, love." Oli says, removing his arm from my waist and standing up. He tugs on his shirt, before glancing around the floor for his pants.

"Do you really have to go?" I whine, staring at the empty space beside me, deciding that I definitely wanted Oli lying back there with me.

He nods. "Unfortunately." He states, pushing one of his legs through his skinny jeans. "I've got to shower, and you've got to get ready for your party."

"Shower here?" I question, silently questioning myself how I had already become so attached to one person in just a night.

He shakes his head and chuckles. "I've got to run some errands, too. But I promise I'll be back before you know it." He smiles, leaning in and pressing his lips to mine once more. And before I knew it, he was gone.

After Oli left, I had taken a shower and gotten ready for this little party. Since I had woken up at four, I only had four hours to get ready, and I wanted to pick my room up a little bit before I went downstairs. After I had put almost everything in my room away, I decided that it'd be a good time for a shower. Once I had decided that I looked good, my hair was nice, my clothes were on point, and I smelled good, I began to think.

I take a deep breath before pulling open my bedroom door and exiting into the hallway. I bit down lightly on my tongue as I paced down the carpeted stairs, trying to block out the voices of the other people. The last thing I wanted to do was panic and fall down in front of new people. As I reached the final step, I came to the sudden realization that Vic's guests weren't in the living room. I stepped down onto the living room floor, walking through the room and into the kitchen, glancing around. Well, if they weren't in the kitchen, than where would they be? I glanced out the window to find them outside, circled around the fire pit, a cooler full of beer on the left side of Kellin. Okay, so maybe it would be okay if I went out there. As long as I had a bit of liquid confidence. My eyes scanned the cupboards as I pulled each one of them open, looking around for any sort of liquor.

"Liquor is quicker, liquor is quicker," I repeat under my breath in a nervous haze as I continue my search for booze. I finally come across a bottle of cheap whiskey, and I decide that it was better than nothing. Quickly I grabbed a plastic cup from the dishwasher and filled it with the strong smelling substance, deciding that there wouldn't be a chance for chasers. So, I drank the poison then I wandered back into the living room, waiting for the alcohol to hit.

Once I felt, well, better, I guess, I wandered toward the backdoor, pulling it open and stepping outside. All eyes are on me as I pull the door shut behind me, and step down onto the patio. A buzzed Vic immediately comes up to me, wrapping his lanky arm around my shoulders.

"Guys, check it out. This is Jack. Y'know, that cute little Princess I was telling you about?" Vic tells the group excitedly, his eyes lighting up as the gaggle of people nod and exchange words among themselves. Normally, I would've been shaking in fear and biting my lip. But now, I felt fine. I felt just fine being in front of all of these strangers. "C'mere," Vic whispers, walking me around as he begins to introduce me to multiple new people, but for some reason, I just couldn't drag myself away from this couple. Not like that, I'm not into threesomes. But they were just so interesting. Vic had introduced me to them, and they seemed to be great friends, and he was a good judge of character. So for once, I decided to put my entire trust into him.

"This is Jack." Vic smiles proudly at me as he introduces me to the brunette boy and girl standing in front of us. She's got the pale skin, warm brown eyes, skinny and short body, and looks like somewhat of a trouble maker. The boy however, looks innocent as can be. Big, dark brown eyes, only a bit taller than the girl beside him, and a very tan complexion. I studied them for a moment as they said hello to me. I smiled at them, something a sober Jack would have never done. But drunken Jack didn't care. "Jack, this is Tay, and I don't think you've officially met Tony." Vic informs me, pointing to each on before looking back and smiling at me.

"Nice to meet you," Tony smiles. Fuck, his teeth were white. Nonetheless, I loved it. I loved the way he pulled his hair out of his face with his shaky fingers and I loved the way he adjusted his hat with too much precision. I just loved it. Tay smiles at me as well, showing off her perfect teeth. I loved hers too. And the way she stood in front of me with full confidence, I loved it. Her lips were pink and the perfect size and I loved it. I loved them. Or did I?

"Yeah, nice to meet you too." I smile, but it immediately drops as Vic's hand falls from my shoulder. I glance back at him to find his eyes glued somewhere else, as I listened to someone call his name.

"I'll be right back, Jack." Vic mumbles, before taking off in the direction of the call before I can say anything. I awkwardly glance back to Tony and Tay, who are both staring at me with a confused expression.

"What?" I ask, now just as confused as they were. I glanced down at my body, wondering if I had accidentally spilled anything on myself, or if there was a bug on me somewhere.

"Your forehead's bleeding." Tony states, both of their eyes still glued to what I now realized was my temple. I try to shrug it off, but Tony shakes his head. He turns to Tay. "Could you grab a couple napkins, please?" She nods and walks off, as Tony walks towards me. "Can you sit down?" He asks nicely. Who could say no to that? I sat down on the grass below my feet, feeling immediately relaxed.

"Do you care if I smoke?" I ask as Tony kneels down, his eyes still stuck on my forehead.

"Not as long as you don't blow smoke in my face." Tony answers with a dark chuckle as he examines my forehead. Thank fuck I didn't have any acne.

I nod before reaching into my back pocket and pulling out my cigarettes. I take one out and set it behind my ear as I put my pack back and grab my lighter. Setting the cigarette between my lips, I light it just as Tay returns with the napkins. She hands them to Tony and he nods in thanks. He begins dabbing at the blood that I can now feel dripping down my forehead and into my eyebrow region. I close my eyes as Tony wipes around the actual wound, and a familiar voice startles me.

"Did you bang your head again?"

I open my eyes and glance up, finding Tyler Carter standing up to my right, with none other than Brendon Urie himself. I grumble a few curse words to myself before thanking Vic and standing up, as he does the same. "No. This one must have reopened."

"Cuts don't heal unless you leave them alone." Tyler says, glancing down to the lit cigarette in my fingertips. I couldn't help but notice Brendon's eyes still staring into mine, obviously looking for answers. I never really got what his deal was. Well, I guess I would be mad if my significant other was telling his ex that he loved him, but y'know. I could have meant it in the brotherly way.

"Yeah, well I tend to pick at this one at least once a day." I roll my eyes as Tony gives me a questioning look.

"Would you mind introducing me, Jack?" The brunette asks, glancing to Tyler. Brendon quirks an eyebrow in a rather sassy manor. Good God, does he really think I've already got another boyfriend? Jesus.

"Yeah sure. Tyler, Brendon, these are my new friends, uh, Tay and Tony." I introduce them to each other, cringing as Brendon crosses his arms over his chest.

"How long have you two been together?" The pale boy asks. I bite my lip and shake my head.

"We aren't even dating, Brendon. I literally just met him and-"

"Yeah, okay." Brendon snaps, interrupting me. "Y'know, if you didn't want to date me, you could've just said so." He says quietly before turning around and disappearing into the crowd of people. Fuck. I glance back at Tyler, noting that he's already staring at me.

"Sorry," I mutter awkwardly, glancing down to my shoes. I knew I shouldn't have come outside. I should've just rotten inside of my room until I grew mold.

"I'm not the one you should be apologizing to." Tyler says sincerely, forcing a smile even though he knows that I'm a total asshole. I knew it would suck if I ever saw Brendon again, but I never thought that I'd feel regret.

"I can't talk to him, I just... I know what'll happen if I do." I admit shyly, looking back up to Tyler as he nods in agreement. The thing was, if I went and talked to Brendon, I'd fall right back into his arms, and we'd be together again. We'd have sex tonight, and the after a couple days, I'd end up breaking his heart again. I couldn't hurt him anymore. He didn't deserve that, especially not from a piece of shit like me.

"I'll talk to him?" Tony offers quietly, looking at me. I thought for a moment, questioning whether or not I should have Tony do it. I quickly decided that he should, considering the fact that it was inevitable for me not to hurt Brendon again. I nodded, and Tony immediately walked off in the direction that Brendon had left.

"I didn't mean to fuck everything up." I murmur with flushed cheeks as I shook my head. I said apologized once more to Tyler, and once to Tay for no real reason, just witnessing my fucking terrible nature, I guess. If that's even a relevant reason. I walked off, heading toward the back door once again, deciding that the bottle of whiskey inside was calling my name.

I pushed open the door, dropping my cigarette before entering. I close the door behind me before walking over to the bottle that I had left on the counter top. Right as my shaky hands were about to wrap around the neck of the bottle, it was pulled out of my grasp. I looked up to find Oli standing there, bottle in hand.

"What're you doing?" He asks, raising his eyebrows.

"I was gonna have a drink," I reply softly, glancing down to the bottle. His skinny, tattooed fingers were wrapped securely around the bottle, signaling that I wouldn't be able to pull it out, even if I tried.

"You look pretty messed up right now, Jack. Are you sure?" The taller boy asks, staring down at me with concern etched onto his face.

I thought for a moment. I stared down at my blurry hands, then back up to his beautiful hazel eyes staring back into mine with question. I had come to the sudden conclusion that ultimately, a broken heart was not so often cured by alcohol, but cured with time and the care of another human being. And when I looked up at Oli, I saw the care and consideration inside of his eyes and I knew that he was going to be the one to help me through this. I sighed as I shook my head, watching him smile as he put the bottle down.

"Now come on," He grins, taking my hand in his as he leads me toward the back door. "Let's go hangout with your friends."

I happily trailed along with Oli, smiling as he walked around bragging to his friends about me. Not that I thought I was any sort of trophy, but he seemed to think I was worth some sort of value. And I liked it. I was only half drunk for the remainder of the night, not that I even noticed. Oli was distracting me from drinking. I had met new people, laughed over a few old high school stories, and by the end of the night, Oli had worked out everything between Brendon and I. We were friends now. Oli was slowly piecing me back together, helping me rekindle the light in my eyes, and brightening my moods. He was fixing me after so many people had failed, and gotten cut on the edges of my broken spirit. Oli however, he could do no wrong.

At the end of the night, Oli and I had said goodnight to Vic and Kellin before making our way inside. I followed Oli through the house as he lead us up to my guest room. Once we had reached the top of the stairs, he surprised me by scooping me up into his arms, bridal style.

"Oli!" I giggle as he carries me into my bedroom, setting me down on the bed. He sits down beside me, once again taking my hands in his.

"I have to tell you something." He admits awkwardly, running his thumb over the back of my hand. He stares down at my scar covered fore arms as all of the fun had left my system, and was replaced with concern.

"Go ahead." I say nervously, ignoring the increase of my heart rate. Bad things like this always happen to me. I finally find something good in my life and it gets fucked up. This is just karma getting me back for having such a cold heart.

"So, uh," Oli clears his throat, looking up at me from under his eyelashes before speaking. "I have to tell you something about Alex."