Little Distractions

The two men drove down the streets of California, sitting in complete silence as the dark clouds covered the night sky. They've been driving since 8 'o clock and it was now 9. The evening breeze brushed through the younger man's long raven hair as he looked out the window, only seeing fellow citizens pass by in their vehicles. The man let out a sigh of worry, gaining the attention of the older.

"What is it?" The older man asked before quickly turning his attention back on the road. The older's jet black hair flew in his face, causing him to tuck it behind his ear. That was one of the all so many consequences of having long hair. Apart from washing and grooming it, you had to deal with it constantly getting in your face.

"Andy?" The man repeated the younger's name, who wasn't paying much attention from being in deep thought.

"Oh- um, sorry, Ash." Andy apologized, glancing at Ashley from behind the mass amount of hair that fell over the left side of his pale face. Ashley got a glimpse of the younger's bright blue eye, before it was buried behind his hair once again. "It's just that, something seems," Andy paused, in search for the right word that could explain how he felt. "Off." He breathed, knowing the word wasn't as helpful as Ashley would've most likely hoped, but at least it was something.

"What do you mean by, off?" Ashley questioned, a look of worry spreading on his face. What was his best friend so worried about? They had always drove down these streets. Why wouldn't they? This was their home.

Andy kept quiet, unable to describe exactly how he felt, which was quite normal when it came to situations like this. The situations where he'd get an uneasy feeling in places where he could feel safe. Like the bus. The poor man had, had so many uneasy feelings in the one place that was safer than his own home in a way, and that was pretty safe.

Ashley figured that the singer didn't want to discuss whatever it was that was worrying him and so he let it go. He was used to it. The boy was so kept close to himself that he nearly never talks about emotions. Of course that made Ashley worried almost all of the time, but he respected it— for the most part.

Minutes later, the car stopped outside of a building. Andy had already stepped out cautiously, the thought of something horrible lingering in his mind. Ashley sighed, and as he opened the car door, he heard a loud crash; followed by an almost inaudible whimper. Ashley quickly stepped out of the car, turning around to see Andy no where to be found. A sheer scream rung throughput Ashley's ears, seeming a lot closer than expected. Then a face of realization appeared on his face, fear masking his eyes.

That scream had belonged to Andy.

"Andy!" Ashley screamed, running to the other side of the car. Sure enough, Andy was there, tears stroking his cheeks with a pained look on his face. His chest rose and fell quickly, shaking and squirming wildly.

In Andy's eyes, he saw a huge dog attacking him, trying to snap his head off. It had red eyes and black fur, but was covered with raging flames. The dog clawed at his chest, snapping his large, sharp teeth closer to Andy's head. The boy sobbed reluctantly, keeping his hands off the beast, trying to not get his skin burned, more than it already possibly was.

"Get it off!" He cried in fear. Ashley was confused at first, but recognized the situation.

You see, Andrew had a disorder where he'd hallucinate. This disorder was better known as schizophrenia. The boy had suffered from this for as long as Ashley could remember. The band, however, had only found out a few weeks ago, when Andy had a run-in with one these hallucinations. The boy was screaming, running around the bus, trying to hide, but couldn't. Ashley could only imagine just how terrifying it was for his innocent mind.

Andy laid there, crying and squirming. His skin was burning from the dog's flames, and he could feel it's sharp claws digging deep into his skin. He let out an agonizing scream as it ripped his skin open, only because Ashley had pulled him into his lap.

Ashley watched the boy in his arms, rocking him back and forth as he cried in hysteria.

"It's ok, it's gone. It was just a hallucination, it's ok." The man cooed to him, kissing his head. "Just a little distraction from your true self..."

Andy nodded, a single tear sliding down his flushed cheek.

"Yeah... A little distraction.."