A Picture Changed My Life Forever

Dana and I sat on the floor, hugging our knees and popping pop corn in our mouths.

The girl who looked like Dana who just randomly popper up from behind the car, really WAS Dana. As in, my best friend Dana all my life. I just forgot how big a stalker she was and how desperate she was to see MCR in a concert live. So it didn't surprise me that she stalked My Chem all the way to the parking lot.

We were watching Titanic on the TV. I'm not such a huge fan of romance movies, but I used to have this huge obsession with Leo diCap back when I was ten.

"Ew. Why are we watching this?" Dana said, throwing pieces of pop corn at the screen.

I smiled at her and threw pop corn at her. "Uh, because we're such big losers with nothing better to do in life anyway?"

We both snorted.

"How'd you get your parents to bring you to Chicago?" I asked.

She looked around the room, anywhere but look at my eyes. She was avoiding eye contact. "Uh, we moved here," she replied casually.

"And you didn't tell me?" I gaped at her.

"I forgot to tell you."

"How could you forget to tell me? I'm your bestfriend!" I was practically shouting.

"The same way you forgot to tell me that you were going to be gone for three months touring with My Chemical Romance." She blinked at me. She has her own way of making me feel guilty.

I swallowed this piece of pop corn without really biting it. I looked at my feet. "You're right. I shouldn't have cracked like that. We're both at fault. I'm sorry."

She pinched my nose. "At least we're together again. Cool hotel room. At least Mom allowed me to stay here for the night."

I rolled my eyes. "Ugh. Yeah. Your mom almost never allows you to sleepover with me."

She grinned. "Almost never." She put a handful of pop corn in her mouth and started chomping away when I hugged my knees and placed my chin on my knees. I stared at the TV screen. It was the part where Rose was trying to look for Jack when he was tied to that pipe thing.

"Dana, I think I'm in love with Gerard," I said, absentmindly.

She spit half of that handful of pop corn and choked on the other half.

I looked at her curiously. "What?"

"Sam, how could you? You knew I loved him too!" She gaped at me with her eyes full of anger and hatred.

I clasped a hand over my mouth and looked at her directly in the eye. "I didn't mean to.... I'm sorry... I can't---"

She stood up. "SAM, HOW COULD YOU!?" She started for the door.

I chased her and pulled her arm before she got to touch the doorknob. "No, Dana, you don't understand. It's not like you and I have a chance with him, right?" I loudly asked. When I say loudly, I mean shouting loudly.

Bad move. She turned around and we were face-to-face again. She brought up her hand and slapped me across the face. Hard. I winced in pain and held the tears back. "And now you tell me that we don't have a chance with him. What kind of bestfriend are you? First you forget to tell me about you touring with them, and now.... you're saying I don't have a chance with him? A bestfriend should be encouraging!" She screamed.

"At least I don't slap people across the across the face hardly when I'm pissed off at them!" I screamed back at her.

She let out this agonized scream.

"Hey! It's not like he's all yours!" I screamed at her. Dana can be so... over-dramatic sometimes.

"Yeah, but I had him first!" She yelled back and lifted her hand to slap me again.

I countered that gesture by grabbing her hand and pulling it down. "But you don't own him!" I yelled.

There were tears welling in her eyes and she never cries. I wanted to be strong; I didn't cry. Maybe she was crying because this hurt her just as much as it was hurting me? Maybe even more because I guess she feels that I'm "stealing" the love of her life.

I gasped and a tear streamed down my cheek. "Dana, I'm s---"

She turned around and wiped the tears away from her eyes. "When I saw you with them, I thought that it would be so great to be back with you. But now, I'm happy to leave you."

I gasped again. "Dana, I'm really, really sor---"

Then there was a knock on the door. "Sam? Dana? Are you guys okay?" called a voice from behind the door to my room. That was Gerard.

"Are you guys killing each other?" Frank asked.

Dana then started to open the door to let them in.

I stopped her.

"Sammy, please open the door!" shouted Frank.

"Or we'll break it down!" Mikey added.

"Dana, listen to me, I'm sorry!" I yelled at her.

She looked at my in the eye. "You know what's so heartbreaking? Knowing my bestfriend loves the love of my life and she has a better chance with him."

With that, she turned the doorknob, and I let her. She brushed past the My Chem boys and ran to the elevator, text messaging her mom to pick her up.

I chased after her. "Dana! Dana! DANAAAA!" I called, chasing after her to the elevator. She got in the elevator when I finally reached her. She looked at me with tear-filled, bloodshot eyes and the silver doors shut. I banged at the elevator doors helplessly. "Dana! I'm sorry!" I yelled louder.

I turned around with my eyes filled with tears. I closed my eyes to maybe keep the tears from spilling out, but the tears leaked from my eyelids anyway. I leaned the back of my head to the elevator doors and sank down until I was squatting.

I ust lost my bestfriend because of love.