Snapped Guitar Strings and Broken Hearts

We were almost to Warped. Everybody was jumpy, and I was screwing up so often while applying my much needed eyeliner. Robby held out his hand for it.
“ No, Rob. This is the red kind! I’ll give you the black when I’m finished!” He whined and hit me in the head. I traced around the red with my black and then tossed it back to Robby, who used it, handed it to Craig, who used it and held it out to the two in the backseat. Aiden ended up putting on a small amount but Caleb refused. He said he looked emo enough with his piercings. But that was true.
I put some black eyeliner on around Jake’s left eye as he drove, despite his protests. When we stopped at a gas station for Skittles and a bathroom break, I put the rest on.
“ Gwin, I love you.” He mumbled, cupping my face in his hands. I love it when he’s like this…I really didn’t deserve Jake. He was more than I had ever hoped for.
“ Mmm… I love you too, Jakey.” He didn’t mind that name as much as he used to. I’m the only one who gets to call him that, though. Yay for having privileges!
He leaned his lips over to mine. Yay for everybody in the gas station! They contacted and I smiled, being pulled into his lap.
This was all we’d ever done, all it would be. Until, y’know… like, well, you get me.
Craig and Robby clambered into the car and we pulled away. They giggled hysterically and began to imitate us, kissing.
I rolled my eyes and Aiden and Caleb climbed in. Aiden didn’t know they were bi…
“ Um? Are we playing Truth or Dare?” She asked, clueless.
“ Nah. They are…like this all the time.” Jake said, starting up the car. I could still taste his Mountain Dew and the silver of his lip ring in my mouth. Vaguely, but it was there.
Aiden nodded. I could see the slight confusion in her eyes as she eyed the two that were still kissing.
“ Hey!” Jake snapped, making them break up as he pulled out onto the long line leading into a huge grass field where you could see so many cars. “ Put your seat belts on, then you can make-out.”
“ Fine.” Robby grumbled, doing as he was asked and then going back to kissing Craig tenderly.

It took around 30 minutes to find a place to get out of the damn car that they call comfortable. I might be claustrophobic or something, because it was getting too small.
We walked in our little group of people towards a small stage. It was a small band that I wasn’t familiar with. They were really good though, and I cheered at the end of the song.
I saw the NOFX staged and yelped excitedly, jogging over there with Aiden, who was in to them as much as I was. We began jumping up and down, singing along.
“ We call the heartland not very smartland,
IQ’s generally low and threat levels are high,
They got a man-date,
They don’t want man-dates.
They got so many people to despise…”
We’d listened to a few songs, three, maybe four before the boys dragged us over to From First To Last. I was almost drooling the whole time, being so close to Sonny. He was so…hot…
And I was standing with only one person in front of me, almost able to touch him. Wow. Aiden and I squealed in delight when he brushed over our hands. Eep.
We stayed there for a really long time, singing along and moshing. I got hit in the head twice, and tripped once. Jake helped me back up. So sweet… Okay, out of girlfriend mode.

Next we went and saw My Chemical Romance. It was so packed that it was impossible to get any farther than the mosh pit. They played a whole bunch of songs from The Black Parade, some from Three Cheers and one or two from Bullets.
I’d been getting random shirts with the 100 dollars I’d brought along. So far I’ve collected a My Chemical Romance hoodie and shirt, a From First To Last shirt, a really cool NOFX belt and I got my chucks signed by Gerard, Frank, Sonny, and Matt! I’m so gonna take care of these shoes. Warped Tour definitely had its advantages. I saved like 20 dollars if I would’ve bought it all from Hot Topic.

The day went by too quickly. Before any of us knew it, it was almost 9:00 at night and we should’ve been driving home a while ago. We left reluctantly, never wanting the day to end. But it did, and we ended up sleeping in the car around midnight on the side of a road. Jake and I cuddled in the trunk while the rest took their seats.
At around 4:00 AM, I woke up in Jake’s arms, unable to sleep from the excessive amount of sugar I’d had. I wasn’t hyper… just awake. I poked Jake and he mumbled something. I sighed, and wriggled out of his arms. He bolted up, sitting up straight. His eyes were wide.
I was amazed on how much that had affected him. I’d only left his arms. He was sleeping, but he noticed.
Strange.
“ Wha? You’re awake?” He whispered, trying not to wake the others. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes and yawned, trying to cover it with his hand.
“ Yes, Jake. I’m awake.” I whispered back, leaning into his arms comfortably.
“ Oh, okay. Do you know what time it is?”
“ 4:30, maybe 5…” I mused, trying to remember.
“Mmm… I’m hungry. Let’s go get something to eat!” He suggested, climbing over the seat. I guess he’d forgotten that Aiden and Caleb were sleeping because he landed on an agitated Caleb.
“ JAKE!” He roared, pushing him off and waking up the remainder of us.
“ I’m huuungry.” Jake whined, climbing in the driver’s seat. I followed him, into the passenger seat. We all buckled our seat belts reluctantly.
“ You’re always hungry,” Craig said hoarsely, rubbing his head.
I saw Robby’s neck as he stretched. There were bite marks.
“ Robby?” I asked, looking at Craig.
“ Hm?”
“ Did…Craig bite you?”
“ Sheah.”
I swore in my head. No. I looked at him closer. Robby was smiling. His eyeteeth were longer. His face was even paler. No…
I turned away, and focused on the road, slouching into the chair. I sighed, my eyes clearly showing despair. Jake looked at me sympathetically and Craig whimpered. I thought I heard him whisper something.
“ I didn’t mean to…”
I thought I heard him repeat it. I did. It grew louder until he was sobbing his brains out.
“ I know, Craig. I know you didn’t mean to…” I said, trying to hide my own tears by pressing my cheek against the window.
I heard Robby ‘shushing’ Craig, and Aiden reassuring him. I’d told her about Caleb and his problem on the phone. She understood. She didn’t run away. I guess we had much in common.
Oh boy… break down in the van. This is just what we needed. I’m just glad Jake wasn’t mad at Craig. That would be worse.
Eventually I heard Craig’s sobs stopping, and his breath was evening. I smiled and I saw Jake do the same. I think we all understood. This was probably fate. Robby was meant to be with Craig. Eternally.
“ Craig. It’s fine.” I said, and his eyes met mine. He sniffed, and then lie in Robby’s arms, the two cuddling together.
“ I love you.” I heard Robby murmur. Those two were perfect.

Around halfway into the drive home, we were eating. Yes, be surprised. I ate. But it was for Jake. He wanted me too. Well, as I was saying, we were around halfway home and I got a phone call on my cell.
“ Ellooo?” I asked, sounding a bit drunk.
“ Hey. Gwin?” Ha. It was our manager, Ricky. I loved the guy.
“ Sheah. It’s me. We’re coming home from Warped, man. It was awesome!”
“ I know. I went and saw around a week ago. Well, since you guys don’t have a tour bus, we got you one!”
“ Wait! I don’t think we have the mo-“ I said, shaking my head. But Ricky cut me off.
“ Well, I know. That’s why we got it FOR you.”
“ No. Way.”
“ Yeah way, man.”
“ SWEET!!” I was bouncing up and down in my seat and my friends were staring at me.
“ Um… I think I have to explain to everyone.” I murmured and I heard Rick’s fit of laughter on the other end of the phone.
“ I wanna do it!” He said, excitedly. “ Put it on speaker.”
“ Okay. Will do.” I pressed a few buttons and then told Ricky to go.
“ Hey, guys! We got you a fecking TOUR BUS!!” He screamed, and I rolled my eyes.
Jake just about swerved off the road in shock and the rest just sat frozen as I told our manager bye and pocketed my phone.

We reached Eldon first, and dropped Caleb and Aiden off so they could figure things out and Caleb could pack up for the tour. Caleb’s house was pretty big, two stories with a basement and a wooden front porch. There were two or three steps leading up to it, painted blue. The house was white, with grey-green shutters.
Next we drove to Craig’s, which wasn’t nearly as big. Only one story, and had a fenced in backyard. There was a two-car garage hooked onto the house, and a couple of trees in the front yard. It was a brick house, with the garage painted a tan color and the shutters a dark brown. There was a bench on the sidewalk that jutted from his asphalt driveway to the front door, which was white.
He hopped out with a quick kiss on the cheek to Robby, and waves to Jake and I. We would be back here in around an hour, so we could go get the tour bus.

“ Do you wanna be dropped off at Robby’s, Gwin?” Jake asked, as we neared the small street that Robby and I lived on.
“ Yeah, I’ll just walk to my house.” I nodded, and Jake pulled into Robby’s driveway.
“ See you two in an hour or so, ‘kay?” He kissed me and nodded to Robby.
“ Right.” Rob said as he shut the door behind him and walked up to his door.
I nodded and walked down the street to my house. I glanced back at Jake’s car, and he hadn’t moved. Once I was inside though, he started up the car and left.
“ Hey, Gwinny. How was the concert?” My dad said, shuffling through a newspaper on the counter. He was munching on some chips, and sipping a coke.
“ Awesome!” I said, displaying all the shirts I’d gotten. He was amazed at how little I paid, and the state of the clothes that I was wearing.
“ Did you get attacked by a rabid dog?” He asked, looking at the holes in my jeans and the frayed ends of my shirt.
“ Nah. Mosh pit.” I nodded, making my way up the stairs. “ I’m gonna take a shower, and pack for Taste of Chaos, okay?”
“ You sure need one.” He said, returning his gaze to his newspaper, probably checking scores to a game.

I was out of the shower and done straightening my hair in less than 15 minutes. That was fast. Maybe it was the excitement. Maybe it was the sugar. I couldn’t tell, though I guessed it was probably a mix of both.
After I’d pulled on my black From First To Last tee and a pair of tight blue skinny jeans, I started to shove random band tees and jeans into my duffle bag. I brushed my teeth and hair and shoved the brushes and toothpaste in with all my clothes. I packed two bottles of aspirin—I’m going on tour, I’m going to get headaches.
“ CDs!” I said to myself, almost forgetting something we’d need the most. I threw as many CDs that would fit into the cramped space of my duffle bag as possible. I’d gotten all my AFI, FFTL, MCR and Linkin Park CDs, and attempted to get some random Aiden and Atreyu in there too.
I packed up my guitar, and dragged my duffle bag downstairs. I’d brought my amp and guitar down later, and collapsed on the couch, pocketing my iPod, and taking my phone off the charger.
“ Won’t you need those chargers?” Dad asked, gesturing to the iPod and cell phone chargers plugged in. He was a genius.
“ Thanks. I almost forgot…” I put those in the bag, removing a CD and putting it in my guitar case pocket.