Insert Romantic Title Here

Yeah I know what you're gonna say, "why are you so far ahead of melissa?" Well I'll tell you why 1) I'm just too excited to not post it so yeah self control is not easy for me. 2) Melissa's computer is being an R-Tard and isn't working 3) Melissa is also very lazy 4) I just like the number four! ^_^
So there's the explanation. I'll keep posting... even if she doesn't....

-----
“Ok, Chad. We’re all set!” Ray told the bus driver as soon as our bags were set down in the bunkroom.

“You better be! We’re already behind schedule!”

I looked at the guys, then at Melissa. Guilt. I whispered into Franks ear:

“Did we make you late?”

“Naw, whenever we’re three minutes behind Chad kind of goes crazy.”

‘Ok, good.’ I thought. I feel guilty really easily. And it sucks. Just ask anyone who’s known me for a year. Whenever I get sick and call in absent for work, I feel bad that I can’t be there. I have a terribly good conscience. Yet, I’m a great liar. It’s kind of strange how I am sometimes.

The first hours of being on the highway were spent talking and eating, explaining and listening to how things worked on tour, joking and laughing, and even the strange event of dancing. Don’t ask. I don’t even remember how the dancing came about.

It was dark outside now and half of us were playing cards and the other half doing they’re own thing. I was one of those people. I sat by a window looking at the road quickly pass by underneath me, the white lines dashing by slowly giving me a headache. It wasn’t helping that I had headphones blasting music in my ears.

‘My secret is fatally gorgeous. I’d die for you. But when you’re precious life is at stake, tell me would you die for me too?’ I hummed the words to my favorite “The Spill Canvas” song, Black Dresses.

I felt a tap on my shoulder and turned from the window and looked up at Gerard. His lips were moving, but I still heard only my song in my ears. He looked at me and waited for a response. I just stared at him blank faced. Finally realizing that he asked me something I took my headphones off and placed them around my neck.

“What?”

“What are you listening to?” He repeated.

“Oh, uhh…. You wouldn’t like it.” I said putting my headphones back on.

“Oh.” I didn’t hear him say that but I could tell that’s what he said. And back to looking out the window I was. I never noticed before but I could see reflections in the window. I looked up and saw Gerard reaching for me headphones.

“NO!” I screamed wailing my arms back trying to stop him. Instead I lost my balance and fell back on the floor looking up at him. He reached down and grabbed them from me.

Everything hurt too much for me to stop him.

With great triumph in his eyes he set them on his ears and listened. I’m sure by now it was on the next song. He listened, looked down at me, and then out the window.

Gathering my strength I got up from the floor and reached for the CD player.

“Come on Gerard!” I whined. “Give it back!”

He raised his hand to stop me and walked back to the bunkroom. I stood there impatiently waiting for him to come back. He peeked his head through and gestured me to join him. I sighed and stubbornly marched back where he was.

“What?” I asked him.

He held up his finger to my lips to tell me to stop talking. Then he pointed at the CD player and shrugged.

I moved his finger from my lips. “What?” I repeated.

“Who is this?” He asked.

“Well you could’ve just asked me that.” He rolled his eyes. “Fine. It’s The Spill Canvas.” I answered.

“What other CDs do you have?” Gerard said rummaging through my stuff until he found my CD carrier. He unzipped it and started flipping through the pages of CDs. Every now and then he would nod or tilt his head to one side.

“Why did you ask me? You’re figuring out for yourself,” I pointed out. “Yeah I know, okay? My taste in music is kinda everywhere. I get it enough from everyone else.”

“No. It’s pretty amazing! Are these any good?” He held up an array of my favorite CDs. I smiled and sat down on the bunk next to him.

For the next hours Gerard and I listened and talked about all the music that was in my case.

Everyone soon got annoyed of hearing us laughing back here and they joined us. So for the whole night all of us were grouped up in the bunkroom swapping our great music taste.

“You better go to sleep back there! I’m not gonna wake you up tomorrow!” Chad yelled at us from the front.

“He’s right. It’s three. We have a show today at seven,” Bob reminded.

“Yeah.”

“Fine”

“Sure.”

“Ok.”

“You have a show tomorrow!” Melissa says proudly. “We don’t!” She puts her arm around me and pulls me close to her side. We both smile proudly and laugh together. “We can stay up like little girls at a sleep over and giggle loads! Sound like fun Katie, oh friend of mine?”

“Always, Meliboo!” I smile at her.

“Whatever you guys!” Frank says as he pelts us with his pillows. “Rub it in our faces!”

“Yeah but you threw it in ours!” I yell as I regain my strength and get back up on the bunk, then I help Melissa up as well.

Eventually everyone was asleep, including Melissa and I was up all alone writing in my notebook by the light of a flashlight. One thing that I always wanted to do was writing. Just letting the words flow from your mind, telling some beautiful untold story. Letting the world have a one-way ticket into your mind. Imagining everything, the places I’ve been when I’ve written are too precious to tell.

‘Damnit,’ I think as I find myself writing a bunch of mindless love poems. I fumble the flashlight as I read for my big eraser and it falls to the floor. I pick it up and I shine it involuntarily on the sleeping figure of Gerard. So peaceful when he’s sleeping. The steady breaths in and out giving me a rhythm to write to. Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale. Over and over. I jerked my head to one side, still gazing at his resting being, and imagined. I imagined what wouldn’t have happened if I hadn’t stayed outside that night. If Melissa had controlled her bladder for once in her life. If she never got punched by that guy at the show. It was almost too much to endure. Thinking about it sent chills through my spine.

My focus changed back to Gerard just in time. He groaned and fidgeted to his other side to avoid the light. I practically spazzed as I moved the light back on the paper and resumed writing my fantasies.

“What time is it?” I heard him mumble.

“You’ve only been asleep for about forty minutes,” I told him.

“Katie? What? You’re still up?”

“Yeah, I couldn’t sleep. Now go back to bed.”

“You’re not my mom!” I smiled at this and rolled my eyes. “And I can’t leave you up all alone!”

“Oh? Do you think the monsters will come out and get me?”

He got out of his bunk and stumbled over to mine where he sat down next to me.

“Most. Definitely.”

I laughed. “You know you sound like you’re drunk when you’re tired.”

“Do I?”

“Very,” I exaggerated each syllable.

“Huh, peculiar…” He stared off into space and I went back to my notebook. “So what are you doing?”

I looked at the notebook it was covered in words. Words on the lines, notes to the side, and the occasional doodle. Then I looked back at him.

“What do you thing?”

He shrugged. “Drawing?”

“Ha! I can’t draw my way out of a paper bag!”

“That’s silly! Why would you be in a paper bag?”

“Wow, are you drunk?”

He smacked his lips together and plastered a nerdy smile on his face, as if that was his response.

“Okay… Anyway, I’m writing.”

“STORY?” He jumped up.

“Shh! Don’t wake the others! No. Just like a journal. Thoughts. Ideas. Everything about my mind on paper really.”

Gerard went behind me and rested his head on my shoulder and gazed at me notebook. I continued writing even with his head lying on me. He was too tired to think straight I knew he couldn’t be reading what I was scribbling.

“What’s that word?” He pointed to a lone word on the bottom of the page. I looked at it. Why that word? I asked myself.

With a slow sigh I let the word escape me, “Love.”

“Love,” He repeated but much more softly then I did. “What a nice word. I like that word. What does it mean?”

I could tell he was loosing more and more energy with every word. I could just imagine the fight between him and his sleepy mood. Obviously not fighting hard enough. Yet, he was fighting. That’s all I could ask.

“Well,” I started. “It’s kind of hard to explain. It can be so many different things.” I turned my head to face him and our noses were almost touching. Our eyes locked, our breaths out colliding. I continued to explain the complex four-letter word. “I guess it’s however you want it to be. Like when someone says ‘I love you’-” Before I could finish this sentence Gerard pressed his lips against mine.

It was like the cosmic voids crashing together. Or I finally understood the meaning of life. It was everything I ever dreamed in one moment. It wasn’t a dare. He was doing this on his own. His own free will was running his fingers through my hair and pulling me close to him.

Alas, moments can only be stretched out for so long and our magic soon departed with the breaking of our locked lips.

“You talk too much,” He said to me before falling back onto my pillow and falling asleep.

Time for the aftermath. The thoughts that had escaped me before came running home, the doubtfulness, the conscience, the worry. I pulled my knees into my chest and held them tightly. I wasn’t even thinking when my face started burning and my eyes became blurry. I knew it. I was crying.

‘Why?’

‘I don’t know.’

‘You’re fucked.’

‘Thanks, I know.’
-----
“Sh! You’ll wake them!” It was Bob.

“Hurry up, before they wake up!” Now Melissa.

“Come on guys, don’t you think this is mean?” Mikey, always the thoughtful one.

“Nope!” Frank next.

“Not in the least!” Then Ray.

I heard a snap and then a flash of light. I jumped up and saw everyone gathered around my bunk. I looked down at the still sleeping Gerard and the memories of the previous night flowed back into my mind.

“Damn you guys! What did you do?” I practically yelled.

“Jeeze, Katie, calm down!” Melissa said. “All we did was take a picture! Here give me the camera!” Frank gave Melissa the digital camera and she flipped it to the picture that they just took.

It was me and Gerard sleeping. He was just as I remembered him only his hand was in a different place. It was placed on my shoulder. And my head was placed on his stomach. I stared at it with wide eyes.

“What?” Ray asked. “Isn’t it cute?”

“Yeah…” I said halfheartedly. “Melissa come with me for a second.” I took her hand and dragged her into the bathroom with me. She had a concerned look on her face, something she only has when she knows something is wrong.

“GO AWAY!” She pounded on the locked door, and we heard the guys scatter throughout the bus.

In a whisper that I knew only Melissa could hear I told her everything that happened last night between Gerard and I.

“Holy lord!” She gasped putting her hands to her mouth. “This- is- so- amazing!” She started laughing. “You had me worried! I thought you did something really bad! Like really bad!”

“You don’t think this isn’t bad? What if it ruins everything? What if it wasn’t supposed to happen? What if things are totally awkward between everyone now? It’s awful!”

“Katie, you think to much!” She placed a friendly hand on my shoulder. “But you might want to watch out for the awkwardness!” Melissa unlocked the door and left me standing there, helpless and thoughtless. I couldn’t help but roll my eyes at her and I left the bathroom.

Walking through the bunkroom Gerard stirred and mumbled a little bit. I panicked and rushed into the main area to the coffee pot and as casually as I could poured myself some of my favorite caffeinated beverage. Everyone eyes my suspiciously but quickly turned their attention to the bunkroom as a happy Gerard came skipping over to us.

“What made you so happy?” Melissa asked, her nerves growing, I could tell, and I knew why.

Ha, I thought, know you see why I was nervous.

“I had a very good dream!” He almost sang as he sat down. “Ever just have one of those dreams where you’re like” He sighed “just happy?”

Everyone looked at him like he was crazy.

“Coffee?” I asked, trying to change the subject.

“Yes, please!” He responded.

Gerard was happy the whole morning and throughout most of the afternoon. He was happy to the point where I couldn’t take it anymore. I needed to ask Mikey about this.

“What do you think?” I asked after I repeated my story to him.

“Well, he’s gonna hate me for telling you but you’re gonna find out anyway.” He looked around. Making sure it was safe to tell me. “Gerard sleep walks sometimes, and he usually doesn’t remember it. He just remembers bits and pieces and usually thinks they’re dreams.”

“Oh.” My eyes stared at the floor. I was depicting whether I thought this was a good thing or a bad thing. “Thanks.” I stood there now. Alone. Mikey was gone, back into the recording studio part of the bus to join everyone else, something that they said they did before a show.

I wasn’t really sure how long I was standing lost in thought. It could’ve been a minute, it could’ve have been thirty. But Melissa made sure I didn’t stay hypnotized for too long, she shook me awake and said:

“We have to get ready for the show!”

“The show?”

“We’re going to all their shows now! We have like permanent backstage passes!” She squealed and turned to her clothes.

I smiled at her playfulness and joined her in our ‘getting ready’ process that had to be changed because of the tight space. Now we were both in the bathroom at the same time changing, doing our hair and make-up.

“Ow! You stepped on my foot!” Melissa complained.

“It’s hard to get pants on with such tight space!” I fought.

This couldn’t have been truer. The dark, yet fading, jeans that I was pulling on got ripped even more at the knees and at the bottom a little too. I wrapped my studded belt around my waist and pulled on my black quarter length sleeve shirt with thick bright green stripes, and over it I yanked on a purple T-shirt with a black smiley face on it. Then I fished out my favorite eyeliner and was ready for the makeup department. This time I decided to go pretty crazy on the makeup. I put on light lip-gloss and some blush as usual, but instead of just eyeliner I put on mascara and on the top of my eyelids I put black eye shadow and on the bottom lid I put green.

“Wow,” Melissa commented on seeing me done. “Different today, huh?” I shrugged and returned the favor.

“You look good to, Mel!” I said with sass.

“I wasn’t mocking you!” She pleaded as we waited outside the bus with Chad for the guys to finish their preparations.

“I don’t like playing arenas,” Chad said putting out his cigarette and I doing the same as Melissa coughed. “Sorry.” She shrugged, she was used to me smoking. “They’re too big crowds and getting these guys out of here is crazy! Fans everywhere!”

“Wait a minute, you get them out of here?” I asked a bit confused.

“Yeah well I’m their tour manager as well as bus driver!” He smiled and bowed. Melissa and me looked at each other and clapped for him as he bowed.

The door to the bus slammed open and the guys filed out, looking as great as ever. They did a pose for us as if we were paparazzi.

“This is how to get ready in speedy time, girls!” Frank told us. He laughed and then took a better look at us. “Wow, I lied. That’s style.”

“Why thank you!” I said sounding a bit royal. “You may kiss my hand, slave!”

He took my hand and kissed it. “What kind of slave?” He asked raising one eyebrow.

“Don’t be so kinky!” I slapped him on the head.

Melissa and Mikey hugged and held hands as they walked to the arena. While the rest of us just moved in a great mass.

It was about an hour before they opened the doors and they were running a last minute sound check. The guys did they’re preparing “ritual”. And before we knew it the show started. Melissa and I didn’t want to watch from backstage so we found our way to the back of the floor. Surprisingly we could see better here than we could when we were up close to the stage.

Although we knew somewhere in the back of our minds we were seeing them later, we still acted like crazy fans seeing the show of a lifetime.

“Now,” Gerard said into the microphone at the end of Headfirst For Halos. “This next song goes our to some very good friends of ours. You know who you are! Here it is: Thank You For The Venom!”

Me and Melissa gaped at each other with dropped jaws. It was us! We were the close friends! Stammering for her words Melissa finally found her words:

“Holy shit! From our first concert! We missed this song! Remember? Our favorite!”

“Yes!” I screamed back in her ear. “I told them about that the night at the bar! When they asked about the concert!”

We laughed at ourselves and our unbelievable story and continued rocking out like there was no tomorrow. Melissa even almost managed to get caught in a web of moshers.

Fortunately for her sake I pay attention to those things and managed to pull her out just in time.

The show ended with a bang and a still in shock crowd slowly left the arena. Mel and I migrated to the front and waited until we were the only ones left standing. We were leaning on the stage and talking in whispers, I don’t know why, the more people that left the quieter we got.

“Excuse me, ma’am. You have to leave now,” a security guard who looked tired.

“Oh no, you don’t understand, we know the band,” I explained to him.

“Sure, sure. I haven’t heard that before.”

“I’ll show you. FRANKIE!”

We waited for a response and not to long after I yelled his name, Frank’s face popped out from backstage.

“There you idiots are. Come up here! We’ve been looking for you!”

We looked smugly at the security guard. He rolled his eyes and trudged in the opposite direction. Our attention directed back at Frank who wasn’t alone anymore. The guys joined him and they helped us on the stage and then back to help them from being bored while waiting for the crowd by the arena door to clear.
-----
“What a show!” Mikey plopped down on his bunk and Melissa joined in next to him. One by one the exhausted members chose a spot plopped down in it. “And we have to do it tomorrow!”

“Yeah but it’s just gonna be more fun!” Frank playfully nudged Mikey and he looked at him, unamused.

“That’s a sign that you guys need more rest! Now, if I don’t see your asses in bed by midnight I think I’m gonna stop this bus!”

“CHAD!” Melissa yelled. “Don’t do that!”

PJs were on and most lights were off. The bus was dark so I could see no more that two inches in front of my face. My thoughts were endless and sleep seemed miles away. I tossed and turned at least three times a minute, desperately trying to find a good sleeping position. Facing the wall. Facing the aisle. Lying on my back. Curled up in a ball. I even managed to get my feet on my pillow and my head where my feet should be.

CRASH!

“What?” I shot up. “What’s happening?”

“Sorry.” It was Melissa. “I can’t sleep, I’m gonna go keep Chad company. Want to come?”

“No, no. That’s okay. I’m gonna try and sleep.”

“Oh. Mmkay. Good luck with that.” I couldn’t see it but I knew she smiled as she left the room.

Eventually I ended up properly on my pillow once more, eyes now heavy with drowsiness. One last sigh escaped me before I finally drifted into my void of a mind and watched a blank screen as my dreams failed to come to me.
-----
Nothing of much interest happened throughout the next month. Traveling and playing shows, laughing and conversation, nothing too out of the ordinary.

All over we went. Across the Mississippi, through big towns, small towns, surprising a local club with a performance now and then, basically doing everything I thought I’d never do.

Now it’s the middle of March and we’re on our way to Norfolk, Virginia. Where, thank heavens, we would have the weekend to ourselves. We’ve been nonstop traveling for a month and a half and the little bunkroom was becoming tinier and tinier every time we walked in it. Our patience with each other was getting thin; we all needed separate bedrooms for a weekend. It was all planned out. Melissa and me were sharing. Mikey and Ray were sharing. And Gerard, Mikey, and Bob were all together. We had about an hour to go until we reached our destination and I was as giddy as ever. Solid land! It wouldn’t be moving under me at 60 miles per hour. Normal, steady, firm, ground! What a great thing it is!

“Stupid bottle!”

“What?”

Melissa was sitting with a stubborn bottle of Pepsi her face red with frustration. Defeated she slammed the thing down on the table and gave a ‘humph’.

“Here let me.” I reached for the bottle tried to turn the cap off. She looked at me and I held up one finger. “I can get it.” Trying harder and harder I yanked on the cap with no avail. “Damn this!”

“Ha! I told you it was ha- WHOA!”

The bus jerked and we fell off of our chair and onto the floor. From the front of the bus we heard:

“DAMN YOU MINI CARS! TRYING TO CUT ME OFF!”

Lying on the floor I tried the bottle again. I was determined to get this thing open, probably not the smartest thing to do.

Surprisingly it was much easier to open now and I snapped off the cap and it fizzed everywhere. On the floor, on my clothes, on my face (I was still on the floor after all) and some on Mel. Just to my luck we were doing a turn and I lost control of the bottle and it went rolling around spilling its’ contents. I crawled to pick it up and fell backwards. Melissa caught control of it, but it had already done its damage.

“What was that?” Gerard and the others came running out from the back. Again, not the smartest thing to do.

Everyone slipped on the Pepsi, and before we knew it everyone was on the floor trying to get their balance. We knocked over everything on the table and most of the things on the counter just trying to stand. Frankie even broke my favorite coffee mug. I told him that he owed me a new one. Oh yeah, I’m sure he’ll pay me back.

“I’m not cleaning that up!” Chad yelled at us.

“Does he have eyes in the back of his head?” I whisper to Bob.

“No, it’s called a mirror,” He laughed.

“Oh yeah!”

For the rest of the ride to Norfolk we were cleaning up the mess we made. And I got stuck with mop duty because I opened the bottle. Stupid self!
-----
No one knew how happy I was to be walking on solid ground for more than a few hours.

Norfolk was a nice city. Not to modern, not to country and it had a great pier! Of course we had to attend to the show first. And that happened without a hiccup.

We got to the hotel after the show and all passed out in our rooms. Only to awake the next morning bright and early to watch the sunrise on the beach.

“Wake up silly!” I shook Melissa.

“It’s still dark out,” She groaned.

“Yeah well we’re going to watch the sunrise, want to join?”

“Mmmmmmmmmmmmm, sure.”

We got dressed and went out to the lobby where the guys were waiting for us.

“Morning, lovelies!” They greeted. I smiled and Melissa just nodded, too sleepy to think I bet.
Across the street, down some stairs and we were at the beach. We were lucky enough to get a beachfront hotel.

Nothing but beauty was reflected within our eyes that morning. Each color seemed to match one person, each color fused together with such perfect harmony that it seemed impossible for it not to mean something else than just a sunrise. The crystals sparkling in the water illuminated every soul that was brave enough to gaze into them. I took off my shoes and let my feet soak up the warmth from the sand. I sat down in it, picking up handfuls and letting each grain run through my fingers before escaping back with its family.

“Look at me!” Frank threw himself down into the sand and spread out his limbs, moving them back and forth. “I’m making sand angels!” It was quite the new trend among us.

Everyone was now down in the sand doing the same thing.

“OW! MY EYES!” I yelped after Gerard accidentally sprayed sand in my eyes. “Ass!” I threw my shoes up at him.

He gazed happily down at my shoes and then smiled back at me. Then before I knew it he darted off down the beach holding my shoes captive.

“NO!” I ran after him, determined. “GIMME BACK MY SHOES!” I finally caught up with him and jumped on his back.

“WHOA!” Gerard fell to the ground and brought me with him, laughing all the way down.

“Thanks for that!” He smiled at me. “Here!” The shoes were thrown in my face. “Take your shoes!”

“Hahaha! You gave them to me!” I got to my knees and stood up. Then helped him to his feet. Slipping my shoes on I lost my balance and fell again.

Gerard bent down. “You’re not very coordinated are you?” I shook my head shamefully. “You have an eyelash.” He wiped it away from my cheek and held it up to my mouth. “Make a wish.” I did and blew on it. “Now,” He held up his hand and got me back to standing.

“Get back here you two! Breakfast!” Ray yelled to us.

Gerard and I looked at each other. “Tag you’re it!” I poked him and dashed down the beach towards the others. Minus Melissa and Mikey.

“Where are Mel and Mikey?” I asked as Gerard came running up behind me.

“They went off walking right before you two did.”

We all glanced around the beach. Right. Then left. Then behind us. No one. There was a pier down a little ways we figured they were down there. Too far away to shout. Bob whipped out his cell phone and dialed Mikey’s number.

“Hey there, Mikey. Where are you? Well get you’re butts over here! Breakfast! Yes, Melissa, food.” As he said this we saw Melissa come out from the shadow of the pier and she ran towards us. Mikey right after her, trying to put his cell phone away at the same time.

“Come on, food!” She yelled and ran right past us towards the hotel. We all followed after her and continued on our adventure for breakfast.
-----
“What a great show you guys!” I exclaimed backstage at the end of another fantastic show that night. “It couldn’t have been more amazing! The crowd was so into it!”

“Yeah, we have the greatest fans ever!” Frankie commented. “Without them we’d just be some punks!”

“Don’t be so modest!” Melissa said. “You’re still punks!”

“Ah, thanks!”

“Anytime!”

We waited for the guys as they finished helping gather their instruments and all the
equipment. Everything was packed and we hopped into a cab back to the hotel and up to our rooms. We didn’t spend too much time together that night. Everyone was so exhausted.

“So what happened today?” I asked Melissa as I pulled on my PJs and she doing the same.

“What do you mean?”

“Today on the beach. You and Mikey just kind of disappeared.”

“Oh, that.”

“Yeah that. Did something happen?”

“Nothing too big. I mean come on you and Gerard have done it twice already.”

I stopped. I dropped my toothbrush and ran into the bedroom where she was sitting on her bed.

“Are you fucking kidding me?!”

“I can’t tell is this a good “fucking kidding” or a bad one?”

“You kissed him!”

“Yeah, but it’s no big deal. I mean you and Gerard-”

“I don’t care right now, you KISSED MIKEY!” I basically screamed that last part. The excitement was overwhelming. My best friend kissed her biggest crush in the world! “So what do you think that means for you two in the long run?”

She shrugged. “I still don’t get what the big deal is. I kissed him before.”

“Yeah but that was a peck on the cheek! This was full on, lips and everything! Right?”

A nod.

“Wow. That’s great, Mel. Really.”

“Yeah, well. I’m gonna go draw now, you going to sleep?”

“Naw, I think I’m gonna right some.”

“Mmkay.”

I opened my bag and pulled out my favorite, old, tattered notebook, a pencil, and some separate lose leaf paper. And I began writing.
-----
Nothing like the maid waking you up at eight in the morning is there?

“Come back later please!” I yelled through the door.

“Excuse me, ma’am.” Ha, ma’am, I thought. “I have a message for you.”

I opened the door.

“Yes?”

She handed me a piece of hotel paper and left.

I read it. It said:

Ladies oh ladies!
We hope you slept well, we know we did. Ok so here’s the deal, we totally forgot last night that we had a press thing this morning, then after we’re meeting the winner of this fan contest. So how’s about we meet you at the board walk around one? Ok! Cool. See you then! Oh and Frank says that sailboats are still cooler than lines. Then he’s winking at Melissa. Whatever that means.
See ya later!
The Guys :)

I woke up Melissa and read the note to her.

“So we’ve got the whole morning to ourselves?”

“Yeah.”

“What do you want to do?”

A shrug. “You?”

Another shrug.

“Hey, I have an idea. I’m going back to bed and you wake me up at noon. Then we can get ready and shit.”

“Ok, sounds fine.”

She yanked the covers over her head and immediately fell back to sleep. I trudged to the TV and plopped myself down in front of it. I didn’t turn it on though. I just sat there and stared at it, a blank screen. I could see my reflection in it. Oh God here comes my bad side, ready to point out my faults. I just wanted to smack her in the face and yell ‘shut up’! But yeah…

I finally got tired of sitting and staring at nothing. I flipped on the TV and watched the TV Guide Channel. Mindlessly watching the same thing repeating over and over. Watching the time slowly tick away until I got tired of that and went into the bathroom and got ahead start on the getting ready process. I know I’d be slower than Melissa. Sometimes I just start staring off into nowhere and forget what I’m doing, or where I’m going. I was right. I was an hour and a half later when I emerged from the bathroom. It was time to wake Melissa.

She got ready and I waited on the couch.

“Ready?”

“Yeah, let’s go.”
-----
“Hey! I see you got our note!” We met the guys right at the entrance to the boardwalk and went along to the shop section.

Past the food, past the rides, past the games, we walked to the stores. Everyone was so happy this Friday. Our smiles were never ending and our laughs were full of energy.

“How about here?” Bob pointed to a sign that said, “Records” and an arrow pointed down. We all agreed to go in. We went down the stairs and in the door.

It was semi-dark in the record store. There were only three people working. Two ladies and one man. The walls were black bricks, and hanging from them there were streams of multi-colored lights and old torn up band posters. The lady with light brown hair greeted us.

We all said “hi” and continued doing what it was that we came in here to do. Shop.

Bob moved away from us to the girl. I heard him say:

“Hi, I like you’re pants.”

I hit my head. Silly Bob. That’s the way to get a woman. Complimenting her pants. Totally something anyone normal would fall for. Surprisingly I heard her laugh and they talked for a while until he started asking a bunch of questions.

“Ah, infatuation,” Gerard whispered in my ear. He obviously saw me watching Bob and the girl talking. “Isn’t it a wonderful thing? I bet in a week he’ll have forgotten all about her.”

“I bet not.”

“Oh? Well fine, I’ll give you fifty bucks if he remembers her a week from now. Deal?”

“Deal!” We shook hands on it.

“So why do you say that?” I asked out of nowhere.

“Well, Bob’s always meeting new people. Girls, especially. So what should make her any different?”

“There’s always a chance. And besides look at Melissa and Mikey. They just met and obviously had a connection.”

“Connection!” He scoffed. “They were friends, still friends.”

“If they’re just friends they why are they holding hands?” I pointed over at the cute couple in a few rows after us holding hands and smiling.

“Friends hold hands!”

“What’s wrong, Gerard? Seriously! What’s so wrong with loving someone?”

“You think that’s love?” Now he was pointing at Melissa and Mikey, slowly raising his voice with each word. “That’s not love! It’s not all sweet and cute and flowers and shit! Love hurts!
Love is staying awake at night because you know that if you dream you’ll dream about them and raise more false hopes! Love is pacing back and forth thinking about them wondering if they’re thinking about you! That’s not love!”

“How would you know what love is?!”

“How would you know, either? I mean how could anyone ever love you? You’re pale! You’re a messy eater! You have a strange personality! You’re lazy! And you lock people out! You never tell anyone anything that’s going on inside your head! You put it all in that stupid notebook of yours! FYI! THE NOTEBOOK’S NOT GONNA LOVE YOU BACK! So what do you know about love?”

I bit my lip; I didn’t want to cry in front of everyone. I looked around; everyone was looking at us now. Nine pairs of eyes, all focused on me. I wasn’t going to run. Not with him getting the last word.

“You’re right. I’m a bitch. I’ll just go die now. But before I do,” My voice was shaking more than ever. I needed to gather up all of my strength to do this. I inhaled deeply and smacked him as hard as I could. “You’re the biggest dick I’ve ever met, Gerard Way!” And with that I ran from the shop, letting the tears fall at their own will now. Nothing was going to stop them anyway. I stood in the middle of the sidewalk. Just crying now. People were looking at me; I didn’t care.

Storm clouds were rolling in and is started to rain. I thought I heard the door to the shop open. I couldn’t stand to let anyone from down there see me ever again. Without thinking I started to run. I didn’t know where I was going. But anywhere was better than here.