Where Do I Begin? All I Know Is Gone

An hour or so later the house had begun to clear out and it was time for the band to leave. The bus was already loaded and ready to go, parked up by the practice warehouse to avoid blocking off Jay's narrow street. We probably weren't the safest procession through Bridgend, with everyone but the kids hungover, but it was late morning so there wasn't too much traffic to navigate through. I guess it was also public knowledge that the boys were heading off on tour and this sort of pilgrimage was expected. The local cop even led us part of the way, not worried that there would be any danger from the somewhat compromised drivers.

Not having Padge's car meant we got shuffled into the back of Ian's car, since everyone else had full loads. I'm not too sure why Ian decided to volunteer himself for chauffeur duty, since he was still complaining about me getting him so drunk, but I figured it wasn't really worth worrying about as long as we got there. There were a few of the crew heading over with us, a couple having headed home to farewell their families first. Adam was one of the crew coming with, and he took a great amount of pleasure in jumping in on my other side.

It was a strange thing to go through, saying goodbye. Mostly everyone was just standing around talking, delaying the departure, with the odd person climbing into the bus when they'd made their rounds.

Soon there was only the band left, Adam leaving with a parting comment of, "I better not hear him calling you for phone sex!"

I would've gone to kick his ass for that, but Jay was heading towards me with a scarily determined look in his eyes. Moose, Ben and Ian were talking to my left, the girls, Padge and Matt talking and hugging to my right. They were all too busy to notice Jay's scheming ways, until I was already over his shoulder and shrieking while he ran with me towards the bus.

We made it as far as the kitchen area before Jay's name was bellowed harshly, causing him to stop abruptly. Turning slowly like a kid who'd been caught with broken pieces of something valuable I wished I could see his face instead of his ass. The guy who'd yelled had looked amused, probably used to Jay's strange behaviour.

"She can't come," was the only sentence spoken before I was taken back outside, still over Jay's shoulder. I left hitting his butt until we were safely off the steps and back on solid ground, laughing along with him when he put me down.

"Shoulda tried sneaking me on before everyone got here, JayJay." Hugging him tightly I knew I'd miss his craziness, even if I was glad to see the back of his teasing.

"Next time," he grinned. "It mighta worked if you weren't so damn noisy though."

"Well give a girl a warning then! How was I supposed to know you were trying to be stealth? I mean, kidnapping in broad daylight, in front of a crowd? Not your smartest move buddy."

By now we had a crowd gathered, just watching us converse with grins covering our faces. It was hard not to smile around Jay for some reason. A not so subtle cough from the bus door got everyone back into action though. The final goodbyes and hugs.

Padge left me til last, a small frown greeting me as he moved in for his hug. "I'm gunna miss you Justy."

I just nodded as we stood there embracing each other. It sounded like the other guys were done and beginning to walk away so I let him go with a kiss on the cheek. "Miss you too Padge. I'll see you soon though, right?" It was only a little over a week until the band was performing in Cardiff, all of us having arranged to spend that day together.

With a confirmation he was gone, only pausing to wave before the bus door glided closed and the wheels started to roll. Looking over at the other girls I couldn't help but feel bad for them. Sara and Bailey had silent tears rolling down their cheeks while Emily-Paige was bawling. Ben had sat himself down on the gravel at his mother's feet, a scowl showing his unhappiness with the situation.

It felt a little as if I was intruding on their family vibe, having only known them for such a short amount of time. Watching them comfort each other, I took a few steps back to give them their space, jumping a little when I felt Ian's arm dangle itself around my neck while he pulled me further backwards. Leaning against the hood of his car he kept silent as I sighed, not knowing what to do now. I was sort of wishing I had to work today, just so I'd have something to occupy my time and thoughts.

"Can we get outta here?" I asked Ian while shrugging off his arm and moving towards the passenger seat, not really giving him a chance to answer. Calling out to the other girls, not wanting to be rude and just leave, I said goodbye to them and stuck my tongue out at Ben, getting him to smile a little.

I had no idea where Ian was taking me, he seemed to bypass the main road back to the house and continue east out of town. Asking him where we were going proved pointless; the only answer I got was a smirk and, "Somewhere."

Ten minutes later I caught sight of a road sign and guessed at our destination. "Pontypridd?"

"I heard you wanted to check it out," Ian smiled. "Padge had a lot to say about you last night, you know."

All I could do was groan in response, much to Ian's amusement. Wondering when he had time to have such conversations with Padge, I remembered the time I went to check how the girls were doing while getting away from Adam's leering. "Please don't tell me you're another one with theories about him and I. I don't know if I could still worship you if you were."

"Theories? I wouldn't go that far. But you worship me?" The cocky grin he had only made me laugh harder the longer he kept it.

Between bouts of laughter I managed to get out, "How could I resist such a sexy, amusing guy with that killer accent?"