Better Off This Way

Tour dates left: 2
Actual days left: 4

Well this tour was coming to an end and everything was finally coming back to normal. I was all made up with Neil and Zack, and Neil wanted to get back together. Things were starting to look up for me again.

“Oh man, look at little Miss Blithe all happy.” Mike said in a feminine voice.

“And look at little Mister Mikey all sassy.” I mocked his tone.

“Man, the last time I saw you this happy was…” He tapped his chin as if he were in deep thought. “Oh yeah! The first time I met you. Back when you and Neil were busy making kissy face, mwah, mwah, mwah!” He made kissing sounds.

“Are you sure?” I laughed.

“Oh yeah,” he wrapped an arm around my shoulder and walked with me outside the bus. “So what’s going on that’s got you so happy?”

“Hah, well I made everything up with Neil first and then I made things up with Zack.” I shrugged and kept up with his nonchalant pace. “I guess this tour was just another problem, what did I even gain from this?”

“Hmm… You got new friends, business connections, memories, and last but not least, relationship exposure.” He explained.

“Jeez Mike, when did you get so wise?” I laughed.

“Eh, who knew?” He patted my arm and let go of my shoulder. “But anyways, you’re happy and you’ve had a whole bunch of new experiences, and that’s what matters.”

“You’re right again,” I nodded. “Man am I glad that I became your friend.”

“Don’t use sarcasm on me, Blithe?” He laughed and shook his head. “Don’t even go there girlfriend!”

The whole time I never really had a plan to go anywhere so I was just following Mike, who coincidentally led me to the ADTR bus. “So are you coming over here for lunch?” He asked.

“Well I’m already here so I might as well.” I shrugged and followed Mike onto the bus. Jeremy, Shelnutt, Alex, Jack, Kevin and Jaime were already eating pizza and sitting around the front lounge. Their faces lit up when we walked on and there were only happy cheers to follow.

“Mike, Blithe, what a pleasant surprise!” Jeremy laughed and pointed over to the pizza. “We got, like, four pizzas so help yourselves.”

I followed Mike over to the pizza boxes and grabbed two slices and putting them on the plate. All of the spots on the couches were taken up so I decided to head back to the back lounge just to see if anyone was back there, I was just too lazy to stand. I went past all of the empty bunks and opened the door in the back, seeing a lonely Neil on the couch.

“Oh hey, Blithe.” He smiled when he looked up at me. “Come on and sit down.” He patted the cushion next to him.

“What’s up?” I sat down next to him and took a bite out of a slice of pizza.

“Eh not much, I’ve just been back here watching Netflix and stuff.” He shrugged. “But I heard you and Mike come in, how have things been?”

“Well I just started staying on PTV’s bus because I thought it would cause less conflict.” I spoke. “They’re really cool and super nice.”

“Yeah, going on tour with them was a really good idea, I mean, they’re great people.” He nodded. “But damn does ATL party.”

“Tell me about it.” I rolled my eyes. “Jack comes back drunk literally every night; I couldn’t even keep up with it.”

“Do you want to watch something?” He asked.

“Sure, what were you thinking?” I asked.

“Alright, how about American Psycho?”

“Boo,” I shook my head and held m thumbs down. “There’s way too much violence and sex for my taste. Why don’t we watch something else, like Finding Nemo?”

“Blithe, how old are you?” He laughed.

“Hey, you’re never too old to appreciate a good Disney movie, alright?” I shrugged and leaned back into the couch. “Why don’t we just watch it?”

“You’re the boss.” He played the movie and we watched it in peace, no one came in the back, just two people enjoying a movie with no breaks, just like in the theatres.

Tour Days Left: 1
Actual Days Left: 1

It was the last tour and I was sad to kiss this whole thing goodbye. I was going to miss all of the guys and seeing everyone every day and playing music at night. I stood outside of my bunk and packed up my bag and my blankets and pillow were already packed away. Alex and Jack were over, forcing me to hurry up and get outside with my stuff so I could go to their little pre-performance party.

“Blithe, you seriously need to hurry the fuck up.” Jack tapped his foot. “You don’t have to pack right now, but you certainly do have to come out and have one drink with us before we all have to go.”

“Can you just give me a minute, Jack?” I rolled my eyes and went into the bathroom to check my makeup before packing everything away.

“You look good, Blithe, can we go now?” Alex whined.

“I never said the two of you had to wait around for me.” I zipped up the small bag and tossed it into my bunk next to the others. “But I am done now, so let’s go.”

“Jesus, took you long enough.” Jack sighed and pushed me out the door. As soon as we got outside, we were greeted by none other than Jeremy with beer bottles in his hands and music playing from some small speakers.

“Alright, make sure to save some for the toast in a few minutes, alright?” He handed them off and rushed away to grab one for himself. Alex and Jack stood by me, not even leaving when I asked them to go off and have fun on their own.

“Are you kidding me?” Alex swung his arm around my shoulder and pulled me close to his side. “Listen, you’re the only girl on this tour and I find you a very close friend and you won’t even bother to spend some time with me because you’ve been too busy parading around with your pestering relationship problems. But right now, I want to enjoy myself and have a few drinks with someone that I barely got to see. So you’d better perk the fuck up.”

He walked around the party just like that, with his arm around my shoulder because he was afraid I’d go sulk off somewhere and pout or something. The crew had already set up before the show; everything was ready for all of the bands to play, one after the other. Jack was running around and singing along to the songs and acting out like he was in a music video or something. It was great to watch, I just hope that he doesn’t get drunk before he actually has to go on stage. Just as we were about to get to the actual toast inside, Neil pulled me aside and away from the group.

“What’s up?” I said casually even though he had nearly made me spill my drink in the process.

“I just wanted to ask you if you’ve made up your mind yet.” He smiled shyly. “I mean, I don’t want to rush you or anything but it’s the last day and I have our plane tickets on the bus and everything so I-”

I cut him off by pressing my lips against his. He was taken aback by my move, surprised and flinching a little but eventually easing up and wrapping his arms around my waist. I held my hands across his shoulders, making sure not to tip over my drink.

“I’ve missed you.” He whispered against my lips.

“I’ve missed you too, Neil.” I whispered back and placed another small kiss against his lips. The sun was set and the doors were about to open soon but here we were, behind the venue with beers in our hands and smiles on our faces.

Notes

I'm sad to say that this is the last chapter :(

Thank you guys soooooooooooooooooooooooooo much for reading this, seriously. This story wasn't even that good at all but you still read it so thank you. Please check out my other work, I've got some Jalex and more.