Everything in my life goes wrong. Everything. But, when I'm with my friends, I feel happy. They don't care if I mess up, they'll support me either way. I try to keep a happy face for them, but most of the time, when they're not by me, my face falls...
"Fuck," we both say, the girls in front of us fighting over something.
"Lorey is better," One yells, pointing to the other girl with painted nails.
"No way! Criz is better," the other yells, swatting away the first girl's finger pointing to her.
Thankfully, they were the last people who wanted something signed or to do or say anything to us or with us. I look at the other end of the table and they're all laughing their asses off, picking on Craig about something; who's doing and saying nothing back. As he always does.
"Is this about the hugging," I whisper, leaning slightly over to him.
"I'll explain when we get back on the bus," he whispers back. I lean back and the girls whip around to us, both of their eyes eager.
"We need your opinion on something," they ask me in sync.
"Uh," I say, both of them taking out drawings of me and Corey kissing in our masks and Craig trying to kiss me, but showing he can't in a comic strip.
"Which is better? Lorey or Criz," the first asks, pushing the other aside to shove the one named Lorey in my face, shoving it in my hands instead. I gently put it down and fold my hands on it, covering the picture that makes me want to gag.
"To be honest," I start, both of them leaning in.
"Both of you are crazy," I finish, the other handing me the Criz comic strip.
"Then why did you hug Corey," the Lorey girl asks.
"Because he, along with Craig, are my best friends," I say, the Criz girl slimming her eyes at me.
"You've never kissed, or, tried to kiss Craig," she asks.
"No. He's happy with who he's with now. I wouldn't want to impede on their relationship," I say, setting the comic down and folding my hands over it.
"Not even Corey," the Lorey girl asks, sadness in her voice.
"No. He also is in a relationship currently," I say, the girls being pushed aside by Ari.
"Sorry I'm late," she says, the girls starting to argue again and setting two packed envelopes in front of me, one named Lorey, the other named Criz.
"Hey, what are these," Ari asks, picking up both and turning them over to see what they say.
"Ooh, the new ships," she says, looking at me and wiggling her eyebrows.
"Look, I just found out about them, cut me some slack," I say, her giggling.
"Should we open them after this," she asks, the guys standing and walking out.
"Maybe," I say.
I walk out with them while carrying the box of shoes and clear box, putting the letters in my back pockets and Ari carrying the tall box and her tiny box for me. We walk out and walk backstage, setting the boxes down and leaning against the wall. The guys pinch my ass for good luck before they go on stage, again.
"Come on, open them," Ari says. I take them out of my pockets and set them down on the floor, shaking my head.
"First, we open the boxes and see what I got," I say, her making puppy eyes and tilting her head down slightly.
"Please," she asks, making me shake my head.
"No. Tell you what, if we don't get to the pictures, we can catch up tomorrow," I say, her jumping up and down while clapping her hands.
"Yay! Let's open the boxes," she says, sitting on her knees in front of the box of shoes. I sit beside her and open it, seeing stripper shoes set neatly into the box. I count 9 pairs in total, and pick one out.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
"These aren't that bad," I say, Ari nodding and standing, checking the time.
"I have to go. But," she says, grabbing the small box. She opens it and there's a ring in it. Not an engagement ring, but the ring she's wearing.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
"Will you be my best friend," she asks.
I nod and she smiles, putting the ring on my left index finger, it fitting perfectly. I give her a hug and she runs off, waving to me as she turns a corner. A few minutes go by and I hear the guys ending, all the fans cheering. I put the shoes back and close the box, standing up as carefully as possible. I get tackled into a hug by Sid, who stands on my toes to reach my height.
"Question," I say to Sid, who walks next to me and carries the ship envelopes while I carry the boxes. He picks up the tall box and carries it with me, putting the envelopes in his pocket. He looks at me to gesture me on.
"Why do you hug me every time you guys end," I ask.
"Every time I go on stage, I think I'll die. When I end the performance and I'm still alive, I hug you because I'm so happy to be alive to hug you again," he says, making me smile.
"You're going to make me cry one of these days," I say, him laughing. We step on the bus and I set my gifts on my bed, Sid handing me the envelopes of ruining lives.
