Alice

movie night

We sit and talk for a while about random things. Patrick talks about his drums, Ricky talks about his guitars, August and I talk about our home lives. Andy is giving parenting advice to Spencer while Justin and Shea listen from a distance.

"Spencer, if it's any comfort, just know me and Justin will take care of Mikey if you can't. And we'll take really good care of him too, he'll be one of our own." Shea says. Spencer laughs.

"Thanks Shea, good to know Mikey has god parents now." Spencer says. Justin and Shea laugh.

"Oh, by the way, Spencer, I can maybe get some fake id's and documents for Mikey if you want." Ricky says.

"Since when can you do that?" Spencer asks.

"He's the one who got me my drivers license." August says.

"Yeah, I mean I usually like to know the kid likes the house, like with August, Andy, and Lilith, but I know Mikey likes you. It's not hard to tell." Ricky says.

"That would be great, actually, if you could make some of those up. I really appreciate it." Spencer says. 

"Of course man." Ricky says.

All of us sit and talk for a while, it must have been hours. We talk about everything from food, to clothes and hair, to mental health. I told them that my dad tried to get me diagnosed as some kind of psycho so he could drug me and convince everyone I was lying. Of course that didn't work.

"I guess all of us are a little bit psycho, huh?" Spencer jokes.

We all go our separate ways and head back to our buses to sleep. On the way back Patrick and Spencer make small talk.

"How are you going to hide Mikey at the hotel in a few days?" Patrick asks as we walk.

"I'm not, honestly. He looks different enough that I think it'll be okay, plus we are in an entirely different state." Spencer says.

"Well I'm sure his friends are probably looking for him, even if they don't know he's a guy now. Information and pictures spread fast on the internet." Patrick says.

Spencer paused to think before saying, "Shit. Mask and sunglasses?" He looks down at me, as if asking what I think.

"Should work, I think. What do I say if someone asks why I'm wearing a mask?" I ask him.

"Say you're sick, teenagers get sick all the time." Patrick says.

"Or say you're hungover." Spencer jokes.

*

The next morning I wake up and the bus is already moving. I practically fall out of my bunk. Spencer is sitting in front of the couch sorting through CDs.

"Oh, hey kiddo. Sleep well?" He asks. I shrug and open the fridge, grabbing an energy drink I had left over from the last gas station.

"You want to watch a movie? I have American Psycho in here somewhere." Spencer says.

"Sure, I haven't seen that in a while." I say. "Do we have popcorn?" I ask.

"Already making some." Joe says, standing in front of the microwave with a large bowl and 2 bags of un-popped popcorn in front of him.

I sit down next to Spencer and he looks through the pile for American Psycho. He finds it in a cd book, on the same page with 3 different Barbie movies. I decide not to question it.

As he puts the movie into the player, Patrick emerges from the bunks. "Mornin' sleepy head." Joe teases.

"Shut up." Patrick says, rubbing his eyes and walking over to start a pot of coffee.

"Don't put on a pot yet, we're like 5 minutes from a rest stop." Joe tells him. Patrick nods and puts the empty coffee pot back in its place.

"We are? Can I go in and grab some snacks?" I ask, looking over at Spencer. He stops to think for a second before answering.

"Yes, but stick near Justin and Shea. And grab me some chips, doesn't matter what kind as long as they're crunchy." He says.

"Are all the busses stopping at the same time?" Joe asks.

"Yeah, they should be." Spencer responds.

"You should ask August if she wants to hop on our bus to watch the movie, I know she loves Christian Bale but I'm not sure if she's seen American Psycho before." Patrick suggests.

"You two seem close." Spencer says. Why wouldn't we be close? We're pretty much in the exact same situation. A trans kid who got kidnapped from an abusive family only to find their kidnappers to be the best family they could imagine, and also that new, better family being in emo metal bands.

"We are pretty similar, both of our dads being rockstars and stuff." I say. Patrick and Spencer look at each other, both seemingly understanding what I didn't say and laughing a bit.

I take out my phone and text August.

M: you should come to our bus to watch a movie

A: what movie?

M: American Psycho, its Christian Bale

A: oooooo I'm definitely coming over!

"I'm glad you found some friends your age." Joe says, taking a bag of popcorn out of the microwave and emptying it into a bowl.

The bus stops and I look out the window to see a rest stop with a gas station and a few different fast food places. I stand up and start walking towards the door.

"Wait, wait, come here." Patrick says. I stop and turn around. Patrick puts large sunglasses on me and hands me my phone. I step off the bus just as the Motionless In White bus parks a few empty spaces away.

I wait by the bus as the guys all get off. Justin walks out with Ricky. "Hey kiddo, stay with Ricky, I'm not going in." Justin says. I nod.

I walk inside with Ricky and we both go straight for the energy drinks. I grab a few monsters and a few 5hr energy drinks.

I grab a bag of chips for Spencer and a bag of munchies for myself. Ricky grabs snacks and chocolate for the band. "What kind of stuff so you think August likes? She's coming over to watch a movie." I ask.

"Hm, I would assume chocolate, or maybe something sour? Can't go wrong with chocolate though." He says. I grab some chocolate and some sour candy for August.

Ricky walks me back to the buses and I see August waiting outside the Ice Nine Kills tour bus. She smiles and waves when she sees me. I smile back and hold up the gas station bag.

"I got snacks!" I say. Me and August get on the bus and I give Spencer his chips.

"Oh, perfect!" Spencer says. "Oh, hey August, good to see ya kid." He says, picking up the remote. The guys all sit on the floor in front of the couch.

I take mine and August's snacks and sit on the couch. August sits next to me and I give her the snacks I got for her. Her face lights up when she sees the sour candy.

"Oh my gosh! I love sour candy! Thank you so much!" She says, excitedly opening the package. We both start to settle in before the movie starts. August is wrapped up in a blanket next to me on the couch.