Van stroked Liza's hair as she slept in his lap. They, along with the rest of Van's band, were in a beat up car traveling north for another gig. The sky was the color of ink, with little white specks where someone hadn't quite colored it in all the way. Everyone else was fast asleep but he just couldn't seem to doze off. Song ideas bounced through his mind.His feelings about Liza were mixed. On one hand, he thought she was lovely and saw her a as more than a friend. But, on the other hand, he had to be sensible and knew that they had only just met and he hardly knew her.
Eventually, Van slipped into unconsciousness. He dreamt of Liza. He dreamt that they were running through some kind of field trying to get away from something big and scary. Van found himself protecting her throughout the dream. Liza didn't need protection though. She was a right bad ass in Vans eyes, and he loved that. She never needed him to light a fag for her, she could do it herself. She didn't care if there was a spider crawling around the door of the van, she'd kill it and move on. Van loved that about her.
Liza started to stir awake and, for a second, forgot where she was. As she remembered the events of last night, she understood what placed her in a van with a bunch of men she didn't know. There was Van, a boy with curly hair and glasses, one with chin-length hair and a bandana, one with a big afro, and one with hair like vans but curly and with a hat. All of them were dead asleep. Liza thought of how peaceful they looked. Like they didn't have a care in the world that they hadn't slept in an actual bed in years.
Her thoughts drifted to those of her own band. She wondered what they were doing without her. It's like that part of a breakup when you want to know what the other person is doing now but don't want to admit that you care that much. She felt like she'd gone through a breakup, and a very rough one at that. A peace of the last seven years of her life was gone with the click of keys in the ignition of a dodgy van.
The boy with the big afro woke up first. He set his eyes on her and was scared shitless for a second.
"Who the hell are you?!" He yelled, waking a few of the others boys up but not Van
"Liza, I'm Van's mate. Don't worry he's letting me stay with you guys. Sorry he didn't tell you." She whispered.
His breathing steadied as he calmed down. "Benji" He spoke as he reached out his hand.
"Another friend" Liza thought to herself.
