The next morning, Oli was eager to get to the venue. He needed to talk to Josh and tell him all that had happened.
He couldn’t let his best friend keep hating him for the rest of his life.
Suddenly, the bus came to a stop. Oli bolted out of his bunk and into the front lounge, grabbing himself money that was in the drawer next to the bunks.
“Okay so the only bands that are here are us, SECRETS, MDE, Sirens, You Me, and the Ready Set.” the band’s tour manager said. “Since we’re here early, you guys can go get breakfast. You’ll have two hours before you report back here. Go now.”
The older male stepped to the right, making room so the others could pass.
“So where are you going?” Matt asked Oli.
“Well, I’ve got a date.” Oli smirked. “I’m kidding mate, I have to meet Josh at the amphitheater so we can talk.”
“He accepted to talk to you?”
“Yeah, I know. Surprising in’it?” Oli smiled. “I’m going to convince him to have breakfast with me too.”
“That’s if he doesn’t bring his girlfriend.” Matt laughed.
“Haha, very funny.” Oli said sarcastically. “I guess I’ll have breakfast with both of them.”
“Yeah? Well good luck with that.”
— — —
Just like Josh had asked, Oli was at the venue’s amphitheater as soon as he got there. However, Josh wasn’t there.
“Well I can’t call him, I don’t have his number.” Oli said out loud to himself. “Might as well wait for him.”
Oli interlinked his hands and set them down on his lap, momentarily closing his eyes before throwing his head back.
“This should be good.” Josh said, making Oli turn his head. “Just put your headphones in and I’ll be right back.”
Josh walked slowly to Oli, who was about five rows away from him. He tried to keep an emotionless look on his face but failed. He could not keep his feelings to himself. He felt happy, relieved, angry, and confused all at the same time.
“I’m here now.” Josh said coldly. “Why did you want to talk to me?”
The younger male took a seat next to Oli, feeling chills go down his spine as he made eye contact with his best friend.
“Why is she here?” Oli asked, motioning to Alicia with his head as he looked at Josh. “I wanted to talk to you alone.”
“Because she’s my girlfriend.” Josh replied. “Besides, she’s like five rows away and she’s got her earphones in her ear, even if she wanted to hear us, she can’t.”
“Okay, I’m sorry mate.”
“Don’t call me mate.” Josh said coldly.
“Alright then, Josh,” Oli continued. “I want to know why you hate me so much? I didn’t do much wrong. The whole Amanda thing was a misunderstanding, as I’ve said before. The party that I went to before the end of the year was uneventful for me. You weren’t there because you were sick, remember?”
Josh nodded, signaling Oli to go on.
“I don’t even know why I went to that party, I should have went over to your house to take care of you. Anyway, Amanda was there and you know how she’s always wanted to get with me, so she was all over me. I told her to leave me alone, then she managed to kiss me. I didn’t want to, it was an awful kiss to be honest. I left the party and that’s when the rumors started.” Oli said, looking into Josh’s eyes. “No matter what I did, they wouldn’t go away and eventually you believed them too.”
“It’s not that I wanted to believe them, I had no other choice.” Josh said, his voice almost cracking mid-sentence. “She was always at your house, you guys were always together, you stopped talking to me. You didn’t fucking text or call me for several days on end. What the fuck was I supposed to think? Tell me Oliver because apparently I don’t know.”
“Don’t fucking play the ignore card on me Joshua. You know damn well BMTH wasn’t doing well at all and I was working. It’s not that I wanted to ignore you, people just don’t ignore their best friends.” Oli began. “And Amanda was my neighbor, you knew that damn well. She lived downstairs. She was always following me. Don’t you think you would have been the first to know if she was my girlfriend? I repeat, you are my bestfriend.”
Oli slowly put his hands on Josh’s knees and looked up at him.
“Please forgive me, I need my best friend back.”
“How do I know you’re telling me the truth?” Josh asked, making Oli scoff.
“You know what? It seems like our friendship has been damaged too much and I’m the only one trying to fix it.” Oli said. “Goodbye Joshua Franceschi. I will love and cherish our friendship forever.”
Tears were welling at Oli’s eyes as he stood up. The younger male tried to grab Oli by the wrist but he ripped it away quickly.
“Oli wait!” Josh said, but it was too late, Oli was gone.
The older male left Josh just like he had left him only years later.
Confused.
— — —
Oli rushed back to BMTH’s bus, tears in his eyes making the frustration grow.
The tattooed young man barged in, not bothering to greet anyone.
“Hey I tho-” Lee said.
“Not now Lee.” Oli mumbled as he passed them all by, walking into the back room.
“I’ll go talk to him.” Matt said, setting his breakfast down, walking to the backroom. “Oli.”
The younger man had put a rubber band on his wrist and was snapping it, making the skin red and raw.
“It’s only a matter of time before it ends.” Oli mumbled. “Only a matter of time before it ends.”
“But you’ve got to make that time worthwhile.” Matt cut in. “Because if you don’t, you’re going to regret it.”
“Matt.” Oli gasped.
“What happened?”
“Josh.”
Matt entered the room and closed the door behind him, taking a seat short after.
“What did he say?”
“Well he…”
