Misery Loves Company

Track 24: The Fog

Misery Loves Company

By: theinkslingerr

Track 24: The Fog

The sudden guilt was sharp, almost taking my breath away. "Y-you guys dated?"

"Yeah, for a while but...you know how the lifestyle is. It hit Dom kind of hard." Ji-Hyun was still looking at me, but her eyes were blank like she was seeing something else. "There were times he'd be on tour, borrow someone's car and drive all night just to see me for ten minutes, then drive back to do a show. He kept that up for six days once before passing out from exhaustion. Other times, there'd be zero contact, and I'd call Jae in a panic only to find out Dom had barely made it out of bed that week..."

I hadn't known Dom for long, but none of it sounded far-fetched. Anybody with eyes could see he was expressive and impulsive. I'd even caught a shadow of his thoughtful side on our date. The problem was figuring out how and when to untangle his moods and actions from his bipolar disorder. 

A grim smile appeared on Ji-Hyun's face. "When I saw him posting all those pics on Instagram begging fans to vote for him, the level of dedication was...familiar. It made me wonder if he was manic and how long it'd take for him to crash."

I thought back to Dom's lack of interest at the beginning of our date. He'd seemed so out of it, which confused me considering how hard he'd tried to win. If Dom had been coming down from one of his manic phases, then his strange behavior now made sense.

"It just sucks because...I think us breaking up put a strain on the band. Jae and Dom used to be so close, but now all they do is argue."

I nodded and tried to think of something to say to make Ji-Hyun feel better, but nothing came to mind. Her suspicions were valid.

"Whoa...word vomit! Sorry!" She laughed, suddenly embarrassed. "Didn't mean to unload on you. I know I talk a lot, but I'm not usually this bad."

"Oh. Uh, it's OK."

"Is it? Because Jae would really kill me if any of this ended up on TMZ's website."

"I wouldn't do that!"

Ji-Hyun studied me for a second then grinned. "Yeah, probably not. From the way Rocco and Eli talk, I can tell they respect you."

That was surprising. I didn't think they'd actually talk to people about me. I figured I'd be the least interesting part of their lives.

"But, god," she continued. "Why do I feel like Chris Pine's character in Wonder Woman when they put the magic lasso around him? You're so easy to talk to! It's scary!"

No one had ever accused me of having a magic lasso/truth serum effect on them before. I'd barely said anything! Maybe this was just stuff she'd had on her mind for a long time and I was a convenient ear. "Thanks, I guess...?"

"OK, we're gonna start letting people in." A gangly roadie informed us from the stage. Ji-Hyun nodded and ten minutes later fans started trailing in, talking animatedly about previous Blue Vendetta concerts. A few guys brought up Boston, and it struck me that this would be the boys' first show since that disastrous night.

I really hoped they'd be OK.

I glanced from Ji-Hyun's profile to the stage, and all around me. There was a buzz in the air, one I knew would turn into a deafening roar once Rocco, Eli, Jae, and Dom got on stage. I drank in the excitement, hoping to flush out the nerves I felt over being at my first concert without Enid.