No More No More

Tour Terror

The jeers, cheers, and the catcalls from the band eventually broke us apart.  I still wasn't able to stop my tears from falling.  Joe held my face and wiped them away as they fell.  Why're they still falling?  I should be happy.

        Oh, right.  I feel like a horrible person.  We're still holding each other closely.  I need to apologize.  I was so wrong to break things off.  It shouldn't matter how much you have materialistically.  It's what's really there that matters.  I mean, if you've got a perfect other half and you're perfectly happily in love and you feel like you can't live without that person, what does it matter that you're not married?  As long as you're together, things shouldn't matter too much.

        But, the natural human instinct is to want more, and I have proven myself to be a natural human being.  I mean, a wedding band, legal papers, the title of wife and my last name will really be the only differences to being his girlfriend to marrying him.  We don't even have to get married anymore, honestly––though it's a nice bonus.  I realize now, after I've had and lost it all, that I don't need more to be happy; no one does.  They need to realize and acknowledge what they have right now and how important it is to them.  And I guess for me, it took loosing it all the figure it out.

        As long as I'm with Joe Perry, I'm the happiest person on earth.

        The realization hits me like a wave, and it brings on fresh tears.  "Joe... Joe..." I cry, "Joe, I'm so, so sorry baby.  I shouldn't've left; it was a horrible, heartless thing to do."

        "Annie––"

        "You don't have to do this if you don't want to," I plow on, "I'll come back to you regardless."

I continue to babble on like this, how he doesn't have to ask me to be his wife; how I'm perfectly happy being his girlfriend, and he finally gets me to shut up by pressing his lips to mine again in that same way we did before––though for a much shorter amount of time.

        "Annie," he said after he kissed me and I was stunned to silence, "shut up."

        "But––" I start, recovering quickly.

        Joe kisses me again, cutting me off.  "I want to."

        "But––"

        "Stop it."  Each time I try to say something, Joe kisses me and eventually I'm just––

        "I feel like you just start talking so that I'll kiss you again...?" Joe asks.

        I blush furiously, my skin burning hot.  How did he guess that?  Joe, knowing the answer, throws his head back and laughs, then takes my hand and leads me back down the walkway where our group is waiting for us and clapping.  Well, almost everyone is clapping.  Steven is in the very back, sulking.

        Joe gets high-fives all around, from all the guys but Steven, and Terry and Julia hug me, marveling at the ring.  Brad's date looks rather uninterested and Steven's date is nowhere to be found.

        But the party doesn't stop there, no.  Everyone goes back inside except Joe and me.  He kisses me one final time.

        I don't want to let go.  If I let go of him––if our lips are separated––I might wake up from this wonderful dream...and I don't want to wake up.

        Joe realizes this––it's blatantly obvious––and chuckles, lacing his fingers in mine.  He begins to open the door and go inside.  I protest.  Joe smirks.  "Baby," he says, "our reservation's only 'til midnight."  He kisses my forehead.  "But you and I have forever."