Fever Dream || Frank Iero

.7.

MELISSA

Waking up the next morning, I felt the bus moving. My designated bunk was relatively small, but not completely uncomfortable. If anything it sort of felt like a tiny cocoon, it was cozy in a way.

A faint headache crept on as I sat up, doing my best to stretch inside the tiny cube. Frustrated I couldn't stretch my arms all the way out, I stumbled out of my bunk, nearly losing balance. Checking to make sure no one was around to see me almost falling, I completed the stretch and walked out into the "living room" (Jessica called it this, and I laughed every time I thought about it) where a few of the boys were sitting.

Pete, sitting next to Jessica in a booth turned to look at me and wolf-whistled. Aghast, I looked down to realize I was only wearing a flimsy muscle tee cut down to my waist, side-boob saying good morning to the entire population of the bus.

"Fuck," I muttered, crossing my arms across my chest and turning around. "I already forgot I'm not at home anymore."

I scurried back to the bunks and wrestled a bralette up underneath my shirt and walked back to the front, tiredly plopping down into the seat across from Jessica and Pete.

"You look... tired," Pete smirked.

"Can you not? Is there coffee anywhere around here? I don't even know what time it is."

Patrick perked up and smiled, nervously turning to the junky looking coffee pot on the counter and beginning to pour a cup.

"Oh Pat sorry I didn't mean you ha-"

"Do you take cream or sugar?" He interrupted, craning his head to wait for my response. I sighed and decided not to protest the gesture further.

"No, thank you," I said, reaching to take the cup from his hands. "Thanks Patrick."

He smiled and returned to leaning on the counter- Pete's sly look visible in the corner of my eye. I chose to ignore it and took a careful sip of coffee, letting the mug warm the palms of my hands. There was a comfortable silence for a moment, and I could hear the bus begin to roll from pavement to gravel.

"How'd you sleep?" Jessica smiled, looking almost irritatingly awake and perky. "The bunks aren't too bad, no?"

"Yeah, they're fine. I slept fine."

"Good," Jessica smiled. "I think we're making a pit stop for an hour or so, right Pete?" She looked at him and he nodded, placing his arm around her mid-stretch.

"So," Pete tilted his head, looking me in the eyes. "What did you think last night?"

As childish as it was, I didn't want to fully express how much I really enjoyed the show, knowing Pete would spend the rest of tour rubbing it in my face. Not that it meant I changed my mind about being here, though that didn't matter. I haven't known Pete for long but I know he looked for any reason to be right about something, even if there was more to it- One of the many reasons I found him to be so annoying. I wanted to choose my words carefully.

"It was pretty cool," I stated casually, taking another sip.

"Well I know that we're cool," He leaned back slightly. "What about Gerard's band, what'd you think of them?"

I wanted to say that I was moved, rendered speechless. I wanted to say that it made me feel emotions I hadn't felt in years, emotions I had been hiding from. I wanted to say that I couldn't wait for the next performance, even if that meant spending every day with a bunch of sweaty dudes and sleeping in a bunk the size of a keyhole.