The Fan

Chapter 28

Aidyn' s POV

I drove quickly, Tyler passing out in the passenger seat within the first five minutes of leaving the house. He must have been extremely tired, I thought to myself, smirking a bit. We stopped by a coffee shop, and I ran in, grabbing myself another cup of coffee, as well as a cup with extra espresso and a bagel for Tyler. 

There was a time in our lives when Tyler had to eat a bagel every single day, sometimes two, like ritual, because at that time we hung out in what was known as Satan's Corner, and rituals were expected by our peers. (Long story)

I got back into the car once more, waking Tyler up only with the help of food and his coffee. He was like a zombie in the mornings, but after a while he would wake up fully, at least enough to do our scene for the school. We had all-school assembly every Friday before school, and every week someone from one of the fine arts would have to present something before the announcements and eventual release to class.

I switched lanes quickly, sipping on my coffee as I thought. The plan was for us to go to school, get our scene done with, then leave and meet the boys at the hair salon, get their hair done, go home and finish their packing (maybe,) get lunch, and then we would hit the road, a six hour drive ahead of us. I had texted all of this to Namjoon earlier while waiting in line at the coffee shop, getting confirmation from the leader in little time.

I wasn't sure about the car situation yet, because we could barely fit the eight of us in their black van, much less two more passengers. I was sure Tyler wouldn't mind sitting in Yoongi's lap or something, but I wasn't so sure about Talia. Perhaps she would have to squeeze between people, or maybe we would just take two cars, I didn't yet know. Maybe she didn't want to go at all. 

I continued to drive, minutes passing as I made my way into the school parking lot. Tyler was still groggy, but awake enough to run lines with me in the minutes leading up to our arrival. It was a slightly cloudy day, and I prayed that it at least began to rain while we were still in Austin. I love the rain, I always have. 

We ran inside quickly, needing to get the stage set up and ready to go, our props in place, our chairs and ramp, everything we would be needing to make this scene as could as it could be. My heart panged as I remembered something I had been told by someone I thought I loved. 

"Someday, I want to learn the lines to this scene, and re-enact it with a daughter of my own, our daughter, if fate allows. I bet our daughter would have your hair, only curlier, like mine, and the grayest eyes out there, perfectly matching your own steely gaze."  He had whispered to me on the bleachers after my first performance of the scene. He had kissed me then, and told me that he loved me, and I was just idiot enough to believe him, even for that fractional moment before things went back to being broken again, despite my heart wishing it was not so.

I had been a fool to believe him all of those time, that much I will admit, but I had wanted to look, just once, for the first time in my life, not at the bad qualities of someone but at the good. It was naive of me, I know, but I had spent my entire life being so negative, so sure that everyone was a horrible person and would only end up hurting me in the end, and I wanted something good to hold onto, even if I knew it wasn't as pure as I wanted it to be. 

I shook my thoughts away and got onstage, smiling widely, bright lights in my face and cheers and hollers filling my senses. 

~~~

The performance was fine, not that big of a deal seeing as how I had done it a million times before, although afterwards I was still a bit shaky. I had to cry for the scene, and to do so, I had to draw forward emotions and memories I had worked hard to force down.