Everything in my life goes wrong. Everything. But, when I'm with my friends, I feel happy. They don't care if I mess up, they'll support me either way. I try to keep a happy face for them, but most of the time, when they're not by me, my face falls...
I'm backstage, waiting for the boys to walk out there. I lean on the wall as they walk to the entrance, dressed and masked, Shawn holding his bat and swinging it in a circle. They stop by me and Corey makes me turn around, and I get pinched in the ass.
"The hell," I ask, all of them pinching my ass.
"Pinch the ass for good luck," Corey says, me sighing.
"Is this going to become regular," I ask, him nodding.
"Alright, get your asses out there before the opening ends," I say, all of them walking on stage.
-after-
I hear them end and the crowd go wild, seeing them walk into the back part where I am. I turn to them and get tackled into a hug by Sid, who nuzzles his gas mask in my neck.
"You're so fucking sweaty Sid," I say, hugging him anyway.
The majority of his coverall's a darker color from the sweat, and all of their masks are drenched. I hear the snap of a camera and I see Paul putting his camera back so I didn't see it. I let go of Sid and he does too, all of the other guys crossing their arms and looking away, except Joey, who puts his hands to his masked cheeks and 'aww'-ing.
"You two are like magnets," he says, Sid laughing.
"I guess we are," I say, smiling and waving to Ari, the girl who almost got fired. She waves back and leaves with her mom, who was also working here.
"Come on," Corey says, walking back to the bus.
Jim offers me a piggy back ride and I take it, hopping on his back and wrapping my arms loosely around his neck. He grabs the underside of my knees and walks behind them, Joey getting a ride from Shawn next to me.
"You guys did great," I say to Joey.
"Yeah, I guess we did. Hey, tomorrow we're doing a signing and meet and greet. You want to come," he asks, Corey turning his head and glaring at him.
"Unless she has a mask before then," Corey says, looking back.
"I'll have a mask, trust me," I say, Joey smiling under his mask.
"Ya know, a lot of fans have heard of you so far, and they can't wait to meet you. I hope you can come," he says.
Both of us get dropped on the ground, Jim carefully setting me down while Shawn literally pushes him off his shoulders. I wave to the other guys and step onto the bus, going right to my bed and turning away from them. I cover my eyes and hear them talk and change, hearing Corey swear a few times as he gets his dreads stuck.
"You need help," I ask, still covering my eyes and turning to him.
"Uh, yeah. Don't worry, we're all plain clothes now," he says. I uncover my eyes and see his mask unbuckled in the back, but the dreads got stuck. I pull his mask up a little and he inhales sharply, making me cringe.
"Sorry, but this's going to hurt a little," I say, wiggling my small, cold hands underneath his mask to get to the dreads. I grip the dreads in between my fingers and tell Corey to pull the mask off, feeding them through as he pulls it off. He gets it off and I let go of his dreads, all of the other guys grinning.
"You say anything and I'll kill all of you," Corey says, me rolling my eyes and sitting in my bunk.
"Oh yeah, be ready to answer some questions from interviewers," Joey says, me smiling.
"Hold on. You have to show us your mask before we let you go," Corey says, me rolling my eyes and digging around in my bag. I get out my mask and hand it to him, his eyes widening.
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"Where did you find this? It's so..."
"I made it when Arron and I went travelling a year ago. I said I was making what I was feeling, and he thought I was going to make a doll mask," I say, sitting down next to him.
"I mean, you kind of did. Except that doll's broken," he says, me nodding and smiling.
"That's the point. You guys put on masks to show growth, I put them on to show how I feel inside. Maybe the next or the album after I'll change it, but I think this is how I'm going to feel every day until Arron goes to a place far away from me," I say. In an instant, Corey wraps his arms around me and nuzzles his face in my hair, putting his hands on my back.
"You have too many problems," he says in my hair, making me giggle.
"Yes, my hair has too many problems," I say. I can feel him grinning in my hair, and Sid getting jealous. I let go and Corey does too, handing back my mask.
"Put it on," Joey says, sitting with Sid on the top bunk. Shawn's sitting on his bunk so he can see.
"But why? There's no-"
"Ssh, put it on," Sid says, putting a finger to my lips and cracking a smile.
"Fine, but only for a minute," I say, putting it on and buckling the straps in the back. I move some hair and they go quiet, staring at my mask.
"Worth it," Sid says, me smiling. I take it off and put it back, sitting down on my bunk. I didn't notice we were moving until we hit a pothole, and I got jumped into the air while walking.
"Well, that happened," I say, sitting in my bunk and starting a conversation with the other guys, night falling as we talk about absurd things.
