Her eyes immediately swarmed with tears. Her normally swirling blue irises drowned in pain, widening in shock. Her hands immediately clutched to her stomach, the color crimson already seeping through her shaking fingers. She gasped. Her legs gave out, causing her to fall roughly onto her knees. She hunched over in agony, her breaths quickening and her mind becoming weaker.

“V-Vic,” she choked out, her voice breaking. That was the last thing she was able to cry out before her entire body went numb, causing her to fall forward even more. Her hands no longer applied pressure on her stomach; they had completely lost all feeling, and draped loosely across her unmoving body.

I wasn’t there. I couldn’t do anything but watch as the rise and fall of the collapsed girl’s chest dangerously quickened, and then slowed.Blood was already pooling around her small body, the metallic smell filling my nostrils and making me want to be sick. Except I couldn’t do anything about it; I was trapped as a witness. There was an invisible barrier between us, making it impossible for me to race over to her.

I needed to run to her. I needed to scoop her into my arms. I needed to hold her tightly and apply pressure to her open abdomen. I needed to help her stay conscious.

But I was completely helpless. It was like I didn’t own my body; I had my own thoughts and desires, but I couldn’t physically mobilize myself.

Her eyes were drooped closed. Red was the only thing I saw. She was so pale, and I knew that she had lost too much blood.

There was nothing I could do.

“No,” I cried, burying my face into my hands, wishing they were her precious neck, instead. “Please don’t leave me…” I cried, holding onto myself as tightly as possible, wishing that I were holding her.

“Vic,” she spoke, her eyes peaking open slightly. “Vic,” she repeated.

“Charlie,” I cried, staring at her through my own tears as she gazed at me with glassy eyes. I knew what this was. This was her final burst of energy. Final. Death was so final. “It’s going to be okay, it’s going to be okay,” I shook my head, repeating the meaningless phrase over and over and over. She shook her head, too.

“Vic…” she said once again.

Vic!

I closed my eyes as hers closed, too, wishing that I could die right along with her.

Vic!

I opened my eyes with a gasp.

“Vic, oh my, God, what is wrong?” she asked frantically. My heart rate was so incredibly fast that I felt like it was going to falter at any moment. I took several deep breaths, trying to calm myself down.

Except I knew that the only way I could be calm was if I saw her healthy.

“Ch-Charlie?” I asked quietly, finally being able to see as the tears coating my eyes dissolved.

“I’m right here,” she said quietly, immediately colliding into me for a comforting hug. I sighed in relief. It was just a nightmare.

“You’re here,” I gasped, clutching on to her for dear life—literally. She pulled away slowly, her face stretching into worry. She placed her hands on both sides of my face.

“Vic, what happened?” she asked strongly. I sat up, leaning against the headboard of my bed as I pulled her into me. I needed to feel her warmth, I needed to smell her liveliness.

“You’re here,” I murmured again, kissing her hair.

“Yes, I am right here,” she said softly, tracing her fingertips up and down my bare arm.

“Please don’t ever leave me,” I mumbled, the image of her dying freshly haunting my mind.

“Never, Vic,” she said, rubbing my back. “What was your nightmare about?” she asked quietly. I almost didn’t even hear her.

“You… you… left,” I said, shivering. “Please don’t leave,” I said again, beginning to feel like I sounded incoherent.

“Left…” she repeated in a whisper, as if she was contemplating exactly what I meant. I gave her a meaningful look, to which she replied with wide eyes of understanding. “Oh, Vic,” she sighed, kissing the side of my head over and over and over again. “It wasn’t real, okay? I got you,” she gave me a squeeze, and I finally felt calm.

“I’m sorry,” I said quietly. “I guess I’m just nervous thinking about leaving today,” I said quietly.

“It’ll be okay. We’ll talk on the phone, but, more importantly, you are going to have the time of your life and you’re going to make fans insanely happy,” she reassured, and I nodded, believing her.

“What a way to start off the day, huh?” I chuckled irrationally, shaking my head.

“Hey, it’s okay. It’s very understandable,” she said, her voice not wavering a bit, showing how genuine she was.

“I wish you could go with us,” I pouted.

“You know that’s impossible,” she reminded me, and I shrugged.

“I bet we could make it work,” I said hopefully.

“No, you need this time with your band. Focus on the music. I have a few job interviews locally, anyway, so don’t worry about me. And don’t worry about us. We’re fine, okay?”

I nodded, bringing her in for a gentle kiss. I noticed that it was only six in the morning—that meant I had thirty minutes left with Charlie before I had to get ready for the seven o’clock bus call. My heart cracked a little when I was reminded that I was the one who was leaving her for an entire month. And if it goes well, we had more tours lined up. I knew that in less than six months, we were going to go back to our usual full time touring schedule.

“You can stay here,” I said quietly.

“What do you mean?”

“You don’t have to find your own apartment. You can stay here,” I clarified. I laid her back down with me, holding her gently, yet tightly. Our limbs tangled together while our faces remained only an inch apart.

“I don’t know,” she said softly.

“What don’t you know?”

“Well, I’m not sure if that is a good idea,” she bit her lip.

“Why?” I asked, furrowing my eyebrows and immediately assuming the worst. She placed a comforting hand on my exposed cheek.

“I think I just need a place of my own, for now. It has nothing to do with us. Well, maybe it does a little, but not in a bad way. I honestly don’t want to be here when you’re gone… it’ll make me miss you even more. And I do think it’s a little too soon for me to live with you permanently,” she explained.

“I guess that makes sense. And I think you’re right, too,” I nodded. As much as I wanted her to be here, I respected her opinion. It was probably a little too soon, and she needed her independence; I understood that. “Well, you’re always welcome here, anyway,” I said kissing her nose. I didn’t want to say that she was welcome here if the job and apartment thing didn’t work out because I didn’t want her to think that I doubted her abilities for a second. I already helped her find a good place, and she just had to finalize everything. And she has an interview with a few tattoo shops—she was brilliant at design. She had told me that she had always wanted to become an artist, but that was not a realistic career. So I gave her the idea of a tattoo artist, and she loved the idea. She was actually surprised that she didn’t think of the idea herself, given that she has always wanted a tattoo and already has a few designs.

“Thank you,” she said softly. I glanced at the time: six eighteen. I frowned, seeing that I only had twelve minutes left with her.

“Twelve minutes,” I frowned.

“We’ll have to make the best of it, then,” she said before she smashed her lips roughly into mine.

~~

“Five minutes,” our tour manager announced. Everybody was in a frenzy: double checking that we had all of our equipment packed into the trailer, making sure we had our suitcases and bags, and running around handling last minute things before we departed.

I breathed in the chilly morning air, stretching out my tired limbs. I looked to the left at the sound of the bus engine roaring to life, and I shivered. It was time to say goodbye.

I turned around to find Charlie, immediately running into someone in the process. I soon realized that it was Charlie herself.

I held her in a tight embrace, holding the back of her head and smoothing out her hair. “Four weeks isn’t that long of a time,” I mumbled, convincing myself more than anything.

“It’ll go by fast,” she added positively. “Have fun, okay? Don’t worry about a thing,” she said, pulling away so she could plant a light kiss on my lips. I kissed her back passionately. I sighed, allowing out mouths to further mold together in slow, circling patterns, breathing in her scent and savoring the taste of her tongue. I pulled away reluctantly, staring at her, taking in every feature. I cupped my hands around both sides of her face, and I leaned in to kiss her. I planted prolonged kisses on both of her eyes, I kissed her nose, her forehead, her cheeks, the corner of her mouths, and then, finally, her lips.

I had this intense desire to tell her that I loved her—because that was definitely the feeling coursing through my veins—but I couldn’t bring myself to do so. I was scared. I was scared that the second I told her, something bad would happen. I couldn’t tell her that I loved her and then just leave her here. Besides, I didn’t know if she felt the same way.

I sighed, hearing that it was time to go. I kissed her all over her face a million more times, refusing to let tears fall even though I desperately wanted to cry. I couldn’t break down in front of her, though. I wouldn't. Tears brimmed in her eyes, too, and it seemed like she was trying to do the same thing as me—keep them contained.

“Don’t cry, baby,” I whispered, pulling her in for another hug. I buried my face into the crook of her neck, planting small kissed all over the exposed skin on her neck and shoulder and upper collarbone. “You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me,” I said lowly. It was a close second to telling her that I loved her.

“You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me,” she repeated, giving me a squeeze. “Now go and do your thing. I’ll see you soon,” she said, giving me a bittersweet smile before kissing me on the lips again.

“It’s so weird to think about how different things were only a month ago,” I reflected, not being able to pull myself away from her just quite yet.

“Life changes fast,” she agreed.

“I’m so glad I met you,” I smiled. I knew that I would probably be stuck in my depression if she never came into my life.

“Well, I’m glad you met me, too,” she laughed slightly, referring to the way that she would probably be dead if I hadn’t of literally ran into her on the beach. “Let’s not dwell on how things could have gone, though. The only thing that matters is the present time,” she said, and I nodded in agreement, appreciating her words. We didn’t have to worry about the past—because it was in the past, and there was nothing that could be changed. We didn’t even have to worry about the future. We just had to enjoy right now. That was all that mattered.

“Call or text me whenever you want. If I don’t answer, then we’re probably busy, but I’ll always text you after the shows at nighttime and I’ll call you when the time difference isn’t too ridiculous,” I explained, and she nodded.

“Sounds good. Just have fun. The guys are waiting for you,” she giggled, nodding to the bus where all three of them—Jaime, Tony, and Mike—were poking their heads out of the bus door.

“Damn,” I laughed, realizing that this was probably the longest goodbye ever.

“Bye, Vic,” she said sweetly, kissing me for the last time.

“Bye, Charlie,” I grinned, finally peeling myself away from her. I hopped into the bus, ignoring the jeers of my band mates, and waved as the bus, which was parked on the side of the street, slowly drove away.

“You okay, man?” Mike asked, patting my shoulder.

“Yeah, I am actually,” I said truthfully. “I have never actually had to do that before. It kind of sucks,” I said.

“Yeah, I miss Jessie already,” Jaime frowned. “But her family lives in New York, so she’s flying out there for the New York show,” Jaime squealed happily.

“Lucky,” I pouted.

“It won’t be that bad, promise,” Jaime said. “This is a short tour, anyway. It will go by fast,” he reassured.

“I can’t wait for the San Diego show,” I said. There were multiple reasons why: the crowd for the home town show was always amazing, I would get to see Charlie, and we would get to see the two fans we met at the diner a few days ago—Zoe and Chloe. We were excited for that because it always made our day to see that we were making their day. I felt this incessant need to protect specifically Chloe—I could almost read her like a book, and I felt this particular concern for her, as if she was one of my own.

“It’ll be great,” Tony spoke up, and we all nodded in agreement. Something flickered in Tony’s eyes, reminding me of out conversation from a few days ago, about us being mentally ready for the tour.

I scanned the area of the bus we were currently in: Mike was happily sitting at a table, his elbows propped up and his phone in his hand as he played Candy Crush, Jaime was bouncing around spastically, chanting “Pee Tee Vee”, and Tony sat quietly to the side, leaning over and tapping his phone vigorously with a genuine smile on his face.

I smiled, too, because everything felt normal. Like, before we even met Spencer normal—when there was no pain, no drama, no heart ache. Just the guys, the fans, the music, and the fun.

Yes, we were definitely ready. The past month put everything into perspective, and I think we were finally on our way to returning to how things used to be, and I’d be lying if I said that I didn’t like it.

Notes

Helllooooo!
This is short and fillery-ish again, just a little chapter of their tour beginning and saying bye and all that sad stuff!

I'm all inspired for this story while my other ones are on halt :(

Ugh, the five days before school starting when I took a break from writing really killed my inspiration for Innocent blood and starry eyes and like, it's been two weeks since i've updated those stories and I feel so bad but I am having trouble getting back into them. School is a lot right now along with college application stuff but I'll try to update those soon .It might be another week though :( But don't worry! I haven't forgotten about them, and I hope those of you who read those, too, don't forget about them, either! I'll be back! It might be a while, but I will be back one day! AHHH im sorry

this sucks