A Friday Night Like This

I looked out at the dry scrub. The tough, stocky grasses struggling to survive in the brutal temperatures. The only relief when the shadow of the eroded rocks landed on them. The hot air blew through my hair and I could feel the skin on my arm burning up. The sun hurt my eyes even through my dark shades. There was only one explanation for this. We were in Vegas.

'Kellin! Put your arm back in the RV. You're gonna burn.' Jesse said, pulling me in and winding up my window. I rolled my eyes.

'Thanks, Jesse.'

'Hey, I'm not the one that has a... guy... to impress.' Jesse winked at me and Gabe cat-called. Immature bugger. I just laughed though.

'Eyes on the road, Gabe.'

'Whatever, Kellin. I don't appreciate passenger seat drivers, y'know.' Gabe retorted, speeding up a little. 'Can you grab the map and direct us to our hotel?' He asked, looking at a sign that said Welcome to Las Vegas. They didn't really need a welcome sign. You could see it was Vegas from miles away.

Justin grabbed the map and tried to find where we were while Jack just grabbed his iPhone and hit the "Maps" app. It didn't take a genius to figure out who led us there. It was Justin, of course, because Jack's signal was messing up. We reached the hotel and I jumped out of the vehicle and looked for Vic's bus. I couldn't wait to see him. All Time Low pulled up next though and I saw Zach get out.

'Zach!' I called, walking over to him. He looked up, his short hair being ruffled by the slight breeze whistling through the buildings.

'Hey Kellin.' He said, chucking his hands in his pockets.

'Can I see them?' I asked, stopping a few feet from him. I shook my hair out of my eyes and copied his stance.

'See what?' He asked, looking at me with his big eyes.

'Oh. The photos you took yesterday. You weren't exaclty low-key.' I smiled. 'Vic and I don't really care that you took photos of us either.'

Zach looks embarrassed. 'Ah, sure. They are yours after all. Come on.' He leads me onto his bus and into his bunk where he grabs his laptop and boots it up.

We scroll through photo after photo. A smile graces my features and grows wider with each click. Even if it was just yesterday, the memories flood back and make me smile. The scenary suddenly changes and I see Alex sitting on a flat rock, playing his guitar. Zach switches the photo quickly. We go through the photos again and select a few to email to me. I want to print them out and make a collage. Sometimes its helpful having a friend who is a photo taking Nazi.

I thank Zach and go outside to see Vic's bus pulling up. I run to the front door and burst in. Mike and Tony are curled up together on the couch watching Harry Potter. Mike's trying unsuccessfully not to cry. I watch him wipe a tear away as on screen Fred's face appears, his pale skin stark against the wood flooring of the Great Hall. Tony readjusts his position to make room for the taller man, comforting him.

Jaime's preparing sandwiches at the counter in front of me. It's ham and salad. Just salad for Tony though. I find Vic in the back room, listening to voice demos he's obviously recorded on the ride.

'Hey Vic.' I say, sitting next to him and nuzzling my face into his shoulder.

'Hey Kellin.' He says back. 'What do you think?' He hits the play button and his and Jaime's voice comes blasting from his laptop's speakers.

[my own lyrics... they may be really bad but whatever...]

"I watched you fall to the floor,
Your balance must be off cause
I'm tumblin' down with you,
Into the dark secrets of your soul.

I watched you gather the scraps
Of your dignity I didn't know you had left,
How do you feel about that?

You're a liar,
A cheat,
A no good, filthy crook.
But I still love you"

I listened to the vocals with interest. It was different.

'What did you base the song off?' I asked, tapping the "pause" button. Vic seemed ashamed.

'It's your view when I was putting you through all that shit for years.'

'Oh.' Was all I had to say. I searched my mind for anything I could say to comfort him, but instead I wrapped my arms around his body. Words had denied me access today.

'Don't say you didn't feel like that. It's the truth.'

'So? You don't have to do that. I forgive you!' I said.

'But I don't forgive myself.'

Notes