Demons

“So that means you’ll come?” Andy asked, not bothering to conceal the excitement radiating from his bright smile. With colored cheeks, I once again nodded with an embarrassing vigor. “That would be-“

“Amelia.” An uncomfortably familiar voice broke my reply, and I slowly turned my head to face the man who now stood in front of our table, arms folded across his broad chest. My heart’s pace immediately quickened, and I swallowed thickly. Andy seemed to notice my distress, for he turned to him with narrowed eyes and asked: “Who are you?” Andy managed to keep his voice even, but an underlying malice gave away the fact that he had a pretty good idea of who he was. “I’m Nick,” he greeted, tone equally clipped. His attention once again turned to me, and I instantly averted my gaze - somehow hoping that if I kept my eyes off of him, he would simply dissipate into thin air. “So this is what you leave me for?” he asked, sounding almost to be on the brink of laughter. “An emo freak?” Andy stood abruptly, obviously egged on by the question, and I reached out towards him, gesturing for him to sit down again, but he ignored me. “As opposed to some control freak who treats their girlfriend like shit? Yeah, I think I’m the better choice.”

Nick’s chest was puffed out in agitation, and I shrunk back into the seat. I knew Andy would never hurt me intentionally, but Nick was a different story. “See?” Andy asked, waving a hand in my direction. “You’re scaring her. That’s fucked up, man.” I jumped in fright when Nick’s fist landed on the table. “Well maybe if she stopped acting like a fucking idiot, I wouldn’t have to lay a hand on her!” Andy’s frown deepened to a look of pure hatred, but when he parted his lips to reply, I put a hand on his lower arm to still his actions. “Can we just leave?” I asked quietly. His tense features softened, and after a brief stare-down between the two of them, he muttered a soft “of course”. Within seconds he pulled out a few dollar bills and threw them carelessly onto the table before intertwining his fingers with mine and urging me towards the exit, making sure to bump his shoulder harshly into Nick’s on the way.

But before we could go anywhere, Nick grabbed a hold of my free arm, tightening his hold around my wrist in a vice-like grip, bringing us to a halt. “For fuck’s sake, Amelia! If you think you can just-“ His sentence was cut short as Andy landed a punch square in his jaw, making him stumble back a few steps. As Nick brought his hand up to wipe away the blood now trickling out his nose, Andy brought his face dangerously close and mumbled quietly: “Put a hand on her one more time and see what happens.” The wounded man’s eyes widened almost comically, and he was left in a stunned silence as Andy finally dragged me out of the restaurant, away from the eyes of the curious bystanders. As soon as we stepped outside, he wrapped his arm around my shoulders and pulled me close, resting his chin on the top of my head. “You okay?” he asked worriedly before catching my gaze. “Yeah, I’m fine,” I sighed, although still visibly shaking from the encounter. “I won’t let him get close to you again. You know that right?” With my eyes closed, I leaned into his chest and sighed in content. “I know.”

…

After bringing me home and once again asking if I was alright, Andy reluctantly left to be with the guys again. He hesitated at first, offering to stay with me, but I knew it would be selfish of me to beg him to stay, no matter how much I wanted him to, so I urged him on. Which left me alone in the kitchen later that night with Tina as company, as the rest of the family had gone to bed. Her back was facing me as she was brewing some tea, and I leaned against the counter behind me before addressing her. “So I’ve heard CC’s asked you to come to Warped with him and the guys?” I asked through a smile before reaching up to grab a mug for myself. She chuckled and turned to me with a lopsided smirk and a raised eyebrow. “That he has. And since you know of that, I can only assume that Andy’s asked the same of you?” I blushed under the dim lights, but nodded. “Yeah, he has.” The soft click of the kettle sounded, signaling Tina to pour us some tea, and I followed her to the kitchen island, where I tucked my feet underneath my thighs.

“Are you going?” she asked around the rim of the cup, transfixed on the way the tip of my finger traced mindless patterns on my knee. “Of course. That’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience.” She nodded in agreement. “So… Is he a good kisser?” My jaw dropped slightly at her question before tightening into a soft smile once more. “How did you know we’ve kissed?” I asked curiously, not bothering to deny the fact. Tina shrugged, chuckling lightly. “I didn’t. But you just confirmed it for me, so thank you.” I faked a pout and crossed my arms defiantly. “Oh, how you wound me.” Tina rolled her eyes. “Shut up.”

…

The next two weeks passed at a snail’s pace, the time seemingly dragging on and on. Now that there was something I was actually looking forward to, I was getting impatient. Andy had called and asked us to be there in the beginning of the tour, since they were less tired then and more fun to be around in general, and my mood had changed. I was still suffering from fatigue and several mood swings, but my spirit was also lifted in a way. Work wasn’t as strenuous, and I didn’t escape to my room every time someone tried initiating a conversation with me. It was nice, to be honest. Tina’s mood had also changed. Not that she had been in a bad mood before, quite the opposite actually, but she was bouncing with energy every minute of every hour.

There were two days until the bus would arrive to pick us up, and nervous jitters had begun mingling with the excited ones. I had long since given up trying to wrap my head around the fact that we were actually going, instead trying to focus on not forgetting to bring something essential, which I somehow always managed to do when going on trips. Like my chargers, my toothbrush or my weight scale…

Someone cleared their throat behind me, and I quickly yanked my nails from my teeth, to see Lucy standing in my doorway, waiting to be invited in. “You can always come in, you know. This is your house,” I chuckled, patting the space next to me on the bed. She shrugged before joining me. “I know. Just being polite.” She tipped her head back to lay down fully, and I followed suit. She turned her head to face me. “I’m happy for you,” she said finally before shifting her eyes towards the ceiling. “I mean, you deserve everything. And I really hope Andy can be that for you. And if he isn’t, you just dial me up and let me at him,” she joked, poking me in the ribs with her finger. I squirmed away with an airy laugh before enveloping her in a hug. “Thank you,” I mumbled against the fabric of her sweater, “you’re such a good friend.”

“Nah, just doing my job. Besides, I know you’d do the same for me.” With a solemn nod, I replied: “That I would.”

Notes