I Kinda Hate You

6- Denial

--2 Days Later--

--3:11 p.m.--

"Thanks so much!" The girl exclaimed while looking up at me with a big and bright smile.

"No problem, it means a lot." I replied then went back in the tent again and fanned myself with folded papers.

"You hot?" I jumped slightly and turned back towards Cody who plopped down in a chair.

"Hotter than hell." I responded and lifted the end of my shirt up until it reached my ribs then wiped my face with it. I put it back down and saw Cody's eyes shift up on my body making me smirk.

"Look, about what happened the other day I really-" His sentence was cut off by the rest of the band entering the tent from the back. Cody sighed looking down but then placed a smile on his face and stood up then walked out of greet some more fans.

"What was that about?" Maxx asked as I shrugged then continued helping more people with buying merch. I began to get a little stressed from how many people started to come up to the tent to buy things and some of them were getting impatient. I clenched my teeth trying to get the key to fit in the lock on the little box where I kept the money, but with all of these people watching, I couldn't, which made the situation worse. I felt a hand on my shoulder as my breathing started to shorten.

"Maddy, Maddy...Stop it." Maxx whispered calmly in my ear then reached down taking the key and box from me. "Go get some water, we've got it from here." I nodded slowly then got up giving a sad smile to Dan, Austin, and Zach then walked out and towards a stand that was selling water. I tried to steady my breathing while some people gave me weird looks.

My nose burned as I tried to hold back some tears. I've had really bad anxiety problems for years and Maxx has helped me through almost all of them. I tapped my foot while waiting in a short line that seemed like it was taking hours to move. Once I was up by the stand I shoved both hands in my front pockets then cursed to myself.

"Sorry, I-don't-have-any-money." I said managing to fit in six small words between my shortened breaths.

"Oh, Miss, that's fine here it looks like you need it." The woman said with a sympathetic smile handing me a water. I grabbed the bottle and unscrew the lid then stepped
out of line and begin walking around the venue not feeling like going back to the tent.

After a few minutes of wandering, I found a tree with some shade under it then plopped down and pulled my knees to my chest then sighed putting my face in between them. I didn't expect to have an anxiety attack. It was minor, but still alarming.

--5:47 p.m.--

"This gnat lurks around and never obeys. Another mental breakdown saves the day..While you cry I'll try my best to convey.." I sang softly while staring out of the bus window in the back room. "I think that I'm falling for you and now I'm not sure what he's going to do. He's always beggin' me, beggin' me to just stay away because-" I was cut off by the door opening making my head turn towards it. I smiled at Cody who walked in then shut the door behind him making me gulp slightly but not noticeably.

"Hey I heard what happened earlier, you alright?" I nodded then focused my attention back out the window while humming the rest of the song. "Third Wheel?" He asked curiously as I raised my eyebrows nodding. He opened his mouth to say something else, but I cut him off.

"You ramble when you're nervous." I stated then turned towards him.

"What? No, I'm not nervous. I was gonna say something about what happened the other day when we were back here."