When It Rains • Geetrick

3

June 18th, 2005

Just outside of Columbus, Ohio

1st day of tour

"You fucking killed it, Man, they loved you." Gerard grins at me, his black, wet, tangled hair draping over his skinny shoulders and his dark eyes looking right into mine. He holds up his hand for me and I take it, giving him a small high five, a small celebration for my accomplishment which honestly means a lot more to me than I thought it would.

Adrenaline is beginning to slow in my veins, my sweat drying across my chest and back, my breathing returning to normal, and my heartbeat slowing to a reasonable pace as I grab a fresh bottle of water from the cooler, downing half of it in less than a minute as Mikey, Frank, and Ray join us in the back.

"That was fucking awesome!" Frank exclaims beside me with a sideways grin, making me blush slightly and put down my water.

"Nice job, Man." Mikey compliments, patting me on the back, although I'm sure he quickly regrets it, because he's soon after wiping his hand on a towel. I smile to myself at their praises, feeling kind of proud of myself in a way.

"Thanks," I chuckle as I grab a towel and wet it down with the bottle of water. I press it against my face, mopping up some of the drying sweat and wetting down my face, making it colder in the night air, "I gotta get back to the Fall Out Boy bus," I throw the towel in their clothes hamper, "I'll see you tonight at the bonfire?"

"Sure," Gerard smiles with his tired, dark eyes, "See you around."

"You, too," I reply, waving at him as I turn from the built in table and leave the bus through the squeaky, white door at the front. It slams shut behind me and my eyes widen as I watch my cloudy breaths fill the dark air. It's cold. Really, really cold. It sends shivers up my spine to skull where I roll my head back and quickly make my way back to the bus, and after that to my bunk, which seems like heaven right now because I'm exhausted, cold, and I feel a headache coming on.

The walk doesn't take long, but it feels like forever before I finally return to our bus. The stars are twinkling above me and I think I can see the Milky Way, but I can't be too certain. It's beautiful, though I've never seen the stars this late at night with the moon in the sky and the clouds gone. It's... kind of peaceful. Along with the chirping of crickets and buzzing of cicadas. The only word I could use to describe it is... beautiful. I'm not used to the country. I've always lived in the city with bustling, starless nights. Neon lights shining above storefronts, trees lit by gentle, amber orbs, alternating red and yellow and green streetlights above the golden headlights.

The door is slightly ajar when I arrive at our bus. I can hear Pete and Joe talking inside, I'm guessing Andy is off with the All American Rejects' bus because he's starting to hang out there a lot more often than usual.

As soon as I open the squeaky door, their eyes turn to me and grins cross their bright faces.

"Nice job in there, 'Trick." Pete smiles at me, I only give him a nod before I'm passing by the two of them and flopping down in bed, kicking off my shoes lazily.

"You need anything?" Joe asks.

"Peace and quiet so leave me the fuck alone." I reply, sleepily, "I'm exhausted..."

Joe hums softly and quiets before turning to Pete, "You wanna meet up with Andy?"

"Sure."