FicWad

I stepped on the tour bus and immediately stepped off. It smelled horridly bad. It was a toxic mix of puke, urine and cigarettes. Kind of like a party. Parties always smell. They smell repulsive. I leaned against the tour bus and closed my eyes. I wanted to go home, back to Utah, just for awhile. I needed relaxation and sanity. I was tired of Bert, Quinn and Dan being so selfish and self-centered. Why can’t we go back to the way things were? To when we played every night and never cared about anything else except the stage, the fans and the instruments. Then again, before we weren’t being paid half as much. Honestly, I give back all my money just to be the band we used to be. I opened my eyes to see a wide eyed Dan staring at me.
“What?” I asked standing up straight.
“We’re leaving.” He replied. “We can’t move with you leaning on the bus.” He walked on the bus and screamed something to whoever was on there. Someone slid a window open above my head. I looked up to see Bert. He gave me a goofy smile and laughed his infamous Bert McCracken laugh. I laughed too. I guess no matter what, I still loved these guys more then anything.
“Come on, Jepharee!” Bert squealed. He slammed the window shut and I got on the bus.
“’Bout time!” Quinn yelled putting his arm around me. “Ready to party?”
“No, I’m going to lie down.” I replied and turned around.
“Party pooper!” Bert called after me.
I walked towards the back of the bus, to my small but cozy compartment. This was home. Not technically, but for the time on the road, it was home. I didn’t mind it much. I slipped onto the small bed and laid down. I dug through my pockets for my iPod. I turned it on and played Muse. The music was calming and took my mind elsewhere for now. I took myself back to our first show as the Used; me, Quinn, Bert and Brandon. The original four. Now and then I missed Brandon. I don’t mind Dan, not now at least.
I was standing off stage waiting to go on. Bert, Brandon and Quinn were standing next to me. We all looked at each other, each of us grinning from ear to ear. This was the moment, none of us would ever forget. We all shook out our nerves and huddled together for a group hug. I put my bass strap on my shoulder. Brandon walked out first, the crowd roared. For it being out first show, we seemed to have a good amount of fans. Quinn walked out next, once again the crowd roared. I looked at Bert and he nodded. I placed my hand and his shoulder and squeezed it lightly. He nodded once more and I walked on stage. The crowd was still screaming. I took my spot on the left side of the stage and we all waited for Bert. I scanned the crowd quickly, a hundred kids at the most. That wasn’t bad at all. Bert walked out with his arms raised above his head, demanding the crowd to scream louder. Brandon hit his drums one, two, three times and we got right into ‘Taste of Ink’. The energy from the crowd was enough to light the whole city. I felt good. I was happy and nothing else mattered at this point.