Chapter 21
Max's POV
Tonight was the night that Fang and I were going to the Mayday Parade concert for their self-titled album. The concert would start at seven thirty, but Fang and I were going out to eat dinner beforehand, so we would leave around four forty-five; which was in five minutes.
I put some earrings in (yes, my ears were pierced when I was very young), and ran a brush through my wig yet again. I smoothed my shirt again, and then slipped on some flats and then looked in the mirror. I smiled when the locket Fang had given me sparkled in the reflection. I absolutely loved it; mainly just simply because he was the one who gave it to me.
I double-checked that I had everything I needed in my purse: money; the tickets; my license…
The doorbell rang, and I knew Fang was here.
I headed downstairs and found Mom talking to Fang.
"We'll probably be home around eleven." Fang was saying.
He smiles when he sees me enter the living room from the stairs.
"You look great." He says.
"Thanks; so do you." I reply, blushing a little, but feeling warm and fuzzy inside.
It was true; he did, even thought he was just wearing jeans and a t-shirt. This time though, his shirt wasn't strictly black; it had the Mayday Parade's latest album cover on the front.
"You got everything you need?" he asked.
"Yep! I'm ready to go!" I say cheerfully.
"Alright, have fun you two. If you're going to be later than eleven, text or call us. Ok? But not the person who's driving." Mom says.
"I know, we will." I say.
"Be careful. If for some reason you need us, don't hesitate to call us." She says.
"I know Mom."
She looks at Fang, and though she doesn't say it out loud, I know she's sending him a message, saying Take care of her. Fang nods his head to show her he understands her silent signal.
Mom hugs me, and Gazzy waves good-bye, and then Fang and I walk to his car and get in (in which Fang holds my door open for me.)
Soon enough, we arrive at Outback.
We surprisingly don't have to wait that long for a table, and are seated within fifteen minutes.
We both look over our menus, and end up getting steak and green beans.
We sit silently for a few minutes once the waiter leaves after taking our orders, the atmosphere slightly awkward, as we've never been at a restaurant by ourselves before like this.
After a minute Fang cleared his throat, and then said
"So are you excited?"
"Heck yeah!" I reply, and then conversation began to flow smoothly and comfortably, just like it usually did.
We laughed and talked as we ate dinner, and I couldn't help but think does life get any better than this?
I found myself feeling like girls in movies with butterflies in my stomach and feeling on top of the world every time Fang smiled; the very same girls that I usually found to be highly annoying in movies.
At last, dinner ended. The waiter came and gave us our check. When I reached for it to see how much it would be to split it, Fang beat me to it and took it.
"How much do I owe?" I ask him.
"Don't worry about it; I got it." He says.
"Thank you Fang, but really, I mean, these are your tickets, and you're driving, and-"
"I want to."
I sigh. "Ok; thank you." I say, smiling a little.
He smiles back.
Oh boy, here come more butterflies.
We paid and left, and arrived at the concert within half an hour.
We found our seats without too much difficulty, and I had to admit, I had gotten pretty good seats.
Finally, after waiting anxiously for nearly twenty minutes, the concert started. They opened up with one of Fang's favorite songs from this album: I'd Rather Make Mistakes Than Nothing At All.
Time seems to fly as we listen to Mayday Parade play song after song. My cheeks were hurting due to me smiling constantly. At one point, when another fast song comes on, Fang takes my hand and we start dancing, aimlessly moving with the beat of the song. I laughed, and Fang even did to. Eventually that song came to an end, and a slower one came on.
Fang and I cheered and screamed with the rest of the audience the entire night. Fang kept smiling. I'm pretty sure he'd smiled in the past hour more than her had in the past year. Sometimes when a lyric in a song stuck out to us that applied to us, Fang would wrap an arm around my waist, or kiss my head. I wished this concert would never end.
At last, Mayday Parade finished the last song of the concert, and the red curtains closed. But then, chanting started. Everyone waved their glow sticks and phones, and chanted "Mayday Parade!" over and over. And then, the curtains began to open again and Mayday Parade began to play the intro to One Man Drinking Games from their other smaller album, Tales Told By Dead Friends.
And you said it would be funny
To keep me hanging in suspense
Then I'd run over to your house
And scale the chain-link fence
That borders your backyard
And then I'd climb through your window
And I'd whisper that I'd love you
As you fall out of your clothes
And we'd lay there in the darkness
Like the dream of you I had
Where we captured all the fireflies
And knew what time we had
Could be counted on your finger tips
That almost made you cry
You let me hold you tightly
As we said all our good-byes
My breath caught in my throat as I heard the last few lyrics, realizing just how much they applied to my leukemia situation. I felt tears spring in my eyes against my will, and I struggle to keep them from falling. Fang looks down at me, his eyebrows creasing, showing his concern. His eyes told me he'd heard the lyrics and he understood the sad yet very real correlation.
May I say I loved you more?
May I say I loved you more?
And it must have been an hour
That I clutched you in my arms
And I must of said the right things
Because you instantly felt warm
I know you heard my heart stop beating
And you wanted not to cry
As your sympathetic whispers
They told the tale of bad good-byes
Fang pulls me into a hug, knowing I needed to feel his strong warm embrace. I feel two salty tears slide from my eyes down my face, leaving a track of coolness where the air met my dampened skin.
The lyrics take me back to the fateful day that I found out that I had cancer and when I had to deliver the news to Fang. All those emotions that I'd experienced on that day and leading up to that point came rushing back and slapped me in the face like a cold, huge, powerful ocean wave.
And you swore you saw me laughing
And I swore I saw you smile
As this time we've spent together
Was meant to last us quite a while
As I take this piece of your with me
I'll carry to my grave
Knowing that for someone,
You're an angel meant to save
I desperately take a few deep breathes, trying to keep more tears from escaping and get my emotions under control. We were supposed to be having fun and forgetting about my circumstances right now; not crying and feeling depressed.
I pulled away reluctantly from Fang and wiped my eyes. My head began to hurt due to the effort of trying not to cry. Fang looked like he wanted to say something, but then thought better of it and stayed silent. We stand there, frozen, for a minute, each lost in our own thoughts and feelings and not quite sure what to say to the other to ease the pain.
(Keep breathing, my angel
If you go down I go with you
Keep breathing, just keep breathing.)
May I say I loved you more?
May I say I loved you more?
Then Fang said "If you go down I go with you."
That broke the dam that held my tears, and we embraced in another hug. Somehow it was exactly what I needed to hear, yet in a way it made things worse at the same time.
(Keep breathing, my angel
If you go down I go with you
Keep breathing, just keep breathing.)
May I say I loved you more?
May I say I loved you more?
"It's ok Max; just keep breathing." Fang said, his voice sounding strange as he clutched me.
Let's drink to memories we shared
Down one for all the hopes and cares
Here's two for being unaware
That you're gone
Because before too long you'll be a memory
(Let's drink to memories we shared)
Before too long you'll be a memory
I manage to calm down a little by the end of the song. Mayday Parade plays another song; this time a happier one, and then the red curtain envelopes them again, and Fang and I make our way back to his car.
Fang opens the door for me, and I get in, and he starts driving. Both of us are silent for the first five minutes of the drive, the atmosphere only slightly awkward. Then after a while, Fang quietly says
"I'm sorry."
"What? You have nothing to be sorry for." I say.
"I just, I wanted you to be able to forget what's going on tonight." He says, sounding totally defeated.
"I did! Fang, tonight was amazing! Sure it got personal and emotional at the end, but it's ok. Besides, it's not like you have any control over what songs they sing." I told him.
"I guess you're right."
"Aren't I always?" I tease.
He smiles a little.
"Yeah."
The rest of the drive is fine, and we're quiet for most of it. But this time the silence wasn't awkward or tense; it was actually comforting, more like it usually is when I'm with Fang.
Soon enough we're pulling in to our neighborhood, and Fang pulls into my driveway. He walks me up the porch.
"Thanks for everything. I had a great time." I tell him honestly.
He smiles a little.
"Thank you; I had a great time too." He replies.
He gets a tender look on his face that I can somehow still see even though its dark.
He cups my face and gently leans down and presses his lips against mine, and I wrap my arms around him and kiss him back, one hand playing with his dark smooth hair.
He pulls back after a minute, and looks me in the eye, and says
"Good night, Angel."
Hey guys,
So So sooo sorry about the late update1 Please forgive me! I've had such a crazy schedule this past week. The next update will be sooner. Though this chapter was a little longer than usual soo… Maybe that can partially make up for my late update?
Thank You THANK YOU SO MUCH for all the AWESOME reviews! Please keep it up! I love reading them, and they make my day!
Thanks for all your reviews, support, and patience. Please continue to let me know what you think!
Thanks.
Fly on.