It's Hard To Believe That You're A Part Of Me...

From The Sounds That Disappear, From The Changes We Begin To Fear

Liz's POV (Well, FINALLY!)

God, it's good to be in good ol' Minnesota. Yes, the other forty seven states are all very nice, but Minnesota is just too…cold to abandon. And yes, that is a shitty reason for me to never leave home, or at least always come back to it, but it's my reason and I shall stick with it.

"Who would've thought? It's snowing." I said absent-mindedly out the window of the bus as the "Welcome To Mahtomedi" sign seemed to jump out at me in comparison to all the white and the cold. Oh, I love you, Mahtomedi. You are just the same as I left you.

"Its winter, isn't it?" Justin said, sitting on his knees backward on the couch with me. We probably look like twelve year olds, but I don't really care. It reminds me of all the trips I had with my parents before they both disappeared off the map. I was always so excited to get back home. Florida has Mickey Mouse, but Minnesota's got snow, rain, and lakes.

Justin turned and grinned at me, so I smiled back. He turned back to the window and looked out with me once again. Things seemed a bit off, I don't really get why. He seems…different. I mean, he's still all quirky and weird and everything, but something was different. I can't really put a name on it.

But then again, it's probably me just trying to find something wrong with everything.

This entire adventure of us coming back always made me wonder what would happen next, what would happen after this entire thing was over. Would things change? Would we all just drift apart once again, pretending that the other didn't exist in the first place? I mean, besides the guys. Of course, they have a whole band thing to do. I mean me and Mel drifting from the guys. We could just be some unimportant girls that they met a few months ago, which is essentially what we are in the first place. But what about Mel and Matt, all of my hopes for them? I guess I'll find out soon enough.

The bus finally stopped at the same parking lot where we'd first gotten on. We'd already said goodbye to Green Day and All-American Rejects earlier. They instead got on planes and went back to wherever they came from. The buses are then all supposed to go to their base where they shall become AutoBots and save the universe from the Decepticons. That sounds like a good adventure to me. Those buses have a cool life ahead of them.

"Mahtomedi ho!" I shouted, standing up and walking off the bus. The rest followed. "Now, who wants to help get shit out of the bus compartment?' No enthusiasm, until…

"I'll help you, Lizzy." Justin ran down the steps. He quickly opened the bus compartment and started putting things on the concrete.

"Yay, lackie." Melanie mumbled, getting off the bus. She was cranky, and no one wants to hang with Mel cranky. Even Ihate it when she's cranky, and I'm her best friend. It seemed to become apparent after my 30-day rehab with her. I've forced myself to become a morning person because of her; otherwise I would have murdered her on day fourteen.

So, we got everything out of the bus and sent it on its journey through time and space. Tony, Jesse, and Matt drove together, but Matt stayed behind because of my lovely remark. "Your bass should be at Mel's apartment by now, Matt." And so they rode together. That checks off my hopes for Matt and Mel. Josh high-fived Justin and quickly said "See ya later." Within a matter of minutes, he was gone.

"Josh be maaaaaagicccc…." I said aloud, my thoughts becoming apparent. Justin laughed and we put our stuff into his Odyssey, since we shared the apartment. Holy shit, the apartment. "Oh my God. How long have we been out of town?"

"Six or so months…" he said uneasily.

"Oh shit! We're probably evicted from the apartment! Shit, shit, shit!" I said, banging my head against the passenger door.

"Liz, relax. Don't you think I sometimes think ahead?" he said, grabbing my head and turning me toward him. "My or our, if you are planning to stay at the apartment longer, landlord is Jimmy. I have known Jimmy since the third grade. He wouldn't evict me without me knowing. And besides that, I already gave him the rent for at least six months. And if I hadn't, he would've called me and I would've wired some cash to his bank account or something, though I don't remember how to do it at the moment…."

"So you payed the rent?"

"Yes."

"For six or so months."

"Yes."

"Well, now I've broken the arrangement."

Justin gave me a confused look. I sighed and explained. "I specifically said when I first moved in that I'd pay half of the rent. But now you went on and payed in full, for at least six months. I've gotta figure a way to pay you back." I said finally.

But of course, because Justin is the awesomest, he went on and on about how he's perfectly fine with doing it, and that it was all his idea to take me in the first place, and that I wouldn't have to do something like that and blah blah blah. So we argued about it on the drive home, and I tried to remember every "Help Wanted" sign that we passed by.

"I will just pay the rent for six months and be done with it. Okay?" I said, after we got out of the car. Justin shook his head, but I simply went with believing that it was a yes, thus making this the first argument I've ever had with him.

Ah. Home sweet home.