Watch Me Drown

32. Fast

(Julien's point of view)

The show that night was actually really great. We played a brand new song and then announced our next album. We even had a couple laughs on stage. The crowd was amazing. I didn't mess anything up. Out of all of that, though, the best part was reuniting with Abby after the show. She greeted us as excited as Maxine.

"Hey!" She exclaimed as she ran up to us. We had gotten off stage just a few minutes ago. We were walking back to the dressing room when Abby found us.

"Hello, there," I laughed when she practically slammed into me.

"You guys did so good!" She grinned. Her post concert buzz was one of my favorite things.

"Thanks, Abby." Phoebe smiled.

We were all smiling. I could get used to this. Abby greeting us as if we won the lottery felt better then she could ever imagine. I wanted to get a moment alone with her, hold her, kiss her...

When we got back to the hotel, Abby showered first, and then I did. Lucy and Phoebe went to check out the vending machines, so when I finished showering, me and Abby had the room to ourselves. She was already in bed, watching a "Friends" rerun. Maxine was sprawled on Phoebe and Lucy's bed, also watching the TV.

"Just two girls watching TV." Abby shrugged when she noticed me watching.

I chuckled. "You're the cutest."  

I sat next to her and rested my head on her shoulder. She started playing with my hair.

"You did incredible tonight, Julien." She said softly. "For as nervous as you were...woah."

I shrugged a little.

"Seriously, J," She went on. "It was astonishing. Even Maxine was in awe."

I was about to answer when we heard the door open.

"You two have clothes on?" Phoebe questioned.

"Yes, Phoebe, we have clothes on." I sighed. Abby giggled.

They walked in. Phoebe's arms were full of chip bags, candy boxes, etcetera. Lucy had approximately two bags of chips. Phoebe dropped everything on the desk.

"Phoebe..." Abby laughed.

"She spent half of her tour cash." Lucy told us, deadpan.

"What?" I said.

"Like, she brought a bunch of physical money with her," Lucy turned to Phoebe. "And spent fifty dollars at the vending machine."

"They had the good stuff!!!" Phoebe exclaimed. "I had to stock up!!!"

"There are going to be other vending machines!" Lucy protested.

"Not like this one!"

Abby found this all hilarious. She was laughing so much she had tears in her eyes. I was also laughing, just not as hard. Maxine looked startled.

"You're unbelievable." Lucy sighed, and sat on their bed.

Phoebe shrugged. "That vending machine was unelievable."

Now we were all laughing, besides Phoebe. She just shook her head and went into the bathroom, which made us laugh more. We were all exhausted. That made it easier to find small things funny.

"She is going to be the death of me." Abby commented when we'd all caught out breath.

"Not if those random chips kill you first." Lucy said.

"What did she even get?" I asked.

Abby got out of bed. She hid how it made her dizzy from Lucy, but I could see through her. I sighed. Her legs shook as she looked at Phoebe's snacks.

"She did get some good stuff." She said. "Chips, cookies, candy, gum. Well, if anyone's hungry, you know where to go."

She climbed back into bed, and, shortly, we all fell asleep with the TV on.

***

(Abby's point of view)

Tour was moving fast. Before I knew it, we were done in Boston, and taking a train down to Connecticut. It was the day before their show at the Westville Music Bowl, and two days before Julien's birthday. I had gotten her a few books and a new Paramore shirt. Her old one was practically disintegrating. It had holes everywhere, and the print had faded. We never went all out on gifts, at least not anymore. 

I had barely noticed that Julien had gotten up until she came back. I was listening to music and drumming my fingers on the table as if it were a piano.

"I love being here with you guys," I paused the music when Julien came back. "But I do miss one thing."

"Dorothea?" She asked.

"Oh!" I exclaimed. "I miss two things, then."

She laughed. "What else do you miss?"

"The piano." I sighed.

"Ah." Julien hummed. "You're so...musical."

I smiled sleepily. Tour wasn't exactly the most restful place.

"Tired?" She said.

"Very." I let my head drop onto her shoulder.

"You can sleep," She told me, brushing away the hair that had fallen in my face with her fingers. "It will be a while until we're there."

"Okay." I muttered, my heavy eyes already closed.

When I woke up, it was obvious that Julien had some sort of plan. She looked a bit mischievous. I tried to ask her what was going on, but she wouldn't answer. I decided to forget about it. Sooner or later, she would say something.

That night, we all went out to dinner, to celebrate Julien's birthday, because we wouldn't have time on her actual birthday. Even though she made it clear she didn't want to go, Julien still put on a suit and let us drag her out the door.

"I just don't see why my birthday has to be a big deal." She sighed during the walk to the restaurant. "We don't have to celebrate."

"Julien, we would celebrate you everyday if we could." I told her.

"Maybe not everyday." Phoebe muttered.

I glared at her. Julien chuckled.

"Whatever," Lucy said. "We're just going out to eat. We won't sing 'Happy birthday' or anything like that."

"God, please don't." Julien groaned.

"We won't, J," I assured her. "Sadly."

I gave her puppy dog eyes. She groaned again and pulled me closer to her.

"Why do you do this to me?" She questioned.

"Because we love you." I smiled.

Phoebe made a gagging noise. Lucy smacked her shoulder. What a chaotic duo those two were.

The walk to the restaurant was only a few minutes, but it felt very long to me. I was happy with my shoe choice, black Converse. I was wearing a long, flowy skirt and a sweater. If it didn't make me dizzy, I would twirl the whole way. I pictured it. My skirt would flare around me, along with my hair. I would smile and laugh so much. Imagining it, I sighed. I wondered if I would ever get to act out that fantasy.

"Hey," Julien said to me when we fell behind Lucy and Phoebe. "You doing okay?"

I nodded, a little breathless from the walk. Would I ever escape my own body?

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This is kind of just a filler chapter. It isn't the best thing I've ever written, so sorry about that. Having some friend issues that I feel terrible about. I really hope that we can work things out, because they're some of the best friends I've ever had.

ANYWAYS, how are we liking Abbygenius tour?