"Shit! Not a-fuckin'-gain!"

A slew of colourful words flew from Johnny's mouth as soon as he rounded the corner of the gas station, coming to a sudden stop. The tour bus wasn't at its spot at the first gas pump, where he left it just moments ago. He ran over to the gas pump and looked around, trying to calm down and not vomit everywhere from the sick and nervous feeling his somersaulting stomach caused.

Again. It happened again. He couldn't believe it happened, again. This wasn't the first time he was stranded accidentally. With another uneasy look around, he sprinted to the edge of the road and looked both ways. Not a single vehicle in sight. Long stretches of dusted road and flat desert plains with tall sand dunes in the distance filled his line of vision no matter which way he turned.

A heavy sigh fell from him as he stared down the barren road, wondering how far his friends were since they left. He didn't want to wait too long, wanting to crawl back into his bunk and go back to sleep like he never left the bus in the first place. If only the toilet on the tour bus didn't clog so easily, he didn't need to leave the bus at all and none of this would have happened.

Johnny hoped they weren't far off at all as he stuffed his hand into his the pocket of his jeans to retrieve his cell phone, not wanting to wait for them for too long. The gas station didn't have air conditioning and looked like it might be rodent and cockroach infested. He muttered to himself about Matt and how he couldn't wait until they got back home to ruin his own toilet, and then paused for a second. His phone wasn't there. He reached into his other pocket.

Nothing.

He patted down his back pockets and felt nothing. His cell phone wasn't on him, most likely back in his bunk on the bus.

Another slew of profane outcries shot out of his mouth, cursing himself for being so stupid. His phone usually resided in his pocket and it wasn't there. Just his luck. The only thing he had on him was the key attached to a block of wood he borrowed from the gas station attendant to unlock the dingy, putrid restroom. He kicked the ground angrily, a small dust cloud forming, before heading back to the gas station lobby.

The bell chimed as Johnny entered the lobby, the unconditioned air just as stagnant as the stifling desert air outside. He walked up to the cash register where the gas attendant sat behind, his feet propped up on the counter as he leaned back in his broken-down, wooden chair. The greasy haired man in a oil-stained, blue jumpsuit didn't look up at Johnny as Johnny placed the key on the counter. Instead the man kept his attention to the adult magazine in his hands. Johnny cleared his throat a couple of times before the gas jockey diverted his attention away from his lewd magazine and to Johnny, his perverted smile falling into a frown, displeased that Johnny was in no way, shape, or form any of the women from his magazine or at least someone of the female persuasion.

"Can I help ya?" He drawled, spitting on to the floor without breaking eye contact. Johnny kept himself from making a disgusted look despite how unsanitary he found the middle aged man to be. Trying to be completely polite, he forced a small smile in hopes of getting to a phone.

"I was wondering if you have a phone I-?” Johnny started to state his question before getting cut off.

"No." Johnny's eyes widened a little, a little unsure of why the man would quickly deny him access to a phone. The gas attendant let out a gruff, annoyed sigh, going back to his Hustler. Johnny felt a bit confused. This place has got to have a telephone; he has never been to a place that didn't have a working phone.

"What, why? You have a phone here, don't you..." Johnny took a brief look at the sewn on name tag on the man's jumpsuit. "... Jerry?"

“Nope,” Jerry said, popping the ‘p’. “No telephone here.” He flipped a page and turned the magazine sideways, chuckling perversely to himself. Johnny stared at him, bewildered at the idea of there not being a telephone here in the gas station, especially in the middle of nowhere. It was quite bizarre that a gas station miles from town would not have a phone.

"W-what kind of gas station doesn't have a phone?"

"O’course, this kind of gas station has no phone,” Jerry mocked and then made a hacking noise before spitting again. He turned the magazine over to show Johnny a picture of what other than a completely nude woman posing in a provocative manner. "Do ya think that her right tit is bigger than 'er left or is my eyes goin' bad?"

Johnny let out a heavy sigh, rubbing a hand over his face as he turned around. He shook his head to clear the headache the man was giving him. This wasn't the first time his band mates left him behind at a gas station while he was using the restroom. However, this was the first time he has been left behind at a gas station that doesn't have a telephone. This gas station did top the list of being one of the most disgusting places he had ever been to, as well as the greasy haired man named Jerry, without a doubt.

Johnny turned back around, and asked, "How far is the next closest phone?"

"Abou' two miles back in the direction yer bus came from. I'd give ya a ride, but I can't leave my job," Jerry said with a smug grin that showed his heavily stained teeth, a couple of them missing in the front.

"Yeah, don't want you to get fired for not doing your job." Johnny said as he looked away to roll his eyes, pretending to cough. "Well, can I at least have a cigarette for the road?"

"Do ya have any money?"

"Um... no."

"And that there’s yer answer." Jerry chuckled, the grin on his face ever-growing.

Johnny stood quiet for a moment, blankly staring at him, before saying, "Well, fuck you, too, Jerry."

He flipped the grease monkey the finger before stalking out of the lobby and to the road, walking in the opposite direction his bus was going. He didn't look back once at the gas station as he walked alongside the road, keeping his eyes trained as far as it could see for any vehicle that might come his way.

* * *

The sun’s harsh rays was starting to get to Johnny, and he wasn’t even half a mile away from the gas station. His face was drenched with sweat just by walking a short distance in this heat. Even with just a white tank on, he felt like he was wearing a tight, itchy sweater. The heat waves on the road ahead looked like a small body of water, mocking him and making his dry mouth parched enough as it already was. He cursed under his breath as he wiped his forehead with the back of his hand and looked up at the unforgiving, cloudless sky bitterly, trudging his heavy feet along.

‘Phone. Phone. Phone.’ Those words he chanted in his mind every time he took a step. He wanted to stop, but he had to keep going. It felt like he had been walking for an hour or two. Perhaps for an eternity. He didn't know; he didn't know if he completed a mile from the gas station. Before he started this walk, even when he saw that the bus was gone, he knew it was going to be a long walk to nearest town. He wondered why he didn't stay at the gas station, waiting. His band mates would have noticed his absence soon enough. Eventually they would have to turn back and get him.

Eventually.

“If Matt never took that huge ass elephant dump and forever backed up the damn toilet, I wouldn't have to use that shit station... I wouldn't be here, walking and sweating like a pig! Matt will pay. They will all pay...” Johnny muttered grumpily to himself as he dragged his feet along the abandoned road. He looked over his shoulder for what seemed like the billionth time, hoping for a sign of a car, a truck, anything. Anyone that he could hitch a ride from would be a miracle to him. A godsend.

Hesitatingly he looked once again over his shoulder, thinking he saw something on the road behind him. He knew there wouldn't be any vehicle there, but he had to look back and make sure his eyes weren't playing tricks on him.

His eyes widened. To his surprise, his eyes were not playing tricks. He turned around to watch a formation of a car becoming bigger and bigger, the sun’s rays bouncing off the vehicle making it look like a star rushing along the road. Without wasting time, he darted across the road, keeping his eyes on the fast oncoming vehicle.

He held his thumb up in the air, about chin height and out into the road, hoping that he could hitch a ride. Walking back slowly, his eyes never left the car. He wasn't going to let this pass him by, and he was determined not to let it.

However, if anyone could see the look on Johnny’s face at that moment, it would be labeled priceless.

Coughing a lot, he waved his arms frantically around to get rid of the cloud of dust he was engulfed in. He turned around and yelled, “Yeah, fuck you, too, buddy!”

Then there was the screech of tires. Removing his hands from his watering, irritated eyes, he saw that the gray car had stopped. Johnny hastily put his thumb up and watched the car quickly reverse to him.

The blaring rock music was lowered and then he heard a female voice called out to him, “Johnny?”

The voice seemed familiar to him, though it sounded more mature than the last time he heard it. So familiar, yet he couldn't place a name or a face to it. He couldn't see who was sitting in the car, so he bent to look in. The driver’s side car door opened as soon as he did and all he saw was the familiar voice’s owner walk around the car.

As soon as he straightened himself up, standing before him there was a woman with short, dark hair and hazel eyes, wearing a white crop top, denim skirt, and brown boots. “I knew it was you, Johnny! How you've been?”

And Johnny knew it was her, too. His jaw instantly dropped and he had to forcibly close it.

She put a hand on a jean clad hip, “What? Don’t tell me you don’t recognize me? Brooke Nolan? We went to the same middle school andhigh school. Ring any bells?”

“Nolan? Yeah, I remember you... Y-You look good,” Johnny said, his voice shaky as he gave her a once over. He was lucky his face was already red from the sweltering heat, his cheeks would have given him away for the blush that would have hinted his cheeks. He hadn't changed since his teen years by his awkward stance and stuttering voice, and neither did she, with her signature eye roll and smirk, never giving him the time of day.

“Well, you look lost.”

“I guess,” he scratched the back of his neck, trying not to let his eyes wander, “Just trying to get to the next town back. Hopefully there’s a phone there.”

“Forgotten, again? Reminds me of the time we left you in Reno and that seventy year old hooker came on to you. Miss Von Glitter Trap? She wore shiny gold tights and that revea-”

“Yeah, yeah, I remember. You guys did that on purpose,” Johnny interrupted her, waving her off, clearly annoyed. “Are you going to give me a ride or not?”

Brooke took a breath after chuckling a little to compose herself.

“Sure, I was headin' back there anyway,” she said as she headed back to the driver’s side. Johnny opened the door and slid into the passenger’s seat. The worn leather of the seat that was exposed to the sun’s heat burned his hand when he came in contact, causing him to yank back his hand.

“I can’t believe you still have this sloppy jalopy,” he said as he listened to the car struggle to turn on. She only turned to him to give him a brief glare before turning the key in the ignition, pumping the gas pedal, working on getting the Oldsmobile to turn on.

Johnny’s eyes involuntarily dropped from Brooke’s slightly frustrated face after studying it a bit, to her small cleavage, to her slender thighs. He couldn't help but let his eyes wander up her slightly parted thighs for her skirt hitched up higher as she worked the gas pedal.

“Listen to her purr!” She exclaimed and Johnny ripped his drifting gaze away and sat forward, rigidly, coughing awkwardly. He quickly placed his forearms on his lap, remembering of his growing erection.

“And you said she’s sloppy!” She laughed as she slammed her foot down on the gas, hightailing down the road.

“I only said that because you had this car for how long? It looks like it’s gonna kick the bucket anytime now!” Johnny defended as he moved his head toward the open window, the breeze hitting his face.

Immediately after he said that the car gave a lurch forward, the motor spluttering heavily.

“Watch your mouth!” Brooke squealed as she righted the car. “You’re lucky I came across you and that the dash is made of wood so I suggest you knock on it if you want this ride still.”

Johnny sighed and mockingly knocked on the dashboard. He didn't say anything more, not wanting to risk being kicked out and back to walking in the unbearable heat. There was silence between the two, Metallica softly playing in the background.

“You know, Johnny...” She started to say after a moment’s silence. “It’s funny how I seem to save you still, even though I don’t live in Huntington anymore.” He couldn't think it, but true.

It was true. Brooke was the one who bailed him out nearly all the time when she lived in Huntington Beach all those years ago, when they were kids, teenagers. Johnny got into trouble quite a lot and she was there to help him out whether it be stranded some miles away or anunreasonable detention. Then she abruptly moved when she graduated high school, before Avenged Sevenfold started touring, making a name for itself.

And she still seemed to be there for him.

Johnny listened to her talk about all the times she bailed him out. Especially about the embarrassing ones. He didn't want to hear about those, still feeling the embarrassment after all those years.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah.” He waved his hand in front of him dismissively. “Can we change the subject?”

Brooke nodded and for the next couple of minutes they talked about what Avenged was up to. The bus Johnny was on was heading back from the filming of their music video, Bat Country. He then went about a rant of how he was stuck in the middle of the desert. Brooke listened to himwhine, nodding at all the right moments. She felt the need for a smoke so she reached her hand over to the glove compartment in front of him.

Johnny froze as he felt her hand make slight contact with his knee. His legs inadvertently shut and he fought off the urge to make any sudden movements that indicated he was hiding something. He bit his lip as he went rigid once again, trying to calm himself as he mentally freaked out.

“P-Pay attention to the road!”

Brooke gave a dry laugh. “Calm down, Johnny. Just getting a smoke. No need to get all jumpy and there’s no cars ever on this road. I could drive with my eyes closed if I wanted.”

She popped the compartment open, retrieving a pack of Marlboro Reds. All the while, she closed the compartment, grabbing his leg and giving it a shake jokingly before she righted herself. Johnny refrained from banging his head against the dash for her joke drove his mind a bit haywire.

Her hands left the wheel as she went to open the pack and pull out a cigarette, the lighter tucked conveniently away inside. “I’d offer you a cig, but I only have one left.”

Johnny didn't pay attention to what she said or how recklessly she drove, but more to the way she put the slender stick in between her pouty lips, lighting it up, and taking a long drag. It made his mouth water as she savored the large dose of nicotine.

“Y-you shouldn't smoke,” he stammered as he watched her exhale the smoke after she held it in for a moment.

“Says the one who smokes, assuming you still do,” she chided. He didn't like her smoking. However, he did find it attractive on her. Only reason he said that was for her to stop making him feel bothered by the innocent smoking.

She took another drag before holding the cigarette to him. “Want a drag?”

He hesitated for a moment before taking the cigarette from between her index finger and thumb, mumbling a thanks. Putting the passed cigarette in between his own lips, he tried not to savor the taste of her lips around the filter. He took a couple of drags, letting the nicotine sink in, numb him, before handing her back the cigarette, sitting uncomfortably in his seat. The nicotine did nothing to settle the cravingthat sat heavily in him and he had no idea on how to quench it.

Back and forth the cigarette was slowly passed in between the two. They took drags until the cigarette became a short stub and they reached town. Johnny finished of what was left of the cancer stick, tossing it out the window. The car rolled down a barely empty street, houses hardly taking up the sides of the street. They reached the end of the street before she pulled over into the driveway on the side of a small, grayish-green house. She turned the car off and they both got out, heading to the house, Johnny trailing behind her.

“Nice place you got,” Johnny said as he wiped a hand over his cheek, his eyes glancing around the room they were standing in, the living room. It was no cooler inside than it was outside.

“Sorry if it’s hot in here,” Brooke apologised, “The air conditioner decided to be a cunt and break this morning. I haven’t had a chance to call the repair guy.”

“It’s okay. I think I’m used to it,” Johnny chuckled a little bitterly. “Do you mind if I use your bathroom?”

“It’s all yours. It’s out in the hall, to your left,” she said, “I’m gonna be in the kitchen to call the repair guy.”

Johnny nodded before making his way to the bathroom. In all truth, he didn't need to use the bathroom at all. He just wanted to see more of the house, and by the looks of it, the house was as small as it looked. The hall was not at all spacious and to his right a little ways was what he assumed to be the bedroom door. He turned to his left, stepping into the small bathroom and shutting the door behind him.

Turning on the faucet, he looked into the mirror as he let the water run. He stared in disgust at his reflection. His face was red and sweaty like he just finished a four-mile run, dust that stuck to his face from the cloud of dust he was engulfed in earlier. Gathering water into his cupped palms, he bent his head to splash water over his perspiring face, rubbing the cool water around his face to get rid of the grime that collected around his nose and cheeks. He straightened himself up, grabbing the towel on the nearby rack to dry his face.

As he placed the towel back on the rack, he thought he probably smelled just as bad as he looked. He gave his underarm a single hesitant sniff, just to pull his face back. He was right. With a sigh, he looked around the bathroom, not looking for something in particular to mask his foul body odor, until his eyes fell upon a can of a floral-scented air freshener. With a shifty look on his face, he slowly took the air freshener and sprayed it quickly under his arms and around him before putting the can back.

Feeling a little better and possibly a little weird, he exited the bathroom and headed back to the living room. He peeked into the kitchen to see Brooke still on the phone, and he walked over to the couch to sit down. Sitting down on the blue plaid couch, he put his hands together as he waited for her.

As soon as he sat down, he felt anger bubbling up as his eyes landed on the roll of unopened condoms that was laying before him on the coffee table, a tube of lubrication before him as well. Johnny didn't know why he suddenly felt angry for it was just condoms and lube, but he could feel his blood boil in his veins. He could admit he did like Brooke when he was a teenager, a lot. He thought those feelings, the raging teenage hormones, would have cooled some over the years, if not frozen over. Nevertheless, it did not. She never gave him the time of day, it was clear she still wouldn't, and it drove him more into the pit of madness he was digging himself.

Looking over his shoulder, he saw she was still on the phone, chatting away with a miffed tone in her voice. He grabbed the roll, ripping a condom off the roll while he got up, stuffing it into his back pocket. Putting the roll back on the table, his eyes looked over the black container that held a popular lubrication and he took that as well, stuffing it into his other pocket. Again, he didn't know why he did it, he just did. It was highly unlikely for her to sleep with him and he knew this all too well. He waved it off though, knowing he had been doing and thinking of things he didn't know the reason to as of late.

“I thought I’d never get an appointment with a repairman!” Brooke let out a loud, heavy breath, stretching her arms over her head as she entered the living room. Johnny jumped a little at her sudden entrance and she laughed.

“Jeez, Johnny. Were you always so jumpy? Anyway, the phone’s free if you wanna call your friends,” she said as she turned on her heel, walking back into the kitchen. He followed her, watching her hips sway from side to side, into the kitchen, and walked a little to the rights towards the phone on the wall as she walked over to the kitchen counter. She grabbed two used coffee mugs and the empty coffee pot to place in the sink.

“Sorry about the mess again,” she said, motioning to the mess on the kitchen table before she grabbed a rag to wipe down the counter.

“I was running late this morning and did not have time to clean up, and I was too lazy to clean up the dishes from last night, too...” She trailed as she wiped down the counter. He went to take a step closer to her when she put the rag down, turning to him.

“I forgot to ask. Do you want a beer?” She asked and he simply nodded. She walked over to the refrigerator, and Johnny’s feet on their own accord took slow steps after her. As she bent to grab two beer bottles in the back of the fridge, Johnny closed in on her. His hands daringly latched themselves on her hips. She jumped at his sudden touch, gasping loudly at the same time and almost hitting her head on a shelf as it snapped up. It was her turn to be jumpy.

“J-Johnny! What are you doing!?”

Notes