Toxic Valentine. (Fransykes)

There was an infection in the air, of course not in the literal sense-that would be absurd, there was an infection in all who attended Warped, a shared happiness, a constant feeling abuzz. There were band members who were homesick, among which Kellin Quinn, whom sat poking at his skype call button. On the other end of the call, a young, round faced baby squealed “Daddy,” and the ebony haired man combed his hair from his eyes and held back tears. He missed them, of course he did, and he was one in many.

But Josh had felt like that all the time, like he was reaching out for someone too far away for him to hold, on the other end of a phone line that had run flat. The azure eyed man had been reaching out for someone he knew he should be with, but could never be with. Oli wasn’t ideal for his image and that stung, his management would never allow it, and hated to know what he bandmates would think of him in this situation. Yet he couldn’t hide it, he was in love.

He was surrounded by his bandmates who were individually drinking, laughing and cheering. To his left Jaime Preciado was joking and laughing about something that happened months ago and still made him smile; too his right a collection of band members were inhaling a sweet smelling smoke that he preferred not to partake in. Across, against the blackness of the horizon, Oliver stood bringing a cigarette to his lips and inhaling with the grace of a swan. Josh almost wanted to walk up and bum the other half of that cigarette off of the Sheffield man, only between bed sheets and kisses and perhaps pressing the lit end of that cigarette over his skin ever so slightly. The thought made Josh shiver, but instead of following through those actions he shook his head and wrapped his leather-clad arms around himself.

The sapphire eyed boy thought he saw Dan look up at him and then glance in his line of sight, he was never completely sure because Dan could’ve been looking anywhere in reality. But he definitely heard him mutter “Not again,” Josh was aware that his band members had been conspiring behind his back, he heard them whisper about what had happened between him and Oli late at night when they thought he was asleep. Wondering, of course, what had happened between two best friends to make them so distant and full of pain towards each other.

It hadn’t just been his band either, many of the members of Bring Me the Horizon had popped up in his messages, wondering if they were ever going to see him again. The answer had always been “Sure, soon,” But in reality, he had never contacted them again, after a couple of years the contact became inconspicuous to a point it wasn’t really there at all. He just tended to stay away, his band would let him know how everyone else was (because he did still care, he just didn’t show it). In the end, it had even boiled down to other bands noticing.

“I thought you and Oli were best mates?” Vic was a quieter one, yes he loved to drink and party and enjoy his life like every other single man his age, but he didn’t let that wedge his path in simply noticing. He would listen when others spoke, and watch the world around him whilst pretending he didn’t see a thing…until it mattered. It was here the older Fuentes felt it mattered. He’d never spoken directly in a long length of time to any of the You Me At Six lads; in fact all he’d known is from Alex Gaskarth, who had found himself in discussion with Josh, and Kellin Quinn, who often spoke to Oli (and it was claimed the two hated each other, but none of them really conversed outside of festivals so it was generally exaggerated media).

What he knew was that the two had been close as brothers at some point, constantly talking, texting and sending each other sickeningly cute messages over twitter. Then one day, as if the two had never been friends, that all stopped. In his head, the Mexican boy had known that he really shouldn’t meddle, but a friendship like that didn’t just disappear. They were all thinking it; he was just doing something about it.

“We were,” Josh coughed awkwardly and reached for the bottle and a lighter, sitting back. It was their first venue, and all the bands had collectively agreed to spend the night there before it all opened. Huddled around a campfire were the members of Sleeping With Sirens, Pierce The Veil, You Me At Six, All Time Low and Bring Me The Horizon, for the pure fun of being there.

“So why aren’t you now?” A click of a lighter and Josh inhaled the toxins easily and smoothly, eyes fluttering closed and lips parting as the smoke drifted from his body into the freedom of the air.

“Shit happens,” There was a finality in his voice as Vic became painfully aware of the fact he was being cruel and intrusive, and that he wasn’t going to get answers out of the Weybridge born boy any time soon. But he would, they were all on this tour for the whole of it, these 5 bands, and during that time the man promised he would amend Josh and Oli’s broken friendship.

Notes