Anything (Van McCann | CATB Fan Fiction)

10. Austin City Limits, TX

"You're missing out on the best thing in the world," I told her, while licking some of the spilled ice cream off of my hand.

"That's not the first time someone told me that. You know, my mom loved ice cream. She'd always have tons of ice cream tubs in our fridge. She even had ice cream for breakfast," she told me while we were walking towards the artists arena.

"Loved? What, does she hates ice cream like you, now?" I asked her.

"Uhm, no. She uhm, she passed away when I was sixteen." she murmured.

Oh, shit.

"Vienna... I am so sorry... I didn't know," I placed my hand on her shoulder blades.

"Nah, that's alright," she said, smiling softly. "I like to talk about her."

I glanced over at her and saw the pain in her eyes. Something about them were telling me that she had been through a lot in her life. My heart ache at the thought of her having to go through such a rough time at a very young age. My world would be blur if anything bad happened to my parents.

"Do you miss her?" I brought myself to ask her the question.

"Every single day of my life," she told me, looking down at her boots.

"And your dad?" I asked again, without looking at her. She stopped her tracks at the mention of her dad.

"Next question," she softly muttered, shaking her head, before she started her pace again.

I was surprised by her reaction. Why did she want to avoid the subject of her dad?

"Siblings?"

"I have a sister...."

"Oh? Does she live with you then?" I began to walk backwards so I could see her face while she was answering my question.

"Uhm, no..." She swallowed.

"How old is she?" Vienna shook her head and began to giggle. Good. I was glad to turn her mood around.

"Nineteen."

"So, she's like what? Just a couple of years younger than us? I can date her, then!" I smirked.

"She's six years younger than I am," she rolled her eyes at me.

"Whoa! Wait a minute," I held my hands up. "You're 25 this year?"

"Why are you so surprised?" She laughed.

"I thought you are my age!" I interjected.

"I thought you are my age too," she giggled. "How old are you then?"

"22," I swallowed.

"I don't know about you, but are you feeling 22?" She began to laugh.

I absolutely hated the Taylor Swift reference that she was pulling.

"You're so lucky, Van."

"What do you mean?" I asked her. We both were back at the tour bus again, waiting for the others since we were about to perform soon.

"You're only 22 yet you got your life figured out," she murmured, leaning against the bus.

"I could not imagine doing anything else, do you know what I mean?" I told her. "But, your life is not that bad. You're such a talented photographer. Isn't that what you want to do?"

"Yep. I love what I am doing, but, I am not so sure about my life in general," she sighed.

"You mean, with your boyfriend?" I chuckled.

"Sort of..."

"And why is that? Not sure about settling down, having babies and all that?" I nudged the tip of her elbows.

"I don't want to get married," she nonchalantly said.

"Why?" I asked her with furrowed brows.

"I just don't believe in marriages...."

"Why bother being in a relationship, then?"

"Well, do you want to get married to Emily?" She raised her eyebrow at me.

"I mean, I would. But, not now."

"How can you be so sure?" She asked me.

"How can you be so selfish? You're in a relationship yet you clearly know that you don't want to commit? That's fucked up," I muttered. "I love Emily. And I have thoughts about being with her for a very long time. That's what you're supposed to do when you are in a relationship. I feel bad for your boyfriend then if you'd want to dismiss the fact that every relationship should end with marriages. I just don't get why there are people like you who would not want to get married, but they are in a relationship. Do you think it's fair for your boyfriend?"

Vienna glanced over at me for a few seconds, blinking, before she looked down to the ground. The expressions on her face were gone. Shit. My potty mouth must have said too much. My heart was racing as my mind was trying to figure out how to take back my words. Too late now.

"You shouldn't judge me," she softly swallowed. I could see her lips were trembling as she swallowed a huge lump in her throat. "I told you, you're lucky. Everything just falls into place for you."

I could see her eyes were shimmering, like she was on the verge of breaking down.

"Vienna... I'm..." I tried to place my hand on her shoulders but she quickly pulled away from me.

"Forget it, Van. I should get my gears ready for your gig. I'll see you in a bit," she murmured, pushing her weight away from the body of our tour bus as she turned to walk away from me.

"Vienna..." She didn't respond to my calling.

Fuck. Fuck! Fuck. Fuck!

I was so confused by what just happened that I didn't move an inch from where I stood.

"What the fuck, sern?! We were looking all over for you!" Larry yelled at me not long after but I was still distracted by the guilt I felt in me.