6- The Ocean Is On Fire

Chapter title and song lyrics from "The War" by Angels & Airwaves.

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Katie's POV

I watched the concert from backstage, listening to Simple Plan.

"Has anyone ever heard a song called 'Shut Up?'" Pierre yelled into the microphone. Judging by their response, they had, and apparently, several of them loved Pierre, too.

Jeff, Seb, Chuck, and David started playing the song. Pierre sang, and when he was done, looked out at the audience.

"That was awesome!" David said. "Pierre, I think they love you." David winked at Pierre, gesturing towards the fans.

"You guys are looking pretty sexy tonight!" They screamed again. "Alright now. This last song is a cover. It's called 'Jaded', by one of the best bands in the world, Mest, and it's dedicated to a woman named Katie, who I am lucky enough to be able to call my fiancé."

It wasn't the first time Pierre had dedicated "Jaded" to me, but I hadn't yet gotten sick of it. I still loved it. The song brought me back to a more innocent time between us.

Just as "Jaded" was finished and Pierre and David were saying goodbye to the crowd, Johnny walked up to me. I had been sitting on a couch backstage, but I stood up to greet him.

"How are you?" I asked. "Oh my god, I still can't believe you're living in Dallas."

"Coincidence, huh?"

"Totally. I hadn't seen you since high school, but- now you're here, I just can't believe it. We really need to catch up."

"Definitely! I don't know if you have plans, but do you maybe want to go and get something to drink?" He suggested. "I know a great place not far from here."

"Sure, that sounds good. Uh, could you hold on a minute? I need to go talk to Pierre." I told him, and walked over to Pierre.

"Hey," I said to him. "What's wrong? You look angry."

"I'm not angry," he said, "just… annoyed. I never really liked Johnny." I knew what he was thinking, and it bothered me a bit.

"Pierre, Johnny never did anything wrong. I never went on a date with him, I never liked him as more than a friend."

"Yeah, I know, but I always thought he was kind of-"

"Kind of what?"

"Kind of… I don't know. Something about him just doesn't seem right. I don't want you to get hurt, and I don't want anything to happen to us." He said, an earnest look in his eyes.

"So come with us. I'm sure Johnny would love for you to come with us." I put my hands on Pierre's shoulders, and looked in to his brown eyes. "Please. I want you to come."

"I can't. Me and the band are going out for late-night barbecue." Yeah, we're in Texas alright. Barbecue in Texas is like pizza in New York. In New York, and even in Chicago, there's nothing like pizza at midnight. In Texas, barbecue is the food of choice, or at least it is for Simple Plan; barbecue doesn't really exist in Montreal, and apparently, the band members like having it when they can. "The security guys, Lenny and Mo, they told us about a great place a few blocks away."

"So… how about me and Johnny come with you? Simple Plan, Plain White Ts, Matchbook Romance, plus me and Johnny- it'll be fun." I thought it sounded like a good idea, but Pierre's face was looking strained. "What's wrong?"

"I love you, but… this is kind of… a guys thing. Plain White Ts and Matchbook aren't coming. I need a night to just be with my friends." I wasn't happy, but I understood.

"Okay." I said. He kissed me on the lips. I smiled. "I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you too. See you later."

"I will. Call me." One more kiss. "Bye," I said, and walked over to Johnny.

"Hey, you ready?" Johnny said.

"Definitely. Let's go."


Johnny took me to his car, where he opened the passenger door for me to let me in. When we got to the bar, he parked, and opened the door for me to let me out.

"Thanks," I said.

"You're welcome."

He led me in to the bar, which was only a few blocks away from the hotel where I was staying with Pierre and the rest of Simple Plan. This was definitely not a posh, upscale New York club, but it wasn't a seedy joint somewhere in Pittsburgh. It was just an average, everyday bar. It didn't smell significantly like smoke, either, which was nice.

Johnny and I walked up to the bar.

"What can I get for you?" The bartender, a man that looked a few years older than me, asked.

"What kind of beer do you have on tap?" I inquired. I didn't normally drink beer, but tonight, it was what I wanted.

"We've got a Miller, Budweiser and Sam Adams," he told me.

"I'll have a Sam Adams." I decided.

"I'll have the same," Johnny said. The bartender poured our beers, and I paid for them. We sat down at a table.

"So… tell me about your life since high school," I said.

"Well, after we graduated, I went to McGill University. I always loved playing basketball, and I studied English because I always liked to read, so English kind of made sense." We both smiled.

Johnny was in my English class sophomore year, and again in junior year. I always liked discussing the books with him; he wasn't cocky, but he was intelligent, and always had something interesting to say about whatever we were reading.

"How did you get in to teaching?" I asked.

"Well, honestly, English is really such a… vague subject in terms of getting a job, you know? I didn't want to just work in a cubicle, and I always liked the idea of having summers off, and I liked kids, so I guess that's what got me in to it. I was lucky that the middle school needed a basketball coach, too. I really like coaching."

"Yeah, I'm sure you do. It seems like something you'd be good at."

"I guess." He shrugged. "The team went to the state finals last year." I could tell he was trying to hide it, but he was definitely proud.

"That's great," I said. "That's really great."

"Yeah. So, enough about me. Tell me about you."

And I did. I told Johnny about my years at the University of Toronto, and then about living in British Columbia, and then about my job- I had been working at a music store, but was planning to do A&R for Atlantic.

Soon enough, I was done with my beer.

"I'll go get you another one," Johnny offered, and before I could say no, had gone off to get me another beer.

"Here you go," he said, and put two beers- one for each of us- on the table.

When I took a sip of that second beer, I was feeling buzzed. When I started on the third, I was a little more tipsy, and I was feeling significantly more open than normal. I'm not sure what caused me to drink so much, but by the time I finished the fifth, I was [/drunk/].

"Let's go back to my hotel room," I suggested to Johnny. I should probably mention that by that point, I was sitting almost on top of Johnny, and had kissed him more than once.

"Won't Pierre catch us?"

"Nah, he'll be out for awhile. Come on, let's go. You can drive, it'll be faster that way."

"Yeah, let's go out to the car." Stumbling a bit, we walked out to Johnny's car. There were no other cars in the road, or at least I don't think there were, because Johnny pretty much drove straight to the hotel parking lot without stopping. Once we were at the hotel, I led the way up to the room.

As soon as I locked the door, we both began undressing. I was sweating, and my heart raced as we collapsed on the bed.

You can pretty much guess what happened from there. I was so drunk, I didn't realize the consequences of what I was doing. It seemed like a good idea.

Johnny was still naked and on top of me when Pierre burst in.

"What the hell is going on here?" He yelled.

"Oh, me and Johnny, we were…" I began, trying to find my words, though it was hard.

"Making love." Johnny said, slurring his words a bit.

"Yeah, I figured that." Pierre said. As drunk as I was, I could tell he was [/mad/]. "Get out." He said to Johnny. "You, get the fuck out!"

"No need to say anymore," Johnny pulled his pants on- backwards, no less- grabbed his keys, and walked out the door.

"What the hell is going on, Katie? What the hell are you doing?" Pierre shouted at me.

"I had a few beers, so what?"

"How many?"

"Five?" I shrugged.

"I can't believe this. Ten years ago, I mistakenly thought you were cheating on me with Johnny Collins. Now, you're twenty-five, and you just hooked up with him!"

"Pierre, me and Johnny, we just…"

"Katie, don't try to lie. I saw. I'm not an idiot, alright?"

"I'm sorry, I'm… a little drunk."

"Yeah, cuz you accepted that excuse when I used it." Pierre said sarcastically. "Look, I'm mad. I'm really mad. I'm gonna go crash in Jeff's room."

"Pierre, what's going on?" I was still pretty drunk, and I was struggling to think clearly.

"Don't pretend like you don't know what's going on."

"What?"

"Oh, come on. Stop pretending like you don't know."

"What do you mean Pierre?"

"What do I mean? What do you think I mean?"

And suddenly, I had a feeling I knew what he meant.

"You're not… you can't… Pierre, you can't break off the engagement over this."

"Really? Cuz I'm pretty sure I can."

The ocean, is on fire
The sky turned dark again
As the boats came in.
And the beaches
Stretched out with soldiers
With their arms and guns
It has just begun.