Mia's POV

"Mom, Meghan, would you mind if I talked to Jaxon and Josh alone?" I ask them. Mom nods, and leads Meghan into the kitchen of our house. I peer into my laptop screen, thinking of a way to tell them.

"Mia, honey, what is it?" Josh asks. I sigh, "I'm not sure how you'll take this." Jaxon nods, "It's okay, sis, go ahead."

I slowly lift my arms up, so that my wrists are visible to my brother and stepdad. "Are those scars?" Jaxon asks. I nod a bit, "Uh um yeah they are. Please don't hate me."

"Why would we hate you, sweetheart?" Josh asks. "I dunno. I was just worried," I reply. Jaxon and Josh nod, understanding.

"We love you and nothing can change that," Josh says. I nod, "I know. Thanks guys." Jaxon smiles, "No problem sister!"

"Does Alan know?" Josh asks. I nod, "Uh huh. He was the first person I told." Jaxon sighs, "You really trust Alan, don't you?" I nod again, "Yeah I do, he's so easy to talk to."

"We're here for ya babe!" Josh says. I nod, "Thanks guys. Gotta go. Tell mom and Meg that I love 'em." Jaxon smiles, and waves as we hang up.

I walk downstairs to where Alan was calling my name. "What's up?" I ask him. "I wanted to talk to you about something," he says, motioning towards the couch. "Lay it on me, brother man," I instruct him.

He chuckles, "Well, the guys and I wanna go on tour again. You can come, and do your schoolwork on the bus." I stand up, "Woah! Let's do it! I wanna come!" He nods, "I figured you'd agree. I just wanted to check, with all that your going through."

I nod, smiling, "Yay! Anthem Lights shows every night, plus the fun of being on the road!" Alan wags a finger, "Don't forget about schoolwork." I sigh, "Oh yeah, and schoolwork."

~*~

"You ready to go, Mia?" Alan asks. "I've been ready for like two months, goofball," I reply. He grins, "Okay."

Alan quickly kisses his wife and daughters good-bye, and we walk outside to where a tour bus is waiting.

We climb inside, and are greeted by a bus driver. "Hello again Alan!" His big voice bellows. "Hey Jeff," Alan says, smiling. "Who might you be, little lady?" He asks me. I blush, "I'm Mia." He shakes my hand, "It's very nice to meet you Miss Mia." I grin, "You too, Jeff."

Alan leads me farther into the bus, and I see six bunks. "Choose wisely, you'll be stuck with it for two months," Alan chuckles. I laugh, and chuck my stuff onto one of the bottom bunks.

"Nice choice," Alan says, taking another bottom bunk, "Bottom ones are the best." I laugh, "Well I surely wasn't sleeping up there." Alan nods, "Yeah, let Chadwick shimmy up there." I laugh, "Yep, or Jumping Bean!"

The bus comes to another stop, and Caleb, Chad, and Joey climb onto the bus. "Hey! Mia you took the good bunk!" Joey whines. I shrug, "You snooze you lose." Joey shakes his head, "But I wasn't snoozing!" I shrug, "Too bad."

Joey lifts me into the air, and tosses me over his shoulder. "Put me down, young man," I say, laughing. "No can do, cupcake!" He exclaims. Joey lugs me around for a while, but eventually gets tired and puts me down.

"Soooo where's the first stop on this mixed up tour?" I ask Chad. "Well, kid, we're startin' in South Dakota," he says, slinging an arm around my shoulder.

I sigh, "Wow, that's a ways away." Alan nods, "That's exactly why I thought now would be a perfect time to start schoolwork." Caleb looks shocked, "Really Alan?! The schoolwork already? Give the kid ten minutes at least." I nod, "I love this guy!"

Chad nods in agreement, "Yeah, the kid needs a break." I smile again, "I agree with Chadwick." Alan frowns, "Well, okay, I guess we can wait for a few minutes." I smile, and hug him, "Thank you Mr. Powell, you're the best teacher in the world."

"Hey hurtful!" Caleb exclaims. I smile, and hug him, "Sorry Mr. Grimm." He nods, "You better be!"

"What about me?" Chad asks, looking hurt. I shake my head, "Uh no way! You're no teacher!" He comes over and tickles me, "What did you say young lady?" I shake my hands, "Please stop! Please!" Chad shakes his head, "No can do. I have to do this, Mia." He tickles me until I plead for a trip to the bathroom.

After that, we all chill in the "kitchen" for a bit. Alan pulls out a math book, and I reluctantly accept it. I open it up, and peer at the problems. "Is this Spanish?" I ask.

The guys crowd around me, and begin explaining the problems to me step-by-step. Within no time, I've got four pages of problems done. Maybe school on the bus won't be so bad.