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One time, at Band camp. . . (Candira x Atom)

A

AtomSmasher

Star
Joined
Jul 2, 2009
The show had been great. The fans were wild, and even though the venue was a tiny, hole in the wall bar, it was a packed house. However, there seemed to be far more guys in the bar then girls, which was almost disheartening for the men in the group. They were both skilled and some would almost consider them brothers, but they were far from it. One played Bass, the other guitar, standing on opposite ends of the stage trying the play what little women were in the crowd.

The first man, and guitarist went by the name of Thomas Franklin. He had been playing guitar since he could remember. He was the ripe age of 22 years old, and he had no interest in anything but the band's music. At least right now. To be honest, part of the fact that he wasn't interested romantically with anyone at the moment was probably because Thomas and the band's singer had quite a long relationship before and during the band's conception and the early part of the tour, however, the two ended on quite a sour note. No pun intended.

The details of the relationship were yet to be seen, and it absolutley killed Thomas that the two were even touring together. He wanted nothing to do with her, or her friends, which happened to be the other band mates. The reason why he was even here were was because of the contract that he had signed at the beginning of the tour. He stood outside the bar puffing on his cigarette, thinking about how well he had played and how the venue was. The sound was shitty, the crowd was shitty, fuck, even the bus they were touring in was some shitty hammy down bus that they overpaid for. Thomas Franklin was not a happy man.

All of their gear and instruments were loaded on the bus, ready to go to the next city, the next crappy venue for the next show. The one thing that was going Thomas's way was the fact that the bartender offered the entire band free drinks for the rest of the night. He had lost count of how many "bro-ey bros" and sluts that he had turned down an autograph for. What was the point? There was no need to waste the effort. Throwing back a shot of whiskey, he motioned for the bartender to pour him another one.

---

The bassist, who was still cool with everyone, or so he thought, was born Ryan DeMeco. He was a much more mellow fellow. Instead of sulking about relationships in the past and decisions others had made that was out of his hands, Ryan was in the middle of the small dance floor, bumping and grinding with one of the girls who had even thrown her panties on stage. (She was the only one) She wasn't great looking, but she wasn't bad. Perhaps with a few more drinks, she would become fuckable.

A more laid back fellow, the man moved towards the bar and tried to exchange small talk with the guitarist who just brushed him off and fired back another shot. "Well shit man, when you decide to liven up come find us in the dance floor." He said to the guitarist as he took yet another shot. The bassist got his fruity drink with lots of booze in it and was very pleased thank you very much.

None of the songs they played were very bass heavy. At least at this point. It was very easy to just play the same couple of chords over and over again. He wasn't sure how much they were getting paid for this tour, all he knew was that they were going to get paid when it was all said and done and the tour still had three or four months left. Back to the dance floor he scanned the area for the girls in the band, he would like to dance with someone else that just the girl that was heavily grinding on his junk.

Thomas - http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m216/poopdangus101/RP/0001295016-45892L.jpg

Ryan - http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m216/poopdangus101/RP/10250_Dan-001.jpg
 
V had enjoyed their set. They'd done a great job, the fans were really great--lots of energy--and even the girls in the crowd had responded well to the mostly female band. Honestly, she was kind of surprised that so many guys were into them--music usually played a bigger role than whether or not hot girls were in the band. She wouldn't deny it though--she was pretty hot. A woman of Japanese-American heritage, she stood at just 5'5", with bright brown eyes, dyed but shiny and well groomed hair, and a curvy body courtesy of her American mother. Her vocal talents came from her father's side, and she had incredible range. She could belt it in a low alto or take it down soft and do a mezzo soprano. And she was a smooth singer when she needed to be--rough when it was called for. She hot little singer was a great front-man...woman. Currently, she was dancing her ass off with a hot guy from the crowd.

The singer had dressed for the gig--skin tight jeans that flared just a little--low cut red top that hugged her just the right way, hair up and out of her face...for the most part. She'd recently been dating Tom, but she found that they just didn't click. Certainly not after what had happened...but he was off brooding somewhere, and she was determined to enjoy herself.


Just a few feet from the lead singer the keyboardist, Sophia, was dancing with Roxxi, the drummer. They were attracting some attention with their moves. The keyboardist was a solid 5'9", which was pretty attention drawing in and of itself. She wasn't rail thin, but she wasn't chubby either. Her body was blessed with just the right amount of curves for her frame, and she dressed them well, wearing a low riding pair of black jeans like V's and a white tank under a red hooded shirt--thin and soft, not like a hoodie. She worked her hips as she danced with Roxxi.

Roxxi was a naturally tan individual, her hair a lovely red shade. She was a little bombshell as well, which was probably one of the reasons they had so much attention from the men in the audience. Busty, but not overly so, the drummer probably caused quite a stir in the crowd when she had a solo. Standing at just under 5'8" and dressed in a pair of old jeans that fight nicely and a silver, sparkly shirt, she was a beautiful girl. She kept their beats flowing and she was tuned into the beats of every day life--but especially music. So it was that they continued to move with each other, rather than some weird guy that might try to feel them up.

When the song ended, Sophie pulled her hair up into a pony tail, Roxxi took hers down and shook it out. She smiled as she saw Ryan across the way and waved him over, inviting him to the fun since she knew Tom wasn't interested.
 
The bassist was happy to join his band mates fun. Trudging across the dance floor, his 6 foot even frame making his way across. He had to move from bumping into people and not spilling his drink, but finally he made his way over. At least everyone else was a close nit group. Everyone except for Tom. Quite frankly, Tom was starting to piss Ryan off, and he was sure the feelings were mutual with the rest of the band members. It wasn't as though this was some new phase that Tom was in, this fucking little bitch fit he was having was spoiling the whole mood of this tour. The band was supposed to be fun, not like this. He was being a really big buzz kill. Sighing as he found a place behind Roxxi, his hands moved to her hips. "Awesome job tonight chica." He said with a laugh.

Another song kicked up, a fast paced hip-hop song, something that was easy to dance to. Looking towards Sophia he wondered how she would fare, he was dancing with Roxxi, V was dancing with some guy, and Tom. . . Well, Tom was just sulking like a little girl. He knew Tom enjoyed the relationship, but now he was just bitter at everyone else having fun. He pushed the guitarist out of his head and pulled Roxxi closer into him. He had always had a thing for little Roxxi, but he never had a chance to express it. Even then, looking at Tom and V, he didn't want to become like that with Roxxi, he loved talking with her. Finishing off his drink, he just held an empty glass as they danced the night away.

-----

The man was at the point where the bartender thought about cutting him off. There was a row of empty shot glasses in front of him. His 6'2 frame slumped over a beer bottle, he decided he needed some fresh air. He had seen V and that douchebag that she was dancing with, and stumbled his way out of the bar. Pulling out another cigarette, he lit it up and just plopped down, resting his back against the wheel of the bus. Letting out a heavy sigh, he considered just going to bed right then and there. Let the others have their fun. He wasn't happy about how he was acting, but it was just something that happened. Sure, he had a few alcoholic tendencies, and sure, he had a little bit of an anger problem, but who didn't nowadays?

As the manager made his way out of the bus, he looked down at Tom. "Christ man." He said as he just popped a squat next to him. Pulling out a cigarette of his own, Morty just looked at the guitarist. "It's not that big of a deal man. Just let it go." He said trying to get the guitarist out of a little rut. Morty had short, jet black hair. He was a little on the short end, even shorter than some of the ladies, and he was kind of chubby. He was in his mid 40s, happily married with a kid who was just starting the third grade. Well, it should be mentioned that he was divorced, and his ex had custody.

The man received a phone call so he just let the guitarist sulk. He wasn't impressing anybody and everyone was done feeling sorry for him. He talked loudly on the phone, probably to one of the owner's where they had a gig coming up. Hanging up the phone quickly he smiled. Looking down at Tom, he just shook his head and sauntered into the club, trying to tell the band about the great news he had just received.
 
Roxxi was thrilled to see Ryan making his way through the crowd. She was busy talk/yelling to Sophia when he arrived, his hands coming to her hips. She would have "carelessly" elbowed the man behind her if she hadn't recognized the voice that spoke into her ear. Grinning, the drummer turned to face him and gave him a hug, "You too!" She glanced apologetically at Sophie as the song started playing and Ryan started up dancing with her.

Though she'd never said much of anything about it, she always thought he was cute, and as he pulled her closer, she was happy to accommodate him. Rather than grind against him, she played a little game, staying close but always leaving some space between then, smiling the whole time.


Dancing partner stolen by her hot bandmate, Sophie found some random guy to dance with who had previously been on his own. He was actually pretty respectful and they moved well together. She let him rest his hands on her hips at some point but he didn't try for more and she was grateful for it. She wasn't far from Roxxi and Ryan and she watched them with a little chuckle. They were kind of cute together... but she was still kind of jealous that he'd picked Roxxi over her.



V worked with the stranger she was dancing with since Tom was being the ass king of the century. As this new song came on she showed off her dance moves with him. One thing about this guy was that he actually danced for a living--she'd asked and she hadn't been disappointed with the results of that. She tore up the floor with him a little while longer and then noticed that Morty was coming back into the club. So at the end of the song she gave her partner a little wink and made her way over to the shorter guy that was clearly looking for them.
 
All he could do was just laugh and smile. Roxxi always played this damn game with him. He had to admit, whatever she was trying to do, it was working. Sighing to himself as he saw Morty move through the crowd of people and motion for all of the band members to meet him towards the back room. He looked like there was some pretty important news to be had.

The man grasped Roxxi's hand and just led her through the crowd. He figured he was being nice because a small person like Roxxi would be easily lost in the crowd. As the group gathered around Morty laughed. "I have great news for everyone." Stopping to notice that Sophia hadn't arrived yet, he motioned Ryan to go and retrieve Thomas from outside. With a sigh, Ryan just turned and headed outside.

------

The man was sitting against the bus still. He hadn't moved in a couple of minutes, but when the man moved he just managed to stumble inside the bar and make his way towards the big group of his bandmates. He already had a good idea of what the band manager had to say. The group probably just got a little bit of an extension on the tour.

As he showed up to the group, with Ryan right next to him, he decided not to make any eye with V, but in his drunken stupor decided to be friendly with everyone else in the band. First putting his hand on the shoulder of Roxxi, then moving to look for Sophia whom he couldn't find, just looked right at Morty. Tom must have smelt just like hard alcohol and lots of tobacco, but he didn't mind. His skinny jeans were a tad dirty, and his vintage tee-shirt already had a dirty look to it. Fuck V, it's time to live it up.

-------

As they all made their way to him, Morty just smiled and laughed. "Well, everyone is here. Perfect." He said as he looked over the group. Tom was looking better, and everyone was looking about as good as they did on stage. No one really knew the band's relation to Morty, but he ws their manager nonetheless. "Our tour is being extended by a couple of months, incorporating three more states, and at the end, we will be opening for a bigger named band in a large sold out arena!!"
 
Roxxi had a good time dancing with Ryan. She liked the tease of being so close, but not touching. It gave her a little thrill to know that they could touch if either of them lost control--but neither of them did. The redhead liked staying in the uncomplicated friend-zone, but deep down, she wondered what it might be like to just give in one night and do a little more than dance.

When he saw Morty, she wasn't sure what was going on, so she just let him lead her away, wondering what was going on until she saw their little manager. Clearly there was an announcement to be made. As Ryan was sent out to get Tom, the drummer couldn't help but feel bad for him. Tom had been a real downer over the past few weeks, and it was getting on everyone's nerves. Especially, for some reason, Ryan's. She'd be extra nice to him later on.


V arrived next and stood next to Roxxi, the two of them bouncing a little. She was aware that Sophia wasn't there before she was aware that Tom was. As was typical, he was looking like a louse--and a drunk one at that. What was his deal? She'd moved on, so why couldn't he? Fine, he was angry, but he didn't have to be a little bitch about it all the time.

She eyed her ex with a mixture of pity and disgust and then looked into the crowd, only to see Sophie coming toward them.



Sophia arrived in the little group with a smile and a bounce in her step. She was having a good time, but she was pretty easy to please. She smiled at her friends and put an arm around Roxxi, standing near the girl. She was clearly excited about the news and did a little bounce. "Well, don't keep us in suspense, Morty! What venue? What band? Tell us, man!"
 
The man ws never quite drunk enough to make a move and close the distance between he and Roxxi. As gay and dumb as it sounded, he respected her too much, when he was sober. However, perhaps if her ever got way to drunk, it would be a fathomable thing to just close the distance and see what happened. Ryan mumbled under his breath, but as it seemed Tom was starting to feel better. V and Tom never really talked about their relationship to the rest of the bandmates. One day it was fine, the next day they both hated each other's guts. Maybe one of the other girls knew something.

Ryan looked over Tom who was actually smiling now. He wondered what kinds of weird thoughts were going in that man's head. How was it possible to be that mopy for one second, and now smiling and trying to be friendly. He didn't care, it was nice to have the old Tom back. Perhaps he would even dance with someone tonight.

----

The man looked over them and smiled. He loved keeping his band in suspense. Looking over the washed faces, he finally broke the silence. "We are going to travel to Dallas, and play in the NEW COWBOY STADIUM." He said with a beaming smile. "And it will be sure to be packed because we will be opening for The Black Eyed Peas." He said as he looked over the group. "Granted, we will be one of three opening acts, but it's a pretty large gig nonetheless. Now get back to your night, we have to travel tomorrow." He said as he trudged his way back out of the club.

-----

As everyone talked amongst themselves, Tom saw Ryan try and get back on the dancefloor with Roxxi. He wondered how they weren't together yet, but it didn't matter, it was none of his business. He was a bit sobered up by now, and upon seeing that bitch V make a look towards him, he wanted her to just shut her mouth. Then something clicked in his head, what better way to make her shut up than to try and dance with one of her friends.

Moving towards where they were talking, probably about the show, he tapped Sophie on the shoulder. She was always the apple of his eye, she had that innocent cuteness and that was something Tom found very attractive. As he spoke, his breath reaked of alcohol and tobacco. "Sophie, would you uh. .. " He paused looking around, feeling someone's eyes burning into him. "Would you like to dance with me?" He asked, feeling quite lame about the whole situation
 
The eyes of all three girls lit up with unmistakable happiness and sheer glee that they got to play such a huge venue with big stars. Regardless of the fact that they were only one of several openers, it was a huge chance. They had to start planning this stuff out. And the only downside was another month on tour. Then again, this kind of exposure was what they'd been praying for, so they could take care of it. And any financial business could be taken care of over the phone or internet, so they were fine.

Roxxi and V jumped the way girls sometimes did and Sophie bent her knees as though rocked back by the shock of the news. This was going to be big for all of them. After much thanks to Morty, they were all off to enjoy the rest of their night.

Roxxi nodded as Ryan sneakily secured his place as her dance partner by guiding her back to the floor. She didn't mind though. In fact, the redhead was kind of flattered that he was so interested that he wanted to keep dancing. Then again, they were pretty good friends at this point. A fast, happy song came on and she taught him a few steps for a dance she was working on. It looked great with the music, and she wondered if he'd add to it at all, or just pull her closer again.



V stayed behind to ask Sophie a question, the tall keyboardist, toying with her own curly ponytail. And that was when Tom appeared. Both girls raised their eyebrows in surprise as he approached Sophia. Something about him seemed a little off kilter--and it was because he was drunk. She frowned a little at the idea of a guy needing to be so sauced to dance with her--but then she reminded herself that her self esteem wasn't that of a high school girl. She glanced at V who only appeared to be mildly curious at the display before her.

Rather than leave the poor guy standing there after he'd worked up the nerve to smile, she shrugged and said, "Sure. You sure you're up for it though? You look a little unsteady, Tom."

V excused herself and went to the bar for a drink.
 
The man was fine with just dancing back. She showed off some of her moves, and he bounced back showing off some of his moves. The DJ shouted something over the microphone and to the crowds discontent, managed to put a slow song on. As much as the crowd didn't seem to like it, they all found their partners and turned so that they were facing each other, acting like this was a high school prom or something. Ryan let out a groan, then a laugh. He was unsure of if she wanted to slow dance, but she hadn't pulled away yet.

Taking one of her hands in his and putting a hand on her waist, he began to dance slow and sway to the beat. Ryan looked around but didn't see any of the other band mates and looked back at Roxxi. "Hey, Rox." He said with an unsure tone. "This might be a weird question, but do you know what happened to Tom and V?" He asked, looking down at her.

----

As she agreed, Tom made no effort to look in the direction of V. He didn't really care what she thought at this point, and that was the thought that was driving him. She seemed so happy and carefree when he was moping around but now he wouldn't mope. He would show her. As he walked to the dance floor with Sophie, they just danced in place. He didn't do anything to try and dance close with her, and he didn't do anything to try and move closer, they were just two friends dancing.

As they danced, he figured something about he and V would come up, but he never pressed the matter. He was sure Sophie already had her thoughts about what happened and how he was an asshole because V told him one way or another. The slow dance song came on, and he looked down at her. "Well, did you want to slow dance? Might be fun?" He said to her with a quirked eyebrow and a huge smile on his face. Tom Franklin was starting to have a little bit of fun.
 
Roxxi grinned and enjoyed dancing with him and watching him dance. One thing about Ryan was that she was sure she'd always have a fun with him. After a while, the slow song came on and she laughed as all the people groaned. She kind of liked slow dances, and she liked the idea of getting one in wit Ryan. She came closer to him and put her arms around his neck, staying close. She wasn't really touching him, but she was close enough if she wanted to.

His question caught her a little off-guard and she raised any eyebrow. "Well, she doesn't really talk about it. She hardly talked about it when it happened actually. From what I understand they had a really big fight about their past or where they were going or something and then it all flew out of control. In all fairness, it seems like whatever V said to Tom was way worse than what he said, but I've no way of knowing because V bounces back so well." She shrugged and looked at him curiously. "Why'd you ask?"



Sophia danced with Tom, a little surprised that he could move so well with her in his current state. It was more surprising that she was kind of having fun, despite her worrying a little about him. So much of Tom's behavior was a shock tonight. She hadn't seen him like this since before he'd broken up with V. She wasn't about to ruin it by mentioning the singer. So she danced with him until the slow song and then he asked her to keep going.

"Ummm, okay. If you really want to..." she came closer to him and put her hands on his shoulders. "So, I have to ask...what brought on this change, all of a sudden?"
 
The bassist just shrugged also. "Just curious to be honest." He said as he glanced over at Tom and Sophie slow dancing. The thought to pull her closer crossed his mind, but still he decided to just leave it be. He respected her a little to much and the tour they were on was a little too long for him to be trying to mess around with his fellow band member.

The man noticed that his attention seemed to be drifting away from her, it always came back. The bassist just had too much going on in his head to just focus on one thing. His head seemed like it was about to explode. The huge gig, what the hell was up with Tom and what his deal was, Roxxi and messing things up with her, there was a multitude of things running through his head. Looking back at her, he tried to continue the conversation. "What about you, why is a beautiful girl like you still single?" He asked her with a slight smile.

------

As she pulled herself closer, her shook his head. Putting his hands on her waist, he did pull her closer into him. He didn't want to talk too loud about his situation so people around them didn't overhear. Looking down at her, he just let out a laugh. "Because, I have come to realize, obviously I didn't mean that much to her." He said with a smile. "I mean look at how she acted after the show and after we broke up, she just went out looking like a slut, kissing guys left and right." He didn't even know if that was true or not, it wasn't like he was around or anything.

"Why? Am I acting weird?" He asked he with another laugh. Sure, he had a little to drink today, but even then, it wasn't as though this was his first time drinking, he drank a lot as it was anyways. He never seemed to talk to Sophie, so this was really a nice change of scenery.
 
Roxxi swayed with Ryan noticing that he wasn't fully there with her. Granted she wasn't either, but she couldn't do much about that right now. She didn't mind telling him what she knew about the incident--but that wasn't really much. Only V and Tom knew the whole truth. And neither of the seemed keen on sharing. His question made her laugh and she looked up at him with a chuckle.

"Cuz I'm waiting for you," she teased. She hadn't been thinking of it--it just sort of popped out of her mouth, but it was kind of true. Before he started to think that, however, she stopped him. "Nah, it's cuz we're on tour. And I swear guys either think I'm a Lesbian or have done everyone on the bus." She shrugged. "I'd rather have someone like me for me than some weird kink or having the because they think I'm easy." Both of those reasons were actually true. A lot of guys that came out to watch them came out because of the hot girl "maybe lesbian" factor. And some thought every girl was a total whore.

Just then, an influx of people came to their area to demand a faster song, forcing the drummer into Ryan's arms. And they were touching, just like that. Rather than get separated from him, she held on until they cleared the area.



Sophie frowned at his portrayal of V. Whether he was speaking out of a place of hurt or drunkenness, it wasn't cool. After it had happened, V had been something of a wreck for days, and then she pulled it together. She stopped feeling sorry for herself and at least tried to put it all behind her, distracting herself with songs and practice and meaningless dates. There had been pain on both sides. Sighing she let go of him. "You know, that's not what happened. Just because she got over you faster doesn't mean she never cared." There, friend defended.

"And you've been a real downer lately. We're starting to wonder if you were always depressed and the days when you were nice and happy were just dreams. Honestly, I like you and all, Tom, but sometimes you make me want to punch you. Whatever happened is done. Just leave it lie and move on already."
 
The man was dwelling somewhat on what she had said about waiting for him. Sure, even if that was a joke there had to be some kind of kernel of truth to it. However, his mind changed when she mentioned the fact that everyone thought she was a lesbian. That smile brought a smile to his face, and yet he just decided to drop the matter. Sure, it was what he wanted to hear but she was so quick to retract it.

The crowd suddenly surged and there she was, pushed into his arms, and there he was holding onto her, trying to protector like some kind of precious package he had to guard. Moving his legs backwards he tried to push them out of the crowd of people. Keeping his legs moving, using what he had learned from his days playing football, he they finally popped out of the crowd.

Still holding onto her, he went sputtering back, slipping on an ice cube, he hit the deck, which sent his sliding across the bar floor, her weight ontop of his body. He had to admit, it felt pretty nice to finally have her in this position, even if it would end in the next few seconds.

-----

The man was suddenly filled with a bit of anger as she defended his ex. Then she gave him her little spiel about how he needed to move on. Well what the fuck was he doing? This entire conversation was getting Tom a little bit flustered and quite frankly, the alcohol did not help at all. Opening his mouth, his diaphragm ready to explode, the influx of the crowd seperated the two of them, probably for the better.

He was pushed towards the outside and made a move to go towards the outside of the bar. He ws pacing, to try and keep his anger settled. Even when he was trying to forget her, someone just brought it up again. Being a downer? Just of dream? If he recalled correctly, he was the one that asked her to dance. Doing the only thing he knew how to do at a time like this, he pulled out a cigarette and started to pace outside.

-----

Back inside, the crowd grew unruly, but a man found his way out of the crowd and next to V. Noticing her drink was empty, he smiled. "You did great tonight." He said putting his hand on her back. He didn't know if he was crossing the line or not, but he quickly removed it. Signalling for the bartender, he smiled. "Refresh her drink, and one more Long Island." He said as he placed a wad of bills on the counter. When the barkeep took it, he just smiled. "Keep it." Turning back to V with a huge smile across his face, he stuck his hand out. "Name's Grant."
 
Roxxi would have been wondering what was going on in his head if he hadn't started to push them out of the crowd that was starting to get a little rough. Still, he had her tight against him and in his arms, and it was kind of nice. She played along and held onto him. Actually, Roxxi was a little surprised that he had so much drive in him so she just went along with it. Then he seemed to lose his balance and they were both down, sliding a little. She laughed after she caught her breath and looked up at him.

It was an interesting experience to be on top of him. It certainly didn't feel bad. When she finished laughing she lifted herself up a bit and looked down at him. "Oh my gosh, are you okay?" She asked, slowly untangling herself from him.


Roxxi noticed that he seemed angry. Well He probably should be, but she had a point too. He was being a total ass. As the crowd separated them, she threw up her hands and made a noise. She walked away and made her way to the bar, frustrated that no matter what, Tom couldn't seem to take any criticism on his side. She ordered a drink and decided to just let him do what he wanted. No matter what she said, he wouldn't change until he got past whatever this was.



V turned her head to the guy who just assumed she wanted more than one drink. Even though it was free, how was he so sure she wanted it? She looked at him and smiled back, pleasantly. At least he wasn't being smarmy about his introduction. No lines yet. She'd leave him with one strike. Shaking his hand she said, "I'm V. What's up, Grant?"
 
The man smiled. "Yeah, I'm great." He said, losing himself in her eyes for a second, however, he quickly snapped out of it. Picking himself up and brushing himself off, he noticed Tom leave in a bit of a huff. Shaking his head, he looked back towards Roxxi. "Well, now what?" He said with a smile as he looked towards the bar. There was a man trying to get into V's pants, clearly and Sophie was just sitting alone at the table.

"Did you want to go back and talk with your friend?" He asked her with a smile. He knew girl's needed their time, althoughwhat he wanted to do was to go back to the dance floor with her. Moving and looking back at her, he smiled. He had no idea how anyone could thing she was a lesbian.

--------

The man looked at V. Taking a drink from his Long Island Iced Tea, he managed to notice her mood. "What's wrong? What did I say?" He said with a laugh as he looked around for her other bandmates. "Did I screw up already?" He said, now just trying to get a laugh out of the girl. What did he have to do? He just wanted someone to dance with and she did not seem like she was in a very good mood.
 
If she didn't know any better, she would have thought Ryan was crushing on her. It wasn't the first time she'd gotten that vibe from him. But this was certainly the first time she could remember him looking at her like that. She smiled at him and got up when he did, brushing herself off a little. "Seems like Dancing might be out until the crowd calms down a little. But why not come sit with me and Sophie? I'll make sure she doesn't drink her dinner and we can all hang out till the floor clears out a little."

She thought it was a fair compromise. She didn't really think it was smart to leave Sophie by herself when she seemed in a bad mood at the bar, but she didn't want to leave Ryan either. "Does it sound nice? Then you'd have two pretty girls to look at. And You'd get free food out of it. I'll let you mooch off of mine." She smiled and wondered if he'd take her up on it.


Sophie wasn't really a drinker. And she wasn't drinking now to get drunk. She just wanted to take some of the edge off. She thought about going after him, but they'd just end up fighting. Better to wait til he was sober. Honestly, if this kind of behavior kept up, they might as well just consider kicking him out of the band.



V turned her head to look at Gary. "I'm sorry. I wasn't really being fair." She smiled and chuckled a little. "It's nothing that should stop me from having fun, or appreciating company, anyway." She shrugged and looked at him curiously. "So what's up?" This time she sounded sincerely interested.
 
The man just nodded and sat down next to Sophie at one of the tables. "What's up, you seem a bit down." He said, noticing Tom had been dancing with her and in some way this was probably Tom's fault. He knew was she was going to say, something along the lines that V came up and the two of them had a little disagreement about what had happened between them. It was always the same. Ryan was at the point where he was just going to help Tom, he was too good of a guitarist to even consider getting a new one.

Looking towards Roxxi, he sighed. He knew Tom just needed someone to rebound with or something, though to be honest he could kind of see where Tom was coming from. He had given everything for V, and in turn got shut down. At least that's what Tom said. He never talked about them fucking or anything else, just the end. One day they were fine, the next they were done.

-----

Grant smiled. A great bump and grind song came over the DJ station and he looked at V. "Look, I don't know what happened tonight or anything." He said in response to her not being fair, but he tried his hardest. "Maybe dancing will help with that." He said as he stood up and killed his drink. "Actually, why don't you finish your drink also." He said with a laugh, putting his hand on the small of her back.
 
Roxxi grinned and ordered a big burger and fry basket, which she intended to make Sophie it some of. For her part in all of this, Sophie was pretty quiet. She smiled at her friends and sighed. "In all fairness a good portion of this was my fault. I guess I was kinda pissed that he was dancing with me when he was drunk..." She told them what happened between Tom and her objectively, leaving her feelings out of it. She shrugged at the end.

"Defend one person and you're scum. Defend the other person and you're a traitor, you know? I don't even know what happened, and I really don't give a flying fuck. That's their business. But it's not fair to everyone else if you let it get in the way, you know?" Sophie sighed and downed the rest of her drink, regretting that she'd wasted it. She ordered one more and then resolved to share Roxxi's burger basket.

Roxxi frowned and rubbed the girl's shoulders. She had a point. Roxxi and Sophie had never really taken sides--just listening when it needed to be done, and being supportive when they could. Tom had decided that they were on V's side and so started treating them differently too. "Try not to let it eat at you too much hun. Maybe try apologizing to him when he's sober again, kay?" She shrugged and left it at that.



V chuckled and downed her drink as well, rather than enjoying it. Well why not? There was no law that said she couldn't dance with a guy who'd bought her a drink. She let him touch the small of her back. "Well, Grant, I'm not sure you want to know what's been going on, so you're okay there," she grinned and turned to him. "Sure, I'll dance with you. But I think it's only fair to warn you, I'll be gone if you look for me in the near future. We're on the road, you know."
 
When Sophie had told him of why she had gotten as mad as she did, he merely just shook his head and let out a laugh. The first thought in his head was something that he need not say out loud, but getting up from his seat ordered a couple of beers, one for him and one for each of his friends and brought them back to the table, plopping down with a satisfied look on his face. Looking at his watch, he realized that the bar would be closing in about a half an hour, so he decided that it was lucky that Roxxi even got a burger basket.

The five of them would be on the road for some of the day tomorrow, then do the same thing over again. Hang out at the bar, prepare for the show, then do the damn thing, and maybe even dance away again. Ryan considered this night a success for a couple of reasons. Tom was starting to get over V, which was nice to finally have the old Tom back. He got to dance and hold Roxxi, which was two right there, and finally, one of the first shows of the night went absolutely amazing.

As he finished his beer, he noticed Morty coming in through the door and gathering up the band members. Sure, he felt bad for V, but when it was time to get on the road it was time to get on the road. As he walked up and the rest of the bandmembers gathered, Morty smiled. "Well, I want you kids to call it a night. Hit the hay and by tomorrow, we will be in the next city. Tucson, Arizona." He said with a smile. "We have three nights in Tucson, so it will be the last driving we will have to do for a bit." He said as he turned and lead the band outside and into the van where Tom was already passed out on one of the couches.

The next morning they arrived in Tucson. . .
 
Roxxi had really only gotten the last burger basket because she had inadvertently flirted with a line cook while he was on break. She'd mentioned something about him being cute or a little comment like that and apparently, he'd liked it. Enough to make her a burger and fries instead of helping to shut down the kitchen anyway. She split the burger with Sophie and shared her fries with her friends who might wanted one. After they'd all enjoyed a beer, it was time to get back on the bus. The girls paid their tabs and headed back as Morty told them to. That just left V, who'd stopped dancing with Grant in order to leave. She waved and paid her tab before she left.

Back on the bus the girls took short showers in the little bathroom to wash off some of the smokey, alcohol smell that came with a bar trip, and then changed--all one by one in the space of 15 minutes. V climbed into bed after saying good night to everyone and Roxxi did the same after she thanked Ryan for dancing with her and the drink.

Sophie, for her part, said nothing about the flirting and covered up Tom with a blanket. She read for awhile before hitting the hay.

The next morning might have been when they entered Tuscon, but almost no one was awake yet. It was almost noon before Sophie popped out of bed. She did her morning routine, got dressed in a clean jean skirt and a nice purple shirt and then headed to the main area.

V was the next one to do make up and wardrobe, coming out to the main part as well to scrounge up some breakfast. She wore a black tank and another pair of jeans.

Finally, there was Roxxi who came out in a pair of shorts and a nice band t-shirt. She hadn't bothered with shoes. For now she was making coffee for herself with their little machine that only did about 6 cups at a time and had a dispenser for cups rather than a big pot.

They all took a seat a little away from Tom, not wanting to wake the bear. As of now, they were just waiting for Morty to come get them.
 
The bassist had been up for some of the night, much later than the others with so much swimming through his head. He would have to talk to Tom the next day in order to try and straighen him out. However now, he was stuck on the moving bus. It would probably be awhile anyway in the morning for Morty to give them any instructions, he did have to drive all night afterall.

Finally dosing off, he was the next to wake up in the morning. To the smell of coffee no less. Rolling out of his bed, he looked at the top of the next bunk and tried to shake this groggy feeling that he had after a night of drinking. His memory was a little blurry about what had happened and he finally got up and went through his own morning routine. After a shower and a change, he put on a white and blue flannel and blue jeans, finishing the outfit off with a pair of nice leather dress shoes.

Making his way out, after and after brushing his teeth and shaving, he looked at Tom and merely jusst shook his head, letting our a bit of a laugh. Digging through the refrigerator on the bus, he found one last microwavable breakfast sandwich. He would have to eat something in order to get ready for the long day ahead of him. "Morning." He said with a smile. He was more of a morning person anyway.

----

There was a variety of different things that tickled his senses. There was the coffee tingling his nose, the bright sun shining through his eyelids, and even the noise of people doing their normal day activities. Popping one eyelid opened, he realized that there was a blanket ontop of him. Looking around at all the faces around him, he was honestly pretty shocked. "Morning." He said as he sat up.

Grabbing his blanket and folding it back up, he shoved it back into the storage compartment. Moving slowly to the shower, he just stood under the shower for a few moments, not bothering to even move for a second, he let the shower revitalize him. He had a pounding headache and could not remember anything that had happened the night before. With a sigh, he put on just a black tee and paired them with some skate shoes and jeans, and stepped out into the main room.

Sitting down and taking a glance outside, he noticed they were in the middle of a parking lot outside in downtown Tucson. The thermometer read 85 degrees and he rubbed his eyes, just trying to get himself up. Picking through his pockets, he looked at his pack of cigarettes. Empty. What an awesome way to start the day.
 
Sophie, who had given Tom the blanket saw fit to get a water bottle and some aspirin for him. She set it down in front of him as he rejoined them. "Good morning," she said softly, going back to her everything bagel with cream cheese spread. She did love a good bagel. Poor Tom had been hammered, so she didn't hold what had happened against him. She smiled pleasantly and then went back to reading the news on her iPad.

Roxxi greeted Tom cheerfully, rather than clue him in on how he'd been last night. She got a big mug full of coffee and smiled at Ryan as he came out. "Morning." She smiled and then pulled another bagel from the bread drawer they kept. Not many left, she noticed. She'd get some next time they went out. She grabbed a bit of jam for it and then sat down with Sophie, reading over her shoulder.

V had just made herself some fruit and yogurt, listening to a podcast. She smiled and waved at Ryan, acknowledging Tom, instead of pointedly ignoring him. It was warm outside, but nice in the bus. Still they all wanted to get out and have a little fun.

Then, Morty came in to brief them on their schedule.
 
Before Tom could say a word, Morty trudged in, holding his own cup of coffee and he was holding a folder and a large box. Handing out a new, crisp piece of paper right off the copier, on it was the schedule of the next three days. He looked over the group before he spoke. "We will be spliting into groups for the remainder of the day." He said as he looked over the table, wondering how things were going. "There will be a series of interviews, signings, and conventions all leading up to the culmination of this weekend at the Tucson Music Festival"

The portly man's band was starting to gain momentum. They weren't in the Battle but the members needed to split up in order to do all the things they needed to do. "V, being the lead singer and the face of the group will travel with me to go and do a mini press conference." Turning to V, he smiled. "We will be interviewing on a panel of other up and coming bands for a few magazines and press conferences and the like." Looking back at his schedule, he decided it was best to split up the drummer and the guitarist as those were the two that would be most known behind the singer.

"In order to get some more exposure to the rest of you, Ryan and Roxxi will go and walk around the convention trying the spread the word of our band." He said as he opened the box that he was carrying with him. Inside were the first cut's of the band's new CD. Taking roughly half, he handed them to Roxxi and Ryan in a couple of boxes. "Hand these out and spread the word." He said with a smile, leaving the two to their own devices.

Finally, he turned to Tom and Sophie, unaware of what had transpired the night before. "Now, Tom and Sophie." He said pointing outside. "I have rented a car and you two will go out and collect money from the three venues and hang up fliers all around town for our shows." He said, handing them both a stack of fliers. "Remember, we have three shows in three days, each at different venues and these fliers explain everything." He said as he looked around at the three groups. "Now, I want to have a practice to run throught the set's we will be playing and to tune up. That will be at about six, and we will also have dinner then." He looked at his watch. It was only nine in the morning. "Figure out what you guys want to do for lunch, I will reimburse you." Turning to V. "Get ready in the next fifteen, we have to get moving, there is a long drive ahead of us." He said as he turned and made his way to his room, closing the door.

The fliers showed candid photos of each of the band members, as well as a graphic of the band's name. It also listed three different venues and as to when they would be playing, and there was a little note at the bottom. CD's will be on sale, $15 before 8PM, $20 after 8PM. All ages.
 
V finished up her breakfast and nodded as she was told her role in today's schedule. She'd have to think up her image carefully for the press conference. She didn't want to look too glamorous, but she didn't want to look too edgy either. She found a middle ground in her head as Morty handed out assignments. She put in her vote for salad and a nice fried shrimp deal--maybe even together for lunch before she went to get ready for this conference.

Roxxi looked at the c.d. cases. The covers, she was glad to say, didn't look at all like they were done by an amateur, and they didn't have that weird graffiti concept like a lot of bands were doing today. Just a simply portrait of them all looking rather bad-ass as they performed. It was done beautifully. The fonts on the back were easy to read and everything was laid out nicely. Looked like a winner to her. "Just to make sure I'm getting this right...these are free?" She shrugged and then looked at Ryan, glad to know that at least for a little bit they could be in the same general area, if not the same place.

Sophie, for her part, continued to eat her meal undisturbed by Morty's news. It kind of blowed to have the job of flier-hanger and money-collector, but at least it was a fairly easy job if they did it right. They could do a little promoting and get out and see the sights while they were at it. She looked over at Tom and wondered if he was up to the task though. The noise--the fresh air, etc. "Hey, Morty, does that mean we get a car? Or do we do it with a taxi?"
 
The manager came out of his room, wearing a very nice suit. For one, he had changed from his Hawaiian shirts and shorts and now was actually looking like a manager for once. He looked at Roxxi and laughed. "Well, get whatever you can out of them, but I doubt people are going to pay premium prices for a band's CD they know nothing about." He said with another short snort. "I don't expect you guys to split up or anything during this little task, you can do them together. He said giving a wink to Roxxi. He had seen what they were doing at the bar.

Looking towards Sophie now, he addressed her question. "Yes. I rented a car for you and Tom." He said putting the keys on the table. "Now, it's not a nice car by any means, but it's still a car, eh. Who can drive stick?" He said as he moved over to the door, digging around a bit and finally pulling out a beat up, leather briefcase. Opening it, he pulled out a wad of bills, giving each of the other pairs three hundred dollars. "This is for you guys, have fun, lunch is on me and whatever else you want to spend it on, do it." He said as he turned to V. "Ready?" He led her towards his brand new rented car. Getting in, he turned to her. "Well, what would you like for lunch?"

-----

As the manager and their lead singer walked out of the bus, Tom turned to Sophie. Still, unknowing what he had done, he sighed. "Man, we got the short end of the stick, huh?" He asked her as he grabbed the keys and watched Morty and V's SUV speed off. Glancing around, he saw what car they would be driving. It was a pretty new, decent looking, for door sedan that was still stick shift. Tom knew how to drive stick, but if Sophie wanted to drive, he would let her. "Did you want to drive?" He asked with a quirked brow. He almost wanted to drive that car. However, he was doing his best to turn over a new leaf and make everything fun again. It was sure as shit that he would be speeding but they were in Arizona right?

-----

The other two were standing in the corner. Ryan looked at the CD's and he figured they were pretty good. Morty probably had a point, they probably couldn't get that much for them. He walked with the CD's and opened the door to the bus. They didn't get a car, however, they were parked right outside of the convention center anyways. As he ran a comb through his hair, he took a glance at Roxxi. "Ready to go?" He asked as he carried the CD's down the bus stairs and made his way towards the convention center. It was pretty nice of Morty to let he and Roxxi go with each other, but he wondered how Sophie and Tom would fair. He looked at Roxxi, trying to make conversation now. "So, you going to try and text Sophie through her entire day with Tom?" He said laughing to himself.
 
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