This is my first crack at the fanfic, so please be kind! I don't own the gentlemen of Good Charlotte, and this never happened. It's purely a work of fiction.

He turned and looked down at her. “Just did what?”

“Played in front of, like, a million people.” She shook her head and rubbed her eyes. “I mean, shit, I like you guys, and it felt… comfortable and amazing. But when I got up at the end of the set and looked out on all those people-”

“You ran off stage and hid like a little punk?” Paul finished. “Cuz we sure couldn’t find you for about five minutes.”

CJ punched him in the arm. “No. I felt like I’d been detached for the last half hour. Like I’d just been running and got back, ready for some wind sprints.”

Paul blinked at her. “Okay, you lost me the minute you jumped into sports talk, but detached or not you had a great set.”

CJ smiled. “Well, thanks, Paul. You didn’t do too badly yourself… y’know, for a bass player.” Paul grinned at her, then grabbed her into a headlock and told her he wouldn’t let go until she said that he was the best musician on the tour. Needless to say, when Benji came upon them he had to separate them to get into the back of the van.

“You two spend too much time together,” Benji said as he pushed Paul back into a seat and CJ turned sideways to let him by.

“Jealous?” Paul asked.

Benji looked back at him over his shoulder. “Yeah. I’m green with envy.”

“I thought that was mold,” CJ commented.

“Fuck you,” Benji said back, hauling a pair of black shorts out of his duffel bag and plopping down in the seat to change into them, out of the plaid bondage pants he was currently wearing.

“Well, you’re about to hop out of your pants, so why not?”

He loosened his shoes and kicked them off, the pants following soon after. “Don’t tempt me, CJ.” She leaned down and snatched up Benji’s shoes, then bounded out of the van. He started out after her, holding his shorts up with one hand. “C’mon, dude. Give ‘em back. Those are my favorite shoes.”

“They’re your only shoes, Benj,” Paul said.

CJ grinned, shifting her weight back and forth, one leg to the other, on her toes, ready to sprint if he came after her. Benji buttoned his shorts and pulled off his socks, so his bare feet could get a good feel for the asphalt beneath him. She waved him on. “C’mon.” He shook his head and screwed his face up, trying to look menacing. CJ put the shoes down on the ground and took a couple steps back. “Fighting chance…”

Benji lunged for them, but CJ was faster, darting in, picking up the shoes, and running away from him before he could get a grip on her. She was out of the tour bus area before he recovered his balance. Paul was cracking up, “Oh, shit,” he breathed between spasms.

From the other side of the fence, only a few feet away from Benji, CJ grinned. “Did I forget to tell you I’m a track star?” She backed up a few steps. “Soccer star too.” She wound up and drop-kicked one of his shoes over the fence, so it landed on top of someone’s tour bus and ran off into the crowd.

“I am going to kill her,” Benji said, going to retrieve that shoe.

Paul pulled out a little red walkie-talkie, out of a set they’d bought at a Wal-mart on the way to the show. There had only been four in the pack, and CJ had been asleep when they divvied them out, so she was the only one out of the loop. He radioed in. “Hey Joel, Billy.”

Joel responded. “Yeah, Paul?”

“You see CJ around?”

“What?”

“CJ,” he repeated. “Do you see her?”

“Dude, there are, like, a million people out here.”

“She’s got Benji’s shoe.”

Joel laughed into the walkie-talkie. “Well, I’ll just wait for the smell and I’ll let you know.”

“If you see her, though, Benji’s gonna wanna know.”

“You goddamn right,” Benji radioed in as well, from the top of the tour bus. “I’ma break her legs.”

CJ’s laugh came over the walkie-talkies. “You fucking cheater, Benji.”

Joel looked over towards where he’d last seen Billy. He was sitting on an amp case on the back side of the adjacent stage and she had her arm around his shoulders. “Oh, she got Billy,” Joel radioed over.

“Dammit!” Paul radioed sarcastically. “Hey Joel, I’m hungry. You wanna meet me over at the Pizza Hut vendor?”

“Yeah, I’ll be there in ten.”

“Well fuck you guys,” Benji said to all of them.

“I already offered,” CJ said. “But I guess you’d have to find me.”

CJ asked Billy if she could keep the walkie-talkie for a little while, to goad or encourage Benji for the next few minutes. “Sure, Ceej.”

“Thanks, you’re awesome.” She jumped off of the stage and ran around the back of the stage, only to encounter a seething Benji stalking around her way. He hadn’t seen her yet and she slid to a stop and crept back the other way. Benji caught sight of her red sneakers and started after her. When he came around the corner he found that she had abandoned the shoes and left them there at the base of the stage. “I thought I’d even the odds and lose my shoes too. Now we’re both running barefoot on the blacktop.”

“No. Now I have your shoes and can hold them for ransom.”

“But you won’t do that.”

“You sure?”

“Uh huh. Cuz I left your shoe with a girl who’s a really really big fan of yours and she wants to say ‘hi’.” A voice came over the radio that was too loud to understand and garbled, but sounded significantly excited. “I would be very disappointed if you didn’t come find us. And so would she. Bring my sneakers.”

“You are a twisted, sadistic son of a bitch,” Benji said, a smile spreading across his lips.

“I know, baby. Turn to the left when you come around the stage and just run along the fence until you come to a discount CD booth. We’re sitting inside it.”

“Be there in a few.” Benji hurried along, heeding CJ’s instructions and found the discount CD booth. She was sitting inside, as she’d promised, his shoe under her bare feet, drinking a Bud Light. A girl who looked about fifteen was bouncing up and down on her stool, looking at Benji but trying to restrain herself from jumping up and grabbing him.

“Benj, you’re here! This is Molly.” CJ pointed to the girl and she jumped up and started talking to Benji faster than he could understand her. “And she sure would like to talk to you,” CJ finished. “I, uh, I got a beer for you. And your shoe.” She tossed them both at once and he caught them then turned his eyes warily back to Molly who hadn’t missed a beat. CJ was talking with the CD vendor, and he seemed to be enjoying her company. Benji kept looking just past Molly at CJ, who would sometimes catch his eyes and smile, shaking her head at the fact that this fan was so enamored of him.

“Wait, so you’re from around here?” Benji asked, almost rudely, but more just lazily late.

“Yeah, I live about twenty miles away. I had to get a ride here from this guy I totally don’t know, and my mom was so freaking out about that, but he’s a good guy and I’d risk it anyway so I could come see Good Charlotte. You’re just my favorite band. I love you, Benji.”

He smiled a rare sweet smile. “Aww, thank you, Molly.”

“Your drummer’s really cool too. She saw my shirt and came to talk to me.” She was wearing a red spade shirt. “You’re gonna keep her, right? She’s awesome.”

Benji looked at CJ and smiled. “As long as she’ll stay…”

“You’re not leaving, right?” Molly turned to CJ and asked her.

CJ blinked up at her. “Uh… not soon, I don’t think. Unless Benji kills me in my sleep.”

Molly’s eyes got large, then she laughed. “Why would he do that?”

“Cuz we hate each other,” she replied, smirking at Benji.

“That’s right.”

“I poisoned your beer,” CJ said. “Montezuma’s revenge.” Benji cocked his head at her and frowned.

“CJ’s always using bizarre references I don’t have a clue about.”

“Shit, Benji, that means I could reference 89% of what’s out there.”

He pointed at her. “Shut up.”

“Make me.” Benji ducked Molly’s arm and dove into CJ, knocking her off her stool, onto the dusty ground and pouring the remainder of his beer on her. She pushed him off of her and sat up, shaking her head so the beer flew off of the ends of her twists onto the other people in the tent. Molly looked at them strangely as CJ put an arm around Benji’s neck and he hauled her up, sticky and dirty, the dust a shade lighter than her deep brown skin, making her look ashen.

“Yeah, I feel the hatred rolling off of you two,” the CD vendor said.

“Can I get your autograph?” Molly asked, holding out a permanent marker to him.

“Sure.”

“Here, on my shirt.”

Benji paused. “I dunno, that’s a really nice shirt.”

“I’ll buy another one,” she said shrugging.

“Okay.” Molly pointed to her left shoulder and Benji leaned in and signed the shirt. He started to give back the pen when Molly asked to have CJ sign her shirt as well. CJ obliged and the girl left the tent to catch another of her favorite bands.

“Well, well,” CJ said, sitting back down on the stool “the ladies sure do love your flat ass.” Benji sat on her left leg. “Add bony to that.”

“What can I say, I’m a loveable guy.”

“This is Brian, by the way,” CJ said, pointing to the CD vendor. The two guys shook hands.

“You gonna date this ‘ho?” Benji asked.

Brian smiled, running a hand through his short brown hair and turning his verdant gaze on CJ. “I was hoping to, maybe.”

“So you think I’m a ‘ho?” CJ demanded of Brian.

“’Course not. I think you’re awesome. Not everyday you meet a girl drummer, you know?” CJ nodded. “So I thought, since you’ll be around for two days here, I could take you out tonight?”

CJ looked at him, a gorgeous dimple in his left cheek, long dark eyelashes, a modest amount of tattoos creeping up his forearms. He rubbed his hands together nervously. “Shit, Brian, I’d love to hang out with you.”

“No way.”

“Completely.”

“Okay. I’ll come back around the buses after the shows wrap up to find you.”

“I’m not gonna’ have anything spiffy to wear, you know.”

Brian hummed his thought on that point. “That’s all right. I got it covered.” He smiled that brilliant smile of his again.

The walkie-talkies piped up again. “Where are you guys? Come get some pizza with me and Paul,” Joel radioed in. “And we have a girl askin’ for you, Benji.”

“Man of the hour,” CJ said.

“C’mon, let’s go,” he said, getting up. “I know you’re hungry, you always are.”

She stood up and walked over to Brian. “Do you want me to bring you back anything? Since you’re manning the booth.”

“Nah, I’ll be all right. Come back around whenever, I’ll generally be here.” She nodded and gently brushed the top of his hair with her fingertips before she turned away and followed Benji through the crowds. He signed a few autographs on the way, all adolescent girls.

They sat down at the table with Joel and Paul and took a few pieces from the pie the guys had already started. Benji laughed and pointed at CJ. “So this bitch has been on the tour for one day and she already has a date for tonight.”

“Really?” Joel asked, pushing CJ to the left. “What’s his naaame?” He cooed, like when he was a grade school girl.

“Brian,” CJ mumbled through a mouthful of pepperoni pizza.

“What’s he look like?” Paul asked.

“Adorable. Short brown hair, green eyes, great smile-”

“Oh, he’s just dreamy,” Benji cut in, talking in a high, feminine voice. “And tonight I’m gonna make sweet, sweet love to him.”

CJ reached out and put a hand over Benji’s mouth and continued her description. “He’s not too tall, and works at one of the CD pavilions. He seems really nice and I think he’ll be a good date.” Benji started licking her hand and she pulled her hand away, wiping it on his shorts. “You’re a bastard,” she said pointing at him.

Billy showed up and sat down on the left side of CJ, taking the extra piece of cheese pizza off of her plate and shoving almost half of it in his mouth at once. “What’re you talking about?” He mumbled.

“CJ’s gonna get booty tonight,” Paul told him.

“Oh yeah? She’s got enough of her own, dunno if she needs more,” Billy said, looking down CJ’s back, down to her butt. She turned to look at him and yanked the rest of the pizza out of his hand, licking it to mark it and putting it back down on her plate.

“Any a y’all got dates?” She looked around at all of them. “Didn’t think so.”

“So we’re all living vicariously through you,” Paul said. “So you better get some.”

“Shut UP you stupid boys,” CJ said and got up, taking another piece of pizza with her as she went. As she was walking away, Benji mouthed a cheesy porno music baseline, which made her look back over shoulder at them and wink.

“Love to watch her leave,” Benji said. “Hey where’s this girl that was asking about me?”

Joel pat his brother on the back, laughing. “There was no girl, Benj. It was just the fastest way to get you over here.”

“Aww, fuck you guys,” he said back, smacking Joel’s hand away.