Disclaimer: Okay, again, for the record, I DO NOT own the gentlemen of Good Charlotte, they belong to Epic and their moms. I DO NOT own the guys of Mest either. Who’d want to.

(a/n: Okay people, here’s another story in the CJ series. People seem to really like these a lot, and I always aims to please.)

Benji, Joel, Billy, Paul and CJ, the newest acquisition to the GC clan, all sat around a bon-fire that had somehow sprung up in the middle of the back parking lot of the UIC Pavilion in Chicago. Since Chicago was home to the boys of Mest, they had quite gladly come to the Good Charlotte show to hang out. Now that it was long over and even the straggling fans had left, everyone was sitting around the fire drinking beer and liquor, talking and laughing, lamenting the fact that their fans were primarily extremely underage. Nick admitted that despite being fourteen, some of those little blond chicks were hot shit.

“That’s gross, dude,” Joel laughed. “Don’t you got a little sister?”

“Hey, my little sister’s friends are all up on my jock.” Nick tried to keep a straight face through the statement, but he failed at the last minute. “I’m all like ‘hells yeah!’” He broke down into extended spasms of laughter, falling off of the crate he was sitting on and busting his elbow on the ground. The skin split open and started oozing blood, Billy recoiling at the sight.

“You should get a band-aid on that,” he said.

“Clean it out first,” Paul offered, swallowing a mouthful of Honey Brown, then taking in another mouthful and leaning over Nick to spit it on his arm. Nick squealed and rolled out of the way, the beer splattering on the blacktop in white, foamy patterns.

“Or cauterize it,” CJ said, semi-sober and enjoying the enhanced stupidity of the guys around her.

“What the hell?” Nick asked, staring at her.

“Paul, give him your lighter,” she said. Paul dug into his pullover pocket and handed the disposable orange device to Billy, the fire shimmering in the clear flammable liquid as he handed it to Nick.

Benji and Tony were taking turns spitting Everclear into the fire and watching it flare angrily as it consumed the near-pure alcohol. They laughed and hooted like they were on a rollercoaster, the pitch rising with the flames and dying as they passed the bottle to one another. Benji was committed to remaining sober, but what he hadn’t counted on was the fact that alcohol absorbs through the tongue if you swallow it or not. And Tony, quite aware of the potency of Everclear, had suggested the game banking on the fact that he’d get his goofy-drunk friend back for a night. CJ had hated Tony immediately.

“Hey Tony, look.” Jere nudged his friend, who turned bleary eyes on him and his cousin, then followed Jere’s finger as he pointed at Nick. He had turned the lighter up to get the tallest flame and was staring at the dancing orange tongue.

“What’s he doing?” Benji slurred as his shoulder bumped Tony, then rested against him. The edges of Tony’s mouth curved up minutely at that.

Nick poked his elbow out towards the bon-fire so he could see it and brought the lighter towards the scrape, waving the flame along it, then yelping in pain. He jumped back like he had been bitten, the lighter flying from his hand and landing in the fire, exploding in dangerous tiny shards of plastic.

“Oh, what the hell, man?” Paul demanded. “That was my last ass lighter. Now I gotta get a new pack.” Jere dug into his pocket and pulled out a dollar, balling it up and throwing it at Paul as Nick tripped back over his crate and landed on the same elbow. He whimpered as he sat up to cradle the arm in his lap. Joel, Benji, Paul and Billy burst into laughter again. CJ shook her head, almost feeling sorry for him, but it was obvious he was too wasted to really care that much. He was laughing again within a minute.

“Buy a new one, whiner,” Jere said when the dollar hit Paul in the face.

Paul rose from CJ’s side, drunk and hulking. “Don’t make me come over there, stickety.” Paul had taken to calling both Jere and Matt that name which he had previously reserved only for Billy. Any guy he viewed as less than half his size got the privilege of that derision. CJ pulled a cherry flavored tootsie-pop from her pocket in anticipation of a good show.

“Bring it, lard-ass,” Matt said, quite readily putting Jere’s body on the line for the sake of watching a great drunken fight. Paul charged over as Jere stood up to face him. Soon the two pugilists were rolling around on the blacktop in the firelight.

Joel moved closer to Benji as the two rolled his direction. Benji slung an arm around his brother’s shoulders, speaking to him in words that slid severely into the next. CJ watched him, suddenly sullen, rolling the tootsie-pop around in her mouth, unsticking it from her tongue stud. She was quite orally fixated, and would have been gnawing on her lip ring if it weren’t for having some hard candy in her mouth. The fire reflected on the surface of her glasses, obscuring her gaze. Tony had taken to watching her through the flames as she thoughtfully manipulated the lollipop and observed. Suddenly, it seemed to him, she untucked her feet from beneath herself and stood up to stretch, her t-shirt lifting to reveal a toned stomach above the studded belt. She turned and reached down for her zip hoodie, letting Tony see some of the artwork on her lower back. “Well, gentlemen,” CJ said, “I’m going in the bus to read. See you guys later and don’t hurt yourselves.” She looked directly at Nick, who was now back up on his crate and drinking again. He winked at her. She liked Nick a lot, as much as one could like a completely crazy guy, and she chalked it up partly to a bond over occupation. She turned her back on the scene, retreating into darkness.

“What… what do you guys think of CJ?” Matt asked Joel when she was far enough way to not hear the boys start talking about her.

He cocked his head and frowned. “What do you mean?”

Matt sat up straighter and gestured with his hands. “I mean, like… she seems cool…” He waved his hand as though he didn’t know how to finish the thought.

“She’s, like, one of the guys,” Joel said, hoping to clarify.

“Yeah,” Nick joined the conversation. “But one of your guys is a girl. How fucking awesome is that?”

“It’s pretty awesome,” Paul mumbled from the headlock Jere had him in.

“You seen – her -- naked yet?” Jere asked, out of breath, struggling to keep Paul subdued.

Joel smiled that smile of his, that involved the eyes as well as the mouth, making his face and the people around him light up like daytime. He looked down and away from everyone sheepishly, color leaping to his cheeks. “Coupla times,” he finally said softly. The group exploded into sounds of approval.

“Where the hell was I?” Billy demanded.

“’Sleep,” Paul replied.

“It’s all fair,” Benji offered. “We getta walk around naked sometimes in the bus, why can’t she?”

“You should put in a web cam,” Nick said. “I’d watch.”

“What’d she look like?” Jere asked, now sitting on the blacktop next to an exhausted Paul and leaning forward with an expectant look on his face, his eyes shimmering.

Joel looked over at him, still grinning. “She looked like she’d kick my ass if she knew I was talking about this.”

Tony watched CJ finally reach the bus and disappear inside. His eyes lingered on the glowing shaft of light that was the door to the bus, wetting his lips with his tongue. He looked back at the tinted windows as he saw the outline of CJ moving towards the back of the bus.

“Oh, man can she dance, though,” Paul said, putting a hand over his heart and rolling his eyes up to the sky as he recollected. “When she gets restless on the road she’ll go in the back and put on some Missy-” He shook his head and ran his hand through his spiky hair.

“You can’t help but wanna dance up on her,” Joel finished.

“Yeah,” Benji laughed. “’Dance’,” he finger quoted. Joel looked over at his brother then shook his head, giving him a light smack in the face.

Tony gave the bottle of Everclear over to Benji and stood up. “Where you goin’?” Benji asked.

“What’re you, my mom?” He asked, shedding his shirt and throwing it back at his friend as he jumped over the fire. Benji laughed aloud at the feat, then lost him as Tony ventured outside the range of his alcohol-vision. He walked softly onto the bus, taking care not to rock it as he entered, partly on account of being dangerously drunk and partly to not disturb the girl he knew lie within. Tony’s Pumas crunched on the gritty floor as he ventured past the bunks and through the open curtains into the back room. CJ sat in the middle of the cushions, slouching, reading a hardback. She still had that lollipop in her mouth. Her eyes quickly flicked up, catching for a moment on the Chicago skyline and old school chest piece that decorated his chest and midsection, then returned to her reading in disinterest. Tony flashed a Cheshire. “How you doin’?” He asked.

CJ was silent for a few moments, then replied, “Ssh, reading.”

Tony stretched most of his body out on the cushions and leaned close to her, looking over her shoulder at blurred, incoherent words. He slowly became aware that she was looking him in his face, eyes narrowed at the intrusion, cherry-scented breath invading his nostrils as a smile spread over his lips again. “Can I get some of that tootsie-pop?” He asked, speaking close.

CJ leaned away from him and frowned, looking skeptically at him. “There’s a whole bag over there.” She pointed to her bunk, to the freshly-opened bag on the messy bedcover.

“Nah,” he said. “I want that one.” He reached up and tapped the end of the lollipop stick.

CJ lifted an eyebrow a moment, studying his eyes and finding them oddly hard to read, as drunk people’s often are. She removed the candy from her mouth, and relinquished it without more than a slight shrug, returning to her book. After living on a tour bus with the guys she had ceased questioning any idiosyncrasies she came across. Tony licked it once, then placed it in his mouth and settled back close to her, looking at her face and determining what about it made it so pleasant. Her features had a softness to them that generally came with femininity, chocolaty skin that readily soaked up the sun, and a smile that shimmered in contrast. She never smiled for him. He offered back her lollipop. She wrinkled her nose and said, “Keep it, dude.”

He looked down her bare arms and at her legs, naked from just below the knee. “You got a nice body.” CJ’s eyes moved his way but her head did not. “You should wear some… some butt-hugger shorts.”

She blinked at him, not amused. “They’re not very functional, Tony. For drumming.” That was the first time she had ever said his name. “Otherwise I’d be all up in ‘em, I swear.”

He grinned. “You like tour? You like Chicago? We just got home.”

“It’s cool.”

He put a hand on her leg and rubbed slightly. “I think you’re beautiful.”

Why was it that every horny male felt it necessary to throw that empty epithet her way? She turned and looked at him very directly as she grabbed his wrist and pulled his hand away from her leg. “Tony, get the fuck off my bus and get sober, all right?” In a surprisingly quick motion he released his wrist from her grip and got her wrist in his. “Where’d you learn that move?” She asked.

“’Nam,” he replied.

She smirked and pulled her hand away. “Charming. Now get out.” He shook his head “no.” “Fine,” she mumbled, then stood to leave herself.

Tony reached out and grabbed her by the forearm, pulling her back to him and taking hold of her other arm as well. His fingers pressed painfully into her skin, making her gasp aloud at the rough contact. She scolded herself immediately for giving him that satisfaction. “Where you going, Ceej?” Tony asked, holding her so close to him that he could feel her body heat on his bare skin. “Fun’s just started.”

Benji stumbled onto the tour bus at 1:45 a.m., early for him, since the group had decided to meet back at two to get on the road for the next venue. He slurred drunkenly at Harold, the bus driver, who had just returned as well, and the two of them laughed loudly. The sound floated back to CJ, who sat in the open back room. She wasn’t watching a movie, she had stopped reading, she was reclining in the middle of the cushions, her head cocked slightly to the side as she stared blankly at the ceiling. The book Blinded by the Right sat to her left and she slipped it into her lap as she heard the uneven footfalls coming back her way. Benji moved unsurely through the open curtains, into the room with CJ, grinning as he came. “There’s my little bookworm,” he cooed, pointing at CJ with both index fingers. His ruddy cheeks made him look like a little boy. He collapsed bodily onto the cushions, stretching out on his stomach to CJ’s right.

“Hey, Benj,” she said softly to his down-turned head. She placed a hand lightly on the back of his head and ruffled his pink short-cropped hair against the grain. He didn’t respond except for his shoulders relaxing at her first touch. “Benj, I need to talk to you,” she said louder. He did nothing. “Benji,” she said, annoyance becoming sharp in her voice. He grunted his attention but didn’t move. CJ reached down and lifted his chin. “Benji, tell me your fucking friends left, all right? Or else keep them the fuck away from me.” Her anger seemed sudden and misplaced. His eyes fluttered open, his pale brow creased, the confused and hurt look that crossed his face softening her tones right away. “I’m serious, Benji,” she said more quietly, just above a whisper. “Tell me those damn kids aren’t here anymore.”

He sat up and blinked his bleary eyes, momentarily digging the heels of his hands into them. “Yeah… yeah, they left.” The confusion still lingered in his face. “What’s got you so bent outta shape?” He leaned forward, his elbows on his knees so he could look up into her eyes.

She turned her face away from him and shook her head. “Doesn’t matter.” She threw her book into the corner and got up.

“Wait-” Benji reached out and grabbed her arm.

“Ow, Benj, don’t,” CJ said quickly, a curious wave of panic coursing through her, no doubt manifesting itself on her face as Benji’s expression changed from confusion to concern. He looked down at her arm, dark beneath his pale hand, and noticed four darker small circular bruises on her skin.

“What the hell is this?” He gently coaxed her closer, as she was reluctant to be examined. He had seen these before, in his childhood. He was loath to see them again. While his beer-addled brain worked through the information, his thumb traveled over the contusions, making CJ wince, his eyes catching a glimpse of matching bruises on her other arm. Then all at once he understood. Immediately sobered, he stood up straight, a lightning-strike of anger flickering behind his eyes. “Where’s Tony?”

CJ put her hands up to him in a placating fashion. “Whoa, you said he left.”

Benji frowned, trying to remember back through the fuzziness. “…I did…”

“Look, it’s not gonna do any good to fight-”

He flashed her an intense look. “I’ve heard that before.” He shook his head. This was all coming back too clearly.

“Tell me something,” CJ said, knowing this would quell Benji’s rage. “Did he limp outta here?”

Benji thought back, furrowing his brow as his mind glided through the alcohol-induced haze. “Hey, yeah. He said he tripped or something.”

CJ shook her head. “He didn’t trip.” Benji blinked at her, then nodded in understanding, not being able to help but smirk a little despite the situation. Paul, Billy and Joel clambered up into the bus. She looked up front then looked back at Benji, who had calmed considerably in the last couple of moments, but his hands were still clenched at his sides and he murmured angrily to himself. “Hey,” she reached out and touched his left fist lightly, rubbing her fingers over his knuckles. “No need to bring this up?”

He shuffled his feet, letting his hands relax. “Shit, dude. Tony was my boy…” He began, shame in his tone, eyes downcast as he rubbed his hair forward.

“Doesn’t matter,” CJ said. “He was very drunk. And if you keep him away from me I won’t have to kill him.”

Benji was always grateful for her ability to make a crappy situation bearable with her dark humor. He picked up her book and put it back in her hands. “He’s never coming ‘round me or you again, okay? This’ll never happen again.” CJ blinked up at him, hoping that she could believe him. He must have seen the doubt in her eyes because he pulled her into a reassuring hug, tucking his head down so his chin fell on her shoulder and their cheeks touched. “I swear it,” he added emptily as Joel, Billy and Paul settled into their bunks and Harold started the bus for the trip to the next venue. Oblivious as ever, Benji staggered to his bunk and collapsed.

Sitting back on the cushions, CJ listened to her guys’ slow, measured breathing and let the rocking of the bus moving down the highway start to calm her frayed nerves. They’d never known how many times she’d had to fight off drunken advances in the short time she had been on tour, and they wouldn’t know how many more times she would have to in the future. It seemed to be one of the perils of touring with multiple all-male bands. Alcohol, a pack of dudes, and a sliver of opportunity always proved a dangerous combination, but it seemed silly to tell them all about it. No use busting up friendships. CJ sighed and pulled off her shoes as she sucked the cut on her lip Tony’s teeth had inflicted. As she climbed into bed and pulled up her covers she considered if it was worth all the trouble, drumming for GC. A smile spread across her lips as she closed her eyes and heard Benji do that snort-cough thing he did in his sleep sometimes. Drifting towards sleep she heard herself murmur, “Abso-fuckin’-lutely.”