Chapter 4

Disclaimer: This is purely fiction, and the guys of Good Charlotte are still on loan from Epic. You think they'd want them back or something.

He frowned down at her, then took her by the shoulders, making sure she was looking at him and listening. �CJ, I think those cops were in on that murder.�

�Murder?� She blinked up at him.

�Okay, look at your hand.� She did so. �See those names?� She nodded. �Those are the names of two guys that were shot tonight right in front of you.� The last four words came out loud and sharp, his annoyance at the fact that she had been drunk stupid at the time rising in a ball to rest in his throat.

�No shit.�

�Yeah, no shit. And I know I saw where the shots came from but that damn Italian couple� I think they were in cahoots with the police.� She laughed at the word cahoots. She always thought that word was funny as hell. �Or the police knew not to get involved.� He punched the side of the bus and cursed aloud.

�Those old people?� She asked, referring to the Italian couple she had seen on their way to the bar. He shook his hand out, attempting to alleviate the pulsing pain. CJ reached out and took it in her hands gently, her thumbs softly grazing over the reddened skin, lightly squeezing through his hand, between the bones of the knuckles, finding knots and nerves and calming them with a firm, slow touch. Paul immediately felt the stress falling out of him.

�I used to get these from a friend of mine between gigs.� She looked up at him a moment as he watched her finger work, then back down at what she was doing. �To get enough cash we�d sometimes play a couple shows a night, and that got really tiring for me.� He leaned forward as he relaxed, letting himself slouch over, catching the light scent that clung to her hair. �Come here,� she said as she moved to the steps of the tour bus, sitting on the top steps and summoning him to sit below her. He obeyed, sitting with his back to her and she started to give him a scalp massage, her fingers working back through his hair, hairline then back, over the top of his head to the base of his skull. �This always calms me down,� she said softly, so as not to break the mood. Paul closed his eyes and reveled in it.

Joel leaned out of his bunk to see CJ sitting at the front of the bus. He called to her, �Hey, what�s up?�

She motioned him towards her with a gesture of her head. When he knelt next to her she answered him softly. �Paul�s worked up about something tonight, but I don�t remember.� Paul murmured, shifting, mumbling.

�Billy told me,� Joel said. �Harold was listening to the radio, after Billy and Benji came in. One of �em had a thready heartbeat that stabilized, the other they revived in the ambulance, and now both of them are in serious condition at the Cleveland Clinic.�

Paul murmured again, his muscles to lazy to put together coherent words. �I know, baby, it�s all good,� CJ said to Paul and looked back at Joel. She mouthed *they�re really okay?* Joel nodded. She sighed, �Thanks, God.�

�Can I get one of those after Paul?� She smiled at Joel slowly and shook her head �no,� then revised her claim when he looked disappointed.

�Maybe if my hands aren�t tired,� she clarified.

Paul mumbled, just on the side of understandable this time. �I don�t want to make your hands tired.�

�Shall I stop?� The length of the pause answered that question. �Couple more minutes.�

�I want to go see them,� Paul said slowly. �Figure what happened.�

Joel seated himself on the floor next to CJ. �We can�t go around solving mysteries in the tour bus. This isn�t the Scooby Van.�

�Mystery Machine,� Billy called up to them from his bunk.

�Thank you, cartoon guru,� Joel called back.

�Ssh, you�re wrecking his calm moment.� CJ finished with a slow creep from the center of the front of his head and around the sides, coming together at the back. �Okay, you�re done.� Paul didn�t move, let his head loll forward as she let go it. She hopped up and went back to the bathroom.

�Dude, you all right?� Joel asked Paul.

He groaned, �Oh, man. I� I can�t get up.�

Joel laughed. �Relaxed you that much, huh?�

Paul shook his head. �Not exactly. Hey, you think she�ll be out of the bathroom before we get called in?�

Joel frowned at him, not getting his train of thought for a moment. �Oh. Ooooh, okay. Um, I could always make her hurry.�

�No,� Paul said quickly. �The longer she�s back there, more I can recover.� He lifted his head finally and attempted to tame his hair, but finding that bending his bruised hand was painful.

Joel noticed the Ballroom manager coming out to the bus and greeted him. �The opening band has only a couple songs left. I figure you guys would want to get your stuff together and get ready to get on there.�

�Is Ian in there?� Joel had met Ian in the venue as he was setting up drums and mics for the other bands. He seemed on top of things and Joel wanted to make sure he was in charge of their set up. He was sure that CJ would like him a lot, since she�d probably be in contact with him the most. She came out of the bathroom and came up front.

�Yeah, he�s in there,� the manager responded. �Yours are the red ones, right?� He asked, referring to the drums.

CJ smiled down at him. �Those are them. We can set up now?�

He nodded and motioned her down, taking her hand like a gentleman as she brushed past Paul, putting one hand on top of his head to stabilize herself, the bare bottom half of her legs coming into brief contact with his side. Paul let out a slow breath as he watched her disappear into the building. �You need some ice?� Joel asked Paul.

He opened and closed his hand a few times. �Yeah, I�m gonna have to ice this mug up after the show.�

There was a brief silence as Joel looked at the redden skin on Paul�s fist, a slight swelling already beginning. �Wait, what happened to your hand?�

The energy at the show was awesome, and the Ballroom was one of those great venues, with only a knee-high stage and all sorts of opportunity for social interaction. Paul had a good set despite the injured hand, and CJ just played as she always did. Paul found himself facing her a lot of the time, as they complimented each other, the drums and base, and she would always give him a quick smile. At the end of the set she tossed her sticks into the audience and hung on Joel as she left the stage. They all went outside directly, just for some fresh, cold air to dry out in, and to change their shirts because they were soaked. �Oh, crap, I forgot my shirt!� CJ said, turned and sprinted back inside. She always shed her shirt at indoor and summer shows and was most comfortable playing in a sports bra anyway.

�That was dope,� Benji said. �That was SO dope.� He changed into an Independent shirt, out of the Casualties shirt that was drenched and disgusting. �Now all I need is a six pack like CJ�s and I�m good to go.� He pat on his beer belly and fed it a bottle of water.

A female voice called in �Is Joel in there?�

Billy went to the door and leaned out. �Who wants to know?�

�You don�t remember us?� It was the three girls from the bar, and Billy blushed in the streetlight, embarrassed he�d forgotten them that quickly. �Oh, yeah. Right, I remember you. Just, uh� stay there, and I�ll get him.� He almost felt bad, what with them in tank tops in the chilly night, knowing that Joel would probably not leave the bus until his hair was perfect and he smelled good again. Billy told Joel about his company and changed shirts, following Benji off the bus. Benji didn�t look at all at the girls that had sat down on the blacktop, still waiting for Joel. Billy stopped for a second to assure them that he would be with them in a minute. Paul sat on his bunk, his feet hanging over the edge, reading a book that CJ had brought for him. The book was Smoke and Mirrors. She had read it in a sociology class and thought he might enjoy it, though it was a little outdated, following the �war on drugs� through part of the Clinton administration. Joel put water in his hair and started combing it the way he liked it.

�Dude, why don�t you just go out there dirty? Those girls don�t care; they just want to see you. *The* Joel, you know?�

Joel chortled, using his fingers to manipulate the wet strands. �I care.�

CJ rocked the bus as she ran up the steps. �Dude, those kids are sitting on the ground waiting for your ass.� She stepped into the tiny bathroom to use the mirror, in full contact with him and looked him in the eye through his reflection. �You better get out there.�

�All right, all right,� he said quietly. �How do I smell?�

CJ pretended to think about it a moment, as he smelled like he always did, some clean scent mixed with that guy smell. How he maintained that during a show was just beyond her. �You smell like Joel.� He turned around in the limited space and bent his knees so he was nose to nose with her for a moment. �Which is good,� she added.

�Checkin� myself out in your glasses.�

�How�s it look?�

He popped a piece of gum in his mouth and said, �damn fine.� He slid out of the bathroom and exited, leaving CJ and Paul in the bus together. She splashed some cool water up on her face and pulled out a normal bra and a T-shirt to put on.

�Okay, Paul. Don�t look,� CJ said.

He looked up from his book, staring right at her, pretending not to have heard her warning. �What?�

She rolled her eyes. �Fine.� She turned her back to him and took off her sports bra, replacing it with a normal black one and pulling on a Green Day t-shirt. When she turned back around Paul was reading again. �Were you waiting for me, or are you staying in tonight?�

He tossed the book into his bunk and jumped onto the floor. �Waiting.�

�Let�s go to the bar.�

�Wait,� he caught her forearm as she was heading for the door. She looked down at his hand, then up at his face and he let her go.

�What? You wanna make out instead?� The less than amused look on his face made her smile drop. She turned her body towards him and leaned against the bunks. �You wanna talk about something?� She assumed that Paul just had some real issue that couldn�t be solved in a smoke-filled, noisy room and over a rum and coke.

�Could you put on a bigger shirt?�

CJ squinted at him, then looked down at herself, wearing a normal t-shirt, sized small, so it clung minimally to her small chest. �Uh, no, I could not. What the fuck?�

Color leapt to the boy�s cheeks as he looked down at his feet and shook his head. �Dammit, this always happens.�

�Hunh?�

�You know how it�s cool to have a friend that�s a guy, but not anything sexual. Just a guy who�s your friend,� Paul said.

She paused, furrowing her brow and leaning towards him a little. �Are you saying you�re gay? Do you like Billy?�

�No, no, I mean from your perspective,� he clarified.

�Oh.� She nodded. �Yeah, sure.�

�I think it�s different from a guy perspective sometimes.�

She laughed. �Don�t I know it. Bloody Valentine anyone?�

He shook his head. �It�s not always that severe, you know. We�re not all Benji.�

She nodded, crossing her arms over her chest and leaning against his shoulder. �Sometimes you�re just left with wondering, right?� He nodded validation to her reasoning. �I guess I can see that.�

�Kinda sucks,� he said.

They were both quiet for a moment. �Know what�s cool about that room back there?� CJ asked Paul, pointing towards the lounging room they had watched the movie in earlier.

�What?�

She looked up at him. �It�s empty.� He looked over at her as her hand stealthily found its way into his, feeling so tiny and fragile in his grip.

�You gonna let me be on top?� He joked.

She led him through the curtains, into the darkened room. �We�ll see.�

�With it so dark, it�ll be hard to see anything,� Paul said as he pinned up the purple privacy handkerchief and pulled the curtains shut.

�Well, we�ll have to feel it out, then.� He felt her hands slip under his shirt in the front, and slide against his skin as she moved to embrace him.

�Well put,� he responded and �accidentally� fell onto the couches, taking CJ with him.

Joel came back on the bus looking for Paul, but saw the privacy flag and backed out, assuming that Paul had invited a lady friend back and was getting his swerve on. �Way to go, kid,� Joel said under his breath. He had at last lost the three teenagers that had tailed him through the venue for the last ten or fifteen minutes, and now he felt oddly alone. Perhaps too alone? Something wasn�t quite right. Standing in the middle of the parking lot as night had fallen, light from the streetlamp above bathing him in orange light, Joel had the feeling of being in a fishbowl. He looked up and around himself, at the dark silhouettes of the buildings around him, but it was impossible to see anything. Billy leaned out of the side door and called Joel inside to hang out. �Yeah�� He replied, looking around himself one more time. �Yeah, I�m coming.� He shook his head, dispelling the feelings and following Billy inside.

Paul looked down into CJ�s face, his hands on either side of her head, fingers playing with her twists the way he�d seen her do a million times before. It�d figure she�d even look good in sodium vapor street lamp light. �God, you�re beautiful,� he whispered.

CJ half smiled and looked away from him. �Shut up. Don�t say that.�

Paul turned her face back to his. �Why not?�

She blinked up at him. �Well, it� it embarrasses me.�

He leaned down and brushed her nose with his, and breathed, �why would it embarrass you?�

Her hands started to idly play with the back of his shirt. �I dunno. I guess I was never good at taking compliments.�

He shook his head, a smile invading his face despite any effort to stop it. �You might have to get used it, CJ. I�ll make it a point to compliment you every day.� She smiled, pulling her hand up from beneath him to touch his cheek, slightly calloused hands on smooth skin. �Like,� he began, �your eyes are gorgeous, and I wish you�d take your glasses off more often.� He leaned down and kissed the side of her neck. �You always smell good, which is refreshing on this tour bus.� He kissed her neck again, just below her jaw, feeling her pulse beneath his lips. �You make a t-shirt and shorts look unduly sexy.� He kissed her lips, encountering her tongue ring in surprise again, as he had forgotten that quickly that she had one. His hands were on the edges of her t-shirt, easing it up her body as she arched beneath him to accommodate the motion. She stretched her arms out above her head and he pulled the shirt off, tossing it then sliding his hands down the underside of her arms, down her sides, to her hips. He looked down at her body, then looked back to her face. �Still embarrassed?�

She shook her head �no.� �Funny, more naked I get, less embarrassed I am.�

Paul laughed. �At least that goes for one of us.�

�Too bad, lose the shirt,� CJ said, tugging up on it. He shed it, and they both enjoyed the warm skin to skin contact, and being a gentleman, he neglected to attempt to undress her further. Herein lay the advantages to having a girl with you on tour. Anytime you needed just a moment to hold on to someone, there was the potential for it� without it being awkward. CJ was generally accommodating as well, letting any of the guys sit with their arms around her, or let them jump in her bunk to sleep when they were feeling contact-deprived. He wrapped his arms around her and was made suddenly aware of how much bigger he was then she.

�Oh, man, I gotta be crushing you.� He never really thought about how small she actually was, but seeing and feeling her without her size-defying clothing had made him undeniably aware of how seemingly breakable she was.

�No, you�re not,� she assured him. �Just stay here.� He rubbed her smooth skin, closing his eyes as her lips met the hot skin on his neck, migrating momentarily, then finding that one spot on him that set nerves from nose to toes on fire. How she�d found it so fast was beyond him. He heard a groan escaping his lips, feeling his desire grow as all the blood rushed out of his normally mile-a-minute brain. A wrapping on the door of the tour bus interrupted them.

�They�ll go away,� CJ whispered.

�They better.� There was no further knocking from the person outside, but a sudden blow against the side of the bus made the whole thing rock slightly. It felt a lot like when they had played near Florida State, and a lot of drunken frat boys had been pissed that Billy and CJ weren�t out to sign autographs, the two of them having played extremely hung-over from early-morning debauchery and were trying to get some sleep, and the guys had started rocking the bus. The difference was that this only came once. This stuck CJ as odd.

�Maybe I should go see what�s up,� she whispered.

Paul�s teeth were on her shoulder. �What?�

�I�ll be back in a second.� She reached up and grabbed her t-shirt, sliding out from under Paul and sitting up. She could see the mute disappointment in his face and she reached out to touch his forehead, smoothing out the frown that had formed there. �You don�t think that sound was weird?�

Paul blinked his eyes a couple times, sitting up, hair in disarray. �I might, if there was any blood left in my head� I mean, this head,� he said, rubbing a hand through his hair.

CJ smiled and leaned forward, putting her hands on his thighs, leaning into his lips for a slow, soft kiss, pulling back to look into his face, then leaning in for another. �Okay, I�ll be right back.� He watched her go, his skin tingling in longing for her touch. She descended the steps and pushed open the door, leaning out into relative darkness but finding no one. She looked to her right and noticed something crumpled there on the ground, against the bus. CJ hopped down and walked over to it, squinting to see through the shadows, touching it and finding it warm to the touch. �Oh my God.� She could see the pool of blood spreading out from the body, breaking alcohol-obscured memories of earlier in the night into her consciousness. She pulled on the shoulder to turn the body over and reveal the oddly peaceful face of Ian, the Ballroom�s tech. �Holy shit,� she breathed. She looked up and around, not knowing where to look first. A dull pain radiated up from her left shoulder and she looked down, seeing the glint of a silver object, pulling it away from her to discern it as some sort of syringe/arrow type thing before her vision swam and she collapsed on the blacktop.

Paul ventured out of the tour bus still shirtless when CJ had been gone for too long. Outside of the tour bus he found nothing, no Ian, no CJ, and he assumed she had gone inside the venue for a little bit. He turned to get back on the bus and noticed a note stuck to the door. He pulled it down and read it. �Oh, shit.� He sprinted into the Ballroom and pushed through people, assuming Billy, Benji or Joel would be at the bar. He came across Joel on his way and started talking to fast for him to understand.

�Whoa, what?� Joel leaned in, trying to hear over the deafening din. �What?� Paul shoved the note in his hand and Joel set his beer on the railing and read it, his eyes growing in size as he read. �Somebody took CJ.�

�Yeah,� Paul said.

�What the fuck for?� Joel�s voice rose in pitch. �What the hell is going on?�

Paul took Joel by the shoulders. �All right, dude. We told you about the shootings, right?� Joel nodded. �I sorta saw where the gunshots came from.�

�Right,� Joel said.

He pointed to the end of the note. �They think I know who it was. They must want to make sure I don�t say anything� but what the fuck would I say? I don�t know shit!�

�Where can we find her?� Joel asked.

�I-� Paul shook his head. �I dunno, I guess they�ll call us, or something��

Joel stared at him open-mouthed. �They won�t hurt her, right?�

Paul knit his eyebrows together, looking down at Joel, his face as pale as he was sure his own was. �I dunno. We should tell Billy and Benji.�

It's gonna get fun in a minute� just a warning, I'm about to fuck somebody's shit up.