Chapter twenty seven:
Jenna was wandering around the venue. She had been sitting in the VIP room with Becky and Christy, but she had to get out of there because she was starting to feel like she was being suffocated.
It was early afternoon and Luke still had yet to call.

Christy had suggested she go for a walk to relax, but Jenna didn’t believe it would help. The only thing that could calm her nerves now were a stiff drink and a valium.

She sighed.
All she could think about was Luke. He was different, and not like most men. She hated most men too, especially with her track record and her amazing ability to find the biggest jerk on the planet and fall head-over-heels in love with him.

Jenna closed her eyes tightly and held her breath for as long as possible then exhaled slowly to avoid the feelings of hatred as images of past boyfriends flashed through her mind.

However, Luke seemed so much different. For one thing, he was much smarter than anyone she had ever met. They had a discussion about books and instead of talking about the typical science-fiction garbage, he talked to her about Hemingway, and Poe and Shakespeare; all of which were among her list of favorite authors. He managed to calculate sales tax on their movie tickets simply in his head, which impressed her and proved him to be intellectually ahead of every moron she had dated in the past. He was humorous and gentleman-like. And in addition to those things, he was also incredibly handsome, which brought a smile to her lips.

He’d proven himself to be the perfect guy.

Suddenly, her cellphone exploded with sound in her hand, causing her to jump almost three feet in the air.

She nearly panicked before answering. “Hello?”

“Jenna?”

“Luke?”

“Hey.”

“Hey.”

He chuckled. “Sorry, I was just wondering where you were. I went to help Zac set up some stuff and when I went to find you again you were gone… I thought you might like to hang out...”

Jenna laughed. “That’s okay… I’d actually completely lost track of time anyway.” She liked. She’d been practically counting the seconds.

“Oh? Are you busy? Do you want me to call back?” He asked cautiously.

“No!” She said, a little too eagerly. She closed her eyes tightly. “No, actually, I’m really glad you called.”

“I’m glad I get to speak to you too. I had a really great time last night… And I’d like to do it again sometime, but that’s going to be really hard since you’re going on tour…” He sounded disappointed and Jenna felt it too.

“Well, what are you doing right now?”

“Now? Nothing. Are you free?”

“Yeah, I am. Want to go for a walk or something? You could show me around a bit before the concert…”

“Okay, that sounds great. I’ll grab a cab and be right there.” 

“That’s perfect.” Jenna breathed an internal sigh of relief. “See you soon?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay, bye.”

“Bye.”

Jenna hung up the phone and bit her lower lip. It was wrong to be so smitten. She knew she was going to end up getting hurt, but she couldn’t help it.

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Christy snuck into the back of the bar where the concert was being held. She navigated her way between roadies and various venue employees and snuck closer to the front where she could watch the sound check and not be a distraction.

Zac was playing some random drum beat, Taylor had jumped off the front of the stage and was complaining to the sound technician that he couldn’t hear himself in the earpiece, but he could hear everyone else, and Isaac was attempting to re-tune an acoustic guitar and play a song at the same time.

Taylor jumped back up onto the stage and tested his microphone to make sure he could hear again, then spoke to his brothers.

“Lets try a song, just to see if everything is going smoothly, okay guys?”

Isaac nodded. “Good plan. I want to practice a solo section, too, but I can do that in a bit… “

“Hey, guys? Can I run and get something to eat? I’m starving.”

Christy smiled and left the room the same way she came in. She couldn’t believe the way she was feeling.
She was in a loving and normal relationship and for once in her life she felt whole.
Like she had finally found the piece of her that was missing, the piece that she had tried to fill with drugs and alcohol and random sex. And the missing piece was Isaac.

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Becky was sitting backstage in the VIP room. She had already spent the majority of the day on the internet reading bad fanfics about Hanson, and found herself even more bored than she was in the first place.

Jen had gone for a walk with Luke, and Christy had gone off wandering about an hour ago. Zac had been doing phone interviews and even though she wanted to listen to what was being said, she stayed away so she wouldn’t be a distraction. Taylor had said they weren’t talking about anything interesting anyway.

From there Zac practically went straight to the sound check as he had wanted to practice a few drumbeats for the concert.

Becky had been to a few concerts. She had of course gone to every Canadian date with Jenna since they were 11. Her mother had even got her a present of seeing  the band in New York once when her parents were there on a business trip, but it just wasn’t the same being there in the crowd alone without Jen.

Becky sighed and stood up, tucking her laptop under her arm and grabbing her purse. She dug the key to the bus out of the front pocket of her jeans and made her way down the hall towards the back entrance.

A security guard was waiting at the door and gave her a strange look, but she pulled her backstage pass from her purse to prove she was supposed to be there. He nodded and moved aside, and she went out into the bright sunshine, squinting slightly to see.

Thankfully there weren’t any fans waiting around the back for a glimpse of the band. She wasn’t ready to be labeled as “Zac Hanson’s girlfriend” for the fans and the media just yet.

She tucked her blonde hair behind her ear and shifted her laptop to her other arm so she could open the door to the bus. The girls had been given one key to share, and Becky was designated as the key keeper. Christy didn’t have pockets and Jenna insisted she lost everything.

Becky closed the door behind her and locked it just to feel safe. She mounted the three stairs and passed through the curtain into the front lounge. The bus was sleek and modern and relatively clean. The guys had yet to have time to make a mess in it. She’d never been in a tour bus before, and she loved it.

She didn’t know what it would be like with six people on one bus. She sighed, normally she was all alone in a big house, but now she was about to be crammed into a tiny bus. Secretly, she was excited.

The bus door opened as Becky was slipping her computer into her luggage.

“Becca? There you are!” Zac said, leaning over the railing on the bus stairs. “I thought I might find you here.” He smiled.

“You found me.” She lifted her shoulders with a smile.

“I’ve got some free time. Do you want to hang out?”

“Sure.”
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