Second Part of Sound Advice

"What in the hell happened to him?" Adam asked worriedly as he came up to Kyle's right side. He hung limply between the two other men. Claire touched his face and he winced.

"Claire, just hold on a sec. Let's get him over to the couch," Rob told her gently. He didn't want her hurting him any more than what he already was.

"Why isn't he saying anything?" Claire asked, her voice in an unsteady tone. "Kyle, can you hear me?"

Adam and Rob brushed by her as they brought him over to one of the purple couches. She followed. "I'm fine, Claire," she heard him say in a muddled voice. After they set him down, Adam rushed to the desk and tried to get someone's attention again. Claire got Kyle onto his back so he was lying down on the couch and she knelt on the floor beside him. She watched him. He kept his eyes closed tightly, as if trying to block out the pain. His right jaw was remarkably swollen. He was sweating, and his breathing was ragged.

"Honey, what happened?" she whispered, inspecting every one of his wounds with hurt eyes. She touched his face gingerly, not expecting him to answer.

Kyle opened his eyes barely, looking around the room only briefly. "What's Adam doing?" he asked as he continued to breathe irregularly.

"He's trying to get someone who can call for an ambulance," Rob informed as he hovered above him and Claire.

"I … I don't need…. I just want to back to the room wi-with Claire," he barely managed to get out. The pain was overbearing; he didn't even know where it was coming from. Only in the far corner of his mind did he fully realize Claire was right next to him.

"What the fuck is your problem, man?" Rob asked, stunned and worried. "You're really hurt! And you just want to go back up to your room? And do what? Lie there in this-this pain?"

"Rob, stop it. He's not thinking right." Claire shoved her hair behind her ears and kept her stare concentrated on Kyle. Adam jogged back to the couch.

"They're on their way," he told them as he eyed his friend worriedly.

Kyle closed his eyes again. "Calm down," he told them while he gripped her hand. That was the last he would remember of that crazy night.

~*~*~*~*~*~

He impatiently tapped his fingers on the hotel table beside his chair as he waited for his laptop to log onto the Internet. His eyes drifted from his screen and over to Brian who was resting on the bed, staring at the television sitcom. "Ya wanna head downstairs and meet the others when I'm through checking my mail?" he asked across the room.

"Sure, Adam," Brian mumbled with a nod of his head, not taking his eyes off the screen. Adam returned his eyes to his laptop. Although his mind was filled with thoughts of seeing a beaten Kyle last night barely able to breathe and of worries about his relationship with Grace, he still wondered about Brian. He seemed fine, but he wasn't so okay on the inside. He and Andy, his girlfriend, had broken up a week and a half ago. They'd been going out for quite some time and it seemed like they had a solid relationship. It seemed that way to Adam at least. And out of nowhere they both decided to end it. Anyone could tell he missed her, Adam said to himself.

He redirected his thoughts back to checking mail. He went directly to the email from Grace's address. With a sudden increase of his heartbeat, he clicked 'read' and watched with large eyes as her message appeared. "Hi Adam" it began. He smiled cautiously. It was as though there was some mysterious cloud surrounding his head that was telling him something was wrong. As he read through the letter, his pestering questions were answered but his fears too were confirmed. She was breaking up with him. Her dad was really sick, he found out. Grace was leaving Orlando to go back to Georgia where her family was.

I know you, Adam. Don't come here and get me. I need to be with my family now. I ran away from them for you. For what? For you, and all I do is sit at home without you. That's not how I wanted it to be. I've been so wrong. You had your chance. Now it's their turn. My dad's dying and he needs me there with them. I still can't believe I turned my back on them for this.... I love you, Adam. More than a lot of things. But I can't have you in my life right now, even if it is just the little bit we see each other now. Don't try to contact me anymore. I won't answer. Please try and understand. I hope you have all the luck in the world with the guys. And most of all, don't worry too much. I talked to my dad last night and he said the same thing he's told me since I was six. The soundest piece of advice is to laugh often and worry little. When we did have the time to spend together, that's how our relationship was, Adam. We laughed so hard and never took anything seriously. Part of me feels like I want nothing more than that, but this is what I have to do.

Love,
Grace

He read that last paragraph over twice before slamming the laptop shut in hidden rage. Roughly, he set it onto the glass tabletop.

"You finished already?" Brian asked, flipping the television screen off. The room became silent as he stood from the bed, straightening his black button down shirt.

"Yeah," Adam told him. He barely managed to say it without his voice trembling. He again picked his laptop up again.

"Everything okay?"

"No worse off than you," he stated with an icy stare, opening the hotel door. Brian's blue eyes looked confused, but he stepped out into the hall without saying another word.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Claire glanced at the lobby clock situated on the wall opposite her. It was already three in the afternoon. Sighing, she leaned back into the couch beside Kyle. She looked up at his face, which was nestled against his chest. The swelling in his jaw had gone down somewhat and the doctor at the hospital the previous night had confirmed that he didn't have a concussion. But she did tell them that he wasn't getting nearly enough sleep, and the exhaustion was probably what had caused Kyle to be so incoherent after Rob found him. Some deep bruises, a gash on his arm, and a bump on his head. He was going to be fine if he'd just get some rest and stop worrying about everything. Claire crossed her right leg over her left, accidentally bumping his knee. Kyle's head popped back up and he looked around the room, confused.

"Sorry for waking you, honey," she said quietly. He smiled weakly at her, his eyes drooping with tiredness.

"Still waiting?" he asked.

"Yeah, we're still waiting for the bus. The rest of the guys are going to be down soon," she explained to him. He had recently taken a painkiller that the doctor had subscribed, to help him sleep. The bus was an hour late for an unknown reason. If it didn't arrive soon, Claire was afraid Kyle would crash right there in the hotel lobby. She grabbed his hand that rested on the couch between them. Their fingers interlaced.

Rob came into view and Claire watched him walk across the lobby in dark blue jeans and a maroon short-sleeved shirt. Stopping in front of the couch where they were sitting, he smiled. "How's little Kyle doing?"

Kyle's head once again bounced up, and he gave a sleepy grin. "Tired," he told him as Claire stroked his blond hair and gazed at him.

"I called Matt. He said he talked to some other people. The concert for tonight's been cancelled, because of what happened to Kyle."

Claire nodded her head, seeing Brian and Adam approaching from the corner of her eye. "So if the bus ever gets here, we're just heading up to the next place for your concert tomorrow?" she asked him. Rob nodded as he turned to greet Adam and Brian, neither of them looking too thrilled.

"Did you need any help with your and Kyle's luggage?" Rob asked her. They had planned on staying another day at the hotel before the performance had been cancelled; they now had to quickly get all their things together before leaving for their next destination: San Francisco.

"Nah, I got all ours packed when we came home from the hospital this morning."

"Did he get any sleep after you and Rob brought him home?" Brian asked, gesturing over to Kyle. He watched his head slipping back down to his chest, slowly falling back asleep.

"More than he's had in a while. The painkiller the doctor gave him worked great. He was out like a light."

"That's good. He looks like he hasn't slept in a year."

"Yeah…. I asked him when he woke up what he remembered. It wasn't much. He didn't even know we were at the hospital."

"Where's Paul?" Adam asked, an unusual frown set on his lips.

"At the cafe down the hall," Rob jabbed his finger and pointed behind him.

"Well, guys, that looks like our bus, so I'd say we should get going." Brian pointed out the window, which was behind the couch Claire and Kyle were sitting on. He watched it pass the hotel, making its way through the busy afternoon traffic to the parking lot.

"Let me help get Kyle out there," Rob offered, setting his duffel bag on the ground beside him. Adam quickly strode outside silently; no one even questioned his abnormal attitude. There was just too many weird things happening to single something out. Without a word, they all collectively decided his mood was due to the recent events. But he left to hide the tears he couldn't stop. Claire stood on one side of Kyle and coaxed him to get up, something not easily done. Rob took his place on the other side and dragged him to his feet.

"I'm up, I'm up!" Kyle mumbled with only a slight tone of irritation. He rubbed his eyes as Claire led him to the door like a child. He yawned lazily, feeling like he could lay down right where he was standing and fall asleep and think nothing of it. It was a heavy feeling, but such a good one. The painkiller was blocking feeling out, making his aches numb, and making him incredibly tired. He was finally going to be able to sleep again.

All five bandmembers and Claire loaded onto the bus within fifteen minutes. The sun was shining with a bright flare, melting the ice cubes of every single drink in the city, making everyone either overly cheerful for the weather or overly irritated by it. The shade trees were busting with full leaves, green and hot. Everything seemed so normal to everyone else. But for the six people on that bus, so much had changed.

~*~*~*~*~*~

"You ready to go, Paul?" Rob asked before taking one last gulp of his beer. Paul turned from the young brunette and glanced at Rob.

"I really need to get going anyway, Paul. Thanks for the drinks," she told him, standing from her stool at the bar and straightening her black skirt with a lopsided smile.

"Yeah, sure, Jen. I'll call you sometime. Promise." She grinned at him before making her way through the trails of smoke and crowd of people to the exit.

"She seemed nice," Rob noted as he too got up, preparing to leave.

"Yeah, she did," Paul mumbled back, obvious tiredness hanging on his words. "One week, man. Just one more week and we can pack up and go home." He hopped off the stool. Two weeks had passed since the incident with Kyle. More pictures had been sent to them, no different than the others. Nothing else. Everyone involved with the tour had calmed down as much as they could, and had eased into the hectic schedules of the final week of concert dates.

The two men started the two-block trek back to the venue, where their bus was parked, talking about tomorrow's set list. "You hear that?" Rob asked suddenly, stopping underneath an orange streetlight. Paul stepped next to him and remained silent as well, but all he could hear was the dull buzzing of the overhead lamp.

"Hear what?" Paul asked curiously. He scratched his head, pushing his bright spikes down; he tryed to listen to the dark quietness.

"Scuffling. Like these footsteps or something. Didn't you hear it?"

Paul punched him in the shoulder. "Damnit, Rob. Either you're a paranoid freak or you're an ass for trying to piss me off."

Rob didn't answer. With a shrug of his shoulders he began walking again, Paul quickly trailing. Both of them kept silent, straining to hear a sound that wasn't there. Absent-mindedly, they picked up their pace toward the parking lot where their bus sat waiting for them. When the sound came again, both Paul and Rob heard it.

~*~*~*~*~*~

"Kyle?" Claire called out into the pitch-black room. "Kyle, are you in here?"

She turned to leave the backstage room but before she closed the door she heard a groggy voice call her name. It was Kyle. She sauntered back inside, her arms stretched in front of her. "Where are the lights?" she asked him, trying to feel for any objects that might stand as obstacles.

"I dunno," he replied half-heartedly from somewhere in front of her. She could tell he was falling back to sleep.

"Ouch … damn table," she grumbled and rubbed her thigh after ramming it into the piece of furniture against the wall. Finally, her fingers traced across a switch. Merely a second later, the entire dressing room was lit up, causing an irritated groan from Kyle, who was sprawled out on the couch in the corner. "There you are. I've been looking for you for half an hour. I was getting scared."

"Sorry," he answered, flipping over so that he faced the back of the couch. He squeezed his eyelids tight, hoping to block every stream of light that pried at his eyes. He wasn't succeeding and he momentarily wondered if Claire was purposefully trying to torture him; he felt his headache intensify and the light rays prodding at his ever stinging eyes.

"How ya feeling, baby?" she asked, striding over to him.

"Like shit. I was on the verge of falling asleep until you walked in."

"Oh." She felt the urge to ask him to talk subside rapidly, knowing he was too tired to carry on a conversation with her. "We can talk later then. But come on. There's some fans out there, waiting for only you. And if you want to sleep, you're going to have to crash on the bus, honey. We're going to be leaving as soon as everyone gets back…. You don't want to get left."

"Yeah?" he snorted, ascertaining the thought of being left behind. In his dazed state, he didn't mind the idea in the least bit.

She started rubbing his back as she squeezed beside him onto the couch. "Come on, Kyle. You have to get moving," she coaxed.

"Ah, all right, all right…. Gawd, that feels good," he mumbled, referring to her back massage. "What did you want to talk about anyway?"

"Uhhh … something you're too tired to discuss right now. It can wait until tomorrow."

Kyle rolled over onto his back, looking up at her with squinting blue-green eyes. He felt her side pushing against his thigh as she sat there. It felt good. He began rubbing her hip, wrapping his arms around her waist lovingly. "No, come on and tell me."

"It can wait," she answered him back.

"You want to talk about it. So I'm gonna listen. Tell me." He observed as she hesitated.

"Well … you know how I've been kinda moody lately and all?"

"Hell yes, I've noticed." They both laughed.

"It's because … because I thought I was pregnant." When she watched Kyle's eyes widen instantaneously, her heart sank. She looked away from him as she felt her hope was squashed.

"Pregnant?! You're pregnant, Claire?"

"No. I thought I was. But I'm not."

"Thank gawd!"

"Yeah … that's what I thought you felt…."

"Claire! You know what I mean."

"No. No, I really don't Kyle. We never talked about any of this. We love each other, but you seem content on … on … I don't even know! Agh, Kyle. I've just been so frustrated with everything."

He remained silent, watching her flustered face become pink with frustration. She continued. "Just thinking that I was pregnant … and wondering if you would even want a baby. I know you're not ready. But I can't help but wonder if you'll ever be. You're content on making everything stay the same. You don't want anything to change…. I'm not sure I want everything to stay the same."

"Claire, you just have to calm down!"

She smiled delicately at his confused face. Her voice was calm. "Kyle. When Rob brought you into the hotel that night … and you looked so bad and could hardly breathe, I could hardly breathe myself. I was scared out of my mind. I know I love you. If there's one thing that I know, it's that, all right? I'm not ready for a baby now either. But I think I would like one at some point in the future. I don't think you do, though…." Claire stopped to take a deep breath, finding it surprising that she hadn't started crying as she was speaking. "You just have to know that I love you so much, I'd give up anything. If you don't want a family, we're not going to have a family. If you want things to stay just like they are, then fine. I'll accept that."

"But, Claire, that's not … that's not fair to you."

"Shh, Kyle, it's okay. Right now, I want you to go and sign autographs for those girls out there. This is their chance to meet my gorgeous, talented rockstar guitarist boyfriend." She grinned, but he could tell that it was completely forced. "I'll be waiting in the bus for you."

"Can't we talk about this?"

"You're tired, baby. We can talk all you want later. Your pain pills are in the bus too. Hurry up. Those fans are waiting for you."

"All right. But we are going to talk about this." He sat up on the couch as Claire started to leave. "I love you."

"I know," she told him before disappearing behind the door.

~*~*~*~*~*~

"Man, I'm sorry."

"Yeah, not as much as I am. I really did love her, Brian. Too damn much, I guess…."

"No, not too much. You just showed her too little, it sounds like." Brian offered his advice as he slugged down another beer from the inconspicuous table in the corner of the dim club. The music was wailing around them, some tune he had never heard but was quickly growing tired of.

"But Brian! How much else could I do with this tour and everything? I begged her to come with us, but she said no. I called her as much as I could. I told her I loved her. There wasn't anything else I could do."

"Then why the hell are you beating yourself up over it?"

"I know … I know, but what I know isn't what I feel, damnit! Don't you understand? I just feel like there was something I did wrong, even though I know my heart was always in the right place. Isn't that how you feel like when you think of Andy?"

"No. We both decided to break up. I surprisingly don't think about her much."

"Bullshit."

"I'm completely serious, Adam. I wasted a lot of time with her. And then one day I just woke up and realized nothing was coming out of it. Nothing I wanted. She felt the same way, thank God."

"Well, that's great," Adam muttered to himself, spinning his glass of coke between his fingers. "I love Grace. What am I going to do?" he asked helplessly out to the air, not expecting an answer.

"I don't even know what I'm going to do. Still trying to figure out what the hell I want."

~*~*~*~*~*~

Kyle hopped into the silent bus, collapsing onto a couch near the front. "Anyone here?" he called out into the air.

"I'm back here, Kyle," Claire called back to him. With a smile he pulled himself up from the couch he had just fallen into and made his way to the back. He found Claire standing in the bathroom with the door open. She was cautiously eyeing herself in the full mirror; she was wearing a backless sky-colored dress, a few inches above her knees with spaghetti straps at her tanned shoulders. Only a minute before Kyle had entered, she had gathered her thick golden curls of hair into an upsweep.

"You like?" she asked timidly as she turned toward him.

He couldn't help the grin that crept onto his face as he stepped into the tiny bathroom and placed a kiss on her cheek and another on her lips. "Oh, I like. I like very much…. You look beautiful, Claire." She giggled in his ear as they pulled away from each other. "Whatcha doing all dolled up?" he asked, pressing a southern accent that made Claire laugh.

"All dolled up?" Claire mimicked him as she continued to giggle. "When we were in Bismarck the other day I went shopping and got this dress. I just want to try it on. Ya know, see how it looks. I feel kind of stupid…."

"Why?"

Claire quickly looked away, taciturn. But Kyle caught her chin and tipped it back to face him. "Why?" he asked again and she sighed.

"I don't know really. I just … I've just never gotten to dress up like this much before. Feel pretty for someone…. Gawd, I feel so stupid."

"Honey, let me assure you. You have no reason to feel stupid.

"Well, I do."

He sighed. "What do I have to do? I'll throw myself off the stage next concert? Would that make you feel better?" he questioned, waiting for the smile to appear on her face. It did and he took her hands in his.

"We need to talk," he said in a stern tone and she nodded. Kyle pulled her out of the bathroom and set her down on his bed in the back. Her bare knee rubbed against his jeans.

"When did you start thinking you were pregnant?"

"About a week before you … before we found out about all the pictures and stuff…."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because I wasn't sure. And you've been under enough stress with this last leg of the tour, and not getting enough sleep and all that. I didn't even know how to tell you."

"And you're positive that you're not?"

"Yes, Kyle. I know how thrilled that makes you."

He let out a heavy breath, gripping her hand tightly. She immediately wished she could retract her remark, and she felt guilty that Kyle still held her hand. A sudden thought that she didn't deserve him crept into her head. She listened as he continued.

"You're right. I am in no way ready to be a father. And I don't want to be one right now either. It's hectic enough, Claire. You know that. You're here with me, going through all this too. If you were pregnant, you wouldn't be touring with us anymore. And I don't want to be away from you for that long…. But you have to understand … that I do want kids. I want to be a dad … just not yet. You have to understand that."

They both stared down at the ground; Claire was wrapped up in sudden thoughts and Kyle waiting for her to respond. "So … you want a family?" she questioned, uncertainty and surprise apparent in her voice.

He let out a tiny laugh. "Yeah, Claire. I think I always have. Just not yet. We've got time. Baby, we have all the time in the world. Just a step at a time, all right?" He anticipated the wide grin that spread about her lips and he embraced her again, relishing how the pulchritude of familiarity her body felt against his chest. She began crying onto his white tee shirt, but she wasn't upset. The relief she had surging through her forced the tears out happily. They didn't move for quite some time, the whole time Claire thinking she didn't deserve this man that she held tighter than ever.

~*~*~*~*~*~

"Hurry the fuck up!!" Paul hissed back at Rob, who was stumbling several yards behind him. The two scampered through the nearly deserted, vast parking lot, rushing towards the bus that sat near the venue's exit. It was still quite a distance from them. Paul stopped for a split second in the hot summer night, trying to wait for Rob, and then he started to run again.

Rob turned back to look over his shoulder. When he didn't see anyone, the tiniest shred of relief hit him, but he didn't stop running. He caught up to Paul and the two stomped through the parking lot, their breaths hurried, hot and heavy. They were only yards away from the bus now. Pushing themselves hard enough for the last stretch, they ran up to the door, only to find that it was locked. Trying to stop the increasing fear in their throats, they started banging as hard as they could. They knew the back door to the venue was locked. No one was there to open it for them. Their only hope was that someone was in the bus to open the door for them. They had seen the shadow behind them as they were walking from the bar and they knew one thing. They had to get in before those footsteps came again -- before their chaser revealed themselves.

~*~*~*~*~*~

An intense pounding sounded throughout the bus, immediately jolting Claire's blue eyes open. She jumped with a start straight out of Kyle's arms. Her eyes were wide as ever now, not knowing where the sound was coming from. She gawked at Kyle for a second, wondering what was going on. He lay there, his body leaning against the wall behind the bed. They had fallen asleep sitting up in the bunk. He was still resting as the banging came again with more fury. Claire snapped out of her groggy state, realizing that someone was pounding at the front of the bus. Hopping off the bed, she started to make her way to the noise. Kyle awoke from her movements. He pulled himself off the bed, trudging after her even though he was still half-asleep and didn't even realize anyone was pounding.

Claire was only half way out of the bunks area before Kyle figured out what was going on. "Claire! Get back here." He had no idea who was at the front of the bus, waiting for them to open the door. There wasn't a chance he was going to allow Claire to go bounding up, letting them in.

"What?"

"We don't know who it is! Let me go first."

Claire stared at him for a moment, wondering if he was crazy. Was he that paranoid? But then she remembered the way he looked two weeks ago. She remembered how she and Rob had to bring him to the hospital, and that he had blacked out. Their situation was serious, and nothing was wrong with being cautious. She obeyed and got behind him.

"Open the damn door!"

"Hey, that's Paul." Kyle quickly made his way to the front of the bus, getting the door open. Rob and Paul tumbled inside before shutting it again. They breathed in heavily.

"What's going on?" Claire asked, gawking at their breathless friends.

"Some … someone was chasing us," Rob managed to mumble as he collapsed onto the couch, relieved that the door was locked and that they were on the other side of it. Paul bent over, attempting to steady his breathing. It didn't last long as the familiar sound of banging echoed through his ears. "Ah shit!"

Kyle inched closer to the door.

"What the fuck are you doing, Kyle?" Rob mumbled shakily, grabbing Kyle's wrist and pulling him away from the door. It became silent inside and outside the bus. Rob, Paul, Kyle, and Claire stood in the front of the bus, eyeing each other, wondering what to do next, what was going to happen next. Had all these pictures and threats really reduced them to this fear? Again, the knocking came. Claire jumped, startled as she shifted closer to Kyle.

"Would you open the damn door, Rob?" the voice came.

"How does he know my name?" Rob whispered. Paul shrugged, feeling drops of sweat dotted above his lip.

"Come on!" the voice came again, louder.

"Crap, that's Adam," Kyle figured out as he hurried the few steps to the door.

"What took so long?" Brian asked as he and Adam walked up into the bus after Kyle.

Rob was about to answer, but a high-pitched shout interrupted him as Adam began to close the door. He stopped almost immediately. The hair on the back of all their necks stood up as the group heard the foreign sound. "What the fuck?" was muttered by more than one of them.

Turning around, Adam saw a young girl, not more than fifteen, standing at the bottom of the bus' steps. Her slender arms were outstretched with a pen in one hand and a piece of paper in the other. "I was just wondering if I could have your autograph?"

~*~*~*~*~*~

"This is taking too long. We should have left by now," Paul whined as he fanned himself with a magazine. He slouched tiredly in the recliner, his short legs stretched out and apart. Claire took yet another glance at the clock in accompaniment to his statement. She followed it with a sigh and a quick look to the right of her, where Kyle sat on the couch. It seemed to her as though he was concentrating on something. He was. He was concentrating on not falling asleep. His eyelids felt heavy as they occasionally closed for a moment's time, making it seemingly impossible to open them again.

Rob sat at the table behind this tiny "living room" scene, scribbling something on his notepad. He looked over to the three of them when Paul spoke his complaint for the fifth time in that past half-hour. Adam and Brian had gone out in search of their driver; he was the vital component of a travelling act of course.

"Can I have your autograph?" Claire asked in a nasally voice, mimicking the little girl who had approached them at the entrance to the bus merely an hour before. Kyle, only slightly more than half-awake, giggled. Within two seconds, he was busting out in laughter. Paul groaned and threw the pillow he had positioned on his lap at Claire. She began laughing too. Almost as hard as Kyle was.

"If you were walking down a street in the dark, knowing you've been threatened by a stalker, you'd be freaked too!" Paul exclaimed, rubbing his weary eyes as he pictured himself and Rob and the fools they had made of themselves.

"She was fourteen years old! I cannot believe you two ran all the way over here, scared enough to piss your pants, and it turns out to be a fan!" Kyle started into a new set of giggles as he leaned back on the couch, rolling closer to Claire.

Rob only smiled and went back to writing down his mess of thoughts. Once again, a knock came at the front door. "Boy, are we just a busy bus tonight," Claire noted, still laughing as she stood to answer the door. Kyle took her place on the couch, collapsing comfortably and letting his head rest on the soft material as he settled down.

"Ask them why they took so long," he called out to her while he closed his eyes, moments away from falling asleep.

A thud caused Paul to push his magazine down from his face. He looked towards the front of the bus, then over to Kyle. He could only hear Kyle's breathing, becoming steady and heavy as he slipped into a light sleep. "Claire?" he called out. "Claire?"

Just when Paul was beginning to believe he wouldn't be getting an answer, a shrill scream hit his ears. Kyle's head jutted up, and he looked around confusedly. Within a second's time, he was at the door, scrambling outside. Paul was right behind him, Rob in tow.

Kyle jumped down to the pavement. His eyes darted around the empty parking lot, seeing nothing but an empty parking lot. Another scream. Claire. "Claire?!" He hollered. He rushed around the front of the bus, hearing his boots slam against the cement as a perfect black limo came into view in the still night. A heavyset man was rushing toward it, with Claire flinging about over his shoulder. She screamed for Kyle. It wasn't hard to catch up to the two, and within a moment, he was wrestling to break her free. She helped as much as she could, kicking wherever she was able to and not knowing if she was even hitting anything.

Rob was there in another second and with the two men's determination, Claire was able to wriggle free of the occupied man, who was grunting and huffing as he fought the two musicians off. There were no words. Claire fell off the man's shoulder and onto her back. She lay in front of the struggle, dazed momentarily. She then felt Paul's arms under her shoulders, hoisting her off the gravel and pavement. Able to see several people rushing out from the venue, she had a sense of comfort as Paul held her, asking her if she was all right. But her eyes fell back on Kyle and Rob, who were now pushing the large man to the ground. The loud breaths of all three men mixed together and carried through the air. Kyle ended up on top of him, trying to keep him down as Rob knelt beside. He was under control and it was then that the two men recognized the culprit as Marc -- Phil's henchman. The same Marc that had escaped from the cabin that night Phil had returned to take Claire away almost a year ago. "You bastard!" Kyle spat in total surprise. He felt arms around his own, pulling him off Marc, and the next thing he knew he was standing beside Rob, and Claire had run up to his other side.

Marc was restrained immediately without questions. "Are you okay?" Adam asked, coming over to Rob, Kyle, and Claire. Rob nodded as Paul stepped up beside them as well. Kyle's arms automatically went to Claire's shoulders. He looked her in the eyes. No words, but he silently asked her if she was all right. She smiled as a reply and rested her head under his chin, her forehead against his neck.

"That was a lot better than the last time, huh?" he asked as he moved his head to rest on her shoulder.

"Yes. Much better." She let out a sigh, remembering their last encounter with Marc and how horrible the whole ordeal had been. This was over in a matter of moments. The question still hovered above them in the air, though. What was Marc doing back?

~*~*~*~*~*~

Kyle quietly closed the hotel door before striding across the room. It was only eight-thirty, but the lights were off and the room was still. Claire must have been sleeping. He went directly in the bathroom, quickly splashing his tired face with water. Heading back out into the room, he kicked his black boots off and sat quietly on the right side of the bed. He heard rustling behind him as he began to unbutton his blue jeans. "Hey, babe," Kyle whispered as he tilted his head to the sound, his back still turned.

"Hey."

"Did I wake you?"

"Not really. If I was asleep, ya know I wouldn't have heard you."

Kyle laughed as he stood to pull his jeans off. "True." Claire was the soundest sleeper he had ever met.

"So…. How did it go?"

"Fine, actually." Kyle peeled his blue button-down shirt off and collapsed gently next to her. He had gone to the police station to get some answers to their questions concerning Marc. Claire shyly mentioned to him that she didn't want to go, and he didn't blame her. Kyle was in fact glad she had stayed home. "Turns out Marc was the one sending the pictures. Trying to play mind games with us, throw us off track, whatever. Phil put him up to it, of course."

Claire shuddered. She reached for his warm skin and he clasped her tightly when he realized her uneasiness. He continued, "I'm not going to lie. The officers told me Marc said Phil is still infatuated beyond sanity over you. But he's in jail, sweetheart. He can't get to you. He won't … ever. No matter what he has thought up in his demented mind, he won't. Okay?"

She nodded and remained silent. Moving her slender arm to rest on top of his chest, she began tracing her fingers along his body as she bit her bottom lip. "You know," he broke the momentary silence, "this is a good thing in a way. Now we know Marc isn't out free anywhere. It's safer now. He's in jail too…."

Claire raised her head and turned to place a kiss on his lips. She lingered above him, gently biting down on his bottom lip. He groaned and grasped her neck securely with his thin fingers. She giggled as she crawled on top of him. "Something tells me you don't want to talk about this anymore," Kyle deducted with a smirk, eyeing her with impassioned interest. She only grinned back at him; there would be no more talking for the time being.

~*~*~*~*~*~

"What are you going to do, man?"

"I don't know. I'm not going back to Orlando for a while, that's for sure."

Brian nodded, realizing he didn't want the fresh memories hitting him smack in the face when he returned home to the apartment he and Grace had shared. It was time to go home. The tour was over … at last.

"I'm probably going to stay up in New York for a month or so. I have a cousin up there…."

"That's good. Just so long as you come back sooner or later. You don't me to actually start missing you. Things would just get too strange if that happened."

Adam smiled. "What about you? Since you don't have a woman to go home to this time either."

"Oh, I'm going back to Florida, man. Definitely. I'm going to find the girl of my dreams this time. And she's going to have beautiful hair that's really soft and … and she's going to have purple eyes."

"Purple eyes?!" Adam laughed at his friend. "Sure, bro."

"Hey, man. It could happen. A pretty lady with purple eyes. It's going to happen."

"When did you set this criteria?"

"A minute ago…. Honestly, Adam. Are you going to be all right? You're not yourself."

"Yeah, I'm going to fine in a bit. Just need a break from everything. Do something different."

"Good to hear." Brian eyed him suspiciously. Despite his friend's words, his attitude wasn't as convincing. Hopefully, Brian thought to himself, this break will be good for the both of us.

~*~*~*~*~*~

"What I'd like to know, Miss Emily Wilson, is why you keep laughing at me."

"I … I find you humorous," Emily sputtered through her giggles. The brunette took Rob's hand in hers as the two walked down the street. Rob had run into her at the grocery store the first night he was back in Orlando almost a week ago. They were the only two in the entire store as it was one in the morning. Rob's sleeping habits were out of whack from the continuous shift in time zones on tour, and Emily claimed to be a night person. Running into her in the cereal aisle, he was immediately attracted to her. Aside from her tight jeans, she had a nice laugh. And she asked for his autograph, instantaneously recognizing him. He gave her his autograph and she gave him her number. Two days later they were having dinner. And a day after that, a movie. Now they had just finished some shopping Emily wanted to get done, which Rob didn't object to tagging along for.

"Want to go and grab some ice cream or something? I know this place a block or so down."

"I know the place." She smiled and looked down the pavement, watching her legs as she walked. She concentrated on one of the black flowers printed on her silver skirt.

"So do you wanna?" Rob asked. She giggled. She knew full well that he liked her. He would go on and on about his little adventures on tour. And he would tell her stories about the band and that so-and-so did this, and so-and-so came across that. Emily found it adorable. He explained everything with so much energy. He was energetic when talking with her, making her understand he *wanted* to be with her. This is how she knew he liked her. She gripped his hand in hers tighter.

"Why not?"

"Great." Rob grinned and she noticed a tiny skip in his walk as they meandered down the block among the crowd of people.

Maybe, just maybe, Rob was thinking silently. He was beginning to feel ready to tackle a steady relationship. Sure, he had only known Emily Wilson for a week. So what? He was happy. Again. He was enjoying himself. Why not? It just might work. Maybe, just maybe....

~*~*~*~*~*~

Claire stared intently at the two paint samples held in both her hands. She held them up to her face, squinting. Kyle came up behind her as he tried to juggle several boxes of light fixtures in his arms. He glanced at the samples over her shoulder; a quizzical smirk appeared on his face. "What, might I ask, is the difference?"

"One is 'Smokey Gray' and this one is 'Gray Haze.' See it? This one here is darker."

"Really?"

"Yeah," Claire replied, uncertain herself. She sighed and pushed the pain samples out of her face. "I want to paint the swing on the porch some sort of a blue."

"Fine with me. Which of these do ya like?" he asked as he thrust his full arms out toward her. She grinned as the two strolled down the aisle of the hardware store. Taking two of the boxes from his arms, she was suddenly tired of making all these choices for their new house.

"Honey, let's do this tomorrow. Let's check out the house again."

Kyle laughed as he heard the eagerness in her voice. She loved the new house they had picked out. They would be living there in a few weeks. Right now, Paul was good enough to let them stay at his home.

After returning the light fixtures, he and Claire strolled out of the store and into the warm Orlando sun. "You want to drive?" he asked hopefully and she nodded. He reached into his pocket and rummaged for his key. It was empty. He felt the bottom of his pocket, the thin fabric of his gray cargo pants rubbing against his fingers. "Uhh … Claire, you have the keys?"

"No, you drove here." The two continued through the parking lot, stopping behind their black jeep. He checked his other pocket as Claire realized he had misplaced them. She came up to the window and peered in. "I found them, Kyle."

"You did? Great," he answered with mild relief.

"They're inside there." She jabbed her finger towards the inside of the car, poking the glass and pulling on the car handle at the same time. It was locked.

"Ah shit!"

"You locked them in there," she stated the obvious.

"Do you have your set?"

"No. My keys are at Paul's."

"Damnit!" Kyle crossed his arms across his chest, waiting for Claire's irritated comments. He didn't blame her. Hell, he was irritated at himself too. Paul's house was about three miles from the hardware store. "You want to hang out at that burger joint over there while I go get your set?" he asked, reaching for his wallet resting in his back pocket. He pulled out a ten-dollar bill, not sure if she had money to go and buy lunch while she waited.

Claire placed her hand on his arm, gently shoving it away. "I'll walk back with you."

"You will?" He looked away from his wallet and up at her. She was smiling. He squinted at the brightness of the sun and suppressed the grin he felt creeping to his lips.

"You're a dork … a goofy one at that. But I'll go with you." Claire giggled and slid her arm smoothly around his waist. The two began to head out of the parking lot, not caring in the least bit about their mild inconvenience.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Paul collapsed into his over-sized recliner, a foot-long roast beef sandwich from Subway cradled in his hands. Lazily, he reached for the remote control and flipped the television to life. His picture window in the living provided him with plenty of sunlight to leave the lights off for most of the day.

Staring blankly at an on-screen couple hugging as they walked through a park on a soap opera, he swallowed his mouthful of sandwich. He changed the channel. Two people, sitting at a restaurant. It was focusing on the woman's hand, which held a gorgeous sapphire ring. It was a commercial for a jewelry department, reminding 'customers' of the importance of love and anniversaries. He changed the channel. Coming across the movie Dirty Dancing, he changed the channel yet again. After two more love commercials, another soap opera focusing on a couple, and a talk show re-run from last Valentine's Day, he gave up and turned the blasted set off. Funny how great the boys of matchbox20 dealt in love. Most of them were alone. Two just out of relationships. One just beginning another roller coaster ride. The youngest of the group was the only one actually in a good relationship, but it took hell to get there. And then there was him, Paul. Confused Paul.

Eating his sandwich in silence, he thought back to his conversation with Rob. He had rambled on about Emily, the latest woman in his life. Rob was happy. Paul could tell; it bubbled over during their conversation. But wasn't he always happy in the beginning? It didn't mean a damn thing. How long would she keep him happy? How long until he either fell out of love with her and hurt her, or how long until he realized she's what he has been looking for and she walks away, ultimately hurting him? He shrugged to himself in the silent room. Who cared? Rob could handle himself. Aside from the fact, Paul didn't feel the confidence in giving his friend advice. He was starting to think he himself needed to seek out some advice.

Already too far into his pondering process, his thoughts shifted to Brian. His rather lengthy relationship with Andy had gone astray. Brian wasn't one to give details, causing Paul to question what all went wrong. Their chemistry seemed to give off sparks at times. Had a flare just died, slowly fading away ember by ember? Was that possible? That feeling made Paul hesitate at his desire for his own steady relationship. And what about Adam? Grace had left him, and he was crushed. He hadn't necessarily done anything wrong. The difference between Adam and Brian, Paul deducted, was that Brian's love had faded. Adam's was still thriving inside him. Either option seemed dreary to him.

Then there was Kyle. Kyle and Claire, inseparable even after the obstacles shoved in their way. That was what made Paul long for something meaningful. He had never seen Kyle so happy. That's the 'happy' he wanted. A heavy risk accompanied that kind of relationship, though. It had to. Claire left for almost a year. It really did tear Kyle limb from limb inside. Claire wasn't there to see it, thank gawd, but Paul and the others were. Leaving him devoid of emotion, filled with regret, it was almost as though they were able to see it eat away at him. Kyle never talked about it. But to watch him slowly come to terms with her leaving, finally realizing she might never come back, and to see the helplessness it stirred up in his always blood-shot eyes made Paul realize. He realized some things were just not worth what came from them. They just weren't worth that type of effort. Even love.

Quit your damn worrying, he quickly told himself as he shook his head. What the hell was he worrying over? Suddenly set on believing to leave things along and let them happen as they would, he felt a satisfied chill settle in his body. He was glad he had had that little debate with himself.

Loud barking was coming from outside, down the street somewhere. He heard it and concluded that the sound was nearing the front of his house. When he felt sure that the dogs were practically right outside his door, he popped out of his seat, ready to investigate.

~*~*~*~*~*~

"Go! Go, go!" Kyle shouted at Claire as he hurried her across Paul's front lawn. He pushed her lower back, scooting and urging her to go as fast as she could. His long legs carried him in smooth, quick strides. He caught side of the gate attached to the side of Paul's house. "Over there," he hollered, directly behind Claire. The two very loud, very huge Labradors rushing at them. Within two swift steps, Kyle had gathered Claire into his arms, lifted her up high enough to grasp the top of the high cedar fence, and boosted her to the other side. She landed on the other side with a groan. Kyle pushed himself in much the same fashion, his arms forcing his body to raise and jump to the safety of the other side. The two lay there for a moment, dazed and catching their breaths.

Claire suddenly burst out laughing. She was insane with giggles as Kyle looked over at her with a bemused smile, still listening to the dogs' vicious growling and howling on the other side of the wooden gate. They were both wet, another mishap of their journey from the hardware store. Everything was going nicely. He and Claire waltzed down the blocks of the beautiful residential area, noticing the brilliant green lawns and well-kept homes that dotted along the clean streets. A garbage truck was rolling down, travelling the opposite direction of the couple. Neither noticed the hose thrown out and lying lifelessly in the middle of the road; it had been left by a group of children enjoying the summer heat with a run through the sprinkler across the street. It was still oozing water at full blast, darkening the pavement to a deeper shade of charcoal gray. The sun shone down, causing it to glimmer quite nicely. The hose stretched completely from the corner house to the other side of the street, gushing out water down the curb where the nozzle lay. Much to the luck of Kyle and Claire, the garbage truck reached the hose simultaneously as they walked up to it. The force of the tire sent the hose into a jump, chaotically spewing water out at the sidewalk, thoroughly soaking them. Claire shrieked. Kyle stood stiff in reaction, as if doing so would make him dry.

They had stood there laughing hard at the incident for a solid five minutes, Claire collapsing onto the even wetter grass twice in fits of giggles.

Now, as they laid out on the cement beside Paul's house behind the gate, listening to the increasingly loud barks and snaps of the dogs, Kyle thought of something. Yes they were wet and sweaty. Yes, they were laying on the grown and yes there were angry dogs nearly a foot away. But it was the perfect time. He had no idea how to describe the sudden rush in his chest, but he just knew it was the perfect time. "Marry me, Claire?"

She stopped laughing immediately. Looking over to him as he sat perched up on his right elbow, she found a timid smile playing across his lips and his eyes diverting to anywhere but her face. He focused on the collar of her white tee shirt, wondering how she had managed to get a grass stain clear up there. Then he realized it wasn't that improbable after the little trek they had just completed. He felt her slender fingers touch his warm chin, tilting his face to hers. They were eye to eye. They exchanged their smiles. The smiles that both knew how to read perfectly.

"Yeah."

Simple enough. The two were engaged.

"What the hell is going on?" Paul asked, walking up behind them. He had decided on coming out the back, seeing the dogs guarding his front lawn. He hovered above them with a wild grin and even wilder blond spikes.

"Nothing, Pauly. Just getting engaged." He started laughing, too happy to stop himself, no matter how goofy he sounded. Helping Claire to her feet, he brushed the grass off his cargo pants; Claire did the same, grinning at Paul, but then gazing back at Kyle.

Paul only shook his head, shrugging his shoulders and pushing his glasses further up onto his nose. "Leave it to Kyle," he mumbled as he turned around to head back inside. "Let's call the guys and celebrate." Gesturing for them to follow, he definitely noticed the new content feeling inside of him. Kyle's happiness had worn off on him. Maybe some things were worth it. They were just worth that effort. Just because…. Especially love.

The End