Chapter 1:

 

The air hung heavy as the last chord filtered through the stadium, a brief pause between the music being blasted out through 8-foot tall speakers and the screams of the crowd.  There was always that five-second interval between the music and the reaction of the audience that made time seem to stand still.  But that’s what made being a band worth it, that standstill where so many thoughts raced through your head, making you wonder if your songs were good enough, if people were going to like it.  That time made you appreciate all the times you spent stuck in some garage, playing for family and friends, all the clubs that stiffed you out of your fair share of the profits.  All those times you overcame to become what you are today.

            And Fall From Grace was no different than any band.  Of course they were past the garage and club phases, on to become a major opening act for the Warped Tour.  And the crowd was as loud and welcoming as ever as they finished their last song, mumbling a few “thank yous” as they headed offstage. 

            “Well, that wasn’t too bad for the first show.”  Jake Summers tossed his drumsticks aside, grabbing a towel and wiping off his sweaty forehead.  His sandy brown hair was matted to his forehead and his arms were still shaking with the beat of the last song.

            "Wasn't too bad? Hell that was awesome!" Layla Rivers said breathlessly as she reached for a bottle of water and proceeded to down half of it with one large gulp. She smiled as her best friend, Gwen James, took the bottle from her and drank the rest of it. "You kicked ass girl," Layla said to her friend, the pianist and one of the vocalists of Fall From Grace.

            "Thanks you rocked me too," Gwen said and then made her way towards her brother, Xander, lead guitarist, and hugged him. "We were really good," she said.  She pulled a hair tie from around her wrist and pulled her long hair up into a messy bun, feeling better now that it wasn’t falling on her neck and around her face.

            "No, we were sex," Layla said and Xander laughed. "What? We were," she said.

            "Don't go bragging on yourself too much angel, look who's coming," Xander said, his eyebrows raised and pointing in the opposite direction. "It's a real kick-ass band," he finished.

            "Now they are sex," Gwen said, and Layla’s head whipped around to see whom her friends were talking about. When she spotted a group of guys walking towards the stage Fall From Grace had just played on, their faces came into focus, and Layla realized who it was.

            "Oh my God!" she exclaimed and recapped her freshly opened bottle of water and handed it to Jake. As Nick Wheeler and the rest of the guys from the All-American Rejects approached Layla's hands retreated on her hips and a mischievous smile spread across her face.  "Well if it isn't the only man who has poutier lips than any girl I know and is still completely sexy," Layla said and cast a look Nick's way and he, with a dazed expression stamped on his face, walked past, not even hearing her. "Nick Wheeler!" she called with a shocked tone in her voice. Nick turned around and smiled when his eyes focused on her.

            "Layla..." Nick trailed off as Layla practically jumped on him, hugging him tightly.  He responded by throwing his arms around her small waste, twirling her around before setting her back down.

            "And you were just going to ignore me and keep on walking," Layla huffed, pretending to be angry.

            "I wasn't even paying attention, I was so zoned out. Really, I'm sorry," Nick said, his almost feminine voice was full of sincerity. Layla smiled and hugged him again. "Man I haven't seen you in like a year," Nick said running his hand through his shaggy hair.

            "Six months," Layla corrected him, laughing. She noticed the weird glances she was getting from her friends and decided she had some explaining to do. "Nick this is the rest of Fall From Grace," she started the introductions. "Gwendolyn James, Gwen for short, our pianist, vocalist numero dos, and sometimes guitar player," Layla said pointing to her best friend who was leaning on her brother. "That's her bro Xander who is our wonderful lead guitar player. And last but not least, our awesome drummer, Jake Summers," she finished. "Guys this is Nick Wheeler." Her friends gave her another round of questioning glances.

            "Yeah everyone knows who he is, but how do you know him?" Xander asked looking confused.

            "Well Nick and I went to high school together and we dated for a little while," Layla said, her face reddening at the thought of it.

            "A little while? If you want to classify over four and a half years as a little while, then yeah we dated for a little while," Nick smiled and commented.  He eyed Layla closely, watching the way she stood, the energy she exuded even after forty minutes onstage.

            Gwen watched with morbid curiosity, eyeing the pair cautiously and smiling.  “I’m your so-called best friend and you didn’t even tell me this.  Secrets don’t make friends young lady.”  She joked casually, leaning against an amplifier.  She saw the blush that crept into Layla’s cheeks, as well as a downcast look from Nick.

            “Nick, onstage, now!”  A sound technician called, sticking his head out from behind a curtain and waving Nick over. He gave a final wave and headed out, disappearing onto the stage.  Seconds later the first chords of “My Paper Heart” could be heard and the screams of underage girls ripped through the stadium.

            “Layla, you have some splainin’ to do.”  The band laughed as Jake pointed a finger at the embarrassed band member, covering her face with her hands and turning from them.

 

Chapter 2:

 

            An hour later found the band enjoying the day’s festivities, watching the other talented bands perform songs the members knew by heart.  The guys decided to separate, probably hoping to flirt with random girls, maybe trying to get a number or two with their famous opening lines of “I’m in band you know.”  Thank God the girls didn’t have to be witness to this, as amusing as it usually was to watch them make fools out of themselves.  Instead they wandered from stage to stage, listening to at least two or three songs from each band before moving on to the next.

"Do you seriously think that those guys are going to get any?" Gwen asked with a smirk on her face, as she and Layla walked past the merchandise stands towards the back lot where all the buses were parked.

Layla simply shrugged, not thinking too much about it.  "I doubt it," she said.

Without even waiting for an appropriate change of subject or any segue whatsoever, Gwen asked a question that had been on her mind for the last hour or so.  "So you dated Nick Wheeler and you weren't even going to tell me?" she inquired with a raised eyebrow.

"It wasn't a big deal, and I didn't really think that it was of importance," Layla replied. Gwen looked at her friend in suspicion but said nothing. "What?" Layla asked. "Don't look at me like that, I didn't do anything," she said.

"How does dating one of the hottest guys in this industry not classify as important. It seems pretty relevant to me," Gwen said with a soft laugh. Layla just shrugged once more. "Come on, you have to admit, he is pretty hot," Gwen egged her friend on.

"No shit. If he would have been ugly I wouldn't have dated him," Layla smiled.

Gwen grinned, pushing forward.  "So you still think he's hot?" She asked in excitement, slowing her pace. Layla rolled her eyes and kept walking.

"No I don't think he's hot anymore, I'm over that Gwen. Been there, done that," Layla answered, the last part of her phrase not sounding the way she'd meant it to. Gwen let out a loud laugh. "Shut up, I didn't mean it like that," she added.

"So you dated Nick fuckin' Wheeler for four years and you didn't jump his bones?" Gwen questioned, a mischievous note in her voice.

"Oh my God! Shut up! That is totally not anyone's business Gwen!" Layla shouted as they neared Fall From Grace's tour bus.  Her tone had changed from one of mocking sincerity to one full of anger and resentment.  Plus it seemed as though her cheeks were once again starting to turn a light crimson color.

"What's not anyone's business?" the girls heard a familiar voice from behind them. They spun around to find none other than Nick, standing there with a grin plastered on his face.

Layla took one look at him, her cheeks deepening in color at the sight of him.  "How much did you hear?" She asked nervously.

"Nothing but, 'that is totally not anyone's business'," Nick mocked her in a high-pitched, valley girl accent.  With that he gave one final smirk and continued on to his own bus, laughing the whole way.

Gwen tried to hide her laughter but it was written all over her face as she held her hand over her mouth, trying to stifle the giggles that escaped.  Layla just glared at her, her eyebrows raised in annoyance.  “Shut it.”  She continued on, walking towards their own bus, which was only a few feet away when she noticed Gwen wasn’t behind her anymore.  She turned back and saw her, frozen in place staring at a group of people on the other side of the parking lot.  “Gwen?”  Her head snapped around quickly, brought out of her trance by the voice of her best friend.  Layla walked back, trying to see what Gwen was fixated on.  “What are you looking at?”

“When did Good Charlotte join the tour?”  Gwen asked, her face blank and eyes glassy.  Her tone contained no emotion whatsoever as she turned away, refusing to look in that direction any longer.

Layla shrugged, finally picking out the five members grouped outside their bus, talking to various other band members.  “I don’t know.  I heard someone mention it this afternoon.  I think you were in the bathroom or something.”  She explained, and then she turned back to Gwen, noticing the strangeness in her attitude.  “Why?”

“Nothing.”  She threw off, her gaze shifting back to Layla, still with the same glassy look in her dark eyes.  “It’s nothing.”  Her voice held no emotion as she continued to stare off in that general direction again.

“You guys will not believe how many women were throwing themselves at me,” Jake appeared at their sides, brandishing a few slips of paper in triumph.  “You’d be amazed at how many numbers I have.” 

Xander simply laughed, playing his usual modest self.  “He’s a little excited.  He might need a nap now.”  His grin disappeared when he saw the looks on the girl’s faces.  “What’s up?”  He glanced from Layla to Gwen, focusing his attention solely on his sister for the time being.  “Gwen?”  He turned to where she was staring so intently and his body shifted, his shoulders tensing for a second before relaxing to take a hold of his sister and turn her around.  “Come on, we’ve had a long day.  Let’s go take a break and relax on the bus for awhile.”

Layla turned, glancing from Xander to Gwen, her facial expressions not changing one bit.  “What’s going on?”  When she got no reply she pushed a little further, Jake watching also, his happiness diluted by the attitude of the group.  “Xander what the hell?”

“Nothing.  Now come on.”  His tone had become harsher, as though he was scolding her for even asking such a simple question.  Neither Layla nor Jake had ever heard him be so forceful, not in the two years they had known him.  They chose to ignore it, figuring it was something Xander chose not to share at the moment, but paid heed.  They followed in his footsteps, making their way to the bus.  They got to the door when a shout was heard behind them, followed by pounding footsteps.

“Gwenny!”  None other than Benji Madden stopped short of the four, slightly out of breathe from running the short distance across the parking lot.  He had a slight grin on his face, looking like a little boy, despite the piercings and tattoos that covered his body. 

For a minute no one moved, shocked and confused as to why a member of a famous band would be talking to their lead singer, let alone the rest of them.

            Layla was the first to move or speak, unable to contain herself any longer.  “Gwenny?”  She stared in disbelief at her friend and fellow band member, watching as she turned to acknowledge the man standing before her.

            “Hey Benj.”  Her voice was monotone, smaller than any of them were used to.  Xander still had his arm around her shoulders, almost protecting her from any possible upset.  The tension was in the air was thick, one of those moments described in books as “tension so thick you could cut it with a knife.”

            The uncomfortable silence dragged on for a moment, as though no one knew quite what to say to the other.  There was obviously a connection that neither Layla nor Jake knew about and no one wanted to share exactly what it was.  Benji was still smiling but it had faded to a mere shadow of a smile as he shifted from one foot to the other, unsure if he was even welcome.  He had noticed the way Xander was shielding Gwen from him, making it impossible for him to make any move towards her.  Finally, he spoke, although it was quiet, hesitant.  “Look, I just saw you here and I wanted to say hi, that’s all.”  He held his hands up and backed off, not wanting to intrude any longer.

            “Benji, there you are.  I should have known you were talking to the ladies…” Joel’s voice dropped out when he took note of the group before him, focusing on one member in particular.  “Gwen…”

            Layla could no longer take it, it was too much.  She turned to Gwen, still ashen-faced and still.  “What the fuck is going on here?  You know not only Benji fuckin’ Madden but Joel too?  What the hell?”  She didn’t mean it to come out quite as harsh and bitter but she couldn’t stop herself.

            “Layla, mind your own business.”  Xander shot back, already steering him and Gwen towards the bus, ignoring the twins and Jake’s semi-shocked expression.  “I think it’s time we all said goodbye.” 

            Joel jumped forward, intent on stopping them.  “But…”

            “No!”  Xander turned, letting go of his sister in order to block him.  “She doesn’t want to talk to you.  She doesn’t want to see you so just fuck off Madden.”  The rest of the group watched in wonder as Xander’s temper flared, pointing a finger straight into Joel’s chest.  He turned, grabbing Gwen once again and getting onto the bus, slamming the door behind him, leaving the rest to stare in shock.

            Jake just leaned against the bus, giving them a shrug.  “Okay then.”

 

Chapter 3:

 

            The sun had set hours ago but that didn’t stop the insanity that had plagued the day already.  The last few bands were taking the stage, much to the joy of thousands of screaming fans.  And the artists were enjoying it just as much, if not more.  As Green Day started the first few chords of “American Idiot” it was the band members who screamed the loudest.  Fall From Grace’s own Jake could be found in the moshpits along with members of New Found Glory, MxPx, and Mest.  Layla watched it all from her position at stage right, perched atop an amp, enjoying the perks of her security pass.  She sang along to the words she knew so well, even fingering the chords that resonated throughout the venue.  Her mind and body got lost in the music, the deeper meanings only a musician could appreciate.

            She didn’t even notice when a lone figure slid beside her, his gaze fixed on her.  It wasn’t until he cleared his throat that she even became aware of his presence.  But she readjusted quickly when she saw the man beside her.  “Hi,” he said, smiling so his facial piercings glittered in the lights from the stage.

            She took this as her cue to speak, giving him a smile of her own.  “Hey.”

            “So it occurs to me that we haven’t been properly introduced.  I’m Benji.”  He extended his hand, the infamous, MADE MAN tattoo clear on his knuckles.

            She took it, letting her small hand get lost in his larger one, marveling at the warmth he radiated.  “I know who you are.  I’m Layla.”

            “Yeah, I heard the end of your set.  You’re pretty good, for a band with chicks that is.”  A sly grin took over his face, making him look slightly young and boyish again.

            “It’s not really my main concern whether you’re impressed or not.”  She shot back, marveling at her own wit.

            At this he laughed, the sound of it almost melodic.  “Touché my dear.  No seriously, I actually got your CD a few weeks back.  I was impressed.”  His tone had become serious and genuine, the mischief gone from his large, brown eyes.

            Layla blushed a little, still getting used to receiving compliments from anyone, least of all a band she admired and respected.  “Thanks so how did you hear about us?”

            “My friend Tony told me.  He recognized Gwen and called me up.”

            “Tony as in Tony Lovato, as in Mest?”  She asked, in awe of the bands that were know listening to the band’s CD.  At his nod she blinked back the shock, still processing everything from this afternoon.  “Tony knows Gwen?”

            Benji nodded again, fixing his gaze on the stage for a moment before continuing.  “Gwenny knows a lot of the guys here.  I thought you knew.”

            Layla gave him a blank stare, shaking her head.  “Apparently I don’t know anything.”  It was silent for a few minutes, both watching Green Day wrap up their set with an old song, one most of the kids in the audience probably didn’t even know.  “How do you know Gwen by the way?”

            He shifted his gaze back to her, staring into her eyes for a minute.  “You don’t know?  You mean she still didn’t tell you, even after this afternoon?”

            “No, she shut herself in the back room of the bus and wouldn’t tell me anything.  And it’s not like Xander’s one to share.”  She replied, still a little bitter that her supposed best friend wasn’t talking to her, letting her in on what was going on.  After all, they knew everything about each other, or so she thought.

            Benji sighed; fixing the beanie that was situated on his head.  “Well, it’s probably not for me to share.  You should really talk to Gwen.”

            Layla shook her head in defeat, folding her arms over her chest.  “And if she doesn’t want to talk to me, what then?  I’m just supposed to sit back and watch, not knowing anything of what’s going on?  Do you know what that’s like?  It’s like I don’t even know her right now and she’s my best friend!”  The words came out in a single breath, flowing continually from her mouth until she could no longer speak.

            Benji sighed, not sure whether to volunteer information or not.  “How well do you know Gwen?”

            “Well, it seems like I don’t know her at all.”  She mumbled under her breath, although clearly audible.  When she saw the look on Benji’s face she sighed.  “I thought I knew her better than this.  I mean, apparently she knows all these people or did at one time.  But she didn’t bother to share that information with me.  I thought I knew her better than anyone.”

            At this Benji snorted, a smile on his face again.  “No one ever knows Gwen completely.  If you know anything about her you know that she’s as complex as they come.  Just when you think you have her figured out she proves you don’t know her at all.”

            “Exactly,” Layla replied, wondering how well Benji must have known her in the first place in order to come to this conclusion about her best friend.  “I thought I knew everything about her and I’m just finding out that I don’t know anything.  Or at least I don’t know what’s going on right now, which seems a little bit important.”

            “How do you think of her?”  Benji asked, fixing her with another one of his piercing gazes.  At her blank stare he elaborated.  “Describe her.  What kind of person is she?”

            Layla thought for a moment, thinking about the Gwen she’d known for the past two years.  “Well, she’s sweet and caring, a good friend.  She’s obviously talented, obsessed with music and singing.  But she’s also kind of quiet, almost reserved.”

            “Wow, she has changed.”  He smiled; thinking of the way Layla had described her.  “I mean, she was caring and all that good stuff.  But reserved…”

            “What do you mean?”

            “Well…” He paused, unsure of how to convey his thoughts.  “I would never be one to call her reserved.  She was always kind of feisty and wild.  She had this energy that really surprised you most of the time, just bubbling under the surface.  It’s what made her a good musician, a good performer.”  He laughed, “And I don’t think I would ever call her quiet.”  They sat for a few more minutes, marveling at the person each of them knew in a different way.  Finally, Benji stood, readjusting his hat once again.  “Look, I have to go but let me tell you this.  Talk to her, it wont hurt you.  If she’s still the person I knew then she’ll eventually let you in.”  And with that he disappeared just as quietly as he’d arrived.

 

Chapter 4:

 

Late in the evening, as the final band was packing up and the last few diehard fans were still waiting for autographs, a few raindrops started to hit the ground.  The moon had already claimed it’s spot in the sky, surrounded by a few stars that dotted the horizon, hidden in some placed by dark rain clouds that hovered over the venue.  Far in the distance you could hear the thunder start to roll in, followed closely by a strike of lightening that lit up the sky.  A few people started to run for their cars, taking cover from the storm that was on its way.  Others just kept their pace, not caring about the rain that was starting to pour down.  Gwen watched it all from the safety of the bus, snuggled on the couch by the window.  She watched the rain hit the glass, ignoring the TV that played in the background.  She wasn’t even sure why it was anymore.  It had been on all night, but she didn’t pay much attention to it.  Her mind was elsewhere, thinking to the day’s events and what was to come.

            “Gwen?”  Her thoughts were interrupted as Xander came through the door, taking a seat next to her on the couch.  “You okay?”  His tone was protective, as it had been the whole day, being the older brother yet again.  He hadn’t been this bad, or good depending on how you looked at it, for a while.  He had become more relaxed, satisfied that she was doing fine.  But things were changing fast once again.  “Gwen?”

            She turned from the window to look into his large, brown eyes, almost identical to her own.  She nodded softly, giving him a small smile.  “I’m fine.”  The look he gave her was enough to prove he didn’t believe her, knowing her too well.  She may have been complicated, but he knew her better.  “Really Xander, I’m okay.  I’m over it.”

            “It’s not that simple.”  Truer words were never spoken, but she chose to ignore it.  She’d heard it all before, from so many different people.  It didn’t change things then and it wouldn’t change them now.  “Gwen, you know you’re going to have to face this eventually.  I mean, I’m all for protecting you from everything but…there are some things you can’t avoid.” 

She could feel his eyes on her, looking right through her.  “I know.”  And she did.  She knew she couldn’t hide from everything, least of all this.  As if on cue she heard the door to the bus open, footsteps following and heading towards the back. 

“Oh Gwenny,” Layla’s voice could be heard as she appeared in the doorway, a condescending smile on her face.  “I think we need to talk.”

Xander moved to stand up, probably to stand in and prevent his sister from having to talk about things.  But Gwen grabbed his hand, pulling him back down.  “One, don’t call me Gwenny.  And two, I don’t really feel like talking about things right now.  It’s late and I just want to go to bed.  We can talk tomorrow.”  She knew she couldn’t avoid talking about things with Layla, it would be impossible.

“No, I think we need to talk now.” Layla’s voice was strong and defiant, making sure she got her point across plain as day.  She didn’t want to be mean or force things out of her best friend but she couldn’t stand not knowing what was going on, especially if it caused Gwen pain.  “I was talking to Benji and he told me…”

Gwen’s head shot up instantly, her lips parting and her eyes going wide.  “He told you!?  So now you think you know everything, is that it?  Just because Benji told you that means you know what happened, what I went through?  And now you want to talk about it.”  She took a sharp breath before continuing, standing up and starting to pace the room.  “He has no idea what went on.  Just because he was there, because Joel filled him in does not mean he knows, that he understands.  He had no right!”

Layla tried to step in, stopping Gwen as she started her rant.  “Gwen no…”

“No, you wanted to talk about it right?  So lets talk about it.  Let’s talk about how it was the most painful and heart wrenching thing that’s ever happened.  Let’s talk about how no matter how hard I try I’ve never gotten over it.”  Tears were starting to form in Gwen’s eyes, a pain starting to from in her chest just thinking about everything.  “You once asked why I was on anti-depressants, that’s why.  Because somehow I just can’t seem to get over it.  Nobody should ever have to either.  Having something you want so much just ripped away from you for no reason.  I did everything right and it still happened.”  Her voice was now racked with sobs as her body started to shake with the force of them.

Xander put his arms around her, pulling her back down on the couch, letting her cry on his shoulder.  Layla just watched for minute, confused and saddened by what she had done to her friend, unintentionally of course but still.  She took a seat next to her, not sure of what to say.  “Gwen I didn’t mean to upset you like that.  I just…I wanted to know what was going on.  You wouldn’t talk to me.  I just asked Benji and he told me…”

“I know.  He told you.  So now you know.”  She pried herself from Xander’s grasp and started towards the door, pausing to turn.  “Goodnight.”  She disappeared into her bunk, closing the curtain behind her.

Layla turned to Xander; trying to make sense of Gwen’s outburst and the cold shoulder she’d given her.  “Xander I…” 

He turned sharply, anger clear in his dark eyes.  “You what?  You wanted the truth Layla and you got it.  You could have been a little nicer about it.  Going behind her back and asking Benji Madden?  I thought you were better than that.”  The look in his eyes had changed to one of disappointment.

“No, that’s not it Xander.  You got it all wrong.  Gwen did too.”  She hurried forward, blocking the doorway, needing to explain.  “He didn’t tell me anything. He wouldn’t.  He told me to ask Gwen about it, that’s all.  I swear.”  He looked at her, not sure whether to believe her or not.  “Seriously Xander, you know me better than that.  I would never go behind her back.  Now what’s going on?  What was all that about?  What happened?  She’s on anti-depressants just because some guy broke her heart?”

He stared at her, his expression softening slightly.  “You think he broke her heart, that’s why she’s like she is?  Wow, you don’t know anything about her do you?  He didn’t break her heart Layla.  He didn’t do anything.”

“But she said…”

“She said she went through something and she did.  It wasn’t him.  He’s just a reminder of what she went through.”  He became quiet, avoiding Layla’s gaze. 

She was quiet again, trying to comprehend what he was saying.  “But what happened?”

He sighed, not sure whether it was his place to say anything.  He stared out the window for a few minutes before looking back to Layla.  “She had a miscarriage.” 

 

Chapter 5:

 

            Layla stood there for a full five minutes, staring at Xander in absolute shock.  Her brain could barely process the information he’d just handed to her.  Gwen had a miscarriage?  When she thought about it, it made some sense.  It would account for her demeanor, especially if Benji said she used to be outgoing and outspoken.  It explained why she was reserved and quiet now, withdrawn.  An event like that would be enough to make anyone like that, if not worse.  Layla found it hard to wrap her head around, knowing her friend had gone through something like that and had kept it to herself for so long.  How did she do it?

            Xander watched Layla’s reaction, could almost read the thoughts in her head.  He’d gone through some of the same feelings in the past two years, watching his sister deal with something so huge and life altering.  He couldn’t stand the silence any longer though, knowing she’d surely have questions and he wanted to get through them as fast as possible.  “Do you understand now?”

            Layla looked up at him, startled at the sound of his voice.  She nodded softly, trying to clear the haze that had settled in her head.  “Yeah, it explains a lot actually.  But…I mean, if you don’t mind my asking, when? What happened?”

            He took a seat on the couch, wondering how he could explain things as simply as possible.  But the story was neither simple nor easy to tell.  He just succumbed to the fact that it would feel good to tell somebody.  “You know, I really shouldn’t be the one telling you this but I know Gwen’s not really up it.”  He sat back, deeper into the soft cushions.  “It happened about two years ago or more.  They’d been dating for almost three years…”

            “They?”  Layla interrupted, wanting to make sure she had all the details correct, even though she had an idea who Xander was talking about.

            “Joel.  We’ve known the twins since high school, maybe even before that.  I really don’t remember anymore when I met the guys.  I was good friends with them, being in the same class and all.  They hung around the house a lot, mostly since they never really wanted to go home.  So obviously they became friends with Gwen.  She was only a year younger than them so it wasn’t like the age difference mattered.  She became better friends with the guys than I did at some points.  They taught her about punk music, brought out this creative side of her.”  Xander paused for a moment, thinking back to when things were a lot simpler.  “Anyway, her senior year Joel and her started to date.  They had a lot in common back then, what with the music and all.  They actually made a pretty good couple.  He treated her really well, which made me happy.  I’ve never approved of any of her boyfriends but Joel was different.  I knew him, knew what he was like.  I knew he wouldn’t hurt her.”

            Layla watched in wonder as Xander was telling her everything, watching his face as he replayed all these memories.  She had never seen this side of him before, being so protective and guarding of his sister.  Then again he was her older brother, he had a right to be.  She didn’t want to interrupt but couldn’t help herself, she had so many questions.  “Then when…?”

            He turned back to her, taking a deep breath before continuing.  “After she graduated, she started community college, starting to focus more on her music.  The guys were starting to get more gigs with the band and things were starting to look up for them.  Then right before she turned 21 she got pregnant.  I guess somewhere things turned physical between them, obviously.  Anyway, the guys got a record deal so it made things more complicated.  But they decided to keep the baby, to stay together.  They were in love, they couldn’t see doing anything else.”  He stopped for a minute, looking out the window at the rain that had starting pouring within the last hour or so.  This was where things got a little more complex.  “So, they started recording their album and doing some touring at festivals and she was right there with him.”

            “What about your parents?  Didn’t they have anything to say?”  Layla asked, trying to find the best time to fit her questions in.

            Xander laughed for the first time that night, but it was mocking and sarcastic.  “Layla, you know our parents.  They could care less what happens to us.  We’re just another possession to them, something they can brag about to their friends.  As long as we weren’t in trouble or getting in their way they didn’t care what we did or who we did it with.  Although they weren’t too happy she was dating a punk.  He was below her apparently, below the family.”  He shook his head, wondering how he even came out of that household the way he did. 

“Anyhow, things were going pretty good.  It was hard, him being gone for a while but she was tough.  But then…well, it happened.  She was at the apartment the guys shared, getting some work done while they were in the studio.  I guess she started to have sharp pains or cramps or something and called me.  She couldn’t get a hold of Joel for some reason.  I took her to the hospital and stayed with her the whole time.  When the doctor told her she’d lost the baby…she just sat there.  I don’t even…”  Xander became silent again, his voice breaking a little.

Layla watched silently, wondering whether she should say something or just let him compose himself.  She didn’t have to wait long until he continued again.  “Anyway, Joel came a little while later and lost it.  He tried to talk to Gwen but she wasn’t talking.  She was too broken to speak.  After that things just started to go downhill.  She crawled into herself and wouldn’t let anyone in anymore.  She closed herself off.  Everyone tried to get through her but no one could. Eventually she went into therapy and went on anti-depressants.  They helped but she was never the same again.”

“And what about Joel?”  Layla asked, wondering how they’d gotten this far.

“I’m not even sure what happened there.  She won’t talk about the actual breakup.  From what I saw it looked like she just slowly distanced herself from him over the next few months.  And he stopped trying to get through to her.  One day she just moved into my apartment and never left.  Their band hit it big and left town.  She started throwing herself into music and started a band and that’s how it’s been ever since.”  Xander finished, releasing a breath he hadn’t even realized he was holding.  He was exhausted now, after letting go of a huge weight that had been lying on his chest.

Layla took a seat finally, letting everything sink in.  She couldn’t even imagine what Gwen had gone through, what she had felt or what she was still feeling.  She knew there were things she didn’t know about Gwen, things Gwen probably never wanted to share.  But she never imagined it was something like this.  She took a deep breath and bit her lip.  “So that explains why she freaked when she saw Good Charlotte joined the tour.”

“Yeah,” Xander confirmed, standing up.  “There are still a lot of issues left.”  He started out of the room, intent on sleeping finally.

“Does she still love him?”  Layla stopped him at the door with her question.

He turned, running a hand through his dark hair.  His face was unreadable, his eyes full of emotion.  “I don’t know.”  And that was the end of the conversation, for he turned and headed to the back of the bus.

 

Chapter 6:

 

The next morning found Warped Tour in another new town, on the way to another venue to perform.  It was still early as the bus rolled along the highway, past town after town, headed for another destination.  Gwen watched it all from the small table in the kitchen, cup of hot chocolate in her hands.  The rest of the band was still sleeping, warm in their bunks.  But she couldn’t sleep any longer.  The bus was still something she had to get used to, along with other things.  Last night had been exhausting and although she wanted to stay in her bunk the whole day, she knew she had to face the world sooner or later.  And it was better sooner rather than later.  And it was nice being the only one up, alone in the quiet.  She laughed when she heard the sound of Jake snoring rather loudly, breaking the silence.  She heard him come in around two or 3 a.m., probably out all night partying with other bands.  He was going to have a hell of a hangover this morning.

But at least he didn’t have to be witness to last night’s entertainment.  Thinking about the conversations that had gone on was enough to give her a headache.  And listening to Xander tell Layla the whole story was enough to make her heart break all over again.  If it hadn’t already when she’d seen Joel again, heard him say her name.  If the hole in her heart had been mended at all it would have ripped right open again just hearing his voice, the way he spoke or sang, or said her name. 

She shook those thoughts off immediately, not wanting to think about him, his voice, the way it made her feel.  Instead she continued to gaze out the window, watching the scenery that passed by.  The rain had stopped earlier in the morning but the ground was still wet, saturated by the thunderstorm that had raged on during the night.  When the lines of the road started to make her dizzy she shifted her attention back to the music in front of her.  She had been going over the notes in her mind over and over again, memorizing the patterns she knew by heart.  It distracted her, kept her mind on the shows, the concerts she had to be ready for.  Music was the only escape she had, the only way she could free her mind of all her problems and insecurities.  But it was also a way to get her feelings out, to say things she never would say otherwise.  When she wrote the notes, sang the melodies, it freed her soul, all those thoughts she had that she couldn’t express.  And lately it had gotten harder and harder.

When she could no longer look at the same songs she gave up, gathering all the sheet music back together.  She put them all back into a folder and scooped it up, planning to put it back in her back.  She reached the back of the bus, leaning down to grab her bag when the folder slipped from her grasp, spilling all of the contents, every piece of music she had written and collected over the past few years.  “Shit,” she cursed under her breath, sitting on the floor in order to pick everything up.  As she was leafing through them, trying to organize them back into their place she noticed a piece of music she hadn’t seen in ages.  Or rather a piece of music she hadn’t let herself look at.  As she stared at it memories started to flow back into her mind, days when things were so much simpler…

 

*3 Years Ago*

 

“Gwen!”  A male voice rang out from another room, footsteps following quickly after.  Joel peeked his head into the room, giving a look of annoyance.  “Stop playing that dam piano and come out to eat with us.”  She shook her head, not bothering to turn and look at him, bothered by his interruption to the creative process.  He stood there for a minute before walking into the room, taking a seat next to her on the bench.  “Come on baby, step away for a little while.”  He took her hands, which were poised above the keys and folded them in his.

She sighed, giving up and turning to him.  “I just wanted to finish.  You don’t have to pull me away.”

He smiled, his chocolate, brown eyes shining with laughter.  “Gwen, I know you.  You’re not going to leave this piano unless someone makes you.  Now come on, you’re done anyway.”  He pointed to the sheet music that sat on the piano in front of her.

“But its just music.  I wanted to add lyrics.  You know, those words you sing with the music.”  She smiled back finally, his smile becoming contagious.

“Don’t be a smart ass.  Now come on, you can finish it later.”  He stood up, pulling her up with him.  At her disappointed look he pulled her to him, wrapping his arms around her.  “Seriously Gwen, the words will come when they’re meant to.  You can’t force it.”  He kissed her forehead, letting his lips linger a moment.  “Now come on, no arguing.”  And she let him lead her from the room, away from the music.

 

***

 

Gwen stared at the sheet music, wondering how she’d managed to lose track of it over the years.  The again maybe she wanted it that way, wanted to forget about it.  But it still managed to find her.  It was still incomplete, without words to make it sing.  But that was how it was left, wordless, almost lifeless.  She never could find the right words for it, the right melody to use.  They just never came to her.  It seemed oddly appropriate that she should find it now, after everything that was going on.  She couldn’t decide whether to throw it out or put it back.  Whether it was right to toss that part of her life aside or simply repress it again for another few years.  But she didn’t have to.

The sound of someone waking up was enough to startle her, forcing her to shove it back inside the folder.  A minute later Layla appeared at the door, still in her pajamas, her hair a mess.  She gave a small wave, an unsure smile on her face.  Both girls were hesitant at what to do next, finally just blurting out the only thing they could.  “I’m sorry,” they both said in unison.  They laughed a little, both of them taking a seat on the couch next to each other. 

Layla was the first to actually speak, wanting to immediately explain the events of the previous night.  “Look Gwen, I…”

But Gwen immediately stopped her.  “No, you don’t have to say anything.  I overreacted.  I shouldn’t have gone off on you like that.  I had no right and I shouldn’t have assumed anything.  I should have listened to you, trusted you.  So I’m sorry.”  She managed to say it all in one breath, wanting to get it out.  She was never very good at apologizing or admitting when she was wrong. 

“But I butted in Gwen.  It was none of my business.  I had no right to make you talk about something you didn’t want to share.”  Layla replied, trying to share some of the guilt she was feeling.

“Don’t worry about it.  I’m over it.”  Gwen managed to fake a smile, trying to get off the subject as fast as she could.  It was bad enough she had to think about it constantly.  She didn’t want to have to talk about it too now.  “Let’s just forget about it.” 

Layla was about to argue but she knew it wasn’t a good idea.  When Gwen was ready to talk about things, she would.  “Sure thing.”  She gave one of her best smiles, letting her know the issue was done; she wasn’t going to bother her about it anymore.

“Has anyone seen my pants?”  Jake shuffled in, boxers riding low on his hips and a scowl on his face.  The girls looked at each other and just broke down laughing.

 

Chapter 7:

 

The bus pulled to a stop just as the digital clock on the microwave turned to 6:00 p.m. exactly.  Gwen regretfully pulled off her earphones, finally opening the curtains of her bunk.  She was met with Xander, poised and ready to pull the curtain back.  “May I help you?” she asked, plastering a smile on her face.

“I was going to tell you we’re here but apparently you knew that already,” he replied, adjusting the black trucker hat on his head.  “We’re going to take a car to the hotel, so grab your stuff.”

She sighed, swinging her legs over the side of the bunk and jumped down.  She grabbed her bag, throwing it over her shoulder before turning back to her brother.  “Aye, aye cap’n.”  She gave a small salute before grabbing his hat and placing it on her own head, slightly to the side.

“Looks good on you Gwen.”  Layla commented, still searching the bus for articles of clothing.

Gwen gave another salute and started towards the front of the bus.  “I’m going to look around before the car gets here, okay?”  And she started out, anxious to get out of the confined space of the bus.  When she stepped out onto the cold pavement she came face to face with one of the largest venues the tour was scheduled to play at.  It was amazing to think that tomorrow at this time it would be filled with thousands of people, coming to support their favorite bands.

“Trying to look like me?”  A voice startled her, causing her to turn sharply, only to be met by the dark eyes of Benji Madden.

She breathed a sigh of relief, a slight small creeping across her face.  “What?”

He smiled, a smile she hadn’t seen in ages and, if pushed, would admit that she really missed.  “The trucker hat.”  He laughed, pointing to his own, positioned almost identically to the one on her own head.  “I know you idolized me but I didn’t think you’d go as far as copying my unique style.” 

“Unique style?  I just thought it was used to hide your hideous hair.”  She shot back, a familiar feeling of comfort creeping back into her heart.

He stepped back, a hand going to his heart in mocking hurt.  But it didn’t last long; Benji was never good at keeping a smile from his face.  And this was no exception.  The signature grin spread across his lips, reaching all the way up to his chocolate eyes.  “Come here honey.”  And before she could react he’d pulled her into his strong embrace, his tattooed arms wrapping around her small frame.  The soft fabric of his shirt combined with his sweet scent brought back so many memories, flooding her senses for a minute before he released her, holding her at arms length.  “You look good Gwenny.  And I really mean that.”

“Thanks,” she muttered quietly, unsure of what to say.  It had been so long since she’d talked to him, carried on a normal conversation with someone she once thought of as one of her closest friends.  The awkward silence seemed unnatural, unfitting of two people who used to be inseparable.  But now it stretched between them, as though they were complete strangers. 

He seemed as uncomfortable as she was, not sure of how to break the tension.  “So, I guess the band is doing well.”  It was more of a statement than a question, maybe even a compliment.

“Yeah,” she nodded in agreement, trying to get over the uneasiness that had settled in her stomach.  “We’re getting there.  Nowhere near as close to stardom as you are though.”  She attempted a smile, knowing at once how forced it must have looked.

He finally smiled again, letting out a combination of a sigh and a laugh.  “Yeah, apparently punk rock is quite popular nowadays.”  He attempted some humor, probably trying to act as though nothing was amiss.  But she could see the nervousness in his dark eyes, almost scared to talk about the past or anything remotely close to it.  He was trying to avoid the obvious and he wasn’t doing such a great job.

But lucky for him he didn’t have to tiptoe around the issues.  “Gwen, the car’s here!”  She could hear Layla shout from the other side of the parking lot, although she could barely see her in the twighlight that covered the venue.

“I’ll be right there,” she shouted back.  She turned back to Benji, his eyes cast down upon the pavement.  “I guess I’ll see you tomorrow then.”  She turned, hoping to get away as fast as possible.  Too many emotions were resurfacing, causing the hole in her heart to expand.

But she wasn’t that fortunate.  She hadn’t even taken a step when she felt his hand reach out to her, turning her back around to look at him.  “Look Gwen, I know this isn't the best time and you probably don’t want to hear it…”

“You’re right, I don’t.”  She interrupted, trying to escape the words that were trying to come out of his mouth.  The last thing she needed was to hear his opinion.  She pried her hand from his grasp and started walking away.

“Gwen.”  The way he said her name made her stop in her tracks.  Forcing herself not to break down, she turned to face him again.  “I know this must be hard for you and I can’t even imagine what you must be going through.  But I just wanted to tell you I missed you.  And even though you may not want to, and I understand why, I want to see you again.  I want to be your friend again.  Throwing away all those years of friendship doesn’t make it go away Gwen.”  He started towards her, picking up her hands to hold them in his.  “Don’t push away everyone who’s been there for you.”  And he dropped her hands, walking past her, back towards the buses again.  

 

Chapter 8:

 

"So I'm exhausted," Layla said as she downed the third bottle of water in a row, leaning against the side of the bus, the hot sun beating down relentlessly upon the scorching pavement.  Fall From Grace had just finished their set for the day and were cooling off, trying to find some shade in between various tour buses.

"So you kicked ass," she heard a voice say from her left. She turned to see Nick Wheeler approaching with band mate and friend Mike Kennerty.

"Doofy!" she exclaimed as she ran to give Mike a hug. Layla had grown up with the guys of the All-American Rejects and even though she'd only been able to see them every now and then throughout the past two years, she was still excited to be reuniting with them. She just hoped that her friends weren't going to be upset when she declined the occasional Fall From Grace party to chill with the Rejects.

"You know all these hot boys?" Gwen asked from her position leaning against the bus beside the spot where Layla had just been. Layla turned and smiled at her friend, nodding innocently as she stood with her arms wrapped around Mike's waist. "I'm Gwen," Gwen then said as she stepped forward and shook hands with Mike.

"You rocked out there," he complimented her, before quickly diverting his attention back to Layla. "So what are you guys up to later on after our set?" Mike asked, his arm placed firmly around Layla.

"Nothing that I know of," Gwen said looking towards Jake and Xander. They shrugged. "Why?"

"Thought we could have a little get together on our bus," Nick said smiling. "Since we haven't seen Layla here for a while, and need to get to know you guys," he added. Gwen looked thoughtfully at the other guys who seemed indifferent, as if they could care less to hang out with the Rejects.

"I'm cool with it," Layla said.

"Sure," Gwen replied. "If they don't want to come they can stay in our bus and be bored to death," she added smirking.

Jake then slid on one his sly smiles, the kind he used on girls in the clubs when he wanted to appear dark and mischievous.  He stepped forward to place his arm around Gwen, much like Mike had his arm on Layla.  “Now when have you known me to pass on an opportunity for alcohol and women?”

“Who says there are going to be women?”  Layla gave him an appraising look, showing a hint of disgust in the way her mouth curled into a slight grimace.

“Well, let’s think about that.”  He raised his eyebrows, feigning a look of deep concentration.  “One, you and Gwen will be there.  And if I’m not mistaken, you’re women.  And two, once again if I’m not mistaken, you guys,” he pointed to the guys of the All-American Rejects.  “Are rocks stars, forgive the cliché of course.  And where there are rock stars, there are women.”  He seemed content with his answer, as though he’d just answered a complex algebraic equation.

Both Gwen and Layla just looked at him, not sure whether they should squash his vivid fantasy or let him live with his delusions.  Either way, Mike was the one to break the silence with his loud and emphatic laughter.  “Dude, you think just like I did back in the day.”

“And that’s a scary thought that no one wants to entertain.”  Layla broke in, giving Mike a sly grin of her own.  Gwen caught sight of a brief glimmer of flirtation in Layla’s eyes and smiled to herself.

She also took notice of a flash of something in Nick’s face, maybe jealousy as he took in the sight of Mike holding so tightly to Layla.  For he stepped forward finally, after a few quiet moments.  “Guys, we really need to be going.  We have to do a quick sound check before going on.”  His voice sounded slightly biting and he must have noticed for he added a quick smile.  “And we’ll see you guys tonight, around 9.”  And with that the rest of the guys started off towards the arena, Mike giving a quick kiss on the cheek to Layla and a small wave to the rest of Fall From Grace.

“Like oh my God, our first real party with a real rock band.  What am I going to wear?”  Jake’s voice was an octave higher as he spoke in a valley accent, jumping up and down with a grin on his face.

Layla turned to him with glare.  “If you’re even suggesting I sound like that…”  She threatened him with a fist.

“Break it up ladies,” Xander finally stepped in, careful to avoid Layla’s wrath himself.  “Now let’s go back into the bus so Jake can decide what he wants to wear. 

The girls both laughed, following Xander while Jake stood there with mock hurt.  “Shows what they know.  I already know what I’m going to wear.”

 

Chapter 9:

 

When the boys of All-American Rejects said get together, that easily translated into an all-out blowout party consisting of any and every band on Warped Tour that wanted to attend.  This meant a full bus, overloaded with partiers doing shots and dancing to insanely loud music and also spilling outside to tables and chairs set out as a pseudo patio.  When Gwen and Layla arrived, flanked by Xander and the oh-so-stylish Jake, the party was in full swing.  Hard to believe that at only a quarter after nine there were already scattered and empty beer bottles littering the ground and drunken girls dancing on tables.

“I feel a little over-dressed.”  Gwen remarked in a joking tone, watching a blonde nearby who had already taken off her shirt, parading around in her bra and a very short skirt.

This also had Jake’s attention, his eyes bugging out of their sockets, watching the girl’s every movement with avid interest.  He then turned to Gwen and Layla, eyeing their outfits.  “You are.  Now start stripping ladies.”

Gwen grabbed Layla before she could retort, trying to avoid the demolition of their only drummer, and steered her towards the bus door.  “Look, there’s Nick.  Why don’t you go talk to him.”  She gave Layla a smile and a shove in Nick’s direction hoping this would cause her to forget Jake’s comment.  And to her satisfaction it worked, but not before she gave a rude hand gesture in Jake’s direction.  “Why is that I’m always refereeing for them?”

“Because neither of us wants to hold auditions for a new drummer.”  Xander put his arm around his sister, giving her a sympathetic smile.  “Now if you’re going to be alright I want to mingle a little.” 

She gave him a nod and he scurried away, following in Jake’s step.  She took the opportunity to board the bus, squeezing in between packed bodies in search of Layla or someone to talk to.  She spotted Layla in the middle of the action, laughing and talking with Nick on the sofa.  Not wanting to interrupt, she turned, running smack into the last person she wanted to see at the moment.

“Gwen,” Joel looked up, his eyes showing the shock of seeing her right in front of him, just inches away.  She swallowed the lump in her throat, looking for a way around him.  But he reached out and touched her arm, sending a chill right down to her spine.  “I…we should talk.”  His tone was firm, no hint of hesitation.

“Thanks for the offer but I’d prefer not to, thanks.”  She squeezed past him, hard to do in the crowd that had taken up residence on the bus.  It took her a few moments to get to the front of the bus but she made it, hurrying out the door.  She couldn’t do this, not now, not here.  It was much easier to navigate once outside, the fresh air and the space made it much simpler to get away as she rushed in between buses.  All she had to do was get back to her own, to the safety of her own confined space. 

But this proved much harder than she would have thought.  For once she got into the labyrinth of buses, footsteps could be heard pounding behind hers, getting faster and faster.  “Gwen stop!”  He was right behind her and it didn’t seem like he was going to stop or take no for an answer.

She turned, making him stop in his tracks for fear of running into her.  “What?  What could you possibly want from me?  Do you want to ruin my life a little more?”  There was exhaustion in her voice and tears starting to form in her eyes as she spoke.  “What is it Joel?”

He was unprepared for an outburst so sudden from her lips that he drew back a few steps, bracing himself for what was to come.  When it appeared as though she wasn’t going to run he stepped forward, closing the huge gap between them.  “I don’t want to ruin your life…”

“A little late for that isn’t it?”  She spat at him bitterly, showing harshness he never would have imagined she possessed.

He hung his head in defeat for a minute, trying to sort through the thoughts in his head.  What could he say to this?  “Gwen, I didn’t come out here to upset you, although I can clearly see that I’ve done that.  I just wanted to see how you are.”

 

***

 

The music was still heard blaring from the Reject's bus, and Layla found herself dancing, more like faux-dancing, with Nick in a cramped corner of the bus. There was barely enough room to move let alone, really dance. "So how've you been?" she asked Nick over the music.

"Decent. You?" he replied.

"Good. Good. I'm really glad you guys are here though. It's like having a little piece of home here with me again. I really missed you...." Layla said and after noticing the smile on his face, she added, "and the other guys." Nick threw his head back and laughed a bit.

"Oh yeah sure.... you missed me the most and you know it!" he exclaimed with his arm around her waist and he hugged her, planting a kiss on her neck. She squirmed away from him a bit after spotting Mike eyeing them from the corner, and wondering what was wrong with him. "So where's that foxy friend of yours?" Nick teased, and Layla swatted his arm.

"I saw her go outside and she didn't look to happy. I should probably go check on her," Layla answered as the picture of Gwen's expression as she left he bus, flashed before her again. She bit down on her lip, worried. "I'll be back," she then told Nick before he kissed her lips briefly and removed his arm from around her waist. She wasn't sure what was going on, but maybe Gwen's disappearance was giving her the escape she needed.

 

***

 

Outside, Gwen watched the pain his chocolate, brown eyes and fought the urge to surrender to her guilt.  Instead she embraced the anger.  “How do you think I am Joel?  Peachy?  Why can’t you just leave me alone?”  She turned to go, anxious to rid herself of him and the unpleasantness of this confrontation.  She didn’t even notice the sound of more approaching footsteps.

“Gwen,” Joe reached out, grabbing her wrist and turning her towards him.

"Let go of me Joel," Gwen said with bitterness still in her voice.

"Joel let her fucking go," Layla's voice said and Gwen turned her head to find her friend standing a few feet away, arms folded across her chest, with a very unpleasant, and very un-Layla-like expression on her face.

"Do I know you?" Joel asked, only tightening his grasp on Gwen's wrist.

"Probably not but you should let her go," Layla then said walking towards them.

"Oh you're the other chick in the band," Joel said not really sounding as violent as he appeared at the moment. "Layla Rivers! Aren't you a friend of Nick Wheeler's?"

"I am leaving," Gwen said trying to pull her arm free.

"Just wait a minute Gwen I really wanna talk about this," Joel then said.

"I don't think she wants to talk to you," Layla interjected. "If you don't let her go I'm gonna go get Nick or Xander or someone," she said with a worried expression. As Joel's grasp shifted she could see the red mark he was leaving on Gwen's arm. "God let her go already!" Layla said grabbing Joel's arm suddenly, startling him, causing him to pull away and in the surprise of the moment, shove Layla into the side of the bus they were standing beside.  She hit it hard, her left side taking the brunt of the blow.  The impact caused her to slide to the ground, the air rushing out of her lungs in one burst.

Fire erupted in Gwen’s eyes and she thought about lunging at him.  She took two steps toward him when a body got in her way.  “Whoa, what’s going on here?”

 

Chapter 10:

 

 

The six-foot frame of Gabriel Macht seemed to have stopped the action in the span of a few seconds.  He eyed the scene before him, taking in the anger and confusion on Joel’s face, combined with the shock on both the girls.  He stood between them and the front man of Good Charlotte, allowing Gwen to step to the side and help Layla to her feet.  He kept himself positioned so he stood as a roadblock to Joel, turning around to face the girls.  “Are you ladies okay?”

Gwen nodded, putting an arm defensively around Layla, and also to support her weight if she needed it.  She kept her mind focused on her friend, not letting herself cast a look back at Joel.  He seemed to be subdued at the moment; the surprise of being caught in this position was enough to restrain him, at least for the night.  “Let’s get you back to the bus.”

“Fine with me.”  Layla let Gwen help her out, her hand on her abdomen where she’d hit the side of the bus.  They made their way through the maze of tour buses until they reached their own, climbing the stairs in silence.  Layla took a seat in the kitchenette while Gwen hurriedly headed to the freezer for an ice pack.  “Okay, you will probably never hear this from me again but thank God for Gabe.”

Gwen whole-heartedly agreed, although she nodded rather than opening her mouth.  She couldn’t admit to being slightly scared back there and the site of Gabe was the rescue she needed; not that she needed to be rescued.  She handed the ice pack to Layla and sat back for a second.

Gabriel Macht was a fellow musician, although in a slightly different genre.  He was a solo artist with quite a reputation and a following.  He played everything from jazz to rock and some easy listening.  He also was regarded highly as a writer and arranger, working with various bands and artists.  So he’d been called in by a friend to work with Fall from Grace.  He’d been amazing, bringing clarity and organization to their music in ways they couldn’t have imagined.  He also helped them to be more creative and imaginative.  And along the way he’d also developed a slight crush on Gwen.  He’d asked her out numerous times but she’d always declined.  Layla made fun of her for it, mostly because she didn’t take a liking to Gabe.  She liked him as a musician and a producer but didn’t see any boyfriend potential in him, not that Gwen saw anything in him either.  But just tonight she was glad for his presence in a non-music capacity.

“Maybe we should take you to a hospital.  You could have bruised some ribs or something.”  Gwen stepped closer to Layla and put a hand on her shoulder.

Layla shrugged it off, although wincing with the effort.  “No, I’ll be fine.  It was just a bump.  Besides, hospitals take a really long time and I don’t want to spend the whole night there.”

"Is everything okay?" Gabe said suddenly peeking his head around the corner.

"We're fine," Gwen spoke up. "Just a little shaken but we're okay. Thanks for intervening," she said glancing between Gabe and Layla.

"Is she gonna be okay?" he asked in a quiet tone nodding his head towards Layla. Gwen nodded.

"I think so," Gwen replied.

"I am checking into a motel for the night," Gabe then said. "How long are you guys gonna be here?"

"We're leaving in the morning I think," Gwen told him.

"I'm gonna follow your bus. I came to check out the show but I missed it today. So I'll see you sometime tomorrow," he said.

"Thanks again," Layla called and the two of them said goodnight to Gabe.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Gwen asked her after Gabe had left. "It's starting to bruise already," she added looking at Layla's injury.

"I'm fine. Are you okay?" she asked Gwen with a concerned expression written on her face. Gwen nodded silently. "I think I'm gonna go to bed," she then said.

"Me too," Gwen added. "The boys will be back sometime," she added with a slight laugh. The two of them headed to their bunks and before long were fast asleep, not even hearing the boys when they crept in a few hours later.

 

***

 

"Rise and shine!" the girls awoke to the sound of Jake's voice bellowing into are where their bunks were placed.

"Shut up!" Gwen yelled from her bunk, putting a pillow over her head, trying to drown out his annoying voice as he continued to cause commotion outside of their bunks.

"Come on," Jake whined. "Get up," he went on.

"Leave me alone!" Layla exclaimed as she felt his hand tugging on her arm. As he pulled on her arm, her side pressed roughly against the mattress. "Stop it!" she yelled then with seriousness in her voice, an almost angry sound. Jake let go of her arm and she finally emerged from the bunk, joined by Gwen, who rolled out of her own a few moments later.

"What is your problem?" Jake huffed walking away from them. The two girls followed him into the kitchenette startled when they found Xander, accompanied by Nick Wheeler, sitting there.

"Why didn't you tell us we had company?" Gwen questioned through gritted teeth looking at Jake, straightening the tee and pair of shorts she was wearing.

"Because someone was being a bit bitchy this morning," Jake said.

"I am going to get some donuts and coffee they got out there," Xander said. "Who wants to join me?" Gwen raised her hand disappearing for a few moments and returning with a pair of sweatpants adorning her lower half. The shirtless Jake followed the siblings out of the bus, leaving a sleepy Layla alone with Nick.

"Where did you run off to last night?" Nick questioned her as she leaned against the wall.

Layla yawned and replied, "I went to find Gwen." Nick eyed her intently then stood up walking towards her. "What?" she questioned the look he was giving her.

"What's that?" Nick asked pointing to the small portion of skin exposed on Layla's side. Her shirt had rode up during the night and she quickly pulled it down, covering herself.

"Nothing," she said.

"Let me see," Nick then said, pushing her hands away and lifting the bottom of her shirt up slightly, revealing a huge bruise almost the size of a man's shoe on her abdomen. "Holy shit Layla, what happened?" he exclaimed, his fingers running lightly over the discolored flesh. She flinched at his touch, pulling the shirt back down.

"It's nothing," she replied. "Really," she looked at him with soft eyes.

"Well a bruise like that doesn’t just show up out of thin air..." he trailed off.

"Last night Joel and Gwen got into an argument and I accidentally got knocked around," Layla said.

"Joel did this to you?" he questioned, his eyes fiery, full of rage.

"Not on purpose," she said.

"That mother fucker," Nick slammed his fist against the wall. Nick had always been protective of her and he was the feisty kind.

"Nick, just drop it," she told him.

"No," he said simply walking out of the bus.

 

Chapter 11:

 

“Gwen are you gonna finish that donut?”  Jake was eyeing the sugar donut Gwen held in her hand, practically dancing at the prospect of scraps.

She rolled her eyes and kept walking, making sure to eat the donut slowly.  Jake was pretty much drooling now.  “You should have gotten one of your own.”

“Yeah but you got the last sugar one.  Those are my favorite.”  Jake stood in front of her, blocking her path.  He pouted his lips and gave her his “sad eyes.”  She smiled at him in return, putting on a face of pure sympathy before shoving the last bit of donut in her mouth. 

Xander laughed, drinking his coffee as he watched the two of them fight it out.  “Sorry Jake.  Nothing comes between Gwen and food.  You should know that by now.” 

“One day you’re gonna be fat and sorry,” he mumbled, slightly under his breath.  They watched in amusement as Jake started to pout like a five year old as they walked back towards the bus, dragging his feet as a manner of protest.  This didn’t last long for no more than a minute later a smile stretched across his face and he picked up his pace.  “Dude, Gabe!”

Gwen looked up from her view of the sidewalk, noticing Gabe standing in front of their bus.  His hair looked wet, probably form an early shower, and he had a day’s worth of scruff on his chin.  But he still looked more awake than they felt.  He exchanged a complicated handshake with Jake and gave Xander a quick handshake/hug.  “Hey guys, already raiding the breakfast buffet?”

“Yeah, except someone hogged all the donuts.”  Jake was back to whining, casting a look at Gwen.

Gabe cast a smile towards her and she shrugged, not wanting to appear “bitchy,” as Jake had already labeled her for the morning.  “Actually I wanted to talked to you for a second.  Do you mind?” 

Gwen nodded, breaking apart from her brother and Jake, walking deeper into the parking lot.  They didn’t get too far before they heard Jake shout at their backs, “I hope you’re not asking her out again.  She’s bitchy in the morning.”

Gabe laughed at this but Gwen just shot a look over her shoulder.  It was uncomfortable enough being around the guy but Jake didn’t have to make it worse.  “Sorry to disappoint but I just wanted to make sure everything was okay with you girls.”

“It’s fine.  Although I didn’t really get a chance to check Layla out this morning, she seems okay.  Thanks for asking.  And thanks for helping out last night.  We really appreciated it.”

He smiled again, his white teeth shining against the growth of beard he had going.  “Not a problem.  If you don’t mind my asking, what exactly happened?”

She wasn’t sure how to answer that question.  Anyone who walked in on that situation would have made their own assumptions.  It was also too complicated a story to tell anyone, especially him.  “Just a misunderstanding.”  She averted her eyes for fear they would give her away, instead looking at the pavement again.  She decided to change the subject instead.  “So, what are you doing here anyway?”

“Oh, just checking out some of the new talent for the new recording label.  That and came to see some of my work in action.”  At this he cast her another one of his “winning” smiles.  It was harmless flirting, at least to someone other than her.

She was about to make some excuse to get back to the bus when they rounded a corner to find Nick and Joel crammed towards the back of the parking lot.  They were obviously having a heated discussion and there was only one thing they could be talking about.

“You know what Madden, you’re an asshole okay so just quit making excuses.”  Nick pointed his finger straight into Joel’s chest, making him back into the bus behind him.

“Nick, I told you, it was an accident.”  Joel looked genuinely sorry, staying back, probably for fear that Nick’s fist would come flying at his face.

“I really don’t care whether you say it was an accident or not.  The bruise speaks for itself.  That may be the way you treat women but where I come from it’s inexcusable.”  Nick’s fists were clenched tightly at his sides; his jaw set hard and firm on his face.

Joel looked like he wanted to say more, but the fear of a beating kept him from opening his mouth more than to mutter a quiet apology.  “I’m sorry.”

And it looked like the thought of punching him was crossing Nick’s mind, but he overcame his first instincts and just backed off.  “Just stay away from Layla.  If I hear you came near her I will kill you.” 

And Nick walked off, leaving Joel to lean against the bus in defeat.  He turned to leave and spotted Gabe and Gwen watching.  His face lit up for a second and he moved towards them.  “Gwen…”

Gabe moved in front of her, putting his hand up as a sign to stay where he was.  “I think it’s best for all parties concerned if you just left it alone for now.”  And without another word he put his hand on the small of Gwen’s back, leading her away.  His hand didn’t leave her back until they reached Fall from Grace’s bus once again, though she tried her hardest to shake him off.

She started towards the stairs of the bus, craving the confined space of its walls.     “You know, despite what you may think, I don’t need you to rescue me.  I can handle myself.” 

“I wasn’t implying that you couldn’t.  I just thought you could use the break.”  And he sounded sincere, almost hurt that she’d waved his attempt at a nice gesture off.

“Thanks but no thanks.”  And Gwen retreated into the coolness of the bus, happy to escape the stifling heat created by the situation.  

 

Chapter 12:

 

            "I hate being the new kids on the block," Xander grumbled as Fall From Grace reentered their bus after their set that day. "We always get the early slots and everyone's half asleep or there isn't anyone here yet," he complained grabbing a can of Mountain Dew out of the small bus refrigerator.

            "Be quiet you big baby," Layla said walking past him shoving him slightly as she did so, taking his can of soda and taking a huge drink herself.

            "Okay you can have my Dew," Xander replied sarcastically taking another can out.

            "Well I don't care I think we kicked ass," Layla said and Gwen nodded as she sat down beside her.

            "Don't we always?" Jake questioned as he sat on Layla's lap.

            "Off," she said simply, wincing as his weight pushed down on her legs pulling on her side. She shoved him slightly and he stood up heading to the back of the bus.

            "I am exhausted," Gwen said. "You know there will be partying tonight."

            "Maybe I should take a nap before then," Layla said.

            "You two are like old ladies. You bitch, moan, eat, and sleep," Xander sighed. "I'm gonna go catch the Fall Out Boy show with Gabe. I'll catch you two old bitties later," Gwen's brother finished as he and his can of soda trotted out of the bus.

            "What a scum," Layla said.

            "I know and I'm related to it," Gwen chuckled.

 

***

 

Layla stirred in her sleep, eyes fluttering open as she felt warm breath on her shoulder. She rolled over, eyes open fully, and spotted a figure beside her. "What are you doing?" she questioned the person beside her.

"Trying to sleep," Mike said with his goofy grin, closing his eyes.

"Why are you in my bunk?" Layla asked, propping herself up on one elbow, trying not to put pressure on her side.

"Because my bus is noisy," he offered, not opening his eyes.

"Sure," she sighed, lying back down. "Sure."

"What?" he asked.

"Oh you know you just love being around little old me," she teased, only half kidding.

"Yeah. Keep talking yourself up big shot," Mike joked back. "You guys were good today."

"You watched?" Layla asked placing a hand on his chest.

"Yeah," he said. "Me and Tyson caught most of it," he told her. "We couldn't find Nick or Chris," he then said. Layla smiled as his eyes opened. "I couldn't find you last night."

"I ran away," she said sarcastically. "I was with Gwen most of the night."

"Except when you were with Nick," Mike said trying to be nonchalant but Layla could hear a hint of bitterness in his voice.

"Yeah but I ditched him too," she said.

"I see," he replied.

"You are such a doofus," Layla laughed shaking her head as Mike's arm snaked around her waist.

"Oh you know I try. Eight days a week," he finished leaning towards her slightly.

"LAYLA WAKE UP!" Gwen's loud voice caused the two of them to jump slightly, Mike falling out of the bunk and hitting the floor of the bus with a thud.  "What the hell?" Gwen asked, hands on her hips as she watching Mike stand up, and dust himself off.

"Hey," he said as Layla crawled out of the bunk.

"Did I interrupt something?" Gwen asked with a raised brow.

"Yeah, my nap," Mike said.

"This isn't your bus homeboy," Gwen said and Layla laughed loudly.

"You interrupted my nap actually," Layla said.

"Well I gotta tell you something," her friend said.

"Well you're going to have to wait because I'm going into the venue to use the bathroom because I hate this bus," Layla stuck out her tongue.

"She never could hold her liquids," Mike said attempting to follow Layla off the bus but Gwen stopped him.

"Whoa there mister," she said. "What were you two doing in that bunk?" she questioned.

"Nothing. Seriously," he replied. "Where did you two go last night?" he asked her this time raising his eyebrow.

Figuring he'd already heard the story from Nick and was just prying for more info Gwen spoke. "I got into an argument with Joel Madden, an old friend of mine, and Layla tried to intervene. She accidentally got knocked down and our friend Gabe took us back to the bus."

"Knocked around?" he asked her.

"Yeah she's okay. That bruise sure is big isn't it? But she said she's fine," Gwen said walking past him towards the back of the bus.

 

Chapter 13:

 

Gwen waited patiently outside the public bathrooms at the venue; leaning against the cool, stonewall of the building.  It was still technically early afternoon but the sun was already high in the sky, sending heat waves through the stale air.  When Layla finally emerged she could already feel beads of sweat running down her back.  “Hey, I need to talk to you.”

“Yes, I can see that.”  Layla smiled, pulling a pair of sunglasses out of her back pocket and resting them on her face.  “What’s up?”

Gwen eyed the sunglasses jealously, squinting in the bright light.  Instead she pushed on, intent on telling her friend about the altercation she’d witnessed only a few hours earlier.  “Okay, so you know how we went for breakfast this morning while you stayed on the bus with Nick?  Well, when we got back Gabe was waiting.”

“Gabe you say?”  Layla’s tone was smug, teasing.

“Shut it.  He just wanted to make sure you were okay.”  She gave Layla a smug look, trying to prove she was completely wrong about where this story was headed.  “Anyway, when we were walking we stumbled upon a little argument between Nick and Joel.  I think we only caught the end of it but Nick was really telling Joel off.”

Layla sighed, stopping to rest at a picnic table set up near the buses.  “Yeah, he saw the bruise this morning after you guys left.  I told him it was an accident but I don’t think he really believed me.  Nick has a tendency to get a little feisty sometimes.”

“I kinda noticed that.  He looked like he was struggling not to beat the crap out of Joel.”  Gwen sat besides her friend, rethinking the pair of heavy sweatpants she’d put on after their set.

At this Layla looked up, a puzzled look on her face.  “Wait, Nick didn’t hit Joel?”

“Nope,” Gwen replied, shaking her head in confirmation.

Layla shook her head also, although more from confusion than anything.  “Weird.  If anyone would overreact and solve the problem with his fists it would be Nick.”  She moved to get up and just that simple motion made her wince audibly and grab her side.

Gwen immediately jumped up, rushing to her friend’s side.  “Okay, that’s it.  I am taking you to the ER and you’re gonna get that checked out.  You could have some serious problems.”

“But I hate hospitals.  And we’re gonna be there forever.”  Layla whined but let Gwen lead her back to the buses to get their stuff.  She seemed to be grabbing her side more now, especially with the effort of climbing the stairs.  “Fine, but don’t tell the guys.  They’ll get all overprotective and won’t let me do anything.”

Gwen smiled, grabbing her purse and her sunglasses.  “The guys will not know a thing.”

“Know a thing about what?”  Gabe emerged from the bunk area, clutching a pair of sunglasses and a baseball hat.  He had that know-it-all grin plastered to his face, as if he didn’t even have to ask what they were up to.

Layla shot him a glare.  “How much did you hear?”

“Not a thing.”  The grin didn’t leave his face as he walked past them to the door.  But he stopped and turned around once again before descending the stairs.  “But if you’re gonna go to the hospital, take my rental car.  The keys are on the table.”  And he was gone again.

Gwen and Layla looked to the table and sure enough, there were keys sitting on the edge.  Gwen shrugged, grabbing them.  “It can’t hurt right?”

Layla nodded, allowing Gwen to help her outside and to the car, which turned out to be a Mercedes convertible.  “I’ll say one thing about the guy, at least he drives in style.”  

Gwen laughed, allowing that to be the last thing said until they pulled up to the hospital, finding parking in the emergency lot.  When they entered the lobby it didn’t appear to be too busy.  Gwen got the forms and let Layla start filling them out.

“Now under occupation, should I put guitar player or singer?”  Gwen cast a look at Layla and smiled.  She may be in pain but at least her sense of humor was still intact.

“Layla Rivers?”  A few minutes later a nurse called her name, looking up from her clipboard.  They led the girls back towards a section of hallways and open curtains that served as the emergency room.  The nurse checked her out, letting her know a doctor would be checking on her in a few minutes before leaving. 

They sat there for a few minutes, looking around at the other open curtains.  Across the hall, a doctor opened a curtain that had been closed and Layla’s jaw dropped.  “Do not look across the hall.  Joel is there and he don’t look pretty.” 

Chapter 14:

 

"What happened to him?" Gwen shouted in a whisper, her eyes darted from the open curtain to Layla.

"I don't know, I thought you said Nick didn't hit him," Layla replied her eyes full of concern as she looked again at the Good Charlotte singer, whose lip was busted, and eye blackened.

"I didn't see him hit him," Gwen told her. "I saw him tell Joel that he better not come near you again or he'd kill him." Layla put her head in her hands. "What if he went back later... change his mind."

"I don't know what happened but this is my fault," Layla said.

"No it's not," Gwen said to her friend.

"Sure it is. Joel didn't mean to shove me, I grabbed him first," Layla explained.

"But you were trying to help me," Gwen said gesturing towards the faint red mark around her wrist, where Joel had held it the previous night. Shortly after the doctor entered and shut the curtain, ending the little show for the girls.

"So can you tell me Miss Rivers what happened?" the doctor asked as he examined Layla's side.

"I got knocked into the side of a tour bus," she said, knowing how lame it sounded. The doctor looked at her and nodded.

"Well we're going to do a couple of quick x-rays and then we'll find out exactly what the problem is," he told her and she smiled faintly. Gwen stayed in the cubicle while Layla went with the doctor to get the x-rays taken, and when she finally returned, she looked less than happy.

"He thinks I may have bruised some ribs," she frowned as she told Gwen, while they waited for the doctor to return with the x-rays. "I wonder if Joel is okay. He's still over there," she added.

"I don't know, I couldn't see or hear anything," Gwen replied. Layla looked down at her hands as she sat beside Gwen in the cubicle. The two of them were silent until the doctor reentered through the curtain.

"Well Layla it looks as if I was right. You have several bruised ribs; and one of them is actually fractured. Other than that nothing else has been injured. The bruising you're experiencing so low on your abdomen is just that, a bruise, so it'll be sore for a while," the doctor told her.

"Ouch," Gwen said.

"So we're gonna wrap you up here and just tell you to take it easy for a while," he said. "Don't do too much partying or anything that is going to be putting strain on that side of the body," he added before wrapping Layla up.

As the two girls exited the hospital a while later Gwen commented, "Nothing to strenuous on that side of the body. No more of that bunk bumping with Mike." Layla elbowed her.

"Bitch," she said. They drove back to the venue and were greeted by Gabe upon their arrival at their bus.

"How's it?" Gabe asked motioning towards Layla's side.

"Bruised, fractured," Layla replied.

"That bad?" he questioned and the two girls nodded. "I'm glad you decided to go to the hospital then," he said. Gwen handed Gabe his keys and told him that the two of them were going to rest for a while on the bus. "I think I'm going to go find your brother but I'll catch up with you later," he said offering her a warm smile. Gwen smiled slightly and entered the bus, following at Layla's heels.

"Hey what's this?" Gwen called from the bunk area of the bus, holding up a silver piece of metal. Layla walked towards her and examined it.

"It's Mike's money clip," she said. "Must have fell out of his pocket when you scared him out of the bunk."

"Nice to see he keeps a lot of money in it," Gwen said sarcastically handing the clip to Layla, who shoved it in her pocket.

"Speaking of Mike. Where'd he go after I left earlier?" Layla inquired. Gwen shrugged. "He acted a little odd. I think I'm gonna go look for him," she added and Gwen rolled her eyes as she watched her friend head back off the bus.

"No strain my ass," Gwen mumbled.

"Heard you!" Layla called.

 

***

Layla walked towards the area of the venue where the Rejects' bus was parked, but got distracted when she saw a figure walking towards another bus nearby. "Joel!" she called as she walked a little quicker to catch up with him. He had a bandage on his right eye and looked at her with a look of almost fear.

"You better just stay away from me. I think you've caused me enough trouble already," he said stepping back as she approached him.

"Are you okay?"" she questioned him.

"Does it look like it?" he asked. "Fractured bone under my eye," he said.

"Fractured rib," she retorted lifting her shirt slightly to reveal part of a bruise and the bottom of the bandage. Joel looked at his shoes. "I'm sorry about Nick, he can get a bit carried away sometimes.

"Nick?" Joel asked. "Nick didn't do anything."

"Who did that to you?" she asked him next.

"Why don't you ask him?" Joel replied pointing behind her.

 

Chapter 15:

 

Meanwhile, back at the bus Gwen had decided to take in the rest of the show with the guys.  She changed into a pair of army-green capris and a black tank top before heading out to the venue.  She tried Xander’s cell phone and got no answer.  She tried the same with Jake but got the same result.  They were probably moshing somewhere and either couldn’t hear their phone or couldn’t get to them.  Instead, she meandered about for a little while; checking out the merch stands and socializing with some people she used to know.  About a half hour went by until she even saw a familiar face.  She wouldn’t have even approached him but she did want to hang out with the rest of her band. 

“Hey Gabe.”  She ambled up to him, taking a spot next to him near the stage where The Academy Is was playing.  “Have you seen the guys?”

He seemed taken aback by her sudden presence but didn’t miss the opportunity to throw her another one of his smiles.  “Xander went to grab some food and Jake is…”  He looked around for a few minutes, eyeing the crowd before pointing to the other side of the stage where Jake was obviously trying to flirt with two blondes.  “Getting shot down.  So what are you doing here?”

“Just thought I’d take in a few of the shows.”  Gwen nodded, feeling uncomfortable being alone with someone who obviously had a crush on her and had no intention of letting it go.  “So when are you leaving?”

“Anxious to get rid of me?”  He looked down at her, the sunglasses sliding down the bridge of his nose to reveal his dark, chocolate eyes.  “Probably tomorrow.”

“Dude you cannot leave yet.”  Xander came up behind them, handing Gabe a drink and taking the spot on Gwen’s other side.  “I need another guy around here.  Being on a bus with two women and ADD boy is not doing wonders for my sanity.”

Gabe laughed; shaking his head and casting another look across the crowd to Jake, alone now.  “I do have the time off and I was interested in looking at some more of the local talent.”

“Then it’s settled.  Ditch the rental car and take a spare bunk on our bus.  It’s not exactly the most friendly of environments, but it’s sure to be entertaining.”  Xander cast a look at his sister, giving her a wink.  She returned it with a glare, trying to communicate her hatred with just one look.

Gabe seemed to consider it for a minute, even pausing to look down at Gwen.  She avoided his gaze, hoping it would show him how much she wanted him to say no.  “Why not?  I mean, with an offer like that who couldn’t pass it up, especially with ADD boy?”

 

***

 

Layla turned around and saw Mike standing a few feet behind her. "Why would I ask him?" she questioned Joel with a confused expression.

"Because he's the one who beat the shit out of me," Joel said, having no trouble admitting that he'd been had. Layla looked at him in disbelief.

"Go fuck yourself Madden," she said. "Not only are you a lowlife that harasses my friend Gwen, you're gonna stand there and lie about Mike. Fuck you," she finished walking off, past Mike who soon followed her back to her bus. "I can't believe him," she said full of rage as she stomped back onto the bus, aware that Mike was behind her.

"He's not lying," Mike said in a serious but bland tone.

"What do you mean?" she looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

"I hit him," he said his hands buried in his jeans pockets, his eyes cast down towards his feet. Layla felt her head throbbing and her mouth gaped open. "I'm sorry."

"You hit him?" she questioned aloud. "You hit him..." she repeated it a couple of times still in disbelief. Mike was not the violent kind. He never had been. He was more of the non-confrontational sort. It was just hard for Layla to wrap her head around the fact that Mike was admitting to being the cause of Joel's injury. "Why Mike? Why did you hit him?"

"Because," Mike said. "He hurt you Layla. He fucking put that bruise on your side whether or not he did it on purpose," he said. Mike knew about the bruise? She was sure she hadn't told him, and when they were in the bunk she was positive he hadn't seen it. "If he's gonna go around harassing people, he needs to be a little more careful who he shoves around," he added. There was a spark in his eyes that Layla hadn't ever really seen before. She was used to seeing the fiery anger in Nick's eyes but she'd never seen this look coming from Mike Kennerty.

"How did you even find out?" she questioned.

"Gwen told me and then Nick told me he told Madden to back off," he answered. "I saw him lurking around your bus after you went into the venue and it just pissed me off."

"Mike..."

"He had no right pushing you or Gwen around," he continued rambling. "That's just bullshit," he said. "When I found out he hurt you, Jesus, I was about to rip his head off." Layla listened to him go on, feeling a bit of a grin tug at the corners of her lips; she'd never seen him this way. "I told him to get the fuck away from your bus and he asked me if you had two bodyguards now and was just being a real dick. Must have been pissed that Nick told him where to go," Mike went on. "So I walked right up to him and told him he was a fucking woman abusing asshole and decked him right in the face."

"I saw his face," Layla interjected. "When I went to the hospital, he was there. His face is fractured Mike. He's gonna have to have surgery to correct that." Mike, calmed down a bit, looked at the floor once again, and Layla could see that he was overcome with guilt.

"You were at the hospital?" he then changed the subject.

"Yeah. I went to have my side checked out," she told him. "Bruised a few ribs, fractured one," she told him and she could see him starting to get fired up. She placed a hand on his arm. "But it's not Joel's fault... well it is, but he didn't do it on purpose. He shouldn't have been bothering Gwen, but it's my own fault. I tried to play hero."

"I'm sorry I hit him Layla," Mike said. "But he deserved it. Nick's right. Where we come from you don't go around bullying women, even if you don't realize you're doing it."

"Thanks for defending me," she said biting her lip as she looked out the bus window, unsure of where this left things.

 

Chapter 16:

 

“So let me get this straight, Gabe is now traveling with us?”  Layla whispered, crammed into the bathroom of the tour bus with Gwen.

Gwen nodded, her back pressing against the doorknob.  She’d already yelled at Xander for inviting him without talking to any of them but he’d shrugged it off as usual.  He muttered something about having to deal with her and Layla all the time so why shouldn’t he have another friend to even things out.  Apparently Gwen and Layla were a handful to him.  And Jake could care less.  They could have told them Gabe was taking his bunk and he would have to sleep on the kitchen table and he wouldn’t care.

Layla shook her head, honestly not able to cram one more issue into her head at this point.  Her side was killing her and she couldn’t wait for the weekend when they’d be staying at a hotel and sleeping in actual beds.  The next four days could not go fast enough.  “I love that Xander consulted us before doing this.”

“Tell me about it.  I don’t mind working with him in a studio, but traveling with him on a cramped tour bus is more than I can take.”  Gwen sighed, feeling the cold metal digging further into her back.

“Yeah, he’s a genius with the music but outside that, he’s kinda weak.”  Layla examined her makeup in the small mirror and wiped off the excess mascara that had gathered in the corner of her eyes.  “Oh well, so have you seen Joel?  He’s sporting those wonderful bruises, plus a patch.  He kinda looks like a pirate.”

Gwen laughed slightly, feeling only a little guilt at the mirth she was taking in Joel’s obvious pain.  “I still can’t believe Mike did that.  You always said he was so laid back.”

Layla turned from the mirror to look back at Gwen, hard as it was in a bathroom that small.  “He is.  I don’t understand it.  Although maybe it struck a cord with him, I don’t know.  Either way let’s get out of here.  It’s too small and Jake is gonna start drooling, thinking we’re doing something in here together.”

Gwen laughed again as she opened the door and let them out into the hallway by the kitchenette.  The guys were sitting around the kitchen table playing cards, oblivious to anything else going on.  Gwen took a seta on the bench opposite and pulled her keyboard from the bag under the seat.

“Do not start practicing.  We play all day and now you wanna play during break time, give me a break.  We’re stars now, we don’t have to practice.”  Jake shook his head, throwing some cash into the pile in the middle of the table. 

“You may not want to practice and improve your craft but maybe I do.”  Gwen shot back, making sure the batteries were fully charged.  She watched as Layla took the empty seat next to Jake and cringe and she sat down.  “You really should take those painkillers the doctor gave you Layla.”

She shook her head in protest, pulling a pillow from the bend and placing it on her abdomen.  “Those things will knock me on my ass and I do not need that right now.”

“Fine, suffer then.”  Gwen tuned out everything out, including Jake making a comment about wanting to try the painkillers himself.  She took out some music and started to work.

“Give it up Gwen.  That song hasn’t worked for the past few months and it’s not gonna magically come together.  Just scrap it.”  Xander finally said a word, looking up from his hand.  “Besides, we’re not gonna use it.  It’s just for you and Layla and it’s not even hard core enough for the band.”

Both girls shot him a look but it was Layla that beat her to the punch.  “Well that song is for when some bigger record company offers me and Gwen a deal, without you guys.  We need to start working on things now.” 

Gwen went back to work, although she couldn’t help but laugh at the look on Jake’s face.  She started from the beginning, working on the chords and piano accompaniment.

“When it hurts too much to pretend

And the words burn inside your head

You can’t say what you really mean

It’s not that easy

If we never let each other know

Let the light shine in upon our souls

We can dream but we’ll never see what life could be

Someday I’ll find you, and I’ll catch you

When you look my way

Someday you won’t be afraid

And we’ll find the words to say

They were always there anyway

And I will be waiting…”

 

“Can I make a suggestion?”  Gabe interrupted her, pulling her from her trance.  He moved from his seat at the table and took a seat next to her, taking a look at the sheet music in front of her.  He took a pen from the counter and started marking chord progressions above the music  “It’s pretty good up to the chorus.  If you changed the chord progression from I-IV-V to I-V-IV right here, then I think it’ll give it a different sound.  And if you ended this line with a V7, instead of a V then it will give it more dissonance, which is what I think it needs.”

The whole room was silent, obviously waiting for Gwen’s reaction to so many changes to her work.  She turned to Gabe and looked back to the music, contemplating what he was suggesting.  She had to admit it actually sounded fairly logical.  She nodded, afraid to open her mouth.

“Try it, from the chorus and see if it makes a difference.  If you don’t like it I’ll shut up and go back to taking all Jake’s money.”  He didn’t move from his spot and kept his eyes firm on her face.

“Fine.”  She hoped she didn’t sound bitter or agitated, but placed her fingers back on the keys and started from where he was suggesting.  She eyed the chord changes he wrote in and played it with the music, surprised at what a difference is actually made.  She couldn’t hide her pleasure at the sound of the song now.  It sounded completely new.  “I like it.”

Layla laughed from her spot at the table, clutching her side from the tension on her muscles.  “Good, now Gabe can fix the rest of it.”

Gwen felt Gabe’s eyes on her and turned to look at him.  “I don’t mind helping if that’s what you want.” 

She took a deep breath, considering the offer.  He was great to work with, bringing a better musicianship from the music.  And he’d done wonders with the song only by changing a few chord progressions.  She nodded her head and even gave a slight smile.  “Yeah, I could use it apparently.”

“Good, that means I get to keep my money.”  Jake breathed a sigh of relief from the table, eyeing his money with a grin.

 

Chapter 17:

 

"I swear if you don't go take that painkiller, I'm going to hurt you," Xander said a few hours later. "All you've been doing is whining all night." The two of them plus Jake were heading out of the backstage area of the current venue, where they had been watching the Rejects' show.

"I don't want to take it. It'll completely knock me out," Layla protested.

"It's night, we're done for the day and we don't go on stage tomorrow until mid day so there is no reason you can't take it and shut your yap," Jake said. The three of them walked towards the bus parking, with Layla agreeing to finally take a painkiller once they got back to their bus.

"Hey guys wait up!" they heard a voice calling to them from behind. The three of them turned to find Mike rushing towards them. "What's up," he said.

"Just caught the show," Xander replied. "You guys were great," he said. So far on the tour all the bands had been pretty friendly towards each other, but after a few more weeks of constantly hearing the same music over and over, the compliments were eventually going to die out.

"Thanks man," Mike said. "You guys done for the night?"

"Yeah we're just gonna go back to the bus and chill for a while," Layla said.

"We'll probably just talk some shit about people, play some cards, drink a little," Jake said.

"You can join us if you'd like," Layla offered. Mike smiled and nodded in approval.

"Sure," he said.

"The guys can come too if they want," Xander suggested, meaning the rest of the Rejects.

"They're gonna go hit up some party Fall Out Boy is having on their bus tonight," Mike told them as he walked with them back to the Fall From Grace bus. From the front of the bus you could hear Gwen's keyboard as she and Gabe were still hammering away at the song she was bound to finish. "That sounds really good," Mike said.

Layla looked at Xander and stuck her tongue out. "I told you," she said to him.

"Go take your meds and shut up," Xander retorted as he grabbed a can of beer out of their small fridge. "Want one?" he offered Mike.

"No thanks man," he said and then turned to Layla. "You haven't taken your pain medication yet?" She shook her head no, bound to hear another lecture.

"I know, I know. I'll take it right now," she said grabbing her purse from the table nearby and fumbling with the lid of the bottle. She finally managed to open it, extracting two pills and recapping it carefully. "See," she said holding up the pills so the three guys could see her clearly. She put them in her mouth and washed them down with a drink from the bottle of water she'd been carrying. "Happy now?"

"Very," Xander said. "If this cures bitching I'm going to give some to Gwen."

"Fuck you!" he heard his sister's voice calling from the back of the bus. The four of them erupted with laughter as they heard the keyboards start again.

"Who's up for a game of bullshit?” Jake shouted.

 

***

 

"I think you better go lay down," Mike said to Layla later that night. Layla hadn't drank any alcoholic beverages and was still amazingly enough in an intoxicated state of sorts from the painkiller.

"I think you're right," Layla sighed as she felt her head spinning slightly. She stood up but could barely keep balance.

"How many of those things did you take?" Jake questioned his friend. She held up two fingers to him. He took the bottle of pills out of her purse beside him and read the label. "Layla you were only supposed to take one, no wonder you're practically shitfaced."

"Come on, you're going to bed," Xander said pulling on her arm.

"I've got it," Mike said with a smile as he put his hand on her back guiding her back towards her bunk. Layla climbed into it, kicking her shoes off, letting them hit the floor with a thud. "Are you going to be okay?" he questioned. She nodded and closed her eyes. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow," he finished starting to pull the curtain on the bunk, closed.

"Mike," she said, causing him to pull the curtain open. "Can you stay for awhile?" she asked him. Her head was killing her instead of her side and the noise from the nearby buses accompanied by Gwen's pounding at the keyboard was driving her insane. After taking double the dose of the painkillers she was almost afraid to fall asleep.

"Sure," he said climbing into the bus, disposing of his shoes as well. Layla reached across him and pulled the curtain shut, lying back down, letting her hand fall around his waist.

"Thanks," she told him placing a soft kiss on his cheek before closing her eyes. Mike wasn't sure if she was asleep so he just stayed quiet, and just stayed in place.

 

Chapter 18:

 

Gwen finally forced herself out of her bunk around 10 in the morning.  She was exhausted from the previous night.  She had stayed up for a good part of the night working on music with Gabe, which wasn’t actually a bad way to spend time, music-wise of course.  And then when she’d finally decided to go to bed Jake was being obnoxiously loud and drunk, which made it hard to fall asleep.  Plus his snoring after he finally passed out didn’t help matters.  The bus was quiet, mostly because everyone was still asleep.  She managed to start a pot of coffee, just the smell of it waking her up. 

“Where’s your keyboard?”  Xander entered the kitchen; his hair messed and matted from sleep.  He took a cup from the cupboard and proceeded to pour himself a cup of coffee.

“Bite me bitchface.”  She took his cup and sat down at the table, adding cream and sugar before he could take it back from her.  “Besides, after I went to bed you guys were loud and drunk so no complaining.”

He rolled his eyes, although you could tell it hurt his head.  He poured himself another cup and took a seat opposite her.  “Correction, Jake was loud and drunk.  Gabe and me were only buzzed and we were not yelling.  Although I’m sure he needed to loosen up after working with you.”

“Funny.  You should be a comedian.”  Gwen took another sip of her coffee, barely having to work hard to keep up with Xander.  It was their usual script of insults and bickering. 

“No, funny is you spending all that time with him after you practically screamed at me for having invited him to stay with us.”  He put down his mug and gave her a smug smile.

Gwen shook her head, sick of him insinuating that anything else was going on.  Xander idolized Gabe, practically worshipping everything he could do with the guitar.  Sometimes she wondered if Xander had a little crush on him.  “Jealous brother dear?”

“Oh, coffee good, coffee great.”  Jake shuffled in, again with no shirt on.  And this time he hadn’t even bothered put a pair of sweat pants on, just came in with his boxers on.

“Well maybe if you hadn’t of drank so much last night then maybe you wouldn’t be so hung over.”  Gwen chastised, shielding her eyes as Jake took a seat opposite her.

He smiled, putting his feet up, practically exposing himself.  “I may have been drunk but I was not as trashed as Layla.”

Gwen’s head snapped back to look at him, sorry she did.  “She was drinking with the painkillers?  You’re not supposed to mix that stuff.”

“She wasn’t drinking.  She took the pain meds and they made her all loopy and shit.”  Xander finished his coffee and put his cup in the sink.  “I won’t be surprised if she’s not up for awhile.”

“We have a set in a few hours so she better be up.”  Gwen got up, taking her cup with her to head to the bunk area.  Maybe she could rouse Layla, or at least make sure she was still breathing.  She opened the door to the bunk area to find none other than Mike emerging from Layla’s bunk.

His eyes widened in surprised, obviously thinking that no one was awake yet.  “Morning.” Gwen didn't reply at first confused and startled at his presence.

"Where are you going? Come back," she then heard Layla's groggy voice, seeing an arm snake out from behind the bunk curtain.

"Good morning," Gwen said pulling the curtain back to get a better view of Layla. Layla looked like a deer in the headlights, her eyes wide, and hair messy from her sleep. "You, later," she mouthed to Layla pointing at her before exiting the bunk area, shutting the small door behind her.

"I think you scared her," Layla said to Mike.

"She scared me," he laughed.

"I don't think you were either one expecting to see each other," Layla replied. "Are you leaving?" she questioned as he slipped his shoes on.

"Yeah we have interviews soon and I wanna catch your set later," he told her as she climbed out of the bunk to stand beside him.

"Good," she told him. "So I'll see you later," she said with an asking tone in her voice. He smiled and nodded, heading towards the kitchenette and out of the bus.

 

Chapter 19:

 

"So this last song is a special treat for you guys!" Layla shouted into the audience as she ran a hand through her messy hair. "Gonna do something a little different for you today!" she said into the mic. Xander started the first few chords of a familiar song, and Layla started in with the bass. "So this ain't the end, I saw you again today. I had to turn my heart away...." Layla started singing. The song progressed, Gwen joining in for the line, "Ooh barracuda!" Occasionally Fall From Grace would cover a classic, and this time they'd chosen a crossover of Heart's Barracuda and Crazy on You, Layla taking lead for the first, Gwen for the second of the two. The audience, although mostly younger than the generation that were fans of Heart, went crazy for their cover and when the set was over the girls were content, for a while anyway.

“So Layla, get much sleep last night?”  Xander nudged her arm as they walked off stage, careful not to bump her side.

Jake laughed, sticking his drumsticks into his back pocket.  “Yeah, I hear you were bunk bumping.”

Gwen cast a sidelong glance at Layla, seeing the annoyance in her face.  She’d been explaining to them that nothing had happened between her and Mike all day but no one believed her.  She put her arm around her friend and tried to lighten her mood.  “You know you never should have used that phrase in front of him.  It’s his favorite now.”

They reached the bus, the guys immediately going for the refrigerator and pulling out leftover pizza.  At Gwen’s glare they each took out plates and sat at the table instead of scarfing it down with the fridge open.  “Bunk bumping, bunk bumping.  Oh, it could be our next single.”  Jake’s mouth was full of pizza, a little bit of sauce stuck at the corners of his mouth.

Layla stuck her foot out from her spot on the bench and kicked Jake in the shins.  “Just shut it already okay.”

“Nope, not programmed that way.”  Jake went to the sink and tossed his dish in amongst the pile he and Xander had slowly started to collect.

“No, Jake wash that dish.  And wash the other ones while you’re at it.  There’s barely any left in the cupboard to use.”  Gwen sighed, wishing she didn’t always have to play the mommy on the bus to the boys.  She turned back to Jake and she shook her head.  “Wash them Jake.  Don’t just run them under cold water and stick them back on the shelf.  Last time you did that something grew.”

Layla scoffed.  “No, that was when he left it in his bunk for a whole week.  I swear to God it moved.”

Jake simply gave them both a smile, pulling on a pair of dishwashing gloves.  “For your information Kyle turned out to be a great pet.”

Gwen stood up and put her arm around Jake’s shoulder, patting him on the head.  “No sweetie, you’re the only pet around here.”

The door of the bus opened and Gabe took a seat at the table, moving Xander’s guitar and giving Jake a weird look with his pink gloves, washing dishes.  “Pink’s a good color for you man.”

“Thanks.”  Jake beamed, diligently washing the mess he’d been making for the past few days.  When he was done he took a seat next to Layla, nudging as close to her as he could get.  “Layla, babe, don’t be mad.  We were just joking around about the bunk bumping.”

Xander laughed, tossing his own dish into the sink and ignoring the look he got from Gwen.  “I think he has a quota he has to fill on using that phrase.”

“Just leave me alone Jake.”  Layla pushed him back, shaking her head.

“Okay, you asked for it young lady.”  Jake smiled again, his coy smile that meant he was up to something.  This was never a good sign.  He cleared his throat loudly, leaning into Layla’s ear.  “What will you do when you get lonely, no one waiting by your side…”

Gwen looked up from her magazine, recognizing the song at once and taking note of the annoyance on Layla’s face.  She knew the song too and obviously wasn’t thrilled with Jake’s use of it.  Gwen cut her eyes to Xander and Gabe, a smile starting to spread on her face.  “This will not end well.”

“You’ve been running and hiding much too long, you know it’s just your foolish pride, Layla…”  Jake crooned her name, his voice sounding like it was in at least 3 different keys.  Everyone but Layla herself was laughing.  And as Jake continued the chorus the sound of a guitar joined in.  Gwen looked across from her to see Gabe strumming along with Xander’s guitar, just encouraging Jake to keep going.  “You got me on my knees Layla, I’m begging darling please Layla, darling won’t you ease my worried mind.”

Layla cut her eyes to him, shoving him away for the second time.  “Cut it out now guys or there will be no more band.”

Jake just took this as a cue to try harder.  “I tried to give you consolation when your old drummer let you down, like a fool, I feel in love with you, you turned my whole world upside down, Layla…”

“You got me on my knees Layla, begging darling please Layla, darling won’t you ease my worried mind.”  Gwen gave in to the chorus, figuring Layla wouldn’t really harm her.  Besides, she’d never thought of using Eric Clapton against her and it was kind of fun.

At this point Layla stood up, preparing the go to the back of the bus.  Jake grabbed her legs, resting on his knees and holding onto her so she couldn’t move.  “Make the best of the situation before I finally go insane, please don’t say we’ll never find a way, and tell me all my love’s in vain, Layla…”

“You got me on my knees Layla, begging darling please Layla, darling won’t you ease my worried mind.”  This time when the chorus came around Gwen wasn’t the only one singing.  Gabe had joined in and Xander had grabbed his other guitar that was stashed on the rack in the kitchen.  When it came time for the guitar solos in the middle Xander took the chords and Gabe went at it finger picking.  His technique was incredible and Gwen had to marvel at the skill he had.

“Layla, you got me on my knees literally Layla, begging darling please Layla, darling won’t you ease my worried mind?”  Jake finished out the song, gripping Layla’s legs and looking up at her with his big eyes, begging for approval and forgiveness.

It had taken the whole song but Layla finally cracked a smile.  “You guys suck.”

 

Chapter 20:

 

"I am so glad we are not in that shitty little bus," Gwen sighed as she dropped her things on the floor beside the bed. Layla shut the hotel room door and did the same with her belongings, before collapsing on the bed that would be hers. Gwen let herself fall backwards onto her own bed. "A real bed..."

"I know. It's so comfortable," Layla said snuggling against the clean comforter of the bed.

"It's soft," Gwen said.

"And roomy," Layla added. Gwen looked at her with a raised brow. "No bunk bumping jokes please." The two of them laughed for a bit, just laying on their beds, not moving, just relaxing. A while later a knock came at their door.

"Oh no..." Gwen moaned.

"I'll get it," Layla said reluctantly forcing herself off the bed and towards the door. She pulled it open and was pleasantly surprised to see Nick standing in front of her. "Hey you," she said.

"Hey love," he said leaning forward to kiss her cheek as he greeted her.

"I didn't know you guys were staying at this hotel," she said. He smiled and nodded. "Need something?" she questioned.

"Nope. How you feelin'?" he asked her motioning towards her side. Layla leaned against the doorframe a bit.

"Oh okay I suppose," she said. "The painkillers are helping a bunch."

"I heard about your mishap," he said.

"Oh?"

"Yeah. You never were one for reading directions," Nick said.

"Well I've only been taking one," she assured him.

"Good. I hear you do some wild things when you're in a drug induced stupor," he remarked with an almost annoyed expression on his face.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Layla questioned him.

"Something about Mike and bunk bumping I believe," Nick replied, his voice dripping with something that sounded like bitterness.

"Where the fuck did you get that from?" she questioned. "I thought that story died a long time ago."

"Story my ass," Nick said. "You've been spending a lot of time with him lately."

"He's my friend Nick. Don't you remember? We've always been friends," Layla said. "He's been helping me out, making sure I'm alright."

"So am I," he said. "I want to take care of you too..."

"That's not your job Nick," Layla shot back.

"So it's Mikey's job now?" Nick spat. "I'm not sure the horizontal bop is the best way to keep strain off your side or helping you out."

"Fuck you!" Layla said slamming the door in his face.

 

Chapter 21:

 

“Wow he’s an asshole.”  Gwen remarked, taking the opportunity to change into a pair of shorts and a tank top. 

Layla collapsed on the bed and sighed.  “I don’t know what’s gotten into the two of them lately.”

Gwen smiled and gave her a shrug.  “You maybe?”  When Layla didn’t answer she grabbed her room key.  “I’m gonna go explore the hotel.  Do you wanna come?”

“No, I think I wanna take a long, hot shower and take advantage of this bed.  But have fun and be good.”  Layla winked before heading into the shower.

“Don’t wait up.”  Gwen started down the hall, heading downstairs to raid the vending machines for candy.  It was late but she had the munchies and had no desire to call room service for actual food.  She spent the next half hour or so exploring the floors, hearing loud music come from some and questionable noises coming from other rooms. 

She took the elevator back to her floor and started down the hall towards her room when she heard guitar music coming from the one behind her.  She stopped and listened for a second, looking at the number on the door.  She could swear that was the room Gabe had but she couldn’t be sure.  She was about to turn and go when the door was yanked open and Gabe jumped a little in surprise.  “Did you need something or are you starting to stalk me now?”

Gwen backed up a little, looking for an excuse other than the stalking.  “I heard the music but I didn’t wanna disturb you.”

“It’s not a problem.  Come on in.”  He stood back to allow her room to enter.  She hesitated for a few seconds before stepping inside, swearing she would only stay for a few minutes and they’d only talk about music.  That was why she stopped after all.  He closed the door behind them and moved a few things off the bed for her to sit down.  “I was just playing around.”

She took a seat on the edge, her breathing a little shallow.  Being alone on the tour bus was one thing but alone in a hotel room was another.  She hoped he didn’t take up the cause again and start hitting on her.  She gestured to the guitar and gave him a small smile.  “It sounded good though.”

“Maybe you could use it for something then.”  He gave her a wide smile, this time letting it spread to his eyes.  He looked a little tired, yet he appeared to be putting off sleep, working late into the night like she often did.  “I’ve actually been thinking about your song again.  And I think I’ve solved the problem with the bridge.  You see, you’ve been taking a chordal approach the whole time, which is fine.  But if you want to make it more original maybe you could think of it as a more diatonic or scale wise method.  And instead of using the root, third, and fifth, maybe replace one of them with the ninth or eleventh.  It’s the same idea, but you spell it differently and then it takes on a whole new sound.”

It took a moment for all of this to sink in, especially at the late hour.  He smiled, understanding, and grabbed the sheet music from his bag, taking a seat next to her and outlining it in the music.  After a few minutes she started to see what he was getting at.  “Wow, that could actually work. I don’t have my keyboard with me but we could try it out tomorrow.”

“Yeah, add a little guitar too and you’ve got a hit single.”  He laughed, his arm grazing against hers as he set the guitar down beside him.  “I know it’s late but do you wanna grab something to eat?”

And there it was, the invitation to something other than music.  She stood up and started towards the door.  “Thanks but I really should get to bed.”

“What do you have against me?”  Gabe had stood up too, crossing his arms across his chest.

Gwen turned, caught off guard at his abruptness.  “Look, Gabe you’re a great musician and you’ve helped me out a lot but that’s where it stops.  This is strictly business.  I’ve told you before that it goes no further.”

His expression was slightly unreadable but there were no traces of bitterness or resentment.  It was more like curiosity fixed in his warm eyes.  “Why not?”

“Honestly, you’re not my type.”  She knew how stupid it sounded and she had no idea if he would actually buy it but it was worth a shot and she needed to get out of the hotel room.  This whole thing was making her extremely uncomfortable.

“And what is your type Gwen?  Some guy who treats you like crap?”  He didn’t say it maliciously or even rudely.  His voice was even and calm, questioning her with his eyes.

Despite his calm tone she still took offense, wondering where he got the balls to talk to her that way.  He barely knew her.  “And what do you know about me or my love life?”

“I know you don’t give guys the time of day.”  Gabe had crossed the room in barely five strides, standing right in front of her now, causing her to look up at him.  Before she could argue he pressed on.  “When’s the last time a guy even kissed you?”

She laughed, although it was more nervous laughter than anything.  She did not like where this conversation was headed.  “I get kissed plenty of times thank you very much.”

“Any guy can kiss you Gwen.  I mean really kissed you?”  He was staring directly into her eyes at this point, forcing her to look back at him.  And without even waiting for a reply he placed his hands on the side of her face, placing his lips against hers, gently at first, then with more passion.  It was the kind of kiss that made your toes curl without any effort.  She had no interest in him at all other than music but the feel of his lips against hers was strong enough to override that feeling.  She hadn’t felt that in so long, too long in fact.  So she went with her first instinct, the one that made her wrap her arms around his neck and give into temptation, even if it was with him.  She could do a lot worse.

 

Chapter 22:

 

Layla finally emerged from the shower, clad in a white wife beater and a pair of gray sweatpants. Part of her wished she'd gone with Gwen to keep her company but she was so tired, she didn't feel much like moving. She just wanted to lie down in her nice comfortable bed and do nothing. She headed towards the bed, pausing in front of the large mirror above the dresser to pull her damp hair up in a messy bun. She had just about reached the bed; fully ready to collapse when another knock came at the door. This time Layla placed her hand on the doorknob, then hesitated, looking through the peephole before pulling it open.

"Busy?" Mike asked as she stood before her. Layla breathed a sigh of relief that it wasn't Nick, there for round two of their argument. Layla moved out of the way to let him in; cautiously looking in the hall to make sure no one else would be speculating his visit.

"I'm never busy," Layla sighed as she shut the door behind him.

"Where is your counterpart?" Mike questioned speaking of Gwen. Layla gave a shrug as she lazily walked to her bed, finally collapsing on it.

"She went exploring, whatever the hell that means," she replied as she lay on her back, her arm draping over her face covering her eyes.

"It's Gwen.... do you want to know what it means?" she heard Mike laugh. She felt the weight on the bed shift and peeked from under her arm. Mike sat on the edge of the bed, his back to her.

"So we did it huh?" Layla asked him.

"What?" he asked sounding completely confused.

"Everyone has fabricated this story about how you and I were knockin' boots the other night," she told him. He turned and looked at her as she removed her arm from off her face.

"Serious?" he inquired.

"Oh yeah. They've only harassed me about it forever now," Layla told him. "It's amazing how you can be friends with someone forever and things that used to be so casual and blasé are now this big gossip story. I'm surprised they haven't plastered our photos on the cover of some rag magazine." Mike let out a little laugh. "What's so funny?" she questioned and he was caught off guard by her serious tone.

"It's just kinda silly," Mike said. "I don't get what the big deal is. You weren't feeling well so I stayed over to take care of you."

"Take care of me did you?" Layla asked with a raised eyebrow. "I hardly see where crowding my small bunk space is taking care of me."

"You asked me to stay," he replied. Layla smiled.

"I did," she said confidently. "You should stay tonight..." she said after a few minutes of silence. Mike smiled faintly and looked down at his shoes.

"Gwen will come back and then we'll have a whole novel about our non-existent sexcapades," he chuckled.

"Who says they have to be non-existent?" Layla teased. She could see the tension she'd created. "I'm just messing," she added quickly. "You should stay," she told him. After a few more minutes of silence she spoke again, "You don't have to."

"No I want to. I just don't want to make you uncomfortable," he said.

"You being here makes me ten times more comfortable," she admitted tugging on the side of his shirt as he sat there on the bed.

"Then I'll stay," Mike replied kicking his shoes off and moving onto the bed more, to lie down beside her.

"I don't have a disease or something," she said noticing the awkward space between them. Taking the hint, he moved closer to her, surprised when he felt her move too, leaving no gap between the two of them. "Nick and I got into an argument earlier," Layla told Mike.

"Oh really? What about?" he inquired, propping himself up on one elbow to look at her as she spoke.

"You sort of," she said. "He thinks we slept together the other night and he was all pissy about it. Talking about how he wanted to be here for me while I'm injured and what not, and basically that us spending so much time together wasn't what I needed," she told him the story. He listened and looked at her intently.

"And you said?"

"I told him it wasn't his job to take care of me and told him to fuck off," she said. "He made a big deal as though he thought he should be taking care of me instead of you. I don't want that."

"What do you want?" Mike asked.

"People to stay out of my business," Layla said. "If I want to spend time with you and let you take care of me, and just be with you then that's my deal not theirs," she said letting the words escape her lips freely. Mike smiled at her. She returned the smile from her position and felt him lean towards her a bit.

"So you don't care what they think?" he asked her. She shook her head no. "Good," he said before pressing his lips to hers. Layla felt his weight against her and let herself give in to the kiss, returning it with fervor as she pulled him even closer to her. She couldn't actually believe what was happening. She and Mike had been friends for years; they'd spent plenty of time together and had been in situations this intimate with him before and they'd never came close to kissing like this. After a few moments Mike pulled away from her, his lips swollen slightly from the kiss. "I'm sorry," he told her.

"Why?" she questioned. "It's perfectly alright," she added. He lay down beside her, his arm draping itself around her waist, careful not to hurt her side. "Just stay here," she told him. "Don't leave."

 

Chapter 23:

 

When Gwen opened her eyes the next morning she immediately registered the warm body next to her.  She didn’t need to turn her eyes to realize who it was and what she’d done.  She already knew the colossal mistake she’d made.  The hard part was fixing it.  But that could wait for later, in a less awkward place and at a more convenient time.  She snuck a look at the clock beside the bed and realized it was almost 11 o’clock.  The band was scheduled to leave the hotel around noon so they could get to the venue and prepare for sound check. 

As carefully as she could, Gwen lifted the covers and shifted out of bed, careful not to disturb Gabe.  It took her a few minutes to find her clothes, slipping them on before sneaking out the door and down the hall to her room.  She prayed Layla was still in bed, taking full advantage of a real mattress.  But when she peaked in the room she saw that the covers were thrown around but there was no Layla in bed.  Oh well, maybe she was already out of the room.

No suck luck.  “Where the hell have you been young lady?”  Layla appeared in the bathroom doorway, already dressed and applying makeup.

“If I plead the fifth will you leave me alone?”  Gwen pleaded, knowing she had shame written all over her face.

Layla looked her over for a second before her eyes widened and her jaw dropped.  “You have sex hair!”

Gwen hands went immediately to smooth down her hair, only imagining what it could possibly look like.  “I do not.”

“Bullshit.  Who did you do?”  Layla had put down her eyeliner pencil by now and fully entered the room, her eyes drilling into Gwen.  “Oh God, please tell me you did not sleep with Joel cause honey I cannot handle that kind of drama.”

It was Gwen’s turn to drop her jaw in shock and disbelief.  “Hell no.  I did not sleep with Joel.  I kinda, well, may have, slept with, Gabe.”  The last word was muttered almost under her breath but Layla caught it anyway.

The look of shock on Layla’s face was enough.  She was barely audible for a minute.  “Whoa, hold up there a second.  Let’s apply the brakes and check the rear and side-view mirrors.  You slept with Gabe?”

Gwen nodded, although slowly, not really wanting to admit it.  “But it was an accident.”

Layla laughed, coming out more like a snort.  “What, you tripped and fell on his…”

“Do not finish that sentence!”  Gwen cringed, preparing to put her hands over her ears if she had to. 

“Okay then, so how was he?”  Layla had taken on a more calm approach now, almost teasing.  She raised her eyebrows, a smile on her face.  When Gwen didn’t answer she moved forward, pressing for more details.  “Come on, we never talk about stuff like this mostly because, no offense, but you never get any, which is fine.  But now you do and you can’t hold back on me.  I have no one to talk to about sex except, ye Gods, Jake and that is…”  She paused to shiver for a minute.  “Come on, I need details, especially since it’s Gabe and well, I’ve always said he’s kinda weak.”

“Oh he’s not weak.”  The words had come out of Gwen’s mouth before she knew it.

Layla’s mouth dropped again, this time smiling through the shock.  “Oh you better tell me more now.”

“What do you want me to say, that it was the best sex of my life? Fine, there, you have it,” Gwen practically shouted, moving past Layla and slipping into the bathroom where she quickly removed her clothes and jumped into the shower.

Layla followed her, sitting on the counter.  “Wow, that good huh?  But I thought you hated Gabe, or at least had no interest in dating him?”

Gwen knew she wasn’t going to escape the onslaught of questioning so she gave up, washing her hair while she spoke.  “I’m not dating him okay?  It was a mistake.  He kissed me before I knew what was happening and I don’t know.  I haven’t been with anyone for a really long time and I think I just needed to feel that.  It was just sex, you know?  I needed to feel someone and be close and it just happened to be Gabe.  But I’m going to tell him it was a mistake and that it won’t happen again.”

Layla smiled, although couldn’t see it.  The look on her face was disbelief, knowing her friend too well to buy into what Gwen was selling.  Instead, she changed the subject, giving her friend a reprieve.  “So Mike kissed me last night.”

“What?”  Gwen peaked out of the door, her hair dripping onto the stone floor.  “I’m away for one night and this is what happens.  God damn my hormones.”

 

Chapter 24:

 

"I hate interviews," Layla said. Fall From Grace had just completed a set of interviews and were headed to sound check.

"You and me both," Gwen replied.

"I don't know why they ask such stupid questions," Layla said next. "If I have to hear 'Layla were you named after the song?' or 'Is it true you used to date Nick Wheeler?' one more time, I think I'm going to puke," she added. Gwen laughed.

"How bout, 'Gwen, is it hard working with your brother?' or 'Is there any rivalry between you and Layla, being the two vocalists of the band?'" Gwen said.

"Or 'Jake is it hard being so fucking sexy?'" Jake piped up as they reached their destination. The two girls rolled their eyes at him and Xander paid no attention. After sound check the group headed off stage for some last minute preparation before their show.

"Hey Layla!" a voice called. Layla turned around and spotted the Rejects' Tyson Ritter headed towards them.

"Hey Tys," she said to him. Although she'd grown up with the boys she hadn't spent much time with Tyson lately, and it was good to see him.

"Got an offer for you," he said. Layla urged him on with her raised eyebrow. "You and Gwen do a guest vocal on a song of ours tonight," he said.

"Only if you'll do one with us in a few minutes," she said.

"I know all of your songs," he smiled and laughed.

"Right..." she said sarcastically.

"I'm serious," Tyson replied.

"Guess spot on 'I Told You So'?" Layla asked.

"Love it," he said with a smile. Just then they were approached by another Reject.

"Hey," Nick said, his hands in his pockets. Layla just stood there and didn't reply. Tyson glanced back and forth between the two of them,

"I'm gonna go talk to Gwen and the guys about our arrangement," Tyson said, using that as his exit, leaving Layla alone with Nick.

"Layla, I'm sorry about last night," Nick said breaking the silence. "I had no right to start accusing you of something," he said. Layla just looked at him, trying to read if he was being genuine. She'd known Nick Wheeler for years, but the past couple she felt like she hadn't a clue who he was anymore. They'd only seen each other a handful of times since the Rejects had made it big, and she'd went to play with Fall From Grace. Now they just weren't used to each other anymore; they had lost each other.

"It's okay Nick," she said to him, deciding he was being sincere. "Mike slept in my bunk with me the other night. I wasn't feeling all that well and I asked him to stay. I can see where people got the wrong idea."

"I shouldn't have jumped you about it though," he replied. "I know you better than that." He had a point. They'd been through a lot together; from friends, to dating, to hating, to friends. "I just kind of expected things to be different I guess," he added.

"What do you mean?" she asked him.

"Layla, we're on in five," Xander said peeking his head around the corner.

"Just a sec," she told him and then turned back to Nick. "What do you mean?" she asked again.

"It's just been so long since we've been able to be around each other so much, I just sort of expected that we'd be closer," Nick said.

"I thought we were still close," Layla said. "I mean I know we're not together anymore Wheeler, but that doesn't mean we can't be friends and spend time together."

"I know..." he trailed off. "Anyway I'm just sorry about being a total asshole last night. Forgive me?" Layla smiled.

"Sure," she said giving him a hug. She pulled away and noticed Mike heading towards them. "Hey!" she called to him as he approached. "We're just about to go on, you gonna catch the show?" she asked him.

"Wouldn't miss it," he said. "Come on buddy..." he said to Nick. Layla smiled at the two of them as Xander yelled at her once more.

Once Layla took the stage the set began, playing major singles off the bands CD, plus a few covers.  Finally, it was time for the last number and the group got together as they tuned their instruments.  Jake leaned forward from the drum set and winked at Layla.  “I vote we sing some Eric Clapton.”

“I will kill you in your sleep.”  Layla tuned the last string on her guitar and smiled at Tyson, waiting at the side of the stage. 

Gwen laughed, knowing full well that Layla was not joking and would in fact kill Jake in his sleep, if they could find a new drummer that is.  “Look I vote we crank this bitch up with a little AC/DC.”

Xander smiled for once at his sister, actually agreeing with her.  “Damn straight.  Finally a classic worth covering.”

Layla approached the microphone, enjoying the screaming crowd in front of her.  “Okay guys, for our last song we thought we’d take you back to the 80’s.  And to help us do that we asked none other than Tyson Ritter to help us out.” 

She gave Tyson a wink and he walked onstage to thunderous applause, taking a microphone from a roadie on the side of the stage.  “How you doing guys?”  More applause as Xander started the opening chords for “You Shook Me All Night Long.”  Jake gave more than enough enthusiasm on the drums, as Tyson took front, starting the song.  “She was a fast machine, she kept her motor clean, she was the best damn woman that I had ever seen, she had the sightless eyes, telling me no lies, knockin’ me out with those American thighs, taking more than her share, had me fighting for air, she told me to come but I was already there, cause the walls start shaking, the earth was quaking, my mind was aching, and we were making it and you…”

“Shook me all night long…”  The girls joined in on the chorus, doing their best to do justice to one of the greatest 80’s songs ever written.  As they sang, Gwen gazed around the arena, spotting Gabe to the right side of the stage, staring directly at her.  She suddenly realized the song she’d chosen may have been a little wrong for this occasion and she made a mental note to avoid his gaze, and him, for the rest of the day.

 

Chapter 25:

 

“I’d be your lover if you were there for me…” Layla was still singing the Def Leppard song they’d covered with The All American Rejects as they stepped off stage.  It’d been amazing to be in front of as many fans as they had.  “Okay, can we become Rejects and just let the guys be Fall from Grace?”

Gwen laughed, grabbing a bottle of water.  “They’d audition new girls with big boobs and fake blonde hair.  Do you really want that to be the new face of the band?”

“Good point.”  Layla got her own bottle and they started walking back to the bus.  She spotted Gabe waiting for them at the stage entrance and nudged Gwen in the ribs.  “Isn’t that Mr. One Night Stand up ahead?”

Gwen looked where Layla was motioning with her eyes and almost had an aneurysm.  There was no way she could avoid him now.  There was only one way off stage and she couldn’t turn around now.  Gwen grabbed hold on Layla’s arm.  “Whatever you do, do not leave me.”

“Ladies.”  Gabe gave them both a smile, directing his intense gaze to Gwen.  “Can I talk to you?”

She smiled back nervously, not letting go of her grip on Layla.  “Honestly I would love to but we have to go do that thing.”  She cast a warning look at Layla.  “You know, the thing?”

“We can do that thing anytime.  Go.  Talk.”  And Layla wrestled her arm from Gwen and gave her a fleeting smile before she took off across the parking lot.  She didn’t notice Gwen’s glare at her back.

Gabe took the opportunity to take her arm gently, leading her away from the crowds, behind the stage where it was shady and quiet.  He took off his sunglasses, leaning against the building, also blocking Gwen’s exit.  “So why’d you sneak off this morning?”

Gwen admired and hated his directness at the same time.  “I didn’t sneak.  I had to get ready to leave and I didn’t wanna wake you.”  She knew how lame it sounded and how bad a liar she could be.

“Bullshit.  You snuck off before I woke up and have been avoiding me all day.”  He was so calm when he said it.  He even had a slight smile on his face, his dark eyes lit by something that hinted at amusement.  “You wanna tell me why?”

Gwen took a deep breath and looked him straight in the eyes, wishing she could be as direct as he was.  “Because it was a mistake.  I never meant for that to happen and it’s not going to happen again.  I’m not looking for a relationship right now and even if I was it wouldn’t be with you.”

He seemed amused at this rather than offended.  “Well thank God.  I was hoping I wouldn’t have to make some sort of commitment.  I’m just glad I didn’t have to let you down easily.”  And he gave her a pat on the shoulder before walking off, leaving her completely and totally confused.

 

***

“I don’t get it.”  Layla sat on the couch in the back of the bus, in the lounge with Gwen.  “Did he just wanna get into your pants then and all that asking you out stuff was crap?”

Gwen sighed, bringing her knees up to her chest.  “I have no clue.”

Just then Jake burst into the lounge, a huge grin on his face.  “Where are the guys?  I have great news.” 

Layla shrugged, giving him a puzzled look.  “You can tell us.”

“Yeah, but you’re not guys or lesbians.”  Jake’s smile disappeared.  They both glared at him, bringing the smile back to his face.  “Okay, I just heard a rumor that this hot all-chick band is joining the tour at the next stop.  That means ladies for us.  I can’t wait to tell Gabe and Xander.  I’m gonna go find them.”  And he ran off the bus, intent on finding the guys to spread the good news.

Gwen just looked at Layla, shaking her head.  “I’m gonna take a nap before they get back and Jake starts singing and dancing around the bus.”  She left Layla watching TV in the lounge and headed towards the bunks.  As she went to climb in her bunk, the door opened from the kitchen and Gabe almost bumped into her.

“Sorry.”  He went to search through his own bunk, obviously looking for something.  She watched him; still confused about the conversation they’d had earlier.  She didn’t mean to stare and hadn’t even realized she was until he turned back around, hat in hand.  “Did you want something?” 

She shook her head, turning around to step into her bunk when she stopped.  “Yeah, actually.  You know, I don’t get you.  You ask me out a bunch of times and then when I sleep with you, you tell me you never had any intention of anything happening.  Was that the plan all along?”

Again that calm smile appeared on his face.  “There never was a plan Gwen.  As childish as it may seem, I wanted you to feel as bad as you made me feel.”  At her incredulous look he continued.  “It’s no secret that I like you Gwen and yeah, a part of me hoped last night meant something to you but it didn’t.  But you didn’t have to be as callous about it as you were.”

“I’m sorry.  I just, I didn’t want for you to think that we were starting something.  I just, when you kissed me, I needed that, as lame as it sounds.  I was lonely and I took advantage of you and I’m sorry.”  She honestly meant it, feeling slightly guilty for hurting his feelings; even though she had no interest in him he was still a good guy.

He moved and put his arm around her shoulder.  “That’s all you have to say.  Besides, you didn’t exactly take advantage of me.”  He squeezed her shoulder and started for the door before turning back and giving her a wink.  “If you get lonely this weekend I’ll be right down the hall from your hotel room.”

 

Chapter 27:

 

"I'm just gonna go lay down for a while," Layla said as she headed down the hall towards her and Gwen's hotel room.

"Are you sure you're feeling alright?" Nick asked her. She'd spent the remainder of the day with Nick and Tyson, just hanging out in their hotel room, and catching up- reminiscing about old times. It was starting to get late and Layla's side was sore from the day's show and her lack of painkillers.

"I'm fine," she said as they stopped at her door. "I'm gonna go take my meds and see if I can catch some z's," she told him with a smile as he leaned against the wall by the door. "You could come in for a while if you want?" she suggested, not wanting to be rude, especially after their earlier chat about spending time together. She had to admit, as much as she was over Nick, there would always be this place for him in her heart. After all they had been great friends before they'd dated, even if their stint as lovers had been a major part of their life.

"If you don't mind," Nick replied. Layla smiled and unlocked the hotel room door, allowing herself to enter, followed by Nick, who shut it behind him.

"I'm just gonna go change," she said, setting her purse on the stand by her bed and disappearing into the bathroom. Nick tried to make himself comfortable in her room, first leaning against one of the dressers, and then sitting in the chair by the door, before finally settling on the edge of her bed. When she finally came out of the bathroom dressed in boxers and an old faded tee, Nick smiled at her. "Problem?" Layla questioned.

"No," he said. "It was good to just hang out today, you know, you me and Tyson," he added.

"Yeah it was," Layla sighed, leaning against the wooden dresser that was across from him. "I miss all of you guys," she said. "It's a shame that we're just now getting to spend time together, all of us, like old days, and when the tour is done, it'll go back to the occasional run-ins, seeing each other once every six months or so, barely calling," she completed. Nick pouted. "I don't want that to happen," she told him.

"Do you ever wish things would have been different?" Nick asked her.

"How so?" she questioned.

"The fame, the distance, us..." he trailed off. Layla felt a lump in her throat. She knew this conversation was coming. It was inevitable.

"Sometimes. I mean I keep thinking about what if I would have went on that first tour with you guys before Fall From Grace," she said walking over to sit by him. "Would you and I still be together? Would I be a Reject? Would I have ever met Gwen and Xander and Jake? It's all a bunch of questions but there aren't answers."

"I'm glad your band is successful," Nick said. "But I sort of wish it wasn't. We'd be able to see each other more. We could build something up again if we wanted you know?"

"Nick.."

"I'm just saying, that's all," he said quickly. It was quiet for a moment before Layla felt Nick's lips press against her own. As if on cue a knock came at the door.

"Coming!" Layla called and quickly stood from the bed and walked to the door, happy to escape the uncomfortable situation that had just been created. She pulled the door open, not even pausing to see who it was.

"Busy?" Layla breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Mike outside the door.

"Not so much," she said as she glanced over her shoulder at Nick. "Come on in," she said opening the door wider for Mike to enter.

"Oh hey," Nick said looking up at Mike.

"If I'm interrupting something, I can come back later," Mike said before walking too much further into the room.

"No man, I was just making sure Layla was okay. Her side was bothering her. I was just about to leave," Nick said standing up and walking in their direction to the door.

"You don't have to leave on my account," Mike said to his band mate and friend.

"I got some shit to do," Nick smiled a smile that Layla could tell was fake, and hoped Mike didn't notice. "I'll see you later," he said before heading out the door, letting it close behind him.

 

Chapter 28:

 

When Gwen knocked on Gabe’s door later that night she had no intention of sleeping with him.  In fact, she didn’t even know why she was there in the first place.  But before she could turn around and run back to her room he had already opened the door.  He smiled knowingly, as though he had predicted this from the start.  He didn’t say a word, just stepped back to let her in.  It wasn’t a good idea but her feet seemed to have a mind of their own.

“Just to get things straight, I am not here because I’m lonely.”  She raised her eyebrows at him, hoping to convey her message without actually saying the words.

He stood in front of her, seeming to tower over her 5’7’’ frame.  He still had that smile on his face, not smug or conceited, just calm and casual.  “So then why are you here?”

She was asking herself the same question and she hadn’t reached any conclusion up to this point.  “Well, I was hoping to work on some music with you.”  It seemed like a good lie.

“Then where’s your keyboard, or your music at least?”  He had a point, a good point actually.

She smiled nervously, backing up towards the door.  “You know what, I forgot so why don’t I just go get that right now.”  She had no intention of coming back at this point but she needed to get out of there.  She proceeded to open the door, getting it open only a few inches before he was behind her, shutting it with one hand. 

She turned around, her back against the door.  His hand stayed there, blocking her into a corner.  His other hand came up to rest on her cheek, caressing it with his thumb.  “You’re not going anywhere.”

“Are you going to make me stay?”  She meant to say it forcefully but it came out as more of a whisper. 

His other hand moved to her shoulder, running down her arm in the gentlest touch.  “No, but I don’t think I have to.”

He didn’t sound cocky at all and that’s what intrigued her.  Either that or he was completely correct.  Just his presence in front of her, the softest touch was enough to maker her crave him again.  It was like she had no control when it came to him and that scared her.  But it also made it that much more appealing.  So she said ‘screw it’ to all the voices in her head that told her this was a bad idea and grabbed the collar of his shirt, pulling him those last few inches to her.

 

***

 

Gwen didn’t wake up until early the next morning, Gabe’s sleeping figure wrapped strongly around her.  He was behind her, spooning her and their legs were tightly intertwined.  She knew there was no chance of getting out of bed without waking him this time.  But the thought of waking up next to him scared her.  She’d managed to avoid that confrontation the last time but what about this time?  And the next time?  Wait; there would be no next time.  This was absolutely the last time it was going to happen.  So maybe it wouldn’t be so bad waking up next to him.  So she just shifted slightly, trying to get more comfortable. 

“Going somewhere?”  His voice was gruff but soft in her ear, his breath warm on her neck.  He seemed to tighten his grip rather than relax it.  He had no problems with confrontation apparently.

She turned so that she was on her back, turning her head to look at him.  His hair was a mess, ends at odd angles from sleep and other things.  But his eyes were wide open, as intense as ever.  “Nope, just getting more comfortable.”

He didn’t seem so scary anymore or maybe she was just getting used to his.  “Well in that case, good morning.”  And he leaned in to kiss her.

She put her hand to his chest to stop him, pushing him back.  “Kissing a girl good morning is something a boyfriend does and you are not my boyfriend so you can just stop right there.”

He smiled, nodding his head in understanding.  “Okay, I’m sorry.  Just getting used to the rules of our situation.  I suppose you want me to leave money on the nightstand then?”

“You did not just say that.”  She stared up at him, watching the corner of his mouth turn into a full-on grin.

“I do believe I did.”  And he leaned in, this time planting a kiss on her neck.  It made her laugh, a smile still on her face when he pulled away.  “Was that a smile?”

She wiped the look off her face immediately, not wanting him to get the wrong idea.  She pulled the sheet tighter around her and sat up, looking around the room for her clothes.  “No, it was not.  Now where are my pants?”

He wrapped the blanket around himself and got up, picking her pants off the floor and tossing them to her.  He stopped in the bathroom doorway and gave her a smirk.  “I will get you to smile eventually.  You can count on that.”

After she’d gotten dressed and got back to her room she quickly got dressed, meeting Layla and the group down on the bus.  Layla greeted her with a smile, knowing without being told what had transpired the previous night.  She even gave Gabe an extra big grin, making some comment about hoping he’d had a good night.  The ride was quiet until Jake started dancing around, can of Dr. Pepper in his hands.  He managed to spill it on Gabe’s shirt, causing Xander to forcibly sit him down and take the can of pop from him.

The girls were sitting in the lounge, facing the bunk hallway when Gabe quickly changed into another shirt.  Gwen ignored it but Layla’s jaw dropped open, turning to her in amusement.  “Were those nail marks down his back?”

 

Chapter 29:

 

"I can't believe I managed to lose my cell phone," Layla said as she and Gwen headed from the venue to the bus parking lot, along with the guys. The bus area was packed; a bunch of get together's before some bands left the tour and new ones joined. Fall From Grace and the Rejects were among the bands that were there for the whole ride.

"It's just a cell phone Layla," Jake said. "You know you'll end up getting a new one in a few months anyway," he said.

"I haven't talked to my parents for awhile now and they're supposed to call later tonight," Layla explained and Gwen looked at her friend with sympathetic eyes. Gwen patted her back.

"Maybe when we get to the bus you should just sit down and think of where it could be," she suggested.

"I need to lay down too. My side is killing me," Layla added. "Today just is not my day," she said as they neared their bus. The Academy Is was having a bash next door to their bus, so Layla figured actual sleeping would be out of the question.

"Why don't you take your meds," Xander offered. Layla reached into her pocket, thinking it was a good idea.

"What the hell," she said. "Their gone," she added. "I must have lost them too!" she exclaimed. They stood outside the bus and Layla checked her other pocket. Empty. Then her purse. Nothing.  "Did I give them to you?" she questioned Gwen who shook her head no but checked her purse and pockets as well.

"What's shakin?" they heard Tyson Ritter say as he joined them. The Rejects' bus was parked a few down from theirs and he and Mike were headed their way. They all turned to greet him when Layla noticed something shiny and silver in Mike's hand.

"Did some drug addict lose a cell phone and their stash?" he questioned in a sarcastic tone as she held his two hands up, one holding Layla's cell, the other holding her meds.

"Oh thank you, thank you, thank you!" Layla shouted as he stood in front of her. She quickly took the things from him and shoved them in her purse, burying them deep under everything else. She let the purse drape from her arm as she reached up giving Mike a huge hug and peck on the cheek. Before she realized what was going the peck on the cheek drifted to the lips instead, an unplanned destination. She felt his mouth on hers and kissed him tenderly almost. Mike returned the kiss with much more intensity than a thank-you-kiss required. Layla's arms were around his neck as he deepened the kiss. Her head was spinning and then she snapped into reality, pulling away, realizing that there were people watching. Gwen, Xander, Jake and Tyson stood there baffled, with confused expressions written on their faces.

"Hey Gwen is this your cell phone I found?" Jake asked holding up his own phone, and she shoved him.

"So who wants to join a party on our bus?" Tyson said clapping his hands together.

 

***

 

Layla paid no attention to her surroundings as she sat on the Rejects' bus, surrounded by guys and girls from other bands, some groupies she was sure, and random others. She could see Jake outside talking to a blonde with a bright pink halter-top. Her head hurt from the loud music, but she didn't really care. "Why so gloomy?" she turned her head to see Tyson beside her.

"I'm just tired," she said. "Didn't want to a spoilsport so I came along," she added. It was odd to see Tyson with her instead of partying with everyone else, or hitting on some random girl; Tyson had been in a serious relationship for over a year now and while he still liked to have a good time, he just didn't feel it was necessary to delve to deep.

"You look like you've got a lot on your mind," he said. "Something I'm definitely not used to."

"Haha Tyson," she said sarcastically and nudged him with her elbow. "You're right," she said.

"Care to share?" he rhymed.

"Last night Nick walked me back to my hotel room and we were just talking and stuff and he just kept going on and on about how he wished things could be like they used to with us," Layla told him. "I don't know. At first when I saw you guys were on the tour and we started spending more time together, I thought maybe that's the direction things would be going, but I just don't know anymore," she added. "He kissed me last night Tyson."

"Wow," Tyson replied, his eyes wide.

"Yeah," Layla nodded and tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear.

"Did you kiss him back?" he asked her.

"Didn't have a chance to. I don't know if I would have anyway, but Mike showed up," she said. Tyson took a sip of the beer in his hand and looked at her. "Nick didn't seem very happy about it. He was ready to leave as soon as Mike got there."

"No threesome?" Tyson inquired jokingly. Layla smiled and rolled her eyes. "Nick did mention you and Mike were spending an awful lot of time together lately. Care to elaborate on that little show we all got earlier?"

"I don't know about that," Layla said her head in her hands. "That came out of nowhere."

"I'm just glad Wheeler didn't see that one," Tyson said and Layla agreed. "Is there something going on with you and Mike?"

"Honestly I don't think so," Layla said. "We're just friends. That whole kiss was just ... I don't know."

"An accident?" she heard another voice pipe in. The two of them looked up to see Mike standing above them. He shook his head in a sort of disheartened manner and walked out of the bus.

"Mike wait!" Layla exclaimed and jumped up to go after him.

 

 

Chapter 30:

 

"Mike, would you stop walking," Layla said as she followed Mike, barefoot, almost halfway to the highway from the bus parking lot.

"No," Mike said in a monotone voice.

"I'm not going to stop following you," she told him.

"Okay," he said and kept walking. Layla kept following him, her feet starting to become sore from the rough pavement.

"Tired of harassing me yet?" he questioned glancing over his shoulder at her.

"No," she retorted before wincing in pain. The uphill walk from the bus lot to the venue exit was straining her side and it was starting to get to her.

"Are you okay?" Mike finally stopped walking and turned around to see Layla standing there, grabbing her side. He looked down at her bare feet and he swallowed. He felt bad for being so stubborn.

"I'm fine," she said. "Are you done being a stubborn ass?" she questioned.  "Listen I don't know what made you so mad back there," she motioned back towards the buses. "But you did not complete my sentence."

"Well what were you going to say then?" he asked her.

"I was going to say that the whole kiss was just unexpected," she said being honest. "It was. I didn't plan on kissing you and I certainly didn't plan on you kissing me back, especially in front of everyone."

"I'm sorry, I guess I just got carried away," Mike apologized.

"Me too," she said. "It's not the first time this has happened with us you know..."

"I know," he replied.

"But it doesn't bother me," she added quickly.

"That's a good thing I guess," he said with a smile. "Means I'm not a bad kisser," he finished and Layla laughed.

"Keep telling yourself that Kennerty," she said.

"Can you walk back to the bus?" Mike asked her. She nodded 'yes'. "Here," he said squatting down a bit. "Climb on," he said. Layla hoisted herself onto his back. He gave her a piggyback ride down the drive and when they reached the Fall From Grace bus, he let her down. "You're gonna have blisters on your feet tomorrow," he said to her. "You should probably put something on them," he added.

"Okay mother," Layla retorted and gave him a kiss on the cheek before climbing onto the bus.

 

***

 

“Okay, so let me get this straight.  You and Mike are…?”  Gwen wasn’t quite sure she understood everything Layla was telling her as they walked around the parking lot after their set.

“We’re not defining everything.  We’re just being right now.”  Layla seemed to be smiling awfully wide.  “Besides, do I ask you to define your relationship with Gabe?”

Gwen turned and gave her a small smile.  “There is no relationship.  Its just sex.”

They had reached the buses again and Layla seemed to be looking ahead.  “Okay then, if its just sex I guess you won’t mind him flirting with that girl over there.”

“What?”  Gwen turned and looked in the direction Layla was pointing, seeing Jake and Gabe talking to some girls who appeared to be barely of-age and dressed like punk sluts.  One of them was laughing and kept touching Gabe's shoulder.  She felt a twinge in the pit of her stomach but pushed it aside, continuing her trek back to the bus.  “He’s not my boyfriend so why should I mind?”

Layla just smiled, running to catch up with Gwen, feeling her side pulling at her because of her over-exertion.  Xander jumped off the bus stairs and Layla grabbed him, pulling him aside.  “Who’s the sluts ‘r’ us?”

Xander smiled, eyeing the group of girls and shaking his head.  “That would be Chloe, Cleo, and Zoe, the new all-girl band joining the tour.  I think the band’s name is Cheap Thrill .  The one is a huge fan of Gabe’s and Jake is hoping to use that to score.”

“Bet you any money those aren’t their real names.”  Gwen said sarcastically, eyeing the girls with disgust. 

“Sis, I bet you any money those aren’t their real breasts.”  Xander chimed in before heading towards the other buses.

Layla laughed, once again looking at the girls, this time taking in their tiny t-shirts barely covering their well-endowed chests.  She put her arm around Gwen’s shoulders and led her up the bus stairs.  “Come on chica, let’s go before one of their cosmetically enhanced nipples pokes those boys in the eye.”

 

Chapter 31:

 

"I can't believe she's been in there so long. How long does it take to brush your teeth?" Gwen grumbled as she paced back and forth in front of the open bathroom door.

"I don't know," Mike replied laughing.

"I've been on the outside looking in, let me into your heart oh..." they heard Layla singing through a mouthful of toothpaste and foam. The two of them cracked up and Layla peeked her head around the bathroom door. "What?" she mumbled, toothbrush in her mouth.

"Please tell me you aren't singing Nelson," Gwen said with a laugh. Layla just smiled and disappeared again.

"I can't live without your love and affection," they heard her start singing again. Mike just shook his head as he laid on his back on Layla's bed, his arms behind his head.

"Gunnar Nelson is hot," Layla said as she finally exited the bathroom. She walked over to her bed and collapsed next to Mike. "Ah... a real bed again." It had been over a week since the last time they'd stayed in a hotel, and after nights of sleeping in the uncomfortable bunk, Layla who was well on the mend, was glad to have a real mattress under her body once again.

"Ah... an open bathroom again!" Gwen mocked and disappeared inside, shutting and locking the door.

"So Tyson said he and Nick might come by later to play some cards or some shit," Layla said as she laid beside Mike and looked over at him. He smiled at her, extending his arm and pulling her closer to him. Layla snuggled against his frame, resting her head on his chest. "You smell like boy," she told him.

"I showered," he said bluntly, and Layla laughed.

"I didn't say you smelled bad," she said wrapping her arms around his waist as she lay with him. Just then Gwen stuck her head through a crack in the bathroom door.

"I don't want to hear any funny noises out here," she said with a smile, shutting the door again. Mike smiled up at Layla who was lingering over him a little now, her hair dangling in his face.

"We should just freak her out," Layla said.

"Just started banging around on shit and making noises," Mike suggested. Layla bent down and kissed him on the lips fully, pulling away and smiling. "Or we could do the real thing," he joked before raising his head and kissing her again. Layla swatted his chest playfully and climbed off the bed and motioned for him to do the same. The two of them used their hands to bang the metal headboard of the bed against the wall, adding a few slapping noises hear and there.

"Oh God," they heard Gwen groan before they heard the shower kick on. The two of them collapsed on the bed in laughter.

"She's so gullible," Layla said with a grin.

"No we're just convincing," Mike replied as he reached over and grabbed her hand, intertwining his fingers with hers as they lay on their backs beside each other. They lay there for a few minutes in silence, minutes that felt like forever. Layla managed to slide closer to Mike, resting her head on his chest, his chin atop her head as they lay still. They were startled by a knock at the door. "Want me to get that?" Mike asked her. Layla nodded and he managed to squirm out from under her lazy figure. It was Tyson and Nick, accompanied by someone who'd unfortunately become slightly familiar to Layla.

"Howdy," Tyson said as he entered the hotel room, making his way to Layla's bed, belly flopping beside her, just missing her.

"Good to see you too Tys," she joked as she rolled over giving him more room. She then turned her attention to Nick who addressed her and Mike.

"You guys know Chloe," he said as he introduced the blonde on his arm. Layla smiled faintly and Mike nodded, shutting the door behind his band mate and his guest. Layla looked at Tyson and raised a brow. He shrugged in response.

"I'll be right back," Layla said aloud as she smiled and headed towards the bathroom door. She heard the water shut off and knocked.

"What?" she heard Gwen's voice say.

"Let me in," she whispered, not looking at the group behind her. She heard the door unlock and quietly she stepped inside, shutting it once again.

"What?" Gwen said again.

"Tyson and Nick are out there with Mike," she told her friend.

"Yeah..."

"Guess who's with them?" Layla offered. Gwen just gave a puzzled look. "One of the silicon sisters," Layla finished. Gwen's eyes practically bugged out of her head as she stood there by her friend, wrapped in her towel.

"Which one?"

"Chloe... or Cleo..."

"Not Zoe?" Gwen asked.

"No it started with a C," Layla told her. "I am so not going out there," she said.

"Mike's out there with that bimbo you know," Gwen reminded her. Layla cringed. "I'll be out soon," she said.

"Fine," Layla pouted and exited the bathroom. "I'm baack!" she said to the guys and Punk Barbie.

 

Chapter 32:

 

“So Gabe’s been a little cranky for the past two days.”  Layla threw out the statement as the girls sat painting their toenails in the lounge on the bus.  The guys were off somewhere, probably getting into trouble.

Gwen looked up from her work, making sure she didn’t drip polish onto the floor.  “That’s cause Gabe isn’t getting any.”

Layla capped the pink nail polish she’d chosen and smirked.  “And why is that?”

Gwen went back to her painting, wiping a spot where she’d gone too far to the side.  “I’m not really in the mood to go there.  Plus, if he needs some he can always go for Trailer Trash Barbie.”

“Trailer Trash is Chloe right?”  Layla asked, already mixing up the girls yet again.

“No, Punk Barbie is Chloe.  She’s the one with Nick.  Cleo is Trailer Trash Barbie.  I think.”  Gwen shrugged, wondering why they’d even bothered to try to get them straight anyway.

Layla shook her head.  “Okay then Zoe is Botox Barbie?”

Before Gwen could answer the guys piled into the lounge, laughing and talking very loudly.  “Oooh, me next, me next.”  Jake put his foot on Layla’s lap, pointing to the pink polish in her hand.  She shoved his foot aside, making him loose his balance and hit the floor.

“You’re asking for advice on girls Jake.  Well, lesson number one, no pink nail polish.”  Xander laughed, moving his guitar so he and Gabe could sit down.

Jake scoffed, running a hand through his hair in mock arrogance.  “I wasn’t asking for your advice.  I was asking for Gabe’s.  He’s the babe magnet around here.  Cleo was all over you man.  She wanted in your pants big time.  How do you do it?”

Gwen tried to ignore their conversation, trying to concentrate on her pedicure.  She could sense Layla looking at her, watching for her reaction.  “He knows how to serenade them, that’s how dumbass.”  Xander shot back, throw a pillow at Jake.

“Watch it.  You’re going to ruin my pedicure!”  Layla yelled, throwing the pillow back at Xander.

Jake moved to kneel down on the floor at Gabe’s feet.  “Tell me oh wise one, how does one serenade the ladies?”

Gabe laughed and Gwen was glad he was loud enough to cover up her snort.  Although she could tell from Layla’s look that she had at least heard it.  “You really wanna serenade a girl Jake then you gotta pick the right song.  And I always say, you can never go wrong with a little Bryan.  Every woman loves Bryan Adams.”

Gwen was glad her face was bent low over her foot, although her hand had not moved the brush since they started their conversation.  She heard Jake open his mouth again, encouraging more.  “Demonstrate oh great one.”

She felt Layla nudge her slightly, not sure if it was out of support or amusement.  After a few more minutes of prodding from the guys Gwen heard the opening chords played by Gabe’s skilled fingers.  And when he started singing, Gwen looked up, careful not to be too obvious.  “Oh thinking about all our younger years, there was only you and me, we were young and wild and free, now nothing can take you away from me, we’ve been down that road before, but that’s over now, you keep me coming back for more, and baby you’re all that I want when you’re lying here in my arms, I’m finding it hard to believe we’re in heaven, and love is all that I need and I found it there in your heart, it isn’t too hard to see we’re in heaven.”

Gwen couldn’t take anymore, especially since Gabe had been looking up at her at certain points during his “serenading lesson” for Jake.  She stood up, glaring at the both of them.  “I think it’s pretty crappy that you’re teaching Jake how to sing to a woman solely to get into her pants.”  She started for the door and turned around as an afterthought.  “And for your information, not every woman loves Bryan Adams.”

She closed the door, hearing Jake tell him to forget Gwen’s bitchy mood and continue the song.  She stayed there, behind the door, listening to Gabe play through “Heaven,” finding it more beautiful as he went on.  She wondered why he had chosen that song, chosen to look at her especially during the chorus.  When he was done she hurried into her bunk, not wanting to be bothered by anyone asking questions.  She curled up, falling asleep to the background noise in the lounge.

 

***

 

“What are you doing?”  Gwen shifted in her bunk, disturbed by the body beside her.  She checked her watch only to realize she had been asleep for several hours and it was now the middle of the night.  She must have been more exhausted than she realized by all the hard work they had been putting in.

She felt his warm breath on her neck before he answered, his lips right at her ear.  “Just saying hi is all.”

“Well say hi to someone else.  There will be no bunk bumping.”  She turned to look at him in the dark, prepared to push him out of the bunk if she had to.

His arm went to curl around her waist, pulling her closer.  “And just who am I supposed to say hi to?”

She almost said their nicknames but stopped herself in time.  “Chloe or Cleo or whatever the hell her name is.  She has a huge crush on you so go bother her.”

“I really have no interest in one of the titty triplets.”  He pulled back and even in the dark she could see his face light up with a smile, reacting to the surprised look on her face.  “You think I don’t hear what you and Layla call them?”

She had the urge to smile but fought it, instead turning her back on him and curling into a ball.  “Regardless of your lack of interest you can leave me alone.  I’m not in a very friendly mood and I don’t like how I’m acting.”

He refused to listen to her, keeping his arm around her.  “And how are you acting?”

“Like a jealous girlfriend.”  She hated to admit it but it was true.  “Of which I am neither, thank you.”

“Oh I think you’re one of those two.”  He laughed, pulling her closer so that his chest was pressed against her back.  He then kissed her bare shoulder  “You have nothing to worry about.”

She laughed mockingly.  “I’m not worried.  Girlfriends worry, but I am not your girlfriend.  So if you would kindly get out of my bunk I’d like to get some rest.”

“Just shut up and go to sleep.”  He kissed her neck and she could feel him settle in, knowing he wasn’t going anywhere for the time being.  And as much as it pained her to admit it, she liked it that way.

 

 

Chapter 31:

 

A new hotel. It was just what Layla needed. Filthy bunks, and bus rides with Jake, Xander and Gabe were starting to get old. It would have been different had the three of them any self-pride; they never bothered to clean up after themselves, and left their messes for Layla and Gwen. The buses had arrived at the hotel and Layla was more than enthusiastic to be having a real room again. As the boys of Fall From Grace, along with Gabe and Gwen headed inside, starting to take their things into the hotel, Layla stood outside waiting. She smiled when Mike finally rounded the corner. "Hello you," she said to him, smiling from ear to ear as he paused in front of her wrapping his arms around her waist. She hadn't seen him that day and it was good to be around a guy who wasn't named Jake, Xander or Gabe. She stood on her toes and planted a warm kiss on his lips, letting her hands tangle in his hair, not caring about their random public display of affection. She felt Mike slightly lift her off the ground as he returned the kiss. When they finally ended it, breathlessly Mike smiled at her.

"Someone sure is friendly today," he said causing Layla's face to redden a way it never did before around a member of the Rejects. "Did you check in?" he asked her.

"Not yet," she said. "I was thinking maybe we could check in... together."

"Oh really now?" Mike said with a smirk.

"Well you are always staying with me anyway, and Gwen is never there so there is no point in rooming with her anymore," Layla replied and Mike could detect a sort of sadness in her voice.

"If you want to stay with me, that is completely cool with me," he told her. "Let's go check in," he said as he guided her into the hotel. Layla spotted Gwen heading towards the bathroom and didn't get a chance to stop her, so instead she headed towards the receptionist to check in with Mike. She let him do the talking and once they were ready he said, "I'll go get our stuff." He disappeared to retrieve their few items and Layla turned to see Gwen exiting the restroom. She watched her friend walk towards her, a smile on her face.

"What room are we in?" Gwen questioned noticing the room key in Layla's hand.

"We're not," Layla said biting her lip.

"What do you mean?" Gwen asked with her hands on her hips.

"Mike and I are staying together," Layla told her motioning towards Mike who was holding her backpack along with his own and talking to Tyson a few feet away.

"When did this change in boarding take place?" Gwen replied.

"Earlier. You were inside with the guys," she said. She read the look on Gwen's face and knew she was less than happy with the change. "You're never in their anyway, unless you're showering or something, and Mike is always with me so I don't see what the big deal is."

"The big deal is that you didn't tell me. So where am I supposed to stay?" Gwen asked.

"I don't know. With your boyfriend," Layla mumbled.

"What?" Gwen's eyes widened and her fists clenched at her sides.

"I'm sure Xander and Jake would let you stay with them," Layla retracted her statement.

"I spend every moment on that bus with them, I am not going to stay with them. Staying with Gabe is out of the question," Gwen said her eyes full of anger to match the look on her face.

"Well I'm sorry but Mike and I are staying together. We're already checked in," Layla said in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Well good that solves your equation but where the fuck am I supposed to sleep?" Gwen retorted.

"In Gabe's bed," Layla said, now the one with her hands on her hips. Gwen gritted her teeth and stepped forward a bit.

"Don't go there..." she said. "I can't believe this shit. Now I have nowhere to stay." Gwen threw her hands in the air and tapped her foot on the floor. "Nice to see who you think about. Yourself."

"Hey, you can always go stay on the bus. At least no one will have to listen to you, and you and Gabe can go screw whenever you want. Why the fuck do you care if you room with me anyway? It's not like you actually talk to me. " Layla spat out.

"Maybe if you didn't have your head up the Rejects' asses all damn day, I would talk to you more," Gwen said in response. "What Gabe and I do is none of your business."

"I've been friends with those guys way longer than I have been friends with you," Layla shouted. "At least they give me the time of day, unlike you. I didn't know I was so unworthy of your presence."

"Well I'm glad they're your friends. It's good to see that friendship is so fucking important to you Layla," Gwen said. "I'll think about that while I'm out in the bus sleeping tonight." The two of them paid no attention to their friends who stood around deciding whether to break it up or let them go on.

"Don't lie. The only thing you'll be thinking of is Gabe," Layla said with an evil smirk.

"Fuck you Layla Rivers," Gwen said.

"Not my job," Layla whistled in a bitchy tone.

"Just go fuck yourself okay!" Gwen yelled, giving Layla a shove right into the receptionist desk and walking away.

 

Chapter 32:

 

Gwen wandered around the hotel seething in anger for almost a half an hour before she knocked on Jake and Xander’s door.  Seconds later, the door swung open and Jake’s face appeared, smiling and excited.  “Oh, it’s just you.”

“Thanks a lot Jake.  Very welcoming greeting.”  He stepped back to let her inside and she threw her duffel on Xander’s bed.  “I’m crashing in here tonight.”

Xander laughed, shaking his head at his sister.  “I spend way too much time with you on that bus, you are not staying with us.”

“Yeah, and we have girls coming over tonight.”  Jake started digging through his own bag for a change of clothes.

“Why do you wanna stay here anyway?  You should be rooming with Layla.”  Xander lay back on the bed, grabbing the remote control for the TV and clicking it on.

Gwen grabbed the remote and turned the TV back on.  “Yeah well she’d rather be rooming with her boyfriend, which she decided to tell me at the last minute leaving me with no room by the by.  Ungrateful bitch.”

Xander threw his head back, putting his hands over his face. “Please do not tell me you two are fighting.” 

“You can’t be fighting with someone when you’re not talking to them,” Gwen replied, putting her arms across her chest in defiance.

“Gwen you better go make up with her now.  This is not good for the band.”  Xander sat up, prepared to face off with his sister like he’d done numerous times.

She fumed, throwing her arms up in frustration.  “Is that all your worried about, the band?  How about some support for your sister?”

“Gwen…”  He sighed, rolling his eyes at her.

“No, that’s fine.  I’m going.  Have fun with your dates.”  She grabbed her bag and stormed out the door before Xander could open his mouth again. 

First her so-called best friend and now her brother.  She was so angry she stormed right past Gabe, barely even noticing him.  He called her name and when she didn’t answer he chased after her, grabbing her arm and forcing her to stop and look at him.  “Gwen?  What’s the matter?”

“I am not spilling my guts to you.  You are not my boyfriend and I don’t have to.”  She crossed her arms over her chest and refused to look at him, knowing she sounded like a five year old.

He laughed, putting his hand to her chin, tipping it up so she was forced to look at him.  “Okay, how about spilling your guts to the guy you’re sleeping with?”

She looked into his eyes and practically collapsed from all the weight on her shoulders.  He pulled her to him, wrapping his arms around her, rubbing her back in small circles.  “I had a huge fight with Layla just because she’s mad at me for not always being up her ass anymore.  It’s not like it matters because she’s always in Mike or Nick’s pants anyways so what does she care if I spend time with people other than her?  But no, it’s all my fault as usual and I’m the one who has to sleep on the bus because she’s gonna bunk with Mike and leave me out.”

He let her fume for a few more minutes before pulling back, keeping his hands on her arms.  “You do not have to sleep on the bus.  You can room with me.”

She shook her head.  “No, that is just more fuel for the fire.  It’s bad enough we argued in the lobby and she stated your name a few times so there are probably already rumors floating about.  I am not staying in your room.”

“Well gee, that’s just too bad.”  And without another word he grabbed her and tossed her over his shoulder, making his way towards his room.

She banged her fists on his back, the blood rushing to her head from hanging upside down from the waist.  “Put me down.  I will shout RAPE I swear.”

“You can’t rape the willing,” he joked, struggling to open the door with her struggling in his arms.  “And be careful.  My back is still healing from your nails woman.”  The last comment shut her up, at least for the moment.  Once inside the room he put her down, making sure to place himself between her and the door.  “Now you’re not staying on the bus.  You’re staying here and that’s the last thing I wanna hear about it so sit down and shut up.”

She huffed, letting her bag fall off her shoulder and onto the floor before sitting down on the bed.  She looked up at him, still irritated and angry, but happy for a place to stay even if it would cause more problems.  “You’re mean.”

“And you are give me a headache.”  He walked across the room and sat beside her, putting his arm around her shoulders.  “Come on, it’s not so bad staying with me.  You seemed to enjoy it every other time.”

She rolled her eyes at him, pushing his legs away.  “Don’t even try it right now.  I have a lot on my mind and it’s bad enough I’m gonna be stuck with you for a few days.”

“I think I can take all that off your mind.”  He brought his hand to her face, forcing her to look at him again before he pressed his lips to hers. 

After a few minutes he’d managed to push her back onto the bed, leaning over her.  She pushed him back, taking a deep breath.  She gave him a slight smile.  “You know what, you’re good at this.”

 

Chapter 33:

 

Layla's eyes fluttered open and shut as the rising sun trickled through the hotel curtains. She squeezed them shut tightly and tried to go back to sleep; no luck. She glanced at the clock on the bedside stand. It was still early. No way that she need to be up already. She looked beside her and smiled at the sight of Mike. His hair was messy, his eyes closed, bare chest rising and falling softly. Layla propped herself up on an elbow and let her finger gently trace the outline of the tattoo on the right side of his chest; it read AAR in the form of the band's logo. Mike shifted at her touch, his eyes now opening slowly.

"Well good morning," he said with a smile; realizing it was Layla that was touching him.

"Good morning," she said back to him kissing his cheek.

"What time is it?" he questioned with a yawn.

"Too early," was Layla's response.

"I'm sure the clock says that," Mike said.

"The clock doesn't say anything, you have to look at it," she said sarcastically. "I don't want to get up. That means I have to go see that self-centered Gwen James."

"I see you are being your normal self today," he laughed. "C'mere," he said using one arm to pull her to him. He kissed her lips softly, sending a jolt of electricity through her body.

"I can see this is a good morning in deed," Layla said pulling away a bit.

"Nice to know you think so highly of me," Mike replied.

"Oh I think many things about you right now," she told him, kissing him again, biting his lip a bit as she pulled back and rolled away from him.

"Tease," he said to her.

"Jerk," she replied with a smile. She laid on her side, her back to him and closed her eyes. She smiled to herself when she felt his arm go around her waist, his body pressing against hers. She didn't speak; she just lay there, letting his arm hold her against him, his lips planting small kisses on her bare shoulder and neck. Mike used his hand to brush her hair back, as he placed a kiss behind her ear, sending shivers down her spine. He kissed her neck once more before she felt the warmth of his body disappear. "Tease," she said, turning to look at him.

"Now you know how it feels," Mike answered. Layla stuck her tongue out at him and climbed out of the bed. He watched her as she disappeared into the bathroom. She hadn't shut the door all the way, the light from the bathroom seeping through a small crack in the door. Mike finally looked at the clock. It was only five-thirty. He sighed and lay there alone until he heard the shower turn on.

Layla stepped into the shower, pulling the curtain closed behind her. She let the water rush over her body as she leaned against the wall. Her bruise was faint now, but still ached occasionally. She closed her eyes and rested her head against the wall of the shower. She let out a soft gasp as she felt two hands on her hips, hands that were not her own, hands that were more rough, hands that she'd held. She opened her eyes but didn't turn her head as she felt a pair of lips on her shoulders once again, and the arms wrapping around her body. She finally got up the nerve to turn around.

"You're beautiful," Mike said, taking in the sight of her. Layla blushed at his words. They just stood there looking at each other's faces, trying to read what the other was thinking. It was silent for a moment, and still, until as if compelled by magnetic forces, their bodies clung together, lips together, tongue's dancing a fiery tango as the hot shower water poured down onto them. Layla's hand held onto Mike's back as if she were afraid to be ripped away while his hands roamed over her body, his lips never leaving hers. After some time had passed, Layla reluctantly pulled herself away.

"Slow down," she whispered more to herself than Mike. He smiled softly, his hand pushing wet strands of hair out of her eyes. She wrapped her arms around his waist, letting herself lean against him as she stood. Her head was on his chest, his head on top of hers with his arms fully encircling her. She could hear his heart beating, almost feeling it inside his chest. She placed a kiss against his tattoo as she just stood there with him, not moving. "Good morning," she said to him softly.

 

Chapter 34:

 

At one o’clock Gwen made her way to the stage, spotting Xander and Jake already getting ready to go on.  There was no sign of Layla yet, which made Gwen extremely happy for the time being.  She ambled over, greeting the guys with a warm smile.

“Someone’s in a better mood today,” Xander remarked, tuning his guitar a little and giving his sister a smile.  “Does that mean you and Layla made up?”

“Don’t bet on it.”  Layla appeared behind them, grabbing her bass and putting it on her shoulder, glaring at Gwen the whole time.

“Bite me Rivers.”  Gwen spit at her, waiting for their cue to go on.

“Isn’t that Gabe’s job?”  Layla replied smartly, smug smile on her face.

“Shouldn’t you be off boffing Mike anyway?” Gwen shot back.

Xander stepped between the two of them, giving each one of them a stern look.  “You two better cut it out now.  We go one in less than two minutes and if don’t get your act together and perform one hell of a show then this band is done.  Got it?”

Jake stepped up, drumsticks in hand.  “Can’t we all just get along?”  The two girls glared at him with equal hatred before receiving their cue to start their set.

 

***

 

Afterwards, Layla stormed off without even a word to the other members.  Gwen just pushed it aside, glad that her presence was gone.  She grabbed a towel to wipe the sweat from her neck, grateful for the silence that filtered around them.  But Jake felt the need to break that silence, as usual.  “That wasn’t so bad.”

“It could have been better.”  Xander replied, looking at his sister.  “Your harmonies were off.”

She simply tossed the towel at him, not saying another word before hurrying away before he could find and more fault in the set.  He’d been right; it hadn’t been their best.  Both girls were too angry to give any leeway on stage, especially during the parts they sang together.  Instead they kept trying to upstage each other, both insisting the other was wrong when a note was flat or sharp, so they didn’t bother to fix it. 

Gwen sighed, hoping when she got back to the bus that Layla would not be there.  She emitted a scream when a hand reached out and pulled her between one of the buses.  She relaxed when she saw it was Gabe, the signature grin plastered on his face, enjoying her surprise.  He leaned in to kiss her but she put her hand to his chest.  “We’re in public.  Someone is going to see.”

“So let them.  Give them something to talk about.”  He leaned in again, brushing her hair back to kiss her neck.

She let him, enjoying it for a moment before realizing where they were again.  She pushed him back, at once wishing he was still kissing her.  “Stop it.  The last thing either of us needs is for someone to snap a picture of this and it end up on the cover of a tabloid.  Besides, you need to shave.”  She put her hand to his face, running it across his stubbly cheek.

He put his hand over hers, bringing it down to his chest.  “Nope.  The way I figure is that only girlfriends can give those kind of orders and you’re not my girlfriend.”

“Point taken.”  He had a point, as much as she hated to admit it.  And maybe the stubble didn’t look so bad.  It actually made him a little more handsome the more she thought about it.  She realized he was still holding her hand over his chest and she pulled it away, starting to walk back to the bus.  “Then no hand holding either.  Only couples hold hands.”

He nodded, still smiling as he hurried to keep up with her.  “How about ass smacking?  Do non-couples do that?”  And before she knew it he’d given her a hard smack on the ass and took off running for the bus.  She took off after him, her butt still stinging from the assault.  Was he ever gonna get it.

 

Chapter 35:

 

 

  "Our show sucked," Layla said as she entered the hotel room she was sharing with Mike. She watched him shut the door as she flopped down on the bed. "Every single time I was singing lead, it was like Gwen was trying to do her harmonies ten times louder than need be, plus she was completely off key," she whined.

"Get over it," Mike said as he put the room key in his back pocket and lowered himself onto the bed, lingering over top of her. He finally settled for a place beside her, his face buried in her neck, not really moving. "I'm beat," he said and Layla felt his words tickle her skin.

"Take a nap," she suggested, her arms around him as they lay there.

"Good idea," he said staying in place. The two of them lay there for a while; Mike had fallen asleep in her arms, and Layla was near sleep as well. Knocking on the door caused both of their eyes to open.

"I'll get it," Layla said pulling herself away from Mike, letting him go back to sleep. She yawned and walked to the door, opening it to find Nick.

"Imagine my surprise when I call down to the lobby to find out when room Layla Rivers and Gwen James are in and they say, 'Gwen James is not checked in at this hotel, and Layla Rivers checked in with a Mr. Mike Kennerty'," Nick said, his words slurring a bit as they came out of his mouth. He'd been drinking.

"Hi Nick," was all that Layla said. He tried to peek around her into the room, finally catching a glimpse of Mike asleep on the single bed in the room.

"I thought nothing was going on with you two?" he questioned. "It doesn't look like that to me."

"Nick you're drunk. You should go back to your room," Layla said.

"Maybe you should go back to your room, oh wait this is your room..." Nick said, trying to be humorous, but really only sounding stupid and intoxicated.

"Layla who is it?" Mike called from the bed.

"No one," she said looking at him.

"Oh so now I'm no one," Nick said slamming his hand against the door, pushing it out of her grip, sending it flying open, hitting the wall behind it.

"Whoa dude, you're trashed," Mike said, as he quickly got out of the bed and headed towards his friends.

"Yeah and you're a fucking back stabber," Nick said to him.

"What are you talking about?" Mike asked him with a confused and almost sympathetic expression on his face.

"Trivia. Who said, 'Dude there is nothing going on with me and Layla. We're just friends. Don't worry man,’” Nick spat out.

"Nick I think you should leave," Layla said as Mike stepped in front of her.

"Fine by me," Nick said turning to walk away. "I know some more sluts. I don't need you," he slurred as he walked down the hall. Mike slammed the door in frustration, locking it. He turned around but Layla was gone. He heard the bathroom door shut.

"Layla," he said as he walked to the door, knocking on it. He could hear her crying softly through the door. "Layla, let me in," he said.

"No. Just go away Mike," she cried. Mike let out a sigh and walked to the door, exiting the room, leaving her alone as she wished.

 

***

 

Gwen managed to sneak away from Gabe's room long enough to grab some junk food from the vending machine. When she finally decided to go back, she noticed a figure slipping out of a room down the hall. The girl's hair was a tangled mess, her makeup was smeared, and she was straightening her extremely short skirt, and skintight top. "Oh hey Gwen," the girl spoke as passed her. It was Chloe from Cheap Thrill, and the room she was coming from was none other than Nick Wheeler's. Gwen cringed at the thought. She couldn't stand those talentless, trashy, sluts and couldn't believe that one of Layla's closest friends was messing around with one of them. Gwen started towards Gabe's room but something hit her and told her to turn around. Instead Gwen found herself walking towards the room that Mike and Layla were sharing.

She stopped in front of the door, contemplating her next move, before finally knocking on it. No one answered. She knocked again; still no answer. Gwen was about to turn and leave when the door pulled open. "Oh it's you," Layla said. Gwen could tell that her eyes were red.

"Where's Mike?" Gwen asked, the words coming out more bitterly than the meant them to.

"Out," Layla said sharply. "Is there something I can help you with?"

"I just thought you'd like to know this bit of information, I found particularly disturbing," Gwen said. "I just saw one of the Talentless Trio heading out of Nick Wheeler's room," she then said. Layla looked at her.

"Yeah right," she said. Nick was drunk earlier but not that drunk.

"No I'm serious. She was fixing her clothes and her hair and makeup were a mess," Gwen told her.

"I don't believe you," Layla said. "Nick isn't like that. You're just fucking with me because you're still being bitchy," she added.

"Oh yeah I'm really the one being bitchy," Gwen responded. "I'm just telling you what I saw. Thought maybe you'd like to know that your good ole friend Nicky is boinking and STD infested whore," she added.

"Gwen just go to hell okay?" Layla slammed the door in her face.

 

 

 Chapter 36:

 

For a morning that had been amazing, the day wasn't shaping up to be all that Layla had hoped for. The show wasn't the best, Nick hated her, she and Gwen were still fighting, and now this whole lie about Nick and Chloe. It wasn't a good day. She didn't know where Mike had gone, but she was touched that he accepted her wish to be left alone for the time being. All she needed was another random knock on the door, maybe someone else to help ruin her day. When a knock did come upon the door, Layla was less than enthusiastic about answering it. She slowly and sluggishly went towards the door. She stuck her eye to the peephole and looked out to the hall.

"Damage control!" the voice yelled. It belonged to Tyson. Layla lethargically opened the door, letting him in without even saying a word. "Clean up on aisle four!" he yelled as he hugged her.

"What do you want?" she questioned in a dull tone, no real emotion showing through.

"To cheer you up," he said. "Mike told me you were upset earlier," he added. "He's worried about you but he didn't want to come back if you wanted to be alone. So obviously I came instead. I'd rather you be mad at me for bothering you, than him."

"I'm not mad that you're here," she told him. "At least you aren't coming to call me a slut or lie to me hopefully."

"Well..." Tyson teased causing Layla to smile a bit. "I'm sorry Nick came and jumped your shit about Mike. You've gotta realize that he's used to you being 'his' so to speak. Even when you guys weren't dating, you were always closer to him than any of us, so this is a big change."

"But Mike and I aren't even officially dating or anything," she admitted to Tyson.

"Yeah but you might as well be. We all know what's going on and while it could mean shit to me and Chris, Nick isn't used to it. He still thinks of you as 'his Layla', and definitely not 'Mike's Layla'," Tyson explained.

"I'm my own person ya know. I don't belong to anyone," she said. "Just because Mike and I are a lot closer now doesn't mean that I don't wanna be friends with Nick too. I've tried. Every time I'm around him alone, he tries to make into something that it's not," Layla replied. "I can't spend time with him if he's going to try and make things back to the way they used to be. It just won't work."

"He's in a little over his head. He'll come around," Tyson said pulling her into a tight embrace. "Mike says you and Gwen are having hard times," he added as he held on to her.

"Yeah," Layla answered him, finally pulling out of the hug and walking to the other side of the room in a sort of pacing fashion. "She is mad first of all, because Mike and I got a room together instead of me with her," she continued. "The last two times we stayed at a hotel, we roomed together and she was never in the room. She was always with Gabe and I was either here by myself, over with you guys, or Mike was here to keep me company. So I didn't figure she'd care if she was in a room with me or not."

"Well..." Tyson started but she cut him off, still rambling.

"And then! Oh and then she comes over here and tells me this shit story about how Nick is banging one of the McTrashy Triplets," she said. "Like I would fall for it. It's like she is just trying to piss me off," she finished.

"Well first of all, the Nick thing is true," Tyson's eyes were cast downward toward the carpeted floor. Layla's mouth gaped open in shock.

"No way," she said. Tyson just nodded. Layla felt her heart sink to the pit of her stomach. "I can't believe he would do something like that."

"Why does it matter to you anyway if you don’t' have any feeling for Nick?" Tyson pried. Layla swallowed hard but didn't answer. "Maybe you should go talk to him," he suggested.

"Maybe I should," she replied.

***

 

Layla knocked on the door in front of her, letting her hand fall back down to her side. Nick opened the door, his eyes clearer now, looking freshly showered as well. "Hi," she said softly not looking at him for long.

"Hey," was all he could mange to say.

"Can I come in?" she questioned and he nodded letting her slide through the door, closing it after she passed.

"I'm sorry about earlier," Nick apologized.

"I know," she said. She could read him like a book. He didn't mean to say the things he said but he got carried away when he'd been drinking. "Why did you sleep with Chloe?" she asked him suddenly. Caught off guard, Nick ran a hand through his hair, his shirtless chest taking a deep breath in.

"I don't know," he replied. "But I did."

"I know," she said. "I can't believe it but I know."

"What does it matter anyway?" Nick asked.

"I don't know," she was the one to say this time. "But it hurts me that you did."

"I'm sorry," he said as he stepped towards her, taking her hands in his. "I don't wanna hurt you Layla," he said.

"You did. You have a few times in the past couple of weeks," she said. "I don't suppose it's any of my business about you and Chloe anyway, but did it mean something?"

"Does sleeping with Mike mean something to you?" Nick asked and pulled away, turning his back to her.

"I am not sleeping with Mike," she said honestly. "Literally in the same bed, yes, but having sex- no."

"Oh," was Nick's response.

"Yeah," she said. "I'm going to go," she told him.

"You don't have to," he replied.

"I want to," Layla said, swallowing as she stepped around in front of him. "Bye," she said softly, and then turned to walk away. Nick wanted to stop her. He wanted to stop her, and grab her and kiss her but he couldn't. He couldn't make something out of nothing.

Layla stood in the hallway, a tear sliding down her cheek. She wiped it away and thought about what she should do next. She really needed Gwen.

 

Chapter 37:

 

“You know, if you’re really upset about it you should just go talk to her.”  Gabe sat on the bed, listening to Gwen go on and on about her situation with Layla as she stepped out of the shower.  She had been talking about it on and off for almost an hour before he finally spoke up.

She stepped into the room, wearing a pair of his sweatpants and a tank top, a towel on top of her head.  “Why should I be the one to cave?  She’s the one who assaulted me in the first place.  No, she can come to me when she’s ready to apologize.”

“You’re one stubborn woman, you know that?”  He said it with a grin, crossing the room to put his hands on her hips.  He leaned in to kiss her neck and shoulder, the towel on her head falling to the floor so that her wet hair cascaded down her shoulders.  She sighed, wrapping her arms around his neck and letting her fingers get tangled in his hair, loving the way it curled at his neck.  He’d just moved his head up to kiss her lips when there was a knock on the door.  “Don’t answer that.”

He pulled her towards the bed, letting them both crash onto it, her on top.  She kissed him forcefully, slipping her tongue into his open mouth.  He rolled on top of her, swearing under his breath as another knock came at the door.  She pushed him off, crossing the room and throwing open the door.  Her face registered shock and surprise when she saw it was Layla.  “Welcome to hell.”

There were tears on Layla’s cheeks and her eyes were red from crying, although she’d tried to hold it in.  She’d thought of every possible reason not to come here but she knew Gwen was the only person who would listen.  “I’m sorry, I just…”  She trailed off, not sure what to say that would make it better.

“You know, I have the sudden urge to go exploring.”  Gabe spoke up, stopping at the door to kiss Gwen on the cheek.  “I’ll be back later.”

Gwen glared after him, angry with him for providing the opportunity for the girls to talk.  She turned back to Layla.  “What do you want?”

“I wanted to talk to you.  Can I come in?”  Layla pleaded, hoping she hadn’t burned every bridge between her and Gwen.

Gwen refused to move, blocking the doorway.  “So talk.  Anything you have to say to me can be said right here.  You weren’t shy about airing our business yesterday in the lobby so why worry about it now?”

Layla swallowed hard, not surprised at how Gwen was taking her visit.  “You were right about Nick.  He slept with Chloe.  I just didn’t wanna believe it so I accused you of lying about it.  I’m sorry.”

Gwen stood there for a few minutes before backing up, allowing Layla to enter the room.  She shut the door and took a seat on the couch by the window, watching as Layla sat on the edge of the bed.  “You’re sorry?  I’m the one who should be sorry.  You were right about all that stuff you said yesterday.  I’ve been spending all this time lately with Gabe and ditching you all the time.”

“Well I haven’t exactly been Little Miss Available either, with everything that’s going on with Mike…and Nick.”  Layla looked at the floor.  “We’ve both just kind of let things go.”

Gwen moved from her spot on the couch to sit next to Layla, although still keeping distance between them.  “I think we’ve just taken for granted that we spend all this time together that we just assume we know what’s going on with each other without talking about it anymore.  So we really don’t know what’s going on inside and we let the problems just fester until we blow up, as corny as that may sound.”

“No, that sounds about right.”  Layla cracked a small smile, finally looking up.  “I said some really mean things about you yesterday and I’m sorry.”

Gwen looked back at her, shrugging.  “They were true.”

“Yeah but I should never have said them like that or in front of all those people.”  Layla felt like the weight was finally starting to lift off her shoulders.

“I’m sorry too.  Although I think we entertained quite a few people.  I bet Jake was hoping we’d start duking it out.”  Gwen laughed, nudging Layla’s shoulder.  “So what’s going on with the Mike/Nick situation?”

"I don't know what's going on," Layla replied her head in her hands. "As sad as it is, I usually never think about Nick. I mean when I'm around him we talk, it's fine, but when I'm not around him, especially when I'm with Mike, he just doesn't cross my mind."

"And?"

"And it really bothers me that he slept with Chloe," Layla added. "I think it's mostly because he's all pressuring me, trying to get me to get back with him, and then he just goes and screws some random chick. Is that what he thinks of me too?"

"I am sure he doesn't think of you that way," Gwen said in a comforting tone. "He just probably is trying not to think about you at all. Isn't that what you want? Him to get over you."

"Yeah..." Layla said.

"When you first found out the Rejects were on the tour, rate your level of excitement when you saw Nick, one to ten," Gwen said.

"Six," Layla said after a few moments.

"Now Mike," Gwen went on.

"Ten," Layla said with easy and quickness.

"See," Gwen said. "You and Mike are something else," she said. "Even I can see that, as little as I've been around you lately," she continued. "There is this way you look at each other," she told her friend.

"I know," Layla said. "I just feel bad that it bothers me so much about Nick."

"Was he your first?" Gwen asked trying not to pry. Layla nodded.

"He was my first everything," she said to Gwen. "Maybe it's like Tyson said. Nick is used to me being 'his Layla', so he's not used to seeing me with another guy."

"And you aren't used to seeing Nick with another girl. Especially Slutsation Barbie," Gwen said. Layla managed a weak smile and gave her friend a huge hug, happy that they were no longer at each other's throats.

 

Chapter 38:

 

"We haven't done that in a while," Layla said as she and Gwen threw away their pints of ice cream. The empty containers hit the bottom of the trashcan with a soft thud. They'd spent the entire day on the bus eating ice cream and making fun of Xander and Jake, who were putting on a sort of fashion show. Their show was in a couple of hours and they were trying to relax by apparently acting like complete idiots.

"That ice cream was good," Gwen said.

"I think I'm going to be sick," Layla added.

"I'm gonna fucking laugh if you upchuck on stage," Jake said.

"Yeah no jumping around when you just ate a pint of Phish Food," Xander warned.

"Yes master," Layla and Gwen said in unison laughing afterwards.

"I don't know what is worse," Jake started. "You two fighting all the time or you two laughing like hyenas," he finished.

"You love us," Layla said walking past him and planting a kiss on his cheek, before trotting off the bus. Gwen did the same and Jake stood there with his mouth hanging open.

"When do insults grant kisses?" Xander asked in confusion.

 

***

 

“That set was officially the best of the tour.  You two should fight and make up more often.”  Xander said for maybe the tenth time since arriving back at the hotel.  Although he was right, their set that afternoon had been amazing.  The harmonies and blend were perfect between the girls and they simply fed off each other on stage.  They got a lot of great compliments from other bands as well.  Which is why they decided to treat themselves to a fabulous but late dinner in the hotel’s fine restaurant. 

“You guys will never guess what’s going on tonight.”  Jake arrived back from the bathroom, just in time to finish Layla’s dessert, which she insisted she could not eat another bite of.  “That club on the ground floor of the hotel is having an 80’s night.  I say we continue our celebration down there.  And a lot of the other bands are gonna be there.”

Layla and Gwen looked at each other smiling; almost reading each other’s thoughts.  As if they would miss a night of 80’s music and dancing with other bands from the tour.  They laughed and chorused together, “Damn straight.”

After they’d all changed into some “club clothes” they all met in the lobby to go down to the club together.  Layla had Mike on her arm, although he looked less than pleased about being dragged to an 80’s night with two girls who couldn’t stop talking now that they’d made up.  Layla nudged Gwen and bent in to whisper in her ear.  “Where’s Gabe?”

“Upstairs.  He said he might be down later but he might just crash.”  Gwen whispered back, trying hard to hide the disappointment in her voice. 

When they arrived downstairs, they could see that members from other bands were already there, drinking and having a good time.  The music selection was awesome, Eddie Money’s “Take Me Home Tonight” blaring from the sound system.  The group found a table near the dance floor as the song ended and a new one came on.  Layla’s face froze and Gwen started laughing.  Jake smiled and grabbed Layla’s hand, pulling her onto the dance floor with him as Eric’s Clapton’s voice played Layla’s namesake.

Gwen and Mike laughed as Jake twirled Layla around the dance floor, singing at the top of his lungs.  Near the end of the song Mike stood up, shaking his head.  “I’m gonna go rescue her before she kills Jake.”  Gwen watched as Mike cut in on Jake, not really bothering him as he turned to dance with a group of girls a few feet away.

The song changed and Gwen recognized the song, at once wishing she had someone to dance with, even Jake.  She started singing the lyrics of “Summer of ‘69” in her head, surprised when a hand reached out to her.  She looked up to see Gabe, having changed into a nice pair of jeans and a T-shirt that showed off the muscles in his arms.  She looked up at him, looking around the room and catching Layla’s eye for a split second before Mike spun her away.  “Gabe, there are people around.” 

“And they’ll see what, us dancing?  Come on.”  He took her hand without her permission and pulled her up, leading her towards the floor.  “Besides, it’s Bryan Adams and you love him.”

She looked him dead in the eye as he pulled her to him, putting one hand around her waist and taking the other in his, the way real people danced.  “And where did you learn that?”

“Your brother, you little liar.”  He smiled before moving with her.  She learned quickly that he was a good dancer, leading her effortlessly with the lightest touch.  Toward the end of the second verse he turned her hand so he folded it into his chest, holding it over his heart.  He leaned in close to her ear, singing the lyrics softly.  “Standin’ on your mama’s porch, you told me that you’d wait forever, oh and when you held my hand, I knew that it was now or never, those were the best days of my life.”

She could feel him smiling into her ear before he let her go, spinning her around a few times before pulling her back to him.  She couldn’t help but laugh, her whole body shaking with amusement.  He looked down at her, shaking his head.  “Was that a smile and a laugh?”

“Maybe.”  She couldn’t even try wiping it off her face.  She leaned into him, pressing her body close to his.  “You win this round.”

He laughed into her ear, kissing her cheek and moving his hand so it rested on the small of her back.  It felt so intimate, even more so then when they were in the bedroom.  It was almost perfect.  Until she felt herself being pulled from him, only to look and see that Joel had pushed them apart.  He shouted at her.  “What the fuck are you doing?”

“I was dancing you asshole.” She shouted back, aware of Gabe moving so that he was right behind her.  She also saw Layla and Mike moving closer out of the corner of her eye.

 “Oh please, he was all over you.  Just admit it already, you’re screwing him!”  At the look of shock on her face he laughed, his face inches form hers at this point.  “Oh come on Gwenny, you know the rules of the tour.  What happens in the hotel is usually gossiped about later.”

She’d had enough.  She pushed him back, getting right in his face.  “Is that what you want?  Yes, I’m screwing him! Happy now?”  She turned, grabbing Gabe’s hand and starting off the dance floor.

“You son of a bitch!”  Came Joel’s voice as he grabbed hold of Gabe’s shoulder, spinning him around only to punch him in the face. 

Mike stepped in, getting in between them and pushing Joel back.  “You want your left eye to match your right fucker?”  Joel backed down, moving back a few feet.

Xander had appeared to Gwen’s left, pulling her and Gabe aside.  “Why don’t you two get out of here for now.  We’ll take care of it.”

Gwen nodded, taking Gabe’s hand and pulling him towards the door, thankful for her friends.

 

Chapter 39:

 

Layla had wanted to go after Gwen but Xander had insisted that she let them go. So she stayed, with Mike. A slower song came on and Mike pulled her to him tightly. "You were amazing," she told him, speaking of how he'd stepped in. It was like the whole scene was a novel and had been written out perfectly and Layla would have hugged the writer.

"I don't like that guy," Mike said. "Or his band," he whispered in her ear causing her to giggle lightly. "I like your giggle," he said. "It suits you."

"Thanks I think," Layla replied with a smile.

"You're quite welcome," he returned it.

"Can I cut in for a moment?" they heard Nick ask as he approached them. Mike looked at Layla as if silently asking her if it was alright.

"Sure," Layla replied. Mike told her he was going to talk to Tyson and would be back. She watched him walk a few feet away and knew he wouldn't go far, as Nick wrapped his arms around her. "Since when are you into slow dancing?"

"Since I needed to talk to you," Nick answered.

"Okay. I'm here, you're here, talk," she said.

"I don't know what's going on with me lately Layla," he said looking n her eyes.

"I don't know either," she told him.

"It's like we don't even know each other anymore," he said. She agreed with him completely. "Part of me wants things to be like they used to, but part of me doesn't."

"You want things back when you see me with Mike," Layla pointed out and Nick looked away, not wanting to admit his jealousy. "Listen, I don't even know how I feel about Mike, but you'll always be a part of my life Nick. We practically grew up together and us being together was a big part of my life. Even if I do meet another guy, it doesn't mean that I don't care about you."

"I know," Nick said. "It's just weird seeing you and Mike together because that used to be me in his shoes."

"Mike and I aren't together," she said biting her lip and glancing at Mike who was making small talk with Tyson and Chris a few feet away. "I don't know what we are."

"You're in love with him Layla," Nick said. Layla looked at him quickly, shaking her head 'no'. "Layla I know that look; the one on your face when you're with him. You used to look at me like that," he added. "You are in love with Mike, whether or not you see it, we all do, everyone; me, Tyson, Chris, Xander, Gwen, even Jake," Nick said the last name with a roll of his eyes causing Layla to laugh. She noticed Mike watching her out of the corner of her eye. "You are in love with him whether you know it or not and I know you don't still love me and I just want you to be happy. And you'd be happy with him. He cares about you so much."

"I just don't know anything anymore," Layla said with a softhearted smile. She hugged Nick tightly as the song ended. "Thank you so much," and she kissed him on the cheek. She looked towards where the other guys had been standing and noticed Mike was gone.

 

***

 

Gwen led Gabe up to the hotel room, practically dragging him behind her.  When they finally reached his room she shoved him inside, making him sit on the bed while she raided the bathroom until she found the first aid kit.  She brought it out into the room and stood over him, attempting to disinfect the large cut he had over his eye.  He pushed her hand away, standing up and going into the bathroom to stand in front of the mirror.

“Would you sit down and let me take care of that?”  She put her hand on his arm but he waved her off, refusing to look at her.  “What are you mad at me for?”

It took him a few seconds before he turned back to her, his eye already starting to swell.  “I’m not mad at you.  I’m just disgusted that you could have ever been involved with that guy.”

She stared at him in disbelief, putting down the first aid kit on the sink.  “How did you…?”

“I asked around.”  His gaze was firm, despite the pain he was obviously feeling in his right eye.  His face was set, cold, with no trace of the signature grin he always had on it.

“You what?”  She couldn’t believe what she was hearing.  She never would have thought him to be someone so two-faced.  “You went behind my back and asked people about me?  How could you?”

His tone was dark, angry, despite the lack of emotion he was showing in his features.  “Well you weren’t exactly forthcoming with information.”

“You never asked!”  She spat back, gripping the sides of the doorway with her fingers.

“Like you would have told me if I did?”  He crossed his arms over his chest, his nostrils flaring in anger.

Her knuckles were turning white from their grip on the wall, struggling to contain all her emotions.  “So what, I come with baggage, everyone does.  You should have read the warning label before you started this.”

“Started what?  What is this Gwen?  It’s not a relationship.  You won’t let it be.”   He continued to stare her down, his once warm eyes so dark and unfriendly.

She loosened her grip on the doorway and glared at him with more anger than she thought possible.  “I told you from the beginning that this would never be a relationship and you agreed.  I told you no emotional ties and you never questioned it so don’t start now.”

“Too late Gwen.”  The way he said her name dripped with disdain and contempt.  He was looking at her like he despised her, like he was disgusted just by her presence.  “You’re the one who crawled into my bed every night for the past few weeks.”

“I did not…” she started to protest.

“Don’t lie!”  His voice rose to a shout, startling her.  “I see how you are when you’re with me; I’m not blind.  You say you don’t want a relationship, no emotional attachments.  But every once in awhile you get that look in your eyes that completely disputes everything you say.  And when I call you on it you lash out at me, denying anything.  You’ve been pushing me away since the second we met just like you push everyone else away.  You won’t let anybody in.  I thought I could change that but you’re too damn stubborn to let anyone care about you.”

His words stung, causing tears to pool behind her eyes.  But she pushed them back, refusing to let him see how upset he made her.  Instead she turned that hurt into more anger.  “Is that what you wanted, to change me?  Am I not good enough?”

He shook his head, taking a few deep breathes.  “You’re still not listening.  I never wanted to change you.  I wanted to help you, make you see what you’re missing.”

“Well I never asked for nor do I need your help.  I’m fine.”  She could feel the tears threatening to spill over, her chest getting tight with holding them in.

“You’re not fine!”  He crossed the small space between them and she looked down, almost scared to meet his gaze.  He grabbed her shoulders and held onto her.  “Look at me when I talk to you.  You look at me and tell me there is nothing else going on here.”

She looked at him but no words would come out, stuck in her throat.  She could feel the hole inside her threatening to swallow her whole and couldn’t do a thing about it because she was the idiot that dug it out.

He let her go, moving past her into the bedroom.  “Fine, if that’s the way you want it I’m done.  If you’re too God damn stubborn to see what you’ve got in front of you then I fucking quit.  Find someone else to deal with your issues because I’m not gonna wait around for you to come to your senses.  After all, you’re just screwing me right?”  And he grabbed his jacket, slamming the door as he left.

 

Chapter 40:

 

Layla walked down the hall of the floor of the hotel that she and Mike's room was on. She had no idea where he'd went. She had a feeling that he wasn't happy with her. She knew he'd been watching her and Nick, and seeing them hugging and the end of that little scene. She'd checked their room once and he wasn't there but by the time she'd checked out the other possible places, she figured he might be back in the room. When she opened the door she was relieved to find him inside. "There you are," she said trying to pretend that she didn't think something was wrong.

"Yeah here I am," he said. "Just here waiting around for you."

"What?" she asked him.

"You know me, good ole Mike," he smiled a fake smile. "Just waiting around for you to come cry about Nick. So I can be there for you and make everything okay again. Pick up your pieces." Layla felt her stomach ache with sickness. Her heart was in there floating around somewhere she was sure. Mike's voice dripped with disappointment as he spoke. "I mean isn't that what this is?"

"What what is?" Layla asked him feeling lost.

"You know. You and Nick get all close and touchy feely, then fight, then you come and cry on my shoulder and kiss me and tell me nothing matters and then start over at step one again?" Mike questioned with a look of sadness in his eyes.

"You think I'm using you?" she asked him taking a step towards him.

"No. I don't want to think that," he said. "But it seems like if you're not with me, you're either with your friends denying that there's something between us, or you're with Nick making up and then breaking up all in one conversation," he added, just looking at her. Layla put her hand on his arm and he relaxed at her touch, his eyes soft, his breathing steadying.

"Mike I'm not doing anything with Nick. He just helped me out a lot back there," she admitted to him.

"Oh yeah?" he questioned. Mike just wasn't the fighting kind.

"Yeah," Layla replied.

"With what?" he asked her next.

"This," she said placing a soft kiss on his lips. "I love you," she said pulling back and looking at him. Mike looked at her as though he was in shock. "Yeah you heard me," she said kissing him again. "I love you," she said. "Watch this," she said pulling him by the hand towards the door of the hotel room, and opening it with her free hand. Without even looking to see if there was anyone in the hall she yelled, "I AM IN LOVE WITH MICHAEL BRIAN KENNERTY!" Mike's face reddened and he pulled her back inside the room, shutting the door.

"I love you too Layla Brianne Rivers," he then said as he put one arm around her waist, bringing her close to him, kissing her with all he had in him. For the first time in a long while, Layla felt alive. Her head was spinning as he kissed her, leading her backwards towards the bed as he did so. "So much..."

 

***

 

            Gwen wandered around the hotel for what seemed like hours.  She just couldn’t stay in that hotel room, waiting for him to come back, if he even did.  He’d hurt her more than anyone else ever had in her entire life.  And that thought alone scared her.  She’d been concentrating so hard on convincing him that what they had wasn’t a relationship that she’d completely overlooked her feelings for him.  Or at least the feelings she thought she had for him.  She couldn’t be sure anymore what she felt.  She’d thought for the past few weeks that what she felt was simply a longing for something she hadn’t felt in a long time.  She thought she just craved the closeness he gave her, not that she actually craved him.

            Her whole body hurt, as though she’d been hit by a MAC truck, realizing the penalties for how she’d chosen to live the past few weeks.  She needed air desperately, feeling as though her lungs would burst any second.  She raced outside, standing on the balcony on the second floor.  She didn’t even care that it was raining by now, the water coming down in torrents.  It soaked her within minutes making her cold.  She didn’t care though, happy to feel something other than pain and confusion.

            “Gwen?”  She turned when she heard her name, Joel stepping out onto the porch with her.  He put his hood up to fight off the rain but it soaked right through.  He walked over to her, careful to keep his distance.  “I know I shouldn’t be talking to you, especially considering Mike will probably render me unconscious if he hears about it, but I need to talk to you.”

            She looked at him, her tears disguised by the rain falling down her face.  It occurred to her that her past was standing right in front of her and her possible future was probably upstairs, never wanting to look at her again.  “About what Joel?  What more could you possibly have to say to me?”

            “I love you,” was his answer, said so simply.

            She let it sink in before she moved toward him, taking his face in hers and kissing him.  When she pulled back she looked into his eyes and felt it, nothing, absolutely nothing.  “You know Joel, I thought for a long time that I still loved you.  I thought that was why I couldn’t get over everything that happened between us.  But seeing you again, meeting someone new, I realize how I really feel about you.”

            He took her hand, desperate to hold on to her as long as he could.  “And how do you feel?”

            “Disgusted.  I look at you and it reminds me of one of the most horrible times in my life.  And I feel bad.  I’ve felt bad for the last few years, like there was a hole inside me and everyone could see it but I couldn’t fix it.  But in the last few weeks I feel like it’s finally healing.”  She couldn’t quite grasp where these words were coming from but she knew them to be true, like she finally understood why seeing him made her feel so awful.

              He then let go of her hand, realizing the reality of her words.  “Because of Gabe?”

            She took a deep breath, thinking about it before answering him.  “Yes and no.  It’s true that there’s something there and I can’t describe it but he’s not the whole reason.  It’s because of me.  I haven’t let myself heal because I thought I deserved to feel bad about everything.  And meeting him made me realize how much I’m missing out on.  I just wish it wasn’t too late to tell him that.”

            They stood there for a few minutes, both not wanting to say anything more.  Finally, Joel sighed and began to speak.  “I’ll always love you Gwen, that’s no lie.  And it hurts me that you can’t look at me anymore without being reminded of everything that happened.  I wish things were different.  I wish there was no Gabe or Fall from Grace and that everything could be like it used to be.  But it can’t.  I wish I could be the bigger man and wish you the best but I can’t.  I wish I could say that Gabe is one lucky guy and I hope he makes you happy but I’m not in that place right now.”  He moved towards the door, soaking wet, not facing her as he moved to go inside.  “Goodbye Gwen.”

 

Chapter 41:

 

            When Gwen knocked on the door she didn’t expect an answer.  Truth be told she expected Gabe to have left the hotel completely and gone home.  She wouldn’t blame him after all that had transpired and the way she had treated him.  So when the door finally opened she didn’t know what to say, how to start to explain all she’d come to realize in the last few hours.  His eye was almost swollen shut, already getting that black and blue tinge to his skin.  The cut had stopped bleeding, looking inflamed and irritated.    “I really don’t wanna talk to you.”

            “That’s fine.  You don’t have to because I’m gonna talk and you’re gonna listen.  You may not like everything I have to say but you have to hear it.  You need to know why I am this way, why I treated you like I did even though it’s inexcusable.  Please just give me that one courtesy, even though I don’t deserve it.”  She knew she was pleading but if that’s what it took to get him to listen she would do it, she would do anything.

            He didn’t say a word, just stared her down with a blank expression.  The fact that he stood there and didn’t slam the door in her face made her push on, accepting this as a sign he was going to listen to her.  “We were involved, me and Joel that is, a long time ago.  You knew that.  But what you don’t know is why it ended.  You were right when you said I pushed him away but you don’t know the reasons.  I was young, we were young, and I thought I loved him.  I mean I did, in an innocent, first love kind of way that doesn’t even compare to the kind of mature love I now know and understand.  But I loved him all the same.  And I thought that nothing could change that, that we would always be together and live happily ever after.  And then, I got pregnant.”

             At this revelation his face started to soften, only a minute amount as he listened to what she had to say.  “Everyone was so happy and excited that they didn’t see me anymore.  They were so busy talking about “the baby” and what a great life we were gonna live once the guys made it big.”
            “But that’s not how you felt.”  He spoke for the first time since yelling at her earlier that evening, his voice softer and gentler now.

            She shook her head, taking a deep breath before she continued.  “They were never around, he was never around.  They were so busy working on their album and making plans for the band that I was always alone.  And then it all went away.  And everyone tried to convince me that everything was going to be okay and that I would be fine but I couldn’t hear them.  I just wanted to crawl into myself so I wouldn’t have to see how they looked at me, so full of pity.  And I couldn’t even be near Joel because of how he made me feel.”

            She felt his hand on her arms now, trying to pull her to him but she refused.  She wasn’t done explaining things yet.  He seemed to understand this, backing up and giving her the space she needed.  “You blamed him?”

            “I blamed myself.”  She’d finally said it, those words that had been digging a hole in her heart for the past few years.  She’d never said those words to anyone, scared that if she said them aloud that the resolve she had left would crumble around her.  She also didn’t want to be faced with the reactions of those around her.  The reaction Gabe had was complete confusion, not fully understanding the brunt of her words.  “I was barely 21.  I was terrified of what having a baby meant, especially when no one was around.  Part of me wished it would go away because part of me didn’t want it.”

            She stopped, the tears coming harder now and forcing her to breathe deeply.  She closed her eyes, not wanting to see the look on his face.  She feared that if she looked at him she would see disgust and revulsion written all over his face because of the horrible person she was.  Instead, he cupped her chin in his hand, forcing her to look up.  What she saw in his face was not disgust or anything close to it.  He looked sympathetic, understanding of the feelings she was conveying.  “And then when it happened…”

            “I felt relieved.  I was almost happy that I wasn’t having a baby and that my life wouldn’t have to change.  And that made me feel so sick, so guilty because I was happy that my baby died.  What kind of person feels like that?”  This time the tears shook her whole body, making her breath short and ragged. 

“A scared person.”  And this time she let him pull her to him, resting her head on his chest, letting the comfort wash over her.  He didn’t seem to mind that she was still soaked from the rain, the water seeping into his own clothes.  It was a few minutes before she was able to breathe again, able to continue.

She pulled back again, knowing she would not feel any relief until she had gotten it all out.  “After that everything changed.  I pushed everyone away who cared about me because I felt I didn’t deserve it.  Everyone thought I still loved Joel and it just hurt too much to be with him knowing all we had lost.  But I just couldn’t be with him because every time I looked at him I remembered the guilt, the relief I felt.  And I just couldn’t deal with that.  I look at him and he makes me feel like a horrible person, and I believe it.”

“You are not a horrible person.”  He put his hand to her cheek, wiping away some of the tears with his thumb.  “You may not believe it but I see you, the real you.  And she is beautiful.”

She smiled through the tears, trying to let his words be a comfort, rather than make her feel worse.  “See that’s the thing, you’ve said all these things about me but I didn’t want to accept them.  I didn’t want to let you in because I was too afraid of getting hurt again, of feeling that guilt.  So I let myself think that this thing with you was just physical, that the feeling in the pit of my stomach wasn’t there or that it was just loneliness.  But you were right.”

“I didn’t want to be.”  He gave her that sly smile, hoping it would make her feel even the tiniest bit better.  “But Gwen you have to realize, if you close yourself off to all the bad things then you miss out on all the good ones too.”

She put her hand to his face, loving how her hand fit so perfectly with the curve of his cheekbone.  “I know.  And I get that now.  You’re right about it all.  You’re especially right about that first night, when you asked me the last time someone had kissed me, really kissed me.  And the answer is never.  No one has ever kissed me like you did that night, or rather every time you do.  Every time is like that first time and I love it.  No one has ever made me feel so wanted in my life.”

His eyes were warm once again, radiating more love than she ever would have thought possible.  “I do want you Gwen.  But you have to promise me something.  You have to promise me that you’ll let go, that you’ll start letting me in, letting everyone in.  I can’t help you if you wont let me.”

“I promise.  But you have to understand that it’s gonna take some time.  I haven’t been a girlfriend for so long.  I don’t even know if I remember how.”  The last few tears feel from her eyes, far more than she could have imagined she even had in her.

He leaned in and kissed them away, smoothing her wet hair out of her face also.  “I’ll teach you.”

He leaned in to kiss her lips but she stopped him, not ready to end this just yet.  “You have to promise me something too.  Promise me that you will always kiss me like you did that first time.  Promise me that will never change.”

“That is definitely something I can promise you.”  He smiled, tracing the outline of her lip with his fingers.  He then leaned in, touching his lips to her so softly at first, so she could barely feel them.  Then he continued with more passion, trying to give her all the comfort and support he could posses with a single action.  When he finally pulled away he could see that he’d given her the acceptance and strength she needed.  “Come on, let’s get you into some warm, dry clothes.”

She looked up at him, trying to read the intentions in his face.  “I don’t think I can…”

“We’re not going to.  You and I are just going to take a long, hot bath and go to bed.”  And she saw in his face that there were no hidden connotations or agendas.  He simply wanted to hold her and be there for her for as long as he could.

 

 Chapter 42:

 

"Dude I cannot believe this is the last show on the tour!" Jake exclaimed as he, Xander, Gwen and Layla stood inside their bus.

"I know but hell it sure was fun," Xander added as he and the others hit their bottles of water together in a mock toast.

"What time is Gabe coming?" Layla turned to ask Gwen. Gabe had gone home, working on his own music and was going to fly out for the last show. Gwen had been excited to see him for the past week and Layla's question only added to her anticipation.

"He's supposed to be here soon," Gwen said looking at her watch. "Before we go on," she added.

"Anyone home?" a voice called into the bus.

"Back here!" Layla yelled from the back of the bus where the four of them stood. She smiled when she saw Mike walking towards them and enveloped him in a huge hug once he reached her, placing a small kiss on his lips.

"You got your stuff ready?" he asked her. Layla nodded and pointed towards her bunk where all her belongings were piled on top of each other.

"I can't believe you aren't riding home with us," Gwen cried throwing her arms around Layla, clinging to her tightly. The band had a short break after the tour and Layla was going home to Stillwater with the Rejects.

"I know," Layla replied holding onto her friend. "But we're only breaking for a month, then we'll see each other again," she told her. "Plus we've got the show."

"The show," Gwen repeated. Mike was gathering Layla's bags all the while.

"Remember, we're leaving right after you're done on stage," he reminded her. "They'll get pissy if we have to wait too long." He smiled and headed off the bus with one round of her belongings, towards the other bus she'd be riding home in. Xander, Gwen, Jake and Layla gathered together for a big group hug.

"We gotta rock this set," Jake said.

"We always do," Xander added as they all smiled at each other.

 

***

 

"We're going on soon," Layla said as she stood by the Rejects' bus before she was due on stage for the final time during the tour.

"You'll be fine," Mike said. "You've played tons of shows," he added, as he ran his hands up and down her bare arms, trying to comfort her in her nervous state.

"I know but it's the end. The last show. Just like the first, we gotta make it the best, gotta make an impression, for us..." she told him.

"It'll be perfect," he ensured her.

"Yeah we all know you think you're perfect Layla," Tyson said as he and Nick ran onto the bus. Layla took a deep breath before pulling Mike to her for a long, deep kiss, never wanting to stop. Finally he pulled away.

"Go get 'em," he said kissing her one last time before she turned to head towards the venue.

She was almost to the stage when she spotted Gabe just a few steps in front of her.  She hurried up and tapped him on the shoulder, making him turn around and smile.  “Layla, how ya been?”

“I’m good.”  She gave him a quick hug and smiled, noticing that he’d started to grow somewhat of a beard in the short weeks he’d been gone.  “You’ve been greatly missed around here you know.”

He laughed, running a hand through his hair.  “Speaking of which have you seen my girlfriend?”

“Girlfriend?  Isn’t she just your bunk bumpin’ buddy?”  Layla joked as they walked towards the stage, spotting Gwen pacing back and forth in front of Xander and Jake.

He shook his head, starting up the stairs, putting a finger to his lips to silence the guys about his presence.  He snuck up behind Gwen, putting his hands over her eyes.  “Okay Jake would you stop that?  For the last time, the ‘guess who’ game doesn’t work when I know it’s you.”

“Wrong, not Jake.”  He whispered in her ear, causing a smile to spread across her features, lighting up her whole face.  She turned around, wrapping her arms around him tightly before leaning in to kiss him.

Xander shook his head, kicking Gwen lightly in the leg.  “Stop it.  I don’t wanna see my sister make out.”

Gwen laughed, pulling back from Gabe only to shoot a dirty look at her brother.  “I’ve seen you do much worse so don’t even start with me.”

“Guys you’re on.”  One of the roadies gave them the cue and they looked at each other smiling.  Layla watched as Gabe gave Gwen a kiss on her forehead, whispering something in her ear before Layla and her walked on together.  The set was flawless and the crowd was bigger than they’d had all summer, only making things that more energetic on stage.  They were nearing the end, pausing in between songs to take a sip of water and adjust their instruments.

Layla stepped up to the microphone, casting a look offstage at Gabe, smiling.  “Okay, before we do our last song we have a special little tune to play for you.  And I think we need a little help so Gabe if you could come on out here please?”  Gwen looked at her friend, puzzled as her boyfriend stepped on stage and took an acoustic guitar from Xander. 

“Ladies and gentlemen, I think you know Mr. Gabriel Macht.  But what you don’t know is that he’s been helping us out with a few tunes here and there, including this next one written by him and none other than our own Gwen James.  Here’s the debut of ‘I Will Be Waiting.’”  Xander gave his sister a smile and a wink before stepping away from the mic.

Gwen leaned into Layla, whispering through clenched teeth.  “What the hell are you doing?”

“Well you’ve worked so hard on this we figured you might wanna perform it.”  Layla smiled and took note of the look of horror and nervousness on Gwen’s face.  “You better get over to the piano and start playing.  This crowd is getting restless.”

Gwen made her way to the piano, sitting down and shooting a look at the rest of her band members, all smiling because they were in on this little stunt.  She looked to Gabe and he winked at her, giving that smile only he could give.  She took a deep breath and laid her fingers on the keys of the Yamaha Grand piano, letting them start her into a song that had taken on new meaning.

“When it hurts too much too pretend

And the words burn inside your head

You can’t say what you really mean

It’s not that easy

If we never let each other know

Let the light shine in upon our souls

We can dream

But we’ll never see what life could be

Someday I’ll find you

And I’ll catch you

When you look my way

Someday you won’t be afraid

And you’ll find the words to say

They were always there anyway

And I will be waiting

Cause I will be waiting”

Layla took up the background vocals and the harmony, starting to add a quiet bass as the song went into the second verse.  Gabe started finger picking, adding a new layer to the song and supporting the melody.

“When the tears are slowly melting down

And your heart’s stuck on a merry-go-round

Praying you could find a sign

For when this game will end

Someday I’ll find you

And I’ll catch you

When you look my way

Someday you won’t be afraid

And you’ll find the words to say

They were always there anyway

And I will be waiting”

When she started into the bridge she thought of the night when she and Gabe had reworked the chords, the first night they’d spent together.  It seemed so long ago but also like it was yesterday.  She looked over at him and he was watching her, strumming the chords now and pushing her onward.

“When you lose your thoughts

From a single look

When you can’t remember

The last breath that you took

I will be waiting

And I will be waiting (I will be waiting)

I will be waiting (Slowly melting down)

(I will be waiting) When it hurts too much to pretend

And the words burn inside your head

I will be waiting

I will be…waiting.”

The song ended to thunderous applause, forcing Gwen to stand and take her bow with the group.  Gabe reached out to give her a hug, leaning in and kissing her deeply right there on stage in front of the audience.  She could have killed him had he not hurried off so the band could perform their last song.  The band had unanimously chosen Bryan Adam’s “Summer of ‘69” wanting to convey that these had been “the best days of their lives.”

When the song ended Jake stepped up to the microphone and before the applause died out, stated simply, “Thanks for coming out to the show everybody!  We’re Fall from Grace.  Have a good night!”

 

FINE