You growled in the back of your throat. You were pretty sure that the poor guy you had pressed up against one of the buses thought it was a sexy growl, like you had been doing earlier, but it was in fact it was towards the vibrating in your pocket. Lord knows how the poor lighting guy didn’t feel it as the two of you were as close as two people could get without taking off all of your clothes at the moment. You couldn’t even remember where his shirt had gone, a casualty of war as the case went. You ignored your phone for the third time and went back kissing the guy beneath you and fumbling with his belt buckle as he grabbed your ass like it was his last life preserver in a vast ocean with no sign of help on the horizon. You didn’t mind, a little rough here and there always spiced things up. Especially when you realized you didn’t even know his name, and were surprised that you even remembered that he worked the lighting. Whether for this venue or for the tour itself was something you couldn’t recall.

“That’s it baby,” you heard your latest victim slur at you, in what you guessed his drunken mind saw as a sexy voice.

You smirked at him as you trailed your swollen lips down his neck, making your way to his collar bone before going back up to his ear.

“God the things I’m going to do to you,” you heard him growl into your ear before inhaling sharply as you bit his ear lobe. All this did was stop his talking, and make him slap your ass so hard you were pretty sure someone on the tour heard it. You laughed in the back of your throat knowingly as you made to lower yourself down his body, your knees on the ground being the destination you had in mind. That is until your phone went off again in your pocket.

“Oh for fuck’s sake!” you snarled and stood up, violently ripping your phone out of the front pocket of your almost nonexistent shorts.

Flipping it open you glared the vibrant screen, made even more neon by how dark it was.

“Whatever poor sap you have in your clutches is not more important then being with us. Lay off the dick for a night and find a populated party. Herpes is hell!” was the text flashing across your screen.

It was just the latest text, but you didn’t feel the need to look at the others. You figured the rest were pretty much the same. Plus, your brother summed it up enough as it was.

“I gotta run hun,” was all you said as you slid your phone back into your front pocket, turning heel to leave him in your tracks to find this mysterious thing called a populated party.

“Hey!” was all you heard behind you as you rounded the bus you had been against the back of and hit crunching gravel of the parking lot with your black flip-flops.

Sticking a cigarette between your lips you decided to find the loud bus first and see if anyone was there. And if not, well there was beer in the fridge to snag and chug on the way to another random bus.

As you neared the loud bus you heard why it was called so, but not in the way you would have guessed. No loud drunken calls and boisters, no high pitched fake girlie squeals, no regular drunk party sounds. Instead you heard music, regular music. Accompanied by really, really bad singing. And more laughter than you had heard all tour. The words to Joan Jett’s “I Love Rock and Roll” poured out of the open windows of the loud bus, enticing you closer. Being as quiet as possible, trying not to make too much noise on the gravel beneath you you tiptoed closer. As you got to the bus, right below the open windows were the awful singing and laughter was emanating from, you realized you were going to be too short to see what was going on. Looking around you spotted what you needed, folding chairs nearer the front of the bus.

Walking softly you grabbed one and carried it back to the open windows you needed. Setting it down you stepped up onto it and stood straight. Peering in your eyes went wide. There was Syn and Zacky with tacky Guitar Hero guitars draped around their bodies, battling it out dramatically to Joan Jett. What was even more amazing then the showboat-menship going on between those two was who was singing. Johnny and your brother were breaking it down, mad hokey pokey style, as they belted out the words to the time old classic “I Love Rock and Roll”. You gasped softly, your hand coming to cover your mouth on its own accord as you grinned in at the four of them. You just stood there and watched them, all of them, playing at being friends. They weren’t being rock stars. They weren’t remembering that they were famous. They were just being four friends who had grown up together, and that while musically talented apparently couldn’t dance or sing classic rock.

You almost clapped in applause when the song finished but caught yourself, for fear of being caught. Instead you just silently cheered them on in your head. Roles were switching up. Matt pointed dramatically to Syn and wagged his finger at him, Syn simply shrugged his shoulders in a non reply but had a shit eating grin on his face. You watched in amusement as Zacky handed over the guitar he had to your brother, letting him take his spot in front of the giant flat screen on the bus. The music started up with the next song and you almost burst out laughing. It got even harder when the first line of lyrics came out of Johnny’s mouth.

“I’m on my second drink,” the bassist sang out loud.

“But I’ve had a few before,” Zacky jumped in enthusiastically with a giant grin and a partial stumble.

The Donnas “Take It Off” blasted out into the universe from your loud bus and you silently giggled. Zacky and Johnny went full scale into the song, there were no holds barred when it came to singing along. And your brother and Syn were nothing less then ridiculous as they battled it out on plastic guitars pushing primary colored keys. You clapped your hands together silently and laughed without a sound as Zacky took Johnny’s hand and held it up so Johnny could twirl under it. You laughed so hard, and so quietly, that you almost laughed yourself right off the rickety metal folding chair you were on. Steadying yourself you went back to watching the show, tears in the corners of your eyes.

You almost yelled in alarm when there was a loud noise beside you but managed to keep it down to a little squeak. Turning to look beside you saw a grinning Jimmy standing next to you. Looking down briefly you saw that he too had his very own folding chair, even though he was so tall to begin with. Scowling at Jimmy quickly you turned back to the show in the bus. Jimmy turned a moment or two after you, his head going from you to the scene on the bus and then back to you. He smiled softly before turning back to watch the goings on in the bus. So intent in your watching, eyes sparkling brightly, you missed the almost wistful edge to his smile as he shook his head as if he was remembering something and wishing he could be a part of it.

“Join us Kales Mae,” Jimmy suddenly spoke softly.

You started a bit and then looked down to his hands and saw him holding multiple bags of chips in one hand and a liter of coke in the other. You couldn't help but smile a little bit.

“No, I couldn’t. I’d just ruin it,” you replied, the smile on your face slipping slightly before you turned and looked back into the bus’s windows.

“You wouldn’t, I promise,” was Jimmy’s soft reply, causing you to turn and stare softly at him.

You just shook your head before looking back once again. It was now Johnny’s turn to be spinning Zacky as Zacky had been doing to him a minute ago. The words were still just as loud, and if possible the laughter had gone up an octave. Jimmy turned and momentarily watched too, the goodies in his hands temporarily forgotten.

“Nah. I’d just mess it up. It’s better like this,” you whispered as you smiled sadly at the goofy antics of your family and best friends. Syn and Matt were getting past ridiculous in their showboating at this point.

“Is there anything I can say to change your mind?” Jimmy asked hopefully.

“No,” you whispered, your sad smile now a knowing one as if you recalled something in the back of your mind.

With a silent sigh and a shrug of his shoulders Jimmy stepped down from his folding chair, leaving it right where it was, and headed towards the front of the bus and it’s automatic door. As his hand reached out to open it you stopped him with your hushed voice.

“Hey Jimmy? Don’t tell them I’m out here okay? I’d like to watch a little while longer.”

“You got it Kailey Mae,” Jimmy reassured you with a wink before turning and opening the door, his long legs taking him away up the steps.

Watching him just long enough to see the door close behind him you turned back to the action. You stood up on your tiptoes to possibly get a glimpse of the next song to be chosen as Jimmy’s body graced the back area. You grinned as you saw the title track picked to be battled out next. If even possible your grin got even bigger as you watched Jimmy take the guitar from Syn and sling it over his own lanky shoulders. The first chords came up, a giggle caught in your throat as Syn joined Johnny and Zacky on the “dance” floor, dancing, singing, and miming. Doing the disco moves John Travolta style. Queen’s “Killer Queen” never sounded sweeter to your ears.

Notes

So sad, so so sad.
At least she recognized that she is part of the problem. That it isn't all Zacky.