Jason’s POV

I tried to stay away from the merch booth, I mean I had other things to do…I really had… but then I just couldn’t stay away.
After the evening I shared with Avery I knew something was going on. She was looking absent and she sometimes just seemed so lost in her thoughts that I didn’t know how to pull her out of it.

I was trying to tell myself that he wasn’t the reason for it, but on the other hand I already knew that HE was.
Brian must have something to do with this… and I know if it came to an end and both Brian and I wanted the same woman… he might win this, but I wouldn't let him, not that easily at least.

The problem for me was that I felt already so good and so connected with Avery, that I didn’t know if I could just let her go. After the night we shared in the bus, in my bunk… I felt like the happiest man ever, she was mine and she felt good being mine.

I would even talk to Larry, if it really came to it and she wanted to be with me, because I wanted all… I didn’t want this hiding and shit… if she was mine I wanted to tell the world, I wanted her Dad to approve.

But now I got even farther away from her being mine then ever probably…

I walked past the booth seeing Avery working and preparing everything, she gave me a small wave and a smile and my heart began to race, shit… too deep in this already.

I saw the new guy standing behind the girls, he was watching them like a pervert, a pervert that he was.
Fuck, I wished the girls didn’t have to work with him today, this was so fucked up.

Jimmy’s plan in not having customers there wasn’t working as long as the girls were there, too.
I saw Jimmy, Brian, my brother and Zack standing near the booth watching the scene as well.

Right now the new guy had his eyes set on Maya as it seemed, oh shit, if Shadz saw that he would flip… and there we go.

Matt suddenly stormed into the scene and before I even made a step closer he had punched the guy to the ground and I quickly moved towards Avery, while the other guys tried to pull Matt away…

No one gave a shit about the bleeding guy on the ground, I pulled Avery into my side and guided her behind the guys towards the bus, everyone moved inside, but before Avery could, I stopped her.

“Hey… you got a second?” I asked carefully and she nodded. “Sure…” I led her away from the bus, a little off the scene towards a bench and sat down close to her.
She gave me a weak smile and I laid my arm around her shoulder, pulling her into me “What happened there? I just saw it from distance.” I asked to start the conversation.

“He made a move… or rather a lot of moves towards Maya… he was getting a little too pushy for Matt’s taste, and honestly… I can understand him. I wouldn’t want my girl- or boyfriend be handled that way by another either.” Avery looked at me and I nodded.
“I wouldn’t want to see you with that guy that way either. I would have done the same… already planned to before even something happened.” I told her with a smile and she chuckled.
“I know, Jason. Thank you for that” Her smile fell away from her face when she looked at me the next time.

“What’s up beauty? Don’t look so sad, your face is made to look happy… so whip that sadness off of you.” I tried to make her laugh but she shook her head.
“That might have been our last chance in staying. I mean tomorrow morning my Dad will bring us to the airport. Everything is settled…” Avery sighed and I felt crushed, I needed more time… she and I we needed more time.

“We will think about something else, I promise. You won’t be leaving us, not yet. Matt won’t let Maya leave and I don’t want you to leave, we all want you to stay. You belong to us now… What if we tell your dad that… I don’t know… you want to stay?” I tried but Avery just chuckled.

“You think my Dad would believe that Maya and I would let a spa wellness vacation in the Bahamas go for working at a festival, if it had nothing to do with boys? Please Jason, my father is not dumb.” Avery patted my thigh and I put my hand atop of hers, not wanting her to let go.
She looked up at me and I licked my lips “Avery… what if you have to go? That’s it then? We won’t see us again?” I asked a little desperate, but I had to know.

She leaned into me, but her eyes were not meeting mine, she didn’t look up again and she didn’t answer.
“Ave? What is this?” I tried again, I needed an answer just a small one.

“I honestly don’t know, Jason… I am so confused and now with us leaving tomorrow, I don’t know how to handle all this.” Avery said finally and I heard the confusion and sadness in her voice and regretted making her feel that way all over again.
I told her she should be happy and now look what I did, I made her even sadder…

“I will talk to the guys again, we will find another way. I promise… I not giving up yet.” I mean that, in both ways, her staying and her in general.
I got up from the bench and pulled her into a hug.

“I promise, Ave.” I whispered in her ear and didn’t know if she heard me but then she gave me a small nod.
I kissed the top of her head and we walked back to the bus, I knew we might get another chance to talk today again, and I needed that, but I also needed to talk to Jimmy, we had to think of something new. And if someone always had a master plan, it was him.

“So you are not working during the show anymore?” I asked when we stopped at the roadie bus.
“Nope, Matt was loud and clear about it. Maya and I got the rest of the day off, and Maya wanted to watch the show of the guys… so I will go get myself presentable and we see us later again, okay?” Avery asked and I smiled.

“I’m hoping on that. And you always look presentable, more than that, you look breathtaking.” I leaned down and pressed my lips to hers, just a small kiss and she didn’t pull away, that was a good sign, right?

Maya’s POV

I couldn’t believe Matt ruined the last chance we got on staying, the last chance. You heard Jimmy, we didn’t have another plan… and it’s not like I liked that the guy touched me or made a move on me, no!
He gave me the creeps and I just did that because I wanted to stay.

Because Ave and I both wanted to stay, no needed to… I knew that as soon as we had to say goodbye tomorrow, as soon as I had to say goodbye to Matt and Jimmy, I would… I wouldn’t see them again, no matter how often Matt would tell me that he and I would stay, we wouldn’t.

I knew it better! That always happened… I knew it would happen in the end anyway sooner or later but not today, not tomorrow, damn it!

“Maya…” Matt’s voice sounded behind me but I shut the door of the back room, not wanting to talk to him now “Come on, Maya.” He opened the door and closed it behind him, but I didn’t wanna talk to him now…

“Shit… babe, would you please look at me.” Matt sounded desperate but I needed to be alone, think about everything again, what if… what if I would go to Francis again, tell him Matt overreacted, that we weren’t together, would Francis still try… or did Matt ruin this plan for good?

“Damn it, Maya!” Matt grabbed my shoulder and turned me around, making me look at him.
“I’m sorry… well not really for punching him, but for ruining the plan… but honestly… I tried my best to stay cool, to stay away… but that was it, Maya. He touched you, like he owned you. And he doesn’t. He is not allowed to touch you like that!” Matt looked deep in my eyes, they were full of hurt and I had to close mine, nothing happened and I didn’t do anything wrong, I wouldn’t feel guilty.

“Could you please talk to me?” Matt pushed me down on the bed and sat beside me.
“It was our last chance, Matt… I will leave tomorrow, we will leave… that’s it. Do you want me to leave? Is that it, why you ruined the plan so I could go?!” I met his eyes and they looked angry and sad now, just like mine and I knew it wasn’t right what I said, just the look in his eyes told me I went too far and I sighed.
“I’m sorry… I know you don’t want me to leave, but we will… tomorrow morning, Larry will bring us to the airport, Matt… Then we will be gone.” I said more quietly, dreading it already.

“You won’t leave. I won’t let you leave. I will think of something new…” He sounded so sure, how could he be so sure about it?
“Do you have another plan? Because it doesn’t sound like it?!” I asked on a sigh but Matt just shook his head “I will figure it out. Believe me…” Matt voice softened and he pulled me onto his lap.

I sighed and I placed my arms around his neck and kissed his lips, why couldn’t I stay away from this guy?
He drew me like a moth to the flame.
“I just don’t want to go… not yet” I whispered to his ear and Matt groaned quietly “You won’t.”

A loud knocking sounded at the door “Guys?! You are not yelling anymore, so you probably made up, but we need to get ready, show is about to start in 60 minutes.” Brian’s voice sounded and I let my forehead sink down to Matt’s, our last evening. I wouldn’t let this be ruined, we would enjoy it, I got to watch this sexy as sin man preform on stage, so that would be a nice distraction and afterwards he would be mine.

“Damn these time schedules.” Matt groaned and got up with me in his arms always amazing me with how strong he was.
He slowly let me down his body and kissed my lips hungrily again “I will watch you, babe… so you better give me a hot performance.” I whispered to his lips.
“Hotter than right now I most probably can’t be, babe…” Matt captured my lips in another kiss and his hands moved to my ass, pulling me even firmer into his body.

The door was thrown open but I didn’t pull away, I just saw Matt looking up and then continue to kiss me “Shadz, if you don’t want me to join in you better get your ass to moving…” Matt Berry said and I chuckled into the kiss until Matt finally pulled away.
“You saw what happened to that new guy right?” Matt asked while pulling me behind him when he interlaced our fingers.

“I saw” Matt Berry chuckled “I brought him to a nurse to patch him back up, has a slightly swollen nose but not broken, and a bruise is forming underneath his eye” He explained and Matt nodded.
“So you know what happens if you keep joking like that, right?” Matt said and Berry held his hands up in surrender “Message received.”

I shook my head and when Matt looked at me I rolled my eyes “Really? You now wanna punch everybody who comes near me?” I asked lifting my eyebrow.
“I want to yes, but I probably can’t… which doesn’t mean I wouldn’t try.” Matt grinned, showing me his dimples, he had a weird kind of humor sometimes.

“We see us during the show, babe. Can’t wait to see you there.” Matt pecked my lips before getting into the backstage area and I made my way over to the roadie bus, I needed to look phenomenal tonight.
I wanted to blow Matt away, when he saw me again, and since this most probably be our last night, it had to be perfect.

Brian’s POV

I couldn’t get that smile of my face, when I woke up this morning and found that little note from Avery, I just knew I made the right decision.
From talking to her and laying everything open to leaving her alone to think.

So she knew there was something between us and I just had to make her see it even more.
Make her sure she needed to choose me.
And I would do that when we spend the evening together.

I knew Jason would be with her the majority of the day, because that’s just where that fucker worked but I had the date for the night, okay maybe date was said a little too much, but her “cigarette break” or whatever she wanted to call it, would be a little different than she would think.

I would set up something to drink, because I knew I would need it. I mean we would be doing our show first, which was about to start in a couple of minutes… and the best thing about that was, that the girls would be watching us.

Matt made sure of that in a little rough way but he did what I would have loved to do as well.
That new guy, is not allowed to touch any of the girls and I swear to god if Matt hadn’t punched him out I would have.
Even though he had his eyes set on Maya in that moment, I had seen him before doing that undressing with his eyes thing with Avery so, he was meant to be punched into reality.

“Gates?” Matt’s voice sounded behind me and I looked at him “What’s up? Nervous cause your girlfriend is watching?” I teased and he just had that smug look on his face.
“Jealous cause I have her as my girlfriend and you still have to work for that label?” Matt shot back and I held my hands up in surrender “Touché, my friend”
“I was just thinking… we might get a problem, and I mean an ever bigger problem with that guy we already had.” Matt looked around seeing if anyone was near.

“What you mean?” I narrowed my eyes and Matt sighed “I mean… I fucking punched him, and he looks like that, too. What if he goes to Larry? Telling him I punched him, I was pretty clear that Maya is mine… what if he runs straight to Larry? And he thinks Ave and Jason are together too…” Matt continued and I snapped my head towards him.

“What?” I felt the aggression rise within me, why would he think that?!
“Yeah, he saw them together, anyway… what do you think?” Matt continued and I clenched my hands to fists.
“He better not!” I growled “I know, but how do we get out of this, if he does?!” Matt asked and I rubbed neck, shit…

“We will… we will just tell him that you saw the new guy approaching Maya in an inappropriate way and you stepped between it, when he wouldn’t let go and he was scaring Maya you punched him, end of it. I saw it, Jimmy, MB, and Zack can confirm, as does Maya.” I shrugged, best idea to get out of it.

“And Jason and Ave?” Matt continued and I sighed, not wanting to hear those names together!
“Well the same… I mean who will believe Larry more, us or the new guy?” I asked but Matt doesn’t look really convinced.

“I know but, then he will still get suspicious.” Matt muttered under his breath and I sighed.
“Yeah, but then we got at least the first catastrophe away from us, then we gotta think of the rest, right?” I asked and we really had to.

“Let’s talk to the others now, so we all agree on the story, later we talk to the girls… I bet Jimmy is already sabotaging the stand, or at least has somebody doing it for him… no money making for that guy. And then we have a show to play and afterwards we will come up with a new plan for getting rid of him.”
Because there was no other way then to get rid of him!

I needed more time with Avery than just this one small date, I needed more time and I would get it and no Francis or anyone else would be getting between it that was for sure!

After we all agreed in our talk on how to handle the situation if Francie’s would open his big mouth about what happened, we still stood in a circle and I knew we were all thinking the same.

“If anyone of you guys have another idea how to get rid, spill it. We need to come up with something, before the girl’s will be heading to the airport tomorrow.” Matt announced and I nodded as did everyone else.

“Now, get your shit together, we have a show to play and we want to burn this stage down, right?” Matt yelled and pumped all of us up.
“Fuck yeah!” We replied and we scattered around the backstage area again, only a couple more minutes.

Maybe a couple more minutes for spending the evening with the girls, what would happen if they really left us?
Would I be able to see Avery again? Would she want to see me again? Would she forget about me or I about her?

Damn, this situation looked already as it was supposed to be doomed!

There had to be a way to let the girls, stay… but which? And how did we get rid of that guy, I mean, why didn’t he quit already?
We made him drunk, we sabotaged his stand, we treated him like shit, we punched him and no one helped him, why was he still here?!

“Guys?! Are you ready?! 5 minutes!” Matt Berry yelled and I nodded, as ready as I could be apparently, the rest of the thinking had to wait for later, because now I needed to make a killer performance for our girls and I knew the others were thinking the same…

Notes

Comments, pretty please?!
Will they leave or will they stay?
Will the figure our a new plan?
What will the guy tell Larry? Will he talk to him?!

Let us know what you think!