Matt
Being short a roadie was tougher than we expected, we really could've used the extra set of hands. It was clear the rest of the crew was annoyed with me and the rest of the band.

We were lazy, it's not our fault. Hell, we have roadies for a reason! I did my best to pitch in, but with my previously mentioned laziness and our packed schedule, it wasn't necessarily easy. Not to mention, Matt Berry wouldn't shut the hell up with all of his ridiculous rules. 'This goes here! Nowhere else! That goes there!' I can't imagine how the rest of them tolerate this crap.

"Shads? Why are you still here?" I heard from behind me, I turned around and saw Jason staring at me. "You've gotta be onstage in 20 minutes...get the hell outta here and get dressed!"

"Relax bro, I'm not like Syn or Zacky, I only need 5 minutes to get ready."

Jason shook his head and walked away. The crew was always bossy and uptight, especially the Berry twins. Jason was a little bit more laid back, but on concert days he was just as insufferable as his brother.

I got up and headed down to where the guys were, I was so pumped for this festival. I can't wait to just drink and party and do what I love with my brothers. And the slew of women throwing themselves at me was a huge plus.

I could hear the Rev's laughter echo through the halls and I walked into the room, smiling. "Sup' motherfuckers?"

"There you are, Shads!" Johnny shouted, tossing a long neck towards me. "Drink up, my friend."

"No can do, Shortshit. Unlike you, I can't hide it when I'm drunk onstage. I'm an important asset to the performance."

Johnny snatched the bottle out of my hand, cracked it open and chugged it while flipping me off. I laughed at him and plopped down onto the couch.

"So, any of you heading to the after-party tonight?" I know, it's a stupid question, but I have time to kill.

Jimmy snorted and smacked me on the back. "What're ya crazy! Of course I am! And I'm bringing all of you fuckers with me!"

"There's no skipping parties with the Rev around, you know this." Zacky joked, while fixing his hair in the mirror.

"Yeah, what was I thinking?" I asked sarcastically and Jimmy laughed as he clutched on to my shoulders and shook me around.

"You weren't, ya freak!" He shouted in my ear and I pushed him off.

"Jim, we talked about personal space, remember?"

"No sir, I do not recall." He spoke in a snobby accent and laid down on mine and Johnny's lap.

"You're crushing me!" Johnny squeaked, which urged Jimmy to do it some more.

"I can't wait to just do our thing, get wasted and get laid." I joked, rolling the giant off my legs and getting up off the couch.

"You're telling me!" Zacky quipped and we all laughed.

Matt Berry stuck his head into the room and shouted, "You guys are on in five!"

"Damn roadies, cramping my style!" Jimmy shouted and threw his drumsticks in Matt's direction. "Get out of here!"

Everyone started filing out the door and towards the backsatge area, we all were getting pumped for the show and started getting rowdy. I grabbed a mic and started twirling it in my hand. I've been waiting months to be back on the road, this is where I belong.

Let's do this.

Jen
"So, what happened?"

I sighed and looked up at Jonah. He was the big boss of the group of friends I needed to get a hold of. He was also on the phone with me the day I got arrested. He stared me down, with a stone cold expression.

"I got canned, but I got out." He raised his eyebrows at me.

"I never thought I'd hear you use that phrase..." He trailed off, surprised with the code word his friends have used with him so often. "So, why are you here? This place is crawling with security."

"I knew you'd be here, and I remembered that favor you owed me." I started and his face darkened.

"What are you asking for." He growled.

"Just some money and maybe two of those disposables you have on you." I stated slowly.

"Fine, but that's it. I want you to get as far away from me as possible, do you understand?" I was taken aback a bit, but ultimately expected this.

"Deal." I shook his hand and he pulled me closer to him, getting in my face.

"If you breath a word to who gave you these, you will be wiped out in the blink of an eye." He hissed at me.

I just stared at him and kept my mouth shut. He stepped back and released his grip, fishing in his jacket pocket. Jonah placed two disposable phones in my right hand, and a bundle of cash in the left.

I turned away from him and started to push my way through the crowd, looking for Lil. It was hard to spot her, I wasn't fully used to her black hair yet.

"Lil, where the fuck are you?" I shouted in an attempt to find her.

I saw her standing in front of the merch booth with some dude. He had his hand on her waist and they were practically eye fucking each other.

After chewing her out for it, she suggested we came back later to talk to that random guy again. I rolled my eyes and groaned. "I guess we can enjoy ourselves while we can and if that means you get laid, then get laid."

She smiled and shook her head at my remark. Lil reached for my hand, "Let's just have some fun."

I reluctantly took her hand and she pulled me towards the crowd and pushing past them to get closer to the stage.

---

Towards the end of the night, Lil convinced me to come back to the merch booth with her. And sure as shit, the man she was flirting with earlier was there. I watched him smirk as he noticed her walking towards him.

"I was beginning to think you forgot about me." He joked.

"How could I forget about you." Lil shot back, winking at him.

I cringed and gagged dramatically. Lil elbowed me in the side. "Damn woman, I get you want some dick but would you please not assault me?"

"Shut up!" She groaned and turned her focus back to the merch guy in front of us.

"You know, my brother would definitely be interested in your friend here..maybe you two can tag along with us and we can keep up the good time?" He suggested and Lil turned back towards me.

I absolutely hate being set up with guys on blind dates. In any normal circumstance, I would say no; especially if I'm an escaped convict on the run. But I saw the writing on the wall, knowing Lil would bitch at me until I said yes, so I shrugged.

"I guess.." I trailed off. "The only thing is, the airport lost our luggage so we don't have our ID's on us."

"I forgot about that." Lil said, geniunely surprised I was able to come up with something so quickly.

"Don't worry about it, I'll care of you girls." This dude was really pushy, but Lil was loving every second of it.

When the last band finished their set, and the man, who later introduced himself as Jason, was done packing up we headed towards the exit. I walked side by side with Lil, and took the opportunity to slip her new phone into her hand. She looked at me and could barely contain her smile for some reason.

"You look like a serial killer, wipe that creepy smile off your face." I whispered harshly at her and she giggled.

One thing I've learned about Lil is that she is definitely thick-skinned. No matter what I say to her, she either laughs it off or smiles at it. She forces me let my guard down, which I despise to no end. I don't know what it is about her, but I just can't shake her. From the moment we met, she's treated me like we've known each other our whole lives. I can't complain though, maybe I need a pushy brat in my life.

"Whatsup, JB-Diz?" I heard from behind me, pulling me out of my head.

"Hey, Zee." Jason greeted one of the men I saw onstage earlier.

"You coming to the after-party?" He asked, scoping out me and Lil. I scrunched my nose in disgust and looked away.

"Nah, me and my new friends are gonna meet MB at some bar down the street."

"Suit yourselves...see you around, ladies." The man quipped before walking away.

"What a tool." I whispered in Lil's ear and she snorted and smacked my arm.

"Zack is always like that, don't worry." Jason reassured. All the more reason for me to think he's a tool, buddy.

We arrived outside some rundown bar not too far from the venue. Jason got us in no problem, which unsettled me. He motioned for us to follow him and I started to feel uneasy. I pushed the feeling down and tried to forget about the fact that there's a manhunt going on in Texas right now with my name on it.

Jason led us to a booth in the back, and had us sit down. He put me next to his brother I'm assuming, they looked almost exactly alike. "Jen, this is Matt; better known as MB. MB, Jen."

I gave him a sheepish smile and shook his hand. I looked over at Lil and Jason and they were in their own little world. An awkward silence settled between the two of us.

"Whatever fucked up story Jason's told you about me is most likely not true." MB said, breaking the silence.

"Don't worry, he was too busy with her to ruin your reputation." I jabbed my thumb in Lil's direction and sighed.

I felt bad, this kid clearly didn't want to be here. Neither did I, and I really showed that. He was obviously shy, either that or I intimidated him in some sort of way and I highly doubt that.

"So, what do you like to do for fun?" I asked, in an attempt to start up a conversation. Maybe that would calm my nerves.

He shrugged. "Stay out of trouble, I guess. I have some pretty fucked up friends."

"You wanna talk about fucked up friends, don't even get me started.." I snorted, playing with the straw in my drink.

"Well, I have a friend who got maced in the face by two bicycle cops for killing a pigeon in Amsterdam."

I couldn't help but laugh. "I have a friend who woke up in a dumpster with a homeless man, the next state over from where she lived."

He threw his head back and laughed. "I guess we tied."

Jason and Lil butted into our conversation, eager to know what was so funny. "I see you two are having fun."

I shrugged and Lil smiled at me. Jason leaned over the table and whispered something in his brother's ear, and I looked over at Lil. "When can we leave?" I whispered and she shook her head.

"Just chill out for an hour or two okay? We can leave after that." She reassured me and I sighed.

I sat back in my seat and rubbed my eyes. "What brings you two here anyways?"

"Just a vacation." Lil said.

"Well, what are you taking a vacation from? What do you gals do for a living?" Jason pushed.
Me and Lil both looked right at each other. We were like deer caught in the headlights. She opened her mouth and shut it again, unable to come up with anything.

"Were taking a vacation from, uh, work." Lil choked out and looked to me for help.

"We, well we are, uh" I mumbled, praying something would come to me. I quickly remembered watching people run around on stage tonight at the festival, at that just seemed to stick. "We help set up the stage for our band's concerts."

"No kidding! You guys are roadies?" We both nodded, sheepishly. "So are we! Who do you work for?"

Shit, what if we said a name and they knew the band? Our cover would be totally blown. Lil stepped in, leaving me to let out a breathe of relief. "Oh, you wouldn't know who these guys are. They just aren't your neck of the woods, pretty new band and a completely different style."

"So, you two are taking a break from your band by following the festival?"

"Yeah." She reassured.

"May I speak to my brother privately for a moment?" MB asked, and slowly stood up.

The two of them walked away and started talking quietly. Meanwhile, mine and Lil's hearts were about to burst. She was sickly pale and her eyes were glued to the two men a few feet away from us. I punched her in the arm and groaned.

"Look what fucking happened!" I hissed. "I knew these guys were fucking trouble, I bet they're planning a way to turn us in right now!"

"We're fucking roadies, Jen? Really? That's the best you could come up with?" Lil snapped back viciously.

"You weren't any better!" I buried my face in my hands and rested my elbows on the table. "Fuck, we're so fucked! This is so bad..."

"They're coming back, shut up!" Lil shoved my elbow out from under me and I snapped my head up.

Jason looked down at the two of us and smiled, "Now, we're only asking because we like you girls so much..and feel free to say no. But, the band we work for just recently had to send a member of the crew home because of some health issues."

"So now, we're short a roadie." MB added.

"We've always needed some extra help, now more than ever, so we thought maybe you two could help. You know what's expected, and you're already following the festival. Are you two up for it? We can pay you."

Lil looked at me expectantly and I stared her down. There is no way in hell we are taking up that offer. Over my fucking dead body.

"I don't think-" I started but Lil interrupted me.

"We're gonna have to talk this through before we make any decisions. Anyways, we should head out." Lil looked at me and smiled, but her eyes glared into mine. "Jason, I have your number, so we'll let you know."

"Sounds good." He grinned and watched Lil get up and walk towards me.

"Nice meeting you." I stated blatantly as I walked past MB.

"Thanks for the fun night, you two!" Lil giggled as we headed towards the exit.

As soon as the door shut behind us, I smacked Lil on the shoulder as hard as I could. "So much for hiding! We have no idea the people they work for! They could have security personnel around them all the fucking time! You're so fuckin' dense."

"How else are we gonna make money? Any other place would require a background check and identification." Lil argued.

"You are fucking insane if you think I'm going to agree to this."

"We're also going to be all over the country, that'll totally throw people off our trail..."
I stopped and stared Lil down. "No means no. End of discussion." I hissed and stormed off.

What the hell was she thinking?

Notes

Hello loves!
Hope you all have had a very Merry Christmas and a very Happy Hanukkah!
Happy holidays from me and my lovely co-author! <3
Will Jonah and Jen cross paths again?
Will Lil convince Jen to take the job?
What's next for our lovely little jail birds?
Stay tuned and enjoy! <3

-a7x_deathbats6661