Authors: Heidi Hutchinson
“
Baby!
Where have you been? I was so worried!” She glared at Lenny
over Luke’s shoulder and Lenny rolled her eyes. It was weird,
when Ashton called Luke, ‘baby’, Lenny didn’t hear
it as a term of endearment. It sounded more like piglets squealing
at their mother’s teat.
Luke stepped around
her, “I was with my friends, I don't have to check in with
you.” She backed up at his curt reply.
Ashton shook it off
and ran to catch up to Luke, snaking her arm around his. Lenny had
to give it to her; the girl was either very persistent or thick as a
brick. Luke pulled his arm away and entered the bus, Ashton close on
his heels.
“
My
coffee angel,” Carl greeted Lenny as she handed him a cup of
steaming coffee she had brought with her from the diner. “I
thought you might forget since the plans were a little different.”
“
I
could never forget you, old man,” she flashed a smiled. “How
did it go?” Lenny asked, she’d been slightly concerned
for Carl’s safety once Ashton found out they had ditched her.
“
I
think she put a hex on me,” Carl said honestly.
“
That
girl has issues, that’s for sure,” Lenny agreed. “The
guys have decided to all ride in the same bus until Ashton gets her
own.” Carl nodded his approval. “And, they’ve
started a shower strike,” she added slowly.
“
Not
that shit again,” Carl sounded annoyed but his eyes held a hint
of amusement, “This is gonna get gross, you know.”
“
They
made me agree to it, too.” Lenny winced at her own confession
and watched for his reaction.
Carl burst out
laughing, “Ashton is gonna be so pissed.”
***
Sound check was
amazing. The guys were presenting a united front and it greatly
improved the mood of the crew. They weren't going to let Ashton get
her way anymore. In fact, they were doing a pretty good job of
humiliating her. She was constantly lurking about and it only
provided more fuel to rip on her. It’s like she couldn’t
take a hint.
“
Why
don’t you go hang out with your minions? They like you…at
least that’s what you pay them to do,” Blake remarked as
Ashton stood in the way of everyone.
“
Shut
up, Blake,” she bit, “No one likes you, you’re just
a washed up has-been from the gutter.”
Blake's jaw worked
under his skin and he growled back, “That’s better than
being a vapid whore with daddy issues.”
“
Who
says you don’t have daddy issues, orphan?” Ashton's sneer
was heard more than seen.
“
I
like your spray tan. What shade is that? Overcooked yam?”
The exchange of
insults continued throughout the afternoon until Ashton threatened to
call the Orphan Bus to reclaim Blake and he, in turn, threatened to
set all of her undergarments on fire during her set.
Harrison intervened
at that point, and convinced everyone to separate for the remainder
of the evening so they could concentrate on why they were really all
there...for the fans.
When Double Blind
Study played their opening song, the crowd went nuts. The place
erupted with the standard crowd surfers and slam dancers but they
were fueled by a more intense energy than ever before. Lenny thought
the roof was going to blow off, the fans yelled so loud. She was
tempted to jump into the crowd and let them carry her away.
“
They’re
on
tonight.” Greg shook his head as he tried to keep up with all
the changes to the set list. The band pulled out some classics they
hadn’t played in a while. Fan favorites and B-sides. It felt
more like a jam session then a regular set. Lenny knew it was due to
their impromptu road trip so they could reconnect to one another.
Ashton's witchcraft
be damned.
***
It was day three of
the shower embargo and Lenny felt her greasy hair with her
fingertips. She made a face and brushed it into a tight bun on top
of her head. She was really looking forward to that suite that Carl
had promised her at the end of the week.
The plan was working
very well. Ashton was so mad she couldn’t spit straight. She
complained about the smell constantly and she stopped trying to get
close to Luke. She kept making digs at Lenny about her trucker
appearance, but Lenny always had a quick comeback that shut her up.
For the most part.
Lenny was alone in
the bus, restocking and refilling the supplies. She was making a
list on the counter when she felt the hair on the back of her neck
stick up. She raised her eyes to see Ashton staring at her. She was
wearing a little pink dress that could be mistaken for a negligee,
her voluptuous breasts proudly on display.
“
Don’t
forget to put
soap
on your list,” she snarked.
“
Good
one,” Lenny said flatly.
“
Aren’t
you embarrassed of yourself?” Ashton looked her up and down,
“I mean, the grunge look is a little outdated.”
Lenny glanced down
at her dirty jeans and stained t-shirt. She wasn’t feeling
great about how she looked but she wouldn’t give Ashton the
satisfaction of knowing that. She shrugged and responded, “At
least no one has mistaken me for a hooker.”
Ashton’s nose
flared and her lips pursed together tightly.
Sway skipped up the
steps of the bus and into the room. “Uh-oh, do I smell
tension?” He waggled his eyebrows.
“
No,
that’s Lenny’s ass,” Ashton said haughtily. She
started to wave her hand across her face and scrunched up her nose.
“Sway! You stink, too!”
Sway only laughed
and got a water bottle out of the fridge.
“
How
was sound check?” Lenny asked, blocking out Ashton’s
presence.
“
Good.
Solid.” Sway thought for a minute and then asked Lenny, “You
wanna make out?”
“
Sway,
you really would screw anything, wouldn’t you? You have no
standards.” Ashton said with disgust.
“
That’s
not true.” Sway said sweetly, pushing his long, stringy hair
out of his face. “I can honestly say that I have never wanted
to bag you.”
Ashton sputtered
something unintelligible and stomped outside.
Sway laughed as she
left then hugged Lenny to his side, “I don’t really wanna
make out.”
“
I
know.”
“
I
mean, unless, you want to,” he arched an eyebrow at her.
Lenny pushed him
away and rolled her eyes.
“
Okay,
okay. But let me know if you change your mind,” he winked and
left again.
Lenny changed the
sheets in the bunks and picked up the garbage that littered the
floors. She considered not changing the sheets in Ashton’s
bunk but thought better of it. As she was pulling out the dirty,
used blankets her notebook fell out onto the floor.
Lenny
slowly picked it up, remembering that Luke had been the last one to
have it. Why was it in Ashton’s bunk? Lenny paged through it
and noticed some marks and notes had been made. She recognized
Luke’s handwriting but that still didn’t explain why she
found it where she did. She wasn’t that upset about it. She
wasn’t
thrilled
but she figured Ashton was planning something devious and Lenny had
caught her before she could pull it off.
She tucked the
notebook into a small cupboard behind the TV in the back lounge and
checked the time. A half hour till Ashton’s set. Lenny opted
to leave her jacket despite the chilly fall air. She knew the arena
would be hot with all the bodies jumping up and down. She jogged
over to the stage area and took her seat next to Greg.
The lights came down
and the band started up. Ashton appeared on stage and began wooing
the crowd with her haunting voice and complicated, nonsensical
lyrics. Her set was the usual, nothing extraordinary, until her
closing song.
“
I
wrote this when I was going through a tough time in my life. I
finally feel comfortable sharing it with you tonight.” Lenny
gagged at Greg and he laughed. But as Ashton’s delicate vocals
drifted slowly and seductively over the air, Lenny got a sinking
feeling in her stomach and goose bumps stood up on her arms.
“
That
bitch!” Lenny said out loud. Greg frowned at her, confused.
“She stole my song! I wrote that!”
As soon as the
encore finished, Luke threw his guitar to one of the nearby techs and
hurried to the bus. He had to get to Lenny before she got to Ashton.
During the entire set he struggled with focus as different scenarios
flashed through his mind. Most of them ended with Ashton slapping
Lenny with a restraining order and Lenny having to leave the tour.
Luke couldn't let
that happen. He had no idea what was in the future for them but he
couldn't lose her. Not yet.
The bus was empty.
His heart started to beat with something akin to panic. He checked
the other buses. Empty. The stage was getting broken down when he
checked the sound booth.
“
Where
did Lenny go?” Luke asked Greg who was closing down his
equipment.
“
I
don’t know, man, but she was pissed. Are you sure you want to
find her?” He called after Luke’s retreating back.
Luke was in a full
out run, he hadn’t seen Ashton or Lenny since the end of the
show and he wasn't liking the disappearing act. He knew that Ashton
had crossed the mother of all lines and she deserved whatever she was
getting but Luke didn't want Lenny to have to deal with all that
alone. Ashton would ruin everything if given the opportunity. She
knew exactly what she was doing and it made him sick to his stomach.
He ran back inside
the venue and almost knocked over Carl.
“
Have
you seen Lenny?” Luke panted.
“
Yeah,
she’s in the office,” he pointed to the door he had just
come from, “I was just coming to find you. Have you seen
Ashton?”
Luke shook his head
and entered the small, dimly lit room. She was sitting in a chair at
a desk talking on her cell phone and jotting down a few notes. She
looked up at Luke and gave him a quick smile and went back to her
conversation.
“
Yep,
we’ll be in Denver tomorrow….great, see you then.”
She hung up the phone and turned her attention to Luke’s
worried expression.
“
That
was my lawyer,” she explained, looking almost
annoyed
.
“
Your
lawyer?” Luke was trying to follow along. His head swirled
with confusion from adjusting to the drastic change in what he had
expected to find and the reality sitting before him.
Lenny frowned at
him, “Are you okay?”
“
Are
you?” Luke didn’t understand why he had hadn’t
found Lenny with her fingers wrapped around Ashton's throat.
“
Yeah,
why?” She smiled, “Oh, because of Bitchy McThievery
stealing my song?”
Luke nodded,
watching her warily. His heartbeat thudding in his ears as he tried
to calm down from the last few minutes of anxiety that he had just
experienced.
“
Scott,
always trying to protect me,” she rolled her eyes, “came
across my journal awhile back and made me get a copyright...So, I’m
suing her.” She ended with a wink.
Luke closed his eyes
and a low chuckle started that grew into full on belly laughter as he
released the tension that had been building during the whole show.
He reached over and grabbed Lenny’s hand and pulled her into a
hug, still laughing.
“
What’s
so funny?” Her voice was muffled against his shirt.