by Brooks, Tori
“Right.” Dev nodded again. “I would have been catatonic.”
“Yeah, well, stay away from her. I don’t think therapy will hold if you approach her again,” Jess said.
“Dev approached Rene?” Kenny asked.
“Yeah,” Jess answered. “I had girls hanging on me or I would have gotten there faster.”
“That explains the one you still had,” Dev said, laughing. “She looked like she was ready to kill whoever tried to dislodge her.”
“And you owe me for that one. I couldn’t shake her, so I just put my arm around her waist, pulled her close and dragged her along with me. She must have thought we were going to have some fun. Instead I went to rescue you, and ended up spending the next fifteen minutes tactfully trying to tell Rene it’d be best if she avoided our venues from now on. That’s not easy to do when there are witnesses.”
“Did you manage it?” Kenny asked.
“I’m not sure. I hate to say it, but I think I might have to drop in on her father when we get back.”
“Take Dev with you,” Kenny said.
“What?” Jess looked at him in shock.
“He deserves it.”
○ ○ ○
As the tour progressed, Dev noticed a slow change happening backstage after the shows. After Seattle, he came off stage, and immediately shadowed Bryan until he could slip away. Dev didn’t leave Bryan’s side for any reason.
The fourth stop in, something unusual happened. Instead of Bryan and Dev being surrounded by musicians trying to talk shop with Bryan and girls trying to coax a conversation out of Dev, Kenny had all the musicians. Jess’s group was slightly larger, leaving Bryan and Dev with a handful of girls – but they weren’t the type Dev was used to seeing. To begin with, the girls were quieter. After an awkward moment of silence, Bryan started the conversation. They also wore slightly more clothes and less makeup than most of the other girls in the room.
Dev wasn’t sure what to think. The same thing happened at the fifth stop, and the sixth. The difference on the sixth was a couple of girls kept glancing over to where other girls were hanging on Jess. The pieces fell into place.
“Wait a second,” Dev said when Bryan seemed done telling them about some prank Dev and Jess played on Kenny years ago. “Did Kenny interview you and pull you ladies aside?”
“No, an older guy,” a dyed redhead said. It wasn’t until that moment Dev noticed there hadn’t been any goths in the group. Nothing even close. Interesting.
“Alec? Shorter than me with gray streaks?”
“That’s him,” a brunette agreed.
“Uh-huh.” Dev looked at Bryan.
“Don’t look at me. It’s not worth it to get involved in this.” Bryan shook his head.
“Who would you bet on?” Dev asked.
Bryan surveyed the girls. “You’d have to ask Alec. He wouldn’t do this on his own.”
The brunette looked back over her shoulder at Jess, or at someone in the group surrounding him. Both her and a blond had done that a couple of times, Dev realized. They may be interested in Jess, or possibly they were here with friends.
Bryan told them about the first prank Dev played on Jess, when they played for Zane. Dev had been tuning it out but blushed when he realized they were talking about him and watching him in awe now.
“Dev, you never told anyone how you did that,” Bryan prompted.
“I told Flynn.”
“Really?”
“Yeah.” Dev glanced at Jess and then back at the girls. He felt sorry for them now. They were being used. “Listen, don’t tell Jess. It was all radio controlled. The truck, the mini robots, everything. They all were homing in on a beacon in Jess’s shoes. Then I put shock plates in there too, so when he stepped on the mini-bots, it shocked him.”
Bryan laughed. “You really need to do that again sometime. He’ll remember it, of course. It’ll freak him out.”
“The stage is a lot bigger. He has somewhere to run now.” Dev shook his head. Then he stopped and thought about it. “I could make it work. I’ll file that away.” He nodded.
“Listen,” Dev continued, “another thought: how many of you are college students?”
All except one raised her hand. Dev pointed to her.
“Not until next year. I want to major in mechanical engineering though so he said okay. I thought it was a weird question.”
Dev smiled and nodded. “Yes and no. Good for you. It explains why you’re over here.”
“Why?” the future engineering student asked.
“Jess wouldn’t be able to keep up,” Bryan answered.
One of the blonds got bold and stepped closer to Dev. “You’re young, cute, rich, and from Seattle, just like in Fifty Shades of Grey,” she said, chewing artfully on her bottom lip.
Dev tried to back away, but ran into the wall.
“What’s your major?” he croaked.
“English Literature.”
“Oh. Well, I’ve never read it,” Dev said, shaking his head.
“I could show you the high points,” she offered and edged forward a little more. The girls behind her watched with interest and Dev nudged Bryan to remind him he was supposed to be helping him fend off the predators in pink.
“I’m fine, thanks,” Dev answered.
The blond opened her mouth to respond, but Bryan took her upper arm and pulled her away from Dev and to his side, using himself as a barrier between them. Dev breathed a sigh of relief. His stomach turned as he saw the amused smiles on the faces of the other girls. He was going to kill someone if this didn’t stop.
On the way back to the hotel, Dev was quiet.
“So what do you think?” Bryan asked.
“I’m betting our nosy leader put Alec up to it,” Dev said quietly so Kenny and Jess wouldn’t overhear.
“Thought so too.” Bryan nodded. Dev could barely see him in the crowd. “Let me handle it.”
“Fine. It’ll be more peaceful that way,” Dev agreed.
○ ○ ○
The crowd was starting to swell backstage at the same rate Dev’s nerves were fraying. What was in store for him tonight? Being on stage wasn’t so bad anymore, at least he’d gotten past that. Flynn said he would, Dev admitted with grudging relief. Of course now backstage after the show was more of a problem. On their first tour everyone was so worried he was going to have a nervous breakdown they shielded him. Occasionally Jess distracted the groupies and let Dev escape to the waiting limo to hide out back at the hotel.
Ever since he and Lindsay broke up, no one would let him slip away anymore. They wanted him to ‘get over it’ which officially meant his near-crippling shyness. In reality they meant his pining over Lindsay. Except their version of ‘get over it’ was ‘pick someone else.’ He should have a breakdown in sheer revenge. He could probably throw a good one.
Dev popped open another Diet Coke as Kenny appeared beside him with a blond in tow. He passed over Kenny and eyed the blond apprehensively. Here we go again, Dev took a deep breath. In theory Bryan handled it.
“Hey, Dev, this is Tamara. You both speak science, I thought maybe you’d be a better fit to teach her about music,” Kenny said casually.
“Sound waves?” Dev asked.
“Music numbskull.” Kenny batted Dev lightly on the side of his head. “Leave the romantic tech talk at home. The poetry of sound.”
He gave Tamara another look. Her blond hair was in a sloppy ponytail and she had a sweatshirt on that demonstrated proof that the square root of two was an irrational number. She wasn’t wearing mascara. On the surface Kenny’s story was good, but something didn’t sit right with Dev.
“Better than Vogon Poetry, rumor has it that’ll have you chewing your leg off,” Dev said, trying to gauge Tamara’s reaction. He knew the only reaction he’d get from Kenny was confusion; he never read the sci-fi classic Dev referenced – despite whining, cajoling, and bribery on his part. Tamara didn’t catch the reference either. Pity.
�
��Not familiar with Vogon poetry? Well, don’t panic. Travel much?” Dev tried again.
“Not really,” Tamara shook her head and her ponytail bounced prettily. Dev watched it, momentarily enthralled by the motion. Just physics, he reminded himself.
“Well, when you do, don’t forget your towel. Maybe you can pick one up in Raccoon City. The Umbrella Corporation makes an array of products there.”
Tamara blinked and looked to Kenny for guidance. Dev thought that was an excellent idea. Not knowing Douglas Adams’ The Hitchhikers’ Guide To The Galaxy was an almost unforgivable offense in Dev’s mind. It certainly meant she wasn’t a serious geek. Not catching a reference to Resident Evil was ... Dev wasn’t sure what it was, but it was bad.
Dev turned his attention to Kenny. “Where did you meet her?”
“Science convention of some kind,” Kenny shrugged. “It was in the hotel’s convention center. I’m surprised you didn’t go look yourself.”
He remembered. The convention was winding down as their tour buses pulled in. Dev glanced at it, but it was of minimal interest. He assumed it was something to let the local science teachers make students go visit for extra credit. The participants were most likely college students doing it for extra credit themselves, or garage scientists hoping their idea was innovative enough to be able to sell.
Dev re-examined Tamara as a whole. Her complexion was flawless, but that didn’t necessarily mean anything. Her teeth were straight but so were his, genetics could go a long way. Her teeth were brilliantly white, like his, and he knew that was a cheat. Now that he was looking, the highlights in her hair were professional, definitely after market. Not that geeks couldn’t get their hair done.
Tamara had her hands clasped behind her back so Dev couldn’t casually inspect her nails to see how much she spent on a manicure. He was willing to bet if he looked her nails weren’t her own. He didn’t care, other than unpolished, uneven nails would have made him drop his growing suspicion Kenny was trying to pull something.
“So Tamara, your shirt: just like square roots, irrational numbers, or math in general?”
“What?” She looked down at her sweatshirt, and Dev almost laughed out loud when her eyes darted involuntarily to Kenny looking for an answer before she regained her composure. It was brief, a fraction of a second really, but Dev caught it. So did Kenny.
“Dev, cut it out,” Kenny snapped.
“Hmm?”
“Irrational numbers?” Kenny asked, “Really? Who even knows what those are?”
“Well ‘rational’ refers to ‘ratio’ and they’re numbers that –”
“I don’t care!” Kenny snapped. “Tamara, you were great, take a hike,” Kenny told the blond and Dev didn’t protest as he watched her go. He awarded himself points on his arbitrary scoreboard when he noticed her nails were long, squared off, and bright green.
Dev turned to face his friend, who now had definite color in his cheeks, as Kenny shook his head and glared at him. Dev waited to see what Kenny was going to do or say next. In fairness, he was the one who should be irritated. He was the one who lost the love of his life. He was the one whose best friends wouldn’t support him in his quest to get her back. Or at least have the courtesy to drop it and let him pursue her on his own. This ongoing persistence to replace Lindsay was annoying. Worse, it was insulting. As if he couldn’t decide on his own if and when he was ready to give up on their relationship and move on.
“Listen, Dev,” Kenny started, then paused. He sighed and Dev waited. “How long is this going to go on?”
“What?”
“She was cute.”
“She was. Picked her up at some science thing huh? Was she taking tickets at the door?”
Kenny looked down at his feet with a grin. “She was the assistant for some project. Her sole scientific purpose for being there was to hold an aluminum rod with a wire on the end. Otherwise she was eye-candy to get people to come visit that booth. She even had a silver lamé outfit and stood on a little pedestal.”
Dev laughed. “Just as well I didn’t engage her in a conversation about, well, anything I was considering.”
“I was hoping you’d have a normal conversation with a girl for a change.”
“It happens, Kenny. They have to pass the preliminaries first, so knock it off. You’re not doing anyone any favors.”
“How about you give one a chance?”
“How about you let me just deal with this on my own?”
“Deal with it then. You’re walking around in a kind of daze. It’s like you’re in your own little world half the time. I’d really like to see you back on terra firma.”
“According to Bryan, I’m better than I was.”
Kenny took his upper arm and led him out of the green room. Dev wasn’t sure whether it was the contact that implied dominance or that Kenny was secluding him that made him nervous. They passed a pair of security guards and the halls were suddenly empty with the noise and bustle of activity behind them. Ahead a few yards was the door to the waiting limo. Kenny stopped and leaned against the wall. Dev stood in the hall and faced him.
“Improved, yes, but not recovered. You’re still a shadow of what you were,” Kenny said. The words didn’t bother Dev so much as Kenny’s cool hazel eyes looking straight into him. He wasn’t a psychiatrist, but at times like this, Dev had to remind himself of that. Kenny seemed to psychoanalyze him more than Dr. Braithewait did, and she was paid to.
“Get out of my head,” Dev said irritably, looking back down the hall. The guards still had their backs to them and didn’t give any indication they could hear the conversation. They were paid not to listen, in theory.
“Lately there hasn’t been any indication you’ve been spending time in there, so it seemed like a good idea for me to go rattling around to see what’s up.”
“Smart ass.”
“Get with the program. We’ve all noticed it. Except for Bryan, we’re all worried.”
“If Bryan’s not and I’m the subject of discussion, then ‘we’ consists of you and Jess. Jess is as deep as a kiddie pool, so that equates to just you. You need to get over it, Kenny.”
“Actually, it’s not just me,” Kenny called after him as Dev walked out the door to the waiting limo and left.
○ ○ ○
At the next stop, things were starting to improve. Almost. Kenny may have had Alec stop segregating girls for him, and may not be hand-picking girls from conventions, but that just meant Jess was free to do things his way.
The concert went as planned, with the exception of Jess’s microphone oozing slime during one song and Dev and Jess getting in a water balloon fight over the course of two others. Of course, for A Thousand Words concert, that was very nearly planned.
Backstage, things started normally. Dev stayed close to Bryan and wondered what would happen in a few days when Brenda joined them on the road. They answered questions about the process of writing music, while Dev tried not to blush as several girls simply stared at him.
A tap on his shoulder was the first hint of the evening sliding off course. Dev turned to see Jess standing there with a comely blond.
“Dev, this is Anne. She’s Pre-Med at the University of Utah, just home for the summer and catching our show. Chat awhile.” Jess placed Anne squarely in front of him and backed away to return to his own gaggle of groupies. Dev could have killed him.
“So, Pre-Med?” Dev asked with a smile. He had no idea what to do with this girl. “Did Jess run you through the wringer before he dragged you over here?”
She laughed. “He asked if I was single, in college, what my major was, if I could play an instrument, and let’s see, oh, yes, if I was a lesbian.”
Dev was following along, his heart sinking until she said lesbian, then he choked.
“Then he admitted he didn’t really care if I could play an instrument or not, apparently that isn’t one of your requirements.” Anne looked at him, he assumed she expected some sort of reaction. Dev s
hook his head, trying to formulate an adequate response, but the words wouldn’t come.
“I can play the saxophone, by the way. And I’m not a lesbian.”
“I’m sorry. I’d love to give you a more appropriate and poetic apology, but I’m horrified and the words just aren’t coming.”
She smiled and Dev felt a glimmer of hope he wouldn’t die of embarrassment after all.
“So what are your requirements, Devin Giles?” Anne asked.
“At the moment, I’ll take advantage of the fact that you’re Pre-Med and ask how many ways can you show me to maim Jess with guitar wire?”
Again, Bryan handled it to keep the fuss to a minimum, especially after overhearing the ideas Anne gave Dev on what could be done with guitar wire and a little electrical tape. Women still approached Dev backstage and introduced themselves, seemingly with expectations, but it was nothing that could be directly traced back to Kenny, Jess, or Alec no matter how much Dev questioned them. It didn’t take Dev long to realize he spent so much time questioning the women trying to decide who was setting him up, it could almost be construed as interviewing them himself. After that he stopped showing any interest at all, letting whoever was responsible off the hook entirely.
It wasn’t to say he wasn’t fed up. Dev was increasingly irritated his friends wouldn’t just let it go. He was stressed that he didn’t know who was responsible. Not Bryan, from the look of things. And now that Brenda had joined them on tour, Bryan wasn’t going to spend all his time shielding Dev from the other half of the band.
All in all, Dev felt more alone surrounded by his friends than he’d felt in a long time.
Chapter Twelve
Farther down the road, Kenny’s attention on Dev’s problems wavered and he seemed distracted when he wasn’t in the spotlight. Dev was relieved, but curious as well. And torn. He wanted to ask his friend about it, reach out and offer help if needed. At the same time, Dev didn’t want to remind Kenny that he was still there.
Still waffling in Houston, they attended a benefit dinner and Dev received his answer: Paige was there. She took her place at Kenny’s side and stayed there as they mingled. Kenny let his hand regularly slide around Paige’s waist to rest on her hip.