by Green, Maree
I didn’t need to look to know that hurt him. He’d offloaded on me only four days ago, and here I was, shutting him out.
“Pity you don’t have your axe here, man. That would be a way more constructive way to vent,” Matt said, a tinge of amusement in his voice.
Yeah, it fucking would’ve. Shit, I could’ve gone to the music room and done something smart, but then again, I probably would’ve ended up smashing up the school’s equipment or something.
The sound of the door opening had us all looking up. Miss Waters frowned when she saw us all sitting around like we were at a fucking scout camp or some shit.
“Do I need to remind you boys that this room is off limits at this time?”
Dean smiled. “No, ma’am.”
She sighed. “Are you already trying to escape your fans?”
“We just needed a break from it for a while Miss. Sorry, this is the first place we found,” Aiden said quietly.
She eyed him for a minute then nodded. “Well, I’d rather see you guys struggling and working out how to come to terms with these kinds of things than you all being cocky assholes who think it’s their dues. It shows character and maturity which you’re going to need if you want to stay sane and alive where you’re headed.”
We all blinked at her brashness, a little stunned she would be so forward.
“I’ll let it slide this time, but try to be a little more respectful of the rules next time boys.”
She gave us a harsh look before stepping back out the door and closing it behind her. We looked at each other for a minute after she left then burst out laughing.
“Did that just fucking happen?” Matt asked, wiping his eye.
I stood, grabbing my shirt and shucking it back on again. That was fucking gold. I’d never come across Miss Waters before, but I fucking loved her now. “How much time have we got?” I asked no one in particular.
“About half. Why?” Dean said.
“Let’s hit the stage.”
They grinned. “Fuck yeah!”
Chapter 19
Mia
I wasn’t sure what had happened back on the green. One minute I’d been laughing at Kaeli’s description of Aaron trying to dress for success, and the next, Jace had been striding away like a man possessed. I’d watched with alarm as Aiden, Matt, and Dean gave each other a knowing look and quickly got up to follow him.
Kaeli had given me a ‘what the hell’ look, and I’d just shrugged. It beat me. I had no idea what was going on.
It wasn’t long after that that we heard the music start up. Everyone did. It was like a mass exodus off the green and into the auditorium, people hollering and yahoo-ing the whole way. Of course, we followed.
Watching the guys on stage was a real eye opener for me. Even though I’d heard them while they’d rehearsed down in the dungeon, and had seen the YouTube clips they’d uploaded to the net, I’d never actually seen them perform before. Not that they were really performing like they would at a proper gig, but the way they played was just mind blowing.
I watched Jace mostly. There just seemed to be an intensity about him while he was up on that stage. One that I hadn’t seen before in any video clip. It was more like the Jace I knew in private. The one who let himself go and felt.
The thought of him like that stuck with me all the way through gym class, and again as I walked with Kaeli to Food Science. Kaeli was carefully keeping her thoughts to herself as we navigated the halls together, aware that this was only my second day of attempting the halls and not wanting to push me past my limits.
“Do you want to do something tonight?” she asked quietly when we reached the classroom.
I glanced up at her, surprised but excited. “Definitely.”
“What about movies and sleep over at your house?”
My eyes bulged. “Yes! Josh’s new movie’s playing. I want to see it so bad.”
She clapped her hands and did a little happy dance. “Yeah, Willow’s Way. I want to see that too. He was so excited when we were talking about it on Chat. He thinks his whole career is riding on it.”
“God, he has to put up with so much stress, doesn’t he? I’m so happy he’s still in touch with the guys. He might be able to help them learn how to deal with all the bullshit that goes along with the fame.”
Her gaze turned dead serious. “Mia, that’s the first time I’ve really heard the guys play.” She shook her head with wonder. “They’re really good, and I mean really good. They’re going to be huge.”
I inhaled deeply. “I know.” I just hoped they were ready for it.
***
Seeing Josh on the big screen was amazing. Kaeli and I couldn’t stop giggling at all the girls who were sighing and proclaiming their undying love for him when he first came on screen. It was just surreal. But the movie was incredible. We both walked out of there shaking our heads at how unbelievably good he was as an actor. He blew us away.
Driving back home, we decided to send him a text to let him know how much we loved it. Kaeli typed it while I drove.
Just saw Willow’s Way. Best. Movie. Ever. We love you!! xx Kaeli & Mia
She hit send, not really expecting a reply, but a few minutes later, one came through anyway.
Awww, my biggest, most beautiful, supporters. I love you girls too! Miss you all soooo much :(
When Kaeli read it out, we both turned to mush. He was so sweet. We agreed on a reply and Kaeli typed.
We miss you too. Look after yourself & stay away from those bitches!
We giggled, our minds going wild with what he might respond with.
Haha! I’m trying – on both counts! Heard the guys are opening for the Hybrid boys. Awesome!
Yeah, they’re so excited. They crashed the auditorium today and played an impromptu concert before Mr. Daniels shut them down.
Haha! OMG I wish I had’ve been there to see it.
I laughed, remembering the look on Mr. Daniels face. “Tell him he could probably see it on YouTube.” Kaeli giggled at the thought and set her fingers flying.
You could probably catch it on YouTube. We’re sure someone put it up.
I’m going to do that right now. Thanks for thinking of me. I love that I can still be part of your group without anyone getting all weird.
We love that you let us Mr. Rich & Famous ;)
xxx
Kaeli sighed. “Oh my god. I love him soooo much.”
I gave her a look.
“Not like that, miss read-between-the-lines. Like a brother. He’s so sweet and caring and down to earth. He doesn’t trust many people these days, so I think he really values what we have as a group. I think it helps that he knows Fighting Fate’s going to be big, you know? Like he’s got something in common with them.”
I nodded. “Yeah, I know what you’re saying.”
We pulled up at my house and dawdled inside. When we were spread out on my bed, Kaeli cleared her throat and gave me an expectant look. “So what’s going on with Jace?”
I froze. “What do you mean?”
She rolled her eyes. “Don’t play innocent. There’s been something between you two since Aspen.”
I looked at her and bit my lip. I really didn’t want to keep it a secret from her anymore. “We’ve gotten together a couple of times since Aspen.”
“Shit. Really?”
I sighed. “Yeah, but after hearing about Violet, I just can’t do it.”
She plucked at a piece of lint on my bed and frowned. “Do you still think a relationship is out for you? I mean, you seem to be much more comfortable around people now. Maybe it’s something for you to think about.”
I hadn’t thought about it like that. I’d only been thinking of making things easier for Aiden. “I don’t know. Maybe…”
The truth was, I wasn’t exactly sure of anything anymore. I’d thought everything I was doing was for everyone’s benefit, but I’d clearly got that wrong with Aiden. Did that mean I’d got it wrong with Jace too? And what about myself? Was I stil
l hiding behind excuses?
I shook my head and exhaled. I couldn’t think about it anymore. It was doing my head in. The only thing that would work for me at this point in time was more time.
Chapter 20
Jace
It was the first live show we’d done since our YouTube clip went viral, and it was fucking awesome. It was the biggest damned crowd we’d ever played to, and the atmosphere was so insanely amped, it was like there was a fucking electric current zipping through the air. I swear we’d never played so hard in all our fucking lives.
I knew the reason I was so off the charts was because I was still carrying the full weight of what I was feeling for Mia, and I also knew I would continue to be like that until I stopped sitting on the fence about it. For now though, I didn’t want to think about which side I wanted to jump off. I just didn’t want to face that yet.
After the show, we joined the crowd to party like we always did, but instead of the usual few fans who liked to come say hi, we suddenly found ourselves completely swamped. It was insane.
Aiden, being the fucking legend he is, managed to get us some seats, and then some beers. After playing so hard, the first two went down easy. Too easy. I probably should’ve had some water, but my head was still somewhere up in the clouds. Not long after that, the girls came.
I watched them as they slinked on in wearing skirts that were borderline belts, willing my dick to pay attention, but frustratingly, he seemed to have turned into a one girl kind of man.
Downing half my beer, I let the blonde who’d been eyeing me off slide in beside me, hoping that the combination of the beer and her touch would spark something. She smiled widely, showing off her sparkling white teeth. “Hi, I’m Leah.”
I groaned. Why did she have to have a name that sounded so fucking much like Mia? I took another long swig of my beer before answering. “Jace.”
“You sounded really good on the guitar.”
I smirked. “Thanks.”
She cocked her head to the side as she studied me. “You look different than you do on YouTube.”
I hadn’t heard that before. “Good or bad?”
“Oh definitely good. You look…” her eyes ran down my length. “…hot.”
Damn, she was good. I reckon I could have her sucking my cock in five minutes flat. Maybe I could just close my eyes and pretend she was Mia. Yeah, because that didn’t defeat the purpose or anything…
I cleared my throat. “So, you live around here?”
She smiled again. “No, we came down from Redding when we heard you guys were going to be playing tonight.”
Holy shit. I couldn’t believe people were actually travelling to come see us.
“Is it true you’re going to be touring with The Dark Hybrid?” she asked.
I took another swig of my beer and nodded.
“That’s so cool. I might even go buy a ticket now.”
I looked over at Dean, watching him talk to a couple of hotties. He always seemed to be able to maintain a slight distance from them. I hadn’t really thought about it before, but now I was curious how he did it without pissing them off.
Leah touched my arm softly, her fingers lingering with intent. “Do you want to go somewhere more private?”
I knocked back my third beer, feeling the beginning of a slight buzz. Well fucking shit. This was a situation I hadn’t been in before. I sat forward and sighed, rubbing my hand across my forehead. “Sorry. I can’t.”
I felt her shift beside me. “Oh. Is there someone else?”
Yes. No. I didn’t fucking know. “I guess you could say that.” I glanced back at her to make sure she wasn’t about to go all psycho on my ass, but she only had her lips pressed into a defeated smile.
“She’s a lucky girl.”
I wished someone would tell her that. I shrugged, suddenly wanting to be anywhere but there. “Thanks for the chat, Leah. I’m glad you enjoyed the show.” Shoving off the couch, I looked over at Matt who had some redhead sitting on his lap. “I’m out of here.”
He looked surprised, but I didn’t stop to explain. I just wanted to be gone. Pushing my way through the crowd, I hit the pavement and just kept going.
I had no idea where I was heading, but when I turned onto 2nd St, I had an idea. Walking two more blocks, I saw the lights on and smiled.
Dan looked up when I pushed through the door and laughed. “I wondered when you’d be coming in. Don’t tell me you’re finally going to do it.”
I looked around the cozy tattoo shop. Dan was Matt’s older brother’s best friend. “Yep. You still got the design?”
“Fuck yeah I do. You wanna do it now?” He was grinning from ear to ear now.
Matt, Dean, Aiden and I had designed a ‘Fighting Fate’ tattoo when we’d first started the band. We had intentions of getting it at the same time when we finally made it. I figured now was as good of a time as any. “Yeah, I do.”
“Awesome, man. I did some work on it when Paul told me you were getting offers shoved down your throats.” He went behind the counter and opened a drawer, pulling out a file. He slid it across the bench top. “What do you think?”
I looked down at his drawing. It was a tribal type design with hidden music notes and our band name woven into it. It was still basically what we’d designed, but a hundred times better – more intricate and meaningful. “I love it.”
“Where are you thinking?”
“Arm. I’d like to eventually extend it down and have a full sleeve.”
He nodded enthusiastically. “Yeah, man. I can do that. You could even extend it up over your shoulder a bit and down over your pec. That would look fucking awesome.”
I nodded, his enthusiasm jumping to me like wildfire. Fuck yeah.
I followed him into the back room where a couple of other guys were already working. Dan slapped one guy on the back who was sitting back, watching. “Hey guys. You remember Jace, Pauly’s little brother’s mate?”
They all looked at me. One of the artists lifted an eyebrow. “You in the band?”
I nodded. “Yeah, we just finished a gig down the road.”
“Pauly says you’re going to be touring with The Dark Hybrid. That’s gotta be pretty intense.”
My gaze flickered to Dan as he flittered around, getting everything ready. “Fuck yeah. Those guys are insane.”
“Yeah, but they’re fucking awesome,” Dan said. “Come on. Sit your ass down. I’ve been dying to do this for years.”
Chapter 21
Mia
By the time Sunday night came around, I was quite pleased with the fact that I’d managed to avoid Aiden and Jace since Friday. Not that it was difficult. Aiden didn’t come home on Friday night after their gig, and Saturday, Mom said he and the guys had some band stuff to go over with Mr. Thomas - Dean’s dad. He’d been more or less acting as their manager since everything turned chaotic.
Other than that, I didn’t know where they’d been, or what they’d been doing. Even though it kind of drove me a little crazy, I preferred it that way.
Mom had gone out to a cooking class she’d enrolled in a few months earlier, and I still didn’t know where Aiden was, so I was home alone and taking advantage of being able to play my own kind of music. Loud.
When the doorbell rang just after six o’clock, I’d just finished doing a work out and was contemplating having a shower. I jogged to the door, knowing it would be someone for Aiden. It always was. I just hoped it wasn’t any of his groupies. Ewww.
Opening the door hesitantly, I peered out the crack. When I saw Jace standing there with his hands in his pockets, I froze.
He gave me one of his cute crooked smiles and shrugged. “Hi.”
I took a deep breath. Jace was the last person I’d expected to see. Being alone with him was definitely not a good idea. My ability to control myself when I was around him was practically non-existent.
“Uh…Aiden’s not home,” I said, hoping to avert my soon to be crisis.
&nbs
p; The smile disappeared. “I know. He’s at a party with Matt and Dean.”
Okay, now I was just confused. If he knew where Aiden was then why was he here?
“He said your mom was at a cooking class, so I was hoping I could talk to you.”
He wanted to talk to me? But why? I blinked. Oh Crap. Not good.
“So…can I come in?”
Slowly, I stepped back and opened the door for him. Without another word, I turned and walked back to my room. I had no idea what I was doing. I think I was panicking, but not in the way I was used to. This was more like from nerves and hormones.
I went straight to my stereo and turned down the volume so it was only just audible. When I turned back to the door, Jace was standing just inside my room. He had this tiny little smile on his lips that made me all jittery inside. “You like Rihanna?”
I inhaled and exhaled like I did for yoga. “Sure.”
He stood there like that for a little while, looking at me like he was trying to figure something out.
“Why are you here, Jace?” I asked softly.
He inhaled slowly and tucked his hands into the pockets of his jeans again. He looked nervous. Oh no. I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to deal with whatever he was here for. I walked over to the bed and climbed into the middle, crossing my legs and hugging my pillow.
Jace cautiously moved towards me and sat, but just on the edge. He looked so serious now. He sighed. “I don’t know. I’ve been thinking about this all weekend and it’s driving me fucking crazy. I guess, first I just wanted you to know the truth.”
He paused and looked at me, contemplating. For some reason I was holding my breath. The truth about what?
“I never had sex with Kacey or Violet. I actually haven’t slept with anyone but you since Aspen.”
I stared at him. That was not what I was expecting him to say. My mind raced, trying to process his words. He didn’t sleep with either of them? He hadn’t slept with anyone but me since our first time? Holy shit. “Why didn’t you tell me before?” I whispered.