Brand New Sky

by Heidi Hutchinson

  They chose General Nuisance as the faux band name because Sway was weird about Buster Keaton films. Like, he loved them. But secretly.

  Sway's face relaxed and his eyes lost focus. “That's amazing,” he said quietly.

  Harrison shook Sway's shoulder a little to get his attention. “Good birthday present?”

  Sway nodded and then hugged his friend. “The best.”

  Chapter 10

  Times Like These

  Ryan stood at the edge of her lawn with her laptop bag thrown over one shoulder and watched the group of strangers making the final adjustments to the two vehicles they would be taking on this impromptu road trip.

  No one was watching her. She could very well be invisible in this moment.

  Meaning, she could still back out of this.

  Glancing over her shoulder at her beautiful, safe house, she considered rapidly what she'd say to Sway.

  She owed him nothing.

  So he had rubbed a bad cramp out of her butt. That didn't exactly mean she had to sacrifice her entire comfort zone as a birthday gift to him. At most, he could reasonably expect a nice thank you card and perhaps a pie.

  It wasn't normal for two people to care about each other the way they seemed to so quickly. It was hard to think straight, though. Because everything in her declared that she belonged with Sway, wherever that was. Even her brain, which is what she relied on the majority of the time, because it happened to be unusually sensible compared to others in her opinion. She didn't even want to get into what her heart was trying to tell her. It took an enormous amount of energy to ignore it. Mostly it was just beating out a waltz and hoping Sway asked her to dance again.

  “No!”

  A shout from one of the men drew her attention back to the group.

  She'd met them all. She knew their names. She wasn't their friend.

  Blake jogged around the back of the rear vehicle carrying a mid-size cooler and a wicked grin on his face. Harrison was right behind him.

  “Those sandwiches are mine, asshat!” Harrison called before both men were out of sight.

  Ryan accidentally had eye contact with Lenny as the tall blonde closed the driver's side door of the Expedition and lifted her sunglasses to the top of her head. The star athlete tried a hesitant smile and low wave but Ryan was still stuck in the “if I don't move they can't see me” mentality.

  This was a terrible idea.

  “This is how I die,” she said out loud. “Forced extroversion.”

  The activity surrounding the vehicles shifted and people quieted down while moving closer to the front of Tawny's house. Sway lifted his chin at her, his eyes asking her to join them.

  It reminded her of why she'd been talked into this ridiculous plan in the first place.

  Sway.

  Because he took away all of her excuses until the only one left was to say she didn't like him enough to leave her bubble. She wasn't prepared to say that.

  Luke came into view as he strode across Tawny's lawn with a guitar and settled himself on the top step, guitar across his lap. He didn't start speaking until everyone was close enough to hear.

  “It was Sway's eighteenth birthday and we were officially Double Blind Study.” Luke's face split into a half-grin. “I had to call into the school and pretend to be his dad so we could make this shitty bar tour that Carl had set up for us.”

  Ryan looked around the small crowd of rock stars and their women. Some of the faces were reliving the memory, some were hearing it for the first time. She was hit with the weight of the history that these men shared.

  “It was the beginning of all things awesome and terrifying,” Luke said softly. He took a deep breath and looked to Sway. “What better way to show our appreciation for you, Sway, than to make you relive that shitty bar tour.”

  Luke strummed a chord on the guitar and chuckled, looking down at the strings briefly. “So let's get this thing started the old fashioned way.”

  As Luke began to strum a tune that was familiar and comforting, Ryan felt something shift inside of her. She'd heard this song a million times, maybe more, but this was something she had never experienced.

  Luke's deep, gravelly voice crooned out the Creedence Clearwater Revival classic “Who'll Stop The Rain,” and the rest of the band joined him. Goosebumps broke out on Ryan's arms and she realized she was suddenly part of something. Something bigger and better than she could have ever hoped to experience.

  The ladies added their voices, growing the anthem and propelling it into the wide open. Voices united, voices that were hopeful and excited.

  Ryan was torn.

  She knew she didn't belong. She felt it deep inside.

  But selfishly, she decided to stay.

  Because even though she knew she didn't belong.

  For the first time in a long time, she wanted to.

  Chapter 11

  Learning To Fly

  Carl silently scanned the empty bar, his eyes flicking over the young blonde woman huddled behind a laptop screen in a booth near the back and then moving on.

  The dilapidated old bar was nearly the same as it had been twelve years ago. It hadn't been impressive then, it wasn't impressing anyone now. But Carl would never forget how the band had treated their first real show of their first real tour like it was the greatest accomplishment of their lives.

  Now, they were basically sneaking back in under a pseudonym in order to celebrate the high achievement of Sway turning thirty.

  As far as birthday parties went, Carl actually approved of this one.

  The band was doing their own setup at the moment, no road crew this trip. Carl listened to the good-natured banter and grumbles of frustration as they carried in their equipment and hooked it all up.

  Lenny would send out an ambiguous tweet an hour before show time to tease the performance. It was all coming together. For the most part.

  “If they set the alley on fire before they leave this time, I'm making you pay for it,” the bar's owner, Stan, said as he shook his head walking briskly to his back office.

  “None of them smoke now,” Carl called at Stan's retreating back, a wry smile twisting on his lips. “I don't even smoke now.”

  Stan waved a disbelieving hand in the air and then closed his office door.

  Carl chuckled under his breath and his eyes flicked back to the quiet blonde who was now watching him openly with those deep brown eyes. Carl's wife had brown eyes. He'd learned a thing or two about females with eyes that color. They were quite a catch.

  He debated very briefly in his head if he should introduce himself to this one. Sway hadn't brought a girl with him on tour since Alexa. That had been years ago now.

  The writer was different though. Carl had already heard the word “friend” about a thousand times since he'd been introduced to Ryan. Which told Carl one thing: she wasn't Sway's friend. Not really. Even if neither one of them knew it yet.

  He had slid into the booth across from Ryan before he realized he'd even started moving that direction.

  “They really set the back alley on fire?” she asked instead of saying hello.

  “Yep.” Carl leaned both elbows on the table. “And a little further down the road they set the van on fire.”

  Her eyes went wide even as her lips twitched with humor.

  “Am I interrupting your writing?” he asked, tapping the lid of the laptop with his finger tip.

  Ryan rolled her eyes and clicked a few things on her side. “Eighty percent of writing is being distracted by the internet.”

  “Are you on a deadline?”

  One of her eyebrows lifted at his question so he explained himself.

  “I used to be friends with a writer. A long time ago.”

  She tilted her head. “Not anymore?”

  Carl's mouth twitched on one side. “No.”

  The tilt in Ryan's eyes conveyed her understanding. She too had left people behind. No further explanation was needed. He liked that.

  C
arl sucked in a breath. “Being friends with a writer is always a tricky thing, you never know what they're gonna take from your life and stick in their next manuscript.”

  “Everything,” she said instantly. “We're probably going to use everything.”

  Carl looked towards the opening front door of the bar and saw Lenny, Lucy, Clarke, and Zelda entering with fancy coffees. “Well, you'll have a lot to draw from this week. These people do not lead boring lives.”

  Ryan glanced over her shoulder, her expression bracing. It was something he recognized because he made that face all the time. The “oh look, people who expect conversation from me” look. Then she darted a glance to the stage and everything about her softened. Carl casually peered over his shoulder and saw Sway waggling his eyebrows at Ryan.

  Carl cleared his throat and regained Ryan's attention. She immediately looked guilty and Carl had to stifle a laugh.

  “So, you and Sway,” he said.

  “Are just friends,” she said, that guilty look intensifying with the pink shade of her cheeks.

  “Yeah, okay,” Carl said with a lopsided smile. “I'm not supposed to care. It's really none of my business.” His eyes swept up to catch Lenny hovering on the edge of joining them. “But you should know that those girls back there, the ones bearing coffee as the gift of their people, they're probably going to adore you no matter what. I say that because I actually tried to make sure they hated me and they just don't. It's not possible. So I recommend giving in early and letting them buy your love with caffeine.”

  Ryan lifted one shoulder and her eyes dropped to the keyboard. “I'm not great with the people part of life.”

  Carl chuckled and nodded. “That's the beauty of this ridiculous group of misfits. They're not actually people. They're much weirder than that.”

  Ryan's eyes lifted to his and he gave her a reassuring smile before signaling to Lenny to come over. He slid out of the booth and took a cup from the tall blonde.

  “Is it how I like it?” he asked gruffly, being sure to frown in disapproval.

  Lenny flashed him a smile. “Black and bitter, just like your soul.”

  “Good.”

  The girls took seats around Ryan as they presented her with their flavor of the moment and Carl took a second to study their faces.

  Lenny had been the first. His right hand, the most organized and talented assistant that ever walked this earth. She'd entered their world of loud music and lack of showers and changed everything.

  Followed up by Lucy who was the only person capable of taming the tornado that was Blake Diedrich. With a lullaby. Like, what the hell was that about?

  Clarke healed and held Mike in a way that no one had been expecting, least of all Mike. Her sweet honesty and unwavering devotion brought him into a place of forgiveness and living that had inspired all of them.

  Then of course came Zelda. The nerd girl photographer who could have been created specifically with Harrison in mind. Or maybe he had been created for her. Those two matched each other weird for weird and made no apologies.

  Zelda's bright green eyes danced into Carl's vision as she bobbed in front of him, a quirky smile on her lips.

  “Do you ever get lost in a moment bigger than yourself?” Carl asked her softly, finding it difficult to explain exactly what he was thinking.

  Zelda looked over her shoulder at the group of ladies. “You've just described my whole life, Carl.”

  He nodded while exhaling. “Showtime is in a couple hours. Try not to scare her away before Sway gets to show off.”

  A giggle escaped Zelda's lips. “I make no promises.”

  ***

  Ryan was only a little overwhelmed. The coffee was a nice icebreaker. And the ladies seemed genuinely friendly.

  They kept asking her questions. About herself.

  It was new.

  Generally speaking, Ryan was usually not the subject. She had discovered early on that people really were more interested in talking about themselves. Which was kind of okay with her, she didn't like a lot of attention. But that mostly came from her belief that people didn't really give a shit who she was. They only wanted to know what she could do for them.

  The drive to Rhode Island had been similar. The ladies had asked questions, Zelda being the most animated even while Ryan was left with the impression she was showing a huge amount of restraint. But they weren't pushy. They'd been very respectful.

  And now they'd brought her coffee.

  “If you're busy, we can go away,” Lenny said, gesturing to the laptop.

  “Yes,” Zelda said, fidgeting slightly. “We don't want to get in the way of your creative genius.”

  Lucy elbowed Zelda in the ribs and grinned. “Forgive Zelda, she's the fangirl that puts all other fangirls to shame.”

  “I wish she was wrong,” Zelda confirmed.

  Ryan smiled as she closed the lid of the laptop. Clarke pushed a Starbucks cup closer to her using one finger. Ryan accepted it and took a drink, savoring the rich mocha flavor.

  “So,” she said, resting back in the booth, “this is my first tour. What should I be expecting.”

  “Oh, yes,” Clarke said, mimicking Ryan's posture and facing the others. “This is my first as well. Do tell.”

  Ryan had been drawn to Clarke almost immediately. She was quiet in a way that spoke volumes. Her calming energy made Ryan want to just sit near her as she wrote, or read, or ate, or slept... pretty much anything.

  “I'm not entirely sure,” Lenny said, frowning in thought. “It's obviously going to be different from the big arena tours, but I don't know how much so.”

  “I'm just hoping it's not like all the stories,” Lucy said with a slight grimace. “I've heard about some weird stuff happening.”

  “Well, they're older now,” Zelda interjected. “They've got to be over some of that stuff by now.” She looked around at the skeptical expressions. “Right?”

  As if on cue, a flurry of expletives erupted from the stage along with a shower of sparks.

  “Seriously, Blake!” Harrison yelled out. “How old are you?”

  The only reply was raucous laughter somewhere backstage.

  “Oh, he thinks I won't retaliate,” Harrison muttered, fiddling with his pedals and plug-ins. “He's in for a surprise.” He raised his voice. “I hope everyone remembers what happened to Dodgy Rodgers!”

  The girls exchanged confused expressions.

  “I am not shaving my head again!” Sway appeared on stage, pointing at Harrison.

  Ryan sucked in her bottom lip and bit down to keep from laughing. That didn't stop the rest of the women.

  Sway looked over at the group nervously, like he was just realizing they had an audience. “Hey, ladies.” He crossed his arms over his chest and gave his most charming smile. “Ryan.”

  He looked different on the road. Someone had said that would probably happen. Something about Home Sway and Road Sway being very different. It was partially true, from what she could see at least.

  His hair was wild. Thick and wavy and tangled at his shoulders. His posture was more relaxed. He was practically strutting.

  And he looked taller.

  Ryan waved her fingers as the rest of the women snickered under their breath. Sway walked to the edge of the stage and ran his tongue over his teeth.

  “You don't have to hang out with them...” He shrugged like it was all the same to him. “If you don't want to.”

  Lenny was completely turned around and she folded her forearms along the back of the booth, resting her chin on top of them. “Afraid we'll corrupt her?”

  Sway's smile turned lazy and he didn't take his eyes off of Ryan. “That's my job.”

  Ryan felt her entire face catch fire and Clarke snorted under her breath.

  “Don't worry, Sway,” Lucy said flatly. “I'm only going to teach her everything I know.”

  Sway narrowed his eyes at the brunette. “It's shit like that that scares me.” His eyes swept back up to Ryan as he po
inted one finger at Lucy. “Stay away from that one. She's frickin' terrifying.”

  “C'mon, what are you afraid of?” Lucy cajoled. “What's a little firearm safety lesson between friends?”

  Sway tilted his head as he drew his mouth into a tight line. “Just,” his eyes fluttered closed as he maintained his calm demeanor, “don't mess with Ryan. She's perfect as she is.”

  Lenny, Lucy, Zelda, and Clarke all responded in unison, “Oooh!”

  Sway rolled his eyes and muttered under his breath before stalking away.

  Lenny was still laughing when she turned back around. “That guy has got it bad.”

  “I'd say,” agreed Lucy.

  “It's about time, honestly,” Lenny continued taking a drink of her coffee.

  Ryan knew where this conversation was going and she felt the need to put a stop to it. While it was fun to speculate whether or not Sway was attracted to her, it went against her natural objectivity.

  “Nah, Tawny already told me he's the biggest flirt in the world.” Ryan removed the lid from her coffee cup and licked the whipped topping residue off of it.

  “Yeah, Sway flirts,” Lenny confirmed.

  “But he doesn't get flustered,” Lucy finished.

  “And he doesn't flirt that badly,” Zelda added with a small laugh.

  Clarke reached out and whacked Zelda's arm lightly. “That wasn't bad.” She waited for everyone's attention. “That was adorable.”

  The laughter was immediate, even bubbling out of Ryan unexpectedly.

  ***

  “What do you think they're laughing about?” Sway asked Harrison as he lurked backstage.

  “Probably you,” Harrison said glancing at Sway. “And your hair. Seriously, dude, what is it with you and being on the road?”

  Sway ran a rough hand through his tangled hair. “It's the humidity.”

  “Well, you look like Tarzan.”

  “I like her, Harry,” Sway blurted out.

  Harrison ran a hand down his face and rolled his eyes. “I think we all picked up on that when you decided she had to come with us this week.”