Mike was pissed too. He was doing his best to not entertain his own dark temperament, but it was still there, lingering in the back of his mind. He really hoped Luke wasn't being stupid. He'd been Ashton's lapdog once before. It didn't work out.
“We need to do something fun.” Lenny announced to the table causing the solemn eaters to stare at her.
“What do you have in mind, mama?” Blake finally asked tiredly.
“I heard there is a bungee jumping area near here,” her face lit up with rebellion.
“I don’t know if Carl would go for that.” Harrison eyed her suspiciously and Mike sniggered. Lenny was definitely in a wild mood this morning.
“Who says he has to know?” She dared them, eyebrows raised.
The looks that went around the table ranged from terrified to excited. Lenny didn't bend the rules. Lenny would never go against Carl. Lenny was predictable. Lenny was safe. This wasn't Lenny...was it?
“Hell, I’m in.” Mike was the first to commit; he knew why Lenny was feeling so unruly. Ashton’s presence was suffocating and Luke wasn’t being himself. He had pretty much gone off alone since Ashton had shown up. And he was also avoiding the rest of the band. Lenny was feeling a need to express her frustration and bungee jumping was a way better alternative than what Mike had come up with...binge drinking and smack.
The others turned to Mike, clearly surprised at his easy agreement.
“Dude, we could die.” Harrison felt it necessary to point out the dangers, in case it wasn't obvious.
“Yeah, but we won’t.” Mike winked at Lenny and stood up from the table. She joined him at the door where they turned to look at the others who were still gaping.
Mike chuckled and grabbed Lenny's hand, tugging her into the sunshine that matched the color of her shirt.
***
Mike looked down at the raging water below him from nearly two hundred feet. This is a very bad idea. He was having second thoughts at Lenny’s choice of activity for the day.
He looked at her getting her harness attached and was amazed at her calm focus. She seemed more relaxed than he had seen her all tour. It shouldn’t have made sense, they were easily in the most dangerous scenario he could come up with, and she was acting like it was a trip to the mall, or whatever girls do for relaxation. He had obviously underestimated her drive for extreme adventure.
Harrison, Blake and Sway had agreed to try it if Mike and Lenny went first. But Mike could see the apprehension on their faces. Harrison was visibly sweating. He chuckled nervously to himself, what had they gotten themselves into?
Lenny approached the edge of the platform and listened to the instructions from the operator. She nodded and took a deep breath.
“You’re afraid to get on a snowboard again, but this doesn’t scare you?” Mike tried to reason with her. Lenny just flashed him a grin and then dove off the platform.
Mike's stomach dropped to his feet as he watched her body fly into the open air. She got to the end of the line and her body rebounded and then plunged again, continuing to oscillate up and down until all the energy was dissipated. The operators lowered a rope to her, she attached it to her harness and they hauled her back to the platform.
“That was awesome!” Sway gave her a high-five.
“Are you okay?” Harrison asked, his eyes wide, trying to search for any visible injuries.
“I’m great!” Lenny responded, “I’m gonna do it again!” Her face was...serene, her cheeks pink from giddiness.
Mike shook his head; he knew it was his turn. He would have to follow through since he had given the others such a hard time for being scared.
“You’re gonna love it,” she whispered in his ear as she gave him a quick hug. She stood back, biting her bottom lip and grinning at the same time in anticipation of his jump.
Mike approached the edge and took a deep breath. In a moment of courage he took a flying leap and was airborne. The sensations that raced through him were indescribable. He felt completely out of control but totally centered at the same time. Then he experienced a brand new rush in the recoil. His heart was stuck in his throat, but he knew his face had a silly grin plastered across it. As soon as it had started, it was over, and they were pulling him back up.
His mighty leap impressed the guys and they got geared up to make their own jumps. Lenny let loose more than all of them, jumping three more times herself before they had to call it a day and head back for sound check. It was weird to not have Luke with them but they still had fun despite his absence.
“Can’t tell Carl, okay guys?” Lenny leveled a serious look at all of them.
“Why does it matter if Carl knows? We’re the ones who hired you.” Sway said, and Mike noticed Lenny’s lip twitch at his words.
“Let’s just keep it between us, okay?” Lenny said again earnestly and they all nodded in agreement.
***
Luke was late to sound check again, looking like he hadn’t slept in days. It was amazing, Ashton had only been a part of the tour for twenty-four hours and Luke had aged ten years. His hair was more matted than stylishly messy and his eyes were unfocused and empty.
Lenny was helping the guitar techs, Dustin and Ben, get set up when Ashton pranced across the stage
“Oh good, Ashton,” Blake sounded relieved, “It’s just you, I thought I heard someone backing over a goat.” The guitar techs laughed and Ashton shot daggers at him.
Lenny stopped laughing when she saw Luke watching them. He had never looked so lost. Lenny took a step his direction but he minutely shook his head, signaling her to stop. She frowned at his pinched expression, silently asking her question from across the stage. He held eye contact with her for far too long, as if attempting to dump every thought and feeling he had into that one, simple communique. Lenny nodded, understanding as much as she dared.
She left the stage in search of Carl. No way Ashton was going to force the alienation of Luke from his friends. Home-wrecking sociopath.
***
The show that night was better than the previous, but only marginally. The rest of the band was tight but Luke struggled with playing and remembering all the lyrics. He would look up from the mic and back to the sound booth but Lenny wasn’t there. He didn’t know where she was and it bothered him. He knew he was the only one at fault for why she had to stay away. Punishment for past sins.
Luke trudged to his bus, no autographs or photos with fans. His shoulders pulled down and he felt like shit. He dreaded seeing Ashton. She would be half naked again and obnoxious as hell. He paused outside the door and took a deep breath, bracing himself for the inevitable chatter that she would start hurling at him.
He heard a stirring to his left and he frowned into the darkness. He made out a shadowy figure waving him over. Taking a few steps in that direction, he recognized Sway.
“What’s goin' on?” He asked his shifty friend.
“Come with me.” Sway waved him to be quiet and just follow. Luke shrugged and crept along the back of the venue in the dark with his bass player. As they made their way along, Luke could hear more whispers and they came around a corner to an ugly brown van and the rest of his band.
The van was half hidden behind a dumpster but it looked like a throwback to their days when they were just starting out. Complete with the rust over the wheel wells and graffiti decorating the outside. The rest of the band members stood waiting for him in a semi-circle. Luke was surprised at how relieved he was to see Lenny amongst his friends.
“We’re ditching the buses tonight. Lenny hooked us up with a private ride.” Harrison smiled eagerly, “You’re coming with us.”
Luke looked around at the faces of his oldest friends and the girl he was falling for even more. How did he ever deserve to find not just one good friend in this world but five? He nodded and they all piled into the decrepit van.
Luke noticed that Slim, their regular driver, was behind the wheel. He slid into the seat next to Lenny and whispered a question in her
ear, “If Slim is here, who’s driving the Blue Bus?”
Lenny tried to hide her smile, “Slim’s brother, Mo.” Her eyes met Luke’s and he squinted, trying to figure out if she was serious.
“Slim’s brother is named…Mo?” He asked slowly.
Lenny bit her bottom lip to keep from laughing and nodded.
Mike slid the door closed and settled into one of the captain’s chairs. Harrison occupied the other captain’s chair and Blake was sitting cozy next to Luke and Lenny. Sway took his position in shotgun and started calling out options for music to be played.
Luke patted Lenny’s thigh affectionately and asked, “This was what you were doing during the show, wasn’t it?” She nodded with a smile and he squeezed her leg. If she only knew the significance of what she had done, of what she did everyday...
“Don’t worry, though,” she whispered to him, “Carl knows, this is completely sanctioned.”
Slim made his way out of the parking lot and onto the road before he turned on the headlights.
“I feel like super spies!” Harrison whispered excitedly.
Sway pushed an old tape into the ancient radio and cranked up the volume. As Tom Petty’s 'American Girl' started to play, the whole band joined in, singing at the top of their lungs.
***
As the van sped down the interstate, the band sang song after song together. Lenny felt the icky stench of Ashton evaporate and she smiled in satisfaction. This was the most liberated she’d seen the guys all tour. That included when they were jumping off that bridge earlier in the day.
“This is exactly what it was like when we were young.” Harrison reminisced happily.
“You guys traveled by van?” Lenny asked, she loved to hear their old stories from before they made it big. Especially when Harrison told them.
“Yeah, in a crappy van just like this one,” Harrison swiveled haphazardly towards Lenny. She laughed as he almost spilled onto the floor. He regained his balance on the loose bolts holding the seat down and continued. “Our van was brown, too. We called it the Brown Streaker. We were very creative musicians back then.”
Lenny started with a small giggle but it grew into out of control belly laughter as Harrison kept going. “I was getting puked on nightly, and we couldn’t always afford showers at the truck stops so…”
“Gross!” Lenny cried. “Who was puking on you?”
Harrison pointed his thumb over his shoulder, “Usually Sway’s current shag.”
“Hey! It wasn’t my fault that they always seemed to have a lot to drink.” Sway defended from the front.
“Sure,” Harrison nodded in sarcastic agreement. “But all we had was this one van, with all of our stuff and us in it. And Sway was always using it for…extracurricular activities.”
“Eww.” Lenny scrunched up her nose.
“Tell me about it.” Harrison shuddered at the memory, causing Lenny to laugh harder.
“Who drove?” Lenny asked curiously.
“Not Blake!” Mike said with force and Lenny waited for the explanation as Harrison put on his professor face.
“Blake does not drive.”
“I drive just fine!” Blake defended from the other side of Luke.
“Blake…how do I put this…hit a building.” Harrison stated flatly.
“One time!” Blake interjected. He leaned over so Lenny could see the sincerity on his face. “One time, Lenny! It wasn’t my fault.”
“Right, it was the building’s fault, how dare it be built where you wanted to drive.” Harrison continued, just as flat. He raised his eyebrows at Lenny and she laughed even more. “Oh, I forgot, not just any building…the courthouse.”
“What?!” Lenny exclaimed, “How did you accidentally hit a courthouse, Blake Diedrich?!” Her disappointed mother tone came out and all the guys laughed.
“I don’t know! It was dark...I have night blindness...I thought I saw a dog…” His voice trailed off as he gave up defending himself.
“But at least he didn’t set the van on fire.” Harrison gestured to Luke. Lenny turned to him in shock.
“Why do you think I gave up smoking?” Luke grinned.
“Wow, you guys. How did you ever get anywhere?” Lenny was genuinely surprised.
“Oh, you know...hard work, good looks,” Harrison ran his fingers through his hair, “and of course we’re freaking talented out the ass.”
“Of course,” Lenny agreed but she was still laughing. She adored these guys, no one could replace them. She was past the point of no return; she couldn’t see herself leaving them. Ever.
The guys started to get tired after a few hours and eventually began nodding off. Lenny stayed awake, watching her fellas sleep. Ashton wasn’t getting her claws into them. She leaned her head against the window and looked out at the stars.
Luke shifted in his seat next to her and she glanced over to see him and Blake snuggled up together. She smiled, big, tough rock stars.
Whatever power Ashton used to have over Luke was in no way stronger than the bond that this band shared. Lenny had to remind them of that. Ashton was simply a distraction, she didn’t matter. That’s why Lenny had talked to Carl about renting the van and going ahead of the convoy. The guys needed to harken back to the days of their youth, where this whole crazy thing started.
Two more shows before Denver, twelve total before Ashton left the tour. Then a four week break over Christmas.
Lenny tried to focus on her job, but in the dark cabin with just the sound of the wheels on the road, her thoughts drifted to home. She wondered what she would do during break. She couldn’t go home. She hadn’t called her parents in over a week. The last phone call had been tense, they wanted her to come back. She missed them, but she needed to be out here more. She wasn't ready to face...all of that.
Maybe Carl would give her some sort of assignment over break to keep her occupied. She could ask him later.
Scott was pissed; she’d stopped answering his calls two weeks ago. Her voice mail kept filling up. She wouldn't even check it if she wasn't afraid it would be Carl. Scott had been the most persistent of her family members. She wished he would just back off and let her figure this thing out.
He didn't understand, none of them did. How could they? She wasn't exactly being the most forthcoming with any of them. Most of all, she was disappointed in herself.
Lenny pinched the bridge of her nose and squinted against the headache revving itself into full blown migraine. Suddenly, Luke's arms were around her, pulling her against his chest and pressing his lips to her temple. The headache fled as she instinctively buried her face in his shirt.
“Sshh. It's okay, I got you.” Luke whispered against her ear.
Lenny ignored her previous logic of avoiding more situations like this. She needed him right now, it was that simple. And somehow...he just knew.
***
Slim pulled over for breakfast at a little roadside diner. He opted to eat alone at the counter but the other six squeezed into a booth. They pushed each other playfully, taking up more space than they needed to. The waitress was not amused at their antics and she grumpily took their order and walked away.
“This was a great idea,” Sway spoke for them all, “We should get rid of the buses altogether and just travel like this again.” He leaned his elbows on the table and started to play with the sugar packets.
“You feeling better, dude?” Blake asked Luke who was sitting directly across from him.
“Yeah,” Luke smiled, feeling like himself again. “Sorry, I was acting so-”
“Menstrual?” Blake finished for him.
Luke chuckled and nodded. “Yeah, I guess that’s how I was acting, huh?”
“You guess? Dude, middle school girls are less moody than you,” Blake grimaced.
“I don’t know why you let your tampon get all twisted just because Ashton James, walking bitch-fest that she is, happens to be around. What? Does she have your balls in a jar somewhere?” Blake's dark eyebrows
rose accusingly.
They were enjoying giving him a hard time and Luke knew he deserved it. “It’s hard to think clearly around her, I guess I just shut everyone out. Sorry about that. Again.”
They took their time eating breakfast, enjoying the time together without any distractions. They were in such a good mood they even got their grumpy waitress to smile before they left.
“We have enough bunks in the Blue Bus for all of us,” Luke looked around at the band, “why don’t we all just ride together?”
“I like it,” Mike looked to Lenny for approval.
“Hey, I’m just the assistant. You don’t need my permission.” She held up her hands to show she wasn’t protesting.
“I don’t know man,” Sway began, “I really hate that girl. I don't want to sleep in the same vehicle as her. What if she tries to molest me?”
“Gross, Sway. Gross.” Lenny frowned in disgust and Luke smiled at how cute she looked when she was correcting Sway. Like she was still shocked by some of the things he said.
“But it might be fun to make her miserable,” Blake pointed out.
“We could go on a shower strike like last time,” Harrison suggested.
“Yes!” Blake snapped his fingers and pointed at Harrison. “That! We’re doing it.”
Lenny closed her eyes and rubbed her forehead with her fingertips, “Oh, geez.”
“Sorry, mama. But we did promise you the full ‘Rock Star’ experience, smelly guys and all,” Sway grinned at her.
“We should definitely be as authentic as possible,” Mike was nodding his head.
“You have to participate too, Lenny,” Blake said, “You’re one of us now.” He arched an eyebrow, daring her.
Luke was surprised when she took the bait and replied cheekily, “I can hack it if you can.”
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