***
They pulled into the parking lot of their next venue and their spirits were high. As they made their way to the buses, Ashton came running out and grabbed Luke by the arms.
“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, c
onfused. “She stole my song! I wrote that!”
Chapter 8
Lines In Sand
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.
“You’re the best.” He pulled her back and looked into her face. “I was afraid you were going to kill her and I was going to have come and visit you in jail.”
It was Lenny’s turn to laugh, “Believe me, I thought about it, but I decided this option would be way more satisfying. I'm not an idiot, I know what she's trying to do. I just won't play her game.” He grinned and squeezed her against his chest again.
Lenny pushed him away playfully, “You stink!”
“You should talk!” Luke gave a hurt look but Lenny wasn’t falling for it.
“C’mon,” she moved to the doorway and looked at him over her shoulder, “let’s go hang out with other awesome people.”
Luke shook his head to himself in wonder. How did a woman like this come to be in his life? She was such a stark change from every other girl he'd ever dated or been around.
When they entered the bus, Ashton was sitting in her usual perch on the couch with a smug smile on her face. The rest of the guys were clustered around the kitchenette, avoiding her entirely. Luke nodded to Harrison to pass him a couple of waters for him and Lenny.
“Um,” Harrison questioned openly, “shouldn’t there be some sort of, I don’t know, discussion? About what happened tonight?”
“What do you mean?” Luke decided to play dumb, wanting to know what Ashton had told the guys.
“Well, you took off after the set and Ashton told us just now that you guys wrote that last song together...” Harrison trailed off, confusion all over his face.
“Are you writing songs with Ashton?” Blake asked, more agitated and confrontational than Harrison.
So that was how Ashton was playing it. She wasn't just trying to get rid of Lenny, she was trying to pull the guys away from him too. She really needed to revamp her diabolical planning skills.
“Actually,” Lenny interrupted as she flopped herself onto the sofa right next to Ashton. “I wrote that. She stole it from me.”
Luke held back a smile as he saw Ashton shift awkwardly. She obviously didn't expect Lenny's blasé reaction.
“But, thank you, Ashton,” Lenny's tone danced on the edge of sarcasm. “You made it sound beautiful.” She took a long drink from her water bottle as Ashton scowled at her.
Just then, Ashton’s cell phone rang.
“You might wanna get that,” Lenny gestured. Ashton frowned at her and took her phone to the back of the bus. Lenny held up her hand, signaling the others to wait for it.
“WHAT?!” Ashton shrieked.
“There it is,” Lenny said, satisfied. “I imagine that was her lawyer telling her the happy news that I'm suing the crap out of her.” She held her bottle of water up in toast, “Here’s to a successful shower strike and copyright infringement!”
***
Shane: Scott texted me, he said that she's going to be in Denver tomorrow
Cody: no shit? Are you going to see her?
Shane: I don't think that would be a good idea
Cody: I'll do it
Shane: let me know how it goes
***
Lenny sank deep into the bubbles in the over-sized tub. She relaxed into the hot smell of jasmine and closed her eyes.
The suite Carl had gotten for her was by far the greatest perk of her job that she had experienced yet. It was three separate rooms, a living room with a fireplace, an office area and spacious bedroom with a King-sized bed. The bathroom had an elevated round tub and a separate shower area.
The first thing Lenny did when she got her room key was take a shower. While the shower strike had been highly successful in irritating Ashton and bringing the band closer together, Lenny silently vowed to never do that again.
When she felt thoroughly cleansed of the 'on-the-road-ick,' she filled the tub with bubbles and proceeded to soak her tired muscles.
She planned on enjoying her last day of freedom as much as she could. She knew that calling her lawyer was going to open up a whole new sack of cats but teaching Ashton a lesson was totally worth it.
Lenny heard a knock at her door and sighed. That was fast. She grabbed a towel and dried herself off and then wrapped the hotel provided robe around herself. She crossed her spacious living quarters as another knock sounded.
She opened the door to find Carl, pacing, per his usual.
“Carl, what a surprise,” Lenny said dryly.
Carl smiled reluctantly and entered the suite as Lenny extended her arm signaling him to do so. He looked around, admiring her accommodations.
“How do you like your room?” He asked too casually.
“I like it a lot. What’s up, Carl?” She didn't want the small talk. She wanted to return to the bathtub and pretend she wasn't getting ready to have a crappy night.
Before Carl could answer, someone else knocked on the door. Lenny opened it and found Harrison and Blake. They entered
without being invited in.
“Nice digs,” Blake whistled. He dropped into an over-stuffed navy blue chair and swung his legs up over the arm rest.
“Hey, Carl.” Harrison opened the in-room fridge and started rummaging for snacks.
Before the door to the hallway closed completely, Sway slipped inside. He kissed Lenny’s cheek on the way by, “You smell nice, is that jasmine?” He joined Harrison on the couch and turned on the giant plasma screen.
“What are you guys doing here?” Lenny asked, trying to stay patient.
“Waiting for Mike and Luke.” Sway answered like Lenny should’ve known.
“What? Why?” She frowned and crossed her arms over her chest.
“'Cause we’re going out tonight.” Harrison said matter of fact and then looked at Blake, “Aren’t we?”
Blake rubbed the scruff on his face and nodded, “Yeah, karaoke, right Carl?”
Lenny turned her attention to Carl who smiled sheepishly.
“You told me I could have the night off, Carl,” her tone was more cross than she intended and Carl winced.
Sway looked up and his eyes narrowed, “What do you mean, ‘night off’? We’re just hanging out. Geez, Lenny, is being our friend really work to you?” His tone was lighthearted but Lenny could tell he was fishing.
Lenny pursed her lips and swallowed, sidestepping that relational landmine and replied, “I just meant that I have a meeting with my lawyer tonight. And I thought we could all use a rest.” Sway seemed satisfied with her answer and went back to the TV.
Lenny motioned for Carl to step aside so they could talk privately.
“I’m meeting my lawyer in a couple of hours, I can’t go to karaoke.”
Carl nodded his understanding, “Okay. But I just wanted to let you know, Sway was right, this isn’t part of the job. I thought you might wanna blow off some steam with us tonight.”
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