Daylight
Chapter Sixty
Pet’s POV
After Joe walked me back to my bus and kissed me again—and I sorta had to force myself away from him—I staggered down the hall to my bunk and crashed. I knew I probably looked like hell, but I was beyond caring about that.
While I lay there, sort of exhausted and yet more alert than I could remember being in awhile, I thought about what’d just happened. It made me gasp and shake all over again.
Wow. Maybe I couldn’t quite imagine…everything…before now, but things were definitely getting a lot clearer. And I just couldn’t wait.
The next morning I got up and made my way to the bathroom, saying hi to Shoshi and Ray as I passed them. They gave me a weird look, which was unlike them.
I had my answer when I caught a glimpse of myself in the bathroom mirror. I looked like a small animal had spent the night in my hair. Oh shit!
Before I could close the door, Mo poked her head in.
“Nice sex hair,” she commented cheerfully. “Was it good for you too?”
“Get out,” I growled at her, then slammed and locked the door. I heard laughter until the noise of the shower drowned it out.
Viv’s POV
Wednesday was going a lot better than I’d expected it to. It was mainly because I’d managed not to run afoul of Tim and his shitty demands pretty much all damn day.
It did make me feel a little strange, though, looking over my shoulder constantly, making sure I knew Tim’s location at any given moment. It was the only way I felt I could deal. That…and possibly a drink…but that was even less likely than me slipping up at some point. If I’d been working in an office, this would’ve been the time to bail; but it was Warped Tour, so that wasn’t gonna happen.
I was also trying to keep an eye out for Billy and his daughter, which wasn’t working out so well. I couldn’t remember if they were planning to stop by today too, as they’d already been yesterday. God, I wished I was better with details when people told me shit.
The crowds seemed to be denser in Cali, or maybe it was just me. I wasn’t usually in the mix with all the Warped-goers; normally writers at AP would be in the background, interviewing, setting up video, that sort of thing. Today I was standing at the AP booth, actually helping hand out leaflets promoting the magazine—not exactly the sort of thing that advances anybody’s skills or career. Also, since AP was practically the official magazine of Warped Tour, it seemed like a huge waste of time (mine) and money (theirs) to me.
I was pretty sure I was being punished in some arcane manner. Bobby was kind enough to point it out for me.
“Viv, not that I’m not happy to have you around, but what the hell are you doing here?”
I shrugged. “No idea. I must’ve upset the boss.”
He shook his head. “You think?”
Stephanie walked by just then, close enough to Bobby so that all she had to do was turn her head, and he kissed her as she passed. If I hadn’t been looking right at them when it happened, I would never have guessed they’d had any contact whatsoever.
Other than the smiles on their faces right afterwards, that is.
I caught Bobby’s eye. “Ninja much?”
He shrugged casually, but his face was turning red. I laughed. Then I looked around some more, and realized nobody was really stopping at our little booth.
“Don’t you think one of us should walk around and hand these things out?” I asked. “You know, for better distribution?”
Bobby seemed to consider this. “Wow, now all of a sudden, you’ve gone from rock journalist to marketing expert? Sweet.”
“Shut up,” I muttered. “Look, if I gotta stand around anymore, I’m gonna go crazy.” I nodded over towards Tim. “I’ll ask him, if it makes you feel better.”
Our boss noticed my twitchiness and walked over to where we were standing. “Hey, you two, how’s it going?”
“Fine,” we responded in stereo.
“Good,” he smiled, “that’s what I wanted to hear. Vivian, having fun today?”
I smiled back. “Sure, Tim, but we were just saying how at least one of us should probably walk around to give these things away.”
I heard Bobby gasp, but I ignored him.
“Really?” Tim gave me his full attention. “I didn’t know you’d been a marketing major, Vivian.”
“It was my minor, actually,” I replied with a straight face.
“You constantly surprise me,” our boss drawled. I caught a glimpse of Bobby’s face; he was trying really hard not to laugh or comment.
I resumed my conversation. “You know, even though I’m apparently a marketing genius, I’ve noticed other booths have their folks walking around, too. So it’s not a new concept.”
Tim set his mouth in a straight line, which meant either I’m seriously considering your words or I have to take a shit and don’t know where to find the bathroom. I giggled to myself at the thought of the latter. Then his eyebrows fell, which meant it was the former.
“Bobby,” Tim said to him while looking at me, “why don’t you and Viv make the rounds? Figure out a schedule so that one of you can stay here, and the other can walk and hand out fliers?”
“Yes, sir,” the intern replied. “Viv? You wanna take the first walkabout?”
I grabbed a bunch of fliers. “You got it, my man. See ya in an hour,” I said, immediately making myself scarce.
Joe’s POV
I was standin’ round just after lunch, waitin’ for Pet to stop by, when I saw an older gent walkin’ round with a pretty young lady. Father and daughter, I thought, not an odd combo at Warped. But when me eyes focused, I realised who I was lookin’ at, and for a second my head couldn’t believe what I was seein’.
It was Billy Z.
You have no idea what he meant to me and Tom. When we was kids, we had an uncle who used to get us the latest records from all over, and Billy and the Jung Ones were right up there. We had everything they’d ever done, and I mean everything.
And here he was at Warped, walkin’ round, in the flesh. Before I could lose me nerve, I found meself walkin’ up to where he was.
“Excuse me,” I started off, and he turned round to face me. “Are-are you—aren’t you Billy Z?” I went on.
He smiled wide, obviously pleased. “Yes I am,” he said gladly, “and who might you be?”
I put out me hand. “Joe McCullough, from the Madmen. We’re playin’ here this year.”
He shook with me. “So lovely to meet you, Joe. This is my daughter, Joni,” Billy said, wavin’ at the girl with him.
She giggled and spoke with an American accent. “Hey, Joe, nice to meet you.”
“Same,” I smiled.
He cocked his head. “Joe, d’you know the AP folks? I’ve been looking for one in particular.”
“I know a few,” I said. “Mostly Vivian, though. She’s me girl’s auntie.”
He beamed. “Ah, so you’re the boyfriend! I’ve heard about you. You’re a lucky man.”
I was confused. “You…you know Pet? But how?”
“I met her a few nights ago. She was downtown with Vivian, and I happened to be in the same place,” Billy explained. “But have you seen her? Vivian, I mean?”
“Dad,” Joni suddenly interrupted, “I can see Mom over there. I better get going. Nice to meet you, Joe.” She kissed her dad and darted through the crowd to a stunning bird with blonde hair.
When I looked back at Billy watching her go, his expression was a mix of angry and sad. Then he seemed to remember me there, and looked me in the eye again. “So, mate, where can a man get a drink?”
“No drinks around here,” Pet’s voice said on me other side. Her arm slipped round my waist, and I kissed the top of her head. “Hi Billy, how’s it going?”
“Fine, but it’d be better if I could find Vivian,” he replied straightaway.
She frowned. “I haven’t really seen her today. I thought she was at the AP booth, but I was just there and she wasn’t.”
He gritted his teeth. “I really need to speak with her.”
Pet shrugged. “Sorry, I wish I could help you.”
Billy smiled—with some effort, I noticed—and said only, “Well, since Joni’s just gone off, maybe I’ll walk round and see where Vivian is. See you both later.”
And he was gone.
I leant down to kiss Pet proper. She smiled against me and kissed back. “So,” I asked when we were done, “you met Billy Z?”
“Yeah,” she replied. “I didn’t know if you knew who he was, and I guess I forgot to mention it anyway. You like his music?”
I rolled me eyes. “Love it, is more like it. And why’s he lookin’ for Vivian?”
She giggled. “Well…they sort of are…or were…you know,” she said.
“Do I, now?”
“But they haven’t seen each other for awhile. That’s the impression I got, anyway,” she said casually.
“Have you seen Vivian since then?” I asked.
She shrugged. “Not really. I’m not her keeper, you know.”
I kissed her again to shut her up. “Anythin’ else you’ve been keepin’ from me?”
Suddenly she looked guilty. “Uh…um…kinda?”
I looked at her close. “What did you do? Who did you meet?”
“Well…” she began, “uh, we kinda…uh…met…MCR?”
“What the fuck!” I shouted.
“Shh, Joe, calm down, listen,” she hurriedly told me. “It was—it was just, you know, like, Gerard and Lindsey. And their baby.”
I glared at her, bloody furious. And jealous. “And when exactly were yeh gonna tell me about this?”
“Today, actually,” Pet said calmly. “Because later…all of them will be here for our show.”
After Joe walked me back to my bus and kissed me again—and I sorta had to force myself away from him—I staggered down the hall to my bunk and crashed. I knew I probably looked like hell, but I was beyond caring about that.
While I lay there, sort of exhausted and yet more alert than I could remember being in awhile, I thought about what’d just happened. It made me gasp and shake all over again.
Wow. Maybe I couldn’t quite imagine…everything…before now, but things were definitely getting a lot clearer. And I just couldn’t wait.
The next morning I got up and made my way to the bathroom, saying hi to Shoshi and Ray as I passed them. They gave me a weird look, which was unlike them.
I had my answer when I caught a glimpse of myself in the bathroom mirror. I looked like a small animal had spent the night in my hair. Oh shit!
Before I could close the door, Mo poked her head in.
“Nice sex hair,” she commented cheerfully. “Was it good for you too?”
“Get out,” I growled at her, then slammed and locked the door. I heard laughter until the noise of the shower drowned it out.
Viv’s POV
Wednesday was going a lot better than I’d expected it to. It was mainly because I’d managed not to run afoul of Tim and his shitty demands pretty much all damn day.
It did make me feel a little strange, though, looking over my shoulder constantly, making sure I knew Tim’s location at any given moment. It was the only way I felt I could deal. That…and possibly a drink…but that was even less likely than me slipping up at some point. If I’d been working in an office, this would’ve been the time to bail; but it was Warped Tour, so that wasn’t gonna happen.
I was also trying to keep an eye out for Billy and his daughter, which wasn’t working out so well. I couldn’t remember if they were planning to stop by today too, as they’d already been yesterday. God, I wished I was better with details when people told me shit.
The crowds seemed to be denser in Cali, or maybe it was just me. I wasn’t usually in the mix with all the Warped-goers; normally writers at AP would be in the background, interviewing, setting up video, that sort of thing. Today I was standing at the AP booth, actually helping hand out leaflets promoting the magazine—not exactly the sort of thing that advances anybody’s skills or career. Also, since AP was practically the official magazine of Warped Tour, it seemed like a huge waste of time (mine) and money (theirs) to me.
I was pretty sure I was being punished in some arcane manner. Bobby was kind enough to point it out for me.
“Viv, not that I’m not happy to have you around, but what the hell are you doing here?”
I shrugged. “No idea. I must’ve upset the boss.”
He shook his head. “You think?”
Stephanie walked by just then, close enough to Bobby so that all she had to do was turn her head, and he kissed her as she passed. If I hadn’t been looking right at them when it happened, I would never have guessed they’d had any contact whatsoever.
Other than the smiles on their faces right afterwards, that is.
I caught Bobby’s eye. “Ninja much?”
He shrugged casually, but his face was turning red. I laughed. Then I looked around some more, and realized nobody was really stopping at our little booth.
“Don’t you think one of us should walk around and hand these things out?” I asked. “You know, for better distribution?”
Bobby seemed to consider this. “Wow, now all of a sudden, you’ve gone from rock journalist to marketing expert? Sweet.”
“Shut up,” I muttered. “Look, if I gotta stand around anymore, I’m gonna go crazy.” I nodded over towards Tim. “I’ll ask him, if it makes you feel better.”
Our boss noticed my twitchiness and walked over to where we were standing. “Hey, you two, how’s it going?”
“Fine,” we responded in stereo.
“Good,” he smiled, “that’s what I wanted to hear. Vivian, having fun today?”
I smiled back. “Sure, Tim, but we were just saying how at least one of us should probably walk around to give these things away.”
I heard Bobby gasp, but I ignored him.
“Really?” Tim gave me his full attention. “I didn’t know you’d been a marketing major, Vivian.”
“It was my minor, actually,” I replied with a straight face.
“You constantly surprise me,” our boss drawled. I caught a glimpse of Bobby’s face; he was trying really hard not to laugh or comment.
I resumed my conversation. “You know, even though I’m apparently a marketing genius, I’ve noticed other booths have their folks walking around, too. So it’s not a new concept.”
Tim set his mouth in a straight line, which meant either I’m seriously considering your words or I have to take a shit and don’t know where to find the bathroom. I giggled to myself at the thought of the latter. Then his eyebrows fell, which meant it was the former.
“Bobby,” Tim said to him while looking at me, “why don’t you and Viv make the rounds? Figure out a schedule so that one of you can stay here, and the other can walk and hand out fliers?”
“Yes, sir,” the intern replied. “Viv? You wanna take the first walkabout?”
I grabbed a bunch of fliers. “You got it, my man. See ya in an hour,” I said, immediately making myself scarce.
Joe’s POV
I was standin’ round just after lunch, waitin’ for Pet to stop by, when I saw an older gent walkin’ round with a pretty young lady. Father and daughter, I thought, not an odd combo at Warped. But when me eyes focused, I realised who I was lookin’ at, and for a second my head couldn’t believe what I was seein’.
It was Billy Z.
You have no idea what he meant to me and Tom. When we was kids, we had an uncle who used to get us the latest records from all over, and Billy and the Jung Ones were right up there. We had everything they’d ever done, and I mean everything.
And here he was at Warped, walkin’ round, in the flesh. Before I could lose me nerve, I found meself walkin’ up to where he was.
“Excuse me,” I started off, and he turned round to face me. “Are-are you—aren’t you Billy Z?” I went on.
He smiled wide, obviously pleased. “Yes I am,” he said gladly, “and who might you be?”
I put out me hand. “Joe McCullough, from the Madmen. We’re playin’ here this year.”
He shook with me. “So lovely to meet you, Joe. This is my daughter, Joni,” Billy said, wavin’ at the girl with him.
She giggled and spoke with an American accent. “Hey, Joe, nice to meet you.”
“Same,” I smiled.
He cocked his head. “Joe, d’you know the AP folks? I’ve been looking for one in particular.”
“I know a few,” I said. “Mostly Vivian, though. She’s me girl’s auntie.”
He beamed. “Ah, so you’re the boyfriend! I’ve heard about you. You’re a lucky man.”
I was confused. “You…you know Pet? But how?”
“I met her a few nights ago. She was downtown with Vivian, and I happened to be in the same place,” Billy explained. “But have you seen her? Vivian, I mean?”
“Dad,” Joni suddenly interrupted, “I can see Mom over there. I better get going. Nice to meet you, Joe.” She kissed her dad and darted through the crowd to a stunning bird with blonde hair.
When I looked back at Billy watching her go, his expression was a mix of angry and sad. Then he seemed to remember me there, and looked me in the eye again. “So, mate, where can a man get a drink?”
“No drinks around here,” Pet’s voice said on me other side. Her arm slipped round my waist, and I kissed the top of her head. “Hi Billy, how’s it going?”
“Fine, but it’d be better if I could find Vivian,” he replied straightaway.
She frowned. “I haven’t really seen her today. I thought she was at the AP booth, but I was just there and she wasn’t.”
He gritted his teeth. “I really need to speak with her.”
Pet shrugged. “Sorry, I wish I could help you.”
Billy smiled—with some effort, I noticed—and said only, “Well, since Joni’s just gone off, maybe I’ll walk round and see where Vivian is. See you both later.”
And he was gone.
I leant down to kiss Pet proper. She smiled against me and kissed back. “So,” I asked when we were done, “you met Billy Z?”
“Yeah,” she replied. “I didn’t know if you knew who he was, and I guess I forgot to mention it anyway. You like his music?”
I rolled me eyes. “Love it, is more like it. And why’s he lookin’ for Vivian?”
She giggled. “Well…they sort of are…or were…you know,” she said.
“Do I, now?”
“But they haven’t seen each other for awhile. That’s the impression I got, anyway,” she said casually.
“Have you seen Vivian since then?” I asked.
She shrugged. “Not really. I’m not her keeper, you know.”
I kissed her again to shut her up. “Anythin’ else you’ve been keepin’ from me?”
Suddenly she looked guilty. “Uh…um…kinda?”
I looked at her close. “What did you do? Who did you meet?”
“Well…” she began, “uh, we kinda…uh…met…MCR?”
“What the fuck!” I shouted.
“Shh, Joe, calm down, listen,” she hurriedly told me. “It was—it was just, you know, like, Gerard and Lindsey. And their baby.”
I glared at her, bloody furious. And jealous. “And when exactly were yeh gonna tell me about this?”
“Today, actually,” Pet said calmly. “Because later…all of them will be here for our show.”