Daylight

Viv’s POV

I hightailed it off the Bathers’ bus and had to stop short when I recognized the back of Tim’s shirt, facing me. Shit!

I ducked behind the nearest vehicle and peeked out again; Tim had moved on, but I knew without a doubt that he was on the lookout for me. Double shit; I was gonna be in trouble if I couldn’t pull this off. Swiftly I ran alongside the trailer and peeked out again. I didn’t see Tim anywhere now, but that meant nothing. As fast as I could, without running, I moved out into the open and found myself in a group of kids. Perfect!
I started talking to them as if I’d meant to, handing over my leaflets and telling them what I knew would be coming up later that day. They nodded politely at the crazy lady—me—and moved on.

I could now see Bobby waiting anxiously by our booth. I strolled in a relaxed way over to him. “Hey, Bobby, sorry I took so long,” I said, loudly enough in case our boss was nearby.
“Hey, Viv,” the intern answered in the same tones, then lowered his voice to hiss, “Where the fuck’ve you been? I wasn’t sure I could cover for you much longer.”
I smiled as if we were discussing something pleasant and gestured to the kids I’d just been with. “Yeah, they needed more information about the schedule, so we were chatting longer than I thought. Sorry about that.”

“Vivian!” came Tim’s voice from behind us. “There you are; I thought we’d lost you.”
I smiled brightly and spun around to face him. “Nope, right here, boss,” I said as enthusiastically as possible. “Sorry I took so long; Bobby was texting me, but I couldn’t hear my phone. Should’ve had it on vibrate. Bobby,” I continued, “it’s your turn. Stay out of the sun, huh?”
Tim looked at me carefully, as if he were analyzing my words. Bobby grabbed some leaflets and bolted. Our boss watched him go. “So, everything okay?” he asked me, a little too casually.
I raised my eyebrows in surprise. “Doesn’t everything look okay?” I asked innocently.
He didn’t answer that, he just smiled and walked away. As soon as he was out of sight, I wiped the stupid fake grin off my face and relaxed. For a minute, anyway.

Because here came Billy.

I was reflexively shaking my head almost as soon as I saw him. He ignored my semi-frantic gesture and walked right up. He took my hands.
“Billy…”
“We need to talk,” he said immediately, talking right over me.
I lowered my voice, though why, I had no idea. “I cannot talk to you right now.”
“I know that,” he answered. “But I’m leaving tomorrow.”
I nodded. “Yes, but if I get in any more trouble, I’ll lose my job.”
He looked chastened. “I don’t want that to happen, Viv,” he replied softly.
I felt bad. “Tonight would be better, if you’re not busy.”
He looked right into my eyes. Oh shit, what that did to me. “I’ll pick you up by the main entrance at eight, if that’s alright.”
I was momentarily speechless, so I just nodded.

“Well, this is a surprise,” said a voice behind me. Guess who. I was so startled that I actually jumped. Shit shit shit shit shit.
Billy turned to Tim. “Hello again,” he boomed, flashing that megawatt smile at my boss. I tried to pull my hands away—Billy was still holding them—but he wouldn’t let go.
“Didn’t think we’d be seeing you again,” Tim said in a falsely pleasant voice. I could tell he was pissed.
Billy finally dropped my hands. “I was seein’ my daughter off and found Vivian for a moment,” he replied.
My boss nodded. “I see that.”
“Best be going, then,” Bill offered cheerfully, backing away. “Have a good day, both of you.”
Tim crossed his arms over his chest, a mildly defensive gesture. “Thanks, you too.”
Billy turned the fading rays of his smile on me, and then was gone.
My boss cocked his head at me. God, but I wanted to punch him right then. “You gonna have guests frequently, Vivian?”
I sighed. “He was here about thirty seconds, Tim,” I answered. “I told him I was working, and then you showed up.” I swallowed. “It won’t happen again.”
He nodded shortly. “I’m sure.” He strode away, obviously with better things to do than deal with me. It wasn’t a relief, however; I knew that he was just going to be on my ass even more.

Fucking great.

Pet’s POV

Oh my God, this was great.
The Madmen had just finished another amazing set, and we were waiting for them backstage with a surprise. Okay, not really a surprise, since Joe knew, and the rest of the guys probably did too by now. But I still couldn’t wait to see the look on their faces when they would walk offstage to meet….
“Holy fuck, Ray Toro!” Bryan yelled as he walked backstage. He rushed up to the taller man, who seemed really amused. Ray ducked his head and shook Bryan’s hand as he babbled his admiration. Fortunately, everyone else was a little calmer around the members of MCR, including my own bandmates.

Sal stood back and took a pull on her latest beer. “Fucking awesome,” she beamed. “Those guys are so chill, it’s amazing,” she went on. “Think they have any idea how awesome they are?”
I was glad she wasn’t too drunk yet, but she was starting to sway a little. “They probably hear it a lot,” I answered.
Just then Joe wrapped an arm around my shoulder. “Hey luv,” he murmured, squeezing me tightly. “Everything good?”
I kissed him. “Now it is.”

Beside me, Sal made gagging noises. Mo walked up and took the beer out of her hand, finishing it off in one long swallow. “Thanks,” she said, handing back the empty, but not before thoroughly licking the rim of the bottle and winking at all of us.
“Ugh,” Sal groaned, “now I really am gonna puke.”

Joe looked stunned for a second, then started to crack up.

Mo petted Sal on the head like she was some sort of Persian cat. I thought she looked a little unsteady too.
“Poor baby,” she cooed over Joe’s laughter. “Let’s get you back to the bus so you can barf in private.” She took Sal’s arm and steered her through our little crowd, out towards the merch booths, without a backward glance.
Joe and I looked at each other. “What’s Maureen on about?” he puzzled.
I shrugged. “No idea. In fact, I think I don’t wanna know.”
“Sounds like a plan,” he remarked.

It was a terrific couple of hours, hanging out with MCR, despite the weirdness with Mo and Sal. The band even let us take fan pictures with them, since we were being such huge geeks about the whole thing. Tia was going to ask Gerard what the hell was going on with his hair, but she chickened out, posing with Frank for a picture instead. They were about the same height, in fact.

Sal and Mo never did come back.

Viv’s POV

After a long, stressful, hot day of trading off walking and standing shifts with Bobby, I’d finally managed not to run afoul of Tim for the rest of my time out at the booth. And though I looked for him—because, knowing him, I never thought he’d simply leave—I didn’t run into Billy again, either.

It was driving me crazy.

Now, with the sun blessedly setting and the day finally cooling off, I was pacing near the main entrance to the venue. Impulsively, I wished I was still a smoker, just so I’d have something to do with my hands. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d been this twitchy.
Good God, if he doesn’t get here soon… I thought, but I couldn’t finish the sentence in my head; I still didn’t know what I was going to do.

Finally, a car pulled up to the curb in front of me and stopped. It was long and dark, and I briefly wondered if I was being kidnapped. That fantasy dissolved when the driver got out and opened the rear passenger door, and I saw Billy in the back seat.
He held out a hand to me and smiled. My stomach did a nervous somersault, and I struggled to force a pleased expression onto my own face. I took Billy’s hand and stepped into the car. He pulled me close but didn’t kiss me. Instead, he just kept his arm tight around me and nodded to the driver.

I rested my head on his shoulder and tried to relax as we took off into the night.