This Is Primetime

Matt drove me to the restaurant for my first day of work. Leilani immediately took me under her wing and gave me a tour of the whole place. She was smiling, just like always, but she seemed to notice that I wasn't as chipper as usual. Before I had to do any actual work, she pulled me into her office.

"What's up, Becky?"

"What do you mean? I'm just trying to learn, that's all."

"You can tell me, I'm really good at keeping secrets. Mike went over to Josh's last night with Ian and he told me that the two of you had a fight. It's okay if you don't want to tell me, but it's not healthy to keep it bottled up." She sat down behind her desk and pushed a few loose papers aside.

"I assume Mike has already told you everything?" I guessed, sitting down in the vacant chair on the other side of the desk.

"I'd like to hear your side, too. I've only heard Josh's."

I frowned. "And what did Josh say?"

"That's not really the issue here. Tell me what happened."

I sighed, then gave a quick recap of the day before. I left out my discussion with Matt about our relationship. I didn't feel that anyone needed to know that just yet. Leilani remained silent until I'd finished, then her usual smile returned to her full lips.

"Feel better?"

"Not really. But I'm kind of glad that you know everything now. It's nice to have someone to talk to. I mean, I've got Markie, but she's not actually here. So that makes things a bit more difficult. And I talk to Matt, but I don't really want him to wind up caught in the middle."

"It'll work out, Becky," she seemed incredibly confident of that fact. "You've got to believe that. I can't say if you and Josh will end up together, but everything will turn out alright. For now, you've got to start your shift."

I knew that Leilani and I were going to get along just fine. She was a really nice girl, and she knew everything about the band. She would know the best way to handle almost any situation. I was starting to look up to her.

My first day was mostly uneventful. The work was fairly easy; I already had a good memory. Even so, I was completely exhausted by the time Matt came to pick me up. He gave me a sympathetic smile when he saw me.

"Long day?"

I nodded. "I'm so glad to see you. Let's go home, okay?"

He hesitated, chewing his bottom lip. I felt my chest constrict. There was something wrong, and I really wasn't in the right state of mind to deal with anything. Was he reconsidering our conversation from the day before?

"Beck, I've got to tell you something. This is really bad timing, though."

"What?" I whispered, feeling afraid of whatever answer he might have.

"We got on another tour. It's really short, don't worry. I'll only be gone for two weeks. But I really hate leaving you behind right now," he explained, reaching out and touching my arm, as if the gesture would help me take the news better.

"You're leaving?" I felt my stomach drop. "When?"

"Let's go home, Beck," he urged. "We can talk about it there, okay?"

I nodded, feeling numb. Matt led me from the restaurant and into his truck. I climbed into the passenger side and waited for him to put the truck in gear and pull out of the painted yellow lines he had parked between.

"When?" I repeated as he pulled out of the lot and into traffic.

"It's sort of last-minute," he sounded like he was trying to make up for something.

"Matt," my tone became dangerous as he dodged my question.

"In three days."

I nodded my head a tiny bit as I thought. "In three days," I murmured to myself.

"I'm sorry," he apologized. He looked like he was in agony. I felt like I needed to console him, even though he seemed to be feeling the same thing for me.

"What do you have to be sorry for? You've got to pay the rent somehow."

Matt appeared to be wary of my acceptance. I had to give him credit for that one. He knew me better than anyone, even when I was putting on a brave face. Inside I felt alone. We finished the ride in silence, and I hurried upstairs to the apartment. I looked around the room, noticing that it was still entirely Matt's apartment. My presence had been confined mainly to my bedroom and a cupboard in the bathroom. For the first time, I was grateful that I hadn't invaded much space. When he was gone, I would still be able to feel him here.

"You can't ever turn your phone off, though," I told him suddenly.

Matt started to laugh. "That's all your worried about? Clearly I've underestimated you."

"Everyone always does." I smiled, though there was no heart in it.

"Maybe you should call Markie," Matt suggested. "I really don't like the idea of you being alone right now. She wants to come visit anyways, right?"

"It's worth a shot. You really don't have to worry about me like this, Matt. I'll be okay."

"I know, but I can't help it."

I couldn't stop myself from being touched by his concern. I knew that, before yesterday, he wouldn't have been so open about it, and he probably would have made a couple of jokes. In a way, it was nice that we were able to discuss anything with each other now. In another way, it was weird.

"So I'll have two weeks without Josh," I mused, sitting down on the couch. "That'll make things a bit easier."

"For you, maybe. I'll be in a cramped van and a shared hotel room with him the whole time," Matt dropped down next to me, looking a bit upset.

"But that can't be much different than the last tour. I mean, after I agreed to move in, wasn't it kind of the same thing between you two?"

Matt grinned at me. "Well nobody'd kissed you back then. Especially not someone with a girlfriend."

"For the record, he had kissed me before then. Back when I was the girlfriend," I reminded him, picking up the television remote and pressing the power button. I didn't pay attention to the images flickering across the screen. "But I know what you meant. Maybe you'll be able to figure out what's going on in his head. Then you could try explaining it to me."

The corners of his lips turned down ever so slightly.

"I'm not saying that I want to be with him again," I told him quickly. "I just want to understand."

"Yeah, we all do." He set his jaw firmly, and I couldn't help but wonder why he looked so mad. "Go call Markie. If she can't come, I'll have to figure something else out."

"You don't have to find a babysitter, you know. I'm a big girl now."

"Tell me that you wouldn't feel better if you had someone to hang out with while I'm gone."

"Fine," I conceded, getting to my feet. "I'll call her. But because I want to, not because you told me to."

"Whatever helps you sleep at night," he teased.

I scowled at him as I got to my feet and grabbed the phone. I began pacing the floor in the kitchen as I dialed. I always felt the need to do something when I was on the phone; it was impossible for me to keep still.

"Hello?" Markie sounded groggy.

"Were you sleeping?" I glanced at the clock. "It's just after eight!"

"There," she shot back, sounding irritated. "But here it's after nine. And I had a long day. Don't make fun of me for going to bed early!"

"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up. How's the saving up been going? I want you to come here for a little while. As soon as possible. I have a lot to tell you."

"Uh," she seemed to hesitate. "How much does it cost to fly out there, exactly? I've been saving since you decided to move, but I'm not sure if I've got enough."

"I don't know. Check online."

"That requires me getting out of bed."

"Seriously, Markie, I need you. I don't want to be alone when Matt goes on tour, and I don't want to go with them because I can't be in close quarters with Josh right now."

That seemed to wake her up. "Wait, what? Why can't you be with Josh? It's got to be pretty big if you're letting the hottie leave without you."

"Well, there may have been an incident involving a kiss. And then a fight. And then another incident that made me and Matt question ourselves a little bit," I hedged around any direct answers, knowing that if I left a bit of mystery she would be more inclined to come and visit me.

"When do you want me there? I'll get a loan from my parents if I have to, but I'll definitely be there! I need to know details!"

Matt appeared in the kitchen doorway as I began digging through the fridge. "Is she coming?" He mouthed the words, not wanting to interrupt. I nodded my response, then closed the refrigerator door and returned to my pacing. Matt smiled happily at the news. His grin was infectious; I couldn't stop myself from smiling along with him.

"Okay, Markie. Matt leaves in three days. So it's up to you when you come, but he'll be gone for two weeks."

"I'm going to go and figure all of this out. I'll call you tomorrow," she promised.

"Talk to you later," I hung up, then stopped walking. "Satisfied?" I asked Matt. "I won't be alone."

"Actually, yes. That makes me very happy to hear it."

I was suddenly plagued with another worry. "When you're gone, how will I get around? You're kind of my chauffeur at the moment."

He laughed. "I don't take my truck on tour, Beck. Consider it yours while I'm gone. Just don't do anything stupid; I love that truck."

We spent the night on the couch watching old movies. Many of them were films that we'd seen together in high school. It was well past two in the morning when Matt looked over and saw the struggle I was having with keeping my eyes open.

"You've got to work tomorrow, Beck," he reminded me. "Maybe you should go to bed."

I didn't want to admit that I was trying to spend every possible moment with him before he left. It just didn't seem fair that he had to leave so soon after I got here. "Okay," I agreed reluctantly, getting to my feet. I drug my feet all the way to my bedroom.

I had three days to try and figure things out with Matt and Josh. After that, I was going to have to wait two weeks. The thought of putting it off for that long was surprisingly appealing, but I knew that it wouldn't be fair to anyone if I did. Especially Matt. And I just couldn't bring myself to hurt him. And I couldn't deny that, now that everything was out in the open, there was definitely an attraction there.

Markie was going to absolutely love this.