Guilty Feet Have Got No Rhythm

I awoke the next day with a rats nest of hair falling in my eyes, a nasty taste in my mouth, and a stomach ready to unleash its fury. Rolling out of the bunk with a groan, I crawled into my clothes and left the bus before Claudia was awake.

Sipping on an iced coffee while sitting atop a picnic bench, I seriously contemplated what the hell I was going to do about Avery and the kiss. I mean, it was obvious that I didn’t like Avery the way he liked me—or, rather, to the extent. What was bothering me was that I actually felt something for him! And suddenly, the thought of dating him wasn’t as repulsive as before. Sighing, I walked back to our tent and got ready to continue on with my day.

At about four-thirty, I had finished my signing and was done for the day. Pulling my hair into a ponytail, I walked away from the booth, signing the occasional autograph or posing for a photograph when needed to. However, as I neared the chain link fence that separated the buses from the crowds, I saw Avery walking in my direction.

Panicking, I spun around to run in the opposite direction, only to see Alex signing autographs. I instantly clammed up, my heart beating wildly. Any minute now, either one of them was going to turn and see me, which would result in everything blowing up.

Without even thinking, I ran for the chain link fence, hoisted myself up, and started climbing. I managed to swing my body over the top, sailing free with ease. It was nothing but blue skies and freedom for me. That is, until my shorts hooked on the top.

With an ungodly rip, my shorts tore up my thigh, coming to an end right at my underwear line. The force of the disastrous tear propelled me forward, planting my face into the grass, right in front of a group of people.

My body throbbing, leg bleeding, bruises on at least 65% of my body, not to mention the wind knocked from my lungs, I lay on my stomach, mouth full of dirt and grass. However, as painful as the fall was, I was clear from both Avery and Alex.

“Holy shit, are you okay?”

I was flipped onto my back by a rather cute man, his head blocking the sun from blinding me.

“Dude, did you see her flip over that fence? Jesus, that was awesome!” another laughed.

“Guys, give her some freaking space, she needs some air,” a woman commanded, pushing them aside. “Are you alright?”

The moment I gained the ability to breathe, I croaked out, “I’m fine,” before pressing a hand to my throbbing forehead.

“She’s bleeding,” a shorter man with a nose ring pointed out. I glanced down at my leg, staring at the thin line of red that dripped from a rather large scratch on my upper thigh.

“Eh, worth it,” I shrugged, slowly sitting up.

“As awesome as that jump—”

“And fall!”

“And fall was,” the tall one continued, nodding to the shorter one, “you’re not allowed back here without a pass. But we’re flattered, honestly.”

I stared up at them, furrowing my brow. “Um, I have a pass…I just…Have you ever needed to get away from someone so badly you’ll do whatever it takes?”

“Oh, trust me, honey, I’ve got enough of those moments to last me a lifetime,” the girl whistled, sticking out her hand to help me up. “C’mere, have a beer.”

I sat down next to the woman and took the Stella she offered me, popping off the top with the side of the lawn chair.

“Now, tell me exactly why you were jumping over that fence, if it wasn’t just to get out autograph,” she said, leaning back and clinking her bottle with mine.

“Okay, so there’s this boy…”

[&cut]

Two hours later, I thanked Victoria and the rest of the members of Cobra Starship and headed back to my bus, relaxed and ready to face Avery and tell him how I felt. With a slight skip in my step, I made my way to his bus and pounded my fist against his door, waiting for him to open up.

“Holly?”

I spun around, face to face with Avery.

“Avery! Hi,” I chirped, smiling happily. “I was just looking for you—”

“Me too,” he interrupted. “Look, about last night—”

“I wanted to talk about that too! I just want to say—”

“We should just forget about what I said.”

“I really like you, too.”

We both paused at hearing each other’s words, equally shocked.

“Wait,” I snipped, hurt, “What?”

“You like me?” Avery gasped, pointing at me, then himself, than me again. “Since when?”

“You want to forget about everything?” I repeated.

“No! I thought that’s what you were going to say!” Avery defended himself. “Why wasn’t that what you were to say?”

“Wait, did you think that kiss meant nothing to me?”

“Yes! I mean, no! I mean, you like me?” Avery was clearly flustered, running his hand through his hair with a slightly panicked look on his face.

“Avery,” I sighed, “do you like me?”

“Holly, why would you even—”

“Answer the question, Avery!”

“Hell yes,” he laughed. “Hell yeah, I like you.”

“Good,” I smiled before standing up on my tiptoes and flinging my arms around his neck, pulling him in close for a kiss. “Cause I like you, too.”

[&cut]

I returned back to my own bus later that night, floating on cloud nine. I had a spring in my step, a grin on my face, and a slight hickey on the side of my neck. I was like the freaking fairy of happiness.

“Claudia, you will not believe what just happened,” I sang, kicking off my shoes, and dancing down the small hallway to the back lounge. Kicking open the door, I skipped inside while humming the medley to an old love song, imagining me and Avery dancing to it.

I stopped, however, when I caught sight of her huddled shape on the couch.

“Claudia? Claudia, sweets, what happened?” I whispered, dropping to my knees next to her. She lifted her head, staring at me through glossy eyes and tear stained cheeks.

“Bryan and I broke up,” she sobbed before letting out a piercing wail and burrowing her face in her hands.