Second Chance

"Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God."

The guys weren't even on the bus yet, and already this fan was freaking out. I couldn't help but giggle at her every few seconds as she bounced in her seat, desperately trying to fix her already perfect hair. Her boyfriend sat beside her, rolling his eyes but looking just as pleased. Their three friends sat opposite them, taking in the sights and sounds of the bus.

Three of the five had been doubtful when I'd invited them to come back to the bus after the show, but one of the final two - the incredibly excited girl, as it was - assured them that I truly did travel with the guys. She didn't hesitate for a moment before accepting my offer. A huge leap of faith, as far as I was concerned, but it seemed that a couple of photos leaked onto the Internet could do a whole lot for how people saw you.

The guys were still mixing with the few fans that had waited behind outside the show, but the five that I had on the bus didn't seem to mind. They filled in their time by telling each other exactly what they wanted to say to the guys when they finally showed up. I listened in for a while, never failing to be amazed by how dedicated people could be to a band. It was something that I'd never seen back home - I hoped I got to see a whole lot more of it.

"So how come you're travelling with the band?"

This came from the most subdued of their group. He was excited, I could tell, but not to the point that it was the only thing he could talk about. He moved a little away from the rest of his group, as if he needed to separate himself from them and their enthusiastic conversation. Suddenly being the centre of his attention was unnerving to me, but I answered him nonetheless.

"Zacky kinda came to my rescue a while back, and now I'm just...tagging along for a little while."

"Man, that's so cool..."

It was cool, I had to agree.

"So you're not, like, with Zacky V?" My expression must have told him I didn't completely understand his question, so he clarified. "I mean, you guys aren't dating or anything?"

"Da-? No! Of course not!"

"Ha! I knew those idiot girls were wrong!"

He looked extremely proud of himself.

"Idiot girls?" I repeated, my confusion stepping in again. "What idiot girls?"

"I've been arguing with a bunch of them on Deathbat News," he informed me, grinning from ear to ear. "No offence, but I didn't think Zacky would go for somebody so young."

I didn't know where to start with that. The fact that there were people in the world who could believe that Zacky and I were dating absolutely baffled me. He'd just been forced out of what I was coming to know was a long, loving relationship - the thought of him moving on so quickly was almost disgraceful.

"What's Deathbat News?" I asked instead, targetting the other part of his statement.

"It's a fansite. It's pretty new, but popular with the fans. Keeps you up to date with news and stuff." He gave me a look, dancing a fine line between humour and sympathy. "You're not really a fan, are you?"

"I'm getting there..."

The words had hardly had the chance to leave my mouth before the overly excited girl had let out an almighty shriek; I gave her my full attention, suddenly worried that she might actually require medical attention sometime soon. It was therefore a great relief when I found that the reason for her excitement now was that Jimmy had come (somehow noiselessly) bouncing onto the bus.

He stopped short when he heard the yell, and his eyes flicked directly to the fans. For a moment he looked truly surprised to see them there, and I worried that Brian hadn't told the rest of the guys to expect them. Or worse, that he'd asked me to bring them back to the bus to get on the other guys' nerves. I felt a true dash of panic shoot through me at this thought. It would be just like Brian to pretend to be nice to me if it meant getting some of the others to hate me to any degree. How could I have allowed myself to trust him?

"Wow, girl," Jimmy began. I'd thought he'd been addressing me, but I soon realised that his eyes were on the bouncing girl. "You've got a pair of lungs on ya!" He turned his attention to me, a grin crossing his face. "Looks like you picked out a good bunch!"

And just like that, I felt terrible for having jumped to horrible conclusions about Brian so quickly.

He was the next one onto the bus, scratching at his head before pulling his hat back on properly. He gave the group of fans a quick once over before sending a smile and a short, approving nod my way.

Not far behind him, Zacky watched the exchange between us, looking pleased.