Pin-Up Paper Rockstars

The entire first night on the bus was one of agony. Jill rolled over and over in her bunk trying to get comfortable, but with no success. This was fantastic. The first night of a year long trip and already she couldn't stand it.

The curtain she'd pulled closed before bed, slowly crept open and she rolled onto her side to see Dustan. "What the hell are you doin, fighting off the boogey man?"

"Fuckin mattress," she groaned and rolled onto her stomach, burrying her face into her pillow.

Dustan laughed. "Scoot over." She did as she was told and he crawled into her bunk beside her. "You were kicking the walls and I could hear you turning over and over. What's wrong?"

She turned her head and locked eyes with him. "Everything hurts, I'm not use to sleeping on a thin mattress on a bouncing bus."

He was laying on his back beside her, staring up at the roof of her bunk. "But it beats sleeping in a crowded stinky van." He looked over at her.

At the moment she wasn't too sure and it was obvious enough that he'd read her mind.

"It is, Jillian, you'll get use to it soon." He leaned over and kissed her on the forehead causing her to smile softly and close her eyes. She could smell his cologne, and feel the warmth eminating from his body beside her. And it didn't take long before she was drifting off to sleep.

When she awoke, she was alone in her bunk, and the bus was relatively quiet. Her curtain was pulled shut again and she opened it slowly. The other bunks were open too. Blankets and pillows still messily layed out indicating that she wasn't the only one who'd had a rough first night.

She swung her legs over and slipped out of her bunk. Dressed in boxers and an old Iron Maiden t-shirt, she headed to the front of the bus. Still no sign of anyone. The bus however was stopped and parked just across from Avenged's bus.

Deciding further inspection could wait, she headed back to her bunk and her bag and dug out some clothes. A bikini top, a white tunic, ripped jeans that'd been written on with permanent black marker, and a pair of pink heels topped off her ensamble when she returned from the bathroom. Then it was hair and make-up time. A little bit of back combing and teasing, and some hair laquer fixed that problem. And since it was an off day, she setteled for some simple make-up. Eye liner, mascara and lip gloss.

After deciding she was presentable she headed off the bus. They were parked in an empty parking lot and just down the street were a series of restaurants and small shops. She didn't have even a fucking clue as to what town they were in. Whichever it was, it wasn't very big.

She flipped open her sidekick and texted Dustan to find out where the hell they were. While she waited for his reply she began walking slowly down the very unpopulated sidewalk. She was pretty sure that every cafe she walked by with windows, the older people drinking their morning coffee were stopping their conversations and staring at her.

Dustan texted her back moments later and she found herself having to turn around and head back a couple of buildings.

Sam's Cafe, was like something she'd only read of. It was small, and cozy. Round tables surrounded by chairs occupied the vast majority of free space within the building. The counter, was only large enough for the cash register, and to display the freshly baked pastry's underneath glass covers. Behind the counter was the kitchen, and an older man was working in there alone. Far different from the bigger restaurants she'd encountered at home in Detroit, or in Los Angeles.

"Hey, I didn't think you were ever going to get up this morning."

She knew that voice belonged to Kyle. She tore her eyes from the counter and back to the boys and the crew who were occupying three tables at the far end of the room.

"Nice of you to wake me up, ass." She approached them and took a seat beside Johnny who was eating what looked like a damn good sandwich.

"I told them you needed sleep after last night." Dustan smiled at her softly.

She had to smile back. There he went again, looking after her.

"Didn't have a good sleep?" Matt asked her from behind his sunglasses.

Not being able to see his eyes made her uneasy. "Not great. But better than being in a van." She added, making sure they knew that she was greatful for the bus.

Dustan passed her half of his sandwich and she took it, she was hungry.

"So what are the plans for today?" she asked none of them in particular .

"Ummm, driving mostly." Zacky spoke from his seat at the table to her right. "Our first show is in Grand Prairie tomorrow night."

Sometimes she didn't understand tour schedules. The stops seemed so random at times, but she was amazed at how they seemed to always work out.

"So....bus party tonight?" she asked before biting into her sandwhich.

The guys laughed, then actually mulled it over. "Bus party, definitley." Johnny grinned.

Syn took a drink of his energy drink then set it down on the table. "When we stop for supper, you guys can join us on our bus."

"Sounds like a fuckin good plan." Trent spoke for the group.

***

By 8:00 P.M. Sick Chick was loading onto Avenged's bus, booze in hand.

"What's that?" Syn inspected the bottles in Jill's hands.

She turned them so the labels were facing him, although he could have probably already guessed.

"Jagermeister and Jack Daniels...nice." He stepped aside with a grin and let her pass. She moved towards Jimmy and set the two bottles down on the counter.

"Here." He moved over and opened up the small freezer above the fridge. "Throw the Jager in here."

She handed him the bottle knowing full well that Jagermeister needed to be served icy cold to tame the herbal flavor.

"Do you have shot glasses?" she asked him when he returned to her side.

He laughed and reached up into some smaller top cupboards. "What kind of band travels without shot glasses?" he asked her seriously before grabbing a couple and passing them to her, then grabbing the rest.

"Well, I'm happy with the bottle," she laughed softly and laid the shot glasses out in a row. "But with so damn many of us here, it'd take a while for the bottle to go round."

He nodded and watched her pour the shots before helping her hand them out.

"Alright, alright." She caught everyone's attention and the noise on the bus dwindled down. She raised her shot in the air and everyone else followed. "To The Noise and Chaos tour," she paused and grinned. "Let's make it exactly that."

"Hell yeah," Zacky spoke for everyone before they downed their shots.

An hour later, she was sure everyone was hammered, including herself. She was now sitting at the table beside Kyle and across from Johnny and Rev, laughing over a story Rev decided to share about his days living in the laundromat.

"Any suggestions for tunes?" Matt asked over the crowd as he plugged his ipod into the specially made speakers.

"Oingo Boingo," Syn suggested over his shoulder. And that was what Matt went with.

"Do you know how to play poker?" Johnny opened up a deck of cards and she laughed softly. "I can. But I suck." She held her hands out to him. "Deal me in."

It was sometime later, she found herself cursing Rev out. "You know, I'm suppose to like you right now because we're on tour together, but I'm having a hard time doing that."

Jimmy laughed and set his cards down. He's won again. "Why's that?"

She growled at him. "Because I want to rip your fucking head off."

That caused everyone to laugh. A moment later Dustan was taking a seat beside her. "I think it's time for bed," he suggested.

"I don't need to go to bed." She knew that she was getting defensive over nothing, yet she couldn't help herself.

But Dustan simply sighed and stood up. "Bed sounds good." Rev watched Dustan leave then stood up. "You can crash in my bunk." He wavered slightly but leaned against the table. "Come on, Jillian, the party is winding down anyway."

She wasn't sure what it was about him that made her want to go with him rather than Dustan. But she did. He held her hand as he lead her down the small hallway to the bunk area. She climbed up into his bunk and when she thought he was gonna crawl in beside her, he closed the curtains. Her stomach rumbled and her first thought was that she had to get out of there. She flung herself out of the bunk and nearly knocked Jimmy over on her way by him again.

"Holy shit," Matt muttered and held up his beer so she wouldn't knock it out of his hand as she rushed past him on the way to the door. But she didn't make it. Instead, she ended up clinging to the small garbage can by the door.

"Nice," Syn laughed as he knelt down beside her, brushing her hair away from her face and grinning. "Too bad we weren't betting again tonight."