Told Me You Hated My G n' R Shirt. Shoulda Known Better, This Was Never Gonna Work.

Cody grabs my arm and pulls me out onto the street, and hails a taxi. We get in and he tells the driver to go to the east side of Central Park. I sit beside him and watch as the driver steers us wildly through the city towards the park, skidding to a stop in front of the entrance gates. Cody pays the driver and we get out and walk into the park.

"I haven't been here in years," I tell him after we stop and get coffee at a Starbucks vendor.

"I haven't been here at all since we've been in town."

"Jason used to bring me here all the time when I was a kid. Whenever he would be gone on a tour for a long time or whatever. When he came back we always used to go out and do things together." He nods and motions to a spot on the grass for us to sit on.

"The parks where I'm from are much smaller than this. And not quite as busy." I laugh and take a sip of my coffee.

"So, your mom works at Universal, huh?"

"I guess."

"Is there a story that goes with that attitude?" he asks with a chuckle.

"I guess."

"What was the fight about? If you don't mind me asking." I think of a way to tell him about what happened without revealing too much about my life and my father.

"We were having a disagreement about some financial issues," I say.

"That sounds pretty ominous. You don't seem like you're hurting financially."

"I'm not, that's the point. My mother is taking money that she thinks is owed to her, but I know it belongs to me. But, I'm at a point where I'm just like, whatever. Take the money if it makes you happy and move the fuck on, you know?" He has a confused look on his face, which is understandable.

"You don't get along on a regular basis, it sounds like?"

"It's hard to get along with someone when they are living God knows where with God knows who, since two days after the day you turn eighteen."

"That's understandable."

"Yes. Up until a week ago, I hadn't heard a word from her in almost six years. Now she's come back and done nothing but make my life complicated again And now she's taking my money and leaving, yet again. History is repeating itself right before my eyes."

"How does Jason fit into all of this? Is he related to your mother?"

"No, Jason can't stand my mother. Never has. He was a friend of my father's back in the day, and since then he's taken his job as my Godfather very seriously. He's also become my best friend, shrink, etc."

"Where is your father?" I pause for a second before answering him.

"Six feet underground at a cemetery in England."

"I'm sorry, I didn't know."

"It's alright. He died when I was a baby, pretty much. So, it's not like I have any fond memories of him."

"So, your dad is dead. You and you mother don't get along. Must not make for a very traditional Thanksgiving, huh?" I grin.

"No. The girls and I eat at Jason's place every year, then we go out and do something fun."

"What does your mom have to say about all the partying and shit?"

"She doesn't. As far as I'm concerned, she has about as much right to judge my life as a stranger on the street who sees me as nothing but a groupie, or a slut."

"Isn't that kind of how you portray yourself?" I point my finger at him and smile.

"You just said it. That's how I portray myself. That doesn't mean that's who I am."

"So you're not a groupie?"

"I think a lot of people have made that word very degrading over the years, like it's a bad thing."

"Mmm."

"Most people consider groupies to be girls who have to have sex with the band members in order to feel close to the music. In my case, I'm already close to the music. It's my life, ya know? Are most of the people I hang out with in the business somehow? Yes. Have I hooked up with band guys before. Of course."

"But you're not a groupie."

"Not in that sense, no. And I know it's probably bad, because seriously who wants to be thought of as a slut in other peoples eyes. But the truth is, I really couldn't care less what people think of me. And I haven't found anyone yet that deserves to know me any differently than the way I put myself out there. There are a few people who truly know me, but I know that they're around to stay and that's not changing anytime soon."

He thinks for a minute and takes a sip of his coffee.

"So you're a fan girl then," he says with a grin. My mouth drops open and he throws his head back laughing.

"I am definitely NOT a fan girl. A fan girl is even worse than a groupie, if you ask me. A fan girl is a thirteen year old who eats, breathes, and sleeps her favorite band, sports star, or whatever. A fan girl, is the one who seriously thinks that in her thirteen year old state, she's going to marry this person and live happily ever after. A fan girl is delusional."

"I see that I've hit a few buttons."

"I just can't believe you called me a fan girl."

"We'll call it payback for you calling me a band boy the other night."

"Touche. I deserved that, then."

"Yes you did." I sigh and lay back on the grass.

"Do you wanna go back to my place?" he asks me after a few seconds pass.

"Aren't all of your bandmates going to be there? It's the middle of the day?"

"So? Just because they're all there doesn't mean we have to see them. The label rented us a fucking mansion with a top of the line recording studio in the basement."

"I don't know. I should get back to my apartment. I'm sure the girls are worried about where I am."

"No they're not. Come on," he says, getting up and taking my hand, pulling me up from the grass and dragging me towards the park entrance.

We get into another cab and Cody gives the driver instructions to some place in the Hampton's. I sit up pin straight in my seat, while he sits back relaxed with his hand on the small of my back, tracing circles on my skin with his finger. I look at my watch and see that it's about two in the afternoon now. Jason has probably gone back to my house and found out that I haven't been there, then he would try to dial my cell phone and find it ringing in my clutch, in my bedroom where I left it. He'll have no idea where I am, or how to find me. I kind of feel bad about it, but right now it feels right to run away from everyone. I turn my head and look back at Cody. He gives me a little half smile and takes his hand off of my back.

"We're almost there," he says to me. I move my body so that I'm half laying on top of him and kiss his lips hard. He puts his hands on my back and kisses me back for a minute until we feel the cab stop. Once again we get out of the cab and Cody pays the driver. Then we go inside of the huge mansion, Cody dragging me along behind him.

He drags me up a set of stairs, away from some voices that I hear in another room downstairs. People that probably don't even know we're here. He leads me into a bedroom and shuts the door behind us, then he kisses me again. More passionately than before, like he's hungry for me.

When we're done I lay on my back panting heavily. I look over at Cody and see that he's doing the same. I roll over so that I'm facing away from him, then I feel his hand on my hip.

"So now you've gotten to do it with a member of your favorite band, twice. How does it feel?" he asks, kind of snottily. I feel my heart start racing with anger and I sit up in bed quickly.

"Excuse me? How does it feel? You invited me back here, remember?"

"You wanted me."

"I cannot believe you're saying this to me, right now. After all the shit I told you about myself today, you're just going to turn around and treat me like a fucking prostitute or something?" I pull the blankets back on the bed and quickly put my clothes back on.

"Come on, don't be overly sensitive about this. I was just joking around with you," he says, reaching across the bed and touching his fingertips to my back. I jerk away from him and start to leave the room.

"Fuck you!" I yell loudly. I hear him scrambling to get out of bed and follow me as I stomp down the stairs.

"Shayna, wait!" he yells after me. "How are you going to get home?"

"I'll fucking walk if I have to! Anything to get away from you!" I look and see a bunch of people coming into the foyer of the mansion to see what all the noise is about. Austin is there, and to my surprise, Jackie is there with him. All the rest of Cody's band mates are there too, and a bunch of other people I don't recognize.

"Shayna, come on. You're being unreasonable," he says.

"Unreasonable?! Are you fucking kidding me?" I yell, turning around to face him. "I tell you a bunch of personal shit about myself, and you take advantage of me when you knew how venerable I was today? Then you tell me I'm unreasonable. No, unreasonable is what you just said to me upstairs after you fucked my brains out!" I scream, slapping him in the face as hard as I can. I hear everyone else in the room gasp then I turn and stomp out of the mansion.

I stand by myself under the roof that's covering the entrance to the mansion for a minute, trying to decide how in the hell I'm going to get home. Then Jackie comes out and gives me a hug.

"I called a cab to take us home," she tells me. I nod.

"Do you wanna talk about it?"

"Not right now, Jackie. I just wanna go home. This has been the day from hell, and I'm exhausted." she nods and we wait for the cab to get there.

When we get home, I bypass Madison and Jason who are waiting for us, and go straight to my bed to sleep. I honestly had higher hopes for this day, and it let me down in so many ways.