Six Feet Under the Stars

Drip. Drip. Drip.

Water droplets pattered against my face and I moved to avoid them.

"I think she's waking up."

I didn't want to wake up. I wanted to stay in the warm covers around me and keep laying on the pillow cradling my head. It was a little uncomfortable because it wasn't fluffy and soft, but I didn't mind too much.

An incredulous voice, "Is she actually going back to sleep?"

A river of water flooded over my face, and my eyes shot open in surprise. Upside down, Alex's eyes were staring into mine as he leaned over me. "Welcome back."

Jack, Zack, and Rian were also around me. I felt like Dorothy from Wizard of Oz, and I had the sudden urge to click my heals together. That action would have been quite difficult since Jack was squishing my legs under his body. All three of them were poised, waiting for my me to say something.

Taking a hand, I rubbed my wet face. "Who's the asshole that poured water on me?"

"Me." Alex grinned from over me. He seemed closer than the others.

"Should have known you'd be the one to resort to Chinese water torture."

"Hey, you should be thanking me. Rian thought you might have a concussion and you're not supposed to sleep with one, so I woke you up. I saved your life."

"A little overdramatic." I commented, blinking several times to readjust my contact lenses. "How long was I out for?"

The ordeal rushed back to me quite suddenly: Getting pushed by Dorian. The broken microphone. Alex's hurt expression after I yelled at him. And me, passing out on the pavement. It was the average Tuesday afternoon.

"About thirty minutes." Zack told me. "We carried you inside after the first ten."

That was the first time I looked around me. I was inside a tour bus, laying on one of the beds. It had a much nicer appearance than the ones offered to the roadies. The space was less cramped and had new, clean seats and appliances.

"It was all very exciting." Jack assured me. "Almost like a James Bond movie, but without the cool spy gadgets."

"Hey, it was kind of like that." Rian agreed.

Jack fashioned a gun out of his fingers and pointed it at Rian, wearing a serious expression. "From Russia With Love." He said with an attempted Russian accent, making a loud gun noise.

"To hell with that." Rian said quickly and left with Jack chasing after him.

Zack sighed, "Better go babysit." while following the two.

Alex chuckled softly and seemed to shake the bed I was laying on with his laughter. The cushion my head was on was like a pile of bricks. "Why is your pillow so uncomfortable?" I asked annoyed, while fidgeting around to get more comfortable.

"Um... that's my leg."

I shot up straight on the bed. Alex was right; he had been holding my head on his lap while I had been unconscious. To my embarassment, I flushed a bright pink.

"That must cross some professional boundaries."

Running an absentminded hand through his hair, he laughed, "No, you'll know if I do."

Pulling the covers closer around me, I huddled up in them and made no immediate reply. The wheels in my brain were turning. I had been unconscious for thirty minutes. Had Dorian noticed I was gone? Did he think I was up to something?

The constant worrying was making my head throb unconfortably again. It was too much to deal with, too much to worry about.

Alex studied me for a few moments while my brain was on overload, trying to appear casual. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just feeling a little out of it."

"Dorian must be worried."

At the mention of my boyfriend I unconsciously touched the bump on the side of my head. I laughed uncomfortably, "Oh, he'll be okay. Probably just wondering where I am."

More like who I'm with, I thought bitterly.

Alex noticed the small gesture. "Did you hit your head?"

Immediately, he scooted closer to me and started to reach out for me. I squirmed over a few inches, trying to avoid his touch.

He laughed in surprise, "Stop being so stubborn. Let me see."

"I'm telling you; I'm fine." I verbally protested. Physically though, I inclined my body to his and turned my head to the side. Alex moved next to me. With ginger fingers, he began feeling around for the bump.

I caught his rough hand in mine and guided it upwards, "It's here."

Since we were so close, I could feel his sharp intake of breath. "That's a terrible bump. How you manage that one?" Unbelieving, he continued to feel the lump on my skull with soft fingers.

"Just banged it on some equipment when I was looking for a box." I lied easily. "I was surprised I hit it so hard."

"You got to be more careful." He chastised with a wink. "You're lucky you didn't knock your head completely off your shoulders. Take better care of yourself, Melanie."

"Thanks for the advice."

My fingers escaped from holding his hand, but he didn't remove his from the side of my head. Instead, he brushed his knuckles along my jawline. Swiftly, he then gently tucked fly-away hair behind my ear.

Goosebumps were threatening to rise on my skin. "Thanks." I repeated. Clearing my throat a few times, I continued, "Well, I better get going."

"I'm not sure that's the best idea."

"I told you I'm okay now."

"Well, I was just concerned about how you were going to get off the bus when we're pushing seventy miles per hour. But I'm not so sure about you being all right either."

"What?" I questioned, sounding panicked.

"You might have some lasting effects from the--."

"No, no." Too shocked to care about courtesy, I cut him off. "What do you mean seventy miles per hour?"

"That's usually how fast highways are." Alex told me, amused. "Are you sure you didn't hit your head harder than you thought?"

I ignored him, "We're already on the road?"

"Yeah, we were about to leave when you up and passed out on everyone."

"Shit, when are we stopping next?"

The bus driver up front heard my frantic question and he answered while watching the passing cars on the highway, "Not for a while, ma'am. We got a good gas tank on this baby." He patted the steering wheel with his right hand.

"You have got to be kidding me." Leaning my head gingerly against the wall, I shut my eyes.

For a moment all I could hear was the sound of the rushing highway, and the quiet blowing of the bus's air conditioning. Through the quiet, I heard Alex speak. Even though my eyes were closed I could tell he was smiling.

"Well, looks like we have a few hundred miles ahead of us. Get comfortable."