Caught Like A Fly

Connor. I knew I didn't like that guy. I smacked my face into my pillow a few times out of irritation before simply burying it and growling into the fluff. My bunk had been my best friend for the length of Warped Tour, especially because my band mates didn't come barging in here, afraid of what they'd find. Too many horrible things were seen when you thought you could waltz into a man's personal space unannounced.

This was the shittiest situation I've ever been in. Marianne is gone, Andy has a boyfriend now and every last one of my friends is in a relationship. This was Warped Tour, and the ages of the concert goers had dropped significantly, so things weren't looking up. My phone beeped at me from underneath the pillow and I saw that Andy had sent me a picture. I tapped on the message and smiled. She was on her motorcycle with her helmet off and her guitar strapped to her back, giving me a thumb's up and a huge grin. It looked like she was at a gas station.

Thought you needed a picture until we run into each other again.

So maybe Andy wasn't a lost cause; the last I heard, which was about a year ago, was that she hated Connor. It irked me that I argued with her when she said Connor needed to get over her, and that tingling sensation in my chest reminded me what happened shortly after. I still can't believe I did that. I'm not the kind of guy to go around kissing girls, but something about her made her an exception. My guess was that I connected with her on a different level than other girls because she played guitar and she was in a band so she understood what it was like...I dunno.

It was time for me to get out of my bunk. Lying here only made me tired and we had a show to play today. Ronnie was the only one who knew about Marianne and Andy, but it wouldn't be long before the others knew. Thankfully they were all distracted by some female or another. When I stepped into the hallway, I ran straight into Rachel. She came back with Vivian and as far as I could tell, she was a nice girl.

"Oh, sorry," she said, holding her nose. "I didn't see you."

"I know, I'm shorter than the rest of them," I said, setting my hands on her shoulders. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," she said, pinching the bridge of her nose for a moment before bringing her hands back down to her sides. "Are you feeling okay? You've been hiding in there for a while."

"I'll be okay," I said, offering a small smile.

"Ronnie said your girlfriend broke up with you," she said with a sympathetic tone in her voice. "I'm really sorry."

"It's not your fault," I assured her.

"I know, but I think I can help," she said, glancing both ways before tugging me to follow her back to my bunk. My eyes widened in panic and forced her to a stop.

"Whoa, whoa!" I exclaimed. "I won't! Mika will kill me, and then I will kill myself!"

"Dude, shut up," she snapped in a very Viv way. "I just want to talk to you, not rape you."

"Oh."

"Andy is one of my best friends," she said, and my heart swelled up to twice its size. "Viv was texting her about a week ago and she asked how the band was doing."

"Really?"

"Really," she said, beginning to smile. "Every time I talk to her, you're mentioned somehow. Don't give up, Jacky. Ignore Connor; we all knew he wasn't the right one for her, anyway." Now she reached up and set her hands on my shoulders for a few seconds before patting them and walking away. I decided that Rachel was my favorite person right now.

* * *

My ass was numb when I reached Las Vegas city limits, and arrived at my parents' house shortly afterwards. All of the cars were here, but there was a chance they were out on the golf course. My mom answered the door before I even knocked.

"Ellie!" she exclaimed, her arms outstretched. "I'm sorry, I got your message about an hour ago. I knew you wouldn't be able to answer." Only my family members were allowed to call me Ellie. My full name was Adelaine Quinn Westfall. It was a mouthful.

"That's what I figured," I said, giving her a big hug.

"What's the occasion?" she asked as she helped me with my backpack and led me into the house.

"I'm leaving for tour in two weeks and I needed to get away from Connor," I said bluntly, and she chuckled. "He gets really overwhelming."

"I can see that," she said. "Come on, your dad is excited you're here. He wants to go out for dinner."

"Let me get my stuff up to the bedroom," I told her, and she handed me my backpack. I told Jacky I would text him, but I thought that a nice, thoughtful message would be nice for him to get when he got done playing.

"You've reached Jacky, leave me a message." Beep.

"Hey, it's Andy," I started, and took a deep breath before continuing. "I made it to my mom's, and even though I know you're on stage right now, I thought a voicemail would be better than a text. I almost died twice because Californians can't drive and neither can people from Nevada. My parents are taking me out for food, so you can text me, love. Or mate? That's what you British people call your friends, right? Anyway, I better go before my dad catches me talking to a boy. Bye, Jacky." I tapped the end icon before I could say anything else stupid. Love? Seriously? I have a boyfriend, for fuck's sake! I shook my head after shedding all of my gear and raking my fingers through my hair to tame it. Helmet hair was nice for shows, but not so much for going out to dinner.

"Hey Dad," I said as I trotted down the stairs. He was dressed and ready to go, and waved his hand for my mom and me to follow him.

"Who were you talking to?" my mom asked. "I thought you were trying to get away from Connor."

"No, that was my friend Jacky," I said as nonchalantly as possible. "He plays in one of my favorite bands from Vegas. He moved here from London."

"Huh," she said before looking over her shoulder at me and smirking.

"Sure," my dad teased, drawing out the word.

"Stop it," I snapped. "I can talk to whoever I want."

"We never said you couldn't," he said as he started the car. "How's Connor?"

"As annoying as ever," I said bitterly, crossing my arms. "He just...irritates me, I don't know what it is. He used to treat me like one of the guys, and now he treats me like a piece of glass that was blessed by the Lord Jesus."

"You're not a fan of being loved?" my mom asked, sounding confused. She liked Connor and always had since the first day he came over.

"If being loved means being treated like a lady, then no, I'm not," I sniffed. "A gentleman isn't a gentleman if he forces his chivalry on you, even if you don't want it. I want him to ask me to go swimming, or teach me how to skate, to shoot me with a paintball gun, play catch with a baseball, just anything! Ugh, I can't take this whole movies and dinner, walk in the park funkiness."

"You've always been like that," my dad said, his eyes staying on the road. "I always knew to pick up the girl that was bleeding or covered in dirt."

"Thank you," I said, feeling exasperated. Of course my dad would understand, but no one else seemed to. "I just don't know how to break that to Connor. He won't go for it. I know he won't. He was brought up to treat girls a certain way, and I don't like it."

"You can always use me as an excuse," he said, and my mom slapped his shoulder. "Tell him that I hooked you up with a successful young man that is supposed to inherit a winery."

"Deal."

"Ellie!" my mom exclaimed when we reached the restaurant. It looked new; I had never been here before.

"Mom, relax," I said, hopping out of the backseat. "I'll try and talk to Connor after we get back from tour. I can't have him quitting on me." I was seriously considering the winery dude idea. Connor wasn't going to understand. I knew he wasn't. All I had to do was endure this tour and I would end it. Maybe I would need to find a new lead singer or I would need to find a new band, but any fear that I might have felt about either of those situations melted when I saw a text from Jacky on my phone. This was what I wanted. He was what I wanted.