Tear Down the Cobwebs

The small crowd in front of us cheered as we ended the last song. It still amazed me that we had so many fans in cities and states we’d never even been to. I guess that’s the power of the internet.

“Alright everyone, we’ve got a special treat for you tonight,” Hunter announced. “Earlier today, Hailey lost a bet to Zach. In result, he got to choose any song for us to perform, with our lovely little Hailey singing.”

Little? I wasn’t that little. Compared to him, maybe, but compared to the rest of the world, I was just below average. I think. “I’m not telling any of you what the bet was, and I can’t tell you how or why Zach chose this song. If you really want to know, you’ll have to ask him. Anyways, who here has heard of All Time low?” I paused a moment, looking out at the group with the hands raised, some grinning. “Not bad. So, if you know the words, you know what to do. Sing along, jump, blah, blah, blah.” As we started the song, I caught a glimpse of Balz standing just offstage. Halfway through That Girl, I glanced over, laughing at the mixture of emotions on Balz’s face.

“Yeah!” Hunter yelled as we finished the song. “Give it up for Hailey.” The somewhat smaller crowd in front of us cheered, asking for another song. “Sorry, but we don’t have enough time for another song. We’ll try to make it back here again when we can.” Hunter draped an arm around my shoulder. “Before we go though, we have enough time to ask Hailey one question.” Glancing around, I could see Blake grinning about something. Fuck, what was he up to now? “So Hailey, who’s your female celebrity crush?”

“Remind me to kill the both of you later,” I muttered before answering simply. “Milla Jovavich.” As expected, some people cheered and others booed. Not that I really cared, it’s my opinion, not theirs. I let Hunter, arm still around my shoulders, lead me and the rest of our little band offstage, only to run back up a few minutes later to help get our equipment back to the van.

“Not a bad choice,” Blake said. “Personally I prefer Anne Hathaway.”

I rolled my eyes. “Really? I had no idea,” I said sarcastically. I swear, he never shut up about her.

“Aww, you’re just jealous cause he’s not in love with you,” Aaron cut in.

“How can you say that? Everyone loves me.”

“Does that mean I have some competition?” I spun around to face Ricky. And two cups of what I assumed to be coffee.

“Why, jealous?” I asked teasingly.

Ricky shrugged, not meeting my eye. “I thought I’d bring this by for you,” he said, handing me one of the cups.

“Thanks. Is there any chance you know where Balz went? He was backstage, but then he disappeared during our last song.”

Annoyance flashed across his face before replying. “Sorry, haven’t seen him for a while. I’ve actually gotta go meet someone though, so I’ll talk to you later.”

I sighed, leaning my back against the van. I knew there was no chance Ricky could ever be interested in me, but why did I feel like I’d just been abandoned? I couldn’t let this get to me. This was reality, not my imagination. I had to remember that.

“Hail, what are you doing?” Hunter asked.

“Standing here, drinking my coffee,” I replied.

“I mean, what are you doing with Balz and Ricky? In case you haven’t noticed, they’ve both been hitting on you since the beginning of tour. You can’t have them both, so pick one, and pick one soon, or you’re going to lose your chance with them both.”

Why did Hunter have to be so good at stepping into the father role? But he did make sense. “You’re right, I know. But tell me Oh Wise One, what should I do about this? I'm not trying to lead them on.”

Hunter grinned, pulling me into a hug. “I’m always right. And I’d suggest starting with whatever Ricky taped to the bottom of your cup.”

I waited until Hunter walked away, leaving me alone before pulling the folded up piece of paper free.

“Hailey,

This isn’t a carrier pigeon or anything that creative, but this was the best I could in the current situation. But would you like to go out with me tomorrow night after the merch tents have been packed up?”

I smiled to myself. I guess I needed to go find Ricky and give him my answer.