Take Your Time

January 12th 2012
Las Vegas, NV

The show had ended about an hour ago, and the venue was already empty. Only few people were left, technicians, janitors, the usual. Addie sat at the edge of the stage. Considering how she hated attention, she sure loved sitting there when no one was around. She always liked wondering how it would feel to play an instrument or sing on stage in front of a sold out crowd, must be amazing.

But then again, she never liked attention, and if that happened she would’ve fainted first. However, imagining things wouldn’t hurt her, would it? She always wondered if she’d be the same person if she was just a little less shy to people she just knew, would she be Addie Shirley at all?

She had her earphones in her ears, listening to some Coldplay all the while checking the pictures that she took earlier during the show. The pictures were ‘okay’, she didn’t dare call it good, not without Dan’s confirmation. Unfortunately she had to wait for that because he was busy planning about what they’d do later.

Everyone had chosen to just get a taxi or walk, it wouldn’t be convenient for them to go around Vegas in the vans, and it would be pretty weird. Unfortunately, Dan forbid her from walking back to the hotel alone, he said it was too dangerous. She didn’t get the dangerous part, to be honest, because she can take care of herself.

She was just waiting for someone to invite her along. If no one did, well, Dan had no reason to stop her from going back to the hotel. She needed some alone time, this day was weird, she wasn’t sure if she was friends with Godsey and Stephen now or not, and she may care a little.

Aside from chilling at the hotel, she also wanted some time with one of the few friends she had. Mia was one of the few models that weren’t bitchy, she really liked her, and she told her she was in Vegas tonight, she wanted to invite her to the hotel.

After a while, she finally stood up and walked outside. There, she saw Marshall and Brian. She couldn’t seem to find anyone else so she safely assumed that everyone else had gone first. Brian smiled when he saw her standing there, “We knew someone was missing, want to come with us Adds?”

Ah, there’s the invitation. She was hoping no one would but apparently it wasn’t her lucky day. “Sure.” She gave a small smile.

“We’re going to a bar, then we should eat somewhere, and I want to test my luck tonight.” Marshall listed down the things they will do, and Addie didn’t like his idea that much.

“Um...,” she said, “there’s this friend of mine, she’s here tonight, would it be okay if we meet up with her?” she asked them. She really had no idea how they’d respond, she thought they wouldn’t want to have anything to do with her friends.

“You worked in a fashion magazine right? Is she a model?” asked Brian, and she tried her hardest not to roll her eyes. “We’re in Vegas, and I’m a bachelor, or do you want me to drag you to a strip club?” He asked when he noticed the photographer’s sour expression.

She sighed, “Yes, she’s a model, does this mean you approve her?” She asked for clarification as she took out her phone to tell Mia.

“The more the merrier,” was Brian’s answer. Yeah, of course, because you get to be in Vegas with a model, Addie thought to herself. “Tell her to meet us at the neon museum.”
“I thought you said we’re going to a bar.” Addie frowned. Of course she didn’t mind going to a museum, that’d be amazing compared to going to a bar where he wouldn’t be able to have fun, but she was confused about their itinerary for the night.

Brian put his hands on her shoulders. “Addie, a model wouldn’t want to go to a bar, judging from you she must not be a typical model, so the museum it is,” he said slowly, like he was teaching her something.

She eyed him suspiciously, “So you’re planning to hit on her?”

“I plan to be on top of her at the end of the night.”

“Brian!”

“I’m kidding, I’m kidding!” The singer laughed. “I don’t do one night stands, and I don’t even know how she looks like, just tell her to meet us there in about fifteen minutes.” He told the short girl.

“No, wait, why would she choose you over me?” Marshall finally spoke. He had been listening to their conversation and Brian wasn’t the only one planning to get a model’s number tonight.

Addie groaned as she sent a text to her friend, “She’s not going with any of you, she is engaged,” she said at last, hoping to end the topic.

Brian and Marshall looked like they were disappointed, and somehow she couldn’t blame them for it. “Don’t invite her,” said Brian.

“Already did, she’s on her way and we should be too.”

“Addie!” A girl ran over to Addie, Brian, and Marshall who just got out of a cab. She was probably around five foot eleven, with tanned skin and dirty blonde hair. The short skirt she was wearing showed off her long legs, and her eye shadow brought out the natural green color of her eyes. She was beautiful, obviously, and both Brian and Marshall thought so.

A smile immediately formed on Addie’s face, and it was a genuine one. “Mia, I missed you!” She exclaimed before hugging the taller girl. The difference of their height was pretty apparent, and Brian thought it was funny so he snorted a laugh.

Still, the singer couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Addie actually acted like a normal girl, she looked really happy as she talked really fast to the girl in front of her, Mia, supposedly. Compared to Mia, Addie was dressed simply in a pair of leggings, a khaki colored blouse and a thin belt. Still, it was obvious Addie was still dressed better than Jess but that was beside the point.

“Care to introduce us?” Marshall asked, butting into the girls’ conversation. He personally thought Mia was beautiful, it was unfortunate that she was engaged to some other guy. However, he will never go after a taken girl, that’s against the bro code.

Addie looked at the two musicians that she had forgotten about. “Mia, this is Marshall and Brian, I’m their tour photographer...ish.” She motioned to Marshall and Brian.

“Pleasure to meet you.” Mia shook the boys’ hands, a smile was on her beautiful face. “The last time I met you, four months ago, you can’t even talk to a guy properly aside from Logan and now you’re in Vegas on a date with two guys at the same time, I must be dreaming,” she joked.

“We’re not on a date, why the hell would I go on a date with them?” The photographer said ‘them’ as if they’re the most disgusting thing in the world. Wow, Brian thought, she sure changes when she’s around this girl.

“Because I’m good looking, talented, and awesome,” Brian answered the rhetorical question with a grin.

She scrunched her nose, “You still sound like a duck,” she said.

“A good looking duck.”

“Aww that’s cute, the way you think that you’re actually good looking,” Mia sarcastically said before giving Addie a high five.

“Yeah, remember that old picture of you?” Marshall grinned at Brian, which earned him a glare. “I can’t believe I deleted that picture, someone on Twitter might have it.” He took out his phone. However, Brian took it from him before he could even open the lock to his phone.

“What old picture of him?” asked Mia. She just knew these guys but if they were friends with Addie they must be nice, her shy friend wouldn’t befriend just any guy, she wouldn’t even befriend some of the models. She felt like there was no need of being not friendly, they seemed like good guys.

Marshall laughed, “There was this picture of The Summer Set from 2008, I think? His face was priceless; he looked like a creeper or a pedophile, up to you.” He shrugged, glancing at the singer.

“I’d love to see that,” said Addie.

“Ha ha, this is so funny,” Brian said, sarcasm was apparent in his tone. “I’m keeping this until the end of the night.” He sent a look to Marshall.

Marshall chuckled, “Whatever, the museum’s not going to be open forever, come on.” He started walking to the entrance, the other three soon followed him.

During their time at the museum, Addie mostly talked to Mia while they looked at neons. Brian and Marshall had their own conversation, they looked around for an hour before the guys decided that they should probably go to a bar.

“I’m twenty, remember?” Addie reminded them, scratching the back of her head uncomfortably. She felt like she was holding them back and she felt a little guilty.

“Fake ID?” asked Brian.

“None.”

Marshall groaned, “No wonder you never get drunk,” he muttered. She felt really bad for him, she was pretty sure at this point he wished he never brought her along.

Mia finally spoke, “I can take her to go to the Stratosphere tower while you guys go to the bar or gamble, what do you say?” She tried to make her friend feel better, she’s glad that she was there for Addie, she wouldn’t want her friend to be left alone.

“Shouldn’t we stick together? Marshall and I brought her here, we can’t just leave her like that.” Brian pointed out. He knew she would’ve stayed at the hotel if he didn’t ask her to go with them, something that she’d like better than this.

“She can’t join you if you want to gamble or drink anyway, she’s not twenty one.” Mia sounded stern which was no surprise because she was the eldest of five siblings. She had always been the mature one.

Marshall pulled Addie aside from the arguing pair, “You, me, Bellagio fountains? I’ll show you around if you want me to, I know my way around here.”

She glanced at Brian and Mia who were still arguing, then back at Marshall, “What about them?” She frowned.

He glanced at them as well, “They can take care of themselves, let them be legal together, I’m going to show you the underage part of Vegas,” he smiled, “I take pride in this place you know, it’s where we started, The Cab I mean.”

“Really? I didn’t know you were from Vegas,” she glanced at Brian and Mia again, “fine, I’ll go with you.”

“Good,” he replied before pulling her with him and hailing a cab. As soon as he got one, he let her slide in before him and got in himself. “Bellagio,” He told the driver.

Addie looked out of the window as the car started to move. After a few minutes of silence, he sighed, “You’re quiet again.” It made her look at him with questioning eyes, “You talked a lot around Mia, she’s not here now and you’re silent again, she’s a big influence to your life, is she?” He asked.

“She helped a lot since I started doing photography,” she answered, “I didn’t talk that much,” she mumbled the last part.

“You’ve no idea,” he chuckled, “so you just need the right person, hm?” He raised an eyebrow at her. She never noticed it before, but his eyebrows were weird.

“What right person?”

“Yeah, and the right situation. You’re familiar with Dan and Mia, you were pissed off earlier today and snapped at Stephen, you just need the right trigger.” He leaned back in his seat, satisfied that he managed to read her like a book.

She rolled her eyes, “You don’t know me,” she looked out the window again. This is the first time she had set foot on Vegas, everyone told her it was magical but the way they described this place didn’t do it justice. She hadn’t seen everything and she had already thought it was beautiful.

“You’re trying too hard,” he said, “it’s obvious, you know? You wanted to sing along with Stephen and Godsey earlier today, long before they asked you to; you want to join our conversations and jump around during shows after the third song because you can’t keep yourself busy by taking pictures anymore.” Marshall always liked being right, and it was clear that he was. “You just don’t want to admit that you’re growing fond of us.”

“I’m not growing fond of you, and why can’t you find a better hobby than analyzing me?” Addie tried to keep her tone down. She didn’t want to let him get the satisfaction of seeing her snap at him, proving his theory, the right trigger, the right person, the right situation.

He chuckled, “It’s not a hobby, you’re just amusing. Give up, Adds, you can’t keep pretending hating all of us,” he said.

“I don’t hate any of you,” she mumbled, “and I’m not pretending that I do, but I don’t trust you.” Her voice was so quiet and he couldn’t believe how loud she was just fifteen minutes ago when Mia was around.

This task from Dan’s turning to be a little harder than he thought it’d be.

“Why not?”

“I don’t feel safe around you, I don’t think I want to know what Stephen would’ve done to me if I didn’t shove him,” she replied.

He sighed, “How many times do I have to convince you that we’re nice people? None of us are going to hurt you, and not just because Dan would kill us if we do that.” He sounded almost pleading.

She rested her head on the glass, “Maybe when you’re sober, yes, but what if you were drunk?” She retorted, recalling how her father would come home drunk late at night and abuse her mother. How she wished she never had to see that.

“We’re responsible.”

“You can’t be drunk and responsible at the same time.”

“Adds, we’re not that drunk and you know what? I’ll stay sober for you.” He said as the cab stopped. He paid the fare and they got out of the cab before he started walking to the fountains.

That’s when Addie spoke, “Stay sober?” she asked in confusion as she started following him. What did he mean stay sober? She was pretty sure there was no way he’d swear off alcohol.

“I won’t drink for the rest of the tour to keep you away from trouble, and Ryan doesn’t drink either so he will keep you safe too, do you trust us now?” He slowed his footsteps so he was walking beside her.

She frowned, “But you like alcohol.”

“And you’re a nice person,” he looked down at her, “everyone should feel comfortable on this tour and I don’t think you are judging from the fact that you, despite how I told you that you shouldn’t stereotype people, are still scared.”

She didn’t say anything, but she thought it was nice of him to do that. They were right on time because the show soon started and the fountain danced in front of them, she was amazed. It was clear in her face that she was happy, really happy.

“Beautiful isn’t it?” Marshall asked her.

“It’s perfect.” The girl answered before taking out her camera from her bag and snapping pictures of the fountains. After that, she decided to leave it hanging around her neck, it’d be more convenient.

When the show ended, Addie realized she had a lot of missed calls from Mia, and a lot of PING!!!s on BBM from Brian. Marshall noticed and looked at her phone from over her shoulder, “Ignore them,” he said.

She looked at him, “Seriously? What if they’re looking for us?” She asked, worried about the other two. What if they call the police or something? It’d turn into a serious matter.

“They’ll be fine, want to check out the volcano at Mirage?” He looked at his watch and groaned when he saw the time, “Nevermind, it’s eleven already, sorry Adds.”

“It’s okay,” she said in a comforting tone, though she was particularly sure why she used it, maybe she just didn’t want him to feel bad.

“There’s this amazing ceiling though, do you want to see it?” He offered, “or maybe you want to see the old Vegas at Fremont Street?”

She was about to answer when her phone played Two Door Cinema Club’s What You Know, she quickly picked it up, knowing that it’s Dan. “Hello?”

“Where are you two? Brian and what’s her name, Mia? They’re looking for you, why wouldn’t you pick up?” She heard Dan’s worried voice, “We thought something bad happened to you, are you okay?” His voice softened.

“I’m fine, Marshall and I at the Bellagio fountains and we’re going to Fremont Street next,” she said, “I’m sorry,” she added.

Marshall took the phone from her, “Hey, I’m sorry it was my fault, I talked her into it. No, we’re not, I think we’ll just go back to the hotel. Yeah, later dude.”

She looked up at him, “We’re not going to Fremont Street?” She sounded a little disappointed.

“No, your father’s pretty upset,” he ruffled her hair playfully. “I have never seen Dan so protective of something before aside from his camera, he cares about you, Adds.”

“He’s not my father. So we’re going back to the hotel?” She asked for clarification, hoping he’d say that she was wrong. She actually enjoyed her time with him, she really wanted to see the Fremont Street now that he mentioned it, she wanted to see everything.

He put her arm around her shoulders, “Don’t sound so upset, Adds. You’re turning twenty one in two months right? I’ll take you here and then you can enjoy every part of this town, okay?”

She stared at him, that offer was tempting as hell, she knew. After a few seconds, she actually smiled, “Fine.”

“Good, now let’s find a cab.”

“Addie! We looked for you everywhere, we thought he broght you to some scary place.” Mia hugged Addie as soon as she saw her, her hug was so tight that the photographer thought she’d never be able to breathe again.

At the last part of Mia’s sentence, Marshall raised an eyebrow at Brian. We? So Brian thought he was going to hurt Addie? “She meant ‘I’, you’re one of my favorite people, Marsh.” The singer tried to explain.

“Did he hurt you, Adds? Where were you? We looked for you everywhere!” Mia let the short girl go, but her hands were still holding her shoulders.

Addie laughed lightly, “He didn’t. He took me to see the Bellagio fountains and we were going to Fremont Street until Dan called us,” she answered.

The model’s expression changed, she was soon grinning. She leaned closer to Addie’s ear and whispered, “Is he a good kisser?”

“Mia! We didn’t- we didn’t do anything!”

“Sure you didn’t. Still, he’s hot and I really think he likes you, just saying.” Mia stood up straight. “I can’t believe you’re not staying a little longer, why would you leave at five in the morning from Vegas?”

“Because we have to get to Tempe, Arizona. I’ll miss you, Mia.” Addie replied, her face still red from the taller girl’s words earlier.

“I’ll miss you too.” Mia pulled her into another hug, “Don’t let him get away, okay?” She let her go with a grin. “Bye, Adds!” She walked away; waving at the shorter girl.

“Bye!” Addie waved back.