Bite My Tongue.

"Stop! Stop! Pull over the bus, yeah?" Josh was practically screaming at the driver before he yanked open the door and sprinted down the steps. They had stopped by an old fill station, and the looks he was receiving from his friends were rather unwelcome to say the least. Josh didn't care. He had recognized the beat up Jeep that was sitting parked there. But it couldn't be, could it?

"Annie!" He yelled, his shoes throwing up dust and dirt in his wake. Suddenly, a brunette head appeared from behind the open hood of the Jeep, grease covered and surprised.

"You must really need my help if you're all the way out here lookin' for me." She responded, leaning back behind the hood of the car, fingers tight around a wrench. "It's good to see you, Josh." She finally stepped out from behind the Jeep to approach him, using her clean hand to brush some of the hair from her eyes.

"Josh, c'mon man, get back on the bus!" That was Matt, yelling at him for the tenth time in as many seconds.

"Give me a second!" He yelled back, but the others were now piling off the bus and into the dirt behind him.

"I'd hug you, but. . . engine grease." Annie shrugged, her light brown hair fluttering into her eyes with the scorching breeze. She wandered around to the trunk and pulled out a hammer, flipping it in her fingers before setting it directly by the engine of the Jeep. "What brings you all the way out here to my part of California, 'sides an obvious tour?"

"Josh, who's this bird?" Dan was eyeing her carefully and with good cause. She was wearing a bathing suit top over a pair of short shorts and hiking boots, and her light brown hair was tied back in a messy bun, her bangs hanging long in her face.

"Annie." She replied, extending a hand to him, her eyes, which were accented with grease, staring him down. "I'd be more talkative, but I have to deal with this piece of shit. Excuse me a second." Grasping the hammer, she swung it heavily at the underside of the hood, causing a heavy dent to pop back into place. She exhaled, throwing the hammer into the dirt and grumbling under her breath. "I just rebuilt you, you piece of junk! You wanna start for me now or what?"

"Rebuilt?" Max was curious now, approaching slowly.

"From scratch." She sighed, shaking her head. "This place has been abandoned for a while, but I had all the tools and friends bringing by scraps." She leaned back under the hood and shifted something around before she reappeared. "You mind starting that?" Josh obliged, but the engine only clicked. Annie groaned. "And I wanted to finish today." She grumbled, kicking a rock over the small cliff behind her. She ran the heel of her palm over her forehead in annoyance. It smeared a small amount grease across the skin, but she didn't care. Finally, she took a breath and looked to Josh specifically, watching him carefully. "You've been looking for me, right?" She asked, a smile finally making it's way onto her face. "I thought you would have taken that offer for a joke, but apparently, that whole advice thing we talked about? You're not the only one who's come to me." She shrugged and leaned against the side of the car.

The boys could see the muscles in her legs and arms as they shifted, the sheen of sweat on her tanned skin. The dust blew around their ankles, the wind less blustery than they were used to. They could smell salt sea air from somewhere, but they couldn't figure out where. And Annie's attractive figure was quite the distraction. In the distance, maybe a mile or two from the abandoned pump station, there was a sprawling city on the coast, made famous by old movies and older celebrities.

"Don't mean to be a downer but, who the bloody 'ell are you?" Chris spoke from the back of the group, clear confusion written over his features. The brunette merely smiled lazily and shrugged.

"I already introduced myself once. My name is Annie. Advice guru and mechanic extraordinaire." She brushed a hand across her shorts and stood straight again, studying them carefully. Her eyes were the type that scoured as if they missed nothing and her tone had a wistful, carefree note to it.

"I need your help, Annie." Josh finally spoke, ignoring the protests and confused glares from his band mates. Annie rose a brow and stared at the group, an air of carefree indifference surrounding her. It was a strange dichotomy. The last time Josh had seen her, she had been sitting cross legged on top of her Jeep in Venice Beach, her hair in a few wild dreadlocks, when they were recording Sinners Never Sleep in LA. Now, her hair was no longer dreadlocked and it hung halfway down her back and she was covered in grease. He inhaled. "Please."

"Whatever you need." Annie replied, nodding.