Without You, I'm A Disaster

Crystal nodded as she picked out a lacey, blank tank top and a pair of red jean shorts that were frayed and ripped at the edges. She threw on a pair of black sandals before doing her hair into a quick braid and putting on a touch of eyeliner that would help hide the fact that she had gotten hardly any sleep the night before due to getting back so late from the show as well as the…sound effects that were coming from Reid’s side of the door.
She grabbed her purse and bounded out the door, calling back a brief, “See ya,” to Sal as the hotel room door shut and locked behind her.
She walked to the elevator and hit the button that would take her to the ground floor. She poked her head out and saw Matt standing there waiting for her. He was in a black button up shirt with short sleeves and a pair of dark wash blue jeans that had a few tears in them. She smiled and called out his name, “Walst!” He looked up from his phone and smiled at her. “Hey there Cutie,” he said with a laugh as she walked towards him with her headphones in a tangled heap in her hands. She gave him a crooked grin, “’Sup sexy.”
Matt watched her as she continued to untangle her headphones that seemed like nothing but a jumble of dark purple wires that had no end. He drew his eyes up from her hands to her face. He saw that there was something a little off about her.
He gently nudged her shoulder, “You okay Crys?” She looked up at him from her headphones and shrugged. “Reid,” she said simply as she tossed her still-bundled earphones back into her purse. Matt nodded understandingly, “Oh, gotcha.”
Matt had never thought that Reid was good enough for Crystal. She was such a sweet and caring girl who had the most amazing personality. She was funny, crazy, but just down to earth enough so that she wasn’t annoying to be around. And, on top of it all, she was gorgeous. She had a smile that could knock a grown man down, and her eyes could melt a heart of stone. She had seemed all too perfect for Reid, but if she was happy with him, Matt wasn’t going to say anything. When Reid had broken up with her though, the rest of the guys were just about ready to rip his throat out. Matt had never seen Sal and Doug so fired up. It was no secret that they were all friends, but it was crazy to see them get so defensive over her.
“What’d he do now?” Matt asked casually as they walked towards the front door of the hotel. Crystal leaned up against the side of the hotel building. She turned to Matt and gladly accepted the lit cigarette that he handed her. She took a drag and exhaled a stream of pale smoke before telling him about the events of the morning.
“Shit,” Matt said when Crystal had finished her story. He ran his free hand through his thin blonde hair. “I can’t believe him,” he said as he shook his head. Crystal gave an exasperated shrug as she stomped out what was left of her cigarette. “Oh well. I shouldn’t even let it bother me anyways; him and I have been done for a while now. I should be over it, you know?”
The man shook his head and wrapped a protective arm around her shoulders. “Don’t be so hard on yourself Crys. It’s not your fault Reid decided to be a total douchebag behind your back.” She looked over at him, “But I should’ve seen it coming. I mean, I knew how much of a flirt he was. Hell, that’s how he got me. And he’s a rock star in the truest form when it comes to girls. I just, I so set myself up to get hurt like that.” Matt shook his head, “Stop thinking like that. It’s just going to drive you insane.”
He gave her a quick twirl before leading her back towards the door into the hotel. “Look, we’ve got a few more weeks of touring and then you’re home free. You won’t have to even look at Reid unless you choose to. So, hang in there for me?” Crystal looked at his sparkling eyes and couldn’t help but to nod as they headed back towards the elevator.
“Wait,” she said as the doors slid closed in front of them, “was there something in particular you wanted to talk to me about? ‘Cause Sal said that you wanted to see me.” Matt shook his head, “Nah, I was just going to see if you want to hang out and have a smoke. But turns out I didn’t even really have to ask,” he laughed.
They walked down the hallway that led back to their adjoining rooms. Matt slid his key in and held the door open for her. “Ladies first,” he said with a laugh. Crystal did a fake curtsey, “Why thank you.”
When the door clicked shut, Sal once against poked his head out of the bathroom. This time though, his Mohawk was completely done up and he had thrown on a white tank top so you could still see faint outlines of the tattoos that covered his chest through the fabric. He raised an eyebrow, “You two good?” Matt nodded, “Yea, we just need to pack up the rest of our stuff and bring it out to the bus.”
Crystal groaned, “Ugh, I hate packing though!” Just as she said that, the door swung open and the band’s bassist, Brendan, scooped her up and threw her onto the bed. She laughed but didn’t let go so he came tumbling onto the bed with her. “Well, we hate looking at your face but we still do it, Love,” he said with a laugh. Crystal chuckled and pulled his black bandana down over his eyes. She ruffled the short, spiked brown hair that was on top of his head before sliding herself out from under him and sitting upright on the bed. “You’re just too good to be Bren,” she said as she got up and started to go over to the dresser to unpack her things.
Brendan rolled over so that he was lying on his back and he fixed his bandana so it was once again on his head where it was supposed to be. He watched as Crystal tossed all of her concert-worthy clothes into one bag, and her regular hangout clothes into another. Even though she was only in a simple tank top and a pair of ripped shorts, she still looked beautiful. “What the fuck is wrong you with, Reid?” he questioned his best friend in his mind.
When Crystal had all of her things in assorted bags and suitcases, she turned back to Matt and Brendan; Sal had scampered off somewhere and disappeared. “So,” she said as she shifted back and forth on her feet, “when are we heading out?” Matt shrugged as he leaned against the frame of the door, “Whenever we can get the rest of our fucking band out I guess.” Crystal nodded. “Wait,” she said slowly, “where’s Doug? I haven’t seen him at all this morning.” Brendan stood up and stretched, “He went into town to pick up a few things. Apparently he needs to die his hair before the show, ‘cause lord knows he can’t have any of his real color showing.” The three of them laughed. Crystal looked over at Brendan. “You wanna text him and ask him to pick up some extra black hair dye? I’ve been meaning to do something with this mop,” she said as she flipped her long braid of brown hair. “Awh,” Matt said with an exaggerated pout, “but your hair is so pretty.” Crystal laughed as she walked over and gently patted his chest, “It’s not like I’m shaving my head Hon; I’ll still have hair.”
Meanwhile, Reid and Sal were in the adjoining room arguing with each other.
“What were you doing over in our quad this morning anyway?” Sal asked with a touch of anger in his voice. Reid raised a questioning eyebrow, “How did you know I was over there?” Sal sighed, “I was in the bathroom dumbass. And besides, that’s my room anyway.” Reid gave a dismissive shrug; he knew that Sal was right. “I went over to talk to Crystal,” Reid said simply as he threw a few shirts into his suitcase. Sal looked at him curiously, “About what?” Reid turned around with a defensive fire in his eyes, “Why does it matter to you?” Sal stepped forward, “Because after you left she was about to fall apart. You crushed her once Reid, I don’t want to see you do it again.”
Reid stepped in closer, “Since when are you her fucking bodyguard Costa? She can take care of herself. Shit, just leave the two of us alone.” Sal gave a condescending laugh, “I’d leave you guys alone if I knew for sure that you weren’t going to hurt her again. But she cares about you and she’d let you stomp on her heart over and over again if she thought it would make you happy,” he paused and gave Reid an angry glare, “And I know you would be the guy to take her up on that offer.”
The boy’s soft brown eyes turned ice-cold as he stepped in towards the guitarist, “Don’t talk to me like you know everything about me. You don’t, not even close.” Sal had a good couple inches on Reid even without the Mohawk, so when he stepped in even closer Sal towered over him. “Yea but I know you well enough to know that you won’t think twice about what you’re doing to her.” Reid glared at him. “What I’m doing to her? Look, I know that Crys has every guy in this band wrapped around her fucking finger, but did you guys ever stop to think about how this is affecting me?” Sal laughed and took a small step back. “How it’s affecting you? Reid, you’re the one who cheated on her, multiple times might I add, and you’re also the one who left her. So sorry if I don’t feel all that bad for you.”
Reid glared at him, “Why do you always have to make me seem like the bad guy whenever it comes to her?” Sal’s jaw went slack for a moment before he spoke. “Because you fucking are!” he exclaimed angrily, “You totally fucked her over! She was nothing but good to you and then you go behind her back all the fucking time and completely crush her! You were a fucking douchebag and you know it! Crys deserved better than that. She deserved a hell of a lot better than you!”
The keyboardists hands clenched into fists and his knuckles turned white. He had heard about all he could take from Sal. He stepped forward and swung, catching Sal’s tanned left cheek. He stumbled backwards from the blow, but it didn’t take him long to recover. Reid didn’t have all that much muscle compared to Sal, so that combined with the fact that Sal was taller made it all too easy for Reid to end up being pinned down on the floor.
The guys and Crystal in the next room heard the yells that were followed by the slamming sound of bodies hitting the floor. They all looked back and forth at each other concernedly. Matt was the first one to sprint across the room and throw open the door that adjoined the two rooms.
He looked in and saw that Sal had Reid pinned down at the ground, and he must have gotten a punch or two in for himself because there was blood trickling down Reid’s pale cheek. Sal had Reid pinned down by the chest and Reid had one hand around Sal’s neck. The two of them were in a locked staring contest, with hatred showing in every aspect of their expression. Sal took his hand and swung down at Reid’s face again, making contact and earning a loud cracking sounds from some unknown bone in the boy’s face. The brawl restarted and fists seemed to be flying everywhere.
Crystal pulled Brendan’s arms off of her; he had been holding her back ever since Matt opened the door. She blew past Matt and attempted to pry Sal off of her ex-boyfriend. “What are you two doing?!” she yelled with hurt plaguing her voice. “Sal! Get off of him!” There were tears streaming down her face as she helplessly fought against Matt’s grip as he pulled her back away from their two fighting friends and band mates.
Matt was dragging her back into their room as Brendan ran forward and tried to pry the two apart. “Make them stop!” Crystal yelled with tears running down her face as Matt kicked the door closed.