Without You, I'm A Disaster

When Crystal woke up the next morning, she had forgotten that she had taken Brendan’s spot on the couch and he was back in her bunk, so it startled her not to have any beds lingering above her own. She sat up quickly and looked around, making sure that she was at least still on the right bus even if she wasn’t in the right bed.
Once she confirmed her surroundings, everything that had happened the night before hit her like a freight train. Her kissing Matt, fighting with Sal, the fact that she had admitted out loud that she was still in love with Reid, it all came back. She couldn’t believe that it had all happened. That was something that only happened in movies. Hell, her whole situation in general seemed like something that only happened in the movies. She let out sigh as she ran her fingers through her hair.
Someone flopped down onto the couch beside her, and Crystal turned to see a very concerned-looking Doug. She raised a questioning eyebrow. “What?” she asked him simply. The drummer sighed and ran a set of fingers through his messy hair, “In all the time that I’ve been with these guys, I have never seen anything like what’s going on right now. You should have seen them at the bar last night Crys!”
Fear struck through the girl’s blood as she looked over at Doug. “Why?” she said quickly and nervously, “What happened?” Doug turned around to make sure that the guys were still passed out in back. “Well for one, Sal practically drank himself into oblivion. And he never does that, ever. He gets drunk, but never to the point where he can’t walk himself home. And Reid was only a barstool away from taking Matt out for kissing you.”
For as much as she was concerned about Sal drinking as much as he did, Crystal couldn’t help but to question Reid’s behavior. “Why was Reid pissed?” she asked. Doug sighed; he knew that Reid would always come before anyone else on the bus. “Because Matt kissed his girl,” the man said simply. The girl’s eyes widened, “I’m….I’m not Reid’s girl though.” Doug gave a hopeless shrug, “Reid didn’t think you were either until he saw you with someone else and then continued to get shit-faced drunk,” he paused, “And you know Reid, when he’s drunk he says everything that comes to his mind, with no lies or filters.” Crystal nodded but was still trying to process everything that she had been told.
When she realized that that wasn’t going to happen anytime soon, she asked about Sal. “Is he going to be okay?” she questioned nervously. Doug shrugged, “Physically? Yea, he’ll be fine. He needs as much sleep as he can get before the show tonight though. And I’m not letting him go out again. But Crys? I am begging you, be careful with him alright? As a matter of fact, be careful with all these guys. Sure, they’re rock stars but they do have feelings.” Before the girl could say anything more, Doug got up and hopped off the bus to get breakfast for the six of them.
Crystal fell onto her back on the couch and sighed heavily. Brendan walked out and couldn’t help but to chuckle. “Well good morning Sunshine,” he said with a grin as he took a water bottle out from under the small table. Crystal groaned, “Morning.” Brendan looked at her concernedly, “You okay?” The girl sat up and shrugged, “I will be.” The bassist kissed the top of her head before going back to where he had spent the previous night.
Doug came back with breakfast for everyone. He woke everyone up except Sal, who needed to sleep off the alcohol that he had consumed the night before. Everyone converged in the center part of the bus and the awkward tension was tangible. Crystal sat down on the end of the couch and Brendan sat down next to her, knowing that if Reid or Matt did someone would end up getting punched. Plus, the short-haired boy didn’t mind being close to her. Matt and Doug sat at the table, and Reid sat on the far side of the couch from Brendan and Crystal.
When breakfast was over, Doug stood up and stretched. “I’ll drive today,” he said definitively as he headed to the front of the bus. Crystal glared at him as he walked away; she hated that he would leave her with the guys like that. But, at the same time, she knew that it was her fault that their situation was the way that it was.
Crystal walked back to her bunk to grab a book to read on the long drive to, well, wherever they were headed. When she came back she sat down and curled up against Brendan’s side as she brought her legs up onto the couch. She rested her head on his side as she put her earphones in and began to read her book.
Reid glared at Brendan; he hated how close the two of them seemed to be now. Granted, it was Reid’s fault that Crystal wasn’t with him anymore, but that didn’t matter to him anymore. He hated how much he had hurt the poor girl, and he still cared about her. If he was completely honest with himself, he’d say that he was still in love with her. But he was only ever that honest when he was drunk.
The ride was spent with Crystal reading, or sleeping on Brendan’s side, Matt looking out the window lost in thought, Reid listening to his music and trying to get his thoughts in order, and Sal in the back sleeping off his liquor.
When the bus stopped moving, everyone looked up and waited for Doug to come back and tell them where they were. The drummer came back with a tired look on his face, but he forced a smile and held out his hands. “We’re here,” he said simply. None of them really knew where “here” was, but they didn’t care. The concert would provide the perfect distraction from all the drama that seemed to very quickly be taking over the bus.
Everyone was heading off the bus, but Crystal lagged behind. “I’ll wake Sal up,” she said just above a whisper. Everyone knew that it probably wasn’t the smartest idea, but they also knew that there was no use in arguing with her.
She walked back and sat down on the bunk next to the unconscious guitarist. She ran her hand through his messy Mohawk that was no longer spiked. “Sal,” she said softly, “Sal, we’re here. Time to get up Hon.” He rolled over onto his back and covered his eyes. “Ten more minutes,” he grumbled. Crystal smiled at how childlike he could be sometimes. “Honey, you’ve been asleep all day. We’ve got like, two hours until show time.”
That woke him up. He sat up quickly and almost hit his head on the bunk above him. “What?” he asked with confusion in his voice, “Why didn’t you guys wake me up?” The girl chuckled as she helped him stand upright. “Because Doug said that you got shitfaced beyond belief last night and that you needed some sleep. And we ALWAYS listen to Doug,” she ended with a light laugh. Sal smiled; he knew that she was right.
“Get your clothes and stuff and meet us in the back room,” she said as she gave him a light hug and headed off the bus. Sal found himself watching her as she walked away. Thoughts flew through his mind and he knew that it wasn’t doing him any good, but he couldn’t help it.
The concert surprisingly went off without a hitch. The guys did great, and the fans absolutely loved them. For as much as the band was going through at the moment, they were able to separate their personal and professional lives pretty well.
After they broke down the stage and tents, the band started heading back to the hotel room that they had gotten for the night. They were all walking down the hall to their room when Crystal noticed that Reid wasn’t there. When she asked where he was, everyone gave a helpless shrug. Crystal sighed, “I’ll got back and check the bus.” Doug nodded as he tossed her the keys.
She fit the keys into the lock and walked onto the bus. “Reid?” she called out as she flipped the main light on. When the bus lit up, Crystal came face-to-face with something she had all too many times before. The blonde girl that was underneath Reid let out a loud gasp as her hand flew up to her mouth. Reid glared over at Crystal.
The girl, who Reid must have met at the signing, quickly slid out from underneath him and threw her clothes back on before running past Crystal and off the bus with embarrassment written all over her face.
Reid sat upright and ran his hands through his hair. His shirt was off and his pants were obviously going to be the next to go if Crystal hadn’t walked in. “So let me get this straight,” Crystal said slowly while trying to hide her hurt and anger, “you get mad at me and for kissing Matt, and you nearly punch the poor guy when you go out for drinks. But, you are allowed to bring some random girl back here and fuck her?” Reid rolled his eyes but didn’t say anything more. “It’s like we’re dating all over again,” Crystal said before turning around and walking off the bus.
She walked back into her hotel room and slammed the door. Sal looked up from his phone and Matt pulled an earphone out of his ear. They looked at her expectantly. The guys on the other side of the wall must’ve heard as well because they poked their heads in through the adjoining door. “What’s going on Crys?” Matt finally asked. Crystal snapped, “If I ever have to walk in on Reid fucking another girl ever again, I will chop his balls off with hesitation.”