Without You, I'm A Disaster

The next few weeks passed by slowly. After the whole situation with Reid, things seemed to start going back to normal on the bus for some reason. It was like the two had broken up all over again. Crystal and the rest of the guys were starting to get along again. Sal and Matt were back on civil and speaking terms once more. There was only one week left of the tour, and it seemed as though it may very well end on a good note.
Since there was only one week left on the tour, Doug’s girlfriend took the week off from work and decided to finish it off with them. Doug was happy because he hadn’t seen her in months, and Crystal was happy because she was no longer the only girl on board.
“You guys remember Jordan?” Doug said with a laugh as he brought his girlfriend’s bags onto the bus. Everyone smiled and waved as they stood up to say hi and give hugs. When the girl walked over to Crystal the two smiled at each other and there was a lot of girlish squealing and hugs and kisses on the cheek. The two of them had met at the very beginning of the tour while Crystal was still with Reid, and the two girls had hit it off right away. Doug and Reid had both let out sighs of relief because they knew that nothing was worse than two girls that hated each other being stuck together all the time.
“We have so much to catch up on!” Jordan said with a smile as the two of them headed back towards the bunks so they could talk in semi-privacy.
The guys all chuckled a little bit at the fact that Doug had just been blown off by his own girlfriend for another girl. Sure, Jordan and Doug would probably spend the rest of the week glued to each other’s sides, but it was still entertaining to see how quickly she had taken off with Crystal to talk about everything.
Matt cast Doug an unsure glance. “Does Jordan know…?” The drummer had confusion written all over his face, “Does she know what?” Matt nodded towards the back, “You know, about Crys?” They both waited a moment and recognition flashed across the man’s face. “Oh, that. Ummm, I don’t know to be honest. Why?” Matt shrugged, “I just don’t want Jordan to say something and get Crys all upset. I know she wouldn’t do it on purpose, but if she doesn’t know…” His voice trailed off at the end and Doug knew what he was trying to get at. But at the same time, he knew that there was no stopping it if Jordan said something so there was no point in worrying about it.
“We heading out now?” Brendan asked. The guys all looked at each other and gave a unanimous nod. Brendan silently got up and headed up to the cab of the bus so he could drive for a while. He just needed to be alone for a bit and sort all of his thoughts out.
Over the previous weeks, he and Crystal had become really close friends. Brendan assumed it was because he was the only one on the bus who wasn’t blatantly obvious about how he felt about her. Sure he liked her, but he didn’t want to force it onto her or anything. And he knew that it was borderline impossible that she could ever feel the same way about him, so why ruin the good friendship that they had?
She would always be Reid’s girl. Brendan knew that for sure. And Reid and Crystal did as well, whether they wanted to admit it or not. She’d always belong to him in a way. And it hurt to confess, but that didn’t make it any less true.
The two girls sat cross-legged on Crystal’s bunk. They had been chatting and catching up on everything that had been going on since they last saw each other. “So,” Jordan said curiously, “are you and Reid still together or…?” Crystal bit her bottom lip and shook her head. “No,” she said quietly, “Reid broke up with me a while back.” Jordan’s hands covered her mouth in shock. “Oh Honey,” she said comfortingly, “I’m so sorry. What happened? Are you okay?” Crystal shrugged as she leaned her head back against the wall behind her. “I’m dealing with it better now than I was before. Or rather, I’m just better at hiding everything now.”
Jordan gave her friend a concerned look, “Honey, what happened?” Crystal bit the inside of her cheek to try and focus on anything other than the pain that was in her chest as she thought of what to say to her friend. “The whole time we were dating,” Crystal said slowly, “he was cheating on me with all these random girls that he hooked up with at signings. He didn’t even know them or care about them. And he obviously didn’t care about me. But I should’ve known. I mean Hell, we met at a signing and everything. I should’ve known that it was going to happen sooner or later. The boy is gorgeous and talented and a real smooth talker, he was obviously going to find someone else. I guess I just didn’t realize how many someone’s there was going to be.”
Doug’s girlfriend sat there in stunned silence. She couldn’t believe that Reid would do that to her. He had liked her so much. The keyboardist had actually come to Jordan for advice on how to “officially” ask her out so he wouldn’t do it wrong and screw it up or anything. He had cared about her so much, and Jordan couldn’t believe that he had just thrown it all away for a few sluts that he had met after their concerts.
“I’m gonna kill him,” she said flatly. Crystal’s head shot up in shock; she had never heard Jordan say anything like that in such a matter-of-fact tone. She swallowed hard, “What?” Jordan looked her friend in the eyes, “He’s not going to get away with that. You deserve better.” Crystal shook her head, “Don’t do anything Jord. It’s fine. Karma’s a bitch, and I’m relying on that slut to make sure he gets what he deserves.” Jordan gave a sarcastic laugh, “Karma, thy name is Jordan!” Crystal couldn’t help but to laugh as she shook her head.
“So what’s going on with you and Doug?” Crystal asked with a wink and a shoulder nudge. Jordan laughed and ran her fingers through her long, red hair. “Nothing really. I’m just glad that I’m able to see him before the tour is out. I missed him like crazy.” Crystal smiled, “So how long have you two been together?” Jordan smiled and bit her bottom lip, “It’ll be three years on Sunday.” Crystal gasped, “No way! Oh my god, I’m so happy for you guys! That’s so cute!” Jordan smiled, “Thanks.” Crystal tugged at the hem of her shorts, “So are there wedding bells tolling in the near future?” The drummer’s girlfriend shrugged, “I wish I had an answer to that, but I don’t. I mean, there’s no one else that I would rather spend the rest of my life with, and I know that he loves me, but I don’t know if marriage is in the cards for the predictable future.” Crystal looked over at her friend with a sly smile, “Well, Doug is far from predictable, Love. Don’t write him off just yet. He’s crazy for you, you know.” Jordan smiled shyly but didn’t say anything.
“What’s up with Brendan?” Sal asked as he looked up from his phone. The guys all shot him curious looks. “Nothing that I know of,” Doug said as he flipped through a magazine, “Why?” Sal shrugged as he scrolled through the feed on his phone, “He just seems quieter than usual. Not the jokester that we started the tour out with.” The rest of them now started thinking back through the past few weeks and they soon saw what Sal was talking about. None of them could think of a reason as to why he would be that way though. Things had actually been getting better between the six of them, so they were at a loss.
“Ask Crys,” Reid finally said. They all looked over at him and waited for further explanation. The keyboardist gave a bored shrug, “They’ve been practically attached at the hip. I’ll bet everything I’ve got on the fact that he tells her everything and she does the same to him. They’re practically dating.”
Sal set his phone down on the table and looked at Reid, who was sitting across from him. “A bit jealous there bro?” he asked. Reid glared at him, “What makes you say that?” Sal chuckled, “The fact that you just said it with the look of death on your face.” When Reid didn’t say anything, the guitarist continued, “You can’t get mad at him for picking up what you set down.” Reid flashed him a death look, “Oh, like you’re happy about it. The whole bus heard you say you love her.”
The smirk on Sal’s face instantly faded and he fell silent. Everyone could feel the tension return to the bus once again. It was going to be a long last week.