Quiet Actions

Lights pulsing.

Bodies moving.

Music thumping.

Austin watched from the table he shared with his band mates. He was sitting alone. He wasn't really in the mood to dance. Or talk for that matter. Not since Lionel spoke to him the other day. The thought of Gielle made his skin crawl. He wanted to have fun, but there was no way when the bitch was in the back of his mind. He rubbed his eyes, suddenly feeling tired. All he wanted to do was sleep, but if he missed the party, it would raise questions. So, he came along. Even if he really didn't want to.

"Astrid, don't be a loser," he heard a voice he knew.

It was Tony's. Austin looked over, seeing Tony with an unfamiliar girl. The girl was trying to sit, but Tony kept getting in her way. Under the lights, he could see she had light brown hair; or was it chestnut? It was too dark. What did it even matter? He watched as the girl, Astrid, narrowed her eyes. She placed her hands on her hips. Austin licked his lips, glancing a bit lower to her bottom. She was wearing shorts that cupped her in all the right places. Her shirt was cut low, showing a bit of cleavage. Austin's eyes went back to her face.

From her profile, he could see her cheekbones were high, her lips were full, and she had a small nose. He looked at the ground when she looked around. She was beautiful. Then, her face turned into Gielle. He didn't find her attractive anymore.

"Well, I guess I'll just be a loser and read," she had to shout over the music. "Look, there's a table over there with some good lighting. I won't leave my spot for anything! Just go have fun and quit worrying about me. I'll be fine."

"Fine," Tony sounded frustrated. "Call me or Jaxin if you need anything. I'll be back in an hour to see how you are. Okay?"

Austin watched as a pair of red Vans come across his line of vision. It disappeared as soon as he saw it. He looked up, watching as this girl, Astrid, took up a seat at the most lit table. From her purse, she pulled out a book. He glanced at the cover. Blood Cross. He looked at the cover strangely. There was a woman clad in leather with a motorcycle in the back, across her shoulder was some type of shotgun. Was this some kind of romance novel?

As if she felt him staring, Astrid looked up from her book. Her green eyes pierced his brown ones. She raised a plucked brow before going back to her book. Maybe Austin should stop staring. He wondered who she was and how she knew Tony. And, Jaxin for that matter. Would she know about Austin? The thought left his mind as soon as he thought about it. Jaxin must have given her the wrong impression about Austin. There was no denying that they didn't really like each other anymore. Austin half thought that his old friend was going to call him up and say "I told you so." But that never came. Austin averted his eyes and let them fall to his cup.

He wasn’t even in the mood to be drinking alcohol. He had gotten some soda to replace the poison. He chewed on his bottom lip. Maybe, he should go and introduce himself to the girl. If she didn't like him, there would be nothing he could do. But if he did go over there, he knew he'd see Gielle. His hands clenched to fists. He needed to get her out of his mind. There was no way in hell it was going to be easy. Or, it could be. If he even knew how. He couldn't even talk to a girl without seeing her face. Austin was too busy thinking of his ex-wife to notice the girl in a pair of red Vans standing in front of him.

"Hello?" Her voice was like velvet; soft, smooth, intoxicating. "Are you drunk or something?"

He snapped back into reality, looking at her green eyes. "I… uh, I…"

Her lips curved into a smile. "So, you are drunk."

She sat on the chair near his. His heart pounded. He didn't know why. Austin stared at the female next to him. Over the smell of alcohol, sweat and cleaners, he could smell the faint odor of coconuts from her. She was that close. He felt like he could get drunk from the smell, wanting to bring her close and drink all he can from her scent. Austin's throat went dry. He didn't know what to say.

"I saw you eying me from over there," she said. "Well, more so my book. Do you read? This is the second time I've read this book. I haven't gotten the chance to get the third one yet." She paused, looking up at him from her book. "I'm Astrid. Do you talk at all?"

He noticed she was toying with him. Astrid gave him a bigger smile. It caused him to smile.

"I'm Austin."

"So, you do speak. Now, was that so hard?" She laughed, then went silent. "Austin as in the Austin Carlile?"

He nodded. "Yeah… Why?"

She stared at him for a moment. Something flashed behind her eyes, something Austin couldn't place. She didn't like him. Jaxin told her lies and she didn't like him. She sighed and forced a smile. Yep. Astrid didn't like him one bit.

"Jaxin told me about what happened between you and your ex-wife," she started slow. "He told me how horrible he felt about it. But, he couldn't call you to just talk to you. He didn't know how. Just don't tell anyone I said that. Jaxin won't admit to himself, but I can see he still cares. Even if it's a little bit."

It felt like Austin's heart was going to rip itself from his body. This girl - no. This woman was telling him that his old friend still cared, yet he couldn't even call. Astrid watched him with her green eyes. She watched as his face contorted to hurt.

"I… I'm sorry! I didn't mean to say anything," She stood. "I should, uh, go. Yeah. I should go."

He watched as Astrid stood up, push the chair in, and walk back to her own table. She sat with her back facing him. She kept shaking her head. Austin looked at his hands, shaking. He didn't know how he felt at the moment. He didn't know if he should tell her that it was fine; that it came as a complete shock to him that Jaxin cared. He didn't move, though. His body wouldn't let him. So, Austin just stared at the back of her head.

"Austin," he heard a giggle in his right ear. "Are you kidding yourself? Her? She wouldn't give you the time of day. That just now was only a pity greeting. Don't expect it again."

The little hairs on the back of his neck rose. He felt a soft touch on his shoulder. He was going crazy. Austin Carlile needed to be sent to a mental hospital. He was hearing and seeing things he shouldn't. He rubbed the back of his neck. Gielle wasn't even dead and she was haunting him. Austin hasn't told anyone about it. He thought it was going to pass after some time, but it hasn't.

"Yo," Alan sat in the seat Astrid had sat in. "Get your flirt on, man. There are a lot of ladies here. Go pick and choose."

Austin rolled his eyes. "You know I don't do that."

His ginger friend shrugged. "Do something! Don't just sit here all night. You're such a loser if you are."

"I guess I'll just be a loser."

Austin said it loud enough to make Astrid turn her head. She gave a half smile and went back to her book. Her smile made Austin want to, but he caught himself. Nothing was going to happen between the two. Why even bother being friends with her? She was friends with Jaxin Hall. The one who told Austin to go fuck himself for proposing to his girlfriend.

Alan noticed his friend thinking hard, looking at Astrid with Austin. "So, who's the chick?"

"Astrid. Tony's friend," Austin answered, keeping his eyes on her.

The ginger smiled, keeping his voice low. "Go get it on with her. She won't be here for more than a night. She's probably going home after tonight."

"She doesn't seem like the girl," Austin glanced at the crowd.

"If she stays for more than the party, you better have sex with her by the end of warped," Alan said. "You know what… I bet you won't. I bet you can't."

Austin laughed and shook his head. "I can't? Really?"

Alan shrugged. "Can you?"

His eyes narrowed. "And, if I do, what happens then?"

"You could end up happy. And, if you don't, you won't know."

"I bet I can," Austin said, unsure.

He didn't like this idea. Not at all. But, he didn't know why he took the deal anyway. He could hear Gielle laughing in the back of his head. He wanted nothing more than to go under a rock and just live there. Austin didn’t want to think about what could happen. He acted on impulse. His impulse was going to be the death of him.



Austin woke up to the smell of bacon. His stomach grumbled. He laid in his bunk for a few minutes, thinking about what he'd done last night. He met a beautiful woman, and turned her into a bet. He cursed, loudly. He was such a fuck up. He couldn't do anything right, except play for his fans. He was going to pay for it, he knew.

He climbed out of his bunk, the smell of bacon intensified. He saw everyone was already up, moving about and eating bacon with pancakes. Alan grabbed a plate from the small counter and handed it to Austin. He thanked his friend as he sat down on the leather couch across from the table.

"Bro, I saw you talking to this chick last night," Tino said. "Did you do anything?"

What was up with his friends asking if he got lucky? He stole a quick glance at Alan, who's lips were curved into a smirk. So, he told.

"No, I didn't," Austin grabbed a piece of bacon. "You know I don't do that."

"Yet you made the deal," Justin came from the back lounge. "What?"

Austin sighed. "What does it matter? She won't be here anymore."

"Uh," Lionel scratched his head. "Actually, I talked to Tony. That girl you met was Astrid Drakos. She's like an artist or something. I've seen her stuff once. It's trippy as hell. And, well, she's Tony's best friend. When I asked about her, he freaked - kept asking if she was okay. It was weird, man. Oh, she's gonna to be here for all of Warped."

She's gonna be here for all of Warped. Those words played in Austin's head over and over again while he ate. He had only taken the deal when he figured he was never going to see Astrid again. But now… He knew Alan wasn't going to let him drop it. If only he had used his head, then he wouldn't be in this mess.I'm so fucking stupid, he thought. Lionel's eyes looked at him pointedly, as if he knew how much of a fuck up Austin was.

"What?" Austin stood, food falling on the ground.

"Dude, I wouldn't fuck with her," Lionel said. "Just leave her alone. It's not worth getting Tony to come over here and ruin you. You know he would, too. I'd help you out, but if you mess with this girl, I can't promise that I'll be there."

Austin felt horrible. And, he hoped to God, or whoever was up there, that things would work out. That nothing bad would come of it. Austin chuckled to himself. The men in the room looking at him like he was crazy. It's not like the big guy up there was listening. He closed his eyes, yet he could see Gielle laughing at him.