The Anthem for a Dying Breed

I squirmed on the cushiony sofa until I was comfortable with here I was, curled up with Ray and Adam, watching Lilo and Stitch. It had been a down sort of day, what with Ray and Austin’s unofficial breakup only yesterday - we had spent most of today driving to the next location, meaning we hadn't seen almost anyone since the afternoon at the beach.

Danny had come to hang out earlier, but left quickly; I guess seeing Rayne down was sending him on a guilt trip. Barely a fifth of the way through touring, and we had messed shit up already.

“Why are you still here, you doughnut?” Ray murmured, narrowing her eyes as I rearranged my weight again. I looked up at her blankly. “I can tell you’re getting bored.”
I huffed in defeat and kicked my legs over her lap and into Adam’s.

“Your fidgeting is stressing me out, Al.” Adam added, not looking away from the TV.

“Not my fault, butt hole.” I replied.

“Why don’t you go hang out with Vic?” she suggested.

“Come with me?” I said, looking at her hopefully: she shook her head, but I already knew the answer.

“I don’t feel like it, mate. You go.” she insisted. I pouted and continued squirming.

“I texted Vic already. He didn’t reply.” I mumbled, checking my phone again, then throwing it onto the floor. Ray looked away, but I had a feeling me being a fidgety twat was annoying her. “I’ll go if you ask Danny to come hang out with you for a while, y’know...with your clothes on.”
She whacked my stomach and I groaned dramatically, rolling off the sofa and falling onto the floor of the bus with a thud.

“Leave.” she said, throwing a cushion at me. I exhaled loudly, getting onto my hands and knees and crawling back to my bunk.

“You’re so boring!” I shouted as she aimed a piece of popcorn at my arse.

“I’m recovering from rejection! Leave me alone, you mean child!” she yelled, tossing a fistful more.

“I’m gonna castrate that shithole Austin - why’s he have to turn you into a mopey GIRL?”

“Don’t be mean about him, it’s not his fault!”

“Shut the fuck up! I’m watching TV!” Adam snapped suddenly.

“Ooooooooooooooohh!” Rayne and I chorused teasingly, forgetting our argument.

“I’m serious - shut up or leave!” he demanded. I got to my feet and grabbed my camera and phone, heading to the door.

“Shutting up.” Ray decided.

“Leaving.” I called, swinging the door shut behind me. I stopped outside the bus and text Danny to come back over and cheer Rayne up - if I couldn't do it, he definitely could.
Then I headed over to Pierce’s bus. Their tour manager Matt was standing outside the door, talking on the phone; I smile at him and he smiled back, waving me in.
All the guys were inside, laying around and watching Mike, Casey and Jaime play FIFA with Max and Josh.

I flopped down next to Vic wordlessly. He looked to see who it was, but turned back to the game without saying anything. I wriggled around in an obnoxious, attention seeking manner and snuggled up next to him, resting my head on his shoulder. He frowned distractedly but gave in.

“What do you want?” he grumbled.

“I texted you and you didn’t reply. Came to see how you were.” I replied simply. He pulled his arm away from me and didn’t say anything. “What did I do?” I sighed, looking at his face intently.

“You called me old.” he stated quietly, staring at the TV. I quirked an eyebrow and grinned.

“Is that it?” I chuckled. He looked at me disapprovingly. “We were just messing around, Vic.”

“Yeah…” he murmured, not looking any happier or convinced.

“Well, I’m sorry if I hurt your feelings.” I said in a told-off child tone. He looked away, seeming upset. “Viiic, baby,” I continued, getting closer, “don’t be mad at me. You know I love you.”
He didn’t say anything, so I decided to take drastic measures: I crawled over and sat on his lap facing him, legs straddling his waist, with my hands on his face. “I am talking to you, mister.” I said.
He looked shocked, eyes about to pop out of his head, and stammered.

“W-what are you…” he lowered his voice, even though no one was looking at us, whispering frantically. “Tony’s gonna see us!” I pulled my head back and shrugged.

“So? What does he care?” I muttered, fiddling with his hair. Tony and I hadn’t really spoken much since the night I slept in his room - me being the painfully awkward little shit I am, and him being as gorgeously drool-worthy as he is, and whenever we had seen each other since, the conversation had never got much past “hi/how are you/etc.”.

Believe me when I say I wanted to talk to him - I was just a wuss. Besides, I needed to be focussing on my photography and making sure Rayne was OK. “If I buy you a pizza, will you stop being all sad and shit?” I asked, poking his cheeks and trying to pull them up into a smile.

“Are you trying to buy my affection?” Vic asked, looking bemused.

“Please. I;m from the Great British south. It’s all I know.”
He finally gave a chuckle and I smile victoriously.

“OK, alright. Fine. Buy me a pizza and I’ll forgive you - under one condition,” he paused to make sure I was paying attention; I nodded. “Tony comes with us.”
I carefully made sure my face was expressionless and shrugged.

“Doesn’t bother me. Invite who you like.” I said, getting off him and standing; offering him a hand, he took it and heaved himself up.

“That’s the thing,” he added, smirking, “I’m not inviting him. You are.”

“That’s not fair, I’m not the one who wants him there!” I replied, standing on my tiptoes to glare in his face.

“Please,” he snorted, rolling his eyes. I gave him a look and he pushed me towards the bunks, “He’s moping in his bunk like a bitch.”
I flipped him off and made my way over. Peeking into the bunks one by one, I stopped outside one that had the curtain drawn completely across and took a quick breath.

“Tony?” I whispered, opening the curtain an crack; no one responded for a moment, and I opened it a tiny bit more. He was sleeping - or it looked like he was - and had headphones over his ears. I sighed and went to draw the curtain closed again, before he stirred slightly, opening his eyes and noticing me.

“Leena,” he murmured, looking startled, “wh-when did you get here?”

“Uhm..” I let go of the curtain and took an instinctive step back, “just now.”

“Oh.” He scrambled around his bunk, trying to disentangle himself from headphone wires. “Are you - I mean, is Rayne OK? Like, I heard about her and Austin.”

“News gets around fast here.” I mused, shifting my weight from foot to foot. “She’s alright - well...as alright as she could be.”

“So…” he hesitated, wanting to ask why I was here but not wanting to sound rude, “If you’re looking for Vic, he’s-”

“I’m not.” I said quickly, looking at him; he seemed vaguely surprised. Wow, was he perfect. “Well, I was. I mean, I did come to see Vic, but we’re going for pizza and...I wondered if you wanted to join us?” I got quieter and quieter towards the end of the sentence, almost ending up squeaking.

“Pizza?” he repeated, opening the curtain some more; it took all of my self control not to deviate my attention from his earnest, coffee-coloured eyes. I nodded and shifted to the other foot again, glancing from the floor and back. “Yeah, I’d love to.”

I blinked dimly, trying not to have a heart attack from shock.

“Yeah?” I said uncertainly.

“Yeah.” he confirmed, nodding and smiling widely. I nodded slowly too, unsure what to do now. “I’ll just…” He rolled out of the bunk and I realised he was topless.

Oh, my good lord, what did I do to deserve this? Fuck my life, fuck my life, fuck my life… “grab a top.” He pulled one out of the unmade bed and pulled it over his head. I watched him turn his back to me to do it and couldn’t help but checking him out while he was distracted: beautiful tanned skin over a slight hint of muscle that rippled as he stretched to pull his t-shirt on. And his ink - his amazing, insanely detailed ink, that just so happened to be one of my major turn-ons… “Hey, we match!” he exclaimed, pointing to my blink top.

“Huh. Yeah.” I murmured, pushing my thoughts out of my head and my dark hair out of my eyes. He grinned at me, but I didn’t quite manage a smile back. “Shall we go? Vic’s waiting.” I added quickly, turning around.
We headed back out to where everyone was lounging and left the bus with Vic.

“What is it with you and your camera, Aly?” Vic commented, seeing me mess around with it as we walked. I shrugged and took a picture of him, then turned and walked backwards, taking one of Tony. They came out decent - I liked the detail you got with this camera - maybe I’d put them on my blog. “I wanna see ‘em!” Vic demanded, reaching for my camera - I smacked his hands away and stuck my tongue out at him.

“Can I have a look?” Tony asked gently. I faltered for a minute, then nodded: who could say no to that face? He came closer and leaned against me slightly - his body warmth made me blush, but I found the pictures and showed him anyway.

“How come he gets to see?” Vic whined.

“Because he asked nicely.” I replied, grinning at his face. Tony laughed and squeezed my shoulder.

“They’re really good, Leena.” he said - I smiled at him, embarrassed, and shrugged. “Really, they’re fucking rad.” he insisted.

“Thanks.” I murmured as he moved away. I turned back to Vic and elbowed him. “D’you mind if I invite someone else?”
He shook his head.

“Who, Danny?” Tony inquired, a slight frown on his face. I shook my head: he didn’t sound all that keen on Danny all of a sudden. Even I, one of his best friends, would admit that the man wasn’t exactly a saint, but he wasn't a bad guy, either.

“No.” I replied, leading them through the parked buses. We stopped outside one and Vic looked dubious. “Give me a second, please, guys.” I said, stepping in and closing the door behind me. The OM&M bus was pretty dead - only their drum tech Lionel was sat talk to Alan.
“Where’s Austin?” I asked in a hushed tone; Alan looked at me funny, then pointed over to the bunks.

What was it with fully grown men with balls and moping today?

I walked over, taking care not to stomp too loud, and frowned at the curtain drawn over his bunk - I knew which one it was because him and Ray had spent a ridiculous amount of time hanging out in the three days they were an unofficial couple.

I tore the curtain back and lifted my camera, taking a picture of my dear friend with his hand shoved conveniently down the front of his boxers, before yanking the covers out from underneath him, causing him to flail his way onto the floor and into a state of shock.

“Thirty seconds. Get dressed and get clean - we’re getting pizza.” I said in a monotone.

“You what?” he shrieked, scrambling to his feet after freeing his occupied hands.

“Not an option, don’t want your opinion. Thirty seconds, or you wanking becomes a matter of public knowledge.” I said coldly. He glared, and I smiled sweetly, turning tail and leaving the bus to wait with Tony and Vic.
Austin joined us a few moments later, wearing a scowl and some actual clothes. My gaze flicked from his face to his crotch and back.

“Nice to see you got rid of your - uh - problem.” I commented with a wink, before linking arms with Vic and leading them out of the car park.

“What problem was that?” Vic asked; Austin looked slightly panicked, but I shook my head, smiling.

“Just worry about the pizza, mate.” I chuckled. He narrowed his eyes at me suspiciously.

“What are you hiding?” he demanded. I shrugged, feigning innocence.

“You’re losing it, Vic. Right, Tony?” I said, turning to face him with a grin. Tony nodded, falling into step with us as we made our way to the downtown evening life.

“He’s completely mad.” he agreed.

“See?” I said self-righteously. “What do you guys want on your pizza?”

“Chicken!” Vic yelled, throwing his arms up. Tony and I laughed, and my laughter was probably edging higher and higher as Tony’s arm brushed against mine as we walked.

“Why did you call me out?” Austin grumbled behind me. I glanced at him apathetically, then faced forward again: there was more than just his physical appearance that gave the impression he was upset because of something . Hunched over, hands on pockets, head down and a frown. Then there was also the fact he wasn’t exactly being rude, but he wasn’t being as polite as the Austin I knew.

I looked back again, and he was rubbing his hand over his face almost forcefully: his hand was balled up into a fist so tight, the skin over his knuckles was alarmingly white. To top it all off, there was all the lip biting - his mouth was red and his lips were sore.

“W e need to hang out.” I replied eventually, “I’m fucking sick and tired of everyone sulking like a bunch of pissy fifteen year old girls.” I could feel the looks I was getting from all three guys - they knew they were all guilty. “Warped is supposed to be fun. All I’ve seen is,” I disentangled myself from Vic and mimed sobbing dramatically, “Oh mah gawd, I hate everything and everyone hates me! And blah blah blah.”

“I didn't realise you felt so strongly about it.” Austin mumbled, quickening his pace to align with us. I shrugged and looked at him again.

“I didn’t realise it either until about an hour ago.” I brushed the topic off as I saw and Italian food restaurant. “Food!” I shouted gleefully, dragging Vic alongside me as I rushed forward.

We headed inside and were about to seat ourselves at a table, when Vic pulled away from me suddenly. I looked at him, somewhat surprised.

“I need to pee.” he clarified quickly, taking off his rucksack and placing it on the seat next to where Austin had seated himself. The other two free seats were opposite them, meaning I had to sit next to Tony. Probably thinking I wouldn’t notice, Vic motioned for Austin to follow: Austin looked confused, but got up slowly and gave the same excuse.
They headed off hastily towards the restroom, and I sat down in one of the free seats, looking at Tony.

“They’re probably gonna gossip about their hair or some shit.” I joked as he sat down next to me; he chuckled and reached for a menu.

“What do you feel like eating?” he asked, leaning towards me so I could see the menu. I stifled a helpless squeak as he moved his chair a little closer too, and focussed on the menu.

“Uhm…” I cleared my throat, knowing my voice sounded like I’d inhaled two tonnes of helium, and tried again. “Uh, the tagliatelle, maybe?” I said. “What about you?”

“That looks good. I think I might have the seafood risotto, though. Or the clam chowder. he nodded. “Might have to steal some of your pasta, though”

“You could try it,” I replied, quirking an eyebrow, “see what happens.”
His face lit up at the thought of a challenge, and he grinned widely.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.” I nodded, smirking. He looked at me steadily, and it took a moment for me to notice how close his face was to mine.

“We definitely don’t hang out enough.” he said after a long moment. I tried to speak but couldn’t quite manage, so nodded again. His smile softened and, for a long time, I didn’t want to move.

“Are we interrupting?” Austin sniggered at managing to make us jump. Tony put the menu down, cheeks all pink.

“You looked cost there, guys.” Vic teased, sitting down and winking at me.

“I was just asking Tony if I could borrow his hat.” I replied pertly, stealing his snapback and putting it on. Vic rolled his eyes and Austin leaned across the table, snatching it off my head, “Noooo!” I groaned, faceplating the table.
He laughed lightly and put it on his own head. “You just killed punk rock, bro.”

“Bro!” he hooted, cracking up with Vic. I puted, lifting my head, and saw Tony bite his lip sympathetically.

“Arseholes.” I mumbled, resting my head on my arms.

“I didn’t laugh!” Tony protested; I sat up and scowled at the other two.

“I know. It’s just them. They’re officially rejected.” I replied. “Tony’s my favourite now.”

“I’m jealous.” Vic chuckled as they eventually calmed down.

“You should be.” Tony quipped, wrapping an arm around my shoulders. My stomach was doing somersaults, but I played along anyway, leaning closer.

“You guys look like a couple - oh, shit! You’re even wearing matching tops!” Austin cackled, falling all over himself. I rolled my eyes, sitting properly and looking at Tony, who was now scarlet.

“Ignore him. He’s just jealous ‘cause the closest thing to action he’s gonna get this summer is his own hand down his pants. I said. Tony and Vic exploded into peals of laughter and I grinned.

“Oh, that was low, shortass.” he replied, shaking his head.

“Not as low as you’d like it, mate.”

He cracked a smile and gave me the cap back.

“I give in. Can’t be mean to a girl.” he conceded. I thanked him and handed the hat back to Tony, who took it and put it back on my head.

“Keep it.” he said, rearranging my hair for me. “Looks good on you.”

I stammered, but didn’t manage a sentence, making Vic snigger into his hands: kicking him under the table, I turned to look at Austin.

“Don’t you even dare, bitch.” I snapped, seeing him hold back a snort of laughter.

“OK, OK…” he gasped for breath and a sense of composure. “I didn’t...I - lets just eat, guys.”

“Wow, you said something smart for once.” I muttered, making them all snicker again.