‹ Prequel: Pictures on Silence

If Only Until Morning

Chapter 29

No more playing nice. No more tiptoeing through the fucking tulips and pretending that I could deal with all the bullshit. Time for action. And luckily, I had a partner in crime who was "alarmingly devious."

It took us several days to plot out exactly how to get hard evidence that would clear my name-- and damn, it was a good one-- in this whole melodrama. Like all good plans everything had to be timed perfectly. But with so many independent variables it took a few tries. The hardest part was getting Beth and Ali alone in the booth, seeing as it was a thing neither of them really wanted to do.

Oddly enough, though, said independent variables-- like my band-- seemed to fall away one by one. Sean went first: telling me quietly, and in front of the others no less, that something had to be done; if our sales continued like they were, we'd barely break even on this tour. Trust Butch Cassidy to throw his support behind me under the guise of thinking of the band.

Jesse was a harder nut to crack; he didn't see anything wrong with Ali, except that she increasingly got on his nerves. Ace in the hole for winning him over? Easy. Appeal to his romanticism.

Coming back from my shower, I happened upon the back end of a rather one-sided argument.

"Beth!" Jesse called pleadingly as she stalked out from behind the booth. She paused to stare at him for a good five seconds and continued on her way, dodging his hand when Jesse reached to pull her back. "Why won't you tell me?"

"It's nothing worth your time apparently," she remarked with biting casualty. She kissed my cheek and waved as she disappeared. "I'm on break. Have fun with this one."

I blinked, bemused, and squeaked when Jesse yanked me into the booth. "Tell me what I need to do," he implored, eyes desperate. "You can talk to her. She'll listen to you; she knows your word is golden!"

After the initial shock wore off, a smile tugged at my mouth. "What...?"

"Beth! I found out that I'm a vertebrate and asked her out, but she said no unconditionally, and when I asked why, she wouldn't tell me! You've got to talk to her, Penelope! She'll believe you when you tell her I'm worth it! You're a better judge of character than anyone I've ever..."

Jesse trailed off, confused by the wide grin on my face. For those of you confused, my lovely friend Trill had just admitted that I was generally right about people and generally (meaning always) told the truth about that. Get it?

He tilted his head at me before a light bulb popped over his head, and that expression was so adorable I just had to laugh. Trill tugged me again, this time into his chest. "Holy shit, Angie, I'm so sorry."

Two down, one to go. That left Matt, and bull-headed jackass that hewas could be, drastic measures were necessary. I personally love when opportunities present themselves.

My phone vibrated in my pocket the minute I stepped off the stage. I pulled it out, still wearing my bass, and smirked at the message. As you will, Maestro. Just like in the movie we both loved, we were about to orchestrate a nice explosion to a killer soundtrack.

"We're going to the booth," I informed the guys, pulling Matt by the arm.

Confused, the band trailed after. "But wha' 'bout fans?" Sean asked.

"Fans will wait," I said sharply. Ooh, I spy a hat. "Patrick!" All four members of Fall Out Boy turned, fearing fangirls. I, happily, am far higher on their list of favourite people. "C'mere, guys. I've got something to show you."

"Girl on a mission," Joe observed, falling into step with me still dragging Matt along. I smiled wryly and turned my eyes forward.

Pete leaned in to peer at me. "What are you showing us that's so important?" I didn't reply to his question, as I was busy looping my free arm through William's and pulling him into the group. "Hey, Bill."

"Hey, Pete," he greeted bemusedly. "What am I doing here?"

"You are all being very, very quiet for a moment," I answered, rounding the merch booth from the back, "And listening carefully." I pulled out my phone and texted Beth, glancing out to see that Ali was sitting on the table with her back facing out.

"What are we listening for?" Matt asked peevishly, yanking his arm out of my grip. "What are we--"

I clapped a hand over his mouth and pulled his head close to the tent wall for the ensuing conversation. Right on cue Beth opened in a clear voice, "Why do you think you can do all this shit?"

I could hear Ali scoff in disgust. "Because I can," she replied snottily. "Because I can get away with it. You're obviously not too bright to have not noticed. Ryan's, like, eating out of the palm of my fucking hand. The bitch has no friends and no one believes her. Everyone loves me, just like they should."

Stealing a glance up, I saw that all the guys around me were now listening intently. Bill's eyes darted to me and I focused on listening. "And how long do you think that's going to last when they find out?" Beth asked, a smirk in her voice.

"They won't find out. I planned it too well. I'm not stupid, you know."

"Not really-- but onto better things. Why?"

"Because Ryan's a fun guy to play with. And I don't like Angie. Because someone has to tear girls like her down." Alison chuckled throatily, and I almost gagged. "Putting girls like her in their places at the bottom make rest of us look so much better."

Matt's eyes were wide as he listened. Watching his reaction made me wish I had my camera. Beth's voice turned cold and harsh. "You made one mistake." Ali scoffed again. "And I'll do you the immense courtesy of telling you what it was." I could almost see her smiling maliciously in my head, and I'll tell you, it was a scary thought. "You picked her. You did it to someone who's extraordinarily loved."

Ali's voice now matched Beth's for venom. "I planned too well to ever be found out. I've got those boys wrapped around my little finger. No one will believe a word you say. You're just some bitch who she imported to torture everyone else on tour."

I stood, allowing Matt to stand on his own, and stepped out into view as Beth pushed Ali backwards off the table into the dust. I felt the guys follow out behind me as Beth smirked down at her horrified face. "No, but they'll listen to every word you say."

Alison sputtered, trying to disentangle herself whilst still keep her sorry excuse for a skirt covering her unmentionables. "She made me say it!" she screeched.

"Right," Bill stated dryly. "Like we believe that for a second. Beth would--"

"Include a better vocabulary and less stereotypical threats?" my aforementioned compatriot offered sweetly. I swear Jesse smiled at that, despite the situation.

Ali managed to her herself upright, though not for our lack of tripping her. "She's lying! She's a dirty, filthy whore! She-- she wants Ryan for herself!"

Jesse arched an eyebrow darkly. "Beth never mentioned anything about Ryan," he pointed out. "And you've obviously never seen what type of guy she prefers if you think she'd go for easily-breakable like him."

"And didn't you sleep with Gaskarth?" Andy added. "Like, right after you met him? That doesn't exactly help your case for calling her a whore."

"Enough." Oh, Matt seemed to have woken up. And he was grumpy.Well, he'd better fucking be. "Alison, you and I are going to have a nice little chat."

"But--"

"Now," he ordered through his teeth, yanking her away by the arm. For the record, Matt's fucking scary when he's angry.

Silence descended over our group. "I don' think there's really a way t'apologise f'r this, is there?" Sean said quietly, looking at me apologetically.

I smiled cruelly. "Nope!" I chirped, linking arms with Beth. "Pete, you can go be a gossipmonger now like I know you're itching to. The rest of you, do whatever. My love and I are going to entertain ourselves elsewhere."

If feeling good about that made me a bad person, I should have been waiting for a personal escort to the Underworld because I felt ecstatic. Karma tends to kick me in the ass, though, since after only two hours my ninth nimbus burst into rain. So it goes.

"What did you do?" Ryan hissed, appearing in front of us so suddenly we stopped short on our trip to get popsicles.

Beth glared him down, looking ready to rumble, but I squeezed her hand and smiled. "Go on without me. I'll catch you up," I promised. She eyed him again apprehensively. "If I don't you can dress me up the next time we go out and I won't complain. Not a peep." She nodded, kissed my cheek, shot Ryan a warning glower, and continued on her way.

I watched her disappear into the crowd before turning back to Ryan's stormy face with a sigh. Before I even opened my mouth, he spat, "Ali came to me sobbing, saying that you turned the entire tour against her. It took me half an hour to make her stop crying. What did you do?"

I crossed my arms as a tiny sign of my drastic change in mood. "So you consoled her, did you?" He nodded, unsure where I was going. My fingers tightened on my arm, nails digging into the skin. "Where were you when I was crying, Ryan? Where were you every single fucking night that I couldn't sleep? Where were you when I needed you?!"

Ryan blinked, looking taken aback, but barrelled on self-righteously. "I'm not a fucking mind-reader, Angie! You never tell me anything anymore!"

"Because you're always with her!" I combated, tears threatening to obscure my vision. Today was the forced catharsis, and I couldn't hold anything back. "How am I supposed to come to you when you don't believe what I tell you? Where's the fucking trust in that, Ryan?"

"What am I going to do with you?" Ryan sighed rhetorically, rubbing his eyes. "Every single argument goes in circles." He stopped, looking at me miserably. "I hate fighting with you, Rhi, but I don't know how to solve this."

My throat swelled and my eyes watered at the mere thought that crept into my head. But I had to suggest it; I didn't have any other ideas. "Maybe..." Don't choke. "Then maybe... we shouldn't try to keep it together..."

Ryan's expression just dropped for a full ten seconds before he could make a sound, and that was only to clear his throat. "Is... that what you want?" he whispered, searching my face.

I lowered my eyes, feeling them well up. "Honestly?" I murmured back. "Fuck no, I'd rather be shot through the neck with a poisoned arrow." That should have made him laugh, but this was just too serious. It made me want to bury myself alive. "...But I don't know what else to do..."

We stood in still silence, me trying to keep myself together and him... well, I didn't know what Ryan was thinking. Part of me didn't want to know. "But..." He cut himself off, continuing barely above a whisper. "But I love you."

A stream slid down my cheek; I'd waited for weeks to hear him say that, and it was coming now of all times. "This is a low," I reminded us both in a whisper. "Never make decisions at a low." I coughed and tossed my hair back, biting the inside of my lip tightly to hold his gaze. "Sleep on it tonight. If... if you can think of anything before then... come talk to me."

He stared at me for a long time, trying to decide if I was serious-- praying that I wasn't. Ryan turned his head to the side, gazing emptily at nothing for a moment, before walking past me. I squeezed my eyes shut, unable to move.

When I heard his footsteps die away, I pressed my hands to my face. I had just made possibly the worst mistake of my life.

~Beth~

If there was one annoyingly admirable thing about Angie, it was her ability to hold herself together and put on a happy-- or at least neutral-- face for the sake of humanity. It wasn't good for her; I should know.

Naturally she told me what happened, and despite my first instinct to be incredibly happy for her, she didn't seem too pleased as she put on her makeup. Morose was a better adjective. She was putting a lot of effort into looking good, though, despite that we were only eating dinner and hanging out.

Most likely it was purposeful, since she accepted the compliment when Chislett told her as we were in line that she looked really nice. That hint of a smile was all anyone got, even when we sat down away from large groups and brave stragglers left their respective herds.

I watched Angie pick at what little food she had as the boys tried to make conversation. She tried her best to smile at their jokes and keep them distracted from the agonising pain in her eyes, because for all her voice to the contrary, Angie cared what people thought. These people at least. And she couldn't have them knowing she was human.

Brendon was telling the table an amusing (I guess) story about something at one point. I noticed Angie drop her fork into her plate, and she stared down at it. When I turned, she leant forward and buried her hands in her hair, which fell down over her face. Angie shuddered in a breath.

The group went silent a few seconds later, in which I pulled her towards me, and then select boys voiced comments or questions of concern. Angie leaned into my shoulder, gripping my shirt in a fist, and sobbed silently into my shoulder. Eyes flitting around, I saw that all the others wore expressions of surprise, confusion, and fear.

"What?" I hissed at them. "You've never seen a girl cry before?"

"Not her," Rian Dawson replied quietly, watching us tentatively.

Angie shivered when Beckett, sitting on her other side, put his hand on her back. I smacked it away, winning me a look of resentment. "Pen, I'm sorry," Brendon apologised profusely, "I just wanted to make you laugh." She emitted an audible whimper, which was definitely not what he was going for.

It didn't do much for the other boys either. Boys + crying girl = freak out.

"Sweetheart, what's wrong?" Bill tried again, scooting closer. She only shook her head. "Please tell me?"

"We could play charades to figure it out," Gaskarth suggested jokingly. After a pause, Pen pulled away from me to stare blankly at him. Only, it wasn't so much blank, since her wet eyes just looked fierce. And I questioned why she put on waterproof mascara.

Alex shrank in his seat under her gaze. "Or not," he said in a tiny voice. Her gaze narrowed as she turned back into my shoulder.

For a few minutes nobody talked; well, some of the boys whispered, but they shut up after a glance at Angie. It would have been funny, all these macho guys entirely cowed by a vulnerable seventeen-year-old girl. After Alex and Brendon, they were smart enough not to attempt comforting her.

Angie pulled away from me, sniffling and drawing a thumb under her eyes to fix any smeared eyeliner. "Sorry," she whispered, pushing her plate away. She attempted to smile consoling at the guys. "Moment of humanity. Gone now."

William wrapped a lanky arm around her waist and planted a kiss on her cheek, but he didn't say a word. She laughed pathetically and attempted to restart conversation, which resumed awkwardly.

Being oh-so observant, I noticed Siska's eyes widen in something among fury and horror. I looked over my shoulder, curious, and saw immediately what he was looking at among the mini-party that had begun in the middle of the square the tables formed. "Not to make things worse, Ange, but I think you should turn around," he warned as I made to pre-emptively comfort her.

The entire group turned and I was fortunate to catch my dearest Rhiannon's expression when she laid eyes on the Whore From Hell lip-locked with Ross. I moved my hand to envelop her in another hug, but Angie swept up from the table with rage in her eyes and marched determinedly over the nearest table forming the square.

I was only slightly faster than the boys around me in getting up and rushing after her, but indomitable as she was, no one could move fast enough to reach Angie before she pulled the pair apart-- Ryan by the shoulder and Ali by the face-- and wheeled back to slug the aforementioned slut across the face.

The sound of it rang out through the area, catching attentions. A raucous crowd formed a ring around them when Alison recovered with a scalding curse and tackled Angie. Crossing my arms, I put on a neutral face and watched as the two rolled around on the bare ground. The audience hummed, cheering and chanting for landed shots, nearly drowning out the sound of Alison's shrieks.

"Shouldn't we stop them?" Josh asked, wincing. A loud, collective groan swept over everyone, excluding myself, as a gruesome crack sounded closely followed by a spurt of blood.

"Now you can stop them," I permitted as Alison screamed profanities. Aromi, Jesse, Sean, Beckett, and Wentz rushed forward to pry Penelope off Alison, all of them focused on holding her back as she struggled and others obligatorily picked up Alison, face from the nose down covered in blood.

In the rabble security came to, ahem, escort Alison to the medical tent. Once she was dragged out of the circle, Angie stopped on a dime, leaving the others to watch her cautiously. She didn't stay to take the commentary which flew at her; the crowd drew back to create an aisle through which she stalked off.

Quiet fell over the large group. I searched around and found Ryan, standing completely frozen in shock where Angie'd pushed him back. I fixed a dark smirking stare to his wide brown eyes. "Guess you wont have to meditate over breaking up after all," I remarked lowly. "Why talk when you can take action?"

Then I noticed that all other eyes of those who remained on me. I met most of them and found that they were expectant, like they were waiting for me to go after Angie. But I'm no fool. "What?" I snapped, glaring, and took off in the direction opposite of my beloved... vicious redhead.