Guitar Notes Tug Heart Strings

Being on the road had its advantages for Cecelia. She was able to fully concentrate on the band and not have Melanie’s beady eyes on her every time they were in the office together.

The downsides were the bus didn’t have enough privacy for her. She learned not to complain though, she was grateful for the opportunity. She doubted any other story would be like the one she was currently working on.

“I hope you said that I’m the best looking one of the group,” Jake said with a wink.

“Well of course Jake,” she said smiling as she typed more of the interview she had with fans at the last venue.

“Do those kids actually give you full sentences? Or do they just scream at you like they do every time Ren asks them a question?”

Cecelia laughed; she piled her long hair into a bun on the top of her head. Since touring she hadn’t had much time to really style it, so the past few days it’s been in a mess on her head.

“Sometimes I find a jem in the crowd, but your fan base isn’t the most educated.” She shrugged and wrote more of her notes out. “But, I’m used to it.”

“So what are some of the band’s tour rituals?” She asked pulling up a different document.

“We always need water and Gatorade,” Nick said.

“And lots of cereal. We go through that stuff like it’s water.” Mark added as he ate his second bowel. She smiled and jotted it down.

“What’s the longest tour you’ve done?”

“Six months,” Ren said coming from the bunks pulling on a shirt. “We hit the entire country.” He pulled down a plastic bowl and filled it with Cheerios. He grabbed a banana and headed to the table the group was sitting at.

Cecelia smiled and nodded. Since they talked in the studio Ren warmed up to her. He was still quiet, but he only acted cool right before a gig, he seemed to still get nervous.

“Well isn’t there anything you guys do together before you go on stage?”

They all looked at each other and Ren finished chewing the cereal and banana.

“Well, the first show of a tour, we all take a shot.”

“That’s it?” She asked with her eyebrow raised. “That seems kind of tame.”

Jake grinned and rubbed his chin. “Maybe you’ll join us tonight?”

---

“You’re joking right? You want me to drink this?” Cecelia asked as she held up the glass containing a mixture of alcohol. It was kind of cloudy, some clear liquid and a little bit of brown.

“It’s a little bit of whatever we find on the bus,” Steven said shrugging. “You said it seemed tame, you should try it.”

She scrunched her nose and closed her eyes as she lifted the glass to her lips. She threw her head back and took the liquid. It burned down her throat, making her gag.

“Ew, that’s disgusting,” she said reaching for a coke. The guys around her and laughed.

“Welcome to the Thunderheads.”

---

Passing by all the bunks, Cecelia held her notebooks and laptop close so she wouldn’t trip. The narrow aisle wasn’t lit up, and she tended to be clumsy. She pushed open the back room door and stopped when she saw Ren strumming on the guitar.

“Oh sorry, I didn’t know you were in here,” she whispered. “I’ll go up front,” she started to turn and head back to the kitchen area.

“It’s fine, you can stay here.”

She smiled and closed the door behind her. The small room was used as the entertainment area. There were countless controllers for several game systems, a number of games, DVDs, CDs, remotes and the large plasma TV.

There was a long brown leather couch, some pillows and blankets. Cecelia plopped onto the end nearest the door and watched Ren as her computer booted up.

He was strumming random chords. He was starring intently at his hands; when he looked up, she blushed.

“I haven’t made a girl blush in awhile,” he mumbled before continuing playing.

“I didn’t want you to think I was starring. I’m just jealous of anyone who can play an instrument.”

He nodded and continued playing.

“Mind if I ask you some stuff?” He shook his head no and continued. “Why don’t you play, why do you only sing?”

“Sometimes I play on the record, but I feel like I connect more with the audience when I sing. I love playing, but,” he said as he plucked the strings. “I just enjoy singing to my audience.”

She nodded as she typed everything he said out.

“Where do you get inspiration to write?”

“It’s more about what inspires all of us. I write a majority of the music, sure. But the guys help out. We all go through so many different life experiences when we are just ourselves. I take snippets of everyone’s lives, as well as the band’s life.”

She nodded and continued to type. “Can you give me an example of the band life inspiration?”

“The song, ‘Bar fight meeting,’” he started, and then smiled. “Is how Mark met his girlfriend Shelly; he beat Shelly’s ex up,” He shrugged. “They’ve been together for six years.”

“Wow, I knew they’ve been together for awhile, but he never said that was how it started.”

“He doesn’t really talk about his relationship with outsiders. She also likes it that way.”

Cecelia stopped typing and looked at him.

“What about the other songs? It must be hard to write about the more difficult topics.”

“Sometimes, but it also helps. For me, writing ‘Shatter’ was more therapeutic. I didn’t forgive myself for a long time after Michael died. And then some of our break-up songs are cruel, sure. But love isn’t always so pure.”

She nodded and sat back against the couch. “I can agree with that.”

“Yeah? You have some shitty relationships?”

“You can say that, but I don’t want to talk about me.” She said pushing her hair behind her ears.

“Isn’t it only fair you know so much about us, we hardly know anything about you.” He smirked at her as he leaned back against the couch cushions.

She smiled and saved her document, “The beauty of being a journalist.” She shrugged and pulled her cardigan tighter.

He raised his eyebrows, “Come on, and spill.”

She sighed and ran a hand over her head. “My last boyfriend was six months ago. I’m kind of a workaholic, if you couldn’t tell.” He grinned and faked surprise.

“Oh really? I had no idea how much you loved your job,” He motioned as he waved his hand in front of her.

“Anyway, he cheated on me and then proceeded to tell me it was my fault. I was never there when he needed me.” She shrugged and rolled her eyes. “I’m over it, and honestly I wasn’t even that upset.”

“He couldn’t have been the best if you weren’t that upset.”

“He wasn’t. Are all of the girls in your songs about ex-girlfriends?”

“For the most part, some are about girls that got away. Some are about the ones we haven’t found yet. Of course all of the names are different,” He said with a smirk.

“Of course they are.” She said as pulled a song list out of her notebook. “What about ‘Bee?’”

“An ex-girlfriend of Steven’s. She was a bitch.” He said laughing. “That song actually was written when we first formed as a band, but didn’t know if our fans were ready for it.”

“And what about your ex-girlfriends?”

“I’ve had two, and they haven’t gotten their own songs yet. Though I’m sure they think they have one.”

He stretched and put the guitar on the floor next to him. He moved and sat next to Cecelia.

“Can I take a read?” She smiled and shook her head.

“Nope, not until it’s finished.”

He grinned and his eyes lit up.

“What if I steal the laptop away from you?” She raised an eyebrow and before she knew it Ren was grabbing her sides, hitting her ticklish spots.

She started laughing and felt her eyes well up. “Ren,” she pleaded. He grabbed the laptop and began reading the words.

“The lead singer says the inspiration comes from a number of factors including life experiences.” He began.

She crossed her arms over her chest. “Ren, give it back.” He looked at her and smiled.

His eyes kept scanning the words and his smile began to fade.

“You do have a talent,” he whispered.

He took a step towards her and she stood her ground. “If you want this back, you need to do something for me.” He said.

“What? I don’t have time to play these games with you.”

“One kiss.”

Her breath caught in her throat and she looked at him. His masculine smell wafted through her senses, the smell of woods and cinnamon. His brown eyes blinked and his long eyelashes brushed his skin. The stubble on his chin was growing in, the lack of a razor apparent. His strong jaw moved as his lips parted.

“What?” She whispered. Her eyes looked into his, he slightly smiled and took a step closer to her. Her hands were shaking at her sides, her heartbeat picking up speed.

“You heard me, one little kiss.” He whispered back to her.

She rolled her fingers and dug her nails into her palm. She could feel the sharpness cutting into her skin. She felt her stomach flutter, her heart rate pounded in her ears, and her forehead began to sweat.

She took a deep breath and stepped forward. Leaning up on her toes, she crashed her lips onto his. She was about to pull back when Ren wrapped his hand around the back of her neck.

The laptop was placed on the couch as his other hand wrapped around to the small of her back. She stood frozen for a few seconds, unsure of what was really happening.

But as Ren’s lips kept moving, softly urging her to continue the kiss, she sighed. Pushing her hands up his arms and onto his shoulders, she wrapped her arms around his neck. Grabbing the ends of his hair, she slightly pulled.

He gasped into her kiss and she was brought back down to earth.

Pushing his body away, they were both breathing hard.

“Don’t do that again,” she said grabbing her laptop.

“You’ll be back,” he said with a smirk.

“Doubtful.”