Drumsticks, Starter Kits and Bass Guitars

Heaven opened her sidekick and read the text message from her friend Nell. Nell was someone Tarra and Heaven had met over the computer. Heaven laughed at the message.

Heaven, how is tour. Beat down Pedo Pan yet?

Heaven quickly typed back her reply. Not yet. He gave me painkillers.

It took a few seconds then the phone buzzed again. How dare he dope you up. He wants in your jailbait pants!

Heaven groaned. You're jailbait darlin. I'm nineteen.

Don't try to confuse me with your logic!

If you want I'll beat down Ross for ya.

Deal.

Heaven laughed, sighing to herself. That girl was definitely violent. It wasn't even that she didn't like Pete Wentz or Ryan Ross. At least, Heaven didn't think so. Laughing again Heaven headed toward their van. When she walked up there were two girls hanging off her brother.

Rolling her eyes Heaven yelled, "Hey, slut! Get your hand out of my brothers pants!"

Brandon turned a distinct shade of red as Tarra began laughing. Both girls huffed off as Heaven got closer.

"Don't let them hang on you like that, Bran," she said, "They're just looking for ass. And you dont want to be that kid."

She patted her brother's shoulder as she climbed into the van. He climbed in after her, and she found herself surrounded by the band.

"Let's see it," Tarra commanded and Heaven sighed, pulling up her shirt to expose her stomach. It was purple all along her right side. Keri reached out a hand to touch it and Heaven screamed before she could touch it.

"Right, you're not hurt at all!" Brandon said, angrily.

"It's just bruised, honest. Nothing is broken. And it really was a minor accident. Like I said, someone side swiped us."

"Whole story," Tarra demanded.

"Fine. He was drunk and he hit my side of the car. We lost control and hit a phone pole. Once again, on my side of the car. That's usually what happens when you are in the passenger seat. I'm fine, just a little sore. And I think Brandon should play the next two shows. It should be fine by then, right?"

"Yeah, it should be," Tarra said, still staring at the ugly black and purple bruises on Heaven's chest.

"Oh," Heaven said, matter of factly, "Shaant from Cute is What We Aim For kicked me, so I don't like him either."

Tarra laughed, the list of people that their band had a vendetta against was slowly growing.
Heaven rolled her eyes.

"Oh, good news!" Brandon yelled, "Mom called, and they are sending your guy's bus down, it got out of the shop two days ago."

"Thank god!" Cristi cried in relief. The bus was a welcome luxury, it meant bunks.

"Where are we meeting the bus at?"

"It's waiting for us at a truck stop about six hours from here," Brandon replied, "Tim is driving for us."

"Thank god for Thunder," Heaven said with a grin.

Tim was a big black man who was a friend of her familys. Shed known him since she was in diapers. Hed known her aunt and dad since before that. He was always jolly, and reminded everyone of a black Santa Clause.

"He gives me ice cream," she continued with a happy sigh.

She rolled over and fell asleep.
Tarra was keeping an eye out for someone, who must not have shown up. She seemed a little disappointed.

"He was really cool," she told Keri and Cristi as Keri drove toward the next venue.

They woke Heaven long enough for her to switch to the bus and let her sleep the rest of the trip.

Heaven was lying in her bunk above where Tarra slept. They had always slept that way, Heaven above Tarra, for as far back as their friendship had lasted. She sighed, glancing at her watch. It was one in the afternoon. She couldnt believe that everyone just kept letting her sleep.

A nice surprise when the bus had arrived had been the arrival of their friend Bryon. He was their official merch guy (along with Brandon).

Heaven could hear her friends laughing, sharing stories with who ever else was on the bus. She wanted to sleep more but was craving contact.

"Tarra!" she shouted through the open door that separated the bunks from the rest of the bus, "Come spoon me!"

"Heaven!" Tarra shouted back, laughing, "I'm busy!"

Heaven waited a few more minutes before shouting, "Some one come pet me, I'm fucking lonely!"

She was facing the wall of the bunks, her eyes closed. The bed dipped and she figured that Tarra had given in and come to lay with her. She gave a content sigh as an arm wrapped around her middle. Another hand was lazily running through her hair, massaging her scalp. She nearly purred, leaning back into the touch like a cat being scratched behind the ear.

She sighed again and pressed back into the body wrapped around her. That was when she noticed something, or rather, two some things.
The first thing she noticed was that the person was too tall to be Tarra. The second was that someone's groin was pressed very nicely into her ass.

"Dear god," she almost moaned aloud as the person stroking her hair shifted and came into better contact with her. Instead she settled for turning around and opening her eyes. She screamed as she stared into the eyes of a stranger. Then she looked again.

"Tarra!" she shouted, "Why is William Beckett petting me?"

"Cause you're lonely," he said helpfully with a crooked smile. Heaven laughed, she couldn't help it.

"That I am, keep it up, it feels nice," and she pulled his arm around her once again and settled into him. He laughed from behind her.
He began stroking her hair again and soon she had fallen asleep once again.

When he finally climbed out of the bunk he shot her a look. Then he walked back into the living area of the bus.

"You were right," he said offhandedly to Tarra, "You're friend is very friendly."

"She made you spoon her, didn't she?" Tarra laughed, "She loves human contact."

William shook his head, "I have to head to the stage soon. I'll see you all later?"

"You mean will you see Heaven some where other than in bed?"

He just shot her a look. Tarra laughed.

"We're all going to be at the My Chem bus later," she supplied helpfully, "There will be tons of music and dirty dancing."

"In that case, I'm there," he said with a laugh.

After he left Tarra wondered if she should have told him that it was a movie marathon. She shrugged to herself, he would figure it out soon enough.
Since Heaven couldn't play the show she worked the merch tent with Bryon while Brandon played the show for her. Later she played an acoustic guitar while Cristi sang a few of their songs for the crowd that had gathered.

Laughing Heaven crawled into the lap of the nearest person, which happened to be Ray.

"You have a fetish with sitting on people, don't you?" he asked.

"Nope," She said with a grin, "I have a Toro fetish."

She mussed his hair and shouted for them to put the first movie in. It was one Gerard picked; a horror movie. Heaven cringed; she had never wanted to see The Descent.
She could feel her lungs shriveling as the people crawled through the caves. Ray wouldn't hold still and let her hide her face. Every time she tried he would knock her hands away and tell her to watch the movie. She soon found herself looking for another host. Right then William Beckett climbed onto the bus.

"Thank god!" she shouted, getting shushed by everyone else.

He sat on the floor in front of the TV and began watching it, eating some of Franks popcorn.
Heaven tried to inconspicuously slide into his lap. She failed horribly because half way to him something jumped out of the darkness. Screaming loudly she launched herself into his lap and hid her face in his neck.

"Toro wont let me hide," she said in his ear. He chuckled.

"Well stay here with me," he whispered back, "We can hide together."

His statement was punctuated by his loud scream piercing the silence as the first person died. This time he was hiding his face in her neck.

"You're as much a coward as I am," she whispered and he laughed.

"Shhh, I have a rep."

"I think you just ruined it by screaming louder than I did," she told him. Gerard threw popcorn at them.

"Shuddup you two, you're ruining the movie!"

"I bet you've seen this shit six times," Heaven answered, sticking her tongue out at him. Everyone laughed. She curled into Williams side, her eyes on the TV.

"Argh! Save me!" and she smacked her hands to her face and turned into William's shoulder once again.

"It's over now," he breathed into her ear. Trustingly she opened her eyes and faced the movie.

Just in time to watch a gory death.

"Fucking liar!" she yelled at him, smacking his arm, "I shall never believe you again."

He laughed again as she crawled away to hide in Mikeys lap. "Aww! Come back!" he called, "I'll protect you!"

She sniffed at him, "Nope, too late. They already switched the movie."

And sure enough the menu to Dirty Dancing was now playing on the screen. Gerard clicked play muttering about letting teenage girls choose the movie.

"Be happy Cristi didn't choose," Heaven said, "We'd end up watching The Notebook. Or something like it."

"The Notebook is the shit!" Frank yelled.

"The true mark of a married man."

"Shuddup," Frank said lightly.

Heaven and William had been talking about the tour. When Bill mentioned Pete Heaven made a noise in her throat.

"What?" he asked, confused, Pete was a good friend of his. Tarra began laughing.

"Heaven doesn't like Pete. Or Panic at the Disco."

"What!? Why don't you like Pete?"

"Because he smears soot under his eyes like a prostitute. So does that stupid Ross kid."

William began laughing again, "What do you have against eye liner?"

"Absolutely nothing," Heaven said off handedly, "I just wanted to call Pete a prostitute."