Autumn Tears And Winter Leaves

The hotel lift could only fit five people in it if its inhabitants were lucky. Or unbelievably small. Lawen was trying not to imagine the scenario if it jammed between two floors as she was wedged between Pasco and Torben. Her first night on the tour could easily plummet into disaster. She twined her hands around each other anxiously as her eyes drifted over her fellow prisoners slowly, trying to convince herself that this wasn't a dream. The three members of Green Day were casually discussing tour details as they leant against the walls of the lift. There was a nonchalance to their posture that suggested they had mastered the art of long-haul tours and crammed schedules. It was surprisingly reassuring to Lawen to know that Our Teenage Kicks were supported by them. Sensing a gaze resting on him, Tré turned slightly to look at Lawen. Grinning widely, he winked back at her, slipping from the conversation for a few seconds to briefly analyse her. "Nervous?" he asked, his eyes sparkling with mischief.

Lowering her head from the attention, Lawen smiled slightly. "A little." she admitted.

Tré laughed as he turned to face Lawen properly. "Wise kid." he replied.

"Where are we going exactly?" Conall questioned, a frown clouding his expression.

"Secret," Tré answered dismissively. "Can't tell you."

"Thanks," Conall said, rolling his eyes. "That makes me feel so much better."

Billie Joe and Mike echoed Tré's laugh as they faced Our Teenage Kicks. "Just put it this way, dude," Tré told Conall. "This is going to be one night that you won't forget in a long time...no matter how much alcohol you drink to try to."

Pasco stood in the midst of the club with his hands resting against his hips. "This is it?" he asked as he faced Tré, disbelief etched across his face.

"This is paradise!" Tré exclaimed, extending his arm across the room filled with seated figures.

"Tré," Conall stepped in, edging closer to the drummer for security. "This is a gay strip club."

"Yeah, I know." Tré replied casually as he waved to the near-naked waiter that drifted past.

Lawen absorbed the brightly flamboyant decor, hypnotising strobe lights and the mind-numbing amount of leather in the room with a growing smile. "You know, I actually quite like it in here," she interrupted, her head tilted to the side in amusement. "Makes a difference."

Draping an arm lightly around Lawen's shoulder, Tré laughed. "I like you, kid." he complimented. Unable to speak with awe, Lawen glanced across at Tré with an insecure smile. Her shock deepened when his arm slid from her shoulders to take her hand. "Come on, darling." he prompted, leading her to an empty table predictably close to the stage. Billie Joe and Mike slumped comfortably into the seats alongside the pair with a relaxed air. Lawen grinned to herself as she wondered how often the trio actually went to the club.

"So, who's buying the first round?" Pasco questioned as he sat at the table, reclining against the back and folding his arms. His eyes swept across the group as Conall and Torben cautiously sat at the table, glancing over their shoulders with curiosity.

Billie Joe grinned. "I reckon it should be you guys since you had no alcohol in your rooms."

"I know, what kind of rock stars are you?" Mike added with mock disgust.

"The poor kind," Pasco answered. "How about you spend some of your millions showing us how to drink like proper rock stars?"

"Good try." Billie Joe replied with a laugh. Settling back against his chair, he surveyed the group carefully. "What you guys drinking?" he asked with a steady smile.

"Oh no. You don't have to," Lawen pressed. "Honestly. We can get our own."

"No, we can't," Pasco answered, violently kicking Lawen under the table. "I'll have a sex on the beach." he ordered, unable to restrict the grin rising on his face.

"Pasco!" Lawen exclaimed, her cheeks tinged with embarassment.

Laughing, Billie Joe pushed himself back from the table and stood up. "Honestly, it's fine," he reassured Lawen. "We've got to spend our millions on something. Come on, joker. You can help me with the drinks." he added as he walked around the table and nudged Pasco's shoulder.

Numbed temporarily with surprise, Pasco remained in his seat until his eyes illuminated with ecstasy. "OK!" he exclaimed as he vaulted up and followed Billie Joe to the bar with a love-struck expression.

Shaking her head through the group's laughter, Lawen glanced up and fixed the group with a questioning gaze. "You know we're probably not going to get him back," she told them. "What do we do then?"

Tré's smile was still loud and bright despite the lights dimming around the club. "Sit back and enjoy the show."

"No muscle-bound man could take my hand from my guy. No handsome face could ever take the place of my guy. He may not be a movie star, but, when it comes to being happy, we are." Pasco stumbled across the pavement, colliding into Billie Joe in mid-song. Grinning through his intoxication, he threw his arm around the singer's shoulder, dragging him closer for serenading.

Watching from behind, Lawen giggled at Pasco's show, loving him even more when he was drunk than when he was sober. She slid her hands inside her coat pockets, protecting them from the piercing night air, and followed his uncontrolled footsteps with careful ones. A contented smile lit her face with memories as she recalled the events of that night, grinning as she recalled a few of the more traumatic moments that were still tinged with laughter. Sensing a presence edging towards her, Lawen slowed her pace until Mike was in step beside her. "How come you're not as drunk as him?" he asked, nodding in Pasco's direction.

Lawen slipped her gaze over to Pasco who was attempting to have a meaningful conversation with Billie Joe through screens of drunken slurs and nonsense. She stepped forward instinctively as his feet tripped him over once again, nearly sending him to the floor if Billie Joe hadn't caught him. Laughing lightly in relief, she turned back to Mike, "That's why." she explained before stepping over to Pasco who was looking at Billie Joe with loving, if unfocussed, eyes.

"My hero." Pasco slurred as he attempted to regain his balance in Billie Joe's grasp. Lawen stepped beside the drummer, placing her hands on his sides to steady him. Feeling a new grasp, Pasco writhed to look back at Lawen. "Lawen!" he exclaimed excitedly.

"Hey, Pasco baby." Lawen greeted, her amusement blatant in her expression.

"Did I ever tell you how much I loved you?" Pasco asked, shifting his drunken affection onto Lawen.

"Yes, you did, darling. Thank you." Lawen replied, coaxing Pasco steadily up the steps to the hotel.

Stumbling onto the final step, Pasco turned to face Lawen. Fixing her with a strained attempt at a serious expression, he swayed through yet another intoxicated speech. "Nah, Lawen. You don't understand. I frigging love you. You put up with all of my shit and you don't even complain. You've been there since day one. I frigging love you."

"I know, Pasco. I know." Lawen told him, stepping up beside him and guiding him into the lobby.

"I really do love you." Pasco reiterated in a mumbled tone as he made his own way to the lift.

Watching as Pasco stumbled away, Billie Joe chuckled. "Looks like someone really needs to sleep all that alcohol off."

Unable to stop herself from rolling her eyes, Lawen faced Billie Joe. "Yeah, tell me about it. Did you really need to keep buying him all those cocktails?"

Billie Joe held his hands out, silently proclaiming his innocence. "Hey! He asked for them. Don't blame me." Still, the grin he wore proudly contradicted his defence.

Shaking her head with a slight laugh, Lawen placed her hands on her hips. "You should really be the one looking after him tonight."

"Sorry, darling. Have to get up early tomorrow morning." Billie Joe retorted, stretching to prove his point.

"Guys! Come on! I got the lift open!" Pasco yelled across the empty lobby, causing Billie Joe to chuckle once again and Lawen to cringe.

"Someone really let themselves go tonight." Tré commented as he sauntered past.

"I'm not even getting into this," Lawen sighed, following him across the lobby and into the lift. "It's all right for you. You don't have to deal with him."

"Nope. That's your job." Conall replied, nudging Lawen gently with a laugh as he and Torben entered the lift.

"Deal with who?" Pasco questioned as he lolled his head against the wall of the lift. "Ain't nobody gotta deal with me. I'm fine."

"Of course you are, honey." Lawen said, her tone tired of fake annoyance and a grin spreading across her face. Settling into this lift journey, she allowed the grin to rest against her lips as she rested against the steel wall. The need for sleep began loosening her muscles and lowering her eyelids until she was certain she would fall asleep where she was. Forcing her eyes open, she caught Torben watching her sceptically and smiled reassuringly at him. This time, the droop in her expression was only due to the late night.

Pasco was the first one to clamour out of the lift as the doors peeled open. He stood in the hallway dishevelled and confused until Lawen stepped beside him, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Pasco, honey. I think you'd better stay with me tonight." Blinking repeatedly, Pasco nodded numbly as a child-like smile alighted on his face.

"I'll help you with him," Billie Joe offered as he stepped out of the lift. "It is my fault after all."

Lawen turned back to Billie Joe in surpise. "You don't have to. I was only kidding."

Smiling warmly at Lawen, Billie Joe shrugged off her dismissal. "I don't mind." Wrapping a supportive arm around Pasco's waist, he began to lead the intoxicated drummer to Lawen's room. "Come on, Pasco." he coaxed.

"Holy crud," Pasco murmured. "It's all my fantasies come true."

Biting her lip against the laughter threatening to slip out, Lawen lowered her gaze from Billie Joe's frowning expression. "Don't ask." she told him.

Shrugging slightly, Billie Joe led Pasco into Lawen's room and allowed him to collapse lightly onto the couch. Revealing his parental side, he watched Pasco curl tightly into a sleep-drugged ball and fall almost immediately into a heavy-breathed sleep. "Is he going to be all right now?" he asked, looking up at Lawen who was releasing her feet from her shoes.

"He should be." Lawen replied as she walked carefully over to the couch. Resting her chin against the top of it, she brushed a strand of hair from Pasco's face, prompting him to wriggle slightly in protest. Grinning, she raised her eyes back to Billie Joe. "He's going to be a right state in the morning though." she warned.

Billie Joe grinned mischievously as he stepped back slightly. "And this is just the first night."