Kevin
I looked at Brian and AJ after Mary went on stage. Brian glanced at me, his eyebrows raised.
"Man, she is weird," he muttered. I smiled slightly as AJ nodded in agreement.
"Who's weird?" Nick asked as he walked up.
"Nobody," I said quickly. He gave me a withering look and sat down on the floor beside Brian.
"You're talking about the freak that just came through here yelling, 'Hit me baby one more time!'" he sang in a high pitched, nasally voice. Brian snorted and started laughing. AJ lowered his head, hiding a smile. I rolled my eyes and stood up.
"Aw, Kevy doesn't want us making fun of his little 'girlfriend'." Nick smirked, getting ready to push the limit. I glared at Brian, whose laughter finally began to taper off. Then I sighed and shook my head, walking away.
I found a seat near the stage so I could hear Mary sing and so Nick wouldn't bother me.

Somehow I managed to doze off sitting there. I was startled awake when something landed on me and I heard a groan. I opened my eyes and saw Mary sitting on the floor, staring at me.
"Good God, Kevin, could you be any more in the way?"
"I'm sorry, I kinda dozed off..."
We stood up and brushed ourselves off, then Mary went back to change and a minute later, the rest of us took the stage.

Me
I climbed onto the tour bus after I changed and went to my bunk. I pulled my notebook, pencil, and eraser from my bag and sat down at the small table in front.
I wrote for a good while, then stopped when the guys came on the bus. I left the notebook on the table, along with my pencil and eraser, and went to bed.
The next day, on our way to the next venue, I walked up front to the table, planning on getting my notebook. I frowned when I saw it wasn't there.
"Hey, Brian," I said as he passed by.
"What?" he asked, stopping and looking at me.
"Did you notice a notebook here earlier?"
He shook his head. "I don't think so."
I sighed.
"What is it?"
"The notebook I was writing in when you guys came on last night. I left it here and now it's gone."
"Are you sure you left it here?"
"Yes, Brian, I'm sure." I frowned at him.
"Nick," Brian said, gesturing for him to come over. I rolled my eyes and moved to Brian's other side.
"Did you see a notebook on the table anytime today?"
He nodded. "Yeah."
"What'd you do with it?"
"I threw it away."
"You what?" I said, glaring at him. He gave me a look.
"I threw it away. It didn't look like anything important."

Brian
I looked at Mary, expecting her to blow up. But instead of blowing up, she just looked at Nick, tears filling her eyes.
"You asshole," she whispered, then turned and walked away. I looked at Nick.
"What's the big deal about it?" he asked.
"I don't know, but apparently, it meant something to her."
"Then she shouldn't have left it out here."
"You should've asked around before you decided to take matters into your own hands."
He smirked. "I knew it was hers."
"Huh?" I looked at him, surprised.
"I knew it was hers."
"What- are you saying you threw it away on purpose?"
He nodded, looking smug.
"That- that's a whole different level of low, Nick. That's cruel." I walked off, leaving him standing there, the smug look gone from his face.

Kevin
I looked up as Mary came to the back of the bus and was surprised to see tears on her cheeks.
"Mary? What's wrong?"
She shook her head and sat down beside me. I set my notebook down and looked at her. She wiped her eyes and stared at the floor.
Brian walked in a minute later, looked at me, then at Mary, then back at me. I didn't know what to do, and obviously Brian didn't either. But somehow I figured he knew more than me. I stood up and walked over to him.
"What happened?" I asked softly.
"Nick threw away her notebook," he replied, not taking his eyes off Mary.
"What notebook?"
"The one she was writing in when we got back on the bus last night."
"What was in it?"
He shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know." He finally looked up at me. "Nick knew it was her notebook."
"He threw it away on purpose?"
Brian nodded. "And the sad thing is, he seemed so proud of himself. And he told me like he thought I'd say, 'Good work, buddy.'"
"He needs a hobby."
Brian grinned slightly. "I'm gonna go see if he's off gloating or off pouting."
I nodded and Brian walked off. I sat back down beside Mary and looked at her.
"My writing is my life, next to my singing," she muttered, "and he just threw it away like it was nothing."
"What was it?" I asked gently. She sighed.
"A story very loosely based on what happened to me."
For some reason, I glanced down at her leg. She was wearing shorts and I could see the scar a few inches above her knee.
"What's in that notebook?" she asked. I looked up.
"Oh, you mean this one?" I grabbed the one I'd put down earlier. "Brainstorms."
"Can I see?"
I shrugged my shoulders. "Sure."
She picked it up and began going through it, reading various poems and lyrics, her lips moving as she read.
When she got to a picture I'd drawn, she let out some sort of giggle.
"What?" I said defensively. She shook her head, smiling slightly.
"Nothing, I'm sorry."
I reached for her side and she moved over some, laughing.
"Don't, it's nothing, I swear!"
I grabbed her and started tickling her.
"What's so funny about it?"
"Nothing!" she gasped. "Stop!"
When it looked like she was about to die laughing, I did stop.
She remained more or less in my lap and continued looking through my notebook.
"What's this?" she said, pointing at what I'd been writing in when she'd come in.
"Something I was writing for you, actually."
"For me?" she said, an interested tone in her voice. I grinned.
"Yeah. I told you I was gonna help you with an album."
"But this isn't really a Christmas song."
"I apologize. I can't be in a Christmas mood in the middle of July."
She laughed. "I see." She paused a minute. "But thanks."
I shrugged my shoulders. "I probably would've done it, even if you hadn't asked."
She stiffened slightly and I cleared my throat.
"But, uh, I still have to add music to it and that'll take even longer."
She nodded and moved from my lap, sitting next to me.
Now, for what seemed like the first time in a month, an uncomfortable silence hung between us. I really shouldn't say things with implications of what I'm thinking.
She finally stood up and handed me my notebook.
"Um, I'm gonna go... gonna go... yeah." Then she walked out of the room. I sat back and sighed. I really shouldn't say things with implications of what I'm thinking.
AJ came in a minute later and looked at me.
"Kev?"
"Yes I like her! Sue me!"
His eyes widened a little and he backed out. "I'll come back later."

Me
I headed for my bunk and started to get on it.
I heard something that sounded like a moderate explosion from the back of the bus and the bus veered sharply.
I fell and Nick, who had been walking down the hall at that moment, fell on me.
I frowned and pushed him up.
"Get off of me, you freak."
He glared at me. "No problem."
I stood up and looked at him.
"Move," I said, annoyed.
"It's a flat tire."
"No shit, Sherlock. Let me by."
He looked at me definantly.
"I will fucking move you myself, get out of my way!"
"Nick, it'd be a whole lot easier if you'd just move, 'cause she will move you herself," Kevin said from behind me. Nick gave Kevin this look that made me think he was gonna stick his tongue out at any moment.

Kevin
Nick finally moved and Mary slipped by him. I followed her off the bus to where the driver was comtemplating the flat tire.
I looked at the tire, then at Mary.
"What caused it?"
"My guess would be that big ass piece of rusted metal behind it," she muttered, pointing.
"Oh," I said quietly.

Part 6
Part 4
Index
My stories
Home