Noo, I AM done! :-) This chapter's kinda filler, kinda background, and kinda short, haha. But please enjoy!! -Bri
Chapter 5
I made a face, picking my fingers over the strings over my guitar, tuning it gently. Sighing, I threw my head back, staring at the clouds as the waves crashed in the distance. For most of my songs, the words flowed easily out of my fingers, fitting perfectly with the melody I had chosen (with some tinkering of course, no one’s perfect), but this one…this one was stuck.
Glancing at my watch, I realized it would be the perfect time to call Nick. It was about twenty minutes before their next show, and since they were in lockdown, I would actually have a decent chance of getting him. Dialing his number from memory, I stood up and danced to his ringback tone, ignoring the stares I got from the other people on the mostly deserted beach. I was giggling when he picked up, having danced my way into the ocean, where I had promptly tripped on a shell, and fallen on my butt.
“Hey, Bri.” He greeted me cheerfully, obviously in a much better mood than he had been in the day before.
“Hey.” I managed in between giggles, before falling backwards (being careful to keep the phone out of the water), feeling the remnants of the waves lap up against my hair.
“What’s so funny?” Nick inquired, sounding genuinely interested. “Oh wait, don’t tell me—my girlfriend’s a klutz.”
“How’s that for a news flash?” I joked, closing my eyes against the hot sun that reflected off the water, directly into my eyes.
“Absolutely incredible.” He declared. “What happened this time?”
“I tripped over a shell.” I admitted shamefully. “But it was a big one!” His snort of laugh made me smile.
“I’m sure it was.” He teased me lightly, making me laugh even harder. “How’s the album coming?”
“It’s okay.” I admitted. “I’m unbelievably stuck on this one stupid song though.”
“I wish I was there to help; it sounds like you need it.” He told me softly, making me smile. “But this tour, already…girl, it’s amazing. Probably the best one we’ve been on yet.”
“That’s great, Nick. I’m really glad for you guys.” I didn’t know what else to say and an awkward silence fell over the line. “When are you going to be back in the area? I miss you.”
I could almost hear him shrug before he spoke. “I’m not sure, but when we are…you get the front-row seat, for sure.”
“Sure.” I murmured, unsure of what to think. Before, it’d always been a promise of a backstage pass, nothing more, nothing less. Maybe I was being paranoid, determined to find something, some sign, but what I was looking for, I just wasn’t sure. “That’d be great. Look, I have to go, I’ll see you then. Love you.” The words were uncomfortably hollow, said without meaning, so without waiting for a reply, I snapped my phone closed, sliding it back into my pocket as I stood up, my hair and the back of my bathing suit dripping with salt water and sand.
Collapsing back on my towel, I sighed. I had no reason to distrust Nick, but why was it that I did? I shook my head, hating myself for being one of those overprotective girlfriends. My boyfriend was a rockstar, there was no denying the truth, and most of the time I welcomed the fans who would come up to him asking for hugs. These girls wanted that ten-second chance to be with their idols, to get a picture, an autograph, a hug, to be told that they were loved—why would I deny someone of that? Some of them had even approached me, asking for my autograph, or a picture, sometimes even a MySpace greeting. Of course, it wasn’t without the occasional hate letter, but I had learned to ignore those, to push them to the back of my mind. Once talk of my new album had leaked, my fans had doubled in number, even without the official conformation. Naturally, so had the hate mail, but Nick had stood by my side through it all; answering my calls at 7am after I had received a particularly vicious one, cheering me on when I played at small charity concerts, and just being there. It was a scary feeling now, to realize that I didn’t have that. I could almost feel him pulling away from me, detaching inch by inch as he traveled the country, wrapped up in nights of headache inducing screams, strobe lights and the fame that always lurked in the background, always threatening to embalm us or rip our lives apart. We had to be unbelievably careful with our relationship now, keeping it firmly under wraps, never venturing out on solitary dates unless we could be positive it was hidden. His fame exhilarated and terrified me, was loved and hated, but it was just part of him; a natural role that he had openly embraced, all three of them made to fill the spotlight.
My phone was ringing consistently, begging to be noticed, but I firmly ignored it. I was in no mood to talk to anyone, but I glanced at the screen in spite of myself. Suddenly, once I realized who it was, I couldn’t answer the phone fast enough.
“How’d you know?” I questioned cheekily, smiling happily. “I was ready to run off the end of the pier.”
“You were not.” Greg retorted and I shrugged as if to give in, even if he couldn’t see me. “But Bri…we need to talk.”
“Best four words ever created.” I muttered sarcastically. “What’s up, my Garboggs?” It was nice getting to talk to him; despite the radical age difference of almost six years, we were best friends and he was helping me with my debut album, well, helping with what little time he had.
“I don’t really know…Nick just looked a little off when you guys talked earlier; is everything okay?” He sounded truly concerned, but was obviously hiding something.
“I guess.” I pulled myself into a sitting position, propping my chin on my knees. “I don’t know…is he okay?”
“Yeah, he’s fine.” The answer came in a rush, all too quickly, spiking my curiosity further. “I’ll see, I suppose; you know how new tours are.”
“Yeah.” I sighed softly, squinting into the sun that bounced off the waves. Where were my sunglasses? “Yeah, I know how new tours are.”
“What do you know about this contest winner the boys hung out with?” I questioned nervously, unsure of how he’d take my inquiry.
“She’s pretty cool; the boys like her, she seems really nice. She’s going to come to the concerts tonight and tomorrow—I think Nick also hooked her up with backstage passes. Why? Are you sure you’re okay?” Greg asked again, just to be sure.
“Greg!” I playfully shrieked. “I’m fine, I promise.”
“Okay, okay, fine, I won’t check on you anymore.” He joked, but stopped as I heard the faint rumble of a loudspeaker in the distance. “Okay, Brees, I have to go be famous, talk to you later.”
“Bye.” I commented softly, frowning slightly. I was still no closer to solving the puzzle that haunted me.
