over it...

Chapter 3 : How Old?

Chapter 3 :
How Old?

author's note
Hi. This is a story I forgot that I wrote. I never finished posting the chapters.
SO, enjoy my bad story and don't mind that I'm posting chapters 3-the rest of them in one night after going radio silent for like two years.
Later skaters.

Vic's POV :
    It had been a few days since Charlotte and I started writing. Since then, we'd been texting non-stop. She and Liz had also been hanging out with the guys and me quite a bit. I hadn't seen Katie since that night, except for when 'BANNED' would play. I had yet to meet their other member, though I gathered it was because he was hanging out with Katie. I could tell deeper issues were starting to form in the group.
    Charlotte had painted a pretty good picture of what had happened between the two girls, though it in no way excused Katie's behaviour. I admired Charlotte, though. As much shit as Katie's been giving her, she still kept her head up and performed the shit out of her shows.
    Now, we were on our way to Phoenix. I was on the couch with Tony, tightening up my guitar parts for the new song while Jaime and Mike were balls deep in a Mario Kart tournament. Somehow, over the past four days we had written an entire song and we were about to unveil it to an unsuspecting audience. I was nervous. Our managers didn't even know about the new collaboration. It wasn't even recorded!
    While I was tweaking a chord, my phone started going off.
    "Dude, do you want to check that so it stops?" Tony nodded at the device sitting on the table.
    "It should be oka-" I was cut off by another set of vibrations.
    The screen read "Charlotte," so I decided it was worth investigating further. There were a multitude of messages.
"OMG. guess nobody told katie"

"H o l y shit. she just found out. shes
screaming at me. Liz had to fucking
pull her off me..."

"she keeps calling me a traitor."

"she kept hitting me and now she's 
locked in the bathroom.
idk what to do :/"

    "Jesus," I mumbled, scrolling through and rereading the messages.
    "What's up?" Tony paused the game, probably taking in the concerned expression that slapped me in the face.
    I sighed. "No one told Katie about our little project. I guess when she just found out and she freaked out. Threw a fit and locked herself in the bathroom."
    "Dude." Tony shook his head. "What's her problem? Like... She's actually nuts or something. She keeps acting like a fucking psycho."
    Everyone had seen just how bad Katie could get when she showed up at our fire. She freaked out, searching for Charlotte. For some reason, she'd seemed to be getting more and more aggressive towards her. I didn't understand why they continuously put up with her. It was getting way out of hand. No one wanted to bring it up. Was it our business? I texted Charlotte back.

"you ok?"

    It was a few minutes before she replied, which made me nervous. Our conversations had been pretty instantaneous, lately.

"yeah. just weirded out."

"were almost to phoenix.
u 2 can come over."

"deal." was all she sent back.

Charlotte's POV :
    I had a love/hate relationship with the long trips. Sometimes, it was nice just to relax and be away from people. But, today I was antsy. In just a few short hours, Vic and I would debut our song to an unsuspecting crowd. I layed on my mattress with headphones in, absentmindedly biting my nails.
    "Why so nervous?" Katie forcefully pulled out one of my ear buds, sitting on my bunk.
    "I'm not." I stammered in surprise, her presence snapping my attention back to reality.
    She went on, barely letting me get the words out. "Yeah, you are. You're biting your nails and shit. So, why?"
    "I don't know. I'm fine. I'm just trying to listen to some music. Pre show jitters."
    "Oh, come on, Luciole. It's obvious." Drew called from the couch where he'd been lounging. "She's probably just nervous for that song with the guys from whatever, tonight. Pierce the Veil or something."
    I swear, if eyes could turn red, Katie's would've right that second. We hadn't told her because we knew how much she hated them. I knew it was because of Vic. But, that wasn't her place. I don't know how long we thought we could keep this a secret from her.
    "What the hell is this, now? You're doing a song with that... that... that WHORE?!" She stood, practically screaming at me, her face full of rage. "How could you?"
    Liz rushed up from the back when she heard Katie screeching. "Hey, man. Maybe just take a breath or a seat or something?" Her tone was calm and reassuring as she stood cautiously between the two of us.
    "Are you kidding me?" Drew stalked over to us, only adding to the tension. "So, no one told Katie? What the fuck?"
    Panic washed over me. Unsure of what to do, my hands flew to my phone. I texted Vic, trying to avoid the growing commotion.
    "Of course we didn't! Not yet. Not with her attitude, lately. It's not her decision, anyway." Liz seemed more annoyed than anything.
    Katie scoffed. "My attitude? It's not myself she's whoring herself out!" She jabbed an accusing finger in my face.
    "Hey, dude. You need to drop that 'broken heart' pity act. Right now." Liz grew stern. "We ALL know what happened with you two. It's been fucking two years. Drop. It."
    Katie's nostrils flared. She didn't say anything, just stared.
    "Besides," Liz continued. "If anyone's been whoring themselves, it's you. You sleep with different girls at almost every show. Not to mention you've been dragging that Sandy chick all over the country. How old is she, anyway? How can you be with her but still be obsessed with Charlotte?"
    Katie rolled her eyes, snapping her gum. "Her name is Sadie."
    "It's Shelby, doll." Drew interjected, correcting everyone.
    "Stop it..." I whispered, trying to find my voice. I don't know where they were coming from, but I suddenly felt myself holding back tears. I hated how weak Katie made me feel.
    "Why don't you stop?" Katie cocked her head to the side, sending a sneer in my direction. "You parade around in front of me and throw yourself at me just to tell me no. I'm sick of you fucking my heart like that."
    I stood, leveling myself with her. "What in the hell are you talking about?"
    "She's pulling things out of her ass. It's okay." Liz turned up her nose. "She knows I'm right."
    "No you're fucking not! It's all her fault!" She moved to hit me, but Liz easily intervened.
    "Sit." Liz commanded.    
    Katie obeyed, blowing steam out of her nose.
    The whole bus went eerily silent, save for the quiet hum of music still playing though my discarded headphones. Everyone just stared at each other. I didn't want everyone to be fighting. We were supposed to be a team. I knew Liz and Katie never really liked each other, but things had never exploded quite like they had been lately.
    "I'm fine," She glared at Liz.
    The two of them stared at each other for a small eternity before Liz sat on the couch, playing on her phone. I stayed there, frozen, trying to process the whole situation.
    All of a sudden, Katie lunged at me, swinging and screaming about me being a traitor and a whore. I tried to push her off, but she wouldn't let up. Liz sprang into action and tore her off.
    "You're just as bad as her!" Katie screamed in Liz's face before escaping her grasp, running to the bathroom and slamming the door.
    I shrunk into my bunk, cupping my face as I texted Vic. My eye was throbbing.
    "Are you okay?" Liz was immediately at my side, speaking softly.
    "I'm fine," I mumbled, embarrassed and choking back tears.
    I heard Liz sigh and sit down as I buried my face in my knees. Drew was trying to talk Katie out of the bathroom.
    What the hell was happening to us?
* * *
    As soon as the bus came to a stop, I was off my bunk and out the door. I quickly walked through the rows of buses until I found the one I was looking for. I frantically knocked on the door, wrapping my arms around my waist. Not even a few seconds later, the it flew open.
    "Charlotte. Hey. Are you..." Vic paused, staring at me. "Come inside." He stepped aside to let me in. "How hard did she hit you?" He whispered, brushing a thumb across my face.
    I shrugged. "I don't know. Why?"
    "Come here..." He held out his hand, leading me to their bathroom.
    "Oh," I stared at my reflection. The entire socket around my right eye was a deep purple, and there was a small bruise on my jaw. My hair was an absolute mess, and my eyes were puffy and swollen from crying. My shoulders sunk lower the longer I looked at my own reflection. I felt my face grow hot as that lump returned to my throat. The last thing I wanted was to cry, yet again. Especially with the now constant throbbing of my eye.
    "Hey," his voice softened. "There's no need for that..."
    Vic opened his arms to me. I nearly collapsed into him, accepting his comfort. I couldn't stop myself from sobbing, silently. With every violent shake, my embarrassment grew. I didn't want him, or anyone, to see me like this. I hated feeling so vulnerable.
    "Come on," He gently led me to the living room area. He made a blanket-filled bed on the couch for me and pulled out a binder full of DVDs, throwing one on before moving to the kitchen. He handed me a bowl of strawberries and set out a glass of water. "Do you want me to stay with you or do you want some alone time?"
    "Stay..." I stared at the table, afraid to look him in the eye.
    "Alright." He moved to sit on the couch opposite from me.
    "You uhm..." I cleared my throat. "You can sit with me. If, uhm, if you want."
    A smile tugged at his lips as he clambered onto the couch, plopping down next to me. The 'play-menu' popped up. It was Spaceballs, one of my favorite movies! As the ship slowly moved across the screen to the dramatic music, I inched closer to Vic before finally sneaking his arm around me. And, for a moment, I forgot everything else. I forgot about Katie and I forgot my tears. I almost forgot why I was crying in the first place. Sitting with him just felt warm. It felt like home. That was something I hadn't felt in oh so long... Or ever.
    I hadn't even noticed my eyelids growing heavy as I dozed off until I woke to hushed voices. My eyes creeped open to find my head in Vic's blanket covered lap. He was still sleeping.
    Liz and Jaime stood in front of me, silently giggling. Liz's phone was out, meaning she most likely had snapped a picture. I shot her a look to say 'we'll deal with this later.'
    "Good morning, sleepy head," she giggled. "I've been looking for you."
    "Mmph," was all I had to say. Hey! Waking up was hard. I sat up, looking around me. I couldn't help but smile at the sight of the blanket mound and, well, the still fast asleep man in it.
    "How're you feeling?" Her question was soft.
    I shrugged, something I do all too often. "Honestly? Sore and a little pissed. How's Katie?"
    "Apologetic." She was short with her answer, turning her nose up at the question. "She wanted to find you and talk, but I told her you needed space and she needed to calm down, still."    
"Oh yeah." I raised my eyebrows. "And how'd she handle that?"
Liz laughed, rolling her eyes. "She, uh, wasn't too thrilled."
"But, hey," Jaime stepped into our conversation. "If you need a couch to crash on if things don't improve. You're always welcome, here. We're going to the same places and it's safe, here. I mean, I'm pretty sure Liz would kick her ass, if it came down to it. But you don't have to worry about Katie even stepping foot in here."
I nodded, "thanks, man. I really appreciate it."
"Don't even worry about it. Honestly... But, also. I need to wake up sleeping beauty, here. You should probably get ready, too. If you're okay to play."
"Shit.." I checked my phone. I'd been here for three hours! Suddenly, My face went pale. "What am I going to do about my eye?"
"I have coverup. But, honestly, you look badass." Liz beamed, reassuringly.
I decided to leave it, also realizing I didn't have much time to fix it. Plus, I didn't want Katie to think she shook me. She'd have to see what she did.
"HEY!" Jaime jumped on the couch to wake Vic as we left.
Liz and I hightailed it to the stage where my guitar was waiting for me. I hoisted the strap over my head, feeling some of my strength and courage come back with it.
I saw Katie across the stage and my stomach dropped. I decided to ignore her and put on a show. We played. I performed my heart out. And we left. I waited at the side of the stage for PTV's set to start. I was so excited for our song...
Vic kicked off their first song and my heart leapt. I waited anxiously at the side of the stage, though watching him run around and listening to their music relaxed me.
As they finished their last song, Vic spoke into the mic. "Alright, guys. We have a special surprise for you all!"
Everyone cheered.
"I'd like to invite Charlotte from 'BANNED' back to the stage."
More cheering
    Nervous, I walked on stage and over to Vic. He pulled me into a tight side hug. Instinctually, I leaned my head into him. It was... Really nice.
    "We've been working on something, and you guys are the first people to ever hear it. You ready?"
    He turned to me, lowering the microphone and speaking only to me. "Are you ready?"
    Barely able to hear him over the crowd I nodded, my heart racing.
    He grinned at me. I swear, right there in that moment, everything stopped. I wished we could just sit there, but he turned back to the crowd, screaming "let's GO!"
    Tony took off on guitar while Vic followed him, their fingers flying in perfect unison. The whole band was going off, practically shooting sparks. When the melody softened up a bit, I began to sing, closing my eyes and letting the music seep in. Then, Vic joined in, our voices floating through the air as they began to grow heavier.
    By the time I hit my last note, holding onto it for as long as I could, I was on cloud  nine. I fell to my knees as the song ended. My shoulders drooped around me, rising and falling as my chest heaved, my lungs searching for air.
    The crowd went absolutely nuts as Vic shouted into the microphone. "Thank you, and have a good night!"
    The stage lights flashed off as everyone abandoned the stage. I wasn't ready to be done! I was left, kneeling center stage, just processing the last few hundred seconds of my life. I wanted them to go on forever, but now, it was just me and the darkness.
    I felt a hand on my back as a figure knelt next to me. "Come on," he whispered.
    I accepted Vic's hand as he helped me up. He didn't let go as he led me off stage. I saw some lights go back on as they moved to clear the stage. "Are you alright?" He spoke softly, stopping me before we completely left the wing.
    "Yeah," I laughed, realizing how wide my eyes were. I felt distant, like I was on another planet. "I must look nuts right now."
    He chuckled, squeezing my hand. "Just a little. That all went over really well, though!"
    I beamed, revelling in the memories of what just happened. "Yeah."
For a brief second, I saw Katie trying to slink away unnoticed. She stayed long enough to watch. What that meant for me, I did not know.
    Just as I started to relax and turn away, Liz found us. "YOU!" She bellowed the word. "That. Was. Amazing." She flung her arms around me, squeezing the air out of me. I lost Vic's hand.
    "Thanks," I gasped through her tight hug.
    She let me go, just grinning as she stared into my soul. "I'm so proud of you."
    I turned my eyes down like a child being embarrassed by their mother. I caught an inquisitive glance from Vic as he watched, though the look was short lived. I wondered what was running through his head.
    "So, I guess the guys, your guys," she pointed to Vic. "Are having some celebration or something. We're supposed to meet them there."
    "You run ahead. I have some stuff to take care of, quick. I'll catch up with you?"
    She pointed in both of our faces. I think she'd already begun 'celebrating' without us. "You better." She turned around and hurried off to find the boys.
    Wasting no time for fear of more interruptions and somehow forgetting my fear of confrontation, I turned to Vic. "Your turn. Are you okay?"
    "What do you mean?" He cocked his head to the side, sporting the same weird expression.
    "You got... strange when she came over." I shrugged, rolling a pebble with my foot. "What gives?"
    "I..." He paused, not seeming to have an answer, at first. "Don't judge?" Vic looked up with an almost pleading expression.
    "Of course not. I mean, with exceptions."
    "Well, I just... I guess I got a little jealous? You two seem so..."
    "Woah," I stepped back a little, causing a look of alarm to grow on his face. "Why jealous of Liz? There's no reason to be. And also why would you be?"
    He paused, trying to put the right words together. "So you two aren't... Involved?"
    I snorted. "No. She's an ace. Plus, she's more of a big sister to me. The closest thing to family I have, really."
    "Oh," he visibly relaxed.
    I couldn't help but laugh at him. It was cute. I decided to take a leap and grab his hand. It was warm and soft, though his fingertips were rough and calloused from years and years of guitar. "Come on," I smirked. "They're waiting."
    We started walking through the festival towards the buses. I felt him trace tiny little circles on my hand with his thumb ever so slowly. My stomach flipped.
    "It was stupid for me to be jealous," he started. "You've got your whole life going on and I'm just some guy you wrote a song with." He let out a nervous laugh.
    I stopped, staring at him as people walked around us. "I...." What was I actually thinking? "I don't think you're 'just some guy.' Recently, in a short  amount of time, you've proven to be a better friend to me than most of the people in my life. And," I stopped, wondering where I was going with this.
    "And?" He urged.
    "And..." I chewed at the corner of my lip, taking in everything that stood before me. Then, without psyching myself out of it, I leaned into him, closing my eyes as our lips met.
    He dropped my hand, repositioning his in the small of my back while the other met the nape of my neck.
    My mind screamed and went blank. What was I doing? The moment was too perfect. When we parted my face went hot, turning a million shades of scarlett. "I- I'm sorry."
    "Don't be," He tilted my chin up, leaving a short kiss on the spot his lips har previously abandoned.
    I didn't realize until now just how much I'd wanted to do that. Since day one.
    As we walked to the party, hand in hand, I could swear the ground had turned to air. When we got there, things were already in full swing. Liz had made a fire and was tending to it. Tony and Mike were running shots, and people were dancing around them. I was surprised at the amount of people that had shown, but then again, the boys really knew how to draw a crowd. 
    Liz jumped up excitedly, placing a drink in my hand. "You've got a lot of catching up to do. And I mean a lot."
    "Liz... It's been like five minutes." I laughed. "You're smashed, already?"
    "Hey!" She objected. "I started while you were on stage. Plus, it took you two at least twenty minutes to get here. So unless you'd like to explain yourself?" She raised her eyebrows, eyeing up the two of us.
    I shook my head, slamming the drink.
    "Good girl," She handed me a bottle. "Now, catch up." She giggled, skipping off to find Jaime.    
    I looked up to Vic, waving the bottle under his nose. "Want some," I looked at the bottle. "Wine, I guess?"
    He laughed, accepting the bottle. "I've got a corkscrew. Just wait." He ran onto the bus, quickly reemerging with the now open bottle.
    I silently decided to limit myself tonight. He'd already seen my fully inebriated self once and she did not intend to make a repeat appearance any time soon. I wanted to just enjoy tonight for what it was.
    "I can't wait to play again, tomorrow  night." Vic leaned against the side of their bus.
    A sheepish grin spread across my face as I stepped closer to him, centering myself. "Me either. I had a lot of fun."
    "Me too."
    "I really like how our voices feel together..." I trailed off. I couldn't keep my eyes off of his. They were so inviting.
    "Yeah," He let out a silent laugh.
    For a moment, we just stood there. It's been so long since I've fallen for someone, I almost forgot what those first few steps felt like. The butterflies. The soft, innocent moments. The mystery... I honestly wanted him to wrap his arms around me and stay there forever. Or to sweep me off my feet and take a few more moments like the one we shared on the way here... But, we had people to talk to. Plus, what if he didn't feel like I did, right now. I shook the thoughts away as Tony walked up to us.
    "Hey!" His bright face never failed to lighten things up. "You two just gonna hide back here all night?"
    Vic shrugged. "Maybe so. Why? Miss me already?" He bat his eyelashes.
    Tony laughed before countering with, "not you, ugly. We miss Charlotte."
    "Rude." Vic gently shoved him.    
    "Come on," Tony snickered. "We've been getting a lot of great feedback on the song all night. Everyone's been waiting to talk to the two of you."
    "Really?" I gasped. I don't know what I was so shocked about, though. Everyone loved everything these guys did.