Scratched

Twenty One

TWENTY ONE

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"No, no, no!"

"Um... What?"

I flipped my head around, meeting Reed's gaze. He had the same look reflected in his eyes as I'm sure I did. I looked away and back up at the photographer. He pointed vigorously. "You stand there," he instructed me. I made my way to the spot he had indicated. "Yes! Now you stand next to her, and you lean against him."

I repressed a sigh, doing as he had told me. We had started this photo shoot an hour ago, and I wished it was over with already. Andrew wanted us to get a photo shoot of us all together to promote the tour further. So far it had been a bunch of moving around and the photographer yelling at us. Not exactly an idea situation, I'd say. Photo shoots weren't that awesome to begin with but they were better when the photographer wasn't a complete dick.

"I can't wait until this is over with."

"Just stole the words from my lips."

"Bloody ridiculous," Callum said.

"Enough chit chat! We have work to do," the photographer interrupted. Chit chat? Was he serious? No one says that. I quickly dismissed the thought as he began taking pictures. We were finally getting something done. I hoped it was all worth it. The man was known for the photos he'd taken of other musicians. He was supposed to be one of the best.

Hours later we were done.

Or at least I was done, for the moment. He wanted to get a few individuals. Love & Squalor was getting theirs done first. So now I was waiting. I tapped my foot, looking around the room. I was getting bored. Reed plopped down next to me, nearly making me spill my drink. I glared at him. "I say we ditch," he said to me, completely ignoring the look I gave him.

"Can't say I disagree," I said.

"How much of a difference do you think it makes?" he asked me. I raised my eyebrows in question. What was he talking about? "You know what I mean. How much does it affect us—just this one photo shoot. Do we get a hundred new listeners? A thousand? It all just seems like it wouldn't do much for us. Maybe it's just me. Plus, I hate getting my photo taken so maybe I'm biased."

I shrugged, not knowing the answer myself. It was hard to say. I just knew publicity was a big thing in the industry. People wanted more and more of their favorite bands, right? And the you had to promote. That's part of how bands get bigger than life. It was so big now that it eclipsed the music at times. I didn't agree with that, but it was reality. "Obviously there is enough of a gain to make it worth it," I answered him. I looked over watching Love & Squalor getting their picture taken.

"Are there like statistics or—"

My phone rang, cutting off whatever he might of been about to say. I held up a finger, snatching up my phone. It always seemed to go off at the best damn times. It never rang when I wanted it to. Only when I was in the middle of something. I brought it to my ear as a voice ran out on the other end. It was one I knew well. One I hadn't talked to in a while either.

"Piper!" What are you doing?"

I smiled. "I'm at a photo shoot."

"Again? They've got you busy."

I laughed, leaning my head back against the couch. Busier than she could imagine. "You can say that again," I told her as Reed shifted beside me. "If I'm not on a bus I'm at a concert lately. This should be a break, but it feels more like a punishment. The photographer is an ass." As busy as I had been I actually kind of liked it. I remembered how bored I used to always be back home. There was never anything to do. And now I was always so busy from one thing to another that I hardly knew what to do with myself.