The Jacket Snatcher

Chapter 53- Don't Follow Me

Once I get far enough away that I start to worry about getting lost, I decide I should probably turn back. I check my phone and can see that there's still an hour or so before the show, so I should have enough time to walk back.

However, after taking a few wrong turns, I barely make it to the gate in time. I start to pass through, but a security guard stops me at the VIP entrance.

"You got a ticket, miss?"

Every time I've entered one of the arenas, it's been in the back and accompanied by either the band or the crew, so I've never had a ticket. They usually give me a badge inside so that I can walk around backstage, but I didn't think to worry about getting one before storming out.

I give him an embarrassed smile. "Uh, no. I'm Luke Hemmings' girlfriend."

He snorts. "Yeah, okay. Well, I'm sorry, miss. No one gets in without a ticket."

My smile falls, and I survey my options. Knowing that I have very little time left, I do the first thing I can think of and pull out my phone. Thankfully, that was already in my pocket when I took off.

I find Luke's contact and press call. It rings and rings, then goes to voicemail. With a frustrated groan, I pull it from my face and press call again. This time, it only rings once before going straight to voicemail. That little jerk is screening my calls!

I take a different tactic and find Ashton's number in my phone. He picks up after two rings.

"Where the hell are you?" he starts. "It's almost time to go on, and Luke is in a terrible mood."

"Screw him!" I practically shout, drawing the attention of the security guard. He shakes his head at me with a laugh. "Look, I need your help..."

A few minutes later, Ashton appears at the gate, causing quite a ruckus among the lines of people still filing into the arena. They scream his name as he approaches the guard. He smiles and waves.

"She's with us. Sorry about this," Ashton says, grabbing hold of my wrist and tugging me through the gate. The guard gives me a shocked stare, but doesn't say anything.

Once we're inside the arena, Ashton gives me a hard look, raising an eyebrow.

"What the hell is gong on here?"

I shrug.

"Oh, no. What I just did out there requires more than a shrug for an explanation."

"I just needed some air, okay? And I didn't have a badge to get back in." I refuse to meet his eyes, even though I can feel him staring.

He stops a few feet from the door, grabbing my wrist again so that I stop, too.

"Listen, I usually make a point to stay out of my friends' love lives, but whatever is going on here, you guys need to fix it. Luke has been a wreck for the past twenty-four hours." His words are unflinching, but his voice is soft. I finally decide to look at him and find that his eyes are soft, too. He really is concerned about his friend.

"You think I called you first on purpose?" I say, shaking my head. "I tried calling Luke. He doesn't want to talk to me. I can't really fix much when he refuses to even interact with me!"

I try to keep the break out of my voice, but I know Ashton notices it crack at the end. He pulls me into a hug, and the feeling causes an emotional release in me, which ends up coming out in the form of tears. Quickly, I pull back and wipe at my face.

"He's stubborn. But he'll come around," Ashton says, and he looks like he might say more, but at that moment, the door to the dressing room opens and the other three members spill out.