Otherside

Chapter 4

Elle finished packing the last of her clothes in her oversized suitcase and let out a huff, looking around at her room. Her dog was sitting on the bed, looking up at her with perked ears and her tongue rolling out of her mouth. Elle knelt in front of her and put her hands on either side of the dog's face and pulled it to her lips, giving her a few kisses before resting her forehead on the dog's. 

"I'm gonna miss you like crazy, little girl. Don't worry, Jess is gonna take great care of you, and I'll be back before you know it." Katie licked Elle's face a few times before Elle stood and grabbed her bags. She was leaving Katie in the capable hands of her roommate, but she still felt horrible for leaving her. Cassie and the boys were waiting downstairs in the van that would take them to the boys' hotel, and Elle headed down to the front door of the apartment. She hugged Jess, gave a couple more kisses to Katie, and headed downstairs. She felt ridiculous for it, but a couple of tears managed to escape her eyes and roll down her cheeks as she rode down the elevator. She quickly wiped them away as she went out the door to the complex and approached the van. Cassie and the guys were all leaning on the side of the van, arms crossed and looking like the album cover of some indie band. Elle faked a small smile and went to put her bags in the back. She closed the trunk and turned around the see Anthony standing there beside her, a somber look on his face. He held his arms open to her and pulled her in for a hug, holding her tight, and a few more tears flowed. 

"Hey, hey, none of that." Anthony pulled back and put a hand on either side of her face, his light brown eyes gazing into her gray ones. "You'll be having so much fun and we'll be back before you know it, okay?" he wiped her tears away with his thumbs and she nodded. He leaned in for a quick kiss and grabbed her hand, leading her back to the others, and they all piled into the van and headed to the hotel. It was about a 45 minute drive, and they decided to stay there for the night, so the girls grabbed some stuff for the night and they headed up to the room. It was a large, four bedroom suite, and as soon as they walked into the room, Flea charged and jumped on the couch, bouncing around a couple of times before flopping down. Cassie giggled and lay down next to him, and Anthony led Elle to his room to put her things down. They had a fun night, sitting around and talking and drinking. Just before midnight, everyone decided to get some sleep for the long day of travel ahead of them, with Cassie heading back to Flea's room and Elle settling down in Anthony's. 

She entered the room first and Anthony followed, shutting the door behind them, and she started walking to the bed when she felt his hands on her waist. He turned her around gently and pulled her to him, kissing her softly. She wrapped her arms around his neck and Anthony pressed deeper into the kiss, his hands sliding down to her ass and squeezing lightly. Elle chuckled softly and tangled her fingers in his long hair, with her other hand moving to pull Anthony's shirt up and over his head, causing them to momentarily break apart before crashing into one another again in full force. He fiddled with the buttons on the front of Elle's shirt, quickly becoming impatient and ripping through the buttons, picking her up and wrapping her legs around his waist, slowly making his way to the bed before setting her down and hovering over her. They smiled at each other and Anthony kissed her again, before laying down next to her and huffing out a breath. Confused, Elle turned to him. 

"We're both a little too drunk right now, and I don't want you doing anything you'll end up regretting." he explained, and pulled Elle to him. 

"Well you didn't have to get me all excited for nothing, ya jerk." she playfully hit him and rested her head on his chest.

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Morning came all too quickly, and soon they were on their way to Germany for their first concert. The plane ride was crazy; drinks were abundant and Elle even thought she spied some drugs being passed around, but she didn't really pay too much attention. Their first few shows were amazing, and it was absolutely exhilarating to be backstage with them, totally engulfed in the music. Each night after the show, a similar routine would ensue: Elle and Anthony would make out and feel each other up, then something would come up and they'd just go to sleep. Before they slept, however, they would talk about anything and everything, sometime for hours. Some nights they'd talk about pets, or scary existential stuff, or which cartoon character they hated the most. One night, it turned to a conversation about the band in the past, specifically to past members. Anthony talked freely about the beginning of the band, about how he met Flea, and about all of the crazy things they used to do together. He seemed to avoid talking about their first guitarist, but seemed more than eager to talk about his successor.

"Yeah, he was great. A total nutjob, but great. And a killer musician, man you should have seen that kid shred, it was insane!" he went on for what seemed like hours, but Elle didn't care. She loved hearing about the crazy, talented man who tore up the stage and seemed to live in the music he was playing. Eventually the topic shifted to something else, probably something having to do with his crazy childhood. As they both drifted off into a sleep, Elle had a thought.

"Anthony?"

"Hmm?" he replied, already almost sleeping.

"What was his name, that guitarist you were talking about earlier? I think I'd like to meet him."

"His name was John." Anthony mumbled. "John Frusciante."