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Chapter29~Ashlynn

"Great show, guys!" I congratulated my band while we gave Mark our microphones. As I followed them down the hallway, the screams from the fans died out, and the familiar ringing sound returned to my ears.

"Yea, y'all were awesome!" Hazel
called out.

"Did you see Hunter's fall?! It was SO badddd." Eric laughed.

"That was hilarious." Shawn chuckled.

"I didn't see the puddle of water that SOMEONE 'accidentally' spilled." He smiled and glared at Hazel. 'At least he seems happy for the first time since our LA show on Friday.' I thought.

"What?! I can't help that 'clumsy Ashlynn' bumped into me." She turned to look at me and laughed.

I offered her a toothy smile, but she knew it was forced. She gave me a look of sympathy.

Shawn noticed how quiet I was. "Ashlynn, what's bothering you? You're never this quiet."

I shrugged and watched the floor pass underneath my feet.

"Is it because you haven't seen Ryan for five minutes???" He teased.

Hunter sped up, and I stopped walking.

"Shawn!" Hazel lightly smacked his arm. Everyone had stopped walking now.

"What? What did I say?" He looked around hoping to get a clue from one of his other band members. Hunter just stared at the ground with his back to everyone, Hazel had come over to console me, and Eric looked just as bewildered as Shawn. "I was only joking..." He explained.

"No it's ok...it's nothing... I'm just really wiped out...maybe I'm getting a cold or something..." I mumbled, trying to change the subject.

"But you were just sick?" Eric came over and put his hand to my forehead. I jumped at the touch of his cold hand. "I'm worried about you, Ashlynn."

I saw Hunter clench his fist tightly.

"I'm fine. I'm sorry to have caused a problem." I continued down the hallway to our dressing room. Behind me, I heard Shawn and Hazel talking.

"What happened?"

"It's a long story."

"Is she ok?"

"Yeah, she'll be fine."

'Yeah,' I thought. 'If things ever go back to normal.'
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I was trying to focus on the fans I was meeting after the concert but my mind kept going back to Hunter and what had happened before the show. He just shut down the same way he had on the car ride a day earlier. I was so scared this time and I just wanted to help but I didn't know what to do. Was he that nervous about performing like he said he was or was something else wrong? I could never tell.

"Oh great..." Eric muttered.

I turned my attention to him. "What's wrong?"

"We lost Hunter again..."

"Whaaa...?" I scanned over the room of fans and sure enough, there was no sign of him. We had only been at the post-show meet and greet for 20 minutes, and somehow, Hunter had managed to slip away without anyone noticing.

"Here we go again..." Hazel sighed. "I'll go look for him."

"Actually," I spoke up. "Can I go look for him?" I wanted to talk to him again about what I had said on Saturday night and I didn't want anyone else there.

"Oh. Uh...Sure!" She looked surprised.

"I'll be back as soon as possible. You won't even be able to tell I'm gone because I'm the definition of 'stealthy'." I joked.

She laughed. "Whatever, ninja girl."

"But seriously though, cover for me?"

"You got it." Then she turned towards the small crowd of fans. "WHO WANTS TO GET PIZZZZAAAAA?" She hollered. Everyone ran over to the food table while I snuck past Phil and out the door.

'Wait...where am I going?' We didn't have time to tour the stadium so I had no clue where to check first. 'Well, I guess I could call him.'

I dialed his number and waited while it rang, but he didn't answer. 'Maybe Ryan has seen him?' I called him next. He picked up after 2 rings.

"Hey, Ashlynn! I'm kinda busy right now can we talk later?"

"Oh... Sure. I was just wondering if you've seen Hunter at all? He disappeared."

"No, sorry. Got to go. Talk to you later."

"Bye?"

"Bye." He hung up.

'That was weird...'

I called Hunter again. This time, he picked up.

"...Hello?...Ash?" He gasped.

"Hunter? Why are you out of breath? Are you ok?!"

"...Yea..." He breathed deeply. "I'm...fine...."

"Where are you? I was gonna look for you but I don't know where anything is here..."

"I'm uhhh... I'm-."

"Beeeeeeeep."

Disconnected.

'Now what do I do?'

I called him again, but this time I jogged down the hall so I could hear his ringtone if he was nearby. I ended up at our dressing room, and although I didn't hear Hunter's ringtone, I decided to check in there anyway.

For security purposes, we have to type in a combination in order to get in our dressing room. Right before I finished typing it in, my phone rang.

"Hey, Hazel!" I answered cheerily, although I was internally freaking out. Hunter said he was fine, but it definitely didn't sound like it.

"Hey, Ashlynn, did you find him yet?"

"No."

"Well, I overheard two fans talking and one asked where Hunter is and the other answered that he mentioned something about getting fresh air while he was signing her poster. Did you check outside?"

"No, but there are, like, fifty billion exits to this place. I don't know where to start."

"Maybe try one closest to the meet and greet room? He probably didn't go far..."

"Ok, I'll go check..." I turned to go back the way I came when I realized that I couldn't remember which hallway I had came from. "...if I can figure out which way I came from."

"Are you lost?!"

"Nahhh..." I lied. "I'll be fine. Talk to you soon."

"Alright.." She sounded unsure. "Bye."

After I hung up, I racked my brain to try and figure out where I had come from. I was so caught up in looking for and worrying about Hunter that I didn't notice which hall I was walked down.

Finally, I decided that I had come from the right, not the left. I made my way down the hall and called Hunter again. This time, it went straight to voicemail. 'He must've turned his phone off... But why? Maybe it died?'

I looked around me. I had reached a dead end. It was dark and dreary; definitely not the hall I had come from. I had the strangest feeling that I was being watched.

I slowly turned around and around, but I didn't see anyone.

"Ccrreeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaakkkkkkkkkkk."

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Oooooooo cliffhangerrrrr!! Who or what do you think made the noise? What do you think will happen next? I want to hear your predictions!!😃

Sorry it's been so long, I'm just busy with schoolwork and stuff. Plus, I have writer's block on chapter 32 rn. (Yeah, I write ahead).

What is one event you want to happen in my story? I love hearing suggestions!!☺️❤️

Thanks so much for reading; I love you all!!💚💕❤️😘

Adios!

~T🦊👽