Somewhere in the Middle

Forget About It

Greg hadn't spoken to Jamie in two days, and Jamie was trying not to be bothered by it.

But it was hard. Especially after the show last night, when the three of them had been high on a wave of adrenaline, and Greg didn't even bother to look at Jamie when he attempted to contribute to the conversation.

"When your mic went out during From Before, I almost lost my shit," Luke had said to Jamie.

"Yeah, but you picked it right up and killed it with the vocal," Greg said to Luke, peeling his tank from his sweaty chest. "And they got Jamie's mic going again soon enough anyway."

"I really liked your addition in the bridge of Wasted," Jamie said to Greg from his seat on the couch, eyeing his friend and hoping against hope that he would be forgiven for the other night's antics. "It totally amped up the whole vibe."

There was a long silence, during which Greg didn't even look at him.

"I'm gonna hop in the shower," he'd said instead, turning away from Jamie and Luke and slamming the bathroom door closed behind him.

Jamie had glanced at Luke then, not looking to commiserate per se, just looking for some reassurance.

Luke had just sighed, raising his eyebrows quickly to Jamie before making his way back out to the front of the venue. Presumably to see Evie.

Jamie had let himself feel pathetic as the rest of his high vanished in the following moments, and felt the craving kick right back into play. But instead of acting on that craving, he made his way back to the bus, using an emergency exit so that he wouldn't have to pass Luke and Evie laughing together at her table as they cleaned.

Pete had done a sweep of Jamie's hotel room when they'd arrived last night, checking to be sure Jamie didn't have any "contraband" hidden somewhere in its depths. And he'd returned again this morning, asking if Jamie would like to head out and spend some time in town, see if anything sparked his interest.

Jamie found himself wishing again and again that Pete would make good on his promise and send someone else to babysit him. Someone like, say... Evie.

But so far, no dice. For the past 72 hours, it had just been Jamie and Pete. Pete and Jamie. Taking on the world together.

"What d'ya feel like for lunch?" Pete asked. "Pizza sound good?"

A whole bottle of Jack Daniels sounded even better. But there was no getting away from Pete today, on their day off, with all of Allentown, Pennsylvania at his disposal. Pete was sticking to him like glue.

"Sure," Jamie said, trying to be agreeable, trying to prove to Pete that he was fine, and trying to ignore the way he constantly felt parched, constantly felt like he needed just a sip...

"I saw a pizza joint just around the corner this morning. It's about 1 o'clock, they should be open now."

Pete lumbered along beside him, and Jamie thought of Evie with a pang in his chest. How nice it would've been to have her walking beside him instead. To listen to what she had to say. To watch as she smiled, enjoy the way she laughed, and hope that she might touch his fingers again the way she had the other night on the bus.

He hadn't seen her this morning. But he hadn't seen anyone except Pete. Not that Greg would've spoken to him anyway. After what Pete had explained to each of them after Jamie's last incident, it seemed Greg had chosen to ignore his entire existence.

Luke had talked to him though. Maybe not as much, but certainly more than Greg, and he'd even been pleasant. Evie was perhaps the only one who'd treated him exactly the same. The only one who didn't act like he was a problem to be solved. Like his issue was something that might taint her if she got too close.