Celebrity Status (currently being revised to 1st person) Walk of Fame-- Book 1

Chapter Twenty Three

 "The light inside you faded,

And left you in the cold,

The world left you jaded,

Left you all alone." - Bach's Revenge debut album, track 8

Seb returned from the back of the bus, shoving his phone into his pocket, raising an eyebrow, "What's going on?"

Charlie wanted to ask who he was talking to but thought better of it.

Lane didn't even look up from the table, "they're going on about the fans multiplying like rabbits."

Much to Charlie's relief, Sebastian pulled back the curtain and hardly peeked before saying, "cool." He turned on his heel to head back to the room but the door to the bus flew open and Bennett marched on.

"Guys, you have ten minutes."

Robbie looked at his watch. "We have an hour and a half before the show."

Bennett's careful expression changed, Charlie guessed he didn't like to be undermined. "No. You have ten minutes.

Sawyer sat up from his slouched position. "What's happening in ten minutes, boss man?"

"Your first official meet and greet. Rox 99 FM is the radio station sponsoring your show. Because they are sponsoring your show, they get the right to ask the band for this sort of thing. As the band, you honor the commitment."

"They didn't ask," Sawyer shook his head in disagreement.

"They didn't ask you," Bennett extended a pointer finger to Sawyer. "They asked me."

"I feel violated!" Robbie shouted.

Charlie giggled at his outburst, but Bennett's eyes burned into hers disapprovingly. Perhaps looking at her shoes would be better.

Bennett glanced at his cell phone and shuffled to the door, whipping his head back around with a final warning. "You now have nine minutes."

"You heard the man. I gotta finish getting ready," Sebastian nodded toward the group. "You should all be doing something too."

"Yeah," Robbie scoffed. "Cause your girlfriend really wants a front row view of my tighty whities."

Lane visibly cringed. "I'd rather remove my eyes with spoons."

"I brought bleach," Sawyer offered. "We can do a group eye wash."

Robbie stood and gyrated his hips, badly. "You all want me and you know it."

Charlie laughed.

When Sebastian headed to the back of the bus, she quietly followed. When she slipped through the large curtain, he had changed into dark jeans and was pulling his shirt over his head. Fumbling his duffel bag, he removed another white t-shirt. She used the opportunity to look at him, his jeans hanging just so she could get an impressive view of the curved muscle that snaked its way down the sides of his abdomen toward his pelvis.

"Seb?" she asked, sitting on the bed.

"What?"

"Did I do something wrong?" She knew full well the answer. She'd slipped into the possessive, jealous girlfriend role in the blink of an eye. She took his first genuine enjoyment as a celebrity and crushed it with her childlike behavior.

Sebastian pulled the shirt over his head and retrieved his watch, which was attached to a thick leather band. He fumbled for a moment, trying to secure the clasp through his fingers but Charlie moved forward and meekly took the two sides in her hand, buckling it for him. "I thought we were over this," he whispered.