A New Hope

Chapter 22: Give Darla Hell

"Chloe, over here!" I heard as I walked out to the van. It was Alex.

"Uh, Baylee and I will be right there," I told the guys, waving for Baylee to follow me.

We quickly walked over to Alex. "Hey. What's up?" I asked.

"First, thank you so much for the tickets. My family and I are going to have so much fun tonight. Second, I was wondering if I could hang out in the bus for a while. I think it's time," he said.

"Really? Right now? We just came up with this plan, like, half an hour ago," Baylee said.

"I know, but I just want to get it over with. I can't keep lying. To myself, to her, to the school, to my family. I can't do it any longer," Alex said.

"Ok. Yeah, of course. Follow us. Did you drive?" I asked.

"Yeah."

"Ok. See that white van over there? That's ours. Follow that. I'll meet you at the gate so you can get in. Security won't let you in without my ok."

"Ok. I'll meet you guys there."

Baylee and I both nodded and went toward the van. "Was that Alex?" Brendon asked when we got in the van.

"Yeah, I'll explain later. Long story short, Darla threatened Baylee and I to get Alex to do the stuff he was doing. He's going to follow us back to the bus. We have a plan to get rid of Darla," I said.

"Are you sure about that? What if she just comes after you even harder? Or goes after Alex?" Brendon asked.

"Then we can plan. I won't let anything happen to Baylee, her family, or any of you guys. This band is my family. I won't let anything happen," I said.

"Ok. We trust you guys," Dallon said.

The van pulled out of the school parking lot and drove us back to the place where the bus was parked. I hopped out at the gate. "The guy in that truck is with me. Let him in," I said to the security guard.

He nodded and let Alex drive in. Alex parked, and I led him over to the tour bus. I put in the code and opened the door. When he walked in, everyone was silent. "Uh, guys, please allow me to explain," Alex said.

"Chloe summed it up for us. How could you let that bitch push you around like that?" Brendon asked.

"I freaked. I didn't know what else to do," Alex said.

"So, you're breaking up with Darla, I take it?" Dallon asked.

"Yeah. Right now. I'm going to put her on speaker phone too. So you guys can hear how crazy she is."

"Ok. We're all right here. Go," I said.

He pulled his phone out of his pocket and dialed Darla's number. She picked up within two rings. "Hey babe, how's it going?" she said.

"Darla, this is over. I can't keep this act up. We're done. I'm not going to keep pretending," Alex said.

"Really? That's how you wanna play? Fine. But you can kiss your friendships with those little bitches goodbye. I'll ruin their relationships with you and with their families. I don't care how famous their family is. They'll be sorry that you ever crossed me."

"Actually, Darla, we all agree that Alex is doing the right thing here. See, you can try and ruin our relationships all you want, but you'll never win," I said.

"Chloe? Is that you?" Darla asked.

"Yup, and I'm here too," Baylee said.

"Oh, and don't forget about me and my band," Brendon said.

Darla growled. "I swear, I will ruin your lives."

"Go ahead and try," I said.

Alex hung up the phone. "Alex, I'm so sorry I doubted you. I realize that you were just looking out for us. No matter what it cost you. Thank you," I said.

"Any time. Anyway, I have to get back to my grandparents house. I'll see you guys at the concert tonight," he said.

"Ok, see you later," Baylee said.

We all said goodbye and he walked out the door to the bus. "Well, I'm going to go change. I want to be comfy if we're just going to hang out in here," I said.

"Actually, I wouldn't do that. You have people coming over," Brendon said.

"What? I do?" I asked.

"Yeah. They should be here any second."

"Uumm, ok. Who is it?"

"You'll see."

I rolled my eyes. I had no idea who this guest was, so I no idea what to wear. For the concert, I had worn my black ripped jeans, black heeled boots, Twenty Øne Piløts Blurryface shirt, and black leather jacket. I contemplated changing, but I felt too lazy to.

A few minutes later, there was a knock at the door of the bus. "I got it!" Brendon said, practically lunging out of his seat before I could get up. (A/N the rest of this chapter and most of the next chapter will be a Quartet Chronicles crossover into the world of my Twenty Øne Piløts fanfiction Twenty Øne Møments with Yøu. Enjoy!) "Hey bro! Come on in and make yourself at home. Dude, it's been forever since we've hung out! And Chloe?"

"Yeah?!" I said.

As I said that, someone at the door said, "Brendon, it's been forever! How are you?"

"I'm good. Anyway, come in guys. It's December, it's freezing out there. The lounge is here on the left. There's someone I want you to meet," Brendon said.

Baylee was sitting next to me with her arm around my shoulders. Dallon was sitting on the other side of her, and Kenny was across from us in one of the captain's chairs. There was only enough sitting room for five in this lounge, so I stood up to make room for our guests. Baylee followed suit and stood next to me in front of the small kitchen, holding my hand.

Brendon walked in first. "Chloe, Baylee. I want you guys to meet a couple of my friends. This is Josh and his fiancé Chloe. Big Chloe, Josh, this is my daughter Chloe and her girlfriend Baylee. And you guys know Dallon and Kenny," he said.

As soon as I saw Josh I knew who he was. He was Josh Dun, drummer of Twenty Øne Piløts. "Uuh, Mr. Dun, it's so nice to meet you. I'm a big fan," I said, walking over to shake his hand.

As I went to put my hand out, he pulled me into a hug. "Please, call me Josh. It is so nice to meet you. Brendon, y'all are flying back for my wedding Christmas day, right?" Josh asked.

"Of course. I was hoping Chloe could take the girls dress shopping today," Brendon said.

"Of course! Chloe, it is so nice to meet you. I would imagine you're gonna bring Baylee as your date to the wedding, right?" Chloe asked.

"Uuh, yeah. To be honest, Brendon didn't even tell me that I was going to a wedding," I said.

"Heh, yeah, I guess I forgot to mention it. Anyway, Chloe, how about you and your friend Nattie take the girls dress shopping while Kenny, Dallon, Josh and I go bother Tyler?" Brendon said.

Baylee rushed over to me, and we followed the grown up Chloe (who honestly looked like an older version of me) out to her car. I got in the back with Baylee. "Chloe, why don't you come sit in the front? My friend Nattie is going to meet us at the dress place," Chloe said.

I nodded and moved up to the front seat. She pulled out of the place the bus was parked. I had a feeling that Baylee and I were going to have fun dress shopping with this woman who I felt like I was going to love.