True to You

Here With Me

2019

Laine looked wide eyed around the cabin of the private jet.

"Holy fucking shit Laine!" Walker bounced in his seat beside McKenna. "This is a sweet fucking ride!"

She had to agree. It was a sweet ride. She'd never flown private before, she should have been lapping up the luxury. It wasn't that she didn't want to melt into the butter soft leather of her seat, it was just that the kernel of anxiety in her gut over her visit home wouldn't let her fully relax.

She was about to reply when the sound of loud voices coming from the open door drew their attention.

"Out of my fuckin' way Gates. I was here first."

"Fuck you Johnny, if you don't shift your ass out of my road you'd better make sure you strap on a parachute for the duration of this flight."

There was the sound of scuffling from the doorway as the cabin steward waited to greet the new arrivals with a smile that was quickly morphing into a grimace.

Brian and Johnny exploded into the jet and engaged in a brief shoving match before Brian recollected himself and rolled his shoulders before strolling casually down the aisle toward where Laine, McKenna and Walker were seated. "Laine," he smirked. "McKenna." His smile lifted a fraction when he greeted his sister but fell entirely from his face when he narrowed his eyes at Walker who slunk down in his seat. Brian had not entirely forgiven Walker for taking Laine and McKenna to that disastrous party.

"What are you doing here?" Laine frowned.

"Road trip baby!" Johnny beamed as he followed Brian. Laine's eyes opened wide when she noticed Lacey and Steph step inside and make their way toward her. They were followed in short order by the rest of the band along with their wives. There was no sign of any of the children.

"But...but this is a plane," Laine stammered in confusion.

"Po-tay-to, po-tah-to. It's a child free trip away where we plan to drink insane quantities of alcohol and stop you from getting too sad. Plus it's not exactly like we can trust Walker here to be the responsible adult and keep you girls safe." Johnny shot Walker a glare that contained about as much menace as a snarl from an irritated red panda.

"Johnny!" McKenna protested.

"You're lucky you're not grounded miss!" Brian spoke up from where he'd found a seat.

McKenna snorted and flipped Brian off. Walker sunk even deeper into his seat and pulled the brim of his cap low on his forehead.

"Move it along mate," Steph dropped her hands onto Johnny's shoulders and propelled him forward. Lacey gave Laine, McKenna and Walker a sympathetic smile when she passed them.

"Sorry to crash your trip Laine," Matt said as he manoeuvred Caitie down the aisle somehow managing to keep his hands on her at all times. "We couldn't resist the idea of seeing the place where your mom lived. I would love to see if she had any photos of the old days tucked away. If that's alright with you of course."

Laine just about managed a shell-shocked nod.

Brooks leaned over her seat and murmured, "Don't worry. The girls came along to keep them under control." Laine was inclined to think that Brooks had come along to keep the group under control.

Finally Zacky and Kelly appeared along with Sean and Wes. "Sorry Angel Face!" Sean called out to Laine. "I know you didn't expect such a crowd when we told you that we'd loan you the jet but...hello? Trip to Seattle? Men in flannel? Hell yes! Eddie Vedder was my first rock star crush. Young Eddie Vedder and his adorable little chipmunk cheeks powered thousands of my teenage boners."