It Started that Night

Part 11

"Wheels down," said Zach as the plane hit the runway with a thud. "Thank fuck!" he added. Zach hated flying. Dex looked out of the window as the plane thundered down the runway, it was a gorgeous day and he was happy to be back in the UK. There was nowhere like home, New York would always be where he belonged but if he was going to be anywhere else then the UK was the only other place where he felt somewhat at home. He'd spent a lot of time there and the culture was most like home. Plus, he knew Millie was English so he felt closer to her being on the same soil.

Approaching 4pm he felt tired, he needed to perk up before they had to perform at a nightclub at 10pm. Dex liked late shows, it meant he could drink all evening and chill out, which always made him feel more relaxed on stage.

"Let's hit the bar," said Dex, leaning over the seats in front where Zach, Jesse and CJ were collecting all their stuff up ready to disembark the plane.

"Go steady today!" Said Mac, sitting beside Dex.

"I know you've had a tough few weeks but don't go crazy," he added.

"I won't," Dex replied with a cheeky, defiant smile. He wasn't going to be silly. He had a massive amount of respect for Mac, he was like a dad to him and he felt bad that he'd been such a headache to him on the tour so far.

The plane began to empty and passengers made their way down the aisle. Dex grabbed his bag and pulled his cap firmly down low over his eyes to try to get through the airport without being recognised. It was impossible to blend in with how loud Zach and Jesse were. As they walked through the airport laughing, joking and singing they couldn't have drawn more attention to themselves if they tried, the trail of fans following them seemed to get longer and longer. Dex hung back with Mac and the rest of their entourage, he kept his head down. He wanted to be left alone but in reality, he was the most popular and the one that all the fans were waiting for. It wasn't long before he was forced into signing autographs and posing for photos. It was the worst part of his job. He hated the attention. It seemed to take forever to reach the exit. Dex was glad to finally get outside, he felt suffocated. He saw their bus parked across the car park and he picked up his pace to avoid having to stop for any more fans.

He stepped up onto the bus, relieved to have regained a little bit of privacy with the bus' blacked out windows from the hordes of fans that surrounded it. The bus pulled out of the car park with a crowd of girls chasing it down the street.

"DRINK!" exclaimed Dex, feeling very wound up. CJ opened the fridge and grabbed a six-pack of beers, breaking them out of the pack he passed them around. Dex sighed as he took a sip and relaxed back into the couch.

Zach was pleased that Dex was starting to seem a little more like himself, airport chaos aside. Maybe it was just the stress of having Lucie and his parents with them but whatever it was he definitely seemed to be more chilled out than he had been for the past week or so.

Dex looked around the bus, his best friends and their brilliant crew drinking, laughing, joking and messing around. It was nice to be back to just the band and crew, as much as he loved seeing his parents he couldn't truly relax with them there. He laughed as he watched Zach twerking up against the oldest member of their crew, 59-year-old Caroline, the band's press officer. She didn't look overly enthused but Zach was sure she was enjoying his grinding!

"Hey, Zach!" shouted Dex, trying to be heard over the top of the music. "When you said you scored last night I didn't realise you were talking about Car!" he teased.

"Oh yeaaaaaah," said Zach who had turned around and was now nestling his face between her breasts. They loved to wind Caroline up, she was so prim and proper and... boring! They were pretty sure she was loving it, whether her face said so or not. Even if she wasn't, Zach enjoyed it! Dex could barely breathe through laughing, Zach was one of those people who could find fun in anything, and he was always entertaining the group with his risky and controversial endeavours. Dex was pretty sure someone was going to slap him at some point.