DAMAGED

COURT

She was driving me insane. I wanted her. I had her. It wasn't enough. She was the definition of frustration, cold, and thoughtless. She was monopolizing the dictionary, her mean face full of definitions. I borderline hated her by the bus; all that fighting but there was a lack of sincerity in her insults. It didn't matter if she meant the words they stuck in me like splinters, the more I walked around with them the more the skin stung. I had gotten under her skin too; on stage her face had changed below me. She heard me for the first time since we met. I wanted to climb down and touch her face; I had never seen her look soft. It was distracting; this whole thing between us was distracting me from my focus on writing new songs. She wasn't the kind of girl I wanted to write songs about. Casey's patience was vanishing. This music I played pulled me out of myself, I just needed hourly reminders so I wouldn't lose myself again in the pursuit of a girl I couldn't have. There wasn't a soul on the earth that could have Katastrophe Hale, the untouchable girl. She gave everything and nothing in the same breath. Fuck, it was mind numbing.

The bus door opening startled me out of my dwelling. Joe walked by with a pretty older red head clinging to his arm, the wife. He looked mussed and happy and in no mood for introductions. She laughed as they walked further away from the bus and stages into the darkness. A smile pulled my mouth up; the old guy still had teenage intentions as he dragged his wife off. I opened the door and walked down the dim aisle to the back, tossing my body into the furthest bench back. Kat's tour bus was such an anomaly in buses now. It was a vintage deal with candy apple red paint and benches. It lacked a lot of the features the other buses had, couches and such. I wondered why she had forgone the luxury of modern living for this one. Knowing Kat as much as I did I could guess that somehow this tied back to a dream she had as a child. She did fit it with a small kitchenette and dvd players sunk into the backs of the front benches. No one ever seemed to use them though. She made time stand still in her world. A low giggle came from the bathroom, I blinked and listened but I didn't hear it again. Goosebumps chased common sense down my arms and I ignored superstitions and sounds I probably imagined. I jumped when the bathroom door opened and too many legs came out, looking up out of my initial surprise I fell face first into shock.

"Hey guy, what's up?" I stared at Johnny's extended hand and shook it. His other arm was wrapped around Harper's waist. Her face almost matched her hair. His accent obviously thickened when he was nervous. They both looked a little high but I remembered that they were both sick and now it made sense why. I had accidently stumbled on the infected.

"How long were you in there?" I couldn't help asking, I was curious. Kat and I had been outside for at least twenty minutes.

"We were in there so long!" His cough interrupted his answer. "I thought Joe was never going to leave. It was gross." His face was comical disgust.

"That's good stuff man, good stuff. I'm guessing by Harper's silence and crimson cheeks that a certain angry little monster does not know about all of this." I used my fingers to indicate the connection between them; his possessive arm around her said this was not the first time. He was comfortable; her face and stiff posture said she was not.

"It's the rules. My rules. I am breaking my own rule." Harper said, her face turning a sad but Johnny was quick to hug his arm around her tighter. I nodded in understanding. I don't know why they seemed such an odd match to see together, the same kind of musician sure but definitely different as far as people go.

"I made them because of Kat, after the whole roadie incident that turned out to be a reporter. It was a mess, he was writing this really off beat article about how having famous parents distorts the behavior of their offspring. After that I told her no more messing around with people who were connected with us or I was done." Her sadness turned to a deep frown.