BloodLust // yungblud fanfic

Chapter 11

They rolled into Santa Clara a little before 10:30. Holly had been lying in her bunk with the curtain drawn, listening to the bands album on her headphones, but she emerged when she felt the bus slow as it exited the freeway. Tom and Dominic were in the front lounge with Kiera and Gavin, all of them poking at their respective phones and ignoring each other. Michael was nowhere in sight, which was a small mercy. Holly felt embarrassed by her meltdown at dinner. She needed to talk to Michael - to apologize, to explain - but she wasn't ready quite yet. She stood in the doorway to the lounge and peered out the nearest window. Lights flashed past. neon blurs.

Gavin glanced up, spotted Holly, smiled. "We'll be at the hotel soon."

"Are we going past the venue?" Holly asked.

"No, not tonight," Gavin said. "It's in the other direction. But you'll have plenty of time to look around tomorrow morning."

Kiera tucked her phone in her pocket and sat up. "What time is load-in tomorrow?"

"Noon," Gavin said. "So, Holly and the rest of you. soundcheck is at 3:00. Doors are at 6:00, and Chase Atlantic's soundcheck is at 5:00, so that will give you a few hours for rehearsal, and then dinner."

Kiera yawned and scratched her face. "Sounds good."

The bus pulled into the parking lot of a hotel, and Gavin went inside to check in and get room keys. Holly went to her bunk to grab her backpack, which had everything in it that she needed for a night in a hotel room: change of clothes, toiletries, laptop. When she went back to the front lounge, Tom handed her a piece of paper. The words at the top, printed in bold font, caught her eye: July 14 Schedule 

"What's this?"

Tom grinned. "Gavin's daily schedule. He's terrifyingly organized."

"Wow," Holly said, skimming the typed list. Terrifying was the right word. Gavin had their entire day planned out, from breakfast down to bus call after the show. It was a little over the top but at the same time, it was probably necessary for a tour with this many people.

"Breakfast is for Michael," Tom said. "Everyone else just eats whenever. You don't need to worry about showing up. But this way Gavin can force Michael to get out of bed at a reasonable hour. It's on the schedule."

"And everyone knows you don't argue with the schedule," Dominic said.

"Okay," Holly said. She folded the paper and tucked it inside her backpack for later scrutiny. "Duly noted."

Gavin came back with keys and room assignments, and they all trooped inside and filtered upstairs. Holly had expected to share a room, but she opened the door to a room with a single king sized bed, and nobody came in after her. The benefits of touring with an internationally famous band.

It was still early, and she wasn't tired yet, but she changed into her pajamas anyway and climbed in bed. The mattress was soft and the sheets were cool. She put in her headphones again, Dominic's voice and Michael's drums pulsing against her eardrums, and looked over the schedule. It didn't look like she had anything to do until 2:30, when Gavin had written Band meet in hotel lobby to transfer to venue. Maybe he would go over a little early and see if the sound guy would help her fine tune her setup.

But they don't know fuckin' anythin' Dominic sang. Say youth is wasted on the young.

Holly fell asleep.

She woke in darkness. Disoriented, she fumbled around on the nightstand for her phone. It was after 8 in the morning; the room was dark because of the blackout curtains. She sat up in bed and rubbed her face. She had gotten plenty of sleep, but she felt a little blurry anyway, like her head was swaddled in fine cotton.