Far And Away.

Chatter filled the empty air space of the otherwise quiet offices of Alt PR, but of course that would never last. People walked past cubicles, stopping to chat with the occupants, all of them laughing and joking about their nights out the previous evening. Everyone who worked for the very small Public Relations firm were what some would call 'different' or 'odd', but really they were just a bunch of normal people...just with more holes in their heads than the normal populace.

They all partied together, bar hopping in downtown Hollywood or they would set up at someone's house or bungalow and just party there. All except for one girl, who's small cubicle sat in the far back corner. She kept to herself, quiet as she typed away at her computer-a mere newbie in a sea of veterans who all had bands of their own to worry about. 2010 was proving to be a good year for the alternative rock scene-new bands who needed representation were popping up like weeds.

Everyone in the office had a band-some two-to represent...all except for the new girl in the corner.

After an extended year-starting the summer right after high school and working up until a week ago-Florence Walsh had finished the schooling she needed to become a PR Agent.

It hadn't taken much and with her AP class credits and a good word in from her father, Flora had been able to move out to LA and take up a position with Alt PR. She was the new girl and one who hadn't even finished college, so most people gave her plenty of space. That was okay-Flora didn't need friends...she would never need friends again after what had happened a year ago.

Andy and the guys she had all thought were her friends had left her back in Ohio, moving out to California to achieve their dreams. Flora had hoped that Andy would have Jake turn the car back around...to come back and get her, but instead the five guys had practically disappeared off the face of the Earth. Flora knew of their presence in the music world-she had seen the two music videos that they had put out and she had heard bits and pieces of the album, but she refused to give in to the hype.

What record company had the guys signed with?

Who was their PR Agent?

These were the things Flora wondered to herself as she ate lunch alone or walked to her car solo. Driving on the 405 back to her small apartment, where she would microwave some leftover take out and then veg on the couch until it was time for her crawl in to bed and sleep...

That was her life, but she was living her dream...right?

Flora had wanted to be a writer, but in all reality once she had taken an intro to writing class her first semester at OSU it had failed miserably. It was one thing to write about what you wanted, but when given a prompt, Flora had completely shut down. So that had quickly gone out the window, but there was something just in the very back of her brain...she had loved working for Black Veil Brides when they had first started out. Getting everything situated for them, working with the venues...it had fulfilled something within her that she had never known had been there.


"Yo, Walsh..." Someone said suddenly and Flora jumped so hard that she knocked over her favorite coffee cup and closed her eyes as the shattering noise filled the silent din of the room.

Damn.

"Brayden wants you in his office." It was Matt, the cute copy guy who Flora had a bit of a crush on, but she wasn't his type.


Flora barely fit in as it was-her brown hair stayed it's natural brown color, her skin was free from any sort of ink and the only holes in her face were the appropriate ones. Of course she rocked the band t-shirts and jeans look like the rest of her coworkers, but that was where it ended. No, Flora wasn't like these people and as she walked down the silent hall towards her boss' office, she wondered silently if it was becoming too apparent that she didn't fit in.

Was she about to be fired?

Slowly Flora reached out a hand, rapping her knuckles across the wood in front of her, but she kept her eyes closed. God if he was going to fire her then Flora didn't know what she was going to do. She couldn't stay in Hollywood-she would have to move home and that was not something Flora wanted to do. Her parents, while always loving and supportive of her, were not very pleased about her moving out to California. Her father had helped her secure a job and her mother had helped her pack her things, but phone calls home were short and very awkward.


"Come in." A voice sounded out and Flora could only focus on breathing in through her nose and out through her mouth as she pushed open the door and walked inside.

"You needed to see me?" Flora asked as she walked in to the room which was filled with glass cases of awards, a large cherry wood desk and of course her boss. Brayden Michaels was handsome-blonde with blue tips to his hair, a winning smile adorned with a lip ring and his bright green eyes were hinted with just a bit of eyeliner.

Gorgeous.

"How's it going today Flora?" Brayden asked as he motioned for her to take a seat. Flora smiled at him meekly as she sat across from him, nervously smoothing down her All Time Low shirt.

"It's good. I got those reports done that you asked for." She said, trying to keep her tone light and airy. Brayden was a nice guy, but he could be an ass when he wanted to be.

"Aren't you getting tired of writing up reports? I mean we have interns for that..." He smiled at her and Flora paused for a moment. Was this a set up? Oh god she was getting fired...

"I-uh, no. No I don't really get tired of it." She said lamely and Brayden only continued to smile at her from across his wide desk.

"Well that's too bad because I think I've finally found a band for you..." He said coyly and Flora's heart jumped so quickly that it gave her the hiccups.


A band all her own-she wasn't being fired! This was something that Flora had been waiting on for over two months and finally it seemed to be happening. A million questions entered her mind, pinging around her brain like a bunch of loose butterflies. Who was the band? Where were they from? Would they need her to travel with them? What kind of music did they play? When would she get to meet them?


"Oh? Really?" She asked and Brayden only smirked as he pulled a manila folder off of the desk behind him and slid it across the wood towards her. She inhaled deeply as her shaking fingers reached out and Flora knew that it was now or never.

As she opened it, Flora wished it had been never.

"Oh. Oh wow. Um...I don't know if this band will really fit me Brayden." She said softly, hoping that keeping a small sounding voice wouldn't throw her boss off. He had to give her a new band...he just had to.

"Why not? They're young, they have a really awesome sound that fits with what you seem to like and plus they're finally getting some traction after their first record. They hit Warped Tour in little less than a month...I really think they're perfect for you Flora." He pushed her, but kept that perfect smile on his face.


Flora fought with herself for a few moments mentally and it was clear to Brayden that she was having a hard time with this. Could she do this? Could she make contact with the only person in the entire world that she had ever loved and the same person who just walked away from her? Would Flora be able to travel around with them-all around the world-and not kill them all?


"Look it seems like you're having some reservations. They're playing out at Hollywood and Highland Mall tomorrow...go check them out." Brayden suggested and Flora only looked at him with a focused look of determination. She would show them...she would show all of them.

"I'll take the job."

Notes

Hmm...I wonder who that band could be...