Unsung Heroes

Getting to Warped was a bit… weird. There seemed to be a bit more security around our area especially. And this time, Ash and Jinxx didn’t come to meet us at the gate; Yanni did. And it wasn’t like either of us were friends with him, far from it. But there’s only so much about working out I can talk about before becoming completely bored. Yanni’s a nice guy and all, but I get the feeling that Jake would probably enjoy his conversations more.
“Anyways, sorry the guys couldn’t come get you girls themselves.” Yanni led us along the edge of the buses towards the BVB one. “I’m guessing you’ve noticed how tight security has gotten around here.”
“Yeah, what’s up with that?” Maya asked as we squeezed between two buses.
“Lately there have been a lot of people threatening the safety of different bands the further we get into the Midwest. A couple days ago, someone tried to attack Kellin Quinn from Sleeping With Sirensby chucking an empty beer bottle full of rock salt and nails at him. Luckily he ducked and it hit the ground, but that could have seriously hurt him or someone else. So from now on, security is much tighter on the bands. No one from BVB can go anywhere by themselves, even with each other, so they couldn’t come and get you. That made Ash kind of pissy for some reason so just be ready for that.” Yanni finished as we reached the door to the bus.
Nodding, I knocked on the door, which opened for me after a moment, and we stepped on. The bus was absolutely filthy – there were beer bottles, cigarette stubs, and old food containers everywhere. It reeked of B.O.
I wrinkled my nose in disgust and covered it with my hand.
“Oh meu deus do caralho o que é que o mau cheiro ? Ele merda cheira aqui!” It was so bad that my gag reflex took over and I felt dizzy and lightheaded, and I had to turn and push between Maya and Yanni to get back out and away from the door, gasping.
“Indy, are you okay?” Maya rushed back out. “It wasn’t so bad in there.”
My eyes widened. “Not so bad in there? May, I thought I was going to throw up!”
Ash suddenly burst from the door, looking around wildly for me before his eyes settled on me. He was either sweaty from the heat or wet from a recent shower, but it was hard to tell. His cheeks were flushed, and he was wearing only cut off shorts and sandals.
“Indy, baby, are you okay?” He rushed over to me and brought me close, cupping my face and bringing my forehead against his. I put my hands on each side of his neck and just rested against him, enjoying his unique scent of cologne, sweat, whiskey, and pheromones. It was making the smell from the bus go away and I could calm down.
“Hey, Ash,” I whispered, putting my arms around him and pressing my nose into the hollow of his throat.
Ash chuckled and wrapped his arms around me, stroking my back and he kissed the top of my head.
“Hey, baby.”
I sighed when the dizziness passed. “Okay, I feel better, now.”
“Indy, what happened?” Ash questioned, pulling back to look me in the eye.
“Ash, I think my senses are starting to get heightened. Unless you guys air out that bus, I’m sleeping on the roof.”
His eyes widened. “Is it really that bad?” He looked at Maya, who shrugged.
Annoyed, I jammed a finger into his chest. “Ash, need I remind you that I’m pregnant? My senses change and I think I just experienced my nose doing that for the first time. To me, that bus reeks of B.O., alcohol, cigarettes, and moldy food. I am not stepping foot onto that bus until you guys do something about it!”
Ash looked slightly frightened, but nodded in agreement and moved to get back on, but called out, “Guys! Get over here for a sec!”

It wasn’t until a couple hours later, when all the old food and cigarettes were dumped and all their dirty clothes were taken to a laundromat, and all the windows were opened to air out the bus that I finally stepped onto the bus. The guys looked mildly annoyed that they had to do that, but also a bit pleased to be living on a clean bus, for once. I don’t think they’d done any cleaning since the start of the tour.
Relieved that the scents were now much more diluted to me than before, I put my stuff under Ash’s bunk and rejoined him and the rest of the group in the sitting area. Due to the security changes, they had to have all the press come to the buses, and we were waiting for a popular music and band website to stop by and do an interview with the band.
I sat on Ash’s lap on the couch, my body perpendicular to his so that my legs were on the couch and he wrapped his arms around me, his right hand resting loosely over my stomach. I wrapped my left arm around his shoulders, and leaned against him comfortably, my torso pressed into his bare chest.
I could see Jinxx sitting with Maya at the table, his arm around her. Jinxx was wearing a black tank and black jean shorts. Maya was wearing what she wore on the plane, which was a blue tank and bleached jean shorts. They were talking quietly and quickly, and I could see May’s eyes were watering, so I knew that they were talking about Mitch and Maya finally agreeing to go to the cops and reporting him.
Andy and Juliet were sitting on the other couch, Juliet leaning into Andy’s side, and Andy was playing with a loose strand of her hair. Juliet and Andy both looked tired, and Juliet had taken off her stage clothes and was wearing jean shorts and a loose top. Andy was wearing one of his band shirts that he’d taken off the sleeves and collar almost brutally and black cut offs. Andy was whispering in her ear something that was making her giggle and blush behind her hand.
Jake was texting Ella – she’d left the previous morning – and was wearing one of his Get Mean shirts and black shorts. He was smiling to himself and tapping his foot on the ground.
CC was sitting with his girlfriend, Liv, were sitting next to Juliet and Andy. Liv was sitting facing him on his lap, her legs on either side of his. She had her arms around his neck, and his hands were on her hips. CC was smirking and stroking her hip bones with his thumbs, and they were talking quietly – too quietly for any of us to hear.
When the interviewer got here, Andy and Jake stepped out to talk to them for about ten minutes and then rejoined us.
Ash kissed the side of my face. “Feel better?” He asked.
I nodded and relaxed more into him. “Yeah, I do. Thanks,” I said smiling.
“Why did you need us to do all that?” Andy asked suddenly. “Not that the bus didn’t need it or anything, but it seemed kind of sudden.”
I lazily looked over at Andy, who was watching me skeptically.
“My nose is pretty sensitive, and any sharp smell is bad to me. But the bus was so bad that it was simultaneously making me nauseous and dizzy and lightheaded all at once. I wouldn’t have been able to stay on the bus with the way it was.”
Juliet looked at me with a raised brow. “Really? It wasn’t that strong to me. I barely notice it.”
Ash chuckled. “Well, you have kind of been living in it, Jules.”
Juliet rolled her eyes. “Well yeah, but I also have my own bus with my band, so a lot of my time is spent there and not on this bus. And it’s not that noticeable to me.”
Liv suddenly turned and looked at Juliet. “Hey, when I first got here, I spent most of my time outside the bus because it smelled.”
Thank you, Liv, for keeping my secret under wraps without even realizing it. I felt Ash, who’d grown tense with Andy and Juliet’s questions and remarks, relax and he pulled me a bit closer, kissing along my neck and stroking my stomach gently with his fingertips.
Jinxx and Maya joined us, suddenly, and I tucked my feet closer to me so that they could sit on the couch by Ash and me. As they sat down, Jinxx’s ice colored eyes made contact with mine, and he nodded to tell me that he and Maya had come to an understanding I could discuss with him later.
“I feel like going out for a drink,” CC said suddenly, and Liv moved off of him so that they could stand. “Anyone feel like joining us?”
Andy and Juliet nodded and stood up. Ash looked at me questioningly. “I need a drink after the last couple of days,” he said quietly. “I won’t make you go, but do you mind if I do? We can…hang out, later.” He whispered into my ear, biting onto my earlobe gently, making me shiver.
I nodded. “Just don’t be long, and please don’t get drunk, I want to spend time with you, today.”
He nodded and kissed me deeply but briefly, and I got up to let him up. He went briefly into the back to put on a tank and grab his wallet and phone.
I sat back down on the couch as he walked by me, but he stopped to lean down and kiss me again.
When they left, I was left with Jake, Jinxx, and Maya. Jake I knew didn’t drink all that much, anymore, and Jinxx was more the stay home and watch a movie or read a book kind of guy anyway. Maya didn’t need more excitement, either, and I knew she wanted to talk more about Mitch with Jinxx.
“Do you guys feel like doing something?” I asked.
Jake shrugged. “I don’t know, there isn’t much we can do on a bus, and we can’t leave without escorts. I think Yanni went with the others and he was kind of our way off the tour, and unless he comes back, we can’t really go anywhere.”
I groaned and leaned against the couch. “Well that fucking sucks. I wanna see the tour, more!”
Jake nodded. “Yeah, me too. But we can’t go anywhere unless we get a security guard to go with us.”
Jinxx looked at me suddenly. “Hey, Indy, can I talk to you for a sec?”
Nodding, I stood up and followed him to the back of the bus, shutting the door and moving to the back.
I leaned against the wall opposite him as he sat down on a bunk – I think it was CC’s.
“What’s up, Jinxxy?” I said.
He sighed and put his hands flat on his thighs. “So, I talked with Maya about what’s been happening over the last couple of days with Mitch and with the tour, and how hard it’s been for us to do bascally anything because of security. I don’t want her staying in LA with you if Mitch keeps turning up, Indy. I want her safe, but I also don’t want her to be trapped from going to work because her ex won’t leave her be. And I get the feeling that if she comes with me, she’d be stuck on a tour bus for the whole summer and she could get fired.”
I pursued my lips as I listened to him speak. “I hear you, Jinxx. Mitch needs to be taken out of the equation, and until she reports him, there’s no way she’ll be safe in LA. That’s pretty much the reason why I’m making her go to the police station when we get back, before we even go back to the apartment. I’ll be with her, and we’re each using one of our vacation days to go there.”
Jinxx studied my face carefully, his thin lips curling slightly. Then he sighed. “Yeah, she told me what you said to her in the cab this morning. Indy, you shouldn’t risk your own safety like that. I know you care about May, but it’s ultimately her decision to go to the cops.”
I shook my head in agreement. “Yeah, that’s what I told her, but Jinxx, if she doesn’t get the courage to do it herself, she will never do it herself. I told her that if she didn’t do it herself by the end of the week, I would do it for her or drag her there myself.”
Jinxx scratched the side of his nose thoughtfully. “Indy, you shouldn’t force her, but I see your point. She needs to understand that it is important that she reports what he did to her. I was talking to her and she told me that she was planning on going on Monday. But she wants to go alone, Indy. She doesn’t want you there.”
I raised a brow. “Why would she want to go alone?”
Jinxx groaned. “She didn’t tell you the extent of what Mitch did to her, and she’d rather you remained unclear as to what exactly happened. Let’s just say that I’m surprised that she trusted me as quickly as she did.”
My eyes widened. “Are you saying that he” –
Jinxx held his hand up to stop me before I said that horrible, ugly, horrendous word.
“I’m not saying anything, Indy. All I’m saying is that Mitch hurt her badly, and the fact that she’s even with me is kind of miraculous. And I want you to respect that she doesn’t want you there with her when she tells the police everything that Mitch did to her. She has all the evidence on her phone to do what she needs to do, and she wants to do it alone.”
I sighed and trembled slightly in anger at the thought of Mitch doing… things… to her. Mitch didn’t deserve me, and he certainly doesn’t deserve Maya, or any girl for that matter. And the fact that he may have… I can’t even fathom it.
“Jinxx, promise me that when you come home, you protect her when I can’t. She’ll probably need it because I don’t know if Mitch will still try anything with a restraining order in place, but…” My voice trailed off.
Jinxx nodded. “Yeah, I was planning on that, anyway.” He paused suddenly. “Actually, I was thinking about having her move in with me.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Really?”
He nodded. “Yeah, she needs a place to go, anyway, and I’m lonely when I’m home, most of the time at my house. I bought it with Sammi originally after we got married, and she let me have it when we finalized the divorce.”
“Jinxx, are you ready for a move like that?” I asked. “It hasn’t been a terribly long time since Sammi, and that was hard on you. If this is too fast for you, think about that before you have Maya move in with you. I don’t want you to do something just for Maya’s sake when you can’t handle it, yet. Talk to her about it, and if you both think you’re ready, then go for it. Otherwise, don’t do anything rash that you’ll regret later.”
Jinxx sighed deeply through his nose. “I know, and believe me, I’ve been mulling over that for the past few weeks. But Maya means a lot to me, and I want her safe. It’s been a couple of years since Sammi and I divorced, and we’ve since gotten closure. I don’t have feelings for her, anymore, and I want to make things work with Maya. I want her to move in, and I know that. The fact that it’d also be keeping her safe more or less just sort of lined up with it. I promise, I want to do this for the both of us. If I thought I couldn’t handle it I wouldn’t have suggested it in the first place.”
The whole time Jinxx talked, he was staring very firmly at his hands, which were clasped tightly in front of him. His mouth was set, and he looked very set in his mind about what was going to happen.
Jinxx, in all the time I knew him, was probably the mellowest of the band. His temper was pretty mild, and he wasn’t much of a partier. From what I’ve been told, he used to be, but that all changed basically during the time he was both married and divorced. He stopped going out almost every night and now if he does go out, it’s at most once a week. He’d rather stay in and read or watch a movie, or if he does go out, it’s to go to a museum. Maya was a partier right up until Mitch, and it didn’t seem like she was going to be doing much of it, anymore. I might talk to him about taking her out every now and then because I knew she loved it.
Long story short, he’s kind of fucking scary when he’s pissed, and from the others have told me, once he’s set his mind on something, it’s best you steer clear from his path.
“Jinxx, I’m not arguing with you. I’m just saying that before you decide anything you should make sure that you’d be ready for something like that. I know Maya really cares for you, and I know that she trusts you. But moving in is a big step she might not be ready for, even if it means she’d get more protection.”
Jinxx groaned and rubbed his eyes with his fingers. “I’m aware, Indy. Believe me, I’ve been going over every possible scenario in my head. My best bet is that she’ll be really hesitant and then when I mention that convenience, she’d be more open to it. Bad tactic, I know, but I think it might force her to become more comfortable at an easier rate.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Look at you, Mister Smarty-Pants. I guess studying in school really paid off, huh?”
Jinxx scoffed. “Please, most of the people I went to school with were idiots, it’s really by default that I did as well as I did.”
I smirked. “Well, I happen to know for a fact that Maya finds smart guys and people who are freakishly intelligent really sexy.”
Jinxx looked at me oddly. “How would you know about something like that?”
I rolled my eyes. “In the brief time I was in college, I was her roommate. Trust me, I know.”
Jinxx turned a bright shade of red and coughed uncomfortably. “Well, um… I should probably head back to her, she’s probably wondering what we’re talking about.”
I chuckled. “Sure, Jinxx.”
I followed him back to the living area, and saw that Jake had fallen asleep with his head in his hand on the arm of the couch, and Maya was looking at her phone. She looked up when we walked in and smiled, holding her finger to her lips to quiet us.
How long has he been asleep? I mouthed at her, pointing at Jake.
She looked over for a sec, and then at her phone, shrugging. I don’t know, half an hour, maybe?
I sighed and walked over to Jake. His mouth was open slightly and was breathing evenly. He seemed to be deeply asleep, but he’d be cranky in the morning with a stiff neck if he wasn’t moved to his bunk.
I shook him gently by his shoulder. “Jake?” I whispered. “C’mon, buddy, you should go to your bunk, or you’ll get sore.”
Jake whined a bit and his head fell off his hands onto his arm, his hand hanging off the edge. He settled back against the couch, clearly content with staying there.
I looked at Jinxx, who was clearly trying not to laugh.
“Jinxx, do you mind? He’s too heavy for me.”
He rolled his eyes but crouched in front of Jake.
“Jake,” he said, poking Jake’s face, who scrunched up his nose and batted his hand away, whining under his breath.
“Dude, come on, you’re exhausted, and you’re gonna wreck your back and neck sleeping here.”
He turned and reached behind him to pull Jake onto his back to give him a piggyback ride. Jake seemed to be mildly conscious, but only enough to put an arm around Jinxx’s neck and fall asleep on him. With his hands securely around his legs, Jinxx picked Jake up and moved carefully to the back. Maya got up with him to follow him back. The three of us helped Jinxx carefully lower Jake into his bunk without wrecking the laptop he had on the ceiling or any of his equipment. I pulled off his sneakers and Maya threw his comforter over him. Jinxx leaned over and pulled his curtain closed, and we heard him settle behind it.
“Thanks, guys,” he mumbled/slurred from behind the curtain.
Jinxx smiled. “No problem, man. Try and get enough sleep to function by tomorrow, we need you to perform.”
The only response that Jake gave back was a grunt, and then a few moments later we could hear a light snore, signaling that Jake had fallen asleep again.
I sighed and leaned against the opposite side of the bunks, and felt my phone vibrate in my pocket. Checking it, I saw I got a message from Ash telling me that they were on their way back.
“The guys are coming back, that didn’t seem long,” I noted, pocketing my phone and following Jinxx and Maya back into the lounge.
“Well, you guys were talking for a while. And Jake kept yawning and saying he was exhausted. Eventually he just nodded off,” Maya said, sitting next to Jinxx on the couch and letting him pull her into his side and kiss her forehead.
“Huh,” I said, sitting across from them. “Didn’t realize.”
Maya nodded and Jinxx pressed his lips together.
“So, what were you guys talking about?”
Before we could answer, the door to the bus banged open, startling us to the arrival of the band. Andy first came stumbling on, Juliet supporting his frame. She looked like she’d also been drinking, but not nearly as much as Andy, who was giggling uncontrollably.
Next came CC, supported by Ash, who’s eyes looked slightly glazed, but not like he was even really tipsy.
“Awww, m- mmmaaannnn,” CC slurred, stumbling over to Jinxx and practically falling on him, startling a sharp noise out of him. “Y-y- YOU GUYS…. Shhhhhould have b-been there!”
Ash chuckled and pulled CC off of a very startled and red Jinxx.
“Alright, man, you’ve had enough, and now it’s time for bed so that you can perform tomorrow.”
CC whined and batted Ash’s arm away, and sort of leaned/sat on the arm of the couch, and slumped against the back, rubbing his face.
“Hold on,” I told Ash as he prepared to lift him up. I squeezed past to the fridge and took out a water bottle. Unscrewing it for CC, I handed it to him.
“CC, drink this,” I instructed as he sopped a bit onto himself. “That’ll help tomorrow when you have to pound on the drums to screaming fans surrounded by giant speakers in the sun.”
CC gave me a sloppy smile and suddenly dragged his arm around my shoulders to yank me to him. I squeaked when he planted a large, wet kiss on my cheek, pulling off with a smack. Ash helped me pull CC’s arm off of me and I stumbled into his chest.
“Indy, you’re the best. Seriously, Ash, don’t let go of this one, she’s the best thing that’s ever happened to you.” He chugged the water bottle and dropped it on the ground, thankfully empty, and then he stumbled to the back, almost falling onto Juliet, who ducked and let Andy catch him, dragging him back to his bunk.
I felt Ash’s chest against my back vibrate with laughter as he put his hands on my shoulders, massaging them gently. The pressure felt nice and I leaned back, craning my head back to look up at him.
I smiled. “Hi,” I said cheerfully.
He kissed my forehead. “Hey, baby.”
I couldn’t smell alcohol on his breath.
“Thank you for not drinking a whole lot.”
He grinned. “Anything for you, sweetheart.” He snuck a hand around to grasp mostly my hip but also brush his fingers against my stomach. “Both of you,” he whispered in my ear.
“That must have not been easy for you, though. I know you like to party and get drunk,” I said quietly.
He smiled and brought his head down to nestle at the joint of my neck and shoulder and nuzzle me. “Kind of, but I want to slow down for us. You can’t drink, so I won’t if you can’t. And I don’t want to be drunk all the time, especially with the baby. I figure if I start early, I can get into the habit of not always getting totally plastered every day.”
I turned and wrapped my arms around his neck, smiling as my heart swelled at his words. No one had ever done anything like that for me, before.
“Thank you, baby,” I whispered.
As I leaned in to kiss him, I felt my phone buzz in my pocket. I groaned and pulled it out of my pocket and looked at the caller ID.
My blood ran cold, and I felt my chest start to constrict and pound as I read the ID, feeling myself grow lightheaded as I started to have a panic attack.
It was my grandmother.

Notes

I'm sorry this took so long! But it's here!

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