Take Me Home Tonight

"Ugh," I groaned, rolling over in bed as the alarm clock on my phone blared obnoxiously from the bedside table next to me.
With a heavy sigh, I somehow managed to pry my eyes back open and prop myself up on one elbow. Hastily, I grabbed my phone off of the night stand and disabled the alarm system. "Stupid thing," I muttered to myself before wiping the sleep from my eyes and checking the time.
Right now, it was only 5:45p.m. which gave me exactly an hour and 15 minutes before I had to be at the concert venue. 'Oh joy' I thought sarcastically to myself, remembering the text I'd gotten from Kina earlier which implied that she was, in fact, going to be there.
Rolling my eyes at the thought, I reluctantly stood up out of bed and made my way over to the closet. Staring at my wardrobe, I immediately realized that I had absolutely no idea what the hell I was going to wear. So much for planning ahead.
Letting out a small sigh, I quickly paged through a few articles of clothing before deciding on a pair of ripped black skinny jeans, an old BVB shirt that C.C. had given me and I had taken the liberty of making "fashionable" by cutting slits in the back and slicing the collar into a v-neck.
Quickly I stripped out of my clothes and put on the new outfit along with a pair of black platform boots. Being sure to look myself over in the mirror, I shrugged at my reflection before rifling through my dresser drawers for my makeup bag and straightening iron.
Once I'd successfully located both items, I plugged in the flat iron and decided to work on my makeup while it heated up. After about ten minutes, I'd managed to pull off a darker makeup look featuring dark brown and black eyeshadow that fanned out at the edges, sharply winged liner and a black matte lipstick. (basically this) It was pretty different from my typically neutral complexion, but for the concert it seemed appropriate.
After I'd finished my makeup, I'd moved onto my hair which I quickly ran the straightener through several times until I deemed it respectable enough for the concert-- which didn't take long. Glancing back over at the clock on my nightstand, it was now 6:30p.m. which meant that I'd need to be leaving within the next 10 minutes if I planned on being there by 7:00.
Grabbing my handbag from atop the dresser, I began shoving my wallet, phone, lipstick and of course the concert ticket, which I'd just noticed was VIP, inside before giving myself one last once-over in the mirror and heading out the door.
Once I was in the parking lot, I slowed my pace and made my way over to my baby who was parked at the far end of the lot. As I reached the car, I yanked the door open and got into the driver's seat just as my phone began going off from inside my handbag. Pulling it out, I checked the screen which read "C.C." along with a small green message icon beside it.
Opening the text, it simply read "On your way?" causing me to glance at the clock which read 6:37p.m. I still had time. Rolling my eyes, I quickly texted back "Just leaving now," before hitting SEND and starting up the car. I swear, that boy was always so impatient.
As I drove down the road, I couldn't help but let my thoughts wander to Ashley. Seeing him earlier today and getting to spend time with him before he left for tour was a refreshing feeling. I really did enjoy hanging out with him, even if it was only during a tattoo session.
Everything about Ash intrigued me-- he had so many sides to him, flirtatious, romantic, caring, funny, and of course sexy. Being around him made me feel whole. Unfortunately, I didn't expect to see any part of him tonight other than the flirtatious fuckboy persona that seemed to come out every time Kina was around.
Sighing deeply, I flicked on my turn signal and quickly merged lanes to get onto the side of the road that the venue parking lot would be on. There were already lines of traffic piling up and I mentally thanked myself for leaving when I did-- if I'd gotten here any later, I'd have been stuck in line forever.
Since traffic was moving slowly, I quickly pulled out my phone and texted C.C. to let him know that I was here. "Stuck in line..Ya'll really bring in a crowd :P " I typed out before pressing send. Surprisingly, the line moved quicker than I'd expected and the people directing traffic had motioned me into the parking lot in no time.
Once I was parked, I checked my phone again to see 2 new messages from C.C., the first reading, "Hell yeah we do! See ya soon, Mads!" and the other adding "Text when you get here, I'll come get you." Chuckling slightly to myself, I texted him back to let him know I was here and quickly got a response back that he'd meet me inside the venue by the stage.
Making my way over towards the ticket scanners, the lines of people were just now starting to stretch out towards the parking lot. Thankfully, there was a separate line for checking in VIP tickets, which Ash had given me earlier at the tattoo shop. As I approached the line which was less than half the size of all the rest, it wasn't long before I was checked in and making my way over towards the stage.
Squeezing through throngs of people all decked out in BVB merch and leather, I somehow managed to make it to the front of the stage, where a few security guards were standing, guarding the entrance gate that led to the backstage area. As they all eyed me cautiously, I simply stood there and pulled out my phone to let C.C. know I was waiting for him.
Almost instantly, I got a message back saying that he was on his way, which was a relief because at this point, I probably just looked like some sketchy fan trying to sneak backstage. "Maddie!" I suddenly heard C.C.'s voice call from behind the gate, causing my head to whip in his direction before I ran over to and engulfed him in a giant hug. Pulling away after a moment, I didn't even care that security was now staring at us weirdly, I was ecstatic to see one of my best friends again.
"Hey guys, can we open up the gate for her real quick?" C.C. asked the guards who eyed me suspiciously. "It'll be fine, she's with me," he added, causing them all to reluctantly nod in response. Unlocking the gate, one of the guards held it open just enough for me to sneak through without drawing too much attention to myself of C.C. In the process.
"Thanks," I mumbled to him as he gave me a brief nod in response. "Jeez, security at these things just keeps getting more uptight, doesn't it?" I asked once we were out of ear shot. "Well maybe if our fanbase learned not to invade our personal space and refrained from sneaking backstage to 'stalk' us before shows, we wouldn't need so much security to begin with," he laughed, causing me to chuckle with him.
"So," I said, as he led me backstage, past a few folding chairs and amps that were stacked up and leaning on a wall, "Is she here?" I asked with a grimace as C.C. raised an eyebrow at me. "Who?-- Oh," he asked, before realizing I was referring to Kina. "I mean.." he tried to say again before trailing off.
"Just tell me," I said, rolling my eyes as we walked down a ramp positioned backstage and into another parking lot. "Yeah, she's here," he said, letting out a deep sigh before slinging his arm around my shoulders. "Of course she's not actually here now though," he went on, gesturing to the rest of the band who were all sitting outside the tour bus in folding chairs, chatting and drinking beer.
"She and Ash apparently had some pre-concert business to take care of," C.C. explained with a chuckle as I rolled my eyes. "When don't they?" I asked rhetorically just as we reached the bus.
"MADDIE!!" Andy shouted once he saw me, jumping up out of his seat and picking me up off of the ground only to envelope me into a gigantic bear hug. Once he put me down, he cracked a small smile and raised an eyebrow at me. "What?" I asked, staring back at him confusedly as he smirked. "Did you get shorter from last time I saw you?" he asked, before leaning his elbow onto my shoulder as if I were an arm rest.
"Damnit, Andy," I whined, "First Ash and now you too with the damn height jokes?" I exclaimed, before pushing his arm off of me, "Honestly, it's probably because I'm not wearing five inch platforms like I usually do" I explained, "These are only three" I added, gesturing to my boots with a dismayed look and causing the guys to laugh.
"Maddie, I swear, if being able to make it through a concert in 5 inch platforms was an olympic sport, you'd be a national champion," Jinxx chuckled, causing me to shoot him a wide smile. "Thanks," I laughed, walking over to him and giving him a warm hug, "It's good to see ya, by the way," I added as nodded in agreement. "Always a pleasure, Maddie," he smiled before I felt fingers poking my sides and making me jump.
"Is it my turn now?" Jake asked holding his arms open, as I whirled around to face him. "Holy shit, Jake!" I shouted, slapping his arm playfully. "You know I hate when you do that!" I laughed before giving him a hug as well.
"It really is nice to see you all again," I said, leaning casually against the bus as C.C. stood up and grabbed another chair from behind him, which he handed to me, "Thanks" I said, taking it from his hands and unfolding it into the empty space beside him.
"The feeling is mutual," Andy replied, "Trust me, Maddie, we wish you were around here as much as your cousin is," he remarked, rolling his eyes as he glanced over to the tour bus. "More like instead of her cousin," C.C. added, causing me to laugh. It was a relief knowing that I wasn't the only one who wasn't particularly fond of Kina.
"Speak of the devil," Jinxx mumbled, just as the bus door swung open, revealing none other than my barbie doll cousin. She was, of course, all decked out in a hot pink showgirl outfit consisting of only a sequenced bustier lined in eyelet lace and a matching skirt that anyone else could've used as a headband. Oh, and let's not forget the ridiculous pink cowgirl hat she wore for the sole purpose of matching with Ash.
"Madalyn!" she exclaimed when she saw me, stepping out of the bus in her brown cowgirl boots and rushing over to me. 'Great, here we go' I thought silently to myself. I knew exactly what she was doing. Kina knew that I didn't like her and I knew that she didn't like me, but that didn't stop her from playing up the "I'm the bigger person" act and being fake nice to me in front of everyone.
All the guys gave her a weird look when she used my full name, before even more awkwardly wrapping her dainty arms around me in a hug that I forced myself to return. "You look great!" she commented, flashing me her best artificial smile as I managed to shoot one back. "Thanks...So do you," I said, hoping that the bold faced lie wasn't as obvious to her as it was to C.C. who shot me a smug grin.
"Hey Mads, long time no see," I suddenly heard Ashley's voice say from behind me, before he wrapped his arms around my waist and gave me a backwards hug, causing a look of jealousy to flash across Kina's face. Turning around on my heel, I looked up to meet Ash's deep brown eyes before he shot me a wink.
"Hey, babe, do you mind grabbing me a drink from inside please?" Ash suddenly asked, eying Kina's less-than-pleased expression now that he was talking to me. "Sure," she answered after a moment, before reluctantly turning and walking back towards the bus door.
Watching as she walked away, I vaguely wondered whether she and Ashley were back together again or not. I mean, sure they hooked up, but it wasn't like they were in a formal relationship, at least not after the way it had ended last time. Long story short, neither of them were really relationship material-- not to mention that they had serious issues keeping their hands to themselves.
"So how was the rest of your day?" Ashley asked, suddenly breaking my train of thought. "Not counting right now, of course. I mean, since you're here I already know it's amazing," he added, causing me to laugh. He was always so unapologetically cocky and I had to admit, it was becoming of him.
"My day was fine. I crashed right when I got back from the shop," I admitted, causing him to chuckle. "How about you? How's the arm?" I asked, motioning for him to let me see it. "It's sore as fuck," he answered, holding out his arm in demonstration.
Taking his hand in mine, I slowly rotated his arm, making sure not to touch any of the fresh ink as I inspected it. We'd done a lot of work in one day, so it was no surprise how inflamed the area was. Luckily for him, the swelling would most likely subside within the next few days as long as he did't do anything stupid to interfere with the healing process.
"Yeah, that does look like it left ya pretty sore," I agreed as he smirked, suddenly pulling his arm back from me and using it to snake around my waist instead. Pulling me in closer to him, I prayed that Kina wouldn't come back out and see us, while he leaned in so that his lips were at my ear. "You know there are more fun ways to make me sore," he purred, his warm breath hitting my cheek and causing me to blush hard at his comment.
Ashley had been trying for so long to get me into bed with him, and as much as I wanted him, I wasn't Kina. There was no way I'd ever be able to just casually sleep with the person I'd had feelings for for the past three years, while fully knowing that all I'd be was another notch in his belt.
"I-I know" I breathed, immediately cursing myself for not diffusing the situation. "Maybe we could... Explore other methods after the show?" he asked seductively, his breath smelling of whiskey and bubblemint before he planted a soft kiss on my cheek and pulled away to meet my eyes.
I felt my heart still beating a mile a minute from how close Ash had been when he'd given me his proposition. At this point, I was sure that my expression must've resembled that of a deer caught in headlights, but I couldn't help it. He always had a knack for leaving me speechless.
"Babe!" I suddenly heard Kina's voice shout from behind me as the bus door swung open, Ashley glanced back at her before quickly returning his gaze to me. "You know, your cousin and I aren't dating right now," he said with a smirk playing on his lips, "All you have to do is say the word," he winked, with a familiar mischievous glint shining in his eyes just as he turned to face Kina.
"Here ya go," she said cheerfully, handing him a bottle of Coldcock before leaning in and planting a full kiss onto his lips-- making sure to shoot me a sideways glance as she pulled away, just for good measure. Pursing my lips, I could practically feel the blood boiling beneath my skin. This was going to be a long night.

Notes

Hi friends! Hope you're enjoying the story so far. Please favorite/subscribe to the story & add a rating if you're feeling generous. Right now I'm in the process of editing some old chapters, but should be uploading soon. I've also started on a brand new one, so stay tuned :)