Learn to Fly (21 page)

The van was half
hidden behind a dumpster but it looked like a throwback to their days
when they were just starting out. Complete with the rust over the
wheel wells and graffiti decorating the outside. The rest of the
band members stood waiting for him in a semi-circle. Luke was
surprised at how relieved he was to see Lenny amongst his friends.

“
We’re
ditching the buses tonight. Lenny hooked us up with a private ride.”
Harrison smiled eagerly, “You’re coming with us.”

Luke looked around
at the faces of his oldest friends and the girl he was falling for
even more. How did he ever deserve to find not just one good friend
in this world but five? He nodded and they all piled into the
decrepit van.

Luke noticed that
Slim, their regular driver, was behind the wheel. He slid into the
seat next to Lenny and whispered a question in her ear, “If
Slim is here, who’s driving the Blue Bus?”

Lenny tried to hide
her smile, “Slim’s brother, Mo.” Her eyes met
Luke’s and he squinted, trying to figure out if she was
serious.

“
Slim’s
brother is named…Mo?” He asked slowly.

Lenny bit her bottom
lip to keep from laughing and nodded.

Mike slid the door
closed and settled into one of the captain’s chairs. Harrison
occupied the other captain’s chair and Blake was sitting cozy
next to Luke and Lenny. Sway took his position in shotgun and
started calling out options for music to be played.

Luke patted Lenny’s
thigh affectionately and asked, “This was what you were doing
during the show, wasn’t it?” She nodded with a smile and
he squeezed her leg. If she only knew the significance of what she
had done, of what she did everyday...

“
Don’t
worry, though,” she whispered to him, “Carl knows, this
is completely sanctioned.”

Slim made his way
out of the parking lot and onto the road before he turned on the
headlights.

“
I
feel like super spies!” Harrison whispered excitedly.

Sway
pushed an old tape into the ancient radio and cranked up the volume.
As Tom Petty’s '
American
Girl'
started to play, the whole band joined in, singing at the top of
their lungs.

***

As the van sped down
the interstate, the band sang song after song together. Lenny felt
the icky stench of Ashton evaporate and she smiled in satisfaction.
This was the most liberated she’d seen the guys all tour. That
included when they were jumping off that bridge earlier in the day.

“
This
is exactly what it was like when we were young.” Harrison
reminisced happily.

“
You
guys traveled by van?” Lenny asked, she loved to hear their
old stories from before they made it big. Especially when Harrison
told them.

“
Yeah,
in a crappy van just like this one,” Harrison swiveled
haphazardly towards Lenny. She laughed as he almost spilled onto the
floor. He regained his balance on the loose bolts holding the seat
down and continued. “Our van was brown, too. We called it the
Brown Streaker. We were very creative musicians back then.”

Lenny started with a
small giggle but it grew into out of control belly laughter as
Harrison kept going. “I was getting puked on nightly, and we
couldn’t always afford showers at the truck stops so…”

“
Gross!”
Lenny cried. “Who was puking on you?”

Harrison pointed his
thumb over his shoulder, “Usually Sway’s current shag.”

“
Hey!
It wasn’t my fault that they always seemed to have a lot to
drink.” Sway defended from the front.

“
Sure,”
Harrison nodded in sarcastic agreement. “But all we had was
this one van, with all of our stuff and us in it. And Sway was always
using it for…extracurricular activities.”

“
Eww.”
Lenny scrunched up her nose.

“
Tell
me about it.” Harrison shuddered at the memory, causing Lenny
to laugh harder.

“
Who
drove?” Lenny asked curiously.

“
Not
Blake!” Mike said with force and Lenny waited for the
explanation as Harrison put on his professor face.

“
Blake
does not drive.”

“
I
drive just fine!” Blake defended from the other side of Luke.

“
Blake…how
do I put this…hit a building.” Harrison stated flatly.

“
One
time!” Blake interjected. He leaned over so Lenny could see
the sincerity on his face. “One time, Lenny! It wasn’t my
fault.”

“
Right,
it was the building’s fault, how dare it be built where you
wanted to drive.” Harrison continued, just as flat. He raised
his eyebrows at Lenny and she laughed even more. “Oh, I
forgot, not just any building…the courthouse.”

“
What?!”
Lenny exclaimed, “How did you accidentally hit a courthouse,
Blake Diedrich?!” Her disappointed mother tone came out and all
the guys laughed.

“
I
don’t know! It was dark...I have night blindness...I thought I
saw a dog…” His voice trailed off as he gave up
defending himself.

“
But
at least he didn’t set the van on fire.” Harrison
gestured to Luke. Lenny turned to him in shock.

“
Why
do you think I gave up smoking?” Luke grinned.

“
Wow,
you guys. How did you ever get anywhere?” Lenny was genuinely
surprised.

“
Oh,
you know...hard work, good looks,” Harrison ran his fingers
through his hair, “and of course we’re freaking talented
out the ass.”

“
Of
course,” Lenny agreed but she was still laughing. She adored
these guys, no one could replace them. She was past the point of no
return; she couldn’t see herself leaving them. Ever.

The guys started to
get tired after a few hours and eventually began nodding off. Lenny
stayed awake, watching her fellas sleep. Ashton wasn’t getting
her claws into them. She leaned her head against the window and
looked out at the stars.

Luke
shifted in his seat next to her and she glanced over to see him and
Blake snuggled up together. She smiled,
big,
tough rock stars
.

Whatever power
Ashton used to have over Luke was in no way stronger than the bond
that this band shared. Lenny had to remind them of that. Ashton was
simply a distraction, she didn’t matter. That’s why
Lenny had talked to Carl about renting the van and going ahead of the
convoy. The guys needed to harken back to the days of their youth,
where this whole crazy thing started.

Two more shows
before Denver, twelve total before Ashton left the tour. Then a four
week break over Christmas.

Lenny tried to focus
on her job, but in the dark cabin with just the sound of the wheels
on the road, her thoughts drifted to home. She wondered what she
would do during break. She couldn’t go home. She hadn’t
called her parents in over a week. The last phone call had been
tense, they wanted her to come back. She missed them, but she needed
to be out here more. She wasn't ready to face...all of that.

Maybe Carl would
give her some sort of assignment over break to keep her occupied.
She could ask him later.

Scott was pissed;
she’d stopped answering his calls two weeks ago. Her voice mail
kept filling up. She wouldn't even check it if she wasn't afraid it
would be Carl. Scott had been the most persistent of her family
members. She wished he would just back off and let her figure this
thing out.

He didn't
understand, none of them did. How could they? She wasn't exactly
being the most forthcoming with any of them. Most of all, she was
disappointed in herself.

Lenny pinched the
bridge of her nose and squinted against the headache revving itself
into full blown migraine. Suddenly, Luke's arms were around her,
pulling her against his chest and pressing his lips to her temple.
The headache fled as she instinctively buried her face in his shirt.

“
Sshh.
It's okay, I got you.” Luke whispered against her ear.

Lenny ignored her
previous logic of avoiding more situations like this. She needed him
right now, it was that simple. And somehow...he just knew.

***

Slim pulled over for
breakfast at a little roadside diner. He opted to eat alone at the
counter but the other six squeezed into a booth. They pushed each
other playfully, taking up more space than they needed to. The
waitress was not amused at their antics and she grumpily took their
order and walked away.

“
This
was a great idea,” Sway spoke for them all, “We should
get rid of the buses altogether and just travel like this again.”
He leaned his elbows on the table and started to play with the sugar
packets.

“
You
feeling better, dude?” Blake asked Luke who was sitting
directly across from him.

“
Yeah,”
Luke smiled, feeling like himself again. “Sorry, I was acting
so-”

“
Menstrual?”
Blake finished for him.

Luke chuckled and
nodded. “Yeah, I guess that’s how I was acting, huh?”

“
You
guess? Dude, middle school girls are less moody than you,”
Blake grimaced.

“
I
don’t know why you let your tampon get all twisted just because
Ashton James, walking bitch-fest that she is, happens to be around.
What? Does she have your balls in a jar somewhere?” Blake's
dark eyebrows rose accusingly.

They were enjoying
giving him a hard time and Luke knew he deserved it. “It’s
hard to think clearly around her, I guess I just shut everyone out.
Sorry about that. Again.”

They took their time
eating breakfast, enjoying the time together without any
distractions. They were in such a good mood they even got their
grumpy waitress to smile before they left.

“
We
have enough bunks in the Blue Bus for all of us,” Luke looked
around at the band, “why don’t we all just ride
together?”

“
I
like it,” Mike looked to Lenny for approval.

“
Hey,
I’m just the assistant. You don’t need my permission.”
She held up her hands to show she wasn’t protesting.

“
I
don’t know man,” Sway began, “I really hate that
girl. I don't want to sleep in the same vehicle as her. What if she
tries to molest me?”

“
Gross,
Sway. Gross.” Lenny frowned in disgust and Luke smiled at how
cute she looked when she was correcting Sway. Like she was still
shocked by some of the things he said.

“
But
it might be fun to make her miserable,” Blake pointed out.

“
We
could go on a shower strike like last time,” Harrison
suggested.

“
Yes!”
Blake snapped his fingers and pointed at Harrison. “That! We’re
doing it.”

Lenny closed her
eyes and rubbed her forehead with her fingertips, “Oh, geez.”

“
Sorry,
mama. But we did promise you the full ‘Rock Star’
experience, smelly guys and all,” Sway grinned at her.

“
We
should definitely be as authentic as possible,” Mike was
nodding his head.

“
You
have to participate too, Lenny,” Blake said, “You’re
one of us now.” He arched an eyebrow, daring her.

Luke was surprised
when she took the bait and replied cheekily, “I can hack it if
you can.”

***

They pulled into the
parking lot of their next venue and their spirits were high. As they
made their way to the buses, Ashton came running out and grabbed Luke
by the arms.