Four pairs of eyes, three pairs of blue and one of green, looked in horror at the pair of bright blue eyes, beginning to well up with tears, in front of them.
Axel, the band's rhythm guitarist, turned to the drummer, Saïx, and said quietly, "Can I talk to you for a minute? Over there." He pointed a black-nailed pointer finger at the far corner of the parking lot. "Rox, call the girls." Not turning around to look to see if Roxas was listening, Axel grabbed Saïx's wrist and pulled him over to the before-mentioned corner. Then he turned on Saïx, crossing his arms over his chest and spitting out, "What the hell, dude? You can't just bring your kid on tour with us!"
Saïx frowned. "I understand you're upset, but what was I supposed to do? It's summer vacation, and her mother's out of town."
Axel was starting to get very frustrated. "Uh, I don't know. Maybe leave her with her grandparents?"
Saïx glared back at his bandmate, who had also been his best friend since preschool. "You know I can't do that. Mother and Father were very specific about how I was lucky not to get disowned when I told them Aerith was pregnant."
Axel threw his hands in the air in frustration. "Dude! That was, like, five years, when you were sixteen years old and stupid! They need to get over it! What about Aerith's parents?"
Saïx shook his head. "I tried with them, too. They still want nothing to do with me or Xion, even if I did do the honorable thing and marry their daughter before she started showing. They can't stand me, but they still let Aerith do whatever the hell she wants, enabling her every whim, regardless of how it affects me or our child. She's been getting more and more erratic lately; I can only hide it from Xion for so long, especially when neither of us can be with her for the next couple of months."
That's when Demyx walked up. "Uh, guys, I think that, when something applies to the whole band like whether or not we're allowing rugrats on tour with us, I should be included. You know, since I'm kinda the lead singer and all."
Axel rolled his eyes. "Yeah, sorry, primadonna. I was just telling Saïx here that he shouldn't bring the kid."
Demyx nodded, then turned to Saïx. "He's kinda right, you know. We really shouldn't be bringing a five-year-old on tour with us, if you don't want CPS taking her away. Didn't you get a social worker called on your ass the last time Aerith pulled a stunt like this?"
Saïx sighed. "Yes. I was stupid, I was drunk, and now I'm paying the price for it until Xion gets married. The only reason I'm staying is for her; you know no court in their right mind is going to grant a drummer in a rock band custody of a little girl if they have any other options. I'd be lucky to even get visitation rights, and even if they do ever find out how unfit of a mother Aerith is, it'd be too late."
Saïx felt a pull on his pants leg, at a little above knee height. He looked down in horror into the tearful face of his four-year-old daughter. "Y-you don't w-want me, Daddy?"
Saïx knew what his daughter's tantrum-face looked like better than almost anybody, and he knew he had to diffuse the situation quickly. He crouched down to be eye-level with the little girl and hugged her quickly. "No, no, of course not, sweetheart. I'll always want you." He kissed Xion on the cheek, causing the little girl to smile slightly. "And even if Mommy goes away for a little while, you'll always have Daddy." He looked quickly up at Demyx and Axel. "Please, guys, I need to take her with us; Aerith is going on a month-long cruise, and she can't stay with a babysitter. The only options are Zexion and Vanitas's parents, and I really don't want to impose on them for such a length of time if I can possibly avoid it… I have all the stuff she'll need, and she can stay in a separate hotel room with me. She won't be any trouble, I promise. The tour will be over by the time Aerith comes back."
Demyx bit his lip. "I'll think about it. Axel, didn't you have Roxas call your sisters?"
Axel nodded. "Yeah, I did. They should be here any minute."
At that exact moment, a white Mercedes convertible pulled up next to Demyx's van, which the band was using as a tour bus. Two teenaged girls, one somewhat older than the other, hopped out of the vehicle, with the redhead getting a suitcase from the back seat and pulling it behind her. The three guys walked back over to Roxas and Zexion, Saïx pulling Xion along gently.
The blonde girl, the older of the two, went over toward her twin. "So what's up, Rox?"
The younger girl, the redhead, looked at Axel. "Yeah, we were on our way here anyway; why did you need us here asap?"
Axel poined at the little girl next to Saïx. The blonde, Namine, gasped at the cuteness and knelt down, sitting back on her heels. "Hi, Xi! What are you doing here? I thought you were staying with your mom while your dad's on tour."
Saïx cleared his throat. "That is why we've called you here. Xion's mother has gone off on a little vacation of her own, leaving me with no options for childcare while I'm off on tour. As you can imagine, a tour bus is no place for a kindergartener."
Axel nodded. "So, little sisters, we were wondering if you would be willing to watch her while we're gone, at least until Aerith's back from her latest spree or we come back from tour."
Kairi looked at her brothers in shock. "You guys promised I could come on tour with you! You can't renege on your promise and make me stay here." She quickly turned to look at her older sister. "Nam, you can look after the kid by yourself, can't you?"
Namine adjusted her glasses and tucked a few locks of hair behind her ear. "I … I suppose I could watch her, and Mom can keep an eye on her while I'm in art class." She bit her lip. "But I would be more comfortable if someone could check up on us periodically."
Axel turned to Zexion. "You're bringing your laptop so you can keep working on your summer classes on tour, right?"
Zexion nodded. "Yes, I am. Namine, if you give me your Skype username, you and Xion can keep in contact with Saïx and the rest of us while we're on tour. My Skype name is CloakedSchemer66; I will send you an invitation tonight, if we can find a hotel with Wi-Fi."
Namine pulled out her pink-cased iPhone and texted Zexion her username. "I haven't used mine in a while, but I think I can still remember the log-in information. If I can't, I can make a new account and send you an invite that way." Then she looked at Xion again, still in her kneeled position. "We're going to have a lot of fun while your daddy's on tour, Xion. You'll get to sleep over at my house, and we can play almost all day. I do have an art class three times a week, but my mom will play with you while I'm gone. Doesn't that sound like fun?"
Xion looked from the older girl to her father, who nodded encouragingly. Then she turned back to Namine and smiled. "Okay."
Saïx pulled his wallet out of the back pocket of his jeans and took out a card with his contact information. "If you have any questions, you can reach me at this number." Then he pulled out about his checkbook. "I will pay you upfront for your services. How much per hour are you usually paid for babysitting?"
Namine looked at Saïx in surprise, though she didn't quite meet his amber stare, and stood up. "You're going to pay me? I would do it f –"
Kairi elbowed her sister in the side, causing her to squeak. "Are you crazy? If the guy wants to pay you, let him. Besides, it's not just watching a neighbor's kid for a few hours; it's watching a little kid for a month straight, without letting her get into trouble or letting her out of your sight for a minute! You should be asking for double your usual rate!"
Namine blushed. "I-I guess … $15 an hour?"
Saïx sighed. "How about I pay you about $200 a day? You'd be making about $6,000 for your time. I cannot afford much more than that if we're going to make it through the tour; we are being paid for our gigs, and I can give you more money when I get back. Does this sound fair to you?"
Namine nodded, accepting Saïx's check.
Kairi turned toward the band. "So … can I still come on the tour?"
Axel sighed. "Mom's gonna kill me if I let both you and Roxas come. She's already pissed that Roxas is going; you know she's gonna flip if you come, too. You're not even of age!"
Kairi smirked. "Mom can suck it! I'm not a little girl anymore; I got my driver's license, like, last month; I'm the one that drove us here! Sixteen is practically a grown-up."
Roxas rolled his eyes. "Says the girl who just got off being grounded for skipping school to go to the mall last month."
Kairi stuck her tongue out at her younger brother. "Hey, that was totally an emergency! Besides, what's the worst that could happen? I get grounded for another month, and by the time she finds out where I am, it'll be too late to drag me back! Please, please, guys?"
Axel frowned. "I don't know, Kai. She's still pretty mad at you for skipping; I really don't think we should be making it worse. I really feel like you should stay here and help watch Xion."
Kairi scoffed. "You can't tell me what to do, either, big bro!"
Axel was really starting to get mad now. "If you're going to be a huge brat about it, then you definitely can't come. I might not have the authority to make you stay home, but I sure as hell have the authority to say that you can't come with us on tour. If necessary, I'll call Mom, and she'll drag your ass home, and you'll be grounded until you leave for college. Demyx, back me up on this!"
Demyx cleared his throat, clearly uncomfortable. "Um, Ax is right, Kai. We all love you dearly, but we can't be dealing with a bratty teenaged runaway on tour. We may all be adults now, but you're still just a kid. Given that our parents are the ones partially financing our ability to go on tour, we're not going to go out of our way to jeopardize our chances… I'm sorry, but you can't come with us. Maybe next time?" He smiled awkwardly at the irate teenager.
Kairi stamped her foot angrily. "It's not fair; you guys never let me do anything!" She stomped away towards her and Namine's car, then said, "Come on, Nam, let's go home. Clearly, that's all we'll ever be good for!" She glared at her brothers, then got into the passenger side of the car and slammed the door.
Namine smiled awkwardly at the bandmates, rolling up onto the toes of her pink sneakers. "Sorry about her. She was just really excited to go…" She hugged Axel and Demyx, then nodded at Saix and Zexion. Finally, she reached Roxas. "See you later, twin!" The two fist-bumped and then hugged. "I'll miss you, Rox. Just remember: I'm the smart one."
Roxas stuck his tongue out at his sister. "Yeah, but I'm the talented one."
Namine gasped. "At the piano, maybe, but I'm the better artist."
Roxas rolled his eyes. "Keep telling yourself that, sis." With a final hug, he said, "I'll Facechat you later, okay?"
Namine took Xion's hand and picked up Xion's bags from near Saix's feet, then started walking back toward the car. "Okay! Talk to you guys later," she called over her shoulder.
Roxas looked at the other bandmates. "Should we get this show on the road? We're already running late…"
Axel looked at his watch, his eyes widening. "Holy crap, you're right. We're gonna need to leave now if we're going to make it to L.A. by dinnertime."
Demyx rolled his eyes. "Do you ever think of anything but your stomach?" He picked up Axel and Roxas' guitar cases and put them in the back of the van, where his own guitars (both acoustic and electric), Zexion's keyboard, and Saïx's drum kit already sat. "Come on, guys; let's get this tour on the road!" He reached for Zexion's hand and then kissed him on the cheek. "Zex and I call the back seat."
Roxas sighed. "Just please remember that I'll be back there, too. Try not to scar me too badly, or this will be a very, very long month."
Axel chuckled and shut the back of the van. "So … should we play Rock Paper Scissors to see who gets to drive?" He spun the keyring that he had taken from Demyx around on his finger.
Saïx rolled his eyes and took the keys. "I'll drive for this leg of the journey, and then maybe you can drive tomorrow. How you even still have your driver's license is a mystery." He walked around to the driver's seat and climbed in, while Axel did the same on the passenger's side.
Axel started drumming on the dashboard of the car. "Let's get this show on the road!" In the backseat, Demyx and Roxas cheered, while Zexion rolled his eyes good-naturedly, kissing Demyx on the cheek and smiling. Saïx sighed and put the keys in the ignition.