AN: Heyy everybody here is Chapter Fourteen (YAY!) Hope you all like it. I think I'm still using xEmilia 's idea for this chapter…but I also think there is a little of one of keroseneREMEMBERING's ideas…If I haven't used yours yet then don't worry…no doubt it will be used later. ^.^
Sometimes the youngest are the most faithful
"You're what?" Andy and I asked together.
"I'm coming with you guys. I miss my little minion," Casper said, grinning down at me impishly.
"Since when am I your minion?" I asked playfully.
"Since I was the one who taught you the art of stealing from Safeway," he replied.
"Ah, come on! I was the one who stood up to the two dickheads you call Tyler and Luke."
"So you punched Tyler in the nose. Big deal," Casper laughed.
"Look, I think we need to talk to Sam before you come with us," I said.
"Who's Sam?"
"The big oaf." I pointed him out and laughed when Casper snorted, unimpressed and started forward. After minutes of convincing Sam to let Casper come with us, we finally boarded our plane. Just as we sat down (Casper in the window seat, me in the middle and Andy on the aisle with everyone else across from and behind us), Sophia cussed.
"Shit! My PSP's in my case!" She exclaimed grumpily. Bradie made a 'naw' noise and handed over his. She grinned happily and gave him a little hug as a thankyou. I laughed and plugged my iPod into my ears, playing an old Steppenwolf song. I began to tap my fingers on the armrest along to the beat and began receiving some extremely funny looks when I began to air drum. Some odd mood had possessed me at that moment and I wanted to cause as much trouble as possible. Lauren began to laugh as I danced crazily in my seat. Sophia tapped me on the shoulder and I turned a little. She was holding up her iPod Touch and portable speakers, grinning like a mad man. In a second, I'd ripped out my own iPod and waited for the song to start. Lollipop by Mika began to play and I immediately unbuckled my seat belt, moving to the aisle and doing a little shuffle I'd invented when I was sixteen. Lauren joined and Sophia told Bradie to 'hold on to the speakers' as she began to dance. A majority of the passengers were looking on, amused while the minority was looking kind of pissed. Of course, the minority consisted of old people who were about 300 years old. Rianna seemed to be part of that snobby minority and sneered at us, clearly not appreciating our dorky moves. Once the song ended, we all began to move back to our seats when we struck a bit of turbulence. I stumbled, tripping and falling – somewhat coincidentally – into Andy's lap. He grinned down at me, arms catching me before I could fall onto the floor.
"Thanks," I laughed, smiling back up at him. Casper chuckled from behind me and I flipped him off, not wanting to ruin the 'moment'. Andy leaned down, his forehead resting against mine, lips getting closer as my heart rate sped up. He was so close now, just about to kiss me when: "Andy! I need your help!" Rianna's voice came from across the aisle. I sighed and closed my eyes, trying to drown the anger and frustration that wanted to swallow me whole.
"Go," I told Andy softly, sliding off his lap and onto my own seat. He touched his lips to my forehead before standing and wandering over to Rianna.
"You like him again?" Casper's voice sounded from next to me and I jumped a little.
"Uh…yeah. Why?" I asked. He stretched his legs out in the cramped little space and yawned.
"'Cause last time I checked you hated his guts." I thought for a moment.
"I guess we made up then," I said, shrugging. He made a 'hmm' noise and gazed out the window. Frowning a little, I put my iPod back into my ears and closed my eyes, humming the various songs that played. I was just about to fall asleep when I heard someone talking to me. I cracked open one eye and gazed up. Rianna stood in the aisle, an uncomfortable looking Andy behind her.
"Can I help you?" I asked, annoyed, as I took out one earpiece.
"Yes. Move."
"Fuck off."
"Move."
"I'm not moving." She crossed her arms and turned away, saying something to Sam who was behind her.
"Ashli, move," Sam ordered from behind Andy.
"I'm not moving just because she says I have to!" I exclaimed.
"You will move because that is what she wants," Sam declared. I was shocked, mouth agape shamelessly, eyebrows disappearing into my hairline.
"What did you just say?"
"Move!"
"Not until you repeat to me what you just said!"
"I said; you will move because that's what she wants," Sam repeated.
"Did you listen to yourself?" I asked. "You sound brainwashed!" I laughed once at the absurdity of the idea.
"I'm not 'brainwashed'," Sam snapped. "Now move before I pull you off the tour."
"So that's what this is about. Rianna wanting to be on the tour for a reason other than stealing guys from girls?" I said with fake enlightenment. "Well I want to sit next to Casper and Andy. Not you." There was a moment of silence and I shifted uncomfortably, suddenly aware of the stares we were receiving from other passengers. A stewardess approached us then, and cleared her throat politely.
"Excuse me," she said, "but I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to sit down. We are not permitted to have our passengers standing for too long."
"Okay. Ashli, move. Now." With a frustrated growl, I unbuckled my safety belt, climbed over the seats and shoved past Rianna, dropping down next to Sam. I plugged back in both my earpieces and bit my lip agitatedly. If I didn't know any better than I would think Sam was just trying to get closer to me.
As we strode through the airport, I heard screams of 'Short Stack!' and 'Hush Hush!' My stomach dropped. The last thing I wanted to deal with at that moment was over obsessed fans. We were bombarded by at least twenty people, thrusting cameras and paper in our direction. I plastered a fake smile to my lips, gladly scribbling out my signature and posing for photos. Once we finally escaped, Rianna seemed to be thinking for a moment.
"Hey!" she called. A majority of the fans turned. "I'm replacing Ashli for the rest of the tour. Tell your friends!" I could see the different emotions running over the horde's face.
"Why?"
"We want Ashli! Not you!"
"You're a bitch!"
"Since when?" All the abuse and questions flew at Rianna so fast I was amazed at the mere look of surprise and minute amount of hurt that passed over her face. Then I cracked up laughing. Nothing could compare to the sheer joy I was feeling. It showed that Hush Hush had true fans that wouldn't put up with the crap that Rianna made us put up with.
"I…I – uh – ALL OF YOU SHUT UP!" She screamed. I clapped my hands over my ears, trying to block out the strange ringing noise that had begun. The fans were silent, all either glaring at Rianna or looking slightly afraid. "I was not the one to come up with the idea! So don't start giving me shit for it when I haven't done anything wrong!"
"You were so the one who came up with the idea!" I shouted angrily, removing my hands. She attempted to look shocked but instead it seemed like she was trying not to get angry.
"How could you say that? You were the one who said you were sick of all your fans following you everywhere!"
"What?! Since when did I – "
"And you were the one who also said you couldn't handle the fact that all of Hush Hush's fans were 'sluts' and 'bitches'!" My mouth dropped open, almost hitting the floor.
"She never said that!" Lauren exclaimed, starting forward. Sophia grabbed her arm and sharply pulled her back.
"Let Ashli handle this," Sophia murmured.
"I never said that." My voice was low and almost dangerous, a warning twined in the words.
"Don't tell me that. Tell your fans." Rianna pointed to the group of now pissed and sad looking teens.
"I would never say that about you guys, okay? I love my fans more than my fans love the band I'm in. If that's even possible," I told the horde. They nodded, not looking entirely convinced, and turned around, walking back to wherever they appeared from. There was one girl left when I turned back. She looked about ten years old, wearing one of the Hush Hush shirts we created for the tour. I walked a little towards her, smiling a little. When I was a little way away, she looked up at me.
"I believe you," she said sincerely in her little voice, nodding. I laughed and smiled.
"Thankyou very much, sweetie. Is there anything you want me to sign for you?" I asked.
"Could I have a photo with you? All the other girls got in the way," she said, holding up a little digital camera.
"Of course." I took a couple of photos and signed a little poster for her when I noticed a lady walking towards us.
"Mum!" The girl called, waving the lady over.
"Thankyou so much," the mother said. "You've made her year."
"No problems at all," I told her, smiling. "It's good to know the younger generation are getting into music." She laughed.
"Ashli!" I turned to see Sophia beckoning me over. We were leaving.
"Well I have to go. Are you coming to the concert?" I asked the girl. She shook her head.
"I'm too young," she replied.
"Maybe next time when you're a little older," I laughed.
"Thankyou," the girl replied and hugged me. I smiled and returned the gesture. Once I said goodbye once more, I jogged back to everyone else. We went and collected our entire luggage and instruments before going outside and climbing into our rental van. Of course, I was in the front – again – and didn't exactly appreciate the fact that Casper was sitting on the floor in the middle row of seats. It took a lot of yelling and swearing to get Sam to comply with what we wanted.
The hotel we were supposed to be staying at was simply fifteen minutes away but it seemed so much longer. When we did finally arrive, I was incredibly happy to get out of the cramped car. I dragged my bags and bass into the lobby along with everyone else, waiting for Sam to come. It was then that I noticed something I should've seen a long time ago. Rianna had a suitcase. With her belongings in it.
"Hey Lauren," I said, aiming to sound nonchalant.
"Mmm?"
"Since when did Rianna have a suitcase?"
"Uh…since she first came. Didn't you notice that there was always an extra bag? Of course, that left less room for instruments," she grumbled. Well, that answered that question. So Rianna'd been planning on staying the whole time. What a deceptive cow. When we finally got to our floor, more complications arose. There were three bedrooms in the hotel room itself and Sam had gotten a single room for himself. Eight people and three rooms with a queen bed in each. Of course, none of us had a problem sleeping in a bed together…well maybe one or two of us, but there still wouldn't be enough room. And there were about a metre and a half long each. It was a good thing we were only staying there for two nights.
"I shotgun a room!" Shaun shouted, running off down a short hallway.
"You're not having one to yourself!" Lauren yelled after him, going off in pursuit after him. I sighed as the door shut behind her.
"We're going to have to sort something out," Bradie said brilliantly, rubbing a hand along his jaw.
"How about Shaun, Lauren and Rianna share a room and Andy, Ashli and Casper share a room. Bradie and I can have the couches," Sophia suggested. We all made slight noises of agreement – except for Rianna.
"How about me, Andy and Casper share a room and Shaun, Lauren and Ashli share the other. That should be fun." She shot a slimy smile towards Casper who just turned his head and blinked at me.
"Do not even attempt to hit on my friend, or I swear to the mother of all things holy I will kick your annoying little ass," I hissed, glaring at her. The smile slipped from her face and her lip curled up.
"You'd know all about hitting on, wouldn't you?" I just took in a deep breath and shut my eyes for a second. "Anyway, I'm staying with Andy and Casper whether you like it or not."
"Okay. I've had it up to here with you little princess shit! I have no idea what kind of deranged deal you and Sam have – "
"We have no deal!"
"Don't interrupt me!" I had a very large sense of déjà vu as soon as I said that. "I have no idea what deranged deal you and Sam have going on but I'm sick of it! For once you are not getting your fucking way. Got it?" She made her signature 'ugh' noise and rolled her eyes. How I ever put up with I would never know.
I jumped up and down on the balls of my feet, trying to get rid of the nervous energy and anger that pulsed through me. Rianna was standing with Andy, trying to tune up my bass. Of course, we had no other bass guitars apart from mine, Andy's, and a spare one. But no. Rianna didn't want to use the spare. She wanted to use mine! To put it mildly, I was extremely pissed. When it was time to go on stage, I balled up my hands into fists and followed Sophia and Lauren on. There were cries of 'Hush Hush' from the audience, which promptly turned into a chant. They screamed as we waved and introduced ourselves. But then Rianna walked on, and the shouts died down. In fact, there was practically silence – something I thought I would never hear in the company of a hundred crazed teenage girls. Of course, Rianna chose to ignore the silence and sauntered up to the microphone, my bass swinging from around her neck. There was no way I would want to play that thing after the shows were over. Not after she had contaminated it.
"Hi everyone, I'm Rianna – the new addition to Hush Hush," she said almost snob-like. I bit the insides of my cheeks hard, trying to stop myself from getting too angry. I'd been put at the keyboard, barely even having enough time to learn the chords I was to play. Sophie started the song and Lauren followed, looking not exactly energetic. Rianna began to sing and playing my bass while I belatedly played the chords. It was then I realised something. No one was moving. No one was jumping with our music or screaming. It was like performing to a bunch of statues. I glanced over a Sophia and Lauren who both had confused looks on their faces. I gazed out into the audience. There was a group of people in the middle, shouting something simultaneously. Then the people around them began shouting the same thing, looking angry and determined. I could see Rianna looking a little pissed that no one was appreciating her singing – personally, if I was in the audience, I wouldn't be listening either. She wasn't exactly the best singer that ever walked the planet. Lauren and Sophie's playing got slower and less in time with each other as they tried to hear what the whole crowd was now chanting. When we did finally hear, I laughed out loud with elation.
"Ashli! Ashli! Ashli! Ashli!" It sounded like a rally, all the voices combining into one. I stopped playing altogether and wandered forward in awe. They were calling my name. They wanted me to perform, not Rianna. On a whim, I jumped down from the stage and landed in front of the barrier separating the crowd from the stage. The fans reached forward, still chanting, and I grasped their hands, laughing the whole time. There were even a few people I hugged. Eventually, all music stopped and I looked up to see Rianna looking furious. Then a drumbeat began – the introduction to We Will Rock You by Queen. I stamped my feet and clapped my hands, getting the crowd to do the same. In about two minutes, the whole room was filled with the world famous 'stomp, stomp, clap.' I climbed back on stage and continued the actions.
"Off you go," I told Rianna smugly, holding out my hand for my bass. She was breathing fast, angrily, not quite sure what to do. An evil light entered her eyes and she casually unslung my bass guitar from her neck. Before holding it out and dropping it off the stage.
AN: Just a quick note; anyone who likes this fic should read 'The Minority'. It's a Short Stack fanfiction and it's very good. And comment the story telling them to update haha