Author's note:
Just for something different, let's do the author's note at the beginning this time. I'll start off with a bit of bad news. After this chapter, I won't be able to keep up publishing every Friday anymore, unfortunately. A few weeks ago, I got a new job, which I am really enjoying, but it's made things very busy for me. Thus, the chapters are taking a lot longer than they used to, and I don't want to rush them. This isn't to say that it's going to be four months until the next chapter or that I'm just going to abandon this fic, because I really don't think that's going to happen. I'm just going to go back to publishing more sporadically like how I did with the first few chapters.
I don't have a ton of notes for this chapter, other than to say that all the locations in Detroit are once again real-life locations and details (Saint Andrew's Hall and all the musicians that played there, the Roma Café, and the population of Detroit in 2000). For the remainder of this fanfic, it's safe to assume that any locations I include are actual places in whatever city they're visiting.
I hope you enjoy this chapter!
Thorn tried to keep her mind on the concert, but she could feel the worrisome thoughts about Bridgit in the back of her brain the entire time.
"Thank you, Milwaukee! You're amazing!" Dusk shouted, as the concert ended.
"Thank you! Thank you!" Thorn called out. She felt bad, as she wanted to enjoy the concert, but her mind wasn't fully in it. She had been busy trying to process what Bridgit could have possibly been doing in their room this morning. She was sure she had done as good of a job as usual performing, but she still wished she could have fully enjoyed the concert without the Bridgit stuff in the back of her head.
Her new theory wasn't a pleasant one, but she felt it was the only explanation: Bridgit must be some sort of crazy obsessed fan. Thorn had heard horror stories of obsessive fans doing strange things before, but she certainly never thought she'd have to deal with one. Come to think of it, Bridgit had really gone above and beyond in introducing them to her father, and getting them a record deal, which led to pretty much all the events of the past several months. The music video, finishing the album, and the touring all never would have happened if not for Bridgit introducing them to her father. That was a lot of dedication to put into one band. Not to mention uprooting her life for an entire month to go on tour with them. Unfortunately, that probably meant Nia and Sam were unhealthily obsessed fans too.
Thorn tried not to be overly worried about it. She didn't really know how to process the situation, as she'd never had to deal with obsessed fans before, but perhaps it would just involve talking to Bridgit and setting some boundaries. It felt a little weird to have someone love them so much that they were digging through their stuff…perhaps even to steal something as a memento…as usually uncomfortable situations with people come from negative feelings of hatred, not admiration that was so strong that it was creepy.
Thorn just supposed it was something she'd have to learn to cope with as a musician. She still trusted Bridgit, Nia and Sam to an extent. In the past month or so, the black-haired goth had just gotten used to their personalities and forgotten about how over-the-top their admiration could seem at times.
Still, the idea unsettled Thorn a bit, as she wasn't really sure how to have that conversation with Bridgit, Nia and Sam. She didn't want to tell Luna and Dusk, as not to unnecessarily worry them if it ended up being nothing. She supposed that she would wait to have the conversation with them until tomorrow, when she had more time to process everything.
"Earth to Thorn!" the familiar voice of her blonde-haired bandmate said.
"Oh! Yes?" Thorn realized she'd completely spaced out after the curtain closed.
"We're ready to leave whenever you are." Dusk responded.
"Sorry. There's just a lot of stimulation." Thorn responded, as she quickly put her guitar in its case and scurried over to the backstage exit, where the others were waiting.
Though Thorn was more distracted by thinking about the Bridgit thing than the concert herself, the overstimulation continued when a group of five fans ran up to them. They all looked to be about the girls' age.
"Can we get your autograph?" a punky looking guy in a Slipknot t-shirt, ripped jeans and black combat boots said.
"Yeah! You're one of my favorite new bands!" a girl with her hair dyed bright purple added.
"Sure, we can sign autographs." Thorn smiled, as she took pieces of paper and a pen from the punky guy. "It's great meeting you!"
"Oh my gosh, I can't believe I'm talking to Thorn McKnight!" the purple-haired fan gasped.
"What are all of your names?" Thorn asked.
"John." the Slipknot t-shirt guy said.
"Miranda." the purple-haired fan replied.
"Jessie." another fan who was wearing all black responded.
"Zoe." a blonde girl, who wore a Backstreet Boys t-shirt and jeans said.
"Eden." a brunette fan wearing a purple t-shirt and black leggings added.
Thorn started writing out autographs for each of them, beginning with John.
"So, who do you like better, us or the Backstreet Boys?" Dusk teased, in a playful way.
"Oh, you guys definitely!" Zoe said. "I would have worn one of your t-shirts if you had any out! You should really release merch at some point, I bet hundreds of people would buy it!"
"It's funny you say that, we were actually just thinking about doing that." Dusk smiled, as Thorn handed each of the autographs over to Luna once she finished.
"That would be so cool! I'd absolutely buy one of your t-shirts!" Zoe exclaimed.
"Hell yeah, man. You guys are the bomb. I'd buy anything you put out." John responded.
"Aww, thanks." Thorn smiled.
"Here you guys go." Dusk handed out all the autographs.
"Thanks! You guys are the best!" John exclaimed, as he and the other four girls headed back the other direction.
"Signing more autographs, I see? It always seems there are a few fans who are so determined to get an autograph that they manage to find the artist one way or another." Gus chuckled.
Before the girls had a chance to respond, another woman's voice called to them from the hallway near the backstage area. "Girls! Girls! May I talk to you for a moment?"
"Sure. Do you want us to sign an autograph?" Thorn politely guessed.
"Actually, no. My name is Chelsea Johanson and I'm the anchor for the ABC 12 morning news. While you girls are still in town, would you be willing to do a short interview on-air during tomorrow morning's news at 9?" the news anchor asked.
That admittedly wasn't what Thorn was expecting at all, but she thought it sounded like a really cool idea, and a great way to promote their album.
"Sure, I think we'll have time. Right, Gus?" Thorn inquired.
"It might be a little bit tight, since it takes six hours to get to our next tour stop in Detroit, Michigan." Gus said. "But I think we can make it work, if we get up early enough and check out of the hotel before the interview. The news station is just about 6 minutes away from the Pfister Hotel, right?"
Chelsea nodded her head. "Yep, if you take Wisconsin Avenue."
"I think that'd be a wicked opportunity!" Dusk exclaimed.
"Yeah, that will be fun." Luna smiled. She seemed a little nervous, but Thorn imagined it was for a similar reason to her stage fears: being in front of a huge number of people.
"Great! It's not going to be anything scary, just a few questions about your album and how the tour's going, and such." Chelsea assured, as she brushed her blonde hair out of her face.
"That sounds nice. We look forward to seeing you tomorrow morning!" Thorn replied.
"Thanks for inviting us!" Luna added.
"I look forward to seeing you girls on the news! Have a great night." Chelsea said, as she smiled and headed back towards the main entrance.
"Woah!" Bridgit exclaimed in a very bombastic way, as if the girls had just won the Nobel Peace Prize. "Did I hear right that you guys just got an interview on the news?"
"You did, but it's not that big of a deal. It's just a local news station. We're not on CNN or anything." Thorn laughed.
"Um, excuse me, but that's a HUGE deal!" Nia said. "Not many people can say they were on the news."
"I think they're right, Thorn." Dusk responded. "It's freaking amazing to be asked on the news in some random city we don't even live in."
"Yeah, I guess you're right." Thorn acknowledged. She still didn't feel it was as big of a deal as they were making it, but it was pretty cool. "You know what would really be freaking amazing? Bed. I'm wiped. It's been such a long day, and tomorrow's going to be even longer."
"At least we have a break the next day." Luna said. "But yeah, going to bed would be nice. How far away is the hotel?"
"Only 6 minutes!" Gus informed.
"Oh, that's not bad at all!" Luna exclaimed.
Thorn just hoped she would be able to sleep well tonight, without her mind worrying about having a talk with Bridgit tomorrow.
Although Thorn's worries kept her from falling asleep right away, she thankfully was able to drift off in a matter of a half hour. She felt wonderful when she woke up in the morning. Traveling five hours and putting on a performance yesterday had taken a lot out of her. After getting ready for the morning, Thorn hurried downstairs to get some breakfast. It was already a few minutes to 8 o'clock, meaning she only had about an hour to eat, and that didn't even include the 15 minutes it would take to drive to the news station. Thorn made sure she took her suitcase this time, so they could quickly check out.
As Thorn left her room and got in the elevator, she wondered if Bridgit was going to try to sneak in again to rummage through their stuff. She didn't want to think about those weird thoughts, so she tried to push it out of her mind.
The elevator brought her down to the first floor, dinging as the doors opened. The black-haired goth turned the corner to see the others all down eating breakfast. Thankfully, Bridgit was with them, so Thorn didn't have to worry about her doing anything strange upstairs.
"Good morning, Thorn!" Gus greeted her. "We probably only have 15 minutes left, if we want to get to the TV station a little early and have time to check out."
"That's okay, I can eat breakfast quickly." Thorn said, as she picked out a bowl of Froot Loops. "Do they have any milk here?"
"Well, they did." Sam smiled sheepishly, as she pointed to her cereal bowl which was overflowing with milk, as well as an empty bottle on the breakfast counter.
"Oh well. I'll just have to eat it dry." Thorn sighed.
"Girls, do you want to come with us when we go to the TV station?" Gus inquired, in between bites of his blueberry-filled danish.
Thorn got worried for a moment. If all four of them were gone, perhaps Bridgit would use the time to rummage through their stuff again.
"Of course we'll come with you!" Nia exclaimed.
Phew. Thorn hated being suspicious of Bridgit, so she couldn't wait until the opportunity arose to talk to her tonight.
Thorn had never been to a news station before, so it almost seemed overwhelming when she first saw it as she got out of the van. It was a large brown building with hundreds of windows, at least five different stories, and a large antenna perched at the top of the building. There weren't any news stations in Oakhaven; most of the news stations they got came from Salem.
"What floor are we supposed to go to again?" Dusk inquired. Thorn hadn't noticed it previously, but she saw now that Dusk was wearing the necklace she'd found at the Autumn Fest.
"I don't think she said, come to think of it." Gus looked a bit concerned. His concern quickly abated when a voice called from nearby.
"Excuse me, are you The Hex Girls?" a male's voice inquired.
"Yes, we are!" Thorn chirped.
"Great! Follow me." the man instructed. He was wearing a blue collared shirt and khakis. "Chelsea sent me down here to find you and bring you to the right place for your interview."
"Okay, thank you!" Dusk replied, as she and the others began following the man.
"I'm Jake, by the way." the man introduced.
"Nice to meet you!" Gus responded.
"Likewise. I know you girls are on a tight schedule today with another concert tonight, so I want to assure you the interview shouldn't take more than a half hour." Jake stated. "Anyway, the interview will be right in here."
Thorn looked around in awe of her surroundings. In the room stood the hugest green screen Thorn had ever seen. The green screen currently had a picture of a beautiful sunrise overlooking a city, which the black-haired Hex Girl presumed had to be Milwaukee. There was also a large anchorman's chair in front of this green screen, with three additional seats pulled up adjacent to the anchorman's chair. A large camera was pointed directly at the chairs.
"Hello, girls! You're right on time!" Chelsea said. "Now, your manager and roadies can stand right to the side there, if you want to watch the interview."
"Of course we do!" Bridgit exclaimed.
Thorn had never thought of calling Bridgit, Nia and Sam "roadies" before, but she supposed that was technically their main role on the trip. She had always thought of them more as friends that were along for the ride with them.
"Now, here are the questions I have for you." Chelsea handed the girls a sheet of a few different questions. None of them looked particularly difficult to answer; they all just asked about their process creating the album, the reception to the album, and what they saw their future looking like. Nothing scary.
"These all look great." Luna smiled.
"Yeah, this should be a breeze!" Dusk exclaimed.
"I know you are in a bit of a rush to get to Detroit this morning, so the interview won't last any longer than 15 minutes or so." Chelsea assured.
"That's great! We should be able to make it to Detroit by 4, then." Gus chimed in.
"How are you girls enjoying your stay in Milwaukee so far?" Chelsea inquired.
"We're really liking it." Thorn smiled. She had admittedly not really processed last night's show as deeply as she had the Minneapolis one, since she was otherwise preoccupied with worrying about Bridgit.
"Good, good!" Chelsea smiled. "It's a great city, and I'm so glad I moved here from New York. It still has that big city feel without being overwhelmingly big like NYC."
"How did you end up coming here from New York?" Luna asked. Thorn was admittedly surprised how talkative the redheaded was, as typically Luna was always very shy around people she didn't know, especially lately with the high amount of mental stimulation involved with the concerts. She seemed to be enjoying this, though.
"Well, I was working as an intern for a news station in New York, and I hated it, to be honest. All the journalists had me do is get their coffee and do menial office tasks. I knew I wasn't happy there. So I started looking for jobs, and this one popped up. I knew it would be a bit of a move, but I'm so glad I did it. It was the best decision of my life, and I love that I get to write my own stories now." Chelsea informed.
"That's so cool!" Luna smiled.
"Alright folks, we're on in a minute!" Jake interjected. Apparently, he was the cameraman, though Thorn hadn't realized that until just now.
"We're on in 10, 9, 8." Jake counted down.
"Okay, are you girls ready?" Chelsea inquired.
"7, 6, 5."
All three girls nodded their heads.
"4, 3, 2." Jake finished counting.
"Good morning, Milwaukee. I'm Chelsea Johanson reporting for ABC 12 News. This morning, we've got a local band from Oakhaven, Massachusetts with us…or at least they were a few weeks ago. Now, this local band has become singing sensations across the country after the release of their single "Hex Girl," which is currently #3 on the pop radio chart."
Thorn hadn't realized their song had climbed to #3, but she figured it must have just happened this morning. Gus had so much going on between taking care of all their needs on tour and doing his job remotely, so he probably had forgotten to inform them.
"That single was quickly followed by a surprise debut album, also titled Hex Girl, which is currently at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100. The Hex Girls are Sally McKnight, Jane Belleveau and Kimberly Jameson, better known as Thorn, Luna and Dusk. So tell me, girls, what has been your reaction to the album's chart performance?" Chelsea asked.
"To be honest, we were shocked." Luna was the first to speak, much to Thorn's surprise. "We thought "Hex Girl" was just a fluke, but we're honored that people love our music so much."
"We didn't even think "Hex Girl" would do as well as it did. Just a few months ago, we were an unknown band that no one outside of our town knew about, and now, we're traveling the country." Thorn added.
"And how has it felt to leave your homes and tour the US?" Chelsea added.
"Freaking amazing." Dusk exclaimed. "I couldn't be more happy that people around the country want to hear our music."
"It actually feels really good." Thorn added. "Personally, I was a little worried about being away from home for so long, but it's been cool visiting a different city every night."
"That's so great, girls. It must be an amazing opportunity to meet your new fans from all these different places around the world." Chelsea smiled. "So, clearly your music resonates with your fans. What's your creative process for creating songs?"
"All of us always sit down together and share our ideas, then figure out together how we can make it into a song. All three of us always had input on every song, and there isn't a single song on the album written by anyone else…well, except the covers, I guess." Dusk looked a bit sheepish once she realized the mistake behind her assertion.
"We take inspiration from daily life, and our brainstorming sessions help us develop those ideas into songs that could be relatable to everyone." Luna added.
"Some of these songs were written when we were younger, so it feels really cool to get them out there for the world to hear. In fact, "Hex Girl" was written for our high school music class." Thorn added. She was a bit cautious about sharing anything too personal since the entire city could be watching, but she figured there was no harm in sharing a little tidbit like that.
"Wow! It's incredible that a song you wrote for an assignment has become such a huge hit!" Chelsea looked amazed. "Do any of you have a favorite song on your album?"
"My personal favorite is "Hex Girl," because it's what started this whole career for us." Dusk answered.
"I've always enjoyed "Earth, Wind, Fire and Air" the most. We're all super passionate about the environment, and besides the cover of "A Forest," it's the song where we express that the most." Thorn said.
"I've gotta go with Thorn on this one." Luna said. "We also wrote that song specifically for the Autumn Fest, which is a small little festival in our town that we played for the first time last year, so there's a lot of great memories associated with that song."
"I imagine so." Chelsea smiled, before transitioning to the next question. "Now, my final question for you girls is looking ahead at your career. What do you see for yourselves after this tour?"
All three girls paused for a moment. This tour had felt so big that none of them had really thought that much about what their lives would look like when they returned.
"Well, we're definitely going to start on our second album, but we want to let this one sit for a little while and promote it a bit. Maybe some more TV appearances, more singles, and maybe even another music video." Thorn informed.
"We've also got some merch on the way soon, so keep your eyes out for that!" Dusk added. Thorn didn't necessarily like that Dusk had informed their fans about the merch before they'd even really had a chance to talk about when they were making it in any depth, but she wasn't going to get all bent out of shape about it.
"That sounds wonderful, girls. Well there you have it folks…Thorn, Dusk and Luna…otherwise known as The Hex Girls! Thank you for coming on ABC 12 news this morning, and we'll be back right after these messages." Chelsea said.
"And we're clear!" Jake notified.
"It's a bummer you couldn't have stayed longer and performed, but it was great having you here." Chelsea smiled.
"We've got our instruments out in our tour van, actually. If there's time with the commercial, we can quickly run out and get them, and maybe play a song." Dusk suggested.
"That would be amazing!" Chelsea exclaimed. "You've got three minutes left. Is that enough time to get your instruments?"
"We can grab them for you!" Bridgit said, as she, Nia and Sam quickly scurried down to the tour van after getting the keys from Gus.
"Great!" Thorn exclaimed. "Then we can set up a few mics in here."
"There are a few extra studio mics in the back." Chelsea informed Jake, who ran to grab them.
She was excited to be performing in front of such a large audience, without having them right in front of her. The screaming and cheering of crowds was a bit overwhelming to Thorn, so it was nice to have her music still able to reach such a big audience without the intensity of having thousands of people in front of you.
"Who do voodoo? We do!" The Hex Girls concluded in unison.
"Excellent, excellent! It's been wonderful to have you on the show this morning, girls!" Chelsea exclaimed.
"And we're out!" Jake informed.
"Thank you so much again for having us!" Luna exclaimed. "This was fun!"
"Ready to go, girls?" Bridgit inquired.
"Yeah, we've got a long way to Detroit." Nia brought up.
"We're ready when you are." Thorn said, quickly putting her guitar back into its case.
"Shit!" Dusk exclaimed.
Everyone's eyes quickly shifted over to Dusk to see that she had broken her drumstick in half.
"Damn it." Dusk swore. "I accidentally broke my drumstick because I was rushing. Usually I'm more careful than that, so I don't know how that even could have happened!"
"Don't worry, Dusk. I know a music store in Detroit that we can quickly run to before the concert." Gus assured.
"Okay." Dusk said somberly. The blonde was trying to calm down, but she was clearly still frustrated with herself for making such a foolish mistake.
"Thank you again, Chelsea, for having us on the show." Gus appreciated, as he headed towards the door. "It was fabulous of you to invite us.
"It was my pleasure!" Chelsea exclaimed. "Have a safe trip, girls!"
Bridgit had driven the entire six hours it took to get to Detroit, as Gus had to make a few calls for work. Thorn smiled as she saw the sign which read "Detroit: population 950,000." 950,000 seemed like such a big number to Thorn, compared to less than a thousand people living in Oakhaven. Regardless, the black-haired goth was beginning to enjoy being in a new city every single night. Even if it had taken her a little bit to get used to traveling, it was a lot of fun to get to explore the world.
"Alright, that sounds wonderful. Thank you!" Gus said, as he hung up the phone. "Well girls, I just sent in the order for your merch. They said it should be sent to us in five days, and then you can give them out at the concerts."
"Oh my gosh, I can't believe our faces are going to be on a t-shirt!" Luna gasped. Thorn couldn't quite tell if Luna was excited or skeptical from her tone. However, Dusk's opinion was perfectly illustrated by her respective response.
"That's wicked!" Dusk exclaimed.
"You seemed super talkative today during that interview, Luna." Thorn changed the subject.
"Yeah, I guess I was. I just liked the idea of performing for, and talking to, one person at a time instead of 3,000 fans at once." Luna admitted.
"Seriously?" Dusk challenged. "You'd rather just have one person love your music as compared to 3,000?"
"No…it's not like that." Luna corrected.
"What's it like then?" Dusk inquired.
"I don't know." Luna had a blank look on her face. The tour van remained silent for a moment after that. It was clear that Luna was enjoying the tour less than Thorn and Dusk were. Even Bridgit, Nia and Sam seemed to be enjoying the tour more than Luna did. She supposed it was as Gus said, that it would just take Luna a few more days to adjust to touring life…at least, Thorn hoped that would be the case for Luna's sake.
"Well, here we are, girls: Saint Andrew's Hall." Gus informed, as Bridgit drove up to the venue where they would be performing tonight, and parked the vehicle. The venue was a two-story brick building. Five picture windows provided an overlook onto the street on the second level, and the first level also had two sets of three windows on either side. A large black sign which read "Saint Andrew's" in gold lettering jutted out from the first right window on the first level. The building's entrance looked immaculate, and had a large arch with some sort of Renaissance design carved into the top of it. Two large lamps stood on either side of the two orange front doors, looking as bright as torches.
"It looks beautiful!" Thorn exclaimed.
"Dusk, the music store is just a few blocks away." Gus mentioned. "If the rest of you want to get out here, I'm happy to drive Dusk over to get a new drumstick and then park it in the parking ramp."
"I'd love to go with, if you wouldn't mind." Luna interjected. "I think it would be cool to check out a music store around here. The one in Oakhaven is nice, but it's so small."
"Be my guest." Dusk shrugged.
"Okay, we'll see you later!" Thorn said, as she grabbed her instrument. Nia and Sam respectively took Luna and Dusk's instruments, so they could be all set up by the time Dusk and Luna returned. They had already stopped for dinner at the Roma Café, which was apparently the oldest restaurant in Detroit and had opened in 1890. Thus, they only had about an hour and a half left before the show, and would need to ensure they were set up to start playing right away upon Dusk and Luna's return.
"Bye! Thanks for setting up!" Luna appreciated, as Bridgit got out of the van and Gus drove to the music store.
Thorn had admittedly been worried during dinner as talking with Bridgit loomed closer. The black-haired goth knew she had to do it sooner rather than later, but one part of her was trying to talk herself out of saying anything at all. She didn't want to create an awkward situation.
"Hello, welcome to Saint Andrew's Hall!" a refined man said in a British accent. "My name is Jonathan. You must be The Hex Girls?"
"That's us…well, one of us anyway." Thorn backtracked. "The other two are on their way. Dusk accidentally broke her drumstick this morning, and -"
Jonathan cut her off, telling her that he probably didn't care all that much about the semantics of why not all three girls were there. "Oh, it's quite alright. Right this way. The backstage area is the second door at the end of the hall."
"Thank you very much, sir." Nia politely thanked.
"Woah!" Sam exclaimed. "I think this is the Saint Andrew's Hall that Eminem first performed at!"
"Indeed it was, madam." Jonathan confirmed. "Many other famous artists have performed here - R.E.M., No Doubt, Paul Simon, Nirvana, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Bob Dylan."
"Bob Dylan? That's amazing!" Thorn gasped. She remembered back to their first meeting with Gus, when she saw a Bob Dylan poster in the record studio and wondered what it would be like to be famous like him. Now, she knew. Maybe they still didn't quite have Bob Dylan's level of fame, but the notion that they were performing in the same concert hall felt like a very full-circle moment.
All of a sudden, a man wearing a black shirt and blue jeans began stumbling through the halls in the opposite direction. He looked to be drunk.
"Hey, pretty lady, would you marry me?" he slurred his speech as he talked to Thorn.
Before Thorn could respond, Jonathan spoke up.
"Sir, you'll have to leave, or I will call the authorities and have you thrown in the drunk tank!" Jonathan said, before shifting his attention back to the girls. "I'm sorry about that. It's really best not to pay attention to people like that.
"No worries." Thorn assured. She had seen a number of drunk people like that at Lester's, so she was sadly not surprised by the drunkard's boorish antics.
"Here's the backstage area. If you need anything, I'll be on the second floor." Jonathan said. "Good luck tonight!"
"Thank you." Thorn appreciated. The backstage area was somewhere in between Turner Hall and the Xcel Energy Center: not as big as it was in Minneapolis, but thankfully not as small as Milwaukee's. This backstage area was pretty drab, and basically consisted of a wood floor, a curtain, and a few levers. It didn't look run-down, but the lack of decorations made it seem quite basic. Thorn quickly realized there also was a lack of something else.
"Hey, they didn't give us any microphones." Thorn observed.
"I can go find Jonathan, if you want." Nia offered. "I'm sure he just forgot them."
"That would be great!" Thorn appreciated.
"I can go with. There's nothing else to do in this boring old place." Sam sighed.
"What about helping set up the instruments?" Nia questioned.
"Well, Bridgit's here, isn't she?" Sam pointed out in a joking way.
"It's fine." Bridgit said. "I can set up Dusk and Luna's instruments if Sam wants to be lazy."
"Well as a matter of fact, I do." Sam smirked, as she and Nia departed backstage to find Jonathan.
Thorn didn't feel quite ready to talk to Bridgit yet, but she knew she wasn't going to get any better opportunity than this.
"Umm…hey, Bridgit?" Thorn asked, lots of uncertainty evident in her voice.
"Yeah?" Bridgit chirped.
Thorn had to recompose herself to seem more confident than she actually was. If Bridgit really was an obsessed fan, she didn't want to show any sign of vulnerability. "Why were you in our room yesterday morning?"
"I told you, silly." Bridgit giggled. "I forgot my makeup, so Dusk let me borrow some."
Thorn took a deep breath. Bridgit's obstinance made her want to give up and forget the whole thing, since it would be easier, but Thorn knew she'd keep worrying unless she said something.
"No, you didn't." Thorn challenged. "I talked to Dusk yesterday, and she said that she didn't even know what type of makeup you wore."
"I didn't want to be picky. I was so upset about forgetting my makeup at home that I'd take anything I could get." Bridgit's voice stayed very even-keeled and conversational. She didn't seem nervous at all. "My acne has been pretty bad lately, and I don't want to be traveling around the country with my face looking like it's having a pimple party."
Why did Bridgit have to make this so challenging? Thorn wasn't going to drop the subject until Bridgit stopped lying. "Well, that would make sense, except that Dusk said that you never asked her to borrow her makeup."
Bridgit let out a sigh. "Honestly…I was so embarrassed to have to borrow another girl's makeup that I never said anything. I just went into your room and hoped Dusk would have makeup."
Thorn might have believed her, but she had seen Nia and Sam wearing makeup. It didn't make any sense that she would sneak into their room, if she could have just borrowed it from her best friends with a lot less awkwardness.
"Why didn't you just ask Nia and Sam? They both wear makeup." Thorn questioned.
That's when Bridgit really started blushing. "Okay. You got me. I didn't want to say this, but I actually wasn't borrowing makeup. I forgot to bring my deodorant, and I was so embarrassed I didn't want to tell anyone."
It was clear Bridgit was spiraling. This excuse made even less sense than the last, which confirmed Thorn's suspicions that she wasn't telling the truth. "So your solution was to sneak into our room instead of running to a store and buying it? And couldn't you have borrowed it from Nia and Sam? Or did they forget their deodorant too?"
Bridgit took a deep breath for a moment. "I'm sorry. I really didn't want to tell you this…or anyone this, but…I'm in love with Dusk. I've been exploring my sexuality these past few months, and I feel like I'm smitten with her. I think about her all the time, I wonder what it would be like to kiss her, and…to be honest…I was going in her room to smell her clothes just to see if I actually am into girls."
This was certainly not what Thorn expected. It was so unexpected in fact that it took the black-haired goth a moment to process what had been said. The being in love with Dusk excuse was certainly odd, but Thorn still didn't want to fully buy it. Perhaps if Bridgit had started with that story, Thorn would have believed it, but the fact that it had taken three different lies to get there made the black-haired Hex Girl question it. Thorn wasn't entirely sure if she believed the story, but she figured there would be no harm in continuing to challenge it. Bridgit's track record with lying hadn't exactly been good, and it was beginning to feel like she was just coming up with any excuse she could think of in a frenzied panic. If Bridgit was actually telling the truth this time, she'd defend her story, but if she changed the story again, then Thorn would know it was a lie.
"You're a terrible liar." Thorn finally said. "I know exactly what you are, so don't give me any more bullshit lies."
A metaphorical darkness fell over Bridgit's face, as her cute smile turned into a death glare.
"You have no idea who I am." Bridgit hissed. "I was fine with playing your little game of polite questioning at first, but you're starting to piss me off. So, back the fuck off, bitch."
This caught Thorn completely off guard. For a moment, she almost wanted to listen to Bridgit and simply drop the whole subject out of discomfort, but Thorn knew she couldn't do that, unless she wanted to worry about it for the rest of the tour and beyond. It took some courage, but once again, Thorn finally spoke up.
"Yes, I do know who you are, Bridgit. I've known for a little while now, and it took me a little while to come to terms with it, but I think it's something we need to talk about." Thorn stated, trying to make her voice seem calmer than she felt.
"No, we don't." Bridgit snapped. "Leave me alone, and don't try to understand things that are none of your business."
"It is my business when you're breaking into our room and digging through my friend's stuff without her permission." Thorn began getting defensive. "We need to talk about it. I'm not going to let it go until you do. Whenever we're alone, I'm going to keep bringing it up until you tell me. It may seem harsh, but I'm not going to let my best friends and bandmates be unsafe because of you."
"Talk about it?" Bridgit's face lit up with rage. "Okay, you want me to talk about how Nia, Sam and I are evil witches who've been manipulating your music career all this time, so you'll become world famous?"
Thorn let out a laugh. "Bridgit, there's no need to be drastic. You've helped us a lot with our music career, but you just overstepped a little bit with the digging through our stuff thing. I know that you guys are the type of crazy fans that are obsessed with us, but you just need to tone it down and respect our boundaries, that's all. I would hardly say you're evil witches."
Before Bridgit had a chance to respond, Thorn saw Gus standing at the entrance to the backstage area. The producer stood alone without Dusk or Luna, who the black-haired goth assumed must still be at the music store. Gus looked as if he'd just seen a ghost.
"What's the matter, Gus?" Thorn asked, before quickly realizing he'd probably overheard part of their conversation. It was probably frightening for him to realize his daughter was an obsessed fan who dug through people's stuff. "Gus, it's fine. I'm talking it out with Bridgit and getting her under control."
"No! Don't question them, Thorn!" Gus looked absolutely terrified.
"As I said, you have no idea who we are." Bridgit's face turned from an angry glare to a creepy-looking smirk. She almost looked evil.
"I'm so sorry, Thorn." Gus broke down into tears. "Just please, do whatever they say. They threatened to kill me if I didn't do everything they said, and they'll do the same to you."
"Oh my god!" Thorn's body suddenly broke out in a cold sweat. She felt a lump in her throat, and almost felt like she couldn't breathe. "You'd kill your own father?"
"Of course not. I'd kill Gus though, given he's not my father." Bridgit revealed. "I only pretended he was so it would seem natural that I had a connection to a record executive. Gus did an excellent job playing the part for these past few months, even if it was against his will."
"Wh-what do you mean?" Thorn stuttered in terror.
"You mean you never wondered why a little band from Oakhaven suddenly went from nobodies to world-famous in like two months? You didn't actually think that was real, did you?" Bridgit cruelly laughed.
"I just thought we did a really good job making music people could relate to." Thorn meekly said. Bridgit began cackling in response.
Thorn felt so panicked that her first instinct was to run immediately. But if they'd threatened to kill Gus, they would have no hesitation in killing her. That's when she realized: Bridgit wasn't lying or being dramatic earlier. She, Nia and Sam were actually evil witches who had been manipulating them the whole time.
"What do you want from us?" Thorn asked, sounding completely helpless and terrified compared to her confident demeanor before.
"All I want is for you to keep your mouth shut." Bridgit snapped. "If you tell Dusk and Luna what we are, we will torture you in ways you can't even imagine. Kind of like this."
Suddenly, Gus started coughing and gasping for air, as Bridgit pointed her arm at him with a menacing look on her face. He couldn't breathe!
"Stop! Stop!" Thorn shrieked. "Okay, I won't tell Luna and Dusk."
At that moment, Nia and Sam came backstage. Luna and Dusk weren't anywhere to be found yet, thankfully.
"Well girls, Thorn figured out we're witches and that we've been manipulating things so they become famous." Bridgit said. "Don't worry though, she's going to keep her fucking mouth shut."
"Good." Sam sneered. "We don't need anyone fucking up our plans when we're so close."
"You really ought to be more careful, Bridgit." Nia challenged.
"Oh, shut up, bitch." Bridgit snapped, before spinning around back to Thorn. "Just in case you think about telling Luna and Dusk when we aren't around, you know that guy we saw in the hallway?"
"The one that asked me to marry him?" Thorn nervously answered.
"Yeah. Well he should go fuck himself, because he's probably just horny." Bridgit's evil smile grew bigger as she said each word.
Thorn suddenly got icy goosebumps all over her skin. That was the same exact wording of the thought she'd had in her dream about fame. The dream she hadn't told anyone about. She wasn't exactly sure how these witches had manipulated things, but it was clear they somehow knew the content of her dream. Thorn didn't really want to know if they had somehow manipulated her into having that dream or if they could just read her thoughts, but both options were incredibly terrifying.
Thorn still couldn't believe their fame was just some sort of supernatural manipulation by these witches, and she felt like she couldn't breathe. The thought that made her even more sick was that she had no choice but to completely lie to Dusk and Luna about all this. It was already hard enough having to lie to her two best friends in the world to protect them but what made it even worse was perhaps the most terrifying realization of them all: Bridgit, Nia and Sam had manipulated their entire rise to fame.
None of this was real.