CHAPTER 3: CLAIRE: After that night's show and signing, I went to talk to Ben before we got back on the road. I noticed Abbi watching us, but I didn't really care. It wasn't like we were going to screw right there on the asphalt. Danny and I still weren't on speaking terms, but he and Abbi seemed to have a lot to talk about. Good for them. Because I was seriously sick of all this shit. Danny. Abbi. The drama. If it weren't for the sake of the band, I would have left already. "Ben, can we talk?" I asked him. He was leaning against a building, smoking a cigarette. "As long as you don't mind being watched," Ben replied, glancing across the stretch of pavement to where Abbi and Danny were standing, their eyes on us. I rolled my eyes. "I don't give a shit about them right now." I lowered my voice. "What are we going to do about her? If something doesn't give soon, I'm not sure I want to be a part of Asking anymore." "I know what you mean. She watches me constantly, always making smart-ass comments." Ben looked me in the eyes. "What about you and Danny?" "What about us? We aren't speaking. It's like Abbi is his girlfriend, instead of me." "To be fair, you stopped talking to him." "To be fair, he brought that—" I pointed back to Abbi. "on tour with us." "True. So what do you plan to do about them?" Ben dropped the remainder of his cigarette on the ground and stepped on it. "I plan to do exactly what they are accusing me of," Ben cocked an eyebrow. "If you don't mind helping me, of course. You'll probably lose Danny as a friend." "I think we've both already lost Danny." "So you're in?" "Hell yeah." A few hours later, I asked Danny if I could speak with him alone. I almost thought he'd refuse; he and Abbi had been attached at the hip as of late. Surprisingly, he agreed and led me to the back room, which was now empty. It was pretty late, almost two in the morning. Everyone else was either asleep or hanging out in their bunks. I closed the door and sat down on the couch; Danny sat in a chair across from me. He seemed pretty comfortable. I wondered if he knew what was coming. "Danny, I think we need to break up," I said. "Abbi told me you were going to do this," he replied. Abbi, Abbi, Abbi. Fuck. I stood up; Danny stood, too. "Oh, did she? Well, did she tell you that Ben and I are together?" Danny didn't look as if he had been expecting that. At least not so soon. "You're dating my best friend now?" "Yes. At least Ben cares about me. He doesn't go out and get drunk every damn night. He doesn't do fucking drugs and bring random groupies on tour with us just because he's mad at me!" "I brought Abbi because I wanted to make you jealous! I thought maybe you'd realize that what was going on with you and Ben wasn't right!" "Whatever. You brought her with us because you thought I was fucking Ben. And I wasn't. But I can assure you, I can't wait to do exactly what you two idiots have accused us of." "Where the fuck is Ben now? He sure as hell isn't in here with you," Danny yelled. He opened the door and called for Abbi and Ben to come where we were. A few seconds later, the door was closed again and the room was twice as full. Danny turned to Ben, who had come to stand beside me. "Is that how you're going to treat your best fucking friend?" "Danny, you did this," Ben told him, not wavering. "Danny didn't do anything," Abbi interjected. "It was the two of you." "Why don't you just shut up?" I said. "You've done enough already." Abbi scoffed. "All I did was bring what you two were doing to Danny's attention. He already had his suspicions." "No, you put shit in his head," I swear, I was going to smack the hell out of her. "Ben and I weren't doing anything." "Sure, you weren't." "Can you guys keep it down!" James called. "Some of us are trying to sleep!" Ben sighed. "We can talk about this tomorrow." He took my hand and led me to his bunk. I gladly climbed in beside him. JAMES: What the fuck? CLAIRE: The next morning, Danny called a 'band meeting' in the back room. He and Abbi were holding hands, which I had already known was coming. Ben and I sat on the couch together, his arm around me. James was beside Ben and Sam was on the arm of the couch. Danny and Abbi remained standing. What was this about? Abbi looked extra slutty today, wearing a skimpy tank-top and cut-off shorts that I was sure showed a lot more than I wanted to see when she bent over. Ew. "Guys, I have an issue we need to address," Danny said. He pointed to Ben and I. "As I'm sure you've heard, Sam and James, Ben and Claire are together now." "Yeah, so?" Sam said. "You and Abbi are together. What's that go to do with us?" "We don't think Claire should be in the band anymore," Abbi said with a smile. I stood up, Ben standing and holding my arm. Probably to make sure I didn't do something I would regret. But pummeling Abbi wouldn't be something to make me remorseful. "Woah, wait. We?" I said. "Last I checked, you weren't a part of this band, Abbi." "She has a point," James said. He and Sam were now standing, too. "You're just some groupie. Danny will grow tired of you and throw you away, just like he's done a thousand times to a thousand different girls." Abbi had a smug expression on her face. Danny spoke up, "Think about it guys," he turned to James and Sam. "Claire is causing a lot of trouble. She slept with Ben while we were together." "No I didn't!" But Danny continued on as if I hadn't spoken. "That stunt could have broken up the band altogether. I say we terminate the problem and get back on track," Danny finished. "Okay, so Abbi comes along and tells you that Ben and I have a thing," I said. "and you believe her and say I'm ruining the band. Well, how about the fact that sometimes you're so fucked up, you can't even perform?" "Another point," said James. "Besides, we're in the middle of a tour. Who's going to take my place?" I asked. Abbi raised her hand and said, "I am." That was it for me. I jerked my arm free of Ben and punched Abbi square in the face. She didn't miss a beat; she clawed at me, scratching me on my right cheek. I had her by the throat, honestly trying to kill her, by the time the guys broke us up. "Well, clearly, one of you has to go," Sam said. "I can't say that I'd be able to choose Abbi over Claire. Claire has been here since the beginning." Ben was inspecting my cheek. He said almost absently, "And if Claire goes, I go." "James?" Danny said. He sounded less sure of himself than he had originally. "Ah, fuck," said James. "Dammit. I agree with Danny." So much for a vote. It was three-to-three. How were they going to settle it now. The whole band was at odds. With a show only a few hours away, they needed to figure this out quick. "Fine. Abbi knows all the songs," Danny said. "I say we let her play tonight's show and see how she does." "I'm game for that," Sam said. James said, "Me too." "Fine," I said. "Why didn't you play the show?" We were at the signing; I had made it clear that Abbi was not taking my place for this. These were fans that I had been connecting with for years. She wasn't just going to swoop in and take everything from me. Right now, there was a group of fans around me; I was signing autographs. It had been a boy with bright blue eyes and green hair who had asked the question. "It's complicated," I replied. "You guys aren't going to break up, are you?" Another fan asked, a girl with white hair and a nose ring. "I'm not going to lie to you guys: things are definitely up in the air right now," I told them. "But whatever happens with Asking, I love all of you guys and I know this won't be the end of me." I smiled. They smiled, too, but I could tell the idea of the band breaking up was something they did not like. Ben came up behind me, wrapping his arm around my waist. He whispered, "Danny is telling fans that Abbi is replacing you." "Wait, so are you guys together now?" the boy with green hair asked, motioning to Ben and I. "Yeah," I said and walked away toward where Danny was standing. Abbi was with him, of course. They were surrounded by fans; Abbi was even signing autographs, a big grin on her face. This was ridiculous. "Why the hell are you telling these people that she is replacing me?" I asked Danny. Everyone looked from me to him. My face was hurting from where that bitch had scratched me—and I was willing to bet her black eye and the bruises on her neck weren't too comfortable, either—and I just wanted to scream. "Because she is," Danny replied smugly. "I already talked to Sam and James." I felt the whole world fall away from me. I couldn't believe this was happening. Before I passed out or killed someone, I went to the bus and started packing my things. Ben came on a few minutes later and wrapped his arms around me. I started sobbing and sank down onto the floor, dragging Ben with me. After what felt like forever, but could only have been a few minutes, I looked up at Ben. "You have to stay," I said. I didn't want Ben to lose everything, too. I cared about him. And him leaving just because I had to...it wasn't fair. "I don't want to stay if you're not here," Ben replied, wiping a tear from my face. "They've all gone crazy." He smiled a little. "Danny hates me; Abbi hates me. I don't know what's wrong with James and Sam." I kissed him lightly. "I don't want you to lose everything because of me." "Don't you understand? You are my everything. You may have just noticed me," Ben laughed. "but I've loved you for a while." I felt myself start to tear up again and decided to put that anger and sadness and passion into something worth it. I put my hands on either side of his face and brought his lips down on mine. He pulled me to him, so close I thought we were going to meld into one. Ben pulled away and helped me to my feet. "Let's get out of here," he said with a grin.