Chapter 21 – Under the Bridge
The music was loud, reverberating from the metal walls of the warehouse, almost shaking its foundations. The stage was all the way at the back wall and they had to push their way to the stage through the lively crowd. Harry held on to her hand, as if not wanting to loose her, while he lead the way, his tall, powerful body easily parting the mass ahead. The strong grip of his hand on hers made Nelly feel safe and protected, warm from inside out.
When they finally stopped, about half way down to the stage, and RHCP opened with Give It Away, the frantic energy around them was unbelievable. Nelly had never been to a concert before. The mass of bodies around them moving to the music as one – it made her feel like she was being carried by a current of an ocean, swept up in its chaos and frenzy. It reminded her of the cheering crowd at a football game, but this was totally different. Here, people didn't just watch, passive witnesses to the action on the field - here, everyone was part of the action, everyone lived the music with the band. It was an incredible experience. Soon, body-surfing began: boys jumping off the stage, their backs turned to the crowd behind them, hands outstretched. They looked like they would take a dive and start flying, but instead, they were carried forward, above everyone's heads, by dozens of hands underneath. It was an amazing phenomenon, unlike anything Nelly had ever witnessed, this complete trust granted to strangers.
"Man, I wanna try that!" yelled Jax over the roar, his eyes glistening mischievously and Harry replied with an equally eager grin. "But first thing's first."
Jax pulled out a spliff and lit it up. It was unexpected. Nelly remembered him making fun of the pot-heads in their high-school, but she also noticed the dark downward spiral he was sucked into after his dad's death, the drinking and drugs that came with it. Jax was escaping often, no longer interested in things he loved to do, like playing football and fixing his Mustang or working on bikes.
Tara gave him a look, "Come on, Jax, what's with a gateway drug?" but when Jax offered it to her, she took a drag and then passed it to Harry. He said nothing and took a puff too. Nelly refused, already choking on the fumes around them.
Before the spliff was finished, a couple of good-looking guys bumped into Tara and started hitting on her. And Tara, being Tara, of course was happy to comply. Nelly wondered why she enjoyed pushing Jax's buttons so much. The blonde guy's possessive instincts kicked in as soon as he saw them. He shoved the guy closer to Tara and told them to get lost. They grumbled, but walked away, threatening to get him back.
"You're not the boss of me, Jax Teller!" Tara screamed at him and stomped on his foot.
It was easy to see the pain in Jax's eyes, "You're my girl and I was protecting you!"
"Did it look like I needed protection? They were harmless!"
Nelly could feel Harry tensing next to her.
"Come on, guys, you really want to do this now?" He said to both of them, then turned to Jax, "You need to cool off."
"Yeah, come on. I need to score some weed, anyway."
Jax stomped off, angry, and it was obvious that Harry felt compelled to follow. Nel could see the hesitation in Harry's eyes as he told her, "I better go with him, watch his back. We'll meet you back here. Are you going to be OK?"
Nel gave him a weak smile and nodded. Harry was right to go with Jax, but this was not turning out the way she hopped.
Instead of enjoying herself, Nelly had spent the rest of the concert looking out for Harry and Jax, while Tara partied away. The music stopped, but there was still no sight of the the boys. The warehouse was emptying out and Tara was furious, "Jax Teller will be lucky if I ever speak to him again."
"Maybe it's just taking time for them to get back here." Nelly looked around, searching for their friends in the thinning crowd. She wasn't sure about Jax, but she was sure Harry would keep his word. Anxiety tickled her spine, making fine hair on the back of her neck raise. "Something must have happened. Harry said he'd come back here."
"Of course he did." Tara let out an angry huff, and added, "Well, I'm done waiting. Are you coming with me or waiting for them to show up?"
Nelly, thought about it for a moment, hoping they'd run into them on their way out. Feeling worried, she gave in, "Fine, let's go."
"Now we need to figure out a way to get home."
+0+
They went straight to Jax's car, hoping the boys would be waiting there. Tara might have had the bravado going, but her eyes kept searching the emptying parking lot as much as Nelly's. They didn't find Jax or Harry, but Nelly noticed two SAMCRO kuttes heading for their bikes. She would rather rely on the devil she knew than complete strangers.
She pointed them out to Tara, "We should catch up to them, see if they can help us out."
"Better than calling the 'rents," agreed Tara, as they headed in the bikers' direction.
Nelly noticed that the two were newly patched Sons in their late twenties, the reapers on their backs clean and fresh.
The girls caught up to them at their bikes, and as usual, Tara took the lead.
"Hey guys," she put on a confident smile, but Nelly saw the strained anxiety behind it. "Feel like helping out two Charming girls ditched by their boyfriends?"
Internally, Nelly felt awkward about the term "boyfriend", but didn't bother to correct her.
"What? Who'd be idiot enough to leave the likes of you?" The taller one, with two Joker-like scars on his face, asked in a thick accent. The way he pronounced "eejit" made Nelly think of her favourite Irish movie, The Commitments. His crooked smile and a mischievous glint in his eye almost made up for the scars.
"Two morons called Jax Teller and Harry Winston." Tara used the names like a secret password. A glance of recognition passed between the two bikers.
"Morons indeed." The other one confirmed while he took in the girls from their heads to their toes. He had a large, hooked nose that belonged on the Wicked Witch of the West and beady, cruel eyes. Between the two of them, Nelly definitely liked the tall foreigner better. "I'm Tig, and this ugly bastard is Chibs."
"I'm Jax's girlfriend, Tara. And this is our friend, Nelly." Her dark-haired friend made the introductions.
"We'd be honoured to assist," the one called Chibs gave a little bow.
"And then whup their asses," added Tig.
"Oh, I've got dibs on the ass-whupping." Tara hissed, which made the bikers burst with laughter.
"Spunky. I like that." Said Tig, as he handed Tara his helmet. "You, sweetie, are riding with me."
"I guess you're stuck with me then, lovey." Chibs flashed his smile at Nelly.
"Maybe it's for the better." Nelly whispered to herself, as she followed the man to his bike. They were about to climb on when, in an afterthought, he asked, "Have you ridden before?"
Nelly took a big breath and decided to tell the truth. "No, never." She always thought it would be Harry taking her for that first bike ride.
"Ah, a bike virgin." The man winked at her, but somehow didn't make it sound dirty. "Right then, this beast may look fast and dangerous, but she's as steady as an ox. You get on behind me, lock your arms around my waist, and just hold on. If there's a problem, yell. And be glad you're wearing trousers."
"Ok." Nelly took another shaky breath, her face blanching as she fumbled with the helmet buckle. Chibs reached out and gently pushed her hands away, closing it with ease.
"It'll be all right." He reassured her quietly with a warm smile and confident eye. She wasn't sure if he was talking about her missing friends or the bike ride, still she found it comforting. Within moments Nelly was sitting behind him, her face pressed to the reaper patch, and they were off.
They pulled into the Teller-Morrow garage parking lot in the dead of night, but the club was far from being deserted. A few bikes were parked up front, the lights were on in the bar, and the sounds of Creedence were drifting on the cool winter's night air. The girls got off the bikes and thanked the guys who brought them there.
"So, love, how are you getting home?" Chibs asked Nelly, his fingers lingering on hers as she handed back the helmet. Nelly found it creepy and thrilling at the same time.
"Tara will give me a lift."
"Two pretty, fresh things like you shouldn't be out alone at night." Tig leered at Tara. "We'll take you home."
"I think we should tell someone about Jax and Harry." Nelly said, looking for support in Tara and Chibs.
"They'll be fine, probably caught some tail at the concert." Tig laughed, but Chibs punched him in the ribs and shut him up.
"They may be fine, or they may not be." Chibs replied cryptically. He thought about it, as he studied Nelly's face. "Let's talk to Bobby."
"Speak of the devil," Said Tig and gestured with his head to a short, portly man with a wild mane of hair and a bushy beard, who was barrelling towards them.
Before he even acknowledged the girls, he positioned himself protectively in front of them and growled at the men, "Knock it off, Romeos, these girls go to school with Jax and Harry."
"Yeah, we know," said Chibs as he smiled at Nelly, a little naughty, a little too familiar.
"Hasn't stopped me before." Tig took a step towards Tara, as she cringed in disgust, but was pushed back by Bobby.
The stubby guy turned to the girls and smiled, "Tara and Nelly, right? I remember you two from the funeral. I'm Bobby."
The girls nodded and said hello.
"Don't pay any attention to them," he stuck his thumb at the guys behind him, "These hounds are all bark and no bite."
"Oh, I'd love to bite, believe me." Tig wouldn't give up.
"Listen, Bobby," Chibs cut in, "The reason we brought them here is 'cause Jax and Harry disappeared on them at the concert. Lucky we happened to be there."
"What do you mean, disappeared?"
"Well, we got here together, but then Jax and I had a fight, and then the guys went off looking for weed and didn't come back." Tara shrugged.
"Maybe it was an honest mistake and you guys just missed each other?" Bobby asked, studying the girls' faces.
"Maybe, but I don't think they'd take off like that." Nelly shook her head. She was sure that even if Jax was pissed off with Tara, both boys were too responsible to leave them to their own devices so far from home.
"OK, listen, I'm sure Gemma's still up. Why won't you go over to her house and she'll figure out what to do? I'll give her a call, tell her you're on your way. You're good with that?"
It sounded like a reasonable idea, and with quick goodbyes, Nelly and Tara headed for the Impala. As the were walking away, they heard Bobby scolding the guys "Which part of under-age don't you understand, morons?"
"Oh, but they were lovely, Bobby." Nelly heard Chibs' drawl.
"And ripe for picking." Tig added lewdly.
"They are kids!" Said Bobby gruffly. "Stay the hell away or I'll break your heads in."
+0+
"Creepy old bastards," said Tara once they got into the car. She shrugged her shoulders in disgust.
"They're not that old." Nelly replied, grateful for Chib's intervention and totally irritated by Tara's lack of concern for Jax and Harry.
"Still, too old. Like they'd ever have a chance in hell. Just wait till I tell Jax. If his mom finds out, she'll get them skinned."
"So you are going to talk to him again?"
"Jackson Teller is a rat bastard!" Tara said fiercely. Nelly could almost see the steam coming out of her ears. "I should have stayed away from him, fucking macho biker."
"What happened to 'they might be biker kids, but they are good guys'?" Nel felt betrayed as she reminded Tara of what she told her at the fair.
"Jax may be a catch and I'd be a fool to let him loose now, but it's not like I'm planning to be with him for the rest of my life." Tara scoffed. "I won't be around long enough for the kutte and the patch."
"Then why are you with him? You know how serious he is about the M.C." Nel asked earnestly. She cared for them both and didn't want to see their relationship fizzle out in anger.
"For the same reasons you've been keeping Harry at arm's length," Tara zeroed in on the painful truth, "Bad boy fantasy. Chivalry is not dead, it's just transformed into a knight in leather armour on a steel horse. As much as you're trying to deny it, Nel, you are falling for it too. You are sharp enough to know that the M.C. is as much part of Harry as it is of Jax. If you wanted to stay away from the club, you should have stayed the hell away from him too. But you can't, can you?"
Nelly didn't respond as she seethed, shocked into silence by Tara's outspoken rant.
"If you wanna be an old lady when you grow up, then be my guest. You've got your biker boyfriend covered." Tara gave a big sigh, her voice softer as she continued, "Sure, I love being around Jax, but I've got a plan, Nelly. And it doesn't include Charming or SAMCRO."
They drove the rest of the way to Mrs. Teller's house in silence. By the time Gemma opened the door in her bathrobe, Tara was back to her love-sick self and Nelly was anxious to find Harry. The girls explained the situation and Gemma lit up a cigarette as she listened, another as she thought about what to do. And that was when the phone rang. Nelly and Tara only heard one side of the conversation, but it was clear that the call was from Jax, that Harry was in trouble, and that Mr. Winston and Gemma needed to get to Mercy General Hospital in Sacramento on the double. She hanged up the phone and gave the girls a choice of either going home or coming with her. Then, while she changed into a pair of jeans and a black, leather jacket, Tara called her mom and Nelly called her aunt to let them know why they'd be away for the rest of the night. There was no way of contacting Piney, but Gemma asked Clay to find him. Nelly and Tara didn't hesitate as they rushed after Gemma and climbed into the back seat of her boat of a Caddie.