Charlie woke with a grin on her face. She glanced at the clock and sighed happily before getting up to dress. She packed up her stuff and headed out to the guys’ bus for the ride to the next city. She didn’t even know where that city was, and didn’t care, as long as she got to be with Mark.
He boarded the bus a few moments later, his eyes dull and tired, dark circles underneath them. He shook his head, plopping onto the couch next to her.
“What’s wrong?” He leaned his head on her shoulder, sighing.
“I didn’t get any sleep.” She looked down at him, concern reaching her eyes. “I think I’m getting sick.”
“Well,” she said, shrugging his head off her shoulder, “you need to sleep on the way up there, then.” He nodded, covering his yawn with the back of a hand. She smiled, smoothing the wild mess of hair sprouting up from his head. He managed a small smile before standing and heading to a couch at the back of the bus to catch a nap. She sighed, leaning her head back on the couch, closing her eyes.
Scott plopped down next to her, and she opened her eyes, smiling at him. He returned the smile, his blue eyes twinkling at her. She found herself staring into them, mesmerized. After a few minutes, she finally tore her gaze from him, the exhaustion setting in. The bus took off, and soon she was rocked to sleep, the hum of the motor droning.

***

Scottie turned the corner just in time to see Charlie yawn, leaning back against a tree with a cigarette in her hand. He smiled and plopped down next to her. She smiled, resting her head back on the trunk of the tree.
“Rough day?” She nodded slowly, closing her eyes.
“Yeah. Light board shorted at the end of your set, so we had to stay and fix that before we could pack it up,” she said, suppressing another yawn. Scottie nodded, never taking his eyes off her face. Suddenly he stood, pulling her up with him. “Where are you taking me?” she whined.
“C’mon,” he said. “We’re going for a walk. It’ll wake you up.”
“I don’t need to wake up,” she said through another yawn. She blushed, rolling her eyes. “Okay, maybe I do.” They walked down the path slowly, talking.

***

“I don’t know, man,” Mark said, scratching his head. “She’s just seemed a little distant lately. Stapp nodded.
“I’ve noticed that too, but maybe it’s just because she’s gotten more stuff to do, you know, with the lighting and everything. Dave’s got her doing the light board now, I think.” Mark nodded, but something just didn’t seem right to him.
“I don’t know. It’s like she –” he cut himself off with a sigh. “Like she’s not happy or something. I can’t explain it. It just doesn’t seem right.”

***

Scottie stopped suddenly, placing a hand gently on Charlie’s shoulder, stopping her next to him. He placed a finger over his lips and pointed toward a tree, where a white rabbit stood, frozen, staring in their direction. His hand moved down her back, pulling her closer to him. An uneasy feeling grew in her stomach as she felt his warm breath move across her forehead. She looked out of the corner of her eye, seeing him looking down at her. His cologne consumed her senses, making the hair on the back of her neck stand on end. His other hand went to her face, gently pulling on her chin, directing her face toward his.
“Scott, I can’t ---” He silenced her with a gentle shush.
“I’ve wanted you since the moment I saw you,” he said before placing his lips on hers. She tried to fight, but something in her made her timidly respond, neither accepting his kiss nor refusing it. She couldn’t pull herself away. Her uneasiness multiplied.

***

“Maybe she just needs some space,” Stapp suggested gently, walking with Mark down the wooded pathway. Mark stopped suddenly, as did Stapp, when a white rabbit came darting in front of them across the path. Stapp smiled and looked at Mark, but Mark wasn’t watching the rabbit. Stapp followed his gaze, a slight gasp escaping his lips. He looked back to Mark, shocked, and saw Mark’s eyes grow dark, shining with anger. His jaw clenched, the muscles rippling and relaxing in a maddened, sporadic rhythm. “Mark—” Stapp said, his tone quiet and warning. Mark’s face was set, and he started down the path again, his steps growing faster the closer he got. In one quick motion, he grabbed Scottie’s shirt, his right fist making contact with Scottie’s left eye.
“Mark!” Charlie shouted, but it didn’t get to Mark.
“You wanna move in on my girl, then, huh, Phillips?” Mark questioned, smashing Scottie up against a tree. Scottie grimaced, unable to speak, his eye growing darker.  Mark threw another punch, this time making contact with Scottie’s stomach.  Scottie doubled over, a low groan escaping him. He coughed. “What’s that? I couldn’t hear you.” Mark swung again, catching Scottie in the nose, throwing him backward, his head smacking against the tree, the blood beginning to flow from his face. Scottie feebly defended himself, his own fist finding Mark’s mouth, splitting his lip. Mark reeled backward, then lunged forward, tackling Scottie. In a tangle of arms and fists, they rolled on the ground, despite Charlie’s screaming to stop. Stapp finally found his legs and removed them from the horror gluing him in place. He ran toward the fighting men, separating them to the best of his ability.
“C’mon guys,” he begged. “Break it up.” Scottie and Mark finally separated, their wounds getting the better of them. Scottie collapsed against a tree, sliding to the ground, holding his stomach. His face was beaded with sweat, his eyes flashing, and his breath came in quick gasps. Mark, too, was breathing hard, gently touching his split lip, blood trickling from a gash in his forehead and from his mouth. His eyes were dark and dangerous, the anger shining. “Charlie, get Mark cleaned up. I’ll take care of Scottie,” Stapp directed, his own eyes dark and flashing. Charlie tugged on Mark’s arm, dragging him from the scene they had just created.

Charlie avoided Mark’s eyes as she gently cleaned up his face. She reached up, dabbing at the cut on his forehead as he held a tissue to his lip, gently dabbing and looking to see if the bleeding had stopped. He grimaced as the damp cloth made contact with his wound, and she pulled back, quietly apologizing. His breathing was still fast and irregular, his eyes still angry. She reached up again, and he grabbed her wrist roughly. She grimaced, trying to pull away. Their eyes made contact for the first time that night.
“Mind telling me what that was all about?” he asked, his voice low and gravelly. Her eyes strayed from him, and she quickly removed her arm from his grasp, reaching up to his forehead again, sighing.
“He kissed me, and I couldn’t pull away,” she said quietly, placing a bandage on Mark’s head. His facial expression didn’t change, and he kept looking at her, making her uncomfortable.
“Couldn’t pull away?” he pressed.
“You don’t believe me,” she said, becoming angry. He looked away, returning to his dab-look-dab routine with his lip. She pulled the tissue from his hand with a heavy sigh, tending to his lip herself. An awkward silence settled between them as she worked at him, watching the bruises appear.

***

“What the hell were you thinking?” Stapp demanded, mopping up the blood from Scottie’s face. Scottie sighed, avoiding Stapp’s eyes.
“I don’t know.”
“You’ve got a girlfriend, man,” he pressed, handing Scottie a wad of tissue to stop his nosebleed.
“I know.”
“Well,” Stapp said, “did you kiss her or did she kiss you?” Scottie’s eyes fell, and Stapp nodded. “That’s what I thought.” He sighed. “You do know Mark’s gonna give her the third degree about this, right?” Scottie nodded, sliding off the counter of the restroom. Stapp watched him leave, praying Mark had calmed down. He decided he’d better follow, just in case.
On to Part 6