Tortured Love
Chapter 3
By:Kerri Vicious
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Adrienne sat crossed-legged on her couch, eyeing the cordless phone in her grasp. Should she call? Or would it only complicate things for her further? She wanted desperately to spend time with them all, but not if seeing Joel meant dredging up the pain further. She realized then that the damage had already been done. If she had not have gone to Warped she wouldn't be feeling depressed. She'd done so well with moving on until then.
Disgusted at her inability to get over the fact they'd never be more than friends, she punched in the numbers to Joel's cell phone and listened as it rang. They'd all be gone in the morning and she'd already ruined things for herself by seeing them earlier, so why not go through with it and see them for a little while longer? Besides, Melanie would be crushed if Adrienne said no. She sighed, the things she did for her best friend.
On the third ring he finally picked up, greeting her with his typical, “Yo.”
“Joel, it’s me… Adrienne.” She said, “So what’s the plan tonight?”
“I’m so glad you called.” He replied happily, “We’re all trying to figure out now what to do. Since you’re more familiar to the area, maybe you could suggest someplace?”
“Well… that depends on what you guys want to do. There’re a few good bars and a couple of clubs downtown. And then there’s a bowling alley and a few malls scattered around.”
She heard his hand go over the receiver as he was apparently relaying what she had said to him to the guys, everyone’s voices now muffled as they talked it over. After a few minutes, Joel finally got back to her, "What's a good club?"
"Cocobongo is pretty fun, it's also the largest one in the city and isn't too far from the venue where ya'll are..."
"Sounds like a good place." Joel commented, "Will we have the pleasure of seeing you and Melanie there in... say... an hour?"
Adrienne glanced over at Melanie who was leaning against the doorframe that separated the den and kitchen watching her talk on the phone, "Sure, why not?"
"Great, so where is it?"
Adrienne hung up once she had given Joel directions to Cocobongo and stood to get herself ready, both appearance-wise and mentally. "We're meeting them at Cocobongo in about an hour Mel."
Melanie promptly squealed at the news, "Really? Alright! You know, I can't believe you were their merch girl and never told me."
Adrienne shrugged, "A job's a job."
"But still!" Melanie pressed, "That's got to be fun."
"Not really." Adrienne stated flatly, "Sitting in an uncomfortable folding chair behind a table full of band merchandise in the sweltering hot sun isn't very exciting. You don't get to watch any performances."
Melanie dramatically patted Adrienne on her shoulder, "Always the pessimist aren't we?"
"Oh shut up." Adrienne muttered. "I have my reasons you know."
"Like what?" Melanie asked curiously.
Adrienne shook her head, "Never mind, come on let's get ready to go."
"Dre..." Melanie sighed and then decided to drop it for the time being. No need in ruining what could possibly be the greatest night of her life, partying with the likes of Good Charlotte and New Found Glory.
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"Do you see them?" Melanie asked, scanning the dense crowd of dancers for any sign of Benji, Billy, Paul, and Joel as soon as they entered the packed nightclub. Music was blaring from all corners and she had to yell to be heard.
Adrienne shook her head 'no', "What's the hurry? We'll run into them eventually."
"I know..." Melanie acknowledged, "I'm just anxious to see them again, that's all."
"I think I see Paul and Cyrus over at the bar." Adrienne said after spotting them, "Why don't you go join them?"
"Where're you going?" Melanie asked confused.
Adrienne smiled, "Dancing of course. Go! You'll be fine without me. Paul doesn't bite... not sure about Cyrus though." She then laughed and ushered her friend in the boys' general direction before making her way to the center of the floor and in the midst of the crowd of fellow partiers.
Closing her eyes, she could truly lose herself and let the music overrun her senses as it flowed through her like ocean waves. This was where she truly felt centered and in control, every worry or concern in her life simply vanished. The techno being blared through the hidden speakers around the club had a hypnotizing effect on her like that and she reveled in riding the rhythm.
She wasn't at all surprised to feel a pair of masculine hands snaking around her waist to settle on the small of her back while a warm body pressed against the front of hers and matched her movements with perfect accuracy. The question was, who was it? Slowly she opened her eyes to be met by a pair of brown ones.
Adrienne had to laugh internally when she saw who it was. Benji. "You always have a knack for sneaking up on me don't you?" she asked in a teasing tone, having to lean closer to his ear to be heard as they danced.
"It's my specialty." he smirked, "Spotted you out here and saw it unfit to allow a lady to dance alone so I figured I'd join you."
"Ah, but you are forgetting young jedi." Adrienne shot back, "A lady I am not."
"Yes, indeed. The Force is telling me you are really a man." Benji laughed as Adrienne whacked him hard on his arm.
"You know what I mean Benj." Adrienne said, a smile playing on her lips. He nodded and they continued to dance in silence, enjoying the atmosphere the club radiated. After a while she began to get thirsty, her body showing it's first signs of exhaustion though the night was just beginning. Nothing a little alcohol couldn't fix. Tugging Benji by his shirt-sleeve she pulled him closer to her to be heard again, "Buy me a drink?"
Nodding, he led her to the bar where Cyrus was still sitting. Adrienne assumed Melanie was with Paul somewhere. "Bloody Mary, right?" Adrienne nodded, surprised he would still remember her favorite drink.
"Who ya got there Benji?" Cyrus asked.
"I'm Adrienne." she replied, holding a hand out for Cyrus to take, "A friend."
He shook her hand and then smiled a friendly smile, "Oh yeah, you're the girl Chad mentioned meeting earlier today... and that Melanie chic's a friend of yours. I'm Cyrus."
Adrienne nodded, "Yeah, I know. I'm a fan of ya'lls band. Good stuff." Benji handed her her drink and she took it gratefully, guzzling the glassful down quickly. “Thanks Benj.”
“Say, Adrienne.” Cyrus began, “You want to dance?”
Adrienne smiled at him, “Sure!”
They claimed a spot on the floor and began to dance. As she felt the first bit of alcohol for the night beginning to take effect on her, she let herself get lost in the music once more barely noticing that Cyrus had left her several songs later to grab himself another beer. It made no difference though, she easily found other guys to dance with. It seemed when one pulled away another was right there to take over without saying a word.
After bonging several beers between dance partners she was beginning to feel woozy, her senses were heightened and everything going on around her looked more intense and floated around her. She didn't know exactly what she bonged, but she didn't care.
Deciding she wanted to bum another drink from Benji, she started back towards the bar. On her way, she bumped into someone and staggered a moment before continuing on, mumbling an apology to whoever it was.
"Adrienne?" She paused. Had someone just said her name? Turning around, she was met by Chad, "You okay? You look a little tipsy."
"I'm fine." She mumbled.
"You want to go sit down somewhere?" He pressed, "We have a VIP room reserved upstairs if you want to get away from the noise for a second."
Well... her head was starting to pound... "I guess."
"C'mon." he wrapped a hand around her shoulders and lead her through the crowd and up the spiral staircase that led up to the second level. Walking down an almost hidden hallway barely lit by a few neon signs here and there, they approached a bouncer who was blocking a doorway. Recognizing Chad he moved over allowing them entrance.
Walking into the room, she was met by the sight of Joel, Billy, Ian, Jordan,... Tony and Jeremiah of Mest? 'Oh just fucking dandy.' Adrienne thought, 'Joel said nothing about them coming.' She turned to leave the room but the exit was blocked. Sighing, she allowed Chad to lead her over to Billy and she plopped down between Billy and Jordan on a couch, resting her head on Billy's shoulder without a word to anyone.
Billy reached over and squeezed her knee gently, "You alright Addy?"
"Head hurts." she managed to reply.
"I got something that'll help your head." Jeremiah replied, she could sense the smirk on his face just from the sound of his voice.
"Fuck off asshole." Adrienne snapped at him, surprising Chad, Ian and Jordan who didn't expect her sudden outburst. "I don't need any of your shit."
Joel sighed; he didn't need this right now. He came out to have a good time not to witness World War 3. Time obviously does not heal all wounds... realizing that he suddenly felt really guilty, wondering what Adrienne thought of him now. He had to think of some way to separate her and Jeremiah. "Maybe some fresh air would help Adrienne. Want to go outside with me for a minute?"
Grateful for an escape she nodded and stood, waiting on him to lead the way. Taking her by the hand, he lead her out of that room and down the corridor a ways before coming to another door and opening it, allowing her to step out first onto a small balcony surrounded on all sides by a thick metal railing.
Leaning against the railing and staring out at the city lights of downtown Atlanta, Adrienne took a deep breath. It felt good out; a nice cool breeze was blowing which was nice relief from the usual hot summer onslaught. "You said nothing about him coming."
Joel noticed that even though they were in the middle of a large metropolitan area, the stars still shone through... sparkling like diamonds in the sky. It would all seem so magical under different circumstances. He sighed, "You know how tight Benji and Tony are... so I couldn't help but invite him and the rest of the Mest gang along."
"Could've at least warned me." she chided.
"If I had I knew you wouldn't have come." Joel stated.
"Melanie is the only reason I'm putting up with any of this tonight." Adrienne stated simply, "Since when do you care if I'm around or not?"
Joel frowned and decided to change the subject before she got too wound up in her state, "The air helping your headache any?"
"No." Adrienne scowled. "I need a whole freaking bottle of aspirin to cure this one."
"Not in your condition." Joel muttered, raising an eyebrow. "I may have something though... but it's in the bus."
"What'd you come to the club in?"
"Tony's Cadillac..."
Adrienne rolled her eyes, "He's always got to drag that thing around everywhere he goes doesn't he?"
"He's proud of it." Joel laughed and then grew serious again, "Let me get you out of here and get you something for that headache... you don't want to be here anyway. Did you drive tonight?"
Adrienne nodded and handed him her keys, "Let's go..."
They walked as far as the first door where Joel stuck his head into the room to let everyone know they were leaving before continuing on their way down the hallway and back onto the crowded dance floor. Spotting Melanie with Benji and Paul at the bar, Joel led Adrienne in that direction.
"Hey!" Joel called out, getting their attention, "We're calling it a night. Would you guys mind taking Melanie home later? We're taking Addy's car..."
"Go ahead." Benji replied, "We'll take care of her."
"Adrienne, what's wrong?" Melanie asked apprehensively.
Adrienne waved her off with a hand, "Why does everyone keep fawning over me? I just have a headache..." Melanie's brows creased but didn't get to say anything further as Adrienne abruptly turned and walked away towards the exit with Joel right behind her.
After walking through the parking lot and finding her car, they climbed in and were instantly met by the sounds of Brand New blasting from the radio as Joel turned the ignition and cranked it up. Wincing, Adrienne reached over and lowered the volume as Joel pulled out of the parking lot and onto a main road heading back to the grounds where the Warped Tour was held earlier that day.
The ride was an awkward one. No words were exchanged between the two as their minds were occupied with their own thoughts. The only sound that there was was Jesse Lacey’s voice crooning through the speakers. Joel glanced at Adrienne when they reached the gates of the grounds where a security guard was stationed to keep unauthorized people from getting in and keeping tabs on those going out. She looked completely out of it, tracing invisible shapes on the window.
Driving up to the bus and parking, Joel got out and jogged over to the passenger side to help Adrienne out. Opening her door he was met by a scowling Adrienne, "I don't need your help." climbing out of the car she almost lost her footing but recovered by using the car as a prop, "I can manage."
Joel shook his head and grabbed her arm to steady her as they walked to the bus, "You're a mess."
"That hurts, Joel." Adrienne whined, trying to jerk her arm from his hold.
"Adrienne, for God's sake..." Joel said, getting a tad annoyed, "You know damn well I'm not hurting you." He opened the door and let her in ahead of him. She promptly sat on a couch while he disappeared to the back for a moment, returning minutes later with a glass of mineral water and two pills. "Take these," he said, dropping the pills into her open palm and handing her the glass.
She did as told, swallowing huge gulps of the water to get them down. Another long uncomfortable silence ensued between the two as Adrienne let her eyes wander through the once familiar surroundings. The bus was a mess, nothing what where it belonged, and a stagnant musty air hung throughout making it more obvious that they haven't made any effort to clean in a while. Adrienne was surprised she didn't notice any of this earlier, it was nasty.
Joel's gaze was trained on her, wondering what was going through her head and hating the long silences that plagued them. Things used to not be like this. She noticed him staring and gave him an odd look, "What?"
He shook his head, "Nothing, just thinking..."
"Oh, okay."
"Is this my fault?" he asked suddenly, startling Adrienne a bit.
"My headache?" she asked confused.
Joel shook his head, "No... this. Adrienne we used to be able to talk about anything. And now... now you just clam up around me like you don't know how to act."
"...I don't." Adrienne admitted.
"I'm sorry." Joel whispered. "I never meant—"
"I know." Adrienne said, cutting him off, "I know... I've just... had a hard time accepting things." she sighed, pulling her hair loose from the ponytail it was in and ran her fingers though her hair to smooth it out, "I went through this whole day knowing it was a mistake... I should have just stayed home."
"No!" Joel objected, almost yelping, sitting down beside her and taking her hand, "I'm glad you came... and I know the others are too. We missed you... I missed you..."
She gently pulled her hand from his grasp, "I'm tired Joel... can you take me home?"
"Why don't you crash here tonight?"
"I don't know..."
"You can take my bunk." Joel offered, and then reasoned, "I just really don't feel like getting back in the traffic. It's hell here. Besides, I have no way to get back here if I take you home."
"Alright then." Adrienne caved, standing up to find his bunk, "Second one down on the left right?"
When he nodded, she found the bunk and climbed in, closing the privacy curtain after doing so. Lying down and wrapping a blanket around herself, she called out a soft 'good night' to Joel before drifting off to sleep.
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She awoke the next morning a little disoriented about her surroundings. But slowly as the voices carrying on a conversation back and forth not far from where she lay sounded more and more familiar, she realized she had stayed the night in Good Charlotte's tour bus. Forgetting there was little to no head room in the tiny bunk, she hit her head when attempting to sit up. "Owww..." she mumbled sleepily, climbing out of the bunk rubbing her forehead.
"You okay there, Adrienne?" a concerned Paul asked.
"Peachy." she muttered.
"Poor baby," Paul sympathized, pulling her into a hug, "I would ask how's you head but from the looks of things it's still having issues."
"Yeah." Adrienne answered, hugging him back, "Thanks for caring, Paul."
There was a knock on the bus door and Benji who had been previously lounging on the couch up front, hidden from Adrienne's view, stood to open it. Melanie bounced inside in front of Billy, both were carrying suitcases. "We're back!" Melanie announced rather loudly.
"What's going on?" Adrienne asked as Melanie slipped past her and shoved the suitcase she was carrying into a hidden compartment, "Why're ya'll carrying suitcases? And... hey, isn't that one" she pointed to the floral bag in Billy's hands, "mine?"
"Uh huh!" Melanie half-squealed.
Adrienne stared at her friend blankly, "And what is it doing here, pray tell?"
"Well," Melanie said, dragging out the 'Ls' at the end, "Billy and I decided that we were going to help with the merchandise for the remainder of the tour."
"We as in you and Billy?" Adrienne blinked, still not putting two and two together, "But Billy has to perform..." Benji started laughing at Adrienne, one could tell she was still half asleep.
"No." Melanie corrected, "Me and you!"
If anything, that woke her up, "What?! Are you out of your god damn mind!?"
Billy pulled her aside, wearing a pout resembling that of an adorable puppy, "C'mon Adrienne it'll be just like old times."
"I won't just drop everything and do this!" Adrienne exclaimed, "I have college, Billy! And an apartment to keep making payments on."
"We'd pay ya." Joel tossed in, appearing suddenly from the back.
"I can't ask you guys to do that." Adrienne reasoned, "You shouldn't get paid for helping out friends."
"Well, then think of it as a really big favor." Paul suggested.
"Guys..." Adrienne sighed, "I can't. Sorry..."
"We need to be heading out soon..." Benji informed everyone, "Everyone else's ready to go."
Adrienne took her bag from Billy, "Ya'll had better go, don't want to be left behind do ya?"
"I wish you'd reconsider Addy." Billy replied sadly.
"Aw... Billers..." she answered, giving him a hug, "Maybe next summer?" She gave each of the others a hug in turn and told them all bye before reaching the door to leave, the last being Benji to whom she was grateful for not trying to put any pressure on her to go with them. Before walking out the open doorway, Adrienne called out to her friend, "Keep the guys in line, Mel."
"I'll try." she heard Melanie respond before shutting the bus door behind her. Climbing into her car and tossing her suitcase into the back, she glanced at the bus in her review mirror one last time as she speed off.
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AN: To be continued in chapter 4... review? Please?