The tour was starting in Los Angeles and ending in Seattle. I had no clue where we were going to be along the middle of the tour, but I didn’t need to know. Someone would tell me where I was before I hopped onstage.
We were taking a private plane down to L.A., which I was thankful for; riding commercial sucked ass. The limo dropped us off right next to the jet. Anna and I were the last to arrive, but everyone else was still milling about outside, killing time before the flight. Matt spotted me stepping out of the limo, and immediately started heading for the plane. Whatever. I was content to let him sulk, since I was still sort of sulking about him treating me like a subpar member of this band. Anna didn’t want to let it linger though. Grabbing my elbow, she told me, “Go talk to him. Please.”
I rolled my eyes, but I couldn’t refuse her; she’d won the negotiation last night before we’d hit the sack. According to our rules, I had to at least attempt to make it up to Matt.
He was quickly speeding away from me, but I got to him when he was on the first step of the stairs leading up to the plane. “Hey, man,” I said, grabbing his elbow. “Wait up.”
With an irritated scowl, he looked back at me. “I think it’s best if we just avoid each other for a while, okay?”
I let out an annoyed grunt. “Dude, it’s not like I did that on purpose. How was I supposed to know the proposal was going to go down like that, huh? Maybe if you’d shared your little painting plan with the class…”
Matt’s pale eyes narrowed to cold slits. “I did,” he seethed through clenched teeth. “More than once.”
Thinking back through all the conversations Matt and I had had recently, I shook my head. “No, you didn’t. I would remember.” Probably. Maybe.
Stepping off the stairs, Matt made a lunge for me. I managed to back away in time, but his arms were extended like a zombie hunting his prey, and his fingers curled and uncurled like he was mentally choking the life from me. It was kind of creepy. Before Matt could actually throttle me, Kellan stepped between us with his arms outstretched.
“Whoa! Let’s not do anything stupid here,” he said, looking between Matt and me.
Matt shifted his angry eyes to Kellan. “He ruined my engagement, Kell. Let me choke him. Just until he passes out. We’ll all be thankful for the quiet flight, trust me.”
Kellan sighed while I raised my chin in indignation. Asshole. Damn Anna for making this such a big deal. Why the hell couldn’t Matt and I just ignore each other for a while? A long while. Self-righteous fucker was still on my shit list.
“He didn’t ruin anything, Matt,” Kellan calmly replied. “Rachel said yes, and that’s really all that matters, right?”
Matt rolled his eyes but grudgingly nodded. “Yeah. I guess.”
Kellan patted his shoulder. “Good. Then how about we let this go so we can get through this tour in one piece?” That made me scoff. Letting it go was Kellan’s answer to everything. Well some of us aren’t as saintly as you, Kyle. Some of us have grudges that aren’t so easily released.
Matt glared at me once more, murmured, “Fine,” then disappeared into the plane.
Kellan let Matt disappear, but when I started to follow him, he put a hand on my chest. “Maybe you should give him a minute.”
Crossing my arms over my chest, I locked eyes with Kellan. “Why is everyone so bent out of shape about this? It’s not like I embarrassed anyone but myself last night, and I really don’t care if people saw my junk.”
Kellan frowned as he shook his head. “That’s what you don’t get. What you do affects more than just you. It touches everyone you’re connected to. Try and remember that, okay?”
He patted my shoulder and walked over to Kiera and Ryder. With a scowl on my face, I watched him leave. I was aware of other people. Even though everyone treated me like I was a complete moron, I wasn’t. Last night was an honest mistake, a mistake that any one of them could have made. It wasn’t like I was intentionally trying to hurt the band. Not like they were by keeping me tied down. Jerkwads.
Kellan and Kiera were helping Anna with Gibson, so I hopped onto the plane to sulk in peace. Matt was in the very back, staring out the window. Ignoring him, I took a spot by the front. Kellan was probably right about space, but I was the one who wanted it. Fuckers were always picking on me, holding me to a standard that was almost impossible to maintain. Couldn’t they just accept me for the person I was, instead of trying to force me to be someone they wanted me to be? Isn’t that what friends were supposed to do?
The plane was a ten-seater, with more than enough space for everyone. It was swanky too, with leather captain’s chairs, tables, a kitchen area, and an almost full-sized bathroom. Anna and Gibson sat at a table across from me, while Kiera and Ryder sat at the next table with Kellan and Evan. Matt remained alone in the back. That guy could sulk even better than I could. Maybe it was in our genes.
Evan ignored me for the first third of the flight, then he finally started talking to me. Or at me. “Jenny is really upset over what happened at the gallery, and frankly…I am too. What were you thinking?” he asked, his eyes dark and soulful.
Tired of talking about last night, I shook my head. “I was horny. I didn’t know the curtain was coming down. I fucked up, and I’m sorry. Okay?”
Evan thought about it for a minute, then nodded and shrugged. “Yeah, okay.”
His acceptance made me smile. If only Matt would snap out of it as quickly. But I’d ruined his plans, and Matt hated ruined plans. I’d just have to wait out his pissiness. Easier said than done. He was always getting riled up over something.