Encore (The Black Eagles Series Book 2) (13 page)

              Megan reassured her it was fine. ‘Do you want to talk about it. A boy’s the reason you’re upset? At least tell me your name.’

              ‘Jade. And you could say it’s a boy. I’m just a stupid idiot. Anyway, thanks for trying to help. I’m fine.’ She picked up her rucksack and threw it onto her shoulder. ‘It was really nice to meet you,’ she said as she walked away. Despite wanting to stay and talk to Megan, she was embarrassed by her rudeness. She wanted to go home and never go to another festival. This was her first and today had made her think it might be her last.

              Megan looked down at a bit of paper, left where Jade had been sitting sobbing just minutes before. The poster caught her eye, and the black wristband next to it. The poster had been ripped into several pieces, and so had the wristband. The poster was that of Aiden Bailey, and the wristband was Death Wishes merchandise. The way the two things were damaged had been done in rage, and taking into account the sobbing girl, it seemed likely they were connected.

              ‘Oh, Aiden, you’d better not have,’ Megan whispered to herself, and decided to follow Jade. The girl hadn’t got very far and was trying her phone in search of her friends. ‘Jade,’ Megan called as she tried to catch up to her. ‘Wait!’

******

‘This guy is unbelievable,’ Luke hissed in Cassie’s ear. He had sat watching Nathan flirt with Allie, and leer at Jo-Jo at the same time. Cassie was right. The guy couldn’t take his eyes of his friend’s girlfriend. He also felt bad for Allie as she was being completely played. He held his tongue, for now anyway. Tom and Jo-Jo were together after weeks of being apart and were oblivious to it. He had enough to worry about, preparing for their set, and he needed to be focused. Getting into a fight beforehand wouldn’t be smart after, maybe.

              ‘So I’m not imagining it?’ Cassie whispered back.

              ‘I’ve been watching him all afternoon. He’s all but licked his lips when Jo-Jo’s near him. Nah, this guy is a player. He’s after Jo-Jo, no doubt about it.’ He caught Dale’s eye and nodded in Nathan’s direction, then sent a text to his best mate telling him ‘Watch this prick. Eye’s on Jo…’ Several coded messages were exchanged in a way only the boys would understand and unbeknown to Nathan he was now public enemy number one. Only Tom was out of the loop, for now. Toby was on edge anyway, waiting for Megan to come back from her mission. She’d sent him some cryptic messages about helping some girl find her friends. The warm air was cooling down as the breeze swept around the group. Kasabian were tearing up on the main stage and they could feel the vibes in the air as the roar of the crowd filtered around the festival.

              Toby joined them and leaned into Luke. ‘If he doesn’t disappear in a minute, trouble will erupt,’ he whispered and banged his beer bottle on the table.

              ‘Easy, big man. If anyone should be dealing with this, it’s Tom. Let’s just chill for now.’

              ‘I’ll do my very best. He’s winding me up. He’s pretty annoying in general, and this ain’t helping.’

              Luke agreed that it was leering at its fullest. He was surprised Tom hadn’t noticed, or maybe he had and was biding his time. It was possible. Tom was smart and didn’t miss much. Dale looked over at Luke and rolled his eyes. Nathan was talking constantly and Allie was laughing at every joke he made, and suddenly her being happy was sickening.

              Cassie counted to ten more than once in her head. Summer looked embarrassed and Cassie without thinking put her hand on her knee. ‘It’s OK, I’m not mad with you.’

              Summer put her hand on top of Cassie’s and squeezed it softly. ‘He’s just a bit immature,’ she said automatically. She’d spent years defending his behaviour that it was just a natural reaction. She knew Nathan all too well and it hadn’t gone unnoticed by her.              

              The early evening then took a turn for the worse. Nathan leaned forward, pulling a plastic bag from his pocket. The white powder inside was like a light to a moth for Luke. ‘Who wants some?’ Nathan asked, waving the bag in front of him.

              Summer jumped to her feet. ‘Nathan, Jesus Christ!’ If the floor could have opened up and swallowed her, it would have been welcomed.

              Luke eyed the bag, silently. The two voices in his head fought with each other. ‘Yes. A little won’t hurt. No. Big mistake. Just a little. No.’

              Nathan went round the table offering it to all who were present, including Beth who stood up. ‘Er, don’t wave that at me. I’m a mother. Get that shit away from me.’

              ‘You insensitive prick!’ Dale roared, snatching the bag from Nathan’s hand and seeing the look on his best friend’s face. Melissa had just returned from the bar with more drinks and it didn’t take her long to work it out. Dale ranting in Nathan’s face, holding the plastic bag in his hand. She saw Luke looking at the bag and wasted no time almost throwing the drinks on the table as rage ripped through her. All that time and effort. Everyone, mainly her, getting him back on his feet. Class A drugs kept strictly away from him. His battle every day to stay clean from it. Melissa’s expression told them Nathan was in for it. Cassie was secretly smug by his slip up but not by the turmoil it would cause Luke. Allie was clearly upset at the breakdown of her friends and her new love.

              Nathan rose, holding his hand out. ‘ I’m sorry…I didn’t think.’

              Melissa grabbed him by the shirt and put her face close to his. ‘Do you have any idea of the shit we have been through? The months it has taken him to kick the habit. The pain I went through watching him fight his addiction.’ Nathan was mute. He had nothing to say, mortified at such a stupid move. He hadn’t been thinking and it had completely slipped his mind. ‘He nearly died in LA, not that you care, clearly. And you  wave that shit in his face like it’s fucking sherbet. Are you completely insane?’ She gripped his shirt tighter, feeling the urge to slap him hard, she was that angry.

              Nathan tried to push her off, but she hung on. Luke leapt to his feet, as did the rest of his band, seeming to circle like eagles. ‘I’m an idiot. It was stupid, and thoughtless, and I never meant to cause any offence. But seriously, let go of me, you crazy woman.’ Nathan knew he had brought it on himself. He was, however, embarrassed that this small girl was tearing strips off him in public. People near to them were staring. Summer glared at her bandmate unable to defend him this time. Melissa yelled for Dale to give her the bag. He did as he was told: even he wasn’t prepared to get on her bad side.

              ‘See this…this is what I think of it.’ She tore the bag open and let the powder go with the gust of wind that blew past them.

              Nathan roared with anger. ‘You bitch. That’s mine.’ He shoved her in anger but it was his ultimate mistake.

              Luke charged towards him and Nathan backed away, losing his footing and falling to the ground. Melissa turned, slamming her hands on Luke’s chest to stop him. ‘No, Luke, don’t.’

              Beth and Jo-Jo followed Melissa’s lead, holding their boyfriends back. Cassie jumped up to calm Toby down in Megan’s absence. Melissa was right. She talked quickly and firmly to Luke. This was their comeback, it was time for them to be back in the limelight for the right reasons. She pushed Luke away, distancing him from Nathan. It was like Amplified all over again, when Aiden had caused trouble.

              Tom suddenly grabbed Nathan from behind, his arm around his neck. He put his mouth next to Nathan’s ear and the darker side of the quiet member of The Black Eagles came to the surface. ‘You ever bring that shit near Luke again and I will break your legs, and you ever touch my girlfriend, you will be castrated.’ Tom had of course noticed the looks and had remembered Luke’s little comment only a week ago. It had stuck in his head. ‘Don’t think I haven’t noticed you looking at her like she’s some kind of prize. You break Allie’s heart then you will have enemies.’ Nathan wisely nodded. ‘I suggest you fuck off somewhere else. You are not welcome with us. Get it.’ Tom pushed him away and turned to their audience. ‘Show’s over. Misunderstanding. It’s cool. Really.’ They didn’t need it kicking off, not now. But wisely, Shadowed Faces, apart from Summer, made a quiet and quick departure.

              ‘Summer, I suggest you talk to your boys,’ Toby said. ‘That happens again, and none of you are welcome.’

              Allie slammed her drink down suddenly, got up and followed Nathan. Cassie wanted to follow her and make her come back but she knew Allie was angry and wouldn’t want to hear it. She wouldn’t have heard what Tom had said, as she had been too far away. Only Toby, who had been closest, just about heard it.

              ‘I’ll speak to him. I promise,’ Summer said nervously.

              The group broke away from each other, taking walks to calm down. Melissa was still angry and she needed to get Luke away and settled before he did something stupid. Toby went to find Megan and Tom took Jo-Jo for a quiet chat about Nathan, leaving Cassie and Summer alone, for really the first time since they had begun touring together.

              ‘If it wasn’t for you, I would have kicked you off my tour,’ Cassie said calmly, taking Summer’s hand in hers.

              ‘I’m so embarrassed. I don’t know what’s wrong with him lately.’ She clung to Cassie’s hand. ‘Please don’t kick us off. This was supposed to be us getting somewhere, and he’s ruining it. Why does he keep doing it? It sometimes feels like he wants us to fail.’

              Cassie smiled at Summer despite being angry. After all, it wasn’t her fault. She was a hard worker, took the band seriously and wanted to be a success. ‘Do you want my honest opinion?’ she asked. Summer nodded. ‘Get rid of him.’

              There was no argument from her, but the answer was in her eyes. That was what Summer wanted to do, but it wasn’t that simple. ‘Cassie…I…’ Summer couldn’t say it, she’d lost her nerve.

              Cassie was still holding Summer’s hand, and hoped that what she was about to do next wasn’t a mistake. But she was so sure. She let go of her hand, placed it on her cheek, then leaned in and kissed her. Summer pulled back and Cassie’s heart sank. She’d been wrong. ‘Bollocks,’ she cursed. ‘Sorry. I shouldn’t have done that. Forget it.’ Cassie stood up, prepared to leave before doing something else insane.

              Summer looked stunned, but not angry. She grabbed Cassie’s hand and stopped her from leaving. ‘Wait. Yes, you should have. I’ve been dreaming about you doing that for weeks, I just never expected it to actually happen. And in public.’ Summer looked at the beautiful, dark-haired girl in front of her. Her tight, black ripped jeans, equally tight blood-red vest top and studded ankle boots. Cassie always looked ready to take a stage: she was rock chick at its very best and she had just kissed her. ‘Apart from the boys, nobody else knows. My family think it’s wrong,’ she explained.

              Cassie suddenly felt guilty. She sometimes forgot that not everyone had family and friends as supportive as she did or were at ease with how she was. ‘Oh, sorry. I should have thought. I really like you, Summer, and if you need to take it slow, it’s cool. If anyone asks, we were just messing about. I’ve just always been open about it, ever since I was sixteen. If people didn’t like it, tough. It’s who I am.’

              Summer wished she was like that and now she had every reason to be honest. She had to be with Cassie, she needed to be brave. ‘We can have fun for a while, until the world needs to know, right?’ she said, hoping Cassie would understand. ‘I mean, everyone thinks me and Rocco are together.’ Cassie rolled her eyes. She’d forgotten about the rumour that was doing the rounds and nobody had bothered to stop it. Rocco was Summer’s shield, and he’d always gone along with it. He was the first person she’d told. They had slept together once after a very drunken night, and she’d hoped it would make her realise she wasn’t into women. All it did was prove that men didn’t do it for her, despite his efforts. Luckily, it had never caused any problems. Rocco had known what that night was about. They’d promised never to speak of it again, and they still hadn’t.

              ‘I’m not lying to my girls. They won’t say anything,’ Cassie said.

              ‘OK. And I
will
speak to Nathan. And after the tour’s finished, if he hasn’t changed his attitude, I will make some changes, if I can,’ Summer promised.

  ‘Don’t go missing for hours again,’ Toby said. After the previous night’s antics, and Megan finally making it back to him, she had been very wound up. It had been Aiden Bailey as suspected. Even his fans, apparently, weren’t off limits to his arrogant, bullying behaviour. Toby had promised her that Aiden would be taught a lesson, just not before their headline appearance. They had promised to get through the rest of the festival without further drama.

              They were watching Jake Bugg, and Megan couldn’t hold her need to pee. ‘I promise I’ll be back soon.’ She had walked the festival site the previous day multiple times helping Jade and was fully aware of her surroundings now. It was a few minutes’ walk to the nearest loos, but luck was also on her side as the queue wasn’t as bad as it had been on previous occasions. After a record wait of just twenty minutes she was on her way back to Toby. She glanced down at her phone but there still wasn’t a decent signal to check in with her parents. Having no signal was also driving Beth mad and being away from Ebony at such a young age had been a hard decision to make. Dale’s parents had insisted on babysitting for the weekend, thrilled to have her. Also, they’d wanted Beth to be involved in such a big weekend for Dale. It had taken days of persuasion as, naturally, Beth hadn’t wanted to leave her.

              ‘Hello, Meggie.’ The voice behind her made her freeze. She knew it all too well. Taking a deep breath she turned to face Aiden. ‘How about a hug…for old times’ sake.’ He laughed and held his arms open wide, mockingly. She cursed herself. She should stop going anywhere alone. It seemed to be a magnet for trouble, or rather that nobody dared mess with her when her boyfriend was around. She decided this wasn’t a conversation she wanted to get into and turned to walk away. The pull on her arm was firm as Aiden yanked her back.

              ‘Get off me, Aiden. I’m not interested in anything you have to say.’

              Aiden was still smirking. Ian, his drummer, appeared at his side looking nervous. His eyes flicked around, searching the crowd. ‘Aid, dude, leave her alone,’ he urged, dragging him backwards a little.

              Aiden shrugged his bandmate off. ‘I’m just being friendly. Or are you still mad with me?’ he asked her.

              Ian tried again to move Aiden along. Seeing Megan again had reminded him of that night and his guilt was weighing on him. Their front man’s behaviour was becoming out of hand, and the rest of Death Wishes were getting annoyed by his attitude. If he was honest, that night had shown him the depths Aiden would go to in order to have a laugh, as he put it. His lack of respect for women was getting worse and he thanked the lord, silently, when one of Aiden’s many female friends took his attention away from Megan. It was the same brunette from that night. She looked through Megan as she grabbed Aiden’s hand. Either she didn’t remember or just didn’t care about what he had done.

              Ian waited until there was some distance between them, clearly a deliberate move. ‘Megan,’ he said, as he stepped forward. His eyes were soft and guilt ridden ‘I just want to say…I’m so sorry.’ He couldn’t really look her in the eye.

              It seemed to Megan like a genuine apology and she wished she could just forget it. Accept it. ‘Thanks for the apology. But I can’t accept it. You have no idea how you all made me feel.’ Ian flushed red. ‘I suppose you were involved in poor Jade’s treatment.’

              Ian snapped his head up, looking blank. ‘Jade? What?’

              ‘Oh, come on. Don’t play the innocent. You know, pink hair, young, naive. Nice girl,’ Megan snapped. This band was really getting on her nerves, but Ian was nodding, he wasn’t denying he knew Jade.

              ‘Is she OK?’ His tone was full of concern. Megan remembered Jade had only said some of the band were there. Maybe...Ian hadn’t been involved. She told him about her meeting with Jade and how Aiden had subjected her to a similar humiliation to herself.

              ‘Son of a bitch,’ Ian hissed. He clenched his fists. His messy blonde hair looked windswept, even though there was no wind, and his Guns N’ Roses T-shirt had seen better days.

              ‘You know, he needs to stop. You are all going to fall with him. He’ll take it too far, and one day, a girl might just retaliate.’ Megan hadn’t forgotten that out of all of them involved that night, Ian had been the one who seemed less on board. He still didn’t stop it, so he was just as guilty. He just didn’t seem quite so heartless.

              ‘I need to find Jade. I can’t believe he did that to her! She’s one of our best fans. She’s done so much for us. What the hell is wrong with him?’ He looked tired, drained even. Maybe the constant clearing up after Aiden’s mess was beginning to wear thin.

              Megan had no idea why she suddenly did what she did. ‘Ian, I accept your apology. I’m guessing you’re not as bad as the rest of them.’

              He looked her in the eye. ‘None of us...’ he stopped, hesitant, aware that he was discussing private band matters with a girl who had no loyalty to them. He didn’t care. He actually liked Megan, she was a nice girl, and if he was completely honest with himself he would admit he fancied her. He noticed how pretty she was, and felt sick at the memory of Aiden calling her ugly. Megan had stood in that hotel room being utterly destroyed. He’d wanted to stop it, should have stopped it, but like a coward he had stood back and pretended it wasn’t happening. Now he would never have a chance with her. And if her boyfriend even so much as saw him with her now, he was certainly dead. He heard the shout and braced himself. It wasn’t the boyfriend but it wasn’t good. Tom came into view, Jo-Jo following, her eyes on Megan.

              Tom put himself in front of Megan. ‘Get away from her!’ His tone and stance were threatening, his hands already forming fists. ‘You OK, babe?’

              ‘I swear, I’m not causing trouble. I was apologising to her,’ Ian explained. Megan came to his rescue, not that he really deserved it. Tom searched her face but she seemed calm.

              ‘Just fuck off. Stay away from her. You and the rest of your band. If that prick Bailey so much as breathes near Megan, we won’t hold Toby back. Unless you actually have a death wish, taking a very long walk is your best option.’ Ian didn’t argue. He apologised a few more times to Megan before heading into crowd. Tom turned and pulled Megan in for hug. ‘You sure everything’s OK?’

              Megan explained about Aiden, and how Ian had stood up for her. She smiled wickedly. ‘I think…maybe…things are not very good in camp DW. Ian gave me that impression, anyway.’               They all laughed as they walked to find Toby, who looked irritated when they arrived back at the spot where Megan had left him. No sooner had Tom told him about the latest encounter, things changed course and Toby was off like a rocket. He was on the hunt for Aiden.

*****

Luke charged through the crowd with Dale trying his best to keep up. All he had heard after Luke had taken a call was ‘Dale. Move. Aiden. Megan...’ That was enough to make him follow Luke. This was not good. The shouts from a gathered crowd confirmed their worries.

              ‘You go near her, even so much as look in her direction, and I will break your neck,’ Toby screamed in Aiden’s face. The cocky front man looked tiny next to Toby, and it wasn’t an even match.

              Megan waved her hands at Luke, urging him to hurry. ‘Luke, stop him before he does something stupid.’

              Just as she said it Toby landed a left hook on Aiden’s face and he crumpled to the floor. ‘You need to learn a bit of respect. Does it make you feel big when you treat girls like that? She’s seventeen. You disgust me!’ 

              Before he had chance to land another blow he was pulled away. It was a difficult thing to do, even with the three of them. Megan noticed the rest of Death Wishes hadn’t made a move to defend him. Cracks in the band were blatantly obvious.

              Ian seemed pleased when Toby had punched his bandmate in the face and he looked up and caught Megan’s eye. He mouthed, ‘Follow me. Please…’ and she did. Toby was almost under control.

              Ian waited for her behind one of the dance tents. The pumping music would drown out their conversation. ‘What do you want, Ian?’

              He grabbed her hand and placed something small in it. ‘You’re right, we can’t go on like this. Here, take this…do what you want with it.’ Megan stared at the USB stick. ‘You want to teach him a real lesson? Here’s how. You didn’t get it from me.’ Before he left he looked Megan in the eyes, smiled and quickly kissed her forehead. ‘Aiden is so wrong. You’re lovely. Toby’s very lucky.’

              Megan stood opened mouthed as he walked away, thinking that might have to conveniently, and quickly, be forgotten. She shuddered at the thought. Yeah. Another man making some kind of pass at her. That would go down really well. Plus, she was convinced Ian was actually a nice guy and she didn’t really want him dead. Megan suddenly felt sick. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to see what was on the USB stick. ‘Please don’t be children,’ she wished to herself as she made her way back to Toby, who thankfully had calmed down. The stick was safely in her pocket. Her decision was to enjoy the rest of the festival and deal with whatever it was once she was home. ‘I see Aiden’s scuttled off,’ she commented. ‘I should be mad with you, but I’m not. He deserved it.’

              Toby took her hand, and pulled her to him. ‘He needed to be told. I’m so sick of that guy.’

              Megan reached up and pulled his face down to hers. ‘You’re actually even hotter when you’re really mad. Thanks for being my knight in a black hoody.’

              Toby laughed loudly. ‘Anytime, princess.’

              They headed back towards one of the bars, where they met Ray. ‘I hear you’ve not been keeping out of trouble.’ He smirked. ‘Although as it involved Aiden, I’ll let it go. But now it’s time to stop pissing about. It’s nearly time.

*****

‘One, two, three,’ Toby counted. They downed their shots, threw the small glasses over their heads, and screamed loudly, high-fiving each other. The roar from the crowd was deafening. It seemed every festival goer had headed to the main stage with fifty thousand pairs of eyes all on them. The chants from the crowd swirled around them.

              ‘Black Eagles.’

              ‘Black Eagles.’

              ‘Black Eagles.’

              Luke could feel the pull from the stage, and his fingers twitched. Shadow stood proudly waiting for him on her stand. Melissa was holding his face. ‘You can do this,’ she said and Luke nodded. ‘You don’t need drugs.’ Melissa kissed the scars on his wrists and looked up. Her eyes were shining and full of emotion. It had always been in her eyes, even the night they met. It was belief in him. ‘Blow them away, baby.’

*****

Melissa watched as Beth lit the cigarette, looking like her former best friend – hand on hip, smoke billowing from her mouth. ‘Beth, what are you doing?’ she scolded. Beth hadn’t smoked since the day she had found out she was pregnant.

              ‘I know. But the nerves have beaten me.’ Melissa knew where she was coming from. It was a big night for all of them. Melissa held her hand out for Beth to take it. ‘I’m feeling so guilty for even being here. Do you think I’m a bad mother?’

              ‘No. You’ve left Ebony in safe hands. Dale’s parents are allied with mine. She has more protection than the crown jewels. You’re an incredible mum.’ Melissa wasn’t just saying that to make Beth feel better: it was the truth. Beth had taken to motherhood like a duck to water. She was a natural mother. ‘You’ll be back with her in the morning. You deserve this, just as much as the rest of us.’ Beth relaxed and gave one of her thanks looks. Melissa hugged her. ‘I love you,’ Melissa said and kissed Beth on the cheek.

              ‘Not as much as I love you. Thank you. If it was wasn’t for you, and your parents, I don’t think I’d be here. I have everything. I’m finally happy.’ Beth welled up again.              

              Melissa beamed and told her she couldn’t be happier for her. She grabbed her hand and they raced to watch their boys. The gap at the front of the stage that divided it from the crowd held another barrier. It was for VIPs and authorised people and had the best view of the stage without being backstage. It was where the girls congregated. Echo had given a hell of a performance earlier that day, and had now come to watch their friends. Shadowed Faces had also been allowed access, purely because Melissa actually liked Summer and despite her fury with Nathan, punishing the rest of them was unfair. She also suspected Summer had a thing for Cassie, and vice versa.

*****

‘Melissa! Beth,’ Tess, their oldest fan and getting a reputation all of her own, shouted from the barrier she was currently being crushed against. She had been standing at the front, centre of the crowd, all day. She refused to move, eat or go to the loo. Her long black hair no longer had the blue streak, but had been replaced by purple, Melissa’s favourite colour. Her friends waited with anticipation. They knew of her connection with this famous group of people and hoped they would get a chance to be noticed too, by at least one of them. Tess’s cousin watched as the small blonde girl turned to look in the direction of the shout. Tess had always talked about knowing the band, being their first official fan, but not all her friends had ever witnessed it. A small part of them was convinced she was making it sound better than it really was, and thought Tess would be outed as a liar. Some even secretly wished for it. Her cousin, on the other hand, prayed for it to be true. She was in awe of Melissa Webb, and thought she was the most amazing, inspirational woman on the planet. She also thought Luke was the hottest guy ever born, and obsessed over them and their relationship. Tess was smug, confident.