Closer to You (Book One ✓)

T W E N T Y - F O U R

The audience's cheers are so loud I can barely hear myself think as red lights flash over the crowd, illuminating hundreds of screaming faces. The music, impossibly louder than the applause, vibrates through the floor and into my feet, seemingly shaking the entire venue. I watch as MisFits performs their second show in London from behind stage, tonight's crowd being exceptionally rowdy, only fueling Beau's dramatics that much more. I twist the necklace he gave me between my fingers nervously, wishing there was a way to get him to just calm down.

I smile at the necklace momentarily - Beau's first ever guitar pick, with scratchy teenage handwriting on one side reading "B.L." and the on the other side, a more recent professional engraving that reads "love you." Many of the stylists the past few weeks have tried to remove it, saying it clashes with my outfits, but I've refused each time. Until Zara and Oliver have something to say about it, it's staying, and probably even then, I think to myself.

A crash from on-stage jolts me from my thoughts and I look up in time to see Beau kick some of the sound equipment hard enough to damage it, causing the audience to roar loudly in praise. Still strumming hard on his bass, Tyler approaches Beau and whispers something in his ear, but Beau only dismisses him, grabbing Jace's mic stand and making a spectacle of throwing it over his head and across the stage. Jace breaks the song to holler in approval, accompanied by the frenzied shrieks of the fans, but beside me, Val taps a pen to her clipboard rapidly.

I run a hand over my eyes; it was just last week that Beau was kicked out of a pub in Dublin for trying to start a fight. I'd set out on the tour excited to see new places, but so far, Beau's behavior has limited us to the inside of a private jet and hotel suites.

"Oh no," Val groans, her pen tapping impossibly quicker than before.

I peek beyond the curtain, bracing myself for Beau's latest mischief. Jace and Beau have grabbed their water bottles, shaking them over the audience's heads and spraying the first few rows. He and Jace laugh hysterically while Zach and Tyler continue to play their notes, looking defeated. I cringe, not recognizing this side of Beau - the Beau Lewis from the tabloids, not the one who hums me to sleep on the plane rides or says hello to Nana every time I call the nursing home.

As the show wraps up, Tyler and Zach storm off stage while Jace and Beau take their time, basking in the cheers of the fans. Swinging a bra over his head, Jace thanks everyone for coming out while Beau takes a dramatic bow. When he finally comes off stage, Beau takes the stairs two at a time, shaking out his damp bed head, sending sweat droplets through the air as he does. "Hey baby," he plants a fat kiss on my mouth and I taste the sweet flavor of whiskey on his lips.

"Are you drunk?" I ask quietly, silently impressed that he didn't mess up any of the music. Just the performance, I wince.

"So what if I am?" His Cheshire Cat smile spreads across his face lazily as his green eyes twinkle down at me, red rimmed and outlined in smudged eyeliner.

I catch his face between my hands and pull him down to my level, hearing the footsteps of the fans with backstage passes coming our way. "You need to take it down a notch, Beau. I'm serious, what was that out there?"

He rolls his eyes casually. "I gave the people what they wanted and they loved it." We both raise our heads to the fans now waiting behind security to meet the guys, some of them soaked in what I'm assuming is Beau's water. The smiles on their faces supporting his point, Beau saunters off to the meet and greet photo area, taking a long swig of whiskey before he does.

He throws his arm around a female fan, gripping her waist a bit tighter than I'd like, and I divert my attention across the room to where Fiona and Rocco are chatting in a corner, expressions serious and voices low. Fiona raises her eyes to Beau, her lips pursed tightly as she snaps something else and walks away. Rocco stares after her before letting out a big huff and shaking his head at the guys, eyes trailing a little longer over his wild guitar player.