On the Edge of Tomorrow

Chapter 25

"Earth to, Lilpop," Tim poked me as I gazed up at the pegboard holding the t-shirts.

"Sorry, we're running low on men's large," I murmured.

"I know; I placed an order yesterday."

Tim had pulled me from my focus and allowed the noise of soundcheck to echo in my head. Setting up the merch table had become my go-to during soundcheck. Something about the hollow venues made the spotlight on Billy brighter and me more unsettled. Distraction was good.

"Lilipop," Tim shot again with more annoyance.

"I'm sorry, Timmy. What did you say?"

"Do you want to see some of the road footage? You make a few appearances," he teased.

Tim seemed to record more than not lately, especially with me around to help with the merchandise. After dropping a guitar and nearly breaking my foot, Billy wouldn't let me help with the breakdown anymore. He didn't even care about the guitar, even when I reminded him that my foot would've healed, unlike the guitar.

"Sure," I absently mumbled as I glanced around the finished table. "You want to go now?"

"Nothing better to do." As he spoke, he slung a heavy arm around my shoulders. "I can't believe the summer is almost over. You sure you don't want to stick around for Europe? Should be wild."

Tim knew the answer, but he also knew that Billy had only asked once, and my no stuck. Tim felt it was his duty to check if I had changed my mind.

"You know I have to go back to school. Besides, I'm tired of doing all your work for you," I teased.

"It has been nice. I'll ask again tomorrow," Tim conceded as he flopped down on the couch in a storage closet that was doubling as a dressing room. "You have your laptop on you, right?"

"Yep," I said as I pulled it from my bag.

"Any lollipops?" He added as he peered into my bag. 

"Mmhmm," I pulled out a candy for him as well. 

Tim plugged in his camera and brought up the footage. "I only edited to the first half of the summer, so there isn't much of you in it yet."

"Sounds perfect; I'd prefer zero appearances," I sighed.

The images flickered up in black and white, to my surprise.

"No color?" I asked.

"Nah, feels more rock in black and white. Right?" Tim's eyes stayed glued to the screen as Billy and the boys played on some foreign stage.

"Yeah, sure."

When the song died out, Billy shot his quick thank you and good night before charging from the stage. Immediately, the clips changed to shaky shots of the band snaking through various hallways.

"Sometimes, I think all we do on tour is weave through a mouse maze," Tim mused.

I could hear the tease in his joke, but it curdled in my ears.

"Where is this?" I asked as a crowded room filled the screen.

"Oh, that's Madison," Tim noted. "I can tell because that's Suzy." Tim tapped the screen.

"Oh, Suzy, like Billy's ex?" I kept my voice even.

"Yeah, in the flesh... well, on the screen," Tim corrected.

My eyes clung to her. She had pulled her dark hair back behind her pale moon face. Fringe bangs hung low, accenting her dark eyes. The camera moved closer to her, and suddenly Billy was there, sitting on the couch next to her. They both sucked down cigarettes, sharing an ashtray and a passing word or two. The camera panned away to some of the other band members telling cheesy jokes and flinging bottle caps at each other. The distraction irked me, as I wanted to see Billy and Suzy more.