UNDER THE INFLUENCE

chapter 2

"I love you Charlotte" Brandon said before leaving their house to head to the airport. "Please be safe, and don't start problems with Edwin...we can't have another fight video trending on twitter." He rolled his eyes and stopped in the doorway.

"He started the fight.." "You guys were on stage! And you just had to push him back?!" Brandon grabbed his suitcase and started rolling it out the door. "I don't have time for this, Char."

"Just how you didn't have time to be there for Zion when he was in rehab? Or when you couldn't make it to Austin and Fiffany's first fashion show!? Why are you pushing everyone away?!" Brandon bit the inside of his cheek. I can't tell her yet. "I need to leave. I'll call you when I land," he mumbled as he rushed out of their apartment.

—

"I'm here Austin, where is everyone?"
"You forgot? Bro, you said that you didn't wanna get on the same plane as Edwin... Simon got you a different flight. But Ed and Z are with me on the jet. Nick's already in NY."

His brows rose at the mention of Zion. "They're gonna let Z perform?" "Yeah, why you have a problem with it?" Austin took scoffed before continuing.

"God forbid someone has singing time besides Brandon, right?." He could hear the irritation in his voice. He adjusted his glasses and dragged a hand through his hair.

"Austin, that's not what I meant. It's not like th-" "Honestly, I really don't care... look our plane is taking off.. see you in NY, dude." Austin hung up and the brunette sighed and went to find out his flight information.

—

Brandon's flight lands, and he decides to visit his stepsister. Brandon's parents got divorced a month after Halie died in a car crash. Losing her broke the both of them, and the love they had for one another wasn't the same. Brandon feels obligated to protect his stepsister at all costs, since he couldn't do it for Halie.

He calls his sister and she picks up instantly. "Hey, I'm in the city for the show. You wanna do something before I gotta get ready?" "Sure, I just gotta.... drop off a friend. Then I'm on my wayayayayayyy." He laughed and shook his head. "Imma be at that coffee shop we always go to, okay?" "Cool, see you sooooon," she sing-songed.

"Okay, Alexys you have to go back to your dorm and figure your shit out because Brandon wants to do something while he is here." His stepsister groaned as she tossed her phone on the couch.

"You gonna tell him that you slept with his bandmate?" "First of all, we slept with Nick. Second, I will not tell my stepbrother I slept with his friend." She started pushing Alexys towards the door. "Plus, you stole his shit so you gotta go deal with it, goodbye."

Audrey drives to the coffee shop and rolls down her window when she sees Brandon. "Hey, fucker" He looked up from his phone and smiled. "Hello to you too, Audrey." He hopped in and she started to drive off.

"Why did you wanna hang with me instead of going to the hotel? Don't you perform at 9ish?" He shrugged and looked out of the window. "It's always awkward when I chill with the boys. It's not how it used to be."

"well they all have valid reasons. First, you and Ed fought onstage at the MTV awards show. Then you didn't visit Zion the entire time he was in rehab. You blamed Nick for Halie's death because he forgot to pick her up and she ending up taking that cab.."

Brandon's jaw tightened as she lifted off all of his fuck-ups. "Austin did you wrong, but you messed up first, not showing up for his first fashion show. And to top that off, your cocky ass said you were better than him. The nerve, that was a dick move, bro."

"Maybe I should've just went to the hotel," he groaned and rested his head on the window. Audrey shrugged as she  stopped at a red light.

"Sorry, but it's the truth." He turned to look at her messy bun and noticed Audrey's shirt was inside out. "Anywho, why do you look so-" "Shut up," she blurted, feeling anxious under his gaze.

"I was gonna say natural but okay.." She tucked a strand behind her ear and drove as the light turned. "I uh...had a late night." Brandon laughed as he danced in his seat. "Stripper life, huh?"
"Get the fuck out my car," she says sarcastically as she parked in front of a deli.

Brandon and Audrey both ordered pastrami's with a side of cheese fries. They caught up and joked, and before they knew it, Brandon had to get dropped off for rehearsal. He rushed to the back of the stage, checking his watch, seeing he's on time.

"You guys started already," he breathed as he set his bag down in a chair. Zion rolled his eyes and walked past him. "Yeah, early. You would've known that if you came straight to the hotel instead of going to lunch." Brandon took a deep breath and touched the boy's shoulder, only for it to be shaken off.

"Z, can we just put this behind us? I want to be close like we used to be. With all of you." Zion looked over his shoulder, with his lips in a straight line. "Well four-eyes, things change.... people change." Edwin interrupts, looking directly at him.

"I'm sorr-"

"We gotta practice. I'm sure you call center position, like always," Zion mutters before walking to the stairs of the stage. Brandon looks around and sees one member missing. "Where is Nick?" Edwin sighs as he adjusted his earpiece.

"He had to take Tiffany to the hospital because she had a bipolar freakout." "...and you don't care?" He scoffed and turned to face him. "Why are you so worried about me, Brandon? I do care...about Nick."

"Who is on his way from the hotel," Austin announces before setting his phone down. "Great. Let's rehearse and get this shit over with," Zion groaned as he stretched his back. "I'm tired as fuck and I'm ready to KO."

Brandon put in his earpiece and shuffled to his spot in the center of the stage. The boys harmonized and went over the choreography with counts before music. Nick rushed on stage and nudged each boy as he jogged past.

"Aye, fans. Fix your faces."

The boys internally cursed as they replaced their frowns and irritated expressions with "genuine" smiles and laughs. Healthy started playing, signaling rehearsal with audio and Brandon stepped forward, starting them off.

"And I'm sick thinking 'bout you when you're not with me. No, this ain't healthy..."

—

a/n: sooooo that's chapter two.

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