"I'm telling you, man. She looked like she wanted to kill me!" I said, shaking my head.
I stood in front of the bathroom mirror getting ready, as I explained to Eric what I had just went through a little bit before. Eric had knocked on my door a few minutes before, asking when I'd be ready for the gig. Since I told him it'd be a little, I decided to invite him inside. Eric sat on the bed and we talked as I fixed myself.
"Lyla...you better be careful. You and I both know how Courtney can get when she gets pissed off." He replied.
"I know, I know. It's not like I have a thing for Kurt, though," I lied,"So there's no use in her getting all worked up for no reason."
He nodded in agreement,"I know that, but if she feels threatened she's gonna make you go through hell for it. That's just the way she is."
Eric wanted to watch out for me as best he could. In some ways, he was like an older brother to me. I trusted him the most out of everyone in the band, therefore I would talk to him whenever I needed to get something off my chest. Even though I knew Eric was close with Courtney as well (they had even dated at one point), I knew he wouldn't tell her the things I'd say. He wasn't the type of person to try start stuff like that. In fact, he didn't really want anyone to have "beefs" with each other at all. He wanted to keep the band going, as well as keep everyone on good terms.
"Yeah," I sighed,"I'm just gonna have to try to get on her good side again, I guess. I don't want her to tell me to pack my bags and leave."
"That's the only thing you can do, really. I doubt she'd kick you out of the band just because of that, though. Kurt's gonna have other females as friends, and she knows that. It's not like you guys were kissing or anything, right?"
I nodded.
"Everything'll be okay as long as you're aware of things, y'know?" He said, trying to reassure me.
I gave him a weak smile, then ran my hairbrush through my hair a few more times. I walked over to my bag and slipped it back inside.
"I'm guessing you're finally done now?" He asked, giving a slight chuckle and standing up.
"Oh, hush, I don't take that long, and you know it," I smiled, then walked over to him and gave him a quick hug,"Thanks for being here for me, though."
"Even though I was the one who came to you," he said hugging back,"don't mention it."
We released each other and laughed, then went to find the others
•••••••••••••••••••••••••
The concert hall reeked of alcohol as much as it did sweat. The walls were covered with weird stains, as well as the floors, but hey. A gig's a gig. You've gotta deal with what you've got.
I was playing around on my bass when Courtney grabbed me by the arm and pulled me to my feet.
"C'mon! We're gonna be on soon!" She said in her loud but hoarse voice.
I jumped a little, already uneasy of how she'd treat me tonight.
"Jeez, Court. Watch it. You're gonna break my arm one of these days," I smiled slightly, trying to seem friendly.
"Oh, toughen up, Ly," she said in a joking tone, relieving some of my stress,"Grow some balls."
The two of us walked to the side of the stage, meeting up with Caroline and Eric. Soon enough the band playing before us finished their set, and it was time for us to go on. About five minutes after they exited, the four of us walked onto the stage quickly. I plugged in my bass, as Caroline tapped on the snare drum and Courtney began talking to the crowd.
"Hi, we're Hole," she said, plugging her guitar into the amp.
Eric plugged in his guitar as well, then Caroline counted us off. We immediately went into "Good Sister Bad Sister," and our show began.
•••••••••••••••••••••••••
Overall we played a pretty good set. It wasn't the best, but it definitely wasn't the worst. I wandered around the back, searching for a restroom, as the closing act ran through some of their songs. The place was beginning to get emptier.
Suddenly I felt someone grab me by the waist and pull me in close.
"Hey there, honey. You're looking fine today."
I looked up at the large, obviously drunken man who was hanging onto me and pulled myself free.
"Get lost, pervert," I spat, trying to walk away.
"Not so fast, babe. I'm not done with you. We just met." He grabbed my wrist and pushed me up against the closest wall. He had me pinned. I struggled against him and gasped.
"Get off of me!" I yelled as loud as I could, desperately hoping someone would find me and help.
The man kissed my neck sloppily and groped my breasts, causing me to yell out again. I resisted as much as I could, squirming under his ruthless eyes. I began to cry, scared for what was about to come.
"L-Lyla?" I heard a familiar voice from behind the man, then heard it again, louder,"Hey! You get your hands off of her!"
The man was pushed away from me by none other than Kurt.
"Who the hell do you think you are, asshole?!" Kurt shouted, shoving the man back further away from me.
Though in shock, the man delivered a punch to Kurt's face knocking him back a little, but Kurt didn't cower away. He immediately punched him back square in the nose and again in the jaw, which caused the man to cover his face and back away some more. For a small guy, Kurt's punch had a lot of force to it. As soon as Kurt turned his attention to me, the assaulter ran towards the front doors and out into the night.
"Hey, get back here!" Kurt yelled after him, getting ready to chase after him.
I grabbed his arm and held him back.
"N-no, don't," I managed to choke out,"Kurt, it's not worth it."
Kurt wrapped his arms around me tightly and I buried my face into his chest, sobbing. He rubbed my back softly.
"Shh, it's alright, Ly. I've got you. He's gone now." He said soothingly.
"Thank you so much, Kurt I...I don't know what would've happened if you hadn't showed up. I'm sorry you had to fight with him a little," I said through my tears and hugged him.
"Hey, it's no big deal. I'd do it again if it meant saving you from something like that. No one deserves to be treated like shit by some asshole ."
Kurt held onto me tightly as I cried, still scared from what I had just encountered. Within minutes the rest of the band was back with us.
"Whoa! What happened?!" Eric asked.
Eric, Caroline, and Courtney all had looks of both concern and confusion plastered on their faces.
"Some prick came up to Lyla and assaulted her. Luckily, I found her before anything too bad could happen." Kurt explained, still rubbing my back.
"Oh my god, Lyla, are you okay? I'm so sorry!" Courtney said, genuinely concerned about what had just unfolded. Kurt turned to her and frowned. "Oh, Kurty! What happened to your lip?! It's bleeding!" She exclaimed, rushing up to him and placing her hand on his cheek.
Kurt let go of me and placed his hands on Courtney's waist,"I was punched by that asshole, but don't worry about it. It's only a little sore. The important thing is both Lyla and I are fine for the most part."
She smashed her lips onto his passionately and kissed him with all she had. I turned away and Caroline wrapped an arm around me gently.
'Why the hell would you kiss someone if their lip hurt?' I thought to myself, slightly annoyed by the two.
"I'm so sorry, Ly. You okay?" Eric asked.
I sniffed and nodded.
Kurt pulled back from Courtney then turned back to me, looking me in the eyes and smiling slightly. It was then I noticed what Courtney was talking about. Kurt's lip was bleeding sightly and obviously swollen. I had seen him get punched, but didn't realize it had left a mark until I saw his face in the light.
Though he had a few battle scars, Kurt was a hero; my hero. He had rescued me from possibly getting raped which I could never thank him enough for. He saved me. I was absolutely crazy about him, as well as the act of heroism he did for me. Sure, we weren't the closest, but I knew I felt some form of a spark.
"C'mon, guys. Let's head on back to the hotel. I think Ly needs some rest," Caroline suggested, making all of us nod in agreement.