Aven Brooks
Port Chester, 2012
3:28 am
"Aven...Aven!" A heavy grip on my shoulders repeatedly pushed me into the bed. My eyes flew open from their rest, startling me to the point I lost my breath. My eyes were glazed from my sleep, my glasses not on so I couldn't see clearly. The room was dark, but the hallway light showed me the silhouette of my mother over my bed.
In startle I sat up, breathing heavy.
"You need to get up." She says in urgency.
"What time is it?" I reached over and grabbed my glasses off my nightstand, sliding them on my face so I could see better.
"3 am, I'm getting your sister and we're going to grandmas." She grabs my wrist and pulls me out of the warm bed, my bare feet meeting the cold floor. I didn't even get to respond as I was already being dragged out of the room from her fast pace, half awake and scared about what was happening.
"Why are we going to grandmas?" I keep blinking my eyes in the hope to rid the blurry sleep from them. The light of the hallway was so bright.
"I'll tell you later." She shortly answers in urgency, barrelling both of us into Winnie's room. In her crib she was fast asleep, my heart was racing. I didn't know what was going on, but I was scared. It was the middle of the night, she looked so startled.
She let go of my wrist and went to grab Winnie asleep in the crib.
"Mom you're scaring me." I stood in worry, my pyjamas.
She turns her head back to me right before going to grab Winnie, seeing the expression in my face and examining it. Quickly she came back over to me and kneeled down on one knee, putting her hands on my cheeks and meeting her blue eyes with mine.
"Don't be scared, everything will be alright. No one is in danger, I just need to get you to grandmas as quickly as I can. She waiting for us with tea and snacks, okay?" She pulls a faint smile to make me feel better.
I nod, still unsure of what was happening.
"Now grab your inhaler and get your shoes on, don't leave the house until I'm with you."
"Is this about dad?" I murmur in discomfort, her face falling.
Mom's been different since dad passed away, it's been almost a year. She's gotten better with coping, but some days she's totally off the walls from it. Maybe this was one of those times, I don't blame her. I miss him too.
"No sweetheart, everything's okay. I just need you to do what I ask." She tucks my hair behind my ear before standing up and turning back to the crib, waking up my toddler sister.
I nod and hurry back down the hallway to grab my inhaler off the nightstand. Quickly I pop off the cap and pump the medicated air down my throat, feeling it open my airways for a moment. After that, I run out down the stairs and towards the front door, slipping on my shoes. I was still in my blue pyjamas, she didn't even give me time to change.
As I got my shoes on, she came thumping down the stairs with Winnie on her hip. In urgency, she hurried towards me at the door, the same time I jammed on my second sneaker. Winnie was half asleep, barely keeping her head up.
Mom slips her sandals on and opens the front door to the dark night. Immediately I heard the sounds of crickets within our front garden, the unstable porch light being the only reason I could see. It was cold.
"Go on." She places her hand on my back.
I hurry out to the car in my pyjamas, getting to the back backseat while mom carried Winnie to the other side. I hop in, shutting the door behind me and putting on my seatbelt. Mom buckled Winnie into her carseat frantically, eventually doing it all up and shutting the door. I don't know what the rush was, that's what was scaring me.
Once she was in the driver's seat, she flew out of the driveway and raced down the night road. I took a quick pump of my inhaler, letting the cold air open my airways for a moment. My heart was racing, my glasses falling off my face.
"Why are we in such a rush?" I mumble, wanting to cry.
"I'll tell you later, it's all going to be okay." She drew her hand back for me to hold, knowing I was scared. I reached out and held it, she rubbed the back of my hand with her thumb and continued to drive with the other. I was shivering from the night air, we were approaching fall after all.
"Put on a blanket if you're chilly." She notices my shaking, directing her eyes to the black blanket next to me.
I let go of her hand and grab the black blanket, tossing it over my legs in order to warm up a bit. I shoved my hands between my thighs, I get cold so easily. Mom's long dark hair was everywhere, flying in the wind from the open window. My eyes drew outside, seeing all the passing houses with people probably asleep in their beds. I wish I was one of them.
I suddenly felt the engine speeding up, her driving faster and running every stop sign in passing. She's never driven like this before, why were we going so fast? My eyes turned to Winnie, seeing her silently awake and probably wondering what was happening. Her blue eyes were confused, I felt bad for her.
The engine kept accelerating faster, stronger. I could hear it pick up like we were racing. My eyes eagerly danced around the car to the front windshield, watching us drive vastly down the open road.
"Mom," I kept her handheld in mine, my heart racing. "Mom, slow down."
She doesn't listen, she keeps driving like we were being chased. When I turned my head back, no one was there. I was shaking from the cold and the adrenaline, I wanted to cry.
"Mom?" I keep tugging her hand.
"It's going to be okay." She says again, but it no longer made me feel better. "Is your seatbelt on?"
I nodded as she made quick eye contact through the rearview mirror. Tears started to welt my eyes in the frames of my glasses, I know she could see it.
"Aven, please don't." She shakes her head, looking at me with slight sympathy. I couldn't help it, I started to cry because I didn't know what was happening. My bottom lip started to quiver.
"I just got to get you to grandmas so I can go see—"
A large black car suddenly came out from our right and nailed the front of the car, shattering the empty passenger seat window and spinning the car. I screamed out as the loud sounds of crunching metal filled my ears, mixing with the sounds of screeching brakes and rubber tires skidding the road. My body flew to the left, my seatbelt tightening to hold me in place. My hand released mom's, and everything went black.
When I opened my eyes again, I was strapped upright in my car seat and heard nothing but the sounds of a toddler cry. My chest was rising up and down while I couldn't breathe. Everything was blurry, my glasses gone off my face. I was hyperventilating, my head pounding and a sickness in my stomach. I was covered in glass.
"M-Mom?" I barely had a voice to speak through my hyperventilations.
I turned my head and saw Winnie crying in her baby car seat, striking immediate worry in me. Then I looked to the driver's seat, seeing how my mom was gone with the door wide open. I wanted to scream, but I had no voice. I was weak, unable to barely move with the lack of air in my lungs. I tried to look around the seat for my inhaler, but I couldn't see it in sight. My chest hurt, and I was so tired.
My eyes shut, losing all strength as everything faded into darkness again. Right as I was drifting, I heard the sound of my car door opening followed by shaky hands fumbling with my seatbelt.
The next thing I saw was the flashing lights of the ambulance, being carried by a tall man in paramedic uniform. There was the same black blanket on my body. Everything was still blurry, but I could breathe better.
"Sweetheart, you're going to be okay." The nice man said to me, hurting me over to the ambulance.
"My sister—" I croak with no voice.
"She's on her way to the hospital, so I'll need you to be strong for me." He says as I could barely keep my eyes open, being bright into the silver vehicle.
"Where my mom?" I then ask in fear.
"We're not sure about that yet, we'll find her." He lays me down on a gurney, starting to yell at people around him for different things. My eyes gently close, I felt an oxygen cup around my mouth that gave me the air I needed.
"What's your name?"
"A–Aven..."
————
Stagnant smoke withered around us from the nearby ashtray on the table, lips tasting of artificial cherry remanence when they moved with mine. I liked the taste, it was now a confection I couldn't experience without a flash of him in my mind. The floors vibrating and the concrete walls were muffling live music from the far stage—electric guitars and heavy drums. I was so use to the sounds of heavy rock, the blaring speakers that shook the entire arena.
"Shouldn't you be out there singing?" I mumble between kisses, my hands holding his biceps.
He keeps kissing me, running his hands up and down my straddling thighs. He was so relaxed, sitting peacefully on this leather sofa of his dressing room. His lips curled into a smile, breathing out into the kiss before answering me.
"Shouldn't you be out there taking pictures?" He responds to my lips, making me smile.
Chicago is where we were, the Credit Union 1 arena to be more exact. It was the beginning of soundcheck, we only arrived twenty minutes ago. The band was out on stage practicing, but Harry and I were hiding back here having a quick make-out session. It's kinda childish, we both have jobs to do after all. I'm definitely not getting paid to be hooking up with the singer when I should be taking his picture.
This was his idea of course. I was completely ready to be a good tour employee and take my backstage pictures like I signed up to be. But I should've known better when Harry grabbed my hand and pulled me into his dressing room for a quick kiss. We definitely didn't what to flaunt this whole thing we've got going on, mainly because it's way too difficult to explain. I don't even know how to explain it to myself let alone to anyone else. We're not together but we're also at this point where it would be offensive to fuck someone else. So everything between us a big secret to the rest of the crew, who knows what Sal would say.
The drive here was incredibly long, Nashville to Chicago is not an easy journey. But it was nice to get the sleep on the trip. I snuck on the band's bus again, slept in Harry's bunk of course. Then I hung out in the lounge and edited pictures, it was an easy day. All that downtime also gave me opportunities to research Chicago and what they had here, I found some really cool events going on the nights we were in the city. One really good event I want to take Harry to.
His lips moved slowly with mine, tongue running along my bottom lip. My hands slid up from his inked arms and to his broad shoulders. He holds my hips, but suddenly gripping a spot that made me flinch.
"Ow—" I uncontrollably stifle into his lips, his hands releasing my sides and lifting them off me.
"What?" He pulls his lips apart, looking down at my body around his.
I tilt my head down and look at my left hip that was sensitive to touch. I reach to the band of my lazy black jogging pants, lowering it past my hip bone to inspect why it was hurting.
A wicked purple bruise was right on the hipbone, no bigger than the size of Harry's thumbprint. My eyes widen a bit, realizing how aggressive it is. I didn't even notice I had a bruise there.
"Where is that from?" He was in slight shock too, confused like me.
I search my brain, thinking about what could've happened in order for me to have that mark. I contemplate the reasoning, but eventually, a memory pops into my head.
I started moaning out, and at the same time, he kissed me. It was a slow lazy kiss because we both didn't have any energy elsewhere to move our lips. Between the kisses, he just kept his mouth to mine and breathed with me. His one arm flipped from my head to down by my side, gripping my bare hip in need of leverage. It was a very tight grip, right on the bone. I whimpered and dug my hands in his hair, still kissing him with all the energy I had.
"Don't worry about it." I cover the mark the minute I realized where it was from. My eyes met his again, seeing how confused they were.
"Do you know?" He furrowed.
"Yeah, but it's really not a big deal." I shake my head, not wanting to tell him. It would do nothing but make him feel bad.
"Where is it from?" He asks.
I stay silent, breaking eye contact and distractingly looking off to the left. There was no point in telling him, it wasn't anything on purpose. I don't want to make him feel bad.
"Is it me?" He speaks up again, voice going quieter.
Damn.
I turn my head back to look at him again, knowing I had to be honest now. I could see the timid look in his eye. The longer I don't say anything, the more he figures out he did do it.
"It's really not bad—"
"Fuck sakes." He cusses to himself, dropping his head. "It was in the field, wasn't it?"
I quietly nod, his eyes peering up at mine just to see my seconds reaction.
"Harry you didn't realize, everything was so emotional. It's really not a big deal, I'm not in terrible pain. This is the same to me as the hickeys you put on my neck." I justify, I bruise like a peach.
"I told you I was going to be soft that time," He fights. "You should've said something."
"You were incredibly soft, but the moment was also really intense. I don't blame you for needing something to grip. It doesn't taint the memory we have together."
"Did it hurt? Like during?"
A little bit.
"No," I shake my head. "Seriously you're thinking way too much into this. The mark will go away." I explain. He's feeling really guilty about it, which is so unlike him. I'm sure he's left harsher marks during sex in the past. I think it was just a matter of that specific moment we shared in the field, where he tried his best to be as gentle as he could be.
"That's why I was nervous to have sex, I didn't want to hurt you after you already having a healing stab wound." He continued to beat himself down.
"It's not a mark of aggression, it's one of passion. I won't look at it and get painful flashbacks. If anything it will make me smile." I run my hands back through his hair, feeling the thick roots brush between my fingers.
"Are you sure?" He mumbles, head straight up to look at me.
I grin and nod, drifting myself forward and shutting my eyes until my lips delicately met his. He kept his mouth still as I kissed him once, trying to convince him of the fact everything was fine.
"Hey, fuckers!" The sounds of a door flying open and an Irish voice came barreling in, my nerves skyrocketing.
I threw myself off Harry's lap the second I heard the arrival, my body switching around on the couch to be sitting next to Harry rather than on him. My eyes land on all Niall, Liam and Louis walking through the door. I didn't even realize the stage music stopped at some point. Niall's eyes brighten up at what quick interaction he just saw.
"Are we interrupting this episode of Love Island?" He smirks mischievously, walking towards the couch we were on.
"I locked the door for a reason," Harry speaks up with an annoyed tone, sitting on my right. My heart was racing, knowing they all just saw me kissing him on his lap.
"I'm a pickpocket, idiot. You think I can't unlock a standard door with just my fingernail?" Niall grins as my cheeks were burning up in slight embarrassment. "You're fault for not practicing with us on the stage, Sal's have a tantrum."
"Sal can freak out all he wants." Harry leans forward on his thighs, reaching out to grab the half-smoked cigarette he momentarily put back into the ashtray before our little make out.
"Oh, a big man over here." Liam teases, sitting down on the other two-seater couch with Louis.
"Shuddup." Harry puts the cigarette back between him lips, cheeks hollowing.
Niall throws himself down next to myself, placing his arm along the back of the couch around me. He was in a loose white tank top, exposing tattoos along his rib ages. He still had multiple bruises along with aspects of his face, but they were healing nicely. One eye wasn't swollen shut anymore.
"How's our favourite photographer?" He smiles, always having a faint look of mischief in his alive blue eyes.
"She's good." I nod in third person. "Also what you just saw wasn't what it looked like—"
"Oh save it, we all know you two are hooking up." Niall cuts off my explanation I was trying to use to save my embarrassment. "My favourite thing to do is catch people fuckin' around and watch them try to explain it."
"Shouldn't you all be out there practicing?" Harry speaks as if he isn't in the band too.
"Says you, dick." Liam flips a drumstick in his hand repeatedly, sitting on the couch over to the right.
"Harry, we're in Chicago, are we gonna have a repeat of last year?" Niall flips himself around on the couch, the back of his head uninvitedly falling into my lap. I raise my hands up in a slight startle, hovering them above his head as he made himself comfortable. His long legs dangle off the armrest of the couch. Although I was caught off guard, this behaviour of his is oddly nothing but expected.
What happened in Chicago?
I looked at Harry right next to me, his eyes glaring down at Niall's head in my lap. He was quick to dart his eyes away and pretend it didn't bother him, smoking the end of his cigarette.
"No, we won't." Harry murmurs.
"Why not? Aven can join." Niall smirks with gum in his mouth, his eyes facing up towards his forehead to try and see Harry behind his head along the couch.
"Am I missing something?" I look down at Niall in my lap, chewing his gum.
"Last year, Chicago is when they each fucked a girl in the same room at the same time," Liam answers for me, immediately feeling like I've heard it before.
My jaw dropped when I understood what he meant by me joining. I sway his head lightly to the side, making him laugh and get his head off my lap. I remember the night of Niall's party where Louis said that.
"How do you guys even get involved in that?" I ask but I felt like I really didn't want to know.
"They were these gorgeous rich daughters we met at a banquet, best friends and crazy freaks. The four of us went back to the hotel for drinks to where one girl eventually started jumping me in bed. Then as we were fucking I realized across the room Harry was fucking the other girl on the couch." Niall narrates, and now I wish I didn't ask.
I look at Harry who rolled his eyes towards Niall's answer. He probably didn't want me to know that much.
"You crazy kids." I chuckle, the sex stories really not coming as a shock to me anymore. Niall sat back up on my left, Harry on my right. I was having crazy flashbacks from that one night in Miami...
"Maybe we'll see them at the banquet again tomorrow," Niall swats Harry's shoulder from around my back. "What were there names? One started with an M—
"Fuck off Niall." Harry cuts him off, shaking his head and wanting to end the reminiscing.
"No big deal though, I'll find someone else if not them. Nova's looking pretty hot in that tight little tank top today..." Niall purposely looks over at Louis, making his head shoot up from his phone at the sound of her name.
"Hey fuck off." Louis defends, just confirming the fact they have something going on after all.
"Why? Are you together?" He prods with a smirk, trying to get answers Louis never talks about.
"You're a real shit disturber today." I turn my head to him, noticing how he's teasing everyone.
"Yeah, and it's pissing me right the fuck off." Louis murmurs before turning back down to his phone.
"I'm in a good mood, shoot me." Niall shrugs with a grin, chewing.
"Gladly." Harry murmurs.
"Does Ms. Aven know about the banquet?" Niall brings up the world banquet for the third time, I've yet to question it.
"I haven't gotten into that yet," Harry answers on my behalf.
"What banquet?" I turn my head to him on my left.
"We have an event we go to every year in Chicago, a whole suit and tie fuckin' event downtown." Harry murmurs while grabbing a stack of cards off the table, immediately confusing me.
"Why? Doesn't sound like anything you'd wanna be seen at." I state regarding all of them. It sounded like a really posh environment they would typically make fun of.
"We don't have a choice, we're there for business." He leans back on the couch, shuffling the deck in his chipped fingers.
"What business?"
"Malikai needs something someone has, so we're going to steal it." Niall grins like he was excited.
"So how is a rock band such as Duplicity going to waltz into an elegant banquet without question?" I murmur, trying to connect the dots how they'd get away with it.
"Because we don't go as Duplicity, we have aliases and a whole team of people that change our appearance," Liam answers that one.
Oh— really?
"It's a pain in my fucking ass," Louis speaks, tucking his phone away to pay attention to the conversation as a whole.
"So what you're telling me is you all have to wear suits?" I smirk deviously, knowing how much they probably all hate having to dress up. Although they probably will look incredible.
"And you'll have to wear a fancy dress," Harry adds with the same smirk, making my eyes go wide.
"I'm going?" My stomach turned to knots.
"Yes, you are." Harry nods.
"Why?" I meet eyes with each of them around the room, nerves taking over.
"We'll need a few pictures of the heist."
"And a distraction," Niall smirks at me, his eyes flicking up and down my body right next to him.
"No no no, she won't be bait." Harry protests as I was barely processing what they were even informing me.
"She's not gonna fuck anyone, but she'll be a good decoy while we steal what we came for," Niall explains in a belittling tone, I furrow my brows.
"I'm so lost. What are we even talking about?" I shake my head, needing details in order to understand why they need me for this.
"We'll explain specifics later but tomorrow night we have a banquet to go to a fancy hotel. We have ordered from Malikai to steal something, and we'll need your pictures as proof. We hopefully should be in and out of the bloody thing within an hour, but it's a very big deal." Harry shuffles the cards very skillfully.
"Then we can get shitfaced after." Niall inputs.
My stomach was turning, knowing it's never as easy as they make these plans out to be. I was hesitant to put myself into any more situations like this considering my injury, but deep down I know I don't really have a choice.
"You'll need to be trained first," Harry says.
"Trained?"
"Yeah, remember I told you how I'd teach you some self-defence?" He touched upon the other night, immediately I remembered.
"Oh, right." I nod.
"I'm not putting you in any more dangerous situations until you have some techniques on how to defend yourself." He looks at me in seriousness, then darting his eyes to Niall. "And we're all gonna help her."
"What?" Liam lowers his brows in immediate protest. "No offence Aven, but I got other things to do than teach a self-defence class."
"None taken." I nod, he's not wrong.
"Fuck off Liam, you're shit at fighting anyway." Harry shakes his head.
"No, I'm not!"
"Yeah, you are." Niall chuckles. "That's okay though Li, you can hack into a security cam like no other!" Niall puts on a fake smile and a sarcastic thumbs up.
"Oh, and what can you do? Steal fifty bucks from some old woman's purse?" Liam fires back, belittling Niall's pickpocketing expertise.
"It's called street smarts idiot, nothing you'd know about." He defends, this argument getting heavy.
"Only smarts you have." Liam murmurs under his breath, taking out his phone.
"Liam you wouldn't last one day in the fucking—"
"Okay fucking shut up!" Louis jumps in out of pure frustration, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Niall we get it, you were homeless and know how to survive. Liam, you're computer smart. We need both of you and your skills in order for any of this to work. So kiss and makeup or go suck your own cocks somewhere else." Louis puts an end to it all, speaking the most I've ever heard him speak at once.
The room going silent, banter coming to an end. Niall backs down, slumped on the couch next to me. Liam quiets too, playing on his phone.
"I'm still way more needed than Niall.." Liam slips in under his breath.
In a flash of time, Niall yanks his white sneaker off his foot and chucks it at Liam on the other couch. It whacks him right in the forehead, my eyes going wide. Liam launches up from his seat, but Louis was too quick when he stood up and blocked him from charging at Niall. Harry stood up too, standing as another barrier Liam was trying to fight through.
"You ass!" Liam tried to get around Louis and Harry but is just struggling.
Niall remained sat with his arms along the back of the couch, one leg over the other and a big cocky smile in his face. He knew Liam was never gonna get through Louis and Harry in order to touch him.
"Calm down Li, you're actin' all crazy." Niall provokes, chewing his minty gum.
"Fuck you!" Liam shouts.
"Sit down." Louis and Harry both shove him back so he is forced to be in his original seat. He stops fighting them, staying sat on the couch. "Niall's face is already all fucked up, we don't need yours too."
I sat dead silent during all of this, not having any words.
"He threw a fucking shoe at me!" Liam defends in aggression but remains sat on the couch. Louis and Harry stood in front of him like towers.
"Yeah cause you technically called him an idiot." Harry shrugs.
Liam gives up, rolling his eyes. Louis eventually sits back down next to him, Harry next to me again. Awkward silence drowned the room for a moment, I didn't really know how to break the silence. It was like a kindergarten classroom where both kids knew they were wrong so they sat silently in reflection, twiddling their thumbs.
"Can I have my shoe back?" Niall holds out his hand, given his shoe with still with Liam.
Liam fishes it out from the side of the couch, tossing it to the garbage can on the other side of the room. It went straight in, followed by a little petty smile on his behalf.
Niall's jaw tightness, but controls himself from saying anything. He just gets up to his feet and stomps himself over to the garbage can against his pride. Harry snickers under his breath, head down and shaking his head.
"Okay well on that note," I stand up. "I'm gonna go see Nova and try to do my job." I grab my camera off the table, slinging the strap around my neck and going to make my exit while Niall fishes his shoe out of the garbage.
"Liam will be dead by the time you see us again." Niall murmurs as I pass him near the door, I just smile and hope that was a joke.
I open up the door and step out into the hall, briefly turning my head back to meet eyes with Harry. He gives me a little smirk before I shut the door completely, making me grin to myself.
"Are they all in there!" I heard a demanding bark the minute I got into the hall, turning my head to see Sal stomping towards me. He was all sweaty, he must've of been running around like crazy.
"Yeah." I nod in slight fear, for a really short man he scares the shit out of me sometimes.
"Of course they fucking are..." He grumbles as I step back, giving him access to the door I just walked through. I hurry past him as he opens the dressing room door and yells at all of them for slacking off.
Speed walking, I twist and turn through all the backstage equipment to get to the arena. I pass multiple members of the stage crew all running around to get ready for the show tonight. Eventually, I bring myself out on the empty stage full of their instruments. Looking out to the massive stadium, I see the lighting and sound booth right in the middle of the GA floor. Nova was within the gated booth, working away.
I walk to the end of the stage and hop off, landing right on the scuffed grey floor. I saunter myself across the pit that would be filled with people tonight, making my way over to her area in the centre.
"Hey, stranger." I intro myself, watching her work away at the table in front of her.
She lifts her head up to look at me straight ahead, smiling when her eyes met mine. Her long dark hair was back in a thick ponytail, tight black tank top on her body with her black sweater tied around her hips. Niall was right, her chest did look really good in the tight clothing. Her little sailboat tattoo was on display too, right in the same place where I coincidentally have a hidden stab wound.
"Aven!" She seemed shocked by my presence, stopping what she was doing.
She walked over to the side of the gate, opening it up and running out in front of it to where I was. She comes up and hugs me, tight. I grin and hug her back, both of us swaying back and forth from the intensity of the hug. When she pulled back, she held my forearms.
"Where the hell have you been! I haven't seen you since the Atlanta show." She shakes her head.
"So busy." I huff in the idea of it all, she has no idea.
"I heard you weren't feeling well after the show in Atlanta, I wanted to come to check on you but they said it was better if you stayed quarantined." She tells me the fake sorry they gave everyone on my behalf, I guess I had to roll with it.
"Yeah...I must've caught a bug. I'm way better now though, got some rest." I lie straight to her face, it didn't feel good.
"I'm glad to have you back," She grins. "I was about to have a quick break, so come sit!" She takes my hand and pulls me around to the open gate.
I get lead right where all the controls were in the exclusive area, widening my eyes when I saw how many knobs and buttons there were. She sits down in a big chair with wheels, pulling up the other for me to sit in. I sit down next to her, in slight awe of every button on this panel.
"Holy shit." I murmur.
"I know, annoyingly difficult." She agrees.
Around the same time, I hear the banter of the boys. Looking up, I see them straight ahead on the stage again. They all made their way towards their spots and grab their instruments. I look back down at the overwhelming table full of switches, noticing a big red button.
"What does this do?" I murmur at the huge button, intimidated by it.
"Press it." She grins.
I arch my brow and take in the mischief on her face, feeling like this was a trap. I've learned from movies that you should never press the big red button.
"Is it going to launch me from my seat?"
She laughs and shakes her head. "No."
I look back down at the button and just decide to do it. My palm pressed down on the round plastic, suddenly everything in this entire arena goes black. My heart drops to my shoes, every light cutting out as I could no longer see anything. Before I got to panic at the fact my vision was taken away, the lights turn back on.
I turn my head to Nova who had a switch that brought light back to the stadium. She had a grin on her face, knowing that's what the big button did. I look out at the guys all confused on the stage, unsure of why everything went blackout. Their eyes land on me behind the table. Nova leans into the skinny mic set she had.
"Sorry boys, she's learning." Her voice amplified through the massive empty arena, my cheeks going red in embarrassment.
"Stick to the pictures, princess," Niall responds into his stage mic, making my eyes glare.
I hold up my middle finger, aiming it right for him. Harry plasters a grin on his face from my obscene gesture, Niall laughing a bit.
I pull my hand down and shake my head, turning to Nova and smiling with my red cheeks.
"I hate you."
"I had to do it, I'm sorry." She chuckles. "That's the button we use if something is going hazardous with the lights. That button shuts them all off to avoid any possible fires. It's also used in emergencies."
"That would've been nice to know before you made me press it."
"Probably." She nods, spinning her chair to face me directly. "So, how have you been?"
I turn my chair to face her too, placing my hands in my lap. Where do I even begin? There was so much I couldn't tell her.
"I've been alright," I nod. "Sorry I've been so absent."
"Are you still canoodling with Harry?" She uses awkward terminology.
"Canoodling?" I arch my brow.
"Yeah, you know, canoodling." She nods with a shrug, acting like saying it a second time meant it would make more sense.
"Are you sixty years old?"
"Are you gonna answer my question?" She was too smart for my distractions.
I go silent, staring at her and she awaited my response. My thumbs twiddled in my lap, my eyes squinting at her a bit. I didn't really know how to say yes without having to explain it so much.
"The longer you stay silent the more I'm gonna think the wor—"
"Okay! Yes, we're still...canoodling." I give in and use her odd words.
"Gross." She rolls her eyes.
"What do you mean gross?" I furrow my brows.
"You're gross."
"You're canoodling Louis!" I defend.
"Who says we're canoodling?" She plays dumb.
"No no no, you don't get to play the innocent virgin card. I know you have a thing with him." I point out dramatics.
"I never said I have a thing with him."
"Nova." I say in a way of 'cut the shit we both know the truth'.
She glares at me for a second, knowing she couldn't avoid the topic anymore.
"Okay fine! We're canoodling." She confesses. "Not like you and Harry though, I'm sure."
"Should I pry you for details?" I smirk, wondering what they exactly have done.
"No, you shouldn't." She was adamant with a head shake, really not wanting me to.
"Meaning there are details to pry for..." I tap my fingers together like an evil villain, slouching back in my chair.
"Stop that. No there isn't." She was getting flustered all of the sudden, meaning she definitely was hiding stuff going on between them.
"You're a terrible liar—"
"Aven!"
"Okay okay!" I laugh in surrender. "I'll stop."
"She worked her way through a cheap pack of cigarettes—"
She rolls her eyes but smiles, at the same time music starting to play from the stage. I look up and see them all beginning the set, Harry front and centre with his black electric guitar as Kiwi began. I lost count how many times I've heard this song, but it really never gets old. The stage was nowhere ready for the show, they had so many items stored on it still.
"So what else do you do back here?" I look back down at the panel.
"It takes me years to set this all up at every show, that's why these sound checks are so important to me. Anything that involves lighting on that stage is all of my doing." She educated me while my eyes get lost over the numerous switches and knobs.
"How did you learn all of this?" I murmur.
"The last tour there was someone with my position, I was just their assistant. I learned everything from her along the way, it's a very hands-on job that only experience can really teach you."
"Did she move on to something else?" I ask, referring to her boss from the last tour.
"I actually have no idea what happened to her. We were pretty good friends but she just kinda ditched as the tour ended, haven't heard from her since."
"That's weird." I furrow my brows. "You haven't heard from her?"
"She sent me a text saying she had some things to sort out in her life, that was the last I heard from her." Nova shrugs.
"Strange, soul searching I guess."
"Probably, this place makes people go crazy. She isn't the first to go on a spontaneous vacation after the tour. Happens quite a lot around here." She shrugs it off.
"Yeah, I'll probably need to." I nod.
My eyes turn back up to the stage, watching them perform to the empty arena. It was crazy to think that in a couple of hours this place would be packed of people, maybe some have already started lining up for this criminal band. My eyes ponder around the stadium, spinning around in the chair. I notice in the back exit there were two familiar-looking men in black blazers and white tank tops underneath. They were massive in height, sunglasses on their faces and gold chains on their necks. Both richly Italian, making me realize I've met these men before.
They were the ones that punished Harry with a beating back in Daytona.
Stood near the doors like statues, they watched the practice performance. My stomach went sick, thinking they were here to hurt someone. But I then understood they weren't moving, they were just watching. Were they supposed to be here? Are they...always here?
"Nova..who are those guys?" I murmur, wondering what she'll say.
She turns her head back to the two men I've seen before, wondering if she had any idea who they really are.
"Oh, security." She turns back to look at the stage.
"You've seen them before?" I murmur, feeling really anxious.
"Yeah, they're here during every soundcheck and concert. Freaky looking guys, but their trained and armed if anything goes bad." She tells me.
"I thought the people in the yellow jackets were security."
"The arena security, yes. But those two guys follow us everywhere on tour, they're personal bodyguards to the band." She specifies.
"Oh." I nod.
I peer at them over my shoulder one last time, watching them just stand there. Little did Nova know, those weren't bodyguards. They were two members of the mafia assigned to make sure the boys are kept in line. I remember Harry telling me how the mafia controls their every move when it comes to the band's image. I feel like if the guys perform one unauthorized song or do something on stage that gives anything away, they will shoot them.
But if they aren't nervous than neither should I. This was the first time I've noticed them here, so I'm sure nothing will happen. I just have to do what I'm supposed to, take pictures and pretend I know nothing.
"Okay, I'm gonna try and do my job now." I get up from my seat. "It was nice to catch up, I'll see you around."
She smiles and nods. "Yeah, we need to get together, come hang out on our bus once in a while." She smirks, a backhanded way of telling me I'm always with Harry.
"Or maybe you can come on the bands' bus with me so you can continue your Louis canoodling." I wink, walking out of the open silver gate.
"Yeah, whatever." She rolls her eyes as I leave, making me laugh at my exit.
I saunter back over to the stage, watching them performing Kiwi. I smile to myself as I was straight on in front of Harry, watching him sing into the microphone and weave his fingers through the guitar chords. I turn on my camera, getting right in front of the stage.
I bring my camera up to my eyes and focus on his towering above me up on the stage, his lips just brushing the mic. I couldn't help but grin at how good he looked, snapping a picture. His lips curled to a small smile he tried to contain, rolling his eyes at the same time because he still didn't like his picture being taken.
Too bad.
I bring the camera down and quickly look at the photo, biting my lip subtly at how good he looked. After that I walk over to the left of the stage, hopping and pulling myself up onto it with all the strength I had in one usable arm. I maneuver myself up on the black platform, standing back up so I was at their level.
The kept performing as I made my way on the stage to get shots of each of themselves in action. Luckily there were no protests, but I think we were past that point now. I galavanted around the large crowded stage and took a bunch of action shots. The only time anything felt normal was when I was simply taking pictures, it seems to be the only peaceful part of my days lately.
When the song ended, they all took a quick five-minute break. No one left the stage, but they all took seats on spare speakers and chairs. Niall lit a quick cigarette. I took a seat too, clicking though the pictures took while listening to them talk.
Surrounded by equipment, Harry was sat across the stage on a spare speaker. He was listening to what the guys were discussing, a look of pure observation in his eyes. His head flicked back and forth from who was talking, hands in his lap with his fingers subconsciously picking at the black polish on his nails. His shirt was white, I've never really seen him in white before. It had some name on it that I couldn't see. He had another shirt on beneath it, seeming to be black. I don't know why he chose to wear two shirts, but that was probably at the end of the list of things I've yet to ask Harry.
I curled a small smile on my face, watching him sit slightly slouched and quiet. When he listened to people, he seemed so timid and gentle. His body language was relaxed as he just paid attention to his friends. I don't see him like this enough, so introverted and silent. I raised my camera up, bringing the viewfinder to my left eye. Focusing on him ten metres across the stage, I secretly snap a quick shot of him. He didn't notice, he was too distracted by Niall's dramatic story. When I took the picture, I immediately reviewed it. I couldn't help but smile wider at the screen, admiring a moment where Harry Styles wasn't so on edge and feared by others. For once, he didn't look like a mafia associate with an endless mirage of problems on his back.
In this picture he was just a regular boy, simply listening to a story.
//
:')
banquet huh? what can possibly go wrong?
also aven was 12 in that flashback.