This is probably a really bad idea.

I mean, how horrible does it look that I’m alone in Abbey’s room and we’re proceeding to get drunk together.  Situations like this never end well.  Never.

Of course, I can’t seem to stop myself, and I’m not sure I want to leave just yet.

The look on Abbey’s face when I spotted her in the hallway is still haunting me.  I never expected to see her looking so upset and sad when she should have been walking on clouds.  Rachel told me that she couldn’t get anything out of her, so I knew I couldn’t just leave it alone and let her stew in her own sadness.  I had to find out what was wrong, I just should have known that it had something to do with John.

It kills me that he can be such an ass to Abbey.  I mean, she’s a fun person to be around, and she’s got a whole hell of a lot going for her, what’s his problem?

I don’t want to step on anyone’s toes, but I really didn’t think I was doing anything wrong by inviting them out to see the show.  Her parents were elated when I talked to them, and they’re really looking forward to surprising their daughter.  I figured John would be excited too.  I didn’t actually speak to him, I got his voice mail.  So I left him a message and told him where he could pick up the plane tickets.  Apparently that was a bad thing to do.

What’s making all of this so hard is the fact that instead of getting stupidly drunk, Abbey is getting sappy and she’s been crying for the past half hour.

Can you see why I’m reluctant to leave?

“I don’t get it, Boss Man,” She blows her nose loudly into a tissue and I cringe a little.  This is not her most attractive moment.

“He’s just an ass, Abbey.  I don’t even know why you’re with him.”  Her watery blue eyes stare up at me and I know I just said something I shouldn’t have.

“But I love him!”  She’s screeching and this is a moment when I really wish she didn’t have such strong lungs.  “When we’re together it’s so great and he’s so amazing.  I think that me being gone is really tough on him right now.”

Oh please, I can’t believe she’s actually making excuses for that asshole. 

“Abbey, maybe you should get some sleep.”  She fights me when I try and take the bottle of champagne away from her and I take this moment to thank God that I didn’t bring any other alcohol.

“No!”  She grabs at the bottle but her reaction time is really slow and I manage to get it away from her with little effort.  She’s thrown herself down onto the bed and a new wave of tears has taken over.

I cannot deal with this.  I am not equipped to handle tears, especially not like this.  I mean…I don’t know the first thing to do about girls and these emotional outbursts.  My skin starts to crawl and my palms get sweaty and I want to be anywhere but in that room…like right now.  And really…girls aren’t pretty when they cry.  I know that sound’s like a jack ass thing to say, but I’m just being honest.

Abbey seems content to wail on the bed, so I grab my phone and call in some reinforcements.

“Hey Rach, sorry to bother you.  Can you do me a favor?”  She sounds a little pissed, but as soon as I mention that it’s Abbey she’s on her way.

When I signed on an artist, I didn’t plan on becoming her therapist too.  Although, now that I think back to all the shit the guys and I have pulled, I’m surprised that Johnny still talks to me. 

Rachel knocks and surveys the damage when I let her in.  She shakes her head at me, “Justin, what were you thinking?”

“Me!”  I point to myself and stare wildly around the room, looking for the other Justin she might be referring to.

“Yes, you.”  Rachel sits down next to Abbey and pulls the still sobbing girl into her arms, trying to calm her down.  “She’s obviously upset, giving her champagne was a really stupid idea.”

“She wanted it!”  I defend myself, but from the look I’m getting I know it’s not getting me anywhere.  Whatever.  I totally didn’t force her to drink.

“What happened, anyway?”  Abbey seems to have calmed down some, but she’s hiccupping right now and if this weren’t such a serious situation I would so laugh right now.  She looks like a twelve year old.

“John bitched at her because I bought him tickets to come out and surprise her.”  That about sums it up, I think.

“Ouch.  What an ass.  I thought he was this really great guy?”  This seems to be rhetorical, so I don’t bother to answer, but Abbey seems to think she needs to chime in.

“He is a great guy, he’s just under a lot of stress and he feels immascu…immascus….he feels like a little girl when Justin tries to do stuff like this.”  She hiccups again and I hold back a laugh.  Even in her drunken state she manages to give me a dirty look.

“I just wanted to surprise you, Jude.  I know how hard it is to be out on the road and away from family and I wanted to do something nice.  I didn’t realize it was going to be such a big deal.”  I constantly feel like I’m defending myself, this evening.

“Oh, it’s not your fault.”  She throws herself dramatically on the bed but sits up after a second, looking a little green.  “Oh shit.”  Rachel and I watch her run into the bathroom and I cringe as I hear her wretch.

“I think that’s my cue to leave.”  I turn to go but the death glare my cousin is shooting my way tells me differently.  “Or not.”

“You’re going to stay here and help me with her.”

“Shit Rach, you know how I get with all that stuff.  If I see her puke it’s just going to make me sick.”  Is it just me, or do I sound like a whiney bitch right now?

“At least get her a glass of water and some crackers or something.  Go see what they have in the mini bar.  I’m going to check on her.” 

I watch her disappear into the bathroom and I rummage around the room.  I do manage to find a bottle of water, so I grab that.  There isn’t much in the way of crackers, so I make a call down stairs and get some sent up.  I’m really not sure what else I can do here, but I fear the wrath of Rachel so I don’t leave just yet.

Shit, this was not the way I wanted to spend my first night out on tour.

I just gave one of the most kick ass shows of my life, and now I’m stuck with a drunken singer that’s prone to bust out in tears at any given moment.  I should be out with the boys celebrating, or something.  Just not this.

Rachel comes back with Abbey and I take one look at the girl and realize that I don’t think I could be anywhere else but here.  She looks so small and pathetic, I’m ready to give John a swift kick in the ass right about now.

“Hey Jude,” She looks up at me with the saddest eyes I have ever seen.  “Are you going to be OK?”  I get a small nod, but I’m not sure I believe it.

“Where’s the water?”  Rachel asks as she helps Abbey get into the bed.

“It’s over there, on the nightstand.  I called downstairs and they’re on their way with some crackers.  I put some advil on the table too.”  I really wish I could make this night better for Abbey, she should be celebrating too.

John Woods needs to suffer, and he never be around Abbey again.

“You two can go,” Abbey waves us off, rolling over onto her side and curling into herself.  “I’ll be fine.”

Both Rachel and I hesitate, not sure if we should really go.  Abbey waves us off again so we head out the door.  It has been one crazy night, that’s for sure.

“Thanks for the help, Rachel.  I’m sorry I ruined your night.”

She shrugs.  “I’m pretty sure my night has been a hell of a lot better than hers,” Rachel jerks her thumb in Abbeys direction and I nod in agreement.  “Good night, Justin.  And hey,” She stops me with her words, “Awesome show tonight, you really killed it.”

“Night Rach.”  I finish my walk down the hallway and collapse into my room with a loud sigh.

I know I should probably leave well enough alone, but the look on Abbey’s face keeps running through my head and I give in to the desire to rip John a new one.  Picking up my phone I find the number and hope that I wake him up as it rings.

“Hello?”  Good, he sounds groggy.

“Hey fucker,” Not the most diplomatic way to start a conversation, but I’m past the point of being nice right now.

“Who the fuck is this?” 

“How dare you ruin Abbey’s night over a stupid pair of plane tickets.  If you didn’t want to come out to see her, you didn’t have to take them.”

“Justin?”

“She’s a fucking mess right now over you, and I don’t think you’re even worth her time, never mind her tears.  I can’t believe you could be such an asshole over something as stupid as this.”

“What the fuck-?”  He struggles to speak, his grogginess seeming to slip further away, but I’m on a roll now.

“No, I’m not done.”  I take a deep breath, “She just put on the show of a life time in front of thousands of people and they loved her.  She just made her dreams come true, and you’ve got your panties in a bunch because I thought you might like to surprise her.  I can’t fucking believe you!  You can’t take three days off to come see your girlfriend make something of herself?  You can’t take a second out of your life to be thankful that you’ve got such a kick ass person in your life?”

“Hold on a second,” He starts to yell, but I’ve had enough drama for tonight and I really don’t care about what he’s got to say.

“Save it, I don’t care.  I just called to tell you that I think you’re a douche bag and you won’t ever have to worry about me trying to do anything nice again.”  I’m about to hang up but think better of it, “Oh, and you owe me two hundred bucks for the plane tickets, my assistant will tell you where to send the check tomorrow.” And I hang up.

Whew.

That felt good.  I really hope it doesn’t cause more problems for Abbey, but I feel a hell of a lot better about things now, and if he does give her shit I’ll make his life a living hell.

I can’t believe that asswipe. 

I let out a muffled scream and flop down onto the bed.  My body is tense and I feel more riled up than I did after the show, except this time it’s not at all from excitement.

My first fucking night on tour and I’m dealing with all of this drama and shit.  This really isn’t how I planned for things to go, but apparently things aren’t going to go the way I’ve planned. 

This was not what I was expecting when I signed an artist.  I was hoping for some good music and maybe a good friend.  Instead I get thrown into high school and now I’ve got a drunk star and a pissy boyfriend.

Well fuck me. Happy first show, Justin.

~*~

Despite the drama of last night, I managed to get some good sleep and I feel ready to take on this day.

I managed to grab a peek at the news this morning and there have been nothing but rave reviews about the show.  I am so excited I don’t think I could express it.  I just know I can’t wait to get back on that stage again tonight.  Now that I know how kick ass this show is, I really just want to be in front of those crowds again.

I looked for reviews in the paper for Abbey and there wasn’t much, but what was there was good.  She still needs some more exposure, but I know that she’ll get there.  I have faith.

Speaking of my protégé, I haven’t really seen her all day.  I caught a glimpse of her going into an interview this morning, and she looked pretty run down, but I’m not really surprised.  I caught Trish for a second and she said that Abbey was fine. I don’t trust that woman’s judgment and I really think I need to find a replacement.

“Hey Rachel, are we done yet?”  It’s getting close to lunch time and I need to eat something before I pass out.  I also want to grab Abbey for a minute and make sure everything is OK.  I realized this morning that I probably shouldn’t have called John last night.  It wasn’t my finest moment.

“Yeah, you’re all done until sound check and the meet and greet tonight.”  Sweet.

“Thanks Rach.  I’m going to grab some food and see if I can find Abbey.  I’ll catch you later.”

“She’s in her dressing room trying to get some sleep.”  Rachel points to a door down the hall of the venue and I give her a smile.  I don’t know how that girl manages to know everything all the time, but I love her for it.

I head to the cafeteria in the venue and thank God I booked a good company this tour.  Their food kicks ass and if it weren’t a bad idea, I’d keep eating all day.  I just don’t want to puke all over my dancers, or something gross like that.

I grab a plate for myself, and think to get one for Abbey too.  I have no idea if she ate or not, but I would wager that she hasn’t and she needs to.

Her room is quite when I enter, and I can see her form tucked under a blanket on the couch.  I hate to wake her, and I probably shouldn’t, but when have I ever listened to that little voice that says no?

“Hey Jude,” I shake her gently and step back when she reaches out and swings in my direction.  Apparently she’s a little cranky.

“Leave me alone.”

“Abbey…”I rub her back softly and she turns over to give me a glare.  “I brought you food?”  Maybe this will be a peace offering.

“Justin, I’m hung over, exhausted, and just a little pissed off.  You really think food is going to make me want to see you right now?”

I shrug and show her the plate.  “The caterer makes really good pasta salad.” She cracks a smile at me and I know I’ve won.  That was a close one.

“Thanks.” She sits up and takes the plate, tucking her legs underneath her.  “I was wondering how long it would take before you checked up on me.”

“I probably would’ve been in your room first thing this morning, but I had an early interview and I didn’t have time.  I’m really sorry about last night.”

“Which part?  The part where you got me drunk? or the part where you ripped my boyfriend a new asshole?”  Ooohhh…I guess she did talk to John.

“You heard about that, huh?”  I give her a sheepish look and tuck more food into my mouth before I can say anything else to make an ass of myself.

“Yeah, I got quite the earful.  But it’s OK, I’m actually glad you did it, because I’m not sure I could’ve done it myself.”  She stabs angrily at the chicken on her plate and I swallow hard.

“I didn’t make things worse, did I?”  That wasn’t my intention, even though I wouldn’t be upset if she broke up with him.

“Nah.  I think he was mostly mad because you were right.  He actually apologized for being an asshole, and I think he might still try and make it out.”  She chews thoughtfully before grinning at me, “Oh, and he says he has your two hundred bucks.  I can’t believe you told him he had to pay for the tickets.”

“Hey!  He was being an asshole and he ruined the surprise!  I’m not just going to give away shit like that, especially if he’s going to be a dick to you about it.”

Abbey watches me quietly for a moment, her eyes tracing over my face.  It’s a little unnerving, and I’m really not sure if she’s angry or not.  I can’t tell.  She surprises me, though, when she puts her plate down and moves mine so she can sit on my lap and wrap her arms around my shoulders.

“Thanks, Boss man.”  She gives me a peck on the cheek and I might be blushing.  I said ‘might’!

I give her a slightly awkward hug back, “Anytime, Jude.  Anytime.” 

And I think I really mean that.