Hero(A Newsboys fanfic)

Chapter 4: Telling the Fans

We had been on the road for a few house now. Florida was behind us and now we we're headed to Lexington, Kentucky. Living on the road wasn't so bad. It was certainly better than being on the streets.

All of us were gathered in lounge part of the bus. Avery and Mya were talking to each other, Jody and Michael were in their own conversation. Jeff was scrolling through his phone while Duncan watched some kid show with Aidyn. And baby Ben sat happily in his mom's lap. I was happy just looking out the window, taking in everything that went by.

While I was gazing out the window, I noticed Jeff sit up out of the corner of my eye. His elbows rested on his knees while he stared down at his phone and let out a sigh.

"What's up, Frank?" Michael asked, noticing as well.

"Well, we may have a tiny problem." Jeff replied.

"What kind of tiny problem?" Mya asked, moving to sit next to her husband so she could see what he was looking at.

"We've been getting a lot of messages on Instagram about our stories we put out before the show in Florida." Jeff started explaining. "And Layla was in the background of a few of them and people are wanting to know who she is." He handed his phone to Jody and Michael so they could read the messages themselves. "A few are saying she looks out of place or that she doesn't look like a crew member." 

"So what do we tell them?" Duncan asked.

Avery took Jeff's phone to read the messages. "The truth. We're not gonna lie to your fans."

"Yeah but the truth is a little personal." Jody argued.

"We could tell them in a roundabout way." Michael suggested.

The seven of them went back and forth. I let out a sigh knowing that they most likely weren't gonna get anywhere.

"Let's let Layla decide." Jody said, pointing to me. "It's her story, her life. She decides."

Everyone else looked at each other, silently agreeing that he was right. They looked over at me, waiting for my decision.

I thought for a couple of seconds. "You can tell them the truth." I say, rather quietly but just loud enough that they all heard.

Everyone looked at me with question I glances and sympathetic eyes.

"You can." I repeated. "I don't mind."

"Are you sure?" Jeff asked.

"Yeah. I don't want you guys lie on my behalf."

They all nodded in understanding and we spent the next few minutes telling Jeff what to write in the post. When it came to my story, all I told him to type was that I was homeless because of my faith. It was the truth but not whole story. And hopefully their fans would understand enough.

Jeff posted the explanation and within a few minutes the replies flooded in. Most of them were sympathetic, people saying they were sorry for whatever I went through. Some telling me how lucky I was that the Newsboys found me. The others were just miscellaneous replies. But now the fans knew.

The rest of the bus ride continued on as normal. When we arrived in Lexington, I followed everyone off the bus. The girls and I went to go sit down while the boys helped the crew unload everything and bring it to the stage.

Part of me felt strange that many people now knew about my situation but the fact that it was well received made me feel better about it.

Sound check went on as it normally did and soon it was lunchtime. A local restaurant catered us and once I got my plate I joined everyone.

"Have any more replies come in?" I asked, sitting down.

Jeff took out his phone. "A few more have."

"What are they saying?" Mya asked.

"People are wondering what our plan to help Layla is." Jeff replied.

"What is your plan?" I asked.

Avery and Mya looked over at the boys, reminding them that since they had not been there that night, it was a plan between the four musicians. All four of the boys looked between each other. It was cleared that they hadn't really thought their idea of bringing me along through.

"Well, wo don't have one at the moment." Michael said.

"But we'll come up with one." Duncan added.

"I'm sure Layla's real assured now." Avery chimmed in, sarcastically.

The rest of the day was spent by resting up and doing any last minute checks and preparations for the show. When it came time, the boys came from their dressing room and when to their spot and waited for their cue.

I wandered around backstage and ended up a little ways from Jody's side of the stage. While he was waiting, he turned around and saw me. He walked over to me, his guitar resting in front of him safely supported by the strap on his shoulder.

"How are you doing?" He asked.

"I'm fine." I say with a shrug. "Just worried about everything, I guess."

Jody wrapped his arm around my shoulders and pulled me into a hug. I wrapped my arms around his waist and accepted.

"Everything's gonna be okay." He said. "You're gonna be okay."

I sinply nodded against his shoulder, hoping he was right. He pulled away when his cue came and he gave me one last smile before going out on stage, leaving me alone with my thoughts and worries.