Right Back to You

10. Difficult Life

Jimmy decided to listen to Macy and minded his own business for the rest of the afternoon. Jessie didn't show up again, neither did he see her before taking his place under the stage in the tech room, simply surveying the electric system to make sure nothing fried.

The acoustic of the place was horrible, all the sounds coming in distorted by the thick wood above his head. He could hear noise, the cheering of the crowd, but not the music per se. Which was a little disappointing since he was curious whether the pop princess lives up to the hype. Sure, the sounds of the crowd indicated that she did, but he didn't trust public opinion that much.

At one point, Macy came in to make sure that everything was fine, and when he confirmed that it was, she actually gave him a rare smile.

The job turned out easy, but boring and rather tiresome. He wasn't sure how he felt about doing that for the rest of the next three venues. Not like he had a choice anyway.

The noise suddenly dimmed and then there was no more instruments and distorted voices, but the pure adulation of the crowd. Jimmy took this as his cue to shut down most of the systems and let the equipment cool off for the night. By the time he came out, the stage was empty, the movers were already gathering the equipment, and the crowd was heading for the exit, chattering excitedly.

Since he no longer had to move stuff, he headed for the back exit which led towards the trailers in which the staff was expected to rest. And just because he was special tech guy, he actually got a tiny trailer all to himself. Which was already an improvement from Tom's cramped up little room in their home. Well, so to speak since he'd been kicked out on the street after turning eighteen.

A vice squeezed his heart as for the briefest moment he remembered the months in which he'd shared Izzy's apartment. But her pulled himself together and focused on the crisp evening air and the positive energy the crowd left in its wake. He wouldn't think about his ex. He'd been avoiding it for months and he wasn't about to relapse. They were over and he didn't regret it or missed her. Sure, he missed the feelings, the infatuation, the happiness, however fake it turned out to be. But not her.

No, he'd focus on other things. Like how it was now fairly quiet and he got to lounge on the loveseat outside his trailer. His back needed it, and laying down with his legs draped over the armrest worked like a charm. Hi ears also needed a break from all the noise.

With his hands under his head, he glanced at the sky. He wished he could see stars, but the city lights blurred them out. Frowning slightly, he wondered if he'd ever actually seen stars. If he had a car, he'd drive out into the desert. He was sure they would look wonderful from there.

The sound of rapid footsteps broke through the silence. It was a little early for the mover to be returning, so Jimmy raised his head slightly to check. A lone figure headed his way, by the looks of it a woman. She stopped right next to a lonely lightbulb shining from the entrance to one of the nearby trailers. The lights sent her flaming curls ablaze.

A knot lodged itself in his throat as he realized it was Jessie. She wore tight leather pants and a corset, with a dark green camisole underneath. Green appeared to be her color as well. What was she doing there? Was she looking for him? Had he screwed something up? But the way she looked around indicated that she was checking for people, not looking for someone. Once she seemed to consider all was fine, she clenched her fists, looked up to the sky and let out a frustrated scream.

Jimmy jumped into a sitting position. His back protested, but he ignored it, staring. She screamed again into the night, bringing her fists to her forehead. How much anger did that girl have in her?

"Are you okay?" he asked.

She flinched so badly, she straightened, her hands falling limp by her side. For a second, she looked terrified and embarrassed. At least until she recognized him and her eyes narrowed.