State of Love and Distrust

AND SHIT GOT FUCKIN' CRAZY

ALSO IN THE PLAZA PARKING LOT
"I can't believe this! Drugs before a show! You look a hot mess! And some of you..." one of the reps' eyes darted toward Jeff. "Who I never thought would do this shit, were... FUCKING ON THE BUS? What has gotten into you!?"

Jeff adjusted his shorts and pulled his tank top strap up. Stone looked down like a dog who just got in trouble for making a mess in the house.

Eddie, drunk, spoke out, "We were just having a good time. Is that cool?"

"NO! Not right now!"

"I thought these movie premiere things were supposed to be fun. Hmmm. Looks like everyone else is havin' a good time."

"Well, have fun but don't act like a bunch of fuckin' morons when we have millions of dollars on the line!"

"Hey!" screamed Stone. "Don't fucking talk to us like that!"

Eddie stood up a bit. "We're the reason that everyone is here tonight. Maybe we should just get back on the bus. Maybe we won't perform. Party over."

"You wouldn't dare."

"I'm thinking so!" said Eddie, heading back toward the bus door. The rest of the band agreed.

"You better not get on that fuckin' bus!"

Eddie lifted up his foot and started to dramatically motion toward the bus.

All of a sudden, a massive security guard appeared seemingly out of nowhere and grabbed Eddie, and yanked him away from the bus.

"Fuck you! Let go of me!"

Eddie started to writhe around and yell in anguish. The rest of the guys started to surround the bodyguards, but they were no match. A couple of other brutish guards started walk to over to the band, ready to pick them up as if they were small children.

One of the Warner Brothers reps screamed, "You get your asses on that stage! I don't give a damn how fucked up you are! If you don't go, you are in violation of your contract and we're going to tie you up in so much litigation that you'll never be able to show your faces in this town again!"

"That doesn't sound too bad, actually," said Stone.

"Please, guys. I'm sorry," said Kelly. "Just do a couple songs, OK? Then we all can call it a night."

The men all grumbled and marched forward, the security guards refused to leave their side.

"Make sure our friends are in the front," said Jeff while he looked toward Dianne.

"YES. We'll escort them," one of the guards assured.

ALSO IN THE PARK PLAZA HOTEL PARKING LOT
"ALL THINGS WHOEVER YE WOULD THAT MEN SHOULD DO TO YOU, DO YE EVEN SO TO THEM."

When we got back to the hotel, the exterior appeared ominous, the statues illuminated by the warm lights from below. The statues were creepy as if they were watching our every move. Along the building were hundreds of bronze guards protecting it. I didn't notice them too much earlier that day. Unaware of the time, I tried to read the clock, but I couldn't make out the numbers. However, the bronze eyes were winking at me. I shook my head. I could no longer tell what was real and what was an illusion.

Dianne and I were corralled in the parking lot along with the rest of the tag-a-longs. A few feet away, Pearl Jam and a bunch of suited figures were having a shouting match. Meanwhile, another pair of suits walked over to us with a clipboard.