MARGARET | eddie roundtree

track twenty-three.

Instead of heading for the comfort of her room, Stella decided to go to the bar area. And no, not to get a drink.

She wanted to call Camila.

She didn't know why the girl decided not to tell her about sleeping with Eddie from the beginning when she told her they had gotten together. It just felt like a complete betrayal to their friendship, even though she had mostly blamed Eddie.

She went into the phone booth and dialed Camila's number, only to realize that she was probably assuming Billy would call her and she wouldn't want to pick up. "Fuck," Stella breathed out as tears continued to fall from her face before it gave her the option to leave a message.

"Camila," she began, using her full name instead of her nickname. "I-I don't even know how to start this, but...I just found out that you and Eddie..." She took a deep breath, wanting to get the words out clearly, "s-slept together the night before he asked me to be his girlfriend. I just...I have no words. I mean, how could you not tell me? You're one of my closest friends and-and I told you when Billy cheated, didn't I? You couldn't have told me this? I-I wouldn't have been mad at you. Just...just why? Please call me back somehow. Please. I just need to know what the reas—"

She had been cut off by the phone telling her the recording had been stopped so she sighed and placed the phone back on its holder, not bothering to call again and record a second message. Once Camila heard it, she'd know what she had to do even if she didn't want to do it.

She then opened up the booth, only to be met with a depressed looking Billy. "What the hell are you doing here?" He asked, although his tone was far from aggressive like before. It was almost desperate.

She shook her head, wiping at her wet face that she hoped the Dunne man wouldn't point out. "Nothing, it's all yours," was all she said before she walked past him, finally escaping to her room to cry in peace. Billy watched her away, feeling...guilty? He shook his head and then walked into the phone booth, dialing Camila's number like she had just done unbeknownst to him.

4:34 PM.

It was time for sound check. Daisy, Billy, and, surprisingly, Stella were nowhere to be found when four o'clock had struck.

"Anyone have a guess where they might be?" Rod questioned stressfully, knowing that if both Billy and Stella hadn't shown up for sound check then that meant something was definitely wrong. He was already used to Daisy being late. "Anyone? For fuck's sake," he walked off, trying to get someone to find them.

"Not like Stella or Billy to be missing sound check," Warren spoke up, causing Eddie and Karen to look over at him. He then got up from where he sat at his drums, smoking a cigarette. "It's a nice shiner you got there," he gestured to the black eye forming on Eddie's face. But, Eddie just ignored him as he picked up his bass, not in the mood to be talking. "Eddie?"

Eddie looked up at him, giving him a slightly annoyed look. Warren sighed and sat down, taking his sunglasses off. "What'd you say to him, man?" He asked, not wanting to venture over to the topic of Stella just yet.

"Nothin'. Just, uh...some shit that needed to be said, that's all," Eddie replied, not wanting to get into it.

"Eddie, look, I'm gonna say some stuff, all right, and-and you're gonna promise that you're not gonna hate me for it," Warren began and Eddie pursed his lips into a thin line. "What the fuck is wrong with you?" Warren got up, getting closer to his friend. "So what if Billy's an asshole? So what if you're not the guy? I mean, you are-you are in the biggest band in the fucking world right now. You get to fly around on jet planes and-and sleep on $100 bills, and we get to play songs that-that millions of people listen to, and they fucking love 'em. They love 'em, Eddie. What? That's not enough for you?"