Hey, I'm In A Band!

Chapter 22

Abby's POV 

"Welcome to your home for the next few months," Cody said, showing us the tour bus. Chrissy was already on board, and Michael was just behind me as we went in. "There are only a few rules on here, and i'm sure Chrissy will be more than happy to tell you later when all the guys are off the bus," Cody said with a small laugh. "What rules are you telling them? Our buses never have any weird rules. Then again we're not girls," Michael said with a laugh. "There's nothing too bad, it's just easier to do it when there's not as many people," Chrissy replied. "Oh okay," Michael said. "So, this is the main room. As you can see, we have the driver's seat up there, benches on either side of the aisle, some counters, a mini fridge and microwave, and some cabinets for food. I also have a coffee thing, I don't know if any of you really drink coffee, but it's there," She said. "Over here is your bathroom. There are some rules on the sign above the toilet and we'll probably go over them later. If we open this door," She said, pressing a button. "These are the bunks. We can choose who gets what bunk later, but here we are," She said, leading us down the aisle.

 "Through this doorway," Cody said as he opened the other door from the other side. "Is the lounge area. There's a TV, some games, and a big couch thing. This is great for filming videos when the bus isn't moving over bumps. If it is, you will mess up," He said. "And yeah, this is basically it," Chrissy said. "It's gonna be really fun to have you on board," She continued. "Yeah, at some pit stops I might join your bus for a bit," Cody said. "Now, we're actually playing a few shows that aren't technically part of the Spring Break tour, but those are mostly getting us set to head back to Florida. We're gonna head back to California during the tour, so maybe Michael and the guys can come for a show or two," Chrissy said. "Sounds good to me," I said. "Oh, and the shows before Glamour Kills are in smaller venues than we've played at in a while, we didn't even put the tickets on anyone's sites. The posters go up the day before and it's like a $12 admission to each venue," Cody said. "Oh that's cool," Kalee said.. "Oh, and one more thing, Cody," She added. "What?" he asked. "Where's that hugged you promised?" She asked. "Right here!" He replied, hugging her. Maxx joined in, followed by me, then Zach, then Mya, then Zach, then Becky, then Chrissy, and finally Michael.

"I'm so excited to tour for the first time!" Becky said. "It's going to be loads of fun, trust me," Zach replied. Eventually we all pulled out of the hug and sat on the couch so we could talk about touring. It was hard for everyone to fit on the couch so Michael, Cody, and Chrissy stood in front of us like teachers in front of a class. "So, before you leave for tour, you have to know what touring is like," Michael said. "Your schedule will be pretty busy. You'll be up late and have to get up pretty early, there will be a lot of interviews at a lot of radio stations," Chrissy said. "And as fun as touring can be, it gets very stressful sometimes. If that happens, take a deep breath and remember why you chose this job in the first place. Remember how excited you would've been to get these opportunities even just a year ago," Cody said. "I'm ecstatic to be getting these opportunities even now," I replied, smiling. After a few more touring rules, including the ones that Chrissy said we would do with less people, it was time to hit the road. "I have to go now," Michael said as we stood up. I gave him a tight hug. "I'm going to miss you, dad," I whispered. This was going to be the longest we've been far apart since he adopted me and it wasn't going to be easy for either of us.

"I'm going to miss you to. Text me, okay?" Michael replied. "I promise," I said. He kissed the top of my head before it was time for him and Kalee to say goodbye. I chose the middlemost bunk on the right side. I sat in it and put my songbook in the little pocket pouch thing on the side, along with a full pack of my favorite pens. "Bye dad," I said as Michael walked down the aisle, and I followed him to the door. "I love you," I said. "I love you, too, Abby. Be careful," He said, hugging me quickly again before he left. "I will," I whispered, closing the door. I watched through the window as he walked back into the house and as the bus left home. I immediately felt numb, since Michael was the one who kept me grounded and happy. I walked to my bunk and began writing whatever lyrics would come to mind, covering pages in random fragments of songs while the others were in the back room having fun. I heard the door open and the laughter get a bit louder before the door slid shut again. "Abby?" I heard the person ask. I knew it was Cody since he was currently the only guy in the bus. I slid open my curtain to see him right outside my bunk. "Hey," I said. "Why don't you join us?" He asked, gesturing to the door. "I'm not in the mood right now," I replied, still feeling numb. "Well, surely you're lonely out here," He said. "Not really," I said blandly, feeling the bus stop. "We're having a gas stop," Cody said, typing something into his phone quickly.

In a few minutes, the other guys were on the bus so everyone was on this bus. They were more spread out now since there were five more people added into the mix. I was writing in my bunk when Zach opened the curtain. "You okay?" He asked. "Yeah," I replied. "Are you sure?" He asked in response. "Kinda," I replied. "Kinda? Breakups are hard, and everyone deals with them differently, just don't dwell on it. You've got to move past it, for your own good." He said. "That's why Cody texted us, he knows we can help. We all have past experiences that we've learned from and can teach from," Maxx said. "It's not healthy to keep everything bottled up inside, even if you are using writing as an escape. You have to let it out," Cody said. "We're here for you," Dan said. I knew I needed to talk to someone about this, but I didn't want to. "Can we do this later?" I asked. "Abby, you can't push this off," Cody said. I looked at them and I knew they were right. I could talk to them about anything, even if this was the first time I was talking to them in real life. I put down my sketchbook and looked at them. "So what do I do?" I asked. "Talk about it, cry about it, do something, feel something!" Maxx said.

"There had been pictures circulating for a bit of him and some other girl, Bryana, and they started popping up more and more, so much that it was obvious Ashton was with this girl more than he was with me. He was becoming distant, and I knew there wasn't anything I could do about it. When I did talk to him, he seemed uninterested and as if I was the one who did something wrong! Magazines started publishing stories about him cheating saying it was possible but no one ever wanted to talk about it. We were going on a date but he seemed rigid and when I asked him about it everything came crashing down. He thought I  was cheating on him! I've been nothing but good to him and it just backfired. We used to make each other so happy and now I never want to see him again! I hope he knows that I can't stand the sight of him anymore, and I want to move out so I don't have to be near him ever again!" I said, tears escaping my eyes. "Aren't you touring together in the summer?" Cody asked. "Yes, which is the worst part. I've been avoiding him since the breakup and it's just so hard!" I said, putting my head in my hands.

"I know, it's alright. We'll protect you from guys like him from now on. We're like your big brothers now, alright?" Maxx said. "Alright," I said as I wiped away my tears. "Oh, and there's a song, well, a few, that I could use some help on developing and maybe some vocals?" I asked. "Of course. Oh, and Abby?" Zah said. "Yeah?" I asked in response. "You can talk to any of us about anything," He said. "Thanks, and the same goes for all of you. I'm an open book from now on," I said, hugging them as I jumped down from my bunk with my songbook. We grabbed some soda from the fridge and sat down at the table to work. "This would be easier if our instruments weren't on our bus," Dan said. "Yeah," Cody agreed. "Yeah," I said before excusing myself to go to the bathroom. I looked at myself in the mirror and saw that my eyes were red from my intense cry only a couple minutes before. I looked at my hair and wanted another change, I finally wanted to be me. I did my business, washed my hands, then walked out. "Can you help me with something?" I asked them. "Of course we can, whatever you need," Cody said, looking slightly worried.

I finally updated are you proud of me?!??!?!?!?!?!?!? And I ended on a cliffhanger thing cause I was feeling like it! Probably going to upload the character replies tomorrow so if you have any last minute questions, go ahead! I love you all, even the ghosties! (especially you guys, hello)