Frustration -SERIES- [Part 1] [boyxboy]

Chapter Thirteen

Backstage before the show that night was tense. Word had spread quickly about Conor's dad turning up out of the blue and, along with it, the story of why he hated him. It didn't seem that people knew what had happened once we sat down at that booth in the restaurant area of the hotel but it was pretty clear that whatever it was, it hadn't gone well. Despite recounting the slapstick story of how we'd gotten together in the first place, Conor seemed even moodier than usual, and most people were giving him space.

'Is he gonna be okay?' Rachel muttered to me as we sat on a couple of amps out of the way, watching Conor through the open green room door slouched on an armchair and glaring at nothing in particular.

I shrugged. 'I think he'll be fine.'

'I could go and make fun of him over some stuff if you like,' Josh offered generously.

'Thanks,' I said dryly. 'But I think we'll pass.'

'Do you reckon his dad will show up?' Rachel asked quietly. I hadn't told them about the bigoted rubbish his dad had been spewing, but I had mentioned that he'd bought a ticket to the gig.

I shrugged again. 'I honestly don't know. I can't imagine he would after the things Conor said to him-' I saw Rachel try to butt in and ask what had been said, but Josh put a hand on her shoulder, '-but then again he is his son. I can't see him giving up that easily either.'

'What will Conor do if he does show?'

I raised an eyebrow. 'Knowing the mental state he's in now? Probably call him out as a wife-beating homophobe on stage and incite a riot.'

'Yikes,' Rachel squeaked.

'I wouldn't really blame him,' glowered Josh unexpectedly.

'Excuse me? You're a pacifist. And you're the one who held him off beating the shit out of his dad earlier.'

'I'm secretly in love with your boyfriend. I just wanted to touch him.' I levelled my gaze at him sceptically. 'Couldn't let him beat somebody up right there in the hotel, could I? And anyway if he did it your way he couldn't even be blamed. Wouldn't have touched the asshole.'

'I hope he doesn't do anything stupid,' I murmured.

Josh clapped a hand on my shoulder conspiratorially. 'Come on, Tyler. Conor has a long and detailed history of doing really stupid things.'

I rubbed my face wearily. 'It's just the last thing he needs right now. As if there wasn't enough going on.'

'You know he could probably sue KISS Magazine for the things they wrote about him,' Rachel said, snapping back into her usual mode of Little Miss Fix-It. 'They took everything he said out of context, and he's a minor - speculating about who and whether he's fucking is probably at least a little bit illegal.'

'You're right, Barrister Riley,' I said amusedly. 'A lawsuit is exactly what we should throw into the mix.'

Rachel scowled. 'Alright, I was just trying to help. No need to be sarcastic.'

'But I'm so good at it.'

She elbowed me and I nearly fell off the amp I was sitting on as Sally and Tarquin walked over to us.

'You know there's a club you can join if you enjoy physically harming Tyler,' Tarquin said to Rachel, grinning. 'I'm the president.'

'Shut up,' Sally said authoritatively. 'He turned you into a jelly doughnut on the bus the other day and don't you forget it.'

Tarquin scowled as Josh's face lit up with interest. 'Tell.'

Sally waved it off. 'Oh, Tar was making fun of Conor so Tyler cut him up into shreds with some sharp words. It was really funny.'