No Curtain Call

Chapter 3

After we said good night to the guys, Nick and I headed back home. 

"I'm sorry about Acton," Nick apologized to me as we neared the house. "I didn't think he would be that fucking rude."

"It's fine," I murmured absentmindedly, though it most certainly wasn't. I made a rule for myself to never go near Acton again unless absolutely necessary. The only thing that held me back from picking a fight with him to defend myself was the fact that he was the lead singer. He held a lot of weight in the band, and getting into an argument wouldn't have helped my case to come along on tour with them. So, I kept my mouth shut and tried to ignore him. 

I didn't know if I could restrain myself if he came at me and attacked me like that again. I might not be able to stop myself from throwing a punch. Even though throwing a punch would be stupid even under normal circumstances.

Acton towered over my body when we were standing next to one another. I was only 5"2, and Acton had to be at least 6"1, making me a midget in comparison with him. We were unalike in every possible way. I was short, he was tall. I had bright blue eyes, and he had dark emerald ones. I had long, dirty blonde hair. Acton owned the rights to the effortlessly sexy hairdo that consisted of dark, mussed up hair that was just long enough for you to run your fingers through and grab on to. The difference between us was like night and day, and it was no wonder we clashed. 

But I couldn't understand why he had looked at me with such disgust when we first met. I was a lot like the bimbo he had with him, and he didn't seem to mind my small frame when we were dancing. 

Not that I would have wanted to keep going with him. If it were almost anyone other than Acton Black, I probably would have taken my girlfriends' advice and had the one night stand. 

And another thing I was confused about was why he had treated me so harshly after we danced and kissed. I knew for a fact that if he had been in the room when the rest of the band was voting, he would have definitely put up a fight in opposition. 

When we got inside the house, I was still musing over why he had disliked me so much. I walked around the house in a trance, trying to think of what I did to piss him off. I didn't bother to tell Nick, though. There was no telling what he might do. 

All I could do was try to avoid Acton as much as possible when we got on that bus. I could try to distance myself. Even given my new resolution, I doubted that Acton and I were on the same page. I was fully ready to try our relationship as "you leave me alone, and I'll leave you alone". But given his manipulative behavior, I couldn't help but feel as though he was the predator, and I was his prey. He was a cat with a mouse between its paws. The cat won't let the mouse die, because then it wouldn't have anything to play with. 

Though, I realized with a laugh, my metaphor was ridiculous. There was no way someone would be narcissistic enough to do something so cruel. Deep down, I realized I didn't know what to expect with Acton. It was best to proceed with caution. I had to make sure I wasn't his mouse. 

***

Five days after meeting the band, Nick and I drove back to the hotel the rest of the band was staying at for this tour stop. The guys all broke up for a week and a half, so they could go and visit relatives nearby, and now it was time to get back on the tour. And I was coming on the road with them. 

"Don't let Acton get to you," Nick warned me, for like the hundreth time that morning. "He's harmless."

I rolled my eyes at that. "He's not completely harmless," I corrected, thinking about the way he had roughly pushed me up against the wall in the club and kissed the breath out of me. Then, I shivered, thinking about how many other women he has done that to.