Snapshot

Chapter 5

Ava was right. The small act of rebellion makes the boys feel invincible, and they carry their responsibilities with an air of smugness. They get down to writing a song- feeling like badasses. They greet some fans, flashing cocky grins. And now they're sitting and signing autographs- while feeling like badasses.

It does wonders for their morale, and Greg and Avery are there to shoot it all. The fans eat it up, it is after all, how they expect the band to act.

"I cannot believe how crazy this is," Avery breathes, feeling slightly overwhelmed.

"Well, you ain't seen nothing yet, girly," Greg grins, enjoying the chaos. Today he is wearing some sort of beret and baggy jeans, the strange outfit is completed by a band tee. He looks like he got dressed in the dark while being gnawed on by rabid raccoons. The gnawing assumption is because it looks like something tried to eat his shoes.

He swipes at his dreadlocks in irritation and gets down to lie on his belly, yelping when a rabid fangirl stomps on his foot.

"What the-?" Avery wonders and steps back, grinning at the scene in front of her.

"Do not take pictures of me!" Greg groans.

"I can't help it, you look so stupid!" she chuckles, snapping pictures of his protests.

"I will fire you, girly!"

"You can't," she taunts, skipping away when he tries to grab her camera, "I have blackmail."

"Oh man," he whines, clutching at his heart, "that's cold! Like ice!'

"Why are you even dressed like that?" she asks incredulously. Usually, he is dressed better than her.

"Ava and I stayed out late last night," he admits, scratching the back of his neck uncomfortably.

"Man," she whistles, "you are just giving me blackmail material."

"It's not like that," he sputters, "we just went out for drinks."

"It might turn into an actual date if you dressed better," she teases.

"Yeah, yeah," he grumbles, "come on, let's go grab some coffee."

"What about the guys?" she asks, looking back at the preening band.

"Kaden will still be there when we get back," he teases over his shoulder.

"I do not want to get fired," she retorts, trying not to blush at his insinuation.

"Well, I'm your boss," Greg quips, walking back and slinging an arm over her shoulders, "and I say, I want some coffee."

"You're letting the power go to your head," she teases, poking his temple.

"That's what power is for, sweetie," he grins down at her, "That, and everyone wants to use you."

"Wow," she comments, lifting an eyebrow, "that's cheery."

"Eh," he shrugs, "It's true though. I notice it with the boys. You won’t believe how many people happen to remember they went to high school with them. Or "accidentally" bump into them in random places."

"They do that just to meet them?"

"Some girls even pretend they don't know who the band members are. They think it's going to be like some romance novel where they can change the cocky player."

"Cut them some slack, they think they are in love," she protests, defending her gender.

"I can excuse that," Greg admits as they walk into a coffee shop and sit down. They have chosen a seat one floor above the band so that they can still see what is going on and take some pictures.

"But what I can't excuse, is when people stalk them, get their information and then "bump" into them. If you aren't looking, you will think they are being sincere. But once you have seen it a few times, you can almost tell what they're going to say next."

"Let me guess," Avery interrupts, as Greg leans over the balcony to take some pictures, "they act all surprised. They will start a conversation to reel you in. Then, they will pretend something is wrong to draw out the hero in you. You will want to be nice to them and invite them somewhere to make them feel better. And boom, the claws are in?"

Greg smirks, and turns around, "You have any experience with that sort of thing?"

She smiles faintly and places her order with the waitress who has shown up to take their order.

***

"Hey, Avery!"

"Hi, Ree!"

She smiled at everyone who greeted, the hallways weren't crowded since everyone was at lunch. The few students that were left in the halls or huddled in groups.

"What are we doing tonight, Ree?" Jason Cochran asked, sidling up in front of her and giving her his trademark smirk. His best friend, Alfie, stood next to him, his customary backpack strapped firmly on both shoulders and his eyes glued to his phone.

"Party at Reese's," she said shortly. Jason was her friend, but when he smirked, he wanted something.

"Great," he said, slinging an arm around her shoulders, "I was hoping I could get a discount..."

"No," she said sternly, shrugging off his arm. "You know the rules, Jace."

"I know," he pouted, "but what about for an old friend," he gently touched her cheek.

"Ask Jeremy," she said, swatting his hand away, "You running tonight, Alfie?" Alfie looked up, his forehead creased. When his dad went to jail with hers, he left behind a wife and three children. Her dad just left her behind.

"You know it," he said with a half-smile, but she could see the stress behind it.

"I don't know why you guys don't start a club," Jason said sourly, "The convicts' kids club!" he gestured grandly, his smile full of malice.

"Never mind him," Alfie said, "he's just touchy he has to pay full price."

She gave an awkward wave and went on her way to the bathroom. When she got there without further interruption, she closed the door with a sigh and locked it. Technically, anyone could go there, but she always chose the bathroom on the furthest end of the school. There was less chance of anyone bothering her there.

She turned around, and to her surprise, someone was already sitting there. Her head was bowed, and it looked like she was crying.

Clara Dennings.

If she had any sense, she would have bolted. But Avery was kind. Under that quiet exterior of hers. Clara was a bit of a princess in the school. She was always in the front pew of the church, not that Avery ever went. Drug dealers weren't welcome. And neither were their kids. It was a shame Avery was both.

Clara had brilliant red hair, and an athletic figure most girls would kill for. She had wide, innocent grey eyes and a doll-like face. Everyone loved Clara. She always won the modeling pageants, debates, and sports tournaments. She was the golden girl.

And here she was, crying in Avery's bathroom.

"Hey," Avery said gently, "are you okay?"

Clara looked up and sniffled pathetically. She nodded and arranged her hair, looking slightly ashamed.

"Do you need me to call Laura or Trevor?"

Clara shook her head furiously and began sobbing again.

"Woah, there," Avery said, feeling slightly at a loss, "I know you probably don't want to talk about it, but is there anything I can do."

"I'm sorry," Clara said sadly, "I just wanted to hide somewhere."

"That's okay," Avery said, "I can leave."

"No!" Clara lunged forward and grabbed her arm. "I didn't know you were going to be here," she said, blinking the tears away, "I just wanted to get away from it all."

"I understand," Avery said, sitting down next to Clara, "It gets crazy. I come here a lot."

"It is a great hiding spot," Clara commented, looking around.

"Yeah, the best," Avery said, starting to feel uncomfortable, "So, I'm just going to leave..."

"Trevor cheated on me!" Clara wailed, covering her face with her hands again.

"Sheesh..." Avery whistled, patting Clara's back awkwardly. If Clara was Avondale's golden girl, then Trevor was its golden boy. They made a beautiful couple. Trevor was well-mannered, built like an ox and already had an athletic scholarship in his back pocket. But it seemed like he had some dirty secrets of his own.

That was understandable. Avondale was a small town. Everyone was either an alcoholic or on drugs. There was really nothing else to do. Avery looked at Clara uncomfortably. She wanted to leave, but that would be callous.

"Hey," she said uncertainly, and Clara looked at her with hopeful eyes. Avery moved a strand of dirty-blonde hair out of her own face and sighed, "I don't know if this will make you feel better, but there's a party at Reese's tonight. You can come with me if you want?"

"Reese Montgomery?" Clara asked curiously. Avery nodded sombrely. Everyone knew everyone here. Even the sheriff's daughter and the school's biggest stoner. Avery really should have wondered about that, though.

"Do you mind if I show up with you?" Clara asked in a tiny voice, "I have never been to one of his parties before."

"Sure," Avery said soothingly.

"Your house is on Cedar Lane, right?"

"Yep, Jeremy and I share a house. Do you know where it is?"

Clara nodded enthusiastically. She seemed to be feeling better.

***

“We did so great,” Greg declares, packing his camera away and giving Avery a big smile. She scoffs and rolls her eyes at his antics. The truth was that they spent half their time walking around the mall and the other half snapping pictures when Ava glared at them.

“Well, we did better,” Levi teased, flexing his hand.

They are all piled into the boys’ limo which was taking them to a radio interview. Kole has fallen asleep while Jack and Kaden are both on their phones. Avery must admit that she was exhausted too. It turned out that being a Rockstar was a lot more work than she already thought.

“You all did very well,” Ava compliments, looking up from her phone, “Especially you Avery, you’re adjusting very well.”

“Thanks,” Avery says softly, tying her hair into a ponytail to try and feel less awkward.

“See, I told you she had talent,” Jack pipes up suddenly, giving her a smarmy grin.

“You did?” Kaden asks in shock, looking up from his phone too, “when?”

“We had coffee the other day, you know, to discuss band matters,” Jack gives Kaden an infuriating smirk and winks at Avery. She suddenly feels the urge to take a scalding hot shower.

“What the hell, Ava?” Kaden asks angrily.

“He asked me to coffee, and we spoke about the weather,” Ava clarifies in a bored time. Obviously, this was a common trend between the two. “Enough hostility already, I’m sure the new girl likes both of you the same amount.”

Suddenly the atmosphere is awkward, and everyone looks out of the window uncomfortably.

“What?” Ava asks in surprise, “was it something I said?