“Eat.”
“No.”
“Eat.
“No!”
“Eat!”
“No!” Annabelle was sitting at the table, hugging herself. In front of her was a half finished container of noodles.
“You need to finish it! I even got a little portion for you!” Jack insisted.
“I don’t need to finish shit.” Annabelle huffed. Alex sighed.
“Nah, don’t finish shit, don’t start shit either. But finish your noodles.” Jack was just playing, but Alex could see that he was upsetting Annabelle. Although Annabelle was his girlfriend, he partly agreed with his friend, Annabelle needed to finish her food. It was almost appalling how little she ate. He wondered what she would be like if she were healthy, bright-eyed and full. Alex couldn’t imagine it, and he wasn’t sure whether he would still like her as much if she were anything but what she was.
“I’m really full!” Annabelle tried to control her anger and smiled, clutching her stomach dramatically. Jack rolled his eyes and pushed her over the edge. She clambered out of the bus. The lounge was silent.
“Well,” Rian said, breaking the silence, “if she’s not going to finish them, I will.”
The table laughed awkwardly. This incident brought into sharp focus how immature she was. She was acting like an unhealthy teenager, and Alex realised the mess he had gotten himself into. Nonetheless, he stood up from the diners and followed her outside.

He looked around, not being able to see her, he wondered if she had gone for a walk. The show began soon, and he wanted her around for it. He wandered around the car park, kicking at stones. He decided to ask the boys from the Dogs, although Annabelle disliked them, and would not have joined them, perhaps they had seen her leave. Alex knocked on the door, he heard muffled talking, stumbling, laughing, and finally the hiss as the doors opened. It was Emery.
“Hey, man,” Alex greeted, Emery was blocking the entrance into the bus, Alex was trying to see what the commotion was, although he could smell the stench of weed coming from inside.
“Yeah, man?” Emery asked, bringing the focus back to Alex.
“Hey, have you seen Annabelle?”
“Annabelle?” Emery coughed and rubbed his nose, “Nope.”
Alex rocked back on his heels.
“Not leaving the car park or anything?”
Emery shook his head. Alex shrugged.
“Okay, see ya tonight.” He turned and slouched back to the bus.

Annabelle rolled onto her side, giggling. She fell quiet when she became distracted by a spot on the carpet. Emery loped into the lounge and crinkled his nose.
“Happy?” He asked Annabelle, swiping the bong from Gavin and taking a drag, using up the whole pipe. She sat up, opening her mouth, and he breathed the smoke into it, almost touching his lips with hers. She pulled away, in fear of him kissing her, and blew the second-hand smoke out to join the hazy cloud congregating around the ceiling. Annabelle didn’t know why she had knocked on their bus door, but when she saw they had their bong out, she didn’t regret her decision. She hadn’t smoked weed in a long while, and she relished the murkiness in her brain.
“Why are you mad at Alex?” Gavin asked. Annabelle ran her hands over the fibers in the carpet and shrugged.
“I’m not mad at him.”
“Then why didn’t you want to talk to him?” He pressed, taking the bong from Carlos. Annabelle shrugged.
“Just didn’t feel like his coddling.” She snickered. “What time do you have to be inside?”
“Dunno, like ten minutes.” Emery said, rummaging through a messy cabinet above their sink. He pulled out a half eaten bag of Cheetos and started gulping them down. Annabelle suddenly felt the tell-tale growling of her stomach which meant she had the munchies. In her haze, she took the bag from Emery, who smiled at her, and shoved a fistful into her mouth. She took another fistful. She licked her cheesy fingers clean one by one. Emery raised his eyebrows, two handfuls of Cheetos was the most he’d seen her eat. She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, and threw the bag into the middle of the circle, next to the, now empty, bong and ziplock bag. She blinked and looked at her synthetic yellow powdered hand.
“I’ll see you in there, yeah?” She said, and then pushed herself up. She let herself out calling, “Thanks for the weed!”
She walked through the car park focusing on her arms swinging by her side, the weight of her hands and how her fingers moved through space. She passed through the unguarded back-door and broke into a jog. She felt ill.

She stumbled through the backstage of the venue and found the bathroom, disregarding that it had a man on the door, she pushed it open and locked herself in a cubical. She waited over the toilet bowl for the vomit she hoped would rise up out of her esophagus. She wanted to stop this nausea. Her stomach churned, it must have been the old Cheetos. She couldn’t wait any longer, her stomach was causing her too much discomfort. She shoved her fingers into her throat in an effort to gag herself. She felt bile bubbling up, and removed her hand in time to let it out into the toilet. When she was finished she flushed, dropped the seat and climbed up onto it, her legs crossed, and her head lolling against the side of the cubicle. The door to the bathroom squeaked open.
“Man, I looked everywhere for her.” Annabelle heard Alex’s voice coming nearer, “Her phone’s off. I can’t find her. What if she got raped? What if she-”
“Pull your self together, dude!” Zack cried, slapping Alex. Annabelle held her breath.

“I’m just really worried about her.” Alex sounded mournful. Annabelle rolled her eyes and stumbled off the toilet, fumbling with the latch and pushing open the door.
“Woah!” Zack said, zipping himself up. Alex, who was leaning against a wall with his arms crossed, widened his eyes, uncrossing his arms.
“Hey...” Annabelle said sheepishly, rubbing the back of her neck. Alex walked over to her and pulled her into a hug, she made no effort to hug back, but leaned against him fondly, taking in his smell.
“I was only gone for like half an hour.” Annabelle laughed, trying to act like she wasn’t high as a kite.
“Yeah, but I was worried!” Alex made a face.
“Okay guys, as much as this reunion is adorable, I really need to pee.” Zack said pointedly. The couple laughed and left the bathroom.
“What were you doing in the Men’s anyway?” Alex queried. Annabelle looked up at him and giggled, shrugging. Alex suddenly stopped, grabbing her shoulders and moved down the hall, below a ceiling light. “Are you high?”
Annabelle bit her lip, and dropped her eyes to his shoes. “No...Yeah, okay, a little.”
“So you WERE in the Dogs’ bus?” Alex tried to stifle his anger.
“I’m sorry, Alex, I just wanted to be alone-”
“With those dicks?” Alex was suddenly fuming.
“Ouch! Alex, you’re hurting me!” His fingernails were digging into her shoulders. He took a deep breath and relaxed his hands, sweeping them down her arms and held her hands.
“I’m sorry....I just....”
“I’m sorry, too.” Annabelle leaned into him, and he wrapped his arms around her. “Sometimes I act like an immature brat.”
Alex sniggered, “I thought you were doing pretty well before today.”
Annabelle laughed, “Oh, thanks. And what does that say about the boyfriend of the brat?”
“That he is a tolerant bastard.”
“That he is an immature brat himself?”
They both laughed and linked hands. Alex suddenly pulled her into a room, Annabelle moved and knocked into a broom, sending it clattering into a shelf.
“Alex, are we in a broom cupboard?”
“We’re wherever you wanna be, baby.” Alex replied, suavely. Annabelle pinched his hand, and he grabbed her waist, pulling her into him, she gasped slightly. He pressed his lips to hers and their tongues intwined.

***

Alex watched Annabelle dancing from the stage, her movements were languid, relaxed, almost euphoric. She was still high, but after their copulation in the broom cupboard, Alex felt the same way. She swayed under his melody, like a snake with its charmer. He wondered for a moment whether his influence could spread until he could convince her to look after herself. He doubted it, she was stubborn. He watched her move, her hips circling with her arms lazily swaying above her head. She looked incredibly sexy, Alex swallowed, missed a line in the song, and quickly dove back into the show.