Old Cassettes and Cigarettes

“Want anything to drink?”

Avery turned her attention to the boy who was standing a few feet away from her in the kitchen area of the unfamiliar tour bus. His messy brown hair was hidden beneath his old, worn-out grey beanie. He wore a crooked smile on his lips that made Avery nervous.

“Yeah, sure,” she said. Avery slowly walked over to him, an uneasy feeling in her stomach.
Her heart was racing and she was trying not to let the rest of her body shake with nervousness.

She stood behind the boy as he mixed up a drink in a clear plastic cup. She lightly placed her chin on the boy’s muscular shoulder and giggled lightly in his ear.

“What is that?”

Her voice and her giggle raised Goosebumps on his arms and he slowly turned around, full cup in hand.

“My specialty drink,” he smirked, handing her the cup. “It‘s a surprise.”

Avery took it from him and brought it to her lips, taking a small sip. The alcohol burned the back of her throat and lips and warmed her body as it went down.

The boy grabbed her free hand and led her to the couch. He shoved a few articles of clothing onto the floor and motioned for her to sit down. Avery looked at him before she took a seat and he plopped himself down next to her.

“So which band are you with?” he asked, turning to face her. He really wasn’t interested in who she came with, he was just trying to make some conversation to loosen her up. He had already forgotten her name and was hoping that she would start drinking a little faster.

Alex Gaskarth had a knack for judging someone’s alcohol tolerance. Something told him that the beautiful blond girl sitting in front of him had a very low alcohol tolerance and would be very friendly with another drink or two in her. He had already seen her guzzle down two cheap beers that people were tossing around at the bonfire. And when they were walking towards the bus together, she was already stumbling over her own two feet.

Avery paused and thought for a second before she answered his question. She didn’t want to give herself away.

“The Maine,” she answered simply, shooting him a small smile. She scooted a bit closer to him on the couch and crossed her legs so her shorts would ride up a bit more on her tanned legs.

Alex glanced down with a smirk planted firmly on his lips and snuck a sip from his plastic cup. Avery caught him staring and immediately blushed.

She was never the type to do something like this. Avery Hayes did not know how to flirt and she sure as hell didn’t know what to do next. All she could do was look around the bus while she silently sipped on her drink and Alex began to talk about the start of the tour and how excited he was for the rest of the summer.

She only half-listened to what he was saying to her. She knew he was just trying to make small talk and to wait for her to finish her drink. She knew he wasn’t actually interested in getting to know her. And she knew she shouldn’t care about those things, but part of her did care that he was only trying to get into her pants.

But, she volunteered to help Austin with his revenge, so she asked for it. Avery took another nervous sip of her drink and casually pulled out her phone. She checked the time and it read 11:38. She needed to get a move on soon if the plan was going to work.

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Earlier in the day, before all the bands played their sets in front of hundreds of screaming, sweaty fans, Austin showed Avery exactly who she would be aiming the revenge towards.

“His name‘s Alex.”

The strikingly handsome boy wearing the grey beanie on his head in 80 degree weather was standing in the middle of a group of younger fans, taking pictures and signing shirts and whatnot. Avery watched as he flashed all the girls a crooked smile - that signature smile of his that left their knees weak and their hearts fluttering.

From a distance he looked like a definite heartbreaker. The way those girls acted around him and the way he fed off of the attention gave it all away. Avery could sense that he was bad news and that he would be a guy to stay away from.

“All you have to do is act a little drunk,” Caleb said with a laugh. “You know, like a groupie. Bat those pretty little eyes of yours and just stare at him and giggle a lot.”

“Oh you mean, act like Danielle?” Austin laughed. Avery snorted and moved away as Caleb took a swing at Austin for his comment.

“Just get onto the bus, that‘s all you need to do. And when you‘re in there, gimme a call, and Caleb and I will take care of the rest.” Austin slung his heavy arm over Avery’s shoulder with a smile. Avery looked at Caleb who gave her a reassuring nod. They were both so excited and Avery couldn’t help but catch onto their energized mood. They just had to wait until later on in the day for things to unfold.

----------

Avery began looking around the lounge of the bus for Austin’s stupid scooter. And it was propped up against the wall behind Alex’s seat.

She quickly punched the call button twice on her phone and set it aside as she laughed at what Alex was saying. She didn’t know if she was supposed to laugh or not, but she did. Alex smiled back at her and placed his drink on the end table behind him.

“Hey, do you want to go to the back of the bus? The lounge back there is a lot more comfortable,” Alex said easily, staring into Avery’s fiery green eyes. She looked a little uneasy and Alex felt a stab of reluctance as Avery shot him a weary look.

“Sure,” she answered quietly, grabbing her phone. She shoved it back into the pocket of her shorts as she got off of the couch. Alex was about to grab her hand again but stopped as there was a loud bang on the door of the bus.

“What the hell,” he muttered, walking past Avery and to the door. Before he could reach the steps, the door flew open and someone stepped on board.

“Alex, old buddy! How the hell are you?!”

Avery whipped around and smiled widely. Caleb had his arm around Alex’s shoulders and the look on Alex’s face was priceless.

“Hey man,” Alex said, sounding slightly frustrated and confused. Caleb slapped Alex’s shoulder a few times and turned to look over at Avery. He wolf-whistled and walked with Alex towards her. She was trying not to laugh at the look on Alex’s face.

“Am I interrupting you two?” he asked, looking between Alex and Avery.

“Nah bro, we were just chillin‘,” Alex said coolly. He picked his drink back up and downed it in a few chugs, then tossed the empty cup into the sink. Caleb walked over to Avery and held out his hand.

“I‘m Caleb by the way,” he stated. Avery giggled a little and shook his hand.

“Avery. Very nice to meet you,” she replied, playing off of his little act.

“Mind if I join you guys?” Caleb asked loudly, sitting down on the couch. He spread his arms out to his sides on the back of the couch and sighed as he sank into the leather cushions. Avery looked at Alex, who’s mouth was hanging open a bit.

“Sure, make yourself at home,” Alex said. Avery heard a hint of sarcasm in his voice and kind of felt bad for him. He was truly frustrated that Caleb had come in and interrupted him. On the other hand, it made her mad that he thought he was going to get anywhere with her.
She didn’t know him at all and he gave off that vibe that all he was interested in was hooking up with some pretty girl.

“Don‘t mind if I do,” Caleb replied, patting the seat cushion next to him and winking at Avery. “Have a seat, beautiful.”

Avery narrowed her eyes at Caleb. Just because he was acting didn’t mean he could act like a douche bag.

“No thanks, I‘m good,” she said loudly, sipping on her drink. Caleb frowned and Alex smirked as he sidled up next to Avery.

“What do you say we get some more people up in here and throw a raging party?” Caleb suggested. Avery almost choked on her drink and Alex laughed a little as Caleb whipped out his phone. He punched a few numbers on the keys and put the phone up to his ear.

Avery stood and watched as Alex started walking towards the bunks, obviously bored with Caleb being there already. He went and grabbed a hoodie and threw it on, just as Caleb hung up the phone.

Not two seconds later, footsteps were pounding on the steps and three bodies came hurling onto the bus. Austin, Marc, and Kyle came rushing onto the bus and started screaming and dancing and jumping around. Avery started laughing uncontrollably as Caleb sprang up from the couch and threw Avery over his shoulder.

Austin dashed to Alex and grabbed his arms as he shouted some obscene thing in his face. He shook him a few times and all Alex could do was stand there, stunned. Austin took that as an opportunity to grab his scooter and the guys all rushed off of the bus.

“Run for your lives!” Austin shouted as he laughed hysterically, holding his scooter close to his body. Avery was laughing so hard, tears were dripping from her eyes as Caleb continued to jog away from the bus with her over his shoulder.

Prank War round two was officially under-way.

Notes