Blood and Guitars (23 page)

My stomach did a little flip at the
surrealism of it all. In just a couple of hours I would be walking
that red carpet with Trey. I clenched my jaw and hoped for the
hundredth time this week that I wasn’t making a big mistake. Then I
reminded myself that although I had been associating with humans a
lot lately, I was not one. I could juggle two big events in one
night without a hitch. My first priority was to have fun with Trey,
and then I would disappoint him by telling him a lie about why I
suddenly had to leave and get back to Clearwater tonight.

Would he buy it? I had to hope so.

When the conference call with Wes ended I
left O’Shea and Jonas in their hotel room and headed back to mine.
Chase had already gone back for Krystal and I was anxious to see
Aurora. I walked a couple of strides to the next room over and took
a deep breath. I managed to wipe the stupid grin from my face
before I knocked, deciding it was best not to barge in, but the
moment the door opened and Aurora came into view I was smiling like
an idiot again.

“Wow.” I breathed, not sure where to begin.
“To say that you look amazing would be a huge understatement.” The
dress she wore was green satin, and made her eyes seem all the more
piercing, but the color wasn’t just any shade of green. It was
poison green and she looked crazy hot in it. The length of it was
short on her left side, falling only to her knee, but then it
tapered down toward the floor on the other side. Without really
thinking, I reached out to touch a strand of her long dark hair
that was cascading over her shoulders in waves.

“You clean up pretty good yourself,” she
mused, looking me up and down brazenly.

“I don’t know about that. I’m suddenly
feeling underdressed. At least I know nobody will be looking at me
with you by my side.”

“I like this look on you,” she said. “A
vintage t-shirt under a suit coat … its very rock star.” She closed
the door behind her, taking my arm. “I’m just along for the
ride.”

We made our way through the hotel lobby and
out the giant revolving doors before Aurora caught sight of the
waiting limousine. I didn’t miss the surprise on her face as O’Shea
and Jonas waved at her from the sunroof. They were waving and
winking at girls who recognized them as they passed on the
sidewalk.

“What were you expecting?” I opened the door
and gestured for her to climb inside.

“I … I’m not sure. I guess I haven’t really
thought this all through.”

“Come on in, Aurora,” Chase called to her
from somewhere inside.

She laughed a little and bent down, sliding
across the seat to make room for me next to her. I took my place at
her side and pulled the door closed. The driver took that as his
cue and pulled away from the curb.

“You look great,” O’Shea was saying to
Aurora.

“Thank you,” she said modestly. “So do
you.”

I turned on my phone’s camera and Aurora and
I smiled at it for a picture. It was the first picture I had of
her, and I wondered why I hadn’t done it sooner. At least I would
have a picture of her looking amazing in the green dress.

My arm was linked in Trey’s as we navigated
what was technically the backstage area of the American Airlines
Arena where the MTV Video Music Awards were being held. I’d managed
to survive the red carpet, smiling while I pretended the flashes
from cameras weren’t blinding my sensitive eyes. I’d posed with
Trey and watched him get photos with his band mates, Krystal and I
standing by supportively. All four of the guys had made an effort
to sign autographs for some fans that had managed to get close
enough to the red ropes to be heard. When asked who his date was,
Trey had introduced me to the press as his girlfriend and called me
by name. The formal announcement caught me off guard for just a
second or two, although I didn’t know why. Things had progressed to
that point between us. Before I could spend too much time pondering
the title ‘girlfriend’ Trey had spoke again, declaring that I was
also responsible for the artwork on Catalyst’s new album.

Walking the red carpet had taken longer than
one might expect. I realized as we went along that the red carpet
itself did make up half of the actual event whenever celebrities
were involved. I looked at Trey now, holding my hand on his arm and
smiling. He leaned toward me and gave me a quick kiss, sending a
jolt of his excitement through me. Even now as other celebrities
approached and greeted us, some of whom obviously knew Trey well;
it was hard to think of him that way. In all the time we’d spent
together, I had never seen him play the part of a celebrity, unless
you counted the first night I’d met him, and then I hadn’t known he
was anything more than a talented local guy who was a hit at the
lounge. I began to realize that I’d only witnessed the calm before
the storm. More than once Trey had alluded to the fact that the
band always came back to Clearwater to record to escape reality,
but I was only now beginning to understand just how much of an
escape it must be for them. Everyone here knew them, or at least
pretended to.

Trey was the perfect gentleman, playing his
part well. He introduced me by name to everyone that he stopped to
talk with, including me in the conversations. That was more than I
could say for Chase and his date. She appeared quite star-struck
and wasn’t good for a single word the entire time we were
backstage. Since Trey and the guys were presenters, they were told
that a giant gift basket would be delivered to their homes the next
day. Trey had to explain to me that anyone participating in the
actual show was given a ridiculously expensive assortment of gifts
including such items as watches, champagne, and the latest
electronic gadgets. He and the other guys seemed to get a kick out
of the fact that the baskets had been too big to give them
personally and were being delivered later.

By the time we were being formally escorted
to our seats, I was more than ready to sit down and be out of the
spotlight for a while. My keen eyes scanned the crowd as more and
more people took their seats. It was more than a little surreal to
be surrounded by all of those celebrities. Human or not, their
status gave them power, and with the size of some of the egos
walking around, the night was sure to prove interesting. A couple
of young guys in the row ahead of us were acting like they’d
already had too much champagne. Apparently they didn’t care enough
to remember the night. Trey caught me watching them and gave me an
amused smile.

“Rappers,” he said with a shrug, as if that
explained everything. It really did.

Wes and Lisa arrived only a moment later.
They greeted us all before taking seats near the end of the row by
Chase. Trey had told me that Ken had planned on coming until Serena
had gotten sick and he’d chosen to stay behind to take care of her
and the baby.

People filtered in quickly now as the show
would be starting soon. Within five minutes, I had picked out more
than a handful of A-listers within ten feet of my chair including
Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, and some young heartthrobs who were
starring in the latest vampire movie to hit theaters.

“Pretty crazy, isn’t it?” Trey said, grinning
at me again.

“I think the Backstreet Boys just sat down
behind us,” I said quietly. “Crazy doesn’t even begin to cover
it.”

He laughed, leaning back in his seat. “And
the night is still young.”

The lights changed and the music that had
been in the background shifted to a faster, louder song.

“Here goes something.” O’Shea leaned forward
in his seat and winked at me. Apparently Trey wasn’t the only one
enjoying the fact that this was my first award show.

A tall, lanky guy with a weird British accent
walked across the stage to stand in the center. He was holding a
microphone and waving as the audience cheered. I followed suit and
clapped, although I had no idea who he was.

“Is he important?” I asked Trey, leaning
close so he could hear me above the noise.

“If he were you’d already know,” Trey assured
me.

“Don’t be so sure. I had no idea who you
were.”

“Like I said.” He grinned.

The man with the accent did a lot of talking
about nothing and eventually got around to introducing the first
band. It was a young group I hadn’t heard of. No surprise there.
But they weren’t half bad. I settled into my seat and found myself
enjoying the show. Before I knew it, British Guy had the microphone
again and was announcing a pair of celebrities as they made their
way across the stage to give out the first award.

The show went on like that: bands playing,
celebrities talking about themselves or other celebrities on the
stage, young girls screaming at deafening pitches whenever a hot
guy walked into view or appeared on the big screens that were
positioned to give everyone in the venue a great up-close and
personal view.

It was pretty much like what you see on TV,
except that people were constantly getting up out of their seats to
go backstage for one reason or another. The funny part was watching
the seat-fillers hurry to occupy the empty seats so the camera
could show a packed venue even while people were filing in and
out.

When finally it was time to announce the
award for Best Rock Video I reached over and took Trey’s hand in
mine. He gave me a relaxed smile and I could tell he was trying not
to get too amped up just in case.

An actor and an actress from a crime show
series on TV that I don’t follow were announced and made their way
to the center of the stage while the crowd applauded. The man
leaned toward the microphone first and said, “Great bands such as
Aerosmith, Korn, Limp Bizkit, Linkin Park and Green Day have taken
home a Moonman in this next category.”

The woman stepped forward then and said,
“Here are the nominees for Best Rock Video.

I saw Trey’s face on the big screens, singing
his heart out in their video for “Filtered Ache.”

“Catalyst,” said the faceless voice on the
screen. I clapped and turned to look at Trey, who might have been
blushing. It was hard to tell with all the flashing lights going
off above us.

The screen must have announced the other
nominees quickly because the next thing I knew the man on stage was
speaking again. “And the winner for Best Rock Video is …”

The woman at his side tore open a silver
envelope and then leaned forward to exclaim, “Catalyst for Filtered
Ache!”

The crowd went wild, cheering and shouting. I
looked at Trey and the guys, whose faces had all lit up in what
seemed a mix of surprise and exhilaration. Trey grinned at me and
kissed me quickly before he got to his feet. I got a jolt of his
adrenaline in the kiss, and I clapped, unable to wipe the
perma-grin from my face. Trey gave O’Shea a quick man hug before
slapping Jonas and Chase on the back. Wes, who was on his feet,
gave them all a congratulatory hand shake and pat on the back as
they passed him on their way to the aisle. “Filtered Ache” blasted
through the in-house sound system and a camera followed as the guys
made their walk of victory up to the stage. They greeted the man
and woman on the stage and Jonas took the Moonman before they
gathered around the microphone.

“Hey,” Trey said, giving that adorable
half-smile and earning another round of screams from adoring fans.
I grinned, shaking my head slightly. How could a simple word elicit
such a response? But that was Trey. I was only just beginning to
understand that. I love you, too,” he said in response to a
declaration of love from a girl in the front row. Then he chuckled
and I saw him cast his eyes in my direction for a brief second. “We
have a lot to be thankful for,” he began. “To everyone who was
involved in “Filtered Ache” you’re responsible for helping us take
our careers to the next level.”

O’Shea stepped forward then and began listing
the names of people they wanted to thank individually. I recognized
Wes and Ken’s names, but didn’t know most of the people he
mentioned.

“We want to thank our families and friends
for supporting our music habit,” Jonas said.

Chase stepped up next. “And to all of you
guys who buy our records and come out to see us on the road, this
is for you.”

More screaming and clapping.

Trey leaned forward one more time and said,
“If you haven’t heard, we’re back in the studio.” This was met with
another round of cheering and whistling. Trey chuckled and added,
“Watch for a new record soon.”

Music blared again as Trey and the guys were
led backstage. They took their seats again within minutes, forcing
the seat-fillers that had surrounded me to disappear back into the
crowd somewhere. I congratulated Trey in a whisper when he sat down
at my side again.

“I can’t believe we won,” he said softly.
“The rest of the bands who were nominated are incredible
bands.”

“You deserve it,” I said. And he did. Again I
felt a small pang of guilt, knowing I wouldn’t be able to spend the
entire night celebrating with him like he thought. But I pushed
those thoughts out of my mind, determined to enjoy the part of the
evening I had left with him. And the show went on. More
performances, more Moonmen given away, and more acceptance
speeches.

When it was time, Trey leaned over and
whispered to me that he had to head backstage with the guys to get
ready to present an award. He kissed my cheek and I smiled at him,
watching as he went. I had to try not to laugh at the young humans
who hurried to fill his and the other guys seats. I smiled at
Krystal who didn’t look happy that she’d just been ambushed again
by the strangers who had to fill in the spaces.