FicWad

I sat watching the bands interactions as the venue medic's looked over my bruised body. I heard them mumble something about bruised ribs and dislocated elbow. I sighed as they wrapped up my torso and tried to find something in their bags to stabilize my elbow. The pain killers they had given me had taken most of the pain and now all I felt was a big desire to sleep.

The guy that had found me stood close by. He was listening to everything the medic's said and nodded when they gave him instruction on how to help me. One of the other guys, a short guy with long hair, called out to the dude. He jerked his head in the direction of the guy and frowned. "What, Jo?"

The short guy snorted, walking over and plopping down next to me. I glanced over at him, wondering why he was sitting next to me. He glanced over at me, curiosity in his eyes. I could tell just by the look he was questioning why I was there. Then he just smiled and held out a hand. I shook it tentatively and smiled slightly. "I'm Joey. I play drums and am the nicest person in the bunch."

"And your also the smallest and the most annoying." my founder shot out, smiling devilishly to the drummer. Joey frowned and flipped him the bird. I laughed softly and the dude laughed.

Joey pointed to the smiling man, eyes playful. "That asshole over there is the Great Bog Mouth. He never shuts up. You can call him Corey though." he explained, smiling at the group humor. I nodded, smiling more. The medic came back in front of me, wrapping my arm in a thick Ace bandage before tucking it into a sling. I fidgeted slightly with it, frowning at the inconvenience. "You'll get used to it, kid."

"My name is Sid. Not kid." I exclaimed, drawing the attention of the whole band towards me. I blushed slightly and glanced away, earning a few chuckles. I swept my eyes around, trying to look for the laughter. It turned out to be the big guy who kept calling me kid and a dude with slightly long nose. "Who are they?"

Joey and Corey looked over at where I was looking. Corey laughed and sat down on the opposite side of me. He pointed to the larger of the two, with long black hair and dangerous looking face. "That monster is Mick. He's lead guitarist. Also a major bully. He's soft for no one."

"I heard that, Taylor. And I'm not a bully." Mick called, glaring over at Corey with challenging eyes. Corey smiled innocently, trying to act like he hadn't said a thing. Mick looked at me and smiled, eyes actually looking soft. "You okay, Sid?"

I nodded, happy that he called me by my name this time. He smirked and went back to his discussion with the long nose guy. Joey laughed, leaning around me to punch Corey in the arm. Corey frowned, rubbing his arm. "Mick's known the kid for an hour and he's already nice to him. Say's something about you, dude."

"Shut up, Joe." Corey growled, rolling his eyes. Shrugging his shoulders, he went back to naming the guys in the band. "The guy with Mick is Chris. He's one of our two percussionists. That guy…" he paused, looking around the room for someone. He pointed to a medium sized guy with long hair and a small beard standing close by. "…is our other one. That's Shawn but we usually call him Clown. He's also the oldest."

Shawn shook his head, rubbing a hand through his hair with a frown. "I may be the oldest but I still can kick your ass." The guy with him smiled but didn't say anything. I looked him over, wondering why he hated said anything yet. He seemed normal enough, wearing a hoodie sweatshirt and a wiping his glasses clean. He was almost simple looking, compared to the rest. He smiled up at me and I smiled back, not bothering to say anything. Shawn whistled and draped an arm around his shoulders. "This silent fellow here is Craig, our sampler. He doesn't talk much but he's probably the sweetest of us."

"I do talk. You guys just don't listen." he mumbled, rolling his eyes and sliding his glasses back onto his face. I smiled, holding out my uninjured hand to him. He smirked and shook it lightly. "Nice to meet you, Sid."

"Likewise, Craig." I said, nodding my head in return. Corey and Shawn shook their heads, exchanging puzzled looks between each other. I rolled my eyes at the two, not understanding their reaction to him talking. I looked back at Joey and pointed to them. "Are they always like this when he talks?"

Joey smiled, shrugging his shoulder. "Let's just say Craig barely talks. Ever. Even in interview. You just got a rare performance." Joey explained, smiling at his friend. Craig shook his head in annoyance and grabbed his stuff from the floor. "He does talk to me, when he feels playful. Guess I'm lucky, hu?"

"I'm going to the bus." he tossed over his shoulder, disappearing through a door that led to the parking area. Joey sighed, looking around the room to see who he missed. He frowned slightly, leaning forward with a cocked eye brow.

"Dude, where's Paul and James?" he asked, not to any in particular but to the general audience. The guys looked around and then shrugged. Joey shook his head, dropping to the floor. He glanced over his shoulder at me, face in a loose smile. "You coming or what?"

I nodded eagerly, jumping to my feet. Corey dropped a hand on my shoulder before I could leave though. I peeked up at him, wondering why he was stopping me. "You need a shirt, Sid." I looked around for the one I was wearing but it had disappeared. Corey held up a hand and walked over to one of the bags sitting on the ground. He came back over carrying a thick sweatshirt and smirk. "It's Mick's extra one. So it might be…"

I pulled the thing over me before he could say anymore. The thing was huge on me, but incredibly warm. I tucked the hanging sleeve into the front pouch and smiled at Corey. Mick didn't say anything, just shrugging instead. "Thanks Mick."

"Welcome, kid." he laughed, pulling his own hoodie on. He bent and grabbed his duffel from the ground and pushed a pair of dark sunglasses down from his forehead. "I'm going to chill on the bus. Find the other two and let's go. I wanna relax."

Joey nudged my shoulder gently, jerking his head in the direction of the main part of the venue. I smiled, following after him on slightly tired legs. I watched as some of the roadie's tucked the rest of equipment into the trailer and joked around. It was like a little family with them all. Joey called out to some of them and they all waved back. I smiled and followed Joey as he pushed aside a thick curtain.

The vast stage stared back at me, seeming empty with nothing on it. But when I looked closer, I found two guys sitting on the stage, game controllers loose in their hands. Joey rolled his eyes and walked over to them, looking down and shaking his head. "What the hell are you guys doing?" he asked, crossing his arms tightly over his chest.

I stood next to him, looking at the two guys playing video games. I was confused however when I couldn't find the screen to watch them play. Then Joey tapped my shoulder and pointed to wall behind the stage. Their game was being displayed on the big screen. I watched in amazement as they attacked each other and laughed when as they knocked shoulders against each other.

"Knock it off, Paulie. That's cheating man." the taller one exclaimed, slamming his shoulder back into the more solid looking guy. The guy grinned up at me and smiled, leaning off to the side. With a grunt he slammed his body into the tall guy, knocking him to side and sending the game controller skidding across the floor. "Damn guy."

Joey laughed, snorting as the tall guy slowly climbed to his feet. When he was fully erect, I realized that Joey was dwarfed in comparison to him. As if knowing what I was thinking, Joey smirked and gently slapped the tall guy in the arm. "This here is Peaches."

The guy growled playfully, dropping a hand down on Joey's head and messing up his straight hair. Joey squealed in protest and jerked away from him. The guy laughed and shook his head, smirking as if he just won something great. "Call me Peaches again and I will cut that hair of yours, Jo-Jo." he threatened.

Joey frowned, pouting like a child. I laughed, thinking he was acting childish. Then I realized that he didn't look a whole lot older than me. So I wondered how old he really was. "Fine, James. I won't call you Peaches. So leave my hair alone."

James smirked, then looked down and took notice of me. "Hey, it's our little street rat. Nice sweatshirt." he joked, lifting the shoulder of the hoodie and letting it fall back down. "Is Mick mad at you for snatching up his hoodie?"

I shook my head, smoothing a hand over the front image. "Nope. I said thank you and he just smiled. Corey says he's a bully but not to me." I explained, smiling slightly. I was happy that Mick liked me. I was afraid of what would happen if he did bully me. I glanced down at the solid looking guy on the ground and nodded my head. "You must be Paul, then."

He nodded, popping up to his feet. "That's me. I'm the like everyone guy. How you feeling, by the way? Medic's give you any serious injuries?" he questioned, face split from a smile. I snorted, shaking my head as I lifted up the hoodie. He glanced down and looked at the Ace bandage covering my chest and the sling my arm was draped in. "Pretty gnarly. Hurt at all?"

"Not much. I'm just tired from the pain meds." The guys nodded, looking tired themselves. I looked back at the empty venue and whistled. "You guys must be scared to go on stage sometimes. This place is huge!"

Joey laughed, draping an arm around my shoulder gently. Tugging gently he led me back towards the others. James and Paul grabbed their controller and followed. When we passed the groups of roadies, they tossed the controllers to a random roadie and told him to put away the console. I glanced back at the equipment, shocked by how much there was. Then again, eight guys would definitely need a lot of it.

"Well look who decided to come hang out." Clown called out, shaking his head as he packed away his mask into a trunk labeled MASKS. He slipped into a loose sweatshirt and smiled at the two guys behind us. "Let me guess. You guys were playing video games again."

Glancing over my shoulder, I watched James and Paul laugh at the older man. Looking around I noticed that we were the only ones left in the room. Clown was the last guy still there and probably just waiting for us to return. I glanced around nervously, wondering what was going to happen with me. Corey had said I was going to the hotel with them but I wasn't sure the others knew that.

"Now that you're all back, we can go to the hotel and relax. " Clown ordered, grabbing his back pack and walking towards the door. I stayed where I was, watching the others grab their belongings. When they got close to the door, Clown turned and checked the room with a nod. Then he caught sight of me standing nervously in the back. "Sid! Let's go."

I nodded, jogging over to them with a smile one. I followed them onto the tour bus and was amazed by the size of it. It looked like it allowed all eight of them to travel comfortably. Corey and Mick were sitting at the dining room table when we walked in, playing cards in front of them. Craig was reading a book stretched out on the couch. Chris and Joey were fighting over the television, Chris winning easily. When they saw us walk onto the bus, they all cheered and I felt the bus lurch under my feet.

"Yo, Sid! Come over here, kid." Corey called over his shoulder. I walked over carefully, feet wobbly in the moving vehicle. I sank down next to him and smiled, wondering why I was being called over. Corey scanned his cards before talking to me. "When we get to the hotel, you're going to stay in the same room with me and Joey. That okay with you?"'

I nodded before even thinking about it. Sharing a room was a whole that better than sleeping outside again. Why would I argue? Corey smiled, slapping two cards onto the table. Mick just smirked and pressed his flat to the table, beating Corey's hand easily. Corey groaned and rolled his eyes. Mick flicked his eye brows at me and I couldn't help but to laugh.

"Watch it, buddy. You're in my room, remember?" Corey tried to threaten. I smiled, nodding my head. He laughed and messed up ratty hair. With a frown, he picked at one of the knots and shook his head. "And when we get there, you're taking a shower. Deal?"

I huffed, trying to act annoyed but it fell flat. Mick laughed, shuffling the cards for another game. "I know I need a shower. And you do too." I teased, leaning my head back against the chair cushion. The guys laughed around me, agreeing with my statement. Corey just huffed and I closed my eyes, feeling extremely tired and warm.

I wasn't even aware I had fallen asleep until I felt someone shaking my good shoulder to wake me up. I blinked blearily, finding Clown looking down at me. I sat up and rubbed my eyes with the back of my hands. "What's going on?" I asked voice thick with sleep.

Clown smiled, helping me to get out of the chair and walk towards the front of the bus. I realized we had arrived at the hotel and everyone else was inside. "Corey went to check everyone in. I stayed and let you sleep a little. Now it's time to go inside." he explained. I nodded, leaning into his side and yawning. He snorted, wrapping an arm around my waist to support me. "C'mon let's get you to bed."

"Corey says I need a shower first." I half whined, yawning again. My eyes moved around the lobby, realizing it was a nice hotel. Mick and James were in the gift shop, laughing about something. Clown led me to the elevator's and slapped the button for our floor.

"You can shower in the morning. You need sleep, Sid." Clown countered, eyes watching the passing floors in the glass elevator. We exited at our floor and Clown half dragged me to the last room in the hallway. The door was propped open and I could hear music blasting out of it. Joey was laying on one bed, feet bouncing to the beat of the song. From the bathroom I heard water running and figured Corey had beaten Joey to the shower.

Clown dropped me down on the mattress, laughing as I just fell back with a grunt. Joey laughed and slightly lowered the music. I turned over onto my good shoulder and curled up comfortably. "Corey's goin' to kick your ass off his bed when he finds you there." Joey joked.

"Corey can sleep on the floor." I mumbled, letting my body relax into the comfortable blanket. I heard Clown leave and yawned again. Joey laughed again, standing and draping an extra blanket over me. "Thanks, Joey."

"Welcome, Sid. Go to sleep. I'll fight off the Great Big Mouth for ya." he offered, sinking back into his bed. I nodded, too tired to respond. I heard the shower shut off and then Corey mumbling about clothes. The last thing I remember hearing was the bathroom door opening before I finally passed out, my body comfortable for once.