FicWad

"SID!! Get down here now! The roadies need to lift up the backdrop. And don't you dare fall, either." I shouted, craning my neck to watch Sid climb nimbly along the support beams of the stage. Somehow, the crafty teen had managed to climb to the near top with his arm still in the sling. Corey chuckled behind me and I leaned backwards to look at him. "What are you laughing at, Mouth?"

Corey smirked, eyes filled with mischief. He shrugged his shoulders, leaning back against the wall. "I'm laughing at you for being so protective of the kid, is all. It brings out that motherly side in you Mick." He laughed deeply to himself, hands propped up on his knees. "Big ol' Mick's playing mother hen. Priceless."

I glared at him, eyes glancing up at Sid again as he climbed down slowly. Then I turned to Corey, who suddenly sobered up. I smirked, knowing it looked dangerously. "Awww. The little Corey is scared." I stepped towards him and laughed as he flinched back in to the wall. I laughed again, shaking my head and turning back around. Sid jumped down the last few feet to the floor and smiled triumphantly.

"DUDE! Did you see that? I was mad high up." he exclaimed, bouncing over to me and Corey. His Mohawk was slightly crooked and the sweatshirt he was wearing was covered in a thick layer of dust. With a sigh, I reached over and brushed it away, causing Corey to laugh again. I glared at him once more and smirked as he flinched again. Sid winced slightly, moving away and finishing the dusting himself. "You're like a rug beater."

I rolled my eyes, moving out the way as our roadies attached the back drop to the pole. The drop was slowly lifted, our tribal S staring us down. Sid smirked at it, looking up at me. "What, kid?" I asked, turning back around to walk towards the dressing room. I heard the scuffle of shoes on the stage and knew the others were following. I shouldered open the door and laughed when I almost knocked Joey over in the process. "Sorry, midget."

Joey glared at me, rubbing the shoulder that I had hit with the door. "I'm not a midget! And say sorry for hitting me with the damn door, Mick." he whined, tossing his hair back over his shoulder. I gave him a blank look. Did he really think I was going to apologize? Maybe I hit him too hard with the door. He huffed, shaking his head and walking back from where he came. "Damn asshole."

I heard Sid laughing and looked at him, brows arched. He smiled innocently, brushing past me to get to the green room. I rolled my eyes, entering also. The rest of the guys looked up as we entered and then went back to doing their usual preshow routine. Sid sank down on the couch next to Chris, who was busy pulling his sneakers on and lacing them so they wouldn't untie during the show.

Chris looked up slightly, smiling when he saw Sid. Then he looked over at me, face spreading more. "You finally got him down from the beams?" he asked, voice light with laughter. I gave him a bored look, then walked over to him and slapped him none too gently in the back of the head. He exclaimed in pain and rubbed the sore spot in the back of his head. "What was that for?"

I smiled innocently, walking to my bag and digging around for my tank top. "Don't dare Sid to climb those things again. Especially when you know he'll go through with it." I warned, tugging my street shirt off and replacing it with the loose tank top. Everyone laughed, even Chris. I shook my head, sitting in a chair close by and stretching slightly.

Sid seemed to bounce around the room, talking to everyone in an excited voice. His constant companion, Craig, seemed to enjoy the conversation with the boy. His eyes were happy behind his glasses and I had never seen him smile so much before. He actually managed to keep Sid's attention for longer than three seconds also. A challenge most of us faced when talking to him. Sid looked up from his conversation with Craig and scanned the crowded room. "When do you guys go on?"

Paul looked down the hall at the hanging wall clock and then leaned back up. "In about five minutes. The other band should be done on the second stage." he answered. He stood, pulling his jumpsuit the rest of the way up. Sid nodded, eyes looking sad knowing he couldn't hang with us until after the show. Paul smiled, ruffling the teen's hair with a playful smirk. "Don't worry, Siddy. We'll get you a mask and let you run around the stage once the arms all healed up."

"Yeah! You can be our mascot." Jim teased. I smirked, rolling my eyes. Jim wrapped his arms around Sid's waist and spun him around, laughter spilling from his mouth. Sid squeaked in protest, trying to wiggle free. "Introducing Ratboy! 'knot's newest and youngest member."

Sid frowned, a pout marring his face despite the humor filling his eyes. I snorted, zipping up my suit and bending to tuck the cuffs into the top of my boots. Jim released Sid with another round of laughter. Sid tried to act upset but the kid was like Paul: he was always smiling. Puffing his cheeks out, he stuck his tongue at Jim. When Jim tried to swat at him, he giggled; running to hide behind me.

I rolled my eyes, standing straight and looking down at him. I arched an eyebrow and stared at him. He stared back defiantly. "Why do you insist on hiding behind me?" I questioned, not really caring actually. He wasn't that bad. I had dealt with more annoying shit than him.

Smiling Sid shrugged, tugging on his sling with a laugh. "No one messes with you. You're like my unofficial bodyguard." he stated, voice telling me there was no point in arguing. I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose. Throwing his arms, Sid cheered. "And Sid defeats the legendary giant Mick in a one round knockout."

Before he could say anymore, I crouched slightly and gently pounced on him. Lifting him up onto my shoulder was easy; he weighed like ten pounds to me. I felt his fist hitting my back and smirked. Clown laughed, gently poking the dangling Sid. Corey looked over, shaking his head at us with a smile. "And the legendary giant Mick defeats the little Ratboy."

"Put me down, Log! Before I get Joey to help me!" I turned and looked at my tiny drummer. Joey looked up, surprise in his eyes. Sid sighed, laying still. "I'm all alone." I smiled, smirking at Joey. I bent slightly to lower the boy, pausing when my eyes caught sight of faded pink scars spreading across Sid's exposed legs. My eyes snapped over to Joey, silently wondering if he saw the same thing. Joey's expression could only mirror mine. Without a word he nodded his head.

Sid slid from my shoulder, rubbing his chest with a wince. I straightened, looking down at him. "Sorry. Truce?" I offered my hand and smiled weakly. Sid hesitated, and then shook my hand with wide grin. He bounced away, calling out Craig's name as he neared the man. I watched him move away, mind whirling from the scars on his legs. Joey yanked his socks up to the bottom of his cut off pant legs and slipped into his shoes. I sank down next to him, grabbing my bottles of water to wet my hair. "You saw what I saw right?"

Joey nodded, pulling his hair back to slip his mask on. In a wave, he let the hair fall back down. "Yeah. I saw them. Those things look old. And deep." He glanced up, bright blue eyes looking rattled behind the mask. I frowned, twisting the caps on the water. Joey took one from me and stood, poking the back of my skull to get me to lower my head. "Whole bottle?"

I nodded, tensing slightly when the cold water splashed over my hair. Joey chuckled, making sure the water soaked through completely. One bottle dropped to the floor and I held up the second. Without a word, Joey took it from me and poured it over the soggy hair. When the water stopped flowing, I stood and wrung out the excess. Joey moved out of the way, hating whenever I got him wet on accident. The water splashed to the ground and I smirked, reaching for my mask with a smile.

"Hey Sid! Catch!" Clown shouted, tossing a black object to the teen. Sid caught the object one handed and Craig helped him open it up. A tour shirt stared back at me, our masks sticking out of the blackness. Sid's smiled split his face open, eyes beaming. "It's from all of us to little oh you."

Sid pouted at the short joke but it was quickly wiped away as he struggled out of his sling. Craig helped him maneuver his other shirt off and laughed when it got caught around his Mohawk. I leaned in closer, looking at the pale color of Sid's skin. Joey looked with me, though no one could tell under his mask. More scars littered Sid's back, in all different shapes and sizes. I frowned at the markings, wondering how in the world he got them. Before I could ask, Sid yanked his new shirt down with a chuckle.

"Thanks guys. I like it!" he exclaimed, smoothing his hands over the picture with a smile. Most of the guys laughed, I smiled slightly. I was still confused by the scars on our young friend. Before I could ask or even make a remark, Corey called us for the group huddle. Joey shrugged, walking over to our band members. I joined in, looking ahead of me. A second later, I felt someone jump onto my back, awkwardly holding. "Ha! I'm taller than you!"

I snorted, shaking my head. I snaked my arms around Sid's legs and propped him up. Resting an arm on Jim's shoulder, Sid joined into the huddle. Corey laughed at Sid, a cocky smile on his face. Looking around, I set myself up for the show. I guess I could ponder the scars after. At the moment, I had to perform for a bunch of maggots.

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The crowd was surging at the stage again as they watched Joey's drum solo. I watched with interest as they pushed against each other, fighting to be the dominant one. I crouched slightly, trying to release some tension in my legs and back. Mick paced around the stage, his mere presence making the crowds roar louder. I smiled behind my horrible smelling mask, heart racing from the adrenaline.

Recognizing the ending notes of Joey's solo, I straightened again. Everyone moved back into their places, getting ready to go into the next song. I looked up at Paul, watching his fingers count to Joey to start. I waited for the drums, surprised when the beats didn't kick in. I turned, looking at Joey. He was thumping on the drum but nothing came through. It was muffled under all the news of the crowds. Looking up panicked , he threw his arms up.

I growled to my mouth, looking to Mick desperately. He shrugged, calling to Jim to come over. After a few words, they nodded; separating to go the spots. The opening cords to Surfacing filled my ears, lacking the drums. I knew the crowd knew the difference, they quieted down slightly. Then from out of nowhere, this scratching filled the missing beats. I looked around the stage shocked, thinking maybe Craig was doing something from his station. He shook his head, pointing to the back of the stage.

The noise increased, mixing in perfectly with the guitars. I realized then that it sounded like a DJ scratching the disk, an old school sound I hadn't heard in years. I smiled slightly, watching the crowd eat it up. I bobbed my head, scared when Joey's drum kicked back on. Now we we're in business. I joined into the song, laughing at the close call we had. Someone managed to save our asses and the crowd barely even noticed.

In the gap of the next song, I jogged over to Craig's station. He was chugging down water and jumped when he saw me. "Who was doing that? During Surfacing?" I called loudly next to his ear. He shrugged and shook his head. Frowning I looked over at Joey. Nodding to Craig I climbed the drum riser. "Who saved our asses?"

"Sid did! I watched him through the curtain." he shouted, amazement in his voice. I was shocked, Sid had managed to pull that off. Joey must have seen the look on my face because he laughed, sweaty hair swishing around. "I'm telling you! Sid did it!"

I just shrugged my shoulders, heading back to the finish the last of the set. After an extended encore and a small press in the back, I was finally free to hunt out Sid. Usually he hung around the back stage area, always waiting for us to get of stage. He wasn't there or in the catering area; he place for snacks and soda. Turning back into the hallway, I bumped into a solid form with a grunt. Looking up, my eyes found Jim's red, sweaty face.

"You looking for Ratboy?" he asked, wiping a towel across his face. I nodded, walking down the hallway back towards the green room. Jim walked with me, working his tall body free of the jumpsuit. A few fans dotted the hallway and we were forced to stop and chat. With a grunt, I shouldered open the door to the green room and instantly looked for Sid.

I found the teen curled up on the couch, head tucked into the hood of Mick's sweatshirt. His shorts were bunched up against his knees and his sneakered feet dangling off the edge. At the moment I was glad we had gone and bought him new clothes. He looked extremely comfortable in them. Walking over to the sleeping teen, I jostled his shoulder. He mumbled, swatting me away. Jim chuckled, sitting down and removing his shoes. I laughed, shaking him harder.

"You got five seconds to get up or I'm getting Clown in here to wake you up." I threatened, knowing Sid hated having Clown wake him up. Sid growled, lifting his good arm to push back his hood. Sleepy blue eyes looked at me half lidded. I laughed, hearing more of the guys enter the room. "Were you the one who was spinning the disc during Surfacing? When Joey's mic went out?"

"I swear I was just trying to help! I had seen the table next to Craig's equipment. I plugged it in and was messing around when I heard Joey's mic go. I plugged into the speaker. I thought it would give the techie's time to fix the mic." Sid exclaimed, words spilling from his mouth like vomit. I blinked, trying to figure out exactly what was said.

Holding up a hand, I silenced the bumbling teen. "Okay. I'm not mad at you. You saved our asses with that scratching. And when we're you going to tell us you were a DJ?" Sid breathed out a sigh of relief. I chuckled, sitting down next to him. "You really thought I was going to be mad at you?"

Sid nodded slightly, looking at me sheepishly. "I thought I messed up the show. That's why I came back here after the song." he admitted, rubbing a hand over his neck. I shook my head, snorting in disbelief. With a smirk, he looked back up. "And Craig knew I DJ'd. We were talking about set ups like last night."

I heard Craig's laughter and half turned, looking at my sampler. He waved as he pulled his arms out his sleeves. Jim and Paul smirked, shoving each other for the showers. "You are such a pain, Jones. Ya know that right?" Craig nodded, smiling over at Sid. I looked between the two and wondered how much they actually talked about. "So you knew it was him during the show didn't you?" Craig gave the look of boredom and zipped his lips. "Asshole."

"Love you too, Taylor." he called over his shoulder as he walked towards the showers with the clean clothes under his arm. I growled, looking back at Sid. He smiled cautiously, eye brows arched to the ceiling. I sighed, leaning back into the couch. Sid laughed, leaning back into his seat.

"I have no idea what to do with you, kid. You keep surprising us every turn we get."
Sid shrugged, smile stretching more. "It's good to keep people guessing. Keep's em on their toes."

I nodded, letting my head fall against the back of the couch. The green room slowly filled with noise and voices., each talking about Sid's stunt to save the show. Sid blushed at the attention, nervously trying to hid deep inside Mick's sweatshirt. clown sat down with us, freshly changed and hair wet. He slung an arm around Sid's shoulders and squeezed gently. "You better heal up fast, Siddy."

"Why? I got nothing to worry about."

Clown smiled sadistically, rubbing his knuckles roughly into Sid's scalp. He yelped and wiggled away from the older male. Before he could stop himself, Sid crashed to the concrete floor with a laugh. Clown laughter filled the room, unstopping and loud. Looking at the glaring boy, he leaned down towards him. The minute he opened his mouth to say something, Sid's arm shot out and tucked him down towards the ground with him. Clown fell with a cry of surprise and Sid laughing in his ear.

"I'm not taking our shit, grandpa. I'm going to kick your ass." Sid cried, tackling Clown with a crazed smirk.

"Yo! We got a rumble on our hands." I shouted, moving to sit on the back of the couch. Mick and Joey looked over, laughing. Chris jumped onto the couch with me, eyes locked onto the fight. "I GOT TEN ON CLOWN!"

"Screw that, twenty on the kid. Clown's too old." Mick called, walking over to join the spectating event. Joey bet against both of us and said it would end in a tie.

I was amazed to watch as Sid dominated Clown in the scuffle. Springing to his feet, he held his good arm above his head. Chris and I groaned, knowing we owed money to Mick. Sid jumped on his toes, eyes sparkling. Clown groaned, pushing to sit on his ass. Sid paused looking down at the older member. "What were you going to say before dude?"

Clown chuckled, shaking his head. " I was going to say you needed to heal up so I could kick your ass on stage. But now I see you can handle your own."

"On stage? Why would I be up there?"

"Because you're our new DJ, dumbass. You're joining the band."

Sid looked around, waiting for someone to tell him it was a joke. When no one did, he smiled again. Tackling Clown once again, Sid hugged the percussionist tightly. Then he hugged each of us, before we could protest. Paul walked back out the showers, grunting in surprise as Sid squeezed him tightly. Looking up confused, I laughed. "I miss something?"
Chris nodded, watching Sid hug the last remaining members. "Yeah. Ratboy just joined the band. He's showing his gratitude with hugs."

Paul nodded his head, teeth chewing on his lip ring gently. Throwing his clothes he threw his arms out. "GROUP HUG!" he exclaimed, racing towards us with a sick smile. I jumped off the couch, moving away from him. The laughter swelled again as Paul chased us around the room, insisting on hugging. It was going to be a long evening on the bus with the two hugging males.

"I swear to god Paul. You touch me and I'm going to kill you." Mick warned, holding up his index finger in a warning stance.

Paul crept forward slightly, smirk growing. Sid crept up behind the tall man, holding a finger to his lips. While Paul distracted him, Sid wrapped his arms around his middle. Mick half twisted, taking his eye off Paul. With the man distracted, Paul darted forward, hugging his tall friend. "WE LOVE YOU!!!" the two hugging man laughed.

Mick groaned, head flung back. "I hate you all with a deep seeded passion."

"Past. You know you love us Mick. Get over it." Chris laughed, holding his sides tightly as he laughed. Mick shot him a glare and Chris smirked. "Ohh. So threatening."

"Don't forget, Pinocchio. Your bunk's next to mine." Mick shot out, a twisted smile on his face. Chris' smile fell, eyes wide. Mick wiggled his eye brows. "Guess I won right?"

"Fucker."