FicWad

Mike pulled away from Jade, keeping his eyes closed for a moment, and then opened them, glancing into her eyes. He pursed his lips, his brown eyes wide. She breathed out slowly, her eyes still closed. Mike still had a hold on the sides of the face, his fingers now intertwined in her hair. They silently broke apart, neither saying a word. Mike hit play on the movie, and put one arm behind his arm again. Jade looked down at his right palm, laying face up between them. She slowly and silently slid her hand over and edged her fingers into his hand. He interlaced their fingers, not once looking away from the movie. She sighed and leaned back on the pillows, keeping his hand in hers. His palm was warm. It was a little sweaty, but in a good way. It didn't bother her at all. Her eyes started to get a little heavy. She was very tired. Her eyes drifted closed and she soon found herself in a deep slumber. Mike glanced over at her when the movie was over. He sighed and as gently as possible, pulled his hand free from hers, stepping out of the bunk, and covering her up. He made his way to the front of the bus, and laid down on the couch. He covered his eyes with the bend in his elbow, and sighed, draping her other arm over his stomach. He fell asleep in seconds.

Mark stood up from his bunk the next morning to wake the guys up. He walked out into the living room first, and noticed Mike on the couch. He looked at him oddly. Why was Mike sleeping on the couch when he had a perfectly good bunk? He didn't even have any blankets. He sighed and walked toward Mike's bunk. He saw a small hand hanging out the side. He heaved a heavy sigh then, and ripped back the curtain to Mike's bunk to see Jade lying on her stomach, her face smashed sideways, open mouthed, into Mike's pillow, arm hanging out the side of the bunk. He groaned. He walked back out into the living room and kneed Mike's elbow. Mike pulled his arm away from his face and looked at him.

"What?" he asked. Mark looked at him.

"Why didn't you sleep in your bunk?" he asked. Mike sighed, knowing that he already knew she was there.

"She fell asleep," he told Mark. Mark chuckled.

"And what? You're incompitent to wake her up?" he asked. Mike sat up.

"I didn't sleep in there with her, did I?" he asked.

"No, but she was obviously in your bunk for some reason. You didn't lift her up and put her there," Mark snapped. Mike glared at him.

"We were watching a movie," he barked back. Mark sighed and rolled his eyes.

"The Hell am I supposed to say if she gets pregnant on this tour Mike? Huh?" Mark spat. Mike looked at him angrilly.

"Okay, that's just ridiculous," he growled, "We're friends. There's nothing going on." Mark laughed.

"That's what Bill Clinton said," he mumbled. "Go wake her up." Mike rolled his eyes, and stood up, walking to his bunk. He squatted down and shook Jade from her messy-haired slumber. She closed her mouth and looked at him.

"Time to get up," he smiled at her. She nodded, stretching. She got up from the bunk, red faced, and walked silently off the bus to go to her bus. Mark watched her go, glared at Mike, and then pushed past him to go outside. Mike rolled his eyes, and walked to his bunk to get clothes to take a shower. He leaned in to get into his bag. He looked up and noticed that there was a hook broken on his curtain. He examined it and sighed, letting his hand fall to his knee. Brad looked over at him.

"You know, you really should get that thing fixed," he muttered, "Someone might see something they don't want to see." Mike looked at him, and watched him walk to the back of the bus. He showered quickly and met the others at the outside venue. They were sitting in the seats of the stadium, watching Jade do her sound check. She was speaking into the microphone, letting the sound guy adjust her levels. She messed with her in-ear monitor. Mike watched her on the stage. If someone didn't know that she was new to singing, they would think she had been doing it forever. He smiled up at her, and she grinned back at him in turn. Brad was completely disgusted. Was he the only person that knew that something was going on? Everyone else just seemed to ignore them. Mark smiled and walked up onto the stage, taking Jade's microphone from her.

"Alright, guys, listen up," he muttered. They kept talking. "LISTEN!" Mark yelled. They all looked at him. He laughed and talked to them.

"Now, I don't know how much you guys have heard, but they've decided to do the Almost Acoustic Christmas show a little early this year," Mark told them, "Which means that we have to travel back to the US pretty soon to get ready for the show."

"Does that mean we have to cancel shows over here?" Joe yelled up at him.

"Sadly, yes," Mark replied. The guys groaned.

"Hey!" Mark yelled, "Do you want to play AAC or not?" They all sighed.

"That's what I thought," he muttered. "Now, the show is on November 28th this year. That means that we have 2 more shows, and then we're going back. We're going to play tonight's show in London and then tomorrow's show in Brighton." They nodded.

"Good, now get up here and get in a sound check," he snapped. They all laughed and the guys of Linkin Park stepped up onto the stage. They did a long sound check, with a few problems. A transformer blew down the road, and they had to wait about an hour for power again, and then the strings on Phoenix's bass kept snapping in two, hitting his arm and cutting him. A scaffold of lights came loose and nearly decapitated Mike, who ducked out of the way just in time. He looked over at Chester.

"Dude, this show is a bad omen," he laughed. Chester chuckled and waited for the crew to fix the lights. Finally, things stopped going wrong, and after hair and make up, there was time to go outside and meet some of the fans. Mike put a hand on the small of Jade's back, squeezing through a tight doorway with the rest of the band, pursing his lips and stepped outside. A load of kids standing behind a roped off area started to scream. Mike smiled and waved to them all, and started signing autographs. People were yelling loudly at Jade to sign their small books and CD jackets. She smiled, her CD having been released the week before. She grinned at all of them, shaking hands, and talking to a few people. Mike made his way back to her, pushing through a few arms, and signing more autographs. He broke the connection between a guy's hand and Jade's black shirt, standing shoulder to shoulder with her. He smiled at the people standing in front of them, cameras flashing in his face. He smiled for a girl's camera and signed her CD. A few security guards came and rounded them up to go back into the building.

"Jade!" she heard a voice from behind her. She turned around and saw a face that she recognized.

"Holly!" she smiled, and hugged a strawberry blonde girl about of about 17. She pointed a thumb to Mike, "This is Mike. Mike this is my friend Holly." Holly smiled widely, knowing who Mike was. After all, it was through Linkin Park that Jade and Holly had met. Mike smiled and shook her hand. Holly grinned and looked back at Jade, bouncing up and down.

"I got Chester's autograph!" she squealed. Jade laughed and shook her head.

"Jade, come on," a large security guard motioned. Jade looked at him and nodded. She turned back to Holly, grinning.

"Looks like I gotta get going, but enjoy the show, okay?" she grinned. Holly nodded smiling. Jade gripped her hand once more and then walked back inside. Of course, Jade took the stage first.

"How ya'll doing?" she yelled, riling the crowd. They cheered and screamed. "I guess you've all gotten my album. How do you like it?" The crowd screamed loudly. She laughed. "Good, 'cause we're gunna play it for ya." The crowd went wild. She laughed again.

"Owen, take it away," she smiled at the drummer, and he started to play the drum intro to 'Room 308.' The crowd started to scream, and Jade started her song. Chester and Mike watched from backstage, both laughing.

"Well, she sure does know how to work a crowd," Chester chuckled. Mike laughed, and nodded. About four songs into her set, Jade paused for a moment to get a drink, and looked out at the crowd.

"Before we play the next song, I wanted to make a shout out to a friend that I have in the crowd tonight," she said, grinning, and a few people cheered. "My friend, Holly, is here tonight. Where are you Holly?" She heard a girl holler loudly from the left side of the stage, a few rows back. Jade pointed. "There ya are!" she laughed. "I met Holly on a message board on LinkinPark.com. She has been a good friend. This ones for you," she smiled, and the band started to play 'My Biggest Fan.' The crowd yelled loudly, and Jade looked back a Holly, who was grinning from ear to ear. She finished the song, and played through the rest of her show. She took a bow.

"Thank you guys, you've been awesome!" she waved to the crowd again, smiling, and threw the towel that she'd just wiped her face with into the crowd. She walked backstage, and smiled at the guys.

"Good luck," she breathed, holding a water bottle to her face. "They're a wild crowd." The guys laughed and walked out onto the stage. They started to play their show. Jade loved to watch them perform. Her favorite song to watch was 'Papercut.' They just seemed to have more energy during that song. She watched Mike walking around the stage, rapping.

"The face inside is right beneath the skin," he muttered, "The face inside is right beneath the skin," he took a deep breath, "The face inside of right beneath the SKIN." She watched him put his head back for a moment, taking a deep breath, and turn his head to spit. She laughed and he started to sing loudly with Chester. "The sun goes down..." She sighed. How exactly was it that she had gotten so lucky? She watched them finish their show. They waved, and slapped a few hands in the crowd before leaving the stage. As always, Mark let them sit down for about 2 seconds before he ushered them back onto their buses. Mike walked out with Jade, holding a towel in his arms. There was already a crowd behind the building. They would have signed autographs but Mark told them to get right onto the bus. They apologized to their fans, and walked to the buses. Mike held onto the back of Jade's shirt, having dropped his water bottle, and bent down to retrieve it. She looked back at him, laughing. He smiled at her and looked around. Apparently deciding that no one was looking, he pecked her on the lips and stepped away from her. He stretched his arm out in front of him in a wave.

"I'll see you in Brighton," he murmured, smiling at her, and climbed onto the bus. Jade smiled and got onto her own bus after waving at the last of the crowd. She went immediately to her bunk, and the bus squeaked into motion. She sighed, and closed her eyes. She didn't even care if she was still in her sweaty clothes from the concert. She was so tired. She drifted off the sleep. The bus was creeping along at a slow pace. She sighed in her sleep, and there was a huge bang to her right. She jumped awake. They'd stopped moving. She sat up and looked around.

"Are you alright?" came the voice of her driver. She sighed.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she called, "What happened?" His face appeared in the hallway.

"We hit something," he muttered, "I gotta go talk to Mark." He left the bus quickly. She stood there for a moment and then looked around. It couldn't have been anything serious or they would have been hurt. She sighed and climbed off the bus. There was a lot of bustling around. It was chilly outside, so she stepped back onto the bus to grab a blanket. She wrapped it around herself and went back outside. She looked around and saw that they had barely nudged a pole on their right side. She chuckled. Her driver must have been really tired. Mike came hurrying up to her.

"Are you alright?" he asked. She smiled.

"I'm fine," she grinned, "Just a little mad to be woken up." He laughed, and hugged her. Chester came up out of no where.

"Holy crap, we had that happen one time, remember?" he asked. Mike nodded.

"Yeah, we drove into a ditch," he smiled. Jade laughed. Jade's driver looked over at her.

"I think we're good to go now," he told her. She nodded and looked at the two men.

"Well, night," she smiled at them. Mike grabbed her arm and pulled her back to him, hugging her to his chest tightly. She didn't want to leave that spot. He was so warm. And he smelled so good. She buried her face into his shirt. He finally released her and she walked away, climbing back onto her bus.

"What was that about?" Chester asked. Mike sighed, looking after Jade.

"Nothing," he whispered, and turned away. Chester stood for a moment and then shrugged, going back to the bus. They were on the road again and arrived in Brighton early in the morning. They climbed off their buses and looked around. The city was so beautiful. They could smell sea salt in the air when the wind blew. Mike laughed and looked over at Jade.

"We gotta tour this place," he smiled. Jade chuckled at him. Mark smiled at them all.

"Alright, guys, let's get inside," he called. They all sighed and walked into the building. It was big and lavish place. It seemed almost like an opera hall, rather than a concert venue. The crew stepped up onto the stage to set everything up. Jade was just walking out onto the stage after getting her in-ear monitor in, when Mike grabbed her arm and pulled her aside. She looked up at him.

"Hey," he muttered, quietly, "I was wanting to talk to you." She looked up at him. He was so serious. He sighed. "The Almost Acoustic Christmas show is coming up," he started. She nodded. He sighed. "I was wondering if you might want to sing a song with me." She smiled at him.

"Of course!" she grinned. He smiled back.

"Okay, but, don't tell anyone," he smiled, "I want it to be a surprise." She grinned and hugged him. He winked at her.

"We'll practice later," he told her. She nodded. She turned to do her sound check. Mike left the stage and went backstage. The show that night was long and tiresome. The crowd wasn't very attentive for some reason. Not even for Linkin Park. They were happy when they were able to leave that overly decorated venue and finally stay in a hotel. Mike knocked on Jade's door while she was working on a song. She opened the door.

"Hey," she smiled. He grinned at her.

"Can I come in?" he asked. She nodded and turned away to go to the bed and put her acoustic guitar back into it's case. He smiled.

"Working on something?" he asked. She chuckled.

"Yeah, just a song that I was starting to write," she said. He nodded.

"Can I hear?" he smiled. Her face went pale. He laughed. "You don't have to play it if you don't want." She laughed.

"I just don't normally let people hear my songs until they're finished," she said. He chortled.

"Oh, come on, I won't be too critical," he grinned. She laughed and sighed, taking her guitar back out. She started to play roughly, after sitting on her bed. She took a breath and started to sing.

"It's me again. I just wanted to tell you thank you for this angel in my life. The one with the smile of gold and the big brown eyes. I'm safe in his arms, wrapped up so tight," she stopped there. She looked at him. He was staring at her hands. He couldn't believe what he had just heard. He was pretty sure, without a doubt, that he had just heard the first song in the world....written about him. He smiled at her.

"Sounds good," he grinned. She looked over at him, smirking. She sighed.

"So," she said, "What song were you thinking about doing for AAC?" He laughed.

"Ever heard the song 'Mary, Did You Know'?" he asked. She smiled.

"Yeah, it's one of my favorites," she grinned. He laughd.

"Me too," he chuckled. "I guess it's definitely that one then." She nodded. He took the guitar from her, and started to pluck around stupidly with the strings, playing the beginning lines to 'Mary, Did You Know.' She smiled and started to hum the tune of the song. He looked up at her, keeping his concentration. She started to sing. He seemed to wait until just the right moments to sing harmony with her. They finished the song and he smiled.

"That's going to be perfect," he smiled. She laughed. There was a knock at the door. She got up to answer it and saw Brad standing in the doorway. He smiled at her.

"Sounded good, what were you guys singing?" he asked. Jade smiled.

"Nothing," she grinned. Brad shook his head.

"We're going for something to eat," he said, "You guys want to go?" Mike nodded and got up.

"I need to change out of these nasty ass clothes," he laughed. He squeezed between Jade, Brad, and the door and walked across the hall to his room. Brad laughed.

"See you in a bit," he said to her. She nodded, and closed the door to change her clothes. She changed into a pair of tight blue jeans and a sweat shirt before throwing her hair up into a messy pony tail. She walked out into the hallway and waited for the other guys before going downstairs to eat in the small all night cafe of the hotel. Most of them were tired, so it was a silent affair. Afterward, they all went upstairs, collapsed into bed, and slept soundly.

The next morning was a quick, bustled type. They were running late for their plane. They finally got to the airport about 5 minutes after they were supposed to be there. They were loaded quickly onto the plane. Jade was feeling sick. She used Mike as a pillow most of the flight back, getting up periodically to go to the bathroom. She never threw-up. They landed in Los Angeles around 3 pm, exhausted. Mark told them all to go home and get some rest. Mike sighed. He looked at Jade.

"Sadly, we're not going to get that," he muttered. She looked at him oddly. "We have to practice," he told her. She laughed. She climbed tiredly into the limo beside him and they were taken to his home. She was surprised to see that it was big, but not too big. It seemed like a beach home, but was actually about a mile away from a forest. She stepped inside with him, and he smiled.

"Welcome," he grinned. She laughed. Mike went immediately downstairs into what was his home studio. She followed him, and watched him sit down at his keyboard. He looked at her.

"So, I was thinking of using a piano instead of a guitar," he told her. She nodded. "Can't decide which would sound better though," he said, "A keyboard, or a grand." She looked around and noticed that there was a jet black grand piano sitting on the other side of the room. She was taken aback. She loved pianos. He smiled and laughed.

"The grand it is, then," he smiled. He stood up and walked over to sit down at the piano. He started to play. The sound was so beautiful. She smiled and sat down with him. He played what seemed to be a long and complicated introduction before getting down to the real song. She started to sing the song, delicately at first, and then getting progressively louder. He sang the harmonies with her, accenting her voice perfectly. She loved the way that it sounded. They finished the song. He looked at her and smiled.

"It's going to be awesome," he said. She smiled and pecked him on the lips. He smirked at her. She stared at him. His gaze was penetrating her. She looked back and forth between his eyes. He leaned in to kiss her, and she lost every second in his kisses, only waking again when she was falling backward onto his bed. He was so gentle. He never went faster than what she could take. And she fell asleep afterward, in his arms, content with the place that she was in.