( gif by hazzawckd  < 3 )

word count: 5942

Stepping off the bus with my bag hoisted on my shoulder, I glanced up to the beautiful hotel that was miles high in the sky. It felt like a constant repetition, the plethora of luxuries we have on this tour would make me go numb by the end of it. Pav and Gwen step out behind me, following the direction my head was pointed up to towards the sky.

"I still can't get over the places we go and stay in." She murmurs before walking up the grand steps that had a rep carpet draped going down them.

I let out a little laugh and follow, walking up the steps to the revolving doors. It was the sunniest day in Atlantic City, the sun was glaring down on my sky that casted a small line of sweat on my hairline, but a sigh of relief left my lips when I walked inside the air conditioned building.

Every hotel we have been to thus far never steers away from the marble flooring, multitude of concierge and the many rows of front desks attendance to get us checked in and off we go. Gwen and I walked side by side as we waved goodbye to Pav who went to the opposite side of the hotel to get his room key and go to another section of the hotel.

"I think out of every hotel we stayed in, old tours and new, this is the first with an actual rooftop pool." She says out loud as we head towards the front desk on the opposite side of the huge open area.

"A pool? That sounds so relaxing, especially on a day like today." I said in awe.

"The things I would do if I just had the smallest bit of time." She ponders the idea as we finally reach the area, our forearms resting on the desk.

"Names?" The young gentleman at the front desk asked with his fingers typing away and not once looking up to stare at us.

"Gwen Stacey." She says.

"(Y/N) (L/N)." I say.

"Okay... Ah, here you two are. Here are your key cards, as well as two extra ones in case you lose them. These grant you access to all amenities in the building; gym, arcade, pool, theater and galley.

"Thank you." Gwen grabs both of mine and her keycards before handing them to me.

I turn around and walk towards the elevators with her, my bag on my shoulder and the duffle bag of my stylist items in my left hand. Usually when we get here our suitcases are already in our room, but it never hurts to make sure.

"God, knowing they have an arcade here makes me even more jealous. I would kill a giant lizard to have the time to play some games or jump in the pool." She groans.

"A giant lizard as an analogy to not being able to do this is hilarious, is there really not a single time you can fit in that? Not even if it was a small twenty minutes." A small laugh escaped my lips as we walked across the floor.

"Maybe after the shows, if I'm not too tired."

"You are a manager, you must have an assistant. Have one day to yourself for this."

We walked around the corner to the elevators, immediately my eyes landed on the five band members huddling around the elevator as they peered over Rico's shoulder to watch whatever it was on her phone, their bags either on their backs or over their shoulders. I sucked in a harsh breath and almost dropped my bag in the same breath, forgetting that they are still actively in my life trying to ruin it.

Ozzy stood up in front of the elevator after Rico clicked her phone off and rolled her eyes. His hands were playing with a megaminx while not even bothering to look down at what he was doing, spiraling through the colors like it was a second nature to him. He had on a loose gray tank top, exposing his backside which had a raven dead center of his back, complementing his toned back muscles. I could see a tattoo on the back of his bicep. His black sunglasses were pushed up on his head, his platinum blonde hair tucked away under the frames. I never noticed the tattoos on him or anyone, but then again I never noticed anything about them but the blood that stained their hands and their vicious tongues.

Opium stood just to his left, facing the elevator patiently with a paperback book in his hands and a pencil in the other. Occasionally he would bring the tip of the eraser up to his lips and bite down on it, then he would place it on the paper and erase it all in a span of twenty seconds. He was in gray sweats and a fitted black tee that exposed his little waist and his four pack abs. He had on red dunks and his breathing was so slow you could see his arms flex just lightly on his arms.

Crass stood on his phone behind the group with Rico resting her head on his shoulder that was covered by a dark, blue hoodie. He was in long black basketball shorts that exposed a good portion of his hair legs and multiple stick and pokes around his shin area. Rico was always put together, in her white and red matching jumper with her blue hair thrown up into two small pigtails that swayed whenever she talked to Crass. Whatever it was didn't seem to be of importance to him as he was just texting, but he still gave her his attention whenever I saw her lips stop moving and waited for an answer that he gave her.

That left Hobie leaning against the wall of the elevators, his front half facing everyone with some sort of dominance and on alert, sunglasses perched on the bridge of his nose. He had a yo-yo in his hand as he popped his gum the same time he brought the yo-yo down, then let his gum pop when he brought it back up. His opposing hand held his phone as he did all this motion in one get movement. His shoulders were relaxed as he leaned against the wall, his hips jetted out so he was slightly arched. He wore tight fitted, ripped jeans and a tee shirt that read 'just chill out.'

It was comical coming from him since he never seemed to just 'chill out.'

"Well, well, well. If it isn't Ghost-spider." Ozzy chimes with a smirk, looking over at the two of us once we made our presence know.

"And she made friends with Fashion Killa." Opium adds, smiling at the two of us.

"I told you to stop calling me that." Gwen rolls her eyes, referring to the ghost spider remark.

"I know you forgot the reason why I call you that, so I have to remind you little by little."

"I didn't. I just refuse to be reminded."

"Why do they..." I say in a whisper behind her, avoiding their eyes.

"I accidentally bit him and left a mark on the palm of his hand. Apparently he knows so many facts about spiders that a ghost spider is harmless, like me I guess, and they often leave a permanent mark, which I did." Gwen explains as she hooks her arm with mine.

Ozzy lets out an annoying laugh, turning his head as the elevator dings and opens up for us.

They all walk in, Gwen following after until I gripped her wrist to stop and pull her back.

"Can we wait for the next one?" I say in a hushed whisper.

"Nah, come on." Ozzy stuck his head out the elevator door, his opposite hand holding onto the side so it wouldn't close on him. "There's enough room, Fashion Killa. Besides, we have to get off on the fiftieth floor to switch elevators to continue on up."

I snapped my eyes up to his devilish brown ones, seeing as he heard what I whispered before I sighed knowing I couldn't get out of it now.

We quietly walked forward, into the small elevator that had each person staggered around the walls. I moved my way around to stand as far away from Hobie as possible, only to be pushed up against Crass's side, my chest going tense. The minute the doors closed I could really feel how hot it was in here, not to mention the intoxicating smell of a strong cologne coming from the right side of me.

The side where Hobie was.

The elevator on this side stopped at the sixty floor, meaning the other side of the hotel must continue on up for important guests. Exhibit A of that stood in the same elevator as me.

I stood in a trance at the glowing, yellow buttons that shined and then disappeared onto the next number as they moved up one by one. My fingers were pounding away on the right side of me, palms starting to sweat as I got nausea from not only being this close to Hobie but knowing I had at least a ten minute ride up before they were gone. I still don't feel comfortable being around them, not even with Gwen in the same proximity as me.

"Did you see we finally have a pool in the hotel?" Opium said from behind us. "I say we go."

"I totally fucking agree." Ozzy says from closer behind.

"So we are all on the same page to skip sound check and get a small tan in beforehand?" Opium asks.

"There is no agreement because you can't." Gwen turned her head to stare at them, but I kept my eyes ahead on the numbers.

"Are you the big boss, Ghost?" Ozzy asks in his cocky tone, moving his head in a side-to-side motion.

"No, but Ares will pop a blood vessel if she shows up and the lot of you decide to skip because of a pool day." She says back, I almost applauded her for her courage to talk to them however she wanted.

"What is your sister gonna do? Fire us?" He shoots back.

"She could honestly try."

"Doubt it, your sister loves Ozzy." Opium chimes in to defend his friend, dragging out the word love.

"You can't just not go and use her likeness for you as a reason to get out of doing your job." She still fought back.

"Are you going to drag us there, Ghost-Spider?"

"Stop calling me that!" She snaps, stomping her foot before Opium ruffles her hair like a child as the two boys laugh.

"Then maybe don't bite me!"

"It was an accident!"

The doors opened on the forty-third floor as a small group of elderly women came in with their little smiles and walkers. Gwen was flushed in between Ozzy and Opium in a respectful manner as they lifted their arms and placed them on the railings behind them; but I was shit out of luck when I realized how stupid I was to move to my right and got placed right in front of Hobie who stiffened when I was almost back to chest to him.

One of the elderly ladies, who had no idea what she just did, placed herself in the area I was standing in with her little pug next to her feet that was just about as old as she was.

I could barely move in time when an arm wrapped around my waist to keep me in place and a strong inhale was heard behind me, a groan following as I brought up my eyes to stare at him through the reflective shear wall. Everytime the lady moved back to allow her dog some room, her walker pushed up against me some more which caused me to practically be all up against Hobie in a way I never wanted to be.

His arm stayed on my waist as the other had a death grip on the railing around the elevator, his knuckles turning white out of anger and annoyance. I was all up in his space; but I didn't even want to be his line of vision today at all.

The elevator continued on up to the floor that we had to go to and a breath of relief washed over me when the doors opened and I wasted no time slipping through the small crowd that formed inside as I stepped out, making a beeline towards my room.

"(Y/N)!" I heard my name being called from that annoying fake British accent, my eyes rolling into the back of my head as I groaned. I turned my head to see Ozzy with his head stuck out the entrance way.

"Come up to the pool, your assistance is of the essence." He grins as they step out to head literally across the elevator to the other side to get onto the next platform.

Crass stayed behind, walking down the hall to where Gwen and I were before glancing at me. "He means your stylish sense of brain. If we aren't going to soundcheck, then there is no reason for you to go sense you need us to be fitted into the clothes or our opinions. Technically speaking, they are your bosses and what they say goes." His voice was calm and neutral, he never really spoke down to me but he kept to himself the majority of the time I saw him.

"They want to talk about fashion while swimming? Really?"

"Yeah." He smiles. "Make sure to wear a swimsuit, they will pull you in. Just a fair warning is all, it's hot out today." He gave me a heads up and brushed past us to his room that was the last one at the end of the hallway.

I let out a sigh and walked down the hall. I didn't notice that Hobie had slipped past us as we talked and wondered if Crass did that on purpose. He stood with his back to me, unlocking his door as I read each and every room number. I hoped, I prayed, I mentally got on my knees that he wouldn't be as close to my room. But yet the further I walked towards him the more I was losing hope and just accepted the fact that we were meant to be neighbors.

My door was right next to his, not even a few doors down or across. Nope, I was right next to him. Thankfully he didn't notice or hear me and walked right into his room before I got there, shutting the door behind him with his foot. He hasn't bothered me all today just yet, we haven't spoken a word together since the incident at the rooftop and I couldn't have been more pleased with that.

I hadn't had the time to process what really happened on that road back in New York, after he stormed off I turned every emotion off and went straight to bed. I felt like I had whiplash from how his psychotic, bipolar behavior responds to certain things. I have never met someone so vast with their emotions.

I unlocked and opened the door to my room, revealing the giant king sized bed with a gray silk bedding and dark oak floors. The room was dark, very little color was presented inside, blackout curtains covered the entire left wall from top to bottom. I shut the door behind me with my hip and saw a glass table at the entrance of the door with a small ice bucket, a bottle of champagne inside and a note card with my name on it. Next to the card was a small remote on it with very few buttons that had access to the tv, lightning and controls of the curtains to close or open even more. I placed my bag on the edge of the bed, grabbing the remote to mess around with the lights and whatnot.

I clicked it without knowing which one went to what, but once the curtains started moving and the lights began to dim I put a few things together and it clicked which button went to which function.

The lights went as dim as they could go, the button to the left of it made the room go pitch black until it slowly started to brighten up my room with red lights; my mouth dropped when I realized what they were used for and wanted to put in a long review on how that was just something they needed to let the guests know.

The next button pushed the second set of curtains to open up and spread apart on either side and move back till they were behind the first set. I had my eyes dropped down to the remote before they lifted up and a gasp let my lips, mouth drop again at the beautiful view.

I stood at the giant crystal window and placed my hands and face up against it like a kid in a glass store, in awe of the ocean view. I only briefly heard of what Atlantic City was at this time of year, how it was a huge party place but also a beautiful relaxation spot for families and couples. I had the perfect view of the beach, not far away from the hotel at all.

"Holy fuck." I say to myself.

I turned my head to continue looking around my room, seeing the bathroom had a natural light instead of the lights that were presented in my room. The floors, counter, shower and everything else was all a black marble. Inside the bathroom was once again a glass shower, a bathtub was separate to it and was big enough to fit two people. A built-in fireplace was just directly on the wall behind the bathtub.

"Who even comes up with this stuff?"

I walked back out to the bedroom only to fall backwards onto the silk duvet, turning my head to look out the window. I embraced the expensive fabric, stretching my arms above my head and my legs stretched out in front of me, my bones practically cracking. I turned my head to stare at the ceiling, controlling my breathing to just relax.

I wanted to stay here forever, untouched and alone in this room specifically. In a place where no one could bother me, I wasn't witnessing a band beat a girl to a pulp, a crazy man threatening my life and his band members doing the same; except they didn't put a gun in my mouth, but they are just as crazy. I wish I could be like Gwen. I was glad I met Gwen, she was confident and friendly and it was honestly a breath of fresh air to be around someone like that. For starters, she was also a female and it was nice to not be surrounded by a group of men who shot up testosterone medication every chance they got.

Gwen was normal, Pav was normal, the band was not. She didn't seem to care what the consequences she would suffer by talking to Ozzy and Opium the way she did, if anyone else spoke to them like she did they would have to find a way back to the starting point of this tour without pay. Gwen seemed to not have a second life, she was doing her job because of her sister and it seemed Hobie looked out for her as much as he did the others; only I haven't seen him talk to Pav or Miles really, but I got that vibe just by seeing how he reacts to his 'family.'

I heard a knock at the door, then another before the knocking turned into a pounding and I shot up from my lying position.

I turned my head to the sound of the door, getting up and walking over to it before peeping through the peephole, seeing Opium standing there.

I just barely opened the door before his hand shot out and it was pushed open further, but he made no effort to push himself into my room. He was topless and in black swim trunks.

"Did you think I was playing around about you needing to go to the pool with us?" He looked down at my body with a blank expression seeing I was still in the clothes from the bus.

"I don–"

"Hurry up, Fashion Killa." He chuckles before walking away. I watched his long strides make him disappear around the corner before I shut the door, pinching my eyes together.

Who in their right mind wants to skip soundcheck and still talk about their clothes that only I could do AT sound check, it made no sense.

Any other situation with a different group of people, I would be so flattered. But the last thing I wanted to do was walk around in a bikini near a group that was just plain rude.

I walked over to my suitcase that was seated nicely underneath the coat hanger of the open closer, opening it up to dig inside. I dug through the bag to find the bathing suit I knew Eliana packed, throwing it to the side before grabbing a loose t-shirt to cover myself up.

It was very hot outside but it wasn't like I could sit out on the rooftop fully clothed.

I swallowed my nerves, threw my hair up into a messy bun and grabbed a pen and my notebook. I made sure to grab the extra keycard and pushed my slides onto my feet before I walked down the hall at a normal pace so I didn't run into anyone alone on my way.

Once inside the elevator, I pressed the top button to the rooftop and waited; my foot tapping out of anticipation and annoyance.

Once the elevator stopped and opened, the very first thing I saw was the pool, connected to a hot tub on the left side of it. Around the pool was polished wood flooring and seven cushioned beach chairs in the shade underneath umbrellas that were scattered to the far end. The view was overlooking the beach, to the edge of the pool was an invisible glass that you couldn't see so it made you think there was nothing there protecting you. The whole view felt like a private party, it was so beautiful.

But it was also very hot.

Ozzy and Opium were in the pool, lounging on two pink flamingo floaties with their heads turned to me once the elevator opened.

"She showed up." Ozzy smirked with his black sunglasses on, a casamigo in his right hand.

"You gave me no choice."

"And she is in a bikini." Opium added on with a grin.

"I also had no choice."

I glanced over at Hobie who was sitting on the steps inside the hot tub, his black shades covering his face with a magazine in his hands that covered his face. He paid no attention to my arrival, which was pleasant since I didn't need another peanut gallery comment from him.

Crass and Rico were laying on the opposite side of the pool, Crass in swim trunks with his sunglasses on the top of his head, eyes shut as he tanned. Rico was similar, except she was on her stomach with her top undone so she could get a tan without any of the lines. Crass made sure to place towels around her side boobs in case someone else came up and was acting weird.

If I hadn't done a double glance, I wouldn't have noticed another section of this area where the same game area was with a giant chess game. Pav, Gwen and Miles were playing and relaxing in their swimwear as well.

"What do you need me and my styling options for?" I cut straight to the chase.

"You take photos of every item you make, right? On the client and off?" He asks, pushing himself over to the edge where I stared down at him.

"That's what a portfolio is for."

"You want to give me one with you in the photo for my wallet?" Opium flirts, lifting his sunglasses to bat his eyelashes at me.

I couldn't help but chuckle at his quick remarks, shaking my head as I walked over to the edge to dip my toes in and sit on the first step of the stairs. "I'm sure you would like that."

Ozzy turns himself around to face me before tapping the rim of his drink on his cheek, snapping his fingers on the other hand and pointing a finger at me. "How does that work then? You take photos before and after so you have an idea of their style? You take photos of them after in it? What is the point?"

"I take photos before and after so I can get an idea of what they would look like. I photoshop their bodies or head onto certain clothes that are in a private collection. I have to see if they would suit the style, it just makes the progress faster instead of having them come in every so often to try on clothes." I explain, liking when someone asks me about my profession.

"So that means you are good at putting someone in a scene in a photo to set the scene, make sense?" Opium asked now as he got closer but still at a distance.

"If you are referring to me putting you in, say, the beach scene with a certain type of style that almost looks like we were there the whole time and I took your photo, yes."

He gives a smile before motioning with his hands to take his photo with my phone. "I hope you take good photos on your phone."

"Don't underestimate what I can do." He gives a friendly smile to the camera, making me smile too. I focused and messed around with the settings of the photo before snapping it.

"I never noticed how nice of a smile you have," I spoke out loud, flipping my phone back to vertical as I scrolled through the various photos I took of him. "Almost too perfect of teeth."

"That's because he had braces." Crass speaks from the opposite end of the pool, making me turn my head to see him lying there with Rico still as she covers her mouth in a laugh after swatting his bicep.

"Hey now, shut up and let her compliment my smile." Opium fires back, making me laugh.

"Braces or not, you still have a real charm in the camera." I turned my phone around to show him, watching as he gave me an approving nod.

"And you have beautiful legs." He moves to get closer on the giant floaty, wiggling his fingers in my direction before I snap them out of the water with a shake of my head and laugh. Things like this would be a lot easier if everyone acted nice and playful.

"Moment is gone." I pulled myself out of the pool, taking a few more photos of the two and just one in time of Ozzy knocking him out of his floaty.

"You can't expect me not to flirt with you when you look good in a bathing suit." He cackles once he breaks the surface again.

"This is why I wear shorts whenever I go out." I mumbled while walking over to Crass and Rico who were laying on their stomach and back. Crass, for the most part, had a very nice toned body with little stick and pokes around his legs. Rico had the most tattoos and piercings on her body; her back was pierced, her lip, ears, tongue, nose and when I was measuring her a while ago I briefly brushed my fingers across her nipple piercings on accident. She had very few tattoos, but the ones she had were either on her back that covered the top half which was a phoenix, or wrapping around her thigh which was of a dragon.

"I think we have company." Rico spoke with her head facing away from me, her voice montone since she wasn't able to properly propel her words from her chest pushed up against the floor.

"I wanted to get away from them, but I also never really got to see what type of style you like with my own work." I snicked, snapping a few photos of the two to mess around later.

Crass waved me away and I let myself get dragged over to the chest game where Pav, Miles and Gwen were still playing at. What's interesting about all of this is that I was more comfortable around Crass than I was anyone else. Minus the three stooges in front of me who were just teenagers trying to live a normal life, I was comfortable around four people I didn't think I would. Maybe Rico? But she was terrifying enough, yet she never once tried to make me feel uncomfortable after what happened; it was always the men.

"What about us? Do we get our picture taken." Pav said while striking a pose as he flexed.

"Of course." I say while snapping silly little photos of them, photobombing a few and then of course separate ones just to see if they could fit well in outfits,

Miles comes over after swapping places with Gwen in the game for a brief second, giving me a very small smile, but enough to make me smile right back.

"How are the stitches?" He questions.

I turned my head to let him see with a shrug. "Sore, sometimes I forget they are there and other times I am reminded they are there when I hit something."

"I'll take them out in a few days, in the meantime try not to mess around with them." He speaks in such a soft and respectful tone that I forget he is just a kid.

I nodded, stepping back from them after I got the rest of the photos. I walked over to the hot tub that Hobie was previously sitting in. I kept my distance when I placed myself in the hot tub, discarding my t-shirt as fast as I could. I kept five paces away from him to his left, letting my tense muscles relax under the warm water. I looked at his side profile from the side of his face, seeing he was holding up a different magazine up to his face. Sunglasses sat on the bridge of his nose, his wicks tied up into a very loose ponytail.

I had not a single photo of him to help with my portfolio minus the ones I saw online, on Vanity's tablet; I wanted the personal ones. So, I lifted my phone up as I turned my body to go and snap the photo.

Right as I was about to hit the camera button, he brought the magazine up to his face to cover himself.

"Come on.." I mumble in annoyance.

"Don't take my photo." He responds, flipping the page.

I gave up halfway and got up from the seat in the hottub only to be stopped by his voice.

"What are you even trying to do?" He flips through a page.

"Trying to make small talk... I guess."

"Well stop it." He mumbles.

"Damn! What the fuck is wrong with you." Ozzy spoke up with furrowed eyebrows, pushing his sunglasses he stole from Rico onto the top of his head.

"Poor boy is tired," Opium chuckles. "Even in a nice hotel like this with paper thin walls, he still manages to never be here and comes back all bruised up."

I furrowed my eyebrows, turning to look at Hobie to my right, seeing how he froze in place when he went to turn the page.

"Y'know, the hands on strippers that get a little too handsy with him." Opium quickly adds on, glancing to Ozzy who gave him a warning glance that had me raise an eyebrow.

"Yeah.. I think I heard him bring one of them back last night." Ozzy added onto Opium's statement, chuckling to direction the conversation in a different light,

"Was it you?" He looked at me suddenly, catching me off guard.

"Excuse me."

Hobie chuckles, shaking his head as he turns the page again.

"Were you the one who was screaming like you were dying in his room last night?" Opium clarifies.

"She is turning red, I think we figured out who it was."

"You caught me off guard!"

"Don't worry sweetheart, I wouldn't touch you with a two foot pole." Hobie says behind his magazine which causes me to groan, rolling my eyes as I turn back around to snatch up my t-shirt and throw it back on.

"You are such a ladies man." I murmur, moving back to the edge of the pool.

"How long did you and whoever it was last? Only heard bits and pieces of.. The incident." Opium asks. I didn't like how they were nonchalantly trying to speak in a code like I was a kid not allowed to hear about the sex talk.

"Maybe an hour and a half? Thought after going to the roof to relax and get some air, that coming back the person would be gone; but when I came back the situation was... still there."

I halted all my movements, staring down at the ground. I ran into him on the roof last night, between whatever he was doing with said person.

"So you just left and didn't bother to... Contain it?" Ozzy asked.

I crossed my ankles as I started to tune them out, their conversation hurting my brain with their code words.

"There is a club next door, we should go to it tonight." Ozzy inputs. "I heard they go crazy every night, even have a hidden bar that you need to actually find within the damn club."

"Should we go after the shower?" Ozzy states.

"Yeah. We are here for two or three days, I do not need to hear Ares bickering about a small inconvenience that will make me get grey hairs. (Y/N) you gonna come?"

I shot my head up, glancing between the two before looking back down as I shook my head, bending the spin of my notebook out of a nervous tic. "Nah."

I heard Hobie snicker to himself with that cocky attitude, making me raise an eyebrow before I turned back around to face Opium and Ozzy. "You know what, yes, I will come."

I rose to my feet shaking off my legs just a little, slipping my slides back on.

"Leaving already?" Opium speaks up.

"I want to rest before the show, I have everything I need." I mumble, walking around the pool to the exit.

"I'll make sure you are on the list to get in V.I.P with us!" He shouts.

I just waved my hands at him, ignoring his calls as I hit the elevator button, thanking the gods I didn't have to wait for it long. If I wanted to stand up to Hobie, the first thing I needed to do was show him that he can't push me around anymore or make me feel little.

Even if that means going to a club.