Riffs in Time

Chapter Three

"Okay, fine. Do what you want," Gerard muttered, his tone heavy with dejection..

Eliza threw a tantrum before finally storming off.

"What's her deal?" I asked, genuinely baffled.

Frank shrugged. "For someone who knows everything about our band, it's weird that you know nothing about Eliza," he said.

"I'm not well-versed in the drama that went within the band. Just the band stuff." I said, rolling my eyes.

Ray let out a sigh. "She's the original crazy fan. Followed us around for months, got with Gerard somehow, and now no one can shake her off. Well, until today. You're apparently her last straw in their...dramatic love story." I gave a tight nod, trying to wrap my brain around all of this.

Eliza's voice rang out across the hall. "Last chance, Gerard! Or I'm gone forever!" Gerard only looked down, shaking his head in silence, utterly at a loss for words. After a beat, Eliza couldn't take the lack of response anymore, and with one last scream of "Your band sucks ass!" she stormed off.

"She'll be back," Frank whispered to me.

"I'm sorry about that," Gerard said, his voice laced with genuine regret.

"It's all good," I replied, trying to brush off the tension.

Mikey, though, wasn't ready to let it go. "Well, it's been a daily occurrence ever since she got here. So, it's not exactly a big deal, big bro. We're used to it," he said, his tone dripping with sarcasm.

Gerard shot him a sharp look. "What's that supposed to mean?" His irritation was palpable, his fists clenched by his sides.

"I'm just saying," Mikey shrugged nonchalantly, "maybe you should've ended things with Eliza properly before jumping into another relationship. That way, she wouldn't be this... crazy."

"I'm not dating anyone," Gerard said exasperatedly.

Gerard's jaw tightened. "And, you know I ended it with her. You were there."

"Yeah, through an email," Mikey retorted smoothly. "I would've at least had the decency to call."

Before Gerard could reply, Frank cut in, a note of urgency in his tone. "As much as I enjoy this sibling squabble, we've got a bigger problem." He gestured toward the wall, his face serious. Ray stared at the space where the bathroom had been, his voice flat. "The bathroom isn't there anymore."

Gerard let out a breath, running a hand through his black hair. "Well, fuck... then she's stuck here. Unless we figure out a way to get her back."

Frank scoffed. "And how exactly do we do that? Build a time machine out of our tour bus?"

I chewed on my lip, my mind racing. "If the bathroom was the portal, maybe it'll appear again at the same time tomorrow. I just... have to wait."

"And if it doesn't?" Ray asked.

I swallowed hard. "Then I guess I'm stuck here for a while."

A heavy silence settled over us. I could tell they were still grappling with the absurdity of it all, but at least they all finally seemed to be leaning toward believing me.

"Can't we just give her some cash so she can go back home? Let her family deal with it," Ray suggested.

He added, "You do have a family, right?"

I cringed. "As much as I'd love that, I really don't want to go back. I'm only eleven this year and it's not a good year for my family. My mom found out my dad cheated and, if I went home, she would probably think I'm my dad's mistress, so..." I trailed off, feeling embarrassed.

Mikey shook his head. "So that's off the table."

Finally, Gerard sighed. "Alright. Until we figure this out, you're with us."

Frank raised a brow. "We adopting her now?"

Gerard shot him a look. "She doesn't have anywhere else to go. We keep an eye on her until she gets back."

"Fine. But she's not crashing in my bedroom. Jamia would kill me," Frank grumbled.

Ray and Mikey quickly backed out, each also having their own relationships. That left only Gerard.

"I guess you're staying in my room," Gerard said, glancing at me.

My heart did a little flip. If you know anything about me, you know I've had a tiny crush on Gerard since high school. He's always set the bar so high—maybe that's why I've been single.

Not only is he ridiculously handsome, but the way his mind works is downright mesmerizing. Gerard's artistic genius spans so many mediums that it almost seems impossible. I knew it was just a silly, unrequited crush—back in my time, he was married with a kid—but now here he was, newly single, standing right in front of me.

I shook my head, trying to banish those thoughts.

I couldn't believe that I'm thinking about that in a time like this. I had enough on my plate. He's also had enough on his plate already. I wasn't about to add "dealing with a starstruck fan" to his list. It felt wrong to even imagine any chance with him while he was so vulnerable.

"It's cool, I'll just wait 'til tomorrow and see if that bathroom shows up again," I said, looking down, feeling a bit embarrassed about my wandering thoughts.

"No one's allowed to stay here after shows," Ray declared in his usual deadpan manner.

"Then I'll just camp outside," I replied with a shrug.

Gerard raised an eyebrow. "You're being ridiculous. Are you worried I'm going to sleep with you or something?"

I started, "It's not tha—" but he cut me off.

"I'll sleep on the floor," he said firmly.

I instantly felt awful that he'd even think that way. I wanted to explain that it was never about that—just the chaos of the night and my own impure thoughts.

Mikey sighed and clapped his hands. "Alright, enough of this. Let's head to the hotel. We can sort this out somewhere quiet and safe,"

Frank grumbled something about our situation being so ridiculous as we went out of the venue. We piled onto the tour bus, the familiar rumble of the engine providing a strange comfort.