of her understood what Noah had told her, that they couldn't go around offending the fans, but it still didn't change the fact that she was worried one of those girls would catch Ashton's eye. It was better for them to be apart, to make a clean break now, before anyone got hurt. The only problem was, there were already two people hurt, along with the potential for the rest of the band to be hurt in all this.
She sighed and closed her eyes. She just hoped that over time, the hurt from losing Ashton wouldn't sting so much.
Tension filled the bus the next day, as Ashton and Kaylee kept to separate ends. Ashton was in the back with Noah, working on a new song, while Kaylee was up front, reading a book on the couch.
At least, Kaylee thought she was reading it, but after she realized she read the same page a hundred times and still had no clue what it said, she knew that she was too distracted to read.
Jayden and Colton sat at the table, playing an exciting game of 'Go Fish', trying to stay out of everyone's way. They had talked the night before, and while Colton was on Kaylee's side, Jayden decided it would be best if he was neutral and didn't take sides. He thought they were both right in their own ways, but wouldn't admit it to either one.
The tension was killing Kaylee. She felt like a caged lion on the bus for the first time since the band had started touring. So when they finally rolled to a stop outside the next concert venue, she was the first off the bus.
Kaylee threw herself into preparing for the concert. She had a lot of pent up energy to get rid of, and did so by running around the auditorium, making sure everything was in place for their set.
An hour before the show, it was all she could do to sit still for hair and makeup. The only thing helping her was that she wanted to look extra good for the concert. In her mind, she needed to show Ashton that she could be hot too, and maybe even show him that he threw away the best thing to have ever happened to him.
As she looked in the mirror, her confidence faded fast. She'd never look like some of those girls he had been attracted to before, like the ones who are always backstage for the after parties. She'd never be as skinny as them, even though she wasn't fat. And they were model-type women, whereas she was more the girl next door.
Kaylee realized that she just couldn't compete. Defeated, she left the dressing room to go and rehearse.
The concert went well that night. She and Ashton put on a show for the crowd with some light-hearted banter, but it wasn't the same as usual, and it wasn't real. Neither one had been overly happy to be on stage with the other, but the average concert-goer couldn't tell by their performance.
At the party after the show, they kept to opposite sides of the room. Ashton made sure that his female admirers were kept an arm's distance away from him, not wanting them to cause any more problems than they had already. Kaylee on the other hand, was flirting with every man in sight, as if she needed the reassurance that someone found her attractive.
There was one guy though, whom she realized she got in over her head with. He was staring at her with lecherous eyes that never went higher than her chest. As many times as she tried to excuse herself, he followed her wherever she went. She was beginning to understand what Noah meant when he said that they couldn't offend the fans. As much as she wanted to yell at the sleaze to get away from her, she knew that would only cause more problems.
Once he had her backed into a corner, Kaylee knew she was in trouble. He leaned in for a kiss, and just as his lips met hers, she felt them leave again. She looked up to see Ashton pull the man off her by the back of his shirt. The anger in his eyes was unmistakable.
"What the hell do you think you're doing, kissing my girlfriend?" he yelled at the man.
As much as Kaylee wanted to be away from the fan, she knew she had to step in.
"I'm not your girlfriend anymore, remember?" she bit at him.