Rock All Night

30




I made it out to the bus with five minutes to spare.

It was waiting outside the main circular drive in front of the hotel. The exterior was black, with ‘BIGGER’ in huge white letters on the side – plus a graphic of the .44 Magnum Smith and Wesson from their first album, only now it was about twenty feet long.

Subtle.

Inside, the thing was beautifully decorated. It looked more like a luxurious train car, with tons of soft, plush, black leather seats. There were a couple of giant flatscreen TVs on the wall, areas set up for instruments, a kitchen area with a double-wide steel refrigerator, a full bar, and what looked like sleeping quarters in the back.

Ryan and Killian were already onboard. Derek showed up a couple minutes late, quite obviously in defiance of the deadline. He waved to the paparazzi and a couple of dozen screaming fans as he entered the bus.

“Hey – I just wanted you to know, I thought the verses were good,” I said as he walked up the center aisle.

“Okay,” he said without any emotion, and strolled past me to the bar.

ASSHOLE!

Somewhat deviously, I wondered where Miles was and why he wasn’t chewing Derek out – until I saw a giant crew member walk out of the hotel with Riley slung over his shoulder. She was kicking and screaming, and Miles was marching along behind her, hurling insults and profanities at the top of his voice.

The paparazzi had a field day with that one.

The crew member basically threw Riley down on one of the front seats of the bus and retreated outside to lick his wounds. Miles walked in and shouted at her, “OI, NOW SIT THE F*ck DOWN AND SHUT YOUR F*ckIN’ GOB!”

With that, the bus driver closed the door, and we were off.

Good times.