Work Text:
POV: Lauri
“Onnea Onnea, Onnea vaan, Rasmus on.” The text I got from Ville as ”In the Shadows” dashed straight on Number 1 all over Europe. I still have this text saved on my old school Nokia. I smile to myself as I look at it. We are god fuck knows where on the road. Do I even care? I don’t know. All that matters is the next show, the next stage, the next cheers. I need them like air, my heart is aching when I lack them. Pauli is softly snoring away the long trip and Eero is meditating. I hear him mumble stupidly to himself in his bunk. Fuck it’s so damn boring in here and the dusty road isn’t a real distraction either. I want to be at the venue. I want to hear them scream, see them faint. All those little easy girls. I wonder how many of them may dream about me or can’t sleep knowing they’ll see me at the gig. It feels way too good. Aki is swearing at the playsation in the back. Properly he’s loosing the race ones again. I chuckle to myself and straighten my shirt as I climb of my own bunk and make my way towards him downstairs. George our bus driver decides to break just as I walk down the stairs from the top department and I get smacked against the wall.
“Fuck George! Can’t you drive more safely! I could have hurt my pretty face!” I shout to the front. Who the fuck he thinks he is driving? The spice girls? He mutters something under his breath and ignores me. Grumpily I walk over to Aki who is starring transfixed at the screen in front of him happily gaming away. Aki grins as I sit with him and light a fag offering him one even though I know he just smokes occasionally.
“Nahhh!” he rolls his eyes at me and pauses the game to stretch his body. I can’t help myself and stare at his muscles working under the loose shirt as he leans over revealing a bit of his tummy in the process.
“Lauri I’m not for dinner, mate!” he smiles and punches my side playfully.
“I wasn’t hungry I’m satisfied with starring at my own reflection.” I wink and he rolls his eyes once again.
“Yeah whatever, same story.” Aki mutters and turns his attention back to the TV. He get’s lost in the game once more as I sigh heavily.
“What?” he asks distracted.
“It’s so damn boring, aren’t we there yet?”
“No, obviously not.” Aki states reluctantly as he puts the controller down once more.
“Damn it! bloody bus!” I screw my face up nibbling at my finger nails from nervousness and pure boredom.
“Lauri what’s up mate? You won’t come outta your beauty sleep bunk before noon usually so why are you sitting here?”
“Nothing. Nothing.” I mumble, getting my phone out once more. A small smile spreads on my lips as I read Ville’s words for the 5th billions of time.
“Lauri?!”
“Huh?” I shook my head to get rid of the past events flashes in front of my inner eye looking straight into Aki’s icy bluish ones. Their colour eats my soul away as I get lost in his intense glare.
“Why do you distract me from my game without any further reason?”
“I don’t!”
“So it’s fucking Santa Clause opposite me or what!” Aki spats raising an eyebrow at me in silent question.
“Like said, I’m bored no need to throw a tantrum men!” I hiss back doubting my own words just for a second.
“Seriously if you come here to argue just fuck off!” Aki mutters annoyed and starts his game over.
“Fuck you!” I swear as I leave him to his business grabbing the laptop on my way back up before diving into my bunk and switching it on. Maybe internet will help me chase the time. I browse around some websites reading news from home and instantly start to miss the snow and cold temperatures. Helsingin Sanomat just posted an interview I held back a few weeks with them and I grin to myself as I read through it once more. The press around the band has become kind of obsessive. I don’t want to miss out all those funny reviews and made up rumours about my own mysterious self. Whatever I tell them they always manage to turn it around one or the other way and this is really kind of fascinating for me. I look through the new added gallery of pictures from the photo set and smile. That’s been just what I needed. I look them over closely noticing my eyeliner on the left side had been slightly smudged. Fucking shit this makes me look like some weird junkie. I should pay better attention to my styling the next time. My thoughts ran off to a few weeks back down in the basement of Helsingin Sanomat desk as I rush through the events of that day once more. No wonder my eyeliner got smudged there were so many people fussing around us, shoving us from one room to the other that I had barely sat on the same spot for longer than 10 minutes in a row. I guess I should complain about that as soon as we meet Seppo in the next town.
A heavy sigh left my lips as I surfed around some more, checking the fan posts in the international forum as well. I should have known it. They already discussed my messy make up. I groaned in frustration reading through their comments.
"OMG what happened to him? Is he covering up a black eye?"
"I think his hair is even worse, seriously needs some dying again. " and stuff as such.
I couldn't believe my own eyes. What the fuck is wrong with my hair? I closed the lid of the laptop and toddled over to our bath. I feared my reflection in the mirror before switching on the tiny light on the ceiling of the bus cubicle. I supressed a gasp as I took in the sight of me. I'd never looked that tired in ages. Leaving a mental note to myself to sleep more, I picked up my hair brush from the counter over the sink and combed through the dirty mess I had woken up with.
"Fucking hair!" I silently cursed as I worked through it, sticking out in odd angles. I need another shower to rinse all that dirt away. It's bad enough that we rarely had the chance to see a hotel room but most of the venue showers were so sticky that it was totally out of question to even think about using them in the first place. Smelly Hardrock Clubs would do good with a renew in the bath section at least. I dug through my hair turning my head in the dim light trying to see if my roots were really as visible as the one fan had stated. I couldn't find anything except from a lot of dirt and the usual dust of being on the road and stuffed in a tin of a bus with 9 other farting messes that resemble themselves as men.
A knock on the door makes me stood still.
"Lauri! Is it you? Well if, hurry the fuck up I'm not going to wait for you half an eternity." Pauli shouted, grumbling half sleepily.
"Yeah!" I let go off my hair and open the door of the cubicle to find a worn out looking Pauli in front of me rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.
"Was about time!"
"Well, well you can tell. Whatever." Pauli rolls his eyes.
"Haven't slept enough you, have you?" I'm just waving at him to get his little fatty ass into the cubicle otherwise I would have asked if he just got me out of there to go on my nerves. Having ditched Pauli I made my way downstairs again grabbing myself a coffee from our little kitchen area. There was no point in sleeping anymore so I walk up to the front and place my ass on the emergency seat next to our driver. Immidiately he opens the window, knowing what I was up to and the hot summer breeze rushes inside while the road ahead of us speed away. I lit my cigarette placing my boots on the sill tring to gather my thoughts.
"How much more to go?" I ask to get a hint of how much longer I will be locked inside of here.
"Maybe with good luck about 20 minutes."
"Seriously?" I groan irritated.
"Yep." George replys kepping his eyes on the road. I tosse the but of my fagg out the window and stagger back upstairs. I can hear Eero mumbling to himself and feel even more annoyed. Hopping into my bunk I scroll through my messages again trying to find something apart from Ville's congratulations but get away with empty hands.
"20 more fucking minutes." I hiss, kicking my boots off again and dragging at the fabric of my duvet to cover myself. Soon enough I have to push it away because it get's too hot to bare.
"GEORGE! CLOSE DAT FUCKING WINDOW!" I shout out aloud, hoping that he will listen. It takes 5 more minutes before I can feel the air con kicking , cooling the bus down. With the soft breeze I drift off to sleep once more.
"Lauri?" Nothing.
"LAURI!"
"Huh? Gummybears?"
"Get up, we are there." Eero gives me a fatherly smile as I rub my eyes trying to wake up properly.
"Are we?"
"Yes." Eero laughs as I get up in a flash, knocking myself over in the process and crashing head first down.
"Calm down." I settle to ignore him, putting on my shoes and my stuff before I rush downstairs and out of the bus. The first fans started chanting. I can not see them but I can hear them and a huge wave of satisfaction washes over me.
"FINALLY!!!" I shout rushing into the backstage,down the corridor of the club and following the direction instructions to the shower. For the first time ever not caring about dirt or dust I hop into one of the cubicles, thro my clothes off and kick on the water tap. Nothing happens. Standing there naked i wait some seconds longer, trying the water tap again, with the same result. Nothing. Totally disgusted and angry I get dressed again and shuffle down the corridor to the bus, to stick my stuff back. Getting into the club even more angrier now. i smoke another cigarette ignoring the security running after me, saying I'm not allowed to actually smoke inside.
I'm irritated as fuck and if I get my hands on Seppo he will get the talking of his life!
"Sir, no smoking!" the security guard calles out again. I spin around quickly not knowing why it has to be him but suddenly my tension needed to be released.
"GO AND FUCK YOURSELF WITH A CACTUS!" I yell at him and flounce away. I see Eero coming up at us.
"What is all this shouting about?"
"No smoking inside." the security whispers again.
"Lauri put the fagg out." Eero scowls at me.
"NAH FUCK YOU! I'm fucking Lauri Ylönen I can smoke whereever the fuck I want for fucking fuks sake! You want me to stop? You do not even got the showers fixed what fucked up club is this anyway!" I get even more worked up and I see Eero is past the talking stage also.
He launches forward to get a grip on my shoulders, shaking me that my teeth shatter against each other.
"YLÖNEN! Behave your fucking self. You're not god and you're here to play a fucking gig so get your head out of your sefish ass. Sit down in the backstage, shut the fuck up and play dat fucking gig! Got it?" I've never seen Eero explode like this before. I don't know what to say either.
"I asked if you understand? You're so much up yur own ass lately that it actually fucking hurts. You behave licke a total moron and are a pain in all our asses so I ask you one more time, did you get it?" I stare at Eero open mouthed and nod slowely.
"Okay!" Eero releases me and takes my cigarette to throw it on the floor and stump it out.
"I'm sorry mister. Of yourse we do not smoke here and I am sorry for him too. It would be a pleasure if you could fix the showers before we are on stage." The security seems just as astonished and nods before dashing of quickly to talk to the head of the club.
-End-