Ethan was lounging on the couch in the living area. They were two stops away from finishing off the tour. They still had to perform at a college in Georgia and then move on down to Miami to close off the show. Ethan couldn’t believe that it was almost done. He tried remembering how he felt on that first day, way back when, on the day he walked onto the bus and saw the man he thought he’d never see again. He was used to that. Ethan wasn’t used to getting his happy ending, though, and this was certainly a happy one, but it wasn’t necessarily an ending. Ethan felt like it was quiet the opposite. He felt like as soon as the bus dropped him off back in LA, an entire new story was about to begin, and Ethan couldn’t wait.

Frankie, who had been arguing with Troy about that damn golden dress from years ago (Frankie swore to his unborn children it was blue and black), seemed to have decided he had enough and shuffled over to the couch. He plopped down, the cushions sinking in with his weight. Ethan sat up a little, looking out the window across from them as they drove through Asheville, North Carolina. There were mountains bordering them on every side and bright green landscaping that popped off the rocky backdrop mixing in with the busy streets and small town rustic feel of the bracketed buildings and wide streets.

“What a trip, huh?” Frankie said, shaking his head. “Can’t believe it’s almost over.”

“Me neither,” Ethan said. “Three months never went by so fast.”

“And you and Crow, huh? You two are good for each other.” Frankie patted down the back of his head, controlling his thinning hair. “I’ve been working with him for years now and I don’t think I’ve ever seen him this happy. He’s constantly smiling and joking, even his singing has changed. It’s more… I dunno, soulful? Like he feels the words now. You’ve done him good, Ethan.”

“He’s done me even more.”

Frankie arched an eyebrow, a smile playing on his face.

“Done me more good,” Ethan said, chuckling as he realized what he said. “I was in a bad place when I said yes to this. I, well, I lost my husband a couple of years ago and I had a really difficult time. I didn’t know how I was getting out of the hole I dug myself. At one point, I didn’t really even care about climbing out. Exactly what Adam wouldn’t have wanted, but I was so deep into the dark, I didn’t care. And then Crow came along. It wasn’t dark anymore.” Ethan took a deep breath. He had never really spoken about Adam like that without being asked. He would always hold his death close, like a fucked-up secret that was only meant for Ethan. It was weird and messed up and the weight of it had clearly affected Ethan, but no more. Ethan had to honor Adam’s memory with endless smiles and belly-busting laughs, unforgettable dates and uncontained love.

“Sorry about Adam,” Frankie said. “I lost someone, too. A long time ago. That ache never goes away, but the world does regain its spark. It took me a while to find it, like you. I don’t know, it also makes me love in a different way. Stronger, almost. Not that I loved Lisa any less than I love Cristina, but there’s something different. Like I learned how to love in those years I thought I was an empty husk. I appreciate every damn second of my time with her, and I don’t care about the little shit nearly as much as I used to.”

Ethan nodded his head, understanding where Frankie was coming from. He had no idea he had experienced something similar. The big ol’ jolly drummer always had a smile on and a joke at hand. He seemed like one of those people who were lucky enough to never be touched by tragedy. “Same,” Ethan agreed.

Just then, Troy came out of the bathroom, drying off his hands with a paper towel before throwing it out. He came over to the couch and sat down between Frankie and Ethan.

“How’s Crow been feeling, doc?” Troy asked.

“He’s been ok. After a bit of nausea, he said his head’s been killing him so I prescribed him some heavy duty aspirin and a few hours of seclusion inside his dark bedroom.”

“Sounds like a solid plan.” Troy reached for the Wonder Woman comic book on the table. “Sucks that he got sick at the end of the tour.”

“Yeah, I think it’s something he ate.”

“But we haven’t had much, except those pancakes Angela made us and then the sandwiches Jordan put together. Maybe we’ve just got stomachs of steel.”

“Maybe, although he did have also have a leftover taco from last night,” Ethan said, his phone buzzing in his pocket. “He’s a garbage can when it comes to food sometimes. I don’t know how he still has the body of Adonis. Although I’m not complaining.” He pulled his phone out, realized it was another depressing political headline, and put it back in his pocket, turning his attention back to Troy. They continued to talk for a while, the bus rattling on down a particularly rocky North Carolina road. Ethan would constantly find himself looking out the window, getting lost in the beautiful scenescape that unrolled like a film camera opening up to them as they drove on through.

Angela pulled aside the curtains from where the bunk beds were. She walked out to where the boys sat, an anxious look on her face. For the past week, Angela had been on permanent anxiety mode. More so than usual. Ethan considered taking her aside and asking her if she wanted to talk, but he didn’t think Angela was the type of person to respond well to those kind of things. She seemed like someone who would gruffly say she’s fine and then storm off, offended that she was offered help. As if it were a sign of weakness or something. So, Ethan just gave her space. He figured that closing off a cross-country tour and having it go without a hitch, all while some crazy stalker fan kept popping up, was most likely extremely stressful. It had also become a little awkward between them after Crow had confronted her.

“Guys,” she said, a hand running through her hair. “I’m sorry, I totally forgot to get all the stuff we need for the surprise party. Can you all run out and grab some stuff while I get to work setting up. With Crow asleep, now’s a good time as any.”

Ethan sat up, excited to help. Angela had brought up the idea of a surprise congratulatory party so that they could lift the morale up and show Crow how much they appreciated him. He was already getting a tour-closing party, so this one was meant to be more intimate with just the crew and cake and party games.

But, apparently, they were missing most of those things.

“Just tell us what you need,” Troy said.

“Perfect.” Angela handed him a list, “I’ll tell the bus driver to take us to the nearest supply store.”

* * *

The nearest supply store was a small supermarket in Asheville, a historic-feeling city tucked away in North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Mountains. Ethan had stepped off the bus and immediately started taking photos of the tall brick buildings set in front of breath-taking green mountains that cut across a dimming orange sky. Even the supply store was photo-worthy, causing Ethan to stop at the front and snap a few before running in to catch up with the gang. They had all walked around the block from the parking lot to the store, leaving Angela behind to set up with whatever little things they did have.

They were immediately greeted as they stepped inside of the supply store, something Ethan wasn’t totally used to yet. In Los Angeles, you barely got an acknowledgement unless someone thought you were there to steal from them. But Asheville felt so different in that regard. Everyone was genuinely warm and willing to say a hello.

Honestly? He wasn’t entirely sure which one he liked more yet.

“Ok, let’s split up?” Troy asked, looking at the list and then up at the aisles. All of them were labeled by hanging wooden plaques, letters scrawled in dripping white paint.

“That’s the first thing you’re not supposed to do,” Frankie said.

“Yeah,” Troy’s eyebrows drew together, “if you were in some horror movie? Which this is not. So I’m going to go right, you go left.”

Frankie shook his head and raised his heads. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

“Stop being stupid,” Troy said, both the guys breaking into laughs as they walked their separate ways. Ethan took the center aisle, looking for the chips and salsa Angela had asked them to bring. Of course, the store carried none of the brands Angela suggested, so Crow settled for one that seemed like it would be close enough. He turned back around, ready to go and find the guys, when he saw someone that surprised him. “Hey, Rod, what are you doing here?” It was the security guard that had been following the bus down the East Coast leg of the tour. Ethan was curious. He knew that Rod was supposed to be shadowing Crow at all times. He normally drove behind the bus and slept in hotels whenever they stopped since there weren’t enough beds on the bus. Ethan had gotten pretty close to the security guard over the last couple of weeks, and he knew that Rod wasn’t the type to slack off on the job.

“Huh? Oh, Ethan, have you seen Crow? Angela said he snuck off to hang out with you guys, but I haven’t seen him. Haven’t seen Jordan either, thought they came here together.”

Ethan narrowed his eyes. “No, the last I knew, Jordan was taking a spa day for himself and Crow was in his room sleeping off a headache. Did you check in there?”

“No, Angela was practically chewing off my head, telling me to get the hell out and to find Crow. That she doesn’t pay me to stand outside of an empty bus.”

Something wasn’t making sense. Was Angela just mistaken? Did she not spot Crow under the covers? Or maybe he did sneak out and just didn’t go to where Ethan and the rest of the crew was?

Ethan took a breath. He reached inside his jeans and realized he was missing his phone.

Fuck.

It must have fallen out on the bus, probably slipped between the cushions on the couch.

“Can I borrow your phone?” he asked Rod.

“Sure.”

He grabbed Rod’s phone and pulled up his contact list. He still didn’t have Crow’s number memorized, but Rod had it already programed. He found Crow’s name and tapped. It immediately started ringing.

Ring. Ring. Ring.

“Hey, you’ve reache —“

Ethan tried again. And again. Nothing.

That was weird. Crow was really good about answering his phone, even when he was sleeping. Ethan had joked with him about it one day, calling it his lame superhero power. Everyone had one. Ethan admitted his was being able to write his name with his foot. Crow had just called that weird. They laughed and laughed, falling asleep in each other’s arms. Just like most nights had been.

“We need to get back to the bus.” Ethan turned and hurried out of the store, Frankie and Troy following behind them, neither of them knowing what Ethan was running for.

It took them three minutes to get back to the parking lot where the bus was parked.

Where the bus had been parked.

Ethan whipped around the corner, following Rod, to see the parking lot empty. The bus was no where in sight. Ethan double checked the street signs, making sure they were at the right lot. There was a guard’s booth but no one was in and the gate had been set to open.

Something was wrong. Something was terribly, terribly wrong.