~Vic's POV~

That was sure a harsh reaction. I thought I hated this place more than anyone could, but clearly I was wrong. Laura's been fucked over, and bad.

"I'm sorry," She says for the millionth time, pulling away from the hug, "I didn't mean to sound so harsh. I just hate this place so much. It holds nothing but pain for me anymore besides this guitar and that tree. And the guitar's portable."

"Sweetheart, stop apologizing. You're not offending anyone, so stop assuming that you are." Mike said, putting an arm around Laura.

"I'm so-" She blushes and stops herself.

"So not to be a downer or anything, but as we pack your stuff up for tour, we're also gonna need to talk. You know what I mean by that, right?" I said, testing the waters.

She visibly stiffened, but relaxed rather quickly. "Yeah, I suppose I understand."

"Okay. The guys here can pack up essentials they know you'll need and I'll help you with clothes." I smile a little and take her hand as she offers it to me and leads me to her bedroom.

~Laura's POV~

My head is a total and complete mess right now. I can barely think and walk straight as I lead Vic to my room. I'm walking Vic fucking Fuentes into my bedroom right now. At least it's not Tony. I've had a crush on him for forever and he intimidates the fuck out of me.

I open the drawer that holds my clothes and Vic raises his eyebrows questioningly.

"I don't want to be rude or invasive, but are these all the clothes you have?"

I blush in shame and embarassment. "Yeah."

"Well throw them in this box and come with me. We'll take your stuff to the bus and then the two of us can go shopping. Sound good?"

"I-uh-I guess so." What the fuck? Go shopping for clothes with Vic Fuentes? I mean if you twist my arm I guess I will..... ;)

"There's only one problem, Mr. Fuentes. I don't have any money."

"Well first off, don't ever call me Mr. Fuentes again. It's Vic, dear. And don't worry, I'll take care of buying everything."

"I can't let you do that."

"Well I'm doing it whether you want me to or not. So you can either be cooperative and get nice clothes that you actually like or the result of me trying to guess. Your choice."

I sigh in defeat. "Alright then."

We walk out to the main area again, where the guys have all my stuff packed up.

"I just have to drop off my keys and let Craig know I'm moving out." I shudder at the thought of his reaction to all this.

Jaime notices and puts a consoling arm around my shoulders. "Hey, it'll be okay. Do you want me to come in with you to talk to him?"

I chew on my lip a bit, trying to decide. I'd feel so much better if Jaime was there with me, but I also don't want to make Craig mad. Just in case I have to come back. Oh, fuck it.

"Yeah, that'd be great, thanks." I smile gratefully up at him.

One thing's for sure - I am certainly not looking forward to this conversation.

~Jaime's POV~

It seems odd, that every time this Craig guy comes up, Laura becomes super uncomfortable. I don't trust him, especially with her alone. I'm glad she decided to let me come with her to talk to him, because I really don't like the idea of leaving her at his mercy.

She takes a deep breath and knocks on the door before immediately dropping her eyes to the ground and holding her lip captive between her teeth again.

"Come in." Craig's voice calls.

Laura can't seem to muster the strength to open the door so I do it for her. She gives me a grateful half smile before tentatively stepping over the threshold of the office.

"Laura?" He smirks a little, but it falters when he sees me. "What can I help you and your, um, friend with?"

"I-I-I'm mo-"

"She's moving out. And coming on tour with my band." I say confidently, taking over for Laura who seemed ready to melt into the floor.

"Well I'm sad to see you go, but glad that you got such a great opportunity! If you'll just step outside, Mr.-"

"Preciado. Jaime Preciado."

"Yes, if you'll step outside for a moment I'll get this sorted with Laura here and say goodbye, she's lived here quite a while and I'm very fond of her."

I don't want to do that, not one bit. Especially after seeing the expression on Laura's face. But she motions for me to do what he says, so I do. I have to trust her, even if he's a sketchy SOB.