Meant to Marry Me

About twenty minutes later, a stagehand came to get them. "We'll be ready in five," he said, catching eyes with a few of them, including Bree, like he wasn't sure who he was supposed to be checking in with. "Perfect, thanks," she said. He nodded, and he walked out. She didn't feel perfect, though, not after she'd walked in on her band apparently making fun of her. She'd had no idea they thought anything about her was humorous and was under the impression they were all getting along great until she'd heard them laughing and then watched them abruptly stop as she entered the room. Now, she was about to go up on stage with a bunch of people who seemed to think she was a joke.

"I guess that's my cue to go," Trent said.

"Are you going to go watch the show?" Chase asked him. It seemed like an obvious question, but Bree figured he was asking if Trent was going to go out to the auditorium and watch the show with the audience, as opposed to watching from the wings backstage, which would also be an option for him.

"Yep, that's where I'm headed. I'll see you guys later." Trent kissed Bree on the cheek and then left. She wished he had someone to sit with, but they'd talked about that, and he said he was fine to watch the show by himself. He'd also promised not to get involved if there were any hecklers tonight.

"Well, we should probably head up there, too," Cat said, standing and smoothing her short black skirt. She looked more like a rocker than a cowgirl at the moment, with stockings that came up to her mid-thighs, inches below her hem, and a tight white shirt unbuttoned so far her bra was visible. But she looked cute, and Bree was a firm believer that one should dress however they felt comfortable on stage. She was wearing cowgirl boots, a floral print dress and a jean jacket. The others headed for the stage, but Bree held back for a moment. She wanted to get her head clear and on straight before she went out there. It would be hard to keep her hurt feelings to herself if she didn't find a way to deal with them quickly. She walked slowly behind the others, taking deep breaths.

Zach seemed to notice something was bothering her. He waited for her to catch up. "Are you okay, Bree?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." She managed to find a smile, but he wasn't buying it.

"Look, I know what you're thinking. They weren't making fun of you, I promise."

She raised an eyebrow. "How do you know I thought they were?"

He smirked at her. "I can read your expressions well enough by now."

She wasn't sure how true that was, but she didn't have time to argue. "So what were they laughing at?"

He let out a deep sigh, as if he didn't want to tell her. Running a hand through his hair, he turned away from her. "They were teasing me."

Her eyes widened in disbelief. "You? About what?"

Zach wouldn't look at her. "It's nothing, Bree. It's really not. They just think it's funny to pretend that I... have a crush on you, that's all."

If her eyes had been wide before, they had to be bulging now. "What?" she asked. "Why in the world would they say that?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. They just think it's cute or something."

The rest of the band had stopped ahead of them. Bree almost stopped, too, she was walking so slowly now. "Well, that's just... silly. Obviously, you don't. I mean, I have a boyfriend. You know that. It's just... dumb."

"Right? Thank you. Yes, it really is dumb of them. But anyway, that's what they were laughing about. Not you. I just thought you should know. I didn't want you going out there and having a bad night because of it. Not that you could ever give a bad performance anyway, but still...."

She couldn't help but smile at him. "Thanks, Zach. I appreciate it. And don't worry about it. I totally know that's ridiculous."

He looked relieved. "Awesome. Okay. Let's kill it out there." He held up his fist, and she bumped it, and then he hurried off ahead of her.

Bree wasn't sure what to think about any of that. Why did the rest of her band think that Zach had a crush on her? How long had this been going on? Was there any truth to it? Surely not. It just didn't make any sense that someone as hot as Zach would have a crush on her--not that Trent wasn't equally as hot. But he was already her boyfriend, and the rest of the band was trying to assume Zach could have a crush on someone who was in a relationship. That was just... immature. None of it mattered now. It was time for them to go out on stage and play together for the first time. She felt much better about the band as a whole right now. Letting the information Zach had just given her distract her wasn't an option. It was show time, and Bree was ready to sing her heart out.