The music was loud on the tour bus, so it seemed like quite a rowdy party, but it wasn't. Eric and Jason were discussing how awkward it had been for them when one was with Cassie Summers and the other one Glamazon, sworn enemies, making everyone laugh at the lengths they went to merely to compromise. Scott sat and listened intently to them. He had calmed down a lot over the years, and listening had become his forté. Listening not only allowed him time to learn about people though, it gave him time to think about himself, and what was going on in his own life. When he was in Blood Of Wecz, that wasn't possible, but when you give people the illusion that you're listening, it turns out you can drift off to whatever far off place you want.

For the time being he was thinking of Gia. It had been a difficult few weeks for the record boss and Sanitary Towel frontman, chasing a girl who he had prayed was interested at every available juncture. Up until Sunday, he had been convinced that she wasn't interested in him...was playing hardball...or was just fucking him around. Now was a slightly different story though, and he allowed a wry smile to curl around his beer bottle as he took a drink, recalling that passionate kiss at the Chaos Awards which had given him such hope.

A snap back to reality was delivered by his own brain though, as he realised that was all that it still was. He had had plenty of opportunity to open his heart to Gia lately, and just tell her...how hard could it be to say out loud? "Gia, I actually really like you." It played through a million times in his head, changing from "easy" at first, to not even sounding like real words in the end.

His thoughts were interrupted by a knocking on the door of the bus, softly at first, before a much more assertive second bang. Reaching over nonchalantly, he turned the music down.

"Get that will you Turtle?" Scott said to his drummer, the heavy, confusing Scotsman who barely anyone understood. The big man got to his feet and bumbled over to the door, swinging it open and looking out into the night, where he saw Gia standing.

"Kin A help yi? Who are yi? Fit di ye want?"

(OOC: "Can I help you? Who are you? What do you want?")

Turtle stood there for a moment, confused by who stood in front of him. There weren't many visitors to the bus, and whenever Scott had had a visitor before now, it had been Raven. Who was this "friend"? His confusion lasted only a few seconds though, as he grew, typically for him, bored of any situation before he had any real time to think of it. He turned away without even replying to Gia, leaving her standing outside confused.

"Scott min, it's some pal ae yirs or suhin min!" (OOC: "It's a friend of yours or something").

This grabbed Scott's attention. he sat bolt upright on his sofa, and took a nervous sip from his beer bottle. Who would it be? It couldn't be one of the tattooed cousins could it? Come to make his life further misery. Then his heart sank as he remembered the chilling warning from Rayne Berry, about how he and Raven were plotting to get Scott back.

Downing the rest of his bottle in one go, he inhaled sharply and stood up, pulling his jacket down at the bottom, and flattening the front of the garment with the palms of his hands. He feared the worst as he slowly walked towards the door, wondering what it was they might do to him, and he breathed heavily. He could not have expected what he was to see there though.

She came into view at last, and Scott's nerves melted as their eyes met. It wasn't someone coming to get him after all. He looked at her flowing, slightly messy hair, her flawless, beautiful skin, radiant in the moonlight, and those perfect brown eyes which had attracted him those few short weeks back, and he smiled as he saw her do the same.

"Gia", his voice sounded a lot happier to see her than he had anticipated. "Come in! What a brilliant surprise!" He smiled widely as he ushered the Studio60 boss onto the bus.

Scott looked on as Gia came aboard the bus, delighted to see her. He scolded himself for momentarily wondering why she had come all the way to France. There didn't have to be any real reason did there? A girl could visit a friend. Maybe she was just in the neighbourhood.

Scott clocked a nervous look on Gia's face as she walked into the seating area, and wondered why. His mind was working through a plethora of possible explanations to why he was here...her nervous face only served to make the possibilities fly around his confused cranium even faster. Taking a deep breath as he took her coat, he told himself to play it cool. Act as if this was the most normal thing in the world. His sweating palms said otherwise.

"Sounds like a party going on?" Gia said to him. She sounded confused.

"Haha," he somehow managed to sound more French than nonchalant as he attempted to laugh off her comment. "Ummm...no. This isn't a party Gia. We're just hanging out. Some of these guys had a party last night. I just sat around though, had a lot to think about." As he said the last part of his sentence, he was acutely aware that his steely blue eyes very deliberately caught her gaze. "Fuck!" He cursed himself inwardly. Now she was sure to know he was talking about her. So much for playing it cool!

He stood up and walked over to the bar, grabbing himself another beer, and pouring Gia a drink. He put a cigarette in his mouth, but then remembered how Gia didn't like smoke...and so after a few seconds, he returned it to its previous residence in the packet in his pocket. Returning to the seating area, he noticed Gia standing nervously. He handed her her drink, and sat down on a sofa. Hoping she'd follow suit.

"So...what brings you here?" He managed to nail "nonchalant" at the second time of asking.

As Gia sat on the sofa, Scott was conscious of the fact that he nervously, without even meaning to, shifted himself a little further from her. He was unsure what the boundaries were now. Sure, two nights ago he had put his arm around her, kissed her, and even ended up going home with her. But this was a different time and place, and everyone was 100% sober. He scratched at the label on the beer bottle compulsively, as he always did when he was riddled with nerves. "Just a friendly visit", she said. As if that was supposed to make him feel less nervous. Somehow, he thought, if she had been here to cause trouble or conflict, it might have been easier to handle. As things stood now...all he could hear was his brain telling him to "tell her....tell her....tell her".

He was relieved when she asked about the tour. He was very aware that she was staring deeply into his eyes, and, whilst he hoped she was admiring them, he thought it possible that she was trying to look into his soul. She had always had the measure of him after all, from day one.

"Umm...touring's fine" he said, nodding his head and making sure to break the gaze at last. Why did it make him nervous? Deep down he knew that he wanted nothing more than to stare into Gia's beautiful brown eyes all night. Conversation was, to say the least, thin. Was she nervous too? He looked up just in time to see her eyes dart back towards her drink...she was. He tried to pluck up the courage.

She was nervous too wasn't she? No...of course she wasn't. This was Gia.

"So...how's things at the office?" Before the second word had even slipped past his molars he heard how stupid it sounded, but he knew something had had to be said. He cursed himself and tried to edge away from her further. Not because it was what he wanted, but because his nerves were going to make him sick if he sat so close.

Why was she looking at him like that? All he had done was ask about the office, wasn't it? Shit! He replayed his own words over and over in his head. Yes. He was sure, he had said nothing that could be seen as "weird". So why was she looking at him like he had strangled a cat? As she sighed and gave a rather off colour response, he knew he had indeed said something wrong. He tried to think of a way to save the conversation, as he felt his palms sweat. Wiping his hands on his knees discreetly, he noticed his eyes were starting to water. The only sure sign of his nerves that he just couldn't disguise. Why hadn't he kept the shades on? Gia spoke, but he could barely hear her as his own thoughts fixated on his watering eyes.

And then she mentioned the night after the Chaos Awards.

"I think we should talk about something else...like the night after the awards for instance." He heard the words, but he couldn't look at her. He could barely even swallow his saliva. But why was this happening? He had been with hundreds of girls over the years, and he had never felt so nervous. The truth was that he had thought about that night almost every minute since he had left the hotel room the morning after. He ran over and over everything in his head and, until now, had smiled every time he did.

"It was a great night for you right? I really liked it." She spoke again, and Scott became increasingly aware of the fact that he hadn't spoken in what felt like a very long time. Scott had wondered if Gia had really wanted it to happen ever since the Chaos Awards. Had he chased her so often that she had just given in? He knew that it had been all that he had wanted. But now he wanted more. He wanted Gia to be...to be his..his mind paused for a few moments...as if he was afraid to say it, even in his own mind...he wanted Gia to be his girlfriend. His eyes were like saucers, and he knew it, as he took another sip, and knew he had to speak. His voice came out soft, and quiet, but he said it

"It was...perfect."

It was as if someone had opened a tap as soon as he said it. But only slightly. He felt the pressure, and the nerves, drain, dripping away ever so slowly, but also decidedly steadily. Gia nodded when he said it, and her agreement startled him a little. Was she just nodding because she had gotten a response at last though? So badly he wanted to elaborate, to spill out how he wanted her to be....his girlfriend, but the very notion of that seemed ridiculous in his head. It felt as if he would be ripping open his shirt, and drawing a massive target on his chest. That was it. Suddenly the realisation hit him square between the eys. The reason he was nervous; Gia was the only girl he had ever met who could really hurt him. She was the most beautiful girl he had ever laid his eyes on, and the most wonderful that he had ever spent the night with, but he knew that she was clever. She had the capacity, if she wanted to, to shoot him down, to really hurt him. That was why he was scared. "Just say it!" His mind urged him on, but it still sounded ludicrous.

"So....is there anything that you'd like to say regarding that night? Maybe...what you think should happen now. It would be kind of awkward to just ignore it don't you think?

Yes....yes, she was totally right, but could it get any more awkward in here? He looked up and saw a look in her eyes that begged him to speak and his heart pounded ever faster. He felt his own breathing increase again, and felt as if his chest was heaving unnaturally. He watched her hand trace the rim of her glass, and as he looked up again, her eyes met his. The look was still there. His own mind begged him to say it. The gorgeous eyes of Gia begged him to say it.

He took one more deep breath and closed his eyes, putting both hands behind his head. He cursed himself out loud and then brought his head forward into his hands. This was too hard.

And then, with his eyes still closed, he pictured their night together one last time, and he knew what he had to do. It was up to him. He had been the one who had chased Gia so far after all. He sighed audibly and lifted his head, locking his baby blues onto Gia's gaze,

"I don't even know for sure if this is too fast...but that night meant a lot to me...I...I like you...a lot. I was thinking that I'd even....god this is ridiculous...just tell me to go away....but, I'd even love for you to be my girlfriend Gia."

Yup, it sounded as ridiculous in his own head as he had feared. But it was all true and it was out there now. He waited for her to speak.

After he spoke, he stopped breathing for a few seconds. His lungs felt ready to burst at the potential excitement, filled with a fear of rejection. He hoped she felt the same. Longed for her to speak. He watched her every move exceedingly carefully, as she sat the glass down on the table in front of them, and lifted her head again. He could feel his heart beat in his ears, as he knew this was it. Would she shoot him down or...or....he couldn't bear to think it. He didn't want to jinx it, so he stopped thinking and calmly brushed his hair off his face. He looked her in the eyes again.

"I would love to be your girlfriend Scott. I've only been waiting to hear that forever." As Gia said the words, he heard her laugh a little, and he joined in. It was as if the nervous tension was gone. He felt suddenly on top of the world. This was perfect for him. Scott couldn't stop the huge smile from spreading across his face. At last, he had heard Gia say what he had wanted for so long. He was completely delighted, and he couldn't stop himself from smiling.

Looking into her eyes, he saw the genuine excitement that he felt, and he just smiled at her. He put his hand out and held hers, before leaning in and kissing Gia ever so softly on the lips.

"Thank you, Gia", he whispered into her ear.

Ooc: just wanted to say, there is still more to come from this tale lol. Hope the start was good though.

Ooc: thanks man, much appreciated :D