#joshklignhofferfanfic

[neverisalongtime-ja-blog]

Chapter 28: A date?

Another week, another chapter. Y’all have no idea how much fun I’m having writing this thing and I really hope you all are having tons of fun reading it!

Thanks to everybody who send me DM’s on Instgram I love to meet RHCP fans all over the world! And of course I live for your comments and questions here on Tumblr so keep it up!

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Thanks to everyone who reads the fic, much love to you all! ♥

Read chapter 27

And just like that it was time to tour again. Anastasia was feeling anxious and confused about the whole Josh situation, one day she hated him for being a fucking cheating asshole and the next she was thanking him for singing Landslide to her in a concert. She couldn’t believe he involved something so holy like Fleetwood Mac was for her. Truth is, now she was stuck in two long weeks of seeing him every day. She could deal with that, at least she was preparing her mind for it. She wasn’t sure if his girlfriend would be there; she didn’t show up for the Los Angeles shows, which was a great thing because An didn’t want that to ruin those for her. She meditated a lot and then some more before taking the bus to Oakland.

For this part of the tour they would be traveling in amazing busses that looked almost like houses, each Chili Pepper member had one and all the Dead Curse members would go in one, it wasn’t something they hadn’t done before. At their first local tour they rented a black Chevrolet van and traveled all over California and the nearby states. Now, they had a huge bus for themselves. Dead Curse didn’t waste time and started the party right away. It was nice, just the four of them there, having drinks and talking about the first tours almost ten years ago. Eric, whatsoever, was looking at his phone a lot.

 -          Is there something wrong with Hannah? – Anastasia couldn’t help but ask.

-          No – Eric laughed – It’s Josh, he is bored and I told him we are kind of having a party here.

-          Well, that happens when you are too famous you’ve got your own bus – Mandy said.

 It was an almost seven hour drive to Oakland, so it was normal that everyone had to make a couple stops on the way there. With that in mind, Anastasia had an idea she never thought it would cross her mind.

 -          Why don’t you tell Josh to come join us the next stop? – She suddenly said and everyone looked at her.

-          Are you sure? – Eric asked with a derisive smile on his face.

-          Look, I’ll be stuck here with him for the rest of the tour, which is gonna take us a least two more months and before having whatever the hell we had, Josh and I were really good friends, why can’t we be friends now? – Anastasia said while the rest of her bandmates looked at her in disbelief.

-          That’s very mature of you – Nick was the first to talk.

-          Or very stupid – Mandy said.

-          I can’t get away from him, Mandy. We are both here – Anastasia said to her friend – Besides, I’m cool with the whole Josh issue, believe me. I’m ready for the next step. It didn’t even last that long, anyway.

 Mandy didn’t dare to say anything else, she always knew when to give Anastasia the space she needed and this was one of those moments. As much as they both loved and supported each other, they always respected each other’s decisions and they were always there for the consequences. Eric did what Anastasia told him and, apparently, Josh was more than happy for the invitation. And in the first stop next to Bakersfield, Josh came over to the opening band’s bus. He sure seemed happy to be there.

 -          I was so bored at that damn bus by myself – Josh said while Nick handled him a beer.

-          Welcome to the party, bro! – Eric said laughing.

-          Well, it’s not like a real party but at least you’ll have company – Nick said.

-          That’s what you get for being famous – Anastasia told Josh faking a big smile.

-          You are famous too, so… - Josh said smiling wider.

-          Who’s on the main band of this tour? – Anastasia asked

-          Oh yeah, I forgot you are just opening for me – Josh said laughing and Eric and Nick joined him.

-          Wow, Joshua is back at it again with the low curves – Anastasia said taking a seat in front of him at a small table where Nick and Eric were already sitting.

-          My name is not Joshua, it’s just Josh – He said with a serious face.

-          I’ll call you whatever I want to call you – Anastasia said.

-          What about Jak? – Josh said smiling sweet and looking through her eyes – That’s how I’m saved on your phone, isn’t it? – That was a real low blow for Anastasia, she wasn’t expecting for him to say such thing. It was a dumb thing but she then remembered that time at Moscow when they went out to eat and she told him that he was Jak on her phone because that’s how she wanted to call him when they met at an Eric’s birthday party in 2011.

-          Fine, Joshua – Anastasia said getting up from the table as Josh laughed making an eye roll – I’m gonna get some rest, you can continue the party.

-          I’ll go with you – Mandy said.

 There were four individual beds on the bus and a double one at the back, Mandy and Anastasia walked straight to that one.

 -          There is so much tension between you too – Mandy started to say lying in bed next to Anastasia.

-          Oh, shut up… - Her friend answered.

-          For real, An – Mandy said – You know I don’t like to stick my nose into your business but be careful, you promise me? – Anastasia looked at her fixedly.

-          I promise you – Anastasia said – Pinky promise.

 Both friends smiled and joined pinkies.

 They arrived in Oakland at night and everyone was very tired to do anything so they decided to go to their rooms and just sleep. Besides, Eric, Nick and Josh were a little bit tipsy from the ride.

The show next day was amazing, everybody bonded again; Anastasia and Mandy even joked a little bit with Flea and Anthony using two big cardboards with their faces on it. It was like they never left and everybody was having fun on tour once again.

 That night after the concert Anastasia started to feel a little bit ill, she felt her throat sore and started to sneeze constantly. She knew the flu was coming, and the universe added a bad allergy just to spice things up. Next morning they traveled to Portland and once there, Carl took her to see the tour doctor. She had visited him before, Doctor Ramos, because of her allergy issues. He was a sweet old guy with an incredible temperament and an answer always ready on his sleeve. But when she got to his consulting room she didn’t see him, instead there was a younger man; he was wearing a black scrub and his skin was tanned, his eyes were brown and big and the smile on his face was friendly and wide, he was a shocking view. Anastasia could see his well build arms behind that scrub; he had an undeniable Latin vibe.

 -          Hi! You must be Anastasia – The man said looking at a piece of paper.

-          Yes. Where is Doctor Ramos? – Anastasia could barely talk because of her sore throat.

-          I am Doctor Ramos – He laughed – But you must be asking for my dad – Anastasia could notice an accent on his voice – Sit here, please – He showed her the small bed on a side – Let’s see that throat. My dad told me you had a couple of serious allergies during last year’s tour – Anastasia nodded – But for what I see here – He was inspecting her throat with a small light – this is a case of the flu. I’m gonna give you a B12 shot, you’ve got tattoos so you aren’t afraid of needles – Anastasia said no with her head while he proceeded to give her the vitamin shot – Also I’m going to give you this, but don’t tell my father – He handled her a couple of small pink pills, Anastasia looked at him with a worried face – Don’t worry, these are ginger toffee, they will make miracles to your throat so you can sing tomorrow. The thing is that my dad doesn’t believe in natural remedies – He put one in Anastasia’s mouth and she felt instant relief – I’m Alex, by the way. Well my name’s Alejandro but Alex is easier for everybody around here to pronounce – They stretched hands. He smiled again and Anastasia felt she could stay there, watching him forever.

-          What happened with Doctor Ramos? – Anastasia had to ask.

-          He is on a well deserved vacation in the French Riviera at the moment, I’m gonna take care of everything around here for a while. I would like to recommend you not to ingest dairy nor any alcoholic beverage and that you come and see me tomorrow before the show – He smiled again.

-          Where are you from? – Anastasia asked not listening to what he just said; she was lost in his face and watched him get confused – I mean you have an accent.

-          Oh – Alex laughed – I’m from Venezuela, well my whole family are – She didn’t recall hearing an accent on Doctor Ramos’ voice, actually she never paid any attention to it, she was always sneezing on that consulting room – I’ve been living here for two years, well, in Miami, actually.

-          Wow! That’s so cool, we are going to Miami for this tour – She just wanted to stay there talking to him.

-          I know… - He said smiling.

-          Well, I think I should go – She said a little bit ashamed – No dairy, no booze…

-          And eat another ginger candy tonight before sleep…

-          And coming to see you before the show tomorrow – She was walking backwards to the door praying to not trip on any machine.

-          You got it.

-          Thank you very much – Anastasia talked fast and disappeared at the door.

 That guy sure made an impact in Anastasia’s day; she couldn’t stop thinking about him in all day. He seemed so sweet and looked incredible hot with his tanned skin, he had an amazing aura around him.

 -          We have Doctor McDreamy on tour now! – Anastasia said once in Eric’s Hotel room where Nick, Josh and Mandy were hanging.

-          How come? – Mandy asked.

-          Doctor Ramos is on vacation so his son is now the tour doctor who is also called Doctor Ramos, well his name is Alejandro – She said struggling with the pronunciation – The point here is that he’s fucking hot! – Anastasia said sitting on Mandy's legs.

-          Really? – Josh asked.

-          I mean look at me! Just by seeing him I feel so much better – Anastasia and Mandy laughed.

-          I gotta get sick too – Mandy said.

-          Back off. You got Peyton, I have nobody – The friends laughed again and Josh looked to the floor – But for real, I need some rest so I’ll probably sleep for a while, wake me up if you come up with plans to do something today.

-          We will – Nick said and Anastasia left the room.

 She had to admit to herself that the faces Josh made when she was talking about the new doctor gave her some rejoicing, but she wasn’t totally happy, it would be a childish move from her to make Josh feel jealous, but Alex did leave an impact in her. She went to her room, closed the curtains, took her ginger candy (which tasted terrible), and got in her bed. She felt asleep and dreamed about Alex.

 By the time of the show in Portland, Anastasia was feeling fine, her voice was back to normal, although she had to do more warming that she used to but in general it was an amazing show. The camaraderie backstage between both bands, Dead Curse and Red Hot Chili Peppers, was at its highest peak, everybody was having the time of their life and Anastasia was usually joking with Anthony and Chad or going out to eat with their manager, Nick, Eric and Josh and having girls nights with Mandy, all the things she didn’t enjoy before because she was always with Josh. This is the touring life she loved and surprisingly she was getting along with Josh scarily well. The two were always joking and making musical comparisons, Anastasia was always explaining new pop songs to him and he would always answer “I’m too old to know that group / singer”, but then Anastasia would play some 90’s pop and would sing it and dance it to Josh and he would laugh a lot watching her. She felt nervous at first but frankly being around Josh was so easy for her and he seemed to feel the same.

The band traveled to Canada and gave a show in Vancouver, they had a concert the night before too so everyone was kind of tired, but that morning Alex knocked on Anastasia’s dressing room at the venue.

 -          How are you feeling? – He asked once she opened the door for him.

-          Great! I can sing like angels again – She answered smiling.

-          Yes, I heard you, it was amazing – He said without entering the room, because Anastasia never told him to and he was a Latin gentleman – Listen I know that you have a show tonight and you had one last night also and you’re probably tired, but I have a friend who owns a Venezuelan restaurant nearby and I was wondering if you wanted to join me in lunch.

-          Of course! – Anastasia was enthusiastic about it – I love to try new foods all the time.

 And so they went. Alex took her to a small but picturesque place one block from the stadium, there he saluted a couple of guys behind the bar who looked shocked when they saw her and then the two sat on a small table at a corner.

 -          Do you know anything about Venezuelan food? – Alex asked giving her another smooth smile.

-          I know about arepas because there is a small place near my house that sells them. I always eat one with avocado, they are delicious – She answered and he looked surprised.

-          Well, I’m going to show you something more, even better than arepas – He laughed and walked to the ordering bar.

 Once there, he started to talk with the guys he greeted before, they were speaking Spanish and even though Anastasia knew some of the language they were far enough from her to properly understand, they were laughing now and Alex gave Anastasia a cute look. She wasn’t sure what this was, she definitely didn’t want to get involved with someone, her heart wasn’t properly restored after Josh but she was enjoying it, Alex was an easy going guy, relaxed and incredibly good looking. After a few minutes he came back with two trays.

 -          Try this first – He said handling her a plate with some kind of tortilla with cheese to her. She tasted it, it was sweet and the mix with the white cheese was perfect, she smiled as a sign of approval – That’s a cachapa, it’s made with sweet corn. And now taste one of this, my favorites – She picked a fried dough stick and gave it a bite, she felt like her life was making sense again, it was the most delicious thing she ever had. It was filled with white cheese again and tasted so, so good. Her smile must have been wide because he laughed.

-          What are these? – She said before take another bite.

-          That is a tequeño, it’s filled with cheese and it is the official Venezuelan party food – Alex answered while he was eating his own cachapa.

-          Guess this is a party then – Both laughed.

 Alex and An had the most varied conversation, they went through as many topics as they could. Talking and talking the hours went by fast and then she realized it was late and she needed to go back to the venue. Alex paid the check and he walked her back to the stadium. Once there, she realized she had the first date in a long time, or maybe she was unconsciously being expectant about this whole Alex deal.

 -          Where were you? – Mandy asked Anastasia when she came back to the dressing room – We take the stage in an hour. Nobody could find you for interviews.

-          Interviews? – Anastasia asked.

-          Yes, Eric and Nick had to take care of that – Mandy was doing her makeup.

-          Wow, for once? – Anastasia answered sarcastically – Poor guys, they had to do an interview. It must have been a pain.

-          You know they don’t like it

-          Welcome to the music business…

-          What the fuck is wrong with you? – Mandy asked angry.

-          Nothing – Anastasia looked to the floor – I’m just confused, that’s all. I had a date with Alex.

-          Doctor McDreamy? – Mandy’s face lit up.

-          Yes – Anastasia smiled stupidly.

-          How was it? – Mandy asked.

-          Fun. Easy.

-          Why don’t you invite him to your birthday party? – Mandy asked excited.

-          He doesn’t live in LA. I don’t know if he can make it – Anastasia said.

-          You won’t lose anything by just asking – Mandy got up from the chair – Now, come here so I can do your makeup. We don’t have enough time.

  The Vancouver show felt amazing, people there weren’t that familiarized with Dead Curse but that didn’t stopped them from having fun.

Read chapter 29