Funny how some parts of a whole were instantly recognisable, even when taken out of their usual context.The song wasForever, one of the tracks from tonight’s set list, and Ronnie was now finger picking Spook’s guitar parts.
“You were going to tell us about Spook,” Marshall prompted.
“Spook plays rhythm.He’s all about rhythm.”Ronnie muttered.“His girlfriend is Alle.Alle…Allegra.She’s your sister, Marshall.Marshall Hutton.You’re both Huttons.Why are you asking me about your sister?You know this.You know already.”Ronnie clamped his hands over his ears, while his whole body rocked forward.“She has bruises… Bruises and a sore bum.They don’t fuck… There’s no fucking, only hitting.Rock Giant likes soft cuddles.Ash is vanilla.Xane and Luthor do anal.Spook, S&M.”
“Give me that slush.”
“What?Hang on.”
But Ginny had already pried the drink from Alle’s fingers and lobbed it through the loose section of panelling right at Marshall.It hit true, smacking the top of his shoulder, and spraying him, Ronnie, and the camera in virulent blue ice.Mayhem erupted.People rushing forward.Others backing off.Ronnie saw his chance.He darted without a backwards glance for the main exit, head down, shoulders forward.No one even attempted to stop him.
“Run,” Ginny bellowed, tearing Alle away from the tent and any possibility of chasing Ronnie.Ginny leading, her hand clamped firmly around Alle’s wrist, they sprinted hard left, and ducked into the accessible portaloo, where they both bowed over, breathless and flushed from the exertion.
“Well that was a shit show, and no mistaking.”Ginny pulled out her phone “Sally?No.Never mind about Ash.You need to deal with the bollocks that just went down in theBang!marquee.Yes, the Ronnie Bush interview.Yes, it was a pile-up.No, I’m not sure where he and his rep are now, but Alle and I can get on it and find them.You need to stopBang!putting that footage online.It’s awful.Yeah… yeah, I’ll let you know when we find them.
“Ash is back with the guys on the tour bus,” she said, having hung up.“We need to work on damage control.Where do you think Ronnie would go?And how come you never said anything about him being neurodiverse?”
“Because,” she began.Actually, what?He was?It hadn’t exactly occurred to her, and Ronnie had certainly never mentioned being any such thing.“Why does everyone think we’re best friends?I worked on his album.I don’t know his life history.Six weeks ago I’d never heard of him.”
Ginny swished aside her defence.“That’ll be about the length of his career ifBang!uploads that footage.We need to find him.Clues, Alle.You must have some.”
“Somewhere safe, I guess.Maybe away from people and crowds.You’d want to hide, wouldn’t you?”It was a damn big site.If Ronnie was hiding, it might take hours to locate him.There were hundreds of tents in the VIP area alone, and beyond that a sea of domes that spanned the horizon.“I’m guessing this puts tomorrow night’s performance in jeopardy?”
Ginny who was peeping around the portaloo door, shot Alle a backwards glance over her shoulder.“Why should it?He didn’t say anything the world didn’t mostly know or suspect anyway.Black Halo have to play.They’re headlining.And they need a keyboard player to do that.”
“The stuff about Spook wasn’t public domain.”
“Well, not that, I guess, but the rest.”Ginny sighed, and combed a hand through her bountiful locks, only for her fingers to get caught in the web of hairspray.Irritably, she jerked her fingers free.“In any case, if it’s not uploaded, then there’s no issue.There are sometimes unexpected bonuses to Sally being a complete battle-axe.She’s belligerent enough to be useful in situations like this.I bet she already has the label’s legal team on it.Believe me, Marshall and Ava are far from the top of theBang!corporate food chain.They’ve bosses to answer to.It’s not just them calling the shots with no means of recourse.”
Somehow none of that offered any reassurance.“Yes, but what if they don’t want to work with Ronnie anymore?I mean, he’s now a liability, right?He’s exposed them.”
“Do you really think them so unforgiving?Please,” Ginny planted her hands on her narrow hips and stood tall.“It’s one show we’re talking about.They’re all capable of biting back any existing vitriol until it’s done.It’s not like they don’t have practice.They worked with Elspeth for years, and Willows was a goddamned nightmare.Ronnie freaking out and blurting stuff is not the sort of catastrophic shit that gets them to cancel a sold out gig.Also, I think it’s pretty clear what happened there.They’d get slated if they dropped him.”
Alle really prayed Ginny was right.The alternative would be exceedingly ugly.She didn’t want to have to choose sides.
“Trust me,” Ginny squeezed her shoulder.Her smokily made-up eyes narrowed, while her mouth squashed into a grimace.“It’ll work out.Ronnie will apologise, they’ll rib him mercilessly about it, then they’ll all get drunk together and it’ll be forgotten.”
Realistically, how likely was that?The soundbites relating to Spook were the sort of things that probably had him biting his nails down to the quick.Sure, Ronnie had been pushed to breaking point when he blurted them, but he’d still told the world that Spook hit women.That wasn’t the sort of thing any man wanted circulating in the media about him.
But explaining that merely resulted in another shrug from Ginny.“It’s consensual play between adults.Honestly, you’re worrying over nothing.Let’s go and find this boy, and get everything smoothed over, because I, for one, don’t want to contemplate the alternative.”
“Cancelling.”
Ginny shook her head, making her curls spring wildly.“Elspeth.”She gave another humongous sigh.“Paul, the giant pussycat, can’t see why it’d be a disaster.He just can’t help stepping up to bat for her, even though she’s a complete nightmare.”
“But they’re not involved?”She was sure Spook had always said they weren’t, but maybe Ginny knew something he didn’t.Or maybe she just wanted it confirmed, considering what she’d done with him last night.
“Nah, it’s totally platonic.Paul’s all about big bones, big bottoms, and big breasts.And Elspeth makes a washboard look curvy.”
Great, so he’d been into her because she wasn’t a sylph.
“Hey, I think the coast’s clear.”
“Good.”The waft of sour chemicals was growing unbearable.“Let’s find him.”She kicked open the door and they set off towards the band’s area.As soon as they’d found Ronnie, she’d be backtracking to give Marshall a piece of her mind.First Spook, now Ronnie.That was if she didn’t just murder him and dispose of his body in the surrounding woodland instead.
