I watched from the screens in the lounge and then turned away to get some coffee. After a full day of hair, makeup, wardrobe, and soundchecks, I was already exhausted—and we still had another hour before we went on stage.

Mohawk Girl was filling up on coffee, too, wearing a green plaid skirt with a studded corset and matching choker. “Hey,” she said as I grabbed a cup.

“Hey.” I wasn’t sure what to say to her. We’d never really talked before. I didn’t even know her name.

“You’re a lucky girl.”

“Huh?” Had I missed something? Maybe I was more out of it than I’d thought.

“You and Jared,” she said, nodding to where he sat with Kyle. He looked over at us, as if he’d somehow heard his name, and winked.

“Oh. We’re not together.” I dumped a bunch of sugar and cream into my coffee and stirred it, hoping this conversation would end already. She was not helping with my plan of thinking about Jared as little as possible.

“Yeah?” She leaned against the table, with no intention of leaving. “I tried to get him up to my room the other night, but he wouldn’t go for it. I figured it’s cause he’s with you.”

“Nope. We’re just friends.” I was tired of repeating that phrase, but maybe if I said it over and over, I’d start to believe it, too.

She nudged my side with a bony elbow, which kind of hurt. “Uh huh. He can’t keep his eyes off you. If you’re not tapping that now, you need to get on it before someone else does.”

I was sure my face had turned bright red, despite the layers of makeup on it. “Um…thanks for the advice.”

“No problem. Good luck tonight.”

“You too.”

She went back to her band and I sipped my coffee, going over her words. All the rumors I’d heard about Jared made it seem like he would sleep with any girl who offered, and Dan had told him to encourage this reputation. But to be honest, I’d never actually seen Jared do anything beyond flirting, and hearing he’d turned down this girl who had thrown herself at him was a huge relief. But even if Jared was interested in me, he and I had to stay apart as long as we were on the show. Besides, I doubted he wanted anything beyond a quick fling, like his former bassist had been.