PRIVATE ACCESS: part five
pairings: nettspend x stripper!reader
In which while heading backstage to meet her best friend after dancing at a private rolling loud pop-up y/n bumps into gunner as he's leaving his rolling loud set.
6ᴀᴍ • ᴛʜᴇ ʙᴜꜱ • ꜱᴏᴍᴇᴡʜᴇʀᴇ ʙᴇᴛᴡᴇᴇɴ ᴅᴀʟʟᴀꜱ ᴀɴᴅ ʜᴏᴜꜱᴛᴏɴ
You woke up before everyone else.
That was normal for you— your body didn’t know how to sleep past six regardless of what time you’d gone to bed, which was an inconvenient quality to have when you worked nights for a living. The bus was far and quiet except for the highway underneath it, and for a second you forgot where you were entirely.
Then it came back. Houston. The show. The walk out. Gunner across from you watching out the window the same way you were.
You sat up slowly and looked around. Most of us people were in the bunks toward the back. Jade’s curtain was drawn, which meant she was either asleep or on her phone trying not to be seen on her phone— either way she was still hidden away.
Gunner was in the seat at the front, legs stretched out, eyes closed. Not fully asleep. You could tell from the way he was sitting— too upright for someone to actually be dead asleep.
You got us carefully and went to the small kitchen area in the back to find something to drink. Opened three wrong cabinets before Dre popped out of nowhere and pointed towards the right one. You mouthed thank you. He nodded and went back to whatever he’d been doing. Efficient. You appreciated it.
Then you headed to the bathroom to brush your teeth.
When you came back to the front Gunner had one eye open.
Gunner: “why you up so early?”
You: “hm, I always wake up early. how long do we have left?”
Gunner: “an hour prolly.”
he shifted in his seat and looked at you properly. still had that pre-show tiredness on him— slower, softer around the edges.
Gunner: “you sleep good?”
You: “mhm, this bus lowkey comfortable as hell.”
Gunner: “Jade all good, right. she figured out where she was sleeping?”
You: “oh did she, she claimed the second biggest one within five minutes of us being on here. I don’t even know if somebody was already in there.”
he laughed. quiet, just to himself. you liked that one— the one that wasn’t meant for anyone else.
You sat across from him and drank your water and watched Texas move past the windows. The sun was starting to come up somewhere out there, painting the flat land pink and orange at the edges. It looked nothing like Orlando. You weren’t sure if that was good or bad yet. Just different.
ᴊᴀᴅᴇ ʜᴀꜱ ᴀᴡᴀᴋᴇɴᴇᴅ ꜰʀᴏᴍ ʜᴇʀ ꜱʟᴜᴍʙᴇʀ
Jade emerged from her bunk at 7:43am with her bonnet still on and her phone already in her hand, which was the most on-brand thing she had ever done.
She stopped when she saw you and Gunner talking at the front. Looked at the distance between your seats. Looked back at you. Her expression did not change but her eyes said everything.
Jade: “good morning guysss.”
Gunner: “wassup. we got food in the back if you're hungry.”
Jade: “don’t mind if I do.”
Jade disappeared into the kitchen area. thirty seconds later you heard her voice, brighter than it had any right to be at 7am.
Jade: “thank you for carrying my bag yesterday. you didn’t have to do that.”
Jade: “do you want some of my snacks? I have enough.”
another beat. longer this time.
you looked at Gunner. Gunner looked at you. you both quietly laughed.
ᴅᴀʟʟᴀꜱ • ᴛʜᴇ ʙᴏᴍʙ ꜰᴀᴄᴛᴏʀʏ
Dallas was louder than Houston in a different way. Houston had been personal. Dallas felt like it wanted to show out.
The venue— The Bomb Factory— was bigger, the kind of room that had good bones and knew it. Load-in took longer here. More people, more equipment, more of Gunner’s team moving through it with that same focused energy that you’d clocked in Houston and were starting to recognize as just how his operation ran. Quiet, organized, no wasted motion.
You and Jade found a spot out of the way near the side of the stage and let everything move around you. Jade had her phone out but you noticed she kept glancing towards the production area where Dre was standing with a clipboard and a headset, coordinating something with the venue crew.
Gunner did soundcheck like he always did— no fuss, just worked through it. Three and a half songs, a few adjustments, done. You watched from the floor this time because the venue was mostly empty and there was no reason not to.
He came offstage after and found you before anyone else. Which again— you’d noticed. That didn’t mean you were gonna bring it up anytime soon though.
Gunner: “how you feelin about this one?”
You: “definitely bigger than Houston.”
Gunner: “crowd’s different too. dallas don’t let you ease in. you gotta come out hot.”
You: “what do you do differently?”
he thought about it for a second. actually taking in the question.
Gunner: “nothing. you can’t perform different for different crowds. they feel it when you do.”
You: “same with dancing.”
he looked at you when you said that. like he was storing that in the back of his mind.
Gunner: “so you understand it.”
An hour before that show the backstage energy shifted— tighter, more purposeful, that specific charge that built in an hour before a room full of people got what they came for. Gunner went quiet in the way you’d learn to recognize. Not distant. Just internal. You left him to it.
You found Jade near the production area, which was not a coincidence.
She was talking to Dre. Or more accurately, she was talking at Dre, who was doing two things at once— monitoring something on his headset and also very clearly listening to whatever she was saying. Which was notable, because Dre did not appear to be a person who divided his attention easily.
Jade: “—i’m just saying, you been on how many of these tours and you haven’t gotten bored yet?”
Jade: “every city just looks that same to you?”
Dre: “nah, they don’t all look the same.”
Jade: “okay so what’s dallas?”
Dre glanced at her properly for the first time since she’d started talking. brief. then back to his headset.
Jade: “that’s it? just loud?”
Jade: “see now that’s my type of information. why didn’t you start with that?”
the corner of his mouth lifted up. faintly. but definitely noticeable.
You stood there for a second watching Jade work her magic, which was definitely something to witness. She did it without putting in too much effort— Just asked questions like she was genuinely curious, which she most likely was, and let the conversation find its own weight. It was the same thing she did at parties when she’d decided she wanted to talk to someone.
You made a mental note to tell her later that you saw that. Knowing she would try to deny it.
Gunner was right. Dallas didn’t let him ease in— the crowd was loud from the second he walked out, the kind of room that pushed energy at you before you could give any back. You watched him absorb it and redirect it, the whole set running hotter than Houston had, faster and more physical, the crowd giving back everything he put out.
You watched from the side again, Jade appeared next to you somewhere in the middle of the set, slightly out of breath from wherever she’d been.
Jade: “production table.”
Jade: “i was watching from a different angle. it’s called perspective babes.”
Jade: girl don’t uh huh me.”
You looked back at the stage. so did she. neither of you said anything else.
ᴀꜰᴛᴇʀ • ʙᴀᴄᴋ ᴏɴ ʙᴜꜱ • ʜᴇᴀᴅɪɴɢ ᴛᴏ ᴀᴛʟᴀɴᴛᴀ
The walk out in Dallas had been way bigger than Houston’s— more people had figured out the route, the barrier in place was more sturdy, and people still had items they wanted signed. Gunner handled it the same way. Easy. Present. Gone.
On the bus, the energy was different from the night before. Less quiet. His people were loose after a good show, talking over each other, music playing from someone’s phone speaker. Jade had already integrated herself into a conversation in the back like she’d been on tour this whole time. You didn’t know how she did it. You’d been watching her throughout your whole friendship and you still didn’t have it in you to be like her.
Gunner dropped in the seat next to you this time. Not across. Right next to you— inches away.
You: “yea. jade fits in everywhere. it’s kinda alarming.”
You: “that is not a compliment.”
Gunner: “i didn’t say it wasn’t.”
you stared at him. he looked back at you, easy as always, like he hadn’t just said something that was going to sit on your chest for a while.
You: “what does that even mean…”
Gunner: “it means you don’t try to perform for a room. you just exist. people notice that.”
you didn’t have an answer for that. you looked away first, which you almost never did.
The bus pulled out of Dallas around one in the morning, Atlanta being the next destination. The energy inside settled as the highway took over— that particular night quiet where everyone was still awake but not really talking anymore.
Gunners shoulder was against yours and neither of you moved away from it. You both just let it be, watching the dark Texas highways through the window, the lanes somewhat full.
From the back, Jades voice, suspiciously casual—
Jade: “Dre whats the food situation in Atlanta.”
Jade: “hmm i’m gonna need specifics at some point.”
you felt gunners shoulders move next to you. he was silently laughing.
You: (in a low voice, just for him)
Gunner: “i didn’t say anything.”
You: “you know damn well you were about to.”
he pressed his lips together— still not saying anything, but he was smiling when he looked back towards the window.
You fell asleep with his shoulder still against yours and told yourself it still didn’t mean anything .
You were getting worse at believing yourself.
ᴛᴀɢʟɪꜱᴛ: @sweet2sin . @spectranix . @luvvconceal . @2bun22 . @chesspend . @gabisohot . @kingoveverything . @punkarchangel . @y-yasminn . @glitterandviolence13 . @angelbbyunicorn . @fakeeminkk . @watercolorskyy . @misoeepy .
ᴀᴜᴛʜᴏʀꜱ ɴᴏᴛᴇ: it’s been a while.
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