"Chester! Get your ass out here!"

"Bite me, Phe!"

He sat on the couch in the back lobby of the bus, his arms folded across his chest, staring at a black T.V. Phoenix pounded restlessly on the door, cursing under his breath at the stubborn singer who had barricaded himself in the back of the bus, and was refusing to come out.

"It's just a tour meeting!"

"Then I don't need to be there!"

"DIVA!!!"

He slammed his fist once more into the door before storming off to see the rest of the band. Chester sat back into the cushions, making himself comfortable for that battle ahead. If it had only been a simple tour meeting, then he would have happily gone, skipping to his seat beside Mike, but this wasn't like that. No, this was a bad, arguing meeting brought on by the recent decrease in ticket sales, and he was sure that the road manager had an idea already up his sleeve to shove down their throats, whether they liked it or not.

"If it was a normal meeting...I wouldn't have to be there...they'd leave me alone like they usually do, and then Mike would come and fill me in. They know I don't like these things...Wonder what is so God damned important that they'd need me?"

He grumbled under his breath, sighing deeply as he heard the footsteps coming back again.

"Chaz? Come on babe, and open the door...You know this is important for us. It will mean more money to have fun with?"

"No, Mike, I don't care...They're going to set us up with some teeny-bopper-wannabe who has no clue who we are, and the tour will be like hell. I don't want that!"

"You don't even know who they have in mind. Why don't you come out and just listen to what Marc has to say, then you can rile at him all you want. I mean, he's got to listen to all of our opinions anyway."

Mike did have a point, however undignified the whole idea seemed. If they couldn't bring in their own fans, what would the fans of another group think about them?

Chester slowly got up, unlocking the door and opening it to see the face of his one true love. The band knew about their relationship, they couldn't hide it when both broke off long time relations with members of the opposite sex at the same time...Nor could they hide it when the rest of the band had caught them one night after a club run.

Mike pulled him into a tight hug, kissing the top of his head lightly, rubbing down his back.

"It won't be that bad, I promise. We're in a new country that just hasn't hooked on like all the rest yet, and if we get in with someone really established, then maybe we can break through. It's not like it's going to last forever..."

"Let's go...I need to kick Phe's ass for calling my a Diva anyway..."

Mike smiled, laughing quietly.

"What's so funny?"

"Chaz, you are a Diva..."

And with that, he let go of his hold on Chester, making a swift getaway to the front of the bus as Chester followed at a slow pace, shaking his head. Marc stood up by the door leading to the driver, hands on his hips, tapping the floor with his shoe.

"Okay, now that we are all here, it's time to get on with this damn meeting. Personally, I don't like to do this to you guys, but we all know that sales are down, and if we don't do something, the tour is going to fall through. I got in touch with the local labels, begging and pleading for someone decent to help us out, and I'm not sure if you're going to like the list of what we've got or not. Most the natives are touring the US this time of year, so the pickings are slim."

Rob managed to grab the list first, before Mike snatched it and dropped it into Chester's hands. He smiled like a maniac, dropping down to the floor and fixing his glasses as he read over the names. Marc was right, pickings were short, but it didn't matter if they were from the same label or not. Coming to the end, he was disappointed to realize that they were all 'pop crap', and probably not worth it.

"Shit...This is never going to work. We aren't like any of these, and any fans of theirs are not going to be fans of us. We want moshers, not boppers..."

Mike took the list again, browsing for himself this time around, his good attitude fading quickly. Suddenly, he stopped on the third page in, looking again to make sure that he knew the name was who he thought it was before pointing it out.

"Savage Garden...They're in Brisbane. Chester, you like them, well, last time I checked you did."

The other four band members turned to look at Chester, his mouth falling open.

"I do not...and you can't prove it..."

"Oh bet me. I'll be back in just a second with your fucking proof."

He skipped by to Chester's bunk, rifling through the compartment until he found the very large CD collection that was his pride and joy. Flipping it open, he found the two albums he was looking for, then carefully put the rest back.

"Here is your proof. You own both of their major albums, and I've seen you reading..."

"Asshole...Why can't I ever keep anything to myself? Why does everyone need to know everything!?"

Phoenix started chuckling under his breath, Chester whipping around to face him.

"What now?"

"Hahaha...DIVA!"

As Chester pounced for the attack, Marc was busy on his cell, phoning Sony Records and telling them that they had a deal....