Snippet #1783464

While riding the elevator downwards, the image of those four 'normal' teenagers came unbidden to Tag's mind again. For some reason, he couldn't shake the feeling of nostalgia that had stirred within him at the sight of them. His life certainly had never quite been that 'after-school special' - now more than ever! He certainly liked where his life was and where it was headed, but there was a small part of him that wondered what it would have been like. Was he even capable of living a life like that? Was it too late? If, hypothetically, he ran away from it all now, could he ever go back?

*Ding!* As if in answer to his question, the elevator arrived at the lobby and the doors slid open. Immediately they were accosted by the small crowd of TV personnel awaiting their departure. All of the previous thoughts quickly evaporated from his mind, and Tag's thoughtful stare was replaced by a wolfish grin. Like Kenzi, he loved the cameras. It was free publicity! It could only help the band; even if someone caught a picture of him sneezing and the stupid face he was making traveled all over the internet - that just meant more people knew who he was.

Pushing forward after Kenzi, Tag waved to the crowd, knowing as well as their leader did that this stuff would eventually make it onto Youtube. He grinned, winked, and groped groped his way through the journalists, answering shouted questions over his shoulder with typically flippant or callous remarks. One time as he did so, he caught something out of the corner of his eye that annoyed him. A particularly aggressive reporter was attempting to get a statement out of Char, and no one else had yet noticed him. Since the boy usually avoided answering such questions - especially on his own - it was a coveted thing to get 'exclusive' material from the poor kid. Most in the business, however, knew that pressuring Char was a major faux pas, for the reason that immediately followed.

With a grim scowl on his face, Tag turned around and brushed rather rudely past a few people. The quick journalists already saw what was about to transpire, and several cameras were already on him. Tag counted on that. Reaching the pushy reporter, the tall bassist grabbed him by the collar and pulled the guy towards him until they were face-to-face, inches apart. He let the scowl he wore bore into the poor man for a moment, then mumbled something he knew only the two of them (and possibly Char) would hear, "Leave. Him. Alone." Darting forward, he planted a large, ripe kiss on the stunned man's lips, making it last well past comfort levels until the reporter forcibly pushed him off. The man staggered backwards as Tag finally released him, but the bassist was already grinning at the cameras. He found the nearest one and winked directly into it, "That one's for you." With that, he took Char's hand gently and lead him behind the others into the awaiting van.