SUBMITTED: 10/2/06

The Price of Fame
By Jen
Genre: Light Drama, Romance
Rating: PG
Who? Pyro and FlameHead (Doomsday Machine), and some members of Linkin Park

CHAPTER 1
After the final song the show was over and Pyro and the rest of the
band snuck out the back exit. By the time she got on the bus good
Flamehead was already starting up the Xbox. As the guys started playing Halo,
Pyro took off her shoes and relaxed on her bunk. "Hey guys, I'm
starving!" She yelled out to them.
Flamehead laughed at her. "It's like 10 PM Pryo!" He yelled back. Pyro
got up and came to the doorway, "If you want me to be a happy person at
the show later then you better shut up and get me some food!", she said
winking. Flamehead grinned at her and went to ask the driver to make a
stop.

That night they were to open at a Midnight Halloween show for a few
other bands. The whole band had been looking forward to it since August
when they were asked to do it. They all had costumes picked out and
everything. Pyro was going to dress as Alice, a character from her favorite
video game and Flamehead was going to be Beetlejuice. It was going to
be a blast!

A little after 10:30 the bus stopped in front of an IHOP. The band got
out and went in. After finding a good spot to sit, they all ordered
something. Pyro got some Chocolate Chip pancakes.
While waiting for their orders, Pyro looked around the restaurant. In
the back corner a guy sitting there with a lady friend looked familiar
from the side. The guy turned a little where she could see him better
and smiled. She realized it was Chester Bennington. His band, Linkin
Park, were one of the bands playing at the show that night. She had hung
out with him a little while after a show once about a month ago.

"I'll be right back." She said and got up. She approached his table and
waited for him to look up. When he did he smiled brightly at her. "I
know you..." He said. "Pyro!"
She smiled. "Well, I was about to get a little mad." She laughed. "So
how are you?"
"Fantastic!" He exclaimed. "How about yourself? You must be super
excited hmm?"
"I am...We all are" She answered. "This is probably our biggest show so
far."
"Well you guys are going to big a big hit!" Chester said. "Oh, meet my
wife, Talinda. I've told her all about you and your band."
His wife smiled at her. "He sure has." She said. "You have an
incredible voice and I just adore "Worm".
"Thanks a lot!" Pyro said gratefully. "Well I didn't mean to intrude,
just wanted to say Hi."
"Oh you didn't!" Talinda said quickly.
"No, of course not." added Chester. "I'm glad you did. I was hoping to
talk to you at some point tonight but figured it would be to late by
the time I finally could."

Pyro looked over at her table and saw that the orders where being set
out. "I better go eat." She said. "It was nice meeting you Talinda."
"You too sweetie." Talinda said with a smile. "Good luck tonight!"
"Yeah, have fun!" Chester said.
"Thanks!!" Pyro said, and headed back to her table.

When she sat down, Flamehead eyed her suspiciously. "Oooh, Pyro and
Chester sitting in a tree..." He said and laughed wildly.
Pyro rolled her eyes. "Grow up." She said and flicked some whip cream
across the table at him. They both laughed.

Ten minutes later Pryo had finished her four yummy chocolate pancakes
and two cups of hot cocoa. For a little while they just sat there
talking about their costumes and playing around. Finally it was time to get
going so they could get dressed and get their gear set up. When Pyro
got to the bus she started feeling really tired and her head ached a
little. She went ahead and got her dress and boots on. She had just
finished her makeup when they stopped in front of the building.


CHAPTER 2
On the way inside Flamehead commented on her looking strange but she
ignored him and continued on. She told herself it was just nerves.
Everything seemed like a blur. She helped set up despite how she felt but
didn't say much. Flamehead was a little worried about her but had
butterflies himself so decided she was nervous. It took a few minutes to get
everything ready. Pyro took her place in front of the mic and closed her
eyes. "You are fine. You will do fine" She told herself over and over
in her mind. The band started playing and she could hear the crowd. The
curtain started to rise and she went into blur mode again and started
the song. She thought only of the lyrics and pushed the nervous feelings
away. Before she knew it they were at the last song. It was "Worm". It
was going great. People were singing along and having a good time. She
got to strongest part of the song and tilted her head back to sing
loudly. But when she tried, she couldn't quite get it out. She stopped and
took a few breathes and tried again. Nothing. The last thing she
remembered was everything going black.

It all happened so fast. Flamehead was playing the keyboard and then
heard her stop. He figured she was changing it a little so he kept going.
The crowd's reation to her collapsing was what made him realize
something was wrong. He saw her lying there and jumped up. He ran over to her
and called her name. No reaction. He screamed at someone, anyone to
call an ambulance. Some security guys came out and tried to wake her up.
At first most of the people in the crowd thought it was a Halloween
prank. But after a minute or two it sunk in that is was real. One girl in
the front started crying. Several guys from the other bands came out to
see what was going on. Mike Shinoda was yelling for someone to shut the
curtain. Flamehead could hear all this going on but his eyes were on on
Pyro. He started to think about what he would do if she didn't wake up.
It made his head spin.

Finally an ambulance came. Flamehead was dizzy from being so upset but
stayed by her side the whole way to the hospital. When they arrived
some doctors and nurses rushed out to get her inside. Flamehead took a
seat in the waiting room and waited. He knew he should call their parents
but he just couldn't do it. He had to know if she would be okay first.

What seemed like hours later the doctor came out into the waiting room.
Flamehead stood up in anticipation. "Hi, you're her brother right?" the
doctor asked.
"Yes." Flamehead replied. "Is she...ok?"
"Well, she ate to much sugar and strained herself. I asume you know
she's Hypoglycemic?" The doctor asked.

The next day Flamehead got back to the hospital pretty early. His
parents had come and picked him up around 3am. They stayed in a hotel nearby
for the night. He walked past the waiting room and a girl came out
trying to catch him. "Flamehead," she said nervously. He stopped and looked
at her. "Hi, my name is Amanda. I was at the show last night and saw
everything. I'm a really big fan of the band and was just wondering if
she's going to be okay?"
Flamehead smiled a little because he could tell she really cared. She
was even getting teary eyed at that moment. "Why don't you see for
yourself?" He asked and motioned toward Pyro's room door. Happiness lit up
Amanda's face and she smiled at him. He opened the door for her and they
went in.

Pyro was already sitting up in bed looking at the TV. "You know,
there's nothing good on in the morning. " She said with a smile as they came
in.
Flamehead was happy to see that she was in a good mood. "Wow Pyro, I'm
loving this new look of yours. Wild hair, hospital gown. I'm sure the
guys would find it hot!"
All three of them laughed and Pyro noticed Amanda. "Oh this is Amanda."
He said, seeing the curiosity in Pryo's face. "She's a fan. She wanted
to check on you."
"Aww that's so sweet!" Pyro said. "I appreciate it. I just wished you
would have called." They all laughed again.

Amanda stayed with Pyro for a few hours. She was so much fun to talk
to. Flamehead eventually went off to explore the hospital. After Amanda
left Pyro got a little more rest. She was awakened by a knock on her
door. She sat up and rubbed her eyes. Chester Bennington's wife came in.
"Hey!" She said cheerfully.
Pyro was a little suprised by her visit but smiled anyway. "Hi..." She
finally said.
Talinda pulled a chair up to the bed. "So how are you?" She asked.
"Chester was really worried. He wanted to come but his manager was upset
and he had to deal with some stuff."
"I'm okay now." Pyro answered. "Upset?"
Talinda sighed. "He's just mad because the show was cancelled and
everyone was refunded their money. He blames Chester because he's the one
who said you guys should open. It's ridiculous of him to say such
things."
Pyro felt a little guilty. "Wow, I wish they wouldn't have cancelled
the whole thing because of me." She said looking down.
Talinda put her hand on Pyro's arm. "Don't even think about it. You
couldn't help it. You're okay now and that's all that matters."
Pyro looked at her and managed a smile. Just then the door opened again
and a guy walked in.

CHAPTER 3
"Hey Tal," The guy said. "Tyler's being fussy and I can't get him to
chill out."
"Oh." Talinda said. "He's teething..." She smiled at Pyro. "I better go
see what I can do." She got up and started out, but turned around. "Oh
how rude of me." She said. "This is my brother, Ian." she waved her
hand toward him, then hurried out.

Ian stayed in the room and just looked at Pyro shyly. "Umm, what's up?"
He asked.
Pyro laughed. He was cute. He was about 6'1, dark hair and eyes. When
he smiled she saw he had near perfect teeth.

"Research on being a hospital patient for Halloween." She answered him.
He burst into laughter. Pyro could tell he was kind of shy but liked
that he seemed to have a sense of humor, not to mention a great laugh.

Talking with Ian for the next hour was the most fun Pyro had had with a
guy in a long time. He was really sweet and after they talked a while
he was more outgoing and had a lot of the same interests as her.
They talked about movies, books, video games and even hospital food.
When Talinda finally came back into the room, holding a sleepy Tyler,
they were both laughing at a stupid commercial playing on the TV.

"Well, you two seem to be having fun." She said smiling.

Pyro nodded and smiled back. "How's the baby?" She asked Talinda. "Oh
he's okay." Talinda answered. "I think I better be getting him back
though so he can eat and sleep."
"Okay." Pyro said. "Thanks a lot for coming by. It was really nice of
you."
"Of course honey. Now you take care of yourself okay?" Talinda said
kindly. "Oh by the way, can I have your cell number or something? I'd like
to keep in contact."
"Sure." Pyro said and told her what it was. Ian put the number into
Talinda's cell for her because she had her hands full with Tyler.
After that he got Talinda's baby stuff together and they started out.
"Bye!" Talinda said. Ian smiled at Pyro and gave her a shy wave. Pyro
smiled back at them. "Bye."


CHAPTER 4
The next day Pyro was able to leave the hospital. Flamehead suggested
she take the offer of going out in a wheelchair even thought she
insisted she didn't need it. Turns out he got one himself and challenged her
to a race to the exit. The doctors and nurses could help but smile at
them. It was close but Flamehead ended up winning. When they came outside
they were still laughing about it and almost ran into someone.

"Oh, excuse me." Pyro said looking up. A camera flashed in her face and
left her temporarily blind. "What the..."
"Pyro, how does it feel to be the cause of the show being cancelled
last night? It was one of the most talked about shows of this year." The
woman they almost bumped into interrupted.
This made Flamehead pretty angry. "I don't know who you are but it's
not her fault that she got sick." He said stepping in front of Pyro
protectively.
"Yes, about that." The woman said moving around so her photographer
could get another shot. "What's wrong with you anyway? How were you
treated??"
Pyro was speechless. She was a little dizzy from all the camera flashes
and questions. Flamehead took her by the arm and pulled her towards the
waiting car.
The woman followed behind them. "Why don't you want to tell us
anything?" She continued.
Flamehead turned around. "Listen, she's okay now. But she doesn't need
you all up in her face with cameras and questions." He said. Pyro got
in the car. "She's fine." He got in too.

"Whoa, that was really weird." Pyro said as they were driven away. "And
rude too." Flamehead added, still a little angry.

After a short drive they got back to their hotel. They ordered some
room service then Pyro took a long nap. She didn't wake up until the next
day. When she got up she went over her meal plan and made a list. Then
her and Flamehead went to wal mart to get food. They got everything
they needed and went to the nearest checkout. Pyro looked over the
magazines and got a huge shock.


CHAPTER 5
"Oh my God." She said. Flamehead looked over at where she was looking.
It was STAR magazine. First he noticed Britney Spears on the cover as
usual. Then he gasped because they had a picture of Pyro on the side
with the caption "Drugged up singer ruins chance for a promising new
band?"
Flamehead grabbed one and flipped through it. He found the article and
his blood boiled.
"Pyro Doomsday collapses on stage. Is it drugs?"

On the way back to the hotel Flame head and Pyro read and re-read the
article. It was full of a bunch of lies. It said that they were both
extremely rude and that she had fainted from an overdose of drugs.
Pyro didn't say much because she was still a little shocked. Wasn't she
just a normal girl who was having a good time in her band the day
before?

They got back to their room and was surprised to see their manager
standing by the door. He didn't look to happy. His cell phone started
ringing. "It's been doing that all day." He said. "What did you say to those
magazine people?"
"We didn't say anything!" Flamehead said. "They made all that up..."
"Great." The manager said. "I thought this may happen one day but this
is all really fast."

Pyro got busy putting the groceries away, trying to keep her mind off
the drama. She started getting a headache so she asked Flamehead to make
her something to eat right quick and went to lay on her bed.
Their manager took a few more calls then left to take care of
something. Flamehead fixed Pyro her food and took it to her.

"Are you okay?" He asked. Pyro sat up and took the food. "Yeah, I think
so." She said. "This is a little overwhelming."
"Don't worry." He said. "We're aren't big news. It will blow over by
tomorrow probably."
Pyro nodded. "I hope so." She said and started to eat.
"There is one good thing about all this." Flamehead said. "I'll always
have those magazine pictures to make fun of!" They both laughed and
Pyro reached over to playfully smack him on the head.


CHAPTER 6
Over the next week Pyro relaxed and stayed in most of the time. She ate
right and just sat around playing video games and drawing new ideas for
clothing designs. They had decided to stay in LA a little while. Their
manager suggested it. So they were still in the hotel for now and it
was starting to get pretty messy thanks to Flamehead.

One afternoon Pyro was cleaning up a little when she heard her cell
ring. She went and got it.
"Hello?" She said into the phone.
"Hey girl!" a familiar female voice said. "It's Talinda."
"Oh hey!" Pyro said.
"How are you?" Talinda asked.
"Pretty good, thank you."
"That's great!" Talinda said. "Well, we were hoping you'd come over
tomorrow, you and your brother, to eat and hang out. You're still in LA
aren't you?"
"Yes, we are actually. Pyro said. "That sounds great! I haven't been
out of the house much this past week"
"Wonderful!!" Talinda said. "How does 12pm sound?"
"Sounds like lunch!" Pyro said. "We'll be there."
Talinda laughed. "Can't wait." She said. "See you then."
"Okay." Pyro said. "Bye."
"Bye!"

Pyro put her cell up and finished cleaning. When she saw Flamehead
again she told him about the call and he seemed excited about it.

The next day Pyro started getting ready. She found a new skirt packed
that she hadn't had the chance to wear out yet so she put that on with a
cute shirt. She pulled her hair up because it was pretty warm outside
and put a little eyeliner on. At around 11:40 she came out of the
bathroom.
Flamehead came over to her. "Gee, Pyro, you take forever!"
Pyro stuck her tongue out at him and went out the door. They got in the
car and started towards the Bennington's.


CHAPTER 7
When they got there is was hard to park because there were several cars
in the driveway. They got out and started towards the house. It was
pretty big, but not to big. Very cute. Talinda came out the front door
waving.

"Come on in." She said.

When they got inside the house they could hear lots of laughing and
talking. All of Linkin Park were there and it looked like their wives were
too. Talinda made sure everyone was introduced and then got some food
stuff together to take out to Chester. Pyro wanted to help so she
grabbed the chips off the table and followed. As she went down the steps she
stepped on her skirt and it caused her to trip. She was expecting to
hit the ground but she didn't. Instead she landed into someone's arms.

Pyro pulled away and looked into Ian's smiling face. "You okay?" He
asked.
She almost blushed. "Yes, thank you." She said. "I need you around more
often. I'm such a klutz."
"I'll gladly catch you anytime." He said before reaching down to pick
up the bags of chips she had dropped.

After lunch everyone sat around the pool and talked. Flamehead seemed
to have taken a liking to Chester. He had been talking to him nonstop
all afternoon. Pyro was sitting on the edge of the pool with her feet in
the water watching Talinda drip water on Tyler's legs. It made him
giggle.

Ian came over to Pyro. "Want to take a walk?" He asked.
"Sounds good." She said and started to get up.

They walked around to the front of the house. There was a swing in the
front yard so they sat on it together.

"How long will you be in LA?" He asked, breaking the silence.
"I'm not sure yet." She replied. "Do you live somewhere close by?"
"Yeah, I have an apartment not to far from here." He said.
"Cool." Pyro said. It went quiet again. After a minute she looked at
him and smiled.
"Sorry for the silence." She said.
"That's okay." Ian said. "You know, you have such amazing eyes. I could
just..."
Pyro felt nervous. She really liked Ian. But was she ready for this?
"Just what?" She asked quietly.
He leaned over and kissed her.


CHAPTER 8
All the way back to the hotel and most of the night Pyro thought about
Ian and about the kiss. She wanted to talk to someone about it in a way
but there was no one. There was Flamehead but there was absolutely no
way she would talk to him about it. Instead she just lie in her bed
trying to sleep. Finally she did but before she knew it morning had come.

"Pyro, Pyro," Flamehead chanted while shaking her bed. "get up and eat
breakfast sleepyhead."
"Go away." Pyro said into the pillow.

Before Flamehead could annoy her some more there was a knock on the
door. He went over and openend it to see their manager very upset.
"So, I've been getting calls all morning." He said coming in.
"Apparently a reporter on some entertainment tv show called Linkin Park's
manager and he said some pretty bad things about you guys. So of course they
have been trying to get a comment from me and I don't even know what's
going on. Didn't you go over and hang out with them yesterday?"
Pyro came into the room and yawned. "Yeah we did." Flamehead said. "So
either they were just lying to us all this time or someone really needs
to fire a manager."

Their manager finally left and they went out for a healthy breakfast.
On the way back to their room Pyro got a phone call. It was Ian. He
wanted to take her to eat that night. She said okay. Then they talked a
little about the manager thing. Ian assured her that LP had nothing to do
with it. She believed him of course because she didn't really think
they did to begin with. Ian told her that they were thinking of a plan to
make things right.

That night Pyro was getting dressed for her date. She felt excited and
scared at the same time. She knew it was about time for her to start
doing this again but she still was nervous. When she came out of the
bathroom Flamehead looked up from his video game and smiled at her.

The resuarant wasn't to far from the hotel so it was quiet most of the
way. They got theair and were taken to an outdoor table. Onnce they sat
down she started to relax. Something about him was comfortable and
safe. They ordered and started to talk about how fast Christmas was
approaching. Pyro saw a flash of light but ignored it. A little while later
when they had finished eating she saw another one.
"Is it supposed to storm?" She wondered out loud.
"I don't think so..." Ian said. "Maybe we should get going anyway."

They got up to go and when they got to they car Ian came to the
passengers side with her. He opened the door for her and there was another
flash.
As Pyro got into the car she saw a photographer not to far away. Ian ot
into the drivers seat and started the car.
"Okay, this is creepy. There's a guy taking pictures of us over there."
She said pointing.
Ian sighed and drove off. No surprise, the topic of conversation was
about that on the way back to the hotel.

When they got there Ian walked her to the room then kissed her goodbye.
She told him that she had a nice time. And it was true.


CHAPTER 9
Over the next two weeks Ian and Pyro went out a lot. They saw movies,
went to concerts, and sometimes just went to his place and talked.
Almost every time they went out together a photographer would show up.
They tried to ingore them and have a good time but it would get a
little annoying after a while. The pictures would show up on Entertainment
news and in magazine blurbs but nothing that was to outrageous.

The night before Linkin Park were going to hold a press conference and
clear up the rumors once and for all, Pyro and Ian were at his
apartment eating Chinese and watching a crappy action movie on TV. After the
movie was over, Ian started driving Pyro back to the hotel.
Halfway there Ian noticed a car behind them. It was pretty close and he
thought it was suspicious. He sped up a little and kept checking the
rear view mirror. The car stayed right behind them.
Pyro was tired so had fell asleep. She hadn't seen what was going on.
He slowed down a little because of a stoplight ahead. It was red but it
turned green right before he got there so he went on through.
A car from the left ran his red light and crashed into Ian's car. The
car spun around a few times and Ian hit his head on something.

Pyro woke up still inside the car. She was confused and her head ached
a little. She looked over at Ian. He wasn't moving.
She started unhooking her seat belt and checked herself for any
injuries. She was okay...She then reached over and unhooked Ian. She didn't
know if she should try and move him so she tried to find her cell phone
instead.

While searching she saw a flash of light. Then another. She realized it
was photographers so she called out for help. There were more flashes
then the sound of a car driving away. Pyro started to cry, then she
blacked out.


CHAPTER 10
Pyro woke up. Once again confused. She looked around and realized it
was a hospital room.
Flamehead came into view. He smiled. "You like the hospital here don't
you" He said.
Pyro remembered all that happened. "Ian?" She asked.
"He's okay." Flamehead said. "He hit his head so he was unconcious
until he got here. All he has is a headache."
"Thank God." Pyro said. "Ohhh. My head hurts too."
Flamehead went to get a nurse and she gave Pyro some headache medicine.
Then she fell back to sleep.

The next time she woke up the room was filled with sunlight and she had
to squint. Her head wasn't hurting anymore and she actually felt pretty
good.
Flamehead was of course there so he helped her out of bed when she
asked. The doctor had told him that she could leave when she wanted.

She got dressed then went to see Ian. He was going to be released later
that day. He had a cut on his forehead but other than that he was okay
and in a good mood. Pyro stayed with him until he checked out. They
hugged goodbye outside the hospital entrance.

On the way back to the hotel she thought about how much Ian meant to
her. He made her really happy and she didn't want that to go away. It
scared her that it almost did.

That afternoon Linkin Park held their press conference. They told
everyone about how the Halloween concert had been cancelled because several
of the bands had not wanted to play after what happened. And that they
had decided the people weren't really in the mood anymore anyway. They
also cleared up the drug rumors annd praised Pyro and her band on their
unique sound.

Afterwards they all went out and ate together. Happy that things were
finally settled, Mike made a goofy toast that ended in hysterical
laughter all around.
Pyro touched Ian's hand and they shared a smile. At that moment all
Pyro could see were the good things in her life. And with that thought she
leaned on Ian's shoulder and was truly happy.