Title: Almost Famous: The Trade, Part II
Rating: R [language, drugs, sex]
Word Count: 6,597
Characters: Summer Dylan, Jimmy Page, John McVie, Mick Fleetwood, Stevie Nicks, Christine McVie, Lindsey Buckingham, Lily Walker, John Bonham, John Paul Jones, Benji LeFevre, and Cameron Crowe

Author's Note: This series is based on Cameron Crowe's Almost Famous. As the movie is autobiographical in nature, this series will gleam stories from the movies, based on real-life events and translate them into the world of DiF's epics. This one encapuslates Midnight Shift and Love Runs Deeper. Completely canon with the epic and WILL contain spoilers.

Summary: Summer is traded from one band to another, completely without her knowledge...




June 3, 1977
Memphis, Tennessee

Her sapphire blue eyes sparkled as she laughed at a soft joke John told. Her fingertips touched his arm playfully, as she questioned him for more details of the story. His eyes flicked from her fingers to her eyes and he smiled slightly. With a touch of hesitation, John leaned forward to steal another kiss, drunkenly oblivious to the party around them.

However, before his lips touched hers, a large voice boomed, “Who’s the pretty one, John?”

Summer set down the drink in her right hand and held her hand out to the tall man as the bassist leaned away from her, “Summer Dylan. Who are you?”

He grinned and laughed, “Mick Fleetwood.”

“Oh, right, the drummer. You know what they say about drummers, right?”

“And what’s that, love?” his eyes left hers briefly to glance at her breasts. “We really know how to keep a beat?”

“You like to play with sticks,” she responded, no emotion on her face.

Mick held her gaze for a long moment before he burst into a rolling laugh, “I like you. Come with me.”

Her gem-like gaze returned to John. He shrugged and motioned her off. Flashing him a quick smile, Summer leaned over and kissed him quickly, silently promising to return. Both knew it was unlikely she would return, not now that the drummer had focused his attentions on her.

Summer was swept into drinks, dancing, and white powder. Her giggles cut through the party crowd, drawing attention from different factions in the room. John kept his eyes on her, though with each passing moment he was more aware he lost the bubbly beauty to Mick, as always. The groupies watched her, jealousy filling their eyes as she intruded on their turf. Other notable party and tour attendees were introduced to her, but Summer hardly cared. She focused on the champagne and cocaine to keep her mind off the fact she was sequestered in Fleetwood Mac’s little world.

Taking a break from Mick, peeling his hand off her left breast, Summer escaped to the restroom. Smiling at the three blonde women in the bathroom, she quickly darted into a stall. Perhaps if she had not been drinking whiskey with John prior to the show, she would have lasted a bit longer at the party. She felt eyes on her as she washed her hands. Slowly she turned to face the three women.

“Hello,” she smiled.

“I saw you getting friendly with my ex-husband,” the eldest of the three declared.

“…who is…?”

“John.”

Summer instantly grinned and nodded, “Oh yes. John is quite sweet. I’ve spent most of the day with him.”

“I see.”

Seeing a flash of jealousy in the other woman’s eyes, she paused, “He’s quite the gentleman and has wonderful stories. I could listen to him talk for hours.”

“John talk?” one of the others spoke up, her voice cracking slightly.

Her eyes went to the one wearing layers of lace and gauze, “We spent the afternoon just talking. He seems… lonely to me.”

The other woman thrust her hand out, “I’m Lily. This is Stevie and Chris. They’re in the band; I’m just Lindsey’s girlfriend.”

“She is much more than just his girlfriend,” Stevie rolled her eyes.

“Where did you come from?” Lily asked unabashedly.

“Um,” Summer’s eyes briefly dropped down to the tiles, “it’s a long and uninteresting story. Basically, I got on the wrong plane… I guess.”

“Honey, where are you supposed to be?” Chris asked.

“Wherever Led Zeppelin is.”

All three women rolled their eyes.

“Come on, Summer,” Chris held out her hand. “Come meet the rest of us, since it seems you’re one of us now.”

The four blondes circled the party crowd. Meeting Stevie’s traveling companions, Chris’s current boyfriend who happened to be a Beach Boy, and other groupies, Summer started to feel accepted into the new world. A couple of the roadies made her feel uneasy, but she could not quite explain it. Instead, she quickly excused herself and headed back over to Mick, who was drunkenly explaining something to a man with dark, curly hair.

Noticing her as she approached, the unknown man looked her up and down slowly. Accustomed to such glances now, Summer merely put a bit more sway in her hips as she approached the two men. Saying nothing, but coquettishly batting her eyelashes at the unknown man, Summer turned towards Mick, pressed up on her toes, and kissed his mouth softly. His arms quickly circled around her, his hands grabbing her butt cheeks.

Pulling out of the embrace, her blue eyes went to the unknown man, “Hi, I’m Summer.”

“Lindsey,” the blue-eyes man responded.

“Pleasure,” she smiled.

Her eyes quickly left his as someone knocked over bottles on the booze table. Noticing John drunkenly attempting to turn the bottles up, she pulled away from Mick and headed towards the bassist without excusing herself. Her hands covered his, halting his uncoordinated movements and bringing his eyes to hers. She gently released on of his hand and touched his cheek.

“Why don’t we go upstairs, John?” she suggested softly.

“But…”

“Come,” she brushed her lips over his mouth before turning and leading him out of the party.

He sloppily attempted to kiss her in the elevator, his drunken hands accidentally pushing down her tube top. Summer did not fix her top or push him away, letting his attentions focus on her breasts for the remainder of the ride to his floor. Once the elevator chimed, she quickly pulled her top back up and grabbed his hand. They reached the hotel suite without delay and Summer dug his key from the pocket in his short shorts. She unlocked the door and aided him in, locking it behind them.

“There’scondomsinthebathroom,” he slurred together, attempting to take a step towards the bathroom.

“Uh uh,” she turned him towards the bed. “We don’t need those tonight.”

He frowned, “Youdon’tlikeme?”

Summer guided him to sit on the bed so she could pull off his sneakers, “That’s not it at all, John.”

“Thenwha?”

Standing back up, she kissed him quickly, “You’re too drunk to enjoy it, John.”

A few drunken emotions flitted across his face and his hand dropped to his lap. She quickly plucked it out, figuring he was going to attempt to make a point by manually stimulating himself. He frowned again, but she kissed his mouth and forced him to lie back. Before he could protest, she pushed and prodded him until he was in the center of his bed and pulled the bedcovers over him. Turning away from the bed, she turned off the light and removed her borrowed clothing.

Wordlessly, she slipped into the bed and spooned him from behind, her bare breasts pressed against his back. John wiggled slightly, apparently attempting to free himself from her embrace. Summer held him tightly, not about to allow him to neither escape nor roll any way in his drunken state. He quickly stopped resisting, eliciting a sweet kiss from Summer on his shoulder.

His body began to tremble with drunken sobs, “YouthinkI’mugly.”

Loosening her embrace, Summer waited for him to roll onto his back before responding, “No, John, I don’t.”

“Youdon’twantme.”

Her fingers gently caressed his face, “You’re drunk, John. Go to sleep.”

“But…”

“Go to sleep. We’ll discuss this in the morning,” Summer declared.

“Youstillbehere?”

“I will be. Now close your eyes, John.”

“You’resobeautiful.”

“Close your eyes,” she repeated.

“Theywerestupidtotradeyou,” John mumbled before rolling back onto his side.

“What? What did you say?”

His response was merely a snore.



Two days. It took him two days to finally get a full explanation of Summer’s absence from the roadies. It had not helped that the band found out he was in the hotel, amongst their crew. Both Jimmy and Robert were convinced Cameron knew more about Summer than they did. He now did, but it was not information he was just going to give to them. Mainly because he suspected they were somehow involved.

Instead, Cameron headed to the new Rolling Stone offices. Though others wanted to chat and catch up, especially since he had not seen many of them since the offices were relocated earlier that year, he cut conversations short. He was on a mission and no one was going to distract him from that.

Finding a copy of Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours tour itinerary, his finger traced down the list of dates. He located the Florida dates, confirming what the roadies told him. The band had been near when Led Zeppelin was there. Everything added up. Summer had to be with Fleetwood Mac. And they were due to perform in New Orleans the following day.

Barely speaking any goodbyes, Cameron hurried out of the office and hailed a cab. He quickly requested to be taken to the airport, before realizing his sparse luggage was back at Led Zeppelin’s hotel. Redirecting the taxi, more because he thought Summer might need to borrow clothing and such things, he asked the driver to remain outside while he ran in to retrieve his things.

Running into Audrey just outside his room, he quickly explained that he found Summer and was going to her, but that no one could know. Robert’s groupie immediately nodded and offered him any help he needed, as she followed him into his room. Throwing his things into his duffel bag, he glanced at the brunette.

“Actually do you think you could maybe sneak me some of Summer’s clothes?”

She nodded, “If not, I’ll give you some of mine.”

“Thanks.”

With a bag stuffed with twice as much as it had been when he arrived, Cameron once again reminded Audrey to not tell the band and hurried back to the cab. He relaxed slightly once they were heading to the airport. He had found his best friend; all that was left was actually going to her.



Sitting on the balcony next to John, Summer sipped a cocktail as she looked down on the French Quarter. Though she had not been to New Orleans before, she had heard a great deal about it from the boys of Led Zeppelin. As they arrived earlier in the afternoon, she and Lily wandered about the French Quarter while Fleetwood Mac got settled.

However, that was an hour before. Now she sipped on hurricanes with John, having already attempted calling her parents and best friend to no avail again, watching the world go by below them. They had a routine down: she woke him just before noon for breakfast and they prepared to leave for the next city, she sat with him on the plane and stayed on his arm at the pre- and post-show parties, until they escaped back to his room, either to talk or for him to pass out under her watch. But with this day off before the next show, sorely needed as Stevie’s voice was failing, they were at a loss as to how to fill they time. Everyone assumed they were having sex and that was the reason they left parties early. Neither John nor Summer said anything otherwise; they knew the truth and that was sufficient to them.

“I’ve been watching Lindsey the past two shows,” Summer commented softly.

“Everyone does,” John responded drolly.

Ignoring his moping demeanor, she continued, “Do you think he’d play with me? He’s got some of the best fingerpicking I’ve seen and I think I could learn from him.”

“He probably would. You should ask Lily, not me.”

Summer briefly sipped her fruity drink, “Will you go out with me tonight?”

“I…”

“Oh, come on, John,” she pressed.

He sighed, “I suppose I could for a little bit.”

Summer grinned and leaned over, pecking his cheek, “It will be exciting.”

Pulling themselves away from band after dinner a few hours later, Summer and John headed down to the lobby, intending to weave amongst the night crowds on Bourbon Street. Summer paused to check her appearance in a lobby mirror, losing contact with John briefly. With her back turned, she did not see Cameron enter the hotel and approach John. However, she did feel a familiar presence and turned to look around the lobby. Her heart stopped as Cameron asked the bassist if he had seen her. John stepped to the side, saying nothing, and motioned to her.

Their eyes locked and everyone else disappeared in the lobby. Summer’s face lit up and she giggled, hurrying towards him. Before anyone could even speak, she threw her arms around Cameron’s neck, her impact forcing him to take a step backwards.

Holding her tight, Cameron muttered, “I found you… I found you...”

“Cam…”

“I take it the two of you know each other then?” John spoke up.

Her blue eyes flicked to his, but she did not move from Cameron’s arms, “He’s my best friend. The one I’ve been calling for days.”

“Ah,” he nodded.

“You have?” Cameron’s voice brought her attention back to him.

Summer nodded, “Ever since I realized I was somewhere I didn’t belong…”

He squeezed her again, “You must have called after I left… looking for you.”

“I can’t believe you’ve been looking for me,” she stated softly.

“Of course I have. I’ve been worried. The band has been worried.”

“I’m… okay. John has been taking care of me.”

Cameron’s eyes flicked to the bassist, “Thank you.”

He said nothing, but merely nodded.

“I got us a room… elsewhere. I can’t afford this hotel,” his attention returned to the blonde girl still in his arms. “I have some of your clothes even.”

“Oh thank you,” she grinned. “I cannot stand wearing these clothes that don’t fit.”

He quickly glanced down, instantly noticing her breasts straining against the front of the borrowed shirt, “Um… yeah.”

“John,” she pulled away from Cameron and approached him, “I still want to go out and spend time with you. But would it be all right with you if I went with Cameron and changed into my own clothes?”

“Do what you want, sweetheart,” he spoke softly, quickly glancing at Cameron. “He’s come to rescue you. You ought to be rescued.”

She touched his cheek softly, “Thank you. You have been an honorable savior yourself. I’ll ring your room once I’m ready to go out.”

“No worries. Take your time,” he responded.

With a soft kiss, Summer thanked him once more, promised to return soon, and headed out of the hotel with Cameron. As they walked to his hotel, she told him all about the past few days on tour with Fleetwood Mac. Cameron’s smile at her escapades was tempered, as he knew the reason she was even with the other band, but he was glad they treated her well.

Back in his hotel, Summer disappeared into the bathroom with the clothing Audrey sent with him. Cameron sat on the edge of the double bed, his mind worrying over two things: telling her the truth and where they would sleep that night as they should not share the bed. When she exited the bathroom, once more wearing a dress that actually fit the curves of her body perfectly, he momentarily forgot everything, until she cleared her throat.

“Summer,” he stated evenly, “sweetheart…”

“What? What is it? Is Jimmy okay?” she quickly asked, sitting next to him.

“He’s just worried about you.”

“Did you tell him you were coming to get me?”

“No…”

“Why not?”

“I was not sure you would want to go back to them,” he responded truthfully.

Her eyebrows arched, “Why wouldn’t I?”

“Summer… there’s no easy way to say this, so I’ll just say it: you were traded to Fleetwood Mac for a case of cheap beer and fifty dollars,” he blurted out.

Her eyes widened, “What?”

“Apparently sometimes bands will… trade groupies they’re either tired of or don’t want around for whatever reason. And… that’s what happened to you. That’s how you ended up with Fleetwood Mac.”

She felt silent for a long moment, turning his words over in her mind, “I was traded? Like a groupie?”

He nodded cautiously, “To be honest, I don’t think the band had anything to do with it, because they’ve all been worried about you but –”

“Anything that happens to the band or whatever has to be approved by Jimmy, Cameron. You know that. He knew.”

Cameron sighed, “Summer…”

“Traded… like a whore…” a single tear rolled down her cheek.

His arms quickly circled her, “Sweetheart, I’m sure it’s not what we think it is. Maybe… maybe this is Cole’s doing or something.”

“I suddenly… don’t feel like going out. I’m going to call John and let him know…”

Saying nothing, Cameron watched her mechanically pick up the phone and call the bassist. She softly explained that she had no desire to go out and why. Whatever the bassist said made her cry more and that made Cameron more upset himself. He got to his feet and approached her. The moment she hung up the phone, he embraced her.

“Cam…”

“Shhhh,” he kissed her forehead. “I’m here now. And I’m never letting you go.”