The Matchmaker of Decaydance

“Hey, Gabe, look. Scott sent us our bit in the article and the pictures.”

Gabe leaned over my shoulder to get a better look at the laptop’s screen and I started to read it aloud.

Everyone knows that Warped Tour is one of the best parts of the summer, and some people make the best of it. Gabe Saporta [Cobra Starship] and Alana Wentz (yes, Pete’s sister) are two of those people, going along with the flow by giving an impromptu performance of Cobra Starship’s ‘Hollaback Boy’ on top of their bus at the Shakopee, MN stop. The workers in the merch booth were assigned to spread the word. When asked why they were dancing around on top of the bus in matching outfits, Gabe answered, “Because we felt like it. There’s a time and a place for this sort of thing, and here is exactly it.”

Below the mini-article were a few pictures of Gabe and me. The first was while we were completely in each others faces like we were pissed off, maybe at the beginning of the song. Beneath that one was an action shot - Gabe and I were suspended in midair. Gabe’s necklace was flying off his chest and his hat was almost falling off his head. I looked like I was ready to fly. The last one, though was the best. Gabe and I were standing side by side, our sunglasses off and our hands up in the air. The expressions on our faces absolutely perfect - like there was no place in the world we’d rather be.

P.S. Go ahead and save the pics. They’re totally facebookable.

“I dibs the one of us in the air!” Gabe shouted, running into the bathroom.

“Fine, I’ll take the last one.” I saved the pictures to the laptop, glancing at the clock as I did so. “You guys have an hour until showtime,” I called to everyone on the bus.

“I know,” Vicky said, coming to sit next to me at the table. ”They just take for ever getting ready.”

“Leave it to those boys to take longer than girls to get ready,” I scoffed. “It’s like the TAI bus.”

“Are they like that too?”

I nodded. “William is maybe the worst. Chislett and Mike are probably the best about that.”

She chuckled a little. “I could see that.”

Gabe came out of the bathroom, running his fingers thorough his perfectly messy hair, a devious smirk on his face. I felt a rush of heat in my stomach. No matter how often I saw the man, I never got tired of his sexiness.

“Alana, you have to come watch us from the side today.”

“As if I don’t every day?”

“Just be ready today.”

“For what? Are you planning on breaking everyone’s strings at once? Because that would just be mean.”

“No, I know it would. And a little expensive.”

“So be ready for what?”

“You’ll see.” He slipped a pair of hot pink sunglasses on and struck a pose, reminding me vaguely of Horatio from CSI: Miami.

“Let’s go, boys.” He sauntered off the bus, not waiting for anyone to follow his command.

“Scusi, ma siamo donne,” I grumbled in Italian.

“Italian too?” Ryland asked, his mouth full of bagel.

“Yup. I was going to study Arabic, but I didn’t have enough time.”

“Gabe is too dumb for you, I swear,” Nate said as he straightened his skinny tie. “What’s that mean?”

“Excuse me, but we’re women.”

“You sure? Cause I always though Gabe was one of those guys that was just a little crooked,” Ryland said.

“Oh, that’s it!“ I jumped up from the bench at the table and chased him off of the bus.

~

“Hey, love.”

“Ah!” I jumped. “What is with you scaring me today, William?”

“I felt like it.”

“What are you doing over here?”

“They’re doing Snakes on a Plane. I’m coming to sing.”

“Oh, yay!”

“Didn’t Gabe tell you? You’re doing the girl’s part.”

I sighed. No, Gabe hadn’t told me. Of course.

“All right, guys,” Gabe called into the mic after they finished Guilty Pleasure. “This one’s off our first record, and we kind of lent it to this movie. I think you’ve heard of it, it’s called ‘Snakes on a Plane?”

At this, the entire crowd, packed tight against the security fence, started screaming even more than they already were.

“So I’ve got two of my people here to help me out with this -”

“See? Told you,” William said.

“Come on, guys,” Gabe called. “You too, Alana.”

I followed William onto the stage, going straight over to Gabe.

“You’re going to pay.”

“You’ll do it, right?”

“Yeah, sure. But you’re still going to pay,” I repeated.

Gabe grinned and signaled the band, who started up the song. I didn’t have that many lines, but I helped William cover Travie’s part because William Beckett is no rapper.

Near the end of the song, I noticed Gabe stand on top of the amp, run his hand down his stomach, and grab the crotch of his jeans. The entire crowd (mostly the girls) went nuts. The call-and-response between Gabe and me was about two measures away, so I decided to go see how he was doing.

I hopped up on the amp beside him, unzipping my sweater and throwing it out to the audience. I turned to Gabe and hooked a finger of my free hand in his belt loop right as my line came.

“Oh, I’m ready for it!”

Gabe’s hand fell to the small of my back and he pulled me as close as physically possible. “Come on, bring it!”

While I repeated my first line, I did a full body roll, grinding myself against Gabe. His mouth fell open and he groaned right into the mic. A second later, he pulled me in for an intense kiss. The audience’s screams immediately grew louder. William, predicting this somewhat, covered Gabe’s next line and ended the song.

“Now everyone’s gonna know we’re together,” Gabe said breathlessly in my ear.

“Good,” I said. “Now get me back onto the bus. I think you owe me one.”