Love's Not A Competition

Day 16: October 22nd, 2008 -Seattle, WA

"How do I look? Does my hair look okay?!" I frantically turned to Mike while pacing The Academy Is...'s bus.

"Looks fine." He said plainly.

"Are you sure? Jack's gonna be here any minute!"

"Angie, calm down!" He stood up and brushed my bangs to the side keeping a smile as he looked in to my eyes. "You look beautiful."

I got chills. Truthfully, I didn't understand why someone like Jack liked someone like me. There was something special about him, something that popped out to everyone that made him so wanted. But, as a girl, vanity is more of an issue. My hair wasn't an exotic color, my eyes didn't pop with any certain color. I was skinny, but not as skinny as I could've been. There was zero curve to my body...The only thing I could figure out on Jack's behalf was that I had boobs. I had seen his previous girlfriend, Jenna and had heard on and on about his infatuation with Hayden Panettiere (or Panettiere-y as he called her), but me plus him didn't seem to add up. It wasn't like I found myself to be ugly, but a plain source of pretty. Mike however, didn't seem to have as high standards as Jack did. It wasn't like he wanted any old thing off the street, but he wasn't aiming for a Hayden Panettiere or Megan Fox either. He was easier to read in that sense.

"Do you think he'll agree? Or do I just look nice to you?"

"You look nice every day. Today you look beautiful. If he can stand to look at you every day, I think you're fine." He said jokingly and pulled me in to a bear hug.

"Thanks." I plainly replied, still in the hug. Why can't he just get the memo? "Mike, dear. You're suffocating me." Literally.

"Oh, oops. Sorry Ang."

I attempted to smile as he led me out of the hug. I ran my fingers through my hair, still unsure if I was actually okay with the style or not. This is why I needed Rachel to do it for me. My styling was too suckish. She luckily can cut and style my hair like a hairdresser would for free.

"Relax! You look fine." Mike smirked.

His expression turned into annoyance as we both heard the bus' door slam and watched someone come up the stairs and down the hallway. Mike groaned when a big smile spread across my face.

"JACK!" My arms wrapped around his neck as his found my waist. His lips came crashing in to mine. A smile escaped from his lips mid-kiss. He gave me another quick peck before shooting a glance at a tense Mike.

"Wanna go hang in the van? Spend some alone time?" Jack's fist nudged my side. He was asking in front of Mike on purpose.

"Sure." I smiled. 'See ya. I mouthed as Jack led me away from who seems to be his worst enemy. He playfully yanked me down the stairs and pushed me up against the bus after his arm shot past my head, closing the door. Luckily, the fans were facing the other side of the bus.

"What are you doing?" I giggled.

He ignored me and went on to twirl his finger in my hair before kissing me again.

"Mmm...I missed you." I said.

"I love you." He replied, grabbing my hand. "Okay, let's go to the van! Let's make out! Let's make sweet love!" He pleaded, slurring his words so everything ran together. He crooked his eyebrows in hopes that I didn't hear the last request.

I laughed at his expression. "Oh my God, no! Everyone can see us! There's like thirty fans here already. They're going to follow you to the van."

"And you." He added.

"But mostly you." I replied. "And I don't wanna make out in the venue, too many people will be staring. That's not comfy."

"Yeah...Can we have sex in the venue?"

"How's about we don't and say we did?"

"Works for me!"

I laughed at his reply and kissed his cheek. Still smiling, I looked up at his hair. "Aye! I forgot your hair is all brown now. I knew there was something tricky going on up there..."

"Ahh, yeah. I was tired of looking like a skunk."

"Makes sense." I replied.

Jack smiled at me and went back to twirling my hair. I was convinced to stay there all day.

***

"We'll be at the merch table, come say hi!" The crowd cheered almost out of control as we walked off the stage. I immediately grabbed a towel and began dabbing sweat from my forehead and chest.

"You guys did fucking awesome!" Jack yelled when we got backstage. "I'm gonna go get you some water." He offered. He gave me an assuring glance as I just smiled and nodded back.
After he left, I continued dabbing sweat off of my body.

"Great job tonight." I heard behind me. It was followed with a quick tap on the shoulder.

"Thanks!" I replied as if I could recognize the voice before I turned around. "...Mike..." I added in. "Uhhh...nice hair, by the way." I said, noting the mess upon mess. It was sticking out in more directions than usual.

He chuckled and let out a sigh, "Heh. Thanks...So, uh...where's Jack?" He questioned, looking around the the room.

"Oh, um, he went to go get me a water...Wanna hang for a few minutes?"

"Yeah! Sure. I've got time." He flashed a smile.

I looked over my shoulder, hearing footsteps behind me. Jack gave Mike a dirty look causing him to wipe the smile off his face. "I'll uhh, see you later, Angie." He said before slowly backing up to head outside.

"See ya." I replied. I turned my attention back to Jack and exchanged a smile. He didn't smile back. "What's wrong?"

"What the hell do you mean?! He's like a fucking leech!"

"Yeah, but I don't let him suck my blood." I teased. "He doesn't bother me, you're the only one bothered by him..."

"Well of course I am, Angie. He worships the ground you walk on! That's my job, you're my girlfriend."

We noticed we were being observed by Hey Monday, but kept going. "You know, it's not my fault if everywhere I go, he follows and then tries to touch me every three seconds."

Jack have me a confused look. He opened his mouth with words to fight back, but was once again washed over by a blank stare. "He tried to touch you? What do you mean touch you?! And you didn't tell me? What the FUCK?!" He turned around and stabbed down on the door handle and walked away in a fast pace.

I was able to follow him up one street before losing him. I made frantic calls and left texts for him to answer, hoping that I could find him. Finally, I heard some voices from not too far away.

"What the hell did I tell you about talking to my girlfriend?!" Jack yelled.

"Whoa, what? Does it look like I'm really thinking about your girlfriend right now? I'm having a smoke."

"Then why were you in there talking to her RIGHT AFTER I went out of sight?"

"It's called being a friend. What? She can't have any of those now? I forgot you own her."

Mike's smartass reply made Jack talk louder.

"No, I don't own her. But she is MY girlfriend, and I'm protecting her. We don't need you!"

"Just because you want to protect her, doesn't mean you have to own her. And it's up to her if she wants me to hit on her or not. So far, I haven't had a problem with that." He paused, I suppose to take another drag on his cigarette. "She's pretty, she's sweet, she's fun. You're a dick, a pretty boy, and the most pathetic excuse for a boyfriend I've ever seen. You don't even deserve her. Look at you! You're wearing a shirt with your name on it! Angie doesn't parade around like that. She's not obsessed with herself."

I knew that immediately hurt Jack. His new clothing line was basically his child. He had decided to use that one shirt and to promote to everyone. He wasn't doing it because he wanted himself to gain exposure.

I turned the corner behind Carolina Liar's bus and saw Jack's posture straighten and tower over Mike, ready to launch his body towards him until Sisky stepped in. "Whoa, stay back dude." He warned.

Sisky was right. Even though Mike was shorter than Jack, the wise thing to do was to stay away. Mike would have a fight in the bag. Jack was the only one who believed this was going to work out for him.

"JACK!" I yelled and began running over to him. "Jack, come on." I started to pull his sleeve on his sweatshirt towards me. "C'mon, it's not worth it." He finally looked away from Mike and loosened up. I tugged on his sleeve one more time and he followed.