The Glass Passenger

“People are starting to talk Rachel,” Jack said as he held out a red blanket for Rachel to grab.

Three and a half weeks had dragged out slowly, but eventually the changing of the leaves and the early setting sun all indicated that the seasons were changing and that the world still carried on turning. October had moved into November and the slow winter chill was becoming more obvious. But there was still no progress was to be seen on Alex.

“People are always talk Jack,” Rachel said slowly as she took hold of the red fleece blanket and spread it out over Alex’s white hospital sheet. She couldn’t stand the white much longer; she needed to bring back some colour into the room.

“But the fans want to know what’s going on, they want to know about Alex and the album and what is going to happen to the spring tours,” Jack felt highly insensitive talking about such business associated things, but he rather Rachel heard it from him than from Buzznet and fan speculation.

“Those things will all happen when Alex wakes up,” Rachel said shortly as she looked at Jack fiercely. “I don’t care what everyone else is saying, as much as the fans love him this is something that we don’t have to shout about. Alex can talk about it when he wakes up.”

The disembodied Alex that was sat on the windowsill sighed. When he woke up. He knew that it was a sentence that Rachel had been repeating in her mind like a mantra every day: when she woke up in the morning, at lunch, at dinner and before she slept. It was as if repeating this would actually bring his revival around.

Alex knew that when he woke up there would be many things he had to do, many people had expectations of him and the thought of having to explain himself filled him with slight dread that made him wish he could avoid all the commotion. But he knew that waking up also involved actually living with Rachel, and that was all he wanted these days.

He noticed that today there were far less people in his room than usual, but still everything that they did had a strong connection to himself. Roxie had dragged Rian to town so they could buy some pot plants and scented candles to make his hospital room friendlier. Matt and Zack on the other hand had gone to a travel agent to book two flights to LA. They had an emergency meeting with their label, they resented having to go but they knew that Alex would understand.

“They’re all living on without me,” Alex said quietly to Annie who had appeared out of nowhere again before sitting down next to him.

“No they’re not, the way they are existing cannot possibly be described as living.”

This again was true; his friends were merely existing and keeping busy so as to avoid having time to examine their situation closely. They had all stopped questioning their actions a long time ago, all they had to do was keep going until Alex was back.

“There’s only two charms left,” Annie said brightly as a means of distracting Alex. But her mention of the charms only caused Alex to plunge even deeper into his dark revelry.

“What happens once I’m finished?” Alex asked gingerly. Not really wanting to hear the answer.

“I don’t know,” Annie said with a small smile on her face, well aware of Alex’s potential reaction to this statement.

“What do you mean you don’t know? You said you knew what would happen.” The emotions that flashed through Alex were a mixture of panic and fear. That was not the answer he had been expecting.

“I lied,” she said with the same smile again and motioned to the bracelet in Alex’s hands. “I want to hear the next story,” Annie demanded as she looked down at the little anchor charm for which she was yet to hear a story.

“Rachel we’re going to be late! Hurry up!”

It was a rare moment that Alex was the one to tell Rachel to hurry up in the bathroom. Usually it was the other way round, but today Alex was bursting with excitement and eagerness to get out of the hotel.

All Time Low, inclusive of Matt and girlfriends, had been ordered down to Los Angeles to take part in a special showcase of their music label Hopeless records. All Time Low had been the shining kings of the label so far and so they were expected to attend also. Alex was looking forward to going to LA. It was such a different atmosphere and he really looked forward to meeting some of the new bands that were to appear on the label.

By the time Rachel came out of the bathroom Alex was pacing impatiently. However once he saw her he dropped the slight attitude and beamed at her. Every time he saw Rachel it took his breath away and he didn’t care how clique it all sounded. She looked fantastic, as always, in a little nude coloured dress and gold heels, but you could put Rachel in a bin bag and she would still look amazing.

Hand in hand they walked out of the hotel and climb into a waiting cab in which Matt, Zack, Rian with Roxie and Jack were already expecting their arrival. Together with their spirits high they drove to the port of Los Angeles. The label had rented a fancy boat on which the event was going to take place; they had even built a small stage so that some of the bands could play. All Time Low were expected to play at least three songs before handing over to the newly signed band.

Rachel was thrilled about the prospect of a party on a boat. As a young girl she had often gone boating with her father who was an avid fisherman. She loved the water and if she could she would spend her whole life out in the sea with her loved ones to keep her company.

She was about to share this thought with Alex but it the minute they set foot on the boat they were surrounded by well wishers and label executives, all clamouring for a band member’s attention. Roxie and Rachel were put on one side and both of them, knowing the drill very well, smiled at each other and walked into the designated dining room where the bar was at.

The girls got their drinks and turned around looking for their other halves, but they were still surrounded by a sea of people who were congratulating them for So Wrong It’s Right having a TRL debut. Rachel and Roxie smiled at each other again, slightly unsure of how to feel. Proud was one alternative, but the other was fear. They felt slightly fearful of what the future could hold now that their boys were so well known. Being well known added up to them being more in demand and this resulted in them being home less.

However tonight was not the night to be thinking about that fact, so the girls dutifully pushed the menacing thought out of their heads.

It was only then that they realized that another girl was stood near them. She had blonde hair and was stood slightly precariously in new shoes, which looked to be rather painfully tall. She had watched the arrival of All Time Low with a riveted expression and her eyes kept flickering to a group of boys that were setting up instruments on the makeshift stage.

“You look a little overwhelmed,” Rachel said to the girl gently.

The girl started up not having realized Rachel was talking to her. She then let out a nervous laugh and pushed a bright blonde strand behind her ear.

“Yeah it’s just you know, the whole attention their getting,” she said waving her hand at the crowd that were glued to All Time Low. “It scares me a little for what might happen to my boyfriend and his band.”

Roxie who had been surveying her drink looked up with interest written all across her face, a sentiment that was mirrored on Rachel.

“How so?” Roxie asked turning towards the girl.

“They’ve just been signed to the same label and I guess I’m just a bit worried that it’ll go to their heads.”

Comprehension dawned on Rachel’s face, she knew who the girl was talking about. From then on the conversation evolved further. Roxie and Rachel found out that the very pretty young girl was called Laura and that her boyfriend, whom she had been dating for almost a year, was in a band called Anarbor that had only just been signed to the same label as All Time Low. Considering that the band were still largely all in High School this was an incredibly feat. But both Roxie and Rachel could sympathise with Laura and her fears for the level headedness of the band, and they did their best to still her anxieties.

Whilst Roxie had been stressing the importance of keeping the boyfriend level headed by doing housework, Laura’s boyfriend appeared at her side and pressed a gentle kiss on her temple.

Rachel and Roxie beamed up at him, in total approval of Laura’s choice of boyfriend. Seeing the two of them interact left no doubt in the two girls that Laura and Slade would stay very much grounded, and happily so.

Slade then dragged Laura away from the girls, as she was his lucky charm when they had to perform, but before Laura disappeared completely the two girls gave her their numbers so she could call them any time there were problems.

In the mean time Rian and Alex had managed to shake off the majority of people who were still demanding their attention, and so it came that the boys appeared at the bar looking already slightly exhausted.

“That’s what happens when you crack MTV,” Rachel said jokingly as she took Alex’s hand and kept a tight hold. He only smiled down at her and kissed her lightly before letting her lean into him to watch Anarbor walk on stage armed with their instruments.

They watched the energetic and thrilling set of Anarbor from the safety of the bar. Roxie and Rachel spotted Laura stood at the edge of the stage and saw Slade beaming down at her, causing Roxie and Rachel to ‘aw’ in unison.

At the end of the set Alex suddenly yanked on Rachel’s hand and pulled her outside onto the deck, away from all the noise and heat of the dining room in which the event had been playing out.

“What are you doing?” Rachel asked giggly as Alex searched around the deck frantically.

“We’re going to steal a boat,” he simply said as he strode towards a lifeboat at the rear end of the ship, leaving Rachel standing there with her drink still in hand, a baffled expression on her face.

After a couple of moments of being absolutely stationary Rachel put her glass down on the wooden deck and ran, as best as she could in her heels, towards Alex who was already examining one of the lifeboats. He had pulled the plastic cover off and had begun to engage the ropes. Rachel watched him with one of her eyebrows raised, but he just shot her his trademark smirk that only ever appeared in situations where he was being reckless. This was one such situation.

“Come on, climb in,” he said to her once he figured out how he would lower them down to the water.

She looked at him suspiciously and was about to argue with him, but she saw that he was going to do this with or without her. So humouring him she slipped out of her heels leaving them on the deck, and with as much grace as she could muster in her short dress she climb into the boat holding onto Alex for support.

Alex managed to climb into the boat quicker than her as he was dressed slightly more accordingly, and after five minutes of loud squeaking, which surprisingly no one heard, the boat finally reached the water with a soft thump. Upon which Alex produce two large oars from the bottom of the boat.

“This is crazy, we’re going to get into so much trouble,” Rachel said laughing but hiding her face in her hands.

She looked at her boyfriend through splayed fingers and saw that he was simply smiling. Once they were a couple of meters away from the boat on which the label party was, Alex pulled the oars back into the boat and scooted forwards on the wooden seat.

“So tell me about the scared face.”

Rachel shot Alex a sharp glance that was also laced with confusion. But she didn’t even have to bother denying it. Alex knew her better than anyone else and he could read her facial expressions perfectly, not matter how hard she tried to disguise them Alex would always be able to read her true feelings.

She looked down at her hands that were folded in her lap and bit her lip. Words didn’t come as easily to her as they did to Alex. It was something she was always jealous of; he was always capable of being able to voice his thoughts clearly. She still had so much to learn from him.

“I’m just scared that one day you’re going to be so big and in demand that I won’t get to see you as much and be with you. I don’t think I could do that.”

Now it was Alex’s turn to be scared. It was the last sentence that shocked him. It sounded like a premonition of her potentially leaving if the distance became too great for her to handle. In a way he could understand that she needed someone who would always be there for her, but he needed a reason to come home.

Swallowing his pride and anxieties he leaned over and grabbed her hands securely in his own, and looked her dead in the eyes.

“No matter how big the band gets or how many tours we go on for whatever length of time, I will always come back home and I will always be with you. Always.”

She couldn’t help but let a tear escape from her eye, which Alex then gently brushed away with his thumb, his motion causing the boat to rock slightly. He then leaned forward even more to catch Rachel’s lips with his own but this movement was too much for the small lifeboat to handle and it wobbled precariously. Alex decided to ignore the warning and pulled Rachel closer. This was the final straw for the boat and it toppled over into the water, the difference in temperature casing them both to cry out.

“You are so paying for the dry cleaning,” Rachel said with a laugh as she pointed at her rather expensive dress, before she began to tread water.

Alex stuck his tongue out at her and swam towards her so he was treading water directly in front of her. His cold hands reached to cup her face and he looked at her with such intensity that Rachel almost couldn’t take it. He kissed her in the way that only a desperate man in love could do.

“You don’t have to be scared, I’m always here. I’m not going anywhere.”