Just Another Reason I Could Never Forget You.

"Are you going to tell me what's going on now, Hols?" It had been an hour since I had broken down on John. He was due to go on in two hours and neither of us had moved since I started crying, except for when John pulled down a blanket for me when I'd started shaking. I never was one for the cold. I let out a dry laugh - for someone of John's intelligence, he was so stupid.
"I'm Jasey Rae from Baltimore; what do you think is going on?" It was so painfully obvious; he was supposed to have figured this from the very start. "Oh, yeah, and my best friend's coming out in two days!"
"You mean you and Alex?" John asked. I nodded.
"And he fucked me over royally. God damn it, John; I fell in love with him and he hurt me, and I ran so far, and I haven't spoken to my old friends since. And I can't lie to Maria; it's hard enough lying to Jack."
"Tell me everything, Holly. Explain it all."
And I did. I told him every little detail. From how I was before Alex, to how I was with him and all the texts he sent when I left. I even showed them to him. It felt so good letting it all out, telling someone new what had happened and finally actually talking about the end; about leaving everyone I loved behind and starting again. John had now officially become my new Jack - he now knew everything, and I knew I could trust him more than anyone else. It was almost six by the time I had finished, and I was so far behind on my work it was horrendous.
"We're going to have to finish this later, John," I sighed. "I have work to do. Promise you'll still let me talk about it after the show?"
"Promise, Holly. And I won't tell the guys a thing. We'll figure something out," he told me. I grinned, hugging him tightly before running off to finish sorting everything out before the doors opened and I was swarmed by teenage girls.
"Stella!" Jack's voiced screamed as I walked into the venue through the back doors. The one bad thing about there being fans outside was I couldn't go in through the front, having to go by the backstage area to get to my little segment of the merch area.
"Hey, Jack," I said, forcing a smile as I turned to face him.
"Where'd you go? Alex has been whining that we're boring since you left," he pouted.
"I told you, I went to see John. We had some shit to talk about," I shrugged. "But I got to go finish sorting merch. I'll see you later." I waved him off and carried on my way. It was going to be difficult avoiding Jack once Maria got here, and even more difficult avoiding Alex. I couldn't be near them for the four days she and Kara were here. Maria was the only person who knew me better than Jack did, she'd known me even longer and there was no way in hell she wouldn't recognise me.
"So, there's a pretty brunette all alone at a merch table, trying to pack things away. What's a guy to do?" Alex's voice asked from behind me after the show. Had the entire venue not now smelt like alcohol and sweat, I probably would have been able to smell him coming. He was drenched in sweat, hair sticking to his head and a silly grin on his face. I was almost done by now, thankfully, only having another box to pack away into the van before I could head back to the bus and finish talking things over with John Ohh.
"Alex, I don't really have the time right now. I need to head back to John," I sighed.
"Are you and John like... a thing?" He frowned.
"Oh, God no!" I said quickly. "Me and John Ohh? Never. We've just got a couple of things we need to sort out. Best friends help work out each others problems." I grinned.
"Do you know what else solves problems? Alcohol. Do you know where there's going to be alcohol tonight? All Time Low's bus. We're throwing a big party before the girl's get here and Jack and Rian become old men," he laughed.
"I can't. Alcohol's only temporary, and I really want to sort this out as soon as possible." He pouted at me, putting on puppy dog eyes as well.
"But Stella, me and Jack missed you and you look like you need some fun. Please?"
"But problems..." I said, half-heartedly, which Alex picked up on, making him grin all the wider.
"Come on, yours boys are invited and you only have to stay an hour or so if you get bored!"
"Fine, okay, I'll go for an hour!"
"Yes! I win!" He was still grinning, and I couldn't help but laugh. He may be the cause of my problems right now, but I still couldn't pull myself away from him. I was eighteen all over again.
"Oh shut up and carry the last box for me," I laughed. "So what time's this party of yours starting then?" I asked, walking beside him on the way back to the bus.
"Well, Jack and the boys have started already, so everyone should be starting to show up any second now," Alex grinned, pushing the box into the back of the van.
"I'll be over in like ten minutes. I need to get changed and grab my boys. That okay?"
"Absolutely fantastic. I'll see you then, hopefully less sweaty," he grinned, closing the van and waving as we went our separate ways.
"John, we're in trouble again!" I faux-shrieked as I jumped onto the bus.
"Oh, sweet lord, she met a boy," Pat groaned, hitting his head lightly on the table in front of him.
"Ha-ha, Kirch, so funny. I guess you won't want a party tonight then," I stated.
"Party?! Where?!"
"All Time Low's bus," I grinned. "Alex just invited me." John sent me a look that I ignored for the sake of keeping my past from the other boy's. "John, bunks, talk!" The other four boys laughed as I grabbed John's arm and dragged him into the bunk area. "I told you we were in trouble again."
"Why the Hell do you agree to these things, Holly?" He sighed, rubbing his temples.
"Because he was so cute. He was like practically begging me to go; I couldn't carry on saying no..."
"You're going to be the death of yourself, I swear to God."
“Yes, but the best part of this is the fact that we now have a party so I can forget all my worries before they eat me alive.” John frowned, forehead crumpling at my words. He was quite obviously not happy with my decisions. “We’ll carry on talking tomorrow, sort it all out properly, but right now I just need to forget.”
“Hols, you haven’t been drunk enough to forget in the whole time I’ve known you; this isn’t right.” He was right – I’d barely drunk alcohol in two years. I’d spent most of the summer after I left refusing alcohol so I didn’t do anything stupid with my phone, such as calling Alex and telling him how much I missed him. After that the old feeling I had loved became less fun and less common. I started going to parties again after I’d met John and Jared in Walmart, but I hadn’t gotten completely drunk since I had been with Alex, and it seemed he and the boys were the ones that put me on that path.
“I know, but there’s a first time for everything, right?” I grinned. “Just stick with me tonight? I used to have Marissa to help me stay away from boys, but this time she’s not here.”
“I can try, but I have no promises. You know I’ll end up drinking too, and we both know how I get when I get drunk,” he laughed. I smiled softly, nodding. “Come on, then. We might as well get over to their bus before everything’s gone.”