If Not For You I Know I'd Tear This Place To The Ground.

Two weeks had passed since Alex had talked with Riley and he found that he was more at peace with things. He was far from ready to talk to Savannah again but he was happier, and his friends had noticed that. He went out more and more with them now, he didn’t lock himself away in his room like he had been doing, and the best part, a sure sign that he was almost back to normal was the fact that he was always singing silly or random songs around the bus, backstage, or even onstage. Today was no exception.

“It doesn't matter if you love him, or capital H-I-M, just put your paws up, 'cause you were born this way, baby.”

“ALEEEEEEEEEEEX! If you sing that song again so help me god I’m going to smash my guitar over your head. And that’s a promise.” Jack screamed at Alex from somewhere in the back.

“My mama told me when I was young, we were all born super stars –“

“Graaahhh!” With a shout that would have done a warrior proud, Jack jumped onto Alex, cutting him off mid-verse. “I hate you, you know that?”

Alex pouted. “You’re breaking my heart, Barakat. And a heart is a very difficult thing to fix.”

Jack shook his head. “You’re an idiot, Lex. Just quit with the Gaga imitation and we’ll all stay friends, got it?” Jack thought for a moment. “Hey … actually, there’s something me and the guys have been meaning to ask you.”

Alex looked at him. “And what’s that?”

“Well … that song you wrote … you know … about Savannah? Um … are you actually planning on using it? Like, are we really going to make it a song for the band? We are all in love with the song; we think it can go far. If you think so too … we’d like to start practicing it and maybe, you know, get some studio time in and record it?”

Alex thought about it for a moment. He hadn’t told his friends, but he’d actually already been practicing his parts of the song and he really did agree with Jack, it was going to be a good one. It was one of his favorite songs that he’d written in a long time.

“You know … I think that’s a good idea.”

Jack smiled. He was relieved he hadn’t upset his friend by mentioning her name. Maybe Alex was going to be okay, after all.

Later that night

“Are you SURE we should be sending her this? I mean … it might make her contact Alex, you know? And he seems to be getting over her. I don’t know what happened the night of the concert but it seems to be for the best.”

Zack shot Jack a look. “Quit your babbling, Barakat. What we’re going to do is make SURE she doesn’t contact Alex again. The song is so sad; do you really think she’s not going to get the underlying message? That it’s all in her dreams? That Alex won’t take her back?”

Jack still didn’t look placated. “I don’t know about this, you guys. Alex never said that he wrote this song because he hates her or because he thinks she’s stupidly hanging onto a dream. In fact, I kind of got the impression that he wrote the song ABOUT their relationship. You know … how it wasn’t perfect but it was worth fighting for and that he’d take what he could get because even reality has dreamlike qualities?”

Zack laughed outright at this. “You need to get laid, buddy. “Reality has dreamlike qualities?” Even Gaskarth isn’t that sappy and he’s PAID to say those kinds of things.”

Jack decided it was better to just shut up.

Zack clicked a few buttons on the computer and the page of lyrics opened before him. “I think I’m going to send her the acoustic tabs, too, so she can see exactly how heartbreaking this song will sound. All the girls are going to feel so bad for Alex, that he’ll replace her within a night.”

Zack kept hitting files, looking for Savannah’s e-mail address. When he finally located it, he smiled. “Now, for the message to go with it.”

Jack sighed and didn’t even bother looking away. When it all came down to it and Alex found out everything that had happened since the day he was treated for stab wounds, he’d hate them all. What did it matter if he was a part of this or not.

In the end, the message to Savannah looked like this:

Baby, don't yell, You're tearing a hole right through the walls of everything we used to know, I'm building a place, something amazing, Just for the sake of saving us, From under the sun, Two plastic hearts with nowhere to run, We're rolling the dice on whatever's left, 'cause God only knows that we could use the rest...

Me and you, living under a paper moon, Cause real life just isn't right; lets fabricate... Me and you, living under a paper moon, this real life just isn't right let's get away— let's fabricate.

Baby, don't fret, At least we're alive with just enough breath to truly despise the hills in the carpet, knots in the ties that bind us so tightly to our waking lives, I'll build up a house, I'll build up an army Of cellophane soldiers— cheap origami, To take back a piece or whatever's left Of that little box that beats in your chest

Me and you, living under a paper moon, Cause real life just isn't right; lets fabricate... Me and you, living under a paper moon, this real life just isn't right let's get away— let's fabricate.

I'm building a place, something amazing just for the sake of saving us, And whatever's left of that little box that beats in your chest

Me and you, living under a paper moon, Cause real life just isn't right; lets fabricate... Me and you, living under a paper moon, this real life just isn't right let's get away—

this real life just isn't right, let's fabricate...

Hey, Savannah! Remember us? Zack, Jack, and Rian, your once upon a time friends? What, you don’t have time for us anymore? That’s pretty sad. I guess it was only Alex you liked all along. Shame. We could have had some fun. Anyway, Alex wrote a new song a little while ago and we wanted your opinion on it. I mean, you may not be a part of ATL in any way anymore but you’re still a fan (I hope) and your opinion matters. It’s called paper moon, it’s about you, and it goes a lot like those lyrics up top. ENJOY!”