This Masterpiece Will Fall Apart

One thing I loved most about touring was the loyal fans that faced the blistering cold weather for us. I always wanted to buy blankets and hot chocolate for all of them, but I didn't exactly have that much money. Nova Scotia had to be one of the coldest places I had ever played. It wasn't the coldest, but it was up there. It was starting to warm up, since It was now the beginning of March. I wasn't feeling that great the night of the Halifax show, but I was still well enough to perform. Zack had put on the band twitter to “wear something comfortable” and to bring “pillows and such” if you were going to the Halifax show. Saving Nightlife was going to do a regular set, but we had a completely different idea in mind. We were going to rock our set in PJ's and sweatpants. Why? Because we could.

I was standing outside talking to some people before Jason called me inside. There were a few people that had been waiting since 7 in the morning, and it wasn't exactly the warmest outside. I was actually surprised to see so many people in pyjamas and sweatpants. But then again, teen girls tended to listen to Zack. The amount of male fans that we had was actually surprising as well. Most of them were in their late teens, but I didn't mind. I had to pull Zack along with me, who was also outside. He huddled with a group of girls. When I pulled him away, he said to me, “But I was keeping them warm!” I only rolled my eyes at him and laughed. We both went to our “green room” of sorts and hung out there while Saving Nightlife went on stage.

When it was our time to go on stage, everyone was cheering, but a little surprised to not see our regular set up. I walked over to my microphone and said hi. “So, I guess you're wondering why we only have some acoustic guitars up here? Well, truth is, I'm not feeling well right now, and I didn't want to cancel a show, so we're just going to do an acoustic set for you.” I said, taking a sip of water. “You can hate us if you want, but I don't think the security guys and the front row would be happy with me if I threw up on them.” I shrugged my shoulders and set my bottle down on the stage.

“So this is why we wanted you to wear something comfortable. Sit down! Get cozy, get intimate. But not too intimate. Save that for later,” Zack winked. I rolled my eyes at him again. “Hey, Josline, don't your eyes ever get tired of rolling at me?”

“Every day,” I smiled. “So let's get this show started, huh?” the crowd cheered and Zack started playing a song. We were starting off with a cover of Jason Derulo's “In My Head”. Again, just because we could.

We played a few more songs before Zack spoke to the crowd. “How are you all doing?” Zack smiled. Everyone cheered. “I have to say, this is honestly the strangest show I have ever played. I mean, everyone's just sitting down, just having a good time. I like it!” Zack smiled. “I also like how this is a low stage, so the people in the front don't break their necks from looking up at us. Unfortunately, the security team are giants.” One of security guys looked back at Zack and smiled, shaking his head. “Are you security guys at least having fun?” The two security guys that were there gave him a thumbs up. Zack laughed and shook his head. “We always get the best security teams.”

“Yes, yes, we have an amazing crew. Everyone in this room is amazing!” Marque exclaimed. “Everyone that's not in this room is awesome to. Except for that one guy. No one likes him.” Marque said whilst tuning his acoustic bass. I tilted my head and cocked an eyebrow at him. He caught my glance and looked away from me awkwardly. “Uh...nevermind.” I chuckled and nodded to Zack to start another song.

Hello sweetheart
I admit we need a little work.
It’s not fair to throw this all away
This scares me
I don’t want to end this way.
And I’m not ready to be this strong
All I know is that I need you.
And I’m afraid of losing the better part of me.

Can we just work this out?
It’s been a long time, and I’ve been gone.
Let’s just carry on, carry on.
I don’t want to face this life without you.

Dear love of mine
I know we need each other.
This has been a long night
But all I know is that I need to be near you
And I’m afraid of losing all I am.

The best nights are when we’re not fighting
We both need room to grow.
Just call me dear
We need to work this out
How could it all slip away?
Can we just carry on like we did before?

After we had ended that song, I smiled at everyone. “Thank you so much guys! I hope you had fun at this weird little show of ours. We have one more cover for you, and then we'll hang out for a little while!” We decided to end the show with a cover of Time After Time. It was a little over-done, but it was still fun to play. After that, we went back stage and packed up a little before a few of us went to the merch table. I was so glad that I had a short signature (It was more of a scribble than anything), because my hand cramped up something fierce at one point. Nearing the 11 o'clock mark, people were starting to file out (our shows always went late, for some unexplained reason). I saw Zack across the room. He had secluded himself with another person, a dark-haired girl. They appeared to be in a deep conversation. I wandered casually over to them, and I noticed Zack had the biggest smile on his face. He looked up at me and smiled.

“Oh, Josline, this is Bianca. She's actually from Vancouver!” Zack chirped. I smiled and shook Bianca's hand. Bianca had a lovely olive skin tone“Oh! Check this out! Bianca has a prosthetic arm!” Zack said.

“Zack, maybe she's not comfortable showing complete stranger that.” I said. Bianca only smiled at me.

“It's not a problem. I'm not embarrassed about it.” Bianca rolled up her sleeve and showed me. From the elbow down, there was a prosthetic arm, which had been signed by almost everyone in ED, and everyone in SN.

“How...how did you...” I didn't know how to ask her my question.

“How did I lose my arm?” she said it for me. I nodded. “When I was about 7, I had gangrene right around my elbow. It's not a really tragic story or anything. It's just a “it-happened” sort of thing.” Bianca shrugged, rolling her sleeve down.

“At least she wasn't an idiot and drove drunk,” Zack said, frowning at his own misfortune. Bianca placed a sympathetic hand on his shoulder. I got a good look at the two of them. They honestly looked cute together. Zack's face was just lit up.

“But, I do honestly need to get going. My aunt is expecting me back before 12.” Bianca chuckled lightly.

“Well, here, let me give you my number. I'll text you when I'm back in Vancouver, okay?” Zack smiled. Bianca smiled back and handed him her phone. Zack typed in his number, and then Bianca put her number in his phone. I also signed her arm before she had said goodbye. Zack had a permanent grin etched on his face as Bianca left the building. I nudged him lightly in the side.

“Giving her your number? I think someone has a little crush!” I squealed at him. Zack rolled his eyes at me.

“Oh, please Josline. You remember what Airin said. Wham-bam-thank-you-ma'am.” Zack folded his arms over his chest. “Besides, Bianca is different.”

“Is this a good different, or a bad different?” I asked.

Zack just turned his face away from me,his face going bright pink. “I'm too old for crushes anyways.”

“Zack, you're 19. My mom is in her mid-forties, and she still has a crush on Harrison Ford!” I exclaimed.

“Well...you...shut up.” Zack huffed and walked away from me. I shook my head and smiled at him. I noticed that Zack seemed to walk with a bounce in his step. And I don't think it was because of his prosthetic leg.