Four Years

Rachel's POV

Okay, he really had some fucking balls posting that shit. Honestly, what kind of a person did that? Oh, yeah, a fucking jealous bastard.

I climbed over the middle bench and got out of the van, tugging on the back of Brendon's shirt, holding him back.

"What are you doing? I wanna go drink," He said, looking back at my hand holding the back of his shirt. "Let go of me."

"Have you seen Alex's tweet?" I asked, my voice barely even a whisper. I handed him my phone, already on Alex's twitter.

"Rae, are you coming?" Pete called ahead of us. I nodded and walked over to him, Brendon right behind me on my phone. We walked into the club, the music and the laughter, and the noise just hitting us in the face.

"I'm gonna go get a drink, okay?" I yelled over the loud music. Pete nodded his head and followed Ryland up to the DJ booth. I turned to Brendon, "Did you see it?"

"What the fuck is wrong with him!?" He yelled. I could see the hate in his eyes. It was honestly scaring me. Brendon wasn't someone who hated. Brendon was someone who was happy and upbeat and fun. Where was the ADHD Brendon I saw only minutes ago? Oh, that's right, Alex took him away by posting that. "I'm going to fucking kill him!"

"I don't know! But Pete cannot see that picture tonight! When he gets drunk, he's either really happy and loves everyone, or he gets really jealous. We need to get his phone away and Alex to delete that picture," I explained, scanning the crowd for the faggot that was known as Alex.

I couldn't find him amongst the crowd of sweaty band members and random one night stands. That's all these girls were going to turn out to be. None of them meant anything to these guys. And, the worst part was, they knew it.

I turned to the bar and ordered myself a shot of tequila. Brendon's eyebrows shot up his forehead, surprised a bit, "Really, Rae?"

"When everything goes down, I'm gonna be real glad I'm drunk," I muttered, throwing back the shot. It burned my throat, setting it on fire as it made it's way down. I wanted more. I set the glass down on the bar and ordered another.

Brendon decided to join me. Good. I didn't want to be seen drinking alone like some pathetic fucker.

I downed my second shot, watching as Brendon did his first. He smirked and set the glass down, wanting more. We both took our glasses and did a sort of toast before throwing them back. I could already feel myself getting tipsy. I loved tequila.

I glanced around the club again, looking for Alex while Brendon did another shot.

My eyes landed on someone with messy brown hair. I know, that could've been anyone. But it was what he was wearing that gave him away. The signature flannel shirt and black skinny jeans. Alex.

I saw him dancing with a skanky looking blonde. Figures. Brendon saw him too. He took off, walking over to him. I was quickly after him. Oh, shit. I felt the club spinning. This wasn't gonna end well.

Brendon shooed the skank away. Alex looked pretty pissed that he did that. He even asked, "What the fuck, man?"

Brendon held my phone up, inches away from Alex's face. Wow, he still had my phone? Huh! I could hear him screaming, "What the fuck is this!? Dude, you're fucked up!"

I saw a little smirk creep across Alex's face, "Oh, that? I thought the world needed to know how adorable you two are. Seriously, the new it couple."

"Listen to me, you fucking prick, you delete that picture, or else I will personally break your fucking - "

Alex didn't want to hear anymore of it. He shoved Brendon. I gasped and stumbled over to Brendon, who was now on the floor. He got up, slightly shoving me out of the way. He handed me my hoodie and my phone.

Oh, fuck. Shit was about to go down. I didn't want this happening. Good thing I was drunk? Fuck, no, I wasn't even drunk enough for this shit.

"Come at me, you fucking faggot," Alex spat, handing his drink to Jack. Jack was staring at the two with wide eyes. He didn't like this. He wasn't drunk enough for it either. "Come on, dude, hit me."

Brendon smirked and swung, hitting Alex right in the jaw, knocking him right off his feet. He stumbled back into a few people. They caught him. Dammit.

Of course, Alex wasn't happy Brendon actually hit him. He swung towards Brendon, missing him by a bit. He, unlike Brendon and myself, was drunk. Anyone could tell.

Brendon hit him once again in the face, sending him straight to the ground. No one caught him that time. I ran back over to Brendon and held him back from doing anything else.

"Stop it, stop it, stop it!" I screamed.

Pete came running over to us, staring at Alex as he tried to get off the floor, "What the fuck is going on!?"

"This motherfucker - "

"Your girlfriend is cheating on you!" Alex yelled as soon as he got to his feet. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and showed Pete the picture of Brendon and I hugging.

Pete's eyes instantly flicked from the tiny iPhone screen to me. Hurt was painted all over his face, "What...you guys are...?"

"No! It's not like that!" Brendon yelled, immediately going on the defensive.

"Pete, no, I swear, let's go outside and tal - "

Pete grabbed me by the arm and was now dragging me through the club. People with cameras were outside the club, probably waiting for band members to stumble out of the club drunk so they could plaster it all over internet gossip sites.

He let go of my wrist, slightly shoving me. "Stay the fuck out of my fucking life, you fucking cunt! I don't ever want to see you again. You're a fucking whore!" He yelled angrily before turning and walking right back into A&K.

I felt myself sober up - yeah, I wasn't drunk, but I was buzzed - pretty fucking quick. Pete just broke up with me. Holy. Fuck.

Camera flashes were blinding me. Oh, God. Here came a shitstorm.

"Rachel, Rachel, what caused this outburst?!"

"How long have you been cheating on Pete?!"

"What happened?!"

I gripped my head tightly, wanting everything to stop. I couldn't take it anymore. I dropped to my knees and just started bawling.

I felt someone put a hand on my back. I looked up and saw Jess crouching down beside me.

"Come on, let's get you to the van," She said softly, helping me up.

I nodded and stood, following her closely as she led me back to the van. I kept my head down as I walked. I felt like shit.

"Get the fuck back! She's not answering questions! Dammit, leave her alone!" Jess screamed at the paparazzi.

When we got back in the van, I curled up on the middle bench and started crying again. "I was just fucking hugging Brendon! Alex had to go and fucking ruin everything!" I sobbed, burying my face in my hands.

Jess rubbed my back softly, whispering, "Shhh, baby girl, it's okay. Pete's been drinking. You know he didn't mean it."

"Yes, he fucking did. He fucking meant every word. I fucking hate myself."

"You just said you were just hugging Brendon and Alex blew it out of proportion? What happened?" She asked softly.

I looked up at her, still crying, "I slept with Alex the other night...an-and to-tonight I told him tha-a-t he meant n-n-othing to me. The-then Br-en-endon was there and...he...he...he told me he was prou-d for stick-stick-sticking up for myself and we hu-ugged! Alex took a picture and put it on Twitter! He to-told Pete we-we-we cheated!"

"I'm going to fucking kill him," She growled, getting up and opening the van door. She got out and shut the door behind her. I heart muffled voices out there. The press. The fucking press.

The door opened and someone crawled in. It was Brendon. I sat up and just collapsed in his arms, sobbing into his shoulder.

He rubbed my back just like Jess had been doing, "It's gonna be okay, babe. It's gonna be fine. Jess is going to go get Pete. We can explain what happened. It's gonna be fine."

The door opened once again. And that's when my heart broke even more.

"What the fuck is this? I come back to fucking talk, and you're fucking here in his fucking arms? You're nothing but a fucking whore," Pete spat, slamming the door shut.

"Pete!" I screamed, throwing the van doors open. I chased after him. I grabbed a hold of his arm. "Please, please, please, listen to me!"

"Why would I listen to a fucking whore like you?" He growled, ripping his arm out of my grasp. "You're nothing but a lying skank. How the fuck could you lie and say you loved me?"

"I never fucking lied!" I yelled, feeling the tears streaming down my face faster than I have ever felt. "Never once have I lied! Why would I have gotten your fucking initials on my ring finger if I didn't love you, Pete!"

I noticed Alex standing in the crowd that was around Pete and I. Oh, he was gonna fucking get it. I stormed over to him and punched him in the stomach.

"You listen to me, you little fucking cunt, you had to ruin the only good thing in my life, didn't you? Couldn't have me...I didn't fucking want you, so you run and go fucking spread lies about Brendon and I!" I screamed as he just laid on the ground, holding his stomach. "Why the fuck would you do that?!"

"He what...? He couldn't have you?" Pete asked, staring at me and Alex.

"Can we go to the van?" I asked softly, my voice raspy and scratchy from all the screaming. "Please, Pete."

He nodded and walked back to the van. Brendon was seated on the ground, his back to the wall of the club. He was smoking a cigarette. I could see his hands were shaking. He looked like a mess. I'm sure I looked no better.

"Brendon," I said, waving him over. He came over, but not before stomping his cigarette out. We all got in the back of the van. Brendon and I sat on the back bench while Pete sat on the middle.

"What happened?" Pete asked.

"I...I...Alex kissed me in Philadelphia. Then we slept together the other night. I...I didn't want to. But, I did? I don't know, anymore. But...tonight I told him he never meant a thing to me. And - "

"I was looking for her. She came and told me what happened. I was proud of her, Pete. I hugged her, that's it..."

"That's it?" Pete's soft voice floated through my ears. For a moment, I thought everything was going to be alright. I thought this would all just blow past us and be a distant, distant nightmare that we overcame.

Brendon nodded and so did I, feeling my body begin to shake as I waited for Pete to say something. He didn't say anything for a good five minutes. My body was shaking violently now. Brendon looked over and noticed me shaking. He rested his hand on my knee, knowing how to calm me down just a little bit.

Pete finally let out a sigh, then looked up at us, "I think...I think it's best that you two just...just leave. Go home. Pack your shit up and go."

My body froze. No more shaking. No more breathing. No more feeling. I couldn't think or feel anything. It's like I wasn't even me anymore. I was just some hollow house for bones.

Pete getting out of the van shook me out of my frozen state of shock. I was helplessly as he slowly made his way back into the club, through the back doors so he wouldn't have to face the paparazzi.

I turned to Brendon, breaking down in his arms. The love of my life just walked away from me because of something my ex-boyfriend said. I...I hated Alex. I hated myself even more.

Brendon sighed and slowly peeled me off of him. He climbed over the bench, and then climbed into the front seat. He started the car and drove out of the parking lot. Flashes from cameras consumed the car as we drove away.

I remained in the back seat, curled up into a little ball. "Where are we going?" I muttered, tracing the stitching on the back of the middle bench with my finger. My tears were rolling slowly from my left eye to my right. I was crying, but...I didn't feel like I was. My body was numb.

"To get our stuff off the buses...then...go back to the hotel until we can get a flight out of here, I guess?" He said softly. I could feel the heartbreak in his words. He was heartbroken like me. He said Pete and I were one of his favorite couples. He witnessed my heart being broken. A little piece of his heart broke along with mine.

"Alright," I said, barely even able to hear myself.

We arrived at the venue about twenty minutes later, and Brendon had to flash his pass to the security guard so they'd let us through to get to the buses. I was just there without fully being there. My mind kept replaying what happened over and over and over.

I got on the bus and started throwing my things into my giant suitcase. I cleared my stuff out of the bathroom, shoving all of that into my toiletries bag.

Brendon came back from the back lounge, carrying his two suitcases. He stared at me with heavy, sad eyes. I could read everything he was thinking. He was sorry. He was pissed at Alex. He was upset. He was heartbroken.

"...I'm ready," I sighed, grabbing my big suitcase. I'd have to come back for a second trip to get the other three, but I was ready.

I stepped off the bus with Brendon following closely behind. I stopped as soon as my foot hit the pavement. Brendon slammed into my back, causing me to topple forward onto my large suitcase.

I heard footsteps run towards me. Brendon's bags hit the ground as he rushed to help me up. I looked up once I was on my feet and saw a face I never wanted to see again.

Alex.