All for You

“Andy!” I heard Alex call from the back longue. I sighed and got out of my bunk to see what my brother wanted.

I opened the door with much force and began to speak. “This better be good because I was getting to the good part in that fucking book.”

“It is,” he reassured me as I sat down. “I just have this song almost done and I need a few more lines to finish it off. It’s looking really good, and I know you’ll know what to do.”

“Well, play me it then, boy!” I replied with a smile, happy to help out with the lyrics any time, and any way I could. Despite my juvenile ways, I really did like music – especially Alex’s.

Alex picked up his brown acoustic and began beating away a tune that I liked from the beginning. He told me it was layered as he played the melody a few more times before drifting into the lyrics. “You left me, police tape, chalk line, tequila shots in the dark scene of the crime.”

“Stop,” I demanded as I took his right hand off the guitar. He gave me a strange look before I continued. “It starts off way too sudden. You need something beforehand, but continue on.”

“You’re quite bossy, aren’t you?” he questioned with a smirk.

“You’ve known that for a long time, don’t play dumb with me now,” I warned jokingly as he continued on with the song.

The rest of it flowed perfectly. It felt as if I was almost inside of a story itself, like I was reading pages in a book about two main characters. One, a controlling girl with mixed emotions on the boy; who wanted her anyway he could. I loved it, and I couldn’t wait to help him piece the character’s story completely together.

“I love it, Alex!” I noted happily. “Let’s just find a beginning and fix up a few things.”

As I looked through the sloppy lyrics in my brother’s notebook, I made minor changes to words and placements before trying to come up with a true beginning to the song. “I do like the lines you used as the beginning; it just doesn’t fit as a beginning.”

“No, I get that,” he responded intently as he grazed his chin with his fingers, intent on finding something to start All Time Low’s new song.

“I got it!” I clapped my hands together loudly as a wonderful idea popped into my head. “I’ve fought it for a long time now, while drowning in a river of denial.”

An excited smile appeared on Alex’s face as he finished the line. “I washed up, fixed up, picked up all my broken things.”

I jumped up in excitement and gave him a hug as we did a few more repetitions of the song, using my voice to do harmony where I thought it was needed. As we finished a fourth rep, Alex spoke. “Well, young Jedi, you have done me well, thank you muchly.”

“I don’t remember you turning into a wrinkly, green midget, but hey, that’s your business,” I winked as I helped Alex pack up his things. We had just successfully made a song; and a good one at that.

We both walked into the front of the bus simultaneously to find everyone but Aria and Jack watching some movie. As Alex put his things away in his bunk, I took a seat right next to Zack. I looked up to see him smiling at the TV, trying his best to hide it from me.

As my brother sat down I yelled to Jeff. “Hey, Jeff, can you toss me that blanket?”

He threw the blue blanket in my direction without even looking at me, his eyes too intent on the screen. I put it around my body and gave half of it to Zack. He took it generously as I carefully started inching my hand closer to his. I could see the outline of it through the blanket, and I could tell my hand was close, but
I was so nervous. What if he didn’t want to hold my hand as badly as I wanted to hold his?

A leap of courage came through me and I touched his hand with mine after making sure the nervous sweat was off of my hands. He smiled down at me and interlocked our fingers, oblivious to the world around us.

My heart fluttered as I looked into his hazel eyes – they were so beautiful. I felt so complete just being able
to hold onto him. Unfortunately, though, Evan cleared his throat and gave me a death glare, so I had to cut the connection Zack and I had just created.

I got why The Kirken was trying to keep us away from each other, but I just couldn’t help it. And it didn’t matter if it was now or later, I was going to get that connection back, and I was going to kiss him again, and nobody was going to stop me.