Sometimes the Truth Hurts More Than Lies

Saturday night came all too soon. Mari and I stayed last night with the guys while they rehearsed all night. They rehearsed up to 2am and we all stayed at Devin and Andrew's place last night, knowing that we would all sleep until we had to leave. We barely made it in time. 

When we arrived, we were instantly greeted by music. While the guys were setting up backstage (where we weren't allowed), we got a good look at the performer. He had pasty-white colored hair and gauges. He looked no older than 16. What surprised me the most was that he was actually doing well by his self up there. If I was in his place, I would be nervous as fuck.

"C'mon," I felt Mari pull my wrist to a table right in the middle where we had a perfect view of the stage. While waiting for the guys, I took a look around the shop. The place wasn't full of people, but it wasn't empty either. It was actually a respectable amount of people. I spun my head around over and over again, hoping...

"Aiden, what the hell is wrong with you?" Mari whispered. I shook my head.

"I was just looking for someone."

"Who? Can you be more specific Aiden?"

Once again, I did a sweep around of the place.

"Nothing, I was just looking for someone who looked professional..."

"What the? Why?"

I sighed, "I was hoping that they would send someone here from a recording company and the guys could get signed."

"Aiden, I want them to get signed as much as you do, but, this is the first time the guys are performing, I doubt that they would get signed the first time they perform in public."

I nodded and sighed. I focused my attention back to the white haired guy already walking off the stage with his guitar in hand. When I noticed him walking by us, I decided to compliment him.

"Hey, great job," I said with a smile as he walked by. He stopped mid-walk and faced me. I couldn't help but trace my eyes to his. They seemed... Bitter and mean. I didn't like it at all.  When I snapped out of it, I noticed he was scowling at me. What the fuck was his problem? As I opened my mouth to ask him, he blew me off while rolling his eyes.

"Hey! You!" Mari yelled. Oh shit, Mari, No! He turned around halfway with a frown.

"What?" he asked rudely.

"Front and fucking center."

"No." Oh, that was a mistake.

"Excuse me? C'mere, now."

He spun back around and headed for the front door. In a blink of an eye, Mari was out of her seat and running to the guy.

"Mari!" I yelled, following her outside. When I opened the door, I saw that Mari was face-to-face with the boy.

"Now you better fucking thank her," she pointed to me, "for complimenting you."

I heard him mutter something sounding like a thank you.

"That's good enough for me," I grabbed Mari's hand and dragged her back inside and back to our table. I sat her down back in her seat while I rounded back to my seat.

"God, what the fuck was his damage?!" Mari complained.

"I don't know, he was young. He was probably just full of himself. Don't worry about it."

"I just know one thing for sure, if I see that prick again, he's going down," she said, putting up her feet on a seat in front of her. I smiled and mimicked her. After a couple of waiting minutes the guys came on stage, setting up. We watched the act being preformed before us - something we have seen many times before. Mari and I had to contain laugh out laughter when we saw Devin trip on a wire.

"Shi-I-I-it," Mari sputtered through contained laughs. If you couldn't already tell, Mari and I are incredibly immature. We both watched Devin's face turn pink and turned red when his eyes landed on Mari. My mouth formed an "o" with a slight smile. I looked over at Mari and her face was equally as red as Devin's.

"Oooh, Mari's got it goin' on!" I whispered-yelled. She turned her head, revealing that she was pissed. She punched my shoulder once, making me cry out.

"Fuck Mari!" I screamed, but then clamping my mouth shut. Fuck, it was embarrassing yelling out cussed in a quiet place like this...

I heard a couple of laughs coming up from the stage. I looked up and saw Devin, Andrew, and Jimmy laughing at my pain. I gave them the finger while rubbing my arm in pain. The finger just made them laugh harder. I rolled my eyes at them. I saw Andrew's lips move and he patted Devin's back and shuffled his way to his drums.  Jimmy soon waved at me and I waved back flirtiously. I watched as Devin leant into Jimmy's ear and whispered something that made him stop waving, but keeping his hand in the same place. When Devin pulled away, he had a devious smile. I watched closely at Jimmy's face and saw that a blush creeped up his cheeks. I saw him mouth something to Devin and walked over to Jeff and Brent on the other side of the stage. I tucked my hand in my pocket, feeling a little sad.

I felt a hand on my shoulder. I looked over to see Mari with a sympathetic smile.

"Don't worry." I smiled and nodded. I looked back up to the stage, watching the guys set up. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Mari giving a disapproving look at Devin everytime he would look over at us. About 5 minutes later, all the guys were in their places like they usually were in rehearsal. Devin didn't even bother to introduce the band, they just went straight into their first song, The Big Bad Wolf - which was my personal favorite. Mari and I fell into a perfect sync with bobbing our heads to the beat. This was going a lot better than I expected it to, even without some one from a company here. Mari and I both knew that this set wouldn't last long, the boys only had a total of three songs, and they were already through with the first song, already going into the second song. But I know this would really help the guys. I soon felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned my head around to see a girl, about 15, looking very nervous.

"Can I help you?" I asked with a smile.

"U-uh, you work here right?" she asked.

"Yes, I do, why?"

"Well, I was wondering if you could help me with the coffee maker...?"

I groaned, "Mari, can you," I spun my head around to see Mari gone. Bitch. I turned my head back around to the nervous girl.

"Are you working alone tonight?" I asked. She nodded. I sighed and stood up.

"W-Wait, no! If it's too much trouble-"

I held up a hand to stop her.

"It's no trouble, and if I show you how to deal with it when it's acting up, you can do it yourself," I said with a smile. I saw her crack a smile and made her way quickly back behind the counter a few feet away. I walked slowly over to behind the counter next to the girl.

"So what's the problem?"

-

By the time I had fixed the machine, I just decided to stay with the girl the rest of the night. I had found out that the girl's name was Porter and the person she was supposed to work with didn't show up at all today. I didn't really mind working with Porter, she was a cool girl. Towards the end of the night, when everything was winding down, I let Porter leave early, assuring her that cleaning up would not be a problem. 

While cleaning the counter, I heard a voice.

"May I get some coffee miss?"

I looked up to see Jimmy's smiling face and him leaning against the counter.

"Pshh," I scoffed, "I know you can make coffee yourself."

"Aww," he whined, "You're no fun."

I smiled and rolled my eyes. I squeaked when he hopped up on the counter , spun around and landed next to me.

"Jimmy," I whined, "I just cleaned that!"

He smiled and took the rag out of my hands and started to wipe off the spot where his ass and feet landed.

"Aww, aren't you just the sweetest one?" I complimented. He smiled and shrugged. After he dropped the rag on the table, he leant against the counter next to me.

"Are you staying at Andrew and Devin's tonight?" he asked. I shrugged.

"Do you want me to?" I asked. I looked over at him and he shrugged.

"It would be nice to have you there."

I hid my face and blushed. Then something popped into my head.

"Hey, what did Devin tell you up on the stage when you guys were setting up?"

I looked back over to Jimmy who had averted his gaze to Devin who was talking to Zach and Andrew.

"Nothing, Devin just being an ass."

I giggled and nodded. I leant over to him and gave him a hug.

"You did great tonight by the way."

He chuckled and hugged me back. 

"Thank you. And you and Mari owe me and Devin a day from that mall trip we took."

"Pshh, we don't owe you shit! It was you and Devin's choice to come with us!"

"Aww, you don't like spending time with me?" he whimpered with his bottom lip sticking out.

"Of course I do!" I exclaimed. He laughed and tugged me in a hug. And this hug was just like the one we shared the day the guys found out they finally had a gig. Jimmy's hugs always made me feel protected, only because he was freakishly tall and I was sadly short, I could only reach his chest, which meant, I usually got suffocated in his huge hugs.

"Get some Aiden!" Mari yelled. I still held onto him, but turned my head in her direction.

"Thaaaanks Mari!" I exasperated. She gave me a thumbs up. Jimmy laughed and pulled away. I whined for his warmth. He rolled his eyes and crouched down.

"Get on."

I clapped my hands happily and hopped on his back. He looped his arms around legs, securing me, he ran from behind the table to the group.

"Ahh, so you're her bitch now, huh?" Devin teased.

"Yep! The same way your Mari's!" Jimmy countered.

"Oh, that reminds me!" Mari exclaimed, "Devin, you're being punished."

"What! Why?" He exclaimed.

"I saw what you did to Jimmy when you guys were setting up! You made Aiden feel bad!" 

"But-!"

"No buts! Now get down."

Devin groaned and bent down like Jimmy did. Mari jumped in the air and landed on Devin's back.

"Now you have to carry me for the rest of the night and the whole day tomorrow."

"Aww, What the hell? That isn't any fair!"

Everyone busted out laughing.

"Now, Devin, to your car to go back to your house!" Mari ordered pointing towards the door. Devin started to run and pushed the front door open. Everyone laughed again and walked ahead of Jimmy and I.

"Are you sure you don't mind carrying me?" I asked, resting my head on his shoulder. He shook his head and started to walk out.

"Thanks."