And Along Came You

"No."

"Yes."

"No way!"

"Yes!"

Jack and I were arguing back and forth.

"Just give it up, Jack," Andrew butted in. "She's way too stubborn."

"I am not!" I declared, crossing my arms over my chest in a huff.

"I don't see what the big deal is," Zack appeared in the front longue and opened the mini fridge. "It's not like your mom is going to eat you."

Jack shot his friend an icy glare. The reason I was freaking out was because tonight's show was the first one back in good old Jacksonville, Florida…or in other words home. It was decided that all the parents were coming out for this one and after hearing some of the messages my mom had left on my phone, I couldn't bear to face her in person.

"At least your mom's coming," Andrew said, popping open a can of Coca-Cola. "My dad doesn't even want to see our show."

I rolled away from Jack and rested my head on Andrew's shoulder comfortingly. He and his dad had never been on good terms. For as long as I can remember they were always polar opposites with extremely strong opinions. To his dad, being a musician was hardly considered a real career. Living on and off the road playing music wasn't his ideal picture of a happy, successful life.

"At least let her know you're alive and that we haven't corrupted you…yet," Alex said with a cheeky grin. I closed my eyes and breathed in sharply through my nose then slowly exhaled.

"All right, I'll see her after the show," I sighed, burying my face in Andrew's chest. He chuckled softly and stroked my hair, running his fingers through the knotty strands. I felt a tug at the hem of my shirt and looked back to Jack who was sitting on the other end of the couch. I nudged him with my foot and reverted back to my previous position. "And, why are you so comfortable!" I exclaimed, cuddling into him more.

"Because I'm one cuddly mofo that's why!" Andrew laughed and squeezed me harder.

"Hey! I'm cuddly too!" Jack claimed and looped his arms around my waist, pulling me back over to his side.

"Someone's trying too hard," Alex snickered under his breath. Jack flipped him off and pulled his hoodie up on his head, one arm still around me. Andrew frowned at me with sad puppy dog eyes and an empty lap. I mouthed "sowwy" and stuck my bottom lip out sympathetically.

Damn and I thought girls were the needy ones.

***
This was awful. I wasn't sure where my head was during our set. I was flubbing lyrics, each note I hit didn't sound quite right, and my chemistry with the crowd seemed disconnected. My mind just wasn't on the show. It was too preoccupied with what might unfold when I walked off-stage.

"I'm sorry guys," I mumbled as I flopped down into a plushy couch backstage. Matt came over with two bottles of Poland Spring in his hands and gave me one.

"Don't put all the blame on yourself," he said, wrapping his arm around my shoulder comfortingly.

"Yeah," Angela agreed. "I fucked up the last two songs so bad; I thought they'd start throwing their drinks at me."

"It was a weird vibe tonight," Andrew added. I mustered a weak smile.

"Well I'm going to take a shower," I said and stood up from the couch.

"Try not to use all the hot water again!" Andrew called from behind as I walked over to the dressing room door.

"I can make no promises!" I called back over my shoulder, chuckling softly. I twisted open the doorknob and as soon as I pulled back, what I saw on the other side made my heart freeze and then suddenly the floor gave out from under me.

"Honey, are you all right?" she said frantically, pulling me back up to my feet.

"M-mom?" I croaked, a lump forming in my throat. I couldn't speak.

"Hey Mrs. Torres…" the other three awkwardly greeted in unison.

"W-what are you doing here?" I anxiously ran my fingers through my hair. I hadn't seen her in weeks. This was certainly not how I had anticipated out first reunion to be.

"That man, Flyzik, is it?" she stepped inside and set her purse down on a nearby table. I nodded and she continued. "He put mine and your parents'—" she gestured to Andrew, Angela, and Matt, who were sitting extremely still on the couch, "on the list."

I knit my eyebrows together. How would Flyzik have known our parents were coming out to the show? Jack probably told him, I suddenly realized. "Oh, right well um—"

"Get yourself cleaned up, I made reservations for us. We'll talk over dinner," she said gruffly. I gulped, swallowing the lump in my throat and nodded. I could already feel tears prickling my eyes as I watched her hurry out the door. Without a word Andrew stood up and walked over to me, pulling me into him tightly. I squeezed him with all the strength I had in me and tried my best to suppress my sobs. I hadn't realized how angry I had made my mom. She seemed so disappointed in me, as if I had somehow betrayed her.

"Sh…" he cooed, rubbing tiny circles in my back.”It's okay."

***
I felt on edge as my mom and I sat in awkward silence. The tension was so thick it couldn’t even be pierced by the steak knife I was sliding through my dinner. I continued to drink and eat, giving myself no chance to speak. Finally she set down her utensils and cleared her throat.

"Do you have any idea what you put me through Melanie?" she said, but this time her voice didn't sound harsh or angry. It was softer and sounded hurt. I looked down, unable to meet her sad brown eyes.

"I'm sorry…" I mumbled fidgeting with the napkin on my lap.

"I know," she responded and reached out for my hand. I looked up at her and took her hand in mine. "Honey, you know I would never want to be what stands between you and your dreams, but sometimes you have to be smart about things…"

"Sometimes you have to take risks too though, Mom," I countered, praying she would understand. She smiled weakly and squeezed my hand.

"You're right, you're right…I'm just your mom, you know?" she said, "I worry."

"I promise you there's nothing to worry about. This tour has been such an incredible experience so far. We're getting such great feedback from fans and All Time Low and their crew has been taking such great care of us. It's nirvana here."

She nodded silently as if she was finally beginning to see the bigger picture. She withdrew her hand and resumed eating her meal, leaving me confused and slightly afraid. I hoped that Angela, Matt, and Andrew were having an easier time with their parents.

After we finished our dinners, we left the quaint little restaurant and walked out to the car. The both of us climbed into our seats without a word and fastened our seatbelts. It took the entire drive back to the hotel we were staying in for either of us to utter a sound.

"Mel, you know I love you no matter what don't you?" she glanced at me as she pulled into the hotel parking lot.

"Yeah, I know…" I turned to her, tears once again welling up in my eyes. I wasn't usually so emotional. In fact, I almost never cried, especially not in front of anyone. But after feeling as if my mom didn't want anything to do with me for all this time, it felt amazing to know that she was here and she still supported me. "So, are you going to let us stay?" the words rolled off my tongue before I could bite them back. I held my breath as they processed in her brain. She finally parked the car and turned to me with a conflicted look on her face.

"I think that we're all going to have a good, long talk about this…" she answered, referring to she and the other parents involved. The knot in my stomach returned and I nodded, feeling helpless. Our fate was no longer in our hands. "We'll all have lunch together tomorrow, how does that sound?" she tried to sound more positive. I flashed a weak smile.

"We'll have to check with Flyzik, but sounds great, Mom…"

She pulled me in for a hug and kissed my cheek before letting me out. I walked to the front entrance of the hotel and waved her off as she exited the parking lot.

***
"So how was it?" Jack asked. After my mom dropped me off, I went up to my room, changed into sweats and a Glamour Kills tee and walked over to Jack and Rian's room. Rian was currently out in the hall, talking on the phone with his girlfriend. I plopped down beside Jack on the two-person bed and buried my face into the pillow. "That bad?"

"It was and it wasn't," I said, turned my head to look up at him.

"What?" his bushy brows furrowed. I told him about the conversation I had with my mom over dinner. He sat silently, holding on to every word that left my lips. Jack was loud most of the time, but he was an attentive listener. "So are you staying with us or…?" he asked when I finally finished, a sad tone to his voice. I shrugged feebly and sighed.

"I don't even know at this point."

"But you can't just go…I mean this is such a good opportunity for your band…and we kind of won't have an opening act if you leave so you'd be screwing us over," he teased, trying to lighten the mood. I rolled over onto my back and smiled up at him.

"God forbid!" I laughed softly.

"Well in case this is your last night on tour, I say we do something wild!"

I propped myself up on my elbow and cocked an eyebrow. "I'm listening…"

"What else haven't you done yet?" he asked and I instantly knew what he was referring to. If it was, in fact, our last night we sure as hell were going to go out with a bang. A BIG one.