Keep Your Heart Wide Open.

Gianna's heart was beating out of her chest as she feverishly rushed through the large, noisy crowd. She was breathing heavily as she tried to push through the agitated concertgoers, not even paying attention to the dirty looks that she received as she worked her way to the back of the venue. She finally could see the door labeled "Stage" and began to run even faster.

She stopped running and retrieved her backstage pass from her jean pocket, flashing the yellow laminated pass to the large security guard standing in front of the only barrier keeping her from what she needed to do. She pushed the door open and stopped moving completely, trying to decide which way to go.

There were various people all over and the hallway was loud. Their were venue workers, agents, contest winners, and techies all fluttering through the crowded hallway. Gianna kept following the signs that pointed to the stage, knowing that he could not have gotten too far. She was getting more nervous with each passing second and just wanted to see Joel. She stopped in her tracks when she saw Alex and Sean walking by.

She ran up to them, completely out of breath. The boys turned to her, exchanging a knowing glance and smirking at her. Sean bit his lip and let out one of his infectious laughs. "You don't happen to be looking for Joel, do you?" Gianna continued to breathe heavily and just shook her head, smiling. "Shut up." They told her which way he went and Gianna followed, finally seeing him in the hallway.

He was walking rather slowly and he must have heard Gianna coming because he stopped and turned around, coming face to face with her. She walked up to him, her chest still rising up and down. They took a moment to just stare at each other, no one speaking a single word. Gianna took a step closer to Joel and looked into the brilliant green eyes that she had missed so much. She smiled up at him, her voice barely a whisper. "Hi."

He chuckled and leaned his head closer. "Hey." Gianna bit her lip and closed her eyes, moving closer to the boy in front of her. In less than a minute he had his arms wrapped affectionately around her waist and his forehead on hers. Her arms were locked around his neck, showing absolutely no intention of letting go. In the next second his lips had fully captured hers, in a much needed and highly anticipated kiss.

Gianna kissed him back with just as much passion, slightly parting her lips and leaning on her tip toes to add to the kiss. They pulled apart and Joel continued to peck her lips repeatedly, tempting her with soft and gentle kisses. He finally stopped, burrowing his face into her hair. Gianna looked up at him, smiling. "I missed you."

He smiled and embraced her tightly, kissing the top of her head. "I can't even describe how much I've missed you." Gianna bit her lip and looked him in the eyes for a moment. "I'm so sorry. It was so unfair for me to use Garrett to make you jealous and blow up at you...just, seeing you with that girl killed me." Joel kissed her on the cheek.

"I'm sorry, too. I should have realized that there wasn't really anything going on between you and Garrett. I was being stupid. And that girl...well, she was nothing. She wasn't you." Gianna blushed but still she stood in hesitation. "But did you...?" Joel shook his head, staring directly into Gianna's eyes. "No. I know that's what it looked like, but no." She took a deep breath and nodded. "You didn't sleep with her?" Once again, Joel held Gianna close and shook his head. "No. She wanted to...but I couldn't get you off my mind."

This time Gianna leaned up to kiss Joel, never wanting this moment to end. They broke the kiss and their hands were intertwined as they walked back down the noisy hallway. It didn't matter how many people were surrounding them in the hallway at that moment, because to the two of them, they were the only ones there. They walked back into the concert venue just as The Maine was starting to play.

They stood in the back of the crowd, Gianna standing in front of Joel. His arms were wrapped around her and his chin rested on top of her head. They swayed to the music, trying to stay isolated from most of the people. Every once in a while someone would come up to Joel, ask for an autograph and then ask if that was Gianna standing with him. He would smile and say yes, while looking at Gianna out of the corner of his eye. He had the girl of his dreams back and that was what mattered.