No Happily Ever After

'Where are you?' She hissed, the static crackling her already furious voice.
'Jack, where ar-'
'You're with Jack?!'
When I'd met Jack, she'd adored him. But when we started dating, and I'd stopped talking to mom, she'd hated him.
'Yes. I told you I was going.'
'And I said you weren't.'
'And now you choose to be the responsible adult? I'm just trying to get out the way for you and Mason.' I paused.
She'd hung up.
I shoved the phone into my pocket, and stared resolutely at the hamburger. Dead meat. Just like my dad could be.
'What's up?' Jack asked through a mouth of food. He took a look at my face for a split second, swallowed and tried again. 'Ella, what's wrong? You look like... Well, you look like someone just rained on your parade.'
'It's nothing.' I promised, trying to push away any of his doubts with a kiss. He shook his head after pulling away.
'It is something. What's wrong?'
'Nothing!'
'Don't lie to me, Ella.'
'I'm not lying!' I insisted blindly.
'Yes you are.' He rolled his eyes. 'You just said 'it's nothing' so there is something wrong. Tell me.' He urged, tipping my head upwards with his finger.
'Don't worry. I'm fine.' I promised, shaking his finger off. 'Rian, you wanna play video games?'
'Uh, sure.' He knew something was up but didn't pursue it.
As I was getting up, Jack grabbed my wrist. 'You'll tell me eventually, right?'
I didn't answer.
I crashed at about 10, lying across the small camp bed that'd been bought specifically for me.
I didn't dream that night.

I tipped my can of soda back, and opened my copy of Harry Potter at a random page. Jack, Alex, Rian and Zack were rehearsing someplace in the back, and I could hear their music from here. As Zack had told me, I had to stay here, and man it was boring.
I tried surfing the internet, but with no success. No wi-fi and limited allowance on my phone. I sighed.
I'd already called Cris, who didn't answer my call, tried Rory who hung up when I asked about Cris and now...? I sighed. Nothing to do. Rian's camera lay, forgotten, on the sofa, but I looked away. It wasn't mine.
I was bored, angry and hungry. When Jack had offered to take me on tour, I'd expected wild parties and a lot of time with him; more realistically, I was left a lot, and I had nothing to sustain my needs. I had snacks but nothing that could actually satisfy me.
I adjusted myself so my head hung off the edge of the sofa.
After a while, Alex came through.
'You look bored.'
'I am.'
'You should've bought something to do.'
I gestured to Harry Potter.
'You wanna come and watch us rehearse? You look like a zombie.'
'Thanks, Gaskarth.' I scowled, but followed him, almost cheerfully, to where they rehearsed.
They all worse a set of professional-looking headphones, and Jack was sitting on a stool strumming idly at his guitar.
'Look who I found, being bored.' Alex chuckled, and let go of my head. I hadn't even realised he'd been holding it.
'Hey, Ella.' Jack smiled warmly. The awkward wave I'd been about to give faded as I noticed Matt glaring at me. I mouthed a quick apology and sat down in the corner of the room.
Well, I'd gotten what I wanted. I wasn't bored. The music was too loud for me to even try and think. But I had to admit, it was good.
They opened with Six Feet Under The Stars, Jasey Rae and Stay Awake. Then their new songs erupted: Forget About It, No Idea and Under A Paper Moon, and then to Nothing Personal with songs like Therapy, Poison and Too Much. They finished with a set of encore songs and then eventually covered a Blink 182 song.
You couldn't believe the charisma they had. It was amazing. With eyes shut, feet tapping a rhythm, and hands fiddling with each other, it was... Passion that kept him together. He was a completely different person. Music was his life, and he wasn't afraid to show that.
But without Jack, Rian and Zack that passion fell apart. The way Jack's pick strummed out a collection of chords that worked, the way he occasionally grinned to himself, and the way his guitar looked a natural part of him.
Zack was a different matter altogether. He worked with his fingers, playing a tune that collaborated perfectly with the rest. If you put it on it's own, it'd be meaningless. Yet with Alex's voice and Jack's guitar, it sounded sweet, acoustic and sad.
It was Rian that made everything. He was a key part in this, and he certainly had the hardest job. He had to keep in sync, and if he messed up, the others did too. He provided a beat for the other guys to follow on through.
If you took one member out of All Time Low, you'd get nothing. But if you put these 4 musically talented boys together, you'd get perfectly written, meaningful songs that had no obvious flaw.
These boys were talented, to say the least. They were passionate about what they did, and their passion was what led them here today. Their passion made them who they were.
The whole experience was inspiring.
'You okay?' Jack asked, grabbing a bottled water from one of the tech guys.
'Yeah, I'm fine.' I hadn't realised I was crying. 'That was beautiful, Jacko.'
'Thanks.' He shrugged. 'It could've been better, but I'm glad you liked it.'
'That was perfect.' I insisted, struggling to make him see.
'I hope the fans think so.' He frowned. 'They're getting demanding.. It's driving Alex insane.'
'He doesn't show it..'
'Years of practise.' He joked, before getting up and packing his stuff away.

'Oh come on, just get on stage.' Jack grabbed my wrists and tugged me towards the back.
'Jack, I feel out of place.' I mumbled. He'd made me dress up, and look pretty simply to sit at the back of the stage.
'I want the fans to know you!' He shook his head. 'For me, Ella?'
'Oh fine.' I snapped, sitting on one of speakers.
He winked at me, before taking his place next to Alex. The brotherly affection between them was awesome.
Whilst Jack and Zack were setting up, the fans buzzed with excitement. Rian was already banging his drums, impatiently waiting for Alex. The most prominent of the fans would probably be the girl up front with bright blonde hair. Every now and again she'd catch Jack's eye, and when her eyes locked with mine, I flipped her off. Her face fell.
Eventually, Alex came out, smelling of Axe. I rolled my eyes and smiled.
'Hey, guys! How's it goin'?' He screamed.
They roared with delight.
'This song's called Six Feet Under The Stars, and it sort of goes like this...' He trailed off as Rian started playing. Jack and Zack waited for their cue, and then he started singing, really trying.
Towards the end of the set, Jack grabbed my hand and held me, right in front of the fans. The blonde girl looked like she was about to cry, and I felt sort of bad. But screw that, Jack was mine.
'Hey, guys, this is Ella.' He grinned, snatching the microphone. 'She's my girlfriend... But Jalex still exists. She doesn't care, do you, Ella?' He shoved the microphone into my face.
'Uh, I don't know what Jalex is...'
'See!'
I chuckled, not paying too much attention; after all, my attention limited itself whenever I was with Jack.