This Is A Story About A Girl

We were on our way to the LA show when Josh decided we should hit up some party. I guess one of his hometown friends was renting out a penthouse and wanted us to play.

"No, fuck that."

"Brian, don't be such a killjoy!" Stephen whined. We all wanted to go, and he was just being a nuisance.

"Bros that party together, stick together," Josh tried to help. He wasn't going to budge.

"C'mon Bri Bri, please?" Jess and Liz sang in unison. I couldn't help but smile when he said yes. It was definitely a good thing to have those girls around.

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Brian decided halfway through 'She's Got The Rhythm' that he would stop singing and let the crowd sing for him. I thought he was going to be defeated, but you could actually hear the crowd singing along. I could also hear a voice singing from the side of the stage. Instinctively, I looked over towards the voice, and it turned out that Liz was harmonizing badly with Brian.

My cheeks pulled my lips into a half smile, and I missed a note. Shit. My fingers were all over the frets, but somehow I found my way back over to the right places. My eyes drifted to the other side of the stage, where Josh was making a sour face. He must of thought he screwed up and not me!

After the last song, he got off stage before I got to tell him that I screwed up and not him. But he ran into Liz's arms and I figured he probably didn't need me to tell him anything. So instead, I bursted what was on my mind.

"PAAARTAAAAY." I grabbed a towel, like my other male bandmates, and made my way out to the van. Josh called for them to hurry up, and Jess replied something snarky I'm sure.

"What do you think this party is actually going to be like?" I asked Josh. He just shrugged at me. The tangles in my stomach weren't going anywhere that's for sure. And they sure as hell didn't get any better when Liz stepped into the van. She looked gorgeous, and I could hardly hold myself together. We were best friends. I knew that. There was no way she'd go for me. And that would ruin our friendship..

"Oh lord this is agonizing!" Josh yelled out to us. We nodded our heads and watched the lights flash for each coming level. 30 floors didn't go quickly, let me tell you. Stephen and Jess were trying to give Liz and I tips on how to party properly.

"Don't hook up with random strangers."

"Don't drink from cups you haven't seen before."

"Flirt like hell with everything that walks."

"And don't get drunk until AFTER we play."

Ding. Here we go. I took a deep breath before walking in, but the smell of liquor was already noticeable.

The second we walked in, it was like chaos. People were everywhere, the music was loud, and I couldn't get enough. Some kids passed us shots when we walked in, and Liz and I giggled nervously before we drank them. I felt my face tense up. It was gross, but I still helped myself to another drink.

"Wanna find somewhere to sit?" I asked Liz, raising my voice so that she could hear. We walked over to a couch somewhat isolated from the rest of the crowd. We drank, and talked about meaningless things, when she popped an interesting question.

"Why is love so big to you? I mean, you are always writing these little snippets, and it seems like there is something behind that."

"Long story short, I dated a girl earlier this year, she told me she loved me, and I thought I really loved her. So I gave her everything I could.. And that was all she wanted from me. So she dropped me. I had always wanted to fall in love with a girl, and really love her. Ya know? Like disney movies."

I felt my face drop. I knew it wasn't a happy story, but I just felt like telling her. I felt like finally telling someone why I cared. Her mouth was open wide. Was it that hard to believe me?

"She's on her way, she.. she just got a little lost. And when your ready, she'll be here. Don't you worry Johnny Boy." She stuttered adorably. Then to top off my pumping heart, she laid her head on my shoulder. I don't know really how long we sat there, her head on my shoulder, my fingers curling around her hair.

But it wasn't too long, because a loud female voice interrupted, "Guys, eyes up here!"

It wasn't hard to look up, she was quite the girl. But it was what was behind here that bothered me. The rest of the band was seated comfortably, ready to play. My feet stuttered behind me, Liz following closely behind. I hit the seat and picked up my acoustic out of the case. I scanned the crowd, finding a familiar face. How did Liz end up on the ground?

"Hi everyone, thanks for coming. Now here's what you've all been waiting for, The Summer Set!"

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The set we played was super quick, but I don't think it could have ended any sooner. We were all drunk and stumbling like crazy. I tried hard to keep Liz in line, and everyone was just acting so.. weird. I guess this just wasn't my kind of thing. It was about 3 when we decided to hit the road. It turns out that Brian had fallen for Chelsea, the TV star he recently said wasn't worth playing for. Irony is such a wonderful thing.

When I found Liz, she was passed out on the couch we talked on before. She looked peaceful, and I drunkly decided to pick her up wedding style. Her body was lighter than I had expected, and it was relatively simple to carry her. The elevator down was long, but I couldn't put her down now.

Gratefully, I slipped her into the row we shared. I grabbed the blanket on the floor, as Josh revved up the engine. He was sober for some reason. I tucked Liz in perfectly before tucking myself in on the other side.

"Did you have a good time?" Josh asked as everyone else dosed off.

"I guess, I don't think I'll be getting smashed anytime soon.." I trailed off, hoping he would catch my drift.

"Fair enough. And John?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm really glad my sister has a friend like you."