Mistakes We Wouldn't Learn From

[Zack]

It was only our first day heading out on the van tour, and I was already pretty sure that I was going to kill Jack and Alex.

Don't get me wrong; I love the two of them to death. But the seven of us had been in the car together for over three hours now and they were beginning to get annoying. We were all a little restless because we would be meeting the members of Cobra Starship and Mayday Parade soon, when we got to the venue. The first three hours of driving had been spent blasting music and singing, but we had turned it off about half an hour ago so Matt could navigate his way through New York a little more easily. Unfortunately, that gave Jack and Alex more time to ask pointless questions in order to piss the rest of us off.

"Are we there yet?" Jack asked, for the sixth time in the past ten minutes.

"We weren't there two minutes ago when you asked me; what makes you think we're there now?" Matt questioned.

"I dunno. I thought we were supposed to be there by now," Jack shrugged innocently.

"Dude, we're in New York City. There's too much traffic for us to get there quickly," Evan said, gesturing in front of the van. We were stopped at a red light behind a few other cars.

"I'm hungry," Alex whined, falling against me in mock-fatigue. "I'm going to die of starvation."

I chuckled, putting an arm around him, "I think you'll be fine, babe."

"I don't think I will be. I need food and kisses to survive." Alex looked up at me, smiling sweetly.

"Well, since we don't have food available, I guess you'll have to cope with just getting kisses," I smiled, leaning in to press my lips against his in a slow kiss. Alex moaned softly in content, kissing me back harder.

"You guys," Grieco complained, glancing back after a minute and seeing us kissing. "Save it for when we're not around!"

"We could be doing other things," Alex mused as he broke away from the kiss. I glanced up at Grieco, laughing at the frightened look on his face.

"And this is why they are going to stay in the back seat when they're together," Matt muttered.

"Fine by me. That gives me more Zack time," Alex shrugged, turning to me and pressing his lips against mine again. The others groaned and I just smirked, pulling Alex closer.

Within the next half hour, we finally made it completely into Manhattan. Matt was trying to get through the streets while the rest of us looked out the windows, trying to figure out where the hell we were supposed to be going.

“The GPS says to turn left here, but it’s not even down that street!” Matt exclaimed in frustration, leaning to look out the window.

“No, it’s definitely not down that road,” Rian agreed, shaking his head. “That’s West 49th Street. The Roseland Ballroom is on West 52nd Street somewhere.”

“This GPS is a piece of shit,” Matt sighed, continuing to drive. “I’m buying a new one the first chance I get.”

“Well, we’re in New York. You’re bound to find somewhere that sells them,” Evan pointed out.

“Is that it?” Alex asked suddenly, banging on the window as he was looking through it. “That’s it, right there! Turn right!”

Matt stopped suddenly, causing the rest of us to jerk forward and hit the seats in front of us. He turned right as the rest of us cussed at him. “Oh, be quiet, you babies.”

“That is the place!” Jack exclaimed, bouncing in his seat as Matt drove down the road. Once the van had been parked out back, Matt looked at the time before turning to us.

“It’s almost seven, and we’re supposed to be meeting the other bands down the street at Starbucks in a few minutes. Are you guys ready to head over there?” Matt asked.

“Yes! I’m starving – I need food!” Alex said, diving for the door and jumping out of the van.

“Someone’s a little eager,” I laughed, as the rest of us followed suit. Matt locked up the van and we made sure the trailer was locked before we headed down the street. Starbucks was right around the corner, so it would only take a few minutes to walk there. I trailed a few steps behind the others, walking quietly behind them. After a minute of excitedly talking to the others, Alex realized I wasn’t joining in on the conversation and fell back a step to walk with me.

“Why so quiet all of a sudden? You’ve been in a great mood all day,” Alex said, squeezing my hand.

“Just a little nervous about meeting the others, that’s all,” I said with a slight shrug, looking down the street before we crossed with the others.

“It’s not like you’re the only one meeting them. No one is going to know each other. You won’t feel left out,” Alex said, smiling reassuringly at me.

“If you say so,” I smiled back faintly. We got to the Starbucks and headed inside, but didn’t see any groups of people in there. Alex, Rian, and Matt all ordered coffee – and Alex got his sandwich – before we headed outside to see if the other bands were there. Sure enough, there was a group of about ten people standing in the area beside Starbucks, where there were benches and tables.

“Is that them?” Jack questioned, looking at Matt.

Matt nodded, walking toward them, “I’d recognize Gabe Saporta anywhere. That’s definitely them.”

“Hey, if it isn’t little Flyzik!” The tallest guy in the group said, grinning and stepping aside to clap Matt on the back. “I haven’t seen you in a while!”

“It’s only been a few months since I saw you last,” Matt chuckled. He turned, gesturing toward us, “This is the other band you’re touring with, All Time Low.”

“Nice to meet you! I’m Gabe Saporta, lead singer of Cobra Starship,” the tall guy smiled at us, the other band members gathering around also.

“I’m Alex Gaskarth, guitarist and lead singer,” Alex introduced himself.

“Jack Barakat, guitarist and aspiring comedian,” Jack said, smirking in triumph when a few of the others laughed.

“Rian Dawson, drums,” Rian added.

“Zack Merrick, bassist,” I said with a half smile.

“Nice to meet you. This is the rest of my band,” Gabe said, gesturing at a few of the others. “Ryland Blackington, Nate Novarro, Alex Suarez, and the poor lonely girl of the group, Victoria Asher.”

The three people he had introduced greeted us with a smile or a wave. I saw Jack eyeing Victoria and rolled my eyes, nudging him with my elbow. “Way out of your league, Jack,” I whispered. Jack just stuck his tongue out at me, further proving my point.

“I’m Derek Sanders, lead singer in Mayday Parade,” a skinny boy said, stepping in front of Gabe with a smile. “These guys are the rest of Mayday Parade – Jake Bundrick, Jason Lancaster, Brooks Betts, Alex Garcia, and Jeremy Lenzo.”

After another round of greetings, Alex stepped forward as he swallowed the last bite of his sandwich. “One simple question I have for all of you – you don’t have a problem with gay or bisexual people, do you?” he asked bluntly. My eyes widened slightly and I felt my face flush. Only Alex would ask that straight out to a group of people we just met.

I heard a few of my friends stifle laughs at Alex’s bluntness. The other bands glanced at each other, looking slightly surprised. “No, I don’t have a problem with that. I don’t think anyone in my band does,” Derek said hesitantly, and the other Mayday Parade members shook their heads in agreement.

“Me either,” Gabe added.

One of the Cobra Starship Members – Alex Suarez, I think – snickered, “Gabe definitely doesn’t mind; he’s still got one foot in the closet. He’s in denial over being bisexual.”

“Shut it, Suarez. A few drunken make-out sessions means nothing,” Gabe rolled his eyes.

“It does when the person you made out with was a guy,” Victoria giggled. “But no, Alex, we don’t have any issues with gays or bisexuals.”

“Alright, that’s good. Because Zack and I are both bi,” Alex said, glancing at me behind him and grabbing my arm to pull me toward him.

“Ale-ex,” I whined softly, resisting for a few seconds before reluctantly allowing him to pull me forward.

“That would explain the blunt question,” Derek laughed. “So are you two like, dating or something?”

“Yup; for about four months now,” Alex said, putting his arm around my waist. I blushed deeply, nodding. I could feel my heart speeding up a bit. God, I hate socializing with new people. I was beginning to see why my mom warned me about my anxiety level rising on tour.

“Just no loud fucking or anything, and we’ll be alright,” Derek said with a smirk. Alex laughed quietly along with the others, but I saw his face flush slightly as he looked at me. We hadn’t gotten quite that far yet – Alex knew I wasn’t ready for it.

“I don’t think that will be an issue,” Matt chuckled.

“So, how about we sit down and chat? It’s not like we’ve got much to do tonight,” Gabe said, gesturing toward the tables.

I looked at Alex as everyone began to sit down, making a face. I really didn’t want to sit and socialize for hours. He smiled apologetically, immediately understanding what the look was for. “We’ll leave if you get uncomfortable with everyone,” he whispered, sitting beside me at a table. I sighed, but nodded. I’ll be with these people for two months anyway; I might as well get to know them now.