The Beach

*The Next Day*
Nessa's P.O.V.

We all had a day off today so Alex and Jack decided they were going to be brotherly and take all of their younger siblings to the mall with them. Hopefully no fan girls follow us. I was running a brush through my long hair when my phone vibrated.
1 New Messages

@JackAllTimeLow: @nessissuchamess jeez, you take as long to get ready as @alexalltimelow I laughed and hit reply:

@NessIsSuchAMess: @JackAllTimeLow I'm going I'm going

My phone vibrated again as a new message came in:

@AlexAllTimeLow: @jackalltimelow Fuck you.

@JackAllTimeLow: @alexalltimelow don't threaten me with a good time.

I finished brushing my hair, having already dressed in a pink flowy tank top under a gray glamour kills sweatshirt, ripped skinny jeans, my tall pink rain boots, my gold necklace, and my 'All Time Low: Dirty Work' bracelet. All of us band siblings always have one to show support for our brothers. I grabbed my phone and messenger bag and rolled out of my bunk and landed right next to Izzy in the hall.
"Shit!" Izzy jumped when I appeared at his side. "You could have squished me!" I rolled my eyes and laughed at him. We walked out to the front where Alex and Jack were waiting for us. Celeste was sitting on the sofa, having dressed herself in a pink striped shirt, pink floral skirt, pink knee high converse, a denim, thankfully not pink, jacket, her Tinkerbell necklace and her atl bracelet, her unicorn backpack resting on her shoulders. Absolutely precious. She immediately jumped into my arms. I adjusted her so that she rested on my hip and followed the boys off the bus.
"Do we have to walk?" Jack whined.
"The mall is down the street! Lazy fuck, just walk." Alex replied. I slapped his arm.
"LANGUAGE," I hissed. I did not want my baby sister to start talking like that. Alex rolled his eyes. Yeah, let's see you roll your eyes when she starts cussing like a fucking sailor! Fuck. I'm as bad as Lex. I yawned as we begin walking, still not fully awake. Izzy slipped his hand into mine and I tried not to blush. Izzy's always been touchy. Huggy. Whatever. But lately he'd been more touchy. He used to just hug me. Cuddle a little, when we were alone, when we were sad or tired. An occasional kiss on the forehead or cheek, in moments of elation or moments of sadness. The occasional hand in mine when he was scared, or I was. When he wanted to drag me somewhere. But not..just randomly. I felt my face reddening. Izzy is my best friend. NOTHING MORE. ...right? Why isn't he something more? I like the way it feels when he's holding me. I like how he knows everything about me. How he's seen me at my worst and is still here. I like the way we can communicate with just looks. I like how much he loves Celeste. How protective of her and I he is. How he looks at me like I'm the only girl he's ever seen. I like how his hand fits perfectly into mine. How his LIFE fits perfectly with mine. How we can spend every minute together and never get sick of each other. How much history we have. How we grew up together. Izzy was practically made for me. So why is it that he's not mine? Why am I still fighting it? Izzy's breath against my ear brought me back to reality.
"Are you okay? You've been spaced out for the past 30 yards..." He whispered, his breathe tickling my ear.
"Oh, sorry. I'm fine." I whispered back.
"Ness." He said, giving me a look that said: 'I don't believe you for a second.' I shook my head at him and gave him a look that said: 'Tell you later.'
He shrugged and we continued walking behind our brothers, who turned to us when we reached the doors. Alex glanced at Izzy's and my intertwined hands, raising an eyebrow at me.
"Where do guys want to-" Alex started to ask, but was cut off by Jack grabbing his hand and screeching "TO HOT TOPIC!" as he dragged Alex away. Izzy looked at me, an amused grin.
"Hot Topic, then?" He asked.
"Guess so," I giggled as Izzy all but dragged me after our brothers.

**2 Hours later**

We were in a random music store when we heard the beginning chords of a very familiar song.
"No way," Izzy, Alex, Jack and I all whispered in unison as we heard a familiar voice sing through the speakers.

Not gonna miss you when you're dead and gone
Not gonna talk about you over and over and over
Not gonna file you under latest nostalgia
Or happily ever after

The grin on Alex and Jack's faces was priceless. Their song was playing at a music store. It was proof that they'd really made it.

On the second verse Izzy started singing loudly,
"Not gonna listen to your played-out songs
Don't wanna think about you over and over and over
Not gonna read about the latest fads on your trendy blog
I want nothing to do with that

Cause you've made a mess of everything
And I'm not listening"

Then Jack sang the chorus,
"You're not a hero, you're a liar
You're not a savior, you're a vampire
Sucking the life out of all the friends you've ever known
You're just a train wreck, not a winner
Up on your soapbox, preaching down to the sinners
The saints without a cause
We're not listening
We're not listening"

Then came Alex,
"I'm gonna start a revolution
Of convoluted disillusion
Start a revolution
I'll lead a war with no conclusion
And in my final hour, I'll be a confident coward"

Then, Celeste surprised all of us by confidently singing the next line,
"Cause if we stand for nothing, we'll fall for anything!" Alex beamed with pride and took her into his arms, kissing her head.

By now Izzy had grabbed both of my hands and was dancing with me, and it seemed it was my turn,
"You're not a hero, you're a liar
You're not a savior, you're a vampire
Sucking the life out of all the friends you've ever known
You're just a train wreck, not a winner
Up on your soapbox, preaching down to the sinners
The saints without a cause
We're not listening
We're not listening"

Izzy sang the next verse,
"Yeah this is moving in the same direction
But I'm a little too spent to care
Cause it's a battlefield til it blows over
Keep your friends close and your enemies closer"

Then Jack,
"We're throwing stones though we live in glass houses
We talk shit like it's a cross to bear
You're only relevant until you get older
Keep your friends close and your enemies closer, enemies closer"

Then Alex,
"They're gonna miss me when I'm dead and gone
They're gonna talk about me over and over and over
They're gonna file me under latest nostalgia
Happily ever after"

Then all of us, including Celeste,
"But not a hero, I'm a liar
I'm not a savior, I'm a vampire
Sucking the life out of all the friends I've ever known
We're a train wreck, not winners
On a soapbox, preaching down to the sinners
Saints without a cause
We're not listening
We're not listening
We're not listening
We're not listening!"

We all burst out laughing and after five solid minutes of loud laughter the store security kicked us out. Well, then!
We were walking to the food court when Izzy and I noticed the group of girls following us.
"Why can't they just ask for an autograph!?" I whispered to Izzy, who merely shrugged and wrapped a protective arm around my waist. Alex and Jack were walking just ahead of us, Celeste holding one of each's hands and swinging between them. The rabid fan girls were giggling and taking pictures of them shamelessly.
"Lex!" I hissed.
"What?"
"There's a group of fan girls following us and they're freaking me out!" I whisper-yelled to him. He turned slightly, looking at them out of the corner of his eye.
"Just keep calm and keep walking." Alex whispered out of the corner of his mouth. Why can't they just walk up and ask for an autograph like all the other ones we've seen? Ugh. This is so much more annoying. I frowned and leaned into Izzy's side. He pressed a kiss to my hair comfortingly. I tried not to blush.

**8 PM**
I was on twitter on my laptop, smiling at the picture Jack had posted of all of us at the mall today, me riding piggyback on Alex, Izzy riding piggyback on Jack, Celeste being held between them and giggling.
@JackAllTimeLow: Doin' the sibling thing. http://t.co/18923joujw8r3 @AlexAllTimeLow @NessIsSuchAMess @IzzyTheDinosaur
I jumped as my computer began 'ringing,' indicating that someone was calling me on Skype. I smiled when I saw the words
Video Call from: Ash
Answer Ignore

I smiled and clicked answer, turning on my web cam as well. I waited patiently until my other best friend's face popped up on my screen.
"Nessa!" She squealed.
"Ash!" I giggled. "I haven't talked to you in forever! How are you?"
"Ness," she laughed. "It's only been like two weeks.And we've been texting." She rolled her ice blue eyes.
"That's forever for us!" I laughed.
"I'm good," she smiled. "But that's not why I called." She sat up more straight and tucked her dirty blond hair behind her ear, grinning at me, her eyes wide with excitement.
"Well?" I pressed. "What is it? Why are you so excited!?"
"Well, Xanne got a raise, and-"
"That's all?" I interrupted.
"Woman! Would you let me finish my freakin' sentence!?"
"Sorry."
"Xanne got a raise and she's going to take me and Chrysi to the Warped date on your birthday so I can see you!" She all but yelled in excitement.
"REALLY!?" I squealed. "THAT'S SO COOL! Best birthday present evahhhh!" She laughed at my reaction and bid me goodbye, saying she had to go kiss her mom's ass so she'd be allowed to go. I rolled out of my bunk to give Izzy the good news, but I was so excited I landed all wrong. Ow. I was about to get up when I heard Alex's and someone else's raised voices coming from the back lounge.
"You slept with her, didn't you!?" A female voice yelled from the lounge. Lisa. But she's not here. I must've not been the only one on Skype.
"NO! Lisa! I did not sleep with her!" Alex yelled back. Who the hell is her? Did something happen at that bar they went to last night?
"I don't believe you." Lisa said disdainfully.
"Lisa! I would never cheat on you. You know that! She kissed me, not the other way around! Jeez! I'm honest enough to tell you when someone assaults me and you accuse me of sleeping with her." Alex said angrily.
"How can I not!? You're always miles away flirting with that stupid whore from that band. What's her name, Tay?" Oh she did not just go there. Tay is not a whore. Tay is fucking perfect.
"What the hell!? We weren't even talking about Tay! And she is NOT a whore. Don't you ever talk about her like that." Alex said, his voice stone cold.
"See! You even defend her! I bet you're fucking her! Don't play dumb with me, Alexander. I've seen all those tweets and photos and gifs of you hugging and kissing her." Lisa retorted angrily.
"I am not fucking her! What the hell!? I've never even kissed her on the lips! And even then, all that was when we were broken up! Months ago! And you still hold it over my head!" Alex yelled. "You know what," Alex sighed. "You don't trust me at all. We always fight. I'm sick of this shit! I'm sick of waking up every morning and wondering if I have a fucking girlfriend. I'm sick of fighting with you. I'm sick of not being trusted. It's over, Lisa. For good. I'm done. I'll unfriend you on facebook, unfollow you on twitter and tumblr, the whole nine yards. We are not good for each other. We never have been. We're done."
"You know what, fine! I've been fucking Connor behind your back anyway!" Lisa said. Bitch.
"That's low. Even for you. I want you out of my house by the time this tour is over." Alex said finally, and I heard the call disconnect. I heard Alex stand up and scrambled outside so he wouldn't know I'd been listening.
Once outside, I saw Izzy riding down the sidewalk on his board. He'd been going pretty fast, having started at the hill at the end of the street. He hit a rock no one had noticed on the sidewalk and he went flying off his board. Snap! We heard the sound of his wrist making contact with the parking lot and the rest of his body soon followed suit. Izzy laid on the pavement, clutching his wrist in pain.
Shit.