The Rock Show

Nick cocks an eyebrow, dubiously eyeing the three boys that trail after his sister along with the one who is swinging her arm back and forth. His eyes narrow upon seeing who it is. "Not you again."

Alex is grinning widely at some remark Jess made, insulting some poor kid who was wearing a trench coat. Sure, it was twilight and the sun was starting to set, but it was still over 90 degrees and super humid. They both tear their eyes away from one another as soon as Nick speaks up. He removes his hand from Jess's grasp, albeit reluctantly, upon seeing the look that Nick is giving him. Nick takes a drag from his cigarette and continues glaring at Alex. Alex is honestly worried that he'll take that thing and use it to burn a hole in his arm.

Jess scowls after noticing how Nick is trying to threaten Alex, grabbing his hand again and sending Nick a glare to rival his own. Alex looks between the two of them bemusedly, as if he were watching a tennis match.

"Lay off, Nick, he's with me. You don't need to be such as asshole all the time."

He shoves past Alex who lets out an indignant "Hey!" at the notion. He throws down the cigarette, stubbing it out with his toe. "Jess, I know you hate being protected like this-"

"You mean I hate it when you act like a stereotypical overprotected dickwad?"

He rubs at his green eyes, clearly exhausted. "Shut up. I just have a bad feeling about this kid." He nods his head to Alex, who huffs and tears his hand away from Jess's, pressing his index finger against Nick's chest.

"What did I tell you about being rude? Jeez. Get over yourself." Alex says.

Nick crosses his arms and rolls his eyes. Alex now sees how similar he and his sister are; stubborn as fuck and too full of pride sometimes to do what they know is right.

"Whatever, I'm not gonna listen to a scene kid. Jessy, if he ends up hurting you I'm gonna say 'I told you so'." He turns around and begins taking the steps up their bus before hesitating and looking back at her. Identical eyes and sharp cheekbones. "By the way, bus call is in about two minutes. I guess we were wrong before; better say goodbye." Nick then makes his way up to the front lounge, eventually disappearing.

Jess sighs loudly. "Don't listen to him, he gets like that sometimes. I don't know why he suddenly decided to be on his period today."

Alex shrugs. He's trying, really, to not let Nick's words get to him like a girl would. It's just a little inconvenient that her brother hates his guts. "It's fine, he's probably stressed or whatever. Touring does that to you."

Her eyes light up, "Oh, right. I almost forgot that you were in a band." Jack and a very drunk Demetri stumble between the two, breaking them apart as they sing a very out-of-key rendition of a Kelly Clarkson song.

"Well, they seem to be getting along well."

"Double the trouble." The skunk-haired boy and the blonde, both equally skinny, crash into a nearby tour bus and fall to the ground in a pile of giggles. Jason, the quiet intellectual, was chatting with Zack and Rian about the new Call Of Duty game.

Laura and a few of Aurora's techs barrel onto the bus, interrupting the teenagers. "C'mon, guys, get on the bus. We gotta get to Richmond by midnight."

Alex presses his lips together, wringing his hands. They'd been trying to hold off this moment for as long as possible but it was inevitable.

Jason does a handshake with Rian and Zack and goes over to scoop up a passed out Demetri and throw him over his shoulder, entering the bus behind their tour manager.

Jess turns to Alex, looking up at his chocolate eyes and coffee-brown hair. He could be annoying sometimes, yes. But he was strangely mature in some ways for a kid their age. She'd never met someone so apparently in-love with music as she was, based on the arguments over everything from David Bowie to Bad Religion that they had earlier. She would miss his lopsided smirk, the way he walked with his hands in his pockets, and the way he was always so thoughtful and thought of her first. Similar to Brad and yet the opposite.

Jess is unlike anyone he'd ever met, Alex realizes as she smiles and the rest of her band board the bus for Richmond. She was kind of crazy and short-tempered with fierce talent and an equally intense love for music and life. Everything she did was with passion, and she had a dry wit and sense of humor that he knew he could never get tired of. She was a tornado, a fierce hurricane that swept through his life for a few short seconds and was ready to make her way to the next town. The way she held herself, her confidence and wavy hair that was like dark fire in the wind. Intimidating in the most perfect way.

She clears her throat, breaking his train of thought. "Like I was saying before, I almost forgot you're in a band. Lead singer?" She winks and lightly bumps her hip to his. He swallows nervously and nods.

"I play guitar too. Hey, I'll mail you a copy of our album!" It's just an excuse for him to find out where she lives, yeah, but no one needs to know that.

Jess shakes her head, a strange determination in her eyes now. She knows they're running out of time. "You mentioned touring before. Where are you from, anyway?"

"Baltim-"

"Damn, you're so close!" She hastily continues, taking the sharpie she uses for autographs out from the pocket of her jean shorts and uncapping it. "We're from Virginia. Norfolk, if you want to be technical."

Realization dawns on Alex's face a second after her words register. "We'll be touring in August, actually. I think we'll be playing at The NorVa, I'm not too sure..." He curses not studying their dates a few days ago, when Matt had given the band the final draft.

"Right. Well, I'll check out your band and judge you guys," Alex becomes nervous, and it apparently shows on his face because she smirks to let him know that she's teasing, "and maybe come see you. You know, if you're actually a decent singer and all."

"Hey! I resent that. I'm a fucking fabulous frontman."

"F after f after f." She plays with the sharpie in her hands. She wants to give him her number but wonders, would that be too forward? Or make her seem too eager? She wants their bands to be friends, after all. Connections are everything in the music business. Jess tries to convince herself that that's all she wants, a professional relationship. Band member to band member.

Except, he keeps staring at her, and it would freak her out and make her think he's a total creep.

Other than the minor detail that she's staring back just as intently.

Alex opens his mouth a little to say something, but suddenly he forgets what as she leans up on her tip-toes. Their faces are inches apart, centimeters... he can taste her breath on his lips. Smoky tobacco and grit, something sweet and sticky that he can't quite put his finger on.

But then he turns his head, just as her lips would've made contact with his. They lightly touch his cheek instead and she pulls away quickly. Neither of them can bring themselves to deny the furious blush that's rising on both their cheeks.

Because he knows for a fact that he's falling for her; apparently she is too, and he also knows that he would fuck it up. He always does- wasn't this proved just a few hours prior with Lisa? Relationships aren't his thing. One-night stands and casual flings are, because he wouldn't dare trust anyone with his heart. He knows that doing that leads to inevitable heartbreak and pain...

And he's going to avoid that with Jess, he's determined to. He can see that underneath all her sarcasm and bitchy tendencies how sensitive she really is. She needs someone dependable, someone who can understand her better than he can. Alex wouldn't be able to provide that, and they haven't even known each other for a day. She doesn't know what he's really like. She's only seen the charming flirt, not the asshole that breaks hearts (and hymens, as Jack would say).

That's the thing, though. Jess knows that he's like from their encounter with Lisa and his friends' misplaced words; she knows all too well. A bit of a slut, apparently. And she's trying not to let it bother her because of his easygoing personality and the way he's been so nice to her.

But all good things come to an end. Which is why she isn't hurting when the sting of rejection creeps into her chest and her throat, which suddenly feels raw.

Alex is just a guy. You'll meet plenty other people just like him.

He wants to apologize and bring their lips together as soon as he sees the look on her face, the knowledge of how she's too good for him the only thing holding him back. A flicker of devastation and embarrassment before she covers it up as well as she can with a neutral expression.

He yanks the sharpie from her fingers, taking her arm and scribbling his number down before she can say anything or pull it back, adding a little 'Call me!' and a smiley at the end. She looks down at it when he's done. The cute gesture makes her heart flutter before a thought grounds her. He has probably done this to dozens of girls, it's nothing special.

"See you around." He half-smiles and salutes her, running off with half of her heart and accidentally taking her sharpie with him.

Jess boards the bus in a haze, which closes right behind her and starts moving almost immediately. The rest of the band and crew are partying in the back lounge, and as she sits in her bunk she quickly realizes something.

That she needs to get drunk and forget about that boy.