Shameless

Once the doors opened, I nearly ran in, straight to the barricade. It was a good half-hour before the show started, but it was fine waiting. Tay and Alex were just off to the side of us, Zack, Rian, Cassadee and Matt on the other side. Jack had his hands in my back pockets, and I had my arm around his waist.

“So you excited?” He asked, raising his voice over the chatty crowd.

“What kind of question is that? Of course I am!”

“You gonna mosh?” Tay yelled over to me.

“Nah, I think I’m just going to stay here for this one, I wanna see ‘em up close!” I answered and she mouthed back “Well, me and Alex are!”

And they disappeared back into the crowd, I’m assuming somewhere near the middle.

I turned back to talk to Cassadee, but she was gone, along with the rest of the group. It was just me and Jack.

“Just like our first date huh?” He laughed, kissing me on the cheek.

***

The show ended, and me and Jack stood outside the venue, waiting for the others to show up. It wasn’t long before Rian and Cassadee showed up, Zack trailing behind.

“Hey, have you seen Alex?” I asked. We’d been waiting for fifteen minutes, where was he?

“No, I haven’t.” Zack mumbled.

Wait, whoa, he’s talking to me?

“Dude, is that Mark Hoppus?” Rian pointed to a guy, with a bass in hand, talking to one of the venue workers.

“It is!” Cassadee ran off in that direction, Rian trailing behind her.

“Can I go?” Jack asked me.

“Uh, yeah, It’s not like you’re on a leash.” I laughed as he took off, leaving me and Zack.

It was awkward for a moment before I leaped into his chest, hugging him. “I don’t know what made you mad, but I’m sorry.”

He smiled at me and closed the hug. “It was just me being stupid. It’s all okay now.”

We released from the hug to see Tay walking over, with Alex draped across her shoulder, dragging slowly, blood dripping down his face.

Without a thought, I ran over to her. “What happened?” I screamed, causing everyone left around us to look, including Mark Hoppus, who handed his bass to the stagehand and darted over.

“Is he alright?” He asked, peeking at Alex’s clearly broken nose.

Alex nudged slightly and groaned in pain before falling unconscious.

“Some guy just attacked him, I don’t even know why.” Tay explained as she tried to stand him up, and Mark took the unconscious boy from her.

Jack, Rian, Cassadee and Matt had joined the circle forming around Alex, staring in both shock and awe.

I held Alex’s head up to look at his face. “Alex, you got in a fight. I need you to wake up.”

His eyes fluttered open and he stared at me before standing up from Mark’s shoulders. “W-what?”

“Kid, you gonna be alright?” Mark asked, a hand perched on Alex’s arm, steadying him.

“I-I think-k so.” He glanced at Mark and smiled. “Hey, you’re Mark Hoppus.”

Jack started laughing, and I shot him a glare, which made him laugh harder. “What the hell Jack, this isn’t funny!” I yelled.

“Oh calm down Molly!” He answered between laughs.

“Okay kids, well I gotta go, we’re on the road right away.” He scribbled down his e-mail address and handed it to Cassadee. “You send me your demo you were telling me about, and keep me posted on this kid.” And he turned away, leaving the eight of us in and awkward circle around Alex’s bloody face, Jack still laughing his ass off.

“Jack, I swear to god, if you don’t shut the fuck up, I’ll dump you right now.” I motioned for Alex to lean on my shoulder, Tay grabbing him from the other side.

“Come on, it’s funny.” He laughed more.

“Fuck you, Jack.” I spat out, as i dug through Alex’s pocket for his car keys.

***

I drove Alex’s car, him barely conscious in the backseat with Tay lightly wiping away the blood on his face.

“S-some first date, huh?” Alex joked to Tay who flushed red and smiled.

They were cute together.

Soon after, Alex passed out.

“So, did you mean it with Jack?” Tay asked.

I sighed. Did I? He was being a dick. And his childish antics were really annoying me. I nodded a yes to Tay who just said ‘oh’.

My phone went off and I tossed it back to Tay, who answered it and put it on speaker.

“How’s he doing?” Zack’s voice drifted out of the phone.

“He’s got a cleaner face. Bruised a lot.” Tay answered.

“Aw, that sucks. Keep me posted.”

“How’re you? Get home safe?” I asked.

“Uh yeah, Matt’s here for the night, and I dropped off Cass and Rian, so everyone’s okay.”

I smiled to myself. He was talking to me.

“What about Jack?” Tay asked. Oh shit,I’d forgotten to ask about him. Actually, at this point, I didn’t really care. It was two am, I was tired as hell, and my brother sat passed out in the back of the car.

“Uh, I don’t know. Haven’t talked to him since the venue.”

My phone beeped. “It’s Jack.”

“Well, connect the calls.” Zack muttered, and Tay obeyed.

“Hey, I just wanted to say sorry. How’s he feeling?” Jack’s voice slipped out.

“I-i’m feelin great Jackie.” Alex mumbled, making Tay smile.

“That’s good.” Zack laughed.

“Well I gotta go, I can’t talk while driving for too long.” Click.

“He passed out again.” Tay almost laughed.

“He’s doin’ that a lot tonight.” I smiled.