I Don't Do Lonely Well

I wipe my face with a towel. “Great set, guys,” Zack compliments, smacking our backs and continuing past us. I toss the towel off to the side and glance around for Virginia. When she’s nowhere to be found, I pick up my phone from the top of the guitar case.
New Message:
Virginia
Caught the set, rushed over to Cody’s.
So, I head over to find her, stopping along the way to take pictures with fans and sign some autographs. She’s sitting on top of a picnic table talking with some girl I don’t recognize.
“There’s just this huge image of him being unfaithful,” the girl states with a defeated shrug. “All my friends say he can’t change.”
“Honestly, I wouldn’t believe them. My boyfriend had the worst reputation when I started dating him, but he changed. I mean, I didn’t have the best reputation either. People change for each other when they don’t want to lose something.” Virginia runs her hand through her light brown hair, almost blonde from the summer sun.
The girl’s lips pull into a smile as she looks at Virginia. She glances over her shoulder and spots me. “Oh my god.” She immediately straightens up, and Virginia follows her motion.
I smile and wave at her. “Hey, babe,” I greet, taking a seat on her other side and kiss her cheek. I hold my hand out for the other girl. “Alex.”
“I know,” she gushes. Her cheeks immediately flush. “I mean, I’m Kayla.” Virginia smiles at me.
“Nice to meet you.”
We end up watching the entire show with the girl, and I take a picture with her and sign her ticket before heading back to the GK tent for a signing.

“You’re so great with your fans.” Virginia slides her arm around my waist as we sneak off of the Warped campus for a non-catered meal come the day’s end. I smile and sling my arm around her shoulders.
“They mean the world to me. Without of them, there’d be no All Time Low.” She stops me and wraps her other arm around me.
Her lips are in a smile as she just shakes her head a little, the warm summer air blowing some hair across her face. “Alex, I wish you could see the difference you’ve made in some of these kids’ lives. The past three weeks I’ve gotten the chance to talk to some of them, and the way your music has changed their lives is astounding.”
I cup her cheeks and kiss her forehead. “Then I’m doing my job.” I brush her hair out of her face. “I’m glad the fans like you.”
She lets out a laugh. “I’m not quite sure they realize who I am.” She unwraps her arms from around me and heads for the gates of the park.
“Why don’t we show them,” I call after her. I feel my knee make contact with the ground before she can turn around. She stares at me for a moment before finally approaching me. “You talk about how much I changed all those kids’ lives, but I think you’ve changed my life more. When we met in the coffee shop, all I wanted to do was show you what a good relationship was because you deserved better than anything you’ve ever had.” I dig into my pocket and pull out the ring. One of Virginia’s hands covers her mouth. “Virginia, I am so in love with you, and I can’t spend a day of my life without you.” Watching the tear roll down her cheek makes me choke up a bit. “Will you marry me?”
She nods immediately. “Yes, Alex!” I push myself up and take her left hand, sliding the ring onto her finger. “You’re shaking.”
“I was a little nervous.” She meets my eyes and pushes her lips to mine. “And it’s not the way I originally wanted to do this. I had the whole thing planned out, but I just wanted to do this.”
“I love you, Alex.” She smiles against my lips. “It was perfect.”
“Let’s get some dinner, yeah?” She nods and laces her fingers through mine, leading me towards the sidewalk. I glance back at Zack, and he throws me a thumbs-up from behind his camera. I respond with a thumps-up as well before following Virginia.

Virginia smiles, admiring the ring as her hand rests on my knee. “Hey Mom,” she greets happily. “Yeah, everything’s great…Cody’s fine. He just got an offer from Hopeless…It’s a big deal, yeah. That’s the label Alex is signed to…yeah, he’s great. I actually have something to tell you.” She looks at me and smiles. “We’re getting married, Mom. Alex proposed to me last night.”
I can hear her mother squealing from the other end of the phone. I laugh as Virginia pulls the phone away from her ear.
The two converse until her dad calls her back, and the two of them talk almost longer than she does with her mom. When she hangs up, she turns to me. “You asked my dad for permission?”
“Yeah, it’s courteous. You’re his daughter, and I didn’t want to piss of the guy who raised you.”
She lets out a laugh. “You’re amazing.” The bus comes to a stop, and I check my phone for the time. She looks over at the time, too. “We’ve literally been awake all night.”
“I’m still not even tired.”
She yawns. “I am. I’m going to catch a few hours before everyone bombards us.” She presses her lips to mine softly. “I love you.”
“I love you more.”