Status: In progress!
Had Me From Hello
trois.
It was finally the first day of tour. It was January 11, 2012 and at exactly 6pm sharp, Annie’s dreams would finally come true. She would be playing her music for thousands of people. Some fraction of that thousand would like her music and buy her CDs, t-shirts, hoodies, and other miscellaneous merchandise.
It was currently 3:13pm and Annie was gearing up to get to her own sound check, which would be shortly followed by All Time Low’s sound check.
Annie frantically searched her suitcases and bags for something to wear to sound check. She knew that it was just sound check so what she wore wasn’t that big of a deal, but a part of her had hoped Alex would at least see her on the way to sound check, if not be there watching.
Finally settling on light wash skinny jeans, a pair of black gladiator sandals, and a tank top that read “Jack Daniels Tennessee Whiskey” across it, Annie grabbed her acoustic guitar and suddenly heard her phone go off on the counter.
“Fuck,” she muttered under her breath. There was no doubt that she was going to be late to sound check if she didn’t get out the door now.
Grabbing the phone and rushing out the bus door, Annie quickly opened up the message on her iPhone.
From: Alex
To: Annie
I’m going to try my best to get to your sound check. I really wanna hear some of your music!
Annie couldn’t help but smile at Alex’s enthusiasm to hear her songs. Quickly texting back a
simple, “Hope to see you!” Annie rushed to the venue door.
“Annie?” she heard Matt Flyzik’s voice call from the stage at the far back of the venue.
“I’m coming!” Annie jogged down the aisle. “Sorry if I’m late. I couldn’t find anything to wear. I figured no one would want me to come naked, so you know,” Annie rolled her eyes, a faint smile on her face. “Okay, so, uh… how does sound check really work?” she asked, feeling a little amateur and embarrassed.
“We’re just going to make sure all the equipment is working properly, so you can just go up there and sing one of your songs or something, really,” Matt instructed, pointing to the stool on the stage behind the microphone.
“Sweet!” Annie said with a little too much enthusiasm. As the young brunette got situated in the stool and adjusted the mic, she saw Alex poke his head through the venue door and wave.
Shyly waving back at the man, she watched as he motioned to someone on the other side of the door. Almost seconds later, she saw the rest of the All Time Low guys run into the venue, all of them bursting at the seams with excitement for their first time hearing Annie Madison songs.
“Uh, the first song is one I’m still kind of working on. I wrote it recently. It’s called ‘Cute’,” the girl smiled, strumming the opening chords.
Jack nudged his best friend, Alex, ever so lightly and whispered, “I bet this song is about you.”
“Dude, shut up. She’s not into me,” Alex protested, rolling his brown eyes, trying to listen to the song.
“Did the sun just come out or did you smile at me? I’ve been trying to ask you, but I can’t seem to speak. Was it love at first sight, ‘cause I walked by last week,” Annie sang, reaching the note almost perfectly.
Alex began to feel the heat rush to his cheeks when his friends all turned to stare at him. This song was no way about him. Maybe Annie walked by some guy in Baltimore and was into him or something.
“Your lips look so lonely. Would they like to meet mine? You are the one that I’ve been hoping to find. You’re so sweet that you put Hershey’s out of business. Can I have a photograph to show my friends that angels truly exist?” Annie couldn’t help but laugh at the corniness of her own song.
She was torn, though, because one part of her wanted Alex to make the connection that the song was about him, but the other part didn’t because she was scared he wouldn't feel the same way or think she was weird for falling for someone she had known for a week.
Annie sang the song until the point when she had stopped writing. “That’s all from that one… I mean, is that enough singing, Matt?”
Matt went to nod in approval, but the four men in the venue seats protested, rather loudly, as well.
“Fuck no!” Jack yelled obnoxiously. “We wanna hear more!” As the other three boys nodded in agreement, Jack quickly added, “Please?”
Annie giggled softly at her new friends, before looking at Matt with raised eyebrows. “One more, I guess?”
“If you want,” Matt laughed slightly as he continued to work on the equipment setup he was planning.
“Well, okay,” Annie laughed plopping back in the stool. “This one is actually a finished one and-,” before she could finish her sentence she heard whoops and hollers from the four men. Rolling her green eyes, Annie continued, “It’s called Red.”
Alex closed his eyes as he listened to the girl’s lyrics swimming in his mind. This girl had to be some sort of lyrical genius, he thought to himself. The metaphors and some of the comparisons she used throughout this song were phenomenal and things he would never have thought of him.
“This is really good,” Zack muttered from his spot, leaning forward as if he thought he was going to miss a part of the song.
“Losing him was blue like I’d never known. Missing him was dark grey all alone. Forgetting him was like trying to know somebody you’ve never met, but loving him was red. Loving him was red…”
Annie belted the hell out of the chorus, catching the attention of almost everyone in the venue.
Continuing to strum and sing, Annie caught Alex’s stare and held it. It was a trick she had learned through her days in coffee shops; find someone in the room that you know or are comfortable with and sing the song to them.
Alex, who had also heard of this small trick, held her gaze as long as he could. Whatever could help her with her career, he wanted to be the reason for it.
“Remembering him comes in flashbacks and echoes. I tell myself it’s time now. I’ve got to let go, but moving on from him is impossible when I still see it all in my head,” Annie broke the intense stare she had held with Alex for a few seconds and closed her eyes.
A couple of seconds later, she finished the song and every crew member and the four band members clapped wildly for the young girl.
“Thanks,” Annie smiled cheekily. “I seriously appreciate it.” With that, she stepped off the stage, dodging the four men running to the stage for their sound check.
“Hey,” Alex said quietly, grabbing the girl’s arm. “You’re amazing,” the twenty-four year old said, a smile barely evident on his face.
Annie took a few seconds to look at Alex – to really look at him. His simple black V-neck t-shirt hung just loose enough on his body. His notorious American Flag jeans hung slightly off of his hips. The cologne he was obviously wearing was faint enough to be smelled. He was truly one of the most attractive people Annie had ever met.
“Th-thanks,” Annie smiled, feeling goose bumps form on her arms. “It means a lot.”
Alex grinned widely at the younger girl, pulling her into his chest and hugging her tightly, as she returned the gesture.
“Come on, guys, stop flirting!” Jack yelled from his spot on the stage. “We have a show to get ready for!”
Tearing herself away from the band’s front man, Annie playfully pushed Alex’s chest, “He’s right. Go up and practice. I’ll watch you guys from side stage tonight.”
“Good. I should be able to watch a couple of your songs from side stage, too,” Alex nodded, walking away from Annie. “Oh, yeah, one more thing.”
Turning around quickly, Annie tilted her head a little to the side as if to say “what?”
“Make me proud out there tonight, Madison,” Alex smiled widely, showing all his teeth. Without waiting for a response, he turned around and jogged to the stage.
Just as Annie opened the door, she heard the opening riff to The Reckless and The Brave. “This is going to be fucking amazing.”
It was currently 3:13pm and Annie was gearing up to get to her own sound check, which would be shortly followed by All Time Low’s sound check.
Annie frantically searched her suitcases and bags for something to wear to sound check. She knew that it was just sound check so what she wore wasn’t that big of a deal, but a part of her had hoped Alex would at least see her on the way to sound check, if not be there watching.
Finally settling on light wash skinny jeans, a pair of black gladiator sandals, and a tank top that read “Jack Daniels Tennessee Whiskey” across it, Annie grabbed her acoustic guitar and suddenly heard her phone go off on the counter.
“Fuck,” she muttered under her breath. There was no doubt that she was going to be late to sound check if she didn’t get out the door now.
Grabbing the phone and rushing out the bus door, Annie quickly opened up the message on her iPhone.
From: Alex
To: Annie
I’m going to try my best to get to your sound check. I really wanna hear some of your music!
Annie couldn’t help but smile at Alex’s enthusiasm to hear her songs. Quickly texting back a
simple, “Hope to see you!” Annie rushed to the venue door.
“Annie?” she heard Matt Flyzik’s voice call from the stage at the far back of the venue.
“I’m coming!” Annie jogged down the aisle. “Sorry if I’m late. I couldn’t find anything to wear. I figured no one would want me to come naked, so you know,” Annie rolled her eyes, a faint smile on her face. “Okay, so, uh… how does sound check really work?” she asked, feeling a little amateur and embarrassed.
“We’re just going to make sure all the equipment is working properly, so you can just go up there and sing one of your songs or something, really,” Matt instructed, pointing to the stool on the stage behind the microphone.
“Sweet!” Annie said with a little too much enthusiasm. As the young brunette got situated in the stool and adjusted the mic, she saw Alex poke his head through the venue door and wave.
Shyly waving back at the man, she watched as he motioned to someone on the other side of the door. Almost seconds later, she saw the rest of the All Time Low guys run into the venue, all of them bursting at the seams with excitement for their first time hearing Annie Madison songs.
“Uh, the first song is one I’m still kind of working on. I wrote it recently. It’s called ‘Cute’,” the girl smiled, strumming the opening chords.
Jack nudged his best friend, Alex, ever so lightly and whispered, “I bet this song is about you.”
“Dude, shut up. She’s not into me,” Alex protested, rolling his brown eyes, trying to listen to the song.
“Did the sun just come out or did you smile at me? I’ve been trying to ask you, but I can’t seem to speak. Was it love at first sight, ‘cause I walked by last week,” Annie sang, reaching the note almost perfectly.
Alex began to feel the heat rush to his cheeks when his friends all turned to stare at him. This song was no way about him. Maybe Annie walked by some guy in Baltimore and was into him or something.
“Your lips look so lonely. Would they like to meet mine? You are the one that I’ve been hoping to find. You’re so sweet that you put Hershey’s out of business. Can I have a photograph to show my friends that angels truly exist?” Annie couldn’t help but laugh at the corniness of her own song.
She was torn, though, because one part of her wanted Alex to make the connection that the song was about him, but the other part didn’t because she was scared he wouldn't feel the same way or think she was weird for falling for someone she had known for a week.
Annie sang the song until the point when she had stopped writing. “That’s all from that one… I mean, is that enough singing, Matt?”
Matt went to nod in approval, but the four men in the venue seats protested, rather loudly, as well.
“Fuck no!” Jack yelled obnoxiously. “We wanna hear more!” As the other three boys nodded in agreement, Jack quickly added, “Please?”
Annie giggled softly at her new friends, before looking at Matt with raised eyebrows. “One more, I guess?”
“If you want,” Matt laughed slightly as he continued to work on the equipment setup he was planning.
“Well, okay,” Annie laughed plopping back in the stool. “This one is actually a finished one and-,” before she could finish her sentence she heard whoops and hollers from the four men. Rolling her green eyes, Annie continued, “It’s called Red.”
Alex closed his eyes as he listened to the girl’s lyrics swimming in his mind. This girl had to be some sort of lyrical genius, he thought to himself. The metaphors and some of the comparisons she used throughout this song were phenomenal and things he would never have thought of him.
“This is really good,” Zack muttered from his spot, leaning forward as if he thought he was going to miss a part of the song.
“Losing him was blue like I’d never known. Missing him was dark grey all alone. Forgetting him was like trying to know somebody you’ve never met, but loving him was red. Loving him was red…”
Annie belted the hell out of the chorus, catching the attention of almost everyone in the venue.
Continuing to strum and sing, Annie caught Alex’s stare and held it. It was a trick she had learned through her days in coffee shops; find someone in the room that you know or are comfortable with and sing the song to them.
Alex, who had also heard of this small trick, held her gaze as long as he could. Whatever could help her with her career, he wanted to be the reason for it.
“Remembering him comes in flashbacks and echoes. I tell myself it’s time now. I’ve got to let go, but moving on from him is impossible when I still see it all in my head,” Annie broke the intense stare she had held with Alex for a few seconds and closed her eyes.
A couple of seconds later, she finished the song and every crew member and the four band members clapped wildly for the young girl.
“Thanks,” Annie smiled cheekily. “I seriously appreciate it.” With that, she stepped off the stage, dodging the four men running to the stage for their sound check.
“Hey,” Alex said quietly, grabbing the girl’s arm. “You’re amazing,” the twenty-four year old said, a smile barely evident on his face.
Annie took a few seconds to look at Alex – to really look at him. His simple black V-neck t-shirt hung just loose enough on his body. His notorious American Flag jeans hung slightly off of his hips. The cologne he was obviously wearing was faint enough to be smelled. He was truly one of the most attractive people Annie had ever met.
“Th-thanks,” Annie smiled, feeling goose bumps form on her arms. “It means a lot.”
Alex grinned widely at the younger girl, pulling her into his chest and hugging her tightly, as she returned the gesture.
“Come on, guys, stop flirting!” Jack yelled from his spot on the stage. “We have a show to get ready for!”
Tearing herself away from the band’s front man, Annie playfully pushed Alex’s chest, “He’s right. Go up and practice. I’ll watch you guys from side stage tonight.”
“Good. I should be able to watch a couple of your songs from side stage, too,” Alex nodded, walking away from Annie. “Oh, yeah, one more thing.”
Turning around quickly, Annie tilted her head a little to the side as if to say “what?”
“Make me proud out there tonight, Madison,” Alex smiled widely, showing all his teeth. Without waiting for a response, he turned around and jogged to the stage.
Just as Annie opened the door, she heard the opening riff to The Reckless and The Brave. “This is going to be fucking amazing.”