Right Back Where We Started

We had yet to leave the venue and the bus felt more cramped than ever. Obviously, the girls all sat in the front area of the bus. Besides the five of us, we were joined by Brendon and Spencer, and a concerned William. A few hours had passed since the accident, but we were all still tense.

"You'll probably have to take a day or two off, S- Sadie," Molly said, practically a whisper. "We all will."

Sophie pouted at her. "That's not fair!"

"What wouldn't be fair," I spoke, "would be losing our close friend because she refused to take a chill pill for a few days."

She glared at me but let out a defeated sigh. "So what do we do?"

"You rest," William spoke up now. His voice was calm. "You aren't supposed to get your heart rate up at all." Sophie pouted at him, but didn't argue. "Maybe we could call Sophie?" He asked after much too long of a pause, looking directly at me. Why do I have to be in charge of these things!? I am a horrible liar. Horrible horrible horrible.

"I, uh, I don't think that's the best idea," I mumbled. I glanced around the bus for support. Molly's lips were pursed and Angie was looking away from all of us, towards the window. I had a strong feeling she was trying very hard not to laugh. "She probably wouldn't be up for it."

"You can't say that!" William protested. "The Sophie I remember, loved being part of this band. Loved being surrounded by all of you. Music was her like, home. I don't think she would really be against coming out for a few days."

"No, William. I really don't think that should happen."

Without any more words for a few moments, I watched as William pulled his phone from his pocket and seemed to search it for something. "If you aren't going to call her, I will!" He finally spoke.

"NO," I shouted, standing from my seat slightly. I didn't even bother asking why on earth he still had her phone number. I looked towards Sophie and almost let out a huge sigh of relief. She was holding her phone down, near her bent knees and out of William's sight, and holding down the power button on the top of the device. She looked up towards me as she set her phone on the counter and mouthed the word off.

William, who had dialed the number and was holding his phone to his ear, let out an upset sigh. "It went straight to voicemail." Hopefully, he was defeated.

Of course, the hope that we wouldn't risk William finding out about Sophie was soon lost. The door to the bus swung open, and who else would enter so suddenly, and so uninvited, other than Alex Gaskarth? "I just heard about what happened!" He shouted, looking around quickly. He seemed shocked for a moment that the front room of the bus was so full.

Of course, the first person he looked at was me. Why the hell was this kid coming to me for everything when Sophie wasn't available? I mean, of course, he's super nice and all. It's just.. maybe too nice? Stop it, Chloe. You're making something out of nothing. "Is she okay? Does So-"

"Alex!" I yelled, catching him off guard. I stood from my seat and quickly walked towards him. "You are being way too loud for our poor concussed singer. Let's... go outside for a second, I'll fill you in on what happened."

"Oh, um.. okay," He stammered, turning towards the door again.

"Sorry I didn't tell you earlier, it's been hectic." I explained as we walked outside.

We walked until we were a few feet yards away from the bus. I did not want to risk William somehow gaining partial super-hearing and being able to hear us through the closed doors or windows or walls. "Sophie got dropped," I said quickly, getting out the facts about her injury first. "After our set. She went to the hospital, has a little bit of a concussion, can't play for a few days."

"Why did we have to come out here for you to tell me that?" Alex asked, a smirk playing across his face.

"Because there's more but not everyone knows this part. Specifically, William Beckett doesn't know this part. The guy sitting with Sophie."

"I know who he is," Alex laughed.

"Okay, fine. But, he thinks Sophie is actually named Sadie and that she is a totally different person than Sophie and Sadie is the one that got hurt and the person he is taking care of right now, okay?"

Alex's eyebrows furrowed for a few long moments. "...Why?"

"It's a long story," I laughed. "But basically, William and Sophie have a sort of... history. And they both didn't know they would be on warped this year and William thought she was someone else and she rolled with it. So we all have to, too."

"Why does she feel the need to be a different person?"

"I think, it's a test of sorts. Maybe." I tried to piece this new thought together. "He did some shitty stuff in the past and I think she wants to see if he's past that part of his life. If that era William is gone, so to speak."

He nodded knowingly. "Alright. So she's Sadie. Good deal." He grinned. His smile made him look like a happy child. We walked back to the bus in a peaceful, content silence.

"Sorry about that," I laughed as I returned to my seat next to Brendon. Surprisingly, he just shrugged. "Are you okay?" I asked, turning to face him.

"Just fine," He spoke. The words sounded fake and I could see in his face that something was wrong.

"Brendon, what's wrong?" I whispered, my brows knitting together. His mood did a complete 180 in the time I was gone.

"It's nothing, Chloe." He said plainly. The words were anything but reassuring. "It's just been a long day."