The Last Drop

Alex looked out at the crowd as he came on stage. People always said afterward that they thought one of the boys was looking at them or smiling at them but it wasn’t completely true. With the lights shining against the stage Alex could only make out the silhouettes of screaming fans. He couldn’t have really told one from the other. His somewhat disabled vision helped to both calm and excite his nerves. He was hoping that he had been able to rook Madeline into coming because he wanted to see her and impress her and he wanted to prove to himself that she liked him, whether she said so or not. He couldn’t see if she was though, so he just let himself believe that she was there, in the first row, watching. He could imagine the haughty look on her face. She was probably sitting there with her arms crossed, refusing to smile or even stand up when they walked out.

Thousands of other girls stood though. The whole place seemed to shake with excitement. Somewhere in the midst of everyone else’s names being screamed he could hear his own, the volume of the exclamation pounding in his head.

”Alex! Alex! I love you! Alex!

He grinned at waved off to the right and the screaming got even louder. Adam talked over it, introducing their first song. At this point Alex was sure one of the fans could conduct the concert themselves. He couldn’t even hear his own voice over all the people in the stadium, singing along.

The concert always felt like it lasted two seconds. They went from singing to talking to singing to talking. Before he knew it they were running off-stage, waiting the mandatory five minutes, and coming back on again as everyone screamed in excitement. As if it hadn’t been obvious that they would perform an encore song.

”And the bright lights light up your eyes …”

He sang on the side of the stage he knew her tickets were for, emitting louder screams from that side as he serenated them. The chorus wound back around, like it always had a way of doing and pulled him to the other side of the stage though he didn’t stop himself from glancing in her direction. Jacob sang the final note and Adam thanked everyone who had come that night before they were all off again.

Backstage always felt crowded afterward, something Alex chalked up to the amount of sweat caked on his body and the heat radiating from the room. He didn’t change first, having planned this whole night to a tee if Madeline and her wacky friend had actually bought into this and come. He was mostly relying on said friend, knowing he could sweet talker that one into jumping off a bridge with him. Alex headed down the hall, to the stadium doors and waited for the security guard he’d sent off right before the final song.

The older man, who looked like he belonged in biker bar and not in a stadium packed with teenage girls, came through the doors with Madeline and her friend a minute later. Alex grinned, thanking the man before turning to both girls.

“Hey,” he grinned, she’d come. Just like he knew she would. It was easier than he’d expected.

“Great concert,” Madeline’s friend Jade smiled.

“Glad you enjoyed it,” he nodded, “come on, I’ll show you backstage.”

Madeline didn’t say a word, following them with a frown on her face. He knew she was trying to resist the urge to just have a good time. He was determined to get her to admit that she had fun. He led them into the backstage area, the rest of the guys still in there, though all of them had changed. Alex grinned before turning to the girls.

“I’ll be right back, got to get out of these sweaty clothes,” he announced, slowly pulling his polo over his head. Jade’s eyes didn’t stop moving but it was the prolonged glance from Madeline that made him smile. He winked at Madeline, grinning as her cheeks flushed. He knew she would tell anyone that it was from pure annoyance and anger but he saw passed that.

He headed into the dressing room to change, already hearing Finley trying to hit on both of them. It didn’t matter to him, he knew Finley wasn’t going to get anywhere with Madeline. She was the same as him, looking for something more challenging than someone to eat right out of her hand. Once he was changed Alex went back out, finding Jade sitting on the couch with Finley and Jacob, giggling like a schoolgirl. Madeline stood a little off, the frown gone but her arms still crossed over her chest.

“Sorry,” Alex grinned, stepping up beside her.

“This is so cool!” Jade gushed.

“Thanks,” he nodded to her before turning to Madeline again, “so, did you enjoy it?”

“It was loud…I hate teenage girls,” she answered.

Alex only smiled.

“Why are you smiling? I said it was loud.”

“Yeah,” he agreed. She hadn’t said she didn’t like his music. In fact, she didn’t mention the music at all. Another point for him.

“Are you in town longer?” Jade asked.

“A little while, got another show the night after next,” Adam supplied.

“Maybe you could stop by that one too, you could sit side stage, avoid the loud teenage girls,” Alex offered.

“I may have work or something,” Madeline answered quickly.

“I’m sure we could come,” Jade cut in.

“I’ll bring ya passes, sure I’ll be in for coffee anyway. Maybe this time it’ll actually taste like Rasberry,” Alex joked.

“If you don’t like the way it tastes go somewhere else,” Madeline glared at him.

“Now,” Alex wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her closer to him, “I wouldn’t want ye to think I don’t like ye.”