Never Look Back

I poked my head out of the thick red curtains and saw all the workers of the shop sweeping up popcorn bags, plastic cups and bottles from the concert. I pulled my head back inside the backstage area and turned around to chaos. Matt was yelling at Jack for putting the equipment in their cases wrong and Alex was cussing at his guitar for not cooperating with him.
Colussy approached me and I turned my full attention to him.
“Hey, I was just looking at the pictures that you took and they look surprisingly professional and extremely good, well done. As for the posters they didn’t sell real well but they looked awesome, I think people need to know All Time Low more for them to buy shit from us.” I thanked him and he said he had to get back to his work and left without another word. I stared blankly ahead, feeling the full weight of exhaustion resting on my shoulders as Matt just finished reloading the last of the cases onto their van.
“Alyssa,” Matt called to me, snapping me out of my trance. “Are you ready to go?” I nodded and followed the guys out to their car. Matt and Colussy drove in their van with all the equipment, Rian and Zack drove in Rian’s car and I rode with Jack and Alex of course.
“I have announced that I am staying over tonight!” Alex yelled at us. Jack squealed with delight and I chuckled and playfully rolled my eyes at his immaturity.
“Anyway, you guys played amazingly and the crowd loved it,” I said from the backseat.
“We’re just glad YOU came,” Alex looked at me from the rearview mirror and I could feel myself blush slightly.
It seemed like only a couple seconds later and we were already pulling into the driveway of our house. I climbed out after Jack and we all walked in as a group. It turned out that Patrick couldn’t come because he kept getting paged in to assist surgeries and such.
I heated up some meals for Jack and Alex for the rest of the night we sat on the couch together and watched CSI. I sat next to Alex and Alex sat next to Jack, our usual order. Patrick returned home a little later, more tired than I have ever seen him.
“I’m so tired...” he muttered slowly and trudged to his room where we could hear him groan loudly as he hit his bed.
Not long after that did Jack retreat to bed too, leaving me and Alex alone on the couch…
“You know it was really cool that you decided to be our photographer, you’re really good at it,” he said softly and I blushed.
“Yeah of course, I mean I love watching you guys play and taking pictures and you need some shots so it’s a win-win situation.” There was a lingering silence with only the soft voices coming from the television could be heard before he spoke again.
“Alyce?” He asked, looking at me.
“Yeah?”
“Can I take you out tomorrow? Just me and you?” He seemed extremely nervous and kept looking down at the couch to avoid eye contact.
“Uhh..I don’t know Alex a lot of people have been talking...,” I said, thinking back to those girls in the bathroom.
“Please Alyce I’m begging you,” I took one look at his puppy dog face and I knew I was going to cave.
“Okay, I guess you can take me out,” I sighed and he grinned bigger than I’ve ever seen him grin.

**
When I woke up the next morning I nearly erupted in laughter. Alex, Jack and I all somehow ended up in Jack’s room. Alex was cuddling against my left side and Jack cuddling up against my right side. I didn’t remember ever coming into this room at all; it was littered with a mixture of dirty and clean clothes and garbage. I shoved them off me as gently as I could and stood up, their heads landed hard on the carpet where my body had been, I snuck out to the kitchen for some breakfast.
“Good morning Alyssa, what are you up to today?” Patrick asked me, he was in his robes with the newspaper and a cup of coffee up to his lip.
“Not much, Alex is taking me out today though, just me and him,” I said smiling and blushing as I hid my face in the opened fridge. I pulled out the milk and went on a search for some cereal and a bowl.
“He’s taking you on a date?” He asked raising his eyebrow as he took a sip. I fixed myself a bowl of frosted flakes and shrugged.
“I dunno, he didn’t say it was a date.”
He snorted, “It’s a date.”
Two minutes later Alex came lumbering out of Jack’s room, dragging his feet and plopped down next to me on the couch as I watched ESPN.
“Morning,” I said softly to him, he smiled at me, stole my cereal bowl out of my hands and began eating it.
“Good morning Alyce.” There was a slight pause before he continued, “still up for our outing later today?” I nodded and Patrick mouthed something behind him.
I looked at him, “It’s a date!” He mouthed and I held in my tiny eye roll, my attention back on Alex.
“Where are you taking me?” I asked.
“It’s a surprise, can’t tell you but I want to leave around one so you’d better get ready soon.” I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion, why would I get ready soon if we were leaving until one? I glanced over at the clock that sat under the television. Oh, probably because it was almost noon.
I sighed and languidly got into the shower, changing into a slouchy white pullover and ripped blue jeans with tan leathered short boots, keeping my hair wavy. I managed to get ready by 12:30 and Alex said we had to stop by his place so he could get a change of clothes.
His house was the size of three of ours. I gasped when he pulled into the long driveway that led up to the huge cream colored house, he led me inside and straight up to his room which was surprisingly clean and organized…very unlike Jack’s.
“Wow…your room is so clean…” I stared, looking around at all his band posters and his guitar sitting on a stand in the corner. His walls were painted an olive green and his floors were a plush cream color like the siding outside the house.
“Tilly is our housekeeper; she maintains all the rooms for us,” he pulled his shirt off and slowly put on a new gray V-neck. I hid my face when he changed his underwear and pants, I giggled as I shoved my face into one of the pillows on his bed.
“Okay I’m done!” He chuckled, I turned to look at him, and he had changed into denim skinny jeans and black Nikes. We were just heading out of the door when a short woman met us on the staircase. She had on a sweater and tan pants; she had Alex’s brown chocolaty eyes and perked up when she saw us.
“Oh Ahlex, who is this?” She gushed and I felt my face redden.
“Mom this is Alyssa, Alyssa this is my mom Isobel,” he groaned when she pulled me into a warm hug which actually might have been the best hug I’ve ever had. She smelled of cinnamon and ginger, very pleasant.
“This must be the Ahlyssa I kept hearing about,” she chuckled and Alex’s face turned a dark red and his eyes grew wide.
“Mom!” He hissed and she gasped.
“Oh I’m sohrry!” She giggled.
Alex hurriedly dragged me out of their neat and orderly home and into his very nice black car.
“I love your mom! She definitely has a thick British accent,” I laughed and he shook his head.
“She’s very embarrassing, especially the accent,” I laughed again. As we drove down a couple of streets I tried to pinpoint where we were going since Alex refused to tell me. I couldn’t figure it out though; being new here I still didn’t know exactly where everything was so nearly immediately I was lost. Then, out of nowhere, he pulled into Market’s Roller Rink.
“Ha-ha! Are you serious!?” I smiled at him and a huge grin formed on his lips, never taking his eyes off the road as he found a parking spot. He quickly jumped out and opened the door for me and led me inside. I couldn’t believe a roller rink of all places was where he wanted to take me on our first date; I of course had no idea how to skate.
We walked inside and grabbed a pair of roller skates; the place was full of wood. Wood siding on the inside and out and a wooden roller rink, it looked like a bowling alley but without bowling balls and alleys and a huge roller rink front and center...so nothing like a bowling alley.
“Alex, I don’t know how to skate, I’ve never done it before.” He finished tying one of his shoes when he looked up at me and smiled.
“You’ve never skated?” I shook my head and he laughed, “This should definitely be interesting then.”
He helped me put my shoes on and helped me up, I wobbled all around. He grabbed my whole arm and shuffled toward the entrance of the rink, this was about to be the most embarrassing thing that I have ever gotten myself into. The only good part was that the rink wasn’t that crowded, with only about five other people on the huge wooden contraption.
Alex led me on the rink; my first steps on the polished wood floor were not good, I shuffled and wobbled and shook.
“Fuck Alex, I can’t do this,” my eyes were glued to my feet. He was slightly behind me holding onto my left arm and his right arm was placed on the right side of my waist, my right hand sliding alongside of the edge.
“You’re doing fine just slide one foot forward and then slide the other forward, if you fall I’ll catch you,” I smiled softly to myself when he said that. Doing just as he said, I was starting to get somewhere. I glided easily along the edge, picking up the pace.
“I think I’m getting it!” I said and he let go of me and skated ahead.
“Skate over to me!” He called from the middle of the rink. He did this on purpose, knowing skating to the middle would require me to let go of the side. I slowly let go, trying to balance myself out and slowly but steadily skated out to him.
“Pretty good, no?” I smiled and he laughed and nodded. “I wanna see how fast I can go,” I said and took off.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea!” Alex called to me but I didn’t listen. I thought about what Alex said about sliding one foot in front of the other and I picked up the pace, I struggled trying to maneuver around other people but I managed to stay out of their way.
I looked back for Alex and spotted him a ways behind me and called to him, “Alex! I love skating!”
I obviously should keep my eyes straight ahead and focus when I skate because when I turned my head back around I ran right into a big hefty man and felt myself fall…hard, my head slamming against the wood.
“Alyce!” I heard Alex yell before everything went black.