Caught in the Middle

I entered the cafe, spotting the blonde and taking the seat opposite her. She looked up from her phone to give me a warm welcome.

"It's so nice to finally get to catch up with you Jessy, I already ordered for you if that's okay?"

"That's fine Tessa, I drink just about everything. So how have you been?" I asked, starting our conversation. I didn't really know much about Tessa except that she was Jared's girlfriend, so it was nice to be able to just talk and learn more about her.

As the topic slowly changed to the band and she mentioned Rachel, my ears perked up at the perfect spot to launch into my topic.

"So what's Rachel like anyway? I've only seen her at a couple of parties, she seems a bit sour," I said nonchalantly, trying not to seem like I was prying for information. Tessa rolled her eyes and I already liked the direction we were heading in.

"Literally the only reason why we talk and hang out is because she's John's girlfriend and is always there with him. If I had the choice, I wouldn't associate with her at all," Tessa started.

"Really? How come? Like, what's so bad about her?" I pressed.

"Well for starters, she hates the band."

My eyes widened. This was some good ammunition. "How come?"

"I don't know if it's just because she doesn't like their music, but she also hates how it takes John away from her for rehearsals and recording and tours and stuff. I mean, what did she expect, dating a musician? Before I started dating Jared he warned me what I was getting myself into but I accept that. It's his career and his lifestyle, it's part of who he is and I accept that."

"So, does she go to their shows?"

Tessa shook her head. "Hasn't been to a single one since she started dating John like three, four years ago. Won't go to any shows on a tour, hometown shows, she won't go to rehearsals, she won't have anything to do with the band. She wasn't even at the show on Saturday night."

I raised my brows. What kind of girlfriend doesn't go to her own boyfriends shows in her own town?

"But she was at-"

"I know, I'll get to that side of her in a second. Last year she went to visit John on tour for a week and didn't go to any of those shows either, she sat on the bus the entire time and complained so much that the rest of the boys nearly kicked her off. Since then they put a veto on bringing Rachel on tour. Well, they told John a veto on girlfriends, but that was just so John didn't get offended that they hate his girlfriend."

"So do the boys actually hate her?"

Tessa nodded vigorously. "She nearly broke up the band last summer."

"What?" I exclaimed.

"Oh yeah, she gave John an ultimatum, it was either her or the band. He nearly chose her, but she chose the band instead. She broke up with him for about a month until she came crawling back, begging for his forgiveness. Of course John accepted her apology."

Tessa was on a roll, I'd gotten her started and she couldn't stop. She went on to talk about Rachel's drinking habits, her weed addiction and how it's landed her in a holding cell a few times, until John had to bail her out. That explained John's disgust in her getting high at the party. Tessa also explained that Rachel hated John's "smoke breath" mingling with her highness at parties, which also explained why Rachel was so adamant about John not smoking. Then Tessa dropped an absolute bombshell.

"I know I shouldn't tell you this, I promised her I wouldn't tell anyone, but last year when she on John were on their break, she was hooking up with Halvo."

I nearly spat out my coffee. "Are you kidding me?"

I'd found out earlier from John that Halvo was really close to the band, especially John, after sharing a few tours together and being on the same management label. For Rachel to break up with him and then hook up with one of his best friends was a really low act, but Tessa wasn't finished.

"She swore me not to tell anyone, but they didn't stop hooking up even after her and John got back together. To my knowledge, if she's angry at John these days, she'll go over to Halvo's and fuck him."

"Oh my god." I had no other words. If nothing else worked, this was going to be the breaking point, however I didn't want to think of the toll it would take on John's friendship with Halvo.

"You can't tell anyone though. And I wouldn't probably wouldn't tell Rachel about this coffee date either, she's insanely jealous of you and she'd make me feel like I was betraying our 'friendship'," she put in air quotes.

"Wait, she's jealous of me? Why?" I couldn't think of any reason for her to be jealous of me.

"Because of your relationship with the boys, duh. Also the fact that you and John were practically dating in high school." I blushed.

"We weren't dating," I stuttered out. Tessa just rolled her eyes and laughed.

"From what I heard from the rest of the boys, it sounded like you were, and if not you were pretty close to it."

I blushed again and looked down at my coffee and started stirring it. "Well, there was this one time..."

We moved on from the topic of Rachel as Tessa quizzed me on all the guys back in high school, especially my relationship with John.

"God, I wish it was you dating John instead of Rachel. You're so much easier to get along with and you'd be so much better for him," Tessa said between laughs. My throat constricted and my heart began racing. Why was John the only one who couldn't see it?

We finished our coffees and said our goodbyes as I headed back home, texting Garrett as I walked in my front door.

'Got some goss I think we can work with. When do you guys play next?'

* * * * *

The Maine were supporting All Time Low for the one night they were in Phoenix and after sending a quick text to Tessa, we arranged to go watch them. I began to devise the next part of our plan, which involved Tessa and I paying Rachel a visit.

"Hey Rachel, do you have any plans for Thursday night?" Tessa asked her as I stood by, looking away from Rachel's glare at me.

"Not that I know of, why?" she asked.

"Well the boys are playing a show in town and I wanted to know if you wanted to go?" Tessa asked her. Rachel screwed up her nose.

"I think I'll pass, I have a lot better things to do than go see their dumb band." Rachel turned her attention back to her phone and I began to see red, but Tessa began talking before I could open my mouth.

"Okay then, I guess Jessy and I will have to go keep the boys company by ourselves," she said flippantly, as if she didn't suspect Rachel was jealous of my friendships.

"Wait, you're going too Jessy?" she asked, sitting up now. I nodded my head.

"Yeah, I've know the boys for SO long that now it would feel weird to miss one of their shows, especially a hometown show," I emphasised.

I could see the gears turning in her head as she contemplated the thought of me being with the boys without her presence against her being at a show she wouldn't enjoy but be able to monitor the time she spent with John.

"Fine, I guess I can come," she grumbled. Tessa and I smirked at each other.

"Awesome, we'll pick you up at 7."

* * * * *

Tessa arrived at my house on Thursday night at 6:30 to pick me up for the show. I decided to wear something a little more edgy this time, opting for a pair of distressed acid wash jeans, a tight white singlet with a loose black singlet over top and my black Vans. I tucked my essentials into my small handbag and took the front seat of the car, Tessa greeting me before we headed over to pick up Rachel.

Once she got in the car, the smell of her overly sweet perfume flooded the car as Tessa and I both gagged.

"Jesus Rachel, we're going to a concert not a stripper bar," Tessa joked.

"Sorry Tess, I just thought I should dress up a little seeing as my boyfriend is going to be there," Rachel replied sweetly, emphasising the word 'boyfriend' as to try make me jealous. Tessa rolled her eyes at Rachel's nickname for her, obviously not so commonly used as Rachel made it seem.

But underneath the perfume was another scent, something I'd grown to recognise after being around a bunch of boys at their parties, and a quick glance into Rachel's eyes made me realise that my assumptions were correction.

Rachel was high.

This concert was going to be more interesting than I thought.

We pulled up at the venue and lined up behind the fans already there, Tess and I pulling out the tickets we'd bought online. We looked at Rachel to do the same and she just stared dumbly back.

"Rachel, where's your ticket?" Tessa asked her, trying not to get frustrated.

"Why would I need a ticket? I'm John O'Callaghan's girlfriend," she said as if it excused everything she did. A few people turned around at the mention of the lanky lead singer, recognising all three of us and watching as the conversation took place.

"That doesn't mean shit, you still need a ticket to get in," Tessa pressed. I rolled my eyes, totally unimpressed with Rachel's display.

"Tessa, she can pay at the door if she doesn't have a ticket. We shouldn't have asked her to come, she's obviously not prepared and doesn't know concert etiquette," I said loudly as Rachel narrowed her eyes at me.

Tessa bit back a smile as she nudged me in the arm as a subtle warning to play nice, but she knew how right I was.

Tessa and I got in the doors quickly, waiting by for Rachel who was paying for a ticket at the stand. Once she was done she huffed over to us.

"Fifteen fucking bucks, biggest waste of fifteen dollars I've ever spent," she bitched as we stood up near the back. I rolled my eyes again and scanned the merch tables for Tim, finding him working the large lineup with a little difficulty.

"Hey, I'm gonna go give Tim a hand on merch again, you guys are right here?" I asked them, Tessa nodding before I walked briskly to the table, appearing by Tim's side. He looked up at me seemingly annoyed until he saw my face.

"Thank god you're here, I'm fucking swamped. Get them to start a second line so it takes up less space," Tim ordered me and I obeyed, shouting for the crowd of girls to form a second line. There was a mad shuffle as they organised themselves and the opening band had been playing for a good ten minutes until it was over.

"We've run out of smalls and extra-smalls in the black logo shirt," I told Tim as he sorted out the till, removing all the larger notes and placing them in a cloth money bag.

"Damn, already? These kids are nuts, what did I tell you about All Time Low fans?" Tim muttered, "Get out of here, you bought a ticket now go enjoy the show." He gave me a small shove and a laugh as I left the table and joined Tessa and Rachel, Rachel with a large scowl on her face. She was wincing every time the drums would crash and it was painfully obvious that this wasn't her scene.

One the opening band left the stage, the stage techs began setting up for The Maine and as they came on stage, Tessa and I screamed along with the crowd while Rachel stayed silent, even when her boyfriend bounded onto the stage. I'd listened to The Maine's CDs since the first concert so Tessa and I were dancing around and singing the lyrics while Rachel stood still. Their set ended and I received a text from Kennedy saying that they were all going to come hang with us up the back during All Time Low's set, so I replied with our location and they met us all about five minutes later.

John spotted Rachel, his eyes widening before wrapping his arm around her waist. She shrugged him off, still grumpy from the outing, and he just looked at her as if to ask what her problem was.

"Can we just go? This band is shit and the singer is horrible," she spat out, actually expecting John to agree.

"Rachel, those are my friends you're talking about. Alex is a fantastic singer and- wait, are you high? Are you fucking high right now?" he exclaimed, grabbing her face and looking deeply into her eyes, inhaling deeply. "You are. You fucking are. I fucking knew you wouldn't keep your promise. I can't fucking believe you." He dropped his hand and stormed off from the group, leaving us all looking dumbfounded.

"Whatever, I'm going home," Rachel said, beginning to walk in the direction of the door.

"Rachel, we drove you, we're your lift home and we're not leaving until the end of the set," Tessa argued.

"I'll catch a cab," she said over her shoulder as she pushed the door open and stalked out.

Tessa and I hung out with the rest of the guys until the show finished and I helped Tim out with the merch again. Once the venue doors had closed, Tim breathed a sigh of relief.

"You know, you've really got a knack for this merch bitch business, I could always use a hand out on the road if you're ever interested," Tim suggested.

"I don't know Tim, I'm not too sure that I'd be able to handle living on a bus full of boys for weeks on end," I joked.

"Half the boys are like girls anyway, you'd have no problem fitting in," he laughed and I laughed with him.

"I'd have to think it over Tim, I barely got back home and I'm not sure if I can commit to something like that yet."

"That's fine, the boys won't be leaving for tour for a while, they're about to write and record their next album so you've got a while to think about it. Now go, you're all done here," he said, pushing me towards the door. I waved goodbye to him and went outside, finding a smattering of girls crowding around the boys while there was a hoard of them leaning against the wire fence by All Time Low's bus.
I found Tessa standing back from the crowd, looking at her phone as she waited for me. She looked up as I approached her and smiled at me.

"You ready to go?" she asked and I nodded. We wandered over to each of the boys, telling them that we were going home. As I said goodbye to John, he whispered in my ear.

"I'm gonna go around to Rachel's and I'll text you when I get home, it's not gonna be pretty," he said glumly. I squeezed him tighter and waved goodbye to them all before Tessa drove me home.

About an hour and a half later, I received a message from John.

'Rachel wasn't home, do you know where she might have gone?'

I knew exactly where she was.

'Not a clue, sorry.'