Fresh Start Fever

I was on the couch when Maddie woke up, and she sat next to me as I was on our laptop.

"Did you sleep at all last night?" she yawned, her head on my shoulder.

"About an hour," I mumbled. "Woke up at three and decided to talk to fans on Twitter until I hit the post limit. They all are so upset still about the band. I just want to hug all of them."

She gently rubbed my shoulder before she sat up, going to the kitchen. I heard the coffee pot turn on, and she came back out and took the laptop from me. She placed it on the coffee table before sitting down on my lap. Her arms wrapped around my neck, making my chest start to race. It amazed me how I still got butterflies in my stomach whenever I saw her, and it amazed me more that I was going to marry her.

"How did I ever get a girl as beautiful as you to be mine?" I cooed into her neck as I planted soft kisses on her skin.

"Oh stop it," she giggled, her hands massaging my shoulders. "Did you talk to Jack?"

"Yeah, we're gonna meet up at six pm. Hopefully it'll be short and sweet, not awkward, you know?"

"Of course it's going to be a little awkward, you just have to talk to him and just don't get angry about the band."

I gave her a long kiss on the lips, knowing that I have her to come home to made me ecstatic. A beautiful fiancee, a gorgeous baby girl; that's all I needed.

----

I was surprised how crowded the coffee shop was when I walked up to it on the side walk. As soon as I walked in, all eyes were on me. The group of fifty people were cheering and clapping, screaming my name. Most of them were wearing All Time Low shirts and or had one of our CDs in their hands. In the crowd, I saw Jack laughing happily, his arms around two of the fans.

"Wh.. what's going on?" I asked as Jack pushed through the crowd, coming up to give me a hug.

"I wanted the fans to come see us!" He said as he gave me a loose hug. "Tweeted that we would be here, maybe we could play a song like old times, huh?" The crowd started cheering, clapping even louder than before.

I heard some of the people shouting which songs to play, and the whole situation overwhelmed me. Of course I wanted the fans to be happy, but I didn't know if I could sing in front of a crowd again, let alone with Jack.

"I.. I don't know.. I can't.." I stuttered, taking a few steps back. I almost turned around to reach for the door before a teenage girl came up to me, her eyes bloodshot from crying.

"I can't believe you're actually here. I've been waiting for a year to see you, we all miss you guys so much... Pl-please, can you sign this?" She held out her copy of Don't Panic, Jack's signature already on it. She was choking on her words, trying not to burst out into tears from an overflow of excitement.

I instantly wrapped my arms around the girl, her head pressed into my shoulder as my arms held her against me. For the first the first time in forever, I felt like I wasn't an absolute failure. I still had people I didn't even know who loved me, and I knew that they would support me no matter what I did.

"People like you keep me going," I said softly into her ear. I could hear her start crying, so I quickly hugged her tighter. "Please don't cry, I love you. What's your favorite All Time Low song? I'll sing it."

Her teary eyes looked up to me as a wide smile plastered her face. "Stay Awake has always been my favorite."

I gave her a kiss on the cheek before I signed her CD. Jack already brought an acoustic guitar with him, and he was already sitting down and tuning it. Everyone's eyes were on me as I walked over to Jack, taking a seat next to him.

"Well, while he gets the guitar tuned, I want everyone to sit down, take a deep breath. Is everyone comfortable?" Everyone started smiling as some people took seats in the chairs, and the others on the ground. "So, we're going to play a few songs for all of you, that's if I can remember the lyrics. I'm gonna need you guys to help me, alright?"

Jack started to laugh beside me, strumming the guitar to make sure it was tuned correctly. "Damn, I'm trying to remember the chords to this. Alright, alright. You guys ready?!"

The crowd started to cheer and clap. Jack started the beginning of Stay Awake, and I felt my stomach stop slightly as I knew that I had to sing.

Caught in a cold sweat
Stuck splitting hairs and drinking too much
I'm on my way to striking out
Go to sleep with the pressure of everyone watching and waiting
They're yours for the taking, but I still have my doubts

I was surprised that I knew the words, and the crowd singing helped me. I glanced over to Jack as he smiled, playing his guitar. Once the chorus came around, I let the crowd sing it. Once the song ended, I asked the crowd what other songs they wanted. We ended up playing Backseat Serenade, Therapy, and The Reckless & The Brave. After we stopped, I gave each and everyone in the coffee shop a big hug, and I let them take pictures and I signed things for them. I waited for the shop to clear out of people until it was just the workers, Jack, and I.

"That was one big stunt you pulled, Jack," I muttered as he picked up his guitar case. "That wasn't cool."

"What do you mean? I thought you would like that; I wanted to surprise you!" he said, a look of sadness crossing his face.

"I just wanted to come here and talk to you. I loved meeting the fans, but it overwhelmed me. You know how I get."

"I-I'm sorry. I didn't think you'd feel like that. We can still talk, do you want to sit down?"

"The coffee shop is going to close soon. Maybe another day."

"Well, we could go over to your place. I haven't met your daughter officially yet, you know."

I could tell by his face that he was upset, so I shrugged as I fished my car keys out of my pocket. "Did you drive or am I driving you?"

-----

When we got to my apartment, I could hear the TV on from the hallway. Maddie was sat on the couch with Ruby in her arms, giving her a bottle before she put her to bed.

"Baby, Jack's here," I said as I kicked off my shoes. "How are my two princesses?"

Maddie looked up to the two of us, Jack following me as I led him into the kitchen. I took out two beers and handed him one as I went back into the living room to give Maddie a kiss.

"She's getting tired. She's got a full belly, and she keeps dozing off while she eats. So cute," Maddie giggled, giving Jack a warm smile. "Sorry that you really didn't get to see her, she goes to sleep pretty early."

"No, no, that's okay!" Jack said as he sat down next to Maddie, looking down to Ruby. She was finished with the bottle, her eyes half open as she struggled to keep herself awake. "God, she's beautiful. I'm so proud for both of you."

Maddie gave Jack a small peck on the kiss as a thank you. She excused herself as she brought Ruby to the nursery, and I took Maddie's spot to sit next to Jack.

"I.. I really don't want to talk about anything important. Can we just hang out, play some video games, and drink a few beers?"

"Sure thing, Alex. You pick the game!" He laughed, chugging down his beer.

We spent the night playing video games, and around two I went to bed. Jack said that he wanted to stay the night, so he crashed on the couch. For the first time in months, I got eight hours of sleep.