The Summer of Our Lives

It was a few days later and everyone was taking about a bonfire that was going to happen tonight outside the buses. We had another day off tomorrow, followed by a full two weeks of shows. I was currently on our bus, stretching and getting ready for our performance. Mike told me it was time to go, so I put my headphones away and walked off the bus.

We got to the stage just in time for everyone to be freaking out. Two of our tech guys left the venue and were stuck in traffic and wouldn't make it back in time for the show. I groaned, but kept my cool because the rest of the band and our crew were pissed.

"Hey, you guys need some help?" I heard someone ask. I looked over and saw Mallory standing beside Mike.

"Yes, thank you God!" He said.

"It's no sweat, I help my brother's band all the time. I can see if Danny, their guitar tech can help too. Give me a second."

I watched the interaction and couldn't help but feel a little annoyed. Why the fuck couldn't she talk to me? It's been three days for fuck's sake. I mean I know I haven't talked to her either, but still. I rolled my eyes at myself, I was being overdramatic.

Mallory and Danny came back and started helping set things up. Wires were everywhere, but with the help of everyone things got cleaned up in a matter of minutes. I grabbed my guitar and headed over the side of the stage with the guys. Mallory and Danny had everything finished and were walking past us when I stopped her really quickly.

"Hey, thanks for the help. We would've crashed and burned without you," I smiled.

"It's no problem, I'll catch you guys later," She said with a smile. Good, so we were good. Time to play.

We closed Warped Tour for the night, and despite us being the last to perform the crowd was wild. We were all currently sitting outside the bus cooling down a little bit. Austin from Of Mice & Men came over and told us that everyone was meeting around the bonfire which wasn't too far from us now. When we got there I started talking with Kellin about how his daughter was and he asked about shit going on in my life. I saw Mallory walking with Alex and I decided to catch up with her really quick.

"Mallory! Hey Mallory can I talk to you for a second?" I called after her.

"Uh yeah, I'll catch you later Alex." She hugged him slightly and walked towards me. "What's up?"

"I was just seeing if we were cool after what happened the other night," I said.

"Oh, right. Um yeah, we're totally cool."

"You don't sound so sure," I chuckled.

"I just handled it all wrong, I'm sorry I made you think we weren't cool."

"It's my fault too, your brother warned me to stay away and I just-"

"Wait what?" she asked, cutting me off.

"Yeah Alex said something about staying away from-"

"What did he say?" She interrupted, again.

"To just stay away from you, something about you going through something..." I hesitated.

"God fucking dammit, how fucking dare he?" she yelled.

"Look I'm sorry I didn't mean to start anything."

"No it's not you, my brother is a piece of shit is all," she said with venom pouring off every word. She turned away and started walking away.

"Mallory wait!" I called. "He's just looking out for you, I didn't even listen."

"Seriously Vic, get out of my way," she said while scanning the area for her brother.

"No, really it's not a big deal I shouldn't have said anything. Just calm down and hang out with me," I said. She seemed to relax when I put my hands on her shoulders, so I kept them there until she answered.

"Fine," she sighed. "But did he say anything else to you?"

"Nothing else."

"All right then, lets go make s'mores," she said while grabbing my hand and leading me closer to the fire.

We spent the majority of the bonfire hanging out and joking together. Her laugh was infectious, it was loud and happy. It made me happy knowing I could make someone else this happy. She asked a lot about my life, but never really responded when I asked about hers. I never pushed it.

The one bad part of the night was Alex. After Mallory's outburst he was still practically missing, until later on. Mallory and I were sharing a seat by the fire, continuing our s'mores eating contest when Alex sat right across from us. He looked right at me and gave me a 'I can't believe you didn't listen to me' look that I chose to ignore. A second later he was clearing his throat and motioning me to follow him. We walked behind All Time Low's bus and I took a deep breath to try and explain myself before he started to get angry.

"I told you to stay away," Alex said before I got a chance to say anything. "I also know what happened with you two in Vegas."

"Look I didn't mean for that to happen, I just wanted to be friends with the girl."

"She isn't in a place for this Vic, you don't get it," he sounded angry.

"Why not? She seems perfectly happy being my friend right now!" I argued back.

"She won't tell you!"

"So you do it Alex, tell me what's so wrong with me being with her."

"Fine, you wanted to know. She's a recovering heroin addict," he said calmly. "She's been clean for about ninety days and she's doing well. I warned you because I don't want anything happening to either one of you guys. She got herself into some scary situations, but since you didn't listen just please be careful."

He walked back over to the bonfire after telling me, and all I wanted to do was pass out. I can't believe I got myself caught up in this.