The Elevator

Josie took the last couple sips from the flask and laid it on the ground. She didn't like to get drunk. She knew how her body reacted to alcohol, and it wasn't very pleasant. Whenever she drank, she had absolutely no filter, and said whatever was on her mind.

“This was a bad idea,” she said, pushing his shoulder, “You’re a bad influence.”

“Not my fault you’re a lightweight.” he said.

“I’m not a lightweight!” she said, “Maybe you’re just a heavy weight.”

He laughed, “That doesn’t even make sense.”

“God, I feel like we’ve been in here forever.” she said, “I need fresh air. And a sandwich.”

“Please, don’t mention food.” he said.

Josie regretted not stopping for food this morning. Neither of them had eaten, and they were getting hungrier by the minute.

“Wait, what time does the photo shoot start?” he asked.

“Uhm,” she thought, “5.”

He looked at his phone, which was clinging to life at 2% battery, “It’s 5:30.”

“Fuck,” she groaned, “I’m going to get fired.”

“I don’t think you’ll get fired.” he said.

“Why not? We’re going to miss the party, and my boss is never going to trust me to do anything, ever again. If he doesn’t fire me, I’m going to be back behind my stupid desk.” she said.

“What was wrong with your desk?” he asked.

She sighed. Working behind a desk was not only limiting, but exhausting. The time passed by much slower, and every time she felt like she was getting work done, more papers would magically land in front of her. The only time she ever got to leave the office was when she picked people up, or ran to get coffee.

“I just don’t like it, okay?” she said, “I’d much rather be in the studio.”

“But office work is like, the easiest kind of work.” he said, “You’re getting paid to do nothing.”

“You’re lucky I’m too drunk to yell at you.” she said, “And by the way, I’m not getting paid.”

“You’re not getting paid?” he said in shock, “I take back everything I said to you, intern. You’re a real trooper.”

“Thank you, I guess.” she said.

“But really, I don’t think he’ll fire you.” he said, “I’ve been doing stupid shit since we got signed and he’s never fired me.”

“He can’t fire you, you’re in a famous band.” she said, “Me on the other hand, there are a million other people to replace me.”

“But none of them are tough enough to put up with me for this long.” he said.

“What do you mean?” she asked.

“A lot of interns have been my chauffeur.” he said, “They’ve all quit within the first hour.”

“Well, damn.” she said, “No wonder everyone warned me about you.”

“What did they say?” he asked, sounding hurt..

“Nothing really, just that you were trouble.” she said, “That you would be bossy.”

He spread out his legs and leaned against the wall, “Well, what do you think of me?”

Josie looked into his eyes, which had bags developing under them, and sighed, “I don’t think you’re a bad person. You’re just acting like an idiot. You care a lot about what other people think, right?”

He shook his head, “Yeah, a little.”

“Then why are you so mean?” she asked, “That’s all people think when they hear your name. Alex Gaskarth, rude, a diva, trouble. Don’t you want everyone to think good things of you?”

“It wasn’t always like that, you know.” he said, “I’m not who you think I am.”

“Who are you, then?” she asked.

“Let me tell you a story,” he said, “But beware, I’m drunk so it might not make sense.”

There was much more to Alex’s story than Josie thought. Alex’s band had gotten signed straight out of high school, which left four boys with a lot of growing up to do. They all took on new responsibilities, writing songs and learning new music. A year into their success, Alex started dating a girl named Annabelle, who was still in high school. She was 17, and he was 19. They had known each other for a long time, and were in love. The media quickly caught onto the relationship, starting rumors that Alex was into multiple underage girls and was a predator.

If those rumors weren’t enough, Alex was under a lot of stress being the front man of a band. He struggled to maintain a pristine image. Whatever the media saw him as hurt the band as a whole. The added stress led him to have panic attacks and explosions of anger.

After a year of dating, Annabelle broke it off. Alex couldn’t handle the pressure of the media, and she couldn’t handle being in the spotlight. He was devastated, since she was the first girl he really loved.

Shortly after, the whole band was being interviewed for a magazine, which wasn’t anything special. They had done tons of interviews like this before, and it was becoming routine. The woman doing the interview was asking normal questions like, "What’s the song _____ about?” “When’s the next album?”

Suddenly, she broke into a new string of questions.

“So, Alex, you’re the leader of the band, right?” she asked.

“I-I wouldn’t say that.” he said.

“Well, there has to be a leader, right?” she said, “Someone to real everyone in?”

“I wouldn’t c-call myself a leader.” he said.

“But you would say you’re the most popular, no?” she asked, “Girls are always screaming for you.”

‘Can you ask a different question, please?” he said.

“Okay, then. There was a picture that surfaced a couple days ago, of you partying with a bunch of girls, drinking. Care to explain?”

“Um, I was having a good time?” he asked, “It was a party, that’s what people do.”

Jack hit Alex on the shoulder, signaling that he said something wrong.

“What?” Alex said, “I’m not going to explain myself to her.”

“So, how old were those girls?” she said.

He remained calm, “Why does that matter? Aren’t we here to talk about All Time Low?”

“I just thought I’d ask, due to your dating history.” she said.

“Well that’s none of your fucking business, is it?” he said, “Next question.”

She smiled, “So, Jack, how do you feel about Alex’s break up?”

Alex had enough. He stood up and grabbed the video camera out of a man’s hands and smashed it on the ground. Everyone in the room got out their phones and started recording.

“You know what? I’m sick and tired of you stupid reporters! You’re awful, and have no respect. I loved Annabelle, but none of you care about that. You just want the next juicy story. I’m done playing your games, and you can all go fuck yourself. Make that your headliner, bitch.

After that, Alex was the music industry’s newest bad boy. Everyone was scared of him, and wrote fictitious articles about him. They said he thought he was better than everyone else in the band, and that he was a diva. Someone had edited the footage of the interview to make it look like Alex was the bad guy, and everyone believed it. No matter how hard he tried to get rid of the stigma, it stayed with him.

“I just thought, if they all think I’m some asshole, then why not become one?” he said, “They weren’t going to stop saying horrible things about me, so I just embraced it. I guess I got a little carried away and lost myself.”

Josie didn’t know what to say. Everything she knew about Alex was a lie, but that didn’t change the way he treated her.

“You were really horrible to me.” she said, “You can’t take that back.”

“I know,” he said, “Everyone just writes me off so quickly. Oh, don’t mess with that guy, he’s nothing but trouble.”

“I don’t think you’re trouble.” she said.

“Thanks,” he said, “And by the way, the things I said to you, I didn’t mean them.”

It was hard to forget what Alex had said previously, even if he supposedly didn’t mean it. Once someone says something, it’s out there, and it’s impossible to take back. It was one thing to say he wasn’t a monster, he had to prove it. Josie was starting to feel the effects of the alcohol even more. She laid across the floor of the elevator with her knees bent. She closed in her eyes, trying to ignore the smell of the musty space.

“God, I’m so drunk I don’t even care that this floor is disgusting.” she said, “I need a nap.”

He smiled at her, “I’m so sorry, Josie. For everything.”