Best of Me

“So, you just stopped hitting on her? Just like that?” Rian asked, incredulous look on his face.

“Yeah. Is that so hard to believe?”

“Yes.”

“Dude!”

“What? I’ve never seen you stop hitting on anyone for anything other than a straight up no.”

“He’s right.” Jack said from the kitchen, through a mouthful of Pop Tart. “Remember Rebecca’s mom, in high school? She gave you the same ‘I wish I could, but I can’t’, and you still made it work.” Jack pelvic thrusted to accentuate his point. I rolled my eyes.

“We’re on tour. Zack’s right. Savannah’s right. It doesn’t end well when you sleep with someone on tour.”

“I’m glad I could finally talk some sense into you.” Zack said from the kitchen, where he was sitting with Jack.

“That’s never stopped you before.” Rian chuckled.

I widened my eyes. “So? I’m a new man.”

“Oh my god.” Rian said, slowly. “You actually like her.”

“Shut up. I do not.”

“You were staring at her. Like, all night.” Jack pointed out.

“And you followed her drunk ass to Taco Bell.” Zack said.

“So? I was hungry.”

“Sure.” Rian responded, sarcastically.

“Well, I invited her over to ride with us.” Zack’s eyebrows shot up, and Rian opened his mouth, but I kept talking anyway. “We started watching a movie last night and fell asleep. So I invited her to watch the movie with us. It’s only a 4 hour drive to Vegas.”

“Fine by me. She seems pretty cool, and you seem to like her a lot.” Jack said, opening another package of Pop Tarts.

“Fine by me, too.” Rian responded, and Zack nodded in consent.

“I’m going to shower. Let me know when she gets here.” As I walked to the back of the bus, I thought about what they said. I can’t believe that I’m feeling like this about a girl I’d just met.
We fit perfectly. We had the same sense of humor, and it felt like we could talk for hours. All I wanted to do was be around her and make her laugh. I thought she was incredibly beautiful, but it was more than that. I wanted to figure out everything there was to know about her. I didn’t even want to try and stay away from her. As I showered and got dressed, I could feel the butterflies coming on as I thought about spending the day with her.



I knocked on the door of All Time Low’s bus and Alex answered, wearing a pair of basketball shorts and a striped V-neck.

“Hey.” He said, enveloping me in a hug. I breathed in his scent, and smiled at him as he let me go.

“You look better than you did this morning.” I teased.

“I could say the same about you.” He said, lightly pushing me with his shoulder.

We walked onto the bus, and I greeted Zack, Rian, and Jack, who were lounging lazily on the couch, playing on their phones.

“Savannah! You look lovely this morning. Not as lovely as when my pants were off, though.” Jack said.

“I thought you only said that to me!” Rian commented, pretending to look upset.

“Normally I would, but you’re not as pretty as Savannah.”

“You said I was prettier!”

“Shut up, Rian. Are you trying to bury me?”

I laughed. “You look lovely too, Jack. But you do look better with your pants off.”

Jack beamed at me. “You’re a keeper.”

“C’mon, let’s go to the back lounge.” Alex said, leading me to the back of the bus. I could see the blush rise in his cheeks, and I smiled. It was pretty cute.

The DVD was already loaded on the TV, and Alex clicked on play. As we settled into the cushions,
Alex’s shoulder leaned on mine. I instantly leaned into his touch, and tried to keep the fact that we were ‘just friends’ in the back of my mind.
Normally while watching movies on tour, Logan talks his ass off and I threaten bodily harm every time he opens his mouth. A huge pet peeve of mine is talking during movies and TV shows, because I can’t focus on two things at once. However, during the Dark Knight, as The Joker wreaked havoc and mayhem on Gotham, I couldn’t care less. Alex and I were talking the whole time, and it was the only thing I wanted to pay attention to.
We talked about our high school days, favorite songs that we’ve written, our families, favorite movies and books, and everything in between.
Before I knew it, the credits were rolling, and Alex and I looked over at the screen with surprise.

“So much for watching the movie, huh?” He chuckled.

“I’ve seen it a million times anyway.”

Alex looked at me with a smile on his face.

“How much time until we get to Vegas?” I asked, trying to avoid his gaze.

“An hour and a half.”

I sat back against his arm, and I felt him playing with my hair. Everything we’d talked about made me like him more. Hearing about his childhood, funny stories from high school, his world views, tugged on my heartstrings.

“What’s the ultimate goal for All Time Low?” I asked, suddenly. Maybe talking about where I wanted my career to go would help keep my mind off of how much I wanted to kiss Alex and never stop.

Alex looked a bit surprised at the question, but answered with a smile nonetheless. “To make an impact, a real change. I want my music to mean something. I want it to grow and change with me, and be a legacy.”

I felt moved as he put my feelings into words. “This all seems so fleeting. The music industry is so fickle as far as success goes. I don’t want to make music to fit a ‘scene’. I want to make music that makes a difference, that expresses what life is about. I want to make music that lasts.”

“Exactly.” Alex said with a soft smile. I realized how close my face was to mine as he learned his forehead forward.

Before I could stop myself, or before Alex could move further, Jack burst into the back lounge, wearing only boxers. “Dude, you have to help me kick Rian’s ass in Guitar Hero.”

“No! Get your naked ass out of here!” Alex laughed, throwing a pillow at him.

“I thought I could count on you! Especially when I’m naked.” Jack pretended to pout.

“You can. If I don’t help you’ll lose your boxers too, and we all need a little less Barakat penis in our lives.”

“Thanks Alex.” Jack beamed before leaving the back lounge.

“He’s your best friend?” I asked.

“Absolutely. He’s goofy, but he’s the best friend I’ve ever had.”

“I can tell.” I smiled.

I was about to get up, when Alex asked suddenly, “What’s your biggest fear?”

I paused, and leaned back into him. What a loaded question.

“Failure.” I replied, honestly. “Yours?”

“Being forgotten.”

“I think our fears go hand in hand.” I observed, chuckling.

“Indeed they do.” Alex paused. “You’re remarkable.”

My breath caught in my chest, and he laced his fingers with mine.

“So are you.” I said, honestly.



Savannah and I spent the last hour of the ride playing Guitar Hero with the guys. She wasn’t intimidated in the slightest by the dick jokes or the (partial) nudity, and could even keep up with the banter. I had a feeling that it had to do with a lifetime of dealing with her bandmate’s antics. It made me like her even more.
After the final round of Guitar Hero, we caught our first glance of The Strip. For the first time in my life, I was disappointed. I could’ve stayed on the bus with her and the guys for way longer.

“God, The Wynn is amazing.” Savannah said, looking out at the huge building.

“No kidding.” Zach agreed.

“Did you guys throw down for the table tonight?” Jack asked Savannah, scratching the front of his boxers.

“Of course.” Savannah said, laughing. “Did you?”

“Mhmm.” I responded, putting my arm around her shoulder. “No way we’d miss out on a table at XS.”

“I can’t believe that Pete got us the table last minute.” Rian said, shaking his head.

“I can.” Savannah said, smiling. “The dude’s amazing.”

“Where did you guys get rooms?” Jack asked. “I wanted to snuggle with Logan tonight.”

“The Wynn.”

“Yes!” Jack said, doing a victory dance.

“Except I doubt you’ll be able to get in. I usually can’t even get into our room.”

“Why not?” Jack asked.

“Logan usually runs off somewhere and he always has my key.” Jack knitted his eyebrows together at her statement, and Savannah clarified. “My outfits never have pockets. Most of the time he’ll remember to give me my key before running off, but sometimes he doesn’t.”

Rian laughed. “Vegas sounds like the place for him to run off without being found.”

“No kidding.” Zack said, shaking his head.

I wasn’t exactly opposed to the arrangement, as it had worked out in my favor the last time Savannah got locked out. “Do you guys want to pre-game in our room?” I asked, trying to change the subject.

Savannah looked at the guys, and they nodded in consent. “Sure. Let me text the guys.”

As she got her phone out, I played absentmindedly with her hair. The guys chatted about the show tonight, and I let my mind wander. I didn’t want to stay away from Savannah. Even if I wanted to, I felt like I couldn’t. But if she just wanted to be friends, I already knew I would never be able to keep my feelings to that level. As she smiled up at me when she put her phone away, I looked in her brown eyes, and couldn’t help but smile back.
I was in way too deep…