About a Girl

“So what now?”

I thought about now. I had popped four Tylenols about an hour and a half ago and was feeling pretty damn fine right about now. So I nodded my head and let Alex take my hand and lead me off the bus and towards the pavillion. It didn’t even faze me, but then again, Alex did have a hold of my hand and he had repeatedly told me that if he saw Brendon that he would kick his ass.

“I have a confession to make,” His grip on my hand increased. I looked up at him; he was staring up at the dimming light of the day. I couldn’t believe that it was almost time for the show… I slept in late and then spent the rest of the afternoon hiding out in All Time Low’s bus from not just William but Brendon too.

“What is it, Alex?” I bit my lip.

“I know what you meant earlier about lead singers – about you being with Bilvy, and everything that happened with that and I just want you to know that I’m not like him… or Brendon for that matter.”

I pressed harder on my lip. I didn’t know what to say to that. I mean it was nice to know, but I just didn’t… For the moment it felt nice to be alone – to know that I didn’t have a responsibility to anyone, not really. But then again, Brendon didn’t know that I saw him with whoever she was and therefore in his mind, we were still together.

“Thank you Alex,” It felt like the right then to say – I mean it’s not like he told me he loved me, right? “Thank you for saying that and for being here for me all day and even right now.”

“It’s no problem – are you going to watch are set?” He asked out of nowhere.

I smiled, “Sure, when do you go on?”

His face fell as he thought about it, “Uh, never mind – I’m not doing that to you.”

“What do you mean?” I asked as I showed a guard my pass before we headed backstage.

“We go on right in between Brendon and The Academy Is…” He left me standing in a hallway as he went on into a room where I could see Jack, Rian and Zack. I just stood in the dimly lit hall and hugged my elbows as I thought about it.

Confrontation was definitely going to happen, if I went – Hell, went? I’m already here! But there is no way that I’m going back to the bus and barricade myself in, that’s just stupid and beside, there’s no way I could do that for the entire tour. Though I’m pretty sure Alex would bring me food and magazines and stuff so I wouldn’t get bored.

He is so sweet; he even thought about my feelings before he told me about the situation. Fuck it, I’m watching the set.

“Alex?” I peeked my head into the room to see him pulling his shirt off, “Ops.”

“It’s okay, what’s wrong?” Great – I’m such a fuck-up; he’s always going to think something wrong with me.

I shook my head, “Nothing; just when it’s time for the set, tell me where to stand, okay?”

Alex’s eyes got wide, “Seriously? You’re going to watch?”

“Well, I figured that there’s no real reason that I shouldn’t – so, come on, let’s go walk around until it’s time – Okay?” I suggested this because I could feel the awkward stares coming from his band mates. I’m sure Alex didn’t feel it, at least not as strongly as I did but he nodded anyways, took my hand again, and led me back out the door.

[>>>]

I was halfway through with eating a cotton candy ice cream cone that I swear the coolest guy ever had bought me, when my phone vibrated in the back pocket of my jeans. I looked at the caller ID and could’ve screamed when I saw Brendon’s name flash across it – but I didn’t do anything but stare at my Iphone.

“What’s wrong? Some dip-shit call you?” Alex licked his own orange ice cream cone. I had thought it was funny that this little ice cream cart had all this weird flavors – now, I didn’t care that my awesome favorite flavor in the world was dripping out onto the black top. “Addie? Why are you staring at your phone?”

“Brendon – he just called me, and he bought me this phone,” I sighed as I just continued to stare at it and remembered my first birthday that I spent with Brendon, the day he took me to the AT&T store and bought me the phone. Back when everything was so, perfect.

“Here, give it to me,” Alex had his hand stuck out – His ice cream cone had disappeared. I handed the phone over and watched him walk away and throw it into a dumpster. “You didn’t really need that phone – it was old anyways; I’ll get you a new one.”

With that he took my hand and led me back towards the pavillion again. I couldn’t even be mad at him for what he just did.

[>>>]

I hid in the shadows with Alex standing next to me as we watched Brendon finish the last chord of the last song of his set. It was an acoustic called, “Homewrecker”. I always had loved the play on words until now; because it was dawning on me that it might not be a play on words, but instead a silent clue that ever since he wrote the song he had stopped singing songs for and started singing for someone else.

Brendon sung the final bridge and chorus;

Oh, girl
You're the one
Oh, girl

Who makes it hard to
Lock my doors at night
Even my fire alarms won't work right
And as I try to sleep I
Glance next doors
And all I see is his lips touching yours
Oh, girl

He said his good-byes to Asbury Park and started to walk towards me and Alex.

I pushed myself closer to Alex’s side and in turn he wrapped his arms around me. I knew that as Brendon passed he saw us because his face fell – but Alex pushed me and him onto the stage where the fans didn’t notice us walk across.

“Oh, god – thank you so much, Alex,” I through my arms around him and hugged him tightly.

He hugged me back, but as he did so, he whispered in my ear, “I wouldn’t thank me just yet – I just threw you into the lion’s den.”

I loosened my hold on him and turned around to see The Academy Is… staring at us. Will, particularly, was staring hard at me and it even looked like he was having trouble breathing.

“Uh, hey guy!” I tried to play it off as I usually did – but come on, these were guys that I had know for the majority of my life; they knew all of my tricks.

“Hey Addie, I haven’t seen you all day,” Adam decided to let me slid and came over to give me a hug; but as he did so, he gave me a look that said ‘you are so not off the hook Addison’.

“Butcher, Chizzy, Mikey,… Will – It’s good to see all of you, but I got to go,” I went to grab Alex’s hand and walk out of a door that said EXIT but a very tall guy with a clipboard and a booming voice said,

“Five minutes for the ATL guys.”

I groaned and slumped my shoulders and frowned at Alex – there was no way he could get me out of this situation; I was on my own.

“Sorry Addie, I’ll be back to get you in what, forty-five minutes?” He chuckled half-heartedly and walked off.

I thought fast about this – there was no way that I was going to stay here, it was much too awkward, “I’m going to go see if there are any scalpers selling discount merch.”

Yeah that was real believable, “Hey, I’ll come with you-“

I looked back to see William get up and follow me out the EXIT door. How did Adam let him follow me? I’ll have to track my brother down later and smack him in the head.

“So, how have you been, Addie?” Will asked after we walked in about five minutes of silence.

“Well, I was amazing up until this tour started and then Alex Gaskarth started to put the moves on me and I found out that Brendon’s been cheating on me; so yeah there,” I had absolute no fucking idea why I just told my ex-boyfriend all of that, but I did. Will has always been easy to talk to.

“Do you need me to go talk to them both?” He asked, sincerely.

“No, Alex is actually pretty amazing – he bought me ice cream and threw away my phone for me and saved me from nearly killing Brendon after his set and well… I guess you can do whatever you want to Brendon,” I smiled to myself thinking about the headline in the paper if Will did do something Brendon… WILLIAM BECKETT KILLS BRENDON URIE OVER GIRL DETAILS ON PAGE A2

“Would you come visit me in prison?” I could simply hear the smile on his voice. I stopped walking and turned to look at him.

“You know I would, Will,” I looked at his face as he smiled at me. “I can’t believe I was so scared to come on this tour and be near you again… I guess all that time apart was good for us.”

“What do you mean?” He asked as the smile on his face became contorted and twisted into a frown. I started walking again.

“I mean, you’re finally over me and I’m finally over you,” I was stopped abruptly and pushed against the gate that we had been walking beside. “William?”

“There is absolutely no way that I would ever be over you,” With that he pushed his lips against mine.