Ashley's P.O.V.

Today is the day, the very first performance with one the best bands ever, well in my opinion. I was overly giddy at the thought as I straightened my light brown hair and hummed one of the song's we would be playing tonight, it was the song 'Dearly Beloved'.

There was a knock on the bathroom door and I opened it to find Brianna fiddling with her white beanie, "We've stopped at Steak and Shake and the guys from ATL want to know if we want to join them for lunch?"

I hurriedly slipped on a green jacket and slid past Bree, rushing out the door and almost ran into Liam as he called after me, "I guess that was a yes!"

Once outside I found Nicole and Devin chatting with Rian. I quickly scoped out who else was outside the tour buses, there was Flyzik, Vinny, Zack, and a redheaded girl standing by herself. I decided be friendly and made my way over to her, since I didn't have anyone to talk to at the moment either.

"Hey, what's your name?" I asked coming to a stop where she stood.

She smiled, "I'm Shaylynn, and you?"

"I'm Ashley." I reply holding out a hand for her to shake, but she pulls me into a hug. What is with the people of ATL and hugs? I hugged her back, chuckling because of her actions.

"So you're in a band?" She asked leaning on ATL's bus.

I nodded, "I'm the lead singer and the rhythm guitarist of Lost Love Crisis. What do you do?"

"I'm just a merch girl." She said with a shrug.

I frowned slightly, "Aw I'm sure you're a lot more that."

She grinned, "So I'm about to head inside, want to come?"

"Sure." With that we stepped into checkered white and black building and I spotted Jack sitting near the end of a really long table, so I quickly dashed over to the seat next to him as Shaylynn took the sit across from me.

"So what made you want to take up a career in music?" Shay asked me as we picked up our menus.

I noticed that Jack seemed to be paying attention to us, so I had a hard time consuming my blush as I explained, "It started back in high school, Nicole had always been playing around with a guitar. I don't think there was ever a time when she didn't have one with her, well I was in the choir all four years of high school and in middle school, so we both had a feeling that we knew what we were doing. Right after graduation we had covered some songs together and she helped me learn how to play guitar, so one day she just kind of suggested it. Like at random, how about we start our own band? I thought it was kind of crazy, but I hated my job at the time, so I figured why not do something fun? We mentioned the idea to Devin and he said he wanted in, then he got Liam to play bass for us. Then I got Bree and here we are now after a lot of practice and crappy shows."

"So Nicole is basically the reason the band started?" Jack asked cutting into Shay and I's conversation.

I tried to ignore the spike of annoyance that I felt when Jack asked that, why was it always about Nicole with him? I nodded anyway with a smile. After that the rest of our band's and crew came into the Steak & Shake and sat down. I noticed that Nicole looked somewhat irritated as she took a seat between Alex and Devin at the other end of the table on Shay's side.

"Sup Ash?" Liam asked as he sat in the seat next to Shaylynn.

"Nothing much Lime bean." I murmur and watch his face scrunch up in little anger.

"Really? In public?" He questioned as he finally took note of the fact Shay was still laughing at his pet name.

I shrugged gesturing to Shay, "She likes it."

Immediately she sobered up at my remark and it was then my turn to laugh. Since we had such a large group two waiters came to either side of the table and we all quickly ordered, turns out Shay and I kept up easy conversations, talking about what it’s like basically living on tour and our home life. When the food finally arrived we were having a hard time breathing from laughing so hard, I could see Shaylynn and me quickly becoming friends over this tour.

“Th-this one time Alex got drunk off of beer or something and we recorded him when he turned into this guy…” Shay explained and paused to have a fit of giggles and called across the tables, “What was the name Alex? Dewayne McGirtan?”

Everyone in ATL busted out laughing and I watched Alex’s face turn bright red, “You know I don’t remember doing that, so shush.”

“I think I’ve already seen that video on YouTube.” I commented.

Shay shook her head, “There’s a lot more trust me, like when he goes back down to ‘the lake’ for money and almost gets us kicked out of the hotel.”

I quieted down from my own laughter and remarked, “You’re going to have to show me that sometime.”

“Alex does weird funny shit like that all the time, get him drunk.” Jack remarked with a nudge to my shoulder.

“Not to mention how loving he can get when he’s wasted.” Zack added and Alex looked like he wanted to crawl in a hole.

“Aw come on guys leave him alone.” I argued trying not to laugh more, “You’re embarrassing him.”

“He only does that when he’s around girls he likes.” Rian teased and Alex threw one of his fries at his head.

I chuckled when Alex hit his target and did a little fist pump of triumph. After that we were all a bit calmer so we could quickly get finished and head back on the road. We all got individual checks and Jack surprised us all when he put cash down in front of Nicole.

She gave him a confused look asking, “What’s this for?”

“From one guitarist to another.” He said with a shrug and I swore I saw him wink at her, her brightening cheeks supported my theory.

“Thanks.” She murmured and that’s when I knew it for a fact, she didn’t even have to say it; I knew that she was attracted Jack.

I had to grit my teeth together to keep from letting out a growl of frustration because it was obvious that the feeling was mutual for Jack. I don’t get it, she has almost all the guys around here wrapped around her finger and she doesn’t even realize it. She could easily have the guy we both want. Then there’s me, I’ve only had two serious boyfriends in my life and one only went out with me to get to her, of course that was the one she hated, so I had a good laugh out of it in the end. I would kill to have a guy want me the way they seem to want Nicole, it was almost desperate.

I’m knocked out of my thoughts as I searched for the exact amount I needed to pay when the money was tossed into front of me. I lifted my gaze to find Alex smiling down at me saying, “You can just take care of the tip.”

I smiled, slightly shocked that he did that and thanked him before paying and following him out the door. Thinking, ‘It’d be nice to have a guy like Alex be into me.’

Alex’s P.O.V.

I decided to wait and watch LLC’s show side stage since I’ve never had the opportunity to do so ever before. At the moment they were doing a small sound check with the drums while Ashley and Nicole bounced around on stage, they both seemed full of hyper energy. Out of nowhere Rian and Jack walk up the stairs to stand next to me; right then the music starts up with Nicole strumming her guitar quickly.

“Hello Indianapolis! How are you guys feeling this afternoon?” Ashley yelled into her mic, taking a step closer to the crowd with a wide smile on her face. The audience erupted with screams and Ashley spoke once more, "In case you didn't know we are Lost Love Crisis!”

Nicole quickly hopped up on the amp and started the chords for the song ‘Priceless’. Half way through their third song Nicole had a bunch of fans reaching out for her as she basically balanced on the railing, shredding her instrument as a body guard held on to her legs in case she fell, but she didn’t seem to have a problem staying right where she was. She jumped back on stage and quickly grabbed the neck and body of her lavender guitar, wind milling it as she did a little spin of her own at the same time. Right on the last note of ‘How was I Supposed to Know’ she did a no handed back flip and I heard Rian gasp behind me.

I turned to find Jack with his jaw dropped as he shouted, “How the fuck did she do that?”

Ashley turned her attention to Nicole laughing before saying, “Show off.”

Nicole shrugged with a wide grin and Ashley began to talk to the crowd once more, “Okay people we’re gonna slow it down for a minute with our song ‘Home’ is that okay with you?”

A roar of yes’s was Ashley’s answer and Nicole and Liam began to play and Ashley lifted her arms in the air, swaying them back and forth urging the crowd to do the same. Without hesitation the audience’s hands, cellphones, and lighters were waving in the air as Ashley’s melodic voice washed out over them. All eyes seemed to follow her, but a few that were staring at their favorite band member. She was absolutely mesmerizing, she was by far one of the best front women I had ever seen. When the song ended the screams were almost deafening and her face couldn’t have ever looked brighter, it was obvious how much she loved what she was doing. She and the rest of the band took quick drinks of water before tossing it out on the crowd. Ashley and Nicole stepped to the other side of the stage, seeming to be quietly discussing something.

They walked over to the closest body guard, leaning down to speak to him and he then walked out to the masses of fans. The body guard lifted a blue haired guy up over the fence and onto the stage, Ashley and Nicole quickly run over the guy and give him tight hugs as he basically freaks out. Nicole gently kisses the boy on the cheek before releasing him to Ashley. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Jack flinch forward and then take a few steps back, when I turned to see exactly what he was doing he had his arms crossed and a hand pressed over his mouth.

“Dude what the fuck is wrong with you?” I asked raising an eyebrow at him.

“Nothing.” He snapped.

Rian rolled his eyes, “Really Jack? You’ve probably seen them kiss fans a thousand times on YouTube, why does it bother you now at this exact moment?”

“Because that wasn’t ten feet in fucking front of me!” Jack whined, trying to flip his bangs out his eyes and failing when a few strands stayed stuck to his forehead. He quickly reached his hand up to brush the loose strands back with a pout muttering, “Dammit.”

I couldn’t stop myself from chuckling at Jack’s behavior. After their last song Ashley ran off stage dripping with sweat and went right to Jack, making my body tingle with jealousy as she bounced up and down asking, “How did I do?”

Jack smiled pulling her into a hug, “You did great!”

“Thanks.” She giggled and finally let him go.

Jack rushed over to Nicole, crushing her in a hug, “Where the hell did you learn a wind mill like that?”

I saw the shadow of annoyance on Ashley’s face as Nicole replied, “I learned it from my ex Ricky Olson and a bit from my friend Alan Ashby.”

“Name dropping.” Devin sang as he walked by and she stuck her tongue out at him.

“You dated a guy from Motionless in White?” Jack asked seeming to be completely shocked by the idea.

“I guess I just have a thing for guitar players.” She stated with a smile and Jack tried to keep from blushing. “And Ash has a thing for front men.”

“Did you date that Chris guy?” Rian asked Ashley, finally joining the conversation.

“Yep, but my days with lead singers are over.” She muttered and I tried to ignore my heart sinking a bit.

“How come?” Jack questioned.

“They’re man sluts.” She muttered before heading off stage.

Oh god what if that’s all she thinks I am? I have to prove her wrong, somehow.

Jacks P.O.V.

I was still amazed by LLC's performance. It was absolutely amazing, but I can't remember if it was the entire band that was great, or just Nicky.

"So Nicky, back to the Ricky subject, how did you guys started dating?" I asked and I watched her face go from a wide grin to a grimace.

"We went on tour together, we became great friends while he was teaching me new guitar tricks to please the crowd, and one day when I finally mastered my windmill he asked me out." She said almost in disgust.

"Why do you say it like that?" I asked.

"He used me so that his best friend could get to me... His best friend is Chris and Chris used Ashley to get to me." She said with her head hung. I felt a rush of confusion rush over my face. Why the fuck would someone do that?

"Did you like Chris?" I asked. She shook her head with no hesitation.

"Ashley is still pissed because of it, she keeps saying that it's fine, but it's not. She really liked Chris, and Chris made her believe that he really liked her too." She said still seeming sad. I placed my fingers on her chin to raise her head so she could look at me, and saw her start to blush when our eyes met.

"You can't control how people feel about you, you are a very beautiful woman Nicky. Who wouldn't want to be with you?" I asked. She is so gorgeous, no matter how sweaty she may be at the moment, she is still beautiful. A huge smile grew on her face.

"That was a compliment from one guitarist to another right?" She said sarcastically and walked away. I chuckled as I watched her walk away.

"Dude, stop staring and wipe up your slobber." Zack said snapping his fingers in my face. I swatted his hand out of my face angrily. "We are on in a matter of seconds and you're stuck looking at Nicky's ass." I rolled my eyes, grabbed my black guitar and quickly made my way to the stage, instantly hearing screaming fans. When Alex ran out to the stage, the crowd screamed even louder.

"Hey how is everybody today?" Alex yells out to the crowd and they immediately responded with a roar. "Good, this first song is called Backseat Serenade!"

The crowd screamed in approval before I started playing my guitar. As I was playing I Iooked over to side stage and saw Nicky dancing, completely unaware I saw her until she turned to the side and saw me chuckling. She instantly stopped and her cheeks burned red and she waved with an embarrassed grin. I returned my attention back to the crowd and saw a girl in the very front reaching out for me.

We got through the first three songs and I bent down and reached out for her hand and pulled her up on stage with the bodyguards’ assistance. When she was safely on stage she started freaking out, I hugged her to calm her down and whispered in her ear, “It’s okay, calm down, cutie."

I kissed her on the cheek and when I let her go the body guard grabbed her and swiftly put her back into the crowd. I looked over to the side of the stage and saw Nicky with her arms crossed and a look of disgust on her face, but was quickly wiped away when our eyes met.

'Hmm, maybe that pisses her off too.' I thought to myself.

When we were finally done with our set I walked off stage to Nicky who still had a bit of frustration on her face.

"So how did we do?" I asked.

"It was awesome!" She yelled before hugging me

"Hmm, I seem to think that you didn't feel that way when I kissed that girl on the cheek." I said with an evil grin. She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms.

"What? Are you suggesting that I'm jealous?" She giggled. I nodded with a wide grin on my face. “Oh please, you only did that because I kissed that guy on the cheek." She giggled.

"Hmm, did I?" I said stroking my chin. She giggled, and started to walk away but I grabbed her wrist and pulled her back. "Where are you going?" I asked. "You need to teach me how to do that windmill." I smiled as I watched her face light up.

"Maybe some other time." She winked and walked away. 'Grrr.' I whined to myself as I watched her head back to her bus.

"Dude! You’re doing it again!" Zack yelled snapping me out of my daze. I laughed and gathered all the guys before heading back to the bus. When we were in Alex flopped on the couch and seemed to be pouting.

"Are you okay, Lexy?" I cooed as I sat next to him. He rolled his eyes and crossed his arms, "No seriously what’s wrong with you?"

"The thing that Ash said... About all front men being man sluts... I'm not a man slut." Alex said trying to reassure himself. A part of me wanted to tell Alex why she thinks that way, but that's a story Ash should tell him.

"Um, I hate to break it to you man, but you kind of are a man slut." Rian laughed. Alex looked up at him offended.

"No. I'm. Not." He said through his teeth.

"Dude, how many girls do you have to "Hit and Quit" before you realize that you are one of the biggest sluts on the planet... besides Jack." Zack laughed.

Both Alex and I gasped, offended, but after a few minutes I accepted it.

"You know what you may be right, but that's over now." I said to my defence. They all laughed at me, even Vinny our bus driver. "I mean it! Have you guys seen Nicky? I can't do that stuff anymore if I want her!"

Zack, Rian, and Alex looked at me with confused faces.

"Wait, you mean it when you say you like Nick?" Zack asked in disbelief.

"What, can Jack not be serious?" I asked them all.

"No, no you can't." They all said simultaneously.

"You know what, fuck all of you, you'll see!" I yelled. I'll prove to them I'm serious, I'll prove to Nicky I'm serious...Dead serious.

"So seeing that Jack is serious about changing what are you gonna do to change your man slut ways, Alex?" Zack asked.

"Consider me a changed man." Alex declared. This time I got to laugh, if Alex is serious... He might as well stay away from women, period.

Nicole's P.O.V.

When I was on the bus I went straight to the cabinet over the couch and retrieved my guitar from its case. I sat down on the couch and I started to play a song i have been working on. This seemed to be a habit for me, but I loved it, the guitar was what showed how I was feeling, happy, sad, angry, hyper, etc.

"Do you ever leave that damn guitar alone?" Devin asked.

"What kind of question is that?" I laughed, maybe a little over-exaggerated.

"Now that you say that.... It might have been a stupid question." He chuckled."Wait it that something new?" He asked as he pointed to the notes I was playing.

"Um, yea. A song of my own I've been working on." I said shyly. I don't sing a lot in the band, so writing this is kind of foreign to me.

"Can I hear you sing it?" Dev asked.

"Really? Don't you already know the answer to that?" I asked giggling.

"Come on Nick, I hear you singing in the shower all the time, you have a beautiful voice. Why don't you express it?" He asked and I shook my head.

"Dev, Ash is the singer of this band, not me, that's why I play the guitar." I said as I gestured to my instrument.

"Well if there is one thing I know Nick, it's that you have an amazing voice and if you don't let people hear it. You will always wonder 'what if' and I don't think you should do that, especially with pipes like yours." He grinned.

"I think I'm okay with wondering 'What if', Dev." I smiled. He rolled his eyes and walked to the driver seat of the bus. I started playing my guitar again when Ashley walked in with a grin.

"Hey girly." She smiled sitting next to me. "Wow that sounds pretty." She said pointing to my fingers moving along the strings. "That’s new right?"

"Yeah, but god forbid you ask her to fucking sing it!" Devin yelled, teasing. I laughed and continued to play.

"Well, I'd like to hear it sometime." She grinned.

"Hope it’s not anytime soon." Dev still teasing me.

"Oh my god, Devin SHUT THE HELL UP!" I yelled, giggling. I put my guitar back in its case and into the cabinet. When I closed the cabinet I heard my phone vibrate on the couch and Ashley looked at the screen and a look of annoyance struck her face. I looked at the screen and saw it was Jack.

"You guys seem to be getting friendly." Ashley said biting back her frustration. I smirked. 'Wow this really pisses her off, huh?'

"I guess you could say that. I'm going to teach him how to do my windmill sometime soon." I smiled innocently. I saw her roll her eyes which only made my smile grow wider. I looked back down at my phone and opened the text that read:

'Hey, cutie. I'm holding you to that wind mill lesson ;)' I giggled at the message and eagerly replied.

'Don't get your hopes up ;).'

'Don't play 'hard to get', 'cause I'll getcha' He stated. I rolled my eyes and smirked.

'Who is playing 'hard to get', Jack? Maybe I just don't want to show you my cool tricks ;).'

'If you only knew, how dirty my mind is haha ;)' He sent. I laughed loudly making Ashley's expression grow even more irritated, but at this point I really don't care.

'Haha, I think I have an idea,' I sent. Seconds later he responded.

'But in all seriousness, you were every bit of amazing today, I can't wait to see you guys perform again, Well.... You perform again :).' Butterflies shot through my stomach as I read the text two more times. I stood up from the couch and walked to the back and laid down on my bunk.

'Does he like me?' I asked myself. 'The nice things that he has said to me can't just be guitarist from guitarist.' I thought. Then again he is just as nice to Ashley as he is me... 'Ugh!'

I groaned to myself. I rolled over so that my face was buried in my pillow.

"I want to know." I whispered to myself. I want to know if he likes me, I want to know if Ash likes him, I want to know if Jack is actually flirting with me. Suffocating, I rolled back over on my back and stared at the ceiling of the bunk when I got another text from Jack.

'So is it true that you’re into guitar players?' He asked. I giggled and thought back to what Ash said about front men.

'Well, now that you mention it, no it's not true... They are man whores :)' I smiled as I pressed 'send'. 'He said that if I play 'Hard to get' he would still get me... Hmmm, I'm going to hold him to that.' I thought as I rolled over on my side and pulled my curtain closed.

Notes

Ah yes, yet another chapter from myself and my fair weathered friend, enjoy none the less.