My eyes fluttered open from the sound of the phone, I was still trapped in the arms of Alex. I rustled the sheets around a little and was finally able to spin around and catch a glimpse of him. The sun highlighted his hair making it look blonder than before. It casted shadows on his face that made him look so handsome. I wanted to capture this moment forever so I successfully grabbed my phone off the table and quickly took a picture. I pulled a smile and cozied up to Alex for the picture. I'm surprised it didn't wake him up.

Resentfully, I had to get out of bed knowing that I would have to check out soon. Carefully I untangled myself out of Alex's arms, trying not to disturb him. My feet touched the soft carpet one the floor.

"Damn" I whispered, I had forgotten that I had left my clothes in my car. I really wanted to take a shower but I had no clean clothes to change into...I guess I would have to go to the car and retrieve my clothes.

Just in case Alex woke up I wrote him a note:

Dear Alex,
You were drunk as shit last night and no one was claiming the poor lost boy. Taking you into my hands I took you in for the night and we are currently in the hotel room I had booked for the night. I feel as if you really love jack because you kept mumbling his name throughout the night. Well happy morning I will be back soon.

Love,
Ashley
P.s. I just went to my car to grab some clothes so I can change when I finish taking a shower
P.s.s. There is Advil on the table in case you have a headache which I'm guessing you will

Unlocking the door, closing it silently I was greeted by the hustle and bustle of the outside world. Kids ran up and down the hallway with angry parents trailing behind. I smiled to myself hoping one day I would be able to do the same. Continuing down the hallway I made my way the the elevator.

The doors opened and I walked into the lobby to be greeted by overly happy employees.

The sun was shining bright in the sky as I walked out the automatic doors to my blue Mercedes gleaming in the parking lot. Pulling out my keys I unlocked the car and grabbed my purple v-neck tshirt and denim skinny jeans. Susan's car wasn't here anymore and neither was Kathy's so I assumed they had left already.

I was beginning to wonder if Alex was up yet but he was hammered pretty hard last night. I didn't want to leave him alone for to long because God only knows what that man will do.

Locking my car again I went back inside and the smell of fresh baked muffins pulled me into the buffet. I took two chocolate muffins, one for me and one for Alex. Just as I was about to leave someone called my name making me yelp.

Facing me was the tall man with brown hair and and blue eyes; They looked at me with longing. He had on a white tshirt and jeans, his mouth pressed in a flat line. I was caught staring down the man I had once loved, was once willing to give my whole world too.

"Hello Dan" I breathed, not wanting to move from my spot. I was afraid of him really, he tore me in two.

"Hey Ashley it's really nice seeing you here." He said rubbing the bridge of his nose. Let's just say what happened between us didn't end so well, I could say leaving him was a mistake but then I would be completely lying.

He didn't seem so concerned with holding a conversation which made me mad because he's the one that brought my attention to him. He was the one that said hello to me but now all he did was stare at me with some underlying desire.

I saw an arm snake around his waist and I noticed a girl in a black skirt and a baggy blue shirt. She had on black converse and her dark hair flowed to her shoulders. She was pretty, and I couldn't help but feel a little hurt. He moved on to something better.

The memory was permanently etched into my skull, it was no etch-e-sketch...I couldn't erase it. I remembered the day I walked home to find him laying in bed with some other girl, obviously he dumped that one right away claiming that he loved me and this was a huge mistake. Dan though lied almost on a daily basis. I could tell he had moved on though, judging by the girls left hand.

"This is um Kayden." He said, his voice shook. He was just as nervous as I was, probably hoping I didn't share what happened between us.

"Kayden it is really nice to meet you! You seem really sweet!" Smiling at her I shook her hand. I don't think she had any clue how Dan and I knew each other, she probably thought we were work partners.

"You must be Ashley? Well I absolutely adore your dress!" Kayden and I made small talk for a some time before Dan cleared his throat obviously annoyed that we were getting along so well.

Honestly, I wanted him to feel guilty. I wanted him to know how much he hurt me and how he ripped my heart out of my chest. It took me months to get over him, countless hours crying at Susan's house and many sleepless nights.

"We must get going Kayden if we want to make our flight." Dan informed her, she said a quick goodbye and followed Dan out the door.

"Pathetic" I thought, Dan started the conversation but didn't even have to nerve to end it properly! I didn't even get to have a proper conversation with Kayden because he was being such a dick. I rolled my eyes and headed up to the room.

A couple minutes later I arrived back at room, muffins in hand. Opening the door I saw Alex leaning over on the bed with the note I had written him in his hands. His hair was a birds nest and his suit was going in all sorts of directions.

"I hope you like chocolate" I said handing him the muffin

"Thanks" he said with a mouth full of food

I sat next to him eating my muffin as well when a ringing broke the silence. Alex pinched his ears closed in annoyance due to his hangover. He motioned to his pocket and for me to answer his phone. In doing so I noticed the caller was Zack.

"Hello?" I answered, the other end was silent for a moment but Zack soon continued on.

"Hello? Who is this?" Zack questioned

"Alex's friend Ashley. Who's this?" I wanted to make sure it was Zack before I threw that name out in the open.

"Alex's band mate Zack. I was calling to see if you knew where Alex was." Zack asked

"Sure do! He's sitting right next to me." I swung my legs back and forth on the bed and glanced over at Alex, his full attention on consuming the muffin.

"Can I talk to him?" Zack asked i sensed some annoyance

I leaned over onto Alex, resting my head on his shoulder.

"Wanna talk to zack?" I let my eyes trail over to his hands that were now making its way to my head to give me and awkward hug.

"I have to put up with that dick? Ah sure man." He said giving in and taking the phone.

He said a few yeps and next thing you know he hung up the phone and turned to me.

"They said they're going to be here in three hours" Alex filled me in on what he was told

"Plus were playing a show tonight in Portland, would you like to come?" He grabbed my hand and squeezed it.

"Yes I would love to" agreeing to the small show I'm sure they would be playing. Alex wrapped me in a hug and didn't let go for a good minute.

"Well I'm going to go take a shower now...please make yourself at home." I patted him awkwardly on the back and pushed myself off the bed.

I gathered up my clothes and some towels and shut the bathroom door behind me. I turned on the shower and undressed, stepping into the shower I let the hot water rinse off all the dirt and makeup from last night.

"Only a small concert for a few hours, no big deal" I muttered to myself shaking the anxiety off of me.

After I finished my shower I got dressed and laid on the bed with Alex watching cartoons. He cuddled up to me again but this time he fully knew what he was doing. So for the next three hours we sat cuddling and laughing at the tv waiting for the rest of the band to arrive.

--------

I paced around my bedroom waiting for Alex to come pick me up. He promised that he would come and get me because I had major anxiety about going places by myself, plus he promised to take me backstage with him to meet the other guys. But he was running ten minutes late and I was starting to second guess myself.

All this waiting left me time to think and worry about my appearance. Walking to my full body mirror i looked over my outfit of choice, a form fitting maroon tank dress, a black leather jacket, and black doc martens. I had loosely curled my hair and heavily lined my eyes with black eyeliner. Maybe I was to overdressed?
I didnt exactly know how to dress for one of their concerts and I wasnt planning on going into the crowd. What would Alex think of me though if he saw me in this outfit? He would probably laugh at me and think how stupid I was for wearing a dress to a concert and he would probably hate me. Alex would most likely say how I was a whore, he would leave me.
I didnt want that to happen, I wanted to be apart of Alex's life more than anything in the world. He made me happy for some odd reason, and I would rather be happy than sad. Deciding to change I walked over to my closet, I opened the light and all my clothes were illuminated. I settled for a pair of ripped denim skinny jeans and a pink tank top. But, before I had the chance to change the doorbell rung. I sighed and walked out to the doorway. My hand grasped the cold handle and I slowly turned it ready to be ridiculed by Alex.
Opening the door Alex stood there in his American flag pants, a jagk t-shirt, and a red beanie. He looked at me in amazement, at least I thought it was amazement. I wanted to curl up into a ball and cry. Embarrassed as to how I looked I ducked my head, instead of making fun of me he lifted my head up with his hand and looked me in the eyes.
"hey, you look absolutely stunning" he reassured, probably aware of the thoughts that were running through my head. I blushed and and my face was contorted in a unsure way, I was pretty sure he was lying and just wanted me to think I looked half decent.
"Are you sure im not overdressed?" My biggest fear came into my mind and that was rejection. I didnt want to be rejected by anyone, especially Alex.
"No youre perfectly fine and i'm sure all the guys will be jealous that I brought the most beautiful girl in Portland to the concert." Alex then picked me up and spun me around as if greeting an old friend he hasnt seen in years. When he put me down I was giggling to no end. Alex always knew how to make me happy and I appreciated that.
He took my hand and we walked to the car which actaully happened to be a giant tourbus. Stepping inside my mouth hung open. The floor was white tile and they had a sitting area with a dining table on one side and a big brown leather couch on the other. A tv hung over the couch , the kitchen was adjacent to the dining table. The kitchen counter had many appliances on it and the counter was a gray marble.
"Want to see the rest?" Alex asked me and I nodded in response amazed at how much room they had on the inside.
The bunks were twin sized and brown, a curtain separated the bunk from the outside. As we were walking to the back someone popped out of the top bunk in front of my face.
"SHIT!" I screamed, the person fell onto the ground with a thud and let out a groan. Taking in the blond and black hair I remembered his name was Jack. When he got on his two feet I slapped I saw how his shirt had the word boner written in red across the chest and laughed but I him on the arm because of what he did, not letting him off to easily.
"jack you dumbass you almost gave me a heartattack!" I scolded him like a young boy while he sat there with a sad look on his face.
"Sorry" He said sulcking off to watch some tv by the kitchen.
"wow who made Jack apologize? thats new!" A man with a black shirt and jeans came into the room, he had shirt cut hair and the most white teeth I have ever seen. He noticed me and extending his hand.
"Nice to meet you ,Im Rian" The man said
"Ashley, Im um Alex's friend" I shook his hand and Rian went to the kitchen area and grabbed out some food. Another guy came out of the back room, he was very muscualr and had the most adorable face ever.
"hey im Zack! you must be Ashley? Alex has been non-stop talking about you!" Zack nudged me and I looked over at Alex and say him blush. Alex took my arm and lead me to the back.
"It was nice talking Zack." I said back to him, following behind Alex's footsteps I was lead into a small room with a two person couch, mirror, Tv, and every game console imaginable.
"This is our hangout room!" Alex said arms wide before he reached for a controler, offering it to me.
I sat down on the couch and waited to see that Alex had put Call of Duty into the xbox, he then came down and stretched out on top of me on the couch. Thankfully, the bus started with a jolt, knocking Alex off of the couch.
"Ha loser thats what you get for taking up all the room on the couch" I teased him sticking out my tongue.
"Really? im not the only one that fell off the couch." He gave me a mischeavous look and before i knew it he pulled me off the couch and onto to the floor. I now laid on top of him, rolling off of him I put my cheek to the rug and stared him down.
"what a butt" I muttered, Alex laughed and rolled closer to me
"But im your butt" He said winking and kissed me on the cheek. My breath caught in my throat as I looked at a now smiling Alex getting closer to me by the second. Thank god Jack came in to tell us that we had arrived at the venue or else I dont know what would have happened.
"Come on love birds, up and at em... chop chop" Jack clapped his hands, as we were walking out Jack hopped onto Alex's back and they walked like that out of the bus and towards the venue. When they walked out fans were already lined up to get into the venue, once they saw what jack and alex were doing some started to chant the word 'Jalex". Rian quickly followed behind them and pretty soon Rian's name was added to the chant. It was nice to see how the fans reacted with them.
"Zack, what is jalex?" hopefully someone could help me get out of this confusion.
"Fans think that Jack and Alex are secretly gay for each other so jalex is jack and alex combined...its there OTP or something like that." Zack explained to me but it only confused me further, choosing to ignore it I exited the bus hearing a bunch of whispers.
"Who's that?" some people said
"shes kinda hot" someone else muttered
Keeping my head down I ran into the venue and found the nearest chair.
"hey hey hey" Rian came over and sat down next to me
"Is everything okay?" He looked truly concerned and I couldnt help but open up to him.
"I feel judged" I admitted "You know by your fans." I must have sounded so stupid and immature...like I was trying to make this experience all about me. A couldnt help but let a tear escape my eyes, I hadnt even known i had started crying until Rian enveloped me into a hug.
"This isnt about the fans is it?" I shook my head no realizing it had nothing to do with them, they hadnt done anything to me.
"Alright, when youre ready to talk you can come to me." I pulled away from him because he had to play soon. HIs shirt was tear stained and I apologized but he said to not worry about it and to just enjoy the show.
I found my spot side stage just as All Time Low was going on the stage, they looked really happy. I got a few nervous looks from Rian but I smiled and waved at him disipatting his worry. The crowd was awesome! They were all jumping and dancing, there must have been thousands of them because the place was packed head to toe. I hadnt thought how popular they were. Some of the jokes Alex told were really funny and had a lot to do with dicks.
When Alex sang the song Therapy it brought tears to my eyes. It reminded me of my childhood and how I spent most of it locked away in my room wanting to die. Everyone in the crowd was silent and swaying back and forth to the song. I saw fans hugging each other and crying, knowing just how much the song could really mean to them. Soon after the song cheer erupted from the crowd and Alex gave the goodbye for the night announcing that they will come back soon.
Before coming off stage I could smell how sweaty they all were, one by one they came off stage and one by one each gave me a big sweaty hug. I was soon drenched in sweat.
"How did you like it?" Zack asked me handing me a beer
"The sweaty hugs or the concert?" I joked and Zack laughed
"The concert silly" He said playfully punhing me in the arm.
"I really enjoyed it you guys! you were amazing I cant wait to see you guys next time you come to Portland." I gawked giving my honest opinion, they really were amazing
"Well Ashley heres the thing." alex said grabbing my hands. Sweat ran down his face and he looked tired. He looked like all the life had been sucked out of him with a vacuum. The look he gave me was neutral and I couldnt tell if he was telling me he no longer wanted to be friends or if this was the final goodbye and he would say they werent coming back to Portlnad.
"The guys and I were talking right before we went on stage and" Alex started to say
Alex sucked in a breath and a lump grew in my throat, he hated me I could tell.
"I- I mean we- uh- want-you to-" He couldnt even get the words out because they were probably so mean.
"WE WANT YOU TO COME ONE TOUR WITH US!" Jack screamed into my ear
I stood there with my mouth wide open.

Notes

yeah wow I made this chapter super duper long, I hope anyway give me your opinion
~sam