Sit Back, Gotta Catch My Breath

I looked at my phone for about the tenth time in the past five minutes. It was 6:17. Simple Plan should be done playing shortly. You know, we were all excited for this and we were confident, but now that we've heard all these other bands, we realize that we have some major competition. So far, I think the best ones have been Simple Plan, Biersack, and Mayday Parade. The crowd seemed to like them the best as well. The pressure was sure laid on thick.
I looked around for the rest of the band, making sure we were all ready to start setting up our stuff immediately. I saw Zack and Rian, but Alex was nowhere to be seen. I stepped toawrds Rian so I could speak to him without having to shout over Simple Plan. "Hey, where's Alex?"
Rian looked around and shrugged. "I don't know, dude. But we better find him." He walked away and started looking for the missing boy.
I tapped on Zack's shouler. "Hey, do you know where Alex went?"
He shook his head and we both began to search for him. I went back to the dressing room they had set up for all the bands, and, sure enough, there was Alex, sitting on the couch. "Lex, come on. It's almost time."
He looked up at me, tears covering his cheeks.
I gasped and rushed over to the couch and wrapped an arm around the boy's shoulders. "Alex, what's wrong?"
He ran his hands through his hair as he tried to slow his breathing. His leg was shaking and he was rubbing his hands together. "I can't do this," he finally said.
I kissed his temple and rested my head on his shoulder. "Yes, you can, Lex. You're fucking talented. They're gonna love you."
He scooted away from me a little bit. "I-I'm gonna mess up. I know it."
I shook my head at him. "No, you won't, Lex. You're gonna do amazing. You're gonna blow them away."
He finally looked over at me. "How can y-you sound so sure? H-How can you not be nervous?"
I smiled softly at him. "Because I have faith in you and in this band. I believe that we're all going to do awesome."
He just stared at me, biting his lip. He seemed to be breathing easier, now.
I kissed his forehead. "C'mon," I said, standing up, offering him a hand to help him up, "We really should get out there and set up."
He took a deep breath and nodded. He took my hand and we jogged back to where I had left the other two. They seemed relieved to see that I had found Alex. I let go of the older boy's hand and handed him his guitar before grabbing my own.
It took Alex and Zack about five minutes to warm up their voices. We had all agreed that Zack would be the best back-up vocals for the band. Rian's voice didn't quite sound right with Alex's, and I couldn't sing worth shit.
Once they were warmed up, we all nodded to each other. Rian went on stage first and adjusted the drums to his liking. Zack soon followed and plugged in his bass. I gave Alex a quick kiss on the lips before jogging across the stage to my place to plug in my guitar, followed by Alex. I gave Alex a reassuring smile before he grabbed the microphone and began talking to the audience.
"How are you all doing tonight?" he said into the microphone, recieving a few 'woo's, "We are All Time Low, and we're gonna play our song, 'Coffee Shop Soundtrack'. We hope you all like it. It was the first song we ever played together, so it really means a lot to us." He recieved a few more 'woo's before returning the microphone to the stand and playing a test chord on his guitar. He looked around at all of us, making sure we were all ready, before starting to play the song.
As I started to play, I could feel a familiar feeling in my chest. It was the same feeling I had gotten when Alex, Juliet, and I performed in class. I felt really nervous, but excited and overjoyed at the same time. I began walking toward the front of the stage and then returned back to my spot, not wanting to crowd Alex too much. After about a minute, I couldn't contain myself anymore and started jumping around my area with the music. I could feel a huge smile on my face as I looked out at the crowd. I looked over at Zack and could see that he, too, was getting into the music.
I just couldn't get over how amazing it felt to perform.
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"Well, I'm glad you liked it," I said to the girl who had approached me after we shut down the merch tent.
Her smile grew even more. "I hope you guys win. You're totally amazing."
I nodded to her. "Thanks."
She giggled before turning on her heel and returning to her group of friends in the crowd. They were about to announce the winner, so I was getting more and more nervous and on-edge by the second. I looked to my left and saw Alex approaching me.
"You nervous, too?" he asked, joining me in watching the last band perform.
I grabbed his hand, not caring if anyone saw. "Yeah. This is crazy."
I looked back up at the stage where the last band was finishing their song. I felt him step closer to me and lean into me slightly. "Jacky, what if we're not good enough?"
I shrugged. "Then we don't get signed, yet." I looked down at his worried face. "But I'm proud of us. I think we did amazing. Sure, there's some tough compitition, but that's what makes it fun." I offered him a smile and he smiled back.
The last band finished their song and my stomach twisted up in a million knots. I felt Alex's grip on my hand tighten. I leaned over and planted a light kiss on the top of his head before letting go of his hand and walking closer to the stage to join Zack and Rian, assuming he would follow close behind. I patted Rian on the shoulder to let him know that I had joined him. He gave me a quick smile before looking back up at the stage as one of the judges walked to the front of it and tapped on the microphone.
This was it.
"Wow. A lot of talented musicians in the building tonight. Unfortunately, only one band can win." He looked around the room, making eye contact with a lot of us. "This was a tough decision to make. Believe me." He pulled an envelope out of his coat and opened it. He pulled a piece of paper out of the envolope and looked at it. "In third place... Sum 41."
I looked around and found a group of people hugging each other, which was probably Sum 41.
"In second place..." he continued, "... All Time Low."
My stomach dropped. So, we didn't get first place. But second wasn't bad, right? I wrapped my arm around Alex as he burried his face into my chest. I gave Rian and Zack quick hugs with my free arm before returning my gaze to the stage.
"And, finally, in first place..."

Notes

Bet you guys didn't expect All Time Low to get second place! :o

-Ryan