Maybe It's Not My Weekend, But It's Gonna Be My Year

Summer's POV
'Well, are you joining us?' Alex asked looking at me and Zack.
Zack nodded and then looked at me.
I shook my head. 'No, I'm gonna try to get some sleep. I couldn't really sleep last night' I explained.
'Okay' he nodded. 'Well, sweet dreams then'
'Thanks' I replied with a brief smile.
Zack smiled back and then went outside and I made my way to my bunk and lay down. Instead of trying to sleep, I started to think about what just happened, what Zack just told me. When I asked Zack why he was acting so strange, he confessed his apparently longtime love for me. He also told me that he was acting so strange because he was broken after hearing that I was with someone else. It all started to make sense now that I knew it, and I wondered why I never noticed that Zack was in love with me. Apparently everybody knew but me. No matter how much I wished I was in love with Zack, I wasn't. Zack was a great guy and being with him would be so much easier than being with Luke. With Zack I felt like everything came naturally, in our friendship at least, and Alex would approve Zack as my boyfriend. But I was in love with Luke, even though no one understood... Sometimes even I didn't know why I was in love with him, but I was. Being with Zack would be easier, but it would also be unfair to him, since I wasn't in love with him. Don't get me wrong, Zack is an amazing guy and I loved him very much as a friend, but nothing more. That's what I told him, no matter how much I hated seeing the pain in his eyes, he deserved the truth. I owed him at least that much.

I was glad that I knew what was going on with him, but I wished it was something else. I hated seeing Zack, or any of my friends really, in pain, and knowing that I was the cause made it that much worse. I didn't want to hurt him or break his heart, he didn't deserve that at all. I made it very clear to him that I did love him and that I loved hanging out with him and that I would definitely want to stay friends, if that was possible for him. I really hoped it was, because I didn't want to lose him. I now understood that Alex's eruption of yesterday wasn't just because I was with Luke, but also because I wasn't with Zack. It can't have been easy for him to see one of his best friends' heart broken by another one of his best friends.

I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep anyway, not that I minded it though. I decided to give up trying to sleep, or maybe it was more of pretending to try to sleep. Whatever it was, I gave it up. I got out of my bunk and walked up to the window. I watched the guys play basketball for some time. Zack had taken his shirt off as usual. I wish he hadn't because shirtless, Zack was hard to resist. I felt so shallow for thinking that, but Zack simply had the best body I had ever seen. Why wasn't I in love with him? I thought. Why was I in love with Luke, who looked nowhere as good as Zack, with or without t-shirt. Why was I thinking so shallow? I mean, Luke was nice, usually. But then again, Zack was always nice and he looked ten times better. I sometimes really didn't understand myself. After watching them for some time – they couldn't see me anyway because of the blinded windows – I went out of the bus. They all looked up as I walked towards them.
'That was a short power nap' Jack said.
I nodded. 'Yeah, I couldn't sleep. You were making too much noise' I joked.
I then walked up to Alex and slammed the ball out of his hands. I dribbled towards the basket and scored.
'Fuck yeah!' I exclaimed. 'Take that, Gaskarth!' Alex had been trying to score for a long time, but kept failing. It was funny really.
'You're on my team, Montgomery' Alex yelled, making fun of me always calling him Gaskarth. He usually wouldn't call me by my last name.
'Hey, that's not fair!' Rian who was a team with Zack, protested.
'Yes it is, she's replacing Jack' Alex replied.
'What!' Jack exclaimed with a sad face.
'You sucked anyway' Alex said and Jack faked a hurtful look.
'You don't have to replace Jack, the three of us are just as good as Zack and Rian, since you both suck, and Rian plays okay and Zack is the only one who can actually play basketball'
'Bitch please!' Alex exclaimed with a grin.

Alex's POV
After we played basketball for a while, Matt came out of the venue, where he and the crew had been hanging out.
'Guys, get on the bus, we're leaving' he commanded us. The rest of the crew soon came out too.
'Dude, you can't command us, you work for us' Jack protested.
'You can be a smart ass and miss your set, or you can just get your lazy ass in that bus and be on time' Matt replied calmly. He was used to this kind of behavior from the band, especially Alex and Jack, and he knew that they didn't mean it anyway.
Jack groaned. We then all got onto the bus. After a few hours of driving we arrived at the venue we were playing tonight. After unloading everything and doing a brief sound check we went back to our tour bus. We would still have a couple of hours left before the concert started. We had only one support act today. It was the same band that supported us yesterday before Coldhearted. I believed their name was We Are The In Crowd. I didn't know them and we hadn't met them yet. I hoped we would meet them tonight, because they would be supporting us the whole tour and it might be nice to hang out with them.

We had decided to go out with the band and crew to have a drink. No alcohol, just a drink. We walked around town for a while trying to find a nice bar. Eventually we found one. We entered the bar and sat down at a table. We waited for a waitress, who soon showed up. We had all agreed not to drink anything alcoholic, since we had a show tonight and drinking before a show was unprofessional. Not that we had never done it though. When the waitress came by our table and asked kindly what we wanted, we all ordered something non-alcoholic.
'That waitress likes you' Jack pointed out for me after she had left.
I shook my head. 'Dude, she's just being nice and doing her job.' I said.
'If that's what you think' Rian said shrugging.
'Dude, how could you not notice how she was looking at you?' Zack asked me.
'She wasn't looking at me in a certain way' I said convinced.
I could tell they were all still convinced about that waitress liking me, but they dropped it. When I heard a voice behind me, I realized why. I decided to turn around, just to see if the guys were right. The smile on her face clearly widened when I turned around. It was kind of creepy really. While she handed everyone their drinks, she kept looking at me. I smiled back awkwardly, not knowing what else to do. When she handed me my drink, she winked at me. Awkward. She then walked away, shaking excessively much with her ass, in my opinion. Not that I minded it, but it was still weird.
'See?' Jack asked me. ‘She's totally into you'
'Well, she did act a bit strange' I admitted.
'Yes, because she likes you. She's hot though' Jack said.
I saw Summer roll her eyes from the corner of my eye. It always annoyed her when we called a girl 'hot'. She thought it sounded trashy. I guess she was right. She preferred 'beautiful or 'gorgeous' or something. I would never call a girl I really liked 'hot'. Summer once got really mad when I called her hot. That was at our prom by the way, before you think it's weird to call your best friend hot. Well, maybe it's still weird but I did it anyway and she didn't like it. Ever since that night, I never told a girl I really liked that she was hot. I said girls were hot all the time, but not if I really liked them.
I shrugged. 'I guess' I replied to Jack. She sure wasn't ugly. She just looked a bit slutty, but that could be because of the waitress outfit that was slightly inappropriate in my opinion. Maybe she looked less slutty if she wasn't wearing it. Nevertheless, she still seemed to be a bit slutty judging by the way she was looking at me.

Jack's POV
'I suggest you go for it, Alex' I told Alex. 'She's hot, so I'm sure she's nice'
'What kind of conclusion is that?' Summer asked me. 'Most pretty girls I know sure aren't nice'
'Yeah, but you are' I replied with a wink. Summer didn't really know what to say.
'Well, I think I'll take that as a compliment, so thanks Barakat' she replied.
'You're welcome' I replied with a smile. 'Anyway, Gaskarth, go for it! It's not like you got girls waiting in line for you'
'Actually, that's a funny choice of words, since I do have girls wait in line for me' Alex replied. 'You didn't really think they came for you, did you?'
'Don't be a smart ass, Gaskarth' I replied.
'Well, you're one to talk' Matt interfered.
I didn't reply to that.
'Alex, get that lazy ass of yours to the bar and ask her number' I commanded him.
'But I'm not sure if I like her...' he said.
'Well duh, that's why you're going to ask her number. You can go out and you can get to know her and you'll find out she's cool' I said.
'Or not...' Summer said.
Everyone always talked about how protective Alex was of Summer, but Summer was just as protective of him, even though he didn't need it. She clearly didn't like the idea of Alex going out with this girl and tried to keep him from asking her number in her own way. I didn't reply to what she said. This was something between her and Alex. I wanted Alex to go after this girl, because even though he wouldn't admit it, he felt lonely. It had been 2 months since Alex's ex-girlfriend Lisa dumped him, and it was time for him to get back on the market.
'Go ask her number or I will' I threatened Alex.
'Oh really? What about Donna?' Alex asked, raising his eyebrows.
'I didn't say I would ask her number for me' I said. 'I'll just go over there and tell her that you want her number but didn't dare to ask her'
'No Jack, you are not going to do that!' Alex spoke loudly.
I shrugged. 'Then go over there now'.
'Alex, do you want this number or not?' Summer interfered. 'If you don't want it, don't lead that girl on. It's not fair. You would literally let Jack pressure you into anything, wouldn't you?'
'Summer, I'm not pressuring him into anything' I replied. She raised her eyebrows. 'I just think it's time for Alex to get back on the market. If you want him to be lonely, fine, tell him not to ask for her number, but I want to see my best friend happy'.
'That's not fair. Of course I want to see him happy, but what makes you think this slut would make him happy?' Summer asked me fiercely.
'It doesn't necessarily have to be this girl, but if he's with anyone, he wouldn't be this lonely anymore' I replied.
'And of all amazing girls out there you pick this one?' Summer asked me scornful.
'At least we know she's interested' I replied.
'Uh yeah, but interested in what? She doesn't seem the type for a committed relationship to me' she said.
'Guys!' Alex interrupted. 'Look, I love you for wanting to make me happy and being protective of me and all that shit, but neither of you gets to say who I do and do not date. Sum, if I didn't want this girls number, I wouldn't ask it. Jack, I'm not lonely. I have a great group of people who I'm having a drink with right now.'
'Yeah, but it's not the same. But did you just mean you were going to ask her number?' I asked.
Alex looked at Summer who looked annoyed, and then back at me. He then nodded, upped and walked towards the bar. Summer kept staring out of the window with that annoyed look on her face.
'Summer, come on, don't be mad at me' I said. I didn't want to fight with her.
'I'm not mad' she replied short.
I looked at her face.
'You look mad... And you sound mad too' I said.
'Jack, please, just drop it' she said with a voice that convinced me this was the moment to shut up.

Rian's POV
All this talking about girls and love made me miss Jess even more than I already did. I told myself to call her as soon as we got back to the bus. I called her often but of course, that wasn't the same as talking to her face to face, holding her. It had been a while since I last spoke to her because she was out of town when we were home. We were supposed to talk on the phone daily at 8 PM, but the past three days she hadn't been answering her phone. I was slightly worried but I tried not to show it. Jess was tough and smart, she wouldn't let anything happen to herself. Besides, if something happened to her, I would've known since most of my friends in Baltimore are friends with Jess as well. They would've called me if something happened to her. Her phone was probably dead or something. At least, that's what I tried to make myself believe. I thought deep down I knew that that couldn't be it. Jess' phone was always charged and she would take it with her wherever she went. I shouldn't worry this much, she will probably answer her phone tonight.

After a while, Alex came back from the bar, and I was woken from my thoughts.
'So, did you get her number?' Jack asked.
Alex nodded. 'Yep. She's actually pretty nice' he said. 'Her name is Maria.'
'Really? Or did she just give you a fake name?' I asked.
'No, unless she faked her ID' Alex replied.
'Dude, what the fuck? You asked for her ID? What are you, a cop?' Jack asked.
'No, but apparently she knows us and she thought I wouldn't believe it if she said her name was Maria' Alex said. 'She's coming to our concert tonight'.
'As your girlfriend or as a fan?' Zack asked him.
'As a fan' Alex replied. 'She had already bought the tickets and is going with a friend' he continued as he saw Jack raised his eyebrows.
'Well okay then, cool' I replied.

Soon after we all paid and we went back to our tour bus. First things first. I searched my bunk for my phone, and when I found it, I dialed Jess' number. I waited, and waited. Eventually her phone went to voice mail. Well, at least it didn't go straight to voice mail like it did yesterday, so her phone was turned on. I didn't know if that made me more or less worried. Anyway, I was worried and I wanted to know what was going on. I decided to call a friend of ours who lives in Baltimore, Jason. He had been a long time friend of me and Jess, and Jess would often go to him for advice or just to talk. If there was something wrong with her, he would know. I dialed his number. He soon picked up.
'Hello?' Jason's voice said.
'Hey Jason, it's Rian' I replied.
'Oh, hey Dawson! It's good to hear from you! How are you? How are the guys? How's the tour going?'
Jason was a friend of pretty much the whole band and crew.
'We're all fine' I replied. 'The tour is going great! A lot of sold out dates. It's awesome. How about you?'
'I'm fine too' Jason replied. 'So, I suppose you called for a reason?'
I usually didn't call my friends when I was on tour, because it would take too much time and cost too much money. They knew and respected that.
'Actually, yes. Have you heard from Jess lately? I've been trying to call her for three days and she's not answering.' I said.
'You've been calling Jess?' Jason asked. 'Why?'
I was confused. 'Because she's my girlfriend of course' I replied.
'Huh, she told me you and her broke up a couple of weeks ago' Jason replied confused.
'What?' I said as I sat down in my bunk. Jess told Jason we broke up? Why on earth would she do that?
'Yeah, she came over like, I don't know, 3 weeks ago, crying. She said you cheated on her and then dumped her. So you didn't break up with her?' Jason asked.
'No! I would never do that... Nor would I cheat on her... Have you seen her since then?' I asked him. I had to talk to her.
'No, I haven't. I already couldn't believe you would cheat on her. That's not like you at all... She left an hour later and I haven't heard from her since...' Jason replied. 'Wait, I think Chad mentioned something about her the other day... We were talking about you cheating on her – which you didn't do apparently – and then he said something about seeing her on the airport 2 days ago with some dude he didn't know... I'm sorry dude...'
'I can't believe this!' I exclaimed. I saw everyone on the bus look at me. 'Why would she do that to me?' I continued in a lower voice.
'It sounds to me like she was cheating on you and tried to make you look like the bad guy... But why? I don't know man...'
'Well, thanks for updating me... Could you call me if you hear from her?' I asked.
'Sure man... I'll try to find out more for you' he replied.
'I'd appreciate that. Thanks dude' I said.
'Well, bye then'
'Bye'

When I hung up, the guys were still looking at me.
'What can't you believe?' Jack asked.
I sighed. I wouldn't be able to keep this a secret from them anyway, so I decided to tell them.
'Well, I haven't been able to reach Jess in a couple of days. I was worried so I called Jason if he knew more' I said, while walking towards them. I sat down.
'He did know more. Apparently, she told him we broke up. She told him I cheated on her and then broke up with her.' I felt the anger and confusion building up inside me with every word I spoke. 'That happened 3 weeks ago. Until 3 days ago I've been on the phone with her every day, and I never noticed a difference. Chad saw her 2 days ago at the airport with some dude he didn't know' I said.
'That bitch!' Alex exclaimed. 'What the fuck is wrong with her?!'
I shrugged.
'So what are you gonna do now?' Zack asked.
I shrugged again.
'I can't reach her... She won't answer her phone and I can't just go to her house. She probably wouldn't even be there anyway'
I could tell that the guys felt bad for me.
'Can we just go see if the support act is there yet? I need some distraction. Those guys might be cool' I said.
'Guys and a girl' Matt corrected him.
'Whatever. Are you coming with me?' I asked them. They all upped, probably out of pity for me.
We walked out of the bus and into the venue. We saw that some techs were building up the stage and their instruments. The band was probably here already.
'Let's go to the dressing room, they might be there' Zack said.
The crew except for Summer decided not to come since it would be weird if we would show up with so many. With Alex, Jack, Zack and Summer I walked towards the dressing rooms. We knocked on the door of the one from where we heard noise. We were told to enter, so we did.
Inside we found four guys and a girl, who obviously recognized us. They all got up as we walked into the room. I felt like some royalty. They all introduced themselves. We didn't have much time to talk to them since they had to get on stage soon, but they did seem cool. We walked to the stage with them, wished them luck and watched them perform. They were pretty awesome.

Notes