This World's An Ugly Place

"We're on in ten, guys," Case said, rushing past Sebastian and I as he went back and forth from the car.

"Who knew Case could be so nervous," I remarked as I leaned by back against the wall. We were backstage at the Mary's father's bar and, although the stage was already set up, Case couldn't sit still.

"Yeah, he's usually so chill," Jack pointed out, walking up to us with Alex right beside him. So, yes, we managed to sneak them backstage.

"Where the heck were you guys? You're supposed to not leave my sight," Sebastian scolded and I smirked at them being the ones lectured now.

Jack shrugged. "We kind of got distracted."

"Kind of?"

"He saw a hot chick and tailed after her," Alex explained, pushing Jack out of the way so he could stand beside me.

"What a shocker," I said with a grin, looking up at Alex. His eyes seemed to sparkle at mine and his smile made his eyes go squinty.

"Earth to lovers," Jack said, snapping his fingers and we both looked away with a blush.

"Why is everyone just standing around?" Case asked, rushing over to us.

"We're already all set up," Sebastian defended with a frown.

"Come on, Angel," Case said, taking my hand and pulling me closer towards the stage. "We have to warm up our vocals."

"Jealous," Jack sang after us, which was followed by him saying 'ow' from one of the guys punching him.

"What's the rush?" I asked once he let go of my hand. "We have five minutes still."

"I'm just...nervous, I guess," he said with a shrug. He handed me by guitar and he put his bass around his shoulders.

I reached out, grabbing onto his arm. He paused and looked down at me. "Don't be, we're going to rock it," I said, giving his arm a squeeze.

A small smile appeared on his face. "Thanks, I hope so," he said, looking down at the ground. He was usually always so relaxed about everything, but you could tell the band really meant a lot to him if it was getting him this nervous. "Uh, hey, let's go over the set list once more," he said, grabbing a crumpled sheet of paper out of his pocket. Most of the songs we had selected were classic pop punk songs, but I managed to slip in one specific song that, despite it being a Blink song, Case was going to let me sing it.

"You're on in one minute!" One of the bar workers called and now Sebastian appeared next to us with his drum sticks in hand. I swung my guitar over my head, adjusting the strap.

"You guys are going to be amazing," Alex said, walking over with Jack right behind him.

"Yeah we are!" I said excitedly, hopping up and down.

Jack rolled his eyes. "Oh, please, you're probably going to walk out there and trip off the stage."

I stuck my tongue out at him and Sebastian chuckled. "I guess someone's jealous that our band is more famous than yours."

"You're not even famous! It's just a bar!" Jack stressed and we all laughed at that. "Whatever, you just wait. Alex and I are going to find other players."

I raised an eyebrow at Alex. "You're joining All Time Low?"

He smiled shyly, shrugging his shoulders. "I might have joined as the singer and rhythm guitar."

"You played a song for Jack?" I asked in disbelief and he shook his head.

"No, not yet, but I guess he has faith that I'm a good at singing and guitar," he said with a chuckle.

"Ladies and gentlemen, introducing The Star Gazers!" The spokesmen said from outside the stage and then, suddenly, the band was rushed out on stage. Butterflies coursed through my stomach as I looked at the crowd of people, but I forced them down as I made my way towards my own mic.

"How you folks doing tonight?" Case called out to the crowd; he was always a people person. "We have a few songs we'd like to..."

I took a deep breath, already preparing my fingers for the first guitar rift. I knew all the songs backwards and forwards, and I began playing as Case sang the first song. It grew easier and easier to play in front of the audience the longer I stayed up stage, and soon I found myself goofing off a bit with them. Of course, all the members in the audience were older than me, but that didn't stop me from cracking a few jokes here and there which caused them to laugh. Soon, though, the set list was coming to a close and there was only one song remaining. I approached my own mic stand once more, a smile on my face.

"Unfortunately there's only one more song left for us to play, and this song goes out to someone very special to me. They know who they are!" I called out, beginning the first chords to Blink's song Going Away To College. It was Alex's favorite, so I was sure he knew it was for him. I sang the lyrics out in my own pitch, not attempting to match the singer's voice since there were only few who could, and the crowd seemed please. Even after I nearly messed up the lyrics, but the song ended well and the butterflies in my stomach had all but disappeared.

"Thank you, everyone, we are The Star Gazers!" Case shouted out to the crowd before chasing us of the stage.

Sebastian grabbed a nearby towel, wiping his sweaty face into it. "Holy crap, it was hot out there," he mumbled into the fabric and I giggled, giddy with the feeling of being on stage. It all just seemed so...natural to me.

"You guys did fantastic!" A familiar voice hit my ears and I turned to see Lexus making her way to us. Since she was Sebastian's age, twenty-one, of course she was already allowed into the bar. "Look at my little rock stars," she gushed, pulling us all in for a hug before quickly pushing us away. "Jesus Christ you guys are sweaty," she said, shaking her hands.

"Oh, shut up, you would be too if you were up there," I said, wiping myself down as well. Thankfully I wore light clothes up there so I wasn't as bad as Case or Sebastian.

Case let out a little 'whoop'. "Dude, we have to get another venue soon! That was way too much fun," he said, a bright smile refusing to leave his face.

"I told you we were going to rock it." I grabbed my water bottle and quickly guzzled down the rest of it. "We're naturals."

Lexus rolled her eyes. "Oh, please. Watch out or your head will explode," she joked and I lightly pushed her.

"You guys were sweet!" Jack shouted from down the hallway, running towards us with Alex at his side.

"It was amazing," Alex added.

"Where were you guys?" Sebastian asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

Jack smirked. "We might have sneaked out into the crowd while you guys were playing."

Lexus put her hands on her hips. "You what?" she asked, suddenly going parental like Sebastian.

"Oh, God," Jack muttered, kicking the ground. I suppose he didn't realize Lexus was here.

"No video games today," Lexus said.

"You can't do that!" he protested. "I'm almost eighteen."

"Not yet, loser," she teased, rubbing his head and he pulled away from her. "I'm joking, but seriously, don't do that again," she said, her tone final.

Case rolled his eyes, swinging his towel onto his shoulders. "Okay, let's pack up. You guys help," he said, pulling Jack and Alex with him as Sebastian followed after them.

"So...that was an interesting song you sang," Lexus noted after the boys had left earshot.

A blush slowly crept onto my face. "Yeah, you dig it?"

She shook her head at me. "You know what I meant. Was it for Alex?"

I bit down on my lip. "Maybe."

"So...you do love him," she concluded.

"W-What? No! Love is a really serious word, so no...I don't," I said instantly and a knowing smile grew on her face.

"Yeah, I know. But you...like like him, don't you," she said with a wink.

I let out a groan. "Lexus!"

She clicked her tongue. "Don't you dare try lying to me, Angel, I know you too well for that."

"I-I'm not!" I protested again.

She shook her head at me. "Lying," she sang. "Okay, seriously, do you like him or not?"

I let out a sigh, leaning my back against the wall and looking down. "My head keeps saying no. Like, I know I shouldn't because...well, he probably only likes me because I'm a cushion for him to fall back on right now. He even said it himself that he doesn't believe in love, and I told him I didn't either to a point; not for me, anyways. But even though my head keeps saying no, I think my heart knows my head is lying," I said, looking down at my feet.

"Seems like you have a fight going on with your head and heart," Lexus stated the obvious. "But, I don't care what mombo-jumbo Alex is saying about love; I can see by the way he looks at you that he likes you more than a friend."

I shrugged my shoulders. "Even if that's true, I don't think he's going to act on it."

"Then I guess you have to," she concluded, taking a step away from the wall and towards the direction the boys disappeared to. "Come on, let's go."

Notes

Oh oh oh~