Victoria was surprised how fast the days past on Warped. Each day seemed to go in a blur: take a couple shots of ATL’s set, go to merch tent to help Vinny, and then hand out free bracelets while walking around to promote. It would seem boring to most, but work was surprisingly fun when you worked for your friends’ band. It made the summer weather almost bearable.

They were already at their sixth venue in Pomona, California. It was just yesterday that she was scrubbing soda stains from Regal Cinema’s carpets. Boy, was she glad to get away from there.

“Yeah, I’ll see you later!” Victoria waved to her new friend, a fellow music photographer, Adam Elmakias.

She set her camera down in the band’s tent, quickly pulling her hair into a bun as she saw how swamped Vinny was. She slapped his back, startling him. “Dammit, Vic!” He exclaimed, dropping the shirt in his hands. “You gotta stop doing that.”

“I’ll stop when you stop being such a scaredy-cat.” She smirked and helped another girl in line purchase a shirt.

The crowd seemed to die down after a little while, at least until after lunch time. Once people were finished eating, they headed towards the tent again. What could be worse? Well, the weather was sweltering today and she could just see Alex at the corner of her eye walking towards the tent.

“No, no, no,” she muttered and ran his way. “You gotta get out of here.”

“Whaaaaaat?” He pouted, handing her hot dog. “But I got you lunch!”

She gave him a small smile. “As much as I appreciate it, we’re already swamped at the tent and they’re just gonna cause a frenzy when you’re there.”

“I’ll be fine!” He waved away the situation with his hand, and no matter how much she pulled him back, he kept walking.

“Alex!” She called, but he already dragged both their bodies to the tent to help.

“Hey, Vegas, need some help?” Alex smiled and hit his friend’s shoulders, putting down the hot dog.

Vinny looked his way and then back at the shocked fans. “You’re an idiot, you know that?”

All he did was laugh as he was greeted by dozens of “Hi, Alex!”-s. All three of them helped the fans get their t-shirts, and it was kind of fun with Alex around. Victoria always smiled a little each time he interacted with one of them and they thanked him for what he did in life. You could really see how the band did wonders for people.

By the end of the rush, Alex became sweaty, and when Alex becomes sweaty, he gets lazy. Victoria was handed a twenty by a girl and passed her a t-shirt with a smile as Alex wrapped his arms around Victoria’s waist. He put his head on her shoulder, whispering, “We should go get a beer.”

“We have a few more people left. You can wait.” She giggled as she knocked her butt into him, pushing him off. “Plus, I can’t leave Vinny.”

“Yeah, she can’t leave Vinny.” The main merchandise seller repeated with a smirk.

Alex elbowed her in the side. “I’ll go get you one anyways.” He winked and waved to the fans before walking off, leaving Victoria laughing softly.

She turned back to the girl in front of her. “Sorry, how can I help you?”

“Can I have shirt number five in a medium?” The timid girl asked shyly.

“Sure,” Victoria smiled and turned back to find what she asked.

“Um, if you don’t mind me asking,” she cleared her throat, “are you and Alex dating?”

Victoria stopped for a moment, and she could tell a few eyes were on her. She didn’t really know how to answer that. Sure, they weren’t “together-together” but they were … complicated. She didn’t want to mix work with play, but holy fuck, did she want to kiss him sometimes. They were both free, and they were wasting their moments they had with each other …

Thankfully, Vinny recovered for her by saying, “Only in her dreams.”

Victoria grabbed the shirt for the girl, chuckling softly. “The legend over here is right.” She shoved his head forward jokingly.

“You guys are really cute together though,” another girl behind the first commented.

“All in due time” was Victoria’s only reply. She was getting roped in with those Tumblr girls, weren’t they called? As much as she thought they were ridiculous, they honestly made her laugh a lot. Especially the Jalex shippers. Oh, the jokes she made to Alex about the ship. He hated her when she did that.

“You should get Alex to make the first move!” The girls turned to Vinny, and their comments were followed by a bunch of “yeah”-s.

Victoria gave Vinny a look and swung her head back to give the girl in front of her the shirt she ordered finally. That was until she saw a familiar back in the corner of her eye. She looked up, seeing a sight she didn’t expect.

Long brown hair. Scrawny figure. Small in height.

No.

“I’ll be right back, Vinny.” She muttered.

“But, Vic!” He called after, though she was already too far away.

The brunette girl kept walking, but she was fast to Victoria’s standards. It was hot out, and Victoria was trying to go as fast as she could. She also had to push through thousands of people. “Excuse me,” she said about ten times as she fished her way after the girl.

She finally called out, “HEY!” Heads turned to hers, including the brunette girl. She only spun a little, enough for Victoria to get a profile of her face. Same big blue eyes. Same small nose and rosy cheeks. No. It wasn’t―

From her profile view, the girl’s eyes slid to Victoria’s and she threw her a small smirk. Just as she was about to call out her name, Victoria blinked her eyes a few times. The next time she looked, the girl was gone in the sea of people.

She hadn’t seen her in almost two years.

It couldn’t be her. It just couldn’t.

Notes

Victoria's outfit
All I have to say is that it's a good thing I was only half way into the story before I got hacked.. But I did leave it on a GIANT cliffhanger. I sound like such a sob story, I'm sorry :(
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