Alexander William stepped on to Boys Like Girls bus with nothing but pure confidence. Admittedly, he wished that Jack had joined him, but he wouldn't let that bring him down. If anything, Jack would simply pout at him for most of the next day, and let it go the moment the two of them got some alone time together. Alex knew he needed to find a way to balance his relationship and his job, but this was a whole new world to him, one that he knew he had to explore or he'd hate himself for it later.

His feet instantly carried him to the kitchen area, where it seemed most people had come to start the night, and his fingers dug around the crowd to grab a cold beer from the cooler. Popping the tab, he let the bitter drink flow down his throat. It was odd how much he craved the taste of a beer lately. In High School, it was just for fun, but now he felt it was necessary to survive the long nights on the road.

"Hey dude, glad you could make it," Paul stepped out of the crowd to greet Alex with another cold beer. "Where's everyone else?"

"Zack and Ri are grabbing a bite to eat before they head over," Alex shrugged, forcing himself to chug what was left in his own can so that he could open the one Paul had brought for him. With a loud burp, he tossed the can in a near by trash can and popped the tab on the new beer. "Jack isn't coming. He said he needs a night to recover."

"Oh, that's a shame," Paul sighed, seemingly disappointed. "I was hoping to get to know him a little better."

Alex shuffled his feet slightly, and awkwardly sipped on his beer. Was he.. Jealous? No, he couldn't possibly. Paul was just Paul, the pretty face from his own band. He'd seen many nights where the young man had a girl hanging off of his shoulder. He simply wanted to get to know Jack as a friend, right?

"You'd like him," Alex forced a smile. "He's a really great person."

"Yeah, I've heard," Paul chuckled, drinking from red plastic cup in hands. "So do you know all the bands here?"

"Most of them," Alex shrugged, letting his eyes scan around the room. It was then that his brown orbs landed on a red head. He we absolutely certin he'd never seen her before. He took in ever inch of her. She would probably come to his chin, and the sweep of her bangs across her forehead formed perfectly to her face. Her jeans were ripped, but not in a cheap way, and he was pretty sure she was wearing a black band tee, however her body was swaying too quickly with the music for him to really see what it said. "I've never seen her before."

"Well that's because her band just joined the tour," Paul laughed, shaking his head. "We're getting a few new bands on the road with us in the morning. I've actually never met her, or her band."

"Really? I wonder if anyone has gone out of their way to talk to them.. Ya know, I'm gonna go introduce myself."

"All right bro, but be careful," Paul snickered, patting Alex on the back. "Don't get your heart broken."

Alex shot him a glance, but decided to just simply nod his head and go on about his business. He thought of Jack as he made his way through the crowd, however, there would be no reason for Jack to be jealous of him simply greeting a new girl to the tour. After all, she was all by herself in the middle of this large party. She was bound to be lonely. Jack would be proud of him for trying to make her feel welcome, right?

"Hey," he brushed a piece of hair out of his face and tried to turn his charm on. He'd never been one for red hair, but this girl was cute and she seemed pretty tough. "I'm Alex Gaskarth. I'm the lead singer for All Time Low."

"Oh, right," the girl forced a smile and took a sip of her beer. "I've heard all about how cocky you are."

"Ouch."

"I never said it was a bad thing," she winked, tossing her arms in the air so she could relax into the music again. "I'm Elana."

"Okay," Alex trailed, feeling slightlly uncomfortable. "Elana who plays what in what band?"

"Elana," she closed her eyes and let her head fall back, smiling against the alcohol rushing through her veins. When the beat dropped, she lifted her head back up to see if the stranger was still there. As her eyes opened to reveal that he was still standing awkwardly beside her, she sighed and shook her head. "Who doesn't talk about her friends behind their back. If you're really interested in who I am, you'll come see my set tomorrow."

Oh yes, she was a hard one to crack, but there was something about her spunk that made Alex want to stick around, even if it meant missing out on the best parts of the party. He leaned against the wall beside and smirked a crooked smirk. From this angle, he could see how toned her arms were and how small her figure was. It was safe to say she wasn't a singer.

"How am I supposed to watch you play if I don't even know your band name?"

"Listen, Gaskarth," Elana spun around to face him, her red hair falling against her face. Her cheeks were pink from the booze she'd sucked down, and her balance was a little off from her constant body motion since the music started playing. She took a step towards him and placed a hand on his chest. "I've heard all the cute pick-up lines, like, oh! I'm actually interested in your band! Or, you're really cute, how on Earth did you become such a hard rocker? You know, it gets kind of old. So do us both a favor and stop wasting my time. I came here to do this whole tour thing right, so if you aren't trying to take my pants off, walk away."

The smirk fell from his face. Now would be the perfect time to think of Jack and his jealously, but all Alex could think about was his time in High School. Back then, he would never let a girl get away from him, and he would certainly never pass up a night with a pretty girl who drank too much. Alex put his head down and considered her words. Did he really want to be known as the guy who couldn't even get the new girl?

____

　

　

Jack Barakat was awoken from a restless sleep. Someone was banging harshly on the door, almost causing him to fall from his bunk. He rubbed some of the sleep from his eyes and climbed down, exhausted and irritated by the fact that he was on the bus alone. Alex hadn't even bothered to come back last night. With messy hair, Jack threw open the bus door and stared confused at the small girl in front of him. He'd never seen her before.

"Uh, I'm really sorry to have woken you," she put her head down and bounched her foot against the rocks. He could see just from looking around her that it was one of those freakishly hot days. "I was just looking for Elana. Is she here?"

"I honestly have no idea who you're talking about, sorry."

"Oh." The girl put her head down. Against the bright sun, he could see a light brown color shining through her black hair. She chewed on her bottom lip, the way he was so used to doing, and knocked some of the bangs from her eyes. "I just thought she'd be here. This is All Time Low's bus, isn't it?"

"Yeah.." Jack nodded, looking behind him to see if he'd missed Rian or Zack shacked up with a stranger. Of course, since Zack was still in a relationship with Juliett, he assumed it had to be Rian. "But she's really not here. Was she with Rian?"

"Who?" The girl scrunched up her face. "I talked to Paul early this morning, he said she left with some guy named Alex and that I could most likely find them here. Do you think you could call him? I mean, or set isn't until later tonight, but Elana has a habit of running off..."

Jack's heart sank deep down in his stomach. A part of him was instantly ready to kill his boyfriend, a part of him wanted to break down and cry, but the other part was determined to find him and give him a piece of his mind. Alex should have known better, he should have remembered that he had a boyfriend awaiting his return. Jack bit back the familiar sting of tears in his eyes and turned his head quickly, in hopes that this new girl wouldn't see how deeply he was wounded. Sucking in a sharp breath, he motioned over his shoulder for her to come inside. The girl hesitated, but stepped in and closed the door behind her.

"I'll help you find them. Alex has a lot of bad habits, too," Jack mumbled, bitterly. He turned to step into the bathroom so he could brush his teeth and clean his face, but he lingered in the doorway to speak to the girl. "It's hot out there. Get yourself a water. I'll be right out."

Closing the door behind him, Jack stared at himself in the mirror. How could he have been such a fool to trust Alex? But that little voice always hung out in the back of his head, reminding him that he was lucky just to have the older boy, and he shouldn't assuem the worst. Jack groaned to himself and patted the messy parts of his hair down. He noticed as he went to brush his teeth just how harshly his hands were shaking. However, he refused to let anger or sadness consume him until he tracked down his boyfriend and heard his side of the story. Rinsing his mouth, Jack decided to just relax and think of this as a day to get to know a new friend. If he didn't think about the fact that his boyfriend might be breaking up with him today, it wouldn't hurt so bad, and it might not be so true.

When he stepped back into the main part of the bus, he leaned against the wall long enough to stare at the girl. The concern she had for her friend made him feel more comfortable. Perhaps he wasn't the only one in a hidden gay relationship, maybe that's exactly what was happening here. It was likely, but he could pretend, for his own sake. She was pacing back and forth through the kitchen area with a cold water bottle pressed against her forehead. She was wearing short shorts and a white tank top. It was simple, but it showed off all of her curves.

"You ready?" he asked, shoving his hands in his pockets. "It's hot out there, bring the water with you."

The girl nodded and followed him off of the bus, slamming the door behind her. The head instantly hit them both, making Jack nearly regret ever wanting to leave the bus. He didn't bother to check the time before they left, but the crowds had already started flowing in and bands were already starting their sets. Pushing through the gates, he led the girl into the crowd. They were walking side-by-side now and Jack could finally see just how small this girl was. It was kind of cute, though.

"So, uh, I never got your name."

Jack looked down at her. She glanced up at him with a smile, but quickly turned her head. She was a little bit shy, that's for sure.

"I'm Jack. I play guitar."

"Oh yeah?" She rose an eyebrow, staring at him fully now. "I'm Alexa, I play bass."

"Are you in like, an all girl band or something?"

"Almost," she giggled, holding the water bottle to her forehead again. "There's one guy in our band."

"That's pretty cool."

"So does Alex often run off with people he's only just met?"

"He used to," Jack shrugged, averting his gaze so he could look into the crowd. If Alex was there, there'd be a circle around him. "I thought he was over that, but I guess Alex is just full of surprises."

"Don't just blame him. Elana is a little firecracker. She sees something she wants and just goes for it. Not that she's a slut or anything, she just likes to have fun."

"She sounds a lot like Alex in High School," Jack forced a laugh, trying not to seem so upset over the whole situation.

"You know, you seem pretty cool, Jack." Alexa stared up at him with a bright smile. "I haven't really had a chance to meet anyone since we just joined on yesterday. You're the first person who hasn't been a total dick to me."

"Really?"

"Yeah. A lot of the bands think we think we're better than them, I guess, because we got added on without having to fight for it.. But there are a lot of bands who joined today. I guess it's just because we're literally fresh on the scene."

"Well, that's stupid," Jack mumbled, someone in the crowd catching his attention. He grabbed Alexa by the arm so he wouldn't lose her in the crowd and moved quickly towards the figure.


Alex was standing beside a red head, laughing loudly and pointing to some of the stages. Now he was openly hanging out with the girl he'd cheated on his boyfriend with? Dick move. Jack glanced back to Alexa, who oddly seemed just as angry as he was, and followed as she pushed past him to get to her friend.


"What the Hell is wrong wtih you?" Alexa shouted, her bangs falling over her face. "Don't you remember what happend last time you ran off? You coudn't even call?"


"Chill out, mom," the other girl stuck her tongue out and snickered. "I'm safe. Mr. Gaskarth took very well care of me last night."


Alex beamed, until he noticed Jack pushing through a few people to keep up with the short, dark haired girl. The smile instantly washed away from his face and he put his head down, feeling guilty.


"Well thanks a lot, Mr. Gaskarth," Alexa spat, grabbing her friend by the arm. "Say goodbye, Elana, you need a shower. You smell like skunked beer."


"You can thank Alex for that, too," Elana giggled, not even caring that Jack was burning holes straight through her head with her eyes. "Catch you later, Lex!"


Jack cringed, who did she think she was, giving him a nickname? Lex didn't even suit him. Shaking his head, Jack looked at his new friend, trying hard to keep himself together.


"Thanks for your help, Jack," Alex smiled playfully. She got up on her tip toes and kissed his cheek softly. "I'll find again soon, okay?"


"Okay," Jack grinned, watching her walk away. If nothing more, at least he knew right now he had someone else on tour with him who was just as protective and short tempered as he was. With that thought in mind, he turned around to face his boyfriend, once again feeling the pang of jealousy in his heart. "How could you?"


"Babe, it's not what you think, I promise."


"Really? Because you go get shitfaced at a party without me last night, some random chick shows up the door telling me that her friend bailed out with you, you don't even bother to come back and try to explain yourself before word got out, and now I find you spending your day with her. What the fuck is it then, Al?"


"I'm not going to lie and tell you that she didn't try to get in my pants last night, because she did," Alex took a step closer to him, his dark eyes hazed over with sadness. "But Jack, I promise you, nothing happened. She's just got this spunk about her that I like. I admit, when we left the bus, she probably thought more was going to happen. But it didn't, we just talked until we passed out. I just want to be her friend, nothing more."


"Does she know about us?"


"Well.. No, but what does that matter? We're just friends. Look, I'm not jealous that some random girl just kissed your cheek, am I? They're in a band together, we're in a band together. Why can't we all just be friends?"


"It's not being friends that I have a problem with," Jack snapped, fighting the desire to knock Alex into next week. "It's you running off and spending the night with strangers I don't like."


"I promise, it will never happen again. Elana is really cool, and I think you'd like her if you gave her a chance. Please don't be mad at me, Jacky."


In his heart, Jack felt something was off with Alex's words, but as he stared into those chocolate orbs, he knew he couldn't stay mad. With a simple nod of his head, he allowed Alex to pull him into a hug, all the while Alex was praying that Elana would keep her mouth shut about the events that took place the night before.

Notes

I know, this chapter is all over the place. At least I got to introduce two of the new charries!
Credit for Alexa goes to GaskarthLoveMe & credit for Elana goes to jalex_stronghammer.
Love you guys! <3