Brook-

Staying mad at Alex was definitely one of the more challenging things I have had to deal with in quite some time. It was especially challenging staying mad at him over something I knew he was now well aware was wrong and is truly sorry for.

No matter how nice he was to me this morning and how genuinely sorry I knew that he was, I couldn't bring myself to just let it go yet. This was not something that I was going to let ruin our relationship forever and I most definitely was not going to go home or break up with him.

I love Alex and his stupid boy brain, but I just needed to be mad at him a little while longer.

The best way for me to have done so successfully was to avoid him. I'm pretty sure he knew I was lying when I said I had work to catch up on. Mostly because he knew I made sure to have more than enough work taken care of before we got to Vegas so I would be able to enjoy my time here. Ironic, huh?

Once all the guys vacated the bus, I left mine and Alex's bunk, grabbing my computer and headed toward the back lounge. I checked my email and replied back to a few messages I had gotten from students and one from my boss who was checking to see how I was handling my online class duties - which I was doing just fine.

After that, I sent an email to my cousin Sami, updating her on all the cool things I'd already done on this tour so far, she was beyond jealous of me. I couldn't wait to see her when the tour came through New York. After all that only half an hour had passed and I was already starting to get stir crazy.

That's when I decided to watch a movie; and after watching Clueless, I really contemplated leaving the bus and finding someone to talk to.

But instead, I went to the kitchen area of the bus and made myself a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, happily taking a heaping spoonful of peanut butter from the jar specifically labeled ALEX in big black letters.

I sat back down on the couch with my sandwich and went back to my computer. This time, I decided to watch Tangled.

I had barely gotten to the part of the movie when Flynn climbs up Rapunzel's tower, when I heard someone else enter the bus. I paused the movie and listened to see if I could figure out who it was.

A second later, a sing-songy voice sang my name and I figured out it was Jack.

"Hello darling," he smiled, stepping into the back lounge.

"Hi Jack," I returned his smile.

"You're looking awfully chipper today, given the events of the last two days."

He laughed a little and sat down across from me. "I'm probably just still drunk."

I laughed and before I could say anything, he kept talking. "I need to talk to you," he said, quickly changing into serious mode.

"Yeah?"

" I was talking to Ryan and he asked if you were coming to see Yellowcard play today. And I said no because you have work to do and he freaked out. You've never missed their set yet this tour and each one has been great."

I crossed my arms over my chest, leaning into the back of the couch. "And?"

"And he thinks of you as some kind of good luck charm now and he's afraid if you're not there, their set is going to suck and they will lose all their fans and the band will be forced to break up and they'll have to go back to working meaningless jobs at the grocery store."

I rolled my eyes. "Isn't that a bit dramatic?"

"Well, considering you missed All Time Low's set today and how many times Alex fucked up, do you want to take that chance?" Jack shot back.

"Alex is incredibly hungover today so I'm sure his mistakes had less to do with me and more to do with that..."

"I don't know, B. I've seen him play with many hangovers. Today he completely forgot an entire guitar part of Jasey Rae."

"Jack," I sighed. "I appreciate what you're doing here, but I really have a lot of work-"

"Brook," he interrupted me and held up his wrist that displayed his half of our friendship bracelet. "Consider what these bracelets mean before you finish that sentence and lie to me."

I sighed again. "Jack..."

"It doesn't matter what you say because I heard you watching Tangled when I walked in."

"Fine," I sighed. "I'm not working. I'm just-"

"Avoiding your boyfriend?" he finished for me.

I nodded. "Basically."

"Look, Brook. I'm real sorry about that," Jack said, his face still serious and his eyes sort of sad. "I can't help but feel like you and Alex fighting is my fault."

"It's not your fault, Jack. Alex is a big boy and can make his own choices." I assured him.

"I know," Jack shrugged. "But I still feel bad. It was my birthday we were celebrating and it was my sort of wingman he was acting like. Of course it was partially my fault. Did you even have any fun there?"

"Of course I had fun, Jack," I assured him. "And, trust me. I know if there's one person that loves you more than Alex, it's drunk Alex. He was going to distract that girl for you all night. But I also know he had no intention of doing anything with her."

"Okay," he finally cracked a smile. "But for the record, one more time, I am really sorry. And so is Alex."

I nodded. "I know you're sorry. And I know Alex is sorry."

"Then why are you still mad at him?" Jack asked.

"Some times, with certain issues, you just have to be mad," I explained. "Consider it a sort of time out for grown-ups in a relationship."

Jack cracked a bigger smile this time. "Can't you just cut him off of all sexual contact for a week?"

I laughed. "Oh, don't worry. That's part of his punishment too."

"Great," Jack sighed. "Alex is always super bitchy when he's sexually frustrated."

"Sorry," I laughed. "Maybe I'll lessen his sentence for good behavior."

Jack laughed. "In all seriousness, Brook, Alex never would have done anything with that girl last night. He's too head over ass, stupid in love with you."

I smiled slightly. "Yeah. I know. And for some reason I still love him and his stupid boy brain, too."

Jack smiled. "Good. So, this won't end in a break-up?"

I shook my head. "Of course not."

Jack smiled wider again. "Thank God! Who would get custody of me?"

"That's sweet, Jack," I smiled. "But I think custody would revert back to Alex. He's been your friend a much longer time than I have."

"Hey," Jack started, moving to sit next to me and he placed his hand over mine. "Brook, you know you're not just my friend's girlfriend to me, right? You really are one of my best friends now."

I smiled a little wider. "Thanks, Jack," I squeaked out passed the lump growing in my throat as I hugged him. "I really needed to hear that."

Jack hugged me back with a tight squeeze. "Don't even mention it."

A few seconds later, Jack released me and laughed when he saw the tears welling up in my eyes.

"You're such a girl," he teased, nudging me with his elbow.

I laughed a little and shoved him away.

"Shut up. I can't help it," I said, rubbing my eyes and looking for a way to change the subject. "Tell me about this Maggie girl..."

Jack laughed a little. "I've known her for a few years and always had a bit of a crush on her but she always had a boyfriend so I never made a move. But I found out a few weeks ago, her and her boyfriend broke up, so when she showed up at the party I didn't want to waste the opportunity."

I nodded. "Yeah. So what happened?"

He shook his head, a disappointed look flashing through his eyes. "Nothing really. The more I talked to her and the more interested she seemed, I realized it was less because of me and more because of the band and what that could do for her."

I frowned. "Well, she doesn't sound that great."

He shook his head. "Nah. Definitely not worth almost breaking you and Alex up."

"I told you that wasn't happening, so don't worry anymore about that, okay?"

"Okay," he smiled, standing up from the couch. "Come on. Yellowcard plays in fifteen minutes."

"I don't know," I said, slouching back against the couch.

"Come on," Jack whined. "I'll make sure your boyfriend and his stupid boy brain stay away from you."

I laughed. "Did he tell you to say that?"

Jack shook his head. "No. He actually told me not to say anything about him. He just wanted me to convince you not to miss Yellowcard."

"Okay," I (easily) caved. "I was getting a little antsy on the bus alone all day anyway.

"Yay!" Jack squealed, pumping his fist in the air.

"Let me get changed real quick," I said, rushing to my bunk to put my computer away before digging through my suitcase for an outfit.

"Let's go," I said, exiting the bathroom, dressed, tossing my used clothes in my bunk before grabbing my bag and my pass.

"Let's go!" Jack repeated and I followed him off the bus.

Alex-

When Jack ran off to go find Brook on the bus, I was a little nervous. I knew when I left her this morning, she wasn't in the best mood and I feared Jack's presence would only upset her more. He promised me that he was only going to try and convince her to watch Yellowcard but I wasn't sure I could believe him. He was feeling pretty guilty about our fight and really wanted to help fix the situation.

It was about five minutes before Yellowcard was due to play when I noticed Jack and Brook making their way toward the stage.

It was a strange feeling to see your girlfriend, whom you loved more than anything, approach and not know if you should say anything to her or not.

Immediately upon seeing her, Ryan Key abandoned his pre-show warm-ups and ran over to her, before I could, giving her a big hug and they talked excitedly. If I didn't know how madly in love with Emily Ryan was, I might have been a little jealous.

Well, fuck it. I was jealous. I was jealous of anyone she was willing to speak to at this point.

Once Ryan left Brook to finish getting ready to play, I started to approach her but was stopped by the hustle of the band jumping on stage and security signally where the rest of us should go. I ended up on the opposite side of the stage as Jack and Brook and I had to figure maybe that was a good thing.

I couldn't help but smile as I watched Brook gently bounce around to the beat of each song while she muttered the words under her breath. She really did seem to be having great time out here and I didn't want to ruin in.

My attention left Brook momentarily when the band stopped to banter between songs.

"Las Vegas! What's up?" Sean yelled into the mic and was met with a chorus of screams.

"So, I have a quick little story for you," Ryan chimed in. "As many of you may know, the passed few nights most of us have been celebrating Jack from All Time Low's birthday."

The crowd cheered again and Jack waved to the crowd from his spot side stage where he stood next to Brook.

"Now I know they say what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas, but I figured since we are still here, I can share some secrets with you."

Ryan paused for a moment, letting the crowd quiet down and before I could figure out where he was going with this, it was too late.

"Some of us got pretty drunk. And some of us got pretty stupid." Ryan explained.

"Alex," Sean coughed my name into the mic, glancing back at me.

"You see, sometimes, us guys are just stupid. We don't mean to be stupid, but it just happens. And last night, someone,"
Ryan paused long enough for Sean to cough my name into the mic again, "was really stupid."

I looked away from the crowd long enough to see Brook biting back a smile as Ryan continued. I really had no idea where he was going with all this and I was getting a little annoyed.

"Now, what some of you may not know is that Alex has his wonderful girlfriend out on the road with him this summer and she had to witness most, if not all, of his stupidity last night."

I looked over at Brook again and this time she looked less amused and more like she couldn't hide behind Jack enough.

"I'm not going to go into any more detail because I probably crossed a line big time already but I just want to say, on behalf of Alex, that I'm sorry and I love you and there's no one else in the world I would rather have with me this summer," Ryan said, glancing to me for what I assumed was approval - so I nodded and then he turned to smile at Brook.

"My point in all of this is to put it out there how much I enjoy these two as individuals and as a couple and I hate to see either one of them upset." Ryan paused, glancing over at me again. "The other day Alex mentioned to me how much he loved this next song and how it makes him think of his girlfriend whenever he hears it. And with that being said, this next song is called With You Around and it's dedicated to Alex and Brook," Ryan finished before jumping right into the song.

Do you remember when I said you were my only one
We were running underneath the California sun
Well now I look at you, and you're still more than I can tak
You're like a slow song, starting to accelerate

And all my life I looked for you
For arms that I could fall into.

All I can think about is you and me driving with a Miley Cyrus record on
We were singing til our voice were gone
And I was falling hard, you were barely hanging on
And now I wanna chase forever down with you around

I smiled to myself, looking over at Brook who was also smiling at the way Ryan changed the lyrics from a Saves the Day record to Miley Cyrus.

You're making movies in your head when you fall asleep Having nightmares dreaming that I'm gonna leave
I know you've always been afraid of ending up alone
Somebody hurt you now you're waiting on a dial tone

But I'm right here so don't get blue
It's not just you I need this too

All I can think about is you and me driving with a Miley Cyrus record on
We were singing til our voice were gone
And I was falling hard
you were barely hanging on
And now I wanna chase forever down
with you around

We were running underneath the California sun

All I can think about is you and me driving with a Miley Cyrus record on
We were singing till our voices were gone
And I was falling hard
you were barely hanging on

We put a record on
Kept singing till our voices were gone
And I was falling hard
you were barely hanging on
And now I wanna chase forever down
We were running underneath the California sun
I just wanna chase forever down
with you around

For the rest of Yellowcard's set, I noticed Brook looking over in my direction with a smile on her face. I couldn't help but hope somehow this whole mess had made her stop being so mad at me.

After the band was finished, I followed the crowd off the stage. In the mix of people and band members and crew members running around, I had momentarily lost sight of Brook.

That was until someone stood behind me and slipped their small, soft hands over my eyes.

"Guess who?" Brook whispered in my ear.

I quickly spun around to face her, not willing to waste a single second of her actually wanting to talk to me.

"Hey," I smiled, resting my hands on her waist.

"Hi," she smiled back. "Did you tell Ryan to say all that?"

I shook my head. "I didn't say anything to him," I laughed. "I had no idea he was going to do all that."

She smiled again. "Then how did he know to change the words to Miley?"

I laughed quietly. "You told him about meeting her in the bathroom in LA."

Her eyes widened and a soft gasp escaped her lips. "No I didn't!"

I nodded. "You did. You had a few beers first, but you still did."

"I am such a nerd," she said, covering her face with her hands and shaking her head.

"No you're not," I laughed, grasping her wrists lightly and pulling her hands away from her face. "Can we get serious for a second?"

Brook nodded, letting her arms fall to her sides as I formulated exactly what I was going to say. It felt a little awkward with so many people running around behind us, so I slipped my hand into Brook's and led her a few feet away between some busses.

"Look. I know I apologized about a thousand times already, but I really am truly sorry for the big mess of a night I caused last night. I was so stupid and never mean to hurt you." I paused for a second to regain my composure before opening my mouth to say more.

Before I could, Brook pushed herself forward and pressed her lips to mine and for a second it was almost like the first time we had ever done it.

"I love you," she whispered when she pulled away and smiled.

"And I forgive you as long as you promise to think it through the next time you do another favor like that for Jack."

I smiled wide, wrapping my arms around her. "Deal," I said before pulling her closer to me and crashing my lips to hers. ***

Later that night, after New Found Glory closed the the main stage, everyone mostly retreated back to their busses. We were all exhausted from partying for two days straight, on top of playing a show and hanging out in over one-hundred-degree weather.

After grabbing a quick bite to eat at catering, Brook and I changed for the night and got in our bunk.

"Comfy?" I asked her when she practically laid herself across my body.

She nodded, kissing the tip of my nose lightly. "I slept on a couch last night, on the opposite side of the room where you slept. We are cuddling hardcore tonight."

I smiled, slipping my arms around her waist and squeezing her tight. "I'm totally fine with that."

"Good," she smiled before kissing me softly. "I love you."

I smiled, kissing her again. And again. And again. And then a question struck me.

"Why?"

"Why what?" she asked, moving in to kiss me again.

"Why do you love me?" I asked, serious.

"Because you're so cute," she smirked, pinching my cheek lightly.

"Seriously, Brook. Why? I mean... is this really worth all the drama I've put you through?"

"Absolutely, Alex. Are you kidding? I am one hundred percent certain that you are worth it. Come on, we've discussed this before."

I shrugged. "I guess."

"Look, Alex," Brook said, shifting to sit up a bit. "Do you really want to know why I love you?"

"Yes!" I nodded. "You brought me back to life."

I stared at her for a second, not totally sure how to respond to that. "What?"

"When we met I was okay. But I was nowhere near back to being myself. Then you came around and I was having fun again. I had friends again."

I smiled softly as she continued to speak.

"If someone would have told me a year ago that I would be living on a tour bus for the summer while on the Warped Tour with my lead singer boyfriend, I would have thought that they were crazy. This is so not something even the old Brook would have had the guts to do. But here I am. And I have no one to thank but you," she said, her voice shaking a bit with emotion as she hit the end.

"I just want what's best for you," I said, gently brushing a tear off her perfect face. "And I'm glad that you're enjoying yourself here."

"Me too," she smiled. "I love you so much."

"I love you too, Brook. More than I think I even know," I said, leaning over and kissing her lips fully.

We kissed lightly for quite some time before we broke apart and situated ourselves better for sleep.

"You ready for bed?" she asked, resting her head on my chest.

"I am so ready," I yawned. "Ready to get some sleep. And even more so ready to get the Hell out of Las Vegas."
***

Notes

Story Title: Taylor Swift - Sparks Fly
Chapter Title: Katy Perry - Waking Up in Vegas