VOID (Alex gaskarth)

I looked up at the huge marquee, shading my eyes from the bright bulbs. Presenting the "Back to the Future Hearts Tour" with All Time Low and special guest Sleeping with Sirens. Finally. I might actually get a birthday this year that doesn't suck balls. If this good luck keeps up, I might wake up tomorrow in a high-end hotel drinking mimosas. And of course, one of the band members would be next to me.

Today is my 21st birthday, and I intend on making it the best one yet. That shouldn't be to hard though, considering I never celebrated half of my birthdays. I glanced up at the sky as dark clouds rolled in. A drop of rain hit me on the nose, and I backed into the massive theater. Okay, so maybe i'm not capable of having the "perfect birthday". "Excuse me can I get some security out here, there's a girl stalking the band outside of the venue, I think she could be a possible groupie, over." I turned around to see my best friend Charlotte holding an imaginary walkie-talkie to her mouth. I laughed. Charlotte Vantan is the third richest twenty-two year old in Beverly Hills. At least that's what her Wikipedia page says. It should also say that she has been the best friend of Lennon Cruz [not found] for seven years. That's quite an achievement if you ask me.

Charlotte and I actually first met at another concert back in 2008. It was for Panic! at the Disco, and it was all the rage at Santa Monica Middle School. Considering that we had all been too young to go to the first tour. I went alone, which is how I wound up next to Charlotte. She was all decked out in hippie attire to compliment the band, and I thought she looked like an absolute idiot. But, she had a sign asking Brendon Urie to marry her, and fourteen year old me was obsessed with him. Brendon saw the sign and said yes. Unfortunately, their wedding has yet to happen, but he's semi-technically her fiancé now.

It was from that moment on that I knew I had to be friends with this magical girl, who just so happened to be sitting right next to me. After Charlotte and I became friends, she introduced me to this new band her dad (an award-winning producer) was working with. All Time Low. Even though Charlotte was loved them from the start, I didn't really like them too much. But pretty soon everyone loved them. They were like a new trend. All any of the girls would talk about was how "absolutely hot" the lead singer was. So eventually I gave in, mainly because Charlotte wouldn't stop playing them whenever I went to her house just to spite me.

"Oh so I'm a groupie now?" I responded with a smile. "Yes and you should be grateful, I could've given you a much worse title," she said. She stuck out her hand which held two backstage passes. "Call me anything you want," I gasped, reaching for my pass. But at the last second she snatched her hand away. "Ah ah ah, there are rules that come with these passes Len," she said, waving the passes in front of me. "What?! I already know the most important rule, no attempted kidnappings...." I reached for the passes again, but she pulled her hand away. "Charlotte stop messing with me!" I whined. "I'm being serious Lennon, if you break these rules you could end up getting arrested."

"Fine, Just tell me the stupid rules," I seethed. "Okay, they're very simple. No attacking, no groping, no begging, and absolutely NO interfering with the music from outsiders. Aka you," she pointed at me. "Okay, got it. Can I have my pass now," I said, holding out my hand. "Fine go be free," Charlotte said, handing me the pass. "Just remember to meet me back at the pit when All Time Low starts!" She yelled, but I was already gone.

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Sleeping with Sirens was currently tearing it up with their set. I watched from the wings as they sang "Kick Me", trying my hardest not to scream along. I don't know exactly how this "side-stage viewing" works, I mean if I start singing the band could hear me and then I would be distracting them and I'm pretty sure "no interrupting" was one of Charlotte's rules. My birthday is going well so far and I'm not going to jeopardize it with my love of intense singing. "Kick, kick, kick me when I'm down!!" The crowd went crazy as they finished off the song. Luckily, I could do this part with them. A loud crash of thunder sounded outside. The crowd didn't notice, but it was super loud backstage.

"Damn it's about to go down out there" someone reacted right behind me. It was probably one of the stagehands, but as I turned around I bumped into them and couldn't see. "Shit," I cursed as I felt a sharp jab in my side. "Oh god I am so sorry," the voice said. It sounded like a guy, and judging from the hand that stuck out to help me up, it was. Sighing and getting up myself, I said "It's alright, I would've been a lot rudder if you hadn't tried to help me though." He laughed in relief. "Hey, what the hell did you hit me with?" I winced, putting a hand to my side. "Oh, that was my guitar," he said, pointing to the ground. "Again, really sorry." "Your guitar?" I asked. He nodded. Wait a minute, stagehands don't have their own guitars. He must be apart of one of the opening acts!

"So what band are you in?" I asked. "Uhh, All time Low?" he said, sounding confused. "Wait, what?!" How could I not recognize someone from All Time Low? If Charlotte were here she'd slap me. In my defense, I've only listened to their music, not really paid attention to their faces. Two of them looked about the same, one had a buzzcut, and the other could pass for a Hollister model. That's all I know. "Seriously, you, don't know who I am?" he asked. I shook my head. Just then, a strobe light pointed directly at us, giving me a quick glimpse of his face. But that was all I needed. "Really how do you come to my concert and not know-"

"Holy shit you're the hot lead singer," I blurted out. He looked at me in shock, but quickly shook it off and recovered. "Umm, I-" "No wait that came out wrong!" I interrupted him, again. Jeez if I was ever gonna get on this guy's good side I might wanna let him finish his sentences.
He just looked at me again, taking in my appearance. Strangely, I didn't feel violated. "Ohhh, I get it," he finally spoke. His former smile was no longer there, and instead replaced with a blank expression. He turned his attention to his fallen guitar. Suddenly remembering Charlotte's rules, I apologized, "Oh no did I upset you, I'm so sorry." I crouched down to help him pick up the sharp ass guitar, which I prayed to god wasn't broken because of my stomach muscles. "Yeah you know you kinda did, considering the fact that you don't give a shit about me, or my band," he raised his head to look me in the eye, "Typical groupie."

"I'm sorry, what?!" I said, springing up from the floor. Damn, do I really look that much like a groupie today? I'm only wearing black ripped jeans, a black and white flannel and a red bralette. I didn't even put on heels, just some sneakers! "Yeah, I mean that's what you are, right?!" he said, raising his voice. "You're just another girl who doesn't give a shit about the music and only wants to know what kind of boxers I'm wearing!" Now that he mentioned it, I did want to know if he wore boxers or briefs. I mean, look at him. Who wouldn't?

"Okay first off, though I would make a very good one, I am NOT a groupie! I love your music, and that's the real reason I'm here! But unless you want me to leave, I suggest you pull your head out of your ass, because not every girl wants to sleep with you!"
That last part was a lie.
He stared at me for a while after my outburst, and I started to regret it. I mean, the poor guy probably gets flooded by groupies every show. I should really cut him some slack. But then again, he could've cut me some too. "Wow, look I'm-I'm sorry," he finally said. "No it's my fault. When I called you just 'the hot lead singer' I didn't mean it as a derogatory term. It's just the only term I know you by sadly!" He let out a small laugh. He has a nice laugh. "So what exactly made you think I was a groupie? Was it the clothes?" I asked. "Well, you have a backstage pass, you didn't know my name, and yeah, the lace bra did serve as just the cherry on top", he joked. I broke into laughter. "Well hey, excuse me for trying to look nice on my birthday." "Aw man it's your birthday? Shit I guess I've just been a total jerk then huh?" he slumped. "Yeah, I'm finally 21. And it's cool, I'm not exactly an 'amazing birthday' type person anyway," I said. At that, he looked down at his feet, in kind of a sad manner. "What?" I asked. "Oh," he shook his head, "nothing." His smile immediately returned, and I brushed it off. Maybe he has a bad history with birthdays himself.

"Oh, by the way, I'm Alex," he said, and stuck out his hand for me to shake. "I'm Lennon," I said taking his hand. A warmness spread through me as we touched, and butterflies erupted in my stomach. I didn't even know they were there. "Lennon, that's a pretty-" The lights suddenly turned on backstage, and we were left staring at each other while holding hands. "Huh. I guess their set is over," I said, trying to ignore the awkwardness. "Yeah, well uh, I should probably get going then.."he said, pulling away. "Wait," I said. He lifted his head back up to look at me. I could finally see his face in the new light. His brown eyes twinkled with amusement, and his auburn hair was slightly out of place. I subconsciously lifted a hand to fix it, but before it touched his head, he pulled my hand to his face. I stared into his eyes as he held my hand, and it seemed like time stopped. "Don't. Touch. My. Hair." His tone was strict, but the wink he gave me before he took off let me know that he was joking.
And suddenly, the butterflies turned into sparks.

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