(2) Overnight Sensation: An All Time Low Fanfiction Romance

Chapter 71: Protect

        I'm not sure why, but later that night, the boys decided they wanted to treat everyone to dinner. So halfway to our next destination, at about eight, we stopped at a local Applebee's in a small town where it looked like everyone knew our names.

        Applebee's always looked the same, no matter which one you went to. They had the stained glass artifacts covering the walls, bar that only showed sports channels and dim yellow lighting.

        The place had a regular flow of traffic between the waiting and the customers. A lot of the tables were filled, but there was more than enough room for our group to fit. Every single person in the restaurant stared and watched us when they realized we were the kids from the bus that was taking up the majority of the parking lot. I felt my skin heat up when a large group of high school kids watched us, marveling at the idea of where we came from.

        We were seated almost instantly, stuffed into a booth towards the back. I would have done the same thing if I saw Alex and Jack walk into a place like this, acting like they were. They were pushing each other, laughing loudly and making sexual jokes. I wouldn't have been surprised if they stuck us in a bathroom instead. But I was used to them acting this way; it was the only way I would understand friends to act because these were my only friends.

        Alex's posture and attitude towards me was changed slightly since this morning when he found me sitting with Bring Me The Horizon. He wasn't ignoring me, or mad at all. It was weird because Alex isn't a passive-aggressive person. When he was upset, you knew instantly because of his attitude change. But he was distant while keeping a smile on his face, kissing me, and holding my hand. But there was a way in his fingers when they were wrapped around mine where I noticed that they were almost guarded. Maybe I was going crazy, or maybe I just needed a nap. In any case, I felt like something was wrong with him and he wasn't telling me.

        Both Alex and I were the first in the booth on one side, which caused us to be sandwiched between Flyzik and Jack. It was close quarters, but the eight of us didn't mind. I didn't mind being knee to knee with Alex, especially when his fingers traced random patters onto my thigh comfortingly. That's the thing about Alex though; he never was sexual with me in front of his friends. We kissed, and held hands, and acted like a couple. But he never really tried to shove his hands up my shirt, or make me feel uncomfortable. When he was affectionate towards me, nothing was meant to be dirty, it was just him letting me know he was there.

        I shifted my weight, shoulder leaning slightly towards Alex's body over Jack's. But Jack didn't seem to mind as he ordered our appetizers and he dove at the soda placed in front of him. He had been complaining about being thirsty since before we got off the bus.

        "So, I heard Oliver and his guys decided to visit you during breakfast this morning," Rian said casually. I shrugged, feeling awkward as Alex's fingers faltered against my hand. I wasn't supposed to notice, and normally someone would have assumed he'd twitched, pulling away slightly. But I knew him better than that, and I knew that it was a reaction to Rian's words.

        "They did?" Jack's voice was perplexed, and for one of the first times since I've moved to Maryland, Jack didn't look happy with me. "What the hell did they want?"

        "Just sitting with me for breakfast, because I was alone, I guess," I shrugged again, feeling my cheeks blush slightly. I looked at Alex's profile, an dhe pulled his hand away from my leg to reach up and grab my drink. I didn't like that he'd rid himself of our physical contact, or the look that was in his face, his indifferent facial expression.

        "They want her to hang out with them. Isn't that sweet?" Alex's voice was strained while he rested his elbow against the wood of the table. He gave a fake smile, and Zack's eyes fell on me. I felt so uncomfortable, and it was everyone against me at this point. It was obvious by the looks on everyone's faces that they hated that band for whatever reason. I was the only one who had nothing against them.

        "They were nice to me, I wasn't going to be mean for no reason," I licked my lips, running my fingers over my hair in the small space I was allowed. Jack looked over at me with raised eyebrows, eyes moving around the table and looking at ever person scoffed expressions.

        Okay, even more awkward.

        "They tried to sit with me the first few days too, Stell," Kara rolled her eyes at the thought. "They just made me uncomfortable sitting there."

        "Hanging around with them will only get you intro trouble," Zack mumbled. Zack could be serious sometimes, but a lot of the times he just goes with the flow. But he held a grudge in his eyes, an dit was obvious when he'd speak of them. "They take shit too far."

        "Why do you guys hate them?" My eyes moved to Alex's face again. And for the first time since we started dinner, Alex looked over at me. He leaned his cheekbone against the bottom of his palm, biting his cheek. I touched his skinny jean covered jean lightly.

        "They just aren't good people," Rian looke over at me, voice annoyed at the thought. But my eyes never left Alex's face when he looked at me that way. It was like he was trying to tell me something without having to say it. I didn't know what there was to say when he looked at me so desperately.

        "They'll suck you in to the shit they do; I've heard a lot of things from some of the other bands," Jack's voice was serious for the third time since I've met him. He didn't want to get into the conversation either. But I really just wanted to know what was wrong with Alex, and why he was looking at me like this. He was begging me with his eyes to just understand that they didn't want me hanging with them. I just didn't get it.

        The conversations moved elsewhere, not liking the seriousness of it all. I didn't mind. I was still distracted by Alex, who was looking at me from his position against his hand, body shifted in my direction the best he could. No one seemed to mind our private moment, and talked around us while hwe drowned out the sounds of their small laughs and jokes.

        "You're too good for them," Alex's voice was so quiet, that I'm sure no one else heard. His slightly crooked front tooth was visible when he let out a deep breath, hand moving under the table and twisting with mine. My entire heart pumped faster at the thought. His fingers pulled through mine contently.

        I looked down at our tangled hands, finding his eyes still staring at me when I looked back up. I didn't like being told that I was too good for something. It was just like when I left and my father was trying to talk Alex down and the band. I wasn't better than anyone else in this restaurant or on the tour. To me, I felt below them, honestly.

        "I'm no better than anyone, Alex," I said in a whisper. He smiled slightly, lip pulling up on the corner while he shook his head in what I thought was disbelief. His light brown hair was shiny in the lighting, an it was easy to see his dyed blonde streaks.        

        "You're better than me." He was trying to prove a point of some kind. But I still wasn't sure what it was supposed to mean when he gave me that weak grin, brown eyes searching mine. Maybe he was saying that I was better than him, and I picked him anway. He knows that I never drank before I met him, maybe he's just concerned that if I hang out with Oliver, I'll get into more than what I'm ready for.

        I couldn't wrap my head around the idea that I was better than Alex, or that he wasn't good enough for me. It wasn't psosisble because he had too much heart. Even if he didn't sow it, I knew he did. I knew it because it takes so much out of him to say what he feels, and he always feels so strongly about things. He cares more than he even thinks. I couldn't believe that Alex was a bad person, even for half of a second.

        "Not a chance," I murmured, leaning my face towards him and kissing him lightly. My mouth tingled when I pulled away, biting my lip. His smile widened, and I returned the expression.

        Maybe he was just trying to protect me from Oliver. For why, I didn't know.