How it Happened is Irrelevant (Mabbell)

24

A/n: My god awful lasso-crop skills^^

New York City, I did not miss you. I mean, I did. We have an odd relationship. I did miss you in the sense that the neon lights are certainly a sight to behold. I didn't miss you in the sense that I can't even go to the bathroom without having to sign things and take pictures. Once you got far enough from the venue though, the amount of fans wasn't nearly as dense. You might get a strangler here or there, but aside from that, it's typical New York traffic and people. 

Don't get me wrong, I appreciate everyone. Just sometimes they can come on a little strong.

That being said, I was particularly grateful for the lack of fans around the city today. Craig had agreed to go sightseeing with me if, and only if, no one who might recognize us saw us holding hands and/or kissing. And so far, it was going rather well. I pulled him into a hat store after I looked in the window and got an idea. 

"I didn't know you wanted a hat," He raised an eyebrow in question. 

I grinned mischievously as I picked up the most outrageous cowboy hat I could find. "I do say howdy. These here parts look a little dangerous for someone such as yourself to be meanderin' around," I said, faking a western accent. 

"'These here parts?'" Craig asked, struggling to keep from laughing. "'Meandering?'"

I took the hat off and put another on, this time it was a black fedora with a white band. "'Regrets? I've had a few. But then again, too few to mention," I sang in my best impression of Frank Sinatra. 

Craig took the hat from my head and put it on his own, continuing the song. "'I did what I had to do, and saw it through without exemption.'"

"Wait, wait, wait!" I found a baseball hat. "With the lid forward, I'm Ronnie." I turned it around. "And now I'm Max."

He snorted. "Not bad."

I looked around and saw that the store also sold shitty wigs. One of them was curly, which reminded me of someone else. "Last one," I told him. I put the wig on and found a pair of aviator sunglasses. I used my straightest face as I said, "Now I'm Robert."

And Craig lost it. "That's so accurate it hurts!" Of course, in that moment we were asked to leave the store. In all honesty, I really was going to buy something, but apparently we were too much of a disturbance. 

"I wish it could be like this all the time," I sighed as we continued walking down the street. Craig took his arm and wrapped it around my waist to pull me closer. 

"I know," He sighed as well. "Got any more brilliant ideas?"

"We could go out again tonight and getshitfacedandhavesexandforgetthatwehaveresponsibilites," I suggested as quickly as I could. 

"I would agree if we were skipping classes," He chuckled. "But we have the coolest job in the world."

"This is true," I agreed, looking up at the sky. 

"Is that Craig MABBITT?!" A high-pitched female voice squealed somewhere from behind us. Immediately, as if on cue, Craig let me go and put a more friendly distance between the two of us. I turned around with him as the fangirl raced up to see us. She didn't recognize me though, so she didn't ask me for my autograph. (How can you know Craig but not me?) 

"See? No one appreciates anyone but the vocalist," I sighed once she was out of earshot. "All you have to do is show up. I show up, and no one knows who I am."

Craig chuckled and laced our fingers together once more. He lifted my hand to his lips and kissed it gently. "I appreciate you. I can't imagine this band without you."

"Somehow that doesn't make me feel any better." I shook my head. "But that's not important, is it?"

Later that night, after the show, I really did get super drunk. I should have stopped after the eighth cocktail, but they were so damn good. Craig was initially drinking with me, but after about his fourth drink (I've no idea what he was having. I was too caught up in our conversation to care), he got a little concerned about me. He was walking me back to the bus, and I was trying my hardest not to throw up all over him, or my shoes. "We're alone," I concluded, looking at him. He had his arm around me to help hold me up, as my legs didn't seem to want to balance my weight right now. 

"Great observation," He chuckled. I stopped walking, so he did too. And then we kissed. In my mind, it was a very pretty picture. It was the picture of romance. In reality, it was a mess since both of us were under the influence of alcohol. 

But what happened next was going to ruin my life forever.