"Alex put me down!" I laughed as I thrashed my arms and legs, beating them down on his back. While picking me up in a hug he had managed to throw me over his shoulder, running around backstage with me held captive in his grasp.
"Are you kidding me? I'm not letting you go, ever," he yelled to me over his shoulder, "that was insane Sally! Why didn't you tell us you were that good?"
Although he couldn't see me, I rolled my eyes as he continued to run the perimeter of the room.
"Jack tell your imbecile of a best friend to put me down!" I yelled at Jack as he rushed in. "No I think it's good punishment for not mentioning how amazing you are," I scrunched my face up in confusion and he quickly spoke before I could, "and the rest of the band of course," he choked out.
I sighed in frustration before promptly kicking Alex in the groin. He groaned and began to fall, allowing me to hop off of his shoulder. Alex started to say incoherent profanities as he doubled over in pain and I crouched down to gently place a hand on his back, "Sorry bud but what has to be done, has to be done." He nodded understandingly, standing up and readjusting his hair. "But seriously Sally, you guys were fucking fantastic. And you covered Fall Out Boy!" Jack threw his hands up in the air exaggeratedly. I rolled my lips between my teeth and shrugged before laughing, "Thanks guys, but I doubt it was that good." Their eyes widened and they spoke over one another.
"Do I need to slap some sense into you?"
"Your voice is sex."
"Emmy rocks"
"You might even be better than Cassadee."
I became confused over who was saying what but they soon shut up when someone cleared their throat.
"Do you want to say that to my face Jack attack?"
I turned around to see a girl with short brown and blonde hair leaning against the door, arms crossed and smirking.
"Cass!" Jack opened his arms and ran to the girl at the front of the room. They hugged for a moment before Jack tugged her over to where I was, "Cass, this is Sally. She's the singer for Reckless Escapade."
I stuck my hand out as she did, shaking them in the middle, "Cassadee from Hey Monday. I could hear you from back here, you were amazing!" She smiled. I could see Jack and Alex shoot me a look that said 'told you so' and I rolled my eyes. "Thanks, I listened to your set and I have to say I think Jack is wrong," I tucked my hands in my back pockets as she giggled. "Nah you were fabulous. But speaking of playing, I think it's about time for your set guys. I'm going to go stand side stage and get ready to watch you, I'll see you all later!" She waved to the three of us and went out the door, "oh and it was great meeting you Sally," she added then closed the door behind her.
"That was Rian's girlfriend," Alex nodded in Cassadee's direction as she left. I nodded slowly, chipping and picking at the old black nail polish that had once been on my fingers. "Speaking of Rian," I started, "where is he? And Zack?"
The two boys simply looked at each other and shrugged.
"Probably brushing his teeth," Jack predicted, laughing at his joke towards Rian's impossibly white teeth, "knowing Zack he's most likely working out like he usually does before shows."
"What about your band?" I was unsure of the answer to Alex's question so I pulled out my phone, pressing the worn down buttons rapidly to text Emmy. "I'll know here in a second but my best bet is they're in our dressing room."
"Alright, well are you going to watch our set? Please?," Alex pouted, "pretty please? I promise we don't suck."
I laughed, shaking my head at his ridiculous attitude, "Yeah, according to Jack you're the best band in existence."
Alex shrugged, smiling smugly, "He's not wrong you know."
"Hah, I'll believe it when I hear it Gaskarth," I crossed my arms, turning my back and walking toward the door.
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After the show, I learned three very valuable lessons.
One: never stand on the side of the stage closest to Jack Barakat. That boy gets so many bras, chances are you'll get hit by one as it's being flung from the crowd. As the show goes on, he will make sure to purposefully shake himself, much like a wet dog after being bathed, drenching you in the sweat that flings from his hair and body.
Two: If you ever get the option between standing backstage and being a part of the crowd, choose the stage. Although most people would say mosh pits are one of the most thrilling, exhilarating, and breath taking experiences you'll ever experience, when you're a short asthmatic girl such as myself, getting your breath taken away is not exactly the idea of fun. Watching the crowd, every time I looked there was someone being pushed or trampled. Girls hair would be pulled or their bodies would accidentally, and other times not so accidentally, be grabbed or hit. Then there was that group of guys that you could find at almost any concert, drunk and obnoxious. Their movements would be large and clumsy, if you weren't careful they would probably whack you in the head or step on your foot.
The third lesson learned was to never underestimate the words of Alex Gaskarth. With each and every song I found myself more and more impressed. The lyrics written by none other than Mr.Gaskarth himself were rich and flowed together. Judging by the clusters of kids crying when they played Therapy, they were just as moved by the music as I was. This song stood out to me. Alex would announce the new songs they played and even though I enjoyed them, they all reminded me of the first song Jack showed me. They were clever but at the same time overproduced and cheesy. So when Alex said they'd be slowing it down, I was immediately intrigued. Sitting at a wooden stool center stage and alone, he switched to his acoustic guitar and plucked the strings. It ended up being one of my favorite songs from the evening, the others being Guts and Jasey Rae.
When the four men marched off stage, perspiring and exhausted, I resisted the urge to hug them, telling them to shower first.
As they came out, hair wrapped in towels and their faces slightly glazed from steam, I wrapped my arms around their waists individually, congratulating them.
Jack was the last one out and the last one to get a hug. As soon as he saw me he picked me up from the ground with ease, twirling the both of us in circles. "So, was I right or was I right?" He stuck his nose up in the air indicating he was proud of himself. I decided to go hard on him and raised my shoulders, "You were okay I guess." He gave me a playful shove, "Don't lie, I saw you tearing up. You love us," he continuously poked my arm in attempt to make me confess.
"I never said I didn't love it, I just didn't say you were the best band ever. A close fifth or sixth possibly." At this point the rest of the band had circled around me, joining the conversation. "So who's ahead of us, huh? That's what I'd like to know," Alex declared.
I shook my head at them all in disbelief, "Has anyone told you all that you're extremely conceited?" I teased. They pondered it for a second before each of them nodded.
"Well if you must know, the five bands better than you in my opinion are Blink, Fall Out Boy, Green Day, My Chemical Romance, and Panic at the Disco." To my surprise they weren't offended.
"Makes sense," Rian spoke up, "those are the people we get compared to the most."
"Yeah, I mean you're sound is very similar. Don't get me wrong, you all fucking rock."
The circle of men enclosed on me and I was soon caught in the middle of a bone crushing embrace, I had to pry their arms from shoulders to regain my breath and stop my circulation from stopping.
"So, party time?" Alex shouted, causing the crew and bands backstage to whoop and holler. Before I knew it, I was being rushed out of the building and onto the All Time Low tour bus.
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A/N okay this chapter's longer, it has to be. Anyways, sorry this took a while. I tend to come home and then just loose all energy. If I get more fans, reads, votes, all that jazz, I might post more often. That's what'll motivate me. The story should get interesting soon so hang tight.
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