Stay Awake (Stephen Gomez)

1.  (Kat)

                  “I hate you for talking me into this, and I hate myself for LETTING YOU talk me into this!” I exclaimed over the loud cheers as the crowd waited for their ‘beloved band’, The Summer Set. I’m not the biggest of fans, but my best friend, Krista is, who, by the way, dragged me into this.

                  “Aw, you know you love me, Kat-oh, there they are, OH MY GODSEY, IT’S JOHN GOMEZ!” she exclaimed, screaming and freaking out, like the rest of the girls in the crowd. It’s their last show in Phoenix before their tour ends, so yeah.

                  After the lead singer (some guy whose name I failed to remember) greeted them, they started playing ‘The Boys You Do’ (Krista spent the previous night orienting about their discography). I have to admit though, they’re really good; better than I expected, and the way the crowd would respond to the band, song after song, every lyric, perfectly sung; how music could actually bring people together; it’s just beautiful.

                  That’s when I noticed the guy with the bass; he looked good-fucking good, he was gorgeous. What was his name…Stephen… something? I kept my eyes on him; on that tall, tanned guy with the cool straight hair. The way he moves with his guitar- just flawless.

                  He looked at me; well, it was probably an accidental glance, but shit man, my inner fangirl hormones are going wild.

                  Another glance, once, twice…

                  Just- shit, man

~

                  After the concert, Krista led me to the nearest bar, and took off to who-knows-where. I approached the bartender on the counter. I sat there and ordered a punch, thinking about the concert and that bassist; great, I forgot to ask Krista for his name.

                  “Is this seat taken?” someone asked me. I absentmindedly nodded, not even looking at him.

                  “So, what are you drinking?” he curiously asked. I looked down at the glass of punch in front of me.

                  “It’s just a punch, no big de-“I stopped mid short when I took a look at the guy sitting beside me.         It’s the Stephen-dude.

                  The bassist

                  “Uh, are you okay?” he awkwardly asked, hiding at what seemed to be a playful smile.

                  “Um, yeah, I’m okay, but- you’re the guy from the concert- The Summer Set- you’re their bassist, right?” I stammered.

                  “Oh, yeah,” he smiled warmly. “I saw you in the crowd, no wonder you looked familiar,”

                  “Wait, you saw me in the crowd?” I asked, raising a curious eyebrow.

                  “Yeah, I’m pretty observant; sometimes I remember faces, but yeah… I’m weird like that,” he shrugged and smirked.

                  “Oh...” I trailed off. There was a bit of a silence as he looked at me with those intense, chocolate brown eyes.

                  “I’m Stephen, Stephen Gomez,” he held out a hand eagerly.

                  “I’m Kat- Katreena Enriquez, but everyone calls me Kat,” I smiled as I shook his strong, but gentle hand.

                  “So, can I get you a drink? Maybe, wanna hang out for a bit, you know, have fun?” he asked.

                  I looked around for Krista, but she was nowhere to be found.

                  “Sure, why not?” I shrugged and smiled at him, as he smiled back.

                  I’m hanging out with Stephen Gomez. If Krista finds out, she’ll kill me.

                  We tried out almost every drink, shot after shot, and drink after drink. Stephen, he’s fun; really fun. We talked and laughed as if we were the best of friends.

                  More drinking; a little Vodka, some Margarita…

                  Shit, my head.

                  I’m drunk, from the looks of it. Stephen, though, still feels a bit sober, thank God.

                  I got a little tipsy, but thankfully, Stephen supported my weight.

                  “Whoa, Kat, you seem… ‘Overdosed’” he smirked, supporting me as he held my waist and arm.

                  That was when I felt my insides twisting and turning.

                  In response to Stephen, well, I practically puked my guts out in front of him, probably staining his shirt, I don’t know.

                  “Holy shit!” I heard him exclaim before I literally blacked out.

~

In the early dawn

With your heavy bend

And your careless heart

Where you been?

From the windows of

Just another midnight bar

You remember everything

Everything's so far

I woke up, still pretty lightheaded, to a Ryan Adams song. It was my favorite song, Save Me. I was too weak to sit up, but I found myself on a backseat of a car. There was no one else in here but the driver… Stephen?

Was he shirtless?!

What fuck happened to me?!

I was still clothed, of course, but… why the fuck, was I…

No.

“Stephen?” I weakly called. No answer.

“Where am I?! What happened?!” I was suddenly awake with fear, adrenaline rushing through me, mixing up with a little panic.

“Calm down, Kat,” Stephen said, and… he was really shirtless.

Not to complain, I mean, he was actually pretty hot, but, why was he shirtless?!

I was in panic.

Then Stephen turned around to me, not focusing on the road.         

He was the last person I saw before everything suddenly crashed.