instagram • ashton irwin

twenty-two

Thalia POV

One thing I hadn't taken note of:

Massachusetts is fucking cold at night.

I wasn't going to ditch Connie, because I felt bad, so I stayed around the arena, but I was bored out of my mind. I just couldn't handle being there while Ashton was there, while he could see me and I could see him. Thinking about him was common for me, but seeing him and wondering if he was thinking about me was overwhelming.

Actually, now that I think about it, it was stupid to be out here. Connie was probably inside, rolling her eyes and telling Gina about how I needed to calm down. And Gina was probably telling her that she didn't need to worry about me while simultaneously screaming along and dancing to whatever song they were playing, which, judging by the faint music I could hear from inside, was Permanent Vacation.

And here I was, sitting outside feeling sorry for myself because I had a panic attack in what was supposed to be the best night of my life. I hopped up on the hood of the car- carefully, I have a history of breaking bones- and put in music on my earbuds. (It was the liveSOS  album.) My car was cold, but being in the empty parking lot calmed me down. I sat there for a little over an hour, and when people started streaming out I opened up my phone and went to call Connie. Before I could get to it, Michael's name appeared on my screen. I sighed, answering it with hesitation.

"Thalia! Where are you?"

"Hello to you too, Mikey."

"Hello, yeah, whatever. You were in like the second row! I can see you, you know. Why'd you leave?"

"I dunno. I just got a little overwhelmed. You have a lot of energy," I said, giggling. He sighed in amusement, but then went back to being serious.

"Thalia..." he whined, childish.

"What do you want me to say?"

"That Ashton was making you uncomfortable," he responded pointedly. I rolled my eyes.

"Hey." I said defensively.

"What? I know it's true. He came in here bitching about you leaving for like ten minutes, and then went to go shower in a huff. He was all excited about getting you to notice him and everything."

"Yeah, okay."

"Stop being difficult."

"Why should I? He was being difficult for months!" I paused, shivering. I should've brought a warmer jacket.

"Can you just come backstage please? Bring Connie. I wanna meet you, and so does everyone else. It would make Ashton really happy."

"I don't care."

"Yeah, you do." I rolled my eyes again, just as Connie made her way to the car, tripping slightly over her own feet. I covered the phone speaker, steadying her.

"Are you drunk?" I whispered. She nodded, giggling furiously at herself. I sighed. "You're underage..." I mumbled to myself, and I heard Michael laugh on the other end.

"What, is Connie smoking weed or something?"

"Shut up! Of course not! Actually- shit, I hope not. She's drunk, though, I think."

"Great! Bring her. Please, T. No one will take advantage of her, okay? I'll watch her, if you want. But I know everyone really wants to see you." I sighed.

"What if security won't let me in?"

"Call them crazy bananas. That's like, the secret phrase we use to get our friends in."

"But what if-"

"Stop making excuses! Thalia, come on. Everything will be fine, and there's heating in here. I can hear your teeth chattering through the phone."

"Okay, okay. Um, I'll see you, then." I ended the call, hopping off the hood, and locking arms with Connie. "You good?" I asked. She flipped her hair, laughing.

"Yeah, yeah. Okay-okay! It's okay, because I only had a little."

"Where did you get the alcohol?" She shrugged, and I cringed.

"Someone was handing it out. Everyone else was drinking, so I thought why not?"

"That's so unsafe."

"Aw, come on. Thalia!!! Pay!! Attention!! To!! Me!!" I pulled her along.

"We're going to meet the boys." I said. She squealed in my ear and I turned my head.

"Oh my god! Really??" I nodded, distracted. We came upon the backstage. The security guy looked us up and down, skeptical.

"Where's your backstage passes?" He asked, disinterested.

"Oh, well, we don't-"

"No pass, no entry." I smiled.

"You're crazy bananas, dude. Please?" He looked up, smirking.

"Okay, right this way." Connie was laughing. Then again, she was laughing at everything.

"That went well."
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A/N
ngl I really liked this chapter.

Also, it makes me so happy to see people voting and stuff. I see this stuff, I have notifications turned on for wattpad, so thank you so much! And I have over 700 reads, which is heckin great! I love you all.

Okay, see you guys soon hopefully.

-claire