the Reckless and the Brave (Sequel to Scream, to be Heard)

Face Down

"I'm fine, Mom. Yeah, she's asleep. I'll tell her. Okay. Love you too, Mom. Bye," I heard Alex say. I opened my eyes and rolled out of the bunk to where Alex was sitting on the couch in the front lounge, holding his phone. "Mom says hi," he said. I nodded and sat next to him.

"Well, then, hi Mom," I replied quietly, fishing the remote from underneath the hoards of games and DVD's and CD's on the table. Spongebob was on, so I left it at that and grabbed my laptop, checking Facebook.

On one page there was a link that just happened to have Alex's name on it, so I clicked on it. It led to a tumblr post by a Rolling Stone critic. To my shock, the title read 'Alex Gaskarth wins custody of sister *coughreally?cough*' I tapped Alex's shoulder and he started reading it aloud.

"So, three weeks ago it was confirmed that Alex Gaskarth of All Time Low had just won custody of his sister Heather, even after sending her to the hospital twice last year while they were on the Nothing Personal tour. What's really crazy is the man is 23, and he's in charge of the life of a 13 year-old kid. More importantly, a celebrity in the Pop-Punk world. I wouldn't trust this guy with a bag of chips, much less a teenager. He can barely take care of himself. The two of them seem to have  a very close relationship, and some people think a little too close. Gaskarth is known to be quite the flirt, and a perv, so I can only imagine what a kid goes through staying with him, not to mention that they both seem very open about each other, saying they couldn't live without each other in various interviews. Wierd, huh? And did I mention that the two of them were caught in public at a Six Flags Yellowcard concert last March, holding hands and him even spotted planting a kiss on her forehead, as well as seen hugging and cuddling together on past tours? Um, I think this 'sibling' relationship may just be going too far," Alex read aloud.

"That BITCH," I screamed. "What the hell? And there's even that picture we took just to be silly, plus basically every single one together on Facebook!" I heard a few thumps, and the rest of the guys were at my side.

"Douchebag," Alex said. "Pervert. F**king douchebag, spying on my little sister and me. Who the f**k does he think he is?" He yelled, almost throwing the laptop across the room.

"Guys, it's a freaking Rolling Stone critic!" Rian said. "What do you expect?" Alex was already busy, logging onto Twitter and almost posting a really nasty message to the guy who wrote the article, but Rian slammed the laptop lid shut. Then Matt and Vinny ran in, Vinny wearing almost nothing but a pair of lovely pink boxers and a strangely feminine-looking The Little Mermaid shirt. I resisted the urge to tell him to put on some pants, although it would have to be done sooner or later.

"I know, but still. Nobody says that about me, or my sister," Alex said. I grabbed his meaty arm.

"Alex, stop it. It's fine. Really. The big bad article isn't going to hurt me," I said.

"No it's not," he says, but lets it go.I put my laptop down, closing the tab, and walk back to where the instruments were stored before grabbing Alex's old acoustic. I played around for awhile, playing and humming the melody to Here Comes the Sun by the Beatles and a few other random songs. Then I put it up as we arrived at a restaurant strip somewhere in New Jersey. Before going out I pulled on a pair of red skinny jeans and black tank top. I chose Mc.Donalds and Zack tagged along, and we sat in a big booth with Sam from Paradise fears, Cameron and Rob from We are the In Crowd, Mike from Green Day, Cody Simpson, and Travie from Gym Class Heroes. Someone's phone was playing P!nk as we chatted and ate before going to the bus again and heading the last few miles to the venue. The driver, Steve, had found us an awesome parking spot. Meaning, we had to walk like three feet to get back onto the bus.

Just as we arrived, I knew that it was going to be chaotic. There were seven bands performing tonight, including the guys and I. Tonight it was Paradise Fears, then the Maine, then Yellowcard, then NeverShoutNever, He is We, and finally me and then the guys. I sat at the merch table in the back with Vinny, setting up and selling stuff to the people that wanted stuff, and taking a picture or two with the kids. Vinny got a picture, though it was with a crazy fangirl so it didn't really count. It was all uneventful until an old friend - well, enemy technically -came up to the table. "So you're here," the voice said. I looked up, and saw my ex-boyfriend.