Look At Us - l.hemmings + a.gaskarth

At The Walls

"Hey, Lexi." A train of people walked into the room, laughing at the sight of a hungover Jack hanging out in Alex's lap, his arms clasped around his neck, his face shoved into the crook of his neck. A chorus of "Sorry, we can come back later" and "What happened here?" rang out.

Jack groaned, his headache worse from the sudden noise, and rolled over, placing his head in Alex's lap, facing his chest, his legs curled up to his own.

"No idea," Alex joked. "This stranger just wandered into my house, drunk off his ass last night, and I didn't have the heart to tell him to leave." The group chuckled again before positioning themselves into a loose circle, ready to discuss the small set of shows around the U.S. that they had planned for the next few weeks.

"So, any news from the 5SOS guys?" Matt started up the conversation, bringing up the group they were performing with first. All eyes spun to Alex's.

"What? You act as if I live with the kids," he spoke, suddenly defensive.

"Well, you have been in contact with them a lot lately. Like when Calum called you yesterday."

"And Michael texted you last night."

"And you texted Luke," Jack groaned from his spot in his lap. Alex hit his head lightly and Jack moaned before leaning forward and biting Alex's belly through his shirt. Alex jerked back slightly, causing Jack to fall from his lap. He fully pulled back, mumbling something about his head, and then curled up with Zack, who was the next closest.

"Um... well..." Alex stumbled. "At least they text back!" Vinny faked a look of hurt and Cassadee giggled under her breath. Rian flicked her hair, sending a scowl at her, the ghost of a smirk hiding behind it.

"I would text you back if you ever texted me. All I get is 'where the fuck are you?' and 'Where's the beer?' and, sometimes, very rarely, but sometimes 'I think I may have given you a blowjob last night.'"

The room burst into laughter, as Alex's cheeks warmed to a nice red color.

"I never sent you that!"

"Oh right, because you're 'saving yourself,' for your 'soulmate.'" Alex rolled his eyes as the room rose with sound again.

"Tell that to Emily," Alex mumbled under his breath. No one heard, except for Zack, whose face paled before a giant smile broke out.

Annoyed of the teasing, Alex turned to Matt with pleading eyes. Matt, however, didn't catch on for a few more minutes, and when he finally did, he didn't take the conversation where Alex wanted him to.

"So, back to the point, what's up with them? They still up for joint, back-to-back shows?" Everyone turned back to Alex, and, with a roll of his eyes, he realized he'd actually have to explain what's up with them.

"Well... I guess they're okay." The looks turned to those of questioning.

"Guess?" Cassadee's eyes filled with concern. She was like an older sister to those lads and cared deeply for them, even though she barely got to see them in person. She was just that kind of gal.

"Well, I'm not sure if they'd be okay with me telling... but Luke's been dealing with some shit lately, and he might not be able to handle one joint concert, let alone two. I mean, I think he's okay and will be fine, but things haven't been up for him lately. I'm just worried... whatever..."

Silence. That was the worst part. Alex expected yelling and protests and questions and everything except silence. A herd of geese breaking into the room with a gorilla in a tutu would have been better than the silence. Everyone stared. Not at Alex, no. At the ground. At the walls. At the back of their eyelids. All too deep in thought to speak up. Finally, someone broke the silence.

It was Jill, this girl who'd been hanging around them recently; said she had to show them something really cool when they started back tour, but wouldn't say what it was. She had also, since she was here and convenient, taken over some of the work for Matt and Vinny and the roadies.

"So... the place in Utah called. They said we could work another night if we wanted. We could get more ticket sales that way..."