We Are the Rebellious Youth (All Time Low fanfiction | Alex Gaskarth)

Epilogue

Mickey's POV:

"Mickey!" The male voice barked at me loudly. "Readjust that light, will you? I can't see shit right now."

I sighed but still did as I was told. I didn't really get a say. It was already pure luck that I was here. Originally, I wasn't supposed to be anywhere close. This wasn't my job. I was the person that had to file paperwork, that had to reply to emails, and had to go out on coffee runs for everybody else. There was no reason for me to be here fixing a light and pointing it towards the couch for the camera.

Well, other than that my coworker called in sick and nobody else wanted to work on a Saturday. I didn't either, but I didn't really have a choice. If I had, I would have given the offer a hard decline, walked away, and never turned back. It was either show up, set up, and do the job or get fired. And I couldn't afford to get fired. Literally.

What was the job, you may ask? Well, it was an amazing fun-filled interview with–

"Hey, sorry we're la– Mickey?" Jack walked in and came directly face to face with me, freezing in his tracks.

The other boys from All Time Low, ones I used to call my friends, nearly walked right into him, unable to predict the abrupt stop. All of their eyes were on me. My heart rate increased. I knew they were going to be here, I had had some time to prepare, but I didn't know what to do.

"Hi," I responded and focused back on the screw that needed tightening so it would hold the adjustments I just made.

"You're just going to act like this isn't a big deal?" Rian blurted out. "We haven't seen or heard from you in over three years!"

We were in Austin, Texas. Nowhere close to home back in Maryland. But this was my home now. I had been living here for the past three years. It was 2010 now. I hadn't been back to the East Coast since I left. I hadn't even left Austin since I arrived.

"You know these guys?" The guy from work who was in charge of filming asked me. When I gave a small single nod, he snorted. "No wonder you asked to be put on this job."

Alex looked at me with wide hopeful eyes. "You asked to be put on this job?"

I couldn't admit that it was far from the truth. That I wanted anything but to be here. I wasn't supposed to be here. So, I just smiled softly, tightening the last clamp of the light stand.

"We'll be ready to go in just a few moments," I told them and turned around to grab the questions that had been pushed into my hands when I was given no option but to do this.

"Wait, wait, wait," Jack stopped like there was something he even had to stop. All he had to do was wait a bit, "hang on, we need to catch up. What have you been up to the past few years?"

I shrugged and tapped the bottom of the cards on the table to straighten them out. "The usual. Moved out here, got engaged, had a few kids, got divorced, lost custody, and now I'm here."

"Holy shit, really?"

"No." For some reason Jack just brought out the sarcasm in me, something that hadn't made an appearance in a while. "Moved out here, got engaged, broke it off, and now I'm here."

There obviously were things that happened around those events, but they were miniscule and insignificant compared to the highlights. They wouldn't care about the boring things like when I dropped out of my course back in Maryland, intending to enroll over here, only to get distracted by other career options. They didn't care about the things I did with my friends. It all didn't matter.

"Oh." Jack nodded.

"What about you guys, what have you been up to?" I returned the question politely.