“...ALAN! Are you listening to me?”
Shit. What time was it? Where was I? I attempted to open my eyes, saw nothing but blurred shapes, and winced in pain after registering how bright it was. Ow! Reflexively, I squeezed my eyes shut again. Shit, my head was pounding like no tomorrow. How the fuck did I get such a massive hangover...?
“ALAN ANTHONY ASHBY!” The high-pitched screech was coupled with a forceful thwack of something across my chest. OW! What the fuck?! My head now swimming in pain, I sat up and forced my eyes open to see what had hit me. A fresh stab of pain accompanied my efforts, and I let out an involuntary moan at the feeling.
“Oh, so you’ve finally decided you’re gonna listen to me? It’s about time!” A seething Ashley hovered over me, brandishing a pillow. “Why don’t you start by explaining why you decided to ditch the party with Austin last night without even telling me?”
I left with Austin...? I couldn’t even remember that.
“YES, you were with Austin, you dumbass!” spat Ashley. Oops...evidently I’d voiced my question out loud. Still, all I could remember was taking shots with Jaime and Austin. What had happened afterwards? Talk about drinking until you pass out, sighed my inner prince regretfully. Ignoring Ashley’s incessant bitching, I rolled over in my bunk and felt around for my iPhone. It was 10:22 a.m. Shit, what time do we play today? Why didn’t the guys wake me up?
“Don’t you dare ignore me, Alan!” Ashley screamed, causing me to flinch. “Answer the fucking question!”
“What the fuck, Ashley?!” I burst out in frustration. This bitch needs to stop NOW. “I don’t know, okay? Can’t we just talk later, when I’m not completely smashed?” I angrily yanked my curtains closed and pulled my blankets over my head, causing Ashley to retort, “Oh, that’s very mature. Almost as mature as your actions last night!” As Ashley began to lecture me on how wrong it was to have left her all alone for countless drunk dudes to harass, I tried as hard as I could to fall back asleep.
“Alannnnn!” called a faint voice that I somehow managed to make out despite Ashley’s continued blabbering. The door leading to our bunks suddenly burst open. “ALANNNNNN!” shouted Austin’s voice in a playful tone. Even with my eyes still closed, I could picture the genuine smile that must have been on his face. I grinned to myself beneath my covers. Thank God.
Ashley trailed off in the middle of her rant. Guess she doesn’t want to look like a bitch in front of Austin, I thought wryly. Whatever, as long as it gets her to shut up.
“Uh, this is awkward,” I heard Austin announce nervously. “Ummm...should I leave?”
“No,” Ashley snapped back in response. “I’ll leave.” Several angry footsteps later, I figured the coast was clear. I threw off my blankets and opened the curtains slightly. There stood Austin wearing his white ‘Create Music’ cutoff tank and a pair of black skinny jeans. Damn, I wish I could’ve woken up to that in the morning, I thought automatically. Wait, did I just appreciate his hotness?
“Let me guess, Ashley’s pissed that you left the party with me,” Austin said knowingly, cutting off my internal debate. He smiled and stuck his hands in his pockets.
I grinned up at him, propping myself up on my elbows. “Yeah, just a little,” I teased, causing Austin to reach over and mess up my ginger hair. “I always know when my ginger princess gets in trouble, namely because I always come to the rescue,” joked Austin in a sing-song voice.
Something about Austin’s fingers coming into contact with my hair instantly transported me back to the previous night. “You’re lucky you’re the only ginger who can hold my attention for more than two seconds,” echoed Austin as his chocolate eyes held my gaze. I blushed at the memory. Whoa, did that actually happen?
“So...what happened last night?” I asked Austin, curiosity getting the better of me.
“Alan, you were straight-up shitfaced,” he replied, laughing. “You were so gone that I literally had to carry you back to your bunk. I even dressed you,” he added, winking.
“What?” I stammered, feeling my face turn red. Holy shit...I really was in my PJs.
“Yeah, that’s how much I love you,” Austin said, pretending to be angry with me. “Now get your ass up because we go onstage in an hour and a half.” He reached into his bunk and threw one of his shirts at my face, then sat down on the edge of his bed with undisguised amusement.
Groaning, I got out of my bunk and shot Austin a death glare that earned only a charming smile in response. As I rummaged around my suitcase looking for something to wear, I felt oddly self-conscious at the realization that Austin was watching me. What the hell is wrong with you, Ashby? berated my inner prince. He’s your band member, of course he’s going to look at you.
I found the pair of blue skinny jeans I felt like wearing, but my favorite Pink Floyd shirt was apparently still in the trailer (a.k.a. the black hole our dirty clothes rarely escaped from). Great, what am I supposed to wear? Unless...I smirked suddenly at Austin, reached into my bunk and grabbed the shirt he’d thrown at me, and ran towards the bathroom before he could say anything. “Be at the main stage exactly at noon; we play at 12:25!” I heard Austin call after me. As I poked my head out of the bathroom, I swear I caught him roll his eyes and smile.
Focus on the task at hand, Ashby, my ginger prince reminded me as I stepped into our tiny bathroom. I quickly kicked off my PJs and pulled on my jeans. Then, I took a moment to figure out which shirt of Austin’s had actually been thrown at me. It was his American flag shirt, and a smile crept onto my face at the thought of wearing it after he’d worn it so many times. Without thinking, I held it up to my face and sniffed it. Damn, why does he always have to smell so good? I wondered, my heart skipping a beat. Wait, that’s not a normal thought to have about your best friend. As I tousled my hair in the mirror, I attempted to stop daydreaming about Austin, but my mind kept wandering back to funny things we’d done together and I ended up smiling idiotically at each memory.
Set my world on fire
It caught spark in your eyes...
I concentrated hard on playing right with Tino as I headbanged to O.G. Loko. Little did the fans know that headbanging actually helped me stay in time. As I fed off the energy of the crowd, I became motivated to play an even better show. A smile crept onto my face as I saw how excited the crowd was. I would never trade these moments for the world.
...it may be smothering you, but you know it’s the truth. As Aaron sang Shayley’s old part, I started to get excited for the breakdown, which was just a few measures away. Plus, I only had two chords in it, so it was a nice break for my arms.
Strumming my first chord, I made eye contact with the crowd. I think I caught a few screaming fangirls down there! Glancing back at my bros, I noticed Austin looking at me intently, and for some reason I couldn’t look away. “I’m still here, this is faithfulness at its finest,” Austin whispered into his microphone as he slowly started walking towards me. My heart started to pound. Why is he walking towards me? My palms grew sweaty and the backs of my knees felt like they were about to give out. “I’m still here, this is faithfulness at its finest,” Austin repeated, his voice growing louder as the space between us got smaller and smaller. As Austin drew closer, not once breaking his intense eye contact, I felt magnetized to his chocolate gaze. My stomach swooped as if I were on a hundred-mile-per-hour rollercoaster, but in reality I was completely frozen to the spot. The foot of space between our faces turned into six inches, which turned into three...holy shit, he’s so close. What is he thinking?! As Austin leaned in towards me, the crowd fell away and the world became silent. With an inch between our faces, I only wished for Austin to do one thing...
