Title: This is Bullshit (49/60)
Authors: howido_fics & youbrat
Pairing: Brendon/Ryan
Rating: PG
Summary: Can I get a WARPED tour?
Disclaimer: *sigh*
Author’s Note: This is a co-write. howido_fics is Brendon/Spencer, youbrat is Ryan/Alex. Ryan's pov is in blue and Bren's is normal black.




I think everyone had the same idea, we all seemed to be ready to go at Spencer's by 10:30, which in turn, Ryan was right. But, I guessed everyone else was right too, in getting there early that was. So now, it's not quite 11:15, and we are already pulling into the gates, showing them our parking pass we printed off the net and a couple of backstage passes. There was a huge buzz in the van. Excitement was flowing through our veins as we pulled up next to a few buses.

I smiled, waving and hopping out of the front seat, walking over to shake hands with another band we had played beside before, well, ok, not we, but before I was in the band. They mentioned playing the Hot Topic Stage at 1:20, so I told them we would be there checking them out, since that was my plan. I knew everyone else was going to be walking around, but I wanted to just hang by the stage we were playing on for a while to get a feel of the atmosphere, adjust to the heat, and really, see what our competition was like in the local bands.

Walking back over to the van, I told the guys about The Traffic, the other band, and helped them remove our equipment so that we could take it over to where it needed to be. Once all the stuff was out, Spencer made sure it was ok to park the van where it was, then we walked through the back of the venue, asking people along the way who were wearing event staff clothes where to go. I was already sweating as I stopped for a moment, looking over at Ryan on his crutches. I took a deep breath and smiled at him, mouthing 'I love you' then continued to walk, so we could drop this stuff where it was safe, then rest.

I had known I was going to be hot, sweaty, and downright disgusting by the end of the night, but I figured that was what showers were for, or, in my case, baths. I also knew that somewhere on the Warped grounds was the parents tent, and I figured they might take pity on someone on crutches and let me relax in there for a little while, after all, that tent had air conditioning and it would be more than welcome with the extra weight, bulk and warmth from having the cast on.

I smiled at Brendon as I took a few moments to rest before following the rest of them, although a little ways back. I knew I couldn't help with carrying anything, but still, I felt bad. They were all sweating and carrying, even Alex, and I was just hobbling along on my crutches. Yeah, I was grateful the guys wouldn't bitch at me for it, but I couldn't help still feeling guilty for it. I wanted to help the guys in their first Warped.

The guys were all in high spirits, all of us were, even Alex and I although we weren't actually in the band, but, being part of the group all the same let us be just as excited. I was excited that we had all access and we got in for free. I was also excited at the prospect of getting to watch any and all bands we wanted from behind the scenes rather than in the pit, even though I loved being in the pit usually, having the cast would pretty much prevent that. All in all I thought it all worked out quite well, and of course, the guys would get to perform in front of a lot more people than normal, which would be good for their popularity and their chance to get a real record deal, even if Pete was going to keep an eye on them in hopes to sign them himself when it was time.

Alex came back for me after he dropped off what he'd been carrying. "Would you like me to carry you, Ry? I could if you want."

Smiling, I shook my head. "I can do it myself...just...where am I going? I feel so slow."

We finally made it to the tent, and I turned around looking back for Ryan. Alex was with him in the distance, I felt bad for leaving him alone, but I knew that he could take care of himself. I didn't mean to sound selfish at all, but that was how it had been coming out all day. After last night and getting ready this morning, I had been so busy and preoccupied, I didn't have much time for Ryan. I knew I could make up for it later, but that didn't help at the moment.

There was a designated spot in the tent next to the stage for equipment. We were told we could set it there until we went on, but that it had to be removed right after. We piled it all up the best we could then stood there smiling at each other. Each of the guys announced what they where doing and where they would be going as I looked back to Alex and Ryan, seeing them make their way towards us. I pulled out my phone, texting Matt quickly, telling him we were here, then called my parents to do the same, explaining to them the easiest gate to get into then where the tent was located.

Sighing once I got off the phone with them, I made small talk with another band from Texas, and told them a little bit about our band, looking up and smiling as Spencer had joined Ryan and Alex to make the way under the tent. Jumping on my feet a little to get my blood flowing, I shook my head back and forth, wiggling my brows at Ryan, "James is going to the band list and calling to let us know who is playing when, so, I'll put it on speaker phone, and we can write down who we wanna see, will that work for you?" I asked Ryan, "I mean, so you can rest a little before you trek it back out there again."

I looked up when I heard Brendon's voice and nodded with a smile. Alex led me over to crate and gave me a gentle shove to sit down, I did, gratefully, already feeling like I had rivers running down my back from the trek from the van. I sighed and looked over at Brendon. "Okay, that works...I don't think I'll make it everywhere and to all the bands I want to see...but...well...I'll at least see some...so whatever they can tell us, I'd very much appreciate it."

Alex produced a bottle of water from nowhere and handed it with me. I shook my head and smiled. "I'm going to get babied all day, aren't I? Are you going to be buying me food when you think I need to eat and everything?" I chuckled softly as Alex nodded. I looked over at Spence and pouted a little. "Are you going to let him baby me all day? Can't you figure out anything else for him to do occasionally so he doesn't smother me?"

I took a drink of the water, even though I was bitching a little about everything, I still appreciated the water. "Mmmm...thanks. So, once I know what bands are when and who I'm going to go to see, I'll probably see if I can crash in the parent tent for a little while throughout the day. I'm sure they won't mind a poor kid on crutches with a fucking huge cast on his leg. I'm gonna need to walk through the merch tents though. I want to see if Clan has a tent here because I wanna buy something new of theirs..."

Alex chuckled and ruffled my hair. "You can walk the tents for a little Ry, but you’re not going off alone and I'm not letting you overdo it. I know you wanna have fun, and you can and will, but you're a tiny thing who'll overheat if you do too much. So, I'm gonna make sure you don't overdo it. And I'm sure the rest of the guys will support me in that." He looked around at whoever was left of the guys for their support.

I smiled, walking over to him. Swigging a drink of cold water, I pressed my still wet lips against his temple, not wanting to touch him and make myself even hotter and stickier, "Of course we will support you on that," I spoke to Alex, but winked at Ryan, "And, oh, what about those dudes that drive around on a golf cart, that would be sweet, we could borrow one of them!"

Spencer shrugged, "Or steal one," he smirked at me, looking over to Ryan, "After we play of course!"

Laughing, I shook my head, "That would be sweet, oh and get our hands on some Walkie Talkies!" Spencer nodded in agreement, clapping loudly. Shaking my head, yet again, I let out a long breath, stretching and bobbing my head to the band that was on stage. They didn't sound too bad. A little too punk for me, but hey, we were at the Warped Tour.

I walked back over to Ryan and sat down next to him, "I'll be cool as long as I see MXPX and Evaline, other than that, I am good to go."

"What if they play before us or during us?" Spencer asked, taking a drink of my water.

"Sorry Dudes," I tried to act serious, "But, I am so skipping the set for MXPX, you could sing for me, right Ryan?" I turned to give him a pout and puppy dog eye. We all knew that I would never skip out of singing for another band, but in turn, well it was MXPX. And they were right up there in my book. I just hoped and prayed that they went on after us, so my plan wasn't ruined. Sighing for what seemed like the millionth time to calm my nerves, I grinned at Ryan, "So, you hanging out with the old folks huh? Wouldn't it be more exciting if you found someone headlining and just hung out on their bus?" I joked.

"Oooh! Hm, who is here that I can creep in on? Fall Out Boy isn't, so I can't find Pete and mooch off them...or My Chem...I'm sure there’s one of the bands we worked with around here." I looked over at Alex and he nodded. "I'm not sure if there’s anyone big enough to have a full bus though...I might have to look at the schedule and see...although..."

Trailing off I looked over at Brendon and grinned. "Cute is here...I'm sure they have a bus...I could go find Shaant and see if they'd let me crash whenever I want. Although, they'd have to actually give me the key for that and I doubt they'd do that, but maybe I'll have to see if they'll let me anyway, who knows, its possible." I shrugged and smiled up at Brendon. "I'm sure you'd want to go if I crashed there, wouldn't you?"

I gave him a wink as Alex grabbed my water and took a drink of his own before handing it back. "I love how Spence didn't side with you, Ry." He smirked at me and I just shook my head.

"Its okay, Lex. I'll just call Spence to come and give you a tumble in the van when I'm sick and tired of you annoying game all day, I'm not worried about that in the slightest. I can get rid of you whenever I want to." I winked and took another sip of my water. "Oh, and no, Bren, I can't and won't sing for you, and, if you don't make your set, I quit as your manager and I'll pull all my support." I gave Bren a 'matter of fact' facial expression so that he would take me seriously before I moved to get up. "Is he calling soon with the listing so I can figure out where to go and who to see?" I stretched a little and looked around to see people everywhere and music in the background. It was so time to wander.

I shrugged at Ryan about them calling with the band lists, I wasn't too worried about it, even though I knew the rest of them cared and actually wanted to see other bands. I laughed, thinking about Ryan hanging out in the Cute bus, I knew it was very far fetched, and really I was joking.

Something shot inside me as I heard the name Pete. I was over the whole situation, but that didn't drop the fact that I did not like the guy, he just rubbed me the wrong way. And very little people did that to me. Ryan made up for it though with his jokes, and just his smile made me forget about it. It was amazing and very wonderful how a curve of the lips jolted through my body like it did.

I glanced up in time to a thick mass of black hair coming my way, pushing through a small crowd of girls with matching t-shirts. I smiled as he stopped, gave the girls a weird look then made his way to us, another tall guy with blonde hair that looked vaguely familiar following him.

"So, you guys excited or what?" Matt chapped, looking to me and Spencer then saying hello to Ryan and winking at Alex, then knowingly back at Spencer, "Nice to see you gents again, oh," he reached into his pocket, "I knew you'd be a lazy ass, so I copied down the bands and times for you to take a look at, anyone else want to see them?"

"Oh! I do!" I tried to get up to move toward Matt to get the paper but Alex just kinda gave me this look and I knew that if I actually got up he'd really hurt me. He turned to Matt to get it himself first. I pouted a little and glared at Alex before looking back at Matt. "Thanks for doing that, Matt. One of the guys went off to get the times and stages for us and all, but it seems he got lost between here, the board, and his phone. So thanks."

Alex nodded and handed the paper to me. "Well, I think we can work out most of those bands you wanted to see. Some might be some tight fits, but with being able to go backstage it should work out I think. Unless you want to forgo any of them?"

Shrugging, I looked down at the paper and scanned the names and times. Alex was right, it looked like none of those I wanted to see conflicted with any others so it would be pretty easy to get to all of them, as long as we could travel between most stages by going backstage. And there would be more than enough time around the guys' set for us to get back from wherever we were and do what we could to help them set up, or rather, Alex could do what he could to help set up and I could just encourage them as they went.

My eyes slid over to the guy who was with Matt and I raised an eyebrow. "Um...are you gonna introduce us to your friend Matt? Or do we need to guess at who he is?" I smiled as I reached into the bag that Alex had put next to me and quickly wrote down the bands, stages, and times of all those I intended to see, using as many abbreviations as possible, before reaching out to hand the list to anyone who wanted it and returning my attention to Matt, who I hadn't seen since that first time Brendon had visited me in LA. It was almost strange to see him again.

Matt chuckled at Ryan and Alex, "Are you sure you two are not fucking?" he asked Ryan, then looked over to Alex. I gave him a face to tell him to shut the fuck up, but he just defended himself, "What? Shit..." then shook his head.

"No," I answered for the other guys, "They are not fucking," my eyes were shooting daggers into Matt as I tried to say something spiteful back. Normally, he really wasn't an asshole, he just called them like he saw them, and I hated the fact that he 'saw' Alex and Ryan as being together, "What about you? Where's your little lap dog Sonny?"

Matt simply shrugged, not taking any offense of it since he seemed to have a much taller guy at his beckon call, "Eh, went back to Florida or something, but this is Derek," he smiled, introducing him to the rest of the crowd, even people who weren't with us. I shook my head, then it clicked, he worked at the Asian place in the food court, he was the only one there who spoke English.

"So, keepin' it in the food court, I see," I shook my head at Matt as Derek walked to the front of the stage to watch the band, Matt just smiled. Turning back to Ryan, I peered at his list of bands, "Who you wanting to see?" I asked, "Is MXPX on that lineup?"

I looked at Matt and tilted my head slightly. "Everyone seems to think me and Alex are fucking...I mean...okay, so we did and all, but we're best friends....What exactly makes you think that we are?" I looked over at Alex. "Apparently we're doing something wrong if everyone keeps thinking we're together rather than just being best friends...although...as far as friends go, we are pretty abnormal..." I shrugged slightly and looked at Brendon before handing him my list.

"That’s pretty much my schedule for the day provided I can keep going and keep to it. We'll see though. I may pass out halfway through the morning though and just come back here and crash. We'll have to see how it goes. Did you guys bring a cooler of food and drinks so we don't have to buy everything? I forgot to see if you did...or to contribute to it."

Alex plopped himself down on the ground beside me and stretched out, looking up at Matt. "So...Matt...how're things? Been a bit of a while. I was almost surprised to not see you show up in LA with these two after the accident. Been keeping yourself busy with another new boy then?" He looked over at Derek before at Matt. "Did the other kid like the t-shirt you bought him?"

I chuckled to myself, Alex was such an ass sometimes, but I loved it. I reached over and ruffled his hair a little before finishing off my bottle of water and relaxing. The first band I wanted to see wasn't going on for a little while yet, so we had time to socialize a little before plodding our slow way over to the stage to see the band. I was looking forward to it for sure, but not the slow plodding to get there in the heat. It was probably not a good idea to go through those mist areas either, I wasn't sure what would happen to the cast if it got wet like that.

Sitting, I watched Ryan and Alex, that looked fabulous. Following Alex's lead, I sat on my legs next to Ryan, resting my head on his chair, staring up at Matt, waiting for him to answer, "Well, someone had to cover Bren's shift when he just drove out there," Matt wiggled his eyes at me, then over to Derek, in which he smiled then did the motions of a blowjob, pointing towards the food and bathroom area of the open venue. I simply shook my head, "Yea, I've been taking care of him," he tapped his lips, running his hands down to his crotch giving it a tight squeeze, "Or should I say he's been taking care of me!"

With a grin, he winked and excused himself, stating he would be back before our set, telling me to give him a call if no one wanted to check out MXPX with me.

I sighed, "Yea, I'm not even going to apologize for that," Spencer answered his phone, telling us it was James, then walked away talking to him, "Yea, we brought food, but we had to keep it in the van, we aren't allowed to bring it from the backstage area, so I can go sneak in some stuff if you guys want some," I offered, smiling.

Looking up at Ryan, I took his hand closest to mine and squeezed it, bringing it to my mouth for a kiss, "Don't worry about Matt, he's just an ass at times, he didn't mean anything by it, really...so, don't like, let him upset you, he'll get wasted and forget he even said it in about 20 minutes."

I laughed softly and shook my head, shrugging slightly. "It didn't upset me. It’s just...I'm not really sure how to be different with Alex, like, different in a way to get people to stop thinking we're sleeping together. I mean...we used to...but it’s been a while now and...apparently we still come off like we are..." I looked down at Bren. "Do you think that we come off that we are?"

I glanced over at Spence walking away before down to Alex and I had to wonder what Spence thought of that and why they weren't being all lovey and wanting to go off together. I also couldn't help but wonder what Spence thought about Alex deciding to spend the day with me. I can’t really go and do it all on my own, I could try, but I didn't think it would end well. Of course, I'd love Spence to join us too, but I didn't know if that’s what he wanted.

Sometimes I really cared about everyone else far too much.

"Sorry, I'll stop now." I looked down at Brendon and gave him a small smile and squeezed his hand gently. "I'm getting lost in my head again. I'll try to stop, I promise." I yawned a little before blushing slightly and shrugging. "As far as food...I'm not hungry right now, but maybe in a little bit we can get some food or something, but my main concern is water and keeping hydrated. So I didn't know if you had a cooler with water in it around here."

We sat there while Spencer was on the phone, Alex, Spencer and Ryan all decided that they wanted to see the same band in about a half an hour on the other side of the lot. By the time the other's got back, they all agreed to go check out the lineup on the Lucky 13 stage. I decided to hang back, watch our stuff and sit it out until MXPX was on, and by that time, someone had to be ready for a rest.

The time seemed to fly as other bands came with their equipment and I made small talk. Exchanging Myspaces and phone numbers with a band that 'looked' like we could hang with, I listened to the music, stayed out of the way, and just enjoyed the hustle and bustle of being backstage at a show. I missed it. Deep down, I really wished we could have played a set at the Battle of the Bands, but I knew that Ryan was way more important. For all I knew this band could fizzle out next week, but I was 100% sure that I didn't want that to happen with Ryan.

Spencer made his way from watching a few bands, and collapsed beside me, "What time is MX on?" he asked, taking a huge gulp of a water bottle.

Pulling out my phone, I checked the time, "In about twenty minutes, you going with me or are you gonna man our stuff?" I flipped open the phone, texting Matt to see if he wanted to meet there and be front row.

Alex and I went from stage to stage to see the bands that we wanted to see, trying to keep out of the sun as much as we could to keep me from being dehydrated and overdone. We made every band on our list that we wanted to see and I realized that Bren was going to be wanting to head off and see MXPX soon. I wouldn't mind seeing them, but I was beyond exhausted.

Alex met Shaun, one of the guys from Lansdowne, a Boston band he'd worked with since I'd gone in the hospital, and we were invited backstage to hang out in their bus for a little while. They promised air conditioning, and as much as I wanted to go and watch a set with Brendon, I was exhausted and I needed to cool off, so we accepted and followed him to their bus, which certainly wasn't anything flashy. They were a small band on the label, just starting out, and were actually going on stage just after Brendon and the guys, I was introduced to the guys who were hanging out around the bus before we all ventured inside. They gave me my own space because of my leg, and I was grateful.

We all hung out and talked, and I ended up falling asleep. By the time Alex woke me up we'd missed a couple bands from my list and it was approaching time for us to be back for the guys to go on. They had apparently ordered pizza while I was asleep and there was a piece of cheese pizza left in the box that they apparently had left for me. I gratefully ate it, even though it wasn't warm, and accepted a bottle of water from Shaun who turned out to be the guitarist.

The group of us made our way off the bus, Alex and I refreshed from being out in the sun all day, and headed back in to find Brendon and the guys and help them get ready for their set. I wasn't feeling so exhausted, actually, I was feeling very rested after my nap. It was as if I was embarking on the Warped Tour again with new eyes.

"MXPX was fucking AWESOME!" I jumped around as the band had joined back, every once and a while checking the surroundings to see if there were any signs of Ryan. I hadn't seen him in a while, so I pulled out my phone while helping Steve roll up a cord and texted miss u babe hope ur takin care of urself. love u then slid it back into my pocket.

Spencer shook his head, "CORRECTION!" he gave me a fatherly look, "MXPX IS awesome!"

I nodded in approval, "Indeed, they are, they are, we should check out the backstage situation and see if we can find them, shit, I would love to shake all of their hands," I grinned, picking up some more wire and handing them to the respective member of the band, "I think then, I could die a happy man!" I smiled again, taking a drink of my water as the set before us finished playing, giving them a few minutes to unload the stage, and us the same amount to get everything situated.

It was getting hotter by the minute, but like I said, seeing MXPX, there was nothing in the world that could stop me right now. So far, besides the people playing the Hot Topic stage, and some of the bands playing at the amphitheater to the side were all I saw so far, I was keeping myself ready and prepped for our set. Let's just hope it pays off. I watched as a small crowd left once the band completed, and a new one was forming, nodding and greeting some of the people I knew, I set up the keyboard and made sure my mic was sound, as I stared off again, looking for Ryan.

Jon, the vocalist of Lansdowne, walked beside me as we made our way across the grounds toward the Hot Topic stage. I'd decided, somewhere between meeting them and waking up on their bus that Jon and Shaun were the best guys of the band, not that Tom and Glenn weren't nice or anything, but for some reason Jon and Shaun just seemed nicer, or maybe it was just that I thought they were cute. Jon was being attentive enough and I was honestly surprised that he didn't just scoop me up and carry me because of the slow pace I had set. He did have the body built for it after all.

"So...this band you're dragging us to see..." He trailed off and grinned at me. "You're like working with them?"

I nodded and glanced over at him as we made our way past a bunch of people and I knew we were getting close. "Yeah, they've made me their manager and Lex their producer. They're guys from here and all, close friends of ours, and the experience the internship was giving us we were hoping would be able to help them out too."

"That’s really cool, I wish we'd had that when we started out. But still, we're having fun as we make our way through this business. It rather sucks at times, but we're wicked excited about it all the same."

I laughed and gave him a strange look. "Wicked excited?"

He grinned and blushed before shrugging. Behind us I could hear Shaun laughing as he came up and threw his arm around my shoulders. "Its a Boston...New England thing...it means really excited. Just like saying something is 'wicked cool' is our way of saying really cool. Trust me, just go with it."

I laughed a little and nodded. "Do you not pronounce your 'r's either?"

Shaun grinned even bigger. "Nah...we paak the caa in Haavaad yaad."

There will still no signs of Ryan as we stood on the stage, receiving catcalls from the girls who regularly made it to our shows. As we adjusted our instruments, checked with the sound stage and made minor changes in tuning the guitars, I assisted Spencer in getting his drums right, still looking for Ryan.

"They'll be here, don't worry, they wouldn't miss this," I smiled at Spencer, he must have read my thoughts, knowing that I all but needed Ryan here for me to play. We had worked on two new songs since he was gone, one for the battle of the bands, and then a new one for the warped. I had written most of it when I was thinking about Ryan, or missing him, so the lyrics kind of went to him. Well, since they were about him, only tweaked to flow better.

James patted me on the back announcing 5 more minutes, looking at his watch, then strummed his bass, "Where's your better half?" he asked jokingly, "How bad would it be if the damn manager didn't even make it to the show?" I shrugged, still staring into the distance as I played 'Mary had a little Lamb' on the keyboard to make sure the sound was the quality I wanted. I signaled to the sound tech to turn up the keys and coughed and whistled into the mic, using a thumbs down for him to take care of that.

Then, finally, I saw Ryan, with Alex and some adorable looking guys. The grin appeared on my face, and I couldn't help but notice two girls in front of the stage turning to see who I was smiling at. All I knew was I needed a good luck kiss before I performed. And I would do anything to get it.

I busted up laughing. I'd never heard anyone actually drop their 'r's like that before, even if they were doing it somewhat deliberately they were still from Boston, it was natural. The only other times I'd heard it was on TV, and that was just people mocking those who live in and around Boston. It was one of the best things to hear and I couldn't help but grin, until I looked up and realized that Bren was on stage and they were about to start.

"Shit, we're late." I turned around and glared, although not really madly, at Alex. "Thanks for letting me sleep so long asshole!"

Alex pouted at me a little and walked up behind me, resting his head on my shoulder and wrapping his arms around me. "You just looked so precious there sleeping. Besides, you were exhausted, I wasn't about to wake you. And see? They may be on stage, but they haven't started yet, we still have five minutes before their set starts. We'll be there no worries, okay?"

I sighed a little and leaned back against Alex just slightly. How could I avoid it when it felt good to feel arms around me and to take some of the support off my leg and shoulders. "Yeah, okay...but still, I wanted to be back here before they even started setting up. And now...we didn't get to help!"

"Much help you'd be, Ryan. No offense or anything, but you can't help set up a stage on crutches." Shaun gave me an innocent grin. "Moral support maybe, but not real help, cos honestly, it isn't like you can carry much of anything when you can't move without crutches."

"Oh sure, beat up on the invalid, thanks Shaun!" Jon laughed and gave Shaun a playful shove and I felt Alex kiss my cheek.

"Okay Ry, we're close, but not close enough, and with the snail's pace you set, we won't get there before they start, so...Jon, would you mind carrying his crutches?" Alex took them from me and handed them to Jon before swooping me up, before I could stop him, and carried me the rest of the way to the stage, the Lansdowne boys in tow.

The grin never left my face as I watched, ok stared at and watched Ryan and company making their way over. I hopped up once I saw Alex carrying him, then walked off the stage to the back, where we were hidden by a tarp. I heard Spencer yell, "Two minutes," to me as I motioned Alex to walk over to me. He followed my instructions, still holding Ryan as I smiled at him.

"Well, don't you have the life?" I winked, then patted Alex on the shoulder, "I couldn't take stage until I got my good luck kiss," wiggling my brows at him, "I forgot to tell you guys, we have two new songs that we've written since the studio, so we're gonna try them on for size, hope you enjoy!"

I ran my hand up Ryan's side that wasn't pressed into to Alex for support then leaned in to kiss him on the lips. It was a small innocent kiss, that if anyone were to see us, I could have been simply whispering in his ear, "Wish me luck!" I winked, pecking his lips again, "And I would say break a leg, but Lord knows we don't need two gimps in a relationship!" I grinned, not giving him a chance to say anything else as I skipped back up on the stage, taking my mic and sitting at the keyboard. Normally I didn't play the keys, but since I wrote the music to it, I was the only one who had time to actually learn it.

I looked out to the crowd and started clapping and chanting, Get. A. Grip. "COME ON!" I yelled into the mic as I smiled over at Matt and Derek in the crowd, "Louder, we need those at the Lucky Stage to hear it," I pointed, most likely in the wrong direction since I hadn't even been to the stage yet. Clapping as the cheers got a little louder, I pounded on the keys to start the first song, "We're Get a Grip from Vegas, and we wanna see you dance!"

I laughed to myself as Alex carried me over to the side stage area and plopped me down on a chair that would have seemed to have been conveniently placed right there for me. Alex stood beside me and the guys from Lansdowne ranged around us as the guys started into their set. It was so good to see them on stage once again, I'd missed seeing them perform.

Shaun leaned down and murmured in my ear. "So...you and the lead singer? Something going on there besides just...manager and band member?"

I blushed slightly and glanced over at him out of the corner of my eye before shrugging just slightly. "Oh, maybe there is something going on...you know, seeing as how we've been dating all summer."

His eye brows shot up and he grinned. "So that’s what you meant when you said you were close friends? And here I thought you just meant...close friends. I wasn't imagining the whole type of friends that involved making out in public...sex in private?"

I laughed softly and grinned at him. "Yeah, well, wasn't it obvious that I'm gay?"

Shaun nodded, pulling up a crate to sit beside me and watch. "Oh, I could tell. But you and Alex...well...I guess I just kinda figured you were his and you were both spoken for to each other."

"Oh...well...Lex and I used to be together, sorta. But we're just best friends, always have been, always will be. But no, I guess you could say Bren has me spoken for...and Lex...well...I think he'd have to explain what his relationship is with the drummer up there..." I smirked a little. "They've got something going on, but I'm not 100% sure what. Why, you interested?"

Shaun grinned. "Oh...maybe...maybe not...either way, your boys aren't bad."

The crowd was on fire and into it. It felt awesome to have some fans stalkers know the words to our songs. I was sure that Myspace helped, because we had our entire set list on there for people to listen to and get acquainted with. Hell, James posted bulletins twice a day once we found out we were playing Warped telling people to learn the songs, and three songs in, so far so good.

I walked around the stage after the third song, sighing into the mic, "Is it just me, or is it hotter than love out here?" I shook my head, sweat flying off me as I took a gulp of my water, "And speaking of love, how many of you our there have a little bit of summer love going on?" a few people cheered, one girl screamed, 'yea, with you!' I shook my head, blushing slightly.

"Well, this is a new song we wrote this summer about love, so here we go!" I tapped my foot, swaying my hips to the beat, singing the verse. Running over to the keys, I pressed my hands into them as I made eye contact with Ryan, sitting down on the chair as I belted at the chorus, Oh, I swear, I know, I believe it, Oh, I can't stop hearing all the singing, Oh, my soul has never had this feeling, and it feels like so, so shaking more sweat off my head, I continued, my eyes still burning into Ryan, So much love in you, You got so much love in you, I'm amazed that I'm talkin' to you, You look like the songs that I've heard my whole life coming true!

I jumped up, dancing around, loving the energy that was flowing though me, then smiled out to the crowd, asking them to repeat, "You've got so much love in you," as I sang back to them, giving Matt a high five as he bobbed his head.

Smiling, I blushed a little and nodded in response to Shaun, keeping my attention trained on Brendon on stage. He was more then just 'not bad' in my opinion, then again I was rather biased. But I had to admit to myself that he was very on and you could feel the energy flowing off that stage in a way I wasn't sure I'd ever seen them have before. I was proud of the boys and let my eyes stray, for merely a moment, over to the other members of the band, pausing mostly on Spencer before returning my gaze back to my boyfriend.

I was right, these boys had something that would take them somewhere. It was almost sad that they wanted to put off what they could have for college, but at the same time I wasn't about to be a manager that promotes leaving college to work on the band, even if they could achieve fame and fortune. There was always the 'what if' and if they were prepared for the 'what if the band ends' then it would serve them far better in the end. Fame and fortune could wait on a degree and ultimately I was glad that the guys seemed to agree.

Alex placed his hand on my shoulder when Brendon started their new song and I couldn't help but blush and duck my head, grinning to myself before making eye contact with Brendon again. The songs he came up with, the words he used, sometimes I was amazed at the lyrics because they often seemed to be nothing like who he was in real life.

"So I take it this song is definitely for you then?"

I looked over at Shaun and nodded my head before looking back at Brendon again. "Mhmm. I'd say so...Unless he has a boyfriend on the side he never told me about, but I find that highly unlikely."

"I like it. Strong. Emotional. Definitely a song that would stir some waters and draw some attention. What label are they on?"

I shook my head a little and smiled to myself. "None yet. They aren't ready and don't really want to yet. But that doesn't mean they haven't been noticed. I think when they're ready to court labels they'll find them quickly. I know of one that would pick them up pretty fast too. So we'll see what happens I guess. But yeah...I like it too." Alex squeezed my shoulder gently from above and I tilted my head back to smile at him as I put my hand over his.

We moved into our last song, "Too Good To Be" which was always a crowd pleaser in my eyes, I looked back and smiled at Spencer who just shook his head and winked at me, his arms flexing as he pounded into the drums. Next time I glanced up at him, he was looking over at Alex smiling. I couldn't help but do the same, "I know you all know this song," I shouted as I held out the mic stand, letting some of the girls sing the chorus.

My tongue almost caught in my throat when I saw two of the guys from Evaline inch up to the crowd, heads bobbing to the music, it was so surreal, I continued singing as I made eye contact with one of them and nodded as he smiled and walked away. I knew he was just passing by, but the fact that he stopped made my heart skip a beat as we finished the song and our set seeing my parents who were beaming in the back of the crowd. Shit, I hoped I didn't say anything too offensive...

Bowing to the crowd for not even fifteen seconds, we started taking down our equipment. I picked up the mic before the sound was off and said, "Oh, we have business cards and what not for information on merch and our demo, so check it out!" I grinned then wrapped up the cord, unplugging it and helping the other's remove there stuff from the stage.

Once we had everything off, we took a few minutes to pack it in the boxes, "We should prolly stick around here for a few, and talk to people who want info, then we can take our shit to the van and enjoy the rest of the day," Spencer announced, all of us agreeing as we walked over to the table, James bringing some cards to pass out, "And here, let's all take some after we load up, and pass them out to people we meet."

Again we all nodded as I looked up to see my parents make their way towards us and Ryan. Smiling at them, I walked over and wrapped my arms around Ryan, kissing his neck then stood up, "So, what'd you think?" I asked Ryan, Alex, my parents and the guys they brought with them with a huge grin.

"You guys were great today. I think the best performance I've seen yet." I grinned up at Bren before looking around for what Jon had done with my crutches. I didn't see them anywhere which made me think he and Alex had a conspiracy to make sure I stayed seated after everything we'd done before. "Really, Bren, you guys did a great job. I'm so proud of you!" I laughed softly and reached up to squeeze his hand.

Alex nodded and put his hand on Brendon's shoulder. "Yeah, you guys did an amazing job, really. I don't think I've seen a better performance out of you guys yet. Good job. You guys got the crowd into it for sure. Pete'll be sad he missed this one."

I nodded and looked up at Brendon. "Lex is right, he should have been here for this. I think he would have been impressed."

Shaun looked at Brendon and shrugged. "I don't know who this Pete is...but, the guys are right in so far as I can see it. You put on a good set and got the crowd into it really well." He glanced over his shoulder at the guys were starting to set up. "Shit, I gotta run before I get yelled at for not helping to set up. Are you guys going to stick around for ours?"

I looked up at Alex before over to Shaun. "I think I'd like to since I haven't heard you guys yet. So go ahead and set up, I don't think I'm going anywhere since Jon seems to have hidden my crutches."

"Sneaky bastard, I'll make sure he gives them back to you after our set." He started to step away before turning back and walking backwards, looking at Brendon. "We'll talk after our set then. I hope you stick around too." He then waived and grabbed what looked like his guitar case and amp and headed off to set up on the stage.

Looking up at Brendon, I smiled. "That was Shaun. He's the guitarist of Lansdowne from Boston. Lex likes them so I kinda want to watch them. Is that okay?"

"Oh hell yea!" i smiled down at Ryan, then glanced over my shoulder to see that the guys had the few people checking out our info under control, "I didn't know you knew someone playing after us," I nodded to Alex, "That's sweet, from Boston you say, maybe we could work something out to get some dates out there on like Christmas break or something, and the same for them from us," I shrugged, looking over to my parents and yawned a little.

My mom tilted her head at me, "Had I known this was a way for you to get out some of that energy, I would have let you play the piano all the time at home," she laughed, walking up to me and give me a hug. Then, as any mother would do, she patted my hair and tucked it out of my eyes, with help from the sweat.

"Thanks Mom, so that means you liked it?" I asked, glancing from her to Dad.

"Of course Son, I wasn't aware that you guys played so well, I thought it was just something you guys did for fun."

"So..." I started, "Does that mean I can quit work and school and do this full time?" I tried.

He looked at me, crossing his arms over his chest, making him look about two foot taller than me, "What do you think?"

"Um," I made a face to Ryan, "I think I'll see you at work tomorrow morning," I laughed, shaking my father's offered hand.

"We're going to go get out of the heat, and take the day off to go look at some antique furniture on this side of town," Mom started, "And you guys really did do an excellent job, none of that screaming mayhem we heard on the way in," she smiled, giving me one more hug before doing the same to Ryan, wishing him to get better and to come over for dinner soon to visit.

I thanked his mom before she left and looked up at Brendon with a pout. "I wish I could just go over tomorrow for dinner, but I think mom would have a problem with it though."

Alex looked up at the stage as the guys were setting up. "They're on a label, but they're still pretty small so that they might welcome that offer. As for knowing the guys...well, I met them the other week down in LA. They weren't doing the whole tour, so they took some time to do a few things in LA and I got to work with them. A bunch of great guys. Shaun, who you met, is the guitarist and is one of the sweetest guys out there. Jon, the guy...um, there, well built...that’s Jon their singer. He's a great guy and a lot of fun. Um...the tall blondish guy is Tom their bassist and the other, dark haired guy is Glenn, their drummer."

I nodded and yawned a little before finding a water bottle tossed in my lap by Jon who winked and returned to the stage setup and prep. I opened the bottle and took a good long drink before offering it to Alex.

"We ran into Shaun earlier and got invited onto their bus to relax. Sorry we were so late getting back here, but princess fell asleep and I felt far too kind to wake him up. He exhausted himself wandering around most of the morning and afternoon. He needed the air conditioning and the sleep. The guys also ordered pizza and we got to each have a little too, they were really nice to us. So...I pretty much spent about an hour or so with them while Ry slept. Our little Sleeping Beauty."

I swatted at Alex's hand. "Hey, you should have woken me up, you know that!"

I laughed at the two of them, "Boys, boys," I joked, "Is this any way for the manager and producer of a band to act?" I held my hand on my hip and smirked at them, "It's ok, if we would have had any more people on stage, it would have been too crowded, and as long as you made the set, that's all that mattered to us," I smiled at them, pulling at my shirt to get some more air in there.

"We did do good didn't we? And did you see the guys from Evaline checking us out? Shit, I about pissed my pants!" laughing, I watched Spencer make his way over to us, placing a hand on Alex's back and smiling at him. I bit my lip and grinned at Ryan, "I was just telling them how awesome we are, but they already knew that of course!"

"Of course," Spencer rolled his eyes, pointing to the stage, "You know these guys?" he asked, watching them set up, but not removing his hand from Alex. It wasn't protective or anything, just a gesture for him to know he was there.

I took a drink from Ryan's water bottle, yes, without him offering, "Alex met them last week with the label he's working on, says their nice guys," I smiled, "And I mentioned something about getting some play time in Boston, which is where they are from, Oh!" I cheered, could you imagine if we could spend New Years there, on like the East Coast, seriously, like, snow! That would be sweet!"

Spencer shook his head at me, "Hold up there," he laughed.

I laughed softly and took my water bottle back from Brendon and finished it off as the guys hit the first chords of their set. Turning my attention to the stage, I rested against Brendon's side, though not too much because it was hot out and I didn't want to get us even more hot and sweaty than we already were. I looked up at Brendon. "Did you go see MXPX? Were they good? I wanted to watch a set with you, but...the offer for air conditioning and a rest was too much to resist..."

Alex moved away with Spencer a little so they could get a better view of the stange and the guys on it. I could already tell that Alex liked them and was impressed with them, for that matter i could already tell that I liked them too. I wished, at least for a moment, that I'd been there in LA to work with them and get to experience working with them in the studio and hearing them recorded rather than just live. I had the feeling they were going a long way and I wondered if there was any chance, even small, that the guys could sort of hook on with them and do much the same.

"Hm, what do you think Bren? I like them...I think it'd be a lot of fun to play 'exchange band' with them..." Grinning, I looked up at him and reached up to play gently with his hand. "I could see you guys sharing a stage with them. I think...when you're ready and all...I think you guys should do a tour with them, what do you think? Should I, as your manager, try to sow some seeds to that in their heads?"

I grinned and let my eyes stray over to Alex and Spence for a few moments. They looked cute, but I noticed that Shaun was watching. "Hm...Spence may have a little competition..."

I took the crate that was sitting next to Ryan and sat down, pulling it closer to him. Grabbing for his hand, I kissed it then placed it in my lap as I watched the band. They were good. I was impressed. Nodding to Ryan, I took in his profile, "They would be a good band to tour with, I do think," glancing at the people watching them, "I don't think our fans would conflict, so that would be good," I smirked, seeing girls in the front row crooning for the beefy singer.

"And MXPX was amazing," I nodded again, reaching in my pocket for a piece of gum, then offering one to Ryan, "That made the entire Warped Tour, well, besides playing, but you know. I would have seen them over air conditioning any day," I teased, "So who else do you want to see?" I asked between songs, watching the singer as they picked up one again, "And who did you get to see?" We hadn't got to talk at all since we got here. I wanted to know everything, but I also wanted to experience this, and we always had tonight to talk about everything.

I followed Ryan's eyes to Alex and Spencer, and then to the guy he must have been talking about. He was checking Alex out and eyeing Spencer, "Yea, maybe," I chewed on my gum, "But, you would think with Alex working along side of them, he would have mentioned Spence, or at least, Shaun would have made a move on Alex that he would have said something, I mean, unless Alex wanted the competition...." I hoped for Spencer's sake that nothing did happen. And I hoped for both of them that if something were to happen, that they would discuss it before anything bad goes down.

"Um, Alex has the list of who we've seen so far...but I remember a group called Bandcamp who had a unique sound and of course Boys Like Girls, who are from the same area as these guys. Both Massachusetts bands. Um, I can't remember who else, it’s been a long day already and even longer since I took my nap." Smiling, I took the offered piece of gum, popping it into my mouth and chewing it as I listened to Landsdowne's next song.

After the song was over, I looked back at Spence and Alex before back to Shaun. "I dunno. It’s possible that even if Shaun wanted to, he wouldn't cos it was work and this is fun. Its different working in the studio like that and being out like this. If something happened with Alex and Shaun while at the studio, Alex could lose his internship...at least, I think he could. I don’t know. I just can tell by how Shaun has been to him since we met up with him earlier. He likes Alex. I can't blame him, and as for Spence...well...don't they say that which you can't have is more attractive?"

Looking over at Brendon I gave him a smile and a gentle shrug before returning my attention back to the stage. "They really are good. I'm going to need to get their album before we leave here today and maybe talk to them about doing some shows with you guys eventually." I nodded to myself and saw Alex turn around. I quirked my eyebrow at him and he grinned as he made his way over to us.

"Okay, so, Spence and I decided we need food. The guys had pizza delivered, so I think we're going to try that route too. You guys up for some pizza or would you like us to order something else for you guys? When they get off stage I'm going to ask if we can use their bus as a point for the delivery guy since they've already been there."

I shrugged at Alex, looking over to Spencer, I wasn't too hungry myself, but I could always eat, "Sure, you can get us what you always get, I mean, if that's ok with you," I looked to Ryan who nodded, "Yea, then just order for us and call us when it gets there or something," I smiled to Alex, then turned my attention back to the stage. Sighing, I tapped my thumb on my leg to the beat.

I wanted to spend some time alone with Ryan, well as much alone time as you could in a huge area of people, but even so, I'd like to stand next to him while we took advantage of our backstage passes on some kick ass set. Now that ours was over, I was game to almost anything, as long as it included Evaline, and my sexy boyfriend.

Glancing over at Ryan, I mouthed 'I love you' before looking to the stage again. I was excited to listen to new bands, and the thought of touring with them made me even happier. I smiled as they interacted with the crowd, doing the little chants with them as a girl beside me tapped my arm, asking me if I was the lead singer of the last band. Nodding, she pulled off her shoe and asked me to sign it. I was stoked to do so, only because it was right next to Mike Herrera, then pointed over to Spencer, telling her that he was the drummer, and he liked doing autographs too.

The bands set ended and I watched Alex go up to the guys, helping and most likely asking about the pizza ordeal. I grabbed at Ryan's crutch lightly and grinned at him, "Is it ok if just you and I walk around a bit? I want to show you off and make sure everyone here knows that you are with me!" I winked.

I smiled a little and nodded, glancing over at Alex with the boys of Lansdowne before back to Spence. "You might wanna keep an eye on that Shaun, Spence, I think he's got the hots for our Lex." I smiled at him as I got up and gave him a light nudge toward Alex. "You might wanna make sure Shaun knows Lex is taken...at least for the time being."

I looked back at Brendon and gave a small sheepish grin as I took the crutches and glanced around. I really didn't know who else was playing that I wanted to go see. I needed to look at the list again, although I could just let Brendon lead me and follow him and I figured that would be okay too because I was pretty sure I'd seen most of those bands that I really wanted to see. Although I had heard rumor of The Used showing up, and they always put on a good show.

"Hey Bren? Can I see that list of shows and times?" I bit my lip as he handed it over and I scanned down until my eyes fell on one of the names that was playing on the other side of the grounds. I checked my watch and then looked back at Brendon. "So...you up for a Bella Morte show? Apparently they're playing in about fifteen minutes on the other side of the grounds..."

I glanced over at Alex still talking to the guys of Landsdowne before back to Brendon, wondering if he would be interested or not. I certainly wanted to see and hear Andy and his singing again. I still thought he was amazing, even if I missed some of the last show because of that whole thing with meeting Brendon.

Spencer gave Ryan a weird look and stared between Alex and Shaun. His mouth twisted slightly before looking up at Alex then to me and Ryan, "Yea, who doesn't have the hots for Alex?" he laughed, smacking Alex's bum quickly then turning to Alex, joining in the conversation.

Laughing at Spencer, he was right, most guys and girls here did a double take when they saw Alex. It didn't matter if he was the ugliest guy in the world, he just simply carried himself as someone with importance. And that right there could knock an A-List celeb on their ass.

"Sure," I winked at Ryan, "Bella is cool, are they playing a main stage? Cause I'd like to not have to stand in a crowd." I referred back to the list and yea, they were playing a bigger stage that you could wait on the wings. Helping him up, we told Alex and Spencer where we were going, if they wanted to come, they could follow, if not, tough luck.

We made our way through the crowd to the BM stage and weeded our way to the front of the stage, standing about five feet from the bass player. I smiled at Ryan. It was good to be out of the shade and there was a soft breeze even. I sighed, placing my arm around Ryan, letting him lean against me. I noticed a few girls pressed against the barricades giggle.

Leaning against Brendon I left my eyes on the stage and I was beyond excited to be seeing Bella with Brendon again. Okay, we hadn't actually seen them together last time, but that didn't really matter. In many aspects that’s part of how we met. Sure, it was mostly the phone calls and the decision to meet, but it was me that was cruel enough to make him find me at a Goth show.

"Fuck, I didn't even know they were goin to be here. I would have pulled out what I could of my Goth clothes to wear to their set. I mean, there’s no way I'd fit in those leather pants with this cast, but the fishnet shirt and the boots, at least on one foot...eyeliner and hair...I could have been dressed perfectly but I didn't even look to see if they'd be here." I pouted a little at Brendon, sure I had eyeliner on, but there was more than just simple eyeliner for a Bella show.

Andy busted out with Logic and it snapped my attention back to him. His voice had this eerie quality that just sucked your attention in and made you stand there in awe. I couldn't help but give him my attention when his vocals were washing over the crowd. I knew I wasn't the only one who was in awe of the man with the bright red hair and no shirt and I couldn’t help but sing the lyrics back to him. The man had stage presence, not that Bren didn't, but it was a whole separate thing, separate crowds, separate types of music and separate types of energy.

"God...I don't think I could ever get sick of listening to him..."

I grinned at Ryan, I had never seen him get so into something before. Yes, he watched me on the stage and got lost in me, but here, he was lost in the music. He looked like he was somewhere else, like this guy was singing to him, almost like it was an anthem of his leader and he was supposed to follow. Like a secret cult, that was told in the words and beat of the music.

He never looked hotter. And honestly, it was slightly turning me on. Like, turning me on a lot. Ok, it could be the fact that I haven't done anything sexual with my boyfriend in a very long time. So long, that it was possible that my dick may fall off. My own body part was getting pissed off with my hand. It was quite scary if you asked me.

Maybe I too was getting into this music, listening to the subliminal messages that are telling me to take Ryan back to that bands bus and let him finger me or something. I gasped in a breath as I came back to reality, looking around at the band, and now the crowd that had that same sort of zombie effect as Ryan to the music.

My pocket vibrated as I pulled out my phone, Spencer messaged to give us 20 minutes for the pizza to get there. Perfect timing, since Bella had easily played over half of their set. I wrapped my arm tighter around Ryan, nuzzling in his ear, "You never looked so hot right now. You are turning me on Ry, I'm getting hard here just watching you watch them," I licked the shell of his ear, turning back to the music.

I shivered against Brendon and leaned in a little more against him, letting my head rest against him as I watched Andy. I wasn't sure how to respond to Brendon's confession, after all, what do you say to your boyfriend when he's standing beside you in public and is telling you that he's hard or getting hard. I mean it wasn't like I could turn around and get him off right there or help him out. Hell, it wasn't like I had much of a choice and could have sex with him or anything.

"Bren..." Smiling, I turned and looked at him, leaning in and kissing him softly. "I love you but right here isn't the best time or place..." I kissed him again so that he didn't think I was upset with him or anything because I wasn't. But at the same time, I couldn't really do much of anything to help him out. "I love you though...and I'm glad you're getting into the music."

I looked over at the stage again in time to see Andy making his way to our side. I wished I was dressed how I usually went to his shows cos I definitely didn't look like I belonged watching them. On top of that, Andy's eyes were on us or me, I wasn't sure which, but again I shivered, this time for different reasons than Brendon, although, at the same time it was a bit thrilling like having him licking along my ear. To me, in some ways, Andy was like a god, just like Pete was in other ways. But Andy was pretty much with the oozing of sexuality and seductiveness in a dark way, and to see him stalking across the stage toward me was beyond amazing.

"Fuck..." I whimpered softly and clung a little onto Brendon. I was about to find myself in trouble, I was sure of it.

I looked from the singer advancing to us to Ryan's eyes and back to the singer. I had never seen Ryan like this. He looked almost like a cartoon character who is being immobilized by a zombie. Too bad it wasn't me who was doing that to him. It could be through...

Watching the singer’s eyes again, I walked behind Ryan, to cover up myself, and bite into his neck slightly. Anyone staring at us would think that I was whispering in Ryan's ear, not nipping at him, but from the lead singer's view, I was sure he saw what was going down. Blowing in the wet spot, I wrapped my left arm around Ryan's waist, looking back behind as the next band was waiting in the wings. It was All Time Low.

I nodded at the guitarist, we had been talking back and forth on Myspace when I asked him a question about which strings he used for his guitar. He stared at me for a moment then recognized me and waved. I knew better than to interrupt him right now, but at least it was something we could message back and forth again with back on Myspace. It wasn't like we were acquaintances or anything, just making friends on Myspace.

Taking my attention back to the stage in front of me, I lazily ran my finger across Ryan's exposed stomach. Silently hoping the set was over soon, so Ryan and I could find some sort of place to get away and off to.