He leaned against the building watching her sitting Indian style on the asphalt parking lot. Her back up against the Infinite van. Her attention was completely drawn to a notebook she was writing in. She’d look up every few minutes, looking into space for seconds before putting the pen back to the paper. She had no idea she was being watched. He wasn’t intending to stand outside for the last four minutes watching her from a far. He really was planning on going to the bus to give his younger brother a call. But when he glanced over and found her he then found himself stopping in his tracks. Thoughts of not seeing her again, thoughts of her never knowing how he feels. ‘You’re in stalker mode man, this is so uncool.’ he thought to himself.
“Matt? Can I get your autograph?”
Matt pulled his attention away from Alissa and looked at the young stranger standing in front of him, a girl with big green eyes and shiny red hair. She had to be about sixteen, she smiled ear to ear but her eyes showed her nervousness, He smiled “Sure.”
“This is my first concert.”
“Ever?” He asked, giving her his full attention.
“Ever. I thought my parents would say no to seeing Rooney. But for some reason they were cool about it. My friends and I are so excited about seeing you guys tonight. I can’t believe I actually saw you standing out here.”
“Be sure to thank your parents for us, we love to hear about being a fan’s first concert. I hope you have a great time. Rock out tonight, scream your head off and enjoy the music.” He smiled warmly.
“Oh I will. I know I will. Thank you Matt.”
“Anytime.” He pushed his sunglasses up with his right index finger.
The young girl skipped back to her two friends who watched from a far, the little red head was very excited and it made Matt feel good. He looked back over at the van and frowned, she was gone.
“So what’s the deal with the females in your band?” Taylor asked Kenny.
“What do you mean?” he chuckled.
“They’re complicated.”
“Aren’t all women?” Kenny raised an eyebrow.
“Yes.” Ned sat down next to Taylor at the table near the stage.
Kenny smiled, “What is it that you really want to know?”
Taylor just shrugged popping a pretzel in his mouth. “I don’t know.. Nothing I guess, I just haven’t had a chance to really figure them out. I mean, like, they’re cool chicks and all. But, take Alissa for instance... Um, like is she..” Taylor popped another pretzel in his mouth but it was noticeable he was stalling not really knowing what he wanted to say.
“Is she always this forward with guys?” Ned blurted out.
“That’s not what I was asking.” Taylor was quick to assure.
Kenny just smiled, “She’s a flirt, always has been. But it’s not towards just certain men. She flirts with all men. I think, actually I know she doesn’t have a clue half the time when a guy is flirting back that he’s interested or if he’s just going along with her flirting. For as long as I’ve known her she’s never been the one to be like ‘Yeah this guy likes me, I can tell.’ you know? She’s more of the one being surprised to find out someone is interested. She hasn’t had many serious boyfriends. She’s had a lot of first dates.”
“So what’s that mean?” Taylor took a sip of water.
“She knows what she wants and if she doesn’t see it in the guy, she won’t waste her time with that person. She’ll move on and keep looking for what she wants until she finds it.” Kenny started bouncing his knee under the table. He knows Alissa would be pissed at him for talking about her.
“Alright, so what about Carly?” Ned grabbed a handful of pretzels from the bag Taylor was holding.
Ken sighed, he didn’t answer right away, “What about her?”
“What’s her history in the man department. Since that seems to be the topic we’re on.”
“How did we get on this topic?” Taylor chuckled, “We sound like gossiping women.”
Ken and Ned laughed.
Ken took a drink of his coke and set it on the table, thinking before speaking. “Carly... She’s... She’s an incredible woman. Actually we use to date.”
Both Ned and Taylor’s eyes got big. They didn’t expect that. “Really?” Taylor asked, “How did that work out? I mean it’s obvious you’re not together now. So how does that work in the band?”
“Works fine, we’re friends. It was a little awkward in the first couple weeks after but now it’s like no big deal.” Ken shrugged.
“How long were you two together?” Ned asked curious.
“About six months. We started showing interest for each other very early on. Like I was in the band for two months I think and we went on our first date and continued to see each other after that night. We got along great, we became close quickly. But for some reason we just work better as friends than as a couple. It just wasn’t working for us. We finally both agreed that we should be just friends.”
“And that’s cool? Usually when that happens there’s bitterness.” Taylor asked.
“No bitterness, seriously we both are happier as friends. She’s my best friend. We’re both much happier this way.” Ken nodded more to himself then to the two men.
Ned leaned back in his chair, moving his tongue across his teeth, “That’s cool man.”
“Yeah it’s cool man, if it’s the truth.” Taylor raised an eyebrow.
Ken looked him in the eye, held the stare for more then five seconds. Ned clearing his throat broke the eye contact between the two. Kenny shook his head. “There’s truth in what I said. More on her side than mine.”
Ned raised his brow at Taylor then looked at Ken, both just waited for Kenny to go on. And he did, “I fell in love with her, and she didn’t fall in love with me.”
Taylor and Ned got quiet, both feeling bad for pushing now. Kenny’s eyes were watching his hands pick at a water bottle. He never looked up at the two men as he spoke. “I saw myself being happy with this girl for the rest of my life. But when she looked at me I could see she didn’t feel the same. She saw me as a friend and I truly think she tried to have those same feelings to give me in return but you can’t make yourself fall in love with someone.”
“So you let her off the hook, you let her think you just thought of her as a friend too?” Ned asked softly.
“Yeah, I knew if she had any idea how much I did love her we could have never really kept a friendship. She’d feel awkward around me. And that’s the last thing I wanted. After awhile the pain of not having her love faded away and our friendship grew stronger. We both have found a deep friendship in one another. And I’m happy with that. I’m glad I have her in my life.” Ken smiled.
Both guys just nodded, still feeling they should have never pushed for the scoop but glad they did. “What will you be doing once you get back to Florida?” Taylor felt the need to change the subject.
“Working. We’ll go back to our day jobs and search for some gigs to play.”
“So glad those days are gone for us. You guys should send out some demos to more record companies. I know you tried before. But I think the band is ready to be heard again. Send to as many companies as you can.” Ned gave his opinion.
“If you get any bites, don’t seem to hungry. Really read over all paper work before signing anything. I would hate to see Infinite fall in with a bad deal.” Taylor shared.
“Thanks for the advice.” Ken gave a smile, “Well boys, I’m gonna go find my band mates and see what their up to.” He stood up from the table and gave a nod before walking into the back.
“Where’ve you been all day?” Carly asked Alissa as she walked into the backstage area thirty minutes prior to show time.
“No where. I’ve been around.” Alissa shrugged.
“Sounds exciting.” Carly chuckled.
“You ready to get off this tour?” Matt asked giving her a half smile, as he sat across the room from where she stood.
She looked over at him, “Yeah.. I guess.” She looked away and grabbed her bag. She dug through it and pulled out a few items of clothing and walked back out of the room.
“She okay?” Mike whispered to Carly.
Carly shook her head no, “She will be.” she whispered back.
Alissa changed her clothes quickly and returned to the backstage room, she noticed all of Rooney was now in there including Infinite. She could hear Everybody Else from the stage, she walked to the mirror and began applying make-up. Not speaking to anyone, nor listening to the various conversations being held. When she was finished she walked back out and stood at the side of the stage, it looked as if she was watching the show the three men of Everybody Else was giving. But she wasn’t watching, she was in a zone, far away from reality.
“This isn’t fair, You must stop!” Carly screamed out as she laughed hysterically.
Ned and Robert continued to torture her with tickling, “Be careful she might pee on you.” Dan said nonchalant.
Robert moved away quickly, “Seriously?”
Everyone laughed at him, Ned having no fear straddled Carly holding her hands above her head, “Is this memorable?”
She looked at him with a straight face, “For you maybe.”
His mouth dropped, “Alright that’s it.” he went back to tickling her she fought back as much as she could. Constantly trying to grab at his hands to stop him.
“Carly just tell him you’ll remember these past three days.” Louie chuckled.
“I don’t just give... AH!” Carly screamed in laughter as tears rolled down her face, “Stop. Ned please!”
He finally moved away from her lying flat on the ground laughing and catching his breath. Carly did her best to get her composure back. It took a few minutes. The rest of the room went back to their discussions ignoring her and Ned. Who both laid there on the floor in silence. Carly finally sat up, “I know I need to redo my hair and make up now. Thanks.”
“No problem.” He smiled bright.
She rolled her eyes and pushed up off the floor to hurry and get ready for the show. Before Infinite took the stage they were surprised to find Ned and Taylor on the stage. “What are they doing?” Carly asked.
“I don’t know.” Alissa creased her brow.
“Alright, tonight is the last night for this next band. All of Rooney is going to miss having them on the tour.” Taylor began.
“Yeah, they’re a cool bunch of people. And they can rock with the best. So give them a show to remember. They deserve your love.” Ned finished.
Robert squeezed past the band and took the stage with a smile. Ned and Taylor smiled at him, both not expecting him there. “Hey.” he breathed heavy.
“Out of shape?” Ned chuckled. The crowd laughed.
“Yeah, No, but really I wanted to say something.”
“Speak.” Taylor chuckled.
“This band isn’t signed yet and soon I know they will be. Because they’re too good to stay unheard. Just wanted to let all of you know that you’re about to see a great band. They’ve become our friends and they will be missed. But I know this isn’t the last we’ll see or hear from them. So everyone please give it up for Infinite.”
The crowd hollered and the band took the stage, all three guys of Rooney getting a hand shake or hug from each member of Infinite. Alissa took the mic, “Wow, thanks guys. We’ve all been pretty sad today seeing how this is our last show with Rooney. We each wanted to give Thanks to Rooney for having us on their tour. No matter how short it has been. But, most of all we’re happy to have made friendships with Rooney and Everybody Else.”
“Don’t forget the fans.” Mike said into his mic.
“Never will I forget the fans.” Alissa smiled, “We’ve had fans travel from Florida to see us, and that means a lot. It really does. To have support in the crowd is always comforting. But, it’s really awesome to find new fans as we found at the last couple shows. I hope some of you will find yourself digging our sound. So enough of the rambling. Let’s get the music started.” Alissa turned to Carly and her count off began.
Infinite rocked the Zydeco club with 180% full energy and love of the music. This show was the best of the three, mainly because they wanted to go out with power. The crowd gave them nothing but love and they knew it had a lot to do with Rooney giving them the introduction. Alissa pulled two fans, a female and a male out of the crowd to join her on stage, to sing the chorus of the cover song “I hate myself for loving you” by Joan Jett. The girl stood with Dan the whole time. The guy wandered the stage dancing crazy and just having fun until he had to sing, he always found Alissa to share her mic. Alissa really enjoyed singing this song that evening, she let loose. The band was having a good time along with the crowd. The two fans on stage danced around and sang like they were meant to be there. Rooney and Everybody Else stood side stage watching, singing along and moving to the music. “I think of you every night and day, you took my heart and took my pride away, eee yeah eee yeah eee yeah. I hate myself for loving you. Can’t break free from the things that you do. I want to walk but I run back to you, that’s why I hate myself for loving you.” The whole crowd clapped their hands to the beat, following the band on stage. The entire place was giving their full attention to the band. Alissa walked to the side stage when it was getting closer to the end of the song, she pulled Carrick and Ned by the shirt, “Come on you guys help finish the song.” All the guys of both bands came on stage. The crowd went wild the boys were all smiles as they stood on the stage singing along “I hate myself... For loving you.... I hate myself.... For loving you. I hate myself... for loving you..”
Alissa sang the last line “I hate myself for loving youuuu.” and the place up roared into cheers. Alissa smiled at the crowd then turned to see the guys clapping with big smiles. It was obvious everyone had fun. She gave Matt a quick hug, then Louie. Before they all exited stage. Dan shook Taylor’s hand as he walked off the stage.
“Whoo, that was fun eh?” Alissa grabbed a bottle of water.
The crowd cheered. “If you’re gonna go out, that’s the way to do it I think.” Dan smiled.
“I think you’re right. Well sadly this is our last song y’all. Thank you for being an incredible crowd. Hope to get to play for you again in the future. This song is called, ‘The Edge’.”
The song was an up tempo song about being tired of playing it safe and wanting to be taken over the edge. It was a fun song to perform and that’s why they always chose to end their shows with it. It never failed to keep the crowd pumped up for the next band. Once they finished they took their bows. Tossed their guitar picks, water bottles and drumsticks to the crowd. Giving the fans what they wanted. When they left the stage they found Rooney and Everybody Else standing there applauding. It was a nice touch to have the support of the two bands they admired. Infinite took the love and then gathered themselves and their things. All five took their equipment and bags out to their van. They went back inside quickly and watched Rooney.
Enjoying the show from side stage, all five of them for the first time in the three nights of being on tour, they all enjoyed the show together. Once Rooney finished the song ‘I’m shakin’ Infinite moved away from the stage and went into the crowd to get outside. They found they had a lot of autographs to sign and pictures to pose for. They didn’t mind at all they loved that the Alabama fans wanted a piece of Infinite. Carrick kept his eye on Alissa as she was signing autographs and interacted with fans, he was doing the same with his own fans. Once she stepped away from the crowd he excused himself and walked over to her, “Hey.”
Alissa smiled, “Hey back.”
“When are you guys heading back home?”
“We’re heading back in the morning. We should be home tomorrow night. Back to the norm.” Alissa gave a half smile.
“I just wanted to give you this.” He handed her a folded up piece of paper.
“What is it?” She looked at the paper with confusion before opening it.
“It’s my cell number. And my email address. I want us to stay in touch. That’s if..” He raised his brow in hope.
“Of course I want to keep in touch. You have your cell on you?” She held her hand out, palm up.
“Yeah. Why?” He pulled it off his belt and handed it to her.
Alissa pushed some buttons and then added her cell and home number to his phone book. “This way you can’t lose my number.” She smiled handing it back.
Carly walked back into the club to find if any of Rooney has emerged from the backstage area. She scanned the crowd there wasn’t too many people inside since it got real warm during the concert. She hung out near the bar and watched the crowd, she smiled when she saw him come out from backstage. Ned stopped and talked to people who noticed him. He would smile once in awhile. Mostly he would just sign things and pose for pictures, but not looking to excited about it. He finally made it to the bar, he didn’t notice her at first. When he ordered his beer he turned to his side and noticed Carly standing there, “Hey Carly. I thought you guys left.”
“Nope, we’re staying the night and heading back early morning.”
“Cool, can I get you a beer?”
“Sure.” She smiled.
Ned waved the bartender down and held up his finger to tell him he needed one more. The two moved through the crowd they found a corner table to sit at. They were left alone for the rest of the evening as they got lost in conversations with one another.
“Good luck with the band. Keep in touch with us.” Robert gave Alissa a hug before moving over to say good bye to Dan next.
“Hey.” Matt gave an effort to smile at her.
“Hey, can we?” She motioned to step away from the rest of the band. He followed. “Is there something I did? You seem to be distant. And I’ve notice it’s only towards me.”
He looked down before he looked back up he pulled off his sunglasses, “To be honest, I have been distancing myself from you.”
Alissa raised an eyebrow, “And?”
He shrugged, “Don’t know, just felt it was the right thing to do. Nothing against you Alissa. I just thought you might have enough men taking your time.”
“I’m confused. Why would you need to keep a distance because I have made friends with some of the guys here? I would have liked to have added you to my list of friends.”
He looked over to the others, “Looks like you should get going. It was nice meeting you. Hope the band finds success. You guys deserve it.” He gave her that solemn smile again. And then walked away disappearing onto the Rooney tour bus. She sighed and shook her head, giving a wave to the rest of the guys. Mike shut the van door and they drove off to their hotel of the evening.
Author's Chapter Notes:
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