Pinky Promise

Twenty Five

I felt my whole body go cold in an instant. If I hadn't already been sitting down, I would have collapsed right there.

I had been on stage one time before and the last time I had a panic attack. That time it was because of the people. It was because of the lights. It was because I was the center of attention. But this time, it was none of those.

It was because of Alex.

The thought of being alone with him even with thousands of people just feet in front of us. The song that he was going to sing. The fact that the boy I loved and the girl he cheated on me with would serenade me together.

The fact that Dad knew this was going to happen.

That was the look he gave Alex. That was why he wanted me to talk to Alex after I found out.

I froze under Alex's gaze, glued to the bench where I was safe. It wasn't until I felt a hand on my shoulder that I was pulled from my daze and turned towards Vic. I wanted to speak. I wanted to beg him to get me out of there. I wanted to move--to run back to the bus, but I was shaking beyond control. He nodded towards the stage and as he stood up I felt the force of him pull me up as well.

I tried telling him to stop but my throat had already closed up. I tried shaking my head no but I was so overwhelmed in the moment that as soon as I was on my feet, the room spun all around me. I felt Dad's arms around me, keeping me steady. He put a hand under my chin and made me look at him. I wanted to be furious with him that he would let Alex do this to me but something about his expression told me to listen to him.

"Audrey," he started, holding me a bit tighter. I tried responding but it was just the sound of me struggling to breathe. "Sweetie, please. Trust me with this, okay?" He asked. I stared up at him, desperately searching for an answer as to what was going on. "I promise this will all make sense if you just let it happen, okay? You can get through this, just ignore all those people out there and listen to the song." He told me.

If it had been anyone else other than Dad I would have slapped them in the face with a pancake and ran out of there. But something about the way he said it. Maybe simply the fact that it was Dad and I knew he would never intentionally put me in a situation that would hurt me. Maybe it was just that I knew this may finally give me the answers I was looking for.

Whatever it was, before long I found myself shakily walking out towards the center of the stage. I shut out the crowd just like Dad said. It almost felt like tunnel vision as I made eye contact with Alex. He smiled wider as I got closer and he met me halfway. He took my hand and led me over to a stool in the middle of the stage. I looked up at him, almost worried this was some sort of prank. Instead of scarring myself more, I decided to just sit and hope that this would end quickly. Alex squeezed my hand and kneeled down to my height. I stared at him with distrust but he just ignored it.

"Look, I know I'm not always the best boyfriend," he started. He spoke so only I could hear him. "But Audrey, I would never cheat on you." He told me. He didn't give me time to react to that because immediately music started playing, and as soon as Alex and Tay started singing, I knew I had fucked up.

"I gotta say, I wasn't expecting you to come this way and fall into my arms." Alex sang. He looked right at me while he sang and I felt my heart sink. As he and Tay continued the song, I picked out the lines I knew. The lines I had heard when they were talking that day on the bus.

"Kiss me again, and again, and again! Oh, kiss me again." Tay finished. By the end I was in tears and everything made sense. Alex never cheated on me. What I had heard was him and Tay writing that song. Writing it for me. I had been so quick to judge that I never heard his explanation. I dropped my face into my hands as I cried, washed over with embarrassment. I felt so stupid for not trusting Alex. I felt someone take my wrist and pull it away from my face. I looked up at Alex with worry written all over his face. He wiped away my tears and smiled.

"Audrey, I love you more than the world. You have no idea how much I hated myself for not being able to save you that day at the coffee shop. Please believe me, I would never do anything to hurt you--" He started. I cut him off by throwing my arms around him and burying my face in his shoulder.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Alex." I cried. I felt so awful, I was sure he would hate me after how much I ignored him and pushed him away. It was such a relief to feel him pull me into a hug.

"It's okay. Shh, it's fine, baby, please don't cry." He whispered. It wasn't okay. I owed him so many apologies, but he didn't care. At the moment nothing mattered. I had him back and he had me.

Eventually I stopped crying and Alex fixed my hair. I was a total mess, but I had never been happier.

"Let's hear it for these two!" I heard someone scream. I looked around and the entire set had already been changed and now letlive. was surrounding us. The crowd roared and I felt hands on me, lifting me up.

"Whoa, guys, no stop!" Alex yelled, of course over the music, no one could hear him. The guys of letlive. had us in the air in a second and threw us into the crowd. I felt like I was having a heart attack, but it was a rush at the same time. Alex had a tight grip on my hand as we surfed over the screaming fans. I had the biggest smile on my face and when I looked at Alex, he did too. Before long, we made it to the back of the crowd and were dropped into the ground. Alex caught me and helped me stand before wrapping his arms around me. He kissed me once before we turned back to the stage and watched the show, and Nate was right; the set was better from the crowd.

A/N: Only one more part to this story guys!!! Thank you all if you've stuck with me this long!