Baby, This is Paradise

•14•

Hello yes I am sorry that I didn't update yesterday <3

Vic's POV

That day at the sound check, I couldn't stop thinking about Claire.

I hope she didn't think I was a total creep this morning. I just... I don't know. It felt right, in the moment.

It's not like she likes me. She's so out of my league, anyway.

Apparently I was zoned out because I felt Tony's hand on my shoulder.

"You okay? You seem kind of out of it."

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just kind of tired." I said, running my hand through my hair and replacing the hat on my head.

"Okay," Tony said, giving me a concerned glance. "If something's up though, I'm here if you want to talk about it."

"Okay man."

•••

Right before the show, the boys and I were warming up. Claire and Alex were late.

Are they lost?
Are they okay?
Was there an emergency?
Did they decide they had something better to do?
Did they ditch us and drive back to San Diego?
Did they get in a fatal car accident and die??

The doors swung open and there they were. Whew.

Claire looked breathtaking. I wasn't exactly used to seeing her dressed up, I guess. Her long, slender legs were accented by the heels she was wearing, and, I guess I was staring. What can you expect a boy to do...?

The other boys were silent for a second, taking in the view. I can't blame them, both the girls looked hot.

I tried to speak, to tell her she looked really, really beautiful. I tried to serenade her with words of love and affection. I'm not really sure what came out but Tony was behind me soon, slapping me in the back of the head and dragging me toward the stage.

She mouthed "bye" with a stunning smile, but I just stared back in awe.

I just went through the motions that night, unable to get that smile off my mind.

•••

"Good night, San Francisco!" We hit the final chord of King For A Day.

Every concert was a blast, but I couldn't wait to get off stage and see Claire and the boys. Our post-concert partying was by far the best part of my day.

The lights went down, and we exited the stage, followed by a roar from our fans. I raced backstage and tried to compose myself. Don't look like an idiot. Don't look like an idiot.

There Claire and Alex were, leaning against the wall, scrolling through some obscure social networking site, no doubt. Claire looked up and smiled, walking towards me. I brought her in for a hug, and when I released her, she had a mildly disgusted look on her face.

"Shit, I'm sorry" I said, looking down at my sweaty clothes.

She laughed. "It's cool-"

She was interrupted by an excited Jaime bursting through the stage door.

"WHO'S READY TO GET WASTED??" He screamed. Everyone stared and Jaime reddened.

Tony and Mike sprinted by to the street door, laughing loudly and ready to get to a club. Tony shoved the door open and booked it to the waiting van, with Mike on his heels. I grabbed Claire's hand and Jaime threw Alex over his shoulder and carried her, screaming in laughter and protests, to the van.

Tony jumped in the driver's seat, and Mike in the passenger. I was usually the designated driver after we went clubbing, because I didn't ever get very drunk. Only a little tipsy, occasionally. Jaime and the rest of the boys? Usually hammered.

Tony paused to speak to our manager about our whereabouts, and hit the gas. We were off. Mike reached over to plug his phone into the aux cord, and we jammed to Sleeping With Sirens on the way to the club.

We pulled up and the boys went their separate ways, going to the bar or the dance floor. I wasn't paying attention though, I grabbed Claire and dragged her to the dance floor. She wrapped her arms around my neck.

"Hi" she said, smiling.

"Hi" I said, placing my forehead against hers.

We danced for a while, I couldn't tell if it was minutes or hours. Jell-O shots were taken, kisses were stolen, I lost track of time. I looked at my phone- 11:48. I left Claire at the bar for a moment while I went to round up the boys.

I found Tony and Mike in a secluded room playing beer pong with a crowd of guys our age. Jaime and Alex were totally wasted, making out near the bathrooms and trying unsuccessfully to keep themselves standing upright. I gathered our group and met Claire back at the bar. She helped me guide a few hammered friends to the van and we drove back to the hotel, singing softly to Green Day.