[AustinCarlile] Burning Brighter Than The Fire [Sequel|LiveForever]

Twelve.

I don’t really want him here, he can leave, we’re together again, there’s nothing else he needs to fix, it’s fine, but he won’t go, he insists on staying for the concert tonight, and then he’ll leave tomorrow morning. He can leave, I told him that he could, I somewhat insisted that he leave, but that didn’t really register in his head, he thought that I was telling him that he could and I wouldn’t be mad, but I was telling him to leave or I would be mad. If he walks out and people crowd around him and forget that they're at my concert, I'm going to be pissed, it always happens, every time he comes to see us play, it’s not fair.

I would never try to steal his thunder, ever, I wouldn’t do that, it’s not my night when I go see him play, it’s his, and he just can’t take away my fans, it’s not fair to me or to the guys or any other band who is on this tour with us. “Is he walking around?” Josh asks, tilting his head to the side, knitting his eyebrows together, because he knows, he actually brought it up once, asked if it bothered me, and because I was talking to Josh, I simply vented, bitched about all of it, how he doesn’t even realize he does it, but he does, and everyone else notices.

“Who the hell knows?” It’s something that I have to talk to him about, I know that I do, if I want us to work, I have to make sure that he knows what he does to piss me off, but I don’t think that I should have to tell my boyfriend that these are my concerts and not his, that’s a little pathetic. “I just want to play and go to bed. I'm done with this tour.” Leaning back on the couch in the green room, I pick my feet up, placing them on the edge of the couch, my knees pressing up against my chest.

“Your eye looks better.” He’s lying, I can hear the snicker in his voice, I don’t even have to look at him to know that his eyes are sparkling with humor, he’s such an asshole, but he’s my best friend, one of them, I don’t know, he’s Josh, Josh is Josh and I wouldn’t change Josh for the world. But, he’s no Austin. And it sucks, because no one is ever going to be better than Austin, no matter how much he pisses me off, Austin makes me feel happy and he makes my stomach flip and my cheeks flame red with a blush just by smiling at me.

&&/

Sliding his hand over mine, lacing our fingers together, he glances down at me, smiling, and I can’t help but smile back, he hasn’t done anything that he usually does, he hasn’t walked around, he didn’t walked outside the venue before the show, he’s stayed by my side the entire time, except during the meet and greet, he stayed behind, and for that I'm grateful. Today is finally about me and not him.

“I always love to come and watch you play.” He whispers, leaning down, his breath hitting against the skin of my neck, cause goose bumps to form, making sure that I can hear him over the sound of Secrets playing on stage. Standing on the side of the stage, it’s always the best, and it’s even better here because no one can see us standing here, there’s a curtain hanging in the way, blocking us from the crowd, but not blocking the stage from us. “You look so happy up there. I hope that’s how you look when we’re together.”

It is, of course it is, it’s always been like that, even during that first, awkward interview that I fled from as soon as it was over, I don’t think that will ever change, no matter how bad I want it to, I just can’t get away from him. “I love you,” Wrapping my arms around his waist, I take a step closer to him, resting my head on his chest, and I smile as he snakes his arms around my torso, his fingers tracing up and down my skin.

Pressing his lips against my head, he turns his head to the side, and I feel his breathing hitch, something is wrong, I can feel his heart beating faster. Looking up at him, I see Bailey standing in the background, her clipboard clinging to her chest, biting down on her lower lip, I don’t know what’s wrong, but her eyes are dark, like she’s angry, and I want to know what’s going on. “What’s wrong, Austin?” Maybe Crissy showed up, I don’t know why, people who are my fans know her, they don’t like her, it’s not like they would start a fight, but I don’t think that it would have gone unnoticed for this long.

“Um, Dev, is that your dad?”