It was happening. All Time Low were finishing up their set and Alex was going to introduce me on stage. I had one song written up but other than that, I was going to do covers.
To say that I was nervous was an understatement. I was fucking terrified.
"You'll be fine." Tay hummed, wrapping her arms around me.
"I'm scared, what if I fuck up? What if I forget the words? What if-"
"What if none of it happened and it all went fine?" She countered and I fell silent. "You've performed in front of people before, you can do it again." She grinned at me, encouragingly.
"Right. Well even though we've finished our set, before you all bugger off, we felt that we should introduce you to a rising star." I blushed as Tay laughed and the guitars were changed to acoustic.
"Jack and myself shall remain on stage for like two songs? Then the last one is all to this wonderful girl who has a fabulous voice. We only discovered her voice the other night, so you have to bear with her because she's a nervous Chipmunk." I sighed and he grinned over to me.
"I'd like to introduce you guys, to Alexandra Armstrong." I walked on stage and a lot of people cheered, which made me blush.
"See, you've already got fans, Chipmunk." Alex grinned and I rolled my eyes as I positioned myself at the mic.
"So I have two covers I want to do for you guys, but I also have my own song as well. All three are acoustic until I get back to Baltimore and that's when the work on the EP shall begin." I heard the guitar strum and I felt my nerves relax.
"This is my acoustic cover of Lost In Stereo." The crowd cheered and I smiled as the guys started playing. I danced a bit whilst I sang, letting the crowd sing with me for such a familiar song.
Even Jack and Alex messed about and caused a bit of laughter.
Before I knew it, we'd finished the song and I looked to the guys who nodded.
"Right, the guys fucked this up this morning, so I wonder if they've perfected it?" I teased half heartedly and both of them stuck their tongues out me. "Such children." I grinned into the mic and people cheered.
I broke out into the acoustic cover of Second & Sebring.
I got a nice reception thanks to that song and Jack handed me the guitar, kissing my cheek quickly before disappearing off stage.
"This'll be my last song. I want those who can record stuff to record this. I want you guys to spread the word and get this song out there 'cause when I next tour, I want you guys singing along to every single word." Their response was simply to cheer as I noticed that there was a genuine excitement running through the crowd.
"You know what? I'm gonna dedicate this song. This song is for all of you beautiful people who have ever been broken to pieces, it's for the ones who survived, who are here today and bear their scars proudly. 'Cause I'm proud of you. I might not know you, but if you've got the scars of your past, you can damn well bet that I'm proud of every single one of you. It takes guts to survive. So this is for the survivors. The ones who fight to live, the ones who live for others.
Singing the song, I felt alive on the stage and I realised how much I'd actually missed performing.
I half smiled as the crowd started cheering, and I smiled before blowing a kiss to the crowd and walking offstage.
Jack wrapped me in a hug instantly and kissed me on the forehead.
"I'm proud of you. You've just mastered the fear which held you back baby." He hummed and I let out a shaky breath.
"Chipmunk, that song.. Where on earth did such inspiration come from to form that?" He sounded shocked and I frowned slightly.
"Was it really that bad?" I moved my head, looking at Alex who had his arms around Tay. He glared at me and shook his head.
"Don't be silly Chipmunk. That was amazing. But such a song-where did the inspiration come from?"
I shrugged.
"Family, Ryan, School. Every shit thing that happened to me knocked me down, but it made me stronger. The song was written just before the crash." I murmured and let my head rest on Jack's chest.
"Chipmunk, you realise that if you keep up with those kind of lyrics, you're going to save lives, right?" I half smiled at this, my mind coming up with different possibilities.
"If I can save one life, then I'm doing something right with my own." I murmured softly and I felt Jack's lips pull up into a smile.
I went over to the merch tent and sat next to Vinny who was messing around on his phone. I let my eyes close as I enjoyed the suns rays as it was only early afternoon until shadows crossed my eyes and blocked the sun from me.
Opening my eye a bit, I smiled to the small group who had appeared and they grinned back, almost nervously.
"Hey guys, what can I get ya?" I glanced over to where Vinny last was to be met with an empty seat. I rolled my eyes.
"We were wondering if we could have pictures with you? We saw your set, and just listening to the lyrics first time, it hit a few nerves for us." One of the smaller girls of the group spoke up, her voice quiet.
I smiled at them warmly and nodded my head.
"You guys can relax, I'm not gonna bite." I giggled and a look of relief broke across some faces. I walked around the table and I took it in turns, having photo's with the group and eventually, I got Matt to take a group photo of us all.
"So what put you in a place where you had to fight to survive?" I mused as I leaned on the table, letting the sun warm up my body.
"Just daily crap for most of us. The stress of people ignoring us, as we don't go to the same school and also the people who don't get us." One of the guys murmured quietly. I had to admit, for a group of fans, they were quiet, and I liked it.
The majority of the group nodded, apart from the smaller girl who had spoken up earlier. Her eyes were downcast to the floor, almost in concentration.
"What about you sweetheart?" I asked her. One of the guys nudged her and she jumped violently before looking up in confusion.
"Sorry, I spaced out." I half smiled.
"What about you? What's put you in such a place that you're fighting to survive?" In that second I could see the unshed tears and I held my hand out to her. She took it and I pulled her into a hug.
I could feel her tears soaking my shoulder, but I didn't care. I kept my arms wrapped around her.
"I'm sorry." She half whispered when she pulled away and I placed my hands on her cheeks, wiping her tears away with my thumbs.
"Don't ever be sorry sweetheart. If I can help you, then I'm here for you. Until my last breath." I smiled at her and she gave me a weak one back.
"It's just, I've just gotten out of a bad relationship, and everything you sung hit me hard. I don't have a good relationship with my parents, hell, the only person I have is my sister, but even then she's not enough at times." Her eyes went back to the floor between us and I pulled her into another hug.
"I got out of a bad relationship. But I've learned to trust and maybe love again. Just because one asshole made you cry doesn't mean that another asshole can't make you smile. Hell, my boyfriend can be one of the biggest assholes, but he cares. He makes me smile and one day, you'll find that. I promise. Things will get better." I hummed into her ear. She hugged me back tightly before I let her go.
The change in her was pretty obvious. She had a smile on her lips.
"It was lovely to meet you, and thank you. For giving me a song, and for being such a wonderful person." I grinned at the girl then at the group.
"Hey, I have to be wonderful to put up with four asses in my life." I winked and she giggled.
"Oh really?" I giggled as hands covered my eyes.
"Really. I have to be nice to put up with you guys otherwise you'd have a pissy bitch on your hands twenty four seven." I teased and his hands moved from my eyes, the light blinding me momentarily. I quickly glanced at the group who each had smiles on their faces. "Enjoy the rest of the day guys." They nodded before they walked off, and I could see the girls shoulders shaking.
"Since when did you become so lovely?"
"Since I got myself a new man." I smirked.
"Really? And what does this new man look like?" I moved from the front of the table so I was back behind it, leaning on the table once more and Jack stood in between my legs.
"Well, he has amazing hair." I grinned as I ran my fingers through his skunk hair. "He's also very tall, and takes the piss out of my shortness." Jack grinned and kissed me on the nose. "He does cute gestures to show that he cares about me, and he's also a great kisser." I hummed happily as I leaned up, my arms wrapping around his neck. He smiled.
"Hm. I guess he's not much competition, considering I'm an awesome kisser." He winked at me and I giggled before reaching up to kiss him.
"Guys, save it for the bus." Alex called out and Jack groaned.
"Can I not get five minutes with my girlfriend?" He mock glared at his best friend.
"Nope." I giggled at Alex's response before Jack occupied the seat that I had taken previously and pulled me onto his lap.
"Will you two stop being cute?"
"You and Tay are just as bad so shut it pink panther." I retorted and he smirked. I let myself rest against Jack as fans started lining up for the signing.
"Oh my god."
"Did you see how cute they are?!"
"How could he pick someone like her? I saw her story on the TV."
"Wow. He could do so much better."
"She needs to back off my man."
All of the comments came from their fans and I frowned. Surely I was good enough for Jack?
"I wonder if she's with him for the fame?" One fan speculated and I scoffed, earning a curious look from the five boys. I placed a finger to my ear and they fell silent from whatever conversation and listened to what the fans were saying.
"She looks like a mess."
"I say that it's all happened out of pity. Someone like her shouldn't be with Jack." Each word was a kick to my chest. As much as I wanted to simply deflect the words, they still hurt. Jack placed his fingers under my chin and tilted my head so I was looking at him.
"You're perfect for me. Jealousy doesn't look good on them." He murmured, kissing me softly. The moment his lips touched mine, it was as if they words melted away, pushed from my mind. "I've heard a few people say we're cute, so I'll hold onto that." He muttered against my lips and I smiled.
"Hold on. I'm gonna see what happens if I do something..." Alex gave Jack a look and he got up. I slid off his lap and took his seat and they stuck their heads around the sheet of plastic which blocked the fans from the guys.
"Be back alive in a few." Alex called out to us and I rolled my eyes as they walked off, screams surrounding the air almost instantly which made me giggle.
"He's right you know?" Rian sat next to me, a smile on his features whilst Zack spoke to Flyzik.
"Right about what?"
"You are perfect for him. He hasn't really settled down since Holly, and so to have you, he's grateful because you're all that he wants and needs." Rian looked smug and I half smiled.
"He's not the only one who's grateful."
"Oh?"
"After Ryan, I never really thought I'd be able to open my heart to a guy. I managed to get over my fear of guys touching me, but I knew in my heart that I'd never open up again."
"And he's helped you trust again?" He questioned, almost as if to clarify my words.
"Don't you dare say a word to him, but-" I hesitated, feeling my cheeks burn.
"But?"
"I love him."