(Charlie’s POV)

“Hello?” I answered the unknown number.

“Charlie? It’s Mike,” said the voice on the other end.

“Mike? Vic’s brother, Mike?” I clarified.

“The one and only,” I could hear the smug look on his face, and I laughed slightly.

“Er, what’s up, Mike?” I asked, growing nervous—why would Mike be calling me instead of Vic? Did something happen? I immediately began to assume the worst… only because the worst seemed to be the only thing that happened in our lives.

“I just was checking in, seeing how you were doing,” he said nonchalantly.

“Oh, um, things are good. What is up with you guys?” I asked curiously.

“Nothing really,” Mike said evasively.

“Um, Mike?”

“Yeah?”

“No offense, but, uh, why are you—”

“Vic’s sleeping,” Mike said.

“Oh?” I bit my lip, still unsure as to why he was calling me. “Did something happen?” I asked.

“No,” Mike said curtly.

“Oh,” I said slowly. “Well, listen, Mike, I have to go into work, now. I don’t mean to be rude to you or anything but I got to go. I will gladly talk to you later, though,” I said. I didn’t want him to think that I only wanted to talk to Vic—sure, I got along well with the other guys. I was just confused, and I also really did have to go.

“Oh, yeah, sure,” Mike said understandingly.

“Promise that everything’s okay?”

“Pinky promise,” Mike said. “Sorry for being weird,” he laughed nervously.

“You’re fine, Mike. It’s nice to hear your voice,” I said.

“Wait, don’t go,” Mike said all of a sudden.

“What’s up?”

“I, um, Vic got really drunk last night,” Mike said, his voice in a warning tone. My stomach flipped.

“And?” I pressed, my voice croaky.

“Shit, shit, it’s not what you’re thinking. Damn, I’m just trying to warn you if he acts funny to you today,” he said.

“Mike, please elaborate,” I said, feeling a little frustrated.

“I don’t know, I’m sorry. I think he had a really bad nightmare or something, and he got really sick. He’s okay now, but he might be a little distant today. So don’t worry,” Mike explained.

“Oh,” I said quietly, immediately wishing that I was with Vic. I wanted to hold him and protect him from his nightmares. I didn’t want him to be scared.

“And he’s also feeling a bit down because he publically told his fans about what happened to him when he, y’know, tried to kill himself,” Mike said.

“He did?”

“Yeah, he feels good now, but it also made him feel bad about it after thinking about it and disappointing fans and all of that,” Mike said.

“Oh, well I’m proud of him,” I said.

“Me too,” Mike said. “Everyone is. So, uh, yeah, that was all. I just wanted you to know that everything is good here, even if Vic acts funny,” he said. I smiled slightly at how flustered Mike sounded, and I really did appreciate him for doing that. I wondered what Vic dreamt about that upset him to the point that Mike had to warn me, though.

“Thanks, Mike,” I said. “Have a good show later!” I said.

“Yeah, thanks! See ya, Char,” he said. I mumbled a “bye” and then he hung up. I sighed, putting my phone into my pocket and shaking my head, my mind spinning in different directions.

I decided to send Vic a text, so hopefully he would feel better, and stuck my phone into my pocket before finishing getting ready for work. I yawned a little and brushed my hair with my fingers, ruffling it a little. I was already dressed, so I just grabbed an apple from my refrigerator, and I snagged my purse and my keys and exited my apartment.

VIC’S POV

“You okay man?” Mike raised an eyebrow at me and I nodded.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” I said, my tone a little harsher than I intended.

“Okay, no more alcohol for you,” he said.

“It was the tequila,” I said.

“Alright, no more tequila for you,” he said seriously. I shrugged my shoulders.

My phone beeped, and it was my alarm, telling me that we had to go to sound check soon. I also saw that I had a text from Charlie, but I decided to ignore it. I slipped my phone back into my pocket and put my headphones around my neck, connecting them to my iPod.

“Ready?” I asked Mike.

“Yeah, let’s go,” he sighed. He grabbed his snap back, cell phone, and drumsticks that he had been carrying around all day and together we snuck into the venue. Jaime and Tony were wandering around, talking to fans in line, and were going to meet us there.

“Are you sure you’re okay, Vic? You had a really rough night last night,” Mike said.

“Drop it, Mike,” I hissed. “I don’t remember shit. I’m fine,” I said, unnecessarily rude to him. I had decided to lie and tell him that I didn’t remember the nightmare I had, although I had remembered it almost play by play. It remained stuck in my head, which was why I was afraid to see what Charlie had to say. I knew I was going to let slip that I loved her soon, but I didn’t really want to say it yet. It was so soon, I felt like, but, then again, I always did have a knack for falling in love quickly. I was such a romantic fuck, and I wished I wasn’t.

“Vic! Mike!” I turned my head and grinned wildly at two fans that had made there way around the venue, spotting me and Mike.

“Hey girls,” I smiled, my mood immediately lifting.

“Can we get a quick picture? Sorry, I know you guys are busy!” one asked respectfully.

“Only because you asked so nicely,” I shot her a toothy grin and walked closer to them, giving them individual hugs. One girls had tears in her eyes while I noticed that the other girl’s hand was shaking a lot.

“Thank you so much for existing,” the girl on the right blurted. I chuckled softly. “You are my idol and hero, and you’ve really changed my outlook on the world. Thank you,” she said—this was the girl who looked like she wanted to cry.

“Aw,” I whispered, pulling her into another hug. “I love you,” I mumbled into her ear, because I genuinely loved our fans and I knew she needed to hear that. She smiled and handed me her phone that I handed to Mike, who gladly snapped a picture of us. He then took another picture of me and the other girl, and I gave them both hugs again.

“What, no love for me?” Mike pouted. The girls giggled and opened their arms, and Mike leaned down to give them happy hugs. He laughed softly. “We gotta go, now. See you at the show!” he ruffled their hair and we both waved them off and turned back into the venue.

I was now smiling, not growling.

“It’s amazing how fan interactions cheer you up,” Mike grinned, poking my cheek.

“Fuck off,” I glared at him. He raised his hands in a surrender, but I couldn’t resist smiling at my brother. He didn’t deserve my attitude, even though I did feel like crap. He rolled his eyes at me playfully and we carried on inside.

“Damn it,” I cursed, running my fingers through my hair. I kept messing up during sound check, and I had a feeling this was going to be a horrible show.

“What’s his problem?” I heard Jaime ask Tony from the side. I rolled my eyes and walked off the stage, handing my guitar to the closest person and collapsing into a chair. I hunched over and took a shaky breath, burying my face into my hands.

I was angry at myself for acting this way. I should be happy today; my secret was out of the bag and my relationship with Charlie was great. The nightmare was just that—a nightmare, although it did stir up some unnecessary feelings. According to everyone else who didn’t know about what I dreamt, I was just in a bad mood for no reason. And I hated to be that guy, who was pissed off and making every one else miserable because they were having a rough day for whatever reason.

I sighed and leaned back. When I opened my eyes I saw my three fellow band members. I sighed again.

“I’m sorry guys,” I said genuinely.

“It’s okay buddy. We all have our rough days,” Jaime ruffled my hair. “Want to talk about it?” he asked. I shook my head.

“No, I’m fine. Just kept messing up. It’s fine,” I said, standing up.

“Okay. Why don’t you go for a walk or something, call Charlie, you’ll feel better. And then come back once you’re head is all clear and we’ll finish up and then get ready for the show,” Mike suggested, giving me a look meaning he knew I hadn’t talked to Charlie all day.

“Okay,” I sighed. “Sorry guys,” I mumbled, turning away.

I sighed and took out my phone. I still only had one text from Charlie—nothing else. I opened it and immediately smiled, also cursing at myself for not looking at this earlier.

“Hey, Vic… hope things are going well for you guys. Miss you already!” I smiled. It was simple, but I liked that. It was nice that she cared just enough without being clingy. Not that I would have minded if Charlie was clingy. I just hated the bimbo-clingy types. Charlie was definitely not one of those.

Instead of texting her back, I called her. She answered on the fifth ring.

“Hey, Vic!” she sounded excited.

“Hey, Charlie. How are you?” I asked, kicking a few stones as I walked around the venue.

“I’m good. I’m on break right now at work so you actually called at a good time,”she noted. “How are you?”

“That’s good. I’m alright… I kind of miss you… a lot…” I said. I wanted to face palm myself for how awkward I sounded.

“Aw, Vic. I miss you too,”she said softly. “But don’t forget to have fun.”

“I won’t,” I laughed, mentally noting not to over drink like last night, but not to become distant from everyone. “We're about to play a show, but I just wanted to talk to you. I’ve been sort of grumpy today,” I admitted, scratching the back of my neck.

“Oh, is everything okay?” she asked warmly.

“It is now,” I smiled. I loved to hear her voice; I didn’t really realize how much I cared about her until we were separated.

She giggled softly into the phone, and I longed to see her smile. We continued to talk for a few minutes—I told her about the success of the show last night, and she told me about how she was loving her job and the people she was working with already even though it’s only been a day.

I instantly felt so much better after talking to her. I wished that she had come along, but it was nice to be able to continue our own lives but still be together. I had to appreciate that.

“Take it easy, Vic. Talk to you soon,” Charlie said when I told her I had to go.

“Charlie, I…” I bit my lip. Not over the phone, Vic, I told myself. “Miss you,” I said softly, grimacing at myself.

I could almost hear her smile through the phone.

“I miss you, too Vic,” she replied.

“I’ll text you after the show, okay?” I said.

“Sounds good. Have a good one!” she said happily.

“Thanks, Char,” I bit my lip to prevent myself from letting a “Love you” slip out. “Bye,” I said slowly.

I laughed when I heard other people through the phone—I guess the people she worked with. “Oh, Charlie, who’s that?” one person giggled knowingly. “Shut up,” I heard her mutter playfully at the person. I grinned.

“Bye, Vic,” she said, mid laugh. I chuckled in amusement, hearing the sound of a slap and then a laugh before the line went dead.

I shook my head and snuck back into the venue, finally feeling much better about things. Just a simple matter of hearing her voice made all the difference.

“Welcome back, whipped man,” Mike teased.

I stuck my tongue out at him.

“Ah, brotherly love,” I heard Adam say, indicating that he had just taken a picture of us. Mike flipped the camera off and I pouted grumpily at the lens, while Adam snapped another picture.

“Okay, enough goofing around. I need to get these chords right,” I said, picking up my guitar.

“Uh, Vic,” Mike laughed nervously.

“What?”

“Sound check is over. Fans are already inside,” he said.

“Really? How long was I gone for?” I asked, looking around in disorientation. Mike grabbed my wrist and showed me the watch that I had forgotten I was wearing. “Oh, shit, sorry,” this time I laughed nervously. “Eh, they won’t notice if I mess up. I need to go warm up though,” I said. Mike shook his head. I grabbed my headphones and disappeared to an isolated part of backstage, humming and singing a little to warm up my vocal chords. I kept my head down as I warmed up, pacing around the room, not thinking about anything serious except the show that was coming up and occasionally how much I loved hearing Charlie’s voice.

Notes

All I can say is that I apologize for not updating in nearly two months! :(
Sorry this is so short and eh omg
I don't even know where I stand with this story right now.

Thanks for being patient, love you guys <3