Cara's POV I had been thinking a lot lately. Thinking about my past, about my dad, my mom, my grades, and mostly Vic. I couldn't deny that I felt something for him; maybe it was the way he looked at me, or the way he said my name. Something about him just attracted me to him. If only he felt the same way. I really wasnt sure what he felt for me. I wasn't exactly an expert on boys, I didn't understand them. I've dated a few times before in high school but it had never meant anything. But what I felt for Vic... It was like a tiny spark that could start a wildfire in my veins, it was different. It felt real. Maybe he felt something for me too... Or maybe I was just another friend to him, If that. I stared blankly at my computer. The week had dragged by slowly: no texts from Vic, and I was too nervous to contact him myself. Evelyn and I hadn't seen each other since Monday, and now it was Thursday. This paper was absolutely killing the both of us; I had only tonight to get a ten page paper written when I had nothing typed up. My stomach churned. I couldn't focus. I glanced at my phone once, twice, three times. The screen stayed dark. I bit my lip and reached for it, pulling up contacts and scrolling down to Vic. I sat there staring at the contact for an estimated ten minutes, debating whether or not I should text him. Finally selected 'message' and tapped at the screen a bit. Hi. :) -C Before I could back out I pressed send and then launched the phone onto my bed. Why would he even want to talk to me? He was probably groaning looking at his phone right now. I silently prayed the screen stayed dark the rest of the night. Soon I went back to staring at the computer screen, hunched over my white desk in thought. What was courage? How do I explain courage? Courage is something you do, not write about. Wait... My phone made a noise, pulling me out of my thought process with a groan of frustration. My only idea in four days and now it was gone. I slid my chair back, slowly moving toward my bed as if the message would disappear if I moved to quick. '1 new message: Vic' flashed across the screen. My pulse quickened as I picked up the phone and read the text. Hey :) I've been meaning to text you all night. -V He had been meaning to text me? I couldn't stop the stupid grin from spreading across my face. The fear seemed to wash out of my body as I messaged him back. Haha, what's been stopping you? -C Oh, you know... - V And I did know. Nerves. Doubts. Everything that had been running through my mind for the past 4 hours. Lack of courage. Can't wait to see you tomorrow :) -C I set my phone down on my desk and stared at my screen again. Courage was something I had just demonstrated, something I usually lacked but, because of Vic, I had embodied. And suddenly I had it. I had the perfect paper, the perfect idea. I scrolled down to the bottom of the page and typed up three words, and three words only: THIS IS COURAGE. I printed out what might be the worst or best grade of my life, attached nine blank pages and my name, then climbed into bed. Friday... The next day, Evelyn slouched down next to me in Prof. Hanks' class and claimed she was running on all Monsters. "I got zero sleep last night," She groaned, slapping her ten page paper onto her desk. "This beast kept me up until class. Can you believe that!?" I couldn't help but laugh at her. "Let me see your paper." She pouted, holding out her hand. I clutched mine to my chest with a shake of the head. "Ah... no. It's a secret." I improvised. I had to admit, I was super insecure about this idea. He could easily fail me for lack of words, information, sources, etc. ... then again, it was courage. That was what he wanted, right? That courage had escaped me as of right now. "Alright everyone!" Hanks called at the end of class. "Don't forget to turn in your papers, no late acceptances this time." He tilted his glasses down to stare directly at Eve, who waved her paper in the air dramatically. I giggled at her and made my way down the steps, dropping mine into the pile and heading out the door with my best friend. "Next stop: the concert!" Hollered Eve. - - -
"You didn't get tickets?!" Evelyn shook me by the shoulders as we stood near the gate of the concert; it was taking place at an outdoor location with a makeshift stage. We were a few feet away from the large silver fence, and of course, the concert. "I said I'd handle it!" I shook her back, pressing my phone to my ear. Vic answered on the first ring. "Cara! Are you here yet?" He sounded... happy. Happy to hear from me. I tried to hide the smile in my voice but it was almost impossible. "Yeah I'm here! I er, brought a friend. I hope that's okay." "Totally, cool. I'll meet you at the gate in a few." "Okay, see you then." I hung up the call and slid my phone into my pocket. "Who was that?" It was Eve, staring at me with wide eyes. She was going to flip out... This should be interesting. "You'll see soon." Evelyn gave me an incredulous look but kept quiet anyways. A few minutes later I saw him -- well, I heard the fans outside the gate shriek as they handed their tickets to security to get inside. It was absolute chaos. I saw him wave to the crowd and then his eyes found me. He looked so handsome. His hair was covered by a black beanie, his arms bare and torso covered with a basketball jersey that read D E A D on the front. His legs covered by skinny jeans and feet with Vans. His arms though... I grinned and gave him a wave, which he returned and then motioned to a security guard at us. It was a chain reaction: one after another each guard whispered something to each other and gestured toward us until the guard closest to us began to lead us to the front of the gate. Fans pushed and shoved against us, some screaming directly in my ear, others shoving me against one another. It reminded me of why I never went to concerts in the first place. Soon enough we were through the wave of fans and I could finally talk to Vic again. Vic's POV I was messing around a little with my guitar back stage while Tony, Mike and Jaime were all shouting and getting pumped for tonight's concert, which was in about 45 minutes. I, on the other hand, was anxiously awaiting any sign of Cara. "You alright man? You look a little stressed." Tony clapped me on the back. "Is it Becky?" "Who? Oh, no." I chuckled a little; Tony had hated Brooke, but in all honesty, I had almost completely forgotten about her. "There's this other girl..." His face was the look of surprise. "Dude, it's only been a week and you're already rebounding? I don't know if I should congratulate you or slap some sense into you." "She's not a rebound," I began, a little too defensively. "I just think she's cool is all." By the way he eyed me I could tell he wasn't buying my bluff. "Whatever you say." He strummed his guitar once before heading over toward Mike. I breathed a sigh of relief when I felt the phone vibrate in my pocket. Hearing her voice again instantly brightened my mood. I wasn't in a bad mood before but she always seemed to make me happier no matter what. This girl was really getting to me. As soon as she said she was waiting outside I waved toward the guys and headed toward the front gate to get her inside. She looked beautiful. The security guards fended off the fans until she was inside the fence, and I couldn't help myself but to wrap her in my arms. She seemed stiff at first, like she hadn't expected it, but loosened up and hugged me back. That was a good sign. I was reluctant to let go of her, but by the way Cara's friend was gawking at her, it was clear she hadn't mentioned any of this yet. I took a step back and settled with wrapping an arm around her shoulder, beginning to walk them toward the stage. "It's good to see you again." I couldn't help but smile when she was around. "It's good to see you too." Her eyes were almost alight with excitement. I pulled her closer to me. "Oh," She began. "I almost forgot, this is my friend -" "Evelyn." her friend butted in, staring at me with wide eyes and offering a hand. She was a short blonde with short hair. Her appearance seemed sweet but her attitude made her seem like a spitfire. "Vic." I gave her a smile, shaking her hand and tugging it out of her tight grip. Next to me I felt Cara's shoulders shake from laughter. "I'm sorry... She's sort of a big fan." "Oh, and you're not? I'm offended!" I joked, feigning hurt and pressing a hand to my chest. She giggled and elbowed me, and I swear I had died and gone to heaven. "Ten minutes!" Someone shouted from the back stage door. "Ooh shit, that's my cue. The guys won't be too happy with me. I want you two to come back stage after, if that's cool with you?" "Definitely." Cara grinned at me, while her friend, Evelyn, nodded her head at me with wide eyes. As if my body had disconnected from my mind, I couldn't stop myself from leaning forward and kissing Cara on the cheek. It was evident that she wasn't too comfortable around me yet, but something in me had been craving to touch her since I laid eyes on her. The last thing I wanted to do was scare her away though, so I had to settle with the small steps first. I met her eyes one last time and gave her the warmest smile I could muster before cutting behind the two girls. "See if you can get to front row." I whispered to the blonde, Evelyn, who scowled at me in question when I met her eyes. I simply gave her a thumbs up and waved at the two before heading back stage. I had a plan, and it wasn't much, but it might be good enough to loosen Cara up a little. Cara's POV I nearly froze in place when he kissed me on the cheek. It wasn't that I didn't want him to, because I definitely did, but I hadn't been expecting it at all. Guys were hardly ever interested in me, and when they were I usually pushed them away, but Vic was different. When he hugged me, I wanted to wrap my legs around his waist. When he kissed my cheek, I wanted to kiss his lips. I hadn't felt like this about anyone in so long, and this feeling was coming back with a vengeance. I caught Vic's eyes just in time to see him waving and heading back stage, and I eagerly waved back until he vanished. Evelyn stood next to me with a confused look on her face, but when I questioned her, she wouldn't spill. "Wait..." She began. "So that 'Vic' text was about VIC FUCKING FUENTES?! WHY WAS HE IN A STARBUCKS ON A MONDAY NIGHT?!" She practically shouted at me, to which I could only laugh at. "Okay, okay, don't be too mad but... I didn't have to work. I wanted to work on my paper, not party." She glowered at me but urged me to go on. I told her all about how I went there for homework, and how I'd watched him stumble outside and pass out. I told her how I hadn't recognized him the entire time and how sweet and silly he had been, and how I'd given him a fake number instead of my real number. I swear to the higher powers she had almost choked me when she heard that part. "Why on earth wouldn't you give him your number?! He's a rockstar for fucks sake!" She shook my shoulders as if she were waking me from a bad dream. "He was wasted and I found him in a parking lot. I didn't even know he was famous. Besides, even if I did I wouldn't have given it out. He was a stranger. And a drunk one, at that." I simply shrugged. Eve sighed at me and took hold of my wrist dragging me toward the stage. "If there's one thing I love about you, its your fairness. And your natural stupidity." She sighed dramatically, which earned a laugh from me. "I know you love me." I teased. "It's my only fault." Eve rolled her eyes and plunged into the heart of the crowd with me. About 400 screaming, sweaty bodies later, we were almost to the front. "Why do we have to be at the front anyways?!" I shouted over the fangirls shrieking in my ear. "Because," She breathed, shoving another skimpily dressed girl out of her way and earning a glare, a glare that was hardly noticeable under the loads of makeup she had on. "He invited you to a concert and got you in for free, you're obviously here for a reason!" It was a crappy excuse but I went along with it anyways. I allowed her to drag me through the crowd the rest of the way until we hit the barricade. "FINALLY." She nearly collapsed onto the railing, panting out of effort. Like the rest of the crowd, we were both now sweaty and gross looking. "Eve... I don't really want him to see me like this. I look like I just ran through the sprinklers." I complained glancing down at my clothes. "NO, you look incredible as always. And he's gonna love seeing you in the front row. So suck it up because I did not nearly break my arms fighting people to get us up here all for nothing." She finished with a 'huff' noise. I had to admit, she was pretty great. A few minutes later there was commotion and one man, Mike, ran out onto the stage to take the drums. The crowd behind us went absolutely nuts, and I couldn't help but cheer a little myself. A second came out, Tony, with his guitar ready to go. He played a few chords and threw his hat to the crowd, which was cheering even louder now. Next was Jaime, the man that had helped Vic back into the car the first night. He ran out to our side of the stage and pointed directly at me, most likely recognizing me from that night as well. I gave him a little wave while Evelyn nearly screamed bloody murder. The only one left was Vic, and when I saw him run out onto the stage I felt my heart flutter. "What the fuck is up San Diego?!" He shouted into the mic, earning the loudest cheer yet from the crowd. "Alright, you might know it... This one's called 'The First Punch'." The band began playing behind him, Tony flipping his hair and Jaime sticking his tongue out while Mike went crazy on the drums. My eyes found their way back to Vic who was grinning at me from the stage. I knew the lyrics to a few of their songs, and luckily this was one I knew, so when he began singing I was able to sing along. The way he ran around the stage, it looked as if he was having the time of his life. Next to me Evelyn was jumping up and down with the crowd, shouting the lyrics at the stage. "Speak slow now, I don't wanna miss when you cry..." Vic headed toward our side of the stage, outstretching his hand to me. I reached out and took it, and he intertwined our fingers. "Glass over diamond blue eyes," he sang to me, his mesmerizing brown eyes staring into my own... blue eyes. I couldn't help but smile at that. "And its good enough to make me wanna fall in love! So move a little bit closer, hear the sound of your voice," I was grinning like an idiot as he released my hand and headed back to the middle of the stage to sing the rest of the song. And I sang along. - - - -
The set was almost over now. They played so many songs, and a few that I was surprised to find I knew by heart. Those were the ones I could play on the acoustic though, which didn't shock me too much. "Alright, we're almost done here." Vic said into the mic, practically panting. The crowd let out a roar that brought a smile to his face. "We're gonna sing one more song." Once again the guys began playing a familiar tune, one I was able to recognize: Yeah Boy and Doll Face. Watching Vic sing was incredible. Anyone could see that the band poured their hearts and souls into their music. I stared in awe as he closed his eyes and screamed into the mic while his hands flew across his guitar simply out of memory. "Can I even," he sang into the mic, looking up to the crowd and then meeting my eyes. "Complicate your breathing? I guess I'm just your average boy." Oh how wrong he was. When he hit the chorus the audience went wild, including me. I had given up trying to contain myself -- it was my first concert after all, and I wanted to make it memorable. Something told me, though, that I would remember this for a long time. My hands were in the air and I was jumping up and down with Evelyn who was shouting the lyrics at the top of her lungs. Vic let the guitar hang on him and snatched up the mic, running toward the other side of the stage, finishing up the chorus, and then running toward ours. He pointed directly at me, his eyes closed as he screamed into the microphone. "SHE CAN MAKE HELL FEEL just like home," I couldn't keep the stupid grin off my face. "So I'm never leavin' her alone." The girls around me all went wild, all believing he had pointed to them. But I knew better. When the song finished up and the band waved goodbye, I cheered just as loud as every other girl in the crowd. - - - - -
This chapter went a lot longer than I thought, so I just stopped it here. I hope you all enjoyed!

someone commented for more and since i have this entire story written why the hell not B) here u go
-K.

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