Jaime arrived back at the venue just a ten minutes before they were suppose to go on. His errands had taken longer than he had anticipated. He wasn’t going to have time to talk to Vic the way he had wanted to, but it looked like Vic was avoiding him anyway. He was avoiding everyone, actually, and Jaime couldn’t help but wonder what was wrong with him.

‘Could it be over what I said when I left?’ he asked himself, hoping that it wasn’t as he approached Tony. Jaime was nervous about what he was going to try; his original plan was to ask Vic about it, but that didn’t seem like it was going to happen.

“Tony, you got a second?” he questioned as Tony looked up at him, tilting his head slightly to the side.

“Sure, man, what’s up?” Tony replied, hoping that he was about to get some insight on what happened this morning. He and Mike had agreed earlier to try and find out more information because the situation wasn’t effecting Vic very well.

“I want you to do something for me tonight…” Jaime preceded to explain his plan to Tony as quickly as he could. Tony’s face broke out in a grin as he listened to the hushed whispers; no matter how confusing the situation was, whatever Jaime was planning for his supposed girlfriend was adorable he thought.

“Awh, Jaime’s being romantic. She’s here tonight, I guess?”

“Yeah, you could say that...just shut up about it. Will you do it for me?”

“Hm…we’ll see. Just listen for me, okay?”

“Sure, yeah. Thanks, Turtle, I owe you one. Big time!”

“Yeah, yeah you really do,” Tony said with a laugh. Jaime slugged him in the arm, rolling his eyes before turning to follow Mike –who hadn’t be able to help noticing the conversation that just took place- onto the stage.

The show was one of their bests, and the crowd was one of their loudest. Vic had let his sadness wash away once he saw the sea of people there to see him. The sight never ceased to amaze him; he thought it was amazing that he and his friends could mean so much to so many people. It seemed like tonight’s set just flew by, much to Vic’s displeasure. He wished that he could just stay there with everyone for days on end, but that wasn’t possible. He smiled as he looked out over the crowd for the last time tonight. After he said his final words, he started walking around the stage, collecting confetti that hadn’t made it into the crowd and throwing it out over them. He didn’t notice when Tony started playing again, but Jaime did. He also didn’t catch himself humming along to the first verse of a song that he loved.

“But what if I was a secret
And you couldn’t keep it
And I swear I saw something good in your eyes before
And if I sang it in the right key
And I asked you politely for you to find a way home,” Jaime sang softly, the crowd harmonizing with him as he watched Vic’s head shoot up and his way. Vic may not have noticed the song at first, but now he knew exactly what he was hearing, and the way Jaime was looking at him made his heart ache. Was she here tonight? Why hadn’t he known Jaime was going to sing? Vic looked behind him, could she be back there? He didn’t realize that Jaime saw no one but him. He locked eyes with Jaime as his friend sang, listening to the voice he loved to hear more than his own until he heard something that shocked him so much that he lost his footing.

“Memories that make me smile,
A guy to stand there so he can admire the way
I can never really keep my hands to myself,” Jaime winked at him, and Vic slipped face first onto the stage as he collected the last of the confetti. He scrambled to pick his guitar back up so that he could finish the song up with Jaime. He put his heart into the song as he listened to Jaime sing, and it was now apparent to him who Jaime was singing to. He could feel his face burning as he listened to his best friends sing the last few lines.

He could feel his heart ache in his chest from how hard it was beating. Is this how Jaime is trying to apologize for having a girlfriend? Is he trying to say he lied earlier, and if he is…then where was he? Vic’s eyes dropped from his as he turned to Tony.

“When did you two plan that?” he asked with a forced, but happy, laugh.

“Before the show. He came up to me and started talking about doing it,” he said with a grin, having noticed the doe eyes Jaime was making the entire song.

“So that’s what you two were being so hush hush about! Next time clue me in, won’t you?” he teased.

Tony shrugged, “Nah, it’s more fun to watch you make out with the floor,” he stated with a slight nod as the two began to follow Mike off stage, waving at their fans. Jaime had disappeared, and Vic was grateful for that; he needed a little time to think about what happened out there. Jaime had changed something in the song that left Vic feel like he had even less of an idea of what was going on with their relationship than he previously had.

“Who’s that?” Mike asked, pointing somewhere to the left of Vic. He followed Mike’s eyes, his brows knitting together when he saw Jaime standing alone with some girl. She was wearing a backstage pass around her neck, possibly a photographer, and she was also very beautiful and laughing at whatever Jaime had just said.

‘Was she who he was really singing to tonight?’ Vic asked himself, ‘Did he just mess up the song?’ He was starting to hate Jaime for whatever was going on, he realized as Jaime noticed him.

“Vic! C’mere, there’s someone you need to talk to!” he called with a wide grin. Vic sat his guitar down and stuffed his hands in his pockets, walking over to a situation that he was sure would end in more heartbreak for him.

Notes

Uh-oh, Jaime, maybe Vic didn't realize your lie after all!
Oh my god! After I posted that last chapter I had 106 views, and now I'm at 229. Maybe there ARE people reading this! Writing this chapter was difficult because I know where it's going (and you guys don't, ehe). Not gonna say how it was difficult, though.
I just want to tell you guys that I love you so much. Thank you so much for reading.