I was just sitting backstage, watching Austin Carlile scream his little heart out, when I felt a warm hand land on my shoulder. A rose curling around it just under the elbow.

"Hey," smiled a girl about my age. She had shoulder-length chocolate brown hair with hazel eyes and a glowing tan. Her smile was so bright it made me want to spill all my secrets. She was kneeling in front of me, trying to to see what was wrong.

"Hi," I whimpered. I was afraid she'd hate me, too.

"I'm Kathy," her eyes softened as she sat down next to me.

"I'm Carter. Apparently I'm some sort of slut because I fell in love with someone right after my ex broke up with me even though I found out he had been cheating on me."

"Man, Carter, that's rough. I can't say I've ever had that happen to me, but I will say I'm sorry," she said, trying to make me feel better.

"I don't want your pity," I huffed.

"I'm not giving you my pity," she chuckled. "I'm saying that you shouldn't be considered a slut just because your asshole ex says you are. Now, Ruby and Logan are worried sick. Lucky for them, I managed to catch you before the boys go onstage. They're worried sick, hon. All of them."

"Jaime isn't..." I mumbled.

"He's the most worried of all Carter. He's in his dressing room crying because of how bad you hurt him," she gave me a sympathetic look.

"All I wanted was for him to say 'Can't we work this out? I love you.' But he didn't. He didn't even fight for me," I sniffled.

"Jaime let you go because he knows you're dealing with a lot right now and he didn't want you to feel any worse," she stated.

"I just, I don't even know. I want somebody to love me and never let me go," I sighed.

"Carter, I think you're trying too hard to fall back in love. You and Oli just broke up. Let Jaime take you on a date and sweep you off your feet slowly," she smiled.

"You're right, Kathy. Thank you," I smiled and she pulled me up.

Now Austin was walking offstage towards me. He met my eyes and did nothing but hug me. A wordless hug full of compassion and comfort.

"I don't care if they say you're a slut, you totally aren't. I saw you and Jaime the day you ate Chinese food backstage, which was delicious by the way," he winked. "You were clearly head over heels for him and him for you. I think Oli's just jealous because you're not his play thing anymore."

I smiled to the ground, happy that someone knows more than just Oli's side of the story.

"Come on!" Yelled Austin as he and Kathy both grabbed an arm and dragged me through the crowds all the way across the venue to the backstage area where the rest of the boys were waiting anxiously.

"Carter!" Yelled Ruby and Logan yelled, smushing me in between them. "We were so worried. Lo thought you did something drastic, but I was like, 'she'll be back'," Ruby smiled.

"I'm back," I smiled.

"Are you okay?" Vic asked quietly, blushing when his eyes met Kathy's.

"No," I stated.

"What happened?" He asked, his voice flooded with concern.

"We went too fast and we crashed. He didn't even fight for us. I guess we just needed to take it slow so that I could really get over Oli," I sighed to the floor.

"Jaime's really torn up about it, you know," Vic said, more to himself than to me. Like he wanted me to hear it, but he didn't.

"It doesn't matter. He made his priorities pretty clear."

"Don't forget, you're the one who ended it," Vic warned walking away.

The boys all ran onstage to a bunch of applause. The crowd went wild while Tony practically had sex with his guitar, Mike headnaged on the drums, and Vic sang his heart out. But Jaime wasn't himself. He tried to be his normal, bubbly self, but he failed miserably. When they played Caraphernelia, he stared straight at me the whole song. By the end, he wouldn't even meet my eyes.

"Hey, Carter!" Said Austin walking up behind me.

"Yeah?"

"I'm kidnapping you and taking you to a party tonight. You need to cut loose and just have fun," he said, picking me up and spinning me around.

"Fine. But, I'm not drinking," I said sternly.

"Yeah. Because you're all straight-edge and hardcore and you don't drink. I got it," he chuckled and put me down.

"Yeah. I'm the hardcore one," I rolled my eyes.

"You are, though!"

"I don't have tattoos and scream for a living!" I punched him in the arm.

"Yeah," he chuckled. "Not quite as hardcore as me."

"Get out of her, Carlile!" I laughed and punched him in the arm.

He raised his arms in defeat. "Okay, okay. I'm going. No need to bring out the big guns!" He laughed.

"I'm picking you up tonight after the last set. Be ready!" He yelled and walked away.

I felt Jaime glaring at me from the stage. I didn't even care anymore. He let me go, and I'm going to have fun tonight.

"Carter, don't do this," Ruby pleaded.

"Why not?"

"Jaime really does care about you. That's why he's letting you have your space."

"Yeah? Well, maybe I just want to have some fun for once without being called a slut. I just want to feel alive for once."

"Then feel alive with Jaime. Don't do this."

"Ruby, we're going to the party as friends. I'm not going to sleep with him," I was starting to get frustrated.

"I'm not worried about you, I'm worried about him," she sighed. "But do what you want."

"Thank you, Ru," I smiled. "I'm going to dance until my heart stops breaking."

I walked off before Jaime could walk offstage and stop me.

Notes

Song Credit: Caraphernelia - Pierce the Veil
Shit went down, I added Kathy for SmileWhileYouCan.
Thanks you to all of my lovely commenters and subscribers!
Yeah, I'd really piling on the drama, aren't I? Haha :)