This was it. He was actually here. Behind that very stage.

Victoria couldn't afford very good tickets, much less the gas to drive to Chicago, but she managed with Amy's help.

She couldn't even begin to describe the emotions that sat deep in her mind. She was anxious. She was sad. She was thrilled. She was excited seeing a band play. She was unsure of what she would say to him afterwards.

She was also eternally grateful for her good friend Amy to grease some elbows and get her backstage to see them. She'd get to see the boys again. She wasn't even sure if they would be glad to see her or not. She wasn't sure if Luke would be happy to see her either.

Victoria waited alongside Amy who had Max in her arms at the middle of the arena where the concert was held. Max was quiet for the most part instead of being loud and rambunctious like most of the crowd. It was probably the atmosphere that brought him down. He wasn't a fan of crowds, unlike his father.

"When are they coming out? It's been like an hour!" Amy yelled above the crowd's constant chatter into Victoria's ear.

She merely offered her a shrug and leaned in close to talk to Max,"How you feeling sweetie?"

He shyly recoiled from Amy's shoulder to look at his mother with one open eye. "I wanna go home Mama.."

"Don't you wanna see Daddy?" She cooed and brushed his blonde hair from his small, soft face.

He hesitated as Amy rocked him then nodded.

Victoria sighed and kissed her child's head. She was close enough for him to hear when she said,"Soon baby..soon."

A few moments later, the lights went out, and screams filled the whole stadium to the very brim. An Australian voice broke the loud silence. Victoria recognized it as Michael's.

"Good eveningggg Chicago! Are. You. Ready?!?!"

More screams rang, and Max wasn't sure how to handle it so he clung to Amy even tighter. Victoria and Amy shared a look, then they whipped their heads back towards the stage when lights and fog started to roll over it.

Victoria swore her heart swelled and mixed with happiness and regret when she saw Luke, Calum, Ashton and Michael with the biggest grin on their faces step out onto the stage already playing a song she didn't know. The little garage band she had met long ago now had it big. She didn't only look at Luke, she looked at all of them. She felt very proud.

It honestly hurt when she heard Luke's voice for real. In person. It hurt to see him again. She knew she had to hold it together after this concert and they met face to face backstage.

When it was over, the audience dispersed and a few guards walked their way. They scared Max as well, but Amy kept her grip tight on him. They shined their backstage pass badges, and without a word they smiled and nodded, and showed them the way to the stage.

--------------------------------

"Aside from your adorable voice crack babe, you did pretty well." Fionna complimented as they repeated the process of hanging out backstage while tech people shut things off and cleaned things up.

Luke pouted as he wrapped an arm around her and the other boys did their own thing,"I couldn't help it Fi.."

She giggled and placed a kiss on his cheek while stepping up on her tiptoes because this boy was so damn tall. "I know, I still love you." The blonde turned her gaze in the direction where guards stood for the backstage group. She narrowed her eyes at the spot as if someone was there, then turned to Luke with a sweet and innocent mask,"I'm gonna stay here while you meet these girls."

Luke raised a brow,"How do you know they're all girls?"

She shrugged and proceeded to stomp off a little precociously away from him to sit on a bench nearby, practically right behind Luke.

Luke shrugged too and thought,'hmm' and it didn't continue to think any more of it. He smiled at his boys that were now rough housing until one of his favorite body guards came up to him,"There's a group already here to see you guys."

"Bring em in!" Calum shouted with a huge, childish smile etched onto his face.

The guard turned and made a motion behind him for another guard to move. The curtain shifted and moved, then was pushed back to reveal just one girl.

Luke looked a little confused and so did the boys, but they stood in a clumped little group, eager and ready to meet this singular girl.

The corner where the curtain was was pitch black at first, but as she stepped towards the light, little by little more of her came to be revealed. Her small feet came first. She was wearing simple, white flats. Her legs came after, which was adorned in jean capris. Then her torso and upper body, she had an average sized chest, ironically Luke noticed, and he saw she was wearing a tight, burgundy-ish long sleeved v neck that wasn't too deep.

It was when her beautiful, pale and slightly freckled face hit the faint light that all of the boys recognized who she was. Her heart shaped face smiled meekly, and her brown eyes met all of the other boys' except Luke's.

"Victoria!"

"Victoria.." Luke repeated with a dead pan.

"Hey boys." She simply greeted. Her eyes scanned the boys through the line, then stopped at Luke who was next to Ashton at the end of the line.

Luke was sure that she was feeling the same thing he was. Anxiety. Sadness. Hurt, and joy. He wouldn't lie to himself and say that he wasn't happy to see her. After 5 years she still looked good. A smile crept up on his lips when he remembered her in that cute little dress the night they met. God, she still looked good.

Victoria saw him smile, so she smiled back. Was he actually happy to see him?

"How've you been?" The phrase seemed to drip seamlessly from his mouth.

"Funny you say that.." Victoria's smile and body language became more awkward. She shifted her weight to her opposite foot,"You've been busy I see."

You have no idea, said Luke's mind.

His lips followed another track of his brain and spoke the words he didn't want to,"Nah..just..you know. Doing what I love." He modestly shrugged.

Victoria grinned wider and shook her head. Did he actually grow up?

"I'm honestly glad to see th--"

A commotion put their conversation to a halt; Michael raised his voice and spoke with the other boys in a small but loud whisper/mumble, then gazed at Luke.

"We'll be by the bus, Luke,"

Victoria silently thanked Mikey for not being a daft ass and watching them have this conversation.

As the boys drifted off, Victoria's eyes went back to Luke, who she could tell didn't take his eyes off of her. It honestly felt wonderful. But just as fast as the two smiled, a new girl approached from out of the shadows behind Luke. Victoria automatically slunk back. She felt like the princess about to be devoured by the evil witch. And this girl certainly looked the part. Her arms were firmly crossed and pinched by the tight folds of her tiny leather jacket, and the look on her face could've scared a baby. With her blonde bleached hair and rough, revealing clothes, she looked like a definite punk rocker. That's when she realized she was perfect for Luke. When this new presence stepped out and revealed herself, scowling, Victoria mimicked her every movement.

Her voice sounded as annoying to Victoria's ears as she thought it would. "Luke..who is this?"

Before Luke could get a word out and a glance of Fionna, Victoria spoke up for herself,"My name." She cleared her throat and stepped out of her scared, princess shell,"Is Victoria Blanche. And I'm afraid I don't know you." Tori elegantly conversed with a smile on her face.

Fionna caught sight of her snottiness and pushed her brow together so it scrunched,"Fionna. And my last name doesn't matter to you."

Luke watched on with wide and confused eyes, looking back and forth from Victoria then back to Fionna.

"You're right. I don't much care to know it." Victoria shrugged.

This pissed Fionna off so much she went childish. She sneered and stamped on the ground as she turned to Luke who was still looming over the two.

"Luke! Who is she?!"

"I just told you my name.." Victoria curled her lips into a smirk and turned her line of vision to Luke who looked like a dumbfounded puppy. The look she gave him could've been interpreted as cocky, or disappointed. "You sure do know how to pick em..don't you Luke?"

At this, Luke became offended and narrowed his eyes. Fionna was brighter than most, and was sure as hell a lot kinder than the redhead staring back at him.

"Fi, babe." He stared at Victoria with slowly angering eyes,"Could you give us a moment?"

Fionna saw the look in Luke's eyes and mirrored it when she whirled around to face Victoria. She studied her, then went right back around and left the way Michael, Calum and Ashton went. The two were now alone.

Both of their eyes burned into the other, amplifying their deep emotions. Victoria wanted to be the first to speak, but Luke beat her to it and said with a more than upset expression,"Why did you say that?"

The question threw her off a bit, she figured there were way more important questions. Apparently not.

She didn't say that though,"It's pretty obvious why I said that Luke."

"You didn't have to be so bitchy about it." He threw out the word like it was a sincere insult, and in their case it was.

"I wasn't bitchy." Victoria hurled it right back at him. She crossed her arms again,"I was being truthful."

Luke just shook his head with it cast halfway down,"You're just as I remembered."

It was Victoria's turn to be hurt now. Her strong, sassy attitude faltered, and now she was the blubbering, heartbroken crybaby again. She held one hand to her heart and left the other at her side, her brow changing from furrowed downwards to upwards.

"You know," Luke started, casting his eyes back on her,"I was actually glad to see you when you came back here. Now, I realize that I shouldn't have been."

Victoria fought back with reason that made sense in her head, but it was only a facade. The only mask she knew how to wear. "Luke, all I said was that she seemed dumb! I never actually called her that!"

"Yeah? But you meant it and you know you did! Just like before, you always think you're so much fucking better than everyone else!" At this point he raised his voice and clenched every muscle he could in anger. This girl he knew for so long, who he loved so long and was rejected by, hadn't changed in the course of 5 years. It was a pity. Maybe they'd have a chance together if he and Fionna fell out. "You're still a Little Miss Rich Girl, Tori. Always will be."

"Luke.." VIctoria said, hurt and holding back a crack in her voice.

"Stop. Why the hell did you come all the way here anyway?" He spat back, his movements almost spastic with anger and frustration. They were quick as a result of his emotions, he ended up standing face to face with Tori now, whose head was downcast innocently to hide her tears. "Victoria?"

She slowly lifted up her head at the sound of her full name and the pair's eyes met once again. Hers were shimmering brown, full of tears that begged to fall, but resisted. Luke's burning blue were still blazing, but at the sight of his once Tori, his rage faltered.

"I'll show you." She simply said.

With a small gesture, and a quick,"Amy," A new figure emerged from the curtains behind Victoria.

Luke recognized her as Amy, one of Tori's best friends, and probably one of the girls that convinced her to dump his sorry ass. He may have been biased, but he didn't care. She was just like Tori and he hated her anyway. He watched as another, smaller figure ran up beside her. Its foosteps were literally a small pitter patter against the floor.

A haunting realization hit him when the shadow became a little, blonde haired boy that came running up behind Victoria's heels. His little voice matched his age and height when he uttered a lovable,"Mama!" and hugged Victoria's legs.

Luke's mouth drifted softly apart once his eyes were laid on the boy. His eyes were almost identical to the beautiful soft tan of Victoria's. And his face was slightly rounded, chubby, perfect for a small child. If you looked at a picture of Luke when he was young, then at the boy before him, you would say they were approxiamtely identical.

"Mama?"

His mother and Luke locked eyes, both matched in emotion. Luke knew, but he said so with sad eyes.

"When?"

Victoria shook her head, distraught eyes down on her son,"We shouldn't talk about it with Max arou--"

"Max?" Luke breathed out, his lips trembling. Luke's loss for words was most likely effect for the sudden change of his emotions. He was angry, furious at Victoria. Seeing this young boy in front of him, calling Victoria "Mama". He had no choice but to feel..a strange mix of sadness and loneliness with an odd sense of being overjoyed.

"Max Blanche." Victoria's friend Amy cut in and stepped up beside her, nose turned up. This made Luke glare, but he looked down at the child: Max, and smiled again.

"Max.." Luke repeated, then began to lower himself and kneel. His smile grew even brighter when Max locked eyes with him.

"Are you my Daddy?" The little boy smiled toothily with a thumb in his mouth and a shine in his eyes similar to Luke.