SURPRISE! :D

I was already thinking of updating this chapter earlier than normal but what really convinced me was the fact that this really amazing girl called nimrodxx who started to read this story even though she has a rule of not reading unfinished stories. Once she left a comment in the 23rd chapter I decided to not keep her waiting for days for this chapter and decided to update it today :3

So yeah, you have her to thank for this chapter XD

So, this is the end you guys. When you finish reading this chapter you'll know what will happen now, but until then, I'll keep you all wondering for a little more ;3

Thanks to all the awesome people that have accompanied me along this story, the ones that were with me almost since the beginning and the ones that came afterwards. I'm equally grateful to all of you guys for your votes and comments and your support, it really means a lot to me. As I continued updating this story I came to wait anxiously for your votes and comments, I started to update just to read your comments. I have to say that some times your comments were the only good part of my day and made my day, but throughout it all, you guys always made me smile with your comments and votes.

Whenever I updated a chapter in Ollie's POV I'd think that XxToffeTicTacxX would love it because she always had a soft spot for Ollie. Whenever I left something unclear on purpose I wondered if LUXURY123 would notice it and ask me about it, or if she'd come up with some weird explanation that somehow sounded totally plausible. With every chapter I updated I always wondered what TheyCallMeMuffin/ItsMuffinBro/chica123forever/Baby_Muffy would focus on this time, she always notices and comments on the most weird things, but she's awesome and I love her like that. Lately I've wondered what WolfieGirl1997 would think whenever there was a cute or lovey-dovey scene between Ollie and Sal in a chapter (by the way, you're going to LOVE this chapter), and when they got together after they fought I literaly waited patiently for the notification of her comment to reach my email, checking it every five minutes.

I've also wondered lately what 14CaraBane would notice and comment on in the chapter. And I remember some readers that I had early on the story but that simply stopped voting and commenting, like Xiann2, xXSweetSorrowXx, Jaxxdarkstarz, LostAstronomer, and others, I hope that they're still reading and following this story and know that I remember them. There also are the ones that always vote like Sarbambi, Jazzie96, KortnieKatastrophe, sannemonster, Marshmellow13, LittleMistakable, liyahmxoxo, and many others, don't worry, I know your names and I know who you are, I just don't want to make this longer than it already is XD

So to end this and let you guys get to the final chapter, thank you all for reading this! I really hope that you enjoyed this story ^^

Let me know what you think!

Hope you enjoy,

-> Desyre

Added note: I know that sign language, if it were to be written down in words, is not actually structured the way I structured it when Sal talked. The sentence structure is much simpler, and seems a lot like when Tarzan talks. Only the necessary words are used. But what they mean is what I wrote down in Sal's replies. A few words more a few words less, the meaning and message is still the same. Hope you don't mind that I added more words than there really are, I found it weird to write the sentences like they would've actually been structured.

Oliver

                After that Saturday the stress of the finals finally caught up with us. I would even say it caught up with everyone. Even the teachers left us alone for the remainder of the week. Oh. And practices were more like study sessions than real practices. It all started on Monday when we decided to have one of the three meetings we were supposed to have during the week. Sal and I arrived late as usual, but instead of being received by yelling, we were received by silence. While the guys waited for us someone had come up with some question about one of the subjects. When it was answered another came up and so on.

                When we arrived they were nose deep in books and notebooks. They were each studying for different subjects and we joined in. We said it would be only be for a little while before we started band practice. Before we even realized it, it was already time for us to go home and we hadn't practiced at all. Em was furious making us promise to be in time for the next practice and saying that we would practice. The next practice something similar happened and it happened again on the third meeting. So by the time finals finished we were all sure we had passed but Em was less than happy about us not practicing at all.

"You need to see what you have in front of you woman. Didn't you notice that every time Kev made a comment he started to say it in his usual cocky and I-know-it-all tone but then changed it up? Didn't you notice that we didn't fight? That we studied in peace and helped each other out? I told you before that the music is fine Em, what we need to work on is working together, and that was exactly what we did this past week. Even Kev and Dust got along, how could you not notice that?"

                It was Saturday afternoon and Em had called us for a meeting in her house. She had bitched left and right about us not practicing and all that. Finally Sal had lost his patience and exploded.

"We'll see about that when next week comes around and we have to start to practice for the gig next weekend," Em said through gritted teeth before going into the house again.

                Sal sighed and I wrapped my arm around him to give him support. Fighting with someone always wore him down and even more when it was with someone he loved.

"We can't do anything else, man. We just need to wait for next week and start practicing for the gig, show her that we really are getting better and stuff," Dust said getting off of the couch and making his way to the door. "See you Monday guys, please try not to be late, I think we have enough of Em's moodiness as it is."

"I'll be taking my leave too, see you," Kevin said quickly leaving as well.

                I looked at Sal with a questioning look and he just shrugged his shoulders. I had to find a way of cheering him up a little bit. I smiled as an idea started forming in the back of my head. I got up, dragging Sal up along with me, and took us both to the car. I had felt particularly lazy today and decided to ask permission to take the car. As I drove, I texted my mom, which shouldn't be done, by the way, telling her that I was taking Sal out and that we would be back late. She said that it was alright as long as we didn't arrive stinking of alcohol and the car stayed in one piece. I smiled and put my concentration back on the road.

"Text Mina and tell her you're going to stay in my house tonight," I said turning to give Sal a smile.

                He gave me a questioning look and my smile just got even bigger.

"You'll see when we get there," I said before turning back to the road.

                It was a little surprise I had been planning for Sal since the time we went up to the city for my parents' anniversary. I knew our two month anniversary was coming up and I had been looking for something special for Sal. While we were walking around the city I noticed a flyer about some musical event. It involved a lot of rock bands and it was supposed to take place throughout this week. The bands played for several days in the city before they moved on to a city in the next state. I didn't know all that much about bands but I did recognize some of Sal's favorites in the list of bands. Our anniversary wasn't until Wednesday, but I thought that Em wasn't going to let us miss a day of practice for anything in the world. So I decided that the real gift was this one and the cuddly romantic celebration would be on Wednesday.

                I was going to work my butt off doing all the house chores in the house for a long time, but it was worth asking my mom for the money to buy them. After all, it was for Sal and he was worth everything for me. Good thing I had been carrying the tickets around with me, looking for a time to breach the topic to Sal but never finding one until today. We still had a couple of hours before the show, so I thought maybe we could eat somewhere. Once we got to the city I took the exit that would lead us to the mall, and parked the car in the parking lot beside it. It was a good thing I knew my way around the city and knew which parking lots stayed open late and which didn't. I got out and went to open Sal's door. Sal got out and gave me a questioning look.

"What are we doing here?"

"It's a surprise babe, I can't answer that," I said wrapping my arm around his waist and leading us out into the streets.

"Is there food involved? Because I think I could eat a horse."

                I chuckled and decided to tease him a little.

"There's a steak house around here somewhere. We can ask if they have horse tonight."

"Butthead."

"Your butthead," I said smiling.

"Damn right."

                I chuckled and placed a small chaste kiss on Sal's lips.

"So what do you want to eat?" I asked looking up at him.

"How about pizza?"

"Oh. We can buy a big one and share it. I love sharing with you," I said moving us through the busy streets towards the best pizza joint I knew.

"No, you love doing stupid things while you share with me, like licking sauce of my lips and kissing me right after I drink the soda to share it with me." Sal gave me a mock glare but I knew that he loved doing those things too.

"Well, that's part of sharing the pizza with you," I said holding open the door for Sal.

"Yeah and the last time you did that we nearly got run off the place. I'm not going to share with you, buy your own damn pizza." When we went in Sal grabbed an empty table knowing I would place our orders.

                I chuckled and got in the line. It was better to be safe than sorry, so when my turn came up, I bought two pizzas and two sodas. I went to sit while our orders were ready and Sal gave me the evil eye.

"If you bought one pizza for the both of us you're going to have to buy a second one and see how the fuck you eat all that food."

"I bought two, don't worry. I know when you're kidding about something and when you're not babe," I said smiling at Sal.

                It was really amazing, considering how long we had known each other, how much I knew about him and vice versa. I wasn't sure but I thought it had been about four months since we first met. If you had told me four, no, five months ago, that I was going to have a family again, and fall in love, and be able to compose, and leave the orphanage, and have friends, and sing in a band, I think I would've laughed in your face. Which is a lot considering that I didn't even smile back then, much less laugh. I heard my name being called and got up to go get our pizzas.

                I had to make two trips but when I could finally sit down and eat, I sat down right next to Sal. He squinted at me and I just smiled leaning down to kiss him. It was supposed to be a soft kiss, something gentle and quick. But I found I really couldn't pull back. I bit Sal's lower lip and he opened up for me without hesitation. I pushed my tongue into his mouth, loving the way he always tasted sweet. When I finally pulled away, we were panting. I was pretty sure that we were being stared at but I could've cared less. Sal's cheeks turned red and I just smiled at him.

"I love you," I said simply, placing another kiss on his lips before digging into my pizza.

                It took Sal a few moments to react but he did the same as I did, ducking his head as low as he could. He was probably trying to hide from the stares. We ate slowly and in silence, enjoying our company without the need of words, like we always did. When we were done and back on the busy streets of the city, Sal punched me in the arm. I rubbed it, giving him a mock glare. I had been expecting this, after all, I really did know him.

"That's for embarrassing me back there, I bet they're not going to let us back in."

"Who cares? We don't even live here. And there are a lot of pizza joints in here. We can always go somewhere else," I said.

"That's not the point, the point is that we were in a public place, where people could see us without even trying."

"I'm not kissing you ever again," I said pouting.

"Yeah, right, like you can resist my snakebites."

                We both chuckled at that. It was no secret to anyone that had seen us kiss that I really loved playing with Sal's snakebites. We wandered around for a bit, apparently without a destination, but I was slowly leading us to the place where tonight's show was being held. Once we arrived I lead us inside and towards the line. Sal was looking more and more confused until he saw one of the banners and I thought that was when the shoe fell.

"No way."

                Sal turned to look at me all wide eyed and I chuckled.

"Yes way," I said passing him his ticket.

"Ollie. God. This is. I don't know. How did you. God."

                That was the first time I ever saw Sal stumble like that. It was like he couldn't decide on what to say first.

"I saw a flyer when we were up here before. I don't know some of the bands, but I did recognize a few of your favorites on the list and decided to surprise you," I said smiling. "I know it's still a few days early but I thought that we might as well celebrate it today. I'm pretty sure that Em will kill us if we ask for permission to come to the city this coming week. Happy early two month anniversary babe."

                Sal's eyes went teary and he just threw himself into my arms. He didn't have to tell me for me to understand that this and the fact that I remembered that next week was our two month anniversary meant a lot for him. He pulled back and kissed me with everything he had right there in the middle of the line. I didn't push him away either so I was to blame too when we heard a throat being cleared right next to us. We pulled apart and turned to see a very annoyed looking chick. She simply pointed towards something that was behind us. We both turned and that was when we noticed that the line had moved, a lot, and we were holding the line. We quickly moved and apologized to the girl, who waved our apologies away and turned to talk to her friend.

                After that Sal was like a kid in Christmas. I didn't think I'd ever seen him as happy and excited as he was that night. When it ended he was still so excited, talking nonstop about all the bands that performed, how they got together, their genre and stuff like that. On the ride back he couldn't even stay still in his seat. Half-way through the ride back, the adrenaline finally seemed to run out, though, and he fell asleep. When we got to my house I parked the car and had to practically carry him to my room.

                I set him down on the bed and undressed him, not wanting him to sleep in his sweaty clothes. I changed and ran quickly to the laundry room throwing the clothes into the washing machine. I went back up the stairs and got into the bed. As soon as I was settled into the bed Sal cuddled into my chest like he always did. I chuckled and kissed his forehead gently. I didn't know what the future held in store for me, I didn't know what was going to happen, but what I did know was that, whatever happened, I wanted Sal to be there with me.

                The week after that was kind of boring, but at the same time it wasn't. Does that even make sense? It was exciting because the graduation ceremony was pretty cool. It didn't matter that we were graduating from the school that made part of my senior year and Sal's life a torture. We were all still excited and very sentimental. But isn't it always like that? People always say that they want to graduate already and get on with their lives. They say they want to go to university, college, work, or whatever it is. But when the time comes, they're all teary and saying they're going to miss school. We weren't really going to miss school, but it was like a wakeup call. We realized that school was over and that we needed to decide what was it that we wanted to do with our lives. We suddenly realized that we had grown-up.

                We weren't old or, by any means, adults, but we were getting there. Mom and dad, cried a lot, and I understood, through the tears, that they never really thought they would live this. They never really thought they were going to see their son graduating. That was about the time I started crying too. Partly because my parents didn't live to see me graduate, and because instead of not having anyone to celebrate with, I now had a family. Sal didn't cry, at least not during the ceremony. But then again he was the type to cry afterwards when things start to sink in. He was there with me all through the waterworks, though, holding my hand and giving me silent support. It was really something, realizing that I wasn't alone anymore.

                We all went out for dinner afterwards. And when I say we, I mean Dust, Kevin, Ennie, Em, Sal, and I, and our respective parents. To say that we were a big bunch was an underestimation. It was nice, though, being all together and hanging out. I thought it was kind of like a sign that maybe we were going to stay together. We had a lot of fun, just having fun and talking. We all decided to go to the prom party but when we got there we changed our minds. Instead we decided to go out to party somewhere else, just us six. We all agreed that we would have more fun that way. I didn't think it was normal to skip your own prom party but after all we were not normal. The whole day was just perfect if you asked me. From beginning to end.

                We decided to stay over at Dust's and when we came back we continued talking until late, and I mean very late. When the lights were out and everyone was snoring, too tired or too drunk to stay awake any longer, Sal cuddled up into my chest and started crying. I held him and caressed him until the storm had passed. He didn't have to talk for me to understand, as always. Sal probably had mixed feelings about the graduation. He was happy because it was over, but at the same time he was sad, probably thinking about all the what-ifs. I didn't tell him that it was useless to think about what could've been because that in itself was useless. I just let him cry it all out and afterwards, when there were no more tears and all he wanted was closeness and comfort I gave it to him.

                At the same time, it was boring because we were back to the routine of practicing and all that. The good thing though, was that we had more time. We could move the rehearsals around to accommodate our schedules and there was no pressure. This was very useful when our two months anniversary did come up, because we had practice early and then in the afternoon Sal and I went out to spend our anniversary by ourselves. We normally spent most of our time at Em's, no longer bothered by homework or tests or stuff like that. We just hung out a little before practice and then afterwards hung out a little more. And Em had said that we wouldn't have time to rehearse as a band.

                We were all excited, though, because this weekend would be the first time we would be singing our songs and our songs only, no covers from any artists. Also it was a relief not to have the pressure of coming up with new songs almost every day. We started working on a new song and left a few ideas hanging around for inspiration. This new song was about governments and their soldiers and the place where we lived at the same time. The reason for that was that just that week a new group of soldiers returned from war. This town, it seemed, was pretty popular among soldiers because it was peaceful and away from the busy city.

                To say that the welcome was touching was not enough. But afterwards when the family realized that what was returned to them was a broken version of the person that left, things started getting ugly. One of Sal's and my neighbors, in fact, was a soldier with a severe case of flashbacks and PTSD. He would wake up in the middle of the night screaming, and I mean screaming his lungs out, yelling orders left and right. He would start by telling someone to get the fuck down before he was killed, and then he would start yelling no, and someone's name. I think we can all guess the fate of the poor guy that didn't get down in time.

                By the time Friday arrived Ugly Truth, the new song, was done and just needed to be practiced. We were planning to sing it when people asked for one more song, like they always did. When we finished the rehearsal, we all looked at each other with smiles on our faces. Yeah, we didn't have a label, or a contract, or were famous or anything like that, but we had nine songs already, the tenth was still a little secret for Sal. He had heard it, but he didn't know the guys had too and that it was a song that Tainted would play. It had taken a while yeah, but we finally had ten songs that we came up with all by ourselves. It was a lot considering that just four months ago Tainted had about four songs. We packed our stuff up and as always sat down to hang out a while.

"We should seriously consider finding a new couch," Kevin grumbled from the arm seat. "Either that or make a calendar or a schedule, rotate who sits in the couch and who on the arms or on the floor, because seriously this is so unfair. I never get to sit on the couch. You always hoard the damn thing, not letting anyone else sit. You know I'm part of this band too, I'm the guitarist, I want to seat on the couch too."

"Dude, I'll give you my spot if you shut the hell up already," Dust said turning to glare at Kevin who coincidentally was sitting right next to Kevin.

"No thanks, I'm fine where I am," Kevin said acting all insulted.

"I don't get you man, you've been going on and on about the damn couch for two weeks, saying that you never get to sit and shit, but whenever you're offered a seat you always say no. Why the fuck are you complaining then? You had the opportunity to seat but you said no!" Dust said.

"Bend over, here it comes again," Em said rolling her eyes.

                Ennie, Sal, and I chuckled. This two fought like a married couple, if you asked me. It was like they actually wanted to fight, like they looked for any kind of stupid reason to start a fight.

"Are they seriously always like this?" Ennie asked from the floor where she was sitting without complaining.

"Yeah. I even think they enjoy it," I said chuckling.

                We all chuckled again. We were having a conversation about them while Kevin and Dust were too busy fighting to realizing it.

"You know Mina said she wanted to buy a couch the other day, and she even went out to look at couches with Ash. When they buy it I could ask them if I can keep it and we can bring it here."

"Oh I love your couch! It's so comfy, and it feels like you sink into the cushions whenever you sit," Em said excitedly.

"I don't know. Maybe they'll start fighting for who gets to sit in Sal's couch," I said.

                Em, Ennie, Sal, and I chuckled at that. Dust and Kev were still too concentrated in their fight to care about us so obviously they missed it all.

"That won't be a problem."

"What do you mean?" Em asked confused.

"Easy, you see since it's mine and it's a two place couch, I get to decide who seats in it and I think it's obvious who I'm going to choose." Sal cuddled into my side and I chuckled.

"That's favoritism!" Em said acting all insulted. "I'm your best friend you should choose me!"

"Boyfriends beat friends," I said sticking my tongue out.

"Now hang on a second," Dust said finally realizing that we were having a conversation while he fought with Kevin. "How can boyfriends beat friends? Friends are supposed to be forever, with a boyfriend you never know! Sorry Ollie but it's the truth."

"Well with this particular boyfriend I do know."

                I felt my heart skip a beat at Sal's words. I really couldn't help leaning down and kissing him right there. The guys all made eww sounds and cat calls, but I couldn't care less. We could've been in the middle of the street for all I cared.

"You know, I'm almost glad it's a two place couch and that we won't be having to share it with this two love birds," Em said.

"We would still be missing one place though."

                Sal was talking about Ennie, who had found some space in her cramped schedule to come to practice to watch us. If she was going to stay, we would be missing one place, though with Ennie you never knew. She was like the mobile part of our group. One day she was with Drew, the next with her other friends in the city or right here in town, and the one after that with us. We five, on the other hand, were pretty constant since it was obligatory for us to come to practice. There was no way of bailing out without getting Em on your case.

"Oh don't worry about me." Ennie said smiling. "I'm not here often enough to have my own place and all that, plus I work mostly from afar, getting you gigs and all that," she winked and got up as if to give an example. "I'll be taking my leave now, I promised Rach that I would go with her to the city tonight. I'll see you guys tomorrow."

                We all said our goodbyes, though I bet we were all wondering who Rach was. Once Ennie was gone we all stayed behind for a while, talking and hanging out. When we finally decided to call it a night, saying that we had to be rested tomorrow, Em stopped us all before we could leave.

"You all know what I'm going to say but I'll say it anyway. In what car are we going to the city tomorrow?" Em asked eyeing us.

"Dust's," We all answered, even Dust, rolling our eyes.

"At what time?" Em asked.

"Five, to be over there at six and have time enough to eat and set up," We all answered again.

"What are we doing after the gig?"

"We're going to stay over at Dust's."

"Very well," Em said smiling, and we all rolled our eyes again. "Sleep a lot and be rested for tomorrow. Now go on leave already, why are you taking so long to go?" Em said shooing us out the door.

"I swear she has two people living inside of her," Kevin said.

                We all agreed and said our goodbyes, leaving for our houses. I slept like the dead that night. I even thought that I woke up in the same position in which I went to sleep. I woke up around noon, and went down. I took my sweet time to eat and talked to my parents while I ate. I went up to get dressed when I was done. I took my sweet time to choose my clothes and fix my hair and all that. I thought about something my parents had said while I got dressed. They said I should decide what I wanted to do before vacations were over. What they didn't know, though, was that I had already thought about that. I had looked up courses, classes, or a university that offered music classes and had found that there was a university with dorms and everything in the city. Both Sal and I had sent our papers out about three months ago.

                To say that it was worrying that we didn't have an answer by now was a huge understatement. I hadn't said anything, though, because until I had an answer I didn't want to breach the topic to my parents. I simply didn't want to get their hopes up for nothing. I had just nodded and said that before vacations were supposed to be over I would decide what I wanted to do. Right then I heard Dust's car's old horn and hurried to get my wallet and practically ran down the stairs. I kissed my mom and hugged my dad goodbye and grabbed my keys, leaving the house. Right as I was leaving Sal was coming out too, with his bass on one shoulder. He got there before me getting his bass in the trunk and holding the door open for me for a change. He winked and I chuckled, going in. Sal got in after me and we started the long trip to the city.

                We were kind of cramped in Dust's car, but the arrangements this time were less awkward. Sal and I went together on the back seat with Kevin, and Em, who had called shotgun since yesterday, was in the front with Dust. The trip seemed short for me, but it could've been because we were all fooling around on the way to the city. We got to what we now unanimously called The Dump, parked, and got out. We made our way inside expecting the usual ten or so people that were always in the dinner whenever we came. Instead we were greeted by a crowd of about twenty to thirty people. We all stood there in the entrance for a while, wide-eyed and frozen.

"Guys!" Drew yelled when he saw us. "Hey Ennie, they're here!" He stopped to yell into the kitchen, before coming over to us.

                When he reached us I think he noticed our faces because he chuckled. He motioned for us to follow and lead us to a free table that was reserved by a piece of paper that said "Tainted". We all sat and before we could even talk Ennie arrived with a huge sunny smile in her face. The weird thing was that she was wearing an apron.

"Babe I gotta go cover the tables. Sorry I can't stay to talk to you guys I'm working double shift tonight since were so full," Drew said kissing Ennie quickly before leaving.

"And I'm actually your waiter tonight," Ennie said passing us our menus. "We didn't expect to be so full tonight, so even I'm working."

"But, why is it so full?" Em asked still looking bewildered.

"Why do you think?" Ennie said sarcastically. "I'll be right back alright? The special tonight is the Roast Beef sandwich." She left and went to wait on the other tables.

"Because of us?" Em asked looking at us.

"It's got to be that, because this place was always empty before," Dust said picking up the menu.

"But... I mean, come on. We've only played here about two times, we can't be so famous from one week to the next. The last time we were here there was a crowd of about twenty people by the time we started to play. Today there's the same amount of people, before we were even here."

                Sal gave me a look and I nodded. He was right about that.

"You're forgetting the gig with The Waiting," I said for Sal, who was looking too cozy cuddled on my side to even speak.

"What are you talking about? That was a disaster, what difference would it make? We didn't even play one song," Em said looking confused.

"Yeah, we didn't get to play, but we said our name and Ollie told them off," Kev said matter-of-factly.

                Em glared at him and he realized the tone in which he'd talked.

"Sorry, I meant that in that gig the audience did listen to something, our name and our attitude. Plus it was rescheduled, for some other date with the original openers and who knows what The Waiting said about their past gig and why it was canceled," Kev said in a different, gentler tone.

"Dude, how do you know the gig got rescheduled with the original openers?" Dust asked looking confused.

"So have you decided what you're all having?" Ennie said suddenly popping up right beside us.

"We're having the Shrimp Salad and a Dagwood sandwich," I said.

"I'm having the special," Dust said.

"I want a Black Bean Salad," Kevin said.

"I want a Caesar Salad," Em said.

"Alright," Ennie said taking note quickly. "Drinks."

"Two sodas," Ollie said.

"Make it three," Dust said.

"I want green tea, with no milk," Kevin said.

"I want a green tea as well, but mine with milk please," Em said.

"Alright, I'll go place your orders. I'll be right back with your drinks," She said leaving quickly to go wait on the other tables.

                Sal poked my arm and turned to see him smiling his warm smile, the one he only wore for me.

"I love that you know what I'm having without having to ask me."

                I smiled and leaned down to kiss him.

"GROSS!" The guys said at the same time.

                Sal and I chuckled and when we pulled back he stuck his tongue out for them, before pulling me down into another kiss that got us catcalls and gaging sounds. Right then Ennie arrived with our drinks and left without a single word. Sal smiled and placed a chaste kiss on my lips.

"You guys always do that and have no consideration for us poor single souls," Em said pouting.

"Hey don't drag me along with you," Kevin said trying for a joke.

"Oh so you're saying you've got a guy?" Dust asked sarcastically. "I don't know about you all, but I don't see him here."

                For some reason Kevin looked more hurt than normal over that.

"Well that's none of your business is it?" Kevin said angrily.

                Dust frowned.

"What the fuck do you mean by that?" Dust asked.

"I mean what I said. It's none of your fucking business if I'm dating someone or not," Kevin said matter-of-factly.

"Gosh, don't you guys ever quit?" Ennie said as she arrived with our orders. "You're my last table tonight, when you're done I'll come to take you to the back so you can set up."

"Finally, food." Sal was practically drooling over his sandwich.

"It'll always be a wonder to me how you eat so much, man," Dust said chuckling.

"Pot calling the kettle black." Kevin said eyeing Dust's huge roast beef sandwich.

"At least I eat, not like someone I know, who eats air for breakfast, lunch, and dinner," Dust said sounding annoyed.

"Not eating makes you fat, idiot. I just eat healthy food," Kevin said like Dust was the stupidest person ever.

"No, you eat rabbit food," Dust said around a bite of his sandwich.

"Ugh, you're such a pig, don't talk when you're eating, it's disgusting," Kevin said before digging into his salad.

"What's disgusting? This?" Dust said opening his mouth and showing its contents to Kevin.

"What are you? Five? Grow up, asshole," Kevin said simply, ending the discussion right there, because he didn't talk while he ate.

                We all ate in silence after that, nobody knowing what to say. I watched them eat silently. Dust giving Kevin short glances from the corner of his eye as he ate his sandwich. Kevin only ate a few bites of his salad before he pushed it away. He was looking more than a little green. Dust turned to look at Kevin then, giving him a worried look. Kevin smirked at him and waggled his eyebrows. Dust looked away, his cheeks definitely turning a bit redder. I gave Sal a questioning look and he just shrugged going back to his sandwich. He didn't know what was up with those two. And he didn't seem to think it was all that big a thing either. I frowned, though, still watching Dust firmly avoid Kevin's eyes while the other guy still had the smirk on his face.

                I wondered silently what was up between those two. Maybe was something they weren't telling us? Once we were done Ennie came by to clean the table before returning with the check. We all paid for what we ate and when Ennie returned, she led us to the back and helped us set up. We adjusted the sound for the amps and microphones. Then the guys checked the instruments to see if they were tuned. Once we were done, we got ready and Ennie opened the curtain. The crowd cheered and I noticed it had grown. There were about forty people out there tonight. I gulped and gathered my courage.

"Hey you guys, long time no see!" I said into the microphone.

                The crowd cheered again and went crazy. I tried to wait until they calmed down to present us. But it didn't seem like they were calming down any time soon. So I just went on with a song.

"This song's called Fuck Me," I yelled into the mic to be heard over the noise.

                Dust started the count and the song started. A part of the crowd accompanied us on the chorus, and I could hear some voices singing with us throughout the song. Once the song was done the crowd cheered and I went right on with Everybody's Fool. After that to finish winding down the crowd I went with Whispers in the Wind. The crowd seemed to have calmed down a little when the song was done and I took the chance to present us.

"So I see some new faces here tonight. Well, a lot of new faces," I said chuckling. Some chuckles could be heard throughout the crowd. "So for the new people, I'm Oliver but you can call me Ollie," I said smiling and the crowd cheered in response. "To my left there's Kevin and Emerald, our guitarists. I'll leave it to you to guess who's who," I said chuckling, and the crowd chuckled as well. "On the drums there's Dustin, but we call we him Dust. And last but not least, there's Salvador, our bassist. You can call him Sal," I said going over to where Sal was and pulling him down to kiss him gently. "Oh did I mention that we're together?" I said after it was obvious and the crowd chuckled again. "And together, we're Tainted," I finished and the crowd went crazy again. "Thank you so much for being here tonight you guys. I hope you have a great time. And if you don't, well, there's the door." The crowd went crazy again and I smiled. "This next song is called Screwed Six Ways 'til Sunday."

                Dust marked the tempo and the song started. The rest of the gig was great. A part of the crowd sang along with us for some bits and they all screamed whenever I introduced the next song. When the time came for us to go, they asked for one more song just like we all anticipated they would do. We sang Ugly Truth for the first time and they all went crazy after it was done. But once more asked for one more song again. I smiled and thought maybe it really should become a routine for me to close with a song for Sal.

"So there's this one special song that I was saving for last. I bet some of you can guess what the songs' going to be like," I said looking through the crowd and getting some chuckles. "I wrote this song a few weeks ago while I was thinking about someone special. Let me tell you a little secret, it was the first song I've written since a long time. So this song goes to the person responsible for most of the wonderful things I have in my life. Can you guess who it is?" I asked looking right a Sal who was looking a little confused and was red to the ears. The crowd answered Sal's name unanimously and I chuckled. "Wow, you got it on the first try," I said and some chuckles could be heard. "This song is for you Sal, because without you I wouldn't be where I am right now." I leaned down to place another kiss on his lips and take his bass away from him.

                I gave it to Kev and turned to back to look at Sal. "This song's called Listening to the Silence." I counted the tempo in my head and started the song. Em came after me, and then Kev, and, at last, Dust. I sang looking right into Sal's eyes, not caring that I wasn't looking at the crowd at all. Right that moment, the world was reduced to just Sal and I. When the song ended Sal flung himself into my arms. I caught him, spinning him once before setting him down and facing the crowd that was going crazy.

"Thank you so much guys, you've been great tonight. We'll be back next weekend so be sure to be here!" I said waving to the crowd and turning to leave the stage.

"Wait!" Someone yelled from somewhere in the crowd.

                The voice sounded somewhat familiar to me. I turned back towards the crowd, squinting to see who had spoken through the lights. I placed the voice at the same time I found the guy who had yelled.

"Look!"

"Oh my god!"

"Is that...?"

"It's The Waiting!"

"What are they doing here?"

                The crowd went crazy talking amongst themselves while they opened up and let the guys from The Waiting make their way to the little stage. They climbed up easily, while we all stared at them. I thought that we probably had the same question in our heads. What was going on here?

"Hey," Jim Sills said smiling. "Could I borrow a mic? I swear we don't mean any harm."

                I gave him mine without saying anything. I just wanted to know what The Waiting was doing here.

"Hey you guys," he said into the mic and looking out throughout the crowd. "I'm Jim Sills from The Waiting and I just wanted to make a public apology for what happened three weeks ago. We apologize as much for ourselves as for our audience and the way they received you. We hope you can accept our apology." He said turning to look at us again.

                We were all kind of dumbfounded not really knowing what to say. We didn't really hold what had happened against them. There was nothing to apologize for. Not that we ever expected to receive an apology to start with. Em was the one who reacted first and the one who talked for us.

"There is nothing to apologize for because it wasn't your fault. We don't hold what happened against you guys, or anyone really, it just happened and that's it," Em said into a mic.

"Oh, that's good then because we were kind of hoping you guys would let us play with you," Jim said smiling.

"You want to play with us?" Em asked sounding as dumbfounded as we all probably felt.

"Yeah, something to seal the apology with," Jim said. "How about next week? Right here in this place."

                The crowd went crazy before we could even answer voicing their opinion about the idea loudly. I chuckled and turned to Em.

"I think they decided it for us," I said into her mic.

"You're right, you can never refuse a crowd," Jim said chuckling. "Right guys?"

                The crowd answered again and we all chuckled.

"Alright, yeah, next week, same place, same hour," Em said smiling.

"Done," Jim said offering his hand over to Em.

                They shook on it and the crowd went crazy again. We all said our goodbyes again, turning to leave when suddenly the lights went out. In the darkness we squinted at each other until the small emergency lights lit up. We managed to find each other on the stage and make our way to the backstage. We were all probably thinking we would be able to have a private moment. But we were received by a crowd of people that were already there waiting there for us. With what little light there was we could see Ennie and Drew along with the staff trying to calm the people down enough to direct them safely to the exit but it was useless. The place was a disaster.

                Questions started to fly left and right. What had happened? Why were the lights out? What were this people doing here? We were divided by the crowd and things started to get chaotic. Screams could be heard here and there, people calling each other or asking for help. Little by little though we started to get back together, following our voices. In a situation like this it was safer to be together.

"Where's Teddy?" Jim yelled above the sound to the crowd, looking at his friends.

                Artie and Geoff shook their heads.

"Hey, hang on a second, where's Kevin?" Dust yelled at Em.

"I don't know, he was with me until a group of guys pulled him away," Em yelled back.

"Hey have you seen Teddy?" Jim asked us this time.

"No, man, have you seen Kevin?" Dust asked looking around.

"Nope," Jim said shaking his head and looking around. "We should go outside, there's more space out there and this place is a mess. Maybe they found their way outside already."

                We all agreed and started moving out of the backstage.

"Keep an eye on the crowd just in case," Dust said, still looking around.

"Oh my god!"

"Look at that!"

"They're making out!"

                The crowd went a little crazier pushing and moving us around.

"What the fuck...?" Dust asked staring at the scene the crowd was making a fuss for.

                Right there on a little corner of the hall that connected the backstage to the dinner, illuminated by one of the emergency lights, where Teddy and Kevin. They were making out passionately and it didn't look like they were going to stop anytime soon.

"Hey isn't that, Kevin and Teddy?" Artie asked, stating the obvious. And even worse, calling their attention.

                Kevin pulled away and looked toward us. His eyes were wide open with surprise and he looked both dreadful and scared, frantic even.

"Damn, right they are," Dust said through gritted teeth, an unreadable look on his face.

"No..." Kev said, looking like he wanted to cry and kill someone at the same time.

"Hey," Teddy said, noticing us and smiling. "Sorry, I borrowed him for a while."

"You can fucking keep him," Dust said before pushing his way roughly through the crowd, going in the general direction of the door.

"No, no, no, no! Wait!" Kev said pushing Teddy away from him. Quickly going after him but not accomplishing much with how thick the crowd was.

                We all stood right there staring. Even Teddy looked a little dumbfounded. Just what the fuck had happened?

So as you can probably guess, there's going to be second book :D And as you can probably guess  as well it'll involve Kevin and Dustin ;3

LUXURY123 I was always laughing whenever you said that you thought that Kevin and Dustin had something even though it probably wasn't so. Well, now you see that you were actually right all along XD

The next book is called Hearing Is Not Listening and it's already out :D So go look for it! Go, go, go, goooooooo! xD

Let me know what you thought of this story!

LOVE YOU ALL!

-> Desyre