"You're the most obnoxious man I've met in my entire life," I rolled my eyes, pushing him out of my way.
"That's the nicest thing anyone's ever said to me," he sighed, pulling my hand and wheeling me roughly against him. I groaned, unable to stop the sudden exhale.
"Don't moan like that when you're pressed against me, senorita, I might get the wrong idea."

I escaped his grip, making my way back to the bus to find someone sane. Being around Gabe made me lose my mind. I heard him following closely behind, though he was suspiciously quiet. I stomped up the bus steps, quickly claiming the only available seat, next to Suarez. Everyone in the lounge smirked at Gabe as he sat, without hesitation, on my lap.
"Gabe," I whined.
"I love when she says my name," he ruffled my hair.

I couldn't stand Gabe. He was loud, and rude, and inconsiderate, and belligerent… I could go on and on. 99% of the time he was drunk off his ass, making him even more of a dickhead than he already was. He failed to take responsibility for anything, especially his actions. I saw him as an overgrown child. Though he was 7 years my senior, it seemed as though I were the older of us two. I was close with everyone in Cobra except for Gabe, and I usually avoided him at all costs. I hated to admit it, but even though I couldn't stand him, part of me was intimidated by him. He was a big personality, something I'd never been able to handle very well.

"Oh, you two," said Victoria, rolling her eyes playfully.
"Will you please control your lead singer?" I asked, pushing him into the floor.
He whined, rubbing his tailbone as he got to his feet. "Kiss it and make it better?"
He swung his hips around, pushing his butt into my face. I slapped it, hard, and smirked as he winced at the pain. Surprisingly, he quieted down and instead leaned against the door jamb as conversation struck up.

Ryland and I were so close we were practically brother and sister, and I'd gotten close to his bandmates as well. He finally decided it was time for me to join on tour, and sure enough everyone else, including Gabe, agreed. I had made up my mind that the only reason Gabe was so enthusiastic about me joining tour was so he could harass me the entire time, but that was a relatively small price to pay for such a great experience with amazing people. Tour really was like one big family, and I was so happy that I had been included in that family.

We were two weeks into a North American tour, and Gabe was already on my last nerve. Gabe and I had failed to get along since we had first met. The first impression I had ever gotten of him had been backstage at Warped, and he had been belligerently drunk, of course. He catcalled at me, failing to realize who I was, and called me over. After a quick critique of my breasts, he slapped my ass and told me he could make my wildest dreams come true. He had been joking, of course, but it was enough to get my blood boiling. I had failed to see him as anything but crass since.

"What are we gonna do tonight?" asked Nate, taking apart a sandwich and devouring the parts he deemed edible.
Everyone looked around, and finally Gabe spoke up, "Go out and get wasted, obviously." We all smiled in agreement.

They played another fantastic set. I hated to admit it, but Gabe really had a stage persona like no other. He was so fun and alive, and he really knew how to get the crowd to respond to him. I admired that about him, his stage presence was intoxicating. He brought a smile to your face, even if you thought he was a despicable human being.

My phone began vibrating wildly in my pocket, so I went further backstage to answer.
"Hello?"
"Emma?" My heart sunk. It was David.
"David? Why are you calling me?"
"I just wanted to see how you are," he said loudly. He was drunk. "I miss you."
"David you can't be calling me like this. You know that."

"Emma, don't be so stuck up, come on…" I hung up before he could go any further. Before I had time to process what happened, someone slapped me on the ass, and I turned to see Gabe. My anger flared.
"Goddammit, Gabe Saporta. Can you grow up for one goddamn second and leave me the fuck alone? Are you capable of being an actual human being at all, or are you stuck in a constant state of 'asshole'? You have no regard for anything or anyone around you, and I'm fucking sick of it."
His eyes went wide, and for a second he looked genuinely afraid of me.
"Look, I was just…"
"Just what? Just fucking around. Yeah, I know. That's just the problem…" I stormed off to the bus, unable to meet anyone's eyes as I went.

In my bunk, I finally let out a deep exhale. It felt like I hadn't breathed since I answered the phone. David and I had been really serious, and almost been engaged, until I found out he had been cheating on me for months with one of my best friends. It was a nasty breakup, and something that was fresh and still cut deep. Ryland had invited me on tour so I could move on and focus on something other than my sadness. So far it had worked, until I heard his voice on the phone.

"Emma? Are you here?"
Ryland pulled my curtain back, smiling sympathetically at me when he saw my tear stained face.
"I know Gabe gets under your skin, but there's no way that was what set you off. What happened?" he brushed the hair from my face.
I simply replied, "David called." His face fell, and he placed a hand on my cheek.
"I'm sorry. Do you want to talk about it?" I shook my head.
"Well, come out with us tonight, it will do you good to let go."

I walked into the club with Victoria, immediately noticing Gabe at the DJ booth. He winked at me, I simply rolled my eyes and followed Victoria to the bar. After dealing with Gabe all day, and then the call from David, I was more than ready to forget who I was for a while.

A few shots later, I was sitting at the bar with Victoria, laughing at the story an attractive business student was telling us. Someone fidgeted around beside me, and I turned to see Gabe. Instead of making a smartass comment, he smiled softly at me, holding up two fingers at the bartender.

"I'm going to find the guys, see you in a bit," Victoria stood, and then whispered something to Gabe. He seemed mad at first, then nodded and placed a hand on her back as she passed. Gabe quickly took her seat, handing me a drink the bartender had just slid down the bar. I took a tentative sip, making a face.

"What the hell is this?"
"RedBull and vodka, my specialty," he laughed. We were quiet for a moment, and I idly played with the napkin underneath my drink.
"Did you really mean what you said today?" He didn't meet my eyes, choosing instead to turn on his stool and face the club around us.
"What do you mean?"
"About me… being an asshole. That I don't care about anyone. Did you mean that?"
I sighed, "Kind of. I was just upset, I shouldn't have blown up like that. But I do think you're too much sometimes. You just don't seem to take responsibility for anything."
He nodded.

"Emma, I want to change," he said after a beat.
I replied with a simple, "Good."
He finally met my eyes, and he had the most sincere expression I had ever seen on his face. It wasn't his usual shit-eating grin, or sarcastic smirk, it was sincere.

Our staring contest was interrupted by a drunken Ryland, who popped between us with a grin on his face.
"Am I interrupting something?!" Gabe looked at me, waiting to hear my reply as much as Ryland was.
"No," I answered finally, downing the rest of my drink and standing. "I'm going to find Victoria."

I looked back to see Gabe watching me walk across the club, a soft smile playing on his lips. We both knew very well that Ryland had, indeed, interrupted something. I just hadn't quite figured it out yet.