I walked across the stage, pretending to accidentally bump into Gabe once I was standing next to him.
"Hey punk," he ruffled my hair.
"You ready for tonight?"
"Oh, are you gonna spank me?!" he asked excitedly. I rolled my eyes, walking past him to backstage, though he quickly followed and fell into step next to me.
"To answer your question, yes. I am so ready."

That night was going to be the biggest night of the entire tour, and the band would be playing for thousands of screaming fans.
"I guess you don't have much of a choice," I laughed. "Thanks for the ice cream last night."
"I like buying pretty girls delicious frozen treats," he smiled down at me, shrugging. He took my iced coffee from my hand, drinking about half of it in one gulp.
"Hey, I need that!"
"Maybe you wouldn't if you'd stop hanging out with hot lead singers until the early hours of the morning."
"Mhm," I rolled my eyes. For some reason, his crass charm was starting to grow on me. I found it more endearing than cringe-worthy.

"You guys were amazing out there tonight," I told the band as we walked to the club. I was already having trouble walking in the heels Victoria had lent me, there was no doubt I'd bust my ass a time or two before the night was over. Especially once I got some alcohol in my system.
"New York I love you!" screamed Gabe, receiving a few whoops of agreement from passersby. The guys had done some pregaming on the bus, meaning they were already a bunch of belligerents. I suppose they had done a little more than "A little pregaming," in the words of Ryland.

I sat with Victoria, sipping on a few drinks as we watched the guys make fools of themselves, per usual. I watched a beautiful girl approach Gabe, and it became obvious that they knew one another. Gabe gave her a hug, though he seemed stiff and uncomfortable. They were talking for a few moments, before I finally brought it to Victoria's attention.
"Hey," I elbowed her, "Who's that?"

She followed my gaze and her eyes widened.
All she said was a quiet, "Fuck."
"What?!"
"That's his ex. The one who really fucked him over… Emma, she broke his heart. I've never seen him like that."

I didn't say anything, mostly because I didn't know what to say.
"What happened?"
Victoria started telling me the story as we watched them engrossed in conversation. Gabe glanced in my direction, keeping eye contact with me for an extended period of time.
Supposedly they had dated for a long time, and she had finally gotten sick of waiting around for him to propose, so she cheated on him while he'd been on tour. Victoria said that Gabe had treated her like gold, but she couldn't deal with him being on tour so much. Gabe was absolutely crushed. He went through a period of binge drinking, completely letting himself go until Pete made him get his act together. Apparently Pete's advice had been, "Write about it. Let it fuel your success, not determine your happiness." So Gabe left from the situation hardened, a slight alcoholic, and completely against love.

"She should have known what she was getting herself into," I said angrily. I was furious. "Even being friends with Ryland is hard when he tours so much, but we make it work. That's what love's all about: making it work."
Victoria sat quietly, until she finally spoke.
"You like him." It was a statement, not a question.

I didn't answer right away. Did I?
"I don't know," I put my head into my palms. "I just don't know, Victoria."
"I know you do, Emma. And it's blatantly obvious he's interested in you. Gabe hasn't kept interest in someone since… well, her," she pointed in their direction. "But there's something different about you, he seems… contained, this tour. He seems like he wants to get his shit together. I mean, he still drinks and acts like a complete ass, obviously. But I don't know, Emma. He's different."

"I barely know him, Vicky."
"Yeah, but you're getting to know him more every day. And you've seen his worst, and it hasn't scared you away yet. I think that means something," she said wisely.
I bit my lip, looking over at her.

We changed the subject, both ready to talk about something a little less serious. We were in the middle of a conversation about obsessive fans when Gabe appeared behind us.
"Hey, are you okay?" asked Victoria quickly.
"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" he laughed, though his face was tense.
"What was that all about?"
"She felt it necessary to 'show me what I'm missing,'" he air quoted.

"Bitch," I said before I really had time to think about what I was saying.
He looked at me, analyzing my face before grabbing my hand.
"I'm gonna steal your girl, Vic," he said without taking his eyes from me.
"Go for it," she smiled knowingly at me as Gabe pulled me to the bar.

"Two," Gabe told the bartender, who nodded. Gabe obviously came here often.
We sat quietly for a moment, waiting for our drinks.
"So that's her, huh?" I watched her flirt with an older man down the bar, she was glancing in Gabe's direction every few moments.
"Yep," he said shortly. "It's a mess," he sighed, suddenly looking tired and worn down.
"Hey," I pulled his chin up so he would look at me. "Everything happens for a reason. That's the most cliché thing I've ever said to anyone, but it's true. You are an incredible fucking human being, Gabriel Saporta. And you will find whoever and whatever you're meant to when the time comes."
"Thank you." It was sincere. He kissed my forehead.

"You wanna get out of here?" he asked once we had downed our drinks.
"Please," I laughed. I had definitely had enough excitement for one night.

After I had shimmied out of my dress and changed into a tshirt and sweats, I made my way out to the lounge, where Gabe was nearly passed out on the couch. I sat next to him, running my fingers through his curly hair. He hadn't gotten a haircut since we'd left for tour, meaning his hair was long and more unruly than usual. He opened his eyes, placing a palm on my cheek. Without breaking eye contact, he pulled my hair out of the tie so he could softly run his hands through it.

"I'm sorry," he said softly.
"For what?" I was thoroughly confused.
"For being such an idiot all the time," he smiled sadly.
"You're not an idiot, Gabe. I used to think so. But you're really not."
"I am. Trust me. Just ask my ex," he said darkly.
I shook my head. "She doesn't know what she lost."

"And what's that?"
"You," I replied simply, as though that were a completely reasonable answer.
He laughed quietly, "Emma," he sighed, lost for words. "I just… I…"
"What, Gabe? You can say whatever it is, I promise I won't slap you," I winked. He smirked.
"I don't really know how to say it, though. After everything with Bianca, I just… I was so fucked up. I didn't even want to live anymore. And I sure as hell didn't want to risk what was left of my heart. I'm just scared that when I'm ready to move on, I'll have lost my chance with you… I don't want you to move on because I can't get my shit together."

"Gabe," I laughed in exasperation. "Gabe, I told you that I'd wait for you. I don't care how long it takes. When I met you, and even at the beginning of this tour, I thought you were the biggest asshole I'd ever met. Sometimes I still think that," I punched him playfully. "But you're not. It's just your way of protecting yourself. And I guess I'm kind of the same way. Everyone is scared to get hurt, everyone has got their walls and defensive mechanisms. But I'm here, and I'm waiting. Because I've seen a side of you that I'm realizing is the real you."

He stared at me for what felt like an eternity, and he opened his mouth to speak, but the bus door opened and his loud, drunk bandmates piled onto the bus, interrupting whatever he was about to say. We all sat around the lounge for a while, until finally deciding it was time to get some sleep for the next day.

Just as I was falling asleep, my phone buzzed under my pillow. Squinting at the light, I waited for my eyes to focus, seeing a simple "Thank you" across the screen.

I hope people are actually reading this. Here's a very late chapter 4, hopefully I'll have more time to write. I feel like I've got some inspiration rolling again, so 5 should be up soonish? I don't want to make promises I can't keep though. Enjoy.