Hey...

Well, I was gone for a while, wasn't I? I am really sorry guys. I don't really know what to say besides thank you for not giving up on me!

I really don't want to waste any of your time with my ancillary ANs…so

Disclaimer: I still don't own anything. What a surprise, huh?


Wen began to remember what he loved about performing so much. It was the rush of the crowd; the craze that a song would start. Their album at first seemed to be tanking, but once it was picked up, people had been describing it as a more "mature" version of Lemonade Mouth, which made sense considering their most loyal fans had grown up along with them.

They would see the way a crowd would react to their art, and what made Wen feel satisfied was the fact that the band was the reason for their happiness. In a way, they were bringing people together for this short amount of time; a beautiful union in which the crowd and their music could unite in a crescendo of bliss, where temporary or underlying problems could just fall away. They were all experiencing it together, and it was wonderful.

Until reality set in and they had to be back in the real world of the open road and hotel after hotel. It wasn't so bad…most of the time. They had started on the East coast, and would end in Los Angeles.

It was the same story for a while. Tour bus. Hotel. Too tired to care or move after show. After some time, maybe they had grown used to the long nights, and began to resemble human life- forms again.

Wen was thankful that Lyla had been so understanding of the tour. He would sometimes fly her out if they were in a stationary place for a few days. She didn't seem to get too upset when the two of them would go around together and he would get stopped for an autograph, sometimes people would call her Olivia and she would gracefully correct them. Wen was always embarrassed.

He was always so amazed and admiring of Stella's tenacity after a successful show. She would usually do something to the degree of raising her arms in the air and saying, "Woo hoo! We did it guys!"

Wen smiles and comments, "Yes, Stella, like we do every day."

She shrugs, "Still doesn't make it not true."

Where was Olivia these days? Wen was not sure most of the time after whichever gig they had just finished. Her drinking was still on the borderline of excessiveness. He had made it a point to try and follow her or greatly emphasize to her not to do anything stupid at the bars or wherever she would find herself, but he did realize that she was an adult. However, this did not stop him from frequently rounding up the whole gang to come out when everyone was up for it. He also did not want to raise suspicion on any level, whether it be the media's prying eyes or Lyla's. Olivia did not deserve it either.

She didn't deserve anything that she had put herself through.

Wen would often contemplate why Olivia would put herself through a self-inflicted ringer. He knew she was hurting, but she also had to know that she wasn't in this alone. Not comparing himself to her, he had his fare share of horrors; they all had. One day, he was hoping, one day it would get through to her.

Maybe she could move on from the mess, from the hell she had been through and that was laid out for her, so the bottle didn't have to be her only solution.


It had been an up and down evening, but for the most part rather successful for the band. Their show had ended in applause, and in the end, that's all that really mattered. They were somewhere in Florida during the unforgiving months of the summer. To say that it was stiffing and humid would be a huge understatement. The hot air was practically tangible.

Everyone had been complaining about how hungry all of them were for quite some time, so Charlie and Mo were sent on a snack run to the nearest convenience store, although much to their chagrin, as it was their turn. The thick July air had been wearing away at them, and nothing sounded better at the time than drowning in calories.

Charlie had been arguing with Mo on the way back from the nearest store. Mo was fuming.

"Oh my God Charlie; I can so do impulsive and fun!"

Charlie practically dropped the many bags of chips he had been holding in amusement, "Oh right, the great Mohini Banjaree. If there is one thing she is known for, it is her excellent trait of spontaneity!"

She stopped in her place and huffed. They had just entered the pool to cut across to their room, "I—ugh!" She placed her groceries on the ground and spun to face him, "I know how to let loose!"

Charlie didn't know where to start laughing, whether it was her choice of words or her clear mistake over her own judge of character. He had to stop and sit on the nearest lounge chair before he started in hysterics, "If there is one person who has had her entire life planned out and has been labeling her lunch items since she could write, it is you."

She crossed her arms and glared at him mercilessly, "You don't believe me."

He stood up to stand in front of her, "Don't believe you?! You're the one who always can't wait to schedule all of your upcoming tests and essays as soon as you get your syllabus into your phone."

"So what if I'm organized."

"You stepped way past organization a long time ago."

She was so angry at his words because she hated to admit that they had some truth to them. There was no response as it looked like he was waiting for one. His expression changed to playful as he raised his eyebrows expectantly.

Mo had no idea what to do to prove him wrong.

Subsequently, for some reason, before her arms could catch up with her brain, she found herself pushing the drummer into the pool without warning.

It took him a few seconds to rise to the surface; his languid motions were obviously due to his shock. She assumed that he would be angry, but instead of immediately seeking out vengeance, he simply pulled himself out of the pool and faced her once more.

"Touché, Banjaree, touché," he said in a surprisingly even voice while ran his fingers through his hair to expel out the excess moisture, "though I must warn you, you may be no longer living in a few moments."

His lackluster way of approaching his words had rendered her confused and motionless for a few moments before they sunk in properly, and much to her dismay, she let out one of the feminine screams of her life as she clumsily tried to run away and was successful for a few steps until he grabbed her from behind. Though, instead of sitting her down and torturing her until she apologized like she thought he would do, he threw her over his shoulder and jumped them both into the pool.

She was gasping for air before she could even comprehend his mischievous grin, "Charles! How could you—"

Mo stopped herself before she realized what she was doing, "I mean…this is cool. I like this…this impromptu swimming session.

He said nothing. Only smiling, which was rare for him not to have the last word, but she knew all too well that she had started it in the first place.

Everything was still for a few moments before their chuckles had died down.

The world was quiet as they stared one another down in what could only be described as rushed and passionate. It was strange how there was this understanding before they both lunged at each other. The water had come up and whacked them in their faces at the sudden movements. The kiss felt desperate and contrived at first, as if the other one was going to disappear, but then, as Mo's hands reached for his hair and he wrapped his hands so tightly around her middle, nothing had ever felt so natural. It was like the first time either of them really felt connected to anything.

As their lateness struck a chord in their band mates' concerns, Stella so gracefully asked the question they were all wondering as Charlie and Mo showed up sopping wet at the door, "What the fuck happened to you two?"

They tried not to blush and did not dare look at each other as Charlie stated that the rest of them were better off not knowing.

And later that night as the two of them had settled in Charlie's room, she with her head somewhere between his chest and his stomach while his fingers ran through her hair, staring up at the ceiling, he thought of a broken sentence he never verbalized, "You know, I never said it was a bad thing that you were so organized."

She smiled in a way that she felt was stupidly and thought that she would let him have the last word after all, just this once.


Wen really didn't talk to the security guards and tech guys that much after the show; rather, they didn't talk to him. They seemed to avoid him like the plague. He tried having a nice wave or hello here and there, but they always treated him like he didn't exist. It was like, the show was over, and there is no reason to kiss ass anymore. Until one day, Wen was walking by a guard whose name be believed to be Ricky or something like that.

"Hey, kid."

It was a harsh whisper for some reason; there was no one around, "Yeah?"

Ricky did a once over in the hallway they were in before he spoke again, "You uh, look like the kind of person who needs to relax."

Wen furrowed his eyebrows in surprise and then sighed at his realization. No wonder Ricky was looking the place over for intruders, "Oh! Well, I am very flattered, but I am sorry that I am straight."

Ricky looked like someone had murdered his mother right in front of him, "Is your ego really that big you idiot? No! I was talking about some reifer!"

Wen was shell-shocked for a few moments, not really knowing how to respond. He thought about it for a spell, and couldn't lie to himself. A joint sounded really amazing at the moment, "Well, how much?"

"I could give you about an eighth for about forty bucks right now."

"Could I see it?"

Ricky pulled a small bag out of his pants pocket and tossed it to the redhead. Honestly, Wen did not know that much about weed. He hadn't smoked since high school. However, he did know that a well manicured bag for forty dollars wasn't that bad, or at least the weed he used to smoke.

"Alright." Wen said as he reached for his wallet.

Ricky looked very pleased indeed, "You won't be disappointed. This is good shit."

They exchanged their drug deal, and Wen was a little surprised with himself for being so impetuous. Olivia just rounded the corner.

"Hey, where have you been? We have been looking all over for you! We are heading off."

Ricky was facing away from them and acted like he hadn't even known Wen. He looked at the blonde. He felt ashamed; Olivia was probably one of the last people he wanted to know. It was like he was sixteen all over again. Now that they were adults, he figured that it really wasn't that big of a deal, but that didn't stop that insecure teenager from coming out.

"Oh, sorry."

She smiled at him and insisted she joined him. Wen looked back at Ricky, but he wasn't even there anymore.

Once they had reached their hotel, he knew exactly who to share his recent purchase with.

He and Stella would used to smoke together. Whenever they used to sneak around the band, they would sometimes find the most random items to smoke with. A soda can, an apple, or even an old liter of water. Wen had no idea why, but Stella came to him when she came across her first bag. They had spent the whole night in his back yard while he was panicking because he for some reason he thought that his father and Olivia had telepathically known what they were doing.

Stella gave him that knowing smile when he revealed his eighth to her.

They decided to make a pact of honesty when they began their session on the balcony of Wen's room. They were to reveal anything that they felt was pending on their minds as of late.

When Wen and Stella began to smoke together, Stella reveals why she was so adamant about getting them into that interview with Moxie. She was afraid that they would fall apart again. She was afraid that when it was all said and done, she would just end up alone again. So, she thought of an offer that they couldn't refuse.

Wen in no way wanted to break Olivia's confidence, so instead of speaking of her potential alcoholism, he spoke of his own insecurities. He never felt good enough for anybody. This was something that had been ingrained into to him at a very young age. That is why when Sydney starting dating his father, he was afraid he was moving on to the next best thing. This tour had recently begun to rip a new hole in his anxiety. He was surprised that anyone saw any worth in him. Stella looked like she was hiding a tear and told him he was preaching to the choir.

They contemplated telling the rest of the group of their drug use. Stella teased him and told him that he would never be able to tell goody two shoes Olivia. He brushed her off and asked if Liam would mind if she was smoking. She shrugged her shoulders and took another hit. They were silent for a few moments.

"Oh my God," Stella stated bluntly, breaking Wen from his stupor of trying to remember what sleep felt like.

It took him a couple of seconds to respond, "What?"

She made a kind of cringing face, "I love him."

Before Wen could respond with some kind of congratulations, she spoke again, "I love him and it's disgusting."

"Why?"

"Because I never thought that I would feel this way. All lovey dovey and shit. Oh my God, but I do. Ewww! I need to tell him."

"I don't think he would want to find out this way."

"Why?"

"Because you're high. You don't want to be high dialing him."

"Shit, you're right. But I do need to call him and tell him that I am stoned."

She attempted to grab the lighter and use that as her phone. It took her a few moments to realize her mistake and found her phone on the table. Again, she was using it mistakenly upside down, "Oh God dammit," she stated as she turned it right side up. Surprisingly, she dialed the number that she knew by heart.

Wen was really starting to feel it. The world kind of stopped. He suddenly remembered what sleep did in fact feel like and he was so excited that he nearly wanted to jump up and down. Stella had to stop him before he killed himself via falling off the balcony.

"What?...What?" Stella giggled into the phone, "what? Oh! I just saved Wendell's life! I think he was trying to kill himself or something."

Wen figured that she was on the phone with Liam, "No! I just remembered what sleep felt like!"

Stella looked over at him abruptly and smiled wide, "Oh my goodness! That's wonderful!"

"I nearly almost forgot." Wen stated proudly as he shook his hands in front of his face. He then realized how stupid his hands looked. They had so many stupid freckles on them; he wished that he could just cut them all off and give them to the freckle police. Stella's voice was still somewhere off into the distance, and he had to fight off the sounds of "Determinate" with his stupid freckle hands in order to rejoin the conversation.

"Oh, nothing. Wen just remembered what sleeping was…no not to sleep with someone," she looked to Wen, "right?"

His eyelids were heavy. They were far too heavy for normal eyelids. What? "What?"

"Right Wen?"

He pointed at her enthusiastically, "Yes!"

She turned her attention back to the phone, "Yes!"

"Hey, do you feel heavy right now? Like is there some kind of glue holding us down or something?" Wen asked as he was amazed that he hadn't sunken down to the floor.

"What did you say Wen?"

He was too busy concentrating on blinking his eyelids that were clearly being held down by anvils.

"Look, I think I need to go Liam. I think Wen forgot how to use his eyes…of course…you're beautiful too! Bye!" She hung up her phone and looked to Wen, "I told Liam our secret, so I think that we will be safe from now on."

"Good." Wen said in-between blinks. Why did he even have eyes? Olivia had such pretty brown eyes. He should just go tell her that so she won't waste them on someone who will just eat all of the chocolate out of them, "Do you think Olivia should be giving all of her chocolate away?"

Stella also looked like she was beginning to contemplate her own blinking patterns, "What bro? I don't think Olivia's chocolate is any of your concern."

"I am just afraid that someone is going to eat all of the chocolate out of her eyes, and she will lose all of her spectacular and beautiful sparkles."

Stella shook her head so fast, Wen thought it was going to fall off, "Dude, you are thinking about girls way too much! You know what you need? Some muchies!"

Stella was grabbing for him to come with her as he barely noticed and went along with it, "Do you think someone has already eaten all of Lyla's chocolate? I mean, that is ridiculous; she doesn't have chocolate…it's more like grass…or spinach! Ah! Do you think if you eat someone's eye food, you can steal their soul?"

"Shut up!" She yelled as they came into the kitchen and giggled at the fridge for thirty minutes. It was a miracle that no one else was awake to see the refrigerator monster.


Where the hell was everybody? Wen had been wondering around backstage for what he nearly felt like was an hour. No one was in their dressing rooms, and he really wanted to leave. He walked by Mo's room again and knocked on the door. There was a bit of rustling around going on inside before a disheveled Mo answered the door. She looked like she was out of breath.

"Yes Wen?"

Wen shook off the weird feeling he got, "Uh, do you know where anyone is? Shouldn't we be leaving soon?"

She turned around and checked the clock in her room, "Yeah, I guess it's about that time that we leave."

There was a pause before Wen responded. She looked annoyed and like he was wasting her time, "Well, I will go and try to find everybody else then."

"Okay." Mo stated and shut the door in his face. That was strange. He had never really seen Mo act like that before.

Charlie wasn't in his room. He caught Stella coming out of the bathroom and sighed in relief. Unfortunately, she stated that she would be waiting in her room when they were ready to go. Why was it his job to have to find everyone? Olivia hadn't been in her room before, but he just thought that he would try again. There was no answer, but he heard noises from inside. He let himself in.

"Olivia?" He questioned as he closed the door behind him.

It looked as though she had fallen asleep on the small couch that was there. He didn't want to wake her, but they did have to get going. It took a little bit of shaking, but she eventually opened her eyes. She looked shocked and sat up almost instantly.

"What time is it?"

Wen was surprised at her reaction, "Oh, I don't know, but I think everyone wants to leave…although Charlie is still missing."

She hunched over with her arms crossed over her stomach, "I feel like I am going to be sick."

Wen sat down next to her, perturbed, "Why? I thought that you had gotten over this stage fright thing a long time ago."

"I don't know why! I have been feeling like this all night; I just didn't want to have to cancel the show or anything."

Wen sighed, "You are ridiculous."

"Thanks."

"Do you need anything?" He asked, feeling her forehead.

"No, I just want to go back to the hotel. Go find Charlie. I'll be fine."

He stood up, "Yes ma'am."

"Shut up." She demanded as she lied back down on the couch.

Wen went searching around for Charlie with more urgency this time. Where could he of gone? It is not like he could be a lot of places unless he decided to leave without telling anybody. Wen rounded a corner only to quite literally run into someone. His face collided with the person's chest. He was launched back a couple of steps. While rubbing his nose a bit and getting back his sense of equilibrium, Wen looked up at the figure and saw that it was just Ricky.

"Oh, sorry man. I didn't see you there." Wen stated as he went to maneuver around the security guard.

Ricky stopped him by putting a hand to his shoulder, "Wait just a second there," Wen ceased his attempts to escape while Ricky threateningly crossed his arms over his chest, "how did you like the stuff?"

"Oh, uh, it was good shit, like you said. I really needed that, thanks." He tried to move away before Ricky stopped him again. It was no use.

"So, if you liked it, why don't you buy more?"

Wen raised his eyebrows and shook his head, "Hey, can we talk about this later—"

"Or better yet, I think that you should perhaps buy some heavier shit."

It honestly took Wen a few seconds to compose himself before he could respond, "I really don't do any other kinds of drugs. I have just stuck to weed; I really have no desire to anything else."

"No, I really think that you need some rock, or maybe even some heroin."

"I appreciate the offer, but I really don't—"

Whatever response Wen had was cut short by a swift punch in the stomach. The wind was knocked out of him and he was at the mercy of Ricky's demands, "Now let this be a lesson to you. I am sick and tired to catering to all of you prissy rock stars. You think you have it so hard? I have got a family to feed, buddy, so if you think that you can pass me off like every other patronizing little fuck, then you have got another thing coming to you."

Who the hell hired this drug dealing security guard? One would think there would be a better background check. Wen was leaning back on the nearest wall, trying to steady his breathing. Ricky was still standing over him menacingly and walked away while calling him pathetic. Well, he certainly felt pathetic. What was he thinking, getting mixed up with a guy like that? Every single other drug dealer that he and Stella had dealt with was just some gigging stoner that was probably just trying to pay off his college tuition. Wen never thought that he would ever purchase from such a menacing guy like Ricky. If he tried to get him fired, would Ricky come after his family? He couldn't take the chance.

The weed was excellent, but it wasn't worth this. Wen always thought marijuana being a gateway drug to him was bullshit. He really never felt the need to do anything more severe, nor did Stella. However, the next time Ricky would come bothering him again, Wen probably figured that he would either have to buy more serious drugs, or a lot of weed.

Well, given the current events, a joint sounded pretty fabulous at the moment.

He didn't tell anyone of his scuffle with Ricky.


Later that night, Wen went to check on how Olivia was feeling. Everyone else had already retired to their rooms, but he had this inkling that she needed to be looked at once again. He knocked on her door quietly, but then figured he should just go in so she wouldn't have to get up. She was asleep with the TV on. He shook his head in a weird fatherly way for some reason, and turned the TV off.

While making his way to leave, something stopped him. He turned around and shut the door again, walking over to her side again. Not really wanting to seem creepy, Wen sat down next to her and raised the covers up to her neck. He would stay just a little longer, just to see if she was alright. Lying down next to her wouldn't be a crime.

Wen jolted awake at what he guessed was a few hours later. He looked over at the digital clock; 3:34 am. He had been here entirely too long and needed to leave before she realized that he was in there.

Swinging his legs around without making a sound was difficult enough, but the real challenge was opening the door without it creaking. How come it was always so much louder when trying to be discreet? He mentally cursed when he heard Olivia stir.

That was it; he was caught, "Wen?"

Well what was he supposed to do? Take the low road and pretend that she was dreaming? He certainly wasn't that pathetic, "Oh, hey," he turned around to face her, "I was checking to see that you were feeling okay…so now that I see that you are I'm going to…" He was turning around and heading out the door with what he knew weren't cohesive words anymore.

Her words were barely audible, "Please stay."

The tiny sentence hit him like a train. It took him no time at all to decide what to do. He was at her side within a few seconds. Olivia was facing him when he lay down again. Her eyes were droopy and there was a small smile on her lips. Wen wasn't really sure if he should say anything.

"So are you feeling better?"

Her eyes were already closed again, "Yes."

The words were full of sleep, "Are you sure?" He asked cheekily.

"No." He could tell she was trying not to smile. The moonlight coming in from the window highlighted her features.

"No?"

She then said something to the degree of him shutting his mouth, but Wen was pretty sure that she had succumbed to her slumber. He was smiling for a time afterwards before he fell asleep himself.


Look, I know that this was rather sort, and I really really wanted to make this longer—especially since there was such a long wait—but I liked the flow and start and end so much that I felt like I shouldn't mess with it.

Please continue to bear with me guys! I swear that I won't give up on this story…it might just take a little while sometimes.

Thank you to all of you who added this to your favorites and are now following! Your encouragement really helps so thank you Wenlivia3, musicforeverluver, and damaris (it's alright that it was in Spanish; I figured it out!) for reviewing!

Please review at your leisure, and thank you for reading!