About a week into the tour, they were in San Diego, Pierce The Veil's hometown.
Everyone already knew that this show was going to be insane, but at just 10AM it was already crazier than any of them had thought it would be.
All three bands walked into a local diner, and the hometown heroes were immediately recognized as such.
"Oh, I know you guys!" The hostess beamed at the Pierce The Veil members.
They took some quick pictures before they seated them.
Alan and Mike pulled two more tables over to make room for everyone.
Kristen sat in between Matt and Vic, awkwardly placed right where she could see Austin and Abby.
They held hands and laughed along with Alan and Tino, while Kristen stayed quiet, talking only when someone asked her something or spoke to her.
She didn't think anyone would, but two people did in fact notice her strange behavior…
...
After the waitress' insisted that their meals were on the house, everyone headed off to the arena where they'd be performing tonight.
It was close enough to walk, so the large group went back by foot.
"You all right?" Matt finally asked her. They were all the way at the back of the pack.
She kept her eyes on her feet as she walked. "I guess."
"What happened?"
"Nothing, I've just felt… weird, lately."
"Why?"
She didn't answer, but she looked up.
Past all the other band members, she easily spotted Austin. Taller than most of the others, he was easy to find. When she saw that his hand was still tightly interlaced with Abby's, she let out a loud sigh.
"It's them, isn't it?"
Her eyes started to water, so she didn't dare speak.
"You need to tell him, Kristen."
"And ruin what's left of our friendship? Great idea, Matt." She snapped at him unintentionally. "Sorry. " She apologized quickly. "I'm sorry, I just… I'm upset about it."
"Yeah, I know. We can all see it."
She felt panic rise in her. "What?"
Matt sighed. "When he's around… You perk up. A lot. Then when she shows up, you hurt. It's all over you. From the look in your eyes to the way you move. Caleb and Kasey are worried, and so is Tony. You need to tell him before something bad happens. Please."
Her heart broke at the thought of them actually worrying about her. She was wasting their time. "I'm sorry. I'm not telling him, but I promise I'll try to keep everything in check."
Matt's upset expression didn't alter, but he nodded slowly. "Please be careful, Kristen."
She smiled at him, and he forced one back.
Something had to be done, or this was going to get worse. Fast.
As they approached the arena, Matt's eyes widened and Kristen's jaw dropped.
There were literally hundreds of screaming fans in a giant crowd outside the place.
It was a made up of mostly Pierce The Veil fans, but every now and then they would spot Of Mice & Men fans, and even a few New Revolution fans.
The whole thing was surreal, and everyone was reeling until the show actually began.
...
Kristen took a swig of her water bottle while Matt was doing their opener before she went out on the stage.
"Good luck, kibbles!"
Kristen looked over and saw Austin smiling and waving at her.
She smiled back, but it faded after only a second once she saw Abby under his arm.
She looked away quickly and practically ran out on the stage.
She felt slightly dizzy seeing all of the screaming people, but she caught herself and took a deep breath.
"San Diego!"
They cheered back at her.
"You know, the past couple days, there has been a lot of hometown glory… yesterday we were in the birthplace of Of Mice & Men, today… we're in the hometown of the one and only Pierce The Veil!"
This earned them an unbelievably loud response.
She laughed softly. "Well, you see, our band… we're not from around here. Kasey, our amazing bassist, is from Missouri. And our green haired guitarist is from all the way up in Ohio. Our kick ass drummer Caleb, as well as myself, is from Florida. So we haven't been feeling the love lately." She paused to breathe and see how the crowd was taking it. They waited patiently for her to finish. "I know you guys are anxious for Pierce The Veil, but how about a little love for the outsiders?"
The crowd cheered back at her, making her smile.
"Woo!" She responded. "Now without further ado, we are, The New Revolution…"
...
They were applauded by the other bands as they walked back off stage.
Austin stood smiling, waiting for Kristen.
"Great show yet again, Kristen. I'm still shocked."
"Why?" She smiled and raised an eyebrow at him.
"Just can't get used to seeing you rock out like that. It really is awe-inspiring."
She laughed. "Well get used to it, we still have a couple months on tour."
Austin chuckled, and looked up at the sound of his name. "Wish me luck, hope I do as good as you!"
With that, he ran on stage to thousands of people already screaming his name.
...
Kristen stood by herself on the side of the stage while she watched them perform.
It was just about finished when she caught Austin look over at her and stare.
His eyes lit up as he finished The Depths.
The crowd cheered and he waited for them to calm a bit before speaking.
"Okay guys, we have one more song left!"
There was slight resistance, but he continued.
"It's a pretty old song of ours, and since Shayley isn't here anymore and my singing voice just doesn't do this song justice, I have someone who's going to help us out for this last one!"
She watched curiously as Austin ran towards her. Her heart leapt to her throat once she realized why he was doing that.
"Please!" He asked as he reached her.
"Austin, I-I couldn't,"
"Please, no one better could sing it with me. My mom loved you. You're the only other person in the world who could do this with me and be able to understand. Please, Kristen."
She could hardly say no to that, and picked her mic up off the ground.
Austin gave her a big smile and a hug. "Thank you so much."
He ran back out on stage and she followed slowly behind him.
"You guys remember her? Fuck yeah! My mother loved that girl like she was her own. This song's called Second & Sebring."
The music hit fast and she started right in time.
"I believe it's time for me to be famous and out of place. I believe it's time for me to move forward. When I break through..."
Austin joined in, and they scream and sang back at each other.
"This time I'll make you,"
"Proud to see me over, come on day light!"
"Proud of, who you raised."
"Your shelter, your peacefulness."
"So this time I'll make you proud…"
It was Austin's turn to scream through much of the rest of the song, so she just stood next to him, looking up towards the sky.
She knew how proud his mother would be of him.
Kristen was practically in tears when Austin was about to hand over the rest of the song to her.
"I hope that I make you proud." Austin screamed with a voice that she could tell was breaking.
Kristen picked up right where he left off. "This is not what it is, only baby scars. I need your love like a boy needs his mother's side." She sang the lines twice before a piano break took over the air.
Austin looked at her with shimmering eyes.
She walked over and gave him a small hug. She pointed up to the sky and looked at him, tears openly running down her cheeks. She whispered to him, "She loves you."
Austin let the tears he held back finally come out as he slipped his hand into hers.
She took a deep breath as the piano break came to an end.
Softly, she sang out with all of her heart. "This is not, what it is; only baby scars." He squeezed her hand and she looked up at him, seeing that he was looking right back into her eyes. "I need your love like a boy needs his mother's side."
She finished the song beautifully, and they could barely hear anything other than the crowd.
Austin gave her a weary smile and she looked out at the crowd.
They were crying and smiling back at them.
At that moment, she was sure that she had and never again will feel anything better.
...
Once backstage, Kasey explained that Abby had went back out to the bus during their performance, so Austin spent the rest of the night with Kristen.
They stood quietly, watching Pierce The Veil wow their hometown.
Austin giggled next to her, and she turned to see him looking at her mischievously.
"What?" She questioned, still smiling back at him.
"Want to do something fun?"
"Like what?"
His smile grew. "When I go… follow me."
She nodded, almost scared at what he was planning.
He grabbed his mic and turned to her. "NOW!"
Despite her nervousness, she followed when he ran out on stage.
"What if I can't forget you? I'll burn your name into my throat; I'll be the fire that'll catch you!" Austin screamed over Jaime.
They were all shocked and confused, but they continued the song.
"Nobody prays for the heartless!"
"NO!" Kristen jumped in.
Vic smirked at her and continued singing.
Jaime jumped down from his platform and she stepped onto it, head banging to the music along with the crowd.
There was a guitar solo after another chorus and once it finished, Kristen sang the next round.
"So what if I can't forget you? I'll burn your name into my throat; I'll be the fire that'll catch you. What's so good about picking up the pieces? What if I don't even want to?"
There was another break, and then there was silence just before Austin's screams took over.
"What if I can't forget you?"
Jaime and Vic finished off the song, while Austin and Kristen danced around the stage.
When it was over, they hurried backstage so that they could end the show.
...
"I can't believe you guys did that!" Vic laughed loudly as the bands started walking back to their buses.
However, there were fans everywhere and none of them could ignore them, so they all stopped to hang with them for a little while.
Kristen was signing something for a girl when someone called out her name.
"Kristen! Kristen! Can we speak to you?"
She turned towards the voice and smiled. "Yeah, what's up?"
"We're with the San Diego Scream Scene, a YouTube show that interviews acts that are around here. Mind if we ask a few questions about your band?" One of the girls asked.
"Oh, of course." She was nervous, and looked over at Austin's smiling face.
She smiled back and turned to the interviewers.
"So first, tell us about your band."
"Well, we're called The New Revolution, and we're here to rock the damn world." Kristen shrugged.
The girls laughed. "How did you get the name?"
"Caleb, our drummer, and I came up with it. We want to help form a new generation, a group of kids who finally believe that they don't have to give a fuck what anyone thinks. We want them to understand that the things that make them different and the bad stuff that happens to them are just what happens to us. We're the best people. We go through all of this shit and, as probably cocky as it sounds, we're better. Yeah there will be plenty of people who think it's a bad thing to make kids think that, but it's true. We're smarter. I'd pick brains over anything any day. If it's wrong then I guess I've never been right." She paused. "When we accept that this is who we are, we can unite. And once we do, the world is ours."
"Well it's good that you have a motive. On a lighter note, or possibly heavier, what was tonight all about? Is there something you and a certain someone haven't been telling others?" The girl smirked at Kristen with a raised eyebrow.
Kristen looked back at her, confused for a moment. "What?"
"You know. Do you have anything going on with a screaming prince charming?"
Before Kristen could answer, Austin ran up behind her and threw an arm around her neck.
"Wasn't tonight badass?" Austin asked loudly.
Kristen giggled, mostly because she finally understood the girl's question.
"It was!" They answered.
Austin gave a small laugh and kissed Kristen's cheek before leaving without another word.
Kristen laughed too, and looked back at the interviewers. "I'm sorry guys; I have to get back to the bus."
"It's all good, you have fun in there." The girl winked at her.
"Sleeping is so fun! Especially alone. Nothing better." Kristen tried to get them to take the hint.
"Sure, sure. Any last thing you want to say to everyone?"
Kristen looked at the camera as she spoke. "Yeah, guys, check us out! And don't do drugs. Peace." She gave the camera a smile and walked off shot and back towards their bus.
...
Austin was standing alone outside of the Pierce The Veil bus as Kristen walked up to it.
"Hey." She smiled at him. "What are you doing here?"
"Just wanted to say goodnight." He smiled softly. "And thank you for everything tonight."
"Aw, no need. It was the best time of my life. I'm glad I got to spend it with you."
The way the moon shined on Austin's eyes when they lit up made her heart flutter.
"Thanks so much." Austin said as he wrapped his arms around her.
"She'd be so proud of you, Austin." Kristen whispered against his chest.
"And of you."
"But it's not me that matters." She laughed.
"You do matter, and you really did to her." He laid his cheek against the top of her head. "She used to always tell me that the only reason she was happy that you weren't her real daughter was because of 'us'… she would always say 'us', and I never understood it." He paused, both of them just listening to the other breathe. "But lately, I've finally started to realize why."
He lifted his face and kissed her head just as they had to break their embrace.
"I'll see you in Vegas." He smiled widely.
"Get some sleep!" She called as he started walking towards his bus.
"I'll try!" He replied.
She still had a smile on her face as she opened the door and headed inside.
She heard everyone back in the lounge, but she was too tired to go hang out.
She started to change and almost fell down when she took off her pants because the bus started moving.
"You okay?" Kasey laughed.
"Yeah, what are you doing?"
"Reading until I pass out."
"Good luck… they'll probably get pretty loud soon."
"Good luck with sleeping through it."
She smirked at him as she climbed up into her bunk.
"Night, Kase."
It was extremely muted, but she could've sworn she heard him whisper back, "Goodnight, Mrs. Carlile."