The first few days away from the tour were a little strange, it took Shelby a while to get used to normal life again. She couldn't go back to the coffee shop as Bonner had hired someone new to replace her as she was originally scheduled to be gone for so many months. She didn't start looking for a job right away, she took the time she had to just take a break and relax.

Her and Nancy had been together almost every day. Shelby had met her foster parents the day they had come back and she found they were very nice. Nancy had one other sister and one brother, both of whom were very sweet. They had taken to Shelby like she was their own big sister. Ariana and Luke, her parents had really liked Shelby, they said that she could come around whenever she wanted and had assured her it was okay that Nancy was over at her apartment a lot.

Shelby was really missing Justin, but she knew that she had to get used to this as he would be gone most of the time. They talked every day and every day they seemed to learn more about each other and fell more in love.

"How are things going?" Justin asked her.

"They're going good, Nancy and I hung out all day yesterday and she stayed overnight here last night. It's been wonderful to have her around again. We barely got to know each other before I had to move to come here." Shelby answered.

"Well I'm glad to hear that. Sounds like everything is working out well for you there. I wish I was there with you, I miss you so much Shelby. Nothing is the same around here any more since you've been gone."

"I miss you too Justin, more than you know. I would have stayed, but I had to start my life here. I still haven't fully settled in yet, I have to an extent, but I still don't really know my way around and I don't have a job yet either."

"I know sweetie, I know. I hate to do it, but I have to go now. I'll call you later."

"Okay, I love you Justin." Shelby said breathlessly.

"I love you too Shelby, talk to you later."

Shelby hung up the phone and let out a long sigh it seemed harder to hang up the phone after talking to him, but she was getting better at it, she really was. A knock on the door caused her to loose her train of thought and made her jump.

Getting up, she walked over to the door and checked the peep hole. She had no idea who it was that was standing out there, so she cautiously opened the door. "Can I help you?" she asked the man standing there.

"Hi, I'm your neighbor and my phone isn't working, I was wondering if I may be able to use yours to call the phone company." he asked.

"Um, sure." Shelby said opening the door.

"Nice place you have, very dark." he said looking around.

"Yeah well," Shelby shrugged. "I only have a cell." Shelby handed him the phone.

"No problem. I'm Tony by the way." he said offering his hand.

"Shelby." she nodded shaking his hand.

Tony dialed some numbers on the phone and put it to his ear. "Yes, hi, this is Anthony Karr and I'm having problems with my phone."

Shelby didn't want to eavesdrop on his conversation so she went farther away and grabbed a CD and put it on play. She tried to keep herself busy, but didn't succeed so she gave up and just watched him.

He was tall and skinny, he was wearing dark jeans with a studded belt and a black t-shirt that said Taking Back Sunday. She had to admit he was really cute, he looked like he should be on stage at a concert or something.

"You're an AFI fan?" he asked hearing her music.

"Yeah, they have good music." Shelby nodded taking her phone from him.

"I'm impressed, most girls around here just like the boy bands and the other little pop stars." he chuckled.

"I like Nsync." Shelby shrugged.

"I can see that," Tony said picking up a picture of her and Justin. "He your boyfriend?"

Shelby nodded and came over to look at the picture.

"How did you come to know Justin Timberlake? You don't really look like you would go to an Nsync concert." Tony asked looking her up and down.

"It's really a long story." Shelby said not really wanting to bring it up again.

"I hear ya. So the phone company said they'd be sending someone out to fix it for me." Tony said changing the subject.

"Sounds good."

"You ever hear of Taking Back Sunday?" Tony asked breaking the silence.

"Nope. Are they any good?" Shelby answered.

"They're awesome. Do you have a few minutes? You can come over to my place and listen to them if you'd like. I've gotta get back anyway, I've got a couple buddies over." Tony suggested.

"I have nothing to do anyway." Shelby shrugged.

"All right then, lets get a goin." Tony said heading to the door.

Shelby wasn't sure what she was doing when she followed Tony out the door. She knew that she needed to make some new friends, but she wasn't sure if this was quite the way to do it. She found herself following Tony into his apartment, she felt awkward as the three other guys all turned to look at her.

"Hey guys, this is Shelby, she's come to listen to some TBS. Shelby these are the guys, that's Ryan, Scott, and Jason." Tony pointed to the various guys.

"Hey," Shelby nodded, feeling very shy at the moment.

"Nice to meet ya." Ryan said making her feel welcome.

"Hey," Scott and Jason both greeted.

"The phone company is sending out people." Tony said as he flipped through his CD case.

"Sweet," Scott answered.

"So Shelby, what kind of music do you listen to?" Ryan asked her.

"I don't have much. I just started listening to music." Shelby shrugged.

"What CD's do you have." Jason questioned.

"I have some AFI, some Nsync, Avril Lavigne, a Marilyn Manson live CD, some Charlotte Church, The Used, Sugarcult, an Enrique Iglesias CD, some musical soundtracks and that's about it." Shelby answered.

"You have Nsync?" Jason asked his eyebrows raised.

"Yeah." Shelby nodded.

"She's dating Justin Timberlake." Tony answered finding what he was looking for.

"Weird," Scott stared at her.

"You can't help who you fall in love with." Shelby defended.

"Oh I know that sweetie, you're preachin to the choir." Scott answered.

"So this is Taking Back Sunday, I'm going to play you one of my favorite songs. It's called You're So Last Summer." Tony said sitting down in on the couch next to Shelby and pushed play on the remote to his CD player.

She said
"don't, don't let it go to your head
Boys like you are a dime a dozen,
Boys like you are a dime a dozen"
She said
"you're a touch overrated,
you're a lush and I hate it
but these grass stains on my knees
they won't mean a thing"

And all I (all I)
Need to know (need to know)
Is that I'm something you'll be missing
(is that I'm something that you're missing)
(maybe I should hate for this)
Maybe I should hate you for this
Never really did ever quite get that far
(maybe I should hate for this)
Maybe I should hate you for this
Never really did ever quite get that...

I'd never lie to you
Unless I had to
I'll do what I got to
Unless I had to
I'll do what I got to, the truth
is you could slit my throat
And with my one last gasping breath
I'd apologize for bleeding on your shirt

And all I (all I)
Need to know (need to know)
Is that I'm something you'll be missing
(is that I'm something that you're missing)
(maybe I should hate for this)
Maybe I should hate you for this
Never really did ever quite get that far
(maybe I should hate for this)
Maybe I should hate you for this
Never really did ever quite get that...

Cause I'm a wishful thinker with the worst intentions
This'll be last chance you get to drop my name
Cause I'm a wishful thinker with the worst intentions
This'll be last chance you get to drop my name

If I'm just bad news, then you're a liar (Maybe I should...)
If I'm just bad news, then you're a liar (...hate you for this)
If I'm just bad news, then you're a liar (Maybe I should...)
If I'm just bad news, then you're a liar (...hate you for this)
If I'm just bad news, then you're a liar (Maybe I should...)
If I'm just bad news, then you're a liar (...hate you for this)
If I'm just bad news, then you're a liar (Maybe I should...)
If I'm just bad news, then you're a liar (...hate you for this)

Maybe I should hate you for this
(If only you knew half as much as you pretend to)
Maybe I should hate you for this
(If only you knew half as much as you pretend to)

"That was really good." Shelby commented when it was over.

"Glad you like it, I have an extra copy of the CD if you'd like it." Tony looked at her.

"Sure." Shelby nodded.

Tony again went in search of a CD, this time he came back quickly and handed her an unopened copy of Tell All Your Friends, the Taking Back Sunday CD.

"Thanks." Shelby smiled taking it from him.

"So Shelby, tell us, how did you get hooked up with the Pop Boy Wonder." Jason asked her.

"I don't really want to talk about it." Shelby shook her head.

"Fair enough," Jason answered.

"What are you doing tonight?" Tony asked her.

"Nothing."

"If you'd like to come with us, we've got tickets to go see The Used. We have an extra ticket, one of our other buddies couldn't make it." Tony suggested.

"Really? I love them." Shelby asked getting excited.

"All right then, it's agreed, you'll come with us." Tony smiled.

"What time does it start ?" Shelby questioned.

"Starts at six." Jason answered.

"Well isn't it noon now?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Don't you believe in getting there early to get a front row seat?" Shelby asked.

"There's never anybody there this early." Scott assured her.

"I'm going to go get ready, then we're going to go there and get in line." Shelby said.

"Are we really?" Scott smirked.

"Yes, there are always people that go early. Trust me, I was just on tour with Nsync for a month and a half." Shelby said standing up.

"Fine, we'll go early, just for you sweetie." Tony said smiling at her, he stood up and put his hand on the small of her back and walked her to the door.

"Give me like forty-five minutes." Shelby turned to him.

"No problem." Tony smiled and softly kissed her cheek.

Shelby walked toward her apartment with a confused look on her face. Why did he kiss her, he knew that she had a boyfriend. She quickly dispelled that thought and hurriedly threw some clothes together and jumped in the shower. Tonight she would get to see a concert that wasn't Nsync, how excited she was.

She turned on her Used CD and cranked it up and got ready in a hurry. She decided to go with a pair of black pants with the strategically placed straps hanging off them and her red AFI shirt, she put on her black Chucks and donned several bracelets. Shelby did her make up so that it looked good, but didn't over do it. As she promised, she was ready and knock on Tony's door within forty five minutes.

"Impressive, we didn't think you'd be back within an hour." Tony laughed as he answered the door.

"Do I look like one of those girls that would take forever to get ready?" Shelby asked.

"Not at all. So are you ready to go? Jason asked waiting by the door.

"Of course. By the way, how much do I owe you for the ticket?" Shelby asked grabbing her wallet out of her back pocket.

"Nothing, it's already paid for." Tony smiled.

"Thanks."

"No problem."

They all got in Tony's jeep and drove down to the show, when they got there they found that Shelby had been right, there were already a few people there. Shelby gave them a told you so and jumped out and got in line.

They waited in line until the doors opened up at 5. They rushed to the front and ended up getting a front center spot. Shelby stood up against the barricade with Scott at her right and Jason at her left. Ryan was standing on the other side of Scott, and Tony ended up standing behind her, knowing that she would get pushed a lot. Tony had his hands resting on either side of Shelby on the barricade, boxing her in.

Shelby was really excited and could hear all around her people coming in and talking, she wasn't so sure about Tony and his arms practically around her, but she tried to ignore it as she anticipated the show.

"You excited?" Scott asked from her right.

"Very. Who are the openers?" Shelby asked.

"I believe it's Motion City Soundtrack, Sugarcut, then My Chemical Romance, then The Used. It's a co-headlineing tour with MCR and The Used." Scott explained.

"Cool." Shelby smiled.

Ryan nudged Scott and when he looked over, Ryan nodded to Tony. Scott knew what he was getting at and he agreed, what was Tony doing, Shelby had a boyfriend yet he was hitting on her. It was plain as day, this was not something Tony would normally do.

"What's his deal?" Ryan asked low enough for only Scott to hear.

"I have no idea, he knows she has a boyfriend, yet he's all over her." Scott shook his head.

"She's not comfortable with it. Look at her." Ryan looked at Shelby who was trying to act natural.

"Should we say anything?" Scott asked.

"I don't think so, he'll get pissed and you know what he's like when he gets mad."

"Yeah."

Their conversation ended there as the lights went down and the crowd went wild. Motion City Soundtrack were the first performers, they put on a high energy show, their music was interesting in Shelby's opinion. They had one really interesting instrument, it looked like a little keyboard, and when she asked Jason, she was informed it was called a moog, it was like a synthesizer.

Sugarcult came out and played an awesome show. The lead singer really got into it and at one point jumped down and sang kind of to the crowd. He jumped up so he was sort of on the barricade, and at one point he was right in front of Shelby, she was sandwiched between him and Tony it was kind of fun, but at the same time awkward because of the position she was in.

My Chemical Romance played a good show, but Shelby was really excited to see The Used. The lead singer from MCR squatted down and sang part of a song right to her and she shyly smiled at him as he got up and went back into his high energy performance.

Finally it was time for The Used. As soon as they came out, the crowd surged forward. For a moment, Shelby couldn't breathe. It took her suddenly so she didn't have a hold of the barricade, but soon she realized why Tony stood behind her, he was pushing the crowd off her. She reminded herself to thank him when the show was over.

Oh, they were amazing. Bert was such a goofball and he was so amazingly talented. He was all over the stage flinging his microphone up in the air and catching it, you could tell he really loved what he was doing. Shelby's favorite parts of the show were when they played Poetic Tragedy followed by On My Own, those were two of her favorite songs. She felt tears fall down her cheeks as she watched them perform Poetic Tragedy.

The cup is not half empty as pessimists say
As far as he's sees, nothing's left in the cup
A whole cup full of nothing for him to indulge
Since the voice of ambition has long since been shut up

A singer, a writer, he's not dreaming now of going nowhere
He gave heed to nothing, and all that he was....
Is just a tragedy

Shelby felt so much emotion as she listened to the words, it fit the previous point in her life so well. Tears were streaming down her face as she felt a hand grab hers to her right, Scott was trying to comfort her the best he could without making a scene.

So he voyages in circles
Succeeds getting nowhere
And submits to the substance
That first got him there

Then in violent, frustration, he cries out to God or just no one
Is there a point to this madness and all that he was....
Is just a tragedy

Shelby longed to feel Justin's arms around her, she felt so alone. She was surrounded by people, but she still had never felt more alone. She wanted nothing but to feel the arms of her love around her telling her everything was going to be all right. She watched Bert climb down off the stage and stand in front of her.

He feels alone
His heart in his hand
He's alone
He feels alone
I feel....

Bert saw a girl in the audience crying and he felt her pain as he sang and he had to somehow convey his pain with hers. He jumped down and sang to her and added what he was feeling to what she was feeling. Nobody had witnessed something so emotional.

Then on that last day he breaks
And he stood tall
And he yelled... and he takes his life

After the song had finished, Bert put down his mic and walked over to Shelby and gave her a big hug. The audience was going nuts, but he didn't care. All he knew was that he had to hug her. "We don't know each other, but I felt I had to tell you that everything was going to be okay." he whispered before jumping back on stage.

Shelby felt numb, how did he know.

The rest of the show went great and afterwards Shelby went back to the merch table where she wanted to buy some CD's. From the Motion City Soundtrack table she grabbed a CD and a t-shirt. Tony insisted on paying for her things, and nothing Shelby said could detur him so she let him. She got all of the members but the singer to autograph her CD. She met Tim and Marko 72 from Sugarcult and got their first CD and also a t-shirt. She bought a CD from MCR and from the Used table, she bought a poser, and a t-shirt.

Shelby had a wonderful time with everyone and they went out to eat afterwards, and by the time they went home, it was hard to talk because their voices were so hoarse from screaming.

Tony just got worse as the night progressed. He acted as if he was her boyfriend. He bought her meal and all of her merch, and when they made it home, he walked her to her door. She was getting really uncomfortable with it all and she finally got into her apartment and shut the door.

"That was weird." Shelby whispered after Tony had left. "Loads of fun, but why was he so clingy. He knows I have a boyfriend."

Shelby changed into her pajamas and went to bed as tired as she was, she fell asleep right away.

*Song credits You're So Last Summer by Taking back Sunday and Poetic Tragedy by The Used