I pace the floor anxiously, my eyes flitting to the door every few seconds, while Stella sits on the couch, calm as ever. How the hell is she not the least bit nervous? I mean... this is it.    

Whatever happens tonight is the deciding factor for us. Not only is Jace bringing his boss, but there will be plenty of other industry folks here to check us out, as well as the other two opening bands.    

There's no doubt in my mind that we can do it. I know we can.    

I guess my issue is, this is the first thing we've done that's on the level I'd gotten so used to. If all goes well, tonight is going to land me right back in the middle of the life I walked away from and I'm scared shitless.    

I've sworn to myself and everyone around me that I'm in this for the long haul, but what if I'm wrong? What if I get up there and choke? What if I realize I really can't handle that life anymore? Either one of those is entirely possible.     

"Five minutes." Lucas grins as he and Benny step into the room, both nothing short of ecstatic.    

We file out of the room and head for the stage, Lucas discreetly lacing his fingers through mine as we make our way down the long, dimly lit hall.    

I'm still not entirely sure what to make of that situation. We haven't put any kind of a label on it and I'm not so sure I want to. But, it would be nice to know where the hell I stand.     

Unfortunately, with the stress of the battle of the bands and this show, I haven't really had the time to sit down and worry about that kind of crap.     

It's not like we've tried to hit it either. Benny and Stella are fully aware that something is going on. They actually seem pretty un phased by it, which works out in my favor too. I've had a relationship be the focus of everyone's attention before, and we all know how that turned out.    

We reach the stage and I take a deep breath. No matter how this turns out, everything will be fine. I have to believe that.    

"You'll be amazing. Stop freaking out." Lucas smiles and kisses my temple quickly.     

I nod in response and follow my band mates out on stage.     

We're going to be fine, right?

****************    

"You are the most amazing woman I've ever met. Seriously... I'm going to build an alter and worship you the rest of my life." Benny nods seriously before taking another long swig of his drink.     

"Don't get ahead of yourself. We don't have a deal.... yet." Lucas smiles knowingly. "Where's your boy at?"    

"Beats me." I shrug, my eyes searching the bar for Jc.    

We've been off stage for roughly twenty minutes and already, three label reps have approached us. We've exchanged numbers and business cards, promising to keep our options open.    

In reality, we're biding our time until Jace and his boss show up.     

I know it's stupid and selfish that I want Jc involved in all of this, but I know what he's capable of. I know we can trust him and I know he'll do everything in his power to take care of us. Signing with someone else would be too much of a risk.    

I finally spot him near the exits, a taller man standing in front of him with his back to me. With the music and crowd noise, it's impossible to hear what either of them are saying, but I've seen that look on Jc's face entirely too many times to not know what it means.    

He's fucking pissed, to put it mildly.     

The taller man storms off toward the bar and Jc frowns, looking around quickly. His eyes finally land on our table and I wave him over.     

Honestly, I was expecting a little more excitement from him, but he just looks... depressed, is the best word I can think of.     

"Hey." He nods when he reaches us, after pushing his way through the crowd.    

"So... what's the deal man?" Lucas leans forward in his seat.    

"You guys were fantastic... there's no question there."

"Right. The question is, where's your big boss man?" Benny slurs, a wide grin stretching across his face. "He's the one we had to impress, right?"    

"Well... yeah. He's... he dug the set." Jc forces a smile, refusing to meet my eyes. "There's just some... complications."    

What the hell?    

Jc swore this was a done deal. When he called me yesterday, he was convinced our deal was pretty much in the bag, it was just a matter of getting this guy to a show. So, what's the fucking hold up?    

"There's just... I've gotta go over some shit with him. It's nothing, trust me."    

"Where's he at? I'll talk to him." Lucas shrugs. "If he can say we were good... there shouldn't be any complication. Either he wants to sign us or he doesn't."    

"He's... thinking about it."    

"Thinking about what, exactly?" Stella mutters and rolls her eyes.     

"You know what? Fuck this. We've got three other labels ready to sign us in the morning. Thanks for coming out." Lucas rolls his eyes and slides out of the booth, pulling me along with him. "C'mon. Let's get a beer and get a good spot for The Killers."        

"I tried Madison... I swear I did. There's just... there's shit going on that you don't know about." Jc frowns. I can't remember ever seeing him this helpless. It's a little weird.    

"It's fine Jace. You tried when you didn't have to. I still appreciate that." I smile and give him a small wave before letting Lucas pull me through the crowd.    

I wasn't so sure before, but now it's plain to see that this was completely out of Jace's hands. I know him well enough to know that if he had any control over the situation, we'd be signing a contract at this very moment.     

Like Lucas said, we've still got three other labels who are interested. We're not going to fail just because one didn't want us.    

"What a bunch of bullshit." Lucas mumbles as we reach the bar. "You know... I bet you he's got no fucking pull with his label. This was probably his way of getting back at you for whatever you did."    

"He wouldn't do that."    

"Sure about that? Cause from where I'm standing, this was pretty fucked up. Hype everybody up like that and dick us at the last second. Fuck him."    

"Don't be an asshole." I mutter and pull my hand out of his grasp.    

I'm not saying he can't be upset or anything. I'm not exactly thrilled with the way this turned out either. But, atleast I know it's not Jace's fault. I'm not about to stand here and let Lucas blame him.    

He tried, what else was he supposed to have done? He went above and beyond what I deserved, so I'm not going to be mad or judge him.     

Besides, even though this didn't work out the way I was hoping, I did get to clear the air with him and that's more important to me than any record deal.     

"You're right. I'm sorry." His expression softens before he leans in and presses his lips to mine.     

As corny as it sounds, I honestly can't see myself ever getting tired of kissing him.    

I know it's beyond stupid to be jumping into something with him, but it's like it's impossible not to. Everything about him seems to pull me in and even when he's being a prick, I still want to be around him.     

Apparently I have a thing for arrogance.     

He pulls away to order our drinks and I turn to face the crowd. The Killers should be starting their set fairly soon, then we can get the hell out of here and crash. Thank the lord.     

To this day, watching a crowd of people at concert never ceases to amaze me. Excitement is clear as day on everyone's face and I've always loved seeing that many people sing along to the same songs, even when they aren't mine.     

I spot a vaguely familiar red baseball cap in the corner and my eyes travel down to the face underneath it.     

Holy fucking shit.    

I swallow hard and do everything I can to catch my breath. Why the fuck is he here? We haven't spoken in damn near a year. Hell... I can't even fathom how he'd have heard about us.    

Or... maybe he's just here to see The Killers. Trace has always been a music whore. And I can clearly remember him performing a rousing, drunken rendition of Mr. Brightside one night at some party.     

But it's just too much of a coincidence.    

I'm finally able to look away from Trace long enough to catch a glimpse of the man standing beside him, who is staring directly at me. Or maybe he's looking at Lucas's arms around my waist. I can't really be sure.     

His eyes finally lock with mine and I inhale sharply.     

Fuck.    

This just got so much worse.    

And suddenly... it all makes sense.     

Why Jc never told us the name of the label he was working for. Why his "boss" had to think about signing us.     

It's been him all along.     

"I'm at a new label and before this goes any further, you should probably know who..."         

Jace even tried to tell me. And I was so damn happy that he was talking to me again, I told him I didn't care.     

Justin is Jc's boss.    

Jace's new label is Tennman.         

Maybe it should have clicked sooner. Or maybe I was too caught up in being excited about something for the first time in god knows how long, that I just didn't think it through.     

Justin shoots me a disgusted look before roughly shoving his way through the crowd and toward the door.    

What the fuck am I supposed to do? Do I go after him? Do I let him go, pretend this never happened and sign with one of the labels that actually wants us?    

I can't even begin to imagine how this looks to him.     

I told him I needed to get away, not just from him, but from my entire life in general, yet here I am, less than a year later, ready to start the whole process all over again.     

This is probably the dumbest thing I'll ever do, but I have to go after him. He deserves atleast some form of an explanation.     

"I'm gonna run to the bathroom real quick."    

"Yeah, cool. Hurry up though... The Killers are on in ten. I'll be up front." Lucas grabs our drinks from the bartender, kisses me quickly and disappears into the crowd.     

I push my way through the sea of bodies and reach the exit in record time. I step outside and look around quickly, not spotting Justin anywhere.     

I round the corner of the building and there he is, his back to me once again, his arms wrapped around his head, resting on the roof of what I can only assume is his rental car.     

I make my way through the lot, plotting out exactly what to say as I go. Unfortunately, nothing seems good enough.    

Go figure.    

He straightens up suddenly and turns to face me, his mouth set into a hard line. He folds his arms across his chest and glares at me.    

"Justin..." I sigh pathetically.     

I had all the hope in the world that I'd never be in this position. Guess I should have known this would all come back to bite me in the ass eventually.     

"So... this is your definition of getting away, huh?" Justin fumes. "Or did you just wanna get in one more lie for the fucking road? Your little song was a nice touch by the way. Almost made me believe you felt bad about it."    

Clearly, coming after him was not the way to go.