So a warning for all of you that don't read the author notes.

Staring down at the gossip magazine, Keely shifted in her seat, propping her elbow against the window. Strange how she had managed to avoid true notice through her weeks in Bellingham, but the moment Seth came into town, the place was swarming with paparazzi.

It either showed that he was just that much more well-known than she or people in the town just didn’t care about spreading gossip about her in the same way since she wasn’t exactly a new element there. Either way, she didn’t care. If it meant she could stay out of the pages of magazines longer, she’d quite happily do whatever she needed.

However that didn’t last. Pictures that had been snapped on the street were splayed across the long spread devoted to her and Seth, some from the school and even one of him leaving his motel room while he slipped sunglasses onto his eyes.

Was it sad that it didn’t even surprise her that they stalked him to his motel?

What she thought was worse was the fact she recognized the side of the motel he was staying at, she could even nail down exactly where his room was due to the number on the door.

In all, the entire thing was giving her a headache. Although the dull throbbing in the back of her head might be more due to the fact that as she read through the article, her dad was driving his truck without pause. Months on a bus, not once did she get car sick, no matter what she did. Two hours in her dad’s truck? She was even feeling dizzy.

Groaning, Keely tossed the magazine away from herself, letting it flop in the middle of the bench seat between them.

“Advil?” he questioned.

Rubbing her temples, she nodded slowly, murmuring, “Yeah…”

“It’s in the glove box.”

“What’s wrong?” Joseph asked from the back seat, coming blankly into the conversation as he leaned into the front part of the cab.

Before Keely even had the chance to reply, it was her father who supplied the answer. “She has a headache.”

For a moment she pursed her lips, but then just gave an unconscious shrug of the shoulders as she decided she was perfectly okay with her father answering for her. Instead of speaking, she just dug through the little drawer until she found the much anticipated bottle of pills. Popping the lid off, she quickly downed it with what was left of the lukewarm water sitting in the bottle in the cup holder.

“Are you sure it’s good to do a concert with a headache?” Joe pestered from behind her.

Sighing she shuffled back into her seat, wrapping her arms securely around herself. “I’ve performed with a headache before, Joe; I think I can handle this.”

The cab of the truck fell into silence at her words, causing Keely to stare out the window to see the city moving past them. It couldn’t be much longer to the stadium, and barely longer until her set came up, The Cavern Jets didn’t really get a long time on stage anyways, about twenty minutes.

Her stomach was jittering with nerves. Everything was bearing down upon her with a surprising ferocity that she hadn’t even thought about, for so long she’d been looking forward to this concert. But now that it was time, it seemed like complete suicide.

There was Joseph and she wasn’t sure how he would take to seeing a real concert of hers, the same could be said for her father. There was wondering if Haley would show up, she’d reserved front row tickets and backstage passes for this concert for all her friends months ago. Seeing her back up band for the first time since the fiasco, seeing The Cavern Jets – though more importantly Will, of course Colton and Marco who she missed more than she could explain. Then there was Seth of course, what was she even going to be able to say to him after their last words to one another? Or rather, his last words to her. She hadn’t really said much.

But the main issue that had those birds of prey flapping around in her stomach? Going up on stage again, in front of a real crowd, not just her father, Joe or even a classroom of teenage kids; now that she’d passed those obstacles, they seemed insignificant in comparison to the stadium she was about to play.

The last time she’d done this she’d coughed up blood in front of twenty thousand people, not to mention ran away after.

Well… to be honest, there was a bright side to all of that.

It couldn’t get much worse than that.

When the things that could be worse started popping into her mind, Keely hastily forced her mind away from the subject. Instead she gave a shiver at the surprisingly chill air that the open window was supplying a steady stream of. “I can’t believe its cold,” she muttered, rolling up the window.

Her dad just gave a shrug. “It’s a summer storm coming on; the weather has been so hot lately it was bound to happen.”

“Are you the weather man or something now?” she teased, raising her eyebrows at him.

“Everyone can tell it’s about to rain,” Joe piped up from behind them, leaning his elbows against the seat as he shuffled forward to join the conversation. “You can feel it on the air.”

Giving a short laugh in the back of her throat, Keely let her head fall back against the head rest behind her. “Oh, yeah, I forgot, you two live on farms. You’re the undisputed kings among the weather men, but you get none of the glory.”

In response the two just sent her bland looks.

Burying her head in her hands, Keely groaned, “I can’t believe we’re talking about the weather.”

Before either of the men in the car could make a comment in response to her words, the stadium came into view, her father slowing down to take the turn while the car once again fell into complete silence. Though she felt for each person it was for different reasons, for her it was utter nerves, while she suspected for the boys it might be awe.

It was a fact that people with tickets to the sold out show had already been let in, after all, it was only a half an hour until the show began – she blamed their lateness with her father’s refusal to listen to internet directions and her own procrastination. Yet there were hundreds of people piled around the front door of the stadium, holding signs and reminding her of a completely different concert in what felt like forever ago.

Swallowing the ball of nerves that erupted in her throat, Keely announced, “Showing up to my sold out rock concert… in my dad’s beat up old truck. Very cool. Anyways, just pull in behind,” she told him, pointing to the place she’d been given strict orders to go.

He sent her a raised eyebrow look. “Embarrassed to be seen with your dad?”

With a roll of her eyes, she replied, “I’ve been seen with worse people. Ever heard of Rachael Gosling? You never want to. But unless you want a mob denting your beloved old beast, I’d suggest back door parking.”

With the threat of his truck getting dented, her dad was all too willing to pull around back, no argument needed.

“Dad?” she questioned when he’d pulled straight in front of the back doors, a threatening but very familiar security guard on duty in front of them. Keely sent him a quizzical look, not opening the door in her confusion as he continued to let the engine run idly beneath the hood of the truck.

“You two go ahead,” he said with a nod to the doors, “I’ll just park the truck.”

Staring at him incredulously, she blurted, “Just park the truck here.”

Determinedly, her father shook his head. “No way, imagine how much they charge you to park here.”

“Oh my god,” Keely groaned, rubbing her forehead with her hand. “Dad, this isn’t like parking for a football game when I was a kid and having to walk four miles to the stadium so you can get free parking. I’ll pay the freaking charge.”

He sent her an insulted look, answering, “I don’t want you to have to pay for me.”

“Dad,” she told him, still not able to rid herself of that disbelieving expression. “Maureen would cover the cost anyways if I demand it. I really don’t care that much.”

Instead of giving in, he used that stubbornness that she no longer thought she’d inherited in tenfold and forced her and Joseph out of the car. Talk about cheap. It was like squeezing money from a stone.

“Just remember to show them your backstage pass and everything,” she ordered, holding open the door.

Her dad just fixed her with a pointed look, for a second reminding Keely how much she really was like her dad before he spoke. “I’ve got it, Keely, now shut the door.”

Pulling a face at him that only made the man chuckle, she slammed the door shut. With just a wordless glance to Joseph at her side, she stuffed her hands in the pockets of the ripped jeans she was wearing before taking off at a slow gait towards the man standing guard over the back door. At this time in the year – with the heat they’d been having lately – she’d be wearing shorts and a tank, it got bloody hot up the stage. But it was being unseasonably chilly.

She didn’t need to say her name to the security guard; he simply sent them a nod, opening the door. And though it was an odd feeling, she supposed she should have expected it. After all, it was just as much her concert as it was NSR or The Cavern Jets.

Mumbling a thank you to the man with a sincere smile, she slipped into the door, snatching up Joe’s sleeve and pulling him in with her since he seemed like he was pausing. Despite those nerves from standing outside the stadium, the familiar labyrinth of hallways calmed her down, though she’d never been to this part of the stadium before. With all the stadiums she’d preformed in since New York, she was beginning to agree with those musicians who said that everything started to look the same on a stadium tour.

However, at this moment, she truly appreciated the fact that it was familiar. She felt more comfortable there than she ever did at home, getting more relaxed with every step that took them deeper into the stadium. It was understandable, beside the bus; stadiums had been her second home over the tour.

Completely opposed to her, Joe seemed to be getting more uncomfortable the further they got in.

And even though she couldn’t bring herself to reach out and ease his mind, their relationship felt so strange she could barely touch him anymore, she did sympathize with him. It wasn’t where he belonged, and it had been nice for him to come backstage with her for the show, but this was her place. He simply didn’t belong there, and why was it so easy for her to understand that about him, yet it didn’t work the other way around?

Getting closer to the stage, people she recognized started to become common. So far she hadn’t seen anyone from the bands, but every member of the light and stage crew, their tour crew in general, she knew by name and greeted warmly.

All along, Joseph just steadily looked more awkward with each passing moment.

“We’re almost there,” Keely promised, sending him a sidelong glance.

In undertone, he questioned, “How do you know?”

Suppressing her smile, she just gave a shrug. “There are signs,” she answered cryptically, though she didn’t tell him that there were actual signs pointing them to the stage. She supposed he was just being unobservant with the tension that was running through him.

Sending him a smile that was returned by his tentative one, Keely rounded the corner, not keeping her eyes on the road. And, unsurprisingly, slammed straight into another body.

Wasn’t that what teachers in elementary school tell you? When you’re walking in hallways, always look around the corner… or something like that. She couldn’t exactly remember. But it seemed like pretty sound advice, because her chin made a rather crunching contact with a tough chest.

“Ow, shit,” she swore, rubbing her chin before tilting her head upwards.

Gasping, Keely threw her arms up, having to quite literally jump to reach her arms around William’s neck as she dragged him down closer to her level. “I know I said if you ever walked into me again, I’d never talk to you but… not happening,” she told him, her voice muffled against him as she spoke.

“I’m pretty sure you walked into me,” Will accused, but she could feel the rumble of a chuckle moving through him. Giving her a tight squeeze, he pulled away, looking down at her with a concerned expression. “How are you doing?”

With a cheeky grin and a little shrug, she replied, “Good. Better now, though.”

Accepting that answer without question, he pointed out, “You’re late.”

“No I’m not,” Keely retorted stubbornly, “I’ve still got about fifty minutes until my set.”

“You almost missed ours though,” Will responded, sending her his charming boyish grin as he straightened his shirt.

“Good luck and I’ll see you after,” she affirmed, giving him a short hug before he hurried off.

For the first time since before Will had appeared, Keely remembered that Joe was standing right beside her. With a quick glance, she found that he was fixing her with a look that urged her to explain right away.

“He’s the drummer for The Cavern Jets, they’re the opening band,” she told him, following behind William, though at a slower pace. She was under the assumption that he’d be leading them towards the stage if his set really was as soon as he’d said. “He’s incredible, best drummer I’ve ever played with, he even got the John Bonham tattoo to go with me and Seth’s Led Zeppelin ones. The other guy who played with us when Will did, Jake Beck, got the John Paul Jones symbol. It’s awesome.”

His brilliant answer to her monologue was, “Alright.”

Biting back her annoyance, Keely just hurried her step up, feeling excitement instead of nerves at the thought of seeing some of her friends again. Her interaction with Will had been natural enough.

Following Will seemed to have been the right way to go, because she started to hear the crowd, and feel that familiar sensation of the palpable excitement skitter over her skin. It felt like a drug, and she drank it in greedily. Turning around one last corner, she found the entirety of The Cavern Jets standing at the door of the stage, waiting to go on.

Looking at them made her feel almost nostalgic. She could remember the first time she’d even heard them play. Back in New York City when they were just auditioning to be her back up band, with their original lead singer. They’d been so nervous. And now, standing there, they looked almost seasoned. Sure, she could see nervousness in their movements, but she doubted that unless you were Paul McCartney or any member of the Rolling Stones those nerves would ever go away.

Catching Will’s eyes, she gave him a short little salute, but when she caught Aaron’s gaze she sent him a bland stare before turning her look elsewhere.

Listening to the noise when they walked on the stage, she scoured the little crowd of people, sending a smile or a wave at everyone she recognized – which was most of them. But she was looking for a few people in particular. She wanted to see both Colton and Marco, give them tight hugs. She’d missed them so in their absence.

Yet she needed to see Seth. In the short time they’d been apart, he and his words had been almost all she’d thought about. However, she hadn’t let herself truly think about what she should say to him when they met again.

All because she was afraid she’d overthink everything, her words, what he’d say, what their reactions would be, and in the end, she’d wimp out and run away.

In the scouring, she even found Sadie and Tony; although they were too busy staring around in awe to be bothered by her presence.

Having almost given into the fact that she was going to have to ask someone where their change rooms were, she felt a sigh leave her mouth. However it was cut off short when she heard someone shout her name.

Spinning around, she found herself instantly enveloped into a warm pair of arms. After just a second of hesitation, Keely quickly wrapped her arms around the person who could be no one but Marco as he lifted her off her feet in the pressure of the hug, surprising a laugh out of her.

“Colton!” he yelled, though his eyes never her face.

Grinning, she pushed away from him, landing lightly on her feet, asking boldly, “Miss me?”

With a wink and twinkling eyes, Marco replied, “Always.”

“And always the flirt,” she countered, smiling broadly, but she brushed past him quickly, recognizing a mop of curly bronze hair.

Colton pulled her into a hug as well, although it wasn’t as tight as the one from Will or as high as the one from Marco. “Hey Keely,” he greeted simply, but the smile on his face was enough to assure her he’d missed her beyond a shadow of a doubt.

The smile on her face was almost painful because it was so enormous as she pressed a friendly kiss against his cheek. “God,” she muttered, “I missed you guys.”

“And already lifting the ego,” Colton admired, pressing his hand against his heart.

Arching an eyebrow, Keely replied, “And all the sudden I’m nostalgic for when we weren’t together.”

“Okay, ouch,” he said with a mock wince, “Ego going straight back down.”

Filling in the space between them, Keely gave him another hug, this one light as well, and altogether one sided because she pulled back before he could return the pressure. “I did really miss you guys, honestly,” she whispered, for his ears only.

A warm smile was his response as he rocked back onto his heels. “Don’t worry, Keel,” he assured her, “I know you did. We missed you too, and you don’t really understand how much yet.”

“Huh?” she asked, her eyebrows furrowing.

He chuckled, “Don’t worry, once you get back, Marco will bitch and complain enough for you to understand.”

Even though he’d still left her in the dark, she just stared at him, feeling her lip twitch slightly at the thought. “Yay,” Keely said unenthusiastically.

“You should go find your back up band,” Colton pressed, “They’re freaking out about the lack of sound check.”

Rolling her eyes, she grumbled, “It’s always the freaking sound check.”

“They’re in need of you.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” she mumbled. Biting her lip, she quickly searched the room again, though this time just looking for one person in particular. However, she wasn’t as lucky as she had been; there was no trace and no calling of her name. Reluctantly Keely turned back to Colton, barely able to get the words out. “Where’s Seth?”

An expression flickered over his face, something akin to sympathy, at least that’s what she thought it was. But before she could truly analyze it, the look was gone. “I don’t really know, he’s probably hiding somewhere very far away so he can play without any distractions before he goes on.”

Frowning up at him, she rubbed her arm, suddenly not feeling quite so relaxed. “What’s going on?”

“Nothing,” Colton answered with a smile at her, “Just go find your back up band.”

Not wanting to, but knowing it was like squeezing blood from a stone in order to get information from those boys when they didn’t want to give it, Keely stared at him for a long moment, nodding slowly.

Turning around to Joe, she found him standing there, sending Marco distrustful looks as Marco did the same to him.

“I’ve got to go find my Bitter Rivals,” Keely spoke up, stealing both of the boys’ attention.