Where is it? I think, eyes darting around the room.

For the past fifteen minutes I've been looking for my phone charger. I'm expecting a call from my mother any minute and my phone is completely dead.

Today, we're in Ohio and my mother insisted on seeing me, but in reality, I know she only wants to visit me so Katrina, her new fourteen year old step daughter, can see Alex. She's a big fan of his, and I know she made my mother call me so she can meet him.

Being the people pleaser I am, I agreed to let them come to the show tonight and meet Alex, with his permission of course. As much as I don't want that snobby brat to get her way, I want to show my mother that I'm successful without following in her footsteps and I'm happy with the job I have. I feel like I have to impress her, and hopefully she'll finally see that what I'm doing is a real job and I can make a living doing what I love.

Ready to pull my hair out, I try the one place I haven't looked yet, Alex's suitcase. Maybe I accidentally packed up my charger with all of his.

Unzipping the front pocket of his suitcase where I keep all of his chargers, I pull them out one by one, not finding mine. With a huff, I stubbornly reach back in the pocket, hoping somehow my charger will magically appear. While I don't find my charger, I feel a small piece of metal tucked away in the corner.

Grabbing the small object, I pull it out to see that it's the blue paper clip he stole from me the night we snuck out for ice cream, the one I threw at his window.

Why does he still have this? Is he keeping it or did he just so happen to accidentally throw it in here?

My heart warms at the thought of him intentionally keeping something so insignificant, and I realize I miss him. Even though we're not far apart, I miss hanging out with him all the time. But I know if I were to keep getting attached I'd only end up getting hurt more.

"Joslyn," Alex's voice calls from down the hall, footsteps getting closer. I quickly throw the paperclip and chargers back in his suitcase, standing up when he enters the room. "Missing something?" He smiles, my charger dangling from his fingers.

"You're a life saver!" I exclaim, taking the charger and running to the nearest outlet to plug my phone in. "Where did you find it?"

"It was laying on the floor near the back entrance. It must have fallen out of your bag." He shrugs. "Has your mom called yet?" he asks as my phone turns on.

I see that I have no missed calls and let out a sigh of relief. "Not yet."

Right as the words leave my mouth, the sound of my ringtone fills the air. I glance down to see my mother calling, my heartrate suddenly accelerating. Why am I so nervous?

"Are you going to answer that?" Alex asks as I stare at my phone.

"Yeah." I take in a deep breath and exhale. "Hello?" I finally answer the phone.

"We're at the back entrance like you instructed." My mother's voice comes through the line.

Well, hello to you too.

"Ok, I'll be right there," I mumble, already regretting this decision.

"They're here already?" Alex asks.

"Yep," I confirm, straightening out my clothes and fixing my hair, wanting to be presentable for my judgmental mother. "Have a good show and we'll see you afterwards." I give him a small smile, trying not to show my nerves.

"See ya." He smiles back.

I walk to the back entrance to go find my mother and Kat to let them into the arena. Alex insisted that he can get himself to the stage on time tonight so I can enjoy the full concert with my family. When I go outside, I'm able to spot Kat's naturally red hair instantly, it sticking out like a sore thumb. My mother is beside her with her dark brown hair down in waves, dressed in normal clothes. I'm so used to seeing her in scrubs with her hair up in a bun.

"Hey, mom," I greet her with a small smile, debating whether to hug her or not. My mother's not a very affectionate person, so I generally let her take the lead on any sort of physical contact.

"Joslyn." She gives me a tight lipped smile.

"Hey, Kat," I say, trying to be friendly.

She doesn't look up from her phone or say anything to me. The ungrateful little brat.

"Well, let's go to the sound board. The show will be starting soon," I say, flashing security my pass and leading them inside.

Freshly showered after the show, I change into some basketball shorts and a t-shirt and enter my dressing room. Joslyn is packing up my things while a woman and a girl sit on one of the couches. The woman is unmistakably Joslyn's mother, her dark brown hair and hazel eyes identical to Joslyn's. The girl, however, is anything but identical. Her red hair, freckles, and fair skin are far off from resembling any family genes.

When I step into the room, the redhead's eyes go wide and I can tell she's trying to hold back a scream.

"Hi, I'm Alex." I introduce myself to her mother first, politely outstretching my hand to her.

"It's nice to meet you." She smiles, shaking my hand. "I'm Jennifer, Katrina's mom." She looks to the redhead with a smile.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Joslyn falter, dropping the shirt she was folding upon hearing her mother introduce herself as this redhead's mother instead of her own. She quickly recovers, picking the shirt back up to fold it neatly and place it in my suitcase.

"Thank you for inviting us to come to the show and backstage. Katrina is such a big fan of yours, right?" Jennifer expectantly looks to the redhead who feverishly nods her head.

"I'm Kat." The redhead beams, standing up to give me a hug. "Thank you so much for letting us come tonight."

"No problem. Anything for Joslyn," I say, feeling the need to throw in some sort of dig back at them for treating Joslyn the way they are. "She's a really great girl. When she asked if you guys could come to the show, I didn't hesitate to say yes." I'm not going to let them forget that Joslyn is the one who got them here to meet me.

Jennifer purses her lips, nodding once, and the air starts to fill with awkward tension.

"So, how did you like the show?" I ask Katrina, wanting to clear the air.

"It was amazing!" she exclaims with a bright smile. "Would you mind if we get some pictures?" she asks, already holding out her phone to take selfies with me.

"Sure," I comply, knowing the question was going to come sooner or later. We snap some pictures and I answer some questions she asks me.

"Joslyn," Jennifer calls, causing Joslyn to snap her head up to look at her expectantly. "Would you mind taking some pictures of me with Alex and Katrina?" she asks, handing her phone off to Joslyn.

"Um, sure." She takes her mother's phone and snaps some pictures as they pose with me.

"Joslyn, why don't you give the phone to Milo and you can jump in here," I suggest, wanting her to be a part of the family photo.

She gives me a small, grateful smile, ready to hand the phone off to Milo.

"Oh, that's ok," her mother says, going to grab her phone from Joslyn. "It's a school night and Kat needs to get home soon. But, Alex, would you mind maybe signing some stuff for her before we go?"

I look right past her to look at Joslyn. She stands there with utter hurt written across her face. Gnawing at her bottom lip, I can tell she's trying to hold back tears. Her face is flushed and tense, and I can tell she's trying her hardest to keep it together until she breaks and turns on her heel, walking out the door.

"Not right now," I say, quickly brushing past them to go follow Joslyn.

I run down the backstage halls, finally finding her in a corner crying. "Hey, its ok." I try to sooth her, engulfing her in a hug and running my hand through her hair.

"I can't believe them." She sniffles. "You know, after tonight I thought maybe, just maybe, my mom would be impressed by me. I thought maybe she'd see that I'm successful and doing well with this job. But no, all she cares about is her new perfect little step daughter. Not her real one. After all I did for them, I can't even get a simple thank you." She scoffs. "I'm never enough," she sadly whispers.

"Hey," I say, grabbing her face in my hands. This is the first time in a while that I've been close to her, and even though her hazel eyes are brimmed with tears I still find them breathtaking. "You are more than enough." She looks at me doubtfully and it breaks my heart.

"Will you go somewhere with me?" She asks.

"Of course."

We silently walk down the dark streets of Ohio until we come across a park. Joslyn hops up onto the playset, laying back on the platform and letting her legs dangle off the edge. I lay down next to her and look up at the night sky. "Why did you bring me here?" I ask, peering over at her.

"I don't know." She sighs. "I guess I just don't want to be alone and you understand."

"Where's Derek?" I can't help but ask.

"Don't know." She shrugs.

"Did he meet your mom?"

"No."

"Why?"

"Because I know she won't approve of him... and Derek's kind of an asshole anyway."

I try to bite back a laugh. She's got that right. "So... you two are done?"

"Not officially, but I'm not happy so I guess I have to end it."

"You deserve to be happy."

"I know," she whispers.

"Why did you choose to come here?"

"This is the place Zack, Joe, and I used to run to when we were upset or my parents were fighting. Old habits die hard I guess."

My heart clinches at the thought of her bringing me to such a personal place. I miss these moments with her, being comfortable enough to be completely real and vulnerable with each other.

"I miss you," I admit after a few minutes of silence.

"I miss you too."

"What happened?" I ask, propping myself up on my elbow, wanting to address why she suddenly became so distant.

She closes her eyes, sucking in a deep breath. I can tell she's shutting herself off and I can't let that happen.

"Tell me," I softly urge. I reach for her hand and feel her body tense up.

"Why Bri?" Her voice is so small I can barely hear her.

"What? What about her?"

"Oh come on, Alex. Don't play dumb," she says, finally turning to look at me. "I saw you two."

"Saw us? What do you—" Suddenly it clicks.

The kiss. She saw the kiss.

Fuck.

I feel my face pale and my heart sinks. She wasn't supposed to see that. That's the last thing I wanted.

I let out a groan, scrubbing my hands over my face. I sit up so I can fully look at her and she sits up too, eyes on me.

"Joslyn, I can explain. I didn't kiss her, she kissed me," I admit. "After the show, I went back to my dressing room to shower and when I came out you weren't there like you usually are. I took a seat on the couch and was scrolling through my phone, waiting for you. She came up on me like a cat, so quiet I didn't even hear her. Before my brain could register what was happening, she took a seat in my lap and grabbed my face, putting her lips on mine. I tried to push her off but she was diligent. When I finally got her off of me, I threw her out of my dressing room. I swear, Joslyn, I didn't kiss her back," I tell her truthfully, pleading for her to believe me.

She looks at me with an emotion I can't quite decipher until she covers her face with her hands, flopping back down on her back with a groan.

"Hey," I softly coo, gently grabbing her wrists and prying her hands away from her face. She refuses to look at me. "Is that why you've been so distant lately? Because you thought... you thought I kissed Bri?"

She shrugs, still refusing to meet my eyes.

"Joss." I sigh, rubbing the backs of her hands with my thumbs. "I don't want her."

I want you.

She finally looks up to stare into my eyes. "You really didn't kiss her?"

"No." I shake my head. It crushes me that she thought I actually kissed a girl I just met. Sure, Bri's hot but she has zero personality, and I could never fall for someone like that.

"I'm such an idiot." She groans and tries to cover her face with her hands again, but I don't let her.

"No, you're not. I understand. If roles were reversed, I probably would have thought the same thing," I admit. "But you have to talk to me, ok? You can't just shut yourself off. If anything is ever bothering you, tell me. I don't care if we get into a screaming match, I just want you to talk to me. I want you to know that you're my best friend, Joss, and you can talk to me about anything."

"Ok," she whispers, nodding her head and biting her lip.

"Come here," I say, laying down beside her and pulling her into my arms, her head resting on my chest.

"Hey, Alex?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you want to go back to the bus and watch Friends?"

"I thought you'd never ask."