The Pen Pal Project // Alex Gaskarth

49.

Kendall kind of just stood there staring at the space where Alex once stood. She didn't know what to say or what to do. Or for that matter how to do it.

Someone stepped outside, "Miss, I need you to go into the venue now, we need to clear the area so we can continue on schedule for tonight."

That seemed to break Kendall out of the trance she had been put in. She nodded, "Of course. Can you point me in the right direction?"

When Kendall was finally in the GA hall of the venue with all of the other meet and greet people, she ran straight into the bathroom. She held her head in her hands and tried to calm herself down. She was only freaking out a ton.

She kind of wanted to throw up and another part of her wanted to run away, but either way she knew she never wanted to talk to Alex Gaskarth ever again in her life.

For all the progress Kendall had thought she had made ever since she met him, it felt like it was all slipping away. Like she was reverting back to the shy, quiet person she was before she interacted with him.

Her phone buzzed in her hand. It was Lauren.

"Where are you? I'm inside and I can't find you."

Kendall shook her head, trying to get rid of those intrusive thoughts, "Bathroom towards the left side of the stage. Needed to get away from people."

"Are you okay? I'll be right there."

There was a click from the other end of the phone and Kendall spent the next two minutes staring straight at the screen of her phone. When there was a knock on the stall door Kendall opened it, leaning against one of the side walls as Lauren tried to squeezed her way into the stall with her.

Lauren instantly pulled Kendall into a hug. When she released her friend, she stared at her, "What happened?"

Then Kendall went off, telling her friend about everything that had transpired. When she finished, the opening act could be heard from outside the bathroom and tears had pooled in Kendall's eyes.

"I don't know why I'm crying! I don't even know how I feel!"

"Okay I know you're confused; I would be too if I were you. But you can't close yourself off from me, and for that matter you can't do that to those boys either. Whether or not they were or are your friends you have to stand tall. And yes, I know you're short, but you can do this! I don't know what it even is, but I know you'll get through it because you are Kendall, and you are one of the strongest people I have ever met. Now, let's go out there, get you a bottle of water, and me something very alcoholic, and enjoy the show. We owe ourselves that much."

Kendall nodded, "You're right. Let's have a fun night."

__________

The two acts that All Time Low had brought along with them were fun and engaging, Kendall had heard of both of them but had never actually listened to either of their music. In total it was over an hour until the opaque sheet fell in front of the ATL band set up. The crowd went crazy even though nothing was even happening yet.

She could feel the tension build between she shoulders, "Lauren, I don't know if I can do this."

Lauren looked at her skeptically, "Hey, no quitting. I paid to see All Time Low and I'm seeing All Time Low with one of my best friends. Got it?"

Kendall gulped. She wanted to run and rip out her hair again. It's not like she was even remotely close to the stage, they stood in the back, just in front of the bar. There was absolutely no way any of the guys could see her from the stage, especially with all the bright lights.