Chapter18-Deep Uncertainty

September 9th, 2011

It's a few days later. 7th Anthem were in New York City. It was morning, and they had a gig on a morning show. The night before, Bailey was out partying with the band's new set of backup dancers for the tour. They clubbed until five in the morning.

When they returned to their hotel, Bailey passed out on her bed. She didn't sleep for too long, though. She had to wake up two hours later. She was so hungover.

As the members were getting ready to leave, Bailey was in the bathroom. She did her best to look presentable, but her head was still throbbing. She didn't want to perform with a headache. She's already the hottest topic on tabloids and gossip sites. She read the comments, comparing her partying ways to Lindsay Lohan and the entire cast of Jersey Shore. She didn't care what anyone thought. They didn't know what she's feeling. She was still in love with Justin.

When Andrew and Alyson broke up, Bailey saw how well Alyson handled it. When she and Justin ended things, Bailey started to party a bit more. What drove her to the clubs was when Justin announced he was dating Andrew. By now, Alyson was used to Andrew being bisexual. But Bailey couldn't handle the fact that Justin likes guys. He was her first true love, but now she feels like she doesn't know him.

Bailey needed to get through the day. She took out a painkiller, and swallowed it with her bottled cold coffee. She was going to survive the day...or so she thought.

It's a few hours later. 7A just finished performing. When they were about to leave the TV studio, Bailey took Alyson aside. She asked, "What is it, Bailey?"

"Can I ask you a question?" Bailey asked.

"Sure."

"When Andrew came out as bisexual, and admitted on cheating on you with Brandon, how were you able to stay strong?"

Alyson thought for a moment. Then she replied, "The truth is, Andrew broke my heart. He was the love of my life, and he tore me apart. But I had to put up a brave front. I had to act like I was cool with all that shit. Eventually, I forgave him, and let go of the anger I had against him. We were able to be friends, and we actually hooked up once.

"The thing is, I'll always love Andrew, and he'll always love me. The upside to Andrew being bi is the possibility that we'll be back together eventually. But for now, he's exploring guys. I can see he wants me back, but I'm giving him the time that he needs."

Bailey sadly looked at the floor. Alyson noticed, so she said, "You'll survive, Bailey. Maybe Justin will be back with you again. Just give him time. But you can't let this heartache get to you. You're better than that."

Then Bailey's voice cracked as she asked, "What if he's gay now? He hasn't expressed any interest in getting back together with me."

That made Alyson concerned, for both Bailey and Justin. She has noticed Justin moving away from girls, while Bailey kept drowning in her sorrows. As for her and Andrew, he actually expressed regret and interest in her. She saw hope in Andrew, but Justin was almost gone.

She said to Bailey, "I'll talk to Andrew and Justin. Justin shouldn't been so cold towards you. If he's bi, then he would've shown interest in you. If he's gay...I don't know. But don't go drinking tonight. Let me try to get answer from them first. Okay?"

Bailey nodded her head, and the two girls followed the other members.

It's now evening. Alyson asked Andrew if she could talk to him and Justin. He agreed, so the three met in the two guys' room.

Justin asked sourly, "Why is Alyson here?"

Both Andrew and Alyson were taken back by this attitude. Alyson said, "Justin, we're band-mates. We were friends, but you've been isolating yourself from us lately."

"Can't I just use my time for Andrew?"

Andrew sighed heavily, and rolled his eyes. Justin noticed, so he said to him, "Andrew, I'm trying to get you to love me. Not as a friend, but as a boyfriend. What, are you turning straight from me?"

Andrew replied harshly, "Maybe I have!"

With that, Alyson's eyes widen. She faced Andrew, and asked, "Is this true, Andrew?"

He nodded his head. She said to him, "I'll talk to you later. But first, we must talk about Bailey."

Justin asked, "What about her?"

Alyson explained, "Bailey was asking me how I was able to stay strong after Andrew and I broke up. I told that was unraveling on the inside, but I didn't let the break up take control of my life. I survived, and I forgave Andrew. I also told her that there's hope that he and I will be together again.

"Then she asked me if you're turning gay as you expressed no interest in getting back with her. Andrew has expressed interest in me, but you're cold towards Bailey. She's really heartbroken, Justin. She still loves you. If you're really bi, give her hope. But if you're gay, then give her closure. Reassure her that you'll always care about her."

With that, there was silence. Andrew felt guilty for hurting Alyson. He knew she was heartbroken, but he didn't know she took the breakup hard. He approached her, and put his hands on her shoulders, and rubbed them. Alyson reacted by putting her hands on his hands.

Justin watched all of this. He was angered by Andrew's apparent affection towards Alyson. So he said sternly, "Alyson, I want you to leave. Andrew's my boyfriend, not yours."

With that, both Andrew and Alyson gave frustrated sighs. Andrew told him with irritation in his voice, "Justin, Alyson's right. You just dumped Bailey like a rock. You were cold towards her. I'm not sure if you're gay or bi, but you need to show that you still care about her. She's out and about, drinking away her pain. You? You're trying to make me be your boyfriend.

"Look, I tried to like you as a boyfriend, but I just don't have feelings for you. You can try to compare us to Aly and I, but you'll never replace her. In fact, I want to be her boyfriend. I miss being with her. I miss everything about her. Her touch, her kisses, her telling me how much she loves me. She's the only person I've dated that truly loved me. No one has ever shown me love. She did. She actually makes me feel alive, happy, and complete. No other girl, or guy, can do what she did."

Alyson was touched by what Andrew said. She could hear how genuine his feelings were. He meant every word he said.

Andrew continued, by pleading, "Justin, please let me be with Alyson. She's the love of my life."

Justin asked, "Aren't you bi, or gay, or something?"

"I'm not going to label myself, but I can tell you for a fact that I'm not gay. If I am, I would not mean what I said about Alyson. As for you, you're only doing dudes and clinging onto me just so you can push Bailey out of your life. The question is, do you still love her, or are you willing to go gay just so you don't have to deal with her?"

With that, Andrew, along with Alyson, left the room. Justin sat on his bed, frustrated. Andrew pretty much went back to being straight, and proclaimed his love for Alyson. On top of that, both Alyson and Andrew tried to convince him to go back to Bailey. But does he want to?

As soon as they talked to Justin, Andrew and Alyson met with Bailey. They told her that Justin didn't give much of a response, but they could tell he's bothered.

She asked them, "So, is it possible that Justin might want to be with me?"

Alyson replied, "Maybe, but it's hard to tell. It's like he'd rather be with Andrew than with you."

Andrew added, "I finally dumped him. I never really liked him as more than a friend anyway. I'll try to get him to be with you again, but I can't make promises."

Bailey became visibly frustrated. Alyson told her, "Look, don't let him get under your skin. You're better than that. You were always the reasonable one in the band, while Andrew and I were the impulsive ones. You can get through this."

With that, Bailey snapped at them, "Stop telling me I'll get through this shit! All I wanted was to have some fun with Justin, but he kept refusing. Then he had the nerve to dump me after I got arrested. It's like he didn't want to be with me!"

As Alyson was about to speak, Bailey stopped her, saying, "And don't you dare compare my relationship with Justin to yours with Andrew. You two grew up together, Justin and I didn't. Andrew gives you hope, Justin doesn't give f*ck about me."

Then Andrew tried to speak, by he was also interrupted. "And since you Andrew dumped Justin, you can be with Alyson, and rub your relationship in my face."

Alyson stopped Bailey, saying angrily, "Bailey, stop talking shit about us! I feel sorry for you. I get you're hurting, but don't go out partying. You need to find a better outlet."

"Or what?" Bailey said sharply. "Are you worried that I'm gonna turn into another troubled starlet? How about I handle things my way, while you two go f*ck each other. Just don't do it in front of me. Have a nice life."

With that, Bailey stormed out of her room. She went into her rental car, and drove off.

As for Andrew and Alyson, they sat on Bailey's bed. Their eyes met, and there was a mixture of feelings. They were concerned for Bailey. At the same time, they felt warm for each other.

Alyson asked, "You really didn't like Justin?"

Andrew replied, "Not really. He's, or was, my best friend, but I was never attracted to him. He said he was always attracted to me, but I don't believe anything he says."

"So...are you over guys?"

"At this point, I don't care who I like anymore. I can never get over you. I've always loved you, and I still do. And I know you feel the same way."

"I do, but I need to know you're not gonna cheat on me again. I don't care if it's a guy or a girl. If we're gonna back be together, I need you to be serious with me. No more having secret flings with both genders. Just you and me, no one else."

Andrew gave a reassuring smile as he said, "I won't cheat on you again. I'm done experimenting with guys, and you're the only girl I love. I'm ready to be serious with you."

Alyson smiled, and kissed Andrew's lips. The two then went into Alyson's room, and kissed passionately. The yearning was on fire. They haven't been together for several months. After all the heartache and exploring, Andrew and Alyson were back. They were willing to be serious again. But is Andyson really back?

At the same time, Bailey was driving to nearby posh bar. She was angry and heartbroken. Justin still hasn't shown any sign of hope. Andrew and Alyson were obviously back together. She didn't want to face them anymore. She'd rather go to club, and pretend that there was no drama.

Once she arrived at the bar, she called up her circle of backup dancers/friends. They soon arrived. They started drinking. Bailey tried to get really drunk with vodka, but she wanted something stronger.

She approached one of the bartender, asking while slurring, "I need something stronger than f*cking vodka."

He shook his head as he said, "Sorry. Besides, don't you think you had enough?"

"F*ck you. Don't you know who I am? I'm in that band, 7 Something."

The bartender only laughed. Bailey stormed off, and approached her party-friends. She demanded, "I need something stronger than vodka."

One of them told her, "Bailey, you're already wasted. Whatever it is you're going through, you can't solve it by drinking."

She said sharply, "F*ck all of you! None of you know what I'm going through!"

Then she stormed out of bar. As she was walking to her car, one of the other dancers followed her. He stopped her, and said, "Don't tell anyone what I'm doing. This is a packet of weed. Smoke it, and you should be fine. But I wouldn't mix this with booze. You got me?"

Bailey stared at him, and grabbed the packet. She went into her car. She stared at the weed. She didn't care if she was drunk. She figured she might as well get high. All she wanted was an escape, but will she go too far down?