stumble , stumble , fall ' '

[milo martin]

Sex, drugs and rock-and-roll. That's what this was all about, right? It was the high life, the life that the kids in middle America dreamed about - making music and having fun doing it.

Right now, Milo was not having fun. The rock-and-roll part was the shit - he had a MySpace fame as big as Tila Tequila's; he was on a world music tour with his best friends; he got to spread his message across the continents via face-melting guitar solos and genuine lyrics.

As for the sex, well, Milo's track record was impressive. With no real established sexuality, he danced the spectrum. Boys, girls, what-have-you...he wasn't picky - obviously.

The drugs - he wasn't even going to get into that. Right now his only drug was vodka. His drug had been Katherine Rivera - but his supply had been depleted.

Two weeks since that fight in the park with Ronnie Radke. Two weeks since he'd seen Katherine. He'd avoided all things Sighted South (with the acception of about an hour ago...) ever since that day. Two weeks since he'd been sober. He could tell people were getting disgusted with him, but right now, he didn't care. He had had one of the greatest loves of his life and he blew it. fucking Radke.

Milo stumbled back to the festival grounds, back to the secluded area where the caravans were parked, completely bewildered. Blinded by delerium, he sank to the pavement just outside of the Shake It Ups caravan, groaning. His feet would no longer hold him.

[dante beck]

Dante 'Te' Beck..,

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Once There Was A Childs Heart [/b][/center]

Dante, was enjoying life now that he was with Gabe Gray, it was strange though. Meeting him by kicking a stone at him, totally accidentally and now they were truly in love with one another. It didn't matter to Dante though as long as Gabe loved him as well, then he didn't mind.

Until he met Gabe, Dante was always depressed, putting on a fake smile and going through life wondering why he was still alive but it had changed in that one day. He got up and threw on a black T-shirt and some jeans. He left his room of the caravan grabbed his trademark drink (Oh yes, the coke) and sat down.

While sitting around, he thought about the fight he had with the band that day when Gabe stayed the night. It was really pointless, and he even ended up hitting Jayson Willis, one of his best friends. He hadn't really spoken to them at all since that day, he locked himself away in his room of just stayed out.

A while later he heard someone groan from the slightly opened window of his caravan. Dante arched an eyebrow, finished the coke and headed for the door. There, on the pavement next to his caravan was Milo Martin, who was basically Dante's older brother, or may as well have been.

"Milo?" He asked jumping down the steps to where he was. Milo seemed completely out of his face which wasn't good. Dante sat down next to him. "What's going on?" he questioned. He looked at his face. There were cuts and bruises all over him. What the hell had happened. He grabbed Milo's arm, lifted it over his shoulder and then lifted Milo up, to lead him into the caravan. "what the hell happened to you?" He asked as he placed him on the couch near the door.

[milo martin]

The gravel dug into the knees of Milo's jeans. Usually it wouldn't have bothered him, but when he was drunk, it seemed as though every single one of his nerves were extra-super sensitive. The pavement was hard and cold underneath him, but his legs were heavy, and he would have welcomed it beneath his head to rest.

"Milo?" He heard someone call his name. "...Are you there, God? It's me, Milo," he joked. He gave a dry little laugh at his attempt to be funny, but it caught in his throat and he prayed that he wouldn't start to sob.

His vision wasn't exactly blurred - alcohol didn't have this particular effect on him - but it was dark as velvet, and he couldn't rightly see. But the slim, familiar figure now standing over him was familiar.

"Dante," Milo muttered. "Hey..."

"What the hell happened to you?" Dante asked as he slipped Milo's arm over his shoulder and helped to lift him up. Milo felt as limp and useless as a rag doll. His head lolled forward; he felt completely unbalanced.

"Nothing happened. M'okay," was Milo's simple reply. Dante led him into the caravan and set him on the couch, which was a welcome change from the cold pavement. His swimming head and heavy limbs did not change, and his words were becoming more slurred. He reached up and patted Dante's cheek, like a grandmother would. "You're a good boy."

[dante beck]

Dante 'Te' Beck..,

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Once There Was A Childs Heart [/b][/center]

Dante looked down at him. He made a joke, calling out to God. "No I'm not God Milo." He said sternly as he dragged him up off of the rough surface of the ground. "Ah, so you do remember me." He said as Milo muttered his name. He sat Milo down and grabbed a coke from the fridge and started drinking it. This is going to be a long night. He thought as he sat down.

Milo said that nothing happened which was obviously a load of bullshit. Dante arched an eyebrow, took a swig of his drink. He walked back over to Milo. He inspected the wounds on his face again. "This really doesn't look like nothing you know." He said as he sat down next to him.

Soon after Milo patted Dante on the cheek, like some sort of grandmother would. "I'm not a good boy Milo. I'm really not." He said as he stood up and walked away. He wouldn't tell him that he was dating Gabe Gray otherwise Milo would go ape, and he was already pissed, he didn't want to make things worse.

"Why are you so pissed Milo?" He asked as he made a cup of coffee and a sandwich for Milo to try and sober him up a bit.

[milo martin]

Dante's voice was harsh. Milo knew that tone. It was the same tone that Alex and Amy had been using with him lately. Milo sat back on the couch and streched out his legs and arms. That heavy feeling was persistant, like he had weights tied to his hands and feet.

"I 'member you," Milo said woozily. "You. Are Dante. You're...Dante. C'mere, Dante..." But Dante had walked away. Milo groaned and leaned forward and rested his head in his hands, balancing his elbows on the tops of his thighs. This was the part of his drunkeness when he got irritable.

"Why are you so pissed, Milo?" Dante asked. Milo couldn't locate Dante's voice at the moment. He had his face in his hands; he saw nothing.

"I'm not pissed," Milo replied. "I'm not pissed. Whossaid I'm pissed? Don't get pissed cus you think I'm pissed. I'm...just not havin' a good day."

[dante beck]

Dante 'Te' Beck..,

[/font]
Once There Was A Childs Heart [/b][/center]

Dante turned to see Milo stretch out his arms and legs, he looked a little shakey, but that was probably the drink, he knew the feeling.

"Well you bloody well should remember me!" He hissed looking at him. He should remember him, afterall, they were like tour brothers, Dante learnt alot from Milo and now for him to say he remembers Dante, how rude! "I know I'm Dante, You know I'm Dante, or at least you should!" He growled.

Milo seemed to hesitate when Dante asked why he was so pissed. Soon after he began denying it and tried twisting it onto Dante. "Don't you dare try and deny it, I can smell the booze from here! Now answer me!" He hissed at him as he finished the rest of his newly opened can in one go. He pulled another one out of the fridge and opened it.

"What happened this time then? I thought you were getting back on track, I thought you were happy again?" He said looking apologetically at him. He really was happy last time Dante saw him and now he was, in this state. It just didn't seem right.

[milo martin]

Milo blinked blearily. "Dante, you're mad. Why you so mad?" The booze was coarsing through his blood stream full force now. He probably shouldn't have had those exta shots of vodka before meeting Aidan to fuck on the beach. He hoped his stomach would behave.

"I'm ... nothing happened," Milo insisted. "I'm just ... I'm havin' a good time, dude. I'm just - it's the game, right? Come on, Dante, you know the game. You play the game, I play the game, your fuckin' mother plays the game. Katherine plays the game, Ronnie plays the game. Aidan plays the game. That's all. It's the game. Game time!"

[dante beck]

Dante 'Te' Beck..,

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Once There Was A Childs Heart [/b][/center]

Dante just glared at Milo, he couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Why am I so mad?" He repeated the question angrily. "I'm mad, because you're completely wasted, which obviously means you're upset!" He shouted at him. He looked away and stared out of the window.

Milo insisted nothing happened and then began mumbling about a game and mentioning all different names out of the blue, but he did recognize the name Katherine. Something had happened between them, slowly the pieces were all coming together. "Who the fuck are Aidan and Ronnie!?" He asked looking at him slightly puzzled. Katherine he recognized, but Aidan and Ronnie, not a clue. But he was damn well going to find out.

[milo martin]

"Aw, come on man," Milo whined, fidgeting like a five year old. His head was swimming and he was starting to break out into sweats. "Don't get heavy on me now. Why's it so hot in here?" He tugged at the thermal he was wearing. He kicked off his Converse sneakers and curled up on the couch. "Why you gettin' so mad at me, man? Come on...Jesus..."

He felt like he was trapped. He didn't usually get freaked out when he was drunk, but he could only imagine that the combination of the drinking and the fact that he was in the middle of an emotional breakdown was causing him to have some kind of panic attack or something...

"Dan, open a window, dude," Milo groaned. "Can you open a window? I can't breathe...why can't I breathe?"

[dante beck]

Dante 'Te' Beck..,

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Once There Was A Childs Heart [/b][/center]

Dante saw Milo fidget like a five year old, whining his words. Something was wrong, or about to go wrong. "It's not that hot in here." He said as he arched an eyebrow, feeling slightly puzzled. Milo took off his converse and curled up on the couch. "Sorry, I'm just tired and I haven't seen you this bad in ages." He said looking down at the floor for a few moments.

Milo asked him to open the window soon after. He started groaning. He couldn't breathe. Dante's eyes widened. He leapt to a window and opened it. He didn't know what to do, what could he do. "Milo!" He shouted, tears formed in Dante's eyes, he had no idea what to do. There was no one here. He couldn't call Gabe because they hated eachother. He ran over to Milo and sat him up, trying to open his airways.

"Why'd you have to do this? I have no idea what the fuck I'm doing." He cried looking around the house for something that would help. "Do you want an ambulance?" He asked.

[milo martin]

"Ambulance? No," Milo answered flatly, shoving Dante away. He didn't need any contact right now. He didn't think he could stand to be touched anymore. "I need...I need her."

He sat up now, once more burying his face in his hands. He didn't want to cry. He willed himself not to cry. But behind his closed eyes, all he could see was Katherine, and the look she had given him as she walked out of his life, with Ronnie.

He had that feeling in his chest again, that feeling of emptiness and breathlessness. That falling-out-of-a-tree feeling. He didn't want to be here. He wanted to quit. This wasn't worth it anymore. He wanted to go back to New York, hole up in his studio in the West Village with his dog and a lot of vodka, and remain there until the apocalypse. Or his death. Whichever came first.

"Dante ... she left me," Milo sniffled. "She fucking left me. She left me. She walked away. fuck. She left me." Oh God. The tears were coming. He could feel one of them streaking down his cheek, leaving a cool wake across the bruise on his cheek.

[dante beck]

Dante 'Te' Beck..,

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Once There Was A Childs Heart [/b][/center]

Dante was shoved back after denying the need for an ambulance. He said that he needed her. Dante arched an eyebrow quizically. "Her?" he questioned.

Milo quickly sat up and started resting his head in his hands. Dante looked around. Grabbed his can of coke and just drank it, waiting for Milo to calm down.

"Who left you?" He asked sitting down next to him, after Milo said that she had left him. He felt worried for his friend, he couldn't start trying to kill himself because of some girl. He may have loved her alot, like Himself and Gabe, but stil.

He got a tissue for milo, he wanted to give him a hug and say that everything would be ok but he knew he was a bit touch at that moment.

[milo martin]

Milo hated crying in front of other people - it just wasn't his style. He rarely cried and if he ever did, it was in private. He didn't cry when his mother abandoned him for the first time when he was seven. He didn't cry when he broke his arm when he took his first stagedive at fifteen. He didn't cry when Amy broke up with him. So why was crying right now so imenent? Why here and now? Why over her?

Milo sniffled and wiped his eyes with his sleeves, gingerly working around the bruises on his eye and cheek. His lip had busted open - again - and was dribbling down his chin. He dabbed at it with the tissue Dante handed him. He must have looked like a fucking mess. Bleeding, bruised, stumbling, piss-drunk (though it was just now starting to wear off...). He felt sorry for Dante for having to take care of him. If anything, Milo should be taking care of Dante. This was his tour-brother. It wasn't fair.

"If I tell you something," Milo said slowly, his voice muffled by the tissue, "you have to promise to not say a word to anyone. Anyone. Hear me, Dan? An-ee-one." He emphasized the last word to prove his point.

[dante beck]

Dante 'Te' Beck..,

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Once There Was A Childs Heart [/b][/center]

Dante look at Milo sympathetically while he cried. He hated seeing his friends cry, it made him upset as well. He sighed and sat next to him giving him a small hug.

He watched as Milo dabbed around his face with his sleeve, carefully avoiding the bruises around his face. Dante felt sorry for him, he was obviously a mess. He hated seeing people like this. He saw Milos lip start bleeding. He obviously did too as he used the tissue Dante handed to him before to dab the blood away.

He sat there for a while making sure that Milo was ok. It was quiet for a while, with the odd sniff from Milo. "If I tell you something, you have to promise to not say a word to anyone. Anyone. Hear me, Dan? An-ee-one." Milo said, through a muffle voice. Dante looked puzzled but nodded. "Ok. Go for it." He said softly smiling as he finished his can of coke.

[milo martin]

Milo crumpled up the tissue in his hand and kept it balled up in his fist. He ran his fingers through his hair and tried to compose himself. He wanted to make his confession. Forgive me, Dante, for I have sinned... He balanced his elbows on his knees and stared at the floor as he spoke.

"Since the tour started," he said slowly, "I've been seeing someone. Katherine Rivera. From Sighted South. It's ... it's really rough. Our bands won't associate with each other but I fell in love with her before our bands started feuding. We've been seeing each other secretly. For the past three months." He wiped his eyes with his sleeve again. "It fucking kills me. I asked her to come back to New York with me after the tour was over."