This sort of intensity had not been what Paige was expecting at all, but she wasn't about to butt in and interrupt him. Chris seemed upset and like he wanted to get something out there so it seemed healthy to let him. At the same time though she was a bit perplexed. In her mind she had done nothing wrong by leaving to go for work. It wasn't like she was gone for good and she always intended to come back. But here Chris was lecturing her like he was her boyfriend or something. She screws her face up a little as she listens to him and let him finish. "Well first off, whoever told you I was "gone" was a liar. I was working and then I came back before I even moved out of there." She gives him a very matter of fact look before she shakes her head a little. She kinda felt what he was saying but at the same time she felt angry that he was so confrontational with her straight off the bat. "I was working," she explains calmly. "16 hour photoshoots don't leave you wanting to come home and start scrolling through twitter. If I didn't call you back then it's because I forgot. I literally never had a moment to myself and I was always getting whisked away. I forgot to call people back. It's hard work."

Paige was really getting quite annoyed at the tone Chris had at the moment. They had only ever been on one real date, and yet he was acting like she was his girlfriend that had run away. They had never even made anything official. At the same time, she thought she had made it clear already that she was only interested in Chris, even though she hadn't been in touch for a while. "You know what, I'm sorry if I wasn't there to talk, I didn't mean it, it wasn't like I was avoiding you, I just had a hell of a lot on my plate," she sighs, looking up at the ceiling and shaking her head. This hadn't gone how she expected at all. She thought he would be glad to see her. When he moves on and talks about her new look, suggesting she was after some other guy, Paige looks straight at Chris. She couldn't believe he was suggesting that right now. "You what, mate? Are you actually serious?" she shakes her head again. "I got a new look because people give me free clothes. And maybe I was trying to impress...hmmm...you maybe? Although with how you're acting right now I'm wondering why."

"Dallas, Dallas! No, take it back up again. More vocals on my side," Kellin yells across the stage at Chicago's House Of Blues. It was somewhat obscure to see a venue so empty with a band giving it their all on stage, but such was the daytime life of a touring band. It wasn't all drugs and glamour as people may think. Instead it was more spending the day tweaking levels and volumes at endless sound checks to make sure everything went without a hitch at night when the fans came to see their favourite band. As it went, Kellin was thorough even for a touring musician. As a fan of many great bands himself, he hated the thought of kids paying their hard earned money to come to the show tonight and not getting the sort of experience that he knew Juneau could give them. Tonight was extra special as well, as it always was when they played a home town show in Chicago, where they were almost seen as some sort of local heroes. And to add to that pressure, there was the fact that Valentina Hart, one of music's rising stars, was coming to hang out and see the show tonight. Kellin had been trying his best to flirt with her on Twitter over the past few days, although he had no clue how that had gone down with her, since his track record as a flirt was pretty much non existent. As he looks out towards the sound booth, he nods and mouths something to himself before he steps on a pedal on the stage and starts to play a catchy pop punk riff on guitar. After a few seconds, he starts to sing: "And did you think, I wouldn't be there, standing tall on my own two feet....I got this lonely night, and Jimmy Eat World, I never have you, and you told me I never did...." he stops suddenly and turns his guitar volume down, before holding a thumb up towards the sound desk. "We're good. Keep it there," he says into the microphone as he lifts his guitar over his head and hands it to a tech, heading towards the side of the stage and back towards the back of the venue. Smiling, he pats bassist Ryan Oberst on the shoulder as he passes, making his way downstairs towards the dingy dressing room areas. The rooms themselves were great, but the corridor and staircase, with their red-painted exposed brick, screamed 1970s theatre death, and Kellin wasn't a fan of that aura.

Slapping a hand against the wall as he turns a corner, Kellin takes a deep breath and walks into the Juneau dressing room, pulling out his in-ear monitors and letting them hang around his neck by the cable as he enters, closing the door behind him. It was then that he first started to feel quite nervous. Val was a lovely girl, funny, clever, geeky and very pretty, so the fact she was coming here to meet him made his mouth feel dry as hell. The fact the soundcheck was done now just meant that he had more time to think about his nerves, which he hated. Internally, he told himself not to overthink things. He had a tendency to do that at times when he thought something was on the line, but tonight he just wanted to relax, be cool and hang out with Val, who seemed like such a nice girl. Looking at the clock on the wall, he realises that she'll be here quite soon, and he feels that familiar cold burst of nerves through his abdomen. "Shit," he says quietly to himself, before he walks towards the mirror. Right now, he was dressed in a pair of black skinny jeans and a sleeveless shirt emblazoned with a Nova logo. It showed off his tattoos, colourful and covering the whole of his arms, very well, but he wasn't sure the shirt was a good idea for meeting someone he kind of wanted to impress. He scowls at himself and shakes his head. Jogging across the room, he finds his suitcase and rakes through it, desperately trying his best to find a button up shirt which was a) clean and b) not creased. Tour life made that somewhat difficult. When he eventually finds one, Kellin changes quickly and then returns to the mirror, smiling this time at what he sees standing in front of him. He looked much more presentable now.

OOC: Sorry this was so long :P Just setting the scene haha.

Kellin starts a little when the door is knocked. He hadn't noticed, as the nerves washed over him, just how quiet it was inside this quite cavernous dressing room. By now, most of the band would be in the nearest pub to here, but since he didn't drink, he didn't join in with the somewhat traditional daytime activity for Juneau. He preferred to just stay at the venue and catch up on the latest ice hockey highlights or binge the hell out of something on Netflix. It worked for him to be ahead of the curve on TV shows. That way he knew he would always have something to talk about, which was a sentiment he thought would help him tonight. As confident and smooth as he could be, there were some times when he would come across as awkward. It was funny how he had never realised until now how quiet it could get when no one else was around, though. He laughed a little at the thought and moved to welcome Val.

He walks across the room and takes a deep breath again. It might not be a date, but he still liked the idea of impressing Val. She was a pretty and rather interesting girl, so he wanted her to think he was, not cool, but at least passable in some way. "Just be cool," he tells him softly, comically unaware of Val doing the same on the other side. Opening the door, he smiles at Val widely. "Well, hey there," he smiles warmly. For some reason, he leans in for a hug off the bat, and he's far too close before he becomes acutely aware it would be an awkward move, so he decides it's better to just go for it, giving Val a quick hug and then stepping back, trying to play it cool. "Ummm....did you have a good trip?" he asks, laughing a little nervously.

The way Val greets Kellin makes him laugh a little, a laugh he manages to stifle, just. She immediately seemed to be exactly the way she came across on Twitter, which he thought was amazing since she was such a playful ball of energy on there. "Heeeey," he responds in kind as he breathes a sigh of relief when she reciprocates the hug. He didn't seem like a total weirdo. Well not any more so than normal anyway. Kellin listens to her talk about her journey and smiles. "New York huh? So are you from there or is this just Val in the big city, hitting the big time and bright lights? I know, right? Between the leg room and the lack of anything good on Tv...planes are lame. I had to watch Dr Dolittle on the way here last night," he adds, screwing his face up. When she makes her quip about disturbing him, Kellin shrugs. "As it goes, you were...bye Val," he says in an exaggerated voice, closing the door on her. He opens it again and laughs. "Sorry. I just had to," he chuckles. "So do you want to see the venue?" he asks, stepping out of the dressing room.

Kellin smiles as he looks down at Val, laughing all of a sudden at her joke about him inviting random girls from Twitter. "Guilty as charged," he says, holding his hand up. "What can I say, I'm a sucker for mole women and anyone that gives me even a little compliment," he says with a wink, clearly joking. "Oh really? No sun kissed skin, No daisy dukes...lack of bikinis on top. Man, you really are alternative, Val," Kellin chuckles, looking down when she does. "If it helps redress the balance, I absolutely love pizza, all the local sports teams and pro wrestling. I'm like the world's most stereotypical Chicago native. Lame as hell, huh?" he laughs, rolling his eyes at himself. When he opens the door again and sees Val stood there with her mouth wide, he can't help to laugh hard. "Oh my god, I'm so sorry," he says, trying to sound serious but laughing hard. "Dragged? Shit, I better make sure I'm nice to you from now on then, huh?" He smiles and starts to walk with her. "These are pretty cool venues. I might have to come see you in one. You know...because I love House of Blues," he laughs, sticking his tongue out. When she pulls out the CD, he nods and takes it from her, smiling widely and then laughing at her comment about it being warm. "Feels like torso. Thanks Val," he teases her. "Wow...so is this like...top secret? Like if I let anyone hear it you'll have to kill me?" he winks.

Kellin makes a show of closing over the door as if to stop Val looking inside. "Have you been in our dressing room before?" he asks, narrowing his eyes, before laughing at her joke. "Sorry, I should have called more girls in for you. In truth, I am a terrible rock star. No drink...no drugs. I'm a regular loser over here," he jokes. When she talks about Val of days gone by, Kellin raises an eyebrow and tries to picture her, failing badly. "I don't think I could imagine you with short hair. You've already got this signature look as a pop star. I like the punk thing though. Lemme guess. Misfits? You seem a Misfits kinda girl." He laughs again when she tells him she's a Leo. "I'll be honest, I kinda want to see shady Val on Twitter now. You seem far far too sweet for that most times I've seen you tweet. Can you call someone out for me," he laughs. "In your bra?" he asks, closing his eyes and animatedly feeling the CD with both hands. "Now that you mention it, it does feel more like boob..." he says, before bursting out laughing. "Oh, I can't promise anything there. If I know the internet...and unfortunately I do, something from a celebrity bra could fetch a pretty penny," Kellin teases. He had no intention, of course, of selling the CD, but he knew Val could take a joke. "I promise I will look after it well. After all, how cool am I gonna look when I get to roll my eyes and tell everyone how long it was since I first heard the album after they start fawning over it in June? That's hipster royalty shit right there," he nods, tapping the CD against his hand.

"Hey how is it my fault if your grandma has an awesome lounge? Nah but it gets wild later when they're all in there on drink and drugs. It's just not my scene," he laughs and shrugs a little. "I prefer sitting on the bus playing Mariokart or trying to get enough wifi to stream something cool. By the way, I'll be waiting for that throwback. Sounds amazing. I'd do one but I just look the same...with far fewer tattoos." Kellin listens to Val talk about her music taste from the past and nods, clearly looking very impressed. "Wow, you're a dark horse, huh? FYI you somehow just got 100 times cooler in my eyes. I didn't even know you could seem cooler than you already did. So kudos," he chuckles happily, feeling a lot less nervous now. "I know what you mean about the blogs though. I went through a period where all I listened to was Finnish folk metal because no one else knew anything about it. And you think I'm a geek now..." he winks. As they discuss the internet, Kellin laughs hard at the questions people ask Val. "Wow...Val, just wow," he laughs. "And despite all the effort you never answered any of those questions I sent..." he teases. "Out of interest..when was the last time..I'm joking, I'm joking," he laughs, hoping she didnt think he was some sort of perv. "My fans are never that interesting with questions. I just always get asked if I'll take more shirtless pics. Which I find weird enough." He laughs at her joke again, which he couldn't deny was very true. "I guess...but I am like a bit famous, which means I'm like mega trustworthy you know? So if it leaks...well let's blame Dallas," he laughs, holding his hands up and then opening the stage door for Val.

"That's me," Kellin laughs. "Basically the only sensible one among all the nonsense that goes on. If it wasn't for me, these lot would probably have been dead long ago. I keep them going. Like a human....defibrilator. Are you not a drugs person either?" The sheer excitement that comes from Val when he talks Mario Kart makes Kellin laugh, and he rubs his arm, pretending the slap hurt. "Yoshi? Please, Val...I'm always Koopa and I'm basically the king of Mario Kart. I've got a blue shell with your name on it," he chuckles. As she laughs at his old music taste, he holds his hands up and joins in. "It's true. I was so much of a douche back then. I don't think I even liked it. I just wanted to be different. Dudes with painted faces and furry capes were apparently what it took," he adds, rolling his eyes. "So if not blogs, what do you listen to now? Like, who's your favourite around?" He smirks at how serious she looked. She seemed to take music about as seriously as he did, which was super cool. "I know. I think up some weird questions...and those are the ones I deemed suitable for public consumption. I mean...can you imagine the ones I filter out?" he laughs, keeping the joke going, as he looks down at his tattoos. "Thanks. I like them. Or at least I force myself to like them since I'm stuck with them forever," he laughs. Kellin follows Val onto the empty stage. "Well you do have my mega hipster pride to trust. Like I said, I love the idea of being one of the only ones who's heard it," he laughs. "I always think it looks mega cool when it's empty and quiet like this. I'm sure you will meet Dallas too. He's a good kid. And a big fan of yours. "

"I don't even like coffee," Kellin laughs. "I'm basically like a child when it comes to food, so I'm like a soda and pizza guy. The Netflix binge I am all in for, though. But yeah, like you say, the chances to chill out seem to get less and less. I thought being famous would be....more fun...and definitely richer," he chuckles, rolling his eyes again. He laughs at the way she almost pleads her innocence over the weed, shaking his head. "You don't have to prove yourself to me. Most of my friends and all of my bandmates are fans of the odd joint or eight. I'm not one of those preachy straight edge types," he smirks. "And even I can admit that some people do better music when they're high. Dallas, for example." He looks at her, wide eyed, when she talks bad about Koopa. "Man...I know you told me you could shade...but that cuts deep, Valentina," he jokes, holding his hand over his eyes. "Those clouds are the worst. Along with the ink ghost, octopus thing. Always gets me in the Rainbow Road corners." When Val talks about influences and what she listens to, Kellin listens intently. "Man you are deep!" he laughs, clearly impressed. "Ladies and gents, a true artist," he smiles, holding out a hand as if to introduce her. "I get what you mean though. It's always better to be unique. We have too many clones just taking and cloning the same old sounds. You are a breath of fresh air in my eyes. Well...not air in my eyes, that would be weird. But you know..I'm saying you are fucking awesome," he laughs. "I always meant to try her music. Katie, I mean. I've only ever known her as this...legendary name. I might give her a listen." He smiles when she praises his tattoos and tells him to love them. "I always think you've gotta just take the plunge if you want one. You would look hawt with a tattoo," he smirks. "And I always say as long as you loved it at some point, then it's always gonna be worthwhile, even just as a reminder of part of your story." He stands beside her on the stage and looks out across the empty hall. "Me too. Sometimes I'm up here when the place is full and I still can't believe I'm there. it's so surreal to me. This whole life." He smiles and nods at her. "I know you are. And so am I," he laughs. Not many people would take kindly to being called a geek, but he knew she was down with it, much like himself. "He does, indeed. We all do. Except Jordan, but only because he's not cool enough to have listened to you yet. Give him a year," Kellin smiles. "And no problem. Like I said, it's a pleasure to have you here. It's so weird that someone I see is a rising star is gonna be watching us tonight. Talk about nerves," he says, holding out a hand and shaking it around comically.