Avenged Sevenfold had a three day break between shows the following week, and Matt had used that to his advantage to make sure he could get out and see Brenna. He'd given her his word, and it meant just as much to him as it did her. He hadn't been able to stop thinking about her. He had no idea what had happened to him; he'd never been so love-sick before... not since he'd first met Val. He felt like a teenage boy all over again.

He'd taken a red-eye flight after their show in Minnesota, to make sure he could spend as much time with her as possible. He wanted- no, he NEEDED to get to know her better. There was something about her... something special that he couldn't ignore.

The location they'd both agreed upon was nothing special. It wasn't a romantic, luxurious hook-up or anything. It was way too soon for that and he didn't want to seem too desperate. Starbucks. It was always the perfect choice for a casual meet-up.

So there he was, sat in Starbucks. He'd arranged to meet up with her in half an hour time, but if she was early, he didn't want her to be waiting for too long. He'd dawdled for a few minutes about whether he should get a coffee while he waited for her, or whether he should wait until she was here. He'd decided to wait, and was now sat at the table, tapping a coffee mixer against the sugar. He kept glancing at the clock. Why was time going so damn slowly?

Just before he thought he was about to go crazy, the door opened and she stepped over the threshold, clad in a classy blue dress with a black jacket. He stood to greet her as she approached, unsure of how to really go about it. Hug? Kiss on the cheek?

Luckily, he didn't have to choose. She dropped her purse onto the table and rounded it, opening her arms to hug him. He gladly accepted her embrace, and returned it, and took the chance to give her that kiss on the cheek. She smiled.

"Hey..." He murmured, giving her an extra squeeze before stepping back with a smile. A few seconds later, he realized he'd kept holding her hand as he pulled back. He flushed a little and grinned, ducking his head as he let go. "Can I get you something?"

Peeling off her jacket, she smiled as she hung it on the back of the chair and nodded, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "A latte, please." She moved to take a seat, going into her purse to grab some money, but she knew he'd be paying for it. Customary.

"Please, let me." He stepped forward and drew out her chair for her, hands on either side of the back of the chair, glancing up at her. "Would you like anything else?"

Her grin widened as she stepped around the chair and sat down. "Thank you," she said, looking over her shoulder at him. "And no, that'll do, thanks."

Nodding, he moved her chair back in easily before walking over to order. Glancing back over at her, he smiled a little, having to be prompted by the waiter to actually gather the concentration to order. He chose a plain black coffee for himself and her latte, paying and walking over with their coffees. Sitting down, he smiled at her. He'd almost forgotten how beautiful she was. "Hi. Again. Hi."

She giggled lightly, wrapping a hand around her cup. "Hello..." She looked at her coffee and then lifted her eyes to him, smiling softly. "It's great to see you again. Thank you..."

"I... It's my pleasure. It's good to see you too." He genuinely meant it; he could barely take his eyes off her. "You look... amazing. Really." And he was going into schoolboy mode again. Smooth. Sitting back in the chair, he let his gaze travel over her, lingering on her face with another smile. "How've you been?"

Brenna blushed slightly and smiled as she looked back at him, her eyes locking with his. "Thank you... You look great yourself." She bit her lip after the compliment and picked up her drink, blowing into it to cool it. "I've been good," she nodded. "What about you?"

"Alright. Good, just ...I don't know. I've been good." He didn't want to freak her out by whining about how much he missed her. Shrugging, he sipped his coffee, eyes on hers. "Band's been stressful. It's nice to get away sometimes. Especially now."

She nodded in understanding and took a small sip from her latte. "I bet it is. Must be hard to be around the same people all of the time." She knew they were all best friends, but they had to get tired of each other's company sometimes. "I'm glad you came..." She pursed her lips slightly, rubbing his leg softly with her foot beneath the table.

He shivered a little, stretching his leg out underneath the table, all for more contact. Biting his lip for a moment before letting a slow smile cross his lips, he mimicked her movement, his hand reaching out and touching her arm. "So am I."

Smiling, she looked at his hand on her arm. "I honestly wasn't expecting to ever see you again. Well, not until the next time you guys played in New York, anyway." She shrugged and then licked her lips, locking eyes with his again. "I never thought you'd call."

He figured. He'd figured from the surprised tone in her voice when she found out who was calling. He tilted his head at her. "Well... If you want me to be perfectly honest, I wasn't sure you'd actually want me to. I mean... You're fucking gorgeous. You probably have guys tripping over themselves to have you even look at them."

She did get her fair share of attention. She wasn't going to deny it, but she wasn’t going to brag or overdo it, either. "I get a little bit," she nodded, tucking her hair behind her ear. "But most of it I just ignore. Most guys around here are assholes." She shrugged.

He raised his eyebrows. "Most guys are assholes to pretty girls. And you're more than pretty, so... More asshole....y. And I don't believe it's just 'a little bit'." He grinned at her. "I see right through you." He took another sip of his coffee before placing it down, smirking softly at her. "How much time you got free today?"

"For you?" She smirked, sipping her coffee and looking at him over the top of it with a twinkle in her eye. She lowered it again, still smirking, "as much time as you need me to have."

Leaning back in his chair, his own smirk grew wider. His eyes deliberately traced over her again, before raising slowly back up to her eyes. "Oh, I'm thinking we can definitely have a little more time after this..." His fingers travelled up her arm to her chin, and he stood up, leaning over the table and catching her lips quickly with his, before sitting back in his chair, raising an eyebrow, smirking still.

She would have kissed him back had he given her the chance, but he was back in his seat before she could even react. She smiled at him, chewing on her bottom lip and then nodding to him. "Drink your coffee, stud," she told him. "I'd rather not be kicked out of Starbucks and banned for life for too much PDA."

He smirked and downed the rest of his coffee, almost choking at the almost too strong taste. Eyes watering, he stood up, attempting to pass the movement off as something with a little dignity, quickly glancing at her with a sheepish smile. "You totally didn't see that. And if you did, I meant to do it."

She giggled and finished the rest of her own drink before standing up and taking her jacket. "I saw nothing." She winked, putting on the jacket and picking up her purse. She walked around to him, taking his hand in her free one and lacing their fingers. "Ready to go, sexy?"

His heart leapt to his throat at her touch, his gaze dropping to her hand. Just checking that it was real. Grinning at her. "Lead the way, babe."