Life's A Riot.
Eight.
JC POV.
I sighed as I closed the door. It had been almost a week since I’d talked to Ash, and I am not kidding, my week had gone from bad, to worse, to terrible. It started off with Johnny forcing me to cover all of the same ground that me and Ash had when I stayed at her. Then Michelle stayed over for two days, so I had to deal with the overwhelming face-sucking competitions between her and Syn. Then, Gin, my Rottweiler had been ill, so I’d taken her to the vets, they’d done various tests and discovered that she had an advanced stomach tumour. I’d just gotten back from the vets after having decided that it would be best for her to be put to sleep. She was 15 and already suffering with arthritis and joint problems. She just wouldn’t have coped with the surgery that was needed. It was the hardest thing that I’d ever had to do. I’ve had her since I was 15. She was 9 when I got her from the shelter where I worked. She had been my first dog. Losing her was like I’d lost a piece of me. It sounds pathetic, I know, but it was. She may have been a stubborn, lazy, strong-willed, food obsessed dog, but she was my stubborn, lazy, strong-willed, food obsessed dog. I took my leather jacket off and tossed it on the hook by the door. When I turned back, I was faced with a smirking Syn. Perfect, just what my day needed. I ignored the way my heart rate hitched slightly at the sight of him.
“You’re nice and merry today.” He remarked. I glared at him and stormed upstairs. “What did I do?” Fucking bastard.
~*~
Syn POV.
I turned to look at Johnny in confusion. “What did I do?” To my surprise, he glared at me. Johnny never glares at me. Or anyone.
“You can be an absolute bastard at times, do you know that?” Man, he even sounded pissed. I looked and felt totally confused.
“What did I do?”
“She just had to have Gin put down.” Ah shit, now I felt like a complete douche.
“Shit. I didn’t know.” Again Johnny glared at me.
“Well that’s because you’ve been too busy shoving your tongue down Michelle’s throat to notice what’s going on in the world around you.” I ignored the jab.
“What happened?”
“She found out two days ago that Gin had a really advanced stomach tumour. She wouldn’t have coped with surgery. Jack decided that it would be kinder to have her out down. She would have only had a few very painful weeks left anyway.” He explained. He still looked pissed, but he was starting to calm down. Fucking hell, I’d noticed that Cait had been touchier than normal the past couple of days, but I thought that she was just PMSing. Johnny walked past me, heading for the kitchen. I couldn’t decide what to do. I was going to go over to Michelle’s, but now I felt too bad. I knew what I should do; I should go upstairs and apologise to Cait. I’ll let her calm down a bit first. I decided, following Johnny into the kitchen.
~*~
JC POV.
I couldn’t help the tears that fell. I was looking back through one of my old photo albums. It was the one dedicated to the only tour I ever did with the guys; The Waking The Fallen Tour. Me and Val had travelled with them, Val doing merch and me being one of the roadies. I was only 20 at the time. I’d taken Gin with me, not wanting to dump her on mum and dad for three months. She was in most of the photos of us on the tour bus and at the venues. There was a gentle knock on my door, I looked up, hastily wiping away the tears.
“Come in.” The door opened to reveal Syn. I scowled at him and turned away. The door closed again, but he hadn’t left. His hand gently touched my shoulder.
“I’m so sorry Cait. I didn’t realise.” He apologised, his voice barely a murmur. Before I could reply, he spoke again. “Johnny pointed out that I’d been ‘too busy shoving my tongue down Michelle’s throat’ to realise what was happening around me.” I snorted at my brother’s choice of words.
“My brother has such a way with words.” Syn chuckled slightly behind me.
“That he does. He was right though.” I felt the bed sink next to me as he sat down. He looked at the photo album that was sat in my lap and smiled. “That was a good tour.” I smiled as I forced myself not to cry again.
“We nearly killed each other though.”
Flashback – Waking the Fallen Tour – 2004.
“Argh! You are the most irritating, annoying, pompous bastard that I have ever had the misfortune to meet!” I exclaimed, flicking my –currently – red hair out of my face. He just grinned from his seat.
“Love you too Cait.” I growled my frustration and fell onto the couch next to Johnny.
“Don’t call me that!” I looked over at Johnny, exasperated. “Why do you have such a disagreeable friend?” He laughed and put an arm around my shoulders.
“Would you be as amused, if I didn’t?” I sent him a glare.
“I’m sure that I’d find a way to survive without his constant sarcastic comments.” I replied drily. Across from my Syn smirked.
“You and I both know that you’d be lost without me and my sarcastic comments.” I was about to reply rudely when 110 plus pounds of Rottweiler jumped onto his lap and lay down. Instead, I cracked up laughing as he wheezed for breath following a paw to the balls. Apparently, me and Val were the only ones who found this funny. Johnny just looked flatly at me.
“There is nothing amusing about having your bollocks stood on. If you had them, then you would understand this.” Val snorted.
“I call it karmic payback for childbirth.” I high-fived her.
“Damn fucking right.” I agreed.
“Neither of you two has actually given birth.” Replied Jimmy, looking confused. I glanced at him.
“And? We most likely will in the future.”
“And periods!” Added Val, smiling mischievously.
“And tampons! Don’t forget the tampons.” I added, grinning too. Almost simultaneously, all five guys clapped their hands to their ears.
“WAY TOO MUCH INFORMATION HERE GIRLS!” Yelled Zacky, looking rather disturbed.
“Well you don’t have to use them every month…”
“LA LA LA LA LA!!!” Me and Val both looked at each other and cracked up laughing as four out of five guys all moved – very fast—in the direction of the bunks. The only one left was stuck under my lazy Rottweiler and she wasn’t about to move. He sighed and gave up struggling. He looked at me.
“Your dog is fat, do you know that?” I narrowed my eyes at him.
“How dare you! I’ll have you know that she is the standard weight for a Rottweiler! Lazy, yes. Fat, no.” Syn yawned.
“Whatever, Cait, whatever.” I threw Johnny’s MP3 player at his head.
“How many fucking times must I fucking tell you to not fucking call me that?!”
End Flashback.
My mind came back to the present, my eyes full of tears at the memory of Gin. I just couldn’t make myself believe that she was gone. I was still expecting her to sit, scratching at my bedroom door in the morning until I got up and fed her. An arm wrapped around my shoulders. I jumped slightly at the sudden contact. I’d totally forgotten that Syn was still here. He pulled me into a sideways hug.
“It’ll be ok, Cait.” He whispered. I couldn’t do anything to control the way that my heart raced as his breath tickled my ear. Without thinking, I rested my head on his shoulder.
“I miss her already Syn.” Yes, I was fully aware how pathetic that was. But it’s me.
“We all do. She was like the band dog. We all loved her. Even if she did like to crush us with her fatty ass.” He chuckled. I smiled slightly at the on-going joke-ish argument between us. I knew that he’d meant me to. We stayed sat like that for a while. Neither of us moved. To be honest, neither of us seemed to be uncomfortable. Well I certainly wasn’t. Although, I wasn’t exactly happy with the way that being in his arms was making me feel. Eventually, I lifted my head.
“Thanks.” I smiled softly at him. He frowned.
“Why?”
“Honestly?” He nodded. “I didn’t expect you to come and apologise, much less make me feel a bit better.” He smiled and stood up.
“Who’d have thought it? We can actually get along.” I wrinkled my nose.
“God forbid.” He looked at me for a time, as if he was debating whether or not to do something. Eventually he shoved his hands in his pockets.
“I’ll catch ya later Cait.” He mumbled, walking out of my room.
I sighed as I closed the door. It had been almost a week since I’d talked to Ash, and I am not kidding, my week had gone from bad, to worse, to terrible. It started off with Johnny forcing me to cover all of the same ground that me and Ash had when I stayed at her. Then Michelle stayed over for two days, so I had to deal with the overwhelming face-sucking competitions between her and Syn. Then, Gin, my Rottweiler had been ill, so I’d taken her to the vets, they’d done various tests and discovered that she had an advanced stomach tumour. I’d just gotten back from the vets after having decided that it would be best for her to be put to sleep. She was 15 and already suffering with arthritis and joint problems. She just wouldn’t have coped with the surgery that was needed. It was the hardest thing that I’d ever had to do. I’ve had her since I was 15. She was 9 when I got her from the shelter where I worked. She had been my first dog. Losing her was like I’d lost a piece of me. It sounds pathetic, I know, but it was. She may have been a stubborn, lazy, strong-willed, food obsessed dog, but she was my stubborn, lazy, strong-willed, food obsessed dog. I took my leather jacket off and tossed it on the hook by the door. When I turned back, I was faced with a smirking Syn. Perfect, just what my day needed. I ignored the way my heart rate hitched slightly at the sight of him.
“You’re nice and merry today.” He remarked. I glared at him and stormed upstairs. “What did I do?” Fucking bastard.
~*~
Syn POV.
I turned to look at Johnny in confusion. “What did I do?” To my surprise, he glared at me. Johnny never glares at me. Or anyone.
“You can be an absolute bastard at times, do you know that?” Man, he even sounded pissed. I looked and felt totally confused.
“What did I do?”
“She just had to have Gin put down.” Ah shit, now I felt like a complete douche.
“Shit. I didn’t know.” Again Johnny glared at me.
“Well that’s because you’ve been too busy shoving your tongue down Michelle’s throat to notice what’s going on in the world around you.” I ignored the jab.
“What happened?”
“She found out two days ago that Gin had a really advanced stomach tumour. She wouldn’t have coped with surgery. Jack decided that it would be kinder to have her out down. She would have only had a few very painful weeks left anyway.” He explained. He still looked pissed, but he was starting to calm down. Fucking hell, I’d noticed that Cait had been touchier than normal the past couple of days, but I thought that she was just PMSing. Johnny walked past me, heading for the kitchen. I couldn’t decide what to do. I was going to go over to Michelle’s, but now I felt too bad. I knew what I should do; I should go upstairs and apologise to Cait. I’ll let her calm down a bit first. I decided, following Johnny into the kitchen.
~*~
JC POV.
I couldn’t help the tears that fell. I was looking back through one of my old photo albums. It was the one dedicated to the only tour I ever did with the guys; The Waking The Fallen Tour. Me and Val had travelled with them, Val doing merch and me being one of the roadies. I was only 20 at the time. I’d taken Gin with me, not wanting to dump her on mum and dad for three months. She was in most of the photos of us on the tour bus and at the venues. There was a gentle knock on my door, I looked up, hastily wiping away the tears.
“Come in.” The door opened to reveal Syn. I scowled at him and turned away. The door closed again, but he hadn’t left. His hand gently touched my shoulder.
“I’m so sorry Cait. I didn’t realise.” He apologised, his voice barely a murmur. Before I could reply, he spoke again. “Johnny pointed out that I’d been ‘too busy shoving my tongue down Michelle’s throat’ to realise what was happening around me.” I snorted at my brother’s choice of words.
“My brother has such a way with words.” Syn chuckled slightly behind me.
“That he does. He was right though.” I felt the bed sink next to me as he sat down. He looked at the photo album that was sat in my lap and smiled. “That was a good tour.” I smiled as I forced myself not to cry again.
“We nearly killed each other though.”
Flashback – Waking the Fallen Tour – 2004.
“Argh! You are the most irritating, annoying, pompous bastard that I have ever had the misfortune to meet!” I exclaimed, flicking my –currently – red hair out of my face. He just grinned from his seat.
“Love you too Cait.” I growled my frustration and fell onto the couch next to Johnny.
“Don’t call me that!” I looked over at Johnny, exasperated. “Why do you have such a disagreeable friend?” He laughed and put an arm around my shoulders.
“Would you be as amused, if I didn’t?” I sent him a glare.
“I’m sure that I’d find a way to survive without his constant sarcastic comments.” I replied drily. Across from my Syn smirked.
“You and I both know that you’d be lost without me and my sarcastic comments.” I was about to reply rudely when 110 plus pounds of Rottweiler jumped onto his lap and lay down. Instead, I cracked up laughing as he wheezed for breath following a paw to the balls. Apparently, me and Val were the only ones who found this funny. Johnny just looked flatly at me.
“There is nothing amusing about having your bollocks stood on. If you had them, then you would understand this.” Val snorted.
“I call it karmic payback for childbirth.” I high-fived her.
“Damn fucking right.” I agreed.
“Neither of you two has actually given birth.” Replied Jimmy, looking confused. I glanced at him.
“And? We most likely will in the future.”
“And periods!” Added Val, smiling mischievously.
“And tampons! Don’t forget the tampons.” I added, grinning too. Almost simultaneously, all five guys clapped their hands to their ears.
“WAY TOO MUCH INFORMATION HERE GIRLS!” Yelled Zacky, looking rather disturbed.
“Well you don’t have to use them every month…”
“LA LA LA LA LA!!!” Me and Val both looked at each other and cracked up laughing as four out of five guys all moved – very fast—in the direction of the bunks. The only one left was stuck under my lazy Rottweiler and she wasn’t about to move. He sighed and gave up struggling. He looked at me.
“Your dog is fat, do you know that?” I narrowed my eyes at him.
“How dare you! I’ll have you know that she is the standard weight for a Rottweiler! Lazy, yes. Fat, no.” Syn yawned.
“Whatever, Cait, whatever.” I threw Johnny’s MP3 player at his head.
“How many fucking times must I fucking tell you to not fucking call me that?!”
End Flashback.
My mind came back to the present, my eyes full of tears at the memory of Gin. I just couldn’t make myself believe that she was gone. I was still expecting her to sit, scratching at my bedroom door in the morning until I got up and fed her. An arm wrapped around my shoulders. I jumped slightly at the sudden contact. I’d totally forgotten that Syn was still here. He pulled me into a sideways hug.
“It’ll be ok, Cait.” He whispered. I couldn’t do anything to control the way that my heart raced as his breath tickled my ear. Without thinking, I rested my head on his shoulder.
“I miss her already Syn.” Yes, I was fully aware how pathetic that was. But it’s me.
“We all do. She was like the band dog. We all loved her. Even if she did like to crush us with her fatty ass.” He chuckled. I smiled slightly at the on-going joke-ish argument between us. I knew that he’d meant me to. We stayed sat like that for a while. Neither of us moved. To be honest, neither of us seemed to be uncomfortable. Well I certainly wasn’t. Although, I wasn’t exactly happy with the way that being in his arms was making me feel. Eventually, I lifted my head.
“Thanks.” I smiled softly at him. He frowned.
“Why?”
“Honestly?” He nodded. “I didn’t expect you to come and apologise, much less make me feel a bit better.” He smiled and stood up.
“Who’d have thought it? We can actually get along.” I wrinkled my nose.
“God forbid.” He looked at me for a time, as if he was debating whether or not to do something. Eventually he shoved his hands in his pockets.
“I’ll catch ya later Cait.” He mumbled, walking out of my room.
7/16/13