McKenna POV.
Almost 24 hours after taking off from Cairns we arrived in Los Angeles. L.A International Airport, I decided, was a place that I hated. Noisy, overcrowded and reeking of humans. No. Thank. You. Syn, however, seemed relaxed and comfortable. I was a totally different kettle of fish, as they say in England. I was tiered, stressed and in desperate need of a comfy bed and a shower. We reclaimed our suitcases. Well, my suitcases. Syn had managed to live out of a backpack for five days. Syn led me through the maze of people to the airport gate, where his friend Matt and his girlfriend Val were waiting for us. It would be another ten minutes before I could collect my dogs. That did not please me in the slightest. But nonetheless, I would have to wait. Syn was steering the trolley with most of my suitcases on towards a tall, very muscular guy who was covered in tattoos and wearing a pair of sunglasses and a pretty blonde. I guessed that this was Matt and Val. The guys greeted each other with a man hug. Lots of back slapping and swearing at each other. Val just rolled her eyes and held out a hand.
“Hi, I’m Valerie, but I prefer Val.” She greeted, smiling broadly.
“McKenna, but I prefer Mac.” I replied, shaking her hand. She nodded at Sunglasses, who was still talking to Syn.
“That’s Matt, he’s one if Syn’s best friends.” She explained. “MATHEW! Stop being such a guy and come and say hello.” She barked, scowling at him. He smiled at her and broke off his conversation.
“Yes boss.” He replied, saluting her. He smiled at me, holding out a hand. “Matt Sanders or M.Shadows if you’re a fan.” I smiled.
“Mac Jenson.”
“Nice to meet ya. The car’s parked out back.” He turned to head for the car.
“Sorry, but I’ve gotta wait for my dogs to be unloaded and checked.” He nodded. Eventually, about ten minutes later, the call for me came out over the tannoy and I headed off to collect my babies, with Syn following close behind just to ensure that I didn’t get lost in this goddamn place. As soon as my Spitz saw me, she launched herself at me. Of course she only managed to get to about knee-height but that didn’t stop her scrabbling at me for all that she was worth. Syn laughed as I reassured her that I was not going to abandon her again. Once I’d made sure that all five of my dogs were fine, we head back to Matt and Val, who both looked rather stunned at the sight of Scooby. My Great Dane stood at hip height. On Syn. To say that he was big was a slight understatement. Combined with Tizzy (my German Sheppard), Ty (my Rottweiler) and Cocoa (my Doberman), he was a worrying sight. Matt sighed and looked at all six of my suitcases.
“I hope I’ve got enough room in my car.”

~*~

About an hour later, Matt pulled into a large house surrounded by tall white walls. The house itself was large, larger than my Aunt and Uncles. To me it looked like a typical California beach house. In other words, it was amazing. Syn helped Matt to unload the car while I just stood staring at the beautiful house. I was only aware that they had finished when Syn stood next to me chuckling.
“You wanna go in? or do you just want to stare for a while longer?” I glared at him and followed him inside. The inside was just as amazing, large, spacious and full of band members. By now, my dogs had dispersed into the house and I was so grumpy that anyone that pissed me off was either going to get their head snapped off or a roundhouse to the bollocks. I was really not in the mood for introductions. But obviously Syn had no idea that was an inch away from snapping.
“Hey guys, I want you to meet McKenna.” He introduced, I smiled tensely. “Mac, this is Jimmy, Zacky and Johnny.” They all waved in turn. “Zacky and Jimmy live here with me and Johnny lives in Matt and Val’s roof next door.” They all seemed nice enough, but I was in no mood to socialise. Finally, Syn seemed to pick up on that. “Well I’m gunna show her around, I’ll see you guys later.” He led me away from the others and through the house. The house passed in a boring blur of rooms. I could find my way around later, all I wanted right now was a dark room and a bed. Syn opened the door to another room, this time a bedroom.
“This’ll be your room.” He muttered. I looked curiously around the room. It was clean and tidy, but there was something odd about it. Like something was missing. There was an empty guitar stand in the corner of the room. There was a canvas print of Syn and the guys on one of the walls. Then it hit me. This was Syn’s room. I turned to face him.
“Syn…” He cut me off.
“It’s fine. I’m staying in with Zacky on the sofa bed for now.” His eyes met mine and I had that feeling again. The feeling that he knew more than I realised. He brushed a strand of hair out of my eyes, tucking it behind me ear. “Just take your time. It’s going to take time for both of us to get used to this. Take as long as you need.” His fingers lingered on my neck for a bit before he moved past me, into the room. “Matt brought a couple of your bags up, I hope that’s enough. There’s a bathroom through that door. Everything you need should be up here, but if you need anything just shout.” I bit my lip and nodded. This was something that I’d have to get used to. And quickly. Syn took a step closer to me. “Hey, it’s going to be ok.” The calm understanding in his voice shook me. It was like he cared. I wasn’t used to people caring. Why would they want to? Most of my life I’d been used to fending for myself, with no-one giving a fuck what I did since my Nan died. To have someone that even seemed to care was an almost alien concept to me. Sensing that something was wrong, Syn reached forward, pulling me into a hug. “Shh, we can get through this Mac. We can.” Tears began to form in my eyes. I blinked them back, willing them not to fall as Syn pulled away. His eyes bored into mine as he leaned in closer. His lips were mere centimetres away from mine, when I took a step back, looking away. He looked at me, frowning slightly, before taking a step back and walking out of the room, leaving me to my tears.