She's Only Happy When She's Crying
Welcome to California.
Carinna.
"Come on, come on, come on! Get up!" I furiously kicked the end of Grace's bed with the toe of my combat boot, trying desperately to get her up and moving. Today was the day we were leaving everything behind here in Florida and moving out to California, and someone decided to drink the night before.
"Unnnhhh...nooo..." Grace's moan was muffled by her pillow and she swatted back at me with one hand. I reached out and grabbed her by the wrist, pulling the top half of her body into the floor while her legs kicked in the air. "ALRIGHT! I'm up! Jesus, Carr, we'll make it there! What's your fucking malfunction?" That's my Grace, bitchy and beautiful...but mostly bitchy. She pushed herself up off the floor and nudged me playfully in the ribs as she made her way to the empty bathroom to get dressed. We had decided to pack the day before, knowing we would dread the task this early in the morning, and my 2011 Taurus was already bursting with every little thing we had.
"My fucking malfunction, as you so eloquently put it, is that we were supposed to leave an hour ago. I'd rather not spend more time at the airport than I have to. I already know security is going to be a nightmare with as many suitcases as we have." My Taurus would take us as far as the airport, and then it would be shipped out to California by my dad. Unfortunately, it would take a week to get there, but I'm sure catching cabs and walking wouldn't destroy us, as much as Grace complained about it.
Thirty minutes later, we were out the door, dressed to the nines in true Carinna and Grace fashion. We reached the JAX airport an hour later, and with the help of the airport staff, we miraculously made it onto the plan and into the air in barely any time at all. How the fuck did that happen? No complaints from this ginger, that's for sure! Of course, from the finger nails digging into the back of my hand, I'm sure that only applied to me.
Grace.
"Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuhhhhhhck." Did I mention I fucking HATE air travel?! Why I didn't fight harder for a road trip to California, I don't know. Okay, as an impatient person, I couldn't stand making the trip in anything more than a few hours, so a week's worth of driving wasn't happening. My eyes were squeezed tight and my body was tensed up so bad that one of the flight attendants finally came over and crouched down next to me, discreetly offering up the list of liquor they offered on the plane.
"Awe, Grace, I closed the window. You can't even see outside! And for fuck's sake, let go of my hand!" Carinna scraped at my nails, batting me away before I drew blood from my frightened state. I looked over at her and scowled, graciously taking the tiny bottles of Jack Daniels from the stewardess as she came back around and nursing them for the whole five minutes it took me to swallow all six bottles.
"Sorry," I grumbled, feeling slightly better by the alcohol. "You know how I feel about airplanes though. Too many Final Destination marathons." She rolled her eyes and laughed, touching the screen of her phone and scrolling through pictures of the new apartment we had already called on. Our prospective roommate, Lana, was supposed to meet us there at 5:00 this evening, and she sounded as excited as we were, seeing that we all shared common interests. She even suggested introducing us to her boss, Gavin, to check on bartending jobs at the club she danced at. A job that included booze, music, and dancing? I was down with that.
7 1/2 HOURS LATER...
"Duuuuude, that was ridiculous. Can you believe that airport?!" I laughed as Carinna rambled on about the size of LAX.
After living in northern Florida, where our hometown had exactly ONE stop light and specialized in dairy farms and Baptist churches, Los Angeles had been an entirely different experience. Now that we were entering Huntington Beach in a cab crammed full of our junk, we were getting more and more excited about meeting Lana and seeing our prospective home. It was about 4:50, and although we had been traveling all day, the jet lag hadn't caught up to us yet.
"There she is," I said, leaning between the front seats of the cab and pointing at a petite girl waving frantically outside of the condo, being notified moments before by Carinna via text message. The cab driver nodded and pulled up to the curb, barely in time before I pushed the door open, a huge smile plastered across my face. I'm sure you've heard of "love at first sight", right? Well, as soon as I laid eyes on Lana, I could tell this was going to work, and from the expressions on both Carinna's and Lana's faces, they felt the same way. Awesome.
Carinna.
"I'm so glad that we decided to do this! And thanks again, Lana, I was so freaked out that this was going to be a fucking disaster," I exclaimed again, lugging the last of my bags into my room.
We had made quick work of getting to know one another and surprisingly, we were already comfortable around each other. The condo was a two-storied beauty, with three bedrooms upstairs and a bathroom upstairs, a small balcony off of every room, and another bathroom downstairs. The kitchen, dining area, and living room were set up like a studio apartment, with everyone open, only an L-shaped bar separating the kitchen area from the rest of the room. I absolutely LOVED it, and I could tell that Grace did too.
"Don't mention it," Lana said with a laugh. "I was nervous as hell too, but this is already turning out to be a kick ass decision!" She high-fived Grace and then clapped her hands excitedly, demanding the attention in the room. "Alright, alright, alright! So I know you just got here and you're probably tired as hell, but I thought maybe we could go out and do something tonight! Maybe I could show you the club?" I looked at Grace and she was bobbing her head up and down, eyes wide and a joker-like smile on her face. I shrugged and pushed the lid of my suitcase open on the bed, waving over my clothes in a ta-da gesture. "Let's do it."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
We strolled up to the night club, Leviathan, and I couldn't suppress my excitement. I was dressed in my best clubbing outfit, Grace was as lovely as ever in her best, and Lana was just adorable in coral and black. We had already been assured and then reassured that we would love the atmosphere of the club that was known for hosting VIP celebrity parties, especially rock bands like Slipknot, The Pretty Reckless, and of course, the hometown heroes themselves, Avenged Sevenfold.
"You guys would fit in perfectly here! Gavin's going to adore you!" Lana squealed as she walked us alongside the growing line waiting to get inside the already packed club, waving and smiling to those she knew and even some she didn't that called out her name. A muscular man covered in tattoos stood at the door with another bouncer, apparently waiting for us, because he swept Lana up in a tight hug and spun her around. "Hey girl," he said with a smile, setting her back down and look Grace and me over with a friendly smile. "And you two must be the new roomies that this crazy bitch has been chattering about all week." I nodded with a small wave and stuck my hand out to shake. "I'm Carinna." He looked at my hand for a minute and then shook his head, pulling me into a hug that I accepted, shocked. Lana laughed and said, "This is Zachary, and as you can tell, he's a hugger." He laughed and nudged her shoulder, pulling Grace into a hug as well when she gave her name. She laughed and pushed him off of her playfully, pointing up at him with a mock look of menace. "You watch it, buddy. Don't get fresh." His laughter boomed over the chatter of the crowd and led us into the club, the dull roar transforming into an all-consuming drone, completely with flashing lights and pulsating beats. I had to admit it. I was in love already...with the club, that is!
He led us through the myriad of bodies, tables, and platforms that held the cages that the go-go dancers performed in, making his way to a small table in the VIP section. A tall, and might I say, gorgeous, man was sitting behind two large bottles of Grey Goose, topping his shot glass off with Red Bull. The guy sitting next to him noticed us approached first and whispered something, causing them both to stand and smile. "Lana!" The first man leaned over the table and hugged her small form. She stepped away and gestured to the two of us. "Gavin! This is Carinna and Grace, the two ladies I was telling you about. They got here this evening, and they were already ready to party!" I shook his hand, noticing that the second guy was staring at me, and I arched a brow at him. "See something you like?" I shouted to him over the music, and he blinked, like he was coming out of a daze, and shook his head with a smirk. "Oh, I'd say so! I'm Ethan." I nodded, offering him a smile, and then took my seat at the table between Lana and Grace, accepting the vodka bomb that Gavin passed over. "Well ladies," Gavin said, holding his glass up in a toast. "I'd like to welcome you both to Leviathan, and while I'd love to talk business, I think we should celebrate first. Welcome to California, girls." We clinked our shot glasses, and threw them back, laughing.
Welcome to California indeed.
"Come on, come on, come on! Get up!" I furiously kicked the end of Grace's bed with the toe of my combat boot, trying desperately to get her up and moving. Today was the day we were leaving everything behind here in Florida and moving out to California, and someone decided to drink the night before.
"Unnnhhh...nooo..." Grace's moan was muffled by her pillow and she swatted back at me with one hand. I reached out and grabbed her by the wrist, pulling the top half of her body into the floor while her legs kicked in the air. "ALRIGHT! I'm up! Jesus, Carr, we'll make it there! What's your fucking malfunction?" That's my Grace, bitchy and beautiful...but mostly bitchy. She pushed herself up off the floor and nudged me playfully in the ribs as she made her way to the empty bathroom to get dressed. We had decided to pack the day before, knowing we would dread the task this early in the morning, and my 2011 Taurus was already bursting with every little thing we had.
"My fucking malfunction, as you so eloquently put it, is that we were supposed to leave an hour ago. I'd rather not spend more time at the airport than I have to. I already know security is going to be a nightmare with as many suitcases as we have." My Taurus would take us as far as the airport, and then it would be shipped out to California by my dad. Unfortunately, it would take a week to get there, but I'm sure catching cabs and walking wouldn't destroy us, as much as Grace complained about it.
Thirty minutes later, we were out the door, dressed to the nines in true Carinna and Grace fashion. We reached the JAX airport an hour later, and with the help of the airport staff, we miraculously made it onto the plan and into the air in barely any time at all. How the fuck did that happen? No complaints from this ginger, that's for sure! Of course, from the finger nails digging into the back of my hand, I'm sure that only applied to me.
Grace.
"Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuhhhhhhck." Did I mention I fucking HATE air travel?! Why I didn't fight harder for a road trip to California, I don't know. Okay, as an impatient person, I couldn't stand making the trip in anything more than a few hours, so a week's worth of driving wasn't happening. My eyes were squeezed tight and my body was tensed up so bad that one of the flight attendants finally came over and crouched down next to me, discreetly offering up the list of liquor they offered on the plane.
"Awe, Grace, I closed the window. You can't even see outside! And for fuck's sake, let go of my hand!" Carinna scraped at my nails, batting me away before I drew blood from my frightened state. I looked over at her and scowled, graciously taking the tiny bottles of Jack Daniels from the stewardess as she came back around and nursing them for the whole five minutes it took me to swallow all six bottles.
"Sorry," I grumbled, feeling slightly better by the alcohol. "You know how I feel about airplanes though. Too many Final Destination marathons." She rolled her eyes and laughed, touching the screen of her phone and scrolling through pictures of the new apartment we had already called on. Our prospective roommate, Lana, was supposed to meet us there at 5:00 this evening, and she sounded as excited as we were, seeing that we all shared common interests. She even suggested introducing us to her boss, Gavin, to check on bartending jobs at the club she danced at. A job that included booze, music, and dancing? I was down with that.
7 1/2 HOURS LATER...
"Duuuuude, that was ridiculous. Can you believe that airport?!" I laughed as Carinna rambled on about the size of LAX.
After living in northern Florida, where our hometown had exactly ONE stop light and specialized in dairy farms and Baptist churches, Los Angeles had been an entirely different experience. Now that we were entering Huntington Beach in a cab crammed full of our junk, we were getting more and more excited about meeting Lana and seeing our prospective home. It was about 4:50, and although we had been traveling all day, the jet lag hadn't caught up to us yet.
"There she is," I said, leaning between the front seats of the cab and pointing at a petite girl waving frantically outside of the condo, being notified moments before by Carinna via text message. The cab driver nodded and pulled up to the curb, barely in time before I pushed the door open, a huge smile plastered across my face. I'm sure you've heard of "love at first sight", right? Well, as soon as I laid eyes on Lana, I could tell this was going to work, and from the expressions on both Carinna's and Lana's faces, they felt the same way. Awesome.
Carinna.
"I'm so glad that we decided to do this! And thanks again, Lana, I was so freaked out that this was going to be a fucking disaster," I exclaimed again, lugging the last of my bags into my room.
We had made quick work of getting to know one another and surprisingly, we were already comfortable around each other. The condo was a two-storied beauty, with three bedrooms upstairs and a bathroom upstairs, a small balcony off of every room, and another bathroom downstairs. The kitchen, dining area, and living room were set up like a studio apartment, with everyone open, only an L-shaped bar separating the kitchen area from the rest of the room. I absolutely LOVED it, and I could tell that Grace did too.
"Don't mention it," Lana said with a laugh. "I was nervous as hell too, but this is already turning out to be a kick ass decision!" She high-fived Grace and then clapped her hands excitedly, demanding the attention in the room. "Alright, alright, alright! So I know you just got here and you're probably tired as hell, but I thought maybe we could go out and do something tonight! Maybe I could show you the club?" I looked at Grace and she was bobbing her head up and down, eyes wide and a joker-like smile on her face. I shrugged and pushed the lid of my suitcase open on the bed, waving over my clothes in a ta-da gesture. "Let's do it."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
We strolled up to the night club, Leviathan, and I couldn't suppress my excitement. I was dressed in my best clubbing outfit, Grace was as lovely as ever in her best, and Lana was just adorable in coral and black. We had already been assured and then reassured that we would love the atmosphere of the club that was known for hosting VIP celebrity parties, especially rock bands like Slipknot, The Pretty Reckless, and of course, the hometown heroes themselves, Avenged Sevenfold.
"You guys would fit in perfectly here! Gavin's going to adore you!" Lana squealed as she walked us alongside the growing line waiting to get inside the already packed club, waving and smiling to those she knew and even some she didn't that called out her name. A muscular man covered in tattoos stood at the door with another bouncer, apparently waiting for us, because he swept Lana up in a tight hug and spun her around. "Hey girl," he said with a smile, setting her back down and look Grace and me over with a friendly smile. "And you two must be the new roomies that this crazy bitch has been chattering about all week." I nodded with a small wave and stuck my hand out to shake. "I'm Carinna." He looked at my hand for a minute and then shook his head, pulling me into a hug that I accepted, shocked. Lana laughed and said, "This is Zachary, and as you can tell, he's a hugger." He laughed and nudged her shoulder, pulling Grace into a hug as well when she gave her name. She laughed and pushed him off of her playfully, pointing up at him with a mock look of menace. "You watch it, buddy. Don't get fresh." His laughter boomed over the chatter of the crowd and led us into the club, the dull roar transforming into an all-consuming drone, completely with flashing lights and pulsating beats. I had to admit it. I was in love already...with the club, that is!
He led us through the myriad of bodies, tables, and platforms that held the cages that the go-go dancers performed in, making his way to a small table in the VIP section. A tall, and might I say, gorgeous, man was sitting behind two large bottles of Grey Goose, topping his shot glass off with Red Bull. The guy sitting next to him noticed us approached first and whispered something, causing them both to stand and smile. "Lana!" The first man leaned over the table and hugged her small form. She stepped away and gestured to the two of us. "Gavin! This is Carinna and Grace, the two ladies I was telling you about. They got here this evening, and they were already ready to party!" I shook his hand, noticing that the second guy was staring at me, and I arched a brow at him. "See something you like?" I shouted to him over the music, and he blinked, like he was coming out of a daze, and shook his head with a smirk. "Oh, I'd say so! I'm Ethan." I nodded, offering him a smile, and then took my seat at the table between Lana and Grace, accepting the vodka bomb that Gavin passed over. "Well ladies," Gavin said, holding his glass up in a toast. "I'd like to welcome you both to Leviathan, and while I'd love to talk business, I think we should celebrate first. Welcome to California, girls." We clinked our shot glasses, and threw them back, laughing.
Welcome to California indeed.
Notes
So, this is my first fan fiction in a long time, so I'm hoping not to disappoint!
No A7X appearances yet...I just wanted to get the girls situated in their new place first before dropping some bomb shells. We'll see the guys in the next chapter though!
In case, I forgot to mention, obviously I don't own the guys (even though I'd LOVE to...lol), but I own the plot as well as the character (ideas, not photos), so please don't steal.
Never really read a story about Matt that's like this... I like it. Update?
2/5/15