Two Vibrant Hearts

“You want to have a what?” Emma asked with a flat voice. Emma and I were sitting around Matt’s house, which was extremely odd. I hadn’t been there in a while, strictly because Gayle had become clingier than ever. My mind went straight to the idea that she knew about Matt and I, but Matt insists that she doesn’t and she’s probably just trying to keep him interested. Brian, Johnny, and Zach were all lounging across his couch while Emma and I were piling our legs on top of each other in his loveseat.
“A birthday bash.” Johnny repeated, smiling. I glanced at Emma, who had a weird look on her face.
“For who? Jimmy? Jessi?” Emma questioned. I looked at them, equally confused.
“What the fuck is a birthday bash?” I wondered.
“And isn’t that kind of… teenage-y?” Emma continued. The guys all smirked, rolling their eyes at us.
“One question at a time.” Zach sighed.
“What is a birthday bash?” I reiterated.
“To answer Emma’s question as well, every year around New Years we throw this party with a bunch of friends to celebrate all of our birthdays at once.” Brian explained. I raised an eyebrow and he shrugged. “I mean, that’s why we only went out for drinks on Zach’s birthday. We celebrate with a party for everyone and then just go out to eat or get drinks for everyone’s real birthday because it’s less stressful than having a party for everyone.”
“And yes, Emma, it’s a little teenage-y. But it works.” Johnny added.
“So wait, you guys have more friends than just each other?” I asked, sarcastically pretending to be baffled. They all narrowed their eyes at me and I smirked.
“Yes, Kid. As much as it’s hard to believe, we have more friends than just each other.” Brian chuckled. I raised my eyebrows in mock surprise, my smirk widened.
“So what you’re saying is that we’re gonna be forced to come here because this is technically our birthday party?” I voiced. They nodded and I sighed. “How many ‘friends’ do you have?”
“Eh, between thirty and sixty.” Zach shrugged. I gave him a distasteful look.
“You guys have thirty to sixty ‘friends’?” I repeated, raising my eyebrows. Johnny laughed and shook his head.
“Okay, I guess they’re not friends, per say.” Johnny commented.
“We think of them more as our birthday bash friends.” Brian added. I shot Emma a look and she returned it. We both looked back at the guys and pursed our lips.
“We see them at Johnny’s bar and other clubs a lot so we usually invite them to celebrate our birthday with us.” Zach persisted.
“Because, I mean, a party with just eight people? That’s kind of a lame birthday party.” Brian sighed. I chewed on my lip and looked away.
“Sounds fun.” I mumbled, scrunching my face up a bit. I looked down at my phone, trying to zone out of the conversation. I wasn’t a huge partier, none-the-less with people I don’t know. It did sound like fun and it’d be nice to actually be at a large party for once, but I’m not exactly what I would call a party-animal. More so a wallflower. I clicked random buttons on my phone, feeling eyes on me. I glanced up through my eyelashes to see all three men looking at me like I was crazy. I stiffened and put my phone down. “What?”
“Kid…” Zach began, his voice raising as he spoke. I looked at him with wide eyes.
“What? I said it sounded fun.” I argued, feeling as though I was going to get my head ripped off. I looked to Emma for refuge but she was just smirking at me. Emma knew my wallflower tendencies and we had actually been in this exact position a few years back in Florida. Emma had constantly tried to get me to go to all those K-Love party things hosted by the radio station there but I never really liked being at house parties. Bar parties was a completely different story, though.
“Kid… have you ever been to a big party?” Brian asked, smug written all over his smartass face. I glared at him and opened my mouth to be interrupted by Emma.
“No.” She answered bluntly. I shot her a look and she smirked. “Don’t even lie to them, Jessi. It’s written all over your face.”
“She’s right.” Johnny agreed. I groaned and laid my head back.
“So you seriously have never been to a big party?” Zach scoffed. I rolled my eyes, keeping my head back.
“I’m a bar party girl, not a house party.” I defended, picking my head up. The guys all chuckled and I was going to defend myself when the door opened and Matt wandered in. Matt’s eyes landed on me for a second before fleeting away to everyone else. I let out a deep breath and looked at my mismatched socks. The morning after our Christmas-slash-New Year’s party I had sadly woken up on my own in the spare bedroom, and even though I knew Matt had to do it I couldn’t help but feel sullen about it. I saw Matt give me a quick sympathetic look before looking back at the guys. All the guys gave him a sly look and I switched my gaze to the white and unusually clean floor. I could feel my cheeks burn, already knowing that I was going to be even more embarrassed after Matt finds out that I didn’t like house parties. It wasn’t the most embarrassing of things for him to know, but it made me seem lame in the aspect of partying.
“Hey guys. What are we talking about?” Matt greeted as he threw himself on his recliner. The guys gave me cunning smiles and I shot up in my seat.
“Oh, we’re just—” I cut off Brian with a loud screech. I threw myself on top of the three of them, covering Zach and Brian’s mouth. I looked at Johnny who was smiling evilly and shoved a wad of his shirt into his mouth. He gave me a crazy look and I sighed in triumph when I looked at all of the cut off men.
“Jessi’s never been to a real party.” Emma answered. I sat up and my mouth dropped. I stared at her angrily as everyone else laughed.
“You traitor.” I snapped. She shrugged and I frowned, growing visibly annoyed. I walked back over to the loveseat and plopped down, kicking Emma so hard that she yelped. I didn’t even need to look at Matt to know that he was giving me a look of pathetic-ness or pity.
“Is there a reason?” Matt questioned, his voice wavering. He was trying not to laugh. I continued to glare at my leg, not wanting to look at their smug faces.
“I feel like I’m suffocating when there are a lot of people in a house,” I grumbled. “Like at a bar you have plenty of space and you never run out of booze or snacks. At house parties people can drink your shit and eat your snacks and rub their ass on your body. It also gives people more of a chance to try to take you to bed. Like I mean there was Brady that one time at the bar but he was already sitting there, whereas at house parties-”
“Wait, what?” Matt interrupted, his eyebrows raising. I gave him a confused look before realizing everyone was staring at me with shocked looks. “Who’s Brady?”
“Damn girl, good job.” Emma complimented, lightly shoving my leg. Confusion bled all over my face as they all continued to stare. I didn’t even remember what I was saying. “Was he cute?”
“Who?” I asked. Emma raised her eyebrows, judgment all over her face.
“Brady.” Emma told me. My mouth dropped in recollection and I nodded.
“Who’s Brady?” Zach jumped in. I kept my eyes on Emma and gave her a look.
“Oh right. Brady.” I repeated.
“Who’s Brady?” Brian chimed, joining in the other men asking me, which I chose to ignore. I shrugged and nodded my head.
“Yeah. He wasn’t that bad.” I answered, remembering what Brady looked like. “He wasn’t quite as cute as these guys, but he wasn’t bad. He was our age and he had that attractive blonde-hair-brown-eyes combo.”
“Oh yeah, that’s a nice combo.” Emma agreed, nodding her head dreamily. She glanced at me and smirked. “But not as good as any-hair-green-eyes. You know how I am with green eyes being—”
“Who the fuck is Brady?!” Matt demanded. I finally pulled my gaze from Emma to stare at him with blank eyes. Everyone’s eyebrows were practically falling off their face and I rolled my eyes. Were people really shocked that some guy was hitting on me? Jeez.
“Just some guy at the bar who was hitting on me.” I answered, my voice slightly coated with irritation. The shock on their faces immediately fell to cynical as their minds flipped to the same thought.
“Just some guy?” Zach repeated. I nodded and rolled my eyes.
“If you’re thinking I had a one night stand I did not.” I remarked, my tone snarky. I shot Matt a look for a quick second before looking at the ceiling. “I told him I was in a relationship and he left me alone.”
“Hey Kid, have you ever had a one night stand?” Johnny asked curiously. I smirked and stretched myself out across Emma’s lap.
“If you count getting to second base with a guy from Florida before backing out and politely asking him to leave a one night stand.” Emma chortled. I breathed a laugh and laced my fingers together.
“No, I haven’t. I believe in being in a relationship before I let some guy see me naked.” I formally answered.
“Well, the more you know.” Brian murmured. I nodded and sighed.
“Because this is a birthday party thing I’m going to go and I’ll try to have fun. But I don’t put myself out there so if I’m not having crap tons of fun don’t let me ruin it for you guys.” I warned. They all laughed and looked at me.
“Don’t worry Kid, if you’re not having fun Jimmy will make sure to change that.” Johnny assured me with a kind smile. I returned it before looking around the living room, realizing what was missing.
“Speaking of that over-grown kindergartener, where’s Jimmy?” I wondered aloud, taking effort to turn myself around to see if he was hiding behind the loveseat or something.
“I got a text from him before I got in.” Matt answered as he pulled out his phone. He scrolled a little before smirking and clearing his throat. “According to Jimmy he’s ‘buying Walmart out of their soda, alcohol, and chips’.”
“I guess that’s our cue to start setting up for the party.” Zach announced as he stood up. Everyone but Emma and I followed his lead, and Zach looked at us. He stretched a little and yawned before smiling. “If you want, you can invite your friends, too.”
“So you mean you want us to invite four flaming homosexuals, your fuck buddy, a girl shorter than Emma and Lyssa?” I listed with a monotone voice. Zach laughed before smiling and walking away, leaving Emma and I in a heap together in the living room alone. I looked at her and sighed before taking out my phone. “I got the boys, you got the girls. And ask Jordie if Demi wants to come.” Emma nodded before slipping her phone out of her pocket and tapping furiously at the screen.
~
I leaned against the wall near the stereo, which was blasting a mix of metal and popular pop music. I looked around the crowded living room, which was lit up with orange and red from the film we put over Matt’s lights. I sighed and searched for my friends, which were nowhere to be seen. They were either drinking outside, lost in the kitchen group, or spilled into the basement along with a lot of other people. I watched people dancing with bored eyes, done with the ambiance of the party.
I had honestly tried to enjoy myself; I had taken a few shots, danced a little bit with my friends, and even attempted to make small talk. It turns out that Brady was invited here without realization that he was the Brady, and he had managed to find me. He asked me how my relationship with Matt was, completely oblivious to the notion that Matt was the Matt from Avenged. Brady had also seen the article and Brian and I and wanted to know what was up with that. I settled on the lie that Matt and I were on a break and Brian was somewhat of a rebound. Although disgruntled with the fact that I was still taken, he whisked away to the kitchen for more alcohol.
At the thought of alcohol my mouth tingled and I decided to make myself a drink while I sought for some refuge in a friend or kind stranger. There was a huge crowd practically fighting for food and drinks like it was Black Friday, and I was lucky to grab a small bottle of Jack and a can of coke. I opened the can and chugged a bit of it, scrunching my face in distaste at the flavor of coke. I mixed in the jack and began sipping on it, my eyes once again scanning the crowds for my friends. I was beginning to feel like going home or escaping to a bar when my eyes landed on Zach. He and Jordie were making out roughly, completely unaware or uncaring of how utterly disgusting it was to other people. Or at least how disgusting it was to me.
“Hey Baker!” I screamed loudly, trying to get his attention. Luckily he heard me, and Zach pulled away to look for me. His gaze met mine and I scrunched my face up, giving him a stern look. “Get a fucking room!” Zach smirked and flipped me off before pulling Jordie in, making out with her to the point where their tongues weren’t even in their mouths. His hand slid to her pants and I turned away, utterly repulsed. I went back to my spot next to the stereo.
I stared out to the backyard as I drank my Jack and Coke, practically dying of boredom. I set my drink down and tried to dance a little bit more, but I wasn’t much of a grinder nonetheless against random strangers, so I just awkwardly swayed next to a few guys for a little bit before returning to my drink. As though he had been watching me from a distance, a few moments later Matt had shown up, stumbling like crazy. He fell against the wall and I recoiled as the impact made the wall shake a little.
“Hey b-babe.” Matt cooed, booping my nose. I tentatively smiled and nodded, feeling awkward about talking to Matt in public. He grinned drunkenly and ran a hand through my hair. “Why arn’t you having f-fun?”
“I am. Uh,” I lied, my voice small. He scoffed and leaned against the wall. Well, more like slumped.
“You’re being boring.” He chortled thickly. I averted his eyes and he swung his head like he was swooping long hair out of his face. “Isn’t there a movie about that? Like, How Fucking Great is it to be a Wallflower?”
“It’s Perks of Being a Wallflower.” I corrected him. His eyelids drooped and his gaze became glassy. “You’re high, aren’t you?”
“I dunno what yer talkin’ bout.” Matt slurred. I crinkled my nose and stepped away, nauseated by the thick smell of alcohol and weed on his breath. I should have realized people were smoking up since the whole house smelled like a friggin skunk.
“Yeah.” I answered quietly as I turned my back to him. I would have enjoyed his company ifhe wasn’t out of it, but right now I am pretty sure I was getting second-hand high from the fumes coming from his body. I finished off my Coke and held the can as I began staring at the backyard again, desiring nothing more than to leave and escape to a bar or something . I was about to go throw away my can when I felt Matt’s strong arm slither around my waist, pulling me close to him. I stood still as Matt moved my hair from one side of my head to the other and seconds later I felt his tongue run across my skin. I practically jumped in his hold at the sudden touch before swallowing roughly. “Uh, M-Matt, m-maybe you shouldn’t do that here…” I felt his hot breath against my neck as he chuckled before continuing to lick and bite my neck. I held back a whimper, trying not to let how good it felt get to me. Matt was under the influence…s and we were at a party where no one but Jimmy knew that we were together and I wanted to keep it that way. I took out my phone shakily, repressing a shudder.
Jimmy. Please help.-K
With what?-J
Please. I’m by the stereo.-K
Ok. I’ll be there in a sec.-J
My eyes scanned rapidly for Jimmy as Matt pulled me closer, his grip tightening around my hips. Jimmy appeared into my view a few seconds later and his eyes searched the scene until it landed upon Matt and I. Jimmy’s eyes widened and I gave him a scared look. He crossed the room and stared at me sternly.
“What the hell, Kid? Aren’t you supposed to be keeping this a secret?” Jimmy accused.
“Help me! He came up drunk and stoned out of his mind and just clung to me!” I whined. Jimmy gave me a sympathetic look before touching Matt’s shoulder to get his attention.
“What are you doing, man? You can’t do that here.” Jimmy said. I felt Matt laugh against my neck and pull away just enough to speak.
“I’m kissing my girl, dude.” Matt mumbled, standing up a little more. I couldn’t help but lean into his body a bit, probably fueling his drunken desires.
“I know man, but to everyone else here she’s with Brian. We don’t want to start a clusterfuck, especially with our friends.” Jimmy explained calmly.
“But I want to spend time with her.” Matt pouted. Jeez he was adorable.
“I know, and you can. But you can’t be holding her or licking her neck. C’mon, let’s go get you water so you can sober up.” Jimmy empathized. I could hear Matt let out a sad sigh before dropping his hands from my waist. He took Jimmy’s outstretched hand and walked with his head down. I snickered at how much it looked like a pouty kid and a good parent. Jimmy glanced at me and I mouthed ‘thank you’ before he went out of sight. Now I had nothing to do again.
*
I was on my way to get another drink when I heard something breaking. A wave of gasps and screams streamed across house and the only thing I could hear was the music and faint shouting. I quickly put down my drink and shoved my way through the crowd, wanting to see the potential fight. People let me through and arrived at the base of the fight to immediately want to go back into the crowd and disappear. In the middle of the fight were, of course, Brian and Matt. I should have expected that.
“What the fuck is your problem, man?” Brian snapped, his fists clenched. Like Matt, Brian looked like he was off his rocker. His eyes were bloodshot and his skin was pale, like practically everyone else at this party resembled. I groaned internally to myself as I leaned my weight to one side of my body.
“I bet you fifty bucks this fight is about a girl.” I murmured to the guy next to me. He narrowed his eyes at me and shook my hand, sealing his fate of being hustled.
“My problem is that you won’t back off from Kid.” Matt retorted, looking just as blitzed as he was about an hour ago. I wonder what happened to Jimmy, since I couldn’t see him anywhere. I glanced at the guy I made a bet with and he gave me a worried glance.
“Why do I have to back off from Kid? She’s not your girlfriend.” Brian spat, stuttering slightly. I smirked and held my hand out to the guy, who grumbled as he slipped a fifty into my hand. I slid the money into my pocket before turning my attention back to the two idiots in the center of the room, my face burning up. This is so embarrassing.
“She’s more my girlfriend than she is yours.” Matt slurred angrily, his eyes fluttering. I stepped forward a little, ready to stop the fight. If I let it go on longer then things would turn out really bad.
“Yeah right.” Brian scoffed, rolling his eyes. Matt’s face reddened.
“Like you have the right to talk.” Matt yelled. Brian looked back at him and Matt got a smug look on his face. “You’re her sex buddy. But tell me, have you guys even had sex?” Brian broke their gaze and my stomach dropped. I didn’t care that these strangers were probably too fucked up to pay attention, they were talking about me like I was an object and I didn’t like it. Matt straightened up, triumph crossing his face. “Exactly. She’s just using you.”
“Okay guys, zip it back up.” I interrupted, walking out to the middle of the fight. I put my hand on both of their chests and stood in between them. My eyes switched from Brian and Matt, trying to see both of their reactions. Neither of them backed down; they both just stood straight with angry eyes. I felt incredibly small between them, although I could see that Matt was towering over Brian by about three inches. “This is not the time nor the place to talk about this. Just back away.”
“She’s just using me?” Brian repeated, disbelief in his voice. “You’re the one leading her on while you fuck around with your dumb slut.”
“See at least my dumb slut wants to be with me.” Matt taunted. Brian scoffed and rolled his eyes. Matt stared at him for a second before a wicked grin crossed his face. “Oh wait, I know. I know exactly why you’re on Kid.” Brian raised his eyebrows and I could tell this was going to end badly. I tried to push Brian away, but even with two hands he stood still as though he didn’t even know I was there. Maybe they didn’t know I was there. I felt Brian tense and looked at his hands, which were clenching tightly into fists. I was fucked. “Because she’s the only chick willing to put up with you for more than a night.”
I braced for impact and shut my eyes tightly the second I saw Brian’s hand raise. I awaited for the hit, but instead felt myself getting pushed. Zach quickly came out from the crowd and caught me as I heard a slam behind me. I looked to see Jimmy, who was pushing Brian away.
“You asshole!” Jimmy screamed at Brian as he tried to get passed Jimmy, screaming obscenities at Matt. “You almost hit a fucking girl!”
“Damn right I almost hit a fucking girl!” Brian screeched, his eyes pinned on Matt. Matt looked distraught but triumphant as he stood there, leaning to one side with his arms crossed. Jimmy glared at him before shoving him away.
“Zach, go shower Shadz down. He needs to sober up.” Jimmy ordered as he pushed Brian towards the downstairs bathroom, Johnny flanking him. Zach rubbed my arm kindheartedly before letting me go and grabbing Matt’s arm. He drug him upstairs, immediately falling out of my sight. The crowd dispersed, people whispering as they went back to their small groups. I let out a hopeless sigh and walked to the kitchen, grabbing a full bottle of vodka. I heard complaints but ignored them as I trudged out to the backyard, where few people were hanging. I walked to the edge of the patio where the grass met and sat down, screwing the lid off the bottle. I took a large drink, disregarding the horrendous taste. I sat still for a second before numbly putting the bottle above my head and tipping it. I flinched as the tepid water hit my scalp, running down my body and soaking my clothes. I got weird looks from the people smoking but I chose to overlook their judgmental stares. I stopped for a quick second to take another gulp before once again showering under vodka. The back door slid open and Jimmy walked out, his eyes scanning around the garden. His gaze landed on me and he sent me a sad smile as he walked over.
“Kid, what’re you doing?” Jimmy asked me, chuckling a little bit. He sat down in front of me and I sulked.
“Isn’t it obvious? I’m drowning my sorrows. Literally.” I mumbled, dropping the bottle and chugging the last few drinks left. Jimmy touched me wet hair and gave me a sympathetic look.
“I’m sorry about the guys tonight.” Jimmy apologized. I shrugged. He grabbed my hand and stood up. “Come on. I’m gonna make you have fun tonight.”
“But Jimmy,” I whined, throwing my head back. Jimmy shook his head and pulled me along towards the front door.
“Don’t but Jimmy me, missy.” Jimmy scolded. I smirked and looked at him.
“Or what?” I challenged. Jimmy smiled widely and turned towards me, getting down in a defensive position.
“I’ll do this.” He announced as he ran to me. I screamed as I went airborne, flying back for a few seconds before hitting the pool. I resurfaced and began laughing, splashing Jimmy when he came back up. I heard some battle calls and saw Zach and Johnny running towards us, Jordie and Emma following after them. They all canonballed in and I swam away as Zach almost landed on me. I heard a few more shouts and watched as Brian and Matt ran in together, Brian front-flipping in while Matt dove in. We all laughed and they hugged each other, clearly better than they were earlier. I smiled and looked at Jimmy. This night was getting better and I was beginning to enjoy it.

Notes

Holy shit only two more chapters. The excitement is real.