Avery’s POV

“Come on, Gates, you can throw better than that!” Zacky laughed while Brian threw carrot after carrot at the target the guys made out of coffee stirs and a guitar stand on the bus. It was obvious by the look on his face that he was getting pissed off because everyone, including Johnny, had made a shot. Hell, even I made one and I have the worst aim known to man.

“This is fucking bullshit and the main reason why I don’t play your stupid ass games,” he shot back as he threw another carrot. I couldn’t help but smile lightly to myself as I sat on the couch next to Zacky, totally amused by the whole situation. It was nice to see this side of the guys and feel like a part of their group. Though, I had to admit that I was having a hard time taking my eyes off Brian. He was so cute when he was frustrated. The way his eyebrows puckered together and he pouted was making my stomach squirm in a way I never expected.

“Be smarter than the carrot!” Johnny taunted, pissing him off even more.

“I don’t know why he decided to go after Johnny, it always pisses him off,” Jimmy said next to me, laughing at Brian too. “Doesn’t help that he looks exhausted, and I bet you’re to blame!” he teased in a silly voice. I giggled and blushed, ducking into Zacky’s side. “Though we have you to thank too,” he added and I just smiled. I felt like the luckiest girl in the world, living on cloud nine.

“For what?” I raised my brow as those piercing blue eyes met mine.

“For turning him into a human being,” Zack interrupted, clinking beers with Jimmy. “It’s about time that son of a bitch smiled and settled down a bit.”

“Though from the look of both of you and the noises I heard last night and morning, I don’t think there was anything ‘settled’ about it,” Jimmy said with air quotes as he nudged me in the side. “You look good on him, little one, damned good.” And that made me smile more than anything because it felt good too. “Now, if only we could talk him into playing that song I’ve been working on…”

“Be one with your inner dickhead and aim, shoot, and just fucking throw it!” Johnny chastised as I looked over at Maya. She was laughing and talking quietly with Matt, looking they were in their own little world over there. But at least they appeared to be back to normal, which a relief to me. If she was unhappy with Matt, I was afraid that she would make us go home, and that was the last thing I wanted to do. I was finally happy and I knew she could be too if she just stopped overthinking everything—that was my job anyway. I would have to catch up with her later and see how her night went and how she was feeling.

“You’re the one with a carrot dick, so shut your fucking mouth, Short Shit,” Brian grumbled, squinting his eyes as he threw another carrot. “Fucking orange demons.” Suddenly he let out a Jimmy worthy scream and aimed the carrot directly at the coffee stirs from the hotel. I held my breath as the carrot sored through the air and missed the target. I bit my lip and looked down at the floor, wishing he could hit it once to get him out of the mood he was in.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck!” he raged, shooting a new carrot with each word. None of them hit the damn target. “I give up!” he sighed angrily just as Jimmy came up and hit it on his first try. Brian yelled again in frustration and pinched the bridge of his nose with a furred brow.

“I am a carrot wielding ninja!” Jimmy screamed, inches from Brian’s face before jumping around and punching and kicking the air. I bit down harder on my lip to prevent the laughter from escaping with the rest of the group.

“I’m fucking done!” Brain yelled, throwing his hands up in the air. “Guess I might as well fucking eat one of these before they’re all gone.” He put the last two carrots sticks in his mouth and pulled a beer out of the fridge, my eyes on him the entire time. “You assholes can pick up this mess!”

“Oh, come on, Gates. Don’t be a bitch because you lost,” Zacky laughed. I watched as Brian narrowed his eyes at Zack, his fists clenched and I could tell that things were starting to get heated. Okay, so maybe it was time to end this little game after all. “You were the one who started the game!”

“Actually that was Ave!” Brian retorted, turning on me with a smile. When our eyes met the expression on his face completely changed and felt like melting wax under his gaze. I couldn’t stop the smiling as he took a seat next to me and pulled me onto his lap, wrapping his arms around me, and kissing me cheek.

“I did no such thing,” I giggled, feeling his fingers on my sides.

Okay, so maybe I did start the whole thing by getting out the bag of carrots. But it was Jimmy who wanted me to throw into his mouth. I didn’t intend for it to turn into a competition. Jimmy had been perfectly content getting pelted with the sticks and moving to catch them with his mouth due to my poor aim. Not to mention the screams and shrieks he produced when pretending he had been shot. He was hilarious and I really loved being around these guys. Hell, I felt like I had grown up with them and could be myself and not so shy.

“Is that so?” Brian asked, standing up and tackling me down on the couch. I let out a playful shriek. “Well, you know what I do to fibbers don’t you, Ave?” His fingers mercilessly attacked my sides, tickling me in the best way possible. As I laughed I couldn’t miss those gorgeous brown eyes staring down at me with a smile. It felt good to know that I was officially his and that he felt the same way.

“Stop please!” I gasped, pushing away when Zacky stood up off the couch to grab the baseball bat. “I take full responsibility! I’m sorry!” I shrieked, still laughing. I didn’t care that all eyes were probably on us right this moment because Brian was making me feel like I was the only one on the bus.

“Did we hear her scream enough in the past twenty-four hours?” Johnny asked, turning on the tv and getting out the game system. However, his question went unanswered, at least I think it did. I was too busy with Brian to actually notice.

“Good girl.” Brian leaned down and pressed a kiss to my lips before pulling me back down on his lap. He took a swig of his beer. Out of the corner of my eye I could see Zacky taking out each of the coffee stirs with a baseball bat. “Figures Vengeance is a fucking cheater,” Brian whispered.

“I heard that, Gates,” he said, turning and pointing the bat at us. “Don’t think that because you’ve got a girlfriend that I can’t kick your ass.”

“Save that threat for Johnny, will you?” he shot back as I watched Maya and Matt lean in and share a kiss. Okay, so things had to be okay, right?

“Fuck you,” Johnny flipped him the bird while holding the Xbox controller. He and Jimmy had moved on from the carrot mess to Call of Duty. “You are going down, Jimbo, mark my words.”

“Yeah, just like last time?” Jimmy laughed manically, his head back and volume loud. “I will own you this time just like I have every other time, just accept your fate. I am the fucking knife master!”

“Where the fuck are you going?” Brian asked, drawing my attention back to Matt and Maya. They were headed towards the back room with mischievous smirks on the their faces. Matt just chuckled and flipped him off, being pulled by Maya towards the bunks. “Oh hell no, that’s my fucking bed!”

“But it was mine first,” Matt shot back, his middle finger still held high.

“We are almost to the campsite at the venue,” Zack interrupted and I couldn’t miss the look on Brian’s face. He didn’t want to give up any time with me and I felt the same way, but Maya and I had a job to do. “You can survive until the rest of us are off the bus. We don’t need to hear that again. The ride to New York was enough.”

“Fuck you, Baker,” Matt groaned as Maya wrapped her arms around him. She had her game face on and I knew there was no stopping them.

“Hey, if you two want to get caught by Larry, that’s on you,” Well except maybe mentioning my dad. “Last I knew he was meeting us there to introduce the girls to Asking Alexandria,” Zacky finished, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

“Shit, you’re right,” Matt said, running his hands over his face. He and Maya both looked frustrated, and I couldn’t blame them. This drive, though not as long as the one to NYC, was taking forever. I was thankful to have Brian and guys to distract me.

“Speaking of those guys,” Brian said, pulling me back over on his lap so that I was facing him. “We should probably have a talk.” I rolled my eyes and looked over at Maya who had a light frown on her face. What were they so worried about? Did they think that we were going to jump ship with the first guy that flirted with us? This was the third time Brian had tried to breach this topic and I guess this time I wasn’t getting away. I just didn’t see what the big deal was. We would be gone for four hours and the Avenged guys weren’t even playing.

“Yeah, I think that would be a good idea,” Matt agreed, taking his seat on the bench and pulling Maya down with him. He wrapped his muscular arms around her and I could see the slight hesitation in her eyes but it quickly disappeared. So maybe she was still a little nervous about the whole thing?

“What’s the big deal? Dad said they were nice guys,” I said, absentmindedly twisting Brian’s hair between my fingertips.

He scoffed and shook his head, taking my small hands in his. I could feel all the callouses on his hands as I carefully ran my fingers of them. Our hands really fit perfectly together. “Oh, they are great guys, hilarious, outrageously talented with lots of potential, but also guys who want to get every girl they can into their beds.”

“So basically a band full of Synyster Gates?” Maya teased, sticking her tongue out at him.

“That’s actually a great way to put it,” Zack piped up, opening a beer before passing me a soda. “Well, before you whipped him into shape, Ave.” He shot me a wink and I couldn’t help but giggle.

“Haha very funny, assholes,” Brian still didn’t seem too pleased by the whole idea. “They are a bunch of British party boys that like to fuck around and I will fucking kill them if they lay a hand on either you.” He shot a look to Matt, who nodded in agreement.

“We will talk to them before you start to make sure that there wont be any issues,” Matt assured us though I really wasn’t worried. These guys couldn’t seriously be out to get in our pants, could they? I’m sure Matt and Brian were just being paranoid.

“And don’t forget that you’re mine,” Brian growled in my ear, nibbling my earlobe. I bit my lip and gave him a small wicked smile, letting him know that he was driving me crazy.

I leaned in and put my hand on his cheek, brushing his skin with my thumb. “I couldn’t forge it even if I tried, love,” I couldn’t help but smile at him and cuddle into his chest. “Don’t worry so much, we will keep a good distance and do the job so we can come back to you.”

“Yeah, it’s not like we’re going to melt at their feet when we hear those sexy accents,” Maya chuckled, receiving a glare from Matt. “Relax, big guy, it was a joke.”

“And it’s only for two days that you don’t play. You guys could come sneak around like you like to,” I giggled, remembering the last time the Avenged guys tried to disguise themselves to come see us. They ended up having a massive line of people for a pictures and signings. Luckily they had a few hours before they played.

“Plus, I heard that they had great after parties,” Maya smiled, dancing in her seat and earning a groan from Matt. “You know how I’m always up for a party!”

“Who’s going to a party without me?” Jimmy screamed, flying across the room and plopping himself down onto of Maya’s lap. It honestly looked like a huge dog pile on Matt that was ready to collapse at any minutes. All it would take was one bump.

“Don’t be silly,” Maya laughed, wrapping her arms around him to sturdy their tower. “I would never party without you!”

“I’m the life of the mother fucking party! Yoooouuuu wait! I’llll shhhoowww yoooouu!” He yelled, his voice deep with a light tremolo. His finger was pointing around the room and I could feel Brian’s body shaking with laughter underneath me.

“That’s for damn sure,” he laughed. “Remember that one time that he go so drunk he ran around my house stark ass naked?”

“Oh, shit, and then he somehow ended up outside and got arrested?” Matt roared, throwing his head back with laughter.

Jimmy just smiled and shrugged his shoulders, looking between Maya and I. “Which time was that?”

“You mean you’ve gotten arrested for running around naked before,” I gasped, not knowing how anyone could feel so free with themself. Hell, Maya was open, but not that open.

“Among other things,” he chuckled. “WE’RE HERE! THANK FUCKING GOD!” Jimmy screamed before bounding off the bus, leaving the rest of laughing when he knocked Jimmy over in the process. Johnny lay in the middle of the floor, surrounded by the carrot massacre from before.

I watched as Maya slowly stood up and stretched out her back. “I think I need a little walk after sitting for so long,” she said softly, her eyes anywhere but on Matt.

“I’m coming with you.” Matt grabbed her hand and led her off the bus, that mischievous smirk coming back over his face. He was planning something but the apprehensive look on Maya’s face was worrying me a little bit. Was she okay?

Following everyone else’s lead, I stood up off of Brian’s lap, only to be pulled back down again. “Where do you think you’re going, Miss Jacobson?” Brian breathed in my ear and I just melted into him. “You don’t think you can get away from me that easily do you?”

I bit my lip and smirked, feeling a small trail of electric kisses moving down my neck. “I just thought it would be nice to get some fresh air.” I slowly turned in his arms, our eyes meeting. Why was this man so damn attractive and what was this effect he had over me? It was like I lost all ability to think around him.

“Is that so? I think I need to give you something to remember when you come back to after work tonight…” Brain breathed before his lips captured mine in a sensual kiss. I let out a light moan as the electricity struck, sending shivers down my spine and unleashing the butterflies in my stomach.

“Gates! Ave! Get your asses out her quick, Larry just pulled up!” Zack yelled up the stairs to the bus, causing my heart to race. I suddenly felt like I was going to be sick as I pulled away and grabbed my purse and my laptop and headed down the stairs. Behind me I heard Brian curse, and I knew he was just as anxious about my dad discovering our relationship as I was.

“There’s my baby girl!” Dad said, pulling me into his arms. “What were you up to on the Avenged bus?” He asked and I had to swallow thickly. Thank goodness Zacky answered for me because I felt like I was going to be sick.

“We borrowed her computer and I set her in to grab it.” I could literally kiss him for saving our ass. I would definitely owe him later, even if it meant partying it up with him later. “I was skyping my brother to see how he’s doing on the record he wants to lay down.”

“I didn’t know that,” Dad nodded, looking thoughtful just as Brian came down the steps of the bus. He looked a little grouchy and I quickly looked away when his eyes met mine. I knew that if I looked at him that I would want to jump right back into his arms. God, just the thought of lying to my dad about this made me sick, and actually doing it made me feel like I was dying inside. “What’s up with you, Brian?” He asked, looking between us. Did he suspect something?

“I just woke up. Wicked hangover from last night,” he grumbled, moving over next to Zack. “This bastard kicked my ass in the shot challenge and then I had to drink three dirty echoes because I lost.” Wow, now that was a believable story. How come he was such a good liar?

“Yeah, it was fucking awesome. He almost puked all over the chick he was trying to seal the deal with.” I guess Zack could lie like the best of them too. Must be I was the only one with an actual conscious and that was killing me.

“Sounds like you guys had a hell of a night. What did you and Maya do, princess?” Dad’s blue eyes turned on me so fast that I could feel the bile rise in my chest.

“Umm…we-we just stayed in. I wasn’t feeling super good,” I tried and hell, I didn’t even believe myself. “Maya rented some movie.”

“Where is she by the way?” Dad’s suspicious eyes looked around the camp and I felt like I was going to pass out.

“She went for a walk with Matt and Jimmy I think, they should be back any minute.” Thank you Zacky. Honestly, what would I do without them.

“Do you want me to go find them?” I asked, looking up at my Dad. I still never quite figured out how I only ended up being 5’4’’ when he stood about 6 feet tall. Maybe I would grow a little more?

“Nah, I’ll go find them. You guys stay here,” he instructed before walking away. I looked nervously between the guys, my heart feeling like it was going to explode. “The Asking Alexandria guys will be over here in a few minutes.”

I swallowed thickly and looked over at Brian and Zacky. “What the hell are we going to do? What if he finds them…you know?” I said, my chest rising and falling rapidly.

“Relax, Ave, Matt’s not stupid,” Brian said, pulling out his phone and putting it to his hear. “Shit, straight to voice mail.”

Matt’s POV

“Do you know how long you’ve been driving me crazy?” I breathed, pushing Maya back against a building. I took a step towards her, caging her in and pressing my hips to hers. I wanted her to feel me need, to feel our closeness again. I craved it like crazy and it wasn’t something I would willingly give up. She was mine damn it and I knew she loved me, even if she couldn’t bring herself to say it. Just the way she looked at me was enough to satisfy my heart.

“Probably the same way you’ve been teasing me this whole ride,” she giggled, those brown eyes looking up at me. God I could fucking drown in those dark pools.

Maya wrapped her arms around my neck as I pressed into her even harder, letting out a light moan.

“Do you think anyone would notice if I fucked you right here?” I growled, my lips leaving a small trail of kisses on her neck. “You have no idea the effect you have on me…”

I couldn’t take it anymore. My lips hungrily crashed down into hers, tasting her unique tasted coupled with the beer she was drinking. Fuck she was intoxicating and I couldn’t get enough of her. I could feel my long from her all the way to my toes and if she didn’t feel anything from this kiss, then I was fucking doomed. I put everything I had into it, trying to show her that I wasn’t lying. Of course I wasn’t going to bring up those words again, but I wanted her to feel it. Maybe if she could feel it around her all the time then she would open up and say the words back.

I ran my hands down her body, deepening the kiss. My fingers played with the hem of her shirt and started to pull it up over her head and she stopped me, hearing something.

“Matt…” she moaned against my lips just as I heard a door to our left squeak open, the bottom getting stuck on the uneven concrete. I quickly took a step back, my chest rising and falling rapidly. Thank god I did too because as soon as I stepped away, Larry was looking at Maya and with narrow eyes.

“What are you guys doing down here?” Larry asked, looking between us. “You don’t have sound check for some time.”

“I was just showing Maya the really awesome stage area. She had some questions about how we set things up, Larry,” I explained, though my heart was still pounding in my chest. That had been way too close and Larry probably would have killed me if he caught us mid hookup. Thank good Maya stopped me from taking her shirt off.

“Yeah, I wanted to know how they set up all the fireworks and stuff. It was so cool to see them live and I have been pestering Matt with questions the whole time,” Maya said, moving over into his arms. He hugged her close as he eyed me and I didn’t like that look.

“Huh…we’ll we’ve got a meeting with the Asking Alexandria guys, so we need to head back,” he said, still not looking like he fully believed our story. Shit, he was probably suspicious now. “So how was your night? Ave said you guys stayed in and watched a movie?” Larry asked her as I followed behind, mentally kicking myself. I was an idiot for trying to make a move here, specially when I knew Larry was on his way. Would he watch us closely now?

Ben Bruce’s POV

“Come on you dirty buggers, let’s go. We have to go meet the new chicks,” I called, trying to get the rest of my band mates off the bus. So far I only had Danny, who was half in the bag from tequila, and James who was high as a fucking kite. Well this was going to be one good introduction.

“Let’s leave them here, obviously they don’t want any,” Danny slurred, taking a drink from his cup. He stumbled across the parking lot, leading the way towards the Avenged buses.

“You heard the man, let’s go Benny-boy. No time like now to find some new party girls. They do like to party right?” James said, putting his arm around my shoulders and dragging me along.

“I would think so, they are with fucking Avenged. Those guys are fucking nuts,” Danny answered for me and he was right. The last time we played a festival with them, I don’t remember who was drunker, us or them. Either way, the party was freaking insane.

I chuckled, and pulled Danny back with James and I. “Just remember these are Larry Jacobson’s girls. He wont be happy if we’re not on our best behavior today.”

“Musicians honor that I will keep my hands to myself while he is looking,” Danny said, causing James to giggle. Okay, so maybe it wasn’t the best idea to bring these two idiots with me to meet the interim employees.

“Ahh! There are those smooth son’s of bitches!” Danny called as we reached the Avenged group. My eyes instantly landed on a small brunette with short shorts and a tank top on. She turned to look at us and nervously bit her lip and folded her hands in front of her. So she was shy? Well, we’d have to change that one way or another.

“Hey guys, long time on see. How’s the road been treating you?” Zack asked, as we all moved around and shook hands.

“Like fuckin’ hell!” Danny laughed, his accent getting thicker the more alcohol he drank. Oh, our show tonight was in for something. I hoped he would be able to stand by then. “But we’ll survive,” he said, pulling the little girl into a hug and spinning her around in a circle.

I couldn’t miss when Gates stepped forward, glaring at Danny. Was something going on between him and the girl? Well that would certainly be interesting.

“Guys! So nice to see you!” Larry called. We all turned to our left to see him coming with another dark haired girl with tattoos and Matt. The girl was fucking hot and beautiful and I had a hard time pulling my eyes away from her. Well, that is until I felt James elbow me in the side. They all looked a little flustered but it wasn’t my place to stick my nose in other people’s business. “So I see that you’ve met my daughter Avery?” He motioned to the little brunette and Danny wagged his eye brows at me. “And this is Maya. Why do you take us to your stand to explain your process?”

“We’d love to,” James said, leading the way.

“Hey, Ben, can I talk to you for a minute?” Matt said, stopping as the others headed away toward the merchandise row.

“Sure, what’s up?” I asked. He had an odd look on his face and I wasn’t sure what this was about.

“I just wanted to give you a heads up,” he took a step closer to me, his voice turning low and almost dangerous. “The girls,” he said motioning to the sexy women. My eyes lingered on the girl with the tattoos again. Damn, she really was something. “they are completely off limits,” he said, his eyes meeting mine.

“Come on man, they are—“

“They are Larry’s girls and they are fucking off limits, do you hear me?” I furred my brows at him. Where was this coming from? I felt a small smirk come over my face, knowing that I could really have fun with this if I wanted to. Maybe I would save that fun for later.

“Yeah,” I sighed.

“Tell your guys too because we’ll have a problem if we find out anything happened,” he said before his demeanor changed completely. “I’m glade we understand each other. Now, about your party…what should we bring?”

Notes

So will the AA guys listen to Matt's warning or will they do what they want? What will the Avenged guys do while the girls were gone? Did Larry see Matt and Maya making out?

Comments please lovely readers! <3