Avery’s POV

“What did those shirts ever do to you?” Maya laughed as I hastily folded and stacked t-shirts on the table. I was so anxious and worked up about lying to my dad and potentially getting caught that I couldn’t think straight. What would my dad do if he found out Brian and I were together? Or worse, what if he confronted Brian about us? Oh, god, flashbacks of my last boyfriend popped into my head and I was mortified. I could honestly admit that my father was the reason my last relationship failed.

During my freshman year of college I had been dating a fellow art student at UCLA and accidently let it slip to my dad. As soon as he found out that I was seeing someone, he insisted that I bring Aiden home for dinner. And the dinner went fine but I could tell that my dad didn’t approve of him. Aiden was very outside of the box, extremely artistic, and not afraid to show it. Dad wouldn’t come right out and say it, but he not so subtly hinted that I could do better. It was then that he started showing up every other day on campus or calling with one excuse after another, totally eliminating any private time we had. And eventually, Aiden had enough of the interruptions and decided to call it quits—I didn’t blame him.

So there was no doubt in my mind that he would do the same thing if he found out about Brian and I. No, come to think of it, he’d be much worse. Dad wouldn’t subtly try to break us up, he’d yank Maya and I off the tour by the scruff of our necks before we could even utter a syllable. My dad’s temper was not something anyone wanted to mess with and I had really only seen it once in my life, directed at my older brother for dropping out of school.

Not to mention that Dad had already told me on countless occasions not to get mixed up with the Avenged guys because he knew them personally, didn’t like their reputations with women, and therefore thought they weren’t a good match for his baby girl. There was no way he was going to believe that Brian had changed and actually cared about me. But I didn’t want to leave him—I didn’t want to leave any of the guys.

“Sorry,” I sighed, running my fingers through my hair. “This whole situation with my dad has me really stressed out. What happens if he suspects something now? He’s texted me like three times since Brian and Matt left to check in.”

“Relax, if he suspects anything, it’s with me and Matt. He hasn’t really seen too much of you and Brian together I don’t think,” Maya frowned as she picked up the stack of shirts I had been folding and put them away. She looked worried about dad too. This sucked. “Though Brain following you here today probably wasn’t the best thing.”

I closed my eyes, putting my head back with a sigh. “What are we going to do?”

“I guess we will just have to keep our distance when your dad is around. If he doesn’t see anything suspicious for a while, maybe he will stop showing up as much again, I don’t know,” Maya offered but she didn’t sound convinced with her own words. Great, if she didn’t have hope in this situation, how was I going to find it?

“How are you and Matt going to keep your distance when you cant keep your hands off of each other for more than five minutes?” I giggled, trying to make light of the situation that was making my stomach hurt.

“I could ask you the same question. Don’t act like Gates hasn’t left your side since you became official.” She had me there and I couldn’t stop the blush and smile from coming. “Look a you, you’re practically glowing about it. I’m surprised you can form sentences around him.”

“Why?” I raised a brow at her and picked up the tote of shirts, heading back to the trailer.

Maya threw her head back and laughed, following after me. “Because, little gnome, you get the jitters and stammer when you’re overly excited, anxious, nervous, and really like someone,” she explained.

“I-I do not!” I stammered just as the Asking guys started heading back towards us. We couldn’t hear much of their show over the screaming fans, but they seemed to enjoy it. Though there was something about them that made me feel uneasy.

“Case and point,” Maya elbowed me in the side. “But you and I will just have stay a few steps ahead of Brian and Matt when daddy is around. If we want to stay and keep our relationships hidden, then we need to make sure we are in charge.” She was right, there was no way Brian could keep his wits about him when was touching me. Hell, I couldn’t either. But we had to make this work because I didn’t want to leave him, even if it meant lying to my dad.

“And speaking of which, is your dad hanging around tonight?” Maya asked as I put the tote down on the shelf, brushing against it slightly. “I love your dad, I do, but I would really like to spend some quality time with Matt.”

“I don’t know what Dad’s plan is to be honest. He’s been very vague. And ‘quality time’?” I giggled, filling out the paperwork on top of the box. “Lets be serious, you want to shag his brains out.”

“And like you don’t? You little gnome are turning into quite the sex addict if I do say so myself!” Maya said like a proud mother. I turned around so quickly that my Asking Alexandria t-shirt snagged on a nail on the shelf and ripped. I gapped at her as my shirt hung open up past my belly button.

“I am not!” I blushed, trying to pull the shirt back together. I began to panic because the Asking guys were getting closer and closer. I could hear them laughing now which meant that we only had seconds let to ourselves “I-I just really enjoy Brian’s company…Shit, I cant work with this huge gash in my shirt.”

“Yeah, okay keep telling yourself that. One day you’ll be open and talking about sex with me and I will laugh my ass off. I heard you scream, and I know you dying for more of Brian right now,” she teased and I blushed deeply, giving her a dirty look.

“I am not a sex addict,” I breathed, feeling mortified that someone could think that about me. And okay, Brian was amazing and totally rocked my word….and maybe I was thinking about it, but it didn’t mean I was addicted. “You’re the one with the problem, not me.”

“Yeah, okay.” Maya rolled her eyes with an amused smirk as she came towards me.

She knew that I was very reserved about discussing my sex life. I felt it was something private that should be kept between lovers, not shared with the world. And so what if last night was the most amazing night of my life and I screamed the entire time? That didn’t make me a sex addict, did it? “Relax, Ave I was just joking around…though you and Gates do look adorable, I have to admit. Now stop moving and come here so I can fix that shirt.”

Maya grabbed a pair of scissors off the shelf and cut off the bottom half of the shirt where the tear had been, making it into a crop top. My toned tanned stomach was fully exposed along with my low rise cut off denim shorts. I looked up just in time to see Ben, Danny, and Sam looking at me with wicked smirks.

“Shit,” Ben hissed, and I looked down at the ground with a blush. “I feel fucking over dressed!”

“Are you sure you want to stick with those Avenged guys? I bet we could come to some sort of agreement between us,” Danny slurred, stumbling over towards me and pulling him into his side. I could feel his eyes on me and I looked to Maya, my eyes begging her for help. Danny’s hand slowly ran up and down my exposed side and I had to pull away. It didn’t feel right for someone else to touch me like that.

“I-I’m sure,” I mumbled nervously, pulling away to finish putting the boxes on the shelf. “I just ripped my shirt on the nail and Maya fixed it for me…” I felt like everyone was looking at my body.

“And remember what we told you,” Maya pointed a finger between the guys. “No funny business because we are both taken and our boyfriends are trying to keep their cool with dad around. Please don’t set them off….” She looked like she was almost pleading, causing them to laugh. “We’re ruined if Larry finds out.”

“Oh, shit, I forgot about the daddy rule!” Danny laughed, his voice filling the small trailer. “How are you managing that one?”

I bit down on my bottom lip and put my hands on my hips. “We’re still trying to figure that one out….”

The three guys looked between each other with mischievous smirk, seeming to be having a private conversation. My stomach dropped to my feet as I looked between them and then over at Maya. I didn’t like that look and I didn’t like the expression on their faces. These guys had something planned and I had a feeling I wasn’t going to like it.

“Tell you girls what,” Ben said, putting an arm around Maya and I. “Why don’t we let Kyle finish the packing and you beautiful broads come with us to the after party? You’ve obviously made us a shit ton more money than David has all year, just by looking at the stocks. I think you’ve earned it. What do you say?”

“Anything to get out of working is good with me,” Maya shrugged as I nodded in agreement. “So how was the show? We couldn’t hear too much of it from back here.”

“It was bloody brilliant,” Sam said after taking a swing from whatever was in the cup and passing it to Danny. “The fans were eating it up and it had a really great vibe.”

“I honestly don’t remember a damn moment of it,” Danny laughed, throwing his head back as we walked. He stumbled into me and I had to use all my strength to keep him standing. I didn’t think it was the best idea that he didn’t remember performing, though from what I did hear, the vocals sounded great. “Now tell me,” he slurred, looking at me with red glossy eyes. “Which one of you is the bloody Syn Gates snake charmer?”

“What?” I laughed nervously, trying to understand his thick accent and slurred words. I hoped he wasn’t talking about what I thought he was.

“Who is boning Gates,” Ben clarified and I blushed deeply. Thank god it was dark outside and no one could really see it—I hoped. “My guess is little Miss Avery….Gates was eyeing her like a fucking hawk.”

“Yeah…I’m with Brian,” I said shyly and they all laughed.

“Gates picked the shy one, eh? I wouldn’t have pegged him for that,” Sam shrugged, looking me over. I didn’t like them eyeing me and I knew Maya felt the same way. They were nice guys but I wasn’t sure what their intentions were.

“And you must be with Shads?” Ben asked as Danny stumbled again. If I knew I was going to be his personal walker tonight, I would have put on some shoulder pads. This guy was heavier than he looked and I think he had had enough to drink tonight.

I reached over and took the cup out of his hand and looked inside. It was clear white and had no smell, so it had to be vodka right? Maybe if he didn’t have any more for a couple of minutes he would sober up. Plus, if my dad was going to be at this party, I surely needed a drink to calm my nerves. It seemed like a win-win situation.

“Like what you see?” Danny whispered in my ear. What was he talking about? I looked over at him out of the corner of my eye before picking up his cup and chugging the rest of the contents down.

“NO!” Sam and Ben both yelled putting their hands out to stop me but it was too later. Danny on the other hand just roared with laughter. I sputtered and coughed, feeling a super intense burning sensation all the way down. That wasn’t just vodka.

“I knew I liked this one!” Danny continued to laugh, still holding onto me for support. “She knows how to take a drink and make a fucking splash.”

“Damn, she drank that faster than you, Danny,” Sam mused, looking at me as tears formed in my eyes from the burn.

“What the fuck was in that?” I coughed, still trying to get rid of the burning sensation in my throat. The panic was starting to rise as the burning didn’t go away, in fact my heart was starting to race. I looked at Maya with nervous eyes just as Ben and Sam looked at each other with amused smirks. “Am I going to die?”

“Is Danny dead?” Ben laughed. “Relax, sweetheart. Its just vodka with an ecstasy pill dissolved in it. You’ll feel good in a couple of minutes.”

“A what?” I squeaked, watching Maya smirk now too. No, no, no…pot was one thing but taking a hard drug? That was something I really wasn’t okay with. “Fuck fuck fuck…Maya what if my dad’s here?”

“Sweetie, you’ll be okay,” she giggled, pulling me away from Danny and into a hug. I felt like I was going to cry, oh and don’t forget the spinning sensation that just hit. “It’s fun, I promise!”

“You’ve done this before?” I hissed at her and she just shrugged and nodded.

“Well, yeah. Remember the spring festival when you had to carry me home? That was that wonderful little pill.”

“See and now you’re joining the party!” Danny laughed, watching me stumble slightly from the dizziness. The alcohol and the pill were a really interesting combo. “Just ride the buzz and enjoy the fun. I can be your spiritual high leader if you’d like.”

“No thank you,” I muttered, suddenly feeling like my body weighed 300lbs.

“Just breath, little gnome, you’ll be fine,” Maya chuckled. “Maybe we could go find a nice place to relax. At least until we make sure your dad isn’t going to show up.”

Fifteen minutes later I found myself standing in the middle of the room with a drink in my hand, and my mouth slightly open. I could hear all the noise of the guest but it sounded distant and far away. Hell, the only thing I could really see in my blurred vision was the bright colors of people’s clothes. Or at least that’s what I thought it was.

“Ave? Ave?”

I shook my head and looked to my left as I blinked, trying to steady my blurred vision. I really couldn’t feel anything and I was dizzy. “Yeah?”

“Are you okay, little gnome?” Was that Maya? I saw the dark hair and a really tall figure next to her. Who was that? I took a step forward and reached out my hand, feeling hard skin.

“Did you lose your shirt? That’s so sad!” I said, feeling a little emotional all of a sudden. I stumbled forward and wrapped my arms around the tall person and felt my head bounce when they laughed.

“Yep, she’s definitely on a trip,” the voice yelled at Maya over the music. “Just better hope Brian doesn’t see her like this. He’ll fucking kill those guys.”

“She took the cup and drank it on her own free will, Jimbo. I don’t know what she was thinking. Speaking of which, is Larry still here? And where did Matt and Brian go?”

I blinked a few more times, seeing the vibrations from the music move around me in vivid color. I was like some far out music video and I couldn’t look away. The colors were just so bright. “Ooo…purple…” I muttered, reaching my hand out to try and touch it.

“They are talking to the Asking guys, I think,” Jimmy said. “And Larry went back to his hotel for the night. He’ll be back in morning I guess.” I pressed my face harder into Jimmy’s side, giggling as I traced the moving colorful waves in the air. “She is fucking hilarious. Can we keep her like this?”

“What’s hilarious? Oh….the world is spinning and the colors are making me want to dance!” I said, pulling away and lunging towards the dance floor. I had no control over what I was doing anymore but I felt so good.

“Ave, wait!” I heard Maya call but I couldn’t stop. My body wanted to move and right now I was a slave to it. I let the music and the colorful waves carry me away, my body moving like it never had before. A few minutes later, actually it felt like years, I felt a pair of arms wrap around me as I danced. I knew those arms and I cuddled into them.

“Hey there, beautiful,” the familiar low voice whispered in my ear, making me shiver. I knew those lips touching me and I just smiled, but I couldn’t concentrate on them now. My mind was elsewhere.

“So many colors and shapes…” I breathed, trying to hit them away with my hips to the beat.

“Ave are you okay?” Suddenly I felt myself falling and the world starting to turn dark. “Ave? Ave?!” A deep voice said, shaking my lightly. All I could see now were the dark orbs circling my head and I reached out to touch them. A strong pair of arms lifted me up and I laughed, feeling like I was on a magical mystery ride. “What the fuck is wrong with her?”

“That’s my boyfriend…” I giggled, instantly recognizing his voice. I reached out to run my hand over his face but felt his hand take mine instead.

“Funny story…” Was that Maya again? Damn she was everywhere. “She took Danny’s drink and drank it by mistake…and well it was vodka laced with ecstasy.”

“She’s on fucking drugs? Are you shitting me right now, Maya?” Brain raged and I frowned shaking my head, looking at those perfect lips. I just wanted to touch them and kiss them forever.

“So handsome…and the colors…” I said, feeling less dizzy by the second.

“Zack will you go get her some water please…I’m going to fucking kill those guys!” Brain raged as I cuddled into him.

“Relax it will wear off in a couple of minutes, she didn’t have a whole glass. Just a quarter.” I blinked and looked up to see Sam standing on the other side of Johnny. Whoa, I could see people again! That was something.

“Why the hell would she drink Danny’s drink?”

“I was thirsty and I didn’t want him to fall again…”I said into his chest, still seeing colors but they were slowly changing back to normal.

“Fucking hell, Ave….why would you—fuck!” Brain groaned and pushed a bottle of water against my lips. I greedily grabbed the bottle and chugged it down as fast as I could. God, water never tasted so good in all my life. “Ahh…” I said, feeling a few droplets of water drip down my lips as my sanity slowly started to return. The colors had disappeared now and I only felt dizzy now. The water had really helped. “So good…”

“Do you need more water, love?” Those brown eyes met mine and I couldn’t help but smile. I melted into him even more and hugged him close. Just seeing those eyes made me feel less dizzy. “I can grab you another bottle of water.”

“Yes, please,” I sighed, my heart still racing, making me feel slightly nauseous as I was coming down off my high.

“Zack will you sit here with her for a minute?” Brian passed me off and moved to get me another drink. I watched as he stopped at bar area, talking to Matt and the Asking guys. “I’ve got to have a word with the British punks while I’m up.”

I closed my eyes as Brian gently slid me over onto Zack’s lap. Brian’s lips gently touched mine, making me moan lightly when he pulled away. I didn’t want him to go and I hoped that he would be back soon.

“You are always full of surprises aren’t you, Ave?” Zacky chuckled. I frowned at him, feeling like a complete idiot. I just hoped Brian wasn’t too upset with me for my stupid mistake.

Matt’s POV

The afternoon had been absolute torture with the girls not on the bus with us. Not to mention that Larry had been grilling me with practice interview questions and made me complete a phone interview for a magazine. The whole time I couldn’t get Maya out of my head or the fact that Larry had almost caught us together. I still couldn’t believe how fucking stupid I had been. Hell, I knew he was there and I did it anyway. She just had something about her that made me not want to think and hell I wanted the whole world to know about us.

I was thankful when 10:00 PM rolled around and Larry finally left the guys and I to our drinking. The Asking Alexandria crew would be finishing up their show and their after party would start soon. That means that the girls would be ours for the night and there was no stopping me from being with Maya. Don’t get me wrong, I loved my brothers, but I wanted my girl by my side too. All of them together was the perfect combination.

“Hey, are you ready to head to the party?” Zack asked, peaking into the back room. I was sitting on the bed with my head in my hands, trying to come up with a way to tell Larry about Maya and I. Maybe coming clean would be the best, right?

“Yeah,” I sighed, standing up and pulling on one of my cut off flannel shirts. “Are the rest of the guys ready?”

Zacky chuckled and ran his hands threw his hair in the mirror on the back of the door. “Yeah, Gates is antsy as fuck and it’s kind of hilarious. Those Asking Alexandria guys have got him all worked up.”

“He probably doesn’t like having a taste of his own medicine,” I laughed and Zack nodded. I didn’t like the idea of them hanging around my girlfriend either, but the thought of Gates being jealous about it was really something else. That was a big change in him. “It’s like him going against another group of Synyster Gates.”

“Come on, let’s go! I need some booze!” Jimmy whined, running through the door. He reached in around the corner, grabbed both mine and Zacky’s arms, and pulled us toward the party. “I’ve been waiting for this all fucking day and you bastards are not going to stop me by dragging your god damned feet! I’ve got a secret mission to accomplish!” he laughed wickedly and I just chuckled, looking between the other guys.

“Is it the Berry’s again?” Brian laughed, the door to the party now within a couple of feet.

“Fuck no….you’ll see!” he laughed before disappearing into the crowd laughing.

“That’s your best friend,” Zack shook his head and patted me on the back. “If he blows up the place, like he tried to do to Johnny’s that one time, it’s on you two.” He finished before disappearing with Johnny.

“Now, where are our girls?” I asked, scanning the crowd, finding Maya standing across the room with Jimmy. I took a step towards them but the Asking Alexandria guys were calling Brian and I over to the drink table.

“Hey! There they are!” Ben yelled over the music as we approached. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Brian scanning the room for Avery. Where was that little gnome?

“’Bout fuckin’ time you arses joined the party!” Danny slurred, wrapping his arms around Brian and I. “Let me tell you what, those girls of yours…hot damn. They made us a fucking fortune!”

“Yeah, they are good like that,” I admitted, eyeing Maya with a smile. She looked me up and down before her eyes locked with mine. God she was fucking gorgeous and made my heart race.

“Listen, I was going to ask Larry if we could trade them out for David. He’s a good worker and could do you guys justice,” Ben said, a smirk coming over his face as he put his arm around Danny’s shoulder. I instantly clenched my fists at his words, my inner demon screaming. “What do you think? Those two hot little ladies with us and you with our merch guy?”

“Fuck that,” Brian raged, earning a raised brow from the other guys. “We are not fucking trading….now were the hell is—“ He disappeared without finishing his sentence but I couldn’t walk away from this.

“Why not? Larry said that they were only available for the summer in our tour ends in a month. It would be perfect timing, besides,” Ben said, taking a step towards me. “Between you and me, Larry doesn’t have to know everything, right?” he said and winked.

“Absolutely not,” I hissed. I wanted to punch Ben and he was good friend of mine but knew better. What if he went to Larry or let it slip that I was with Maya before I got to talk to him? That could fucking ruin everything.

“Aww, come on Matt,” Danny patted my shoulder, his bloodshot eyes meeting mine. “They are the perfect fucking employees…drinking on the job…keeping me from falling on my ass. It’s like they were meant to be with us.”

“I don’t think Larry will go for that?” I said with clenched teeth, seeing Brian storming back over towards us.

“Why not? Am I missing a crucial piece of the puzzle?” This guy was getting on my nerves and thank god at that moment Gates slammed Danny against the wall to distract me.

“Why the hell would you let her take your fucking drugs?!” he hissed at Danny who just laughed, pushing Gates away. “What the hell is wrong with you? What if Larry was here?”

“What if Larry was here?” Danny chuckled. What the fuck was up with these guys, they were being real dicks today.

“Why are you so worried if they are off limits?” Sam asked, his smirk growing too. “I think Ben’s idea to keep them on our tour is brilliant.

“They are not fucking going with you and that’s final!” I yelled, causing people around us to stop and stare but I didn’t care. “They are staying with us where they belong because their dad is our manager not yours!”

“And because you’re both dating them, am I right?” Ben asked, wagging his eyebrows at us. He looked between his band mates as Gates and I both looked at each other with nervous expression. This only caused them to burst out laughing.

Fuck! How the hell did they know? Was it that obvious that there was something going on between us? Did that mean Larry knew too? Shit, this couldn’t be happening. We couldn’t risk losing them when we just got them back. I could feel anger and panic rising inside me. I would do whatever it took to keep these guys quiet, just like Franhole.

“W-what? No…” Gates said, though the look on his face said otherwise. The Asking guys laughed harder. Brian looked at me I know we both were extremely lost and confused.

“Cut the bull, Gates, we fucking know…the girls told us,” Danny roared, bending over from laughing so hard. “But your faces…fuckin’ priceless!”

“Wait they told you?” I gapped, looking over to see Maya coming back towards me. “When?”

“Earlier today, we just thought we’d fuck with you man,” Ben said and clapped my shoulder. “No hard feelings we just wanted to see how far you’d go before we could get a rise out of you. Your secret is safe with us, mate.”

“Fuck you guys!” I laughed in relief. Now I just hoped that they would keep their mouths shut.

Notes

So the AA guys were fucking with Brian and Matt the whole time, or is there more? Will they tell Larry? What will the night bring for them?

Comments loves!