Ben’s POV

“Are you sure you have to go?” I groaned as Maya pulled away from me and got out of bed. I slowly rolled over onto my stomach and watched her go, playing with my lip piercing as she got dressed. Damn, I couldn’t get enough of her. She was like a drug that I had overdosed on time after time and I still couldn’t get enough. I had no idea what had happened to me over the past week, but I hated when she wasn’t with me.

“I have class, and besides I’ve been her all weekend,” Maya said with a smile that lite up the whole room. When she smiled, I couldn’t help but return it, which as also odd for me. What the hell was happening to me? Was I turning soft? No way, not Ben Bruce.

I rolled my eyes and propped myself up on my elbow. “More or less,” I grumbled, reaching out and pulling her back to me. Luckily she had only gotten her underwear back on.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Maya asked as I kissed up and down her shoulders. I didn’t want to let her go because I couldn’t get enough of her.

“Does the little blonde calling your phone every few hours ring any bells?” I couldn’t believe I had to spell it out for her. And damn it, why hadn’t James kept her occupied like he fucking promised? He said he would take care of everything but apparently he didn’t have the balls to do what I asked him too. “So in my book, you still owe me three more hours before you can go,” I teased, now nibbling on her neck.

“You know that I can’t just ignore her calls, Ben,” Maya practically moaned, leaning back into me. Yes, now we were moving back in the right direction. “She’s having a hard time and she needs me.”

“I’m having a hard time too, love,” I growled, moving her hand over my erection. “I need you too…” I let out a moan as her hand moved up and down the shaft, putting me in that state of pure bliss.

After a few minutes of heated making out and wandering hands, Maya pulled away again. “Ben…I really have to go,” and there was that smile that I loved. “But I’ll see you at James’ house for the dinner party in three hours. Do you think you can handle that? I promise I’ll make it up to you,”

Before she could even move again, I flipped her over onto her back and pressed my lips to hers. Maya’s lips were the best thing that I had ever tasted, like mint and something else that I couldn’t put my finger on. Hell, I could kiss them all day long and not get bored. “And how exactly are you going to make it up to me?” I said between kisses, unable to keep the smile from forming.

Maya laughed as she pushed me off of her and climbed back out of bed. “You Mr. Bruce are just going to have to be patient and wait to find out.” And with that she grabbed her jeans and top off the floor and headed into the bathroom.

“Oh, come on you cant just leave me like this!” I called after her but she just laughed again.

“If you keep acting like this,” Maya said, sticking her head out the door. “I’ll start to think that you actually like having me around,” she teased, sticking her tongue out. Damn she was fucking cute. And what was not to like about having her around? She cooked for me, picked up around my house, even though she didn’t have to because I had a maid, and I really enjoyed her company and not just in bed.

“Eh, I guess you’re alright,” I teased back, getting up and pulling on a pair of boxers. I slowly made my way into the bathroom and couldn’t stop the smile from coming over my face. She was putting on her makeup and damn she looked stunning. “I believe it or not, I do like having you around,” I added from the doorway before moving up behind her in the bathroom and wrapping my arms around her waist. “We’re good together…”

Maya’s eyes snapped up to meet mine with a questioning look. “I mean as my partner in crime of course,” I added with a cocky smirk as I mentally kicked myself. What the hell was I doing?

I mean sure I liked spending time with her and the sex was amazing but it was all about fun, right? There wasn’t anything else between us beside friendship, and that’s what I kept telling myself and my friends. We were both good distractions for each other and that was it. I couldn’t actually like the girl, could I?

“Alright, well I’ve got to head to class. I’ll see you at James’ house, and then after, it’s you and me,” she said, leaning forward with a kiss.

“You and me,” I repeated, watching her go with a small smile.

I couldn’t put my finger on what about her intrigued me, but everything the woman did drew me in. The way she moved, talked, laughed, and hell even the way she kissed me. It wasn’t like anything I had ever experienced before. Not to mention that she was always in my thoughts, even when I was writing for the band. There she fucking was, taking over my brain and I didn’t know how to feel about it. She was just a girl and there was nothing really special about her besides that she was fucking rad. That was it and I kept repeating that thought over and over again in my mind.

With a groan I grabbed my guitar and my laptop and headed out to the patio. I needed to distract my mind from these thoughts and write some songs, so why not kill two birds with one stone? I really needed to get a handle on myself because there was no way the guys would let me live it down if they though I was getting soft. Fuck I could hear Worsnop and Cassells now.

“Screw those guys,” I grumbled, opening my laptop and checking through my email. In my inbox there was a message from Danny titled Your prayers have been answered motherfucker! “What the hell, Worsnop?” I chuckled, clicking on it. I swear to god if he sent me that Asian porn site again that I would kill him. How many times did I have to tell him that it wasn’t fucking funny anymore?

“Oh fucking bloody hell!” I laughed when I opened the email to see pictures of Gates and multiple women making out. I blinked a few times, trying to take in exactly what I was seeing. Worsnop was a bloody genius! This was exactly what I fucking needed or James needed rather. Showing blondie these pictures would give her a push in the right direction, showing and leading her exactly what she needed—James and his cock. Then she would be out of Maya’s fucking hair and I could have her all to myself. And damn that sounded more and more appealing each day.

After a few minutes of scrolling through the pictures, I realized that I could also use them to my advantage. In the background in a few of the pictures Shadows was sitting with a women on his lap too. Bloody hell if there was any doubt in her mind that they weren’t over, these pictures would surely end that. Then I would have her without any worries of that asshole showing up out of the blue.

An hour and a half later I pulled up outside of James’ house with a wide smile on my face. Oh, this was fucking perfect and I was going to get exactly what I wanted—like I always did. Blondie would be distracted by James and Shadows would be completely out of the picture. It was a win-win situation for everyone.

“Bout fucking time you answered the door,” I teased, as the door opened. “Where is you laptop?” I pushed past James into his house as soon as he opened the door. I was too anxious to show him Danny’s email to even say hello.

“Well hello to you too,” James scoffed, following me and I headed toward the living room. If I knew Cassells it was sitting in the living room on the coffee table and a I wasn’t disappointed. “What the hell has gotten into you?”

“Just wait!” I said, entering all of my email information to log in. “You’re going to want to kiss Worsnop when you see this.”

“I don’t think I’ll ever want to kiss that bastard, but thanks for that mental image that I will never get out of my head,” James laughed, crossing his arms and watching me from the side of the couch. “What did he finally write a decent song?” Now that was a laugh.

“Oh, it’s so much better than anything that he could ever write.” My eyes scanned the screen and opened the email. Once it was open I pushed the laptop into James’ hands with a shit-eating grin on my face. He was going to love this.

“What the fuck is this?” James raged, looking extremely pissed off as he took a seat next to me on the couch. He just kept gapping at the screen and running his hands over his face. Why the hell was he so upset about this? It was exactly what he needed to get the girl and here he was acting like a little bitch. “Where the fuck did you get these?”

I just shrugged and leaned back on the couch, putting my feet on the table. “I don’t know, Danny pulled them from some website. They are from last week apparently.” Come on James, connect the dots and remember what we talk about last week. This is how you get a girl to forget about her ex and jump into your fucking arms. Isn’t that what he wanted? If it wasn’t what he wanted, it was certainly what I wanted so if he wouldn’t show her, I would. “But what’s the big deal! This exactly the push that Blondie needs to fall on you dick. Show her exactly what is going on and she’ll come running to you. You and I both know you fucking want her, Cassells. Don’t deny it!”

“You guys are fucking sick, do you know that!” James raged shaking his head “I cant show her these pictures, it will fucking crush her.”

“Yeah, and guess who is going to be there to comfort her and distract her from her pain,” I countered, wagging my eyes brows at him. “Look how that worked for Maya and I.”

“Yeah, until fucking Shadows comes back into the pictures.” Yeah, that wasn’t going to happen if I had anything to say about it. I narrowed my eyes at him, giving him a warning look.

“So tell me James, how is that thing with blondie working out? Are you happy where you are with her?” I asked, a smug look coming over my face. He couldn’t hide the fact that he wasn’t getting what he wanted, we could all see that he was getting more irritable by the day. The man needed to get laid.

“No, but I cant just watch her crumble into a million pieces,” James finally sighed, looking frustrated.

“Well guess what happens when she crumbles,” I said, leaning forward and putting my hand on his shoulder. “You get to put the pieces back together and then she is eating out of the palm of your hand.”

James let out a loud groan and ran his hands over his face. “Fuck…” he hissed but I didn’t have time to inquire because at that moment the doorbell sounded.

“Looks like the party is here,” I said, patting James’ back as I stood up and headed toward the door. Oh, this was definitely going to be an interesting evening.

Matt’s POV

“Sanders! Sanders!”

I groaned and rolled over in bed, feeling my head already pounding from a hangover. Fuck, I really needed to stop drinking my life away, but it was the only thing that took away the pain. I just felt like something was missing and that nothing could fill that void. I knew I wasn’t acting like myself, but I didn’t really know who that was anymore—Maya had taken part of me with her. Well, I hoped she was fucking happy with her new distraction. God, just the sound of that made me sick.

“Sanders! Open this fucking door or I’m calling security!” the voice continued to shout, making my head spin. “You’re really starting to fucking worry me!”

“I’m fucking fine!” I yelled from my bed, hiding my head in the pillow. I just wanted the pain and the spinning to stop. I couldn’t shake the thought of my friends so called ‘intervention’ last night. They just didn’t understand that it was easier to forget than to deal with it, especially when I knew that she was moving on with out me. That crushed me inside.

“We’ve got a meeting in a half an hour in the conference room with Larry, so get your ass down here,” the voice called and I didn’t even care who it was right now. I just wanted to forget everything and go back to sleep where things were right again.

It never failed. Every time I closed my eyes, there she was everything was back to normal. I could still imagine exactly how she felt in my arms and how her lips tasted. You could never forget someone who touched your life in such a way.

“Get your ass out of bed!” I suddenly felt a pillow hit me in the head and I instantly sat up. How the fuck did they get into my room and who the hell was it anyway. “It’s time to go and I am sick of this shit!”

“What the?” I looked around bewildered to see both Jimmy and Zack standing in front of me with their arms crossed. “Oh fuck not this again,” I grumbled, tried to the same lecture for the past week.

“You need help, Shads,” Jimmy said sadly, shaking his head at me.

“Did nothing we said last night sink in to that thick skull of yours? Gates is fucking up and ready to go so why are you still moping around. It’s time to move on,” Zack continued and I really wished he’d go away. I didn’t want to relive this all again. Hearing that I’ve been sucking at my job last night was enough. I knew I needed to get my act together but I couldn’t.

“You don’t fucking understand, okay!” I shakily staggered out of bed and made my way into the bathroom, pulling on a pair of jeans and a wife beater shirt. “Neither of you have any fucking idea what I’m going through.”

“Yeah, because we’ve never had a breakup, right,” Zacky scoffed and I rolled my eyes, splashing water in my face. The coolness felt good on my skin and when I looked up my reflection in the mirror, I didn’t recognize the man looking back at me. “Do you have any idea what the media is saying about you? Or the pictures that are fucking out right now?”

What did he just say? There were articles and pictures out there? No! No fucking way! That was the last thing I needed if I was going to fix things with Maya. “What pictures?” I practically growled.

“That’s kind of what the meeting with Larry is about,” Jimmy said softly and I let out a loud breath. “They’re not good…”

“And either are our concert ticket sales,” Zack added and I felt like I was drowning all over again. “We’ve got to get back on the right track and find who we are again…even if it means moving on from…”

With a sigh I slammed my fists on the vanity. I didn’t want to admit it, but maybe the guys were right. Maybe it was time for me to start moving on and get back to being who I was. It was time to rediscover Matt Sanders again and to stop worry about everything else. I owed that to myself and my best friends, and if Maya came back into the picture along the way, I would be the happiest man alive.

“It’s about time you showed up,” Larry grumbled as I entered the conference room with Zack and Jimmy a half an hour later. “You are good twenty minutes later and I’ve heard this isn’t the first time in the past couple of weeks. What the hell is going on with you guys? I’ve heard nothing but complaints through social media and from the venues. If you keep this up, you’re going to tank your careers. I warned you about this!” Larry raged, pacing back and forth in the small room.

I glanced around the room to see the sullen looks on my friends’ faces and I suddenly felt extremely guilty. This was all my fault and I was going to get us out of this mess. How could I have done this to my friends?

“We’ve been going through a rough patch but we are back now,” Gates spoke up after a few moments of silence.

“A rough patch? You call these abysmal pictures and articles in the press about your party-boy-manwhore life styles a rough patch?” Larry raged and ran my hands over my face. Fuck I felt like an ass. “Larry threw the stack of pictures down on the table in front of use and Gates’ head instantly slammed down on the table.

“Fuck…now she’ll never talk to me again,” he groaned and I could hear the pain in his voice. He put his head in his hands and stayed silent for the rest of the meeting, looking beyond miserable.

“And do you blame her? Do you blame them? There is a reason they left you! They finally saw what I’ve been telling them all along. You’re rock stars who need to get their shit together. I’m just glad my daughters had the sense to get out of this mess before they actually got hurt!”

Larry’s words felt like a slap in the face and I knew he was right. I wasn’t being the man that Maya fell in love with for the past few weeks, I’ve been the man that she’d been trying to avoid. No fucking wonder she broke up with me. I had been pushing everyone away for weeks. Shit, I had to find myself and fix all this.

“I’m sorry, Larry,” I said, looking up as everyone’s eyes turned on me. “I take full responsibility for this and I will fix it. We fucked up and it’s time to get back on the band wagon.”

“Your damn right it is,” Larry agreed, still looking beyond pissed and frustrated at us. “But how do you expect to do that?”

I looked around the table, meeting each one of my brothers’ eyes. I knew from the look in their eyes that we were all thinking the same thing. “We’re going to schedule a free concert in the UK when we go next month or so. That way we can make it up to all the fans and show them that Avenged Sevenfold is back and not some kind of joke.”

Avery’s POV

“So you were with him all weekend?” I asked, twisting my blonde hair between my fingers as Maya and I drove over to James’ house. I didn’t understand what Maya was doing with Ben. I knew that she couldn’t really have feelings for him, not when I knew how head over heels she was for Matt.

Maya groaned and rolled her eyes. “Yes, you knew I was staying there this weekend so why do you keep asking? It’s not like I’m breaking any law by sleeping with the guy.”

“But what about Matt?” I finally burst, shaking my head.

Maya sighed and bit her lips, a sad look coming over her face. “I just want to forget, Ave…its easier than seeing his face in the news with that blonde…” and now I felt like a jerk. “He’s moved on and I am too…and I think you should really give James a chance.”

“Wh-what do you mean?” I stammered, really not wanting to go there. My mood had been up and down with confusion ever since he kissed me in the parking lot last week. I had no idea what I wanted or what I should do. All that I knew was that I still loved Brian but James was a great guy that could make me smile.

“I mean you need to stop living in the past. Have fun. Date. Or even have sex! God, you’ve been four and half months now without getting laid and if I were you, I’d be dying inside,” Maya laughed and I blushed madly. I still wasn’t keen on the idea of discussing sex, specially a random hook up. That wasn’t me and it never would be. I wasn’t the one night stand kind of girl, especially since sex always lead to deeper feeling for me.

I groaned and ran my hands over my face, adjusting my bikini strap underneath my tank top. “Can we not talk about that please…and you’re really starting to sound like James.”

“So he mentioned that you should get laid too?” Maya’s eyes flashed in my direction for a second before she turned into James’ driveway. His how was just as big and posh as Ben’s but James had a huge pool in the back. It was one of my favorite places so far in the UK.

“No!” I gasped, feeling my cheeks burn. “I’m done with this conversation. Really…I’m perfectly fine how I am now and when I’m ready to move on…well someone will be the first to know.”

“Okay,” Maya mouthed.

About an hour into the party we had all eaten some delicious barbeque and took a nice dip in the pool. It was nice just to sit back, relax, eat, and swim without anything flogging my thoughts. I always seemed most at ease when I was with James and Maya. They just seemed to have that effect on me, and I had to admit that the distraction was nice.

“Ave are you okay?” James asked me some time later. I was sitting by the poolside watching the sun go down with a smile on my face. I had just gotten out of the pool and was dripping wet.

“Yeah, why?” I asked, turning to him with a smile. It was then that I noticed that we were alone on the patio because Maya and Ben were doing god knows what on the other side of the pool.

“You’re shivering,” he said, running his hands over my skin and lightly licking his lips. I blushed lightly under his gaze, realizing this was the first time he had seen me with this little clothes on, or at least that I could remember. “Here, let’s take you inside and get a towel,” and with that he lead me into the house.

James stopped at the cupboard by the living room and cursed. “Shit, I’ll have to go upstairs to grab some and maybe a sweatshirt?” and with that he bolted up the stairs, leaving me alone for the first time all evening.

I had to admit to myself that James really a beautiful house. The leather furniture, the high ceilings, and the chandeliers. It was stunning. As I waited I paced the large room, enjoying the feeling of the plush carpet between my toes. It was then that I noticed a laptop on the table with pictures flashing on the screen saver. When I took a closer look, I couldn’t help but smile at all the silly band pictures that flashed across the screen. They really looked like a band of brothers, which was really nice to see.

“Look at you guys,” I giggled, seeing a picture of them when they were younger. My eyes were instantly drawn to James and I unconsciously touched the screen, sending the screen saver away. However, the next thing I saw made my heart plummet to my feet.

“No…” I whimpered, seeing the line of pictures of Brian and countless other girls making out and even more... “No…no…no…” I said and I couldn’t help the tears from forming in my eyes.

He was officially over me. Brian surly didn't love me anymore and these pictures proved it. My world crashed around me as I sunk to my knees, my heart literally in pieces this time. There was no turning back because whatever hope I had that there was something left between us was gone...Brian threw all of it away and I was crushed all over again. How could he do this to me...to us?

“Ave? I hope you don’t mind—“ James’ voice sounded behind me but I just gapped at the screen in horror. Whatever ounce of hope I had for us disappeared in that moment and I sank to the ground. It was official, Brian and I were really over and he was partying away with out. We were done. “Oh shit Ave…I-I”

All I could do was shake my head as the silent tears fell down my face, all hope completely gone.

Notes

So Miss Avery has reached her all time low with the Brian situation...but James never wanted her to see those pictures? Will she be angry at James? Was that a dirty trick Ben did to him? What do you think? The road just keeps getting a little bumpier....

Comments Please!