Avery’s POV

“Maya?” I called from the storeroom as I leaned back in my chair away from the computer screen. “Can you come and take a look at these designs before I send them to the manufacturer?”

“Yeah, just a minute. I’m on the phone with a customer,” Maya mouthed from around the corner as she gestured to the phone.

I let out a long yawn and ran my hands over my face. I was exhausted from all the nonstop work for the past two weeks. I couldn’t even count how many hours I’d spent at this desk, let alone the entire store, and that wasn’t even counting the work I did at home every night. The demand for our designs was just getting too much to handle by ourselves, which is why we decided to branch out to a reliable clothing manufacturer. Outsourcing our products would not only help Maya and I keep up with the demand but it would also give us a much-needed break. Of course we would still continue to make our one of a kind dresses, but the rest of the general merchandise could be outsourced.

“Only a few more codes,” I mumbled to myself, my head sinking lower and lower until it was resting on my forearms on the desk. I lazily typed the last codes into the computer, as Maya’s laughed sounded from the door.

“I know Jess…just tell him that we’ll stop by the studio in the next few days to hear his song. He’s only texted my about fifty fucking times,” she laughed, undoubtedly talking about Jimmy and the song he wrote during our last adventure.

Jimmy had been harassing me for weeks to come in and do some graphic art for a music video, but work at the shop kept getting in the way. I just hoped I had some time soon because Jimmy was becoming relentless in this begging. I mean the last time he asked, he literally laid in the middle of our shop and screamed! Not the best business practice but it was definitely amusing to say the least.

God, I missed hanging out with the Jimmy and the Avenged crew. I had barely seen them since we opened, which was a real oddity, considering that the five of them spent a lot of time between our house and the studio.

“Alright, what’s up, Little Gnome?” Maya asked in a chipper tone as she took a seat next to me. I looked up from where my head rested on my forearms with a frown, trying to figure out how she had so much energy. And where did that permanent smile on her face come from? It had to be all the ‘alone time’ with Matt she always talked about, which I didn’t understand because I rarely saw Brian these days.

Honestly, over the past month, I didn’t know if Brian and I had spent more than hour at a time in the same room together when we weren’t sleeping. Between Maya and I opening the boutique, Brian and the guys recording the album, and Brian’s odd disappearing act and phone calls, we had barely seen each other. I didn’t know what was going on with him but I was starting suspect the worst. Was something going on behind my back? Was he cheating on me?

My stomach clenched painfully and I quickly pushed the thought away. There was no way he could be cheating on me, not after everything we’d gone through. Or at least that’s what Maya kept telling me. Unfortunately our past and my requests for him to stay didn’t stop Brian from disappearing at all hours of the day or taking mysterious phone calls out on the patio. It was all suspicious and I honestly didn’t know what to believe anymore. I all I knew was that something didn’t seem right in the Haner-Jacobson household and that didn’t sit well with me.

“Are you okay?” Maya’s hand was suddenly running over my back and I closed my eyes, enjoying the relaxing sensation that it gave me.

“I’m fine…just exhausted,” I yawned, sitting up stretching out. Okay, so that wasn’t the whole truth but maybe Maya wouldn’t catch on. I looked over my shoulder to see her staring me down with a pointed look and a raised brow. Or not…

“You can’t lie to me, Little Gnome,” Maya said, crossing her arms over her chest. Why was she still smiling? What was going on with her? I don’t think I’d ever seen her this happy. Must be nice having everything you ever wanted. I wouldn’t know because half of my happily ever after was falling apart at the seams. “You usually love this programing stuff, so what’s up? You’ve been moping around all day.”

I sighed and started twisting my hands together in my lap, not wanting to bring up this topic yet again. “Tell me, Ave,” Maya said, kneeling down in front of me and taking my hands in hers. “What’s got you so upset? And don’t tell me you’re not. I can see the way your bottom lip quivers ever so slightly like your going to cry. Did I do something?”

I laughed and shook my head, meeting her dark eyes. God, what would I do without a best friend like her? “No it’s not you…” I sighed. “It’s Brian…”

Maya’s face fell ever so slightly before a dreamy expression came over her face. What the hell was that look about? I furred my brow as I watched her open and close her mouth a few times but in the end she didn’t say anything. Was she hiding something from me?

“What do you know?” I asked her, narrowing my eyes. Usually I couldn’t get my best friend to shut up and now she looked like she was carry the world’s biggest secret.

“What are you talking about?” Maya asked, running her fingers nervously through her hair. Her dark eyes were now glued to her cell phone as she quickly typed out a message. “About Brian?”

“Yes about Brian!” I replied, grabbing her hands and making her look me in the eye. “Do you know why he’s at the studio later than the others or what all those secret phone calls are about? And don’t tell me he’s not because whenever I call you, Matt is home and so is Zacky! Please, M…I’m dying here…I-I feel like he’s cheating on me or something!” I admitted, looking at her with pleading eyes.

Maya sighed and moved one of her hands to my cheek, “Ave…he’s working on an album and we both know that he is perfectionist. He probably stays longer to make sure his track is perfect. You know he gets pissed off when its not…and the phone calls...” Maya looked thoughtful for a minute, almost like she was trying to think of some good excuse. No, my best friend would lie for Brian. “He’s usually talking to Matt about some idea or another. They are always calling each other, just ask him.”

“If that’s the case, why does he seem so distant when he’s home,” I continued, moving away from Maya and pacing the floor. “It’s like he’s afraid to talk to me or has some huge secret. What could be so huge that he couldn’t tell me? We used to tell each other everything!”

I looked back over my shoulder just in time to see Maya staring at me with wide eyes. When she saw me looking, she quickly looked back down at her phone to answer the newest text message that just came in. “I see Matt is busy at work,” I scoffed, moving back to sit at the desk chair. I hadn’t gotten a text all day from Brian.

Okay, so maybe part of me was jealous of Matt and Maya’s relationship. He called her all the time, always took her out for lunch, and made sure to be home with her at a certain time every night. Why the hell couldn’t Brian do that? Was I asking too much to spend some quality time with my boyfriend? Hell it had been at least a week since we’d made love and that was far too long in my opinion.

“Matt’s just texting me about our dinner plans tonight,” Maya shrugged like it wasn’t any big deal. I would kill to have dinner plans with Brian, but that obviously wasn’t going to happen any time soon. “And Brian’s not hiding anything. He’s probably just really deeply involved with his work.”

“Easy for you to say when you’ve probably seen him more than I have,” I grumbled, going back to work with coding designs into the computer program.

“Ave…” Maya sighed. I could hear the pitying tone in her voice and I couldn’t stand it. I was really getting tired of this and I didn’t know how much more I could take.

“Don’t,” I snapped, holding my hand up as she took a step toward me. “Just don’t. I know I’m probably overreacting but I can’t help it. I miss him and I want the old Brian back, not the work obsessed one that is rarely home. And not the one who acts like he’s afraid to talk to me when he is home…”

“He’s not afraid of you, little gnome,” Maya said, pulling me into her arms as a tear rolled down my cheek. “I just don’t know how much more of this I can take…it hurts to feel so distant when he is literally miles away,” I sniffed.

“I know,” Maya sighed, rocking my slowly. “But tell you what…how about we call it an early night and go surprise the guys at the studio. Then you can see what brown eyes is really up to because I promise it’s not what you think. He loves you, Ave and he would never do anything to hurt you.” Deep down I knew she was right but part of me was still fearful that Synyster Gates was back and ready to play.

“But what about the designs?” Why did it always feel like the work was never done?

“The designs that you entered look great. We can submit them in the morning. Come on, Little Gnome. Grab your bag and your phone. Jess can close up shop.” Maya said, practically dragging me to her car. “And by leaving your car here, we will force Brian to drive you to work in the morning. It’s a done deal.”

“Maya?” I said after we started down the road. I could already feel the excitement building in my chest over seeing Brian. I just hoped he would be happy to see me. “Thank you.”

“You don’t have to thank me, Little Gnome,” Maya giggled. “The only thing I’m doing is proving that you’re being silly,” and of course she was right.

The moment we walked into the studio, the two of us were instantly bombarded with hugs and kisses from all the guys, including the Berry’s who had come in for a sneak preview.

“Babe, what are you doing here?” Brian asked, pulling me onto his lap on the old black leather sofa. He looked around nervously as I cuddled into his chest, craving his warmth and his intoxicating scent. “I wasn’t expecting you.”

“Well we thought we’d just call it an early night and come see what all the fuss is about,” Maya answered for me, her hand rubbing up and down Matt’s chest. Oh, it wouldn’t be long before they disappeared into one of the back rooms or the car. It was inevitable with those two.

I looked up to see Brian having some silent conversation with Matt, his head jerking toward the studio door. “We’re not interrupting are we?” I asked, those brown hypnotizing orbs meeting me. “Of course not, love. We’ve got a couple minutes to spare, right guys?”

“Actually—” Zack started only to get elbowed in the ribs by Matt who was now over by the studio door. He had a few folded pieces of paper in his hand that he slipped into Brian’s notebook. What was going on? Was it something we weren’t allowed to see yet?

“Yeah, we can spare a few minutes to give you ladies a preview,” Matt said, throwing a wink in our direction. “Just let me go reset the tracks,” he said and disappeared into another room that burst with the sound of drumming as soon as he opened the door.

“WHAT?! THEY’RE HERE?! THEY’RE FINALLY HERE!?” We heard Jimmy yell seconds before he bound out of the room and tackled, Maya, Brian, and myself on the couch. “I can’t believe you finally made it!” he gushed, happily kicking his feet.

“Jimmy! Jimmy! Get off!” Brian grumbled and pushed the flailing Rev onto the floor. “I have so much to tell you! So much for you to listen to!” he started, talking so fast that I had a hard time understanding anything he was saying. I guess I really was out of practice in translating Jimmy’s speech patterns and that made me feel guilty. It really had been too long since I hung out with my friends.

“Take a breath, Jimbo,” Matt chuckled as he walked back into the room. “We’ve all got lots to show them but first—”

“Respect your elders, Matthew, I’m going first, thank you very much,” Jimmy started, standing up and clearing his throat. Matt just shook his head as Jimmy went up to the mixing board and hit play. It was an upbeat track with lots of orchestral elements and sounded a lot like the Pinkly Smooth tracks that Brian had played for me in passing.

“Well, what do you think?” Jimmy gushed, looking excitedly at Maya and I as I tried to make out the words.

“I think it’s freaking awesome!” Maya said before all eyes turned on me.

“It’s everything I ever dreamed it would be!” Jimmy screamed before his eyes locked with mine. “What about you, Little One,” he asked, his voice suddenly deep and serious. “What do you think?”

“Is Matt singing about having sex with a corpse?” I asked with a blush, only for the whole room to explode with laughter.

Okay, so maybe I was naïve but I had never heard of someone wanting to have sex with a corpse after death. Was that really a thing? It was fucking gross if you asked me, but who was I to judge their music. From what I had heard so far, they sounded amazing. I just couldn’t believe that Jimmy thought I was talented enough to do this for them. I mean, weren’t million’s of people going to see this in the end? I swallowed thickly at the thought.

“Of course! What else would the song be about?!” Jimmy squealed, jumping to his feet and pushing the sheet of paper in my hand. As I read the lyrics, a deep blush took over my cheeks again, causing both Brian and Zacky to laugh at me.

“Must’ve stabbed her fifty fucking times... Man, that was the best phrase right there,” Maya laughed and I nodded my head in agreement.

“Aaand this is the precious song that you are going to make come to life with your art!” Jimmy bellowed, causing me to look nervously over my shoulder at Brian. He was serious wasn’t he? “Just go with it,” Brian chuckled before kissing my temple and scooting me off his lap.

“But Jimmy…are you sure you want me to do this?” I asked, watching as Brian disappeared into the studio with Zacky, Matt, and Maya. “Aren’t millions of people going to see this in the end?” I swallowed thickly and Jimmy nodded his vehemently.

“You just opened a store full of amazing designs! Of course I want you to bring my masterpiece to life!” Jimmy said. “And I’ve even go you some materials!” He gushed, handing me a sketch pad and pack of really nice pencils. “Please say you’ll do it, Little One?! PLEASE!!” He begged falling down on his knees on the floor.

I took in a deep breath and looked toward the door Brian vanished through. Must be he had to get back to work. “Fine I’ll do it…just don’t expect to much, okay?” I sighed, as Jimmy jumped up and down.

“My baby is coming to life! MUAHAHAH!!” He screamed before darting back into the recording room, accompanied by a loud bang. “Well here goes nothing,” I muttered to myself before I started in on the first image that came to mind.

I had spent the next few hours at the studio sketching up the characters for the Avenged Boy’s video. I was happily doodling a woman, who ended up kind of looking like Maya only with bangs, and a guy that would be the main characters when Maya and Matt told me that they were heading out for their dinner date.

“Have fun you two and stay out of trouble,” I teased, getting a hug from both of them just as Brian came out of the guitar studio. “Yeah, I don’t feel like bailing your asses out of jail tonight for indecent exposure,” Brian laughed, his musical laughter making my heart beat lilt.

Matt raised is middle finger at Brian. “Yeah, we’ll see then if I help you out with your pro—”

“—Project,” Maya interrupted, shooting Matt a glaring look. “And don’t be a dick, Matt. Of course we’ll help.”

“What project?” I asked and turned around to face Brian. He ran his hand over his face and glared in the direction of Matt and Maya. “What are they talking about?” More importantly, what didn’t he want me to know about?

“Just a little side project for Pinkly Smooth that Jimmy and I were thinking about doing,” Brian said as the door closed. Must be Matt and Maya decided to get out of here quickly. “You didn’t tell me that you were thinking about starting that up again,” I pressed, following him back toward the studio.

“It just came up today, babe,” Brian said but refused to look at me. What was up with him? “Oh,” I frowned. “Well, how about we go out for dinner like Matt and Maya? We haven’t done that in awhile,” I asked, reaching out to grab Brain’s hand. He stopped and looked at me with a small smile on his lips, his eyes meeting mine for the first time. There was the man I loved so much.

“That sounds awesome, Ave. Let me—” There was his damn phone again! It always seemed to be going off. “Sorry babe, I’ve got to take this,” he said, pulling it out of his pocket and looking at the message with a huge grin. So he can answer message from this person but not me? That thought hurt and I crossed my arms over my chest.

“Anything important?” I asked, the glistening joy in his eyes quickly turning to panic. “Ah…No, just Matt telling me about an idea he had…and I really hate do to this, Ave, but I’ve still got a lot of work to do here. I’m sorry but I can’t go out for dinner tonight,” he frowned, running his hand up and down the back of his neck.

“Please…” I begged Brain, following him back into the guitar studio. “It’ll be fun…just the two of us. It’ll be my treat!”

“I would love to, babe but we’ve got a deadline to complete this album by,” he said looking somewhere over my shoulder. Why did he refuse to look at me all of a sudden? Had I done something wrong? “Larry will kill us if it not done soon.”

“Are you sure we cant just go for a little while and come—”

“I’m sorry, Ave! The answer is no!” he snapped. I gaped at Brain, still shaking my head as he pinched the bridge of his nose. This wasn’t how either of us had intended this evening to go. I should have just gone home after work and waited for him there. Then maybe he would have actually spent some time with me…

“I’ll just go with Zacky and get something then and bring it back,” I said with a shaky tone. I was trying my best to hide the hurt I was feeling but I didn’t think it was working.

“Ave, I—” he sighed with an apologetic tone, still refusing to meet my eyes. “Yeah…that sounds great.” Then why did he sound and look so sad?

“Anything in particular you want?” I tried only for him to open his wallet and pull out a fifty. “Anything’s fine, but I’ve got to get back to get back in there. I still have a lot of work to do before we can head home. Love you, babe.” Brian quickly pecked my lips before he turned and head back into the studio.

“Love you too…” I said sadly as the door slammed shut. A deep frown fell over my face as I headed out of the room. I don’t know what came over me, but I suddenly felt like a burden.

An hour later I found myself curled into the couch in the lounge, finishing up what was left of a rocky-road ice cream sundae that Zacky surprised me with after dinner. I guess I wasn’t the only one Brian had been grouchy too today. Though I wished he would just tell me what was bothering him instead of just pushing me away.

After finishing my sundae, I sank back into the couch and pulled my knees to my chest, setting the sketchpad on top of them. I burred myself in drawing, trying to get rid of this emotion building inside of me. The next thing I knew, Jimmy was screaming something about the drawings being perfect.

“You are fucking mastermind, Little One! Look at this bloody beautiful massacre and is that a church!? I could kiss you! Can I have this?!” Jimmy basically screamed.

When I looked down I saw a huge drawing on the pad in front of me that was indeed a battle scene. People’s heads were chopped off, hearts were on the floor, and the zombie lovers were happy eating a feast. Was I fucking sick to draw something like this? Maybe, but at least Jimmy liked it.

“My precious is ALIVE!!” he continued to shriek, ripping it out of my hands and running around the studio. I couldn’t help but laugh as he paraded it into each of the guys and I was surprised to hear them agree. “I’m going to hang it right here for inspiration.” My blue orbs met him as he pined it to the back of the studio door proudly. “You are my new favorite person, Little Gnome…but don’t tell Jess!”

“Hey, what about me?” I glanced over to see Brain leaning against the door with an amused look on his face.

“Oh, Gatesy-poo, you are my favorite boy…and little one here is my new favorite girl…AND you’re together!” he screamed, happily dancing around the room. “But,” he suddenly froze and glanced back and forth between us. “Why are you still here? You finished your track for A Little Piece of Heaven hours ago,” he said with a raised brow. Wait so we could have gone out for dinner? What the hell had he been doing in that studio the whole time?

Brian’s eyes grew wide as he glared at Jimmy, looking like he wanted to beat the shit out of him. “I have one more song I have to do,” he snapped before grabbing his leather jacket from the chair next to me. “So mind your own damn business.” What was with him today? He acted like he was pissed off at everyone, including me. “You ready, love,” he asked dryly, grabbing my hand and dragging me out the door.

The car ride back to Brian’s house was painfully quiet and I could only hear Duran Duran playing lightly in the background. Usually Brain talked to me about what he was recording or we made small talk, but not today. His jaw was tensed and he was staring intently ahead, like he was deep in thought. Was something wrong?

I sank back into the leather seat, chewed my bottom lip nervously, and twisted my fingers in my lap. “I-Is everything alright?” I asked quietly, my voice shaking from my racing heart. I was afraid to hear his response. He had been acting odd ever since Matt and Maya left the studio. Did they know something I didn’t? Was he going to break up with me?

“Yeah, fine,” he smiled, as he pulled into the driveway. “I was just thinking that—Shit…”

“What?” I watched him closely, still chewing my bottom lip. Brian looked back and forth between the clock and me, shifting nervously in in his seat like he was having some kind of internal battle. Did he want to tell me something?

“I-I left something at the studio. You go ahead in and pick out a movie for us to watch and I’ll be back shortly,” he said, though something was off by the way he kept looking at the clock.

“Okay,” I breathed, though I wasn’t sure if he was telling the truth or not. But when had he ever given me a reason not to trust him? “See you soon,” I said and he gave me a quick kiss before I got out of the car. “Love you.”

I watched from the front door as he speed off again with a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. I just hoped all my suspicions were wrong…

Matt’s POV

“What the hell were you thinking joking about the proposal while Ave was in the room?” Maya hissed, smacking me in the arm as we got into the car. “You could have ruined the whole thing!”

I sighed and ran my hand over my face, knowing I had screwed up. “I’m sorry!” I said, starting the car. “I forgot she was there!” I guess I was just so used to talking to Gates about it that it slipped out. Hell, we had been talking about the proposal for over two months now and ended up being the topic of most of our conversations lately. Even the ones I had with Maya now that she knew. “It not like you two have been around all that much anyway! The studio is usual the safe place to talk about it.”

“You need to be more careful,” Maya said, shaking her head.

“Please, like you haven’t almost slipped it to her at work,” I said, shooting her a knowing smirk. Out of the corner of my eye I saw her open and close her mouth a few times before crossing her arms over her chest. Busted!

“It’s not the same,” she said indignantly. “And why is that?” I laughed, knowing she hated when I was right. So ultimately it was my job to pick on her about it now.

“Because you’re not the one she talks to about him,” oh and there was the smug look on her face. “She thinks that he cheating on her or something with all his weird behavior. I’ve been trying to tell her that it’s just the stress of recording but she isn’t buying it anymore. He needs to propose soon or he might lose her,” Maya said and I furred my brow in concern.

Gates hadn’t been acting that weird, had he? Well, I guess with the long hours at the studio combined with our work sessions on Dear God, all the long discussions we’d had about planning, picking out the perfect, and searching for the perfect spot for the proposal would look suspicious if you didn’t know what we were doing. Shit, the last thing Gates needed on top of this pressure was to know that Ave was freaking about their time apart.

“Should we tell him?” I asked, looking between Maya and the road as we pulled into the restaurant parking lot.

“Well, he needs to do something different. He can’t avoid her just because he’s afraid of spilling the beans. And you and I both know that’s what he’s doing,” Maya said with a knowing smirk and I had to chuckle. “It’s classic Gates avoidance tactics,” I chuckled.

“So who’s gonna tell him?” I asked, helping Maya out of the car.

“He’s your best friend. It’s all you, Big Guy,” Maya chuckled, playfully patting my arm. Just that one touch sent sparks all the way up my arm and I had to bite down on my bottom lip to keep my composure. Not to mention that she was wearing a short skirt and I had spent most of the day looking at her luscious long tattooed legs and heart shaped ass. Damn, I just couldn’t get enough of this girl.

“Fine, but let’s go eat. I’m fucking starving,” I said taking her hand and leading her inside.

The next thing I knew, the waitress was leading Maya and I through the very fancy Italian restaurant that I had made reservations. The waitress directed us towards a very cozy corner booth that over looked the small jazz band playing on the other side of the music. There were floating candles in the middle of the table that illuminated our table in the dimmed atmosphere. To our left, you could see the sun setting over the ocean and it was honestly one of my better choices if I do say so myself.

“Matt!” Maya gasped, looking around at the beautiful restaurant and then out the window at the beach. “This is way too much and I’m not dressed for this!” she said hitting me in the arm before she slid into the booth, gapping at everything.

“Love you too, babe,” I teased, moving to take a seat next to her. “Do you like it?” I asked, nuzzling my nose against her. Maya shivered as my warm breath touched her neck.

“Of course, I like,” Maya said breathlessly as she looked around the room and then back at me. “It’s prefect…especially for a reception area for Brian and Ave’s wedding!”

My jaw dropped as I blinked at Maya. I went through all this trouble to have a nice evening and all she could think about was Brian and Avery? Was she fucking kidding me?

Only she wasn’t because all she talked about the rest of dinner was the proposal and their wedding, which really surprised me. Was Maya really that into this wedding idea or was she just excited for her best friend? I would have to pay closer attention because I wanted to put a ring on that little finger as soon as possible.

“Oh, and I could design her dress…” Maya mused with her mouth full of the chocolate ice cream that came with desert. “I know she would look beautiful in a—” Ah, saved by the phone! I quickly pulled out of my pocket to see Brain’s face flash across the screen.

“Sanders,” I answered, causing Maya to look up with wide eyes. “Sure we can meet you at Johnny’s, what’s up? Oh, shit really? Yeah, let me pay the bill and we’ll be on our way,” I said, hanging up and signaling for the waitress.

“What? What’s going on?” Maya asked, looking really excited and nervous at the same time. It was actually fucking adorable to see her like this.

“What are you waiting for? Let’s go!” Maya gushed, standing up just as her phone started to ring. “Shit, it’s Ave!”

“Answer it,” I chuckled, taking her hand as we headed out to the car.

“Hey Little Gnome, what’s up?” She asked only to wince at whatever Ave was saying on the other end of the line. “Relax love, he’s not cheating on you,” Maya soothed and I looked at her with wide eyes. “Matt just left to go back to the studio. Apparently Jimmy had some crazy break through with the last song. You can even call Matt in a few minutes and he’ll hand it over to Brian. I promise he is still doing his job, love. Nothing to worry about…”

I smiled as I watched Maya talk to her best friend. She really was an amazing woman and I was happiest man in the world because she let me call her mine. I just hoped that she was actually excited about the idea of getting married because there no way she wasn’t going to be Mrs. Sanders one day.

Notes

Here is chapter 80, just like you asked for! Only two more chapters left!

Mei and I have been throwing around some ideas about a third and final story in the Riptide world. How would you lovely readers feel about that? Would you like to continue the Mattaya and Bravey journey?

Let us know your thoughts! You guys are awesome! :)