Brian’s POV

Another bus ride, another show and it all felt the same… it used to be fun being on tour, drinking all day and night but somehow that moment and time seems like an eternity away.
Was that all because Ave was missing? Couldn’t I have fun without her?

Matt walked past me and I got up from the bus steps to quickly follow him “Matt, yo… Wait a second” I caught up with him quickly and he looked at me from the side.
“What?” He snapped and then sighed “Sorry, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing… I just wanted to know what Jess could tell you” I haven’t seen Matt alone since that time and he hadn’t told me what he found out.
“Not much…” Matt looked disappointed and my shoulder slumped down. I really thought we would get some information out of her, she actually was our only chance to hear anything.

“What is not much?” I asked and Matt stopped “They must be somewhere in Europe… she didn’t know herself where exactly, but she mused that much from them having apparently the same or nearly the same time zone, from what she could say from previous calls… What else, they still go to school, somewhere… and Ave was a mess… and Maya was hiding her feelings.” Matt summed it up and I frowned.

“Ave was a mess? Shit… what did she say about that… did she mention anything?” I asked and Matt began walking again “That’s all I know, man. She wouldn’t give me anything else.”
“Fucking hell” I let Matt walk past me and turned back around, maybe Matt wasn’t the right guy to talk to Jess, maybe I should take that to my own hands.
Maybe he had been just asking about Maya? Could I blame him? No, I couldn’t… but still I better get a chance myself.

I walked up to the roadie bus running nearly into Matt Berry “Hey… you searching for someone? Only Jess is up getting ready… we thought we could grab some late breakfast together, what do you say?”
“Sounds good, I wanted to talk to Jess first, we will be coming in a couple of minutes, alright?” I asked while I already moved up the steps.
“Yeah good.” MB nodded and walked away while I finally arrived in the bus, walking past the bunks in the directions of the back door.

I opened my mouth to announce my arrival but stopped when I heard a voice coming from the back room. I couldn’t immediately make out who was talking beside Jess, but hadn’t Matt Berry said that she was alone?

I quietly walked closer towards the door, it was only ajar and finally I could make out who was talking with Jess, she was on the phone and my heart started to beat a little faster.

“Sorry, I know… I didn’t call you back the last time… It’s a bit busy.. actually Ave and I are getting ready right now to leave again, we got an interview…” Maya’s voice sounded over the speaker and only by hearing Ave’s name I wanted to throw the door open and demand to talk to her, but I couldn’t.
Maybe this way I could find more out about the girls, I just had to be really quiet so Jess wouldn’t notice I was there.

“No problem, M. I just wanted to hear if everything is alright… So you got a job interview? As what?” Jess asked and I heard the smile in her voice.
“Yeah, we got something like a trial work… noting big or fancy, a friend got us a job in a bar, but we need the money, so… we will give it a try.” Maya said and I heard some clothes rustling.

“Actually they are already waiting for me…” Maya added and you could hear she wanted to cut the conversation short.
“Wait, Maya… and how are you… and Ave doing? I mean.. for real?” Jess asked and I held my breath waiting anxiously for her answer.

I heard a sigh and a chuckled “Actually… It’s getting better… not fantastic… but better. We have some distractions here, which is a nice change.. Oh and believe it or not, I just walked into such a cute scene, damn I wished I had been home a little later.” Maya chuckled again and my heart was breaking, they found distractions? Distraction like what? Like they are forgetting about us?

“What scene? Come on, Maya… You can’t tell me something like that and then end the call.. again” Jess chuckled and Maya laughed.
“Alright, but then I really need to leave. So I came home from… I came home and Ave sat on the couch and I think either they just kissed or were about to kiss… god she looked happy, Jess. The first time I saw her smile again is just a couple of days ago and it’s so good to see her like that again.” Maya sighed and then a knock sounded.
“Shit, I have to go… Jess, I’m sorry… Can you… Will you call me again tomorrow? We can finally catch up by then, I promise” Maya hurried to say.

“Sure thing, sweetie. I’ll call you again, oh and greetings from Jimmy, he misses you and the little Gnome and hopes… I know I shouldn’t say this, but he hopes you will be happy, no matter where…” Jess said slowly and Maya sighed even louder “Give him a big hug from me and tell him, we miss him too. And call me tomorrow, I will tell you everything about the new job. Have a good day, babe”
Then the connection was gone and I quickly got up from my position near the door and ran for the exit.

I nearly fell out of the bus so fast did I try to move away, if Jess knew I listened in on her talk, we would never get another chance in talking her to give us any more information.
When I was in a good distance I plopped down on the ground hidden from any of the other views, I thought back to the words that I just overheard.

I just skipped the fact that they weren’t meant for me, it had been an accident but still I couldn’t walk away, after hearing Maya’s voice, and then the mentioning of Ave’s name it had been too much for me.
I missed Ave so bad, and now I heard that she was happy? Happy without me?
She moved on?!
She had a job and she had fun, I knew she was having fun when I heard her voice at the party, but now knowing that she indeed is moving on…

I leaned back and closed my eyes, they were about to kiss or they kissed already? What does that mean? And who is he? Who is taking Ave away from me? Who wants to steal her?
I ran a hand through my hair and pulled at it in frustration, so many thoughts were running around in my head and I had no idea what to think about this…

“Brian? Shit, we have been searching for you!” Matt voice sounded from above me and I blinked my eyes open. What? They were searching for me?
“What’s going on? What are you doing here?” He continued and I realized I had been sitting here for hours, even fall asleep and hadn’t even realized it.

But one thought was still crystal clear in my mind, if Ave had given up on us there was no motivation for me to hold back on to it, right?! If she was having her fun, so should I?!
She is kissing someone else? She is happy again with someone else, fuck her… and fuck all the sulking, I will have fun, too. I can have fun without her!

“Matt!” I got up and laid my arm around his broad shoulders “You and I, my friend will be going out tonight. We will have fun and we will get fucking drunk!” I announced and Matt began to shake his head.

“Oh there is now way around it… I will and you will have to follow my lead, because you are feeling as miserable as I am… and we need to stop the sulking and take our lives into our own hands! We will dance and drink…” and kiss and fuck, I silently added, because I could do what Ave could do as well, if she was moving on, without me, fuck… I would do the same, I could forget about her and I would prove that tonight!

“What? What are you talking about? And why were you lying here all afternoon?” Matt looked utterly confused and I just winked at him, trying to keep the happy façade, I needed booze and quickly or I wouldn’t succeed and keep that fake smile on my face, as soon as the first alcohol would hit my throat it would be better, it would numb the pain and I would finally get rid of Maya’s words and of Ave’s face…
Her beautiful face, her blue eyes that always made me think about the beach, her brown hair waving in the morning when we sat outside my house, enjoying the quiet morning after a long night full of…

“Brian?” Matt voice brought me back, and fuck… there I was again, getting lost in the memories of her, and she was moving on, she was kissing someone else, she was doing god knows what right now with someone else.

“Just tell me you will come along, Matt” I asked a final time and Matt met my eyes and he must have seen just how much I yearned for him to go with me, and bring me to other thoughts, he was one of my best friends so he knew when I would really need him.

“Alright, now let’s get back to the bus, get ready for the show and then we will head to a club, some party won’t hurt… will it?” Matt asked and I nodded “Yeah, what can go wrong?”

Jame’s POV

Damn, I wished Maya would have stormed in just a moment later… I had no idea what I would have done then, but I couldn’t find out now, Avery shut down again, just when she had opened up a little bit.

Why does she feel like she was nothing, when I looked at her and saw all the beauty inside and out and not nothing… I mean look at this woman, she was not only an amazing looking woman with a banging body, which I would die for to taste and touch some more, but she was also kind hearted, she loved her friend to death, and she was loyal… She was even now loyal to a dickhead that betrayed her.

I couldn’t understand how she was still so hung up on a guy, a guy that broke her heart… Didn’t she see that maybe she just had to open her eyes and see the things are how they are and you can’t change them, that you had to move on, and sometimes even better things awaited you there?

She shouldn’t let herself be dragged down, because Gates was being a bloody idiot in betraying her? Did he think it wouldn’t come out? Or didn’t he give a fuck?

“Maya! We need to go” Avery yelled and I smiled at her “It’s okay, give her a moment… she just came home” I told Ave and she looked at me with a lifted eyebrow “Right, and we still have no idea where she was”
“I can already picture where she had been, but like you said you won’t like it…” I wiggled my eyebrows at her and Ave got a disgusted look on her face.

“Did Ben say something?” She asked and I shrugged “Not really, but it’s nothing new that Ben, had the hots for her for some time, and I think it’s good for Maya… she is looking much more relaxed lately.” I grinned and Ave punched my shoulder, but I put my hand above hers, keeping it there.
“If you now tell me I should fu-” I chuckled stopping her with my finger to her lips, somehow I couldn’t keep my hands to myself when I was with her, even though I knew that friends didn’t touch that much, did they?

“I haven’t said that, I just said that for Maya it seems like a good distraction and as far as I know Ben, he enjoys being the source of distractions pretty much…” I took my finger from her lips and Ave narrowed her eyes on me.
“As long as he knows this is just a distraction…” Avery added and I nodded, it’s Ben, he wouldn’t think about anything else then that anyway… or should I clue him in?

“I’m ready.. I’m ready.. Sorry, Jess called and I really cut it short.” Maya appeared in the doorway, black tight pants and a tank top, where you had a pretty good idea on what bra she was wearing, the blue lace showing at certain angles.

I swallowed and moved my eyes back to Avery, she wore the opposite to Maya’s outfit which I preferred myself, a short black skit, showing of her beautiful tanned legs and a shirt with a cut out back, but no cleavage showing, which was sad, but still enough skin to sate my hunger.

Okay, I was going too far again, we better leave…
“Alright, you girls look delicious, how could anyone say no to you, huh?” I grinned and held my arms out for the girls to hook into.

“So this bar, is that from a friend of yours?” Maya asked when I guided them to my car.
“Yeah, his name is David, he will do the interview with you, just tell him you worked in a bar before, and I will be there too, so nothing to worry about. Then he will ask you to serve some drinks, to see your skills and-” Ave looked at me from the side and I saw her uncertain look.

“I never worked in a bar...” She said and Maya waved her off, “What the hell, Ave? That’s not much you can do wrong, just don’t trip, if you serve the wrong drink, show some skin and they will forget about that in no time” Maya chuckled and I had to smile at Ave’s flustered expression, if she would be mine I would have grabbed her and kissed her right now, because, how can anyone be any cuter, then that?!

“I’m kidding, Ave… We will manage, don’t worry.” Maya grabbed Ave’s hand and I saw her squeeze it lightly before they both climbed into my car and I drove us the 15 minutes to David’s pub.
“Here we are.” I announced parking near the entrance.
I helped both girls out and guided them towards the entrance, I held the door open and the girls moved in first.

“Cassell’s, good to see you again, my man, been way too long… But then you brought 2 beauties with you, you know how to make a bartender happy, don’t you?” David walked towards us, but before he greeted me, he took Maya’s hand and guided it to his lips and afterwards Avery’s giving both girls a compliment and making them blush lightly before giving me a hug.

“So you ladies need a job, James told me that much… what a good thing, that I need some new personal. When could you start?” David asks while leading us towards the bar where we took a seat.

“Whenever you need us” Maya answered with a smile and David nods “That’s good, I need someone as soon as possible, James said you are still in college, you are only able to work on the weekends?” He asked and Ave shakes her head “We can do some shifts in the week, we don’t have to be there every day.”
“Sounds perfect, how about experience? You worked in a bar before?” David asked and I saw Ave cringe a little “I have” Maya announced leading the attention towards her “And Ave is good at selling and making drinks… so we are the perfect combination” Maya winked at Ave who relaxed a little.“Okay, how about you make two beers, one for James and one for me, and a drink of your choice for yourself so I can see how you behave behind the bar?” David asked and Maya immediately hopped of the chair and walked around to prepare the drinks.
“Come on, Ave. You make our drinks, and I’ll sever the beer to the men” Maya winked at me and David.
Ave took the glasses and quickly poured the girls two different drinks, she put ice in it and a straw and damn it looked like she had never done anything else in her live, I was impressed.

“A beer for you, and one for you” Maya set the perfectly looking beers in front of me and David and turned back around to clean the surface before walking back around and pulling Ave and the drinks along, and then both girls sipped on their drinks, moaning lightly, making me sit up a little straighter in my chair and I met Ave’s eyes, she gave me a small wink and I had to suppress the laugh, she was playing now? Now?

“Okay, girls… How about you come back this evening around seven? And we will look how you girls work under more pressure and if everything is working out, we discuss the conditions and you are part of the team, how does that sound?” David asked and Maya and Ave both smiled.
“Perfect, 7 this evening, we will be here” Ave said and both girls held their hands out to shake David’s and about 20 minutes later when we all finished our drinks we sat back in my car.

“I told you, easy as that… How about I will ask the guys to watch out for you tonight at the bar? We could be there and-“ I started and Maya chuckled.
“Giving us even more work, especially with Danny? That guy drinks so much, one of us has to stand at your table just giving drinks to him!” She complained and I chuckled, she was right.
“Okay, maybe I’m just asking Ben? Or Cam?” I chuckled and Ave rolled her eyes at me.
“You don’t have to be around, James. We can manage that on our own”
“Let him, if he wants to” Maya interrupted Ave and gave me a small smile and when Ave hit her she looked like she hadn’t done a thing.

“Okay, you are home… So we shouldn’t come?” I asked when the girls got out “Your choice, but James… thank you for everything… and the past days.. I really appreciate it.” Ave leaned into my open window and kissed my cheek, her lips lingered a little longer and I wished I could just turn and taste her lips again, but knew it was too soon… but that kiss from earlier, had my heart racing, and my lips tingle… I had wanted more, but I pulled away, knowing that this had been just about comfort, nothing else, just showing her exactly how worth she was and how beautiful and how much she deserved someone who exactly told her that, always… and nothing else.

The girls waved a final time before they disappeared from my view and I made a quick stop at Ben’s home.I waited for him to open up and he was only wearing his boxers and a muscle shirt, when he opened up, looking like he had been sleeping.

“What do you want, asshole?” Ben greeted me and I flipped him off.
“Good to see you, too mate.” I walked into his living room, falling down on the couch as soon as I arrived.
“You are the fucker interrupting my morning, so what do you want?” Ben grumbled sitting down in the chair opposite of me.
“So Maya had been here, huh?” I asked grinning.
“Where else should she be? Of course, she was here…” Ben grinned and I nodded “Okay.”
“And why are you here now?” Ben looked a little confused.

“Just checking on you, haven’t seen you a lot lately, so you and Maya, huh? She told you what happened between her and Matt already?” I asked a small smirk coming over my face.
“No.. not really, why would you… wait a second, you know, do you?” Ben’s eyes lit up a little but I shook my head.

“Sorry, man.. Private talks.. just came here to let you know that the girls are working in David’s bar tonight, you wanna show up there? Should we ask the others?” I asked and saw Ben narrow his eyes on me.
“You didn’t just come here to tell me that, now tell me what happened between Maya and Shads” Ben demanded leaning forward and I chuckled, he wanted to play games with me last time, now he gotta play some, too.

“What are you willing to pay, Bruce?” I asked repeating what he told me the last time.
“Ah fuck me, James… what do you want?” Ben asked and I got up “Hmm… nothing you have, right now. So I’ll keep it to myself… maybe tonight I have something I want, and then I’ll let you know” I told him with a chuckle and went to his door, he followed me, his eyes narrowed “Cassells, don’t play with me, you gonna loose! You heard me? Former Drummer of Asking Alexandria!” Ben yelled from his front door when I was already at my car and flipped him off, now he had something to think about…

Notes

There u get some of the Avenged guys again!

Comments!!
More action to come.... ;)