Welcome to the Family

"Uhm, Vicky, I hate to interrupt you guys but, uh, could you..." I opened my eyes and the room started spinning around. Directly in front of my eyes flew Johnny's worried, red-eyed face. Where am I? I then felt big, muscular arms holding me in a loose embrace, and my head was rested against a strong chest in some black t-shirt.

Matt. His name flashed through my head like a gleaming needle. We talked. I must have fallen asleep on his lap, I figured. He was still passed out, so with Johnny's help I freed myself from Matt's musclebergs and proceeded to quickly hurried outside the room, since Johnny seemed to be in a rush.

In the hall, I had to jump over a very drunk, very passed out Synyster Gates. It looked bad, really bad. He had, somehow, wrapped his boxers - they showed Tingeltangel Bob from the Simpsons - around his head and pulled his black jeans back up half way. His bare butt was stretched into the air and he was still sound asleep, snoring softly. Next to him lay a pale as hell Michelle in nothing but my good apron. She was tossing her cookies into a bread basket, which I vaguely remembered as Syn's hat at the party before.

But Johnny pulled me even further, right through our entrance door. I found Renee sitting on the floor, crying. "I would have asked Michelle, but...," Johnny mumbled apologetically, and then quickly turned around to head back to the house. "Renee, what's wrong?" I asked, sitting down right next to her in a puddle of spring rain. I noticed that it was warm already, summer was definitely coming soon.

"It's just... oh Vicky...," she sobbed, cradling her head in my lap. "There, there...," I whispered, not knowing what else to say. We just sat there in silence for a while, which was only broken by occasional sobs, which eventually died down. "I slept with Zacky," she finally said, her voice cracking. "I know," I simply responded. It was only half a lie. After all, I did notice their absence at the party from about 1am on.

"I just don't know what he thinks about me right now, you know? I mean, first I don't let him come closer because I'm not sure this is what I want, but at the first occasion to get drunk I give in and convince him to have sex with me. He wouldn't have done it, you know? He said he'd promised me. And that's right, he did. But why, why... Why did I let this happen?"

Before I knew how to respond, Zacky appeared the door. He motioned me to go, obviously wanting to talk to Renee alone. "Look, we'll catch up later," I forced myself to smile, hoping she would pick up some positive vibes, "but there's someone you'll need to talk to before that." And with that, I left the two of them outside while I headed back to the living room to try and untangle my own mess.

Matt was still half sitting, half lying on the couch, obviously about to wake up. "Hey," I greeted him shyly, and he smiled at me, revealing his dimples. "Vicky," he then said, and placed the palm of his hand on my cheek. His gaze met mine, beautiful hazel eyes met arcane green ones. "I just want you to know," he whispered, "I remember everything that happened last night. And I meant every single word." I felt overjoyed at the sound of his voice. He had just, in a completely sober state, admitted that he liked me. Somehow.

I managed to keep my voice calm and steady as I asked, "Where does this leave us?" I immediately cursed myself for bringing it up again, but Matt simply pulled me into a tight hug and then lifted me on his lap again. He kissed my forehead and grinned, "My sweet little Vicca, she's just such an eager beaver, can't wait for shit, huh?" He then got serious. "I can't tell you anything definite yet, but I do hope this leaves us before yesterday's talk."

"I could handle that," I responded, softly kissing his neck where my head lay anyway. "And hey, we managed to get drunk and still keep it strictly PG-13," Matt grinned. "And this time, I remember everything," I joined him, and he pulled me even closer. "Hey, you got plans this afternoon? 'Cause I could really go for the beach. It's supposed to hit 82 today, I mean, that's pretty warm for the end of May, right?" he smiled at me. "Just to clarify, this is a date?" I asked, and he started laughing again. "You eager beaver, yet again, you gotta know everything," he chuckled, "but yes, Vicky, it is a date." A date!

At about three in the afternoon, after cleaning up the mess in the guys' house and a long talk with Renee, who was more than happy since Zack had been able to reassure her he didn't think any less of her, I prepared a light breakfast including detox water. Zacky's unevitable comment about smearing it between you-know-what followed suit. Then Matt picked me up.

When I stepped out of the door of my apartment - he'd asked me not to go to the guys' house for two hours so he could prepare a picnic - I let out a long, excited whistle. In the driveway stood a cherry red, old-looking Chevelle Convertible on which Matt leaned casually. I was pretty sure it was the car from the Bat Country video.

"Hey Vicky," he greeted me sheepishly. He was dressed normal for once; he wore a green and white flannel and olive green shorts. After debating whether or not to look cute for a date with a metal singer, I'd decided to go for cute, since it was my style, and dressed myself in a white beach dress. "Wow, I didn't know you had something other than black," I chuckled, and then threw my beach bag onto the back seat of the car.
"You look lovely, too," he grinned, opening the car's door for me like a gentleman. I felt the blood rush to my cheeks.

"So, is this your car then?" I asked. He nodded and then buckled up as he started the engine. While pulling out of the driveway, he said, "I knew Val was with her lawyer today, so I was able to fetch it from home. What do you think?" I grinned and told him that I thought it was awesome.
The ride to the beach was pretty short. We got out of the car and Matt grabbed a large blanket and a basket from the back seat.

“Ready?” he asked as he locked the car and I nodded. We walked the short distance from the parking lot to the beach in silence. The sea was calm and there were many people sitting on the beach to enjoy the first warm rays of sun of the year. A few die-hards were even attempting to surf in wetsuits.

“I hope you’re hungry,” Matt said with a dimpled smile as he stretched the blanket. “Oh, sure,” I grinned, and the two of us sat down. Matt rummaged in the basket and pulled out a small, black case. “I noticed you never wear shades, so I got you some,” he stated dryly before opening the box and revealing a pair of classic Raybans, just the type that everyone seemed to adore in this year. Omg, Matt, seriously?

“Uhm. Thank you Matt, I… I don’t know what to say… You… you shouldn’t have…” I stuttered, feeling my face turn red. “Vicky,” he interrupted me, “you know as well as I do that little presents don’t hurt from time to time, so say ‘thank you Matt’, put them on and everything’s fine.”
He’s right, I thought, money really isn’t an issue for him. So I just put them on and he smirked, “looking good. Now about that food?”

Just as I took my first bite of the turkey sandwich Matt had prepared, my phone rang. "You mind if I...?" I asked, and Matt motioned me to take the call. "Vicky? I've been trying to reach you," the caller began, and when I heard the obviously crying voice, I immediately knew something really bad must have happened.

Notes

Uh-oh, I smell trouble in wonderland... What do you guys think?