Welcome to the Family

“So how’s it like to be a dietician? Seems like a dream job to me,” Michelle asked, taking a sip from the hot cup of hibiscus tea I’d offered her. “Well, the guys are very nice, but sometimes I just don’t really know to react. Like, this morning, I made some detox water and Zacky said he’d only smear it between his ass cheeks,” I laughed, and she joined me.

I let my eyes travel over her face. She looked exactly like Valary, she just wore her hair a little bit different. “Yeah, Zacky’s kind of difficult right now, I mean, with me and Brian getting married this summer, Matt already being married to my sister, and Gena and him just… I don’t know…,” she tried to explain. Wait, what? She was Valary’s sister? That kind of explained a lot…

“Wait, so you’re Val’s sister?” I asked, and she replied, “Yeah, have you met her?” “Actually, I have, a couple of times even, but we didn’t really talk since she was so busy screaming at Matt and insulting me…,” I silently answered. “Oh, that thing,” she frowned, “Yeah, she’s so fucking jealous… I told her like a billion times that she’s probably gonna lose him if she keeps being that way, but I think they’re pretty much done anyway, I mean, at least from what she told me… I know she thinks you’re a bitch, but don’t listen to her, look, I think you’re actually nice. Plus, I think having Brian eat some more healthy stuff is a great idea.” What? She seriously just said that about her freaking SISTER? And they were pretty much over?

Michelle and I kept talking for the next one and a half hours, and we got along very well. We didn’t mention Matt and Valary again, but we found other great topics, such as for example my upbringing in Germany or Michelle’s wedding in June or July. At half past 11, the guys finally returned to the house, so we went over.

Seeing Brian welcome his beautiful girlfriend with a hug and a really happy smile made me want to grin, too. Zacky quickly excused himself, like Michelle said, maybe he was stressed out by all the couples surrounding him, and Matt avoided direct eye contact with me, yet tried to be friendly by offering me something to drink. He even showed me a demo of the song he’d sang to me last night, and I had to admit that it was beautiful, especially his calm and clear voice.

I eventually returned to my bed when the guys started yawning, and Michelle decided to stay over. The next morning I got up as early as usual and hopped into the car to shop for some groceries. The weather hadn’t improved, it was still snowing and the streets were covered in a thick, greasy layer of snow slush. The traffic moved slowly with everybody steering carefully through the ugly weather. It took me almost an hour to get there, buy everything I needed and drive back home. Luckily, Zacky was already up and helped me carry all the groceries into the house and stowing them into the giant fridge.

As I proceeded to make some protein powder pancakes with a wild berry sauce sweetened with stevia, he stood right next to me and watched every single one of my moves carefully. When he cleared his throat for the third time, I knew there was something up, but I knew better than to scare him away by asking him what was up.

He eventually started talking anyway, “Hey Vicca, you know… there’s this charity ball for this cancer organization that the four of us donate millions to yearly… And, uhm, I’m having a real rough time with my girlfriend… Don’t even know if I can call her that anymore… Anyway, the guys are all bringing their girlfriends and even short shit’s got someone to accompany him, so I was wondering… Would you go there with me?”

I stopped listening when he said the other members would be bringing their girlfriends. So Val would inevitably be there. Would I be able to face the two of them playing happy couple? But on the other side, one chance to dance with Matt and a nice evening to dress up plus having fun with Zacky, Brian and Michelle… Would that make it okay? Zacky stared at me, expecting an answer. I didn’t think for another second, and gladly replied, “Yes, Zacky, I’d love to!” He grinned broadly and gave me a hug, whispering, “You just saved my evening!” into my ear.

The rest of the day passed quickly, as the guys left for the studio right after breakfast and took with them a giant bowl of vegetarian noodle salad I’d prepared for them. I treated myself to a giant pizza from pizza hut, since my diet plan at that moment pretty much only consisted of gaining at least ten pounds. I then decided to clean the kitchen and to vacuum the living room and the guys’ rooms, although it wasn’t really my job. Just as I was done, I lied down on the couch in the living room with a novel.

The next days passed just as easily and as fast as this Monday, as the guys went to record early in the morning and returned only for dinner. In the evenings they played me and Michelle their songs so far, and I found myself really enjoying most of the tracks. The guys recorded a couple of songs the Rev had already started to write and also wrote some other ones themselves.

They eventually also finished the song Matt had shown me just before we got very close and did the stupid thing that now put us into a very uncomfortable situation. After that, we didn’t really talk. He was nothing but polite to me, but in a more distant way than before. On Saturday he even preferred sitting on the floor rather than next to me on the couch while watching TV.

The day after, he came to me right after breakfast. “Hey Vicca, got a minute?” he asked, shifting his weight uncomfortably. I turned toward him and smiled, “Sure, Matt, what’s up?” In fact, it was pretty hard looking him straight into his handsome face after our little incident and I had to admit that I was still hurt. But I guessed that was just how it went with the famous guys.

“So I’d like to take out my lip ring, but somehow this damn closure won’t open…I got a gripper here, and I figured that you’re a girl, so you won’t cut off my whole lip like Syn would…,” he chuckled awkwardly, and then, for the first time in days, looked me into the eye, giving me chills all over my body. “Sure, sit down,” I motioned toward the kitchen table and he just sat down on it. “Not the whole lip, okay,” he joked, then silently added, “though we both know you got every right to…”

I remained quiet and carefully removed the piercing. It had really felt strange but good on my lips, that was from what I remembered. For a second I wondered how it would feel if he performed other things than only kissing with his mouth, and if he had eventually done that with me and I just didn’t know anymore. Alcohol was a bitch, I thought, and then chuckled at the thought that I’d started to use swear words in my head, too.

“Why you smiling like that?” Matt wanted to know. He carefully touched his lip where the ring used to be. There was a tiny hole that bled a little, but from afar, you wouldn’t notice it. “Nothing,” I smiled, then turned myself around and started preparing their lunch packs. Doing that always made me feel as if I were their mother.


The next Friday came too soon, and when I woke up that day, I didn’t really know whether to dread or to look forward to the ball that evening.At about 5, I started getting ready. I put on my dark red strapless cocktail dress. It was rather short, so it showed off my thin, pale legs. Buying shoes in a matching color hadn’t been that easy, but I’d eventually found some classic dark red high heels.

I looked at my image in the mirror, and I was pretty content with myself. Like every day, I first smeared about a ton of concealer over my hickeys, but I was glad they weren’t that prominent anymore. I still decided on not putting my hair up, and instead pulled out my curling iron and curled it. After applying some make-up and putting on some really nice dark eye shadow and some lipstick in my dress’ color, I was finally done.

In that exact moment, Zacky knocked on my apartment’s door. He looked nice in his black suit with a white button-down dress shirt and a red bowtie. We definitely were a cute couple. But first, I needed to clear something up. “Zacky, I want you to know that, although we’re technically going on a date, I’m not really… you know… romantically interested in you…” I stuttered.

“Vicca, first things first, you look absolutely stunning tonight, and I bet Gena will be so fucking pissed. Secondly, I never intended to consider this a real date. I mean, technically I’m still taken. Shads didn’t give a fuck about that, but I do. Anyway, you guys haven’t really, you know, talked?” Oh my god. That was so embarrassing.

Notes

So what do you think? Are things awkward between Matt and Vicky? What's going to happen at the ball? What is Vicca going to reply to Zacky?