Welcome to the Family

“No, actually… We don’t talk much these days. Can we change the subject?” I felt so uncomfortable. He’d seriously asked me about my hook-up with Matt. Like… Seriously?

“Sure… But don’t make such a big deal out of it. Come on, you both were drunk, and you been totally smitten by each other from day one. I mean, seriously. I could see it in the way you screamed at each other. But he’s married, Vicca. I know you didn’t come here to get laid, but now you did. As much as we all despise Valary, Matt’s by far not fair game. Not until they officially announce that they’re separating. Until then, you make sure you don’t accidentally drink my vodka again, we clear?” he pinched my side and smiled at me.

I knew he just wanted to give me some good advice, and that was alright. Firstly, he didn't seem to keen on knowing his best friend cheated on his wife, and secondly, I was sure he didn't want me to get burnt either. Anyway, I didn’t plan on accidentally sleeping with Matt again anyway. Although I wish I remembered, I sighed to myself. Then all the curiosity would finally be satisfied and I wouldn't wonder what it was like anymore. What he is like. Knowing I had him and reckoning I could have him again only made my curiosity grow. I shoved away those thoughts with all my power of will and clung to Zacky as we got out of my house.


The guys all looked so different in their black suits. Matt wore an orange tie with an orange ribbon pinned to his pocket. I remembered reading that the orange ribbon stood for the fight against leukemia. That man looked so handsome. I wondered if he'd ever heard of the rule that a man always had to dance with all the plus ones of his group. Then we would inevitably dance together. I felt my intestines cringe with nervousness at the thought of him holding me.

Then, a familiar van pulled up in the driveway and interrupted my little daydream. Michelle, Valary and Lacey, Johnny’s long term girlfriend, got out of it. All three of them, but especially Valary, looked breathtakingly gorgeous that night, I had to admit. I immediately felt jealousy tie knots in my stomach. Of course I understood why Matt had chosen Val, and why he would always choose her, if he had the choice. And, of course, why he would definitely pick her over me, his dumb housewife hook-up.

I took a couple of deep breaths and then motioned for half of them to get into my car. Along with me rode Zacky, Johnny, his girlfriend, and Michelle. Matt was driving the other car, so that the remaining people could drink. Especially Syn had reassured me that I would definitely feel the urge to get that drunk again. But I’d never been much of a drinker, and I was sure that the event wouldn’t be that boring, especially not for someone who'd never been to a ball before. Well, except for school proms, although I didn't even go to my second Junior year prom.

I was glad the snow had finally stopped, so we were able to drive faster. After about half an hour of driving we arrived at a huge building in the heart of LA. It was decorated with colorful cancer ribbons, and a few people were standing outside in suits and cocktail dresses. Matt’s car pulled up right behind mine, and we gave the car keys to the valet parking guy. Brian tipped him 20 dollars.

When we entered the building, we immediately stood in a giant hall, at least three floors high, with white Roman style pillars and a black marble floor. There were bar tables covered in colorful tablecloths on one side, on the other side there was a little stage where a band called “The Insecures” was playing a waltz.

In another room, which was separated by a huge glass wall, there were a bar and some tables where you could sit down.
“Since we already ate, how ‘bout we hit the dance floor?” Johnny suggested, and the seven of us nodded. In the beginning I only danced with Zacky. He and Matt were the only ones of the Avenged guys who seemed to actually like dancing, and I was by far the best dancer of the girls.
When I looked around, none of the others’ significant others looked particularly happy, and especially Matt’s Valary stepped on Matt’s feet about ten times in one song. After the third song, she excused herself to the bar. Matt immediately followed her.

“Too bad,” Zacky slandered, “She’s got one of the world’s most talented musicians as her husband and she can’t even dance to one single song without losing the beat.” I laughed. Zacky was so easy to be with, and he understood me so well. After a while, Matt returned to the dance floor with a pretty redhead. “Hayley,” Zacky screamed over to her across my shoulder in delight. We stopped dancing immediately.
“Vicca, this is Hayley Williams from Paramore. Hayley, this is Vicky, our dietician, I brought her here tonight because Gena and I are fighting again and she definitely deserves some fun for everything she’s doing for us,” he introduced us.

We talked for a few minutes, but then Hayley pulled Zacky away and the two of them disappeared in the crowd. Wait, what? Zacky come back! You can’t do this, you can’t leave me here alone with... him, I thought, looking at Matt. He, too, was standing all alone between the dancing couples, looking lost. But then he slowly made his way to me.

“Do you want to dance? We could also look for the others,” he shouted, since the music was so loud. I took a deep breath and reached for his hand. With a surprised look on his face, he pulled me closer and we started to move to the rhythm of one of my favorite songs, Piano Man, originally by Billy Joel. The smell of his aftershave made my knees weak. For the first song, I didn’t dare look up at his face. I just stared stubbornly at his orange tie and concentrated on the fast rhythm of the Viennese waltz.

The next song was Summer of ’69, and we switched to a disco fox. I started to grin broadly because Matt, who was a great dancer, swung and twisted me around and I felt my tension loosen up and I was beginning to enjoy myself. By the fourth song, we were constantly smiling at each other, happy about how well we danced together. The fifth song was a very slow waltz, and he pulled me even closer. It didn’t feel awkward anymore and I was very glad about that.

“You still mad at me?” he whispered into my ear, his warm breath against my neck sending shivers down my spine. Was I still mad? Was I still trying to win him somehow? Was I only feeling comfortable in his presence because I was in his arms, where I secretly longed to be?
“I don’t know,” I finally replied. He nodded and stroked my back, where his hand lay anyway.

“That’s okay I guess… I mean, those things take time. I just… I just want you to know that I’m really sorry,” Matt said quietly. By then, I had decided that I was still mad at him, and that I had only forgiven him because I liked him more than I was supposed to. But I was determined not to let my little crush make me forgive him faster. He had to earn it.

“Well, saying you’re sorry won’t make it undone,” I hissed. He swallowed thickly, and then promised, “I’ll make it up to you.” I smiled because it reminded me of their song A Little Piece of Heaven, so I replied, “I pray to God that you do.” Matt grinned, leaned toward my ear and half-sang, half-whispered “I’ll do whatever you want me to” in his breathtaking voice. I silently sang “well, then I’ll grant you one chance” back, then smiled at him while he asked “and if it’s not enough?”

I knew he expected me to sing back to him, but I wasn’t going to do him that favor. “Then I’ll stab you fifty fucking times, there’s only this one chance, are we clear?” I warned him.
He nodded, then let go of my hand and wrapped his left arm around me, pulling me into a very close embrace while still slowly waltzing.

I deeply inhaled his addictive scent as I leaned my head against his strong chest and he slowly rubbed my back. In that moment I wished for nothing more than for him to just lean down and kiss me, just like he’d done in the bathroom when I’d taken his measures or in his room when he’d played me So Far Away.

A sudden clashing sound followed by a suppressed moan abruptly ended my daydream. When I opened my eyes, I saw blood. There was a hand-sized stain of it on Matt’s white shirt, and a few sprinkles on his orange ribbon. Although I dreaded looking up, I knew I had to anyway. There was an open wound on his right temple, maybe some more than an inch long. It was exactly above where my head had rested. With that realization, my head suddenly felt heavy.

I watched as the blood drippled down onto his shirt, his jacket, and my dress. Everything slowed down. Somewhere in the background of my perception, I heard a shriek voice screaming, sounding almost surreal, very silent compared to the tinkling sound in my ears. Then my eye sight started narrowing. Dark circles around everything I saw were slowly closing in. I felt strong arms tightening their grip around my waist before everything went black.

Notes

Cliffhanger, haha :D what do you guys think happened?

Alright so for the next month I'm going to be in Montreal and I don't know if I can update as frequently, but I'll try. So sorry I won't be updating tomorrow, but that's when I'm flying there.

Meh, my flight's duration is like 8 and a half hours -.- but that gives me plenty of time to work on some new chapters, yay. That, of course, only if I can do without my sedatives, since I'm sooo scared of flying. I'll see you guys in a bit :)