Cat's POV

I woke up from a very familiar sound. Someone in the bathroom was throwing up. God, why couldn't the kids control themselves? I tossed myself around. We didn't drink that much, did we? I quickly checked myself for any signs of hangover. Headache? Nope. Nausea? Negative. So, couldn't have been that bad, right? It was only alcohol, not even mixed with a little MJ, after all.

After a few minutes, I heard the evildoer return to her bed, which was in my room. Judging from her silhouette, it was either Sarah or Holly, the brown haired girl from Detroit, not that I cared anyway. The fourth person in our room was Mar-something, and by the end of the night I was pretty sure her name was Maria. When I woke up the next time, my alarm clock displayed 10.30 and I got up quietly, not wanting to wake the passed outs. College, I laughed to myself as I slowly put on my jeans and sweater, they'll have to study alcohology.

I grabbed the keys to my dark silver Toyota Prius and scribbled a note that I Ioved getting to know them (bla bla bla) and that I had to leave earlier. I'd see them in a little more than a month, which was early anyway. As I steered the car on the busy highway, I thought about the first time meeting my A-team.


The day after I read from Nietzsche's philosophy books in a Grim Reaper carnival costume I got detention. My parents, fortunately, were very liberal in my upbringing. When I told them the only friend I made on my first day was a bearded senior in a kimono named Jimmy Sullivan, they just smiled and said they were happy I had a great day. And when I told them that in my second week at high school I got detention and that it was Jimmy Sullivan's fault, they just laughed and said they were sure I deserved it.

Anyway, at detention I was placed in a small classroom, sandwiched between Jimmy and a tall, muscular guy with dark hair and a bunch of tattoos on his arms. He wore a Lakers cap and a Guns 'n' Roses t-shirt. He had the most beautiful hazel eyes, a lip ring and big silver gauges in his ears. "I'm Matt, you new here?" he offered and when he smiled, his dimples practically popped out of his cheeks. He was the cutest guy ever, of that I was sure.

Behind me there were two guys with black hair who greeted Jimmy with a bro fist. One of them wore his hair in spikes and had deep green eyes, sparkling with love of life, almost like mine. The other one wore a hat and sunglasses. Jimmy began, "Caitlin, meet Brian," the guy with the hat nodded and offered me his fist, "and Zacky. Guys, it's HER." He put a special emphasis on the last word. Zack whispered "Hi Cat," and from that moment on, they only called me Cat.

After detention, they took me to the roof top of the science building, where we smoked one. Well, except Matt. He said he still had to drive, and Jimmy told him to offer me a ride. We found out that we lived pretty close. The guys eventually got to their buses and Matt asked me if I wanted to hang before he drove me home.

I wasn't sure if it was a date, since I was high and he called it "hang out", but when he drove me home after grabbing a bite at Boloco's, he kissed me on the lips and told me he'd pick me up for school the next day. That night, I dreamed about Matt. We were in bed, our limbs entangled, in a very, uhm, compromising position. When I woke up the next morning, Jimmy and him were sitting in the kitchen, having breakfast and a nice chat with my parents and older sisters, Kara (at that time 20) and Evelyn (at that time 24). Until they finished high school, not a single day went by without them having breakfast at our house.


I grinned and tapped the steering wheel to the rhythm of Metallica's Enter Sandman, one of my favorite songs. Man, how I hated the traffic. It was the worst about going home. The cars were moving ever so slowly on the interstate, people of all sorts gradually coming closer to their destination.


The next days in high school were very uneventful. In my spare time, however, I spent almost every single minute with either Matt, Jimmy or the whole group. On the first weekend, we hung out at Matt's house, where the boys and some other guy named Matt Wendt raped their instruments and Matt screamed in the cellar the whole afternoon. Sorry to disappoint you, guys, but the beginning of Avenged Sevenfold wasn't glorious at all.

Sometimes, they played songs I knew and I sang along. After Matt (Wendt) left, we got shitfaced with weed and booze, which wasn't anything new to me. In the late am, the five of us went upstairs to Matt's room where Zack and Brian got cozy on the small couch (after screaming "no homo" for minutes). Jimmy grabbed a blanket, wrapped himself up like a burrito and jumped into the bathroom, where he put himself to rest in the bathtub. "He does that everytime," Matt explained, "he lives in a laundromat."

He offered me the bed and proceeded to lie down next to it, but as I watched him there on the cold, hard floor I just couldn't help it. "Come on, it's big enough for two," I whispered, and there were no objections. But instead of lying next to me, he climbed on top of me, grabbed my arms and pinned them down next to my head. And then we kissed. With tongue and all. Of course I'd kissed boys before, but these were not the little pecks on the lips I knew, but real French kisses. After a while, he pulled away and we snuggled close. I woke up alone the next day.


I chuckled at my memories of my first "real" boyfriend. There I was, driving to my old home from my new home. And to his wedding. I wasn't sure how to feel about the fact that he was getting married to Val, though. I mean, I was over him. Have been since two days after we broke up. Definitely. I liked Val, too. And I was happy for Matt, but... Somehow, I wasn't sure if Val and him were so happy anymore.

Matt and I broke up a few weeks after I lost my virginity to him. I grinned broadly at that memory. It was short, it was pretty shitty and it hurt a little, but it got better every time. Still, it took him forever to make me come afterward, although I wasn't his first. At least that was what he said. We remained friends, and we had to admit that we made far better friends than a couple.

He started dating Valary (again!) shortly before senior prom. They've been on and off ever since. But right now, I felt like it wasn't the right time for them to take the big step, but what could I do. I hadn't said anything, and I didn't plan to, either. Of course I'd happily agreed to be one of the three bridesmaids, together with Val's sister Michelle and Johnny's girlfriend Lacey. But... 'till death do them part?


Matt's POV

I woke up with a pounding headache. Where am I? Oh, right, guest bedroom. Damn, that was one hell of a fuck up yesterday. I sighed at the painful memory of why I had drank too much. Jimmy... I just couldn't. I tried to imagine Val and him, breathing heavily after... It just couldn't be. I was almost sure Jimmy was kidding. He had to be, right? Val and him were very close - as friends - and he'd tried to somehow pull one last test on me. I wasn't sure if I'd passed, though. I'd have to ask Val about Jimmy and her. She'd laugh and tell me I was crazy and maybe kiss me and do things to me that, for eternity, she'll only do with me. Jimmy and her? That just couldn't be.

I slowly sat up in the bed. The headache was overwhelming. Stupid Jimmy, he should have told me about his hoax before I outdrank him. He knew he was the one to drink the most, didn't he? Of course he did. I pulled out my phone. Our group had been renamed again. "The A-Team + Johnny" it spelled in broad letters. I grinned and clicked "change group name". I spelled "Jimmy is a dickhead" and clicked "save". Dickhead.

When I looked out of the window, I saw Val standing in the front yard, talking to someone next to the mailbox. Blond, small, athletic figure, A7X sweater... No doubt, Cat was here. I ran out of the guest bedroom, not bothering to change out of last nights clothes in which I'd slept. I quickly entered the bathroom where I brushed my teeth and then rushed down the big white spiral staircase leading from the upstairs rooms (guest bedroom, our bedroom, bathroom number one, small living room, office) into a luminous, open living / dining room connected to the big kitchen.

"Cat," I happily exclaimed as I stepped through the door. She hugged me and I picked her up and threw her a few inches into the air before securely catching her and placing her onto the ground again. I did that whenever I saw her, since she was such a tiny light weight. Was she even 5'3? Hardly. 5'1 maybe. I turned to face Val and quickly pressed my lips to hers.

"Morning, babe," I greeted her, just like every day, but today she just stared at me as if I was an alien. "Matt, Valary, if it's a bad time I can always come somewhen else...," Cat said sheepishly. Normally she would have invited herself for a drink and not leave before we told her what was up, but Val hated her direct nature.

"It's fine, Caitlin," Val replied, and I grinned, "Care for some breakfast?" "Breakfast," Val scoffed, "it's twelve thirty." "Actually," Cat replied, "now that you say it, I haven't eaten anything today." I smiled and turned to face Val. "Suit yourselves," she said curtly, turned around and closed the entrance door behind her. "How about some pizza?" I offered, and she nodded, "How about you tell me what the fuck that was about?" I sighed. "I will, at lunch."

Since Cat came by bike after leaving her car at her parents', I had to go inside to get my keys again. Fortunately, Val opened. At least this time. "You drive," I ordered as I threw her my car keys. "You're probably right," she grinned, "you look like shit. But Matt, you adore your car." I knew. But if I let Val drive, why not also Cat? "Shut up and drive." And off we went. Fortunately, Cat didn't crash my car or hit a kid or anything. "Talk," she ordered as we sat down at Luigi's, our pizza place.

I couldn't really find the words to describe my doubts and I wasn't sure if I was ready to talk about them, so I only told her about the Jimmy thing. When I was finished, she stared at me in shock. "Matt," she began carefully, "I thought you knew. It's true, when I got to know you guys Jimmy was hooking up with Valary. I know because he told me."

And for the second time in less than 24 hours, my world fell to pieces.

I couldn't really enjoy my pizza frutti di mare, but managed to get it down anyway. Meanwhile, Cat shared stories about the girls from her sorority, and sometimes I couldn't help but let a chuckle escape my lips. The girl knew when to distract me, too. Always had. And she knew when better not to talk about something anymore. Like now. She had a great personality, direct, but still empathic. A great listener, but always told the best stories. I was lucky to call her my friend. And, even though I'd never admit it, she was my first back when we dated. But what kind of a rock star would I be if I admitted I was a virgin until 17? Exactly.

After an hour, we returned to my house."There," she laughed as she got on her bike again, "you smile. Suits you, Mattyboy." And she was right, I smiled. I meant it. She drove away, and I turned around. I knew I needed to face the chaos again. I needed to confront Valary. Why was it so hard? Why couldn't I ask Val one straightforward question? 'Val, did you cheat on me with Jimmy?' I mean, I was as direct when I asked Cat to play a whore in our music video and I wasn't even embarrassed, but when it came to Val, everything was different.


I remember the day when I asked Cat to play our Harlot in the Beast and the Harlot music video. We were standing in the studio with Jimmy after she had once again recorded some background vocals, listening to the final version of the songs. All three of us had tears in the eyes since we felt so proud, especially for Beast and the Harlot. Cat started dancing to it.

"Hey Cat, if we ever make it a single you're gonna have to play the fucking Harlot," I said out of a sudden repulse. I immediately bit my lip, wondering if I had insulted her in any way. "Sure, it's what I do best," she answered and threw me a dirty grin. I wasn't sure if she was serious, hell, I didn't even know if I was. But months later, when I saw her sitting in the make-up room, wearing a pink, fluffy bathrobe over her overly sexy outfit, I once again became aware of one thing: If Caitlin Anderson made a promise, she would keep it, no matter what.


Stop reminiscing, Sanders. You go inside now and fucking talk to your fiancée. Now.

Notes

Soo, a lot of flashbacks in the beginning of the story, I know. Just to fill you in on their relations and stuff :)
What do you think so far?