She's a Little Bit Country, He's a Little Bit Rock N' Roll

"Where's my fifty bucks asshole?" Johnny muttered towards Jimmy as he scrambled to find his clothes that were strewn across the hotel room floor, along with empty beer cans and snack trash.

"Here's a hundred, consider the extra fifty as a tip for being so well endowed. Johnny fucking Christ...who would have seen that one coming?" Jimmy was still trying to catch his breath after the debacle out in the hallway.

We all told Johnny to pick truth, he just never fucking listens.

"Hey Matt you never updated us on what the fuck happened earlier today. You and Ivy all good?" Brian raised an eyebrow while taking another shot of whiskey, wincing a bit at the after burn that trailed down his throat.

"Ivy just walked in on Val hugging me and her mind immediately jumped to me cheating on her with Val while she was in Texas. She didn't even give me time to explain before she ran off to Sam." I noticed that I spat out his name with hatred dripping from every letter that fell from my lips, raising more questions from the guys.

"Sam? Who the fuck is Sam? Did we make new friends? Was I hammered during the meeting? I was probably hammered." Jimmy rambled.

"Apparently he's Ivy's life long best friend or some shit. He was really close with her and her brother growing up."

"And he came from where?" Zacky questioned.

"He conveniently owns the fucking coffee shop down the street from the hotel." I growled.

"Excuse me, but do I sense some jealousy in you sir? Not you. Never you, you're M. fucking Shadows!" Brian rolled his eyes, the sarcasm flowing through the room in an unseen melody.

"Did you walk in on 'em fucking or what?" Zacky chuckled.

"No they were only hugging when I found her but...I don't know, man...I felt something I never felt before. There was a raging fucking fire bursting through my entire body and my first instinct was to kill him. I just saw them together and for the first time I thought I was going to lose her and...the thought drove me fucking crazy." I sighed, my arms crossing over my chest to prevent my hands from shaking any further than they were beginning to.

"Yeah but you said it yourself, he was just a childhood friend." Johnny shrugged, shoving more chips into his throat like he hadn't eaten in weeks.

"No, it wasn't that I was jealous of him in particular it was just...seeing her finding comfort in the arms of another man because she thought that I fucked up and hurt her...it's something I never want to look at again. Thinking of her in the arms of someone else is one thing, I mean, a ton of people in committed relationships have that fear, but to actually see it happening is another thing. I never want to see her with another man. I want to be the only man that she will ever need to run to when things get rough. I want to be the best person for her, the best father to our sons, I just...I want to be her everything." I sighed, running my hands through my hair and leaning back against the headboard of the bed.

The guys all looked at the floor for a moment, silence drifting through the air in a slightly uncomfortable fashion. This was a side of me they have never seen before. Val cheated on me all the time, and I knew it. We both did terrible things to each other, but we always ran back in the end. That's just how it was. Ivy was different, and she has been since the moment I saw her. As cliche as it sounds, she makes me want to be a better man. I began looking around the room, waiting for one of them to say something, anything.

"...gaaaaaayyyy!" Jimmy chortled.

I grabbed the nearest pillow to me and chucked it at his head, causing him to fall off the edge of the bed and crash onto the floor.

"Ow asshole! What the fuck is wrong with you?" He whined, rubbing his elbow that had a slight patch of carpet burn already.

"How are you with the idea of Val being around, anyway?" Brian sat next to me handing me another cold, refreshing beer.

"I'm not entirely thrilled, but we couldn't just kick her to the curb. Despite being a raging bitch eighty percent of our lives, she did do a lot to help us get started and carry on." I shrugged and chugged.

"I can't believe anyone had the nerve to knock her up. I figured there was a row of razor sharp teeth down there." Zacky smirked.

"I guess that means this kid is family now too, huh?" Johnny sighed.

"Yeah, she is. We do what we can to protect family." Jimmy smiled proudly.

"Speaking of family, I um...I have something to run by you guys. You're my family, my brothers. You've all been here for me through thick and thin, and I know I can turn to you for anything. Right now, I need your approval." I cleared my throat and walked over to my suitcase, pulling out a small red velvet box from a hidden pocket. I walked back to my place on the bed and let out a deep breath before opening it, facing the large diamond ring towards the guys.

"Holy shit, is that--" Zacky gasped, placing a hand on his chest in a highly flamboyant manner.

"Bought it right after Ivy announced the pregnancy. I've been waiting for the perfect time, hoping to plan out a perfect proposal after we get back home from this tour. After today though...it scared me. Thinking of losing her. The babies are going to be here very soon and I figured.." I composed my thoughts and gathered all of the deep breaths I could before continuing, "why the hell should I wait? It's going to be perfect because she is perfect. We are going to have the perfect family. She is going to make the perfect wife. I don't want to wait very much longer. I was sort of thinking of proposing on stage during the last tour stop." I bit my lip.

There was once again that slightly uncomfortable silence floating among us. My heart started beating like it was going to explode out of my chest, and all I wanted was one person to give me an answer.

Brian stood up, saying nothing before he pulled me up out of my spot and collided with me, bringing me into the tightest hug I think we've ever shared before. Soon after, Zacky, Johnny, and Jimmy joined in, creating one large group hug.

"Matt we will support you in anything you do, always. We've been happy for you since you met Ivy, you know that. I think I can speak for all of us when I say we're proud of you." Brian grinned.

"I can't even begin to explain how happy that makes me. I was nervous you guys were going to say I was fucking insane for rushing." I chuckled, shaking my head to rid it of the negative thoughts that brewed during the previous silence.

"Hey you guys we never finished our game." Jimmy cleared his throat.

"Oh yeah we didn't. Someone draw a name." I placed the box onto the bed in front of me and finished the beer I was currently nursing.

Johnny, being the previous contestant, had the honor of drawing the next name that was scratched onto a paper take-out menu and shoved into one of my baseball caps as a makeshift drawing bowl.

"Well what do ya know?" He smiled, flashing the piece of paper towards me that had my name written sloppily on it by Jimmy.

"Alright Sanders you know the drill, what'll it be?" An evil grin spread across Jimmy's lips.

It could have been the rush of adrenaline coursing through my veins at this very second from their approval of my surprise plans, or I could have been the dumbest person on the planet at this very second, but something in me said to go big or go home.

"Dare." I said boldly, smiling in anticipation for what idiotic task I was about to be given.

Since Johnny picked my name, he had to assign the dare. We all waited as he thought, a giant grin plastering itself on his face before he reached over and grabbed that little velvet box from in front of me.

"I dare you to propose to Ivy. Now."

My jaw fell on the floor, along with everyone else's.

"Did short shit just--"

"Yeah...yeah he did. He didn't even have to go in that hard but...he did." I gasped.

"A dare is a dare Sanders, cough up the results." Johnny smirked and held the box up to me.

I took it into my hand and stood slowly, getting a sudden head rush. What if she said no and I was humiliated in front of everyone? What if she said no and my heart was broken into a million pieces? Though terrible thoughts rushed through my head, my feet still found themselves headed towards the hotel room that contained her, Val, and Michelle.

I stopped in front of the door, bringing my hand up to knock before dropping it slowly and looked at the guys who were crowded next to me in the hallway.

"I don't know about this." I sighed.

"And I quote, 'why the hell should I wait'?" Zacky grinned, leaning against the wall by their door.

I let out a few deep breaths to compose myself before finally finding the nerve to knock. The door opened to reveal a practically glowing Ivy, giggling coming from behind her as Val and Michelle were tied together in a game of Twister.

"Matt you're supposed to be--"

"I know Ives, just...hear me out..." I took a deep breath and realized that the same shaky hands that appeared earlier were back, but this time they were composed of nerves and anxieties instead of anger and fear.

"Today made me realize something. Well actually today made me realize everything. I never want to lose you. Not today, not next year, not ever. I want you and me for the rest of our lives. I want to raise these amazing boys with you. I want you cheering for me in the sidelines of every future show we play. I want to build our perfect home together and I want to wake up to your beautiful smile every single day that I can. I want to make a promise to you."

At this point you could hear a pin drop. Michelle and Valary paused their game and untangled themselves to sit on the floor and stare intently along with Ivy, waiting for what I would say next. I could hear Jimmy chewing his fingernails down to nothing.

"I promise that I will never hurt you. That I will be there for you and our sons through anything and everything. That I will be the best partner to you, every day, for the rest of forever. I found everything that I could have ever wanted through you, and I never want it to slip away. I love you with everything I have, and everything I am. Ivy James..." I bent down onto one knee, pulling out that small box for the last time before opening it towards her, "will you make me the luckiest man alive and marry me?"

The twins gasped in the background, letting out a slight squeal along with Jimmy beside me. I could feel sweat beading at my hairline as I watched Ivy intently, waiting for her to answer. A smile slowly crept across her lips as her eyes grew watery.

"Matt, you're all I could have ever wanted. Of course I'll marry you."

The guys started whooping loudly as I picked up Ivy and spun her around, never wanting to let her go.

"Mattie that's amazing! Congratulations you guys I am so happy for you!" Michelle smiled hugging us both, followed by Valary doing the same.

"Welcome to the family officially, Ives." Brian grinned taking her into his arms.

"Mattie where did this all come from?" Ivy smiled placing a soft kiss on my chest.

"To be honest...truth or dare." I chuckled, pushing some of her hair away from her face. "I mentioned to the guys that I wanted to propose before we got home from tour and Johnny played me like a fiddle. He snatched that opportunity right up."

"Hey Johnny!" Ivy called out, causing him to run towards us from his celebration with Zacky and Jimmy.

"What's up Ives?"

"Thanks for makin' him do it tonight. I thought he'd never ask." She grinned.

"I got your back, always." He chuckled, placing a kiss on her cheek and going back to the guys who were opening bottles of champagne.

"So we're really doing this? I have you forever?" I smiled.

"You have me every single day of your life until the day you die. I'm not going anywhere. You're stuck with me." She chuckled and pulled me into a passionate kiss.

Maybe it wasn't always the best idea to choose truth. Maybe we should all try to be a little more daring. The outcomes could surprise you.

Notes

AHHH THEY'RE ENGAGED! This is the last update I have for now. I will work on more this weekend! Only four more chapters until we waltz into the sequel! Subscribe! Comment! Get excited! Stay tuned!

xxoo,
Leagh