I woke a couple of hours later to Brian's snoring and found myself dying of thirst. Using the torch on my phone, I searched around the dark room for my undies and a large t-shirt. I dressed myself quietly, and lightly padded my way out of the room, carefully clicking the door shut behind me. I strode across the hotel suite to the kitchen and retrieved a bottle of water from the fridge.

"Can't sleep?"
I jumped, startled by Johnny's voice. "Thirsty." I said, shaking the bottle of water.
"Oh, you definitely were." he sniggered.
I cringed. "That loud, huh?"
"I was trying to sleep, and I couldn't figure out if you were screaming in pleasure, or pain." he laughed, grabbing a beer from the fridge and cracking it open as he sat down beside me.
"A bit of both." I smirked, taking another sip of water.
"Well hey, I'm not judging." he grinned. "Whatever floats your boat."
I laughed.
"That's something I haven't seen for awhile." he said, taking a sip from his bottle.
"What?" I asked.
"You, genuinely happy."
"I'm just in a good mood because I got laid." I chuckled. "It's just that post-sex high."
"If you say so."

The buzzer went off.

"Who the fuck visits at this hour?" Johnny said, getting up from his seat and striding over to the door. "Zacky V, should've known." he said as he opened the door.
"Sup, bitches?" Zacky announced, a shit-eating grin on his face as he entered our suite.
"Do you ever sleep?" I laughed.
"Not in Vegas, baby." he winked.
"Where's Kiki?" I asked.
"She's crashing with Shadows and Trix tonight."
"And what brings you here so late?"
"Probably something illegal." Johnny sniggered.
"Possibly." Zacky smirked, bringing his hand up and jingling a set of car keys. "Fancy a little late-night adventure?" he wiggled his eyebrows.
"I don't think Brian would appreciate me running off so late."
"C'mon Ruby." Johnny pushed. "It's not like you're dating."
"What about Gates?" Zacky asked.
"None of your business." I shut him down.
"Whatever, but I'm not taking No for an answer." Zacky chuckled, advancing toward me and scooping me up in his arms.
"Vengeance!" I cried. "Put me down!"
"Nope!" he laughed.

Johnny grabbed his keycard, and a few minutes later; the three of us were in Zacky's car and speeding down Harmon Avenue toward Las Vegas Boulevard. The streets were still ablaze with festivities and people coming and going from numerous casinos. I watched a blonde in a sparkling silver dress vomit on the sidewalk as a man in a grey suit held back her hair.

The Bellagio came into my view; A stunning, 508 ft tall resort, casino and luxury hotel in one. Its main tower pierced the night sky, its golden lights burning brightly and casting an orange'y glow across its surroundings. Zacky pulled into a nearby carpark and stopped the car.

The three of us got out, admiring the view from across the lake. I heard bells toll in the distance as the clock struck Midnight, and Luck Be A Lady by Frank Sinatra echoed from the hotel. The Bellagio tower lights dimmed and faded into a brilliant purple, and its fountains sprang to life. I watched in awe as its jets propelled water high into the air, dancing and twisting in sync with the music. It was truly breath-taking.



I suddenly registered Zacky out of the corner of my eye; he'd dropped his jeans and was stepping out of them.

"Zacky, what the hell?"
"Fancy a little skinny dip?" he chuckled, lifting his shirt up and pulling it off over his head.
"You're fucking crazy." I chuckled. "No way."
"Oh c'mon." Johnny piped up. "Live a little!" he laughed, stripping off himself.
"Oh my god, Zacky, no!" I cringed, covering my face with my hands as he dropped his boxers.
"Aww, it's nothing you haven't seen before." Johnny said, and I peeped through my fingers to see him doing the same.
"Just the human anatomy, baby." Zacky sniggered.
"Jesus Christ."
"Johnny Christ says get naked!" Johnny laughed.
"You're both fucking insane." I sighed, surrendering and lowering my hands.
"C'mon, scarlet-locks." Zacky teased. "Strip."
"I fucking hate you guys so much right now." I groaned, reluctantly lifting my shirt off over my head. As I cast it aside and saw the guys gaping at me, wide-eyed.
"Holy shit, girl, you got hot." Zacky breathed.
Johnny was speechless.
I rolled my eyes and slipped off my panties, in complete disbelief that I was willingly stripping in public. "We doin' this, or not?" I smirked, climbing up on the railing.
"Alright, rebel." Zacky smirked, climbing up beside me. "Always rushing."
"You're the one who came up with this crazy scheme." I reminded him.
Johnny climbed up on my other side, and the three of us linked hands. "Just like old times." Johnny grinned.

And then we were falling, the night air rippling across our skin as we plummeted down into the water. Much to my surprise; the water was lukewarm. I felt Zacky's arms under my legs and around my shoulders as he found me below the water, and propelled us upward. We broke the surface laughing, Johnny just a few meters away from us.

As we watched the fountains in the distance, suddenly; I didn't care so much about being stark-naked, in the middle of a lake, with Johnny; who had once had a major crush on me, and Zacky; my other partner in crime. It was exactly like old times, before the drama, before Jack had torn me away from Orange County and the people I loved most in this world.

"LVMPD, please vacate the water immediately."

My blissful state was broken as red and blue lights reflected upon the surface of the water and a siren blared. We spun around and were met with at least half a dozen police officers; their expressions less than amused.

"Oh shit." Johnny said...

***

The three of us had wound up in lockup, threatened with charges for indecent exposure and trespassing. Johnny had managed to sweet-talk us down to a stern warning, and we were currently awaiting bail. I shivered from the lack of clothing covering my body. Damn these boys for dragging me out in the middle of the night in nothing but my underwear and oversized Misfits t-shirt. It was only just long enough to fall a few inches above my knees, leaving the rest of me exposed.

"You cold?" Zacky asked, noticing me shiver.
"A bit." I grimaced. "Ya'll could have at least let me put some pants on."
"I'm sorry." Zacky chuckled. "Christ, give her your jeans."
"What?!" Johnny exclaimed.
"Give her your fucking pants before she freezes to death." He ordered. "You're smaller, yours will fit her better."
"And then what? I sit here in my fucking boxers?" Johnny cringed.
"Grow a pair, Christ." Zacky laughed. "Off with the jeans, now."
I sniggered from beside him.

Johnny groaned and stood up, dropping his pants and handing them to me. I smiled and took them from him, shimmying into them. They were a little baggy and still a bit damp from the water, but they'd do. He sat down with a frustrated huff, and I sat beside him.

"Thank you, Johnny." I cooed, sweetly, leaning on his shoulder.
"You're welcome." he muttered, putting an arm around me.
"You'd be doing happy dances if these were old times." Zacky teased, referring to me being in Johnny's jeans and leaning into his side.
"But his heart belongs to Mini Gates, now." I smiled.
"Shut up." he sniggered, trying to hide the embarrassment in his expression.
"How'd that come about, anyway?" I asked.
"She just gets me, ya know?" He sighed. "She makes me smile, she's got an amazing sense of humor, she's super cute, and sometimes she'll just say things that'll make you question if she's truly only Sixteen."
"She's definitely wise beyond her years, that's for sure." I agreed.
"And okay, there's a good five years difference between us, and she's Gates's little sister, but..." he sighed again. "I don't know, I just dig her."
I smiled, slightly envious; It'd been a long time since anyone had spoken that way about me.
"So what's going on with you and Gates?" Zacky smirked.
"Nothing."
"Didn't sound like nothing earlier." Johnny teased. "It sounded like a whole lot of-" he started imitating me moaning.
"Shut the fuck up, Christ." I snorted.
"Ruby got laid!" Zacky cried. "Fuck yeah!"
"Yeah, we've fooled around a little, it's whatever." I smiled, shaking my head and rolling my eyes.
"It's about fuckin' time." Zacky chuckled. "You two have been dancing around each other for weeks."
"Was it really that obvious?"
"You both practically eye fuck each-other 24/7." Zacky said. "Honestly, it's gross."
"But hey." Johnny cut in. "At least it's got you smiling."
"That is very true." Zacky agreed. "It's almost like you're your old self again."
The gate to our cell was drawn back, cutting off our conversation.
"You made bail." A stern-looking, African-American police officer said. "C'mon."

The three of us followed him out into the reception area, where Matt was filling out papers at the desk. Brian stood behind him, his muscled arms folded across his chest and his hair a tousled mess. He had a pout on his face and his eyes looked bored. Matt set the pen down and walked over to greet us.

"What the fuck did you guys do?" he chuckled, pulling me in for a hug.
"A very, very stupid thing." Johnny sniggered.
"I regret nothing." Zacky chuckled, earning a look of disapproval from the woman behind the desk.
"Let's get you morons home." Brian said, hooking his arm around my shoulders and leading me out of the police station...

Notes

HAPPY NEW YEAR, GUYS!!

I hope you all had a safe, fun New Years Eve and I wish you all nothing but pure happiness this year. 2016 was rough for all of us, but I do honestly believe that with everyone going into 2017 full of hope and bursting with love and appreciation for what we have, we can channel a ton of positive energy and make this year totally amazing. - WE GOT DIS.

Comment, Subscribe
And please, by all means, recommend this to your friends, it would mean a lot

Until next time!! xx