Brian's POV:

I trailed after Jimmy as he sprinted through the casino, flailing his arms and bumping into people, knocking some of them over as he passed.

"WHERE'S THAT TIIIIIGER???" he screamed as he literally jumped up on and ran across a blackjack table, sending cards and tokens flying.
"JIMMY!" I shouted. "CALM THE FUCK DOWN!"
"TIIIIGER!" he shrieked, and I crashed into him as he skidded to a stop.

A large crowd of people surrounded a huge steel cage that housed a magnificent white tiger. The tiger paced back and forth, looking less than amused with its captivity. It's blue eyes cast themselves in our direction, and I turned to Jimmy to see his expression was of utmost sympathy for the caged animal.



A chubby man with a balding head, dressed in a black and white tuxedo cleared his throat; "The White Tiger." he announced. His white mustache matched his hair, and wriggled as he spoke. "A magnificent creature, and its survival as a species has only been ensured by careful, captive breeding."
"It looks miserable." Jimmy muttered. "Just how careful are they, really?"
"I don't know." I shook my head. "Look, I gotta take a piss, I'll be back."

I separated from the crowd and searched the casino for the nearest bathroom. As I got to my business, my mind wandered and I suddenly realized; Tomorrow was Ruby's Birthday. I hadn't been able to celebrate with her for two years, we had to do something special. But what? She wasn't really the type you could buy presents for, her taste was too damn specific. I knew she'd be happy with a bottle of Jack and some money, but that just seemed too easy.

Ruby would be happy with whatever I planned and whatever I gifted her with, I knew that. But still, Vegas was an insane city with so many interesting things to see and do, I couldn't pass up an opportunity like this. I had to make this one special, one she'd remember.

God, why am I putting so much thought into this? It's not like she's my Girlfriend...

I shook myself out of my thoughts as I zipped up my fly, washing my hands before I left the bathroom. As I made my way back to where the tiger had been, the crowd had thinned out but those whom remained looked shaken. The fat man who had been speaking earlier was frantically talking to a police officer, and upon spotting me, his eyes went wide.

"YOU!" he screamed, pointing one chubby finger in my direction. "YOUR FRIEND TOOK MY TIGER!"
"Hold up!" I raised my hands in surprise. "What? What happened?"
"Your psychotic friend attacked me! He jumped on me and took my keys and set the tiger free!" he rambled. "Then the freak mounted it and rode off and I was too shocked to chase after him."
"How the fuck did Jimmy get a tiger to let him ride it?" I questioned, not entirely surprised that within less than five minutes of me being gone, Jimmy had manged to get himself into trouble. Such was the norm for The Rev.
"I don't know! But he's gone and so is my tiger!" he cried.
"Do you have any idea where he might've gone?" The police officer asked.
"I have no idea." I sighed, scratching the back of my head. "I'm gonna go try and find him."
"Please give us a call when you do, he's committed a serious offence." The officer's tone was stern.
I nodded, rolling my eyes once I'd turned and had my back to him.

I made my way back outside where the 1970 Dodge Challenger I was renting for the week was parked. We were supposed to fly over to Vegas but I'd cancelled the flights last minute. Vegas wasn't far from Orange County, and I took great pleasure in going for long drives. We'd made the trip in less than five hours.

"IT'S THE EYE OF THE TIGERRR!" I heard an all-too-familiar voice shriek just as I was about to get into the car.

I looked out across the Bellagio lakefront, sparkling in the morning sun, to see a tall, lanky figure on the back of a huge white tiger as it paddled through the water.

"Jesus fucking Christ..." I sighed, making my way over to the waterfront. "JIMMY!"
"Ahoy!" he cried, waving in my direction.
"GET THE FUCK OUT OF THERE!"
"BUT HE'S HAVING SO MUCH FUN!" Jimmy yelled back. "LOOK HOW HAPPY HE IS!"
I had to admit the tiger did indeed look overjoyed to be splashing around the water, but we had no time for this. Enough of us had gotten in trouble over the past 24 hours, we didn't need another member of Avenged Sevenfold thrown in lockup.
"JIMMY, GET THE FUCKIN TIGER BACK TO THE CASINO!" I yelled.
"BUT HE'S SO HAPPY!"
"NOW!" I boomed.
I watched as Jimmy guided the tiger back to land, a sour pout on his face.
"Get him back in the fucking casino, and I'll see you back at the hotel later." I said. "And make sure you lay an apology on them real thick, try and weasel your way out of having charges slapped on you." I chuckled, getting back into my car.
"You're a fun-ruiner!" Jimmy complained. "You ruin people's fun!"
"Alright, you fuckin' drama queen." I smirked, starting up the car engine, waving him off through the window.
"FUN POLICE!" he shrieked as I drove off...

***

Ruby's POV:

Matt had left a little while ago, and I was currently pacing around the hotel suite; my mind running amok with thoughts. I hadn't experienced too much anxiety since returning to Orange Country and spending a lot of time with the boys, but in this very moment, it was flaring up once again. I felt so guilty; Matt and Trixie were probably on the verge of breaking up, and it was my fault.

I'd had no right, no right to tell Matt that maybe he should break things off. Trixie had become a
really good friend to me, and to the rest of the girls. I'd meant it from a place of love; I didn't want Matt to string her along like Jack had done with me. But Matt wasn't Jack, he wasn't, he was just confused right now, surely. Being in a band and being surrounded by women all the time had to be fucking with him a little; he was still a guy.

I was shaken from my thoughts as I heard the hotel suite door open.

"You're back!" I said, a little more eagerly than I'd intended.
"Yeah." Brian nodded, seeming a little surprised by my outburst. "You okay?"
"I'm fine." I lied. "Why?"
"You've got that look about you." he commented. "That anxious look."
"I'm not anxious." I lied, again.
"You're grasping at your wrist again." he said, nodding at my hand. "I know you, you do that when you're anxious."
"Dammit." I groaned, releasing my vice grip on my wrist and sinking onto the couch.
"What's up?" He asked, snaking his arm around my shoulders.
"Matt and Trixie." I frowned. "Things are awkward between them right now, and I might've accidentally talked Matt into leaving her."
"What makes you say that?"
"He said he doesn't feel like they've got much of a future together. They don't really talk. And he said his eyes have been wandering." I relayed. "So I told him that maybe he needs to be honest with her, like, if he wants out, he needs to break it off now, lest he hurt her more in the long run."
"You're not a bad person for being honest and telling Matt what he needs to hear." Brian said, tightening his arm around me. "If they break up, they break up."
"But it'll be my fault."
"No, shit happens." he sighed. "It's life."
"Yeah well, life fucking sucks." I grumbled.
He put his thumb and forefinger under my chin and turned me to face him. "It doesn't have to all the time." he smirked.

Our eyes locked onto one another, and I felt that familiar wave of desire surge through me. My chest grew tight and I bit my lip, as Brian licked over his own. He brought my face to his and gently pried my lips apart with his. His hands cupped my face, his thumbs gently stroking my neck behind my ears as his tongue curled around my own, exploring my mouth. His hands traveled down my neck, down my sides, and he grasped my ass, pulling me into his lap; one leg on either side of him.

I wrapped my arms around his neck and began to grind against him as his hands slipped underneath my shirt and ran across my back, lightly dragging his nails across my skin. I broke the kiss to moan softly and his lips curled into a smirk. He pushed me onto my back and laid over me, my chest heaved with my heavy breathing as his dark eyes pierced my own.

His lips crashed down on mine again and my hands travelled to his lower back, hitching his shirt up and tracing his spine gently. He wrapped one of my legs around him and I followed suit with the other, as his lips trailed a path to my neck. I groaned as his tongue trailed along my collarbone, and he kissed the hollow in my throat.

"Brian." I whispered.
He grabbed my wrists and pinned me down. "How many times do I have to tell you?"
"When you're not onstage, you're not Synyster Gates." I smirked.
"And if I'm not Synyster Gates, you're not getting any." he retaliated, sitting up abruptly.
"Fine, Shithead." I scowled.
"Too bad, Cuntbag."
I poked my tongue out at him.
"That's it!" he stood up, grabbing my hand and dragging me to my feet.
"What?" I asked, as he dragged me across the hotel suite toward the door.
"We're going on an adventure." he said, opening the door and leading me over to the lifts.
"Where?" I asked as he keyed in the floor number.
"You'll see."

My stomach flipped as the lift began to move and I cringed; I hated that feeling. It came to a stop and the doors opened, and Brian led me toward a wooden counter that bore a sign reading; Hart and Huntington Tattoo Co. Brian waved down one of the staff; a pretty brunette with a pixie cut whose nametag read "Lacey" and she came over to the counter.

"What can we do for you today?" she smiled.
"This brat right here-" he pulled me into a headlock. "And I, are getting matching tattoos, you got an opening right now?"
"Always, come on in." she led us into the parlour, where the walls were painted a bright red and adorned with huge framed posters of movie stars and musicians. "Guys, meet Lea, and Steven."

Lea was a stunning redhead with a model physique, piercing blue eyes and full lips. Steven was a chubby dude with tunnels in his ears and tattoos all the way up his neck, a backwards snapback sat upon his shaven head.

"Good to see you again, dude." he smiled, reaching out to shake Steven's hand.
"And you are?" Lea asked, holding out her hand to me.
"Ruby."
"And what are we getting today?" Steven asked.
"We have this running joke; I'll call her Cuntbag, she calls me Shithead." Brian chuckled. "I thought while we're in Vegas, may as well get that forever etched into our skin."
"Sounds delightful." Lea giggled.
"I'll leave you guys to it." Lacey smiled, heading back to the counter.
"Give us a few minutes to draw up a design, and we'll be right with you." Steven said, turning to his desk as Lea got up to pull a couple of extra chairs into their booth for us.

"I can't believe you're making me do this." I laughed, leaning against Brian as we waited.
"Oh shut up, it'll be fun."
"And I'll forever have 'Cuntbag' on my body." I rolled my eyes.
"Live a little, it's Vegas."
"The last time I had that mentality, I wound up in lockup overnight." I snorted.
"Yeah well, fortunately, tattoos are legal, so that's not gonna happen this time." he smirked.

"Alright, let's decide on a placement, and we'll get started." Steven said.
Brian stood up and pulled off his shirt, dragging his finger across one of his pecks. "Right here."
Lea's eyes went wide at the sight of Brian's body and I noticed her blush as Steven smoothed the stencil across his skin. "And you?" she asked me, shaking herself back to reality.
I thought for a moment, and rolled my eyes, pulling my own shirt off. "Here." I traced just below my left breast, where my braline ended.
Brian's eyes darkened at the sight of me in just my bra as he laid back in his reclining chair, and Steven set to work.
"So how long have you known each other?" Lea asked as she transferred the stencil onto my skin.
"Almost five years." I answered.
"And only recently re-united." Brian added.
"Oh really?" Steven asked.
"Long story." I sighed. "Not worth getting into.
"I can respect that." he said.
"So you knew Brian before his rise to fame?" Lea giggled, peeling back the stencil.
"Back when he was just a goofy kid wearing his daddy's hand me downs." I smirked at Brian.
"And you were just an awkwardly proportioned little girl." he teased.
"I'm still awkwardly proportioned." I laughed.
"No you're not, you're beautiful." Lea commented.
"Thank you." I blushed. "Ohhh fuck, fuck fuck fuck." I cursed as she began to work on me with the tattoo gun - getting tattooed over a rib was no fucking walk in the park.
"Toughen up, Cuntbag." Brian chuckled, looking totally at ease as Steven worked on his chest.
"Fuck you, muscle-man!" I spat. "I don't have as much padding as you."
"Your fucking fault for choosing a boney spot." he teased.
"Well, unlike you, I have to wear a bra, because I am female, and females aren't allowed to roam around shirtless."
"You could've chosen anywhere else." he said.
"And I chose here."
"So suck it up!" he laughed.
"Fuck you!"
"You see the way she treats me?" Brian said to Steven, pretending to act upset.
Lea and Steven laughed.
"So how old are you?" she asked me.
"Nineteen, Twenty tomorrow, actually." I said; suddenly remembering tomorrow was my birthday.
"Happy Birthday for tomorrow" she smiled.
"And from me." Steven said.
"Thanks."
"Man, this takes me back." Brian grinned. "Been awhile since I got a tattoo from you, man."
"You two go back?" I asked.
"Yeah." Steven replied. "I used to live in Huntington, worked at My Tattoo."
"Not far from where we went to High School." Brian said. "He was underage, but managed to score himself an apprenticeship."
"And it was a step up from tattooing with a makeshift machine I'd made with a guitar string and an RC motor." he laughed.
"Fucking resourceful, though." Brian commented. "Some real MacGyver shit."
"It got me by, but this definitely better." Steven smirked, holding up the tattoo machine he was using on Brian. "But what about you?" he asked me. "How'd you get stuck with this knucklehead?" he laughed, nudging Brian.
"Fuck you." Brian chuckled. "She ran away from home."
"Really?" Steven cocked an eyebrow in my direction.
"I was only Sixteen." I stated. "But I'd always had this crazy fantasy about running away to California."
"Why Cali?"
"Why else?" I smiled. "Sun, surf and loads of fun to be had."
"And babes." Brian added. "Lots of babes."
"You are such a guy." I rolled my eyes.
"All done." Lea spoke up, cleaning up my new tattoo.
"That was quick." I sat up and followed Lea over to a mirror; 'Cuntbag' was now forever etched below my braline, all cursive and far too pretty for such a vulgar word.
"You're good to go." Steven spoke from behind me.
Brian joined me by the mirror, a similar font across his chest now read 'Shithead'
"That is awesome." He grinned, admiring his new tattoo.
"Still can't believe I let you rope me into this." I sniggered, rolling my eyes.
"Shut up." He sniggered, slinging an arm around my shoulders and leading me over to the counter to pay for our tattoos...

***

Brian and I had decided to go drinking post-tattoo, probably not the wisest choice given the physical toll getting tattooed had taken on our bodies; but when you were in Vegas, the normal rules didn't apply. We had sat out on a balcony and talked shit until the sun went down. Drunk and disorderly, we were only just now stumbling back to our hotel suite.

"Dude, I am going to regret all of this sooo much in the morning." I chuckled as Brian swiped the keycard.
"That's a problem for later." He chuckled, threading his thumb through the belt loop of my jeans and drawing me to him. "Now," he smirked; "Where were we this morning?"

His hand wrapped around the back of my neck and his lips found mine, my fingers curled into his hair by way of habit. A moan escaped my mouth as he bit my bottom lip, granting himself access and curling his tongue around my own. He fumbled around behind us for the door handle, unlatching it and kicking the door open. My arms around his shoulders, he lifted me up and I wrapped my legs around his waist as he carried me inside. Breaking away from the kiss for a little air, I giggled, and something caught my eye behind us.

"Brian, stop." I said, and he put me down.

Over in the living area, a giant white tiger on top of him; was Jimmy. He laughed manically as the tiger licked his face.

"JIMMY!" Brian roared.
"Ohey!" he cried, a shit eating grin on his face as he waved at us.
"I thought I told you to take that fucking tiger back to the casino?" Brian snapped.
"I tried, but I just couldn't." Jimmy defended, and the tiger licked his face again. "He loves me."

The buzzer sounded.

"Ruby, could you get that?" Brian asked.

I answered the door; to two police officers.

"Is there a James Sullivan here?" The blonde woman with her hair tied back into a ponytail so tight that it raised her eyebrows asked.
"Yes." I sighed, stepping aside and holding the door open; this was out of my hands, I knew better than to lie to the police.
"Oh god, now you've done it." Brian groaned, watching them enter the suite.
"James Sullivan?" The burly male officer with a close-shaven head asked, approaching Jimmy as he sprang up off the floor.
"That's Me."
"You're under arrest." He said, locking a pair of handcuffs around Jimmy's wrists behind his back. "You have the right to remain silent, anything you say or do can be used against you in a court of law."
"Brian?" Jimmy looked like a scared child as he looked to Brian for help.
"I'll call Larry." Brian frowned. "We'll meet you at the station."

We watched as the police officer led Jimmy out of the suite, the blonde following close behind with the tiger on a lead. Brian wrapped an arm around my waist and pulled me into his side, squeezing me as if to say it'd be okay.

Damn it, Rev...

Notes

Dammit, Jimmy!

I am sooo sorry it's been so long since I updated. The new year kicked in and kicked my ass. I work two days a week, I have Vocal Lessons every second Wednesday in the city, Job Network agency appointments every other week, and I have to cram studies into my downtime. All whilst trying to have a goddamn social life and look after myself and blahh - I HATE BEING AN ADULT!
But I will try my hardest not to disappear for a month again, and try to hammer out a new chapter ASAP!

My apologies!! xx