Broken Arrow

Jimmy pulled into the driveway of his place and we all got out. Demi rounded the car and put an arm around me, leading me to the front door. She led me upstairs to the guest room and I curled up on the bed. I wasn't ready to talk yet, I knew if I even tried to in that moment, I'd probably burst into tears. Jimmy entered the room a few moments later, carrying a steaming cup of Coffee.

"Here." he said, setting it down on the nightstand
I gave him a weak smile in response.
"What happened?" he asked, coming to sit beside me on the bed.

As soon as I tried to speak, I broke down again. Jimmy pulled me into his lap and stroked my hair as I cried, whilst Demi held my hand. I hadn't felt this torn up since I watched Jack walk out the door the day we broke up. My heart felt like it was in a vice, my chest constricting, adrenaline rushing through my veins. When I'd finally calmed down, Demi handed me a few tissues to blow my nose, and got me a glass of water to re-hydrate after crying so hard.

"I'm sorry." I croaked, wiping my eyes on the sleeve of my sweater.
"Don't be." Jimmy said. "What happened?"
"You guys know about what happened between Brian and I in Vegas?"
They nodded.
"Well, we'd agreed that it was strictly a what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas kinda deal." I sniffed, still recovering from breaking down. "But unfortunately, I think I enjoyed our little fling a bit too much."
"Fuck..." Jimmy sighed.
"And tonight, I walked in on him fucking Jessica." I confessed. "And I know I have no reason to be jealous, but-"
"You were." Demi finished.
I nodded, reaching for my coffee. "Pretty fucking stupid, right?"
"You're not stupid." Jimmy said, rubbing my back in comfort.
"I was stupid enough to fall for the Synyster Gates charm." I scoffed.
"You and Brian have always been close, something was bound to happen eventually." Jimmy replied.
"And to be fair, Brian is your type." Demi shrugged. "I can't say I blame you for giving into his advances."
"Hmm." was all I could say in response.
"He's the one to blame here, man." she added. "Fucking Gates, I swear to god, knows no bounds, even with his friends. I'll fucking piss on him, and set him on fire."
That made me giggle.
"There's that smile." Jimmy grinned, pinching my cheek...

***

The next morning, I was awoken by a wooden bed table being placed over my lap. It was loaded up with food; a fresh, hot Coffee, and pancakes, with a small bowl of sugar and a bottle of lemon juice. I rubbed my eyes and sat up as Jimmy perched himself on the bed in front of me, his legs crossed.

"Morning." he smiled warmly.
"Thank you, for this." I nodded, taking a sip from the coffee.
"Feeling a little better?"
"A bit, sleep helped." my lips twitched upward in a brief smile.
"Eat up, Demi's gonna take you out today."
"Oh?"
"You still gotta take advantage of that free tattoo Corey Miller promised you." he winked. "And if anything is a great remedy for emotional trauma, it's getting inked."
I smiled, a little stronger this time, sprinkling sugar over my pancakes.
"And may I voice my opinion?" he asked.
"Sure, you know I always appreciate your Rev wisdom." I laughed.
"Stay away from Brian." he scrunched up his face. "He's my best friend, but he's a player, always has been." he sighed. "Even for as much as he claims he loved Jenna, and was faithful, he wasn't."
"I can't say I'm surprised." I frowned, taking a bite of pancake.
"When we were on Warped Tour last year, he brought a different girl back to the bus almost every night." Jimmy recalled. "I didn't say anything, of course, Bro Code and all that, but, you've dodged a bullet there, honestly."
"Maybe." I mused, playing with the spoon in my coffee.

"Up yet, fuckhole?" Demi said, poking her head into the doorway.
"Yeah." I laughed. "And good morning to you, bitch."
"When you're done stuffing your face, get your ass into the shower and hoe yourself up." she said.
"Yes Mistress." I giggled, saluting her.
"Jimmy." Demi smiled, biting her lip. "Can I talk to you for a minute?"
I rolled my eyes, I knew what she was really getting at. "Go." I grinned, shaking my head.

Jimmy leapt off the bed, grabbing Demi's hand as she dragged him from the room. I heard their footsteps stampede down the hallway and then the door to their bedroom slam shut. Those two were honestly like teenagers...

***

The warm Fall air whipped through my hair as Demi drove us to Hollywood. The sky was relatively clear today, scattered clouds and a light breeze that made the palm trees that lined the street sway gracefully. Jimmy had loaned Demi the Jeep for the day, having six cars already, it wasn't really an issue. "Until The Day I Die" by Story Of The Year blasted from the car radio, and Demi and I sang along dramatically as she tore down Santa Monica Boulevard.



We stopped outside the golden shop front, and I noticed a familiar figure standing outside. His chin-length black hair fell in light waves around his face, and his features were strikingly similar to Brian's. He watched us get out of the car, smoking his cigarette, eyeing me off with his icy blues as I stepped inside the store.

"RUBY!" Pixie squealed from the front desk, quickly jumping out of her chair and advancing toward me, enveloping me in a hug so tight it just about squeezed all the air out of my lungs.
"Hey." I giggled as she rocked me from side to side.
"It's so good to see you again!"
"Well, someone's popular." came the voice of Corey, grinning as he strode over to me.
"I'm back for that free tattoo." I smiled, as Pixie pried herself away from me.
"Well, c'mon over, let me draw something up for you." he said, motioning behind him to his booth.

I followed him over, taking my seat as the man who'd stood out front before laid on a table in front of Kat's booth. Glancing at his forearm, I noticed he was getting a really awesome tattoo of a bass guitar shaped like a skeleton. He spotted me staring and gave me a bright smile, winking at me.



"So, what're we thinking?" Corey asked, snapping my attention back to him.
"You know, I hadn't really thought about it." I laughed.
"Alright, well, let's bounce some ideas around." he said, pulling out a sheet of paper. "What're you into?"
"I dunno, I really like Skulls?" I shrugged.
"And your last name is Rose." Demi added.
"And roses, I also love." I nodded.
"Yeah, sure, we can do some sort of skull and roses design." Corey said, sketching out a rough drawing. "You wanna go big or small?"
"I'm thinking a little bigger this time, maybe a half sleeve?" I suggested.
"Show me your arm." he said.
I shifted in my chair, holding my arm out to him.
"You're very tiny, but I think we can make this work." he said, grabbing a few pens from his drawer. "I'm just gonna free-hand this, if that's cool?"
"I've always loved your knack for free-handing some amazing stuff." I smiled. "Go right ahead."

As Corey scribbled away on my arm, I turned my attention back to the guy by Kat's booth. I knew him from somewhere, I just couldn't put my finger on where. His likeness to Brian was fucking crazy; he could've been his twin. Kat looked up from his arm as she gathered up more ink in her tattoo machine, and her eyes grew wide.

"Ruby!" she gasped. "I'm so sorry, I was so caught up in tattooing, I didn't see you walk in!"
"Hey." I smiled.
"How'd your Deathbat heal up?"
"Mind if I stand up for a minute?" I asked Corey.
"Go for it."
I stood up and lifted the bottom of my black tank top, revealing the Deathbat tattoo Kat had given me a few weeks ago.



"It looks great, you've taken really good care of it." Kat smiled.
"Were you planning on introducing me anytime soon?" the man she was tattooing chuckled.
"Shut up." she snorted. "Ruby, meet Bam Margera."
"I knew I recognized you!" I exclaimed.
"Took you long enough." sniggered Demi. "How many times did you watch Grind back in the day?"
"Shut up." I rolled my eyes. "It's been a few years."
I hissed as I felt the needle of Corey's tattoo machine pass over my shoulder as he started my tattoo. The pain sucked, but I'd deal.
"Sorry." he chuckled.
"It's fine." I waved it off. "Price one pays for body mods."
"What're you getting?" Bam asked, clearly trying to distract me from the pain.
"Just a bunch of skulls and roses by the looks of it." I said, glancing over the rough outline Corey had sketched on my arm. "Yours looks pretty badass, though."
"Thanks, it's actually the design for my new skateboard."
"Oh really?"
"Yeah, it's up there on the wall." Kat said, stopping her work for a moment to gesture to the wall behind her.
"Dude, that is fucking sweet."
"You skate?" Bam asked.
"I tried." I laughed. "Younger me really wanted to be like like Jamie in Grind."
"But she couldn't last two seconds on the board before she slipped and fell on her ass." Demi sniggered. "But I'm not too bad."
"Well hey, whenever you're not busy, hit me up, I could give you a few pointers." Bam smiled.
"That'd be really cool."
He cried out as Kat's tattoo machine passed over his elbow, making her laugh.
"I know, elbows suck, dude." she laughed. "But you're just about done."
"How you holdin up over there?" Bam asked me.
"I swear, I've picked all the most painful places since I started getting inked." I said. "But apart from my shoulder, this one doesn't suck as bad."
"What else you got?"
"Well, that Deathbat I showed you before-"
"Your lil tramp stamp." Kat teased.
I rolled my eyes. "And a new one I got in Vegas recently, which I'll show you if Corey doesn't mind me getting up again." I laughed.
"You're gonna be here all day at this rate." Corey chuckled. "Go on."

I stood up, rolling up my tank to just above my braline.

"What's that say?" Kat squinted from where she sat.
"Cuntbag!" Bam cried. "That's fuckin' great!"
"Oh my god, seriously?" Kat squeaked with laughter.
"Yeah." I sighed. "Vegas was a good time."

"Well, you are all done." Kat said, wiping Bam's arm clean. "Go check it out."
The two of them walked over to the mirror behind Corey's booth.
"Yeah, that's perfect." Bam grinned.
"You love it?"
"I needed something there, it was too empty, and now it's complete." he said, admiring the new tattoo's place among his already heavily decorated arm.



"I know, it looks so good, I love it." Kat smiled.
"Thanks, babe." he said, wrapping her up in a hug.
"You're welcome, man!" she cried, squeezing him.
"Ruby." he called, turning back to me. "I mean it, get in touch, Kat will give you my number." he smiled, nudging her.
"I will." I nodded, returning his smile.
"See you around." he smirked as he fist bumped me, making him look even more like Brian.

"GET THAT DICK!" Demi screeched as the door to the shop swung shut behind him.
"Demi!" I snapped.
Kat giggled and dragged a chair over to Corey's booth, sitting on it backwards, her arms resting on the back of the chair. "He's married."
"Damn." I sighed. "He's real cute."
"You only want his dick because he looks like Brian." Demi teased.
"Shut it."
"How is he?" Kat asked. "Did you guys do it yet?"
I sighed. "Well, yeah..."
"Uh oh." Kat's smile turned into a frown, noticing the change in my mood. "What happened?"
"Nothing, and that's kinda the problem." I shrugged, with one shoulder, so as to not mess Corey up while he worked. "I guess I was just vulnerable, and he was there, and he was charming, and seductive, and I gave in..."
"Still healing from Jack?" Kat asked.
"Getting better, but yeah." I admitted.
"And he knew that." Demi added. "Yet he still went ahead and seduced her."
"Well, he's lost my respect, I'll say that much." Kat said, shaking her head. "Fucking Rockstars..."
I cocked my head to the side, non-verbally asking her to elaborate.
"You know Ville?" she asked.
"HIM?"
Kat nodded. "Yeah, we used to date, and it didn't end pretty."
"I've never met him, but that's a shame."
"I know." Kat sighed. "He's so seductive and charming and ignites a passionate fire in you." she absentmindedly played with a strand of her hair extensions. "But trust me; fire looks pretty from a distance, but play with it, and you'll get burned."
"I guess I learned that the hard way." I frowned.
"You're a gorgeous girl, you'll find someone, someone less driven by his downstairs brain." Kat reassured me.
"I certainly hope you're right."
"In the meantime, keep getting inked, and focus on making yourself super hot." she grinned, lightening the mood.
"I'd probably feel a little better if I didn't have these ratchet roots going on." I grumbled, picking at my hair.
"Ask McKenna to fix it." Demi suggested. "She's good with hair."
"Not a half bad idea, actually." I nodded.
"Definitely get onto that, fix your hair, get inked, go out and party." Kat encouraged. "Best way to get over someone."
"Or get under someone else." Demi wiggled her eyebrows. "Like Jason, maybe."
"Demi!" I groaned.
"Just a suggestion!" she laughed.
"Hate to break up the girl talk." Corey cut in. "But we're done." he said, wiping my tattoo down and cleaning off the blood.

I got up from where I sat, striding over to the mirror to admire his work. "Holy crap!" I gasped. "It's perfect! I finally somewhat feel like the person I've always wanted to be."
"A half sleeve suits you." Kat nodded, examining the tattoo. "You look hot!" she giggled.
"Thank you, Corey." I smiled, walking back over to give him a hug.
"You're very welcome."



I let him snap a photo for his portfolio, and Demi and I bade them goodbye. As we emerged from the store, I was nearly run down by a guy on his skateboard. He stumbled and jumped off his board, turning to face us, flicking his shaggy emerald hair out of his face.



"Jordan?"
"Ruby?!" he smiled, walking over to give me a hug. "Shit, how are you?"
"It's been awhile." I smiled, drawing back from the hug.
"It has indeed." he nodded.
"I'm Demi, by the way." Demi introduced herself. "Since Ruby's being a fuckhole and not introducing me herself."
"Sorry." I rolled my eyes. "Meet my rude, obnoxious best friend."
"Nice to meet you." Demi said, giving him a cheeky grin.
"Likewise." Jordan smiled.
"Listen, I've got a few errands to run." Demi said. "Why don't I drop you guys off at Santa Monica and give you two a chance to catch up?"
"That sounds great." Jordan grinned, picking up his skateboard.

Roughly half an hour later, Demi had dropped Jordan and I off at Pier Burger; a small diner at Santa Monica Pier. Jordan and I ordered an ice cream cone each, and sat in a booth in the back corner. The clear blue sky had now faded into a a pastel purple, as the sun began to set.



"So how's life?" Jordan asked.
"Could be better." I shrugged. "But I'm getting by."
"Why, what's up?" he asked.
"I traveled to Vegas recently, with the band." I filled him in, knowing that he knew about my relationship with the boys of Avenged Sevenfold from our previous encounter. "And things got a little intense between Syn and I." I winced, not used to saying Brian's stage name outside of a sexual situation.
"And I'm guessing it didn't end well?"
"You could say that." I said, licking my ice cream.
"If it helps any; Liza and I broke up." he admitted. "The Girlfriend I told you about." he elaborated.
"I'm sorry."
"I don't even know what happened, one minute, we're at Anime Expo as Sub Zero from Mortal Kombat and Grell from Black Butler, laughing and having the time of our lives and the next... she tells me she doesn't have feelings for me anymore, and she's moving out."
"That's fucking brutal." I frowned. "And not unlike how things were right before my Ex, Jack and I broke up."
"Yeah?"
"He hadn't been home in three weeks, since some shit went down that ultimately resulted in our demise." I explained. "He'd been staying with a friend, I still don't know who, but he came home, and he was really sweet with me, we ordered pizza, watched I Am Legend, and The Day After Tomorrow, and ya know..."
"Did the do." he chuckled.
"Multiple times." I laughed. "And it was just... a really good night." having finished my ice-cream, I wiped my hands down with a napkin as I spoke. "And then the next morning, he tells me he doesn't know he feels about me anymore, that he doesn't trust me, and after about an hour of a rocky conversation, he breaks up with me."
"How do people just do that?" Jordan frowned, fidgeting with a straw. "Just wake up one morning, and don't have feelings for someone anymore?"
"Your guess is as good as mine."
"It's fucked up." he sulked. "You know, I really, really loved her... I'm nothing special, I don't work, I just sit at home watching Anime, playing WoW and binge-watching The X-Files..." he chewed on his lip for a few moments. "But she accepted me..."

I sighed; Knowing exactly how he felt and hating the thought of anybody else having to go through that agonizing pain. I'd only met Jordan once before, but even from that one night, he had shown me that he was an incredibly kind person who wanted nothing more than to make people happy. He deserved that same treatment in return.

"C'mon." I said, slapping the napkin down on the table and scooting out of the booth.
"Where are we going?" he asked.
"Just c'mon." I smiled, holding out my hand.



As we left the diner, the lights at Pacific Park flicked on, and I led him through the park to the massive Ferris Wheel, dragging him into one of the passenger cars. The ride began to move, lifting us gradually higher into the air and giving us a spectacular view as the sun began to disappear into the ocean beyond.



"Ruby?" Jordan said suddenly.
"Yeah?"
"Thank you." he breathed. "For listening."
I smiled warmly in response, squeezing his hand...

***

Demi pulled into the driveway of Brian's house, and I couldn't help but feel nervous as I got out. I'd just taken off last night without a word, and was worried about what affect that might have when I faced Brian again. But as Demi rang the doorbell, much to my surprise; it was Papa Gates who answered.

"Welcome home." he said, pulling me into a hug.
"What're you doin here?" I asked.
"Demi and I wanted to surprise you, come upstairs." he smiled, holding the door open and stepping aside.

Demi took my hand and led me upstairs. With a shit-eating grin on her face, she turned the handle and swung open my bedroom door. I gasped; gone were the plain white walls, the grey bedsheets and the bed with the leather headboard. Instead, I was met with an absolute paradise of a pink and black, vintage-inspired bedroom with a heavy Goth theme.



"You did this?" I breathed.
"It was about time you made this room your own, and at least now, you have blockout curtains, so you can sleep in in the mornings." Demi giggled, knowing I was not a fan of the bright sunlight always hitting my room first in the mornings.
"I don't even know what to say..."
"Thank you would be a good start." chuckled Papa Gates. "I hand-painted the candelabra and the wooden furniture black for you."
"All of which, I found at goodwill, and he cleaned up and re-painted for me." Demi explained. "And we found that bed online, moment I saw it, I knew you had to have it." she giggled.
"Thank you, so much... it's absolutely amazing." I sniffed, wiping the lone tear that had escaped from one of my eyes. "You guys are way too kind to me."
"Someone should be." Demi snorted.
"I'm sorry things didn't work out with you and my Son." Papa Gates frowned. "Demi filled me in while we were decorating."
I looked down at my feet, clutching at my arm, not knowing what to say.
"You guys will work things out, you've been friends for years." he said, pulling me in for a hug. "Just give him a little room to breathe."
"I will."

I followed them back downstairs and hugged them both goodbye, watching as they got into their cars and drove off. Closing the front door, I climbed the stairs once again, and sat down on my bed, pulling my laptop toward me; which Demi had so kindly left at the end of my bed for me. I heard a knock, and looked up to see Brian standing in the doorway.

"You're back."
"Yeah." I nodded.
"Where'd you go last night?" he asked.
"Jimmy's."
"You just took off." he frowned.
"I know."
"Why?"
"You seemed like you were... a little pre-occupied." I said.
"With Jessica?"
"Yeah."
"So what if I was?" he said, suddenly sounding a little annoyed. "I thought we had an understanding?"
"We did." I quickly corrected myself; "We do."
"So, why'd you take off?"
I shrugged.
"Well, I hope this isn't going to be a re-occurring problem." he said. "This is my house, after all."
"I know."
"And I probably will bring a girl home from time to time."
"Okay." I nodded.
"So we're clear on that?"
"Crystal."

He nodded, leaving my doorway. I heard his bedroom door click shut, and breathed in deeply and exhaled, closing my eyes. For the sake of our friendship, I had to get a handle on my jealousy...

Notes

Yay! Jordan's back! Don't worry, he won't swoop in on Ruby, he just needs a friend. - And Yes, he's based on the YouTuber Matt G, and his Ex is based on Leda Muir/Leda Monster Bunny. I was obsessed with both of them when I started writing this three years ago, and I used to have the biggest crush on Matt.

Re-reading the story, I'd almost forgotten about Corey promising Ruby a tattoo, and decided that the original LA Ink crew needed to make a comeback. Bam Margera was actually in an episode of LA Ink, which is where I got the inspiration for this chapter. I've been binge-watching Viva La Bam a lot lately and it truly does spin me out how much he and Brian looked alike back in the day, even their personalities were similar.
You can watch his little snippet in LA Ink here: [Link]

Also, watch Grind if you've never seen it, it came out in 2003 and it's one of my all-time favourite movies, Bam Margera, Tom Green, Ryan Sheckler, and Adam Brody from The OC (Seth Cohen) are in it, too. The soundtrack absolutely rules. [Trailer Link]

You guys, you have no idea how many hours I spend actually google mapping travel routes, watching YouTube videos and doing extensive research on the Hollywood and Huntington Beach areas because I'm really big on accuracy when I'm writing. I want you all to feel like you're really there. California is such an amazing place, I'd kill to actually go there one day. Same with Vegas, which I also did a bunch of research on whilst writing about their time there.

Also, I've added Until The Day I Die by Story Of The Year to the story's Soundtrack on YouTube :)
[Link]

Fuck this was a long Author's Note
Until next time! xx