Ruby's POV

"Ruby." Someone cooed as they gently shook me. "Ruby."
I opened my eyes to see McKenna sitting on the edge of my bed. "Mmm." I groaned. "What's up?"
"Come downstairs, the guys are gonna be on MTV shortly."
"This early?"
"Ruby, it's almost 3:30pm." she laughed.
I rolled over to see the clock on my iPod dock read exactly that. "So it is."
"C'mon." she snorted, nudging me. "I'll make you a Coffee."

I got up from the bed, taking my black fleece blanket with me, swaying from side to side as I lazily left my room and made my way downstairs. I fell into the couch in front of the flatscreen, adjusting the cushions behind my head against the arm rest, and curled up again. McKenna chuckled from the kitchen counter;

"God, you're a lazy bitch."
"Suck my dick." I grumbled. "You woke me up."
"I'm making you Coffee, for fucks sake."
"You still woke me up."
"God, you sound like my fucking brother." she said, coming toward me with a steaming mug of coffee. "Here, shut up."
"First I drink the coffee, then I do the things." I giggled, taking the mug from her and feeling its warmth seep into my fingers.
"Now you sound like Jimmy." she smirked, flopping down on the couch beside me.

Her smirk reminded me way too much of Brian's, and my heart constricted with longing. He'd only been gone one night but I missed him like crazy already. The intro to "To End The Rapture" snapped my attention to the screen and as if on cue, the camera honed in on Brian. I felt my chest tighten and it became slightly harder to breathe; He had always looked so good in Purple, and was wearing my favourite of his many Fedoras; the Black Leather one.



"You got it bad." McKenna giggled, noticing the change in my expression.
"Shh!" I hissed, holding my hand up to silence her.

I hadn't seen Brian play live for a few years, now. Not even in a video on YouTube, there'd been too much of a risk of Jack walking in and getting the wrong idea. He still played with so much heart, if not more. He didn't just play his guitar; Brian practically made love to the damn thing. Watching the way he moved as his fingers skillfully darted across the fretboard and plucked at the strings caused me to cross my legs as I felt that familiar warm rush down below.

God damn...

I suddenly understood why girls went crazy for him; he really was a Guitar God, and a damn good looking one, too. Even I couldn't help but bite my lip when he placed his guitar pick between his lips as he tapped at his strings; That'd low-key always been a turn-on for me. Only before, it'd been because of Matt Tuck from Bullet For My Valentine. The song ended, and my eyes darted to Brian's ass as the boys immediately dived into the beginning of Bat Country.

Okay, those chains really did make his butt look good...

"Hey Ruby, wipe the drool off your chin." McKenna teased.
"I'm gonna slap you in a minute." I snapped. "Fuck off."



"Caught here in a fiery blaze, won't lose my will to stay..."

The camera zoomed in on Jimmy behind the kit, and he didn't look happy. Not Sad, but Pissed Off. Jimmy's default expression usually made him look pissed off, he had a resting bitch face, but this was different. As the song rolled on, I noticed Brian didn't interact with him a great deal like he normally would.

"Something seems off." I noted.
"Jimmy looks pissed." McKenna agreed.
"Doesn't he?" I nodded. "And Brian's doesn't seem like his mind is entirely in it."
"Maybe they're just having an off day." McKenna shrugged. "It is their first time playing live on television, maybe it's nerves?"
"Could be..."

I just couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't right...

***

Brian's POV

The crowd screamed as the guys and I made our way out onstage, immediately launching into "To End The Rapture". Despite the shit that had gone on backstage, I knew it was time to put on my game face and shrug it off. We were here on business, this was our first real leap out into mainstream media. I was determined to make a good first impression.

As the song ended and we jumped right into the intro of Bat Country, I walked to the back of the stage toward Jimmy. He immediately looked away, his jaw clenched as he played his drums. Apparently, his anger at me hadn't yet cooled down. I spun around and began to dash around the stage, almost bumping into Zacky, who spun out of my way.



As hard as I tried to concentrate, the events before still lingered on my mind. I was not used to being spoken down to, much less by Jimmy. Which was happening more and more frequently these days. He'd always been my best friend, and we practically never fought, and he'd never had an issue with me screwing girls before. Actually, nobody had, until I brought Ruby back into the picture.

My heart suddenly felt heavy. Was that... Guilt? Why should I feel guilty? Ruby and I had had an agreement: What Happens In Vegas, Stays In Vegas. I thought I'd been clear on that, and I had tried to drive that home by falling right back into my old routine. But even I couldn't deny it to myself that it hadn't been the same; until today. I had been feeling fucking awesome until Jimmy had barged in on Brooke and I. He'd made me feel like shit.

Fuck that guy...

I approached the front of the stage as it came time for my solo; I was Synyster fucking Gates, and these kids worshipped me. As I briefly glanced up from my guitar, I saw the lustful stares in a couple of girls eyes, and teasingly poked my tongue out. They squealed and hid their faces behind their hands.

Yeah, fucking eat that shit up...

Zacky leaned over my shoulder as I neared the end of my solo, and I turned and nodded at him. He took up his place beside me as we began our dueling solo, and the crowd blew up. With each passing second, I felt the tension leave my body. Whatever had happened before, didn't matter now. Even the kids who didn't seem like the type who'd be into metal, were headbanging and moshing in the crowd.

If anything good came out of today, it was that after this show, things were about to really take off for us...

***

"Excellent set." Larry congratulated us as we came offstage. "Sit down, I have news."

I went to take a seat next to Jimmy, but he put his legs up on the couch. I rolled my eyes and sat on the floor instead. Matt noticed the sudden change in Jimmy's attitude and cast a confused glance in our direction, and I waved him off. If Jimmy wanted to be pissed at me, let him be pissed at me. The rest of the band didn't need to get involved, nor need to know exactly why there was tension between us.

"I just got off the phone with Kevin Lyman." Larry informed us. "He saw your performance just now and he was freaking out, he wants you guys on this year's Warped Tour."
"It's a little last minute for that, isn't it?" Matt frowned. "Doesn't it start like..." he counted on his fingers. "Two days from now?"
"He said he wouldn't take No for an answer." Larry grinned. "And neither will I, so when you guys get home, pack your shit, because you're going out on the road this Summer."

Notes

You can find the video of their TRL performance here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kmp1Cz5RKak

Just a short one tonight as I have work tomorrow and I really need to get to bed, it's already past 1am and I have to be up at 7, eep! But I wanted to give you guys something because you've all been so wonderfully responsive to the previous chapter. You deserve this. If this one gets the same level of enthusiasm, despite it's shortness, then you'll get another update on the ASAP!! ;)

Until next time! xx