Take Me Back to Start

“You’re coming on tour with us, right?” Johnny asked Jolie, “Val is coming along! You guys can do merch for us!” She shrugged a little unsure. Zacky had brought up the idea a couple weeks earlier, but she wasn’t sure if the predictableness of touring would be good for her. It was something she brought up during one of her sessions with Dr.Benson. The doctor believed she would be fine on tour, but she was still a bit nervous.

Jimmy got down on his knees in front of the small girl and folded his hands. “Come on, Jo! You haven’t been to one of our concerts in years! We want you to see us in action!” he practically begged. Matt quickly jumped in telling Jimmy not to pressure the girl. He didn’t want Jolie deciding out of guilt and then pushing herself too much.

“Alright, guys, I’ll come along. I’m only playing merch girl if Val is though,” Jolie agreed with a smile. Val cheered throwing her arms around the other girl. They quickly fell into a conversation about working together and what they needed to pack. The first tour date was October 29th, just a few weeks away. Matt started talking about calling Larry, their manager, to let him know.

Jimmy declared that there needed to be a celebration. Thus, everyone found themselves headed to Matt and Val’s house. Friends were invited for a barbeque the following day. They invited the entire Avenged Sevenfold Crew, such as the Berry brothers.

Jolie walked into the house before the party began to help Matt and Val with the set up. She had stopped at the store to grab some extra booze and food. Matt was already getting the grill ready and Val helped her bring the bags inside. They chatted casually as they got everything ready.

Suddenly, the front door was thrown open. Johnny was sprinting through the house and Jimmy chasing him. More laughter filled the house as Zacky walked into the kitchen. He threw an arm around Jolie’s shoulders. “Johnny tried to claim he could drink more than Jimmy,” he explained to the two women in the kitchen. Val shook her head knowing that those two would be staying the night. Hours later they’d find them both passed out somewhere.

“Calm the fuck down! The party hasn’t even started,” Matt’s yell echoed into the house followed by two loud splashes.

“I’m guessing Jimmy and Johnny started already?” Brian’s voice surprised everyone as he entered the house as well.

Slowly, the house started to become packed. People were outside in the pool or in kitchen while Matt grilled for everyone. Jolie got to meet some new faces and see the Berry Brothers. It had been forever since she saw them last. Matt Berry nearly screamed when he saw her and Jason cheered. They demanded drinks with the small girl who decided to comply. She spent a long time catching up with them. Brian slid in talking as well. Matt whined about what a pain in the ass Brian was on tour, which caused the guitarist to hit him playfully.

It eventually started to rain which made everyone pile inside. Luckily, the house was plenty big. Val turned on some music that played through their impressive sound system. Soon there was a game of beer pong going on, people dancing in the living room, and people chatting wherever there was room.

“Where’s Jimmy and Johnny?” Zacky suddenly asked when Matt, Val, Jolie, Brian, and him were all standing around.

Val rolled her eyes as she grabbed onto Matt’s hand. “I’m always the party mom. They’re on their own tonight. Matt, let’s go dance,” she declared. She sent a wink to Jolie before pulling her boyfriend away.

Jolie looked at the two men with a shrug. “Should we split up and look for them?” she suggested. They agreed and were off.

After about ten minutes, Zacky grabbed Jolie and Brian with tears in his eyes. He was barely containing his laughter. “I-I found them,” he choked out. They followed him upstairs to the bathroom. In the shower was the Jimmy and Johnny cuddling. There were at least four bottles of empty booze surrounding them. Without any hesitation, the three friends took pictures of their passed-out bandmates.

Jolie, Zacky, and Brian found themselves in the living room dancing together for a while after they found Jimmy and Johnny. The two guitarists loved seeing the younger woman in such a good mood. She was jumping up and down to the music while shaking her hips. She seemed to have no concern for the way she actually looked. The guys started dancing life goofs making her laugh. But the moment was ruined when Zacky and Brian were dragged into a game of beer pong.

After socializing with some familiar faces, Jolie decided she could use a small break. She glanced out the sliding glass door to the rain. Slowly, she moved outside without any regard for the fact she would get wet. The drops fell on her as she walked into the middle of the yard looking up at the dark sky. She closed her eyes just listening to the sound of the rain, something she always loved. As much as she loved a warm day, there was something that always relaxed her about the rain. She could sit listening to it for hours on end.

“You’re going to get sick,” A deep voice broke Jolie from her thoughts. She opened her eyes looking over at Brian who was a bit hunched as if he was trying to keep a little dry. The dark black v-neck he was wearing was already starting to soak right through.

“Thanks mom, but I think I’ll be okay. The rains too beautiful to go back inside,” Jolie said easily with a big grin.

Brian didn’t know what had come over him. He barely even felt the rain as it hit him. Any other time, the rain would have driven him insane. Instead, he was fascinated by the woman in front of him. From the moment he noticed her outside, he couldn’t help, but follow. The rain had soaked through her wavy hair leaving it a mess, but in the most beautiful way. He noticed her make-up was running a bit. It didn’t take away from anything. The relaxed smile on her face was one that made him speechless.

“You’re beautiful,” Brian smirked stepping closer to Jolie. His eyes were locked on her. She rolled her own eyes though not taking him seriously.

“I’m not one of your groupies, Syn. I’m a mess,” Jolie laughed.

Brian was barely thinking about his actions, about the consequences from them. He reached up brushing some wet hair behind her ear and cupped her cheek. “You can’t ever just take a compliment, can you?” he asked.

Jolie just giggled more shaking her head. “Not when they come from you. I got to watch you. I know how you charm the ladies,” she teased right back. Brian just listened to the sound of her laugh and then shook his head.

For a moment, Brian didn’t say anything else and Jolie didn’t break the silence. They just looked at each other and enjoyed the rain. Finally, he laughed drawing her in and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. “Seriously though, we should get inside. You’re going to freeze,” he insisted. With a dramatic sigh, she finally agreed and the pair made it back into the house.
Dripping all over the floor, the two snuck upstairs to the bathroom where Jimmy and Johnny were still passed out. Jolie found towels and slipped on her way to handing it to Brian. He caught her by the waist as she let out a loud gasp. Suddenly, Jimmy jumped up from the tub.

“Stallion ducks! I’ll fucking fight them. Watch out, Knife Girl!” Jimmy screeched at the top of his lungs, which made Johnny jumped up hitting his head on the side of the tub. Jolie let out another little scream of surprise leaning into Brian more before everyone started to laugh. Jimmy made a goofy grin before climbing out of the tub. “Did you guys go swimming in your clothes?” he asked casually. Jolie looked up at Brian with a grin.

“It’s been raining for hours, Jimbo. I wanted to enjoy the rain and Brian thought he should come save me from sickness,” Jolie said teasing Brian at the end.

“She’s too skinny and the cold will make her sick,” Brian grunted rolling his eyes and wrapping the towel around the small girl. He rubbed her arms a little bit, which Jimmy watched carefully before grabbing Johnny.

“Short shit, let’s go play beer pong!” Jimmy declared as if they hadn’t been passed out, “Bri and Jo, get changed! We got to hang out!” With that, he ran out with the short man.

Jolie and Brian went into found Matt asking if they could borrow some clothes. He easily told them to help their selves to his closet. They changed quickly before coming downstairs. Jolie didn’t want to admit she caught a chill, but her body was shaking a bit. Brian smirked when he noticed and stepped up to her side wrapping an arm around her. Without a word, she leaned into his embrace allowing him warmth to wrap around her.

Jimmy came back with Johnny and Zacky this time. Matt and Val found their way as well. He declared shots for everyone. Who could deny a request from the Rev? So, they each took more. Zacky nudged Jolie asking her to come dance more. She instantly grabbed Val to come with her.

Val and Jolie instantly started to playfully dance on each other. Jolie pulled Zacky over to join making him laugh, but comply. They girls giggled as all three of them sang along. Suddenly,
Jimmy was in between them dancing frantically. Nobody could stop laughing until tears were in their eyes. “Come on everyone!” he shouted. So, they all tried to copy his moves, even though they didn’t suit the song at all.

Meanwhile, Matt, Brian, and Johnny stood off to the side watching the group dance. Matt had done plenty of dancing with Val for the night. He was happy she could have some fun with their friends. He never even batted an eye when Zacky started to dance with them or Jimmy. There were no people in the world Matt trusted more than his friends. Outside of them, well, then he was a bit of a jealous mess.

Suddenly, Jolie was in front of Matt with a goofy grin. “Come on, Matty! I don’t remember the last time we danced together!” she declared giving him a pouty lip trying to plead with them. She grabbed his hand pulling him to the dance floor.

Matt grumbled to himself letting the small girl pull him out to where everyone was dancing.
“You’re a pain in my ass, kid,” he grunted making Jolie grin brightly as she started to sway her hips along with the music.

With an easy shrug, Jolie simply said, “You know you love me.” Matt didn’t bother to deny it as they followed the rhythm of the music.

“Jolie’s pretty hot when she’s dancing,” Johnny commented. Which instantly earned him a slap in the back of the head from Brian. “What? What did I say?” he asked again completely oblivious.

Notes

This is mostly filler stuff! Kind of just setting up for the next chapters! Hope you guys don't mind the little lull in action at the moment. Some big things will happen soon! :) I'll update quickly since this is a bit blaaah.