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Almost Easy

Chapter Fourteen: A Good Fucking Memory

We found a pub just around the corner from the pier. It was crowded but there was an empty table on the patio that we snatched up right away. As smokers, sitting indoors was hardly an option—lord knows we’d squirming and rushing through our meals in order to get outside to have our-post dinner smoke.
We’d been seated for a couple of minutes and Brian had already lit his cigarette.
“Tell me something about yourself,” he said abruptly. “First thing that pops into your pretty little head.”
“I hate onions,” I replied without thinking.
Brian stared at me, “Onions?”
“You said first thing that popped into my head,” I defended with a laugh.
“That’s good to know,” he smirked. “I like onions.”
“Noted.”
“How’d you get into music?” he tried a more specific approach.
I shrugged, “My aunt signed me up for guitar lessons when I was a kid. I wasn’t much good at it but I really loved to sing—so, she put me in that instead.”
“Your aunt?” he asked nosily. “She must be proud of where you’re at.”
“I don’t know,” I shifted uncomfortably in my chair. “She’s not really the proud type.”
“I’m sure she is,” he insisted like he knew her. “There’s no way she couldn’t be.”
“I mean…” I paused to collect my thoughts. “She could be, I guess. She just isn’t exactly the type to talk about it. I’m out of her hair now, though; so that’s probably a relief to her.”
Brian was trying to understand, “You lived with her?”
“Yeah,” I nodded, pulling a cigarette out of my pack now. “From age eight on.”
“Oh holy shit,” Brian gasped.
I only stared at him.
I’d never been sure what to tell people all growing up. How much information did people really need? Moreover, how much did they actually want? I was always careful to not make my story sound like I was griping. Despite my aunt’s flaws, I was grateful for her and everything she’d done for me. I could overlook her icy heart.
“Do you mind if I ask why?” Brian cooed, dragging at his smoke. “Bad relationship with your parents or what?”
“Um, no,” I faltered. “I mean, maybe. I don’t really remember. They died just after my eighth birthday.”
“Fuck,” Brian grumbled. “I’m sorry.”
I waved him off, “It’s fine, really. It was a long time ago.”
“Still,” he frowned.
“What about you?” I moved the spotlight from me. “Good relationship with your folks?”
“Oh yeah,” he smiled. “They’re great.”
“I bet,” I noted, giving him a once over. “Look at the offspring they produce.”
He smirked, “So, this aunt, what’s she like?”
Clearly Brian wasn’t giving up on my past as easily as I’d hoped. Decades later and it still made me uncomfortable to talk about.
“She’s fine,” I shrugged. “A little cold but fine.”
“Has she come to see you guys record?” he asked curiously. “It’s an impressive group you’ve assembled.”
“No,” I flinched. “She lives in Lenox. That would be a bit of a journey just to watch me suck.”
“Where is that?”
“Massachusetts,” I took a drag of my cigarette. “And I didn’t assemble my group, just for the record. I was actually the last to join.”
“Really?” he seemed genuinely surprised. “How long have you guys been playing together?”
I thought about that for a second.
“Five years,” I said uncertainly. “Give or take.”
“We started in high school too,” he replied, he had obviously done the quick math in his head. “Still all best friends—it’s pretty cool.”
“You’re lucky,” I said seriously. “Tyler is my only real friend. The others are friends, I guess—but we’re not super close by any means. They’ve always looked at me as a co-worker, not so much as a family member.”
Brian pouted, “That’s shitty.”
“I guess. I’m not sensitive, I don’t really care.”
He smirked at me, maybe admiring my moxie. It was hard to say for sure.
He smashed his cigarette butt into the ashtray, turning to his beer to wash away the taste of the tar.
“How’d you meet everyone?” I asked then. “In Avenged Sevenfold I mean.”
“Through Jimmy,” he replied simply. “He was my best friend and he was always getting asked to join everyone’s bands. Drummers are a rare breed, you know.”
“Especially good ones,” I added.
He tipped his bottle to me, “Exactly. Anyway, Jimmy had been playing with Matt in another band, which eventually disbanded…they started up Avenged and Jimmy convinced me to join. The rest is, as they say, history.”
“Good ol’ Jimmy,” I noted with a warm smile. “I really like him.”
“Me too,” Brian replied happily. “He’s the best.”
“How long have you guys been friends?” I asked, sipping at my drink.
He closed one eye in thought, “I don’t know,” he laughed, “A long fucking time. Since eighth grade, I think.”
“I love that,” I hummed. “Lifelong friendships are the best.”
Brian nodded.
“Maybe we’ll be lifelong friends,” I said without thinking.
Brian raised an eyebrow at me, “Maybe.”
“So,” I changed the discussion promptly, “what’s new for Avenged Sevenfold? What’s coming down the pipe?”
“Coming down the pipe,” he repeated with a smirk. “I like that.”
“I charge hefty royalties.”
“I’ll have my accountant issue you a cheque.”
“That’s all I ask.”
Brian laughed, “We have that new album I was telling you about.”
“Right, right,” I smashed my cigarette butt. “The self-titled one?”
“That’s the one,” he nodded. “It’s wild. It’s unlike anything we’ve ever done.”
I beamed, “I can’t wait to hear it.”
“If you want,” Brian thought aloud, “I can get you an advanced pressing. There are a couple floating around in the universe.”
“I would love that,” I gushed. “I may be a new fan but I’m definitely a devoted fan.”
The waitress appeared then with our respective burgers. Mine without onions. We thanked her quietly and waited until she’d disappeared to resume our conversation.
“How are you feeling about your album?” Brian asked, picking at his French fries.
I shrugged, “Fine.”
He eyed me suspiciously, “Just fine?”
“Well, I mean…you were there. You saw what it was like,” I said uncomfortably. “It’s been a challenge to say the least.”
“You’re too hard on yourself,” he said as he took a bite of his burger. “I thought you were great.”
“Maybe,” I sighed.
“I thought maybe I was messing you up,” Brian said between bites. “I do seem to make you nervous.”
I tried not to smile. He was obviously aware of his effect on me; I thought I’d been so clever. The reality was that he did make me nervous but my lack of performance could hardly be chopped up to that. It had been a rocky couple of days recording—it was more likely that I was totally burnt out.
The whole experience was far more grueling than I’d anticipated. Or than I was used to.

“You don’t make me nervous,” I defended weakly.
He raised his eyebrows, “Sure I don’t.”
“If you did make me nervous,” I retorted cockily, “It would only be because you’re Synyster Gates—some level of me wants to impress you, I’m sure.”
Brian laughed, “I bet.”
“Impressing Brian Haner is neither here nor there,” I continued with a grin.
“Completely irrelevant,” he concurred.
I bit the end off of a fry, “Exactly.”
“Well,” his eyes set into mine, “speaking on behalf of both Brian Haner and Synyster Gates, we were both thoroughly impressed.”
“Thanks,” I scoffed, finally biting into my own juicy burger.
He nodded, “I can’t wait to hear the album. Your radio single was,” he used his hands to signal perfection.
We talked about music, both our own and that of the people we admired, until our plates were mostly clean. My eyes had been bigger than my stomach so I struggled to get through the beef. Brian had finished his meals and half of my fries. A sure sign of a solid first date, I thought.
Brian paid, despite my objections, and we were off back into the world. The night sky had overtaken the world and lulled it to peace. I took a deep breath of the crisp California air, savoring the moment as best I could. I would, after all, never be here again.
“I should get home,” I said ruefully. “I have to be back in the studio first thing in the morning—in working order.”
“Yeah,” Brian sounded as disappointed as I felt. “I’ll catch a cab home.”
“No,” I half-laughed, “I can take you home. I didn’t mean—“
Brian pushed his finger to my lips, “Sh.”
I waved his hand away playfully, “Stop shushing me.”
“Stop saying silly things,” he responded with a smirk.
“You seriously want to catch a cab home?” I questioned sarcastically.
He shrugged, “I live across town. You need to be up early. I’ll probably just catch a ride to Jimmy’s, crash there. You go.”
I eyed him suspiciously. Maybe I’d been wrong; maybe it wasn’t a good date.
But then he kissed me. It was different than it had been earlier; it wasn’t hungry this time, it wasn’t a prelude to anything. It was gentle and it was sweet.
I swooned.
“I’ll call you tomorrow,” he said quietly, lips still lingering over mine.
I nodded.
He turned from me and hailed a cab, which stopped in expert time. I watched as he pulled the back door open and looked back to me.
“I’ll see you later, Peterson,” he called with his infamous grin.
“Don’t call me that!” I shouted but he was already in the car.
My feet refused to move until long after Brian had disappeared from sight. I knew that I should get moving but I needed an extra minute to get settled back into reality. The feel of Brian’s lips on mine was still heavy.
With a sigh, I pushed my hands into my pockets and carried myself back to my car. It had been one hell of a day—but I was disappointed that it was over. All I would have from then on was the memory of my first time spent alone with Brian.
It was a good fucking memory.

Notes

Sorry for the break in updates, I've had one hell of a weekend. But I'm back with a new chapter for you to enjoy!

You know the drill.

xx

Comments

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RamonaFoREVer RamonaFoREVer
6/18/19

@LostinDreams77
Oh!!! I'm so glad!!! <33

fyction fyction
5/13/19

Only on chapter 6 but I bloody love it already lol

LostinDreams77 LostinDreams77
5/13/19

@kiss my sas
Omg!!! Lol

fyction fyction
3/27/19

Ok, time for a re read on this one now :D
Baby Blair, come at me!!!

kiss my sas kiss my sas
3/27/19