If I Was Perfect Then This Would Be Easy

"I cannot believe you've turned into a fucking supermodel. Look at you!" Darren exclaimed.

I slapped his arm playfully. "Well you assholes could've seen me earlier when I went to Miami to get this sleeve done. Only you weren't in Miami, as I soon found out from Kat," I hassled before laughing at their embarrased faces.

"Yeah, we heard about that. Sorry," Chris apologized.

"It's okay, no hard feelings. After all, I got to meet Kat Von D, which was pretty damn cool."

"So how about we get the hell out of here?" Ami suggested. Chris, Ami and I led the way out of the building and towards the parking lot.

"Uhm, Chris..this just hit me..where are you going to stay?" I suddenly asked. There was no way I could bring them in my apartment. Shit, there was maximum space for one person.

"Hotel. Simple as that. I found some nice place in Huntington. You still living in that old apartment?" Ami enquired.

"Yeah," I replied with a sigh. "Although I'm seriously thinking of moving out. Or at least buying a house for Jack. That place is getting too small for us." We walked silent, just listening to the conversation behind us.

"When the fuck did she grow up like this? I mean, she always looked good, but...dang!"

"Yo, Chris!" I instantly recognized Núñez's voice.

"Yeah, what?"

"I feel bad for you."

Ami and I looked at each other questioningly. "Why's that?" he asked.

"Because she's your cousin!" They started laughing and even Ami and I snickered.

"Come on, like I'd even be that perverted!" Chris retorted.

As we walked out in the open air, I heard Darren inhale deeply.

"The fresh air of OC," Chris snickered.

Darren suddenly whistled in admiration at the sight of the car.

"It's not mine, it's Dom's," I explained. Several 'oh'-s followed before I could continue. "But I was thinking of getting one myself."

"So what's stopping you?" Ami questioned while checking out the rims. They were all big fans of old school cars and sneakers, so it was no surprise that I had gotten that habit from them.

"Uhm...my budget...But that will be fixed as soon as we get the album out and we cash our checks. After that, I'll probably be wasting all my money on a place and a car," I added with a smile.

"Woah, so all five of us have to get in this car?" Yoji didn't seem pleased by the idea and I could sort of understand why. Being stuck between Ami, Núñez and Darren wasn't that great.

"Yeah, well sorry about that, Yoj, but you'll have to survive. Put your bags in the trunk and hop in."

Chris eventually claimed the seat next to the driver's as his, so he could chat more with his cousin, while the other four tried to sit in the back. The drive to Huntington was so awesome, I had forgotten how fun the five tattoo artists actually were. We began talking about their tattoo shop and about Miami, with the occasional jokes obviously present.

I parked in front of the hotel they had told me to. It was a really cool place, not to mention that it was perfectly positioned close to the beach and not very far from my neighbourhood.

"So, Lexa, is it true you're taking us out?" Núñez enquired with a wink. I rolled my eyes laughing.

"Maybe. If you're up for it." He huffed, telling Darren something about how I didn't know him well enough.

"Ignore him, Spades, he hasn't gotten laid in a while," Brass commented dryly and everyone started laughing. Ami offered to wait with me outside while everyone checked in and got ready before going out.

"So how's life been treating you? Any guy who needs getting his ass kicked?" I chuckled. Ami and Chris were the most mature out of all five of them and ever since Chris introduced Jack and I to him when we were kids, he had always been very protective of us.

"Nah, don't worry. But stick around much longer and you might find some guys to punch." We started laughing at the thought. He took off his sunglasses before letting out a yawn. The four other dudes emerged from the hotel, Núñez and Darren having changed their outfits into something "more comfortable".

"Where to, ladies?" Darren joked. I laughed before Yoji began complaining.

"Can we just walk? 'Cause I'm not getting back in that car, even though it's mighty fine." The guys started making jokes and groaning at Yoji's unhappiness.

"Gentlemen, please. A walk wouldn't do you any bad. So come on, I'll show you around."

All six of us began walking towards the beach. Needless to say, they got really excited at the sight of surf and 'bikini babes'. Come to think about it, there was no doubt that I must have looked extremely weird. Medium height skinny girl between five well built dudes covered in tattoos, one stranger than another.

"I'm hungry," Darren's voice suddenly interrupted our laughter.

"Well there's some restaurants around and shit..." I muttered, scratching the back of my head.

"Oh, come on, guys, I thought we were going to some club or something." I looked at Núñez with a raised eyebrow. Of course I wasn't surprised. It was in his character to want to

"Isn't the party tomorrow enough for you?" I knew Ami all too well to know that despite the disapproving look on his face, a club wouldn't be half bad at that certain point.

"We could just grab something quick to eat and head to the club, for the sake of Chris, here," my cousin suggested with a shrug. I nodded while glancing at Núñez, who tried to give me an honest and grateful smile, although his eyes held nothing but mischieve and maybe...flirt?

As soon as dear diabetic Darren got his food and the rest of us grabbed some snacks, we headed to a club which was tastefully chosen by Chris Núñez, who proved out to be very picky when it came to clubs. I actually began laughing when Ami began making jokes about it.

"It's kind of a small place, isn't it? I mean Huntington." I was completely taken aback by Yoji's opinion and gasped.

"Whatever, Miami boy. Huntington isn't small, trust me," I replied proudly, making Chris shake his head with a snicker. My statement, however, made them bring up reasons why Miami was even cooler. I was starting to think I had gotten myself in one endless pit, but when the waitress showed up, you could see how the guys (mostly Núñez, Darren and Ami) fell silent, looking her up and down.

The tall blonde woman wore a very short leather skirt and a top which may as well have not been there. Well, at least she had curves to show. I stiffled a laugh as the boys ordered their drinks as if in a dream and told her my order last.

"Maybe Huntington isn't that bad after all," Chris Núñez contemplated and I allowed that laugh to escape my lips, catching his attention. "Come on, it's any man's right to take a look at every diamond," he tried to defend.

"And I bet you're one skilled jeweler, aren't you, Chris?" my cousin intervened. A roar or laughter errupted as everyone at the table caught the allusion. Even the 'victim' looked down, trying to supress a laugh.

"Smooth, Garver," Ami tried to say between laughs, patting Chris' back.

"Now hold on, before we get wasted, I think we have a story to hear," Yoji intervened, silencing everyone while pointing at me. I sighed dramatically.

"Come on, Senior, we're waiting for all the details," Darren added and all of them turned their attention to me, even as the waitress served the drinks.

"Well, where should I start?" I asked with a chuckle.

"You can start eight years ago, when you left Miami."

I nodded and began telling a rather short version of all those eight years. I deliberately avoided telling them about Brian or anything like that, from the simple reason that I didn't want to talk about him, the same guy who had pissed me off terribly. I told them alot of details about the band and about each and my other three band mates, who also hadn't seen Chris and the gang for years. They all started to whistle and make wolf sounds when I gave them the news about Jack's new girlfriend and his loyalty to her. However, Cate's serious relationship seemed like a disappointment, as they all sighed dramatically, making me laugh.

"...so that's it," I finished with a shrug. "Nothing more or less." Oh, but what a lie that was. I received a few suspicious looks, but ignored them gratiously.

"I'm sure I'm speaking in everyone's name when I say that you really deserved this," Ami encouraged. "And now that I think better about it, you'll have to give us an example of your band's talent sometime this week. How about that?"

Several "Yeah"-s and "That would be awesome" filled my ears as my cousin patted my back.

"That would be some cool stuff," he added with one authentic Garver smile.

All our attention was turned to the dancefloor as the sound of Roll Call by Lil Jon brought everyone to their feet and only then did the dancing start. I didn't realize I had stopped listening to the conversations around me until I felt Chris Núñez's hand on my back. I looked around to see that Darren and Garver were talking intensely about something, while the other guys went to the dancefloor.

"How about you offer this old man the possibility of a dance with a gorgeous girl?" he whispered in my ear. I looked at my drink and shooked my head with a smile.

"Maybe another time," I replied before taking a sip. It was easy to tell that I had disappointed him, but that didn't mean he was going to quit.

"Come on, just one dance. I won't hurt you." As added the last part, his eyes sparkled. I chuckled.

"No. I'm really too tired to dance tonight."

He gave me a suspicious look, then smiled. "Fine. You owe me a dance, señorita," he warned mischeviously before following Ami.

"That boy just doesn't know when to stop," my cousin's disappointed voice came from beside me. I looked back at him. "You know what I'm talking about."

"Don't be so harsh on him," I mumbled slowly, hoping he wouldn't hear me. And he didn't, thank God.

I tried not to get too wasted the rest of the night, seeing as I had to take Dom's car back. But I had so much fun that night and I forgot about all my worries, including Brian...

One thing I noticed was that the Miami boys weren't very different from Avenged. I had to admit, though, I was more open to Chris and his pals than to some of the guys in A7X.

"Alright, alright, I wanna make a toast," Ami yelled, while rising his glass in the air. "This is to our boy Jack--"

"..and his lovely and enchanting sister--" Núñez interrupted, then looked at me with a sly smile. I had a feeling Chris was glaring daggers at him, so I decided to look away.

Ami cleared his throat before continuing. "...and last but not least, to fucking SO Cali!"

I began laughing along with everyone and cheered, happy to party along with these guys with whom I shared alot of sweet memories for the first time in so long.

Jack and everyone else would no doubt be glad to see them, too.