Mental Fiction Follows Me

Nikkita's POV

I drifted into consciousness slowly, but I kept my eyes closed. I was still a little tired from dancing other vigorous activities, and I loved the feeling of lying under the warm blankets. It wasn't the same as being on my mattress at home, but being in Matt's arms was all that really mattered. Speaking of Matt... I felt lips on the side of my neck, and I bit down on my bottom lip to keep from laughing. Matt knows that his lip ring tickles!

"I know you're awake," he whispered in my ear. I smiled and kept my eyes closed. I felt Matt move away from me, and I instantly missed the warmth that radiated off his body. I waited to see if he would do anything else, but I couldn't hear anything. Then my body was in the air and I slammed on to something hard. My eyes flew open and looked down at a smiling Matt. I was now straddling his hips, and my forearms were on his chest.

"Mornin'," Matt said. His hazel eyes were bright as they stared up at me, and the angry comment I had vanished.

"Good morning," I said and softly kissed his lips. Matt pushed himself into a sitting position and leaned his back against the wall. I stayed where I was and wrapped my arms around his neck.

"Nikki?" Matt asked.

"Hmm?" I asked.

"You love me, right?" My eyes snapped away from his lips and turned to his eyes.

"Of course I love you," I said. Why would he ask a question like that? Matt grabbed both of my hands and held them between our bodies. My eyes continued to search his, to see what was wrong. I had never seen Matt look so nervous. I felt Matt playing with my fingers, but I still didn't look down.

"Well, then...will you marry me?" Matt asked. I felt something cold slip onto my finger, and my body heat instantly warmed it. I looked down at the ring and then back up at Matt. I felt tears welling up, and I threw my arms back around his neck.

"Fuck yes!" I yelled. Matt's arms crushed me against him as I started kissing the side of his neck and shoulder.

"Hey, keep it down!" Aiden yelled and banged on the wall. But I didn't care, because I was getting married.

Aiden's POV

"Isn't it too early for all of that?" I mumbled and laid back down.

"Way too damn early," Johnny mumbled against my shoulder.

"I thought you were asleep?" I asked and looked down at him. Johnny tilted his head and smiled up at him.

"I was, but then you moved," he said. His hazel eyes were a little brighter than usual, and I felt his arms tighten around my hips.

"Sorry, babe," I said and kissed his forehead, the only thing my lips could reach. Johnny's arms stayed around me as he rolled on top of me and lowered his lips to mine. My fingers disappeared into his short hair, and Johnny pressed his body flush against mine.

"Rise and shine, kiddies!" I heard someone yell. Someone that sounded just like...Syd. Dammit.

Brian's POV

I stepped out of the bathroom just as the motel door opened. Zacky walked in wearing a pair of huge sunglasses, a McDonalds bag in one hand, and a styrofoam cup holder (with two cups) in the other. He closed the door with his foot and walked over to the small table in the room. I can admit, we could have found some place better, but we were in a hurry. It happens.

"I got McGriddles and coffee. The coffee's shit, but it'll do," Zacky said as he turned around. His sunglasses were now stuck in the collar of his shirt, and I smirked as his green eyes traveled down the length of my body. I was still fresh out of the shower, and I only had on a pair of boxers.

"See something you like?" I asked. Zacky's eyes met mine, and I felt my smirk grow as his eyes grew brighter.

"A few things," he said and gave me another once over.

Hey! You're a crazy bitch!
But you fuck so good I'm on top of it...

"Dammit, Syd! I told her to stop messing with my phone!" I yelled. I found my jeans on the floor and pulled my phone out of one of the pockets.

"You're dead," I mumbled into the receiver.

"That's a serious possibility in the future," Syd said.

"What do you want? And why now?" I asked.

"Did I ruin yours and Zacky's sexy time? I'm sorry. I'll pay for you guys to have a weeklong vacation when this is all over," Syd said.

"In that case, what do you need?"

"Can you come back to the bus? I got an announcement to make," Syd said.

"Good or bad?"

"Bad, I think."

"Be there soon," I said and hung up. Syd had something bad to tell me, but what?

Tiana's POV

I felt arms snake around my waist, and I turned around. Craig smiled down at me, and then I started laughing. We'd had fun last night, but we never went too far. But seeing him in a pair of leopard boxers with hickeys everywhere was just too much for me to handle. Craig kept me upright, and after a few minutes he sat me down on the counter.

"You think this is funny?" Craig asked and pointed to himself.

"Yes, I think it's quite hilarious," I replied and tried not to laugh again.

"You know, this is all your fault," Craig said. I wrapped my legs around his waist and pulled him to me.

"I know, and you love me for it," I said as I wrapped my arms around his neck. Craig's lips skimmed my jaw line before moving lower, and I tilted my head to give him better access. My fingers tangled in his hair, and I gave a sharp pull when he bit down on the side of my neck. Craig pulled back and smiled at me, and I raised my fingers to my neck.

"You...you..."

"You've been branded!" Craig yelled.

"Hey, you two! Get dressed! We got a meeting to attend!" Deandra yelled. I looked at Craig, Craig looked at me, and we both shrugged.

Krys's POV

"Krys, you awake?" Monte whispered.

"Yeah," I whispered back. Last night had been amazing, but I was sober now and feeling shy and awkward again. I felt Monte press his lips to the top of my head and I sighed. Last night had been really amazing...

"So, you never told me how you ended up here," Monte said.

"I accidentally got pulled into the fight at the bar. The girls and I got to talking inside the jail, and they invited me to come along," I said. This job was a bit more permanent than my other ones, but I liked it. The people were amazing and constantly kept me laughing, and it made me a little less homesick.

"Who were you talking to last night?" Monte asked. I had been outside on the phone when Monte had came out, and after hanging up we had went inside to have a drink. Then we got to talking, and well...things happen.

"My aunt. She's been raising my three little brothers," I said.

"Brothers?"

"Yep. They're seventeen, fourteen, and twelve." I smiled as I thought about them. I had raised them for seven years, and the past year on my own had been quite an experience.

"Meeting at Avenged's bus! Move it!" Deandra yelled and poked her head into Monte's bunk. She smiled at Monte, winked at me, and then disappeared.

"This oughta be interesting," Monte said.

"It always is."

Tara's POV

"So, have you really been married twice?" Robert asked. We were sitting in his bunk across from each other, both of us were sitting Indian-style.

"Yep. Is that a problem?" I asked. I had dated guys after both of my divorces, and they all had problems being with a divorcee. Why? I have no clue.

"No, I was just wondering. Why'd you get divorced?" he asked. Well, I wasn't expecting that. I looked down at my left arm, but that wasn't right. I turned to my right arm and lifted it. On the underside of my forearm was a tattoo of a skeleton cowboy riding a bull that looked like he was from Hell.

"Meet Tex. He was a bull rider. I saw him two weeks out of the six months we were married. The first week we were married was magical, and we were married in a trailer. See?" I asked and pointed to the flaming trailer behind the first tattoo.

"So, what happened next?" Robert asked.

"He went into the rodeo, and I didn't see him for about six months. When he came home, he was constantly drunk and we fought a lot. Then I caught him with a waiter at the local bar. We got into one last fight and then I divorced his ass," I said and smiled.

"And the other one?" Robert asked.

"He was a lawyer, named Kevin. Complete asshole--"

"We're leaving!" Deandra yelled. I saw her face, and a smiling Max. Then they were gone.

"To be continued," I said.

"Third time's a charm," I heard Robert mumble as we got out of his bunk to see what was happening now.

Ryanne's POV

I felt a pair of arms wrap tightly around me and a face nuzzled my neck. That's when I realized that last night had been real, and that I hadn't been dreaming. Holy shit, it was real. Oli and I were...

"Mornin', babe," Oli whispered before kissing me lightly on the lips. Brian and Zacky had literally drug us onto the dance floor and pushed us together, and one thing led to another. And no, we didn't sleep together. I'm not that easy. We had sat outside the bar talking and laughing and just enjoying being together. We had started to get back on our bus, until we realized that it was occupied. Avenged's bus wasn't the best idea, because Zacky could get a little over protective. At that time, Deandra called my name and waved me over to Escape's bus, where Oli and I spent the night on the couch.

"I still can't believe last night really happened," I mumbled.

"Me neither. Reality is so much better than dreaming," Oli mumbled, his lips moving right under my ear.

"We're cutting it short! Move it!" Deandra yelled as her and Max walked by.

"What in the hell is she yelling about?" Oli asked.

"There's no telling. Come on."

Deandra's POV

"I'm serious, Max. I think we're all out of questions," I said. After getting my revenge, Max and I had talked all night. Then night turned into sunrise and we kept talking. It's now getting close to nine in the morning and we're still talking. We had each taken a shower with the other one sitting in the floor, you guessed it, still talking. Now we were in his bunk where the conversation continued.

"You said that three hours ago," Max said and smiled over at me. We sat by side, our backs against the wall.

"Alright, shoot," I said.

"Okay...skittles or m&ms?"

"Skittles. You?"

"Skittles."

"Regular or sour?"

"Smoothie."

"No way! Sour is way better!"

"How is sour better than the smoothie ones?!"

"They just are!" I heard a ring in our brief silence and I searched the blankets for my phone. I finally found it and put it to my ear.

"Yellow?"

"Learning your colors, youngin?"

"Hi, Granny!" I heard Syd mumble something, and I smiled.

"Can you do me a favor?" Syd asked.

"I'm all out of Fixodent," I said.

"Better luck next time then. No, can you get everyone over here? Group meeting time," Syd said.

"I guess so. You need us now?" I asked. It was early in the morning, and we had been out drinking the night before. Syd was quiet for a few minutes, and she didn't sound like herself when she answer.

"Yeah. It's now or never."

Third Person POV

Lee, Curtis, Kean, and Nicholls all awoke at the same time. They all turned to the side and saw someone they didn't recognize, and then simultaneously realized that they had no memory of the night before. So, very carefully, they all snuck out of their respective bunks and met up outside. No one said anything, and together they prayed that the unknown females would be gone by the time they returned. They were getting ready to sneak on to Escape's bus when the door flew open. A smiling Deandra looked down at them, with a squinting Max (the sun was bright) right behind her.

"Just in time! Come, Lee, Curtis, Matt's, we got a meeting to attend!" Deandra yelled.

Syd's POV

"Jimmy, you gotta wake up!" I whispered. I saw Jimmy's eyes move under his closed lids, but he didn't open them. Last night had been amazing. No, better than amazing. There wasn't a real word to describe it. The morning after, however, was horrible. I had no regrets for what I had done, but then I did. It was wrong of me to be so selfish.

"Everyone's gotta be a little selfish sometimes," Sage said. She had a point, but that didn't make me feel any better.

"He'll understand," Lillian said softly, easing my fears.

"Jimmy, please wake up," I said and pushed on his shoulder. He blinked a few times and then his eyes opened and met mine. He smiled up at me, and I couldn't help but to smile back at him.

"Good morning," I said.

"Mornin'," Jimmy whispered. He tugged on the blanket wrapped around me, and I raised an eyebrow.

"The blanket stays until there's clothes to replace it," I said.

"That's not fair! Haven't you ever heard of 'good morning sex'? It's a package deal," Jimmy said.

"Not this time. I've got something to important to say." Jimmy's eyes searched mine and then he sighed.

"Is it what's been bothering you the past couple of days?" His question caught me a little off guard. I thought I had been good at hiding it.

"Yeah." I hung my head down a little, trying to avoid his intense blue-eyed stare. My plan failed though as his fingers lifted my chin up.

"Then tell everyone at the same time and make it easier, because I know it's big," Jimmy said. His fingers caressed the side of my face, and his index finger caught my first tear.

"Okay. I'll call everyone now," I said.