Seize the Day

Lacey felt a hand running through her hair, and her eyes snapped open. Matt was sitting on the bed next to her, watching her. He smiled.

"Lacey, you're up," he said.

"Shit!" said Lacey, sitting bolt upright. "Matt, what the fuck?"

"I was instructed, much to the dismay of my little friend, Johnny, to keep an eye on how you were doing. And here you are."

"H-h-here I am," Lacey stumbled over her words. She stood from the bed and began to walk toward the door. "I should see what Cady's doing." She opened the door, but Matt shut it.

He brought his lips to her ear. "Aw, come on, Lace," he hissed. "Let's have a little fun. No one has to know."

His hands traced the top of her jeans, and she shivered. She turned to face him, and he cornered her against the door. She closed her eyes.

"As tempting as that sounds, I really do think I should go find Cady," she said.

"I know you'll give in sometime," whispered Matt, tracing her jawline with his middle finger.

Lacey quickly opened the door and ducked out from under Matt's arm. He was strong, but she was sure he'd never intentionally hurt a woman. She was safe. For now.

Cady was talking to Jimmy when Lacey came into the lounge. Cady spotted her and ran to give her a hug. Lacey accepted it, but neither said anything. Matt came down a second later and pretended like nothing happened. He smacked Brian on the back, sending the guitarist forward a bit.

"I'm sorry," Cady said, almost ready to cry. "I really didn't mean to"-

"Don't worry about it," said Lacey. "We've got bigger fish to fry. Where's Johnny?"

Cady pointed to the chairs by the tv. Lacey smiled and left Cady with the guys again. Johnny was slumped into the big armchair in front of the television. He was staring at a reality show when Lacey sat down in his lap.

"Hey, are you okay?" asked Johnny, sitting up and putting his arms around her.

"I'm fine now," Lacey answered. "I overreacted. It's fine now."

Johnny put his forehead against Lacey's, and he looked into her eyes. She smiled sweetly, and her eyes sparkled. He smiled, too, and they shared a small laugh. He touched her hair, and she slowly brought her lips to his.

The kiss was nothing like any kiss she'd had before. It was soft, warm. Not forced or thought over. She kissed him again. He looked at her.

"I'm sorry," she said.

"Don't apologize," he instructed.

"But I hardly know you, and we haven't even been on a date," replied Lacey.

"Well you can't very well take it back now, can you?" he asked. Lacey blushed and looked at her Nikes. "I wouldn't want you to anyway."

Lacey looked back up at him and giggled.

"What?" he said.

"I never thought of you as a sensitive guy," she said. "You were always just Johnny Christ- the sexy bass player and younger member of A7X."

"I'm full of surprises," Johnny laughed. He wrapped his fingers through hers.

"Lacey!" shouted Cady. "He's coming!"

"No dirty jokes before ten, Cade," said Lacey.

"No! He's coming," repeated Cady. "Brandon!"

Lacey fell off the chair. She looked out the window to see a young, black-haired man crossing the grounds toward their dorm. She whimpered a little and crawled to the table. He spotted her, and he pointed at her. Johnny stood up and helped her to her feet. She clutched his arm, digging her nails into his bicep and making him jump in surprise.

"Get upstairs!" commanded Cady.

"But he"- began Lacey.

"Do it!"

Lacey let go of Johnny's arm and sprinted up the stairs to her dorm. She locked the door behind her and sat down across the room. Her legs were drawn up into the fetal position, and she rocked back and forth, crying. Not now. Not now.

She heard people yelling downstairs, and she jumped as she heard things thumping and being thrown. Her body shook with fear. Not now...

A minute later, someone was pounding on her door. She screamed a little, and the pounding gre louder. She covered her ears, and let the tears run down her cheeks.

"She's not in there, Brandon," yelled Cady.

"Bullshit, I saw her," growled a male voice.

"Hey, dickwad, why don't you just leave her the fuck alone," suggested someone else. "I don't know what hole you crawled from, but you need to go back and never come out again."

"Mind your own business, Synyster," hissed the first.

There was a long silence before someone started kicking the door. Lacey screamed. Cady, on the other side, was shouting at the person to stop. As the door gave in, Lacey saw Matt and Zacky pull back the black-haired man as Johnny ran into the room, Brian stepped in the doorway to block him, and Jimmy grabbed Cady.

"No!" screamed Lacey. "No no no no no!" She covered her ears and screamed and cried. Johnny held her close, shielding her from the violent scene.

"This isn't over, Lacey," shouted the man. "It never was!"

Matt and Zacky pushed him away, forcing him to leave. Everyone else had come out of their dorms to gawk at them. Jimmy turned to a group of them and yelled, "Just go back to your fucking dorms. Nothing to see."

"No," whimpered Lacey. "Johnny. Don't let him..."

She broke down into hysterical sobbing, and Johnny pulled her closer. He kissed the top of her head.

"Nobody's going to get you," he crooned. "I'm right here. We're all right here."

It took Lacey nearly an hour to calm down. She lay on her bed, her face buried in Johnny's shoulder. He smoothed her hair while Cady sat by and held her hands. Eventually Lacey fell asleep. She woke cradled in Johnny's arms on their tour bus.

Cady sat in between Jimmy and Zacky on their small couch. Zacky was already awake, and he explained to Lacey that Matt and Brian were sleeping in the dorm in case Brandon came back. Lacey nodded slowly and closed her eyes. She turned over to face Johnny. She rested her head on his chest.

She was safe. For now.