A Little Piece of Heaven

The doorbell rang. I barely heard it over the insanely loud bass thumping the house. Johnny hadn't heard it- he was talking to Brandon Sallers from Atreyu. Zacky was out smoking with a couple of the guys from Papa Roach. Matt and Brian were filling their glasses and laughing with the guys of Saving Abel, and Jimmy and Naomi were cuddled in a corner making out. I looked around. The bell rang again, and I sighed. I excused myself from the conversation I was having with Fieldy's wife, Dena.

"I'll get it," I grumbled, though no one heard me.

I walked to the door. Standing on the porch was Zach Myers and his little brother. I smiled poitely and let them in. I closed the door behind them and shouted, "Brian! Zach's here!"

Brian rushed into the foyer and kissed my cheek. "Thanks, Liss," he said. "Zach! I see you brought Jordan. Nice to see you guys again!"

I hugged Jordan and left to find Dena again. She and Fieldy were arm and arm on the couch, so I decided to leave them alone. Instead I ran into Alex Varkatzas- who I've had a major crush on for almost six years. I blushed, and he laughed.

"You must be Lissa," he chuckled. He offered his hand. "I'm Alex."

I took his hand, and he kissed the back of it. "I...I...yeah," I stuttered.

Luckily, Matt approached us. He put his arm around my shoulders and said, "Alex don't embarrass my little entertainer."

My mouth fell to the floor and I looked up at Matt. He smiled down at me, but I punched his side. Alex just laughed.

"Maybe she could 'entertain' us sometime," he said. "Brandon and Dan wouldn't mind. I don't think, anyway."

I was so embarrassed. I just wanted to curl up in a corner and die.

"Matt!" a woman shouted. We turned around to see Matt's old friend Val standing in the doorway with her boyfriend, Josh. She ran to a stunned Matt and hugged him.

We all knew Matt still had feelings for Val, but he wouldn't admit it. Val saw me and grinned. I smiled back at her. She was pretty. Well, alright, pretty is an understatement. She was gorgeous. Girls could only dream of having half as much beauty as Val DiBenedetto. I stuck out my hand, and she shook it.

"Lissa," I said. "You must be Val. Matt's told me so much about you. It's nice to finally meet you."

"Oh! Are you Brian's girlfriend?" she asked.

I was a bit startled by this. "Um, I suppose I'm everyone's girl here. Except for Jimbo, who has his eye on my best friend, Naomi."

"Everyone's girl?" repeated Val. She looked uncomfortable.

"Would you like a drink?" I offered.

"Sure, what the hell?" Val shrugged. She followed me to the kitchen.

She stood behind me, unsure of what to say, as I got a Mike's Hard Lemonade out of the fridge for her. She took it, but she didn't open it right away. She tapped the side of the glass. There was a definite awkward silence between us. She pulled her hair behind her ears.

"How old are you?" she asked.

"Nineteen," I replied.

"And- and they let you drink?" Val was appalled.

I nodded.

"What did Matty mean by 'everyone's girl'?"

"I, uh, well I'm kind of shared between the guys. I'm mostly with Brian, though. Not that that makes it sound any better than it is." I took a deep, shaky breath. "Matt's a good guy." I looked over at Matt, absorbed in conversation with Josh.

Val nodded. "He is," she said. "I only left because he loved the music more than me." Her eyes filled with old memories and sorrow.

I put my hand on hers. She looked at me, and she said, "Take good care of him, Lissa."

You have no idea, I thought to myself.