Sell Your Soul

Aron hugged Cali and said, "You new around here?"

"Yep," said Cali.

"Let me see...you must be Charlie's," he laughed, pulling at the sleeve of her shirt, which was actually Charlie's shirt.

"Right again," Cali laughed. "I'm Cali."

"Cali? Like California. Nice work, Jordan!"

Charlie clapped him on the back and slid his other arm around Cali's waist. He rested his chin on Cali's shoulder and smiled, making a sweet and innocent face at his bandmate. George flopped down on the couch in front of Aron, and Dillon stood off to the side with Jay. Aron looked around.

"Where's Matt?" he asked.

"Busy," chuckled Dillon.

"With what? He's never busy."

"Oh, believe me. He's very busy."

Aron shrugged. "So, Cali, how'd you meet Charlie?"

"Bar," said Cali, blushing.

"Better there than where he met his last one," replied Aron.

"Oh, god, don't start this," groaned Charlie.

"Where was that?" asked Cali.

"Strip club. And she wasn't even working there. She was there to see the show. Oh my god, it was so funny."

Cali giggled and kissed Charlie on the cheek. "I don't think there's anything I can say to that," she said.

Matt jumped down the steps, appearing out of nowhere. Maria followed him down and, upon seeing Aron, sighed and rolled her eyes. Matt wrapped his arms around Aron and crushed him in a bear hug. Aron nearly collapsed when he set him back down, and Maria bit her lip. She nodded politely to Aron, but said nothing.

"I see what you meant by busy," laughed Aron.

Maria glared at him as Matt said, "A, this is Maria."

"Pleasure, Maria," Aron said. He offered his hand out, but Maria ignored it. He added, "Anyway, it's changed a lot around here." His hand dropped to his side, and he turned to Jay.

"Yeah, it's cleaner," said Jay.

"Hey, I'm gonna head to work," said Maria to Matt. He kissed her.

"We'll be along to eat later," he said.

She smiled and said good bye to everyone. She left the house, slightly happier than before, and drove away from the house.

"She seems...interesting," said Aron.

"I know," sighed Matt. "She's something, isn't she?"

Cali laughed and grabbed his hand. She said, "I'm glad she's yours." She turned to the rest of the guys and said, "I'll be back in a few. Gotta get changed up if we're gonna visit my best friend's work."

"Need help?" said Charlie.

"Sure," giggled Cali. She walked up the stairs, Charlie occasionally making her jump by putting his hands around her waist.

She picked up a black Rise Against shirt and a pair of light blue, acid wash skinnies. As she pulled off her shirt, Charlie noticed her tattoos. One, on her left wrist, was a pink ribbon wrapped in a loop. The one on her right hip was a biohazardous materials stamp, much like one seen on chemicals. The third was a tramp stamp of half of a broken heart. He ran his finger around the broken heart.

"What do they mean?" he asked.

"Do they have to have meaning?" said Cali. "The one on my hip is just because. Maria has the other half of the heart. This one-" she pointed to her wrist- "is for my mom. She died of breast cancer when I was ten."

"Oh," replied Charlie. He kissed the back of her shoulder. "I'm sorry."

"It's fine," said Cali. She pulled her shirt over her head and slipped it down over her body. Charlie pulled at her shorts, and she smiled. When she had her other pants on, she said, "Okay, let's get back down there or they'll think we're having sex. Again."

"Is that a bad thing?" said Charlie. He grinned.

"No, but I'm hungry, and Maria needs bothered."

Charlie picked her up and kissed her lips. She rested her forehead against his, and they sat there for a moment, looking into each other's eyes.

From downstairs, Jay shouted, "Scene, we can't wait all day!"

Cali kissed Charlie and said, "Told you so."