Just Say Yes

It was late Sunday afternoon when Brian had finally talked the guys into leaving a few hours earlier than they had planned, everyone seemed fine with it. However, Brian knew Matt was slightly annoyed, since he loved Vegas more than everyone else, but Brian knew he'd get over it. Packing up the black SUV didn't take long since they each only brought one small bag up, it was their rule every time they came to Vegas. One bag only. Brian remembered mentioning it to Michelle as they were preparing for the trip about five days ago, she went on and on about how one bag for her was impossible. One of the many things about her that had ate away at him over the years.

When the luggage was all thrown into the back they all filed into the vehicle. Matt was driving and Jimmy was passenger which left Brian, Zacky and Johnny in the back. Johnny had been the unlucky one out of the three and was stuck in the middle, without a window to look out of.

They were just pulling out onto the road, on their way back to California but not without a stop in Boulder City. Brian wasn't sure what it was, but there was something about Erin that interested in him and left him wanting more. He also enjoyed the fact she wasn't aware of who exactly he was, she knew his real name, but she didn't know what he did for a living.

“So where the hell am I going?” Matt asked Brian, as he left one hand on the wheel and slipped his aviator sunglasses on with the other, dimming the bright Nevada sunlight.

“Just stay on the main highway, you'll see a sign when we get close.” Brian told him. Matt had been unsure when Brian told him about stopping and the reason why. He seemed to think Brian was moving on too fast.

“Why exactly are we stopping in some shit hole town?” Johnny questioned slightly annoyed, probably still upset over not getting a window seat.

“It's not a shit hole town.” Brian answered honestly, but played it cool. “There's a girl--” Before Brian could finish his sentence Johnny cut him off.

“So we're stopping cause you wanna get laid?” Johnny scoffed incredulously, Brian rolled his eyes.

“No it's not about that.” He was about to explain himself but this time Matt cut him off.

“Okay, if it's not about getting laid then what's it about?” Matt inquired, as all eyes in the vehicle turned to him.

“Why am I getting the fucking third degree?” Brian was getting pissed off, he noticed that Zacky and Jimmy had stayed surprisingly quiet while Matt and Johnny interrogated him. He was a single guy, he could now do whatever he wanted and see whoever he wanted.

“He likes her.” Zacky answered simply, all eyes turned to him. “That's it.” He finished, and nothing else was said for at least ten minutes.

“Okay, then tell me something Zacky.” Matt said, glancing into the rear view mirror at Zacky. “Is she at least fucking cute?”

Zacky smiled, glancing at Brian then turned back to Matt. “Yeah she's fucking cute.” Then the other three cheered loudly.

“Yeah Gates!” Jimmy turned around in his seat and high fived Brian proudly.

- - - - - - - - -

Sunday afternoon Erin was working, as usual, but today she was in charge of running the counter and cleaning or refilling things that needed to be. The diner didn't seem all that busy, maybe because they were fully staffed today and getting people out fast or maybe people just weren't stopping in to eat. She wasn't one to complain, an easy day every once and a while was a welcomed change in her eyes.

Erin was currently wiping down one of the coffee machines, and due to her boredom begun singing to herself. “A lonely road crossed another cold state line” She sung without even thinking, she ran the cloth over the machine, continuing her singing to herself.

“Miles away from those I love, purpose hard to find.” By the time she got to the chorus, she stopped herself and realized she was singing an Avenged Sevenfold song. She cleared her throat and looked around, hoping no one heard her.

Yesterday after returning home from picking up Brian and Zacky, she found Jon in his room and sat with him for a few minutes. All the while sitting there, she found that the Avenged Sevenfold poster across the room kept catching her eye, then she asked Jon if had their CD. Jon had told her he had them all, then asked if she wanted to borrow one and take a listen. She jumped at the chance and Jon had given her their self titled CD which was apparently their newest. He told her to take a listen to number ten, she took the CD back to her room and after taking a short nap, she listened to the song Jon had suggested. She had really liked it and listened to it off and on all night, which was why she was now singing it without thinking.

Erin spent the next fifteen minutes scrubbing caked on coffee stains off the machine before deciding that there was no more she could get off without using harsh chemicals. When she turned around she saw a group of five guys get out of a vehicle in the parking lot, she spotted Zacky almost immediately, wearing a bright green t-shirt and his lip and nose piercings shining in the sunlight.

On either side of Zacky were two guys, one was a fairly short with a mohawk, nose piercing, a large tattoo down the right side of his neck, and several more covering his arms. The other guy was taller than Zacky and mohawk guy, he didn't have piercings or a crazy hairstyle, he looked like any other guy you'd see walking down the street. Other than the tattoos on his very muscular arms, she wouldn't necessarily guess he was in a rock band, though he was definitely very good looking. Brian was behind the three of them and was talking to the other member, an extremely tall guy with slightly longish black hair, black rimmed eye glasses and piercing just below his bottom lip.

She smiled to herself and without thinking she fixed her hair, tucking any loose pieces behind her ear. She picked up a cloth and pretended to be busy since she figured they didn't see her looking at them outside. Within seconds she heard the bell on the door ring and loud male laughter filled the diner, she could feel her heart racing, almost as if it were trying to get out of her chest.

She casually glanced behind her, everyone but the normal looking one were laughing and talking amongst themselves about something. He noticed Erin, and smiled at her, showing his to die for dimples. Now she found him even more attractive.

She turned around completely, seeing Brian sitting there with a smirk on his face. “Hello again.”

“Four days straight,” She said walking as close to the five of them as she could with the counter in between, she narrowed her eyes. “are you stalking me?”

He smiled, amused. “Only if you want me to.” She rolled her eyes and his friends groaned at the cheesy remark. “What? It wasn't that bad.”

The one with the adorable dimples slapped Brian playfully on the back. “Dude, it kinda was.” His voice was deep and alluring, she could listen to him talk all day. He turned to her holding out his hand. “I'm Matt. Nice to meet you.”

Erin smiled, placing her hand in his and shook it softly. “Erin, nice to meet you too.” She looked at him, he flashed her a dimpled smile and she found herself staring. It wasn't until she realized what she was doing that she stopped and let go of his hand, feeling slightly embarrassed. She glanced down the bar seeing two still unnamed faces.

The one with the mohawk spoke up first, somewhat animatedly. “Johnny.” He said with a nod, she laughed softly to herself.

“I'm Jimmy.” The tall one said then stood up. He motioned for her to move closer, she did cautiously unsure of what he had planned. He leaned his torso over the counter towards her, wrapping his arms around her somewhat uncomfortably but she was too busy laughing to care. “It's an absolute pleasure to meet you. Brian talked about you all last night.”

“Dude!” Brian looked slightly embarrassed as the rest of the band laughed and Jimmy continued to hold her as close to him as he could with the barrier between them. Brian noticed and glared at them, then cleared his throat before speaking. “You can let go now, I'm sure she has work to do.”

He let her go, but grabbed one of her hands. “A spoonful of Jimmy helps the world go down.” He ended the sentence by twirling her in a circle then sat back down.

Normally if Erin were in this situation with anyone else she would've been quite disturbed by a stranger hugging her like they were old friends. With Jimmy it was different, there was something about him that seemed harmless and told her he just liked to express himself. She could now tell why Jon loved him so much, he had an infectious personality, she liked him already.

“Don't mind him, he's borderline crazy.” Zacky joked, but Jimmy just sat there proudly as if it were a compliment. “How are you?”

“Good, I was enjoying my non-busy day until you guys walked in.” Erin playfully glared at them with her hands on her hips. “How was Vegas?” She asked, removing her hands from her hips and propped her arms on the counter waiting for a reply.

“Fuckin' awesome, even after the hundredth time.” Johnny answered for the group.

“You guys go there a lot?” She peaked out of the corner of her eye at Brian who was pretending to read the menu. She only assumed he was pretending because the past two times he had eaten at the diner, he had ordered the same thing.

“I love Vegas, so I drag these guys up there as often as I can. But we were celebrating this time, I just got engaged.” Matt told her, absolutely beaming as he did so. Of course he was taken.

“Congratulations.” Erin said honestly, she loved hearing about people finding their special someone even if she couldn't.

“Is there a bathroom in this joint!?” Jimmy practically yelled, as he stood up and scanned the room.

“Yeah just through there,” She pointed over towards the archway which lead to the bathrooms, break room and the kitchen. “and to the right.” He gave her a thumbs up and dashed off towards the bathroom.

Erin knew this was possibly her only chance to get Jimmy alone. She looked over at the rest of the guys remaining, they were all reading the menus.

“You guys read over the menu and I'll be right back.” She flashed them a sweet smile and everyone but Brian went back to reading the menu. Instead he watched her disappear down the same hallway as Jimmy.

Erin went to the staff break room quickly to grab the CD cover and felt pen she had brought with her that day. She casually leaned against the wall opposite of the men's restroom door. She could hear singing and running water coming from inside, she laughed to herself just as the door opened.

“Waiting for me?” He smirked at her, she couldn't help but smile back.

“Yeah, I wanted to ask you for a favor.”

He raised an eyebrow, “Yes?”

“I know I just met you but,” Erin reached into her apron's pocket, pulling out the CD cover and felt pen. She saw Jimmy burst out in a smile, excitement in his eyes. “My brother loves you, I was wondering if you would sign this for him?”

“Fuck yeah!” He practically yelled, she smiled and hoped no one in the dining area had heard his out burst. He eagerly reached out for the CD cover and pen, uncapping the pen with his teeth and held the cover against the wall waiting for her instructions. Erin told him Jon's name and that Jon played drums just like him, to which Jimmy had another enthusiastic out burst. After he had written a little note and signed it, Jimmy turned to her, he looked confused as if he had just realized something.

“Brian said you didn't know about the band.” He slid his glasses down slightly and looked down his nose at her suspiciously.

“I didn't when I first met him, I found out through my brother.” She explained, Jimmy nodded understanding. “Brian doesn't know though. You won't tell him right?”

“Pinky swear.” Jimmy stuck out his left hand with his pinky finger sticking upright. Erin responded the only way she knew how, she interlocked her pinky with his and shook it.

“I'm so excited we have a secret!” He gasped excitedly to which she laughed softly. Erin slipped the signed CD cover and pen back into her apron pocket as something crossed her mind.

“Was Brian really talking about me last night?” Turning the conversation somewhat serious again.

“I've sworn not to say a word.” He emphasized the word say as if he was able to tell her some other way. “but...I can nod.” Then Jimmy nodded his head rapidly in a yes motion, smiling widely.

“Is he...” Erin wasn't sure if she should ask what she was about to, would Jimmy lie for him? Her gut told her no, something about Jimmy told her he wouldn't bullshit but she wasn't completely sure. “Is he a player?”

“He was with Michelle for five years, never cheated.” Jimmy told her without directly answering her question. Erin still looked unsure even with the answer she wanted, Jimmy bowed his head to meet her gaze giving her a serious look then gave her a goofy smile.

Erin laughed loudly. “I can see why my brother likes you.” Jimmy smiled then nodded his head in the direction of the dining area, she lead him back to counter. She went behind it and he sat at his designated seat on the end by Johnny.

The next half hour consisted of Erin getting their orders together, and them telling her all about their previous crazy adventures in Las Vegas. Apparently their most recent one was the least eventful over all, but Erin figured they didn't know about Brian and Zacky getting put in jail for a night. Erin was listening to Matt tell her about the time he and Jimmy had been so drunk that they passed out and woke up the next morning naked in the hotel hallway, on a different floor with permanent marker all over them. Brian was still being pretty quiet, he only spoke if anyone spoke to him first, Erin glanced at him every so often and tried to listen to Matt's story.

Just as he was getting to the good part, Erin heard the bell on the door ring, instinctively she looked up ready to greet the customer but saw David staring back at her. Her smile faded, and she simply glared at him, the guys must have noticed cause they all turned to look. David looked slightly uncomfortable, he cleared his throat and looked away.

“Figures he wouldn't be as tough without his back-up.” Erin muttered to herself, but loud enough for them to hear her.

“Five on one. I like my chances this time.” Zacky said proudly. Erin smiled, then looked back over to David, he still stood by the door looking to be in deep thought. For a moment it seemed like he was going to walk over to a booth but instead he walked over to the counter, keeping a fair distance from Brian and the rest of the guys.

“Erin, can I talk to you?” Erin wanted to say no, but gave in and nodded to him. She followed him over to the corner of the restaurant, he stopped just in front of an empty table. She crossed her arms over her chest expectantly. “So how's your grandma? And Jon? He's graduating this year right?”

Erin scoffed, annoyed with him attempting to make small talk. “What did you really come here to say?”

“I just wanted to say...” He stared at the ground for a few seconds, taking a deep breath then looked back up at her. “I'm sorry for bringing your... friends in.” He rubbed the back of his neck and sighed. “God that was hard to say.”

“Apologizing was never your forte.” Erin replied, remembering back to when she found out about him and her best friend at the time, he hadn't even called her to apologize.

David turned his head and glanced over at Brian, who was staring at them. He looked back at Erin, a little bit of fear showing in his eyes. “They aren't in a gang or some shit are they? As an officer of the county, I should know.”

Erin rolled her eyes. “No. They aren't, David.”

David sighed, “Alright. Well I would apologize to your friends but the one you were hanging around with looks kinda pissed.” David said referring to Brian who did look pretty pissed off at David's presence.

“Only because you punched him,” Erin saw David was about to say something in response to that but she beat him to it. “Yes I heard about that by the way. Then you made him spend a night in jail.” She crossed her arms underneath her breasts, trying to look intimidating.

David knew he was caught and looked somewhat defeated. He told her he had to get to work, then insisted that he'd stop by another day to talk to her. She had expected him to simply walk away but instead he took two steps towards her and touched his lips against her cheek. He quickly walked out of the diner, not making eye contact with anyone at the counter whatsoever, which after what he had just done was probably a smart thing.

She stood there for a moment, then brushed it off, she wasn't interested in David like that at all anymore. Next time she saw him she would make it perfectly clear, she thought he would be smart enough to understand that but apparently not.

Erin made her way back to her spot behind the counter, the guys had pretty much cleaned their plates and were talking amongst themselves.

“Erin, we're gonna take off. Thanks for everything.” Zacky said, getting up from the stool, then pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket. “Tell Lisa to call me.” He held out the piece of paper for Erin to take. She smiled and slipped it into her uniform pocket.

Erin went around the counter to where they boys were now standing, she walked over to Zacky, giving him a quick hug. “You're welcome.” Matt and Johnny both said goodbye, then followed Zacky outside. Jimmy walked to the door then turned around and pointed at her and winked. She wasn't sure what exactly that meant but it made her laugh. “Bye Jimmy.”

“What's that about?” Erin turned to look at Brian who was smiling at her, she definitely liked him better when he was smiling rather than what he was doing before.

“I'm not quite sure to be honest.” Brian laughed, and nodded.

“Yeah with Jimmy, that happens a lot.” He said, then looked down at his feet. “I'm sorry I was moody earlier. Weird day.”

Erin shrugged. “It's okay, we all have them.”

“So,” He cleared his throat and licked his lips. “have you thought about what I asked?” Erin averted her eyes from his, trying to make words come from her mouth but nothing was happening. He noticed her struggling. “You okay?”

She smiled and swallowed the lump in her throat. “Yeah, fine. Brian, I'm not sure if I'm ready to get involved with anyone. I'm sorry.” She watched his face fall, she didn't mean to upset him. “Plus there's the fact that you live in California.”

“Yeah, it's fine.” He said playing it off as if it hadn't effected him. She softly smiled to herself, knowing what was going to happen soon. “Can I at least get a hug before I leave?” He pouted ever so slightly, just in case she was going to say no.

Erin laughed and nodded, before sticking out her hands to hug him, she slipped one hand in her apron pocket grabbing the folded piece of paper and hid it in her hand. She wrapped her arms around his waist and felt his arms do the same to her, she closed her eyes briefly and after a few seconds she pulled away. As she did so, she slipped the piece of paper into his hoodie pocket.

“See ya.” He said, totally oblivious to the fact that she had just put a piece of paper in his pocket. Erin said goodbye and watched him walk through the door.

When Brian got outside he walked a few feet then slipped his hands in his pockets casually like he always did. On the right side he could feel something in the pocket, the hoodie was brand new, he had purchased it earlier that day at a shop on their way out of their hotel. There shouldn't have been anything in the pockets. He grabbed it with his fingers and brought it out to inspect it, he unfolded the small piece of white paper and when he opened it he saw girly handwriting that read:

You really believed me didn't you?

702 - 474 - 8902 :)