Status: Updating the lost chapters. Enjoy!
Stigmata
Hevioso.
The bus rocketed toward their next destination as part of the Warped Tour caravan, and most of the busses had fallen dark for the evening. The boys of Avenged Sevenfold sat with the blinds drawn in a bus that burned brightly. Gingerly, Zachary spread a blanket over Vivien’s ball-shaped form, and touched her arm gently to make sure she was asleep. Half an hour prior, Brian had gently slipped her head from his shoulder to a pillow that rested against the arm of the couch as it was his night to prepare drinks of that strange dark liquor that Vivien couldn’t develop a taste for. Johnny had already retreated to his bunk for the night, the rest of the band had decided long ago that he would always be strange about his sleeping habits.
“She’s out?” Matthew asked Zachy, who nodded as he took a seat across from the muscular man at the dinette table. Matt’s voice was hoarse, as it had a tendency to be after a long day’s worth of singing - the boys had been enticed into encores pushing the boundaries of what Kevin Lyman would allow for length. Nevertheless, his excitement trickled through his hoarseness as he reclined as far back as the stiff-backed bench would allow. “Valary’s supposed to get here tomorrow.”
“And you’re excited about that?” Jimmy asked from where he sat, looking quite stately in the armchair with a long-stemmed (plastic, which ruined the effect) glass clutched in his palm; at night, he had a tendency to act much more subdued than in daylight.
“I want to see how they interact.” Matt shrugged his broad shoulders, and closed his green eyes as he took a long swallow of his dark cup.
“That could go well,” Brian quipped from his seat by Vivien’s feet; in one hand he held a tumbler emblazoned with the words ‘Jack Daniels No. 7,’ and he relaxed after completing his task of tucking Vivien deep inside a flannel-print fleece blanket to protect her from the shivers. The four men froze as she turned over, her eyes slightly parted. Zachary quickly reached over the back of the dinette seat to stroke her hair out of her face, and the redhead seemed to settle back into the deep, even breathing of sleep. “You know how Johnny acts around her,”
“Val’s not as young as Johnny.” His voice definitive, Matt relaxed his crushing grip on the cup as not to ruin another of the eight Tervis Tumblers Vivien had brought with her on tour. Ordering replacements for the cups he had previously broken had been a pain in the ass. “I have confidence in her. Plus, Brian, you saw that they would be friends. It has to work out somehow.”
“And what if she doesn’t deserve all of this confidence you have in her?” Jimmy lifted an eyebrow a he spoke in a quiet voice from the armchair positioned across from the couch. From Vivien’s feet, Brian glanced over at the sleeping girl; before he could think of the bad scenarios for the next day, he screwed his eyes shut in the same manner a child would cover his and pretend the world couldn’t see him. He knew that somehow, most of his “hunches” - as the boys called them during daylight hours - had a way of working themselves out.
“Jimmy. Don’t do that, I think it gives her nightmares.” The guitarist sounded exhausted as he shuddered and took a swig of his cup. “I’m not looking forward to it. Not considering what happened that first night,” In the dinette, Zachy suppressed a shiver and took a hearty draught from his Tervis Tumbler - which had an embroidered guitar captive between the plastic walls of the cup.
“We couldn’t do to Valary what we had to do to Johnny. She’d end up taking Vivien out.” The blue-eyed guitarist practically glared at Matthew. “Would you be able to, Matt?” The singer gazed down into his own cup, which had a small, old-fashioned microphone inside the plastic of it.
“No.”
His reply was quiet, almost shamed. Brian practically hissed at the truth of the words.
“I think it’s time for bed. It will be morning soon.” Jimmy stood and placed his empty cup in the sink. Matt and Zachy were compelled to do the same. “Brian? Are you coming?”
“I’d like to sit with her. Turn out the light before you lay down.” Jimmy nodded. After a few moments, the bus went dark, and Brian carefully arranged himself in the corner of the couch before he closed his eyes to sleep.
“She’s out?” Matthew asked Zachy, who nodded as he took a seat across from the muscular man at the dinette table. Matt’s voice was hoarse, as it had a tendency to be after a long day’s worth of singing - the boys had been enticed into encores pushing the boundaries of what Kevin Lyman would allow for length. Nevertheless, his excitement trickled through his hoarseness as he reclined as far back as the stiff-backed bench would allow. “Valary’s supposed to get here tomorrow.”
“And you’re excited about that?” Jimmy asked from where he sat, looking quite stately in the armchair with a long-stemmed (plastic, which ruined the effect) glass clutched in his palm; at night, he had a tendency to act much more subdued than in daylight.
“I want to see how they interact.” Matt shrugged his broad shoulders, and closed his green eyes as he took a long swallow of his dark cup.
“That could go well,” Brian quipped from his seat by Vivien’s feet; in one hand he held a tumbler emblazoned with the words ‘Jack Daniels No. 7,’ and he relaxed after completing his task of tucking Vivien deep inside a flannel-print fleece blanket to protect her from the shivers. The four men froze as she turned over, her eyes slightly parted. Zachary quickly reached over the back of the dinette seat to stroke her hair out of her face, and the redhead seemed to settle back into the deep, even breathing of sleep. “You know how Johnny acts around her,”
“Val’s not as young as Johnny.” His voice definitive, Matt relaxed his crushing grip on the cup as not to ruin another of the eight Tervis Tumblers Vivien had brought with her on tour. Ordering replacements for the cups he had previously broken had been a pain in the ass. “I have confidence in her. Plus, Brian, you saw that they would be friends. It has to work out somehow.”
“And what if she doesn’t deserve all of this confidence you have in her?” Jimmy lifted an eyebrow a he spoke in a quiet voice from the armchair positioned across from the couch. From Vivien’s feet, Brian glanced over at the sleeping girl; before he could think of the bad scenarios for the next day, he screwed his eyes shut in the same manner a child would cover his and pretend the world couldn’t see him. He knew that somehow, most of his “hunches” - as the boys called them during daylight hours - had a way of working themselves out.
“Jimmy. Don’t do that, I think it gives her nightmares.” The guitarist sounded exhausted as he shuddered and took a swig of his cup. “I’m not looking forward to it. Not considering what happened that first night,” In the dinette, Zachy suppressed a shiver and took a hearty draught from his Tervis Tumbler - which had an embroidered guitar captive between the plastic walls of the cup.
“We couldn’t do to Valary what we had to do to Johnny. She’d end up taking Vivien out.” The blue-eyed guitarist practically glared at Matthew. “Would you be able to, Matt?” The singer gazed down into his own cup, which had a small, old-fashioned microphone inside the plastic of it.
“No.”
His reply was quiet, almost shamed. Brian practically hissed at the truth of the words.
“I think it’s time for bed. It will be morning soon.” Jimmy stood and placed his empty cup in the sink. Matt and Zachy were compelled to do the same. “Brian? Are you coming?”
“I’d like to sit with her. Turn out the light before you lay down.” Jimmy nodded. After a few moments, the bus went dark, and Brian carefully arranged himself in the corner of the couch before he closed his eyes to sleep.
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title credit; The 69 Eyes, HeviosoThank you so much for the love and subscriptions, dearies! It means so much to me that someone is willing to read my pitiful banter! :) I'm sorry I repay you with such a short chapter, but I PROMISE the next one is going to rock!