Turning A Page

"Come on Susie, you know I had to tell them!" It came out a bit muffled due to the hand clamped over my mouth and the fact that I was upside down. I had just found out firsthand that Matt really was as strong as he looked. He currently had one hand covering my mouth, as his other arm was around my waist, holding me tight against his chest with my legs kicking in the air above me, much to the amusement of everyone else in the room. Thankfully his arm around me was keeping my shirt from exposing too much of my flesh.

Val finally came to my rescue, playfully hitting her boyfriend and ordering him to put me down so we could get on with the show. The girls had shown up while the guys were busy setting up their gear in Matt's basement, putting the guys into a frenzy. They were instantly swearing and muttering under their breaths while trying to look innocent. It was a funny sight until I was grabbed.

"I don't get how you don't wanna strip for your women. Or how you could think they wouldn't know about this. You know they would've killed me and then come after you if they missed out." The boys tried to interrupt several times, but a quick harsh look soon had them shutting their mouths in defeat. Oh yea, I was good. Or maybe it was because the girls were right behind me, glaring too. Either way, they knew I had a point.

Taking up various positions on the furniture scattered around the room we waited for the guys to finish tuning their instruments and talked quietly amongst ourselves. "I can't believe you got them to agree to this!" Michelle exclaimed happily. "Syn's not big on getting naked."

I had to laugh at that, "I noticed. He was the most hesitant. Jimmy said yes straight off the bat though and it was kinda obvious Stevie would. That boy's been trying to get himself or me naked practically since we met." I couldn't help but blush thinking about how shameless his flirting was. At least everyone else got a chuckle out of it though.

"He's so into you," Eve spoke up from beside me, her hand coming to rest on my shoulder. "You guys would be cute together."

"We kinda pissed JC off a bit before. We were making out on his bed," I confided, as my blush grew deeper.

Before I could explain any further we were interrupted by Matt's deep, booming voice, "Gossip session ends now. It's time to rock!" With that said, we quickly broke away from our huddle and I waited anxiously for the music to start up.

"Ok, we're gunna start with some older stuff, to get youin the mood," Johnny explained, "then we'llshock you with the new stuff."

The music blew me away. There was so much going on all at the same time it was hard to choose who to watch. The way Jimmy's arms were flying about, crashing and pounding with such precision was mind-blowing. Syn was obviously a very talented guitarist, his solos were astounding and it was hard to believe that any human could play like that. Matt's voice was incredible, pure and simple. There were so many aspects to it, the low gravely tones moved to harsh screaming then the tenderness kicked into overdrive on the ballads. Then there were the final lines of M.I.A. where his voice had a haunting hollowness that sent shivers down my spine. Zacky was strutting around, having fun just rocking out. Watching him playing back to back with Syn was hot - it was like they were destined to compliment each other. Then there was Johnny, plucking away on his bass. I'd never seen him look so much at ease as he did while he was playing. He was completely into the groove, singing along at some parts, other times looking like he was off in his own little world where only the music existed.

Seeing them play right in front of my eyes was so much better than I had imagined. The music was addictive, my head nodding along to the beat, hands tapping out a random rhythm on my knees. Every now and then I'd catch a look from one of the other girls, our huge smiles matching. I couldn't even pick out a favourite song. So far I'd loved every single one.

Breaking Their Hold, Chapter Four, Unholy Confessions, Bat Country, M.I.A., Burn It Down and Seize The Day were played before Matt announced we were going to hear some of the new songs. The other girls had clearly had a taste of what was to come, from being in the studio and such, but I was practically jumping in my seat.

Zacky had noticed, and came over to sit on me for a second. His guitar was still strapped to him, and he was a little sweaty, but the sweet way he was laughing at me as he placed a quick peck on the corner of my mouth made his actions acceptable.

"Excited huh, Princess?" he joked as he got up, returning to his previous spot alongside Matt.