I Saw Your Heart as It Overtook Me

Here I sit in the corner of a cold, dirty jail cell, counting down the time until the police officer comes back down the hall to tell me that someone had posted bail for me. I'm not sure how long I've been here, but I have a feeling it's been a while.

I looked down at my hand and examined the cut that went across the top of it. I wrinkled my nose a bit knowing that when it healed it would just turn into another scar to add to my on going collection.

"Lauren Baker?"

I tore my eyes from my hand and looked up at the officer who was standing on the other side of the bars, making quick work of the lock.

"You're free to go." He said, swinging the door open.

I scrambled to my feet and quickly made my way over to him As soon as I was through the door and out into the hallway, the officer shut the door once again and began to lead me towards the exit. I sighed a little to myself, thinking about last nights events and before I knew it I had been lead into the little waiting area at the head of the jail house.

"Alright ma'am, have a nice day." The officer said, disappearing back into the hallway.

I rolled my eyes and looked around the room searching for Mattie, frowning a little bit when I didn't see anybody I recognized. After about a minute of so of looking around at unfamiliar faces, I decided to go outside, thinking that maybe my party was waiting for me out there. I reached the door and grabbed a hold of the handle when someone put their hand on my shoulder, stopping me.

"Hey Lauren, there you are." JB said, giving me a nervous smile.

"Oh, hey JB." I grinned. "Where were you at?"

"I was hiding over by the vending machine." He joked, nodding towards them. "The damn thing took my dollar."

"That sucks." I laughed. "Where's Matt at?"

"Eh, the guys had one of the earlier sets today. They're probably playing right now."

"Oh." I said quietly, obviously bummed about missing the guys first set of the tour.

"But if we hurry I'm sure we'll be able to make it before they finish up." JB suggested, seeing my expression.

"How did you get here though?"

"I took the muni." He said proudly as he led me outside. "And I didn't get lost once."

I laughed a little and shook my head as we continued on down the sidewalk. It took us a few minutes to figure out how to get back down to the station underground but ten minutes later we were able to hop on a line that took us towards the piers. [For those of you who live in San Fran I know there's not an underground muni thingy that takes you directly from downtown to the piers but eh, pretend for a second there is]

"So." JB said after a couple of minutes of silence. "Whose ass did you kick last night?"

"Matt didn't tell you?" I huffed.

JB shook his head.

"Val." I muttered.

"What? What the hell is she doing up here?"

"My guess is that she and Alex are back together and, well, their guys are on the bill again this year too."

"Oh." JB said quietly. "Where did you run into her at anyway?"

"In the bathrooms at the club. She was trying to be all ... whatever and so I had to show her what the fuck was up. Some other chicks came in and then ran off to go get security. Matt came in and tried to pry me away from her and when he finally did that's when the security came in. I probably would have been able to go home with Matt but I was still sort of drunk and they decided to call the cops on me." I said in monotone.

JB nodded his head and turned to the side to look out the window, a little smile playing on the corners of his lips.

"It's not funny, JB."

He let his grin spread across his face as he shrugged his shoulders.

"It kinda is ... for some odd reason."

"Well ... " I trailed off, thinking to myself. "Maybe a little."

I reached over and pulled the cable, signaling for the driver to stop at the next station. A few minutes later JB was flashing his backstage pass every once in a while to get us through the crowds. As he pulled me deep and deeper into the venue, in the distance I heard the faints sounds of 'Burn It Down,' one of the new songs off of City of Evil, playing in somewhere up ahead of us.

"Who teched for Jimmy today?" I asked.

"Um ... the dude who techs for Bob offered to do it."

Finally JB was pulling me up the ramp behind the main stage and a second later I found we were on the side of the stage to join Lissa, Amber, Shawna, and Alyssa who were standing there, watching the set. They all turned to look at me, giving me some slightly bemused looks before turning back to the guys as they finished up the song.

Matt glanced over to where I was standing with JB and a smile broke out across his face when he locked his eyes with mine. He gave me a little wave, which I returned, and he turned to tell Zacky something. Zacky turned and looked at me for a split second before he turned around and said something to Syn. Meanwhile, Matt went off to go share his words with Johnny and Jimmy.

"Alright you guys," Zacky said, speaking into his mic, "this is the last song we're gonna play for you guys today. It's off our new record so you'd best go out and buy that shit."

"You guys know every great rock records needs to have that one slower song that tone us all down a bit." Matt said, turning back to the crowd. "And this song right here is that song, motherfuckers. I wrote this song for someone I hold dear to my heart and who's inspired me in more ways than she'll ever know."

I felt JB nudge my side a little and I did my best to ignore him as Matt looked back over at me, giving me a soft smile.

"Seize the day or die regretting the time you lost ... "

************************************************

I lay there on the couch with Matt, his arms wrapped around my waist holding me close to while, while my arms were wrapped loosely around his shoulders. The rest of the gang was scattered about the bus, off in their own little worlds with their better halves, leaving Matt and I to ourselves.

Which seems like a miracle because they've been teasing us non-stop since the end of their set. I admit it was quiet a surprise that Matt had come up with, one of those that made me all giddy inside.

I felt Matt's fingers start to trace random designs on the exposed portion of my lower back as he began to hum softly. Already being one of my favorite songs on their new album, I knew the words to it by heart, but now that I knew who they were really for it seemed to strike me in a whole new way.

"Baby?" Matt asked softly. "How do you think your brother would reached it we really got engaged?"

I laughed a little.

"Knowing Zacky he'd probably get all worked up, have to punch someone once or twice, beat the shit out of someone else, avoid us for a week or so ... and after he'd get all that out of his system he'd be happier than a preppy cheerleader who just got asked to prom by the Varsity quarterback."

Matt fell silent for a few seconds.

"Oh. Well, that's, er ... encouraging?"

"Don't worry, I don't think it'd be as bad as I made it sound." I joked.

He gave me a weak smile and nodded his head.

"Well babe," he paused for a second to kiss my forehead softly, "you should probably go get ready for dinner, eh?"

"Okay." I sighed.

However, I only tightened my arms around Matt's shoulders, causing him to laugh a little.

"Or would you rather starve for the night?" He joked.

"I don't have anything to wear." I lied.

"What? Bull shit. You mean to tell me when you and Shawna hijacked me and Johnny's credit cards so you could 'go get new clothes for the tour' that it was just a lie?" He asked with a hint of amusement in his voice.

I nodded my head, trying to keep a straight face.

"Oh, well, I'm sure you can find something to thrown on." Matt laughed.

I gave him a cute smile and unwrapped my arms from his shoulders so I could pull myself into sitting position. I felt a sudden pinch in my neck and I reached up, trying to knead the pain away. Just then Zacky decided to walk into the room, eating a push-up pop mind you, and he shot me a funny look which I returned.

"What'd you do to your neck?" He asked.

I shrugged my shoulders.

"I think I just gave Matt one too many blow jobs and pulled something in my neck." I smirked.

Zacky gave me a horrified look before he made a gagging sound and made a mad dash back down the hallway.

"You know, he's probably gone have a nightmare tonight now." Matt said, raising an eyebrow in accusation.

"What?" I grinned. "I was just telling him the truth."

I laughed a little to myself and stood up, making my way down the hallway. I stopped in front of me and Matt's bunk to grab something real fast when I heard the curtains open on the bunk behind me.

"You're sick." Zacky mumbled.

"What'd you do this time Lauren?" Amber asked.

"Hey, I ain't said nothin' but the truth." I said, turning around and holding up my hands as if to show them I was innocent."

Zacky rolled his eyes and shook his head a little while Amber stifled a laugh.

"I'm gonna have to separate you two." Zacky said sternly, shaking a finger at me with one hand while his other held his slightly melted push-up pop.

It was my turn to roll my eyes and I turned back to my bunk, making sure my brother got a pretty good look at my middle finger in the process. Finally, I found what I was looking for and I turned around only to come face to face with Matt.

"Oh, hello there." I said slowly, having been caught off guard.

"Hello yourself." He replied in his 'sexy' voice.

"Gosh, you two are pathetic." Zacky muttered.

A split second later I heard the sound of someone getting smacked upside the head and a little 'owch' from Zacky, followed by Amber's giggle.

"Yeah ... anyway, I'm gonna jump in the shower real fast." I told Matt.

He nodded his head and turned to Zacky and Amber's bunk.

"Hey Amber, mind if I steal Zacky from you real fast?" He asked.

"For?" Amber replied.

"Because I wanna cuddle with him in my bunk."

"Oh, I didn't know you swung like that, Matt." Amber joked.

"What can I say?" Matt sighed as Zacky climbed out of the bunk. "I just can't get enough of those Baker's."

I shook my head and couldn't help but let a smile spread across my face as I made my way to the bathroom. I barely beat Lissa to the bathroom, who was leading a somewhat ... anxious looking Syn along by his hand.

"I, but, hey!" Lissa said as I shut the door in their faces. "We were here first!"

"Take it to the back room, horn dogs." I said, locking the door and getting 'down to business.'

About fifteen minutes later, I emerged from the bathroom, fully dressed and ready to go. I tossed my dirty clothes onto me and Matt's bunk before I continued down the hallway to the front of the bus, finding everybody already waiting there for me.

"It's about time, slow poke." Shawna smirked.

"Hey ... pipe down." I said, reaching over to pull Matt to his feet, only to have my hands slapped away by my brother.

I gave him a dirty look and he stood up, wrapping an arm casually around my shoulders.

"I'll be your escort tonight." He said.

I laughed a little at the part when he said 'escort' because, come on ... escort? Who the hell talks like that anymore?

"Hey, I was serious when I said I was gonna separate you two." He huffed, leading me down the stairs by my hand and out into the nice, cool San Francisco evening.

Once we got to the sidewalk, Zacky put his arm back around my shoulder and I looked back to the bus to find Matt helping a very, very pregnant Amber down the stairs. Leave it to Zacky to forget his impregnated wife back on the bus.

"So ... where do you wanna eat, sis?" Zacky asked out of the blue.

"What? I actually get a say in things for once?" I asked sarcastically.

"Yeah, why not, it's your day I suppose." He said, giving me ... weird smile.

"Okay." I said slowly.

Some time later, after what felt like a zillion blocks, two dozen restaurants, and one homeless bum, we finally came across a restaurant that looked like a keeper.

"This one?" Zacky asked.

Actually it sounded more like a demand than an actual question, but it didn't matter because I already decided that this is where we were gonna eat anyway. We filed into the restaurant and found ourselves quickly seated even though the place was packed. I think it might have been because the waiter seating people was younger and looked as if he knew perfectly well who the guys were.

Somewhere between lead to our table and actually taking a seat around the thing, I was able to ditch Zacky and found my way back to Matt, who looked as if he had been ditched by Amber for Zacky. He gave me a soft smile and took my hand in his, helping me to my seat. He brought my hand up to press his lips to the back of it before he sat down in the seat beside mine. I flashed him a little smile before I turned to my other side and started to talk to Alyssa.

About a minute later another waiter came to give us our menus and take down our drinks. As he went back towards the kitchen to get our drinks and give us time to decide what we wanted to eat, I felt Matt tugging slightly on my hand, causing me to turn back to him.

"What's up babe?" I asked, noticing a little of color had gone from his face. "Are you okay?"

"What? I, uh, yeah." He replied, giving me a weak smile. "Come on." He added, pulling me to my feet.

"Matt, are you sure you're alright?" I asked. "You're not looking too ... good."

He nodded his head, holding tightly to my hand while he turned to look back at the table.

"Um ... g-guys?" He said nervously. "I ... before we, uh ... get, well ... fuck it, just listen up."

The gang instantly settled down and gave Matt their full attention. The suddenly silence seemed to make a little more color fade from Matt's complexion. He turned back to me, taking a deep breath, before he spoke again.

"Lauren, baby, you know I love you with all my fucking heart, and I've loved you ever since, well ... you kicked me in the nuts that time I guess." He said, earning a few snickers from the guys at the table. "And ... I ... um ... I ... " He paused for a second, swallowing down a lump in his throat. "Lauren, there's absolutely no other person I'd rather hold in my arms than you, no one else I'd rather make love to, and no one else I'd rather spend the rest of my life with. So, uh ... having said that ... w-w-will you ... um ... "

- || Matt's POV || -
I felt like such an idiot, fumbling over my words much like my fingers were fumbling over the ring in my pocket as I tried to grab a hold of it and pull it out. Lauren stared up at me with a look of bewilderment and anxiety, her soft, delicate hand grasping tightly to my own.

"Will you ... "

I paused once again, finally succeeding in grabbing the ring and pulling it out.

"Will you marry me?" I asked.

Or tried to ask, but seeing as how my heart was beating up in my damn throat, I wasn't able to get anything out but a little squeak ... yes, a squeak.

"What was that?" Lauren asked, not yet spotting the ring I held in my other hand.

I cleared my throat and got down on one knee, causing Lauren's mouth to drop open and a few gasps from everyone at the table ... except for Zacky because he already knew what I was gonna do ... because I had already asked his 'permission.'

"Lauren Amber Baker." I said softly, holding the ring up for her to see. "Will you marry me?"

If there was ever a time I'd have thought my heart could actually beat a hole right through my chest, this was it. The few seconds of silence that followed seemed to last an eternity, during which all eyes were focused on Lauren and all ears were tuned in, waiting for her answer.

"Matt ... " She trailed off, opening and closing her mouth as if she had suddenly lost the ability of speech.

"Holy shit Lauren, just say yes." Zacky spoke up. "We all know you want to."

Lauren whipped her head in Zacky's direction, giving him a horrified look before she turned her eyes back to mine and slowly but surly nodded her head.

"I ... y-yes? You will?" I asked anxiously.

"Yes." She said weakly. "Yes." She repeated, her voice finally working properly for her. "Yes, I'll marry you Matt."

She suddenly burst into a smile, her entire face lighting up with happiness which seemed to lift all the weight off of my chest that had been sitting there since I decided that today was the day I was going to ask her. I let a smile of my own show on my lips as I slipped the ring onto her finger and stood up, quickly pressing my lips to hers.

Anybody who would argue that today was not thee fucking best day ever sure as hell don't know what the flying fuck they're talking about. Today was perfect, just like my career ... just like my life ... just like my fiance standing here before me.
- || End of Matt's POV || -