At Least I Know I'm A Sinner

MALLORY'S P.O.V.

"You all might wanna put your keys in the jar over there, because I'm sure we'll all be drinking."

Zacky laughed as he indicated an empty jar on the stand next to the door, and put his own on a hook on the other side.

"I just want to go to bed," I mumbled in Syeira's ear.

"Jesus Christ, Mallory. Will you cheer up already?" She wrapped her arm around my shoulder as we followed everyone else into the living room. "I just kicked the shit out of the reason why you and Matt can't get together!"

I chuckled but that sure didn't alleviate my suspicions that Heather would still try something.

"Zacky, where's your nearest bathroom?" I asked as everyone else sat down.

He extended one of his arms and pointed down a hallway to his right. I just laughed.

"Am I gonna have to go through all the rooms in that hallway until I find the bathroom, or what?"

"Forgive him," Jimmy said. "He's an idiot. Bathroom's the second door on the left."

I headed in that direction and found the bathroom door. I didn't see anyone in the mirror, so I pushed the door open some more and saw Matt standing there with his back to me, using what I needed to.

"Umm..." I didn't know what to say.

It was like a train wreck. All I could see was his backside, fully clothed of course, but I couldn't turn around or look away. He, on the other hand, just busted up laughing.

"Jesus Christ, Mal. You're staring." He kept laughing, then finished his business and zipped his jeans. He turned back around to see me still standing there, staring at him in shock.

I just turned and walked back towards the living room, Matt's raucous laughter following me.

"Mal, what's wrong?" Courtney asked after seeing the shocked expression on my face.

I took a seat next to her and was about to explain what happened when Matt entered the living room, doubled-over with laughter and clutching his side.

"Shads, what the fuck is your problem, dude?" Brian asked, smiling in spite of himself.

"She..." he pointed at me but couldn't continue because he was laughing so hard.

Johnny walked over and slapped Matt in the face to bring him out of his fit.

"Shit," he said, wiping away a tear. "I was taking a piss, then Mallory walked in and it freaked her out."

"Was it really that funny?' I pouted.

"It's not like everyone in this room hasn't seen Shads's dick at one point or another in time."

Zacky laughed at his own statement, and everyone else soon followed.

"Yeah," Jimmy said, still laughing. "I'm pretty sure everyone in this room has."

I just raised my eyebrows at him.

"Oh, come on, Mal. Get a sense of humor," Courtney said.

"She didn't see anything worth seeing anyways," Matt said with a smile, taking a seat on the coffee table. "My back was turned."

We sat around and chatted for a little while, everyone getting up at one point or another to grab their own drink of choice. As everyone was settling in and arguing over what movie to watch first, the doorbell rang. Jimmy was nearest the door, so he got up to see who it was.

"Shit, it's a cop car," he whispered, peeling back the curtains and peering outside.

"What'd you do this time, Sasquatch?" Johnny joked.

"It's not for me, asshat." He squinted to get a better look at whoever was standing outside. "It's fucking Heather."

Out of my peripheral vision, I saw everyone's jaw drop, including mine. I looked over at Syeira, my face showing fear and concern for her as Zacky got up and opened the door.

"Good evening, officer." You could tell he had done this several times before. "Is there a problem?"

"Yes." The officer called someone else over to him, and a few seconds later, Jimmy invited them all inside. There was a second officer, along with Heather and her small posse.

"We're looking for a Syeira Haughten. She wasn't at her residence, and we were told that you were a friend of hers. We thought maybe we could find her here, or you'd know where we could find her."

"She's right there, officer."

She pointed straight at Syeira, who just stared back at Heather as though she wanted to rip her heart out and feed it to her. But she wasn't stupid enough to try anything in front of two armed policemen.

"Ms. Haughten?" the first officer questioned Sisi.

"Yes, sir," she said, standing up.

"Ms. Stephens is pressing charges against you for assault. They all said that you threw the first and only punch. We have to take you down to the station with us."

None of us could do or say anything because we knew that there was nothing that could have been said or done to change what happened. As much as it killed everyone to admit it, Heather was in the right, and we all knew it.

"Heather, what the fuck are you doing?" Matt yelled, standing up next to me.

"Just a second, officer."

She took slow steps towards the two of us, everyone's eyes plastered on her.

"I told you that you'd pay," she snarled. Matt wrapped a protective arm around my waist as she leaned in between our heads so no one else could hear what she was about to say.

"This could all go away in two seconds," she whispered. "And you know exactly what it would take."

She wanted him back, and I knew that that was exactly what she was talking about, and so did Matt.

"Fuck that," he whispered back. "We're not together anymore, and that's the way it's staying."

Everyone just stared at us as we held out own private conversation. I caught Syeira's eye; she furrowed her eyebrows at me and cocked her head to the side.

I couldn't let this bitch send my best friend to jail.

"Matt, can I talk to you in the other room, please?" I asked quietly.

Heather smirked, and Matt questioned me with his looks, but excused us from the living room and steered us back to a secluded room. I guess it was Zacky's practice room, as it was full of guitars, wires, amps, and sheet music.

"Matt, please go with her," I said quickly, before he even had time to shut the door.

I wanted him...I wanted him bad, and I wanted him for myself, but my best friend was more important right now.

"What?" he asked in disbelief. "Mallory, come on. You can't be serious."

"I...I am."

His arms fell to his sides and his expression went almost blank.

"Is this your way of getting back at me for what I said this morning?" he accused. "Mallory...I like you a lot. I really do. But I told you I needed time."

"Matt, please." My reserve was draining with every second either one of us spoke. "Please don't make this any harder than it already is."

He sighed in frustration and rubbed his hands over his face.

"This isn't about us, Matt. It's about Syeira. I don't want to see my best friend facing jail time."

"Mallory, this is exactly what she wants...me to go back to her. She's malicious, manipulative, and vindictive. But there are ways to beat her, you know."

"How?" I questioned, putting my hands on my hips.

"We can think of something, but we can't let her win this way. Let the officers take her down to the station. Zacky will go with her and pay her bail, and she'll be back here within the hour. Then we'll wait for a court date."

He sure was doing everything in his power to make sure he didn't have to leave with Heather.

It was my turn to rub my hands over my face. I didn't want Sisi to have to face jail time, but I somehow trusted Matt.

"I sure fucking hope you know what the hell you're doing, Matt."

I walked past him and out the door. He gripped my shoulder and steered me down the hallway and back to the waiting group of people in the living room.

The solemn look on my face must've made Heather think that she had already won. She smirked in triumph as we re-entered the room, then everyone stood up and she held out her hand for him to take. He gave her a low-five, then sat down on the coffee table and pulled me down next to him. The look on her face when Matt slapped her hand was priceless, and I would've laughed out loud if it hadn't been for the seriousness of the situation.

One of the officers started reading Syeira her rights as the other one cuffed her. I didn't wanna look at her because I felt that I had betrayed her in a way. When her and the policemen had left and Heather had slammed the door shut, furious chatter broke out among the rest of us.

"What the fuck are we gonna do?" Zacky panicked.

"Zacky, calm the fuck down, man," Jimmy said.

"First, Zacky, you need to go down to the station and bail Syeira out, then bring her back here. We'll figure out what to do when she gets back."

Everyone just shook their heads, and Zacky left for the jailhouse with Johnny.

"God, that girl is a fucking bitch, Matt," Brian said after about 10 minutes of silence, leaning his head back on the couch. "Why the fuck did you even get with her in the first place, dude?"

"Call it a moment of pure fucking insanity," he mumbled. Then he pressed a pillow over his face.

"Matt, what the hell are you doing?" Courtney asked with slight amusement.

"I'm trying to suffocate myself," his muffled voice replied. "Maybe this will have turned out to be a giant fucking nightmare."

I tugged the pillow off his face and out of his grip, then threw it at Anna, who laughed then caught it in mid-air.

"Aww, Mal cares!" Torrence taunted for the whole room to hear

I blushed, and turned my head amidst jaunts and teasing.

"Don't you guys have anything better to do than to tease me?" I asked, shoving a laughing Matt in the shoulder. "Can't we at least turn on the fucking Tv or something?"

Brian was nearest to the remote, so he grabbed it, turned on the Tv, and flipped through the channels as everyone's laughter died down and they got comfortable. I sat on the only other free seat that had been vacated by Zacky a little while ago, and Matt sat in front of me on the floor.

"Anything good on?" Jimmy called from the kitchen where he was getting another beer.

Brian suddenly leaped up from his chair and ran down the hallway, disappearing into a random room. He came back a few minutes later, arms laden with and XBox-360, Guitar Hero 3, and two guitars.

"We're gonna play..." he said as he set the stuff in front of the Tv. "...fucking Guitar Hero."

"Brian...you're a dumbass," Courtney said with a laugh.

"So you're telling me," I said, standing from the coffee table as Brian and Matt set up the system. "That even though you play guitar for a living, you're a Guitar Hero officionado as well?"

"I do it because the songs are so easy for me, it reminds me of how awesome I am at this in real life."

He stood up and puffed out his chest then went back to hooking the XBox up to Zacky's living room Tv.

"I'll play against Be-Rian first," Jimmy said, snatching a guitar off the table and placing the strap around him to hold the guitar more securely in place. "Set it on medium level."

"Bring it on, Bigfoot."

It was one of the most ironic things I've ever seen. I was watching someone who played drums for a living...as he was playing Guitar Hero.

"I can't believe I'm actually watching this," I mumbled, but loud enough for the people nearest me to hear.

"I know, right?" Anna laughed. "A drummer....playing guitar."

I laughed along with her as we sat around the Tv and took turns playing Guitar Hero: Anna didn't play, Jimmy beat Brian by a landslide, Courtney beat Jimmy, Matt beat Courtney, and then it was my turn to play against Matt. Anna had gone off to talk on the phone with her mom, Courtney was in the bathroom, and Brian, Jimmy, and Torrence were getting more drinks out of the kitchen.

"Pick a song, Mal," Matt said as everyone came back into the living room to watch our little showdown.

"Ummm...." I scrolled through the list of songs. "...School's Out?"

He started the song, and we waited for it to load; me playing lead, and him playing rhythm.

"That's not fair, Matthew," I mocked. "I'm gonna have more notes than you."

He just laughed at me as the guitars appeared on the screen and we began to play the song.

"Damn, Matt. She's kicking your ass," Brian said with a laugh.

"I'm not the one who plays guitar on a regular basis and loses on Guitar Hero to the drummer in my band," Matt replied as he struggled to remain focused on the last part of the song.

"And Matt officially loses to a girl," Jimmy said with a laugh.

"You guys suck."

Matt flipped everyone off, then Torrence decided she wanted to play, and since she never had before, Brian took her through the tutorial and helped her learn how. Matt and I took their seats on the couch.

"What time is it?" I sighed as I leaned my head back on the couch headrest.

"Are you trying to say that we're boring?" Matt joked, poking my side.

I jerked up and giggled, because I was ticklish.

"No," I said.

"Well, it's..." Torrence checked her watch. "...it's just after midnight."

"They've been gone for over two hours. Now where the hell are Syeira and Zacky?"

I leaned my head back onto the couch again, leaning it up enough to watch Torrence play her first song on Easy, right as keys jingled in the front door and it was opened to reveal Zacky, Syeira, and Johnny, laden with bags of Taco Bell.

"Syeira!" I ran over to her.

"Calm down, Mal," she chuckled. "I'm fine. I think it's funny that all this shit is happening anyways."

"What's with all the Taco Bell?" Brian asked, Johnny setting all the food onto the coffee table.

"Well, it's food, and food is generally for eating," Johnny stated, unwrapping a burrito of some kind and taking a huge bite.

"Way to state the obvious, Captain," Brian retorted. "I meant why'd you buy it?"

"Was your ass planning on cooking?"

Zacky had re-entered the room that I never saw him leave carrying drinks for him, Sisi, and Johnny. He raised his eyebrows in inquiry at Brian, who just shrugged his shoulders and began to devour his own burrito.

"Sorry we were late though, guys," Zacky said once he had settled. "We woulda been back here about half an hour ago, but Syeira was annoying the cops."

"Do I even want to know?" I asked, snagging my own cheesy potatoes before everything was gone.

"I started singing in the back seat on the way to the station, and they didn't seem to like it."

"And she was doing it in the cell, too," Zacky said through a mouthful of food as he rolled his eyes.

"What were you singing that annoyed them so much?" Anna wondered.

"Bad girl, bad girl. What am I gonna do? What am I gonna do, now that they've come for me?"

I had my burrito halfway to my open mouth, and stopped when Syeira had finished. And I wasn't the only one. Everyone except Zacky and Johnny were staring at her.

"Syeira," I said quietly. "Don't ever do that again."

We all busted up laughing, then kept eating and talked some more.

"So, other than missing me terribly, what did you guys do while the three of us were gone?"

Syeira threw her trash into one of the bags, then looked at me to answer her question.

"We played Guitar Hero, and...we played Guitar Hero."

She shoved the trash off the table and picked up a guitar.

"Which one?" she asked.

"Three is in there right now," Matt said.

"You got two?"

"It should be in the GH3 case," Brian said.

She switched the games, and chose Psycholbilly Freakout.

"God, I hate playing that song," Brian said. "I can never get more than 90% on it."

"That's because I rule at this game, and, well, you just suck."

Syeira smiled at her own comment, then started playing the notes that had appeared on the screen.

For anyone who's ever played Guitar Hero 2...you know that Psychobilly Freakout is a hard song, especially on medium, which is what Sisi was playing on. We all just sat there and watched her in awe as she played the song almost perfectly.

"Holy fucking shit," Brian said as Sisi played the last note. "I wanna know what your percentage was."

As he said that, the stats screen popped up, and Syeira had completed Psychobilly Freakout with a 96%.

"Guitar Hero!" Syeira exclaimed. "For people who want to play the real guitar, but can't."

"I resent that, damnit," Brian said.

"I can't believe you're playing Guitar Hero, and you were just in jail," Torrence chuckled.

"I'm just good like that." She set the guitar down on the coffee table, and looked at us all in turn. "You know what it is right now, and I didn't even notice?"

It took a moment's contemplation before I understood what she was talking about.

'HAPPY FUCKING BIRTHDAY, SISI!" I yelled.

I rushed over to her and engulfed her in a hug with such force that she was knocked onto the ground, and I went with her. Almost immediately, I felt several bodies land on top of mine, and my lungs were getting crushed.

"Guys," I wheezed. "I can't breathe. You're crushing me."

Syeira, unable to breathe, just nodded.

"You're suffocating my girlfriend," Zacky said with a laugh. He walked over to our pile and started helping people up off the floor; most were laughing hysterically.

"Besides, I'm the only one that's allowed to lay on top of her, thank you very much."

"You only wish Zacky boy," Syeira said slyly as Zacky helped her up. Everyone laughed at her comment but Johnny's dumbass self had to ruin the moment by exclaiming "SHE TOLD YOU!"

"That was actually slightly obnoxious, Johnny." Torrence tried to keep a straight face but failed miserably.

"Yeah...Johnny's an idiot sometimes," Jimmy said.

"Let's try all the time," Brian said.

Everyone laughed then we all sat back down around the living room and hung out, since no one really felt like going to bed yet. None of us were quite yet tired.

SKIP 2 HOURS...STILL MALLORY'S P.O.V.

"Since I know you all have something fantastically fabulous planned for my birthday later today, I think it's time I went to bed. I'm exhausted," Syeira said, standing from the couch some two hours later. She grabbed Zacky's hand and pulled him off the couch and down the hall with her.

"You guys know what to do," Zacky said as he pointed at Matt, soon after going around the corner and disappearing down the hallway.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Anna asked, furrowing her eyebrows.

Everyone except me, Anna, and Torrence chuckled at my sister as everyone stood from their spots.

"We crash at each others' places all the time," Johnny explained. "That just means that we all find blankets or whatever and pick a bedroom. Other than his and Sisi's, that is."

She just mouthed the word "oh", and I grabbed for my keys.

"We should probably be going then," I said.

"What the hell for?" Brian asked with a smile.

"Because..." I started.

"Bullshit," Matt chuckled. "There's no point in you guys driving all the way back across town at 2:30 in the morning. You can just stay here."

"Yeah," chimed in Jimmy. "Zacky wouldn't mind. Besides, I'm sure he thought that you guys were gonna stay here anyways," he said as he walked out of the living room and down a random hallway.

"Come on, Mal." Courtney smirked at me. I just narrowed my eyes at her.

"You're not going home!" Jimmy yelled, running back into the room and past me with a blanket in his arms, taking my keys out of my hands and sprinting up the staircase. Anna followed closely behind him as she clutched her sides, laughing hysterically.

"Well then we..." I started again.

"Speak for yourself, Mallory," Torrence said.

"You're not sleeping on the couch," Matt interrupted. "Or the floor, or your car, or anywhere but a bed.

Well, Anna was already upstairs with Jimmy, Torrence wasn't leaving, and I had run out of excuses not to stay.

"Alright, fine," I said.

It's not the I didn't want to stay with them.

It's more that I don't trust myself.

"Come on," Matt whispered in my ear as everyone went their separate ways. "You can sleep in the bed that I usually take."

Courtney, of course, was with Brian, Torrence was in the room next to Johnny, and Anna with Jimmy.

He put his hand on the small of my back and guided me towards the stairs that Jimmy had disappeared up earlier.

"Then where will you sleep?" I wondered out loud.

"The futon right next to the bed that you'll be sleeping in."

"See?" Jimmy said as he came out of a nearby bathroom as Matt and I got to the top of the stairs. "Chivalry isn't dead."

"Shut up, Sasquatch."

Matt flicked Jimmy in the forehead, then lead me to the bedroom at the very end of the hallway.

There was a king size bed on the far side, and a twin size futon sitting near the opposite wall. I smiled to myself, as I imagined Matt's large frame spending an entire night on such a small surface.

No words were exchanged as we got into our sleeping spots. I removed my shoes and socks, then climbed into the bed and under the dark-blue comforter, still in the clothes that I had been wearing earlier. I looked over in time to see Matt take off his shirt and climb onto the metal frame of his resting place for the night. I blushed and layed my head back onto the pillows before he could notice me staring at him.

It took me around and hour to start feeling sleepy. The day's events just kept replaying themselves over and over in my mind like a slideshow. I just couldn't get to sleep, plus I was feeling bad because I was comfortably laying on the bed while Matt was tossing, turning, and shifting his position every five minutes.

"Matt?" I quietly asked.

"What?" he answered a few moments later. His voice was muffled, and I noticed that it was because he had pulled the covers all the way up over his head.

"Get your ass off that futon and into this bed."

"I'm perfectly fine and comfortable where I'm at."

He shifted his position yet again, and I distinctly heard a muffled "Ow. Fuck!" come from his mouth. I couldn't help but laugh.

"The hell you are." I chuckled at the pained expression on his face as he lifted the blankets off his head to look at me. "I know you're uncomfortable trying to sleep on that thing."

He just continued to look at me without saying anything.

"You can 86 the chivalry, Matt," I said with a laugh. "The last thing I need on my conscience is guilt for helping cause any back problems that you may develop to help ruin your career."

He just laughed.

"Don't be so dramatic, Mal."

He looked at me again.

"Alright, fine."

He got out from under his own covers and slowly made his way over to the bed. Let me just say that it was a good thing that it was almost completely dark in the room except for the moonlight that he passed through.

"I never pass up the chance to get into bed with a hot chick!"

He dramatically jumped onto the bed; I laughed along with him as the movement from the bed cause my position to shift little bit.

Our laughter died down as we continued to stare at each other. He slowly reached up his right hand and brushed a stray band of hair behind my ear that had fallen out of my ponytail.

My heart jumped into my throat and thumped loudly in my ears as I noticed him slightly leaning forward. Not being able to control myself or resist, I did the same.

"Hey Matt?"

The two of us jumped and moved quickly way from each other as Brian walked in and stopped short as Matt and I sitting on the bed, Matt in just his jeans, both of us looking extremely guilty.

"Did I interrupt something?" Brian smirked at us.

"No, we were just talking." I tried to sound casual as I made the excuse for both of us. Matt just nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, and I've never consumed alcohol before in my life." He laughed at his own joke. "So what were you kids talking about, huh?"

"None of your business, fucker," Matt said. "Now what did you want?"

"Touchy," Brian joked.

Matt flipped him off; Brian returned the favor.

"I, uh...forgot what I came in here for," Brian said thoughtfully.

"Please tell me you're kidding, because if you're not, I'll be forced to kick your ass."

"If I didn't interrupt anything, then what's the big deal?"

Matt just narrowed his eyes at Brian.

"I didn't think so," Brian said with a smile as he turned and walked towards the door. "I'll let you guys get back to your little 'chat' now," he said, using air quotes.

Matt sighed heavily and vigorously rubbed his hands over his face as Brian shut the door.

"YOU KNOW WHAT I REALIZED!" Matt and I heard Syeira shout just seconds after Brian shut the door.

I heard Torrence scream, "What?" and everyone anticipated Sisi's answer.

"SO MUCH FOR A HIDING SPOT! I'M GONNA KICK ZACKY'S ASS! GOODNIGHT!"

As Matt and I doubled over in laughter, you could hear a far door slam and a high-pitched yelp.

"Sorry about tonight," I apologized, meaning about telling Matt to go with Heather earlier.

"Dude I totally understand. You just didn't want Syeira to go to jail. It's all good." And when Matt flashed his smile at me, I felt like my heart wanted to stop.

So I kissed him. Softly.

"Goodnight Matt." I blushed and turned over.

Matt started to poke my sides.

"What the hell, Mal?! You can never leave a guy hanging like that!" I was squirming and laughing because of how ticklish I was.

"Oh yes I can," I teased and rolled back over because Matt's tickling had caused me to roll over and face him.

"Playing hard to get? Hmm..." and the tickling stopped. Well now I was scared. I looked over at Matt after five minutes just to make sure that he wasn't tricking me or anything and he was turned away from me and it looked like he was sleeping.

"You cannot be sleeping," I huffed and he sat up.

"You're right, I'm not." and he grabbed me around my waist and pulled me underneath him.

Then he kissed me in the same soft way that I kissed him.

"Goodnight Mallory."