Kings and Queens of Promise

I remained in San Francisco for a couple days before I turned my phone back on, finding endless frantic messages from Jared, Brian, Alex, Frank, and Jack.

I deleted them all and then dialed Jared’s number. After listening to his long lecture, I told him I was on my way home. I was about to leave the hotel when my phone rang. I dug it out of my purse and answered without looking at the ID.

“What?” I asked, assuming it was one of the guys checking up on me.

“Don’t hang up.” My hand tightened around the phone and I gritted my teeth.

“What do you want?” I demanded.

“Em, I’ve been such a dick,” Pierre said. “I don’t even know why, but...Remember what great friends we used to be?” I did remember. “Don’t you ever miss it?”

“I’m not the one who ruined it,” I said shortly. “And I didn’t abandon you when you needed me. I needed you to take care of me and be happy with me, but you had to turn it into some sort of competition with Jared. Then, when I thought I was going to die, you just left.”

“I know I did,” Pierre admitted. “And it’s the biggest mistake of my life. I want you to be happy, I really do.”

“How am I supposed to believe that?” I asked, tears stinging my eyes.

“You can believe me...because I love you, Em. I’ve been in love with you since you came to the mansion. I loved your laugh, your music, the way you were always teasing me and making me laugh. The way you would always pout when you were angry or annoyed and the way you’d get so hot and bothered. I fell in love with your selflessness and easy-going nature, your blunt honesty and your beauty inside and out. You can believe me because I’m willing to do anything to get you back. I need you, Em. Will you please open the door?”

I heard a knock on the hotel room door and I slowly turned the knob. The instant I had the door open, Pierre stepped in and swept me into his arms.

“You have to believe me, Em,” he said tenderly, gently holding my face in his hands.

“I do,” I said, and then he kissed me with such force that I stumbled backward. He held me against him tightly as his lips worked furiously against mine. I was caught up in the moment, my fingers tangled in his hair and his hands on my back. But then, all at once, the romance was gone. The kiss wasn’t passionate or romantic, it was just desperate. His lips were dry and chapped, and I felt like my lips were becoming permanently bruised by the amount of pressure he was putting on them.

I pushed him away.

“I’m sorry,” I said. “It’s just...there’s nothing between us, Pierre. I’m...I’m in love with Jared.”

“Of course you are,” he sighed, dropping his hands.

“I do love you, Pierre, just not enough,” I said, gently touching his shoulder. “Can’t we go back to the way we used to be? Before all the drama?” Pierre sighed and turned to look at me. His hand touched my lower back and he leaned in. I flinched, but he just kissed my forehead.

“I guess we can do that.”



“Em! Thank God!” I was enveloped in Jared’s arms as I landed neatly in front of the mansion. I made the flight in only 5 minutes this time, as anxious as I had been to see Jared.

“I’m sorry, Jared. I just needed some time to think,” I said, clinging to him.

“It’s okay, Em. I understand,” he said, smiling. “I’m just glad you’re okay.”

“Let’s go somewhere,” I said, taking his hands in mine. “Just you and me.”

“Emerson Gaskarth, are you asking me out?” Jared grinned.

“Maybe I am,” I replied, batting my eyelashes at him.

“Well then, I accept,” he said. I expected him to kiss me then, but he didn’t. He, instead, led me inside, where I got the third degree from Alex, Brian, Jack, and two worried gays.

“You should get changed,” Jared said to me. “Dress lightly.” As he went upstairs, Frank elbowed me and wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

“Not like that!” I exclaimed, jumping up. “Come help me pick an outfit.”

Frank helped me pick out a cute yet comfortable outfit and then I hugged him.

“You’re not worried about what that lady said anymore, are you?” Frank asked me.

“No, of course not,” I smiled.

“Good, because she was full of shit. That baby is going to be the most spoiled baby ever,” he smiled. “Have you seen the baby’s room yet?”

“No, I haven’t,” I admitted.

“Come on,” Frank grinned, taking my hand. He led me into the nursery and I smiled. The furniture was all white and the walls were soft pink. There was a polka-dot rug on the floor. Next to the crib sat a 3-and-a-half foot panda and in one corner stood a rocking horse elephant. In the crib was a Build-A-Bear bunny.

“Who made this?” I asked.

“Brian. He did all of it, including picking out the furniture.”

“Wow,” I said, thoroughly impressed and touched. I had to laugh, though, at the thought of big, bad Synyster Gates standing in like at Build-A-Bear and doing all that crazy jump on one foot and kiss the heart stuff they made you do. “He’s excited about this baby, huh?”

“Yeah, and it’s not even his,” Frank laughed. “You should see all the crazy onesies he got.”

“Oh, Lord,” I muttered, opening the dresser and peering inside. There were about 20 onesies in there, some more humorous than others. I heard someone else come in, but I was busy looking at my favorite onesie, which said ‘Going to be Gorgeous. Just look at my Mom!’

“I actually picked that one,” Jared said, wrapping his arms around me and resting his chin on my shoulder. I could feel the baby kicking against Jared’s hands. I leaned my head against Jared’s, letting out a contented smile.

“The way she’s kicking, you’d think the daddy was a drummer,” I chuckled.

“I wanna feel!” Frank demanded, making me laugh as Jared quickly removed his hands to make room. “Zacky, I can feel it!” he shouted, and then Zacky came in and started touching my stomach. It was so funny, because of course these were all grown men.

“You know what today is?” I asked them all.

“No, what?”

“32 weeks?” Jared suggested.

“Yup,” I said proudly.

“That means only like ten more.”

“Try seven,” I chuckled, shaking my head.

“Are you ready to go?” Jared asked me, kissing my cheek.

“Yup,” I said, turning to face him. He smiled and took my hand, leading me outside. He took me to my truck and opened my door for me, like the gentleman that he was.

“So, Miss Gaskarth,” he said as he took the wheel, “any specific music you’d like to hear?”

“Why, yes,” I smiled, digging in the center console for a CD. I plugged it in and a familiar song began to play, making Jared go, ‘oh, no.’ I smiled and sang along,

“I won't suffer, be broken, get tired, or wasted
Surrender to nothing, or give up what I
Started and stopped it, from end to beginning
A new day is coming, and I am finally free

Run away, run away, I'll attack
Run away, run away, go change yourself
Run away, run away, now I'll attack
I'll attack, I'll attack”

“You had to pick this one?”

“Yes, I did. The baby likes her some 30 Seconds to Mars,” I grinned. Jared rolled his eyes, fighting off a smile. “So, where are we going?”

“That, m’dear, is a surprise,” he said. It was getting late by now and I was surprisingly curious as to what we were doing. We pulled up to a Cold Stone right on the beach and I giggled with delight. “All we need is-”

“Ice cream and a hug,” I finished, leaning across the console and hugging Jared tightly. He made me stay in the car as he ran around to open my door for me. We went inside and got ice cream (Cold Stone has some of the best ice cream ever!) and then we walked onto the beach. Jared led me to the Huntington Beach Pier, a huge pier that stretched way out into the water.

We walked all the way to the edge of the pier, where we sat and looked out at the sunset.

“So, how was San Fran?” Jared asked after a little while.

“It sucked, honestly. There were too many rude people and the hotel smelled weird,” I replied, chuckling.

“Was anything good about it?”

“Well, something good happened while I was there,” I said hesitantly.

“Oh?”

“Yeah, Pierre found me.” Jared dropped his spoon.

“What did he do?” Jared demanded.

“Nothing of consequence,” I replied. “He told me he loved me and he was sorry and I told him I couldn’t be with him and we agreed to just be friends like we were before all the drama started.” Jared relaxed a little bit and I patted his hand. “Don’t worry, everything settled now.”

“Well, everything’s just coming together for you, isn’t it?” Jared teased. “Now you just have to deal with Brian.”

“I know how to handle him,” I smiled knowingly, looking out at the dark water. As it got later, a wind began to blow a chill through my. I wanted to spread out my wings and wrap them around myself, but I thought that might creep Jared out or something. So, I just shivered.

“You cold?” he asked when he noticed. I nodded and he chuckled, reaching out to me. I pulled my wings as tightly into my back as I could (which was actually pretty close to feeling nonexistent) and crawled between Jared’s legs, leaning my head against his chest. He smiled and wrapped his arms around me, his head nestled in the crook of my neck as he kissed my skin. My wings didn’t even bother him, which was a good sign.

I was about to say something when a loud crackle interrupted. I looked up and saw a huge spark of red light illuminating the sky. My mouth stretched into an excited grin as I watched the fireworks bedazzle the darkness.

Ice cream and fireworks? Can anyone say ‘simplest, yet most romantic date ever’?

We watched the conflagration of colors in the sky, not saying a word but just basking in each other’s presence. When the pier started to get crowded, Jared stood up and tried to lead me back down the pier. I stopped him, running behind him and grabbing him under the arms.

Before he could stop me, I lifted off of the pier. I had practiced this with Pierre earlier, and Jared weighed less. I carried him straight over the water, feeling him cling to my arms, probably thinking, ‘please don’t drop me’. I didn’t. I carried him all the way back to the truck, setting him down in the bed.

“That was possibly the most amazing, terrifying thing I’ve ever done,” he admitted when I sat next to him, my feet hanging off the edge of the truck bed. We could now see the fireworks without people accidentally kicking us and whatnot. I leaned my head on Jared’s shoulder and he reached for my hand, entwining our fingers. The moment was, in a word, perfect.

Finally, the fireworks ended and we were surrounded by darkness.

“This has, officially, been the best date ever,” I told Jared. He chuckled and hoped down from the truck. He stood in front of me, smiling softly as he bent down and placed a kiss against my stomach. He slowly straightened up, placing a kiss on my shoulder, then my neck, and then my cheek. He rested his forehead against mine, taking both my hands in his. Then he leaned back and looked around. “What’re you doing?”

“Looking to see who’s going to interrupt us this time,” he said jokingly. I grinned and spread out my wings (which were now able to get pretty huge when fully expanded), curling them around us so we were in our own little bubble. “This is different,” he whispered, looking at the feathery brown walls surrounding us.

“No one to interrupt,” I said, giving his hands a squeeze.

“Mm, you’re right,” he said serenely, leaning in close, so out noses touched.

“Eskimo kiss?” I giggled.

“It’s a setup,” he assured me, before his lips claimed mine. I was seeing fireworks all over again as I melted at his touch. My hands reached for his shoulders as his settled on my hips. His kiss was a million times better than anyone else’s. His lips were soft and warm and the kiss was unrushed, sweet, and affectionate. His gentle fingers traced circles on my hips as we parted.

“Did you see fireworks?” I asked him.

“The fireworks ten minutes ago? Try that, times a million,” he said breathlessly. I scooted closer to him, in hopes of another kiss and he looked down. “I hate to tell you this, but there’s something between us.” I giggled, looking down at my baby bump brushing against his stomach.

“Sorry about that.”

“Don’t be,” he replied. “It’s a beautiful thing. Kinda like you.”

“Cheeseball,” I teased, biting my lip.

“Maybe, but you love it.”

“True dat,” I grinned. “Ugh, wing cramp.” I folded my wings back into a normal comfortable position, the cool night air reaching us again.

“Let’s head back,” Jared said, helping me down from the truck bed. On the way home, he held my hand on the center console, and every time I looked at him I had to fight the urge to giggle like a love struck teenager. Once we got home, we went into his room and built a tent out of sheets. We threw his mattress in the floor and built the tent using the bed frame and piano as props.

Then we sat in the tent together, just talking.

“Jared, how long have you loved me?” I asked him as I leaned back against him, watching as he played with my fingers.

“I have loved you...since the very moment I met you,” he said. “And I don’t mean that in the cheesy way, it’s quite literal. The instant I laid eyes on you, I saw the true you and fell for her instantly.”

“Aw,” I whispered, kissing his neck.

“Hey, guys!” exclaimed a loud voice, making us both jump. The tent flap moved and we saw Brian grinning in at us. “Can we join you?”

“We?” I asked, but he was already crawling inside, followed by Violet.

“Hey!” she said to me. “Are you guys a couple yet?”

“I think that’s a safe assumption,” I laughed. “What are you doing here?”

“We just got back from a date,” Brian said proudly.

“Aw, Bri-bri went on a date. Congratulations,” I grinned, trying to ruffle his hair. He swatted my hand away and leaned back against the wall to our right, putting his arm around Violet’s shoulders. “When’s the baby due?” I asked her.

“Any day now,” she replied, smiling.

“Hey, what’s going on here?” came Frank’s voice as he peered inside.

“Tent party,” Brian said.

“More like pregnant girls and their beaus,” Zacky laughed.

“Dude, did you just say ‘beaus’?” I asked. Frank and Zacky crawled into the tent, settling across from me and Jared.

“Aw, Zack, look at the expectant ones,” Frank cooed, leaning his head on Zacky’s shoulder. “So adorable.”

“So, what’s your story?” I asked Violet.

“Oh, um...he freaked out and left when I got pregnant,” she said simply. “You?”

“Got tricked into a one night stand. He’s living nearby.”

“At least your baby daddy’s in the picture.”

“You can have him,” I laughed.

“No, mine!” Brian declared, holding Violet against him.

“Can we consider this a couples’ party?” Frank asked.

“Totally. Shall we discuss our romantic affairs?” Zacky asked.

“Or our sexual lives?” Brian smirked.

“God no!” everyone else exclaimed.

“Let’s play ‘I Never’,” Violet suggested. We all agreed and Frank produced a bag of Hershey Kisses. We each got ten and I started.

“I never...gave or received oral,” I said. Everyone in the room ate some candy.

“I never...” Jared stumbled, taking a long time to think, “kissed a boy.”

“Screw you,” Violet exclaimed, throwing her shoe at Jared and nearly hitting me. She, Frank, Zacky, and me all ate a piece. “I never...had a one night stand.”

“It wasn’t my fault!” I shouted, taking a piece of candy along with Brian and Zacky.

“Seriously?” Brian asked Jared, who hadn’t touched his candy.

“Seriously,” he replied.

“Okay, I never...dyed my hair blue.”

“You can’t just target people!” Jared protested. I rattled the paper to one of my candy wrappers as I ate a piece.

“Oh, my God, Em with blue hair!”

“Shut up, Brian,” I snapped, throwing the candy bag at him.

“My turn, my turn,” Frank said. “I never went on a date with a pregnant girl.” There went Brian and Jared.

“I never slept in Em’s room,” Zacky grinned. Me, Brian, Frank, and Jared.

“When did you sleep in my room?” I asked Jared.

“The night you slept in mine.”

“I never...had brown hair,” I said. Ha, busted everyone.

“I never sang a Katy Perry song,” Jared said. Not surprisingly, Frank and Zacky had to eat a piece, as did I.

“I never played onstage with a famous band,” said Violet. Dang it.

“I never played onstage with more than one famous band in one night,” Brian smirked.

“Hey, not fair!” I exclaimed.

“Is so.”

“I never owned a cat,” Frank said.

“You guys are mean,” I pouted.

“I never had a sex dream about a teacher,” Zacky said thoughtfully.

“Fuck you!” Brian shouted angrily, eating a piece of candy.

“I never got a tattoo,” I said. There went everyone in the room.

“I never smoked in a high school bathroom,” Jared said. There went all the other guys.

“I never did body shots,” Violet said.

“Um...” I fidgeted. “Jared?” Jared leaned his head against mine, probing through my mind for memories I couldn’t find myself.

“You’re clean,” he said, eating a piece of his own candy, along with all the other guys.

“Fuck,” Brian said, making us all laugh.

“Who woulda figured Brian would be the first one out,” I chuckled.

“I never kissed someone on the first date,” Frank said. There went everyone else, except Zacky.

“If we had just played this yesterday,” I sighed.

“I’ve never...sang Lady Gaga,” Zacky said. Jared, Frank and I took that one.

“Dangit, I had such a good one!” I exclaimed, throwing down my last candy wrapper.

“So, now it‘s Violet again,” Jared said.

“I never had a fake ID,” she said, knocking Zacky out of the game

“I’ve never been pregnant,” Frank grinned, making Violet cuss.

“There’s no way he can win, he’s only got one left,” I whispered to Jared.

“I never...smoked weed.”

“Me neither,” Frank shrugged. “I never had a vagina.”

“That’s cheating!”

“No, it’s not!”

“Fine! I’ve never had a penis!”

“Damn it to hell!”

“Violet wins!” I exclaimed, reaching over to give her a high five. “And with four to spare!”

Then we all started playing a different game that went on into the night, until we all fell asleep in the tent.

Mine and Jared’s first date and first Couple’s Party: great, big, giant success.