***in' Perfect
Cali4nia.
Alli POV-
I grabbed my sister's hand as we approached the final state line on our journey of freedom. The sun was setting across the horizon. "Welcome home," I said, smiling over at her. She was sitting in the passenger seat, sunglasses on, the windows rolled down. We were blaring Avenged Sevenfold's "Sounding The Seventh Trumpet" for what seemed like the hundredth time since we'd left the East Coast. She smiled back at me and pushed her glasses up onto her head. "Pull over, Alli," she told me, bouncing in her seat. I pulled onto the shoulder and put the car in park.
"We're in Cali-fucking-fornia," Lexi yelled, holding her hands to the sky. I couldn't help but tear up at the sound of that. We were finally free; free from the chains that had tied us down for the past twenty-three years. Free from the words that cut us like broken glass, from the ridicule and hatred that surrounded us our whole lives.
Lexi POV-
It felt good to finally be in California. The desert was beautiful, but we still had a long way to go until we got to where we were headed, another two hundred and forty-one miles to be exact. I was so ready to stick my feet in the Pacific. I wanted to feel the sand, the water, the breeze. I was so ready to have a place to call home, a place that really felt like home, rather than hell. My sister and I had waited a long time for this. With all of our belongings in the trunk and back seat of our car, our life savings in the glove compartment, and one another, our new lives were about to begin.
Zack POV-
"I don't fucking know, Gena," I said. "Well, you need to figure something out. I can't do it on my own," she snapped back. Icky barked up at me from his spot on the floor. "I know, buddy. I know," I said, turning back to my computer. For the second time in a year, I'd lost two employees. I was way too busy to run the company on my own, and my girlfriend refused to do it by herself, though she was perfectly capable of doing so. I couldn't understand why people kept quitting. I was really nice to everyone who worked for me, they got a good discount on merch, good pay, and benefits. I figured it was something to do with Gena. I pulled out my phone to call Brian, just for someone to talk to. It was late, though, really late. "Oh fuck," I said, laying my phone down. The date across the bottom of the screen pulled at the pieces of my heart-- February 10, 2010.
Alli POV-
I leaned my head on my arms, staring out at the Pacific Ocean as my sister drove down Pacific Coast Highway. We'd finally made it to Huntington Beach in the wee hours of the morning of February 10. "It's Jimbo's birthday," Lexi said quietly. I nodded silently, breathing in the scent of the ocean. "You okay?" she asked. "Yeah, I just can't believe we're finally here, you know?" I replied. "Yeah...but we are...and I know it's 3 AM...but I want to stick my feet in the fucking ocean," Lexi said. I smiled over at her and opened my car door. We'd waited for years to come to California...more specifially Huntington Beach. I'll be the first to admit that the only reason we wanted to come at first was because our favorite band was from here, but it grew into so much more than that. We both felt like we had some kind of connection to HB, much like our connection to one another.
Lexi POV-
Alli and I aren't just sisters, you see...we're twins. Alli's two minutes older than me and extremely protective over me. She's my absolute best friend in the whole entire world, and without her, I don't know where I'd be. We're fraternal, but we look so much alike people think we're identical. There are a few minor differences, though. Alli has blue eyes, and I have green. We both have naturally dark blonde hair, but we've kept it dyed black for the past few years. She has purple streaks in hers, where I have red in mine. Most people can't tell us apart, so both of us will answer to the other's name. Alli and I spent a while on the beach, staring out into the ocean. Dawn began to break and we decided to turn in. We had a hotel reserved to last us until we got an apartment or something. First, we had to find a job, though. We had enough money to last us maybe a month. I hoped with all that I was that it would. If it didn't, we were screwed.
Zack POV-
I read over the ad for a third time before hitting post. It was the same thing I'd posted before, almost word-for-word.
Help Needed Immediately-Two Positions Available:
I have two positions available for a locally owned and operated online company. Hours vary. Computer experience preferred but not required. Must be at least 18 years of age. For further information, please call 714-777-9342 and leave a message. Serious inquiries only.
There, that sounded okay, I guessed. Hopefully someone would respond soon. We had a lot of work to do on the album and I couldn't handle all the orders that were flooding in on my own anymore. I shut down the computer and called Icky and Moot up to bed. Gena was already asleep, laying across the bed, barely leaving any room for me. I shook my head and turned around, heading for one of the guest rooms. The dogs trailed behind me, their claws clicking against the marble flooring. "Come on guys, let's get in bed," I said, opening the door. I shut it behind me, pulling off my jeans and t-shirt before climbing into the bed. "Come on, Maj," I said to my great dane, who was staring at me from the floor. Icky had already curled up beside me. Majesty just tilted her head at me like she didn't know what I meant. "Suit yourself then, stubborn ass," I said, turning out the lamp. I thought a lot about Jimmy before I closed my eyes. I asked him to help me, because I couldn't take it much longer. Missing him was enough, but now my relationship was in more trouble than it had been before, and recording the album was really fucking rough. Day in and day out, someone just lost control. I knew that I couldn't sit around and be sad for the rest of my life, but it was hard to live without my brother, my best friend. I whispered a goodnight to him before I finally closed my eyes and drifted into a restless sleep.
Alli POV-
"Hey Lex, look at this. Two positions available, it says calls this number and leave a message," I said, clicking through job postings. Lexi wrote down the number and a description of what it was before I clicked to the next one. Since we'd both pawned our laptops, we had to use the computer at the library to search for jobs. Time and money were going to run out eventually. Something really needed to come along soon. We'd only been in Huntington Beach for three days and we'd already blown through a hundred dollars, buying neccessities and enough food to barely survive on. We kept promising ourselves that things would get better once we got a job, though. Our time ran up on the computer and Lexi and I gathered our things, heading for what had become 'home'. It was a three mile walk, but it beat paying more than 2 dollars a gallon for gas. We needed to save what gas we had for job interviews. "I'm so hungry," Lex said as we crossed the highway. "So am I, Lex...but we already ate today," I replied. "Yeah, I know. It sucks. At least breakfast isn't too far away, right?"
I grabbed my sister's hand as we approached the final state line on our journey of freedom. The sun was setting across the horizon. "Welcome home," I said, smiling over at her. She was sitting in the passenger seat, sunglasses on, the windows rolled down. We were blaring Avenged Sevenfold's "Sounding The Seventh Trumpet" for what seemed like the hundredth time since we'd left the East Coast. She smiled back at me and pushed her glasses up onto her head. "Pull over, Alli," she told me, bouncing in her seat. I pulled onto the shoulder and put the car in park.
"We're in Cali-fucking-fornia," Lexi yelled, holding her hands to the sky. I couldn't help but tear up at the sound of that. We were finally free; free from the chains that had tied us down for the past twenty-three years. Free from the words that cut us like broken glass, from the ridicule and hatred that surrounded us our whole lives.
Lexi POV-
It felt good to finally be in California. The desert was beautiful, but we still had a long way to go until we got to where we were headed, another two hundred and forty-one miles to be exact. I was so ready to stick my feet in the Pacific. I wanted to feel the sand, the water, the breeze. I was so ready to have a place to call home, a place that really felt like home, rather than hell. My sister and I had waited a long time for this. With all of our belongings in the trunk and back seat of our car, our life savings in the glove compartment, and one another, our new lives were about to begin.
Zack POV-
"I don't fucking know, Gena," I said. "Well, you need to figure something out. I can't do it on my own," she snapped back. Icky barked up at me from his spot on the floor. "I know, buddy. I know," I said, turning back to my computer. For the second time in a year, I'd lost two employees. I was way too busy to run the company on my own, and my girlfriend refused to do it by herself, though she was perfectly capable of doing so. I couldn't understand why people kept quitting. I was really nice to everyone who worked for me, they got a good discount on merch, good pay, and benefits. I figured it was something to do with Gena. I pulled out my phone to call Brian, just for someone to talk to. It was late, though, really late. "Oh fuck," I said, laying my phone down. The date across the bottom of the screen pulled at the pieces of my heart-- February 10, 2010.
Alli POV-
I leaned my head on my arms, staring out at the Pacific Ocean as my sister drove down Pacific Coast Highway. We'd finally made it to Huntington Beach in the wee hours of the morning of February 10. "It's Jimbo's birthday," Lexi said quietly. I nodded silently, breathing in the scent of the ocean. "You okay?" she asked. "Yeah, I just can't believe we're finally here, you know?" I replied. "Yeah...but we are...and I know it's 3 AM...but I want to stick my feet in the fucking ocean," Lexi said. I smiled over at her and opened my car door. We'd waited for years to come to California...more specifially Huntington Beach. I'll be the first to admit that the only reason we wanted to come at first was because our favorite band was from here, but it grew into so much more than that. We both felt like we had some kind of connection to HB, much like our connection to one another.
Lexi POV-
Alli and I aren't just sisters, you see...we're twins. Alli's two minutes older than me and extremely protective over me. She's my absolute best friend in the whole entire world, and without her, I don't know where I'd be. We're fraternal, but we look so much alike people think we're identical. There are a few minor differences, though. Alli has blue eyes, and I have green. We both have naturally dark blonde hair, but we've kept it dyed black for the past few years. She has purple streaks in hers, where I have red in mine. Most people can't tell us apart, so both of us will answer to the other's name. Alli and I spent a while on the beach, staring out into the ocean. Dawn began to break and we decided to turn in. We had a hotel reserved to last us until we got an apartment or something. First, we had to find a job, though. We had enough money to last us maybe a month. I hoped with all that I was that it would. If it didn't, we were screwed.
Zack POV-
I read over the ad for a third time before hitting post. It was the same thing I'd posted before, almost word-for-word.
Help Needed Immediately-Two Positions Available:
I have two positions available for a locally owned and operated online company. Hours vary. Computer experience preferred but not required. Must be at least 18 years of age. For further information, please call 714-777-9342 and leave a message. Serious inquiries only.
There, that sounded okay, I guessed. Hopefully someone would respond soon. We had a lot of work to do on the album and I couldn't handle all the orders that were flooding in on my own anymore. I shut down the computer and called Icky and Moot up to bed. Gena was already asleep, laying across the bed, barely leaving any room for me. I shook my head and turned around, heading for one of the guest rooms. The dogs trailed behind me, their claws clicking against the marble flooring. "Come on guys, let's get in bed," I said, opening the door. I shut it behind me, pulling off my jeans and t-shirt before climbing into the bed. "Come on, Maj," I said to my great dane, who was staring at me from the floor. Icky had already curled up beside me. Majesty just tilted her head at me like she didn't know what I meant. "Suit yourself then, stubborn ass," I said, turning out the lamp. I thought a lot about Jimmy before I closed my eyes. I asked him to help me, because I couldn't take it much longer. Missing him was enough, but now my relationship was in more trouble than it had been before, and recording the album was really fucking rough. Day in and day out, someone just lost control. I knew that I couldn't sit around and be sad for the rest of my life, but it was hard to live without my brother, my best friend. I whispered a goodnight to him before I finally closed my eyes and drifted into a restless sleep.
Alli POV-
"Hey Lex, look at this. Two positions available, it says calls this number and leave a message," I said, clicking through job postings. Lexi wrote down the number and a description of what it was before I clicked to the next one. Since we'd both pawned our laptops, we had to use the computer at the library to search for jobs. Time and money were going to run out eventually. Something really needed to come along soon. We'd only been in Huntington Beach for three days and we'd already blown through a hundred dollars, buying neccessities and enough food to barely survive on. We kept promising ourselves that things would get better once we got a job, though. Our time ran up on the computer and Lexi and I gathered our things, heading for what had become 'home'. It was a three mile walk, but it beat paying more than 2 dollars a gallon for gas. We needed to save what gas we had for job interviews. "I'm so hungry," Lex said as we crossed the highway. "So am I, Lex...but we already ate today," I replied. "Yeah, I know. It sucks. At least breakfast isn't too far away, right?"