Too Young for Love

“We have a change in schedule,” Matt announced walking into the hotel room a few hours later. “We’re not staying here tonight. We’re having a signing at a mall tomorrow morning and we have to get on the road now if we’re going to make there in time.”

Val huffed and turned to Matt, “I was so looking forward to a hot bath and an actual bed!”

“Sorry, babe,” Matt apologized. “But we have to leave now.”

We all walked down to the bus. Val sulked off to the bunk room, while Brian walked over to the kitchen and got all the guys a beer from the fridge. He got another one out and offered it to me, “Want one?”

“Oh, I’m not old enough,” I declined.

He laughed but didn’t put it back, “We let Johnny drink and he’s not old enough either. No one’s going to tell on you if you drink it.”

I shook my head, “No thanks. I don’t want one. I’ll be right back, guys.”

When I opened the door to the bunk room I heard Val talking on the phone in her bunk. Trying to be quiet, as to not disturb her, I grabbed the bag with my camera and laptop in it and crept out of the room. The guys were sitting around the table. I took a seat at the end and pulled my laptop out of my bag. “Do you guys want to see some of my work?”

“Sure,” Jimmy answered, he was sitting right next to me.

I logged onto my computer and clicked on my portfolio. The ones that I had taken earlier today we’re on there yet. I would show them to everyone on my camera, or wait until another time. After I edit them.

“Those are really good,” Jimmy commented as I clicked through the photos, trying to find one that I really liked to show them.

Finally I came across one that I had taken at taken at my niece’s birthday party. She was sitting on a stool in front on the counter. Her birthday cake was in front of her and she was looking down. It was in black and white, I think that that just made it look even better. I turned the computer around so that everyone could see it and Brian and Zacky smiled when they saw it.

“That’s really good,” Brian commented.

“I want to see more,” Zacky said, smiling.

I clicked through a couple more pictures that I had taken that day. But none of them, in my opinion, were as good as the first one. Then I showed them another one of my other niece. Those were the best two pictures that I think, I had ever taken.

After showing them the pictures on my laptop I shut it and put it back into my bag. Brian leaned back and pushed his feet in between Jimmy and I. He laced his fingers together and placed them behind his head. “You’re really good. I think I made a good choice in asking you to be our photographer.”

From what I was guessing, Michelle was his girlfriend. And if I was correct, she was one lucky lady. Brian was by far, the best looking out of the guys here.

I’m sure they were happy together though. I would never let my feelings for a guy ruin a relationship. If Brian wanted to be with me, he would make it happen. But Brian could never like me. He was twenty-four for Christ’s sake. That’s almost a five year difference.

“So…how long is the tour exactly?” I questioned, wanting to know how long I had before I needed to find a place to live once the tour was over.

Matt made some kind of noise while taking a sip of his drink. He sat the bottle down on the table and reached behind him to grab some kind of book. Once he sat it down and opened it I realized that it wasn’t a book exactly. It was some kind of schedule. Their tour schedule, I’m guessing.

“The tour started about two and a half weeks ago in, New York,” he explained, pointing to the day on the calendar, then moving his finger along the weeks until he found today. “We just left Charlotte, North Carolina, where we picked you up. And now we’re headed to Alabama. But, the last day of the tour is in Washington. After that, we’re going over to Europe to do a couple dates, you’re more than welcome to join us over there.”

Truthfully, I would love to go to Europe with them. There are so many beautiful things over there. “I would love to.”

Just then, Val appeared. She was tucking her phone into her pocket and had a smile on her face. “The girls are coming for a visit. They won’t be here for another three weeks and they can only get off work for a week. But this is great! Aubrey, you’ll love them so much.”

“Wait, who all is coming?” Johnny asked.

“Everyone! Michelle, Lacey, Leana, and Gena.”

Even though I was kind of reluctant to meet Michelle, I was still excited to meet them. The guys seemed happy to be seeing there better halves.

“I think I’m going to hit the sack for the night. Long day ya know?” I said getting up and grabbing my bag, slinging it over my shoulder.

Everyone murmured some for of good night as I walked into the bunk room and closed the door behind me. I sat the bag down on my bunk and pulled out the drawer that had my clothes in it. There were some basketball shorts on top, I grabbed them and a black tank top.

Brian didn’t show me around the well earlier so I wasn’t quite sure where the bathroom was. But there were three doors leading from the bunk room. One went to the kitchen area so one of the others had to leave to a bathroom. I first one I opened lead to a room by the back of the bus. There was a large television in there and some game controllers sitting on a small couch. This had to be their game room, or something of the sort.

I opened the last door and it was indeed the bathroom. I changed into my night clothes and left the room. I put the other clothes in my drawer and climbed into my bunk. There was room for my bag at the end of my bunk and I shoved it down there, still leaving room for my legs.

Just before I was finally asleep someone opened and shut the door to the bunk room, rather loudly too I must say. Before long I heard the shower going and not long after that I heard someone moan. It was for sure a guy so I could rule Val out. I definitely wanted to know who it belonged to.

In order to be nosey, I opened the curtain to my bunk a little. Then, once I heard the bathroom door open, I peeked out the small opening. I watched the feet as they walked to the bunks, then they stopped right in front of my bunk. I had to bite my lip to stop myself from gasping.

It was Brian? I though. He must have been really excited about Michelle coming to visit.

I heard him open a drawer and then something fall to the floor. Great, he was undressing.

Soon I heard the curtain open and the drawer shut. “That was for you, Aubrey,” he whispered.

What does he mean, that was for me?

(The Next Morning)

When I opened my eyes the next morning I noticed one thing that I forgot to do last night, it was crucial not to forget again. I forgot to cover up the small, but rather bright, window in my bunk. I shut it quickly and turned to lay on my back. I could easily get used to sleeping in my bunk.

Trying not to move I reached under my pillow and found my phone. There were no new messages or missed calls. Just the boring black screen saver that displayed the date and time. Today was July 12th 2005 and it was currently seven thirty in the morning.

Waking up this early wasn’t unusual for me. I usually got up at six or seven everyday. It got me out of the house before my parents got up.

“Good morning Aubrey,” Matt greeted as I tried to silently close to the room to the bunks. The sound of his voice made me jump and turn around quickly.

“God you scared me. What are you doing up so early?” I asked.

He laughed, “I’m not much for sleeping in. There’s coffee over there if you’d like some. Creamer and sugar is in the top drawer. There is also some milk in n the fridge and cereal in a cabinet. You can look around for some food. I think we need to go shopping soon though.”

I wasn’t much of a coffee drinker. But something to eat didn’t sound too bad. I pulled the milk from the fridge and found a bowl in one of the cabinets. The cereal was on a shelf by a lot of other food.

As I sat down at the kitchen table the door to the bunk room opened and out stepped a still sleepy looking Brian. He was rubbing one of his eyes with the palm of his hand. My mind immediately wondered back to last night.

That was for you, Aubrey.

Maybe there was a chance that he actually did like me. But how did he know I was awake, or that I had heard him?

“Morning Syn,” Matt said. And that got me wondering, did he just call Brian Syn?

“Syn?” I asked looking at Matt, my head tilted to the side.

“Yeah, Synyster Gates? He didn’t tell you yesterday?” Matt asked.

I shook my head. “Well we all have stage names,” he started explained. “Mines M. Shadows. Jimmy is The Rev or The Reverend Tholomew Plague. Johnny is Johnny Christ. Zacky is Zacky Vengeance and Brian is Synyster Gates.”

“That’s..” I trailed off, searching for the right words to describe what I thought about it. “…interesting. How did all of you come up with them?”

“Different ways. I thought of mine, Matt thought of his, Zacky came up with his and Johnny’s names. And the Rev was thought of my Jimmy.” Brian answered, then muttered. “Crazy fucker.”

When he said that though, I doubt that he knew that Jimmy had just stepped out of the bunk room. “Don’t call me a crazy fucker!”

He wrapped his arm around Brian neck and rubbed his knuckles into his hair, making it even messier. “Get off of me, Rev!”

“No this is what you get,” he laughed and released Brian, who them proceeded to come over and sit next to me at the table.

“Watcha eating?” he asked eyeing up my cereal. There was no way he was getting this, I was starving.

I pulled my bowl away from his and continued to eat it. “Oh…I see how it is. I bring you here and then you don’t share your cereal with me? What the fuck is up with that Aud?”

I turned to face him and smiled, “Get your own cereal…Synyster. And it‘s Aubrey. There is no Aud in my name.”

Matt closed his laptop and picked up his coffee mug from the table, “Yeah, hurry and eat fat ass. We need to get to the mall to do the signing. Aubrey can you get the rest of the guys up when you’re done eating. If they’re not up by then.”

“I will. And do you think Val would help me shop for a few things today at the mall?”

Just then Val walked into the room and answered me, “I would love to. It’ll actually save me from being bored to dead or talked to dead by the fans at the signing.”

Now I just had to figure out where I put my money. I know that I don’t have a lot left but there are just a few things I need to be able to get by with.

I finished my cereal and put the bowl in the sink. I went back to the bunk room to wake up Johnny and Zacky. As soon as they left to join the others in the other room I bent down and started to dig through my drawer for clothes to wear today. I found a pair of jeans and an old plain long sleeve shirt. Then I found the bag that had my make up and little jewelry in it. I pulled out my eyeliner and an old necklace out and gathered my things.

But just as I was about to go into the shower to change and freshen up, the bunk room door opened and in stepped Brian.

“Did you hear what I told you last night?” he asked and I froze.

I guess he didn’t know for sure if I was awake or not. I turned around to face him and looked up and whispered, “Yes.”

“Good. I’m glad you did Aubrey.” he said then opened the door to leave but turned back to me. “See you later.”

Well…that was odd.