Too Young for Love

Over the next few days Brian continued to annoy me by calling me Audrey. It’s not that it was a big deal, because it wasn’t. He just knew that the first couple of times he did it, it bothered me. So now I was doomed, because he was always going to do it. No matter what I tried to do to get him to stop.

I had actually gotten accustomed to him calling me that, and now answered to either Aubrey or Audrey. Val was the only one to call me Bree instead of Aubrey. The guys would once in a while, but it was more common for her.

Each of the guys now had their own personal bond with me.

Brian just lived to annoy me, most of the time. Sometimes he would settle down and we could actually have a decent conversation. One night he had even sat down with me and helped with editing the photos I had taken that night. He was actually rather creative. And I had to give it to him, he was the one that got me here. Without him, I wouldn’t be having nearly as much fun as I was.

Jimmy was like the older brother I never had. Me was always picking on how short I was. It wasn’t my fault he was a giant and I was abnormally small. He helped me with dealing with my family issues. Apparently he didn’t have the greatest family either. I had learned that he lived quite an interesting life. Interesting meaning, he never had a solid home. He lived in a laundromat for six months.

Johnny was probably the one that I wasn’t very close to at all. The only thing I really had in common with him was that we were pretty close in age, unlike the other band members. I hope to get to know him better over the course of the time I’m here.

Matt and I were very alike. Almost every morning he was up when I got up and we usually sat and talked while he had his cup of coffee and looked at their local newspaper online. He was definitely the easiest to get along with.

Then, lastly, there’s Zacky. Besides Jimmy he was the funniest guy in the band. We joked around the most and he was the easiest to photograph on stage, in my opinion. I learned that he was planning on starting his own clothing line. He’d shown me some of the designs and they were good. I believe that he will go far with that. The Avenged fans will love it for sure. And he, like me, was left handed. He had even learned to play guitar on a right handed guitar. That would be hard, I think.

By now I had met the tech guys also. The Berry’s are very fun to work with. They made everyday amusing in some way or another. I’m glad I didn’t have to live with them on their bus though. They got old after a while.

Today was the first day we had off since I had joined the guys. We were stopped in West Palm Beach, Florida. Yesterday they played Orlando and they day before that they placed in Atlanta. I had to admit that tour was fun so far.

“Are you going to the beach with us today, Bree?” Val asked. She had just walked out of the bunk room with a bikini top and some jean shorts on. According to her, today was the hottest day they’ve had on tour yet. And what’s better than going to the beach.

From Charlotte the coast was about five hours away. You’d think that when you’ve lived that close to the beach, you would go often. Nope, not me. I have been to the beach once, and I didn’t even get in the water because it was in December, and the water was cold.

“I guess,” I answered.

“Well do you have a bathing suit?” she asked, leaning up against the counter.

“Yes,” I answered, I remember even putting it into my drawer.

She smiled, “Go get it on. We’re going to be there in a minute.”

I closed the book that I was reading and set it down on the table. The bunk room was empty, I could hear the guys in the other room, they were playing video games again. I grabbed my suit, some shorts, and a tank top. I knocked before opening the bathroom door, just to be careful. I would hate to walk in on any of the guys.

When no noise came from inside I opened the door and stepped in. I pulled my hair up before undressing. I pulled my bottoms on first and had to untie the knot in my top so that I could make it tighter.

“Yeah just let me thrown on my swim trunks and I’ll meet you out there,” I heard Brian yell from outside of the bathroom.

Shit. He was coming in here. And I forgot to lock the door. Then of course, just as I went to reach to lock it, it started to turn.

“Brian, no!” I said pulling my top to my chest. I’m sure it didn’t hide much but it was better than nothing.

That didn’t stop him though. He continued to open the door and looked right at me. He looked confused. His mouth was open slightly and his eyes were wide. Then he smirked. Fuck him, and his stupid smirk.

“Brian, get the fuck out,” I yelled.

“I’m going to change in the hallway. Don’t come out until I tell you it’s okay. Wouldn’t want you to see anything,” he laughed.

Once he had shut the bathroom door, I locked it and checked to make sure it was shut tight and he couldn’t get in again. Then I tied the strings behind my neck and hooked the back on my bikini top. I pulled my shorts on and then my tank top.

Surly it wouldn’t take Brian this long to put swim trunks on. He was up to something.

“Brian, what are you doing? I’m ready to go and you’re still changing? I think not,” I said and unlocked the door before pushing it open.

He wasn’t doing anything though. Well, he wasn’t doing anything wrong. He was just bent over his drawer searching through things. His swim trunks were on and he was shirtless. I imagine that he was probably digging through his things trying to find a shirt.

“Oh..,” I mumbled stopping in my tracks. “You’re not doing anything wrong…good.”.

He didn’t say anything though. He simply went back to his searching. I kind of felt bad now. For thinking that he was up to something. He probably would have done the same thing about me, though.

I put my clothes in my bunk and headed into the front room where everyone was. There was a bag on the table full of towels, and hopefully, sun block. Otherwise I would burn terribly.

“Kay, let’s go,” Brian said from behind me, I turned around to see him closing the door. He then looked at me and smiled before walking around me and following everyone else off of the bus.

We found a good spot and sent Brian and Matt up to get umbrellas. Val and I spread out some towels and a cooler full of water and beer was set in the middle of them all. When the guys returned they put the umbrellas in between the towels and sat down in the shade they provided.

Remembering sun block, I reached for the bag and looked inside only to find tanning oil. Great, that would just make me burn more. I threw the bag back out of the way and scooted over so I was in the shade. I just couldn’t spend a lot of time in the sun. Hopefully, I would be okay.

Val came to sit by me as all of the guys wondered off into the water. Probably to just goof off and bother Johnny.

“So what was all the yelling at Brian about earlier?” she asked, laying back and propping herself up on her elbows.

They had all heard that? I wonder if they were asking Brian about it?

“He walked in on me while I was changing. He didn’t see anything, I hope. I think I got covered up before he saw me. Then he said he was changing in the hallway and not to come out until he said it was okay. I thought he was up to something ‘cause he was taking forever. I had already finished changing and put clothes on over my swimming suit. Then when I walked out I felt bad for thinking he was doing something wrong, because he wasn’t,” I explained.

“Don’t feel bad,” she answered, pushing herself up so that she was sitting. “Did you just see him going through a drawer or are you sure it was his? Because it would not surprise me if it was yours that he was going through. Don’t get me wrong, the man would never cheat on a girl. Syn’s not that kind of guy, but he is a dirty little fucker. And he would do it just to get under your skin.”

Now that she mentioned it, I didn’t exactly see which drawer he was going through. He could have been going through mine, for all I know. It did make me feel better to know that he wouldn’t try to use me to cheat on Michelle. He was probably doing it, like Val said, to get under my skin. He knew that I didn’t like my privacy invaded.

(Later That Day)

So far, I’ve been thrown into the ocean twice. Once when Matt had thrown Val in and Zacky grabbed me. And another by Jimmy after Val and I beat him and Brian at volleyball.

I spent more time in the sun than I wanted to. I could only imagine how red and sore I was going to be later.

“I think we should head back to the hotel now,” Val said as she grabbed Matt’s beer from him and took a sip.

“Hotel?” I asked, since when were we staying at a hotel tonight? No one even mentioned it.

“Yeah, we usually get a hotel when we have a day off. It doesn’t really make sense to sleep on the bus if we’re not going anywhere,” Matt explained.

After that we packed up and loaded onto the tour bus once again, but this time heading to the hotel.

When we got there Val and Matt went to the front counter to get rooms. As far as I know we were getting three rooms. And as much as I would like to share a room with Val, I’m sure she was going to room with Matt. Just as long as I wasn’t alone with Brian.

“Okay, normal room mates. Me and Val got the room with the king bed and we got two double beds. Johnny and Jimmy your right next to Val and mine’s room and Brian you and Zack are on the other side of them.”

“We’re next to them? Great, there goes my sleep,” Jimmy complained.

At the same time I had something to say too, “What about me?”

“Shit, Aubrey, I forgot you were with us now too. And Jimmy shut up. Val and I aren’t as bad as you and Leana.”

“She can room with me and Zack,” Brian offered.

“Okay, that’ll work.”

At least I wasn’t alone with Brian. Zacky was there and he would make sure Brian behaved himself, I hope.

We all rode the elevator up to the second floor, where the rooms were located. Matt and Val went into there’s, then Jimmy and Johnny. Finally, leaving Zacky, Brian, and myself alone. Much to my dismay.

I threw my bag down on one of the beds and pulled out night clothes and waded my bar and underwear up in them. Pushing everything to the side, I pulled out my shampoo, conditioner, and body soap. My iPod was in the side pocket and I pulled it out and plugged in the headphones before grabbing all my things and turning toward the guys.

“I’m going to take a bath. Please don’t bother me or my stuff,” I said, while zipping my bag closed, and looking at Brian as I said the last part.

When I got into the bathroom I was glad to see that it was rather nice. There was a garden tub/shower in the corner. I started filling the tub and got undressed. There was some bubble bath on the side of the tub and I poured almost the whole bottle in.

The towels were on a shelf above the toilet and I got two down, laying one out on the floor and putting the other by the sink, by my clothes.

I got into the bathtub and put my ear buds in my ears before putting my iPod on shuffle. This is the most relaxed I’ve been in a while. I thought living away from home would be good, but living on the road was stressful.

I was in there probably about a half hour before I realized it. I turned my iPod off and washed all the bubbles off before getting out. My hair wasn’t wet, since I didn’t wash it, so I just dried off and got dressed. Then I felt the effects of being outside in the sun all day. My back was killing me.

When I walked into the room I saw Brian sitting on the bed, flipping through channels on the TV. Zacky was nowhere in the room.

“Where’s Zacky?” I asked sitting my things down on the floor and taking a seat on the bed he wasn’t on.

“He went to go get something to eat. I told him to just get you a burger, is that okay? He’s probably not there yet so I can call him and tell him to get you something different if you want me to.”

“No, that’s fine,” I answered and went to lay back, but yelped and sat back up when my sunburn started stinging.

“What’s wrong?” Brian asked, jumping up and walking over to me.

I pulled my shirt to the side and looked at the bright red skin. “Sunburn,” I murmured.

He crossed the room in only a few steps and pulled out a bottle of green gel, aloe. “Do you want me to put some on your back?” he asked.

I thought about it for a second, then almost said no before I remembered that I had a bra on under my clothes. I had been around Brian in a bikini all day, it wouldn’t be much different. Instead of speaking I pulled my shirt off and laid down on my stomach so he could put some on me.

He brushed my hair off my back and scooted closer before I heard the bottle snap open and the cold gel touch my bag. I sucked in a sharp breath, it felt really good on my stinging back.

“Wow, Aubrey. You could have just asked for some sun screen. I had some on the bus. You’re going to be sore for a while now,” he said as his fingers glided gently over my burned skin. Every once in a while I would feel his calloused hands brush over the burn and I would take in a sharp breath.

And every time he would mutter, “Sorry.”

Eventually he was done and it had dried. I tried to pull my shirt back over my head but it hurt, pretty bad.

“Do you want to borrow one of my shirts to sleep in? I have one that would be big on you,” he asked.

I nodded and said, “Yes please, thank you.”

He dug through his bag and tossed a faded black v neck shirt to me. I caught it and pulled it on. Oh God, I hadn’t realized until now that he smelled really good. That didn’t help my small crush on him at all.

“Hey guys,” Zacky said as he walked into the room. As he threw me a burger I tossed my shirt over onto my bag. He gave me and odd look then looked to Brian as he threw him a sandwich too. “Why is Aubrey wearing your shirt?”

“Oh,” he answered. “She’s got a nasty sunburn and I after I put some aloe on for her I offered her my shirt because it would be more comfortable.”

Zacky made an ‘O’ face as he handed each of us a small thing of fries. Then he looked back to me and laughed slightly while shaking his head a little.

What was that all about? And why did all of the guys in this band have to give off such confusing vibes.

First it was Brian with his very confusing, that was for you, Aubrey. And now Zacky’s acting like he knows something that I don’t know. Guys say that girls are confusing, but I think that we’re painfully obvious compared to them.