Have You Ever Really Danced On the Edge?

It's the next day and we're all hung over. Unfortunately for Taylor, Jaime, and Mike, they had to work. Taylor had a second interview at Equal Vision Records (which was quite promising) and Jaime and Mike had some press to do.

Apparently, press was the crappiest part of having a band, so whenever they could, some of the boys tried to get out of it. Luckily, it was Tony’s girlfriend, Stephanie’s birthday and everyone knew how hammered Vic was. He needed to rest to recover.

Speaking of which, I couldn’t get last night out of my head. I mean, I know I should feel relaxed that Vic and I had made amends, but I didn't. I wasn't content with just friends, but it had to be. Brandon didn't say anything about last night either. Not an apology, not even anything that would end our relationship. In fact, it was like nothing even happened. I'm curious to see what Brandon would have to say for himself when he finally did call. Something inside me said I wasn't getting an apology. Not now, not ever.

I sighed and continued sipping on my homemade strawberry banana smoothie. I started making Belgian waffles for Tony, Vic, and me for whenever the boys would emerge from their respective caves.

I was going to miss Pierce the Veil once Taylor and I moved into our apartment on 4th Street in 3 days. The boys had definitely become embedded into my daily routine and I enjoyed waking up to them. I guess I would have to make a point to stop over often. Especially because Mike and Vic's apartment was twenty minutes out of downtown San Diego, where 4th Street was located. On the other hand, Jaime had an apartment with a friend from high school a few blocks from our apartment and Tony had recently got one with Steph that was also not too far.

Suddenly, I hear padding on the linoleum floor. A very sleepy Tony Perry appeared looking rather disheveled.

“Hi Tony,” I say softly. I myself wasn’t a morning person so I knew how he felt. We also all got pretty drunk so I’m sure his head was just throbbing.

He grunts and looks over my shoulder to see the waffle-maker on the counter in front of me. I show him the batter inside the bowl and he nods approvingly.

“What are your plans for today?” I ask, getting some strawberries out from the fridge.

Tony shrugs. “Probably just hanging out with Stephanie. She wants to have a picnic and then we’ll probably go back to the apartment and watch The Little Mermaid or something.”

I laugh slightly at Stephanie’s movie choice. I’m sure if we met, we’d become fast friends because Ariel is definitely my favorite Disney princess too. Tony grins and shrugs.

“Well these waffles are done so you should probably get Vic up now.” I say and unplug the waffle maker.

I look at Tony expectantly and grin, “But then it won’t be as much for me to eat!” I look at the three waffles on the plate.

I laugh, “Tony, I think that’s the meanest thing I’ve ever seen you do. You’re just so precious!” I pinch his cheeks and he swats me away.

“Ugh just give me a waffle and leave me alone!”

“What about Vic?” I say, thinking of Vic’s scrawny frame. “Vic definitely needs more meat on his bones, and breakfast is the most important meal of the day.” I brush off the fact I sound like a mom and Tony just shrugs again, mouth full of waffle.

“I’m not moving from this spot. You probably know where his bedroom is anyway…” he winks. I flip him off and guess at where his room is. “Third left down the hall?”

Tony nods and I leave the room. Truth be told, I hadn’t been in Vic’s room. Actually, I hadn’t been in any of the bedrooms (there were three: Mike’s, Vic’s, and a makeshift office) either. Only the living room, which was the largest room, their bathroom, and the kitchen were the only spots I’d seen. Needless to say, I was excited to see Vic’s room. Was that weird?

When I reached the third room on the left, the door was slightly afar. I pushed it open and saw into Vic’s room. There were two windows, one on the East wall, and one on the West wall – probably allowing a lot of sunlight I noted. And sunlight there was. There was literally a beam of light flowing into the room and over Vic’s sleeping form. It was like some heavenly scene or some shit.

I had to laugh because Vic was sleeping nothing like the scene he was sleeping. As peaceful as the sunlight looked, Vic was looking rather disheveled. His body was sprawled out over the queen-sized bed, his curly brown hair matted against his face and neck. The sheets were also in disarray – some were lying in a heap at the foot of the bed and some were placed awkwardly on Vic.

Honestly, it looked like he just crashed onto the bed and fell asleep like that. I pushed the picture of me lying next to Vic, possibly curled up at his side, out of my head before marching toward the bed.

I sat down lightly on it, and rubbed Vic’s back.

Again, my goddamn teenagers are going to have it much better than I did. Every morning when I was in high school my dad would spring open the door, pull my shades up and tear the covers off of me. “Annabel!” He’s say. “It’s 6 o’clock! Half the day is wasted! Get up! It’s a beautiful day, the birds are chirping!”

It was torture, as much as I loved my dad.

“Hey Vic…” I cooed. “Time to get up. I made you waffles.”

Vic stirred and I swear I held my breath. He just looked so… innocent. “Huh?” He said and it only made it ten times worse. “What time is it?”

“It’s like 8:30 bud.” I say, and continue to rub his back. “I made you Belgian waffles with strawberries.”

“Mmm…” Vic’s eyes were still closed, “I want to wake up to this everyday.”

I laugh, “They’re in the kitchen, and I’ve left Tony in there alone. What if he eats your waffle, Vic? You’d better get up.”

“Stop talking,” He grunted, but I saw the ghost of a smile on his lips. He moved some of the sheets. “I’ll get up eventually, just slip in here for a few minutes.”

I look at the area where Vic has rolled down the sheets, my spot. Next to the white of the mattress and the sheets, I see his black boxers and the tan skin of his leg. I look away, blushing. But Vic doesn’t seem to notice.

“Vic, I’m already up.” I say, using anything as an excuse. In truth, if I got in that bed with Vic I probably wouldn’t get out. Ever. I blushed even further when my mind gave birth to sexual images of Vic and me in that bed. “I don’t want to lay back down. And your food is probably getting cold.”

Vic’s eyes spring open and he grins at me. “Well, fine. If you aren’t going to come willingly, I’ll just do this…”

Within a few seconds Vic’s in a sitting position and pulling me around my waist back onto his bed. I squeal and squirm around, resisting. Finally, he gets me on my back and pushes my wrists by my head. His awkward knobby knees are on either side of me and he’s grinning. I swear I forgot how to breathe.

Vic’s fingers were at my sides, tickling mercilessly. I squirmed, squealed, and kicked my legs in any effort to get away. The tickling becomes so unbearable that I squeeze my eyes shut and arch my back toward Vic. My abdomen comes into contact with his inner thigh as I struggle. I’m laughing and laughing and laughing until I realize I’m no longer being tickled.

Vic’s eyes are wide from above. It looks like he’s seen a ghost and I relax my back. “Vic, what is it? Did I do something wrong?”

He lets go of my wrists and climbs off. I feel colder suddenly and realize I loved that we were so close. Yes, it was kind of sexual but it was friendly and I liked it enough to brush off that minor detail.

“My waffle is getting cold,” is all Vic says and he shuffles out of the room. I pick myself up off the bed and shuffle on down the hall after him.

- - -

Tony left by the time we were out the kitchen, only making things more awkward. I keep clearing my throat as means to break the silence. Usually I’m a pretty friendly person but this was just too much. There was too much sexual tension with no way to blow off some steam from it. I remember Vic’s confession from last night and it only makes things worse.

Does he remember? Did he randomly remember it while we were joking around? Maybe it was just that he got uncomfortable with our position on the bed. He was in his underwear, after all.

Finally, Vic turns on the television and there’s an NHL hockey game on and I realize it’s the Pittsburgh Penguins. Vic smiles and says, “Don’t tell anyone but I secretly love hockey. I feel like Mike would somehow make that negative and make fun of me for it. But it’s a pretty cool game and the fights are the best.”

I smile at Vic’s confession, happy that he was sharing something secretive with me. Like I had something of his that was just mine. Yes, it was a small detail but I was pleased nonetheless. “Yeah! I know! I find Sidney Crosby to be absolutely adorable,” I squeal and Vic rolls his eyes.

There’s more silence.

“So… do you remember anything last night? Anything you may have said to me?” I asked, regretful of the hopefulness in my voice.

Vic looks at me for a long time, suspicious. “No… I got pretty wasted. Why, should I remember something?” I look away but Vic laughs. “I swear, I’m sorry if I said anything stupid or… called you a bad name or something.”

I smile but it doesn’t reach my eyes. “Yeah, it was just really stupid. It’s nothing.”

Vic’s smile falters for a nanosecond. “Okay, if you’re sure…” I don’t say anything, but I am sure that it was nothing.

Suddenly, my phone rings. It’s on the opposite side of the table so Vic and I stare at it for a while before I move to get it.

Before I answer, Vic looks at me nervously, “If that’s Brandon and he’s being an asshole, just give the phone to me, okay? Promise?”

I nod and smile. “Relax, big guy. I’ll be sure to hand the phone over.”

It’s indeed Brandon. I sigh and nod to Vic so he knows who it is and answer.

“Hello?”

“Hey,” I say, “How are you?”

There’s a bit of a silence, “I’m fine. Listen, about the other night – with the texts –“

“You had no right,” I say with extreme precision and Vic’s silently cheering me on, to keep giving him shit about it.

“I just wanted to make things were alright, because my parents surprised me with nonrefundable tickets to San Diego for this Saturday. To help you move and stuff, baby. I’m sorry. I was drunk – I know, something you didn’t want me to do. It’s just so easy to fuck- up when you’re not around. And I’m sorry for that. I promise I’ll change. I swear on my life. It’ll be better once we see each other, okay? It’ll be like none of this ever happened. And maybe, after this year, one of us can transfer. You can come back to Wisconsin or I’ll come out there.”

I blink and watch as the Penguins skate onto the ice. I feel numb at the suggestion, “Wait, go back to Wisconsin?”

Vic nearly snaps his neck as he turns to me. I wave my hand at him and he looks back at the television.

“Yeah! Wouldn’t it be awesome to get an apartment together?”

“Well, I mean… I wouldn’t want to leave Taylor behind here,” I say, “You know how antisocial she is.”

“Maybe it would force her to break out of her shell,” Brandon comments. He still doesn’t know about Vic and the boys and it will have to be that way. At least Tony, Mike, and Vic, Brandon wouldn’t have a problem with Jaime because he’s with Taylor. But he’d probably say something to Jaime to forbid him to bring any more boys around me – which has already been done.

Suddenly, Vic is on his feet, shouting at the TV, "I’m blind, I’m deaf, I want to be a ref! I’m blind, I’m deaf, I want to be a ref! Come on Ref, call those - that was a high-stick and you know it!”

“What? What was that?” Brandon growls. “Was that a boy, Annabel?”

I panic, “God, no! It’s the TV!”

“Nice save, Fleury, nice save! FUCKING STAAL, SKATE FASTER! What?! He fucking threw the first punch, ref, not Staal!” Vic is shouting. Vic is shouting and I hate it. Vic is shouting and I am going to fucking kill him, oh my god. “GOAL?! Are you kidding me? Sneaky little bastard, that #45. Fuck my life, really, honestly. My life is over.”

I clench my jaw, as Brandon spits fire into the phone, “Is there a boy at your place, Annabel Morrison? If you do, you’re just a dirty fucking liar and a filthy hypocrite. You know that, right?”

“He’s Taylor’s boyfriend!” I shriek and Vic turns and looks at me, raising his eyebrows. Oh, fuck you Fuentes.

“He’d better fucking be, Anna. You’d better hope I don’t go out and accidentally call you with a girl in the background. I’ll see you in three days. I love you,” He says threateningly.

“I love you too. See you soon, baby.” I say calmly, to show him I wasn’t backing down. Next thing I hear is the line going dead.

I plop down on the sofa next to Vic who immediately puts his arm around me. “So I’m Taylor’s boyfriend now?”

“You stupid fucker!” I say and hit him as hard as I could manage on the arm.

Vic merely laughs, “Was that supposed to hurt?”

I scream in frustration and try to get up but Vic pulls me back down, “No, stay here. When you sat down, Crosby scored a goal. You’re probably good luck or something.”

“Or something,” I mumble and relax into Vic’s side.

I sit there and laugh as Vic cheers and I realize that Brandon and I have nothing in common. I always thought couples could complete each other’s thoughts but with Brandon and I, we were challenging each other. We were never working together, but against each other. With Vic - and as my thoughts shift to Vic, I steal a glance at him – it’s much easier. I could actually be myself for once.

Suddenly, I don't want Brandon to come to San Diego. At all. Never. San Diego had turned out to be something that was all mine - like my own little paradise. I had made friends that weren't mutual with Brandon, my sister was here, and I was having a great time. Usually I'd be attached to Brandon's hip but not anymore. I liked who I had become in such a short time.

I pull out my cell phone and text my friend, Laura, thinking about Brandon's words. If he wanted to fight, I was ready to rumble.

Laura and I, we’re polar opposites: she loves to party, I love to stay in. But I trust her.

Keep an eye for Brandon, will you? We’ve been fighting and he’s made a few remarks that lead me to believe he won’t behave. If he does anything funky with another girl, I need you to tell me ASAP. Will you help me?

I don’t even wait a minute for Laura’s response – she’s one of those girls whose phone is attached to their hip.

Hey gurl! No prob lol. Haven’t seen Bran for a while but I think we might hit up a few of the same parties in the next month or so. Hope Cali is treatin you good!!! I’ll keep u posted. L8er. Xoxoxo Laura Marie.

Vic looks over my shoulder, “Well doesn’t she seem literate?” I laugh at his sarcasm and squeal when I see Crosby.

I think I could get used to this.