Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous

"Sunshine?"

I looked up from the book I was reading (Victoria Holt's The Captive). Lounging on the sofa, Jimmy was watching me from across the room.

"What?" I questioned.

"Nothing." He shifted his attention back to the television.

I frowned. He obviously had something on his mind and it seemed like it was probably pretty serious. I set my book aside. "No, not 'nothing.' What is it, scientist?"

"I was just thinking...It's silly."

"Jimmy," I cajoled. "Tell me."

He muted the television and shifted to face me. "I wondered..." He hesitated.

I waited patiently. It was unusual for Jimmy to be shy about voicing his thoughts or opinions.

"If you'd known how things were going to turn out, would you go back and change everything?" he queried after several more seconds. "Meeting us, befriending us, dating Brian...all of it?"

My brow furrowed. "Where is this coming from, Jimmy?"

He lifted a shoulder. "I dunno. It's just that ever since this shit started, I've been worried that you have regrets and that you wish you'd never met us."

"I would never wish that," I assured him. "There are some things I would change, of course, but that's not one of them. The best choice I ever made was kicking my fake friends to the curb and getting to know y'all."

Jimmy flashed me a small, embarrassed smile. "I warned you that it was silly."

"I don't think it's silly. After I found out what Brian had done, I asked myself the same question. And for a brief moment, I was pretty sure the answer was yes. But then I let myself remember all the good times and I found that the good definitely outweighs the bad. Y'all changed my life for the better."

"You changed ours, too, you know. Especially Brian's. And mine." Jimmy dropped his gaze to his hands. He was messing with a loose thread on his tee-shirt. "Sometimes, I wish..."

"You wish what?" I pressed.

"That I hadn't been such a dumbass. That I'd realized what you were to me and gotten to you before Brian did."

"Jimmy--"

"I'm not trying to make this awkward or anything," he cut in quickly. "You already know how I feel about you."

"'Feel'? Present tense?"

Again, Jimmy lifted his shoulder in a small shrug. "Maybe. I don't know. You're very special to me, Jordan. I don't want to lose you." He chuckled softly. "I was so angry at Brian when you left. I thought you were lost to me because of what he did."

"And because of what we almost did."

Jimmy shook his head. "No. Not because of that. I knew that you and I could work through anything. My desire to keep you in my life overpowers my, um, primal urges. We would be fine. But I knew if you didn't forgive Brian, you'd never come back."

"I don't think you have to worry about that anymore."

"I'm glad."

I giggled. "Do you remember when y'all crashed my Halloween party senior year?"

"Yep. I also remember showing you around Huntington Beach the first time you ever visited California."

"God, can you believe that was seven years ago?"

"We're getting old, Sunshine."

I snorted. "You, maybe. I'm going to be young and beautiful forever."

Jimmy laughed. "There's still a vain streak in you that we never managed to get rid of."

"It's not vanity, it's honesty."

"Oh, excuse the hell out of me."

I grinned.

"So where is Señor Gates anyway?" Jimmy inquired.

"He and Zacky are doing an interview for some online music blog," I replied. "He said he'd be back in time for dinner."

Jimmy reached for his cell. "Perfect. I think I'll call him and let him know I'm in the mood for Thai food."

"Jimmy."

"What?" He widened his eyes innocently. "I took care of his woman all day. The least he can do is feed me. Unless you'd like to compensate me, if you catch my drift." He wiggled his eyebrows.

I rolled my eyes. "We're seven years older and you're still a perverted weirdo."

"But you love me."

"Yes, I do. And I've never quite figured out what that says about me."

"That you're a super-smart lady. Now, Thai food?"

I wrinkled my nose. "Nah. I was thinking less exotic. Let's just make him bring us hot wings."

"A pizza and hot wings?"

"No. Just hot wings."

"And to drink?"

"Dr. Pepper."

"Along with gallons upon gallons of liquor. Got it." Jimmy selected Brian's name from his list of contacts, listened for a moment, then began talking.

*****

I'd resumed work at the tattoo parlor where I'd been employed while finishing school. I was still sending design ideas to the Lynam guys whenever they struck me. I was staying with Dawn but had started checking out apartments in the area, hoping to have my own place soon. Brian and I were dating, which felt weird after going through so much together. It was like reaching a high level in a video game, dying, and having to go all the way back to the beginning.

Life was good again. I had a few complaints, of course, but I wouldn't have been human if I hadn't.

And then, on a Monday morning, Dawn called me at work. "The interview Brian and Zack did has been posted. You, uh, need to read it." She gave me the name of the site and hung up.

Something about her tone made me nervous. I sat at the computer and signed on to the internet. I found the site. The interview with Brian and Zacky was the most recent update on the page. It already had over two hundred comments.

I glanced at a couple of the questions. They were standard inquiries about the recording of City of Evil, the tour, and plans for the next album. I wondered why exactly Dawn had suggested I read this.

I scrolled to the bottom of the interview to see just how long it was and one of the fan comments caught my eye. It said "If anyone has a picture of Syn's girlfriend, please send it to me" and there was an e-mail address and a link to the girl's Myspace.

A few other individuals, all female, had apparently been more interested by Brian's relationship status than anything else. My heart was pounding as I returned to the top of the page and eagerly scanned the interview.

The question was about how close the guys seemed and if that perception was correct.

"Oh yeah," Brian had replied. "I love these guys like they're my brothers and I know they feel the same about me. My girlfriend is the overprotected little sister, and Matt's girlfriend is the mature one that takes care of us. We're like a family. A crazy, fucked-up family, but then again, what family isn't a little fucked up?"

I blinked back tears. Finally. Brian was ready now. He'd needed the chance to act wild and free and build himself up as a super stud. The desire to do so had probably been caused by a certain amount of panic. He was getting cold feet about the wedding. That was why we'd never discussed a date. I'd been scared, too--I'd just handled it differently. Now, however, Brian was no longer hesitant. He was ready to tell the world that he was taken and happily so. He was ready to spend his life with only me and accept that being a married man didn't mean he was any less of a man.

I grabbed my cell and dialed his number. He picked up on the second ring. "Hey, baby. What's up?"

"I'm the 'overprotected little sister'?" I said.

There was a brief silence. "Oh...you've seen it."

"Dawn told me I needed to. She was right."

"I didn't refer to you as my fiancée because, well, you're not anymore. But you are my girlfriend. Right?"

I was grinning like an idiot and glad that he couldn't see me. "Of course, Bri. I don't make out with guys I don't consider my boyfriend."

He chuckled. "That's good to know."

"Bri?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you," I murmured, suddenly close to tears again.

"You're welcome," he said. "I wanted the world to know. I'm taken by an amazing girl. I don't want that to change. Ever."

"Are you asking me to marry you again?"

A pause, then: "Yes. I am."

"We've only been dating for, like, a month! What kind of girl do you think I am?"

Brian laughed. "Jordan! Take this seriously!"

"You mean you couldn't manage to slip in my name when you were answering that question?" I teased.

"Jordan! Focus!"

"On what?" I said innocently.

I looked up as the door to the shop was opened. Brian stepped inside. "Will you marry me?" He was holding up my engagement ring.

I dropped my cell and ran to him, throwing myself into his arms. "Yes!"

He slid the ring back where it belonged before kissing me deeply.

"Jordan?" My boss, Mick, emerged from one of the rooms, where he'd been touching up someone's tattoo. "What is going on out here?"

"Brian and I are getting married!"

Mick seemed momentarily bewildered. Finally, he said "That's great!"

I knew he was wondering about the relationship. When I'd left to go on the tour with Avenged, Brian and I had been engaged, a fact that Mick had been aware of. I'd returned just two weeks ago without an engagement ring and with no comment on my relationship status. This all had to seem extremely strange to Mick. But he just smiled, hugged me, congratulated us, and gave me the rest of the day off.

Brian and I couldn't wait to share the news. We called everyone and made them meet us at Brian's house. Our house.

The announcement was met with enthusiasm. Jimmy, in his usual manner, somehow managed to tackle both Brian and me. Matt, Zacky, Dawn, Avery, Johnny, and the Berry twins were more civilized and simply hugged us. Matt and Johnny left for a while. They came back with copious amounts of liquor and we proceeded to celebrate in typical Avenged Sevenfold style.

That night, I was in bed, snuggled up with Brian. My engagement ring sparkled in the moonlight spilling through the window.

We found our way back to each other, I thought, and was again flooded with a happiness bordering on ecstatic. Because we were meant to be.

I closed my eyes and felt sleep dragging me under. My last conscious musing was I wonder what Jacob will say.