Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous

Dawn flew home on November first. I couldn't help feeling a bit depressed. It had been nice having another female around, not to mention someone to spend time with while the guys were busy. We exchanged numbers, though, so I'd still have someone to talk to sometimes.

We had a couple of shows up in Canada, then it was down to Michigan and Illinois. I noticed that the crowds were growing larger with each show and in Chicago, we actually had a group of kids who managed to get by security and mobbed the guys as they were going into the venue.

Things were getting crazy. The guys were loving every minute of it. Jimmy and Zacky were constantly perusing the internet for the latest stories about the band. They explored Myspace to see which member had the most fans and whose fans were hottest.

"Brian wins by default," Jimmy would say sweetly whenever they did this. "Because he has Jordan." I would just roll my eyes and continue whatever I was doing.

I had started looking at wedding dresses online and in magazines. Brian had told me that he would prefer me in white. He apparently had some ideas about our wedding, which was more than I could say. I had never been one of those girls who sat around, planning her dream wedding. In fact, until I met Brian, I had always said that I would never get married. I didn't mind eating my words.

We were in Denver two weeks after Dawn left. It was cold, extremely cold, and I didn't even want to leave the bus when we arrived at the Ogden Theatre.

"Brian!" I whined as he prepared to climb from the bunk. I clutched the blanket more securely around me and shivered dramatically. "Can't we just stay here in our warm little nest?"

Brian chuckled. "Jordan, baby, you're a sissy. It's only about ten feet to the door and then you'll be inside, where there's heat."

I sighed and only reluctantly got out of the bunk. I put on an extra jacket of Matt's and my own purple scarf.

"Preparing to trek through the Arctic Circle?" Zacky teased.

"Fuck you, Vengeance." I slipped on my sneakers. "I just hate the cold. I'm used to California now, where sixty degrees is considered winter weather."

"C'mon, Sunshine!" Jimmy yelled, grabbing me and hoisting me over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

"JIMMY!" I shrieked.

"You two never do anything half-assed, do you?" Matt said, chuckling and following Jimmy and me off the bus.

"Hell no!" Jimmy replied. "It's all gold medals for us!" He reached the bottom of the steps and broke into a run.

"I. HATE. YOU!" I shouted, bouncing wildly on his shoulder.

"Hey! Fans!" Jimmy veered off to the right.

Great, I grumbled silently. Just how I want to be introduced to a bunch of Avenged fans.

Thankfully, Jimmy set me down before he reached the place where the fans were gathered. I hastily walked to the back entrance and jerked open the door, ducking inside.

"In the next hour, there are going to be rumors all over the 'Net about Jimmy and his 'girlfriend,'" Jason commented, coming through the door with Matty and one of Brian's guitar cases.

I said nothing. Who cared of the fans thought I was with Jimmy? It wasn't like Brian was ever going to claim me. Unless...I bit my lip, wondering. If everyone believes I'm Jimmy's girlfriend, will that force Brian to step up and tell the truth? He's so competitive that he'll probably want everyone to know he's the one with the pretty blond significant other, not Jimmy.

Jason, Matty, and I found the dressing room with help from a member of the venue's security staff. The twins immediately left again, going out to help bring in equipment and set up for soundcheck. I stayed in the dressing room and waited for the guys.

"Hey, Jordan!" Jimmy barreled through the dressing room door. "Guess what! I just got asked about my girlfriend."

I smirked. It seemed Jason had been right.

"You know what that means, right?" Jimmy approached me and slipped his arms around my waist.

"I can guess," I said dryly.

"I get to do dirty things to you."

"Hands off the girl, Jimmy," Brian said, stepping into the room.

"But she's mine," Jimmy retorted.

"No, Jimmy," Brian said. "What happened out there is called an assumption. She's not really your girlfriend."

"Yeah, well, according to you, she's not yours, either," Jimmy muttered. He kissed the tip of my nose and ambled from the room.

Brian watched him leave, frowning. I shifted awkardly. Yeah, I'd been a little unhappy about Brian's refusal to admit that he was taken, but I never would have just blurted it out so blatantly like that.

"So...you've been talking to Jimmy about me?" Brian asked, facing me.

"No," I answered. "He's witnessed all the things you've done since we've been on the road. He's probably seen more of your antics and flirtations than I have."

"It's harmless," Brian said impatiently.

"And that's what Jimmy keeps telling me."

"Then what was that all about?"

I shrugged.

"Gates! Those girls are here---" Johnny broke off, eyes flicking from Brian to me and back again.

I looked at Johnny. "What girls?"

Johnny seemed distinctly uncomfortable. "We invited a couple of girls in to watch the show from backstage. Matt and Zacky are talking to them right now. They want pictures with the band."

Brian came over to kiss me. I gave him my cheek.

"Baby," he complained softly.

"Go," I said flatly. "Your public awaits. I'll be on the bus, if y'all need me."

Brian hesitated as if he was going to further protest or defend himself. Then, with a sigh, he followed Johnny out of the room.

Johnny had lied. These weren't just two fans that the guys randomly decided to make lucky. Johnny had been sent to get Brian specifically, which meant these girls were Synyster Gates fans. Brian was probably the one who had chosen to give them preferential treatment. But why? What had they done to earn it?

I stopped just outside the dressing room door, debating whether or not to go see these girls. No. It's nothing, I told myself, heading for the exit instead.

And if it IS something, I don't want to know.

*****

Thanksgiving dawned bright and cold. The guys and I were in Portland, Oregon, where the show the next night was being held. I still didn't know why the guys hadn't wanted to go home and have Thanksgiving with their families, but they hadn't. I stayed with them instead of flying back to Alabama to see my parents. That choice had probably been a mistake. Things between Brian and myself were not ideal, and forcing my company on him was probably hurting us more than helping us.

I awoke to the sound of the door to our hotel room slamming. Rolling over, I found the other half of the bed empty. I sighed. I wasn't sure exactly what had happened. Brian had been acting oddly ever since the show in Denver. We hadn't fought or talked about the two "fans" or anything, he'd just started behaving indifferently towards me.

Depressed, I got up and trudged to the bathroom for a shower. I heard knocking on the door when I switched off the water. I hastily wrapped myself in one of the hotel's thick white towels and scurried to the door.

Jimmy was waiting in the hallway. He flashed a huge smile upon seeing me in nothing but a towel. "Oh, boy! Christmas has come early!"

I rolled my eyes and headed to the main room. Jimmy trailed in after me, closing the door behind him. "So...how are things?"

I rummaged in my suitcase for something to change in to. "'Things' obviously being a reference to Brian's and my relationship."

Jimmy flopped down on the empty bed nearest the window, not saying anything.

"You wouldn't ask if you didn't already know," I said sourly, tugging out a bra, panties, jeans, and a dark purple sweater.

"I wanted to hear your side."

"Why? What's Brian saying?"

"Nothing."

"And that's because there's nothing to say." I went into the bathroom and dressed, then re-emerged.

Jimmy watched me brush the tangles from my damp hair in silence. Once I'd swept my hair up in a ponytail, he spoke again. "What happened, Jordan?"

I perched on the edge of the unmade bed and shrugged. "Nothing. We've just been off the last few days."

"Since Denver?"

"Yeah."

"Did you say something to him about those two girls?"

I shook my head. "Nope. He didn't bring them up, so I didn't either. He came back to the bus that night and barely acknowledged my existence, and he's still barely acknowledging my existence."

Jimmy was quiet for a long time. Finally, he voiced the question I'd been trying not to think about: "Do you think it's guilt?"

"No," I said, but not very firmly. "Someone was with him all night, right? He was never alone with those girls. Was he?"

"I don't know, Sunshine," Jimmy said softly. "I didn't go hang out with them. I met the girls briefly on my way to the stage, so I don't know what happened."

I suddenly felt nauseous. "Do you..." I licked my lips and cleared my throat. "Do you think he...?" I couldn't make myself say the word.

"No," Jimmy replied. His unsure demeanor vanished and became matter-of-fact. "No. He loves you, Jordan. He wouldn't. If Brian's issue is guilt, it's probably just him feeling guilty for behaving in a way that makes you worry."

I bit my lip. Jimmy was suspicious. Hadn't he pointed out Brian's refusal to tell anyone I was his significant other?

And yet he's defending Brian. But he was Brian's best friend. He felt obligated to defend him. Plus, he probably wanted to believe the best about Brian, believe that Brian would never do anything so low and despicable.

Or Jimmy knows something, a nagging voice in the back of my mind chimed in. And he's running interference and covering Brian's ass.

The guys had been friends since forever. I'd only known them for a little over six years. Their loyalty was with each other, not me. If Brian was cheating on me, would any of them be honest and tell me? Or would they look the other way and pretend not to notice? Would they actually help Brian hide it from me?

"Jordan." Jimmy scooted to the edge of the bed and reached for my hand. "He wants to marry you. He's not going to do anything to screw that up."

I forced a smile and nodded.

Jimmy stood and used his grip on my hand to pull me up with him. "C'mon. The hotel restaurant is serving a special lunch for Thanksgiving."

Brian, Matt, Johnny, Zacky, Jason, and Matty were already gathered in the restaurant on the first floor. Jimmy and I joined them. I ended up between Jimmy and Matt. Brian was talking to Zacky and carefully avoiding my gaze.

"Okay, everybody!" Matt said loudly after we'd ordered and received our food. He tapped his glass with his fork. "We may not be at home with our families, but we're still following family tradition. We're going to go around the table and tell what we're thankful for. JB, you go first."

"I'm thankful for alcohol. And titties. And girls who have consumed enough alcohol to show their titties..."

Zacky, Johnny, and Jimmy all snorted into their plates.

Matt rolled his eyes. "Thank you, JB Diz. Next."

"I'm thankful for my parents and my brother, even if he is immature,--" Here, Matty shot Jason a look that was half exasperated and half affectionate. "--and everyone else at this table."

"Hear, hear!" Johnny shouted.

"My turn!" Jimmy said enthusiastically. "I'm thankful for my parents, my sisters, my four brothers and best friends, my Sunshine, and the fact that I get to do what I love most for a living."

I toyed with my straw. "I'm thankful that I get to spend every day in the company of those that I love the most."

Matt smiled. "Everything you guys have already said, and that I met Dawn."

Zacky smirked. "My family and friends, our slutty female fans, and our success."

"Sex, drugs, and rock and roll," Johnny listed.

Zacky pounded Johnny's fist.

"My dad, Suzy, Brent, McKenna, my four brothers from other mothers, and my beautiful fiancée." Brian glanced at me. "It makes me extremely thankful to know that I get to spend the rest of my life with her."

Jimmy discreetly nudged me.

"Well, now that that's done," Jason said. "DIG IN!"

Everyone began eating. Everyone except Brian and me. Brian offered me a small smile, and I returned it. Jimmy was right. He had to be. Brian loved me. He'd been feeling bad for making me worry, and he'd chosen those words as a means of apologizing.

However, deep down, a disconcerting sliver of mistrust lingered.