Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous

Avenged Sevenfold's last show for the year was scheduled in Las Vegas, Nevada, on December the second. I was excited for the tour to be over. Brian and I needed some time away from the fans and the media and the drama and, yes, even our other friends. After Brian's Thanksgiving speech, things had been better...until the guys decided to do their weekly perusal of Web sites dedicated to them. Pictures from the impromptu meet-and-greet in Denver had been put up, including a few of Jimmy carrying me over his shoulder. Everyone was speculating my identity and the most common guess was that I was Jimmy's girlfriend. Brian wasn't necessarily angry, but a certain tension had developed between him and Jimmy.

I was sitting on the sofa at the front of the bus, reading the latest Kim Harrison novel. Brian and Zacky were playing Splinter Cell, Johnny was still asleep, and Jimmy was outside, talking to one of his sisters on the phone.

The door to the bus opened and Matt loped up the steps. "Hey, Doll." He dropped down next to me on the sofa.

I marked my page and closed the book. "Hi, Shads."

He stared out the window directly across from us, his mind obviously elsewhere.

"Matt?" I said, touching his arm.

He blinked and shifted his focus to me. "Sorry."

"What's up?"

"Nothing. I just..."

I waited patiently. Matt and I hadn't talked a lot lately. At some point between high school and now, I'd grown closer to Jimmy. I had to admit that I missed Matt sometimes.

"Everything is different," Matt said eventually. "I wonder what it's going to be like going back home after all of this." He gestured vaguely towards the window.

"You think everyone is going to treat you differently."

Matt nodded.

"The people who matter won't," I assured him. "To them, you're still the same guy who burned a school down and got into a fight with a cop and raised all kinds of hell with your four best friends."

"Jesus, Jordan." Matt laughed. "What about my good deeds? Won't anybody remember those?"

I shook my head and said in a mock serious tone "No. There were so few, you see..."

"Bitch," Matt muttered, poking me in the ribs.

I giggled and squirmed away from him. "Okay, okay!" I looked at him and this time, I was genuinely serious. "To me, you're still the same guy who gave me a chance when I probably didn't deserve it and protected me when I needed it and saved me from myself."

Matt smiled, flashing those dimples that had always made the girls melt. "Don't be so hard on yourself. You were a nightmare, but you weren't the worst we've ever encountered."

"Ha ha," I said.

"Besides," he added, "you're, like, really hot, and I got to see you naked. So it was worth it."

I blushed at the memory. One night not long after I'd first moved in with Brian, I'd been at the house alone. Or so I'd thought. I'd taken a shower and upon getting out, I discovered there were no towels on the towel rack. Under the impression that I was alone, I dashed down to the laundry room for a clean towel. I had to cut through the front hallway to reach the kitchen and the laundry room beyond. Matt had been in the front hallway, having just used the spare key Brian had given him to unlock the door. I'd frozen at the sight of him, momentarily forgetting that I was totally nude, giving him ample time to look me over.

"Brian should have mentioned that you guys had keys," I complained now.

Matt chuckled. "I'm glad he didn't."

I flipped him off.

"I don't know, Jordan." Matt sighed and leaned over, somehow managing to rest his head on my shoulder despite how much taller than me he was. He had to slide way down the back of the sofa and stretch his legs out in front of him. "It makes everything complicated. I mean, I've met someone I really like and now..."

I rested my head against Matt's. "Dawn doesn't want you because you're famous, Matt. She wants you because you're amazing."

"How do you know?"

"She asked me about you. She wanted to know how many of the rumors were true. Girls who are after your fame and money wouldn't give a shit what kind of guy you are."

"She asked you about me? What'd you tell her?"

"That none of the rumors are true, except your love of drinking. And that you're a special guy who would do anything for the ones he cares about."

"Aww." Matt tilted his face up and kissed me on the cheek. "You're sweet, J."

"I only told the truth."

"So...I should give it a chance? I should pursue a relationship with Dawn?"

"Definitely," I said.

The bus door opened again and Jimmy clambered on. His eyes fell on Matt and me. "PUPPY PILE!" He dove across our laps, the majority of his body landing on Matt while his face came mere inches away from being buried in my chest.

Laughing, Matt and I both shoved him and he tumbled to the floor. I sensed someone close and looked up to find Brian standing over Jimmy. I barely refrained from sighing. Brian had never cared how Jimmy and I acted with each other before, but now that the Avenged fans believed I was Jimmy's girlfriend, Brian had started pointing out our behavior.

If it bothers you, I thought irritably, just fucking announce our engagement and then, everyone will know I'm not Jimmy's, I'm yours.

Jimmy got to his feet and brushed past Brian on his way to the back of the bus. Brian glared after him. Matt and I exchanged a glance, and Matt rolled his eyes.

"C'mon, Gates!" Zacky urged. "You've gotta give me a chance to redeem myself."

Matt stood. "I'm gonna go call Dawn."

I smiled. He vanished into the bunk area, Brian went back to his gaming, and I opened my book and continued reading.

*****

I sprinted up the porch steps and eagerly jammed my key in the lock. Twisting the key, I pushed the door open. The scrabble of toenails on the hardwood floor announced Pinkly's arrival. I scooped the white ball of fluff into my arms and received a generous amount of doggy kisses.

I practically danced across the threshold. Home. We were home.

Pinkly struggled in my arms, trying to climb over my shoulder and get to Brian, who had entered behind me with a guitar case in each hand. I set Pinkly down and Brian traded the guitar cases for the dog.

I walked into the kitchen and got a Pepsi out of the fridge, then crossed the hallway to the living room. Pixie was curled up on the arm of the sofa, asleep. I sat down and scratched her behind the ears.

Brian came into the living room seconds later, a beer in his hand and Pinkly circling his ankles. He slumped into one of the armchairs that matched the sofa.

"I'm so glad to be home," I said.

"Yeah."

Something about Brian's tone caused my stomach to twist unpleasantly. "Are you hungry?" I asked, attempting to ignore the feeling. He's just tired. That's all.

"No."

I frowned. Silence settled over us. Brian was sipping his beer and absentmindedly ruffling Pinkly's fur. I chewed my lower lip nervously, watching him.

"Bri?" I said softly after several minutes had passed.

He didn't look at me. "What?"

"Are you okay?"

"Perfect."

I winced at his tone. "Brian, please, talk to me. What's wrong?"

"I've been wanting to talk to you for a while, but I could never get even a second alone with you." He hesitated, then took a deep breath and said "I never thought twice about the way you act with the guys. Or the way they act with you. You fit in with us. For the most part, I always believed that they viewed you as nothing more than, well, one of the guys."

"And you're right," I said. "That is how they view me."

"It's not how Jimmy views you." He raised his eyes to my face. "I don't know how I missed it."

I realized my mouth was slightly open and closed it. "Brian, that's...crazy! Jimmy considers me his little sister."

Brian shook his head. "No, he doesn't. You two have always had this relationship."

"We're best friends."

"It's more than that."

"Wait." I held up my hands. "You never questioned my friendship with Jimmy until that stupid rumor was spread online. What the hell were the fans supposed to think, Bri? They've seen me hanging around at meet-and-greets. They saw me getting off the bus with Jimmy. They've never seen you and I doing anything together. In fact, more often than not, they see you flirting with the hottest, least-dressed girl you can find."

"I knew you'd bring that up," Brian grumbled. "I don't ever cross the line--"

I snorted.

"I never go as far with a fan as you and Jimmy sometimes go," Brian snapped.

"You can't be mad at Jimmy and me for a rumor the fans are spreading!"

"Is it only a rumor?"

I was so surprised by the question that I was momentarily speechless. Brian regarded me with eyes that were practically black with anger. Pinkly whined.

"Of course it's only a rumor," I said.

"Are you sure about that?"

"Yes!" I practically growled with frustration. "For fuck's sake, Bri, you're the one who started acting all shady after the show in Denver, when Johnny came and got you because those two lucky fans were there."

"Because I knew you were pissed off about it," Brian shot back. "And I'm tired of you treating me like I'm so damn untrustworthy."

"Maybe I don't understand why you act like you do and why you refuse to admit that you're taken."

Brian exhaled loudly, running a hand through his hair. "Taking you with us was a mistake."

"Why? Was my presence the only thing that stopped you from fucking all those girls?"

"No." Brian got up and moved to the sofa. Setting his beer on the coffee table, he reached for my hands. "I didn't know it would be this hard, balancing my career and my personal life. I want to keep them separate, but at the same time, I want you there every step of the way. I thought having you on the road with me and refusing to comment on my personal life to any fans or interviewers would work."

"And it would have, if you could quit acting like a man-whore." I squeezed his hands. "Bri, I'm not mad at you for flirting. That's part of being a rock star. And I told you I'd let you decide what aspects of your personal life you wanted to reveal to the public. But you don't have to act so readily available. You act like you want to go home with those girls. Tone it down a bit."

Brian nodded and gave me a sweet little kiss on the lips. "Alright. And keep in mind what I said. Your feelings for Jimmy may be strictly friendly, but his feelings for you are not. You need to be careful with him. He could be reading more into your actions than you think he is."

"He's your best friend, Bri," I protested.

"He made sure the fans saw you together. He wanted them to assume you're with him."

I kept my mouth shut. I didn't want to fight anymore and if I said what I was thinking, we'd be in for another round.

"Unless it was a plan to make me jealous and get back at me for flirting with fans," Brian remarked, only halfway joking.

"No. No, there wasn't a plan to make you jealous."

Brian kissed me again. "I love you, Jordan."

"I love you, too."

"I'm gonna go take a shower. Wanna join me?"

"No. I think I'm just gonna go lay down. I'm really tired."

"Okay." He sauntered from the room, stripping off his shirt as he went.

I waited until I heard the shower come on to climb to our bedroom. I changed into my most comfortable pajamas and crawled beneath the blankets. My mind was racing. When had my relationship with Brian become so complicated? Jealousy had never been an issue between us and now...

Now I'm suspicious of every girl Brian talks to and he's suspicious of his best friend in the world.

I bit my lip. Maybe it's not the fans and the media and our friends we need a break from.

Maybe it's each other.