A Shot in the Dark

Becca was ready.

She had her hair in a braid off to the side with some light, simple makeup. Her outfit was simple also; a pair of light blue skinny jeans and a long multi-colored sweater with a studded, collared shirt peeking out. She thought she looked nice. She sprayed some perfume and then left the bathroom, hunting for Kelly.

"How do I look?" she asked, finding her in her bedroom.

Kelly glanced up from the magazine she was reading. Jona sat in her desk chair, fiddling around with an acoustic guitar. He had come over and brought tea for the girls when he was done at the band's meeting. Kelly had been thrilled with the surprise and they had immediately settled into her room.

Becca was actually amazed with how well they fit with each other. Already they were a comfortable pair, seeing as Kelly had no makeup on and lounged in her pajamas without an issue. It was fairly obvious that this could be an awesome thing for the both of them.

"Beck, you look awesome!" Kelly said, placing her magazine on the bed and bouncing up. "You look so girly! Where's my Becca and what have you done with her?"

"Oh shut up, doofus! I wanted to look nice," Becca said, shifting her weight from one leg to the other. She ran her hand over her braid carefully.

"You look very nice," Jona chimed in, playing chords randomly. She smiled at him and ducked her head. He focused his attention on the instrument in his hands. Kelly was beaming in Becca's face.

"Well, I love it! Do you know where he's taking you?" she asked, sitting on the edge of the bed with her legs like a pretzel. Becca plopped down next to her and leaned against the wall.

"No, but I'm keen to learn about the surprise more than eating to be honest."

"I've heard patience is a virtue."

Jona snorted and shook his head.

"I resent that!" she said, sending him a glare. Jona just grinned and winked at her. "Don't make me come over there."

The curtains were open and the sun was nearly down, a testament to the spring time. It smelled like wet pavement as it had rained most of the day in the Steel City. The sun peeked out of the clouds towards the end of the day though, reminding the residents that it existed. A breeze floated into the room as a knock sounded on the door.

Becca jumped up, eyes wide. She literally ran to open the door. She wrenched it open and saw him standing there, wearing khaki pants that fit him well and a plaid button down. His hair was shaggy as ever and appeared windblown, as if he'd been driving with the windows down. He grinned when he saw her.

"Hey babe," he greeted, opening his arms for her. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed his cheek before he kissed her lips. He pecked her lips a few times before planting kisses all over her face. She giggled and slapped him away.

"Yeh look absolutely stunnin' as usual," he said, entering the flat and closing the door behind him. "Where's that little minx?"

"Shut up Matt!" Kelly yelled from her bedroom. He ventured off to say hello and Becca went into the kitchen to grab her bag.

"Oi Jona! This is where yeh were in such a hurry to fuck off to? Whipped mate," Becca heard Matt say.

"Speak for yourself!" Jona rebutted. Matt chuckled and looked over his shoulder to see his girlfriend staring at him fondly.

"Take Kell somewhere nice will yeh? Do somethin' for once!" he chastised, wrapping his arm around Becca's shoulders and pulling her into his side. He kissed the top of her head.

"I took her out last night! And for the record, I was planning on taking her out tonight anyway," he defended. Kelly's head whipped to the side.

"Were you really?" she asked.

"Sure I was! Don't be surprised; I was going to see if you wanted to go check out this band I like," he said, rubbing the back of his neck. Kelly grinned at Becca, who smiled back. She was too preoccupied with trying to pull her boyfriend out of the flat. She knew he'd wait to tell her the surprise when they were in the restaurant.

"Well sure, we can go. That would be lots of fun."

It was amazing for Becca to see this side of her friend. Kelly was usually bubbly and outgoing, not shy in the least bit. She put herself out there for everyone to see, love it or hate it. Around Jona she was careful and quiet. Becca was amazed to see the personality transformation.

"Alright, well, we best be out then," Matty said and Becca's heart leapt. As they walked through the flat to leave Kelly called out to them.

"Don't be out too late! She has curfew!"

"Oh shut up Mum," Becca called back, "I'm a big girl now!"

"You'll always be my baby!" they heard before the door closed and they were walking down the hall to get to the car. They were quiet for a bit, making it out into the cool spring air before either said a word.

"She's a nut that girl," Matty said. Becca laughed, sliding into his car easily. He'd obviously cleaned it earlier today. While it still reeked of weed, there wasn't any trash on the floor even in the backseat. There was also an obvious air freshener scent, which didn't help mask anything.

"You have to love her though, honestly. I don't what I'd do without her," she said. Matty looked over at her as he started the car, studying her face. He leaned over and kissed her again, throwing the car into gear and then grabbing her hand as he sped out of the parking lot.

"I don't know what I'd do without yeh Beck," he said quietly. She smiled and leaned her head back in utter content. Her heart beat happily. Life was so good right now; she lived in Sheffield with her best friend and had a whole crew of amazing friends and an even more amazing boyfriend. The surprise unnerved her because she didn't want change.

"You're cute," Becca said in return, rubbing circles on the back of his hand with her thumb. He glanced over at her and grinned before giving her hand a squeeze. She appreciated every moment she had with him. "How did the meeting with the band go?"

"Ah, it was a bunch of bullshit really. We ended up playin' video games most of the time, really pissed off Sheep. Talked a bit about the new album. What about yeh? How was the day?" he asked.

"Oh boring mostly. I just hung out with Kelly all day, spoke to my brother and Mum, had some tea with Jona, got ready to see you, the normal. I'm happy to be going out with you though," she answered, smiling over at him. He was driving so he didn't see it but Becca could feel how adoringly she looked at him.

"I'm glad to be goin' out with yeh as well. We stay in too much. I neglect yeh," he worried aloud.

"Oh shut up, you do not! As long as I'm with you I don't give a fuck where we are."

"Yeh're bloody awesome for that."

"I try."

The ride was short. Instead of their usual spot to eat, Matty had opted to bring Becca to a new place that neither of them had tried before. It was a Thai food restaurant, which both enjoyed. The inside was small and cozy, dimly lit and perfectly intimate. They looked over their menus quietly and put in their orders before focusing on each other.

"Alright well, I have somethin' to tell yeh," he began.

Nerves skyrocketed through Becca. Her heart pumped ice-cold blood through her veins. Each beat produced a butterfly effect of panic, starting in her chest and then making small waves outward to the rest of her body. Her mind raced with every possibility.

"Yeah, I know," she said softly, "What is it?"

Her crystal blue eyes met his chocolate brown ones. He was giving her a soft, cautious look that made her melt and calmed her racing heart mildly. His fingers fidgeted on the table and she reached out to hold them in hers. He smiled gently.

"The boys and I have been put on Warped Tour this summer, as a headliner. Normally we would have known ages ago but one of the original headliners have dropped and they wanted us to replace them," he admitted, gauging her reaction.

Her heart stopped. It wasn't bad news at all. It was great for the boys. Three months though...three months without Matty was a very long time. She nodded, blinking rapidly. Becca wasn't going to cry, that would just be stupid. She did feel a great anxiety building up in her.

"That's great!" she smiled, "I'm happy for you Matty, really I am. Warped is awesome!"

"Well I'm not just done yet babe," he said. She bit her lip, feeling a frown fighting its way onto her face. "We've found a little bit of extra room on the tour to bring yeh and Kelly, if yeh'd like to come that is."

Now the anxiety was gone, completely. Her eyes widened and her hands slid away from his, falling off the table and into her lap. She tilted her head and then shook her head, her mouth opening.

"Are you serious?!" she fought not to screech as excitement built up seemingly from nowhere and spilt out of her like a pot of water overboiiling. "You want me to spend a summer on Warped Tour with you?!"

"Yes! Becca, of course I want yeh to come!" he said, grinning so widely it must hurt him.

"Oh my God! This is fucking awesome!" she slid out of her seat to throw herself into his side of the booth, flinging her arms around him and kissing him. "No wonder Kelly couldn't keep it to herself, holy shit, this is the best news ever!"

Matty laughed, kissing her and rubbing circles onto her hipbones as he held her. He nuzzled his face into her neck and chuckled happily. Pure happiness exuded from the couple. Becca found it hard to pull away from her as euphoria beat straight from her heart to every part of her body.

"I was scared yeh wouldn't want to come. It can be a lot and very stressful," he warned.

"Oh fuck off Matty, as if! Of course I want to come! I get to spend the whole summer with you now and we'll have so much fun! I can't even wait," she said, texting Kelly with a thousand exclamation points and smiley faces. The news was completely amazing.

"I'm so happy," Matty sighed, sipping at the beer he'd ordered. "This summer's gonna be fuckin' awesome. I get to spend it with all my mates playing music and now with my bird."

"Life's good," Becca agreed, leaning her head and smiling at him.

"Life's good," he echoed.