Memories Remain

“Jesus Christ Brooke, you don’t have to be such a fucking bitch about it.” Matt was beyond annoyed with his girlfriend. They’d just walked into the pet store, and already she was squawking about they had to get a rabbit and not a dog like he wanted.

He’d hoped that maybe if they got a pet it would add some commitment to a relationship that was clearly going south. He was beginning to think that inviting her to one of his precious days off on his band’s east coast tour at all was a mistake. He didn’t know how things got so bad between them.

Brooke wasn’t really a bitch, but lately she’d been all over his case. He’d tried to pass it off as insecurity about the tour, but now he was tempted to believe that she was way more possessive than he’d pegged her for.

“Uh, can I help you?” The black haired clerk was standing awkwardly a few feet away from them, as if she didn’t want to interrupt. Matt smiled at her, trying to be friendly while his girlfriend huffed and crossed her arms.

“Yeah, actually, I think you can.” She smiled back at him shyly, her dark blue eyes darting toward Brooke full of a wise anxiety.

“I’m right fucking here Matt! At least wait until I’m gone to start flirting with other women! That way I won’t have to watch your adultery!”

“What the fuck is your problem Brooke?! I wasn’t flirting with that girl, and even if I was, it isn’t adultery! We’re dating, not married!” Matt exploded even louder than Brooke had.

“Well we are still dating, though I don’t even fucking see why, if you don’t even want to act like it anymore!” She started crying as she spoke, stamping her high-heeled foot.

“You know what Brooke, you have a really good point there. I’m fucking sick of bending over backwards for you. I’m god damn tired of having to detail where I am to you every single moment we’re not together. I’m tired of your crying whenever you don’t get what you want. So go find someone who cares!”

“Fine!” she blubbered, covering her face with her hands and running out of the store sobbing wildly. Matt sighed, running a hand over his face and watched as she tripped and fell on the pavement outside. He looked like he was about to go help her, when a friendly passer-by stopped to give her a hand.

He turned back to the wide-eyed clerk and smiled tiredly, thankful that they were the only ones in the store.

“I’m sorry about that,” he sighed, noticing her eyeliner and Killswitch Engage shirt for the first time.

“It’s alright dude, sounded like she had it coming.” The girl seemed surprised at her own boldness, and made Matt chuckle a little.

“She really did. I’m Matt.”

“Olivia,” She said shaking his offered hand quickly.

There was a second of silence as he looked over the caged animals.

“So... did you come here for anything specific?” she asked.

“Yeah, I kind of want a small dog, a young one, if that’s possible. One that’s lovable, but high energy. I’m really not that picky though.”

“I think I know what you’ll like.” He smiled at the girl’s back as she turned to lead him to a cadge near the front of the store, taking the words as an innuendo.

He had to resist the strong urge to destroy his tough-guy image by cooing at the sight of a mother miniature Dachshund and her two remaining pups, huddled together in a fuzzy dog bed.

“We rescued these guys,” Olivia explained. “Some asshole dumped them on the side of the road down the street and my friend brought them in. They’re only two months old. They’re exactly what you described; perfect for tours.”

Matt did a double take, staring amazed at the girl as she smiled and stuck a finger in the cage to stroke one of the puppies’ paws.

“How'd you know?”

“I’m going to your show tomorrow, dude,” she half laughed, gesturing to her Deathbat belt buckle. Matt felt like an idiot, but she kindly changed the subject by inquiring as to whether or not he wanted to get one of the puppies.

“Fuck yeah, I want that little guy right there.” He pointed to the one who was trying to attack a teddy bear twice it’s size, while the other just sat there looking at her sibling like he was an idiot.

“He’s one of my favorites,” Olivia confessed, getting him out of the cage so Matt could hold him. Matt smiled at her, dimples pronounced, then back at the little fellow in his arms.

“What’s his name?” Matt asked, as Olivia lead him around the store helping him choose toys and food.

“You can name him if you want; I’ve been calling him Dickie though.” Matt tried not to laugh, but Olivia’s cheeks turned bright red and she had to ask ‘what’ about three times. She wanted to know if she had something on her face.

“No, it’s just, Dickie is such a funny name.” Matt finally admitted.

“Oh, I know, it suits him and I like it though, so...” she trailed off with a shrug.

“I like it too. I think he’s a Dickie.” She had to smile at that.

“Poor Cinnamon is gonna be all alone now.” Olivia said sadly looking at the
mama dog as she rang Matt up.

“Why?” Matt asked, more concerned than he had a right to be.

“My friend up north is taking the other puppy, Bell, so Cinnamon will be all alone. No one is ever wants to rescue an older dog. I think I might adopt her though.”

“That would be really sweet of you.” Matt felt a warmth in his chest and could have sworn that Olivia was literally glowing.

“I’m gonna put your name in with the guards so you can come back stage tomorrow. If there’s any trouble, just give me a call.” He scrawled his number on a post it by the cash register.

“Sure,” Olivia was blushing deeply. Matt knew he’d have a hell of a time trying to get through her shyness, but Matt really liked this girl and had a deep urge to get to know her better.

-At the Show-

“Olivia you made it!” Matt’s deep voice sent pleasant chills down her spine. A very sweaty and very shirtless Matt, grabbed Olivia in a giant bear hug an sloppily kissed her cheek, to her squeals of ‘eww’ and ‘get off of me you big doof’.

He could tell by her expression that her thoughts were deeply in the gutter though. This made him smile even wider, the high of the show still strong on both of them. She started gushing about how amazing their performance was, and how excited she was to have a new scar from one of their ‘sick as shit’ mosh pits. Matt didn’t really want to hear anything about Olivia getting hurt, despite how much she seemed to enjoy it. He soon found a way of distracting her.

He offered her a beer. “Fuck no! I hate that shit man! It tastes nasty!” She made a cute face and Matt just about melted. He grabbed her a cherry wine cooler instead.

After four or five she was pretty much plastered. Lightweight. She giggled, crawling into Matt’s arms and asked excitedly if they could go to a really big telescope somewhere and see the Milky Way. She wanted to know if it looked as good as it tasted. Matt had no idea what that meant but agreed smiling anyway.

She cuddled into him, and said “I love you Matty-boy.” Right before passing out. He carried her to the bus beaming like an idiot while all the boys poked fun of him good-naturedly. He didn’t mind because, hell, he would have made fun of himself if he weren’t so fucking happy right then. He slid her into his bunk, taking off her shoes and belt and snuggling into her warm form, pulling the blanket his mother gave him over the both of them.

Olivia woke up to fingers gently combing through her hair. She smiled when she saw where she was. It faltered and she looked down at her clothed body before smiling again.

“Good morning sleepy head,” Matt whispered pressing his lips against her temple softly. She would have answered but her hangover was so overpowering she had to immediately break for the bathroom. Considering it was two feet away it wasn’t hard.

Matt held her short, but thick, black hair from her face with his palms, whispering soothing words in her ear. She sat up straight, and allowed him to tip some mouthwash into her mouth before swooshing and spiting it out. She leaned on his shoulder, as he picked her up and placed her back in his bunk.

“I feel like shit,” she whined elongating the expletive. “I know baby, I know,” Matt spoke softy, dashing for some Advil and water, which she accepted without hesitation.

“You know if you were anyone else that I’d met yesterday I’d be freaking the fuck out right now,” she pointed out. He chuckled and agreed.

“I’m sure you understand the sleeping arrangements, I didn’t have much choice last night.” He cuddled into her. Her cheeks flamed red but she allowed it.

“Oh, I understand.” They snuggled for a few hours, occasionally talking before Matt sighed and said, “I have good news and bad news, which do you want to hear first?”

“I don’t know, you choose,” Olivia said uncertainly.

“The bad news is we’re no longer in Virginia.” Olivia's eyes bulged and her mouth opened a little. “The good news is you can finish out the tour with us, or if you really need to I’ll give you money to send you back home.” She thought about it for a second while he sat there worried.

“Dude, I’d defiantly love to go on tour with you, but I can’t just fucking up and leave my family and shit behind. I really don’t want to, but I have to get back home. My mom probably freaking called the cops.” She groaned deeply and began frantically searching her pockets for a cell phone.

“Where are we?” She asked hesitating, apparently deciding who to call.

“Pennsylvania,” Matt replied his voice a little lower than before with disappointment.

“Jesus fucking christ man!” Olivia exclaimed the second someone picked up on the other line. “I seriously fucking need you to pick me up. I’m somewhere in Pennsylvania.” Screaming of the panicking variety could be heard on the other end. “No dude I’m fine,” Phoenix laughed hysterically for a moment. “No I’m not in China, Mexico, Russia or Germany, and yes I’m sure I have my pants.” She let the other person ramble on as she quietly asked Matt to find out what the nearest city was.

“Cabaret,” Olivia answered as soon as Matt came back with the name.

“It’s gonna take us like three hours to get there,” Matt added.

“Perfect,” She grinned. "That’s how long it’ll take my ride to get there. You guys can see me off.” She smiled, but Matt could only weakly grin. It was a major bummer to have to see her go.

“So when is your ride getting here?” Johnny asked in a yawn.

“They got a flat, they’ll be here soon.” Olivia answered as she cuddled into a pillow on the couch.

“Let’s get some fucking sleep and let Toby have us get up when they’re here.” He was already heading toward his bunk as he voiced his plan. There was a wave of vocal consent before Matt picked up Olivia and carried her half-asleep body to his bunk, laying down with her.

“Miss?” Toby, the driver, whispered, shaking Olivia’s shoulder gently. “There’s some people here who say they’re your friends. Can you go make sure before I let them on the bus?”

“Sure,” Olivia mumbled, crawling out of Matt’s death-grip somehow and rubbing her head really quickly, intentionally messing up her hair. She stumbled to the front of the bus, glancing outside only briefly before telling Toby it was okay to open the doors.

“Olivia you are getting your ass back on that fucking bus!” Ace screamed, thrusting the lankier girl back up the steps and then barging in after her. Victor followed, smiling, and far less authoritative than his female friend.

“What the hell Marie?!” Olivia only used her real name when she meant serious business.

“We know you want to go, so we’re forcing you to. We contacted your family, so don’t worry. Your grandmother is giving you all the time off you need.”

“I can’t just fucking leave-” Ace tackled her friend and struggled with her on the floor of the bus while Victor quickly threw the bags in. Ace was able to duct tape her mouth and keep her from getting up or removing the tape, as Victor shut the door and told the driver to go.

A pack of mostly shirtless men had gathered outside their bunks by now and was watching the exchange with a sleepy alertness. Olivia finally pushed Ace off screaming, “What the fuck you whore!”

“What?! Whores? Where?” Johnny started, with his eyes half closed, literally rolling out of his bunk to everyone’s amusement.

“That whore would be me,” Ace raised her hand in mocking attempt to be helpful.

“Oh,” He said, realizing his error. Victor just smiled goofily and nodded in affirmation.

“Uh... who are these people Olivia?” Matt asked, stepping up behind her, still unsure of their motives.

“That’s Marie aka Ace aka the pain in the ass ever. The dude is Victor, and they’re both assholes,” she seethed.

“Why, Olivia, my love, I take offense, I truly, truly do!” Ace said in a voice that might have belonged to a Disney princess, her eyes were so round and innocent for a moment that had they not been laughing, they may have actually believed her for a moment.

“Dude, you do realize that your fingernails are painted sparkly neon pink right?” Zacky asked unsurely, giving Victor a skeptical look.

“Yes, I know,” Victor replied with a vague smile.

“He isn’t gay, is he?” Johnny asked with wide eyes, looking at Matt as if he would know.

“He’s not fucking gay! I’m sick of people fucking thinking that! He has a really weird sense of style though. Just think Jimmy Urine and you’ll get the picture," Ace ranted. Johnny took a step backward in shock at the sudden outburst then seeming tranquility of the girl.

“You’ll get used to that with her,” Olivia laughed, forgetting her anger for a moment.

“Aren’t you going to introduce us?” Zacky asked Olivia with a hint of a smirk.

“They both already know who you guys are, they’re fans too.”

“By the way Ace is staring at you like a piece of meat, I’d say she wants to get to know you, Zack.” Brian quipped, noting Ace’s lingering gaze on Zacky's shirtless body.

“I was not staring at him like a piece of meat!” Ace screamed, hands balled at her sides her teeth bared like a feral wolf. Taking three quick paces so she was right in front of a scared-shitless Brian. Her face was about an inch from his when she spat, “I’m a vegetarian, god damn it!” Then smiled broadly. They all burst out laughing, and Ace gave Brian a friendly hug.