Closer to Heaven than You

Holy shit dude, this had to be a fucking mirage. That bruised little girl just bumped into me and I had no idea that it was her. She seemed to have forgotten about me or maybe it’s just the fact that I don’t look the same.

I waited until she got done performing and was walking through crowds to go sign autographs. I shouted, “Ace, wait up!”

She stopped suddenly and turned around; wondering who had just called her. When she only saw me, she tilted her head, “How do you know my childhood nickname?”

I took off my beanie and replied,” Ace, it’s me. Matt Sanders!”

Her expression went from worried and confused to disbelief. I was pretty sure she was now having flash backs cause she just stared at me. She shook her head,” No it can’t be.”

I stated,” You were my first kiss. I had to chase you around the jungle gym. You got the nickname Ace when you practically good at everything you did. You got taken away by social services when you were nine.”

She literally ran at me and wrapped her arms around me. I was surprised by her actions. Usually someone who hasn’t seen someone in like twelve years wouldn’t have chosen that reaction.

She smiled,” I can’t even begin to explain how much I missed you Matt! This is just unreal!”

I smiled back at the thought that she still thought of me,” I know. This is fucking crazy.”

She asked,” How have you been? What’s new? How are your parents?”

I laughed, “One question at a time.”

That’s when I heard someone calling me. “Hey Shadows! You asshole, how long are you planning to stay?”

I turned around to see Synyster. He stretched his neck to see who I was talking to and then he smirked. I rolled my eyes. Great, he’s going to make an ass out of himself and flirt with Jacey.

He questioned,” Is that who I think it is? Green eyed Ace?”

She smiled, “Brian!”

He ran over to us and scooped her up. He exclaimed,” After all that time following us around, I’d never thought I’d say this but it’s great to finally see you again!”

I added,” You should have heard her sing.”

She kind of blushed at my comment as Syn set her down. Syn offered,” Come hang out with us, we have beer.”

He shook his can that he had in his hand. I laughed at him and was waiting for her to turn down the offer. She looked over the shoulder and then smiled,” Sure, let’s go!”

She followed us to our bus and we let her go in first. Jimmy exclaimed,” Guys check out some of the lyrics for this song! Oh wait... you’re not a guy. You’re a chick; a very hot chick. I’m Jimmy or you might know me as The Rev.”

Syn laughed, “Smooth Jimmy. This is actually Ace, Shadow’s childhood companion.”
Jimmy laughed, “Companion?”

I rolled my eyes at the guys as I handed Jacey a beer. I motioned for her to sit on the couch we had on the bus. I wanted to find out how her life turned out, where she has been living, how her life is now and if someone was in her life.

She sat next to me and took a sip before asking,” So how are you?”

I shrugged. Aside from being a tiny bit lonely on tour everything was fine. But I wasn’t going to admit I was lonely. I answered, “I’ve been alright. We’re on tour right now and making money.”

She rolled her beautiful eyes,” That’s not what I meant silly. I asked how YOU were, not everyone.”

That’s when I finally remember how well she had known me. It had been years yet she still seemed to know. I couldn’t exactly point out how. Her, to me, she was an influence to plenty of lyrics in my song due to losing her. I know, it sounds crazy to be stuck on a person for twelve years without seeing them but she made a huge impact on my life. And Out of nowhere here she is again, just like old times except we are older in age. It seemed so crazy.

I gulped,” Things have been hard. God, seeing you just brings back the memories of how much I’ve missed you.”

She smiled,” It feels like we hadn’t even missed twelve years. Seeing your smile just, I can’t even explain. This sounds totally crazy.”

I laughed along with her and added,” It actually doesn’t.”

Syn interrupted,” Shadows come look at this song that jimmy wrote.”
Jimmy walked over to Jacey and me and handed her the paper. She read the lyrics before me but as I was reading the lyrics I could help but steal a few glances of her.

Jimmy stated,” we could use a girl in this song. It would fit. You interested?”
Jacey nodded,” That would be awesome!”

Wanting to know more about her, I ignored the lyrics and I questioned, “So Ace, where do you live now?”

She replied, “Huntington Beach!”
My jaw dropped. Syn exclaimed, “So do all of us!”

I said,” I can’t believe you lived down the street from all of us and no one knew.”

“What can I say? Being away from somewhere you love for twelve years sure makes you want to go back.” She stated.

She winked at me and then walked over to the table with Jimmy to look over the lyrics. Zacky sat down next to me and stated,” I don’t know that girl but you seem like you got some connection with her.”

I chuckled, “I guess I used to look at her the same when I was younger because my parents swore we would get married until she got taken away.”

Jimmy was showing her the parts she would laugh at or sing. She nodded and she sang along with Jimmy at the part where the guy is apologizing.

Zacky added,” You better do something about those feelings of yours or Jimmy might just step in.”