So Long My Sweet

I woke up to a constant poke by someone's finger to my face. I mumbled a string of incoherent cuss words and swatted at the person’s hand. They laughed and backed off, or so I thought. A few minutes later I was drenched in water. Sitting up, my eyes flew open to see Tommy laughing his ass off.

“What the fuck?”I groaned, rubbing my eyes. Remembering my cuts, I quickly slid my arms under the covers.

“Nikki said to come wake you up,”he replied.

“Couldn’t you of just shook my shoulder and told me to wake up or something?”I asked flopping back on the bed.

“Too simple,”he laughed,”now wake up, we have to register you for school.”

“Get out and let me get dressed then,”I retorted.

He ‘sniffled’ and said,”I can tell when I’m no longer needed.”

I just laughed as he walked out pretending to cry. Without realizing I was hanging of the edge of the bed, I stretched and fell off. I walked into the adjoining bathroom and went to turn on the shower. “What the hell kind of space shit is this?”I mumbled staring into the shower. I just continued to stare at it, wondering if I could magically figure it out. Giving up, I walked out of the room and down to Nikki’s. I knocked on the door and waited for an answer. When I got no answer, I walked back to the guest room and pulled on a sweatshirt. I walked down the stairs to where I could hear someone. I followed the voice and came to a door. I opened the door slightly, thinking it was a room, and noting that it was actually a staircase. I followed the staircase down into what, I guess is a recording studio. Nikki was sitting with his back turned messing with the sound board. I cleared my throat, causing him to jump and turn around. I began laughing at the startled look on his face

“Yes?”he asked.

I calmed down and asked,”So how do you work the shower in the guest room? because I’m confused.”

He thought for a moment,”No idea,”he replied,”ask Tommy, he usually uses that shower.” My face probably showed a hint of being terrified because he laughed,”Don’t worry, it’s cleaned on a regular basis.”

I laughed,”Okay.” I began walking away when he called my name again,”Yes?”I asked.

“If you can’t find Tommy, just use the shower in the bathroom across the hall, it’s more simple,”he said. I nodded and walked up the steps. I walked into another room which turned out to be a dining room. Noting that Tommy wasn’t there, I walked into the adjacent room. It was the kitchen. I saw the door to the fridge and freezer opened. I walked over and saw Tommy standing there with his back to me. It appeared he was eating something. Clearing my throat, he paused and turned around with his mouth covered in vanilla ice cream.

“It’s not what it looks like,”he said with wide eyes.

“So it doesn’t look like you just gave Frosty the Snowman a blow job?”I drawled.

He gave me a weird look,”I like you, kid.”

“I like you too, old man,”I retorted,”so let me guess, that’s Nikki’s ice cream and you’re not supposed to think, touch, taste, hear or see it?”

“Basically,”he said.

“So if he found out he’d be angry?”I asked.

“Exactly what are you getting at?”he asked.

“Not sure yet,”I answered,”now I need your help.”

“With what?”he asked warily.

“The shower up in the guest room, I have no idea how to work it,”I replied.

“Well then follow me so I can show you how a shower works,”he said sarcastically and walked out of the room with me in tow.

“I know how to work a general shower, not one of these space age kinds,”I replied. He walked into the bedroom and then into the bathroom. I stood behind him as he went to work on the shower. I felt really dumb when all he did was turn a few knobs.

“Is this warm enough?”he asked. I reached and touched the water. I nodded my head and he showed me how to turn the shower off. I grabbed my clothes as he walked out of the room.

Walking into the bathroom, I stripped down and grabbed the towel from the back of the door. I slipped into the shower and stood under the water. My fingers massaged my scalp as I worked the shampoo into my hair. I quickly washed my body and just stood under the stream of water pouring onto me. I didn’t realize how long I had been standing there until the water started losing its heat. I turned off the shower and stepped out. Grabbing the towel, I began to dry myself off. I wrapped my hair in the towel as I pulled my clothes on. I walked out and grabbed my flat iron and hair dryer. I walked back to the bathroom and towel dried my hair. Turning on my hair dryer, I flipped my head over and dried the underside first. When I flipped over my hair was all fluffy on the top. I brushed it out and then started on drying the top. Finished drying my hair, I sectioned off my hair and straightened it. I put on a light amount of make up and walked out. I walked over and slid on my bracelets and put in new tapers.

I skipped down the stairs and into the kitchen. Tommy was still in their eating all of Nikki’s ice cream. “Won’t he get really mad?”I asked and he jumped.

“No, I’ll just buy him some more,”he replied.

“Okay,”I replied,”so is Nikki still down stairs?”

Nodding his head, he continued to shovel the ice cream into his mouth and ask,”Why?”

“He said something about going to the school and getting me registered,”I replied.

“Have fun,”he said as I walked away.

“Loads of it,”I mumbled as I got to the basement door. I walked down the stairs to see Nikki messing around with the sound board still. I sat down on the chair beside him and cleared my throat.

He jumped a little,”Yes?”he asked.

“Just wondering about the school thing,”I replied.

“Shit, I forgot all about that, sorry,”he answered.

“It’s fine,”I replied.

“Give me a few minutes and then we will go,”he replied. I just nodded and watched him pull on a pair of headphones and continue to mess around with sound board for a few minutes. He finally sighed,”I’ll finish this later.”

“I can wait,”I said.

“No it’s not that, the track just won’t turn out right,”he replied.

“Oh,”I said.

He stood up and stretched,”Now let’s go get you registered for school.”

“Do I have to go to school?”I asked following him up the stairs.

“It’s only half a year,”he replied.

“But that’s half a year that I’ll have to be stuck in school,”I whined.

“No buts,”he said.

“So I can’t have a but and I have to go to school?”I asked.

“Pretty much,”he laughed.

“Well that sucks,”I replied as we walked out to the car.

“Yeah yeah,”he said and slid into the driver's seat. I sat in the passenger seat and we left the house. I sat fiddling with my hands in my lap. “So,”he said breaking the awkward silence,”what do you like to do?”

“I love to draw, surf, dance and make music,”I replied smiling.

“Surfing?”he asked,”I thought you lived down in Tennessee .”

“Yeah but me and Kenneth would take trips to down to Florida almost every month so that we could surf and relax,”I answered.

“Kenneth,”he said and paused,”is he your boyfriend?”

“No just my best friend,”I laughed,”same with all the other guys.”

“Oh,”he said.

“Yeah, I was wondering though,”I replied.

“And that is?”he asked.

“If they could come and stay eventually?”I asked and began rambling,”I mean I don’t want to seem like I’m taking over your hospitality but they were my only friends-”

He cut me off, laughing,”It’s fine, don’t worry about it.”

“You sure?”I questioned unsure.

Looking over at me he asked,“If I wasn’t, would I say that it was fine?”

“Well no,”I said.

“Don’t worry about it,”he replied. We soon pulled into the crowded parking lot of the school. “Well school’s in,”he sighed.

“Are you gonna wear a disguise?”I asked.

“I probably should,”he said and grabbed a hat and a pair of sunglasses. He smoothed his hair down and slid the hat on. We both exited the car and started walking up to the front of the school. I sighed as we walked through the front of the school. “You ready?”he asked as we began walking towards the main office.

“I kind of have to be,”I said, letting out a small laugh. Nikki pushed open the door and walked in.

He walked to the front desk,”Hello, I’m Frank Feranna,”he winced at his real name,”I’m here to see someone about enrolling my daughter here.”

“Okay just have seat over there and someone will be with you in a little bit,”she said smiling at him. We walked over and sat down on the chairs. My leg bounced in anticipation as we waited.

“Chill,”Nikki said as he saw my leg moving at a million miles an hour.

“I’ll try,”I replied and stopped my leg. Someone finally walked out.

“Mr. Feranna?”she said.

“That’s me,”Nikki said standing up.

“It’s nice to meet you, I’m Mrs. Bradshaw, I’m the principal here,”she said and shook his hand,”now if you and your daughter want to come with me into my office, we will sort this registration out.” We both nodded our heads and walked in. We both sat down across from her. They both began talking about registration and everything. I just sat there as they both talked about everything that registration included. “I was wondering if you would like a tour?”Mrs. Bradshaw asked.

“That’d be nice,”I replied and we left the office. We went through out half the school. She showed me the cafeteria and gyms. She brought me to the other half of the school and showed me the different the science wing and labs. She was explaining everything as we walked through. She was about to speak as Nikki’s phone cut her off.

He looked at the caller I.D. and said,”I have to take this, sorry.” We both nodded and he walked a few feet away. Me and the principal stood there awkwardly. She didn’t say anything and neither did I. He soon walked back,”Can we wrap this up?”he asked,”I have business that I need to attend to.”

They both began speaking a little bit more and I spaced out. I came back once they finished. “It was a pleasure meeting you two, and I hope to see you next Monday,”she said looking at me. I nodded and shook her hand and we both left.

As we walked out the bell rang and all the students filed out into the hallways. Quickly grabbing my hand, Nikki pulled me down a hallway and out of the building. He let go of my hand as we made it outside. “So what’s the business?”I asked

“I have to do a photoshoot for a band that I know,”He said as we continued our way out to the car.

“Oh,”I said and asked,”what band?”

“Black Veil Brides,”he answered

“Never heard of them,”I replied.

“Well they are relatively newer to the music scene,”he said.

“Oh,”I said.

“Do you want to come with?”he asked,”because I can always take you back to the house.”

“I’ll come with, might as well,”I laughed,”or I’ll end up just sleeping all day.”

He just laughed,”Are you good with sitting and watching for a few hours?”

“Yes, I’m fine with it,”I replied,”I have my phone.”

“Okay,”he said and our conversation ended there. “You have a license right?”he asked randomly.

“What kind?”I asked. He shot me a confused look so I clarified,”Driver’s license or a motorcycle license.”

“Driver’s license,”he replied.

“I have both,”I laughed,”why’d you want to know?”

‘Well since you’re in highschool, I figure that you’d probably want your own car,”he said.

“Unless it’s cheap, I can’t afford it,”I said,”and plus Kenneth is having my bike shipped here.”

“Well you can either use mine or we can go car shopping,”he suggested.

“I’m not letting you buy me a car,”I replied stubbornly.

“Think of it as a gift,”he said,”I missed all of your birthdays, please just let me get you a car.”

“Wow,”I paused and warned him,”fine but it’s not gonna be anything over the top expensive.”

“That’s fine with me,”he said smiling,”so, car shopping after the photo shoot?”

“Doesn’t matter to me,”I replied.

He nodded and we soon pulled into a driveway type thing,”Welcome to the Funny Farm,”Nikki said parking his car. He pulled the keys from the ignition and we both got out of the car. I walked with him and felt the straps of my pants bouncing on the backs of my legs. I felt a push on my shoulder as I began messing with my phone. My head shot up as I saw Nikki take off to the building.

“You son of a bitch,”I yelled and chased after him.

“You’ll never take me alive,”he yelled back.

“Wanna bet?”I asked as I ended up a few feet behind him. He ran through the door and threw it shut. I pushed the door back open and listened for footsteps. I ran down the hallway that I heard sound of someone moving fast. I saw Nikki turn a corner as I flew down the hallway. I trailed after him and the sound of his footsteps. I soon ran into an open room. Looking around, I guessed that this is probably where the photo shoot was taking place. I didn’t see Nikki anywhere in the room. I was soon thrown over someone's shoulder and spun around.”Put me down Nikki,”I laughed.

“Never,”he said standing still. He set me down as someone cleared their throat. My feet touched the ground and I slammed my fist into his arm. I looked and saw a group of guys covered in black stage make up standing in front of us.“For a small girl, you can sure hit,”he hissed rubbing his arm.

“You deserved it,”I said laughing,”never pick me up.”

“Since we’re being incredibly rude, I think I should probably introduce you to the band,”he replied.

“Probably the best idea you’ve had all day,”I laughed.

He shot me a look and I held my hands up in a sign of surrender. “Anyway,”he said and began pointing out who is who,”Andy is the singer, CC is the drummer, Jinxx is one of the guitarist, Ashley is the bassist and Jake is-”he paused,”wait where’s Jake?”

“I think he said something about needing to take a piss,”CC said and was slapped in the back of the head by Ashley. “What the hell?”he asked looking at him as I stifled a laugh.

“There is a lady present,”Ashley replied.

“It’s fine, I’m used to it,”I laughed.

CC hit him back and said,”See, asshole.”

“I’m still confused to why she is here though,”Ashley said.

“She’s my daughter,”Nikki said.

They all paused and began laughing. “No seriously,”Andy said.

“Seriously,”I replied.

“Weird,”they all said.

“What’s weird?”I heard a voice asked from behind the group. A guy with longish black hair pushed forward.

“Sixx has a daughter,”Jinxx said, finally speaking.

“That her?”he asked.

“Nah, I’m just the stand in, the real girl will be here in a little bit,”I said smirking. He just laughed.

“Guys this is my daughter, Rhea,”Nikki said and I gave a small wave at them. “Now let’s get to work,”Nikki said, they all groaned but walked over to where everything was set up. I followed behind him and watched as he set up everything. As soon as everything got set up, he began firing off directions for the guys. I just sat back and watched as Nikki snapped multitudes of pictures as he called out instructions. I laughed as they tripped over each other as they changed poses and grouping.

The snapping of pictures soon ended. “Take a break guys, let me look through these real quick,”Nikki said. They all sighed and walked over to a couch along the wall. “What do you think?”he asked.

“They seem pretty cool,”I replied,”haven’t heard their music but it can’t be that bad.”

“You’ve never heard our music?”I heard Ashley ask.

“Nah, I listen to very select few bands,”I said.

“Like what?”Andy asked.

“I don’t know,”I laughed,”I listen to 80’s bands, Avenged Sevenfold, Hollywood Undead, Sixx A.M., and other music.”

“So you’ve never heard of us?”he asked.

“Never, why?”I asked,”you guys any good?”

“Pssht we are amazing,”Ashley replied.

“Really now?”I questioned.

“Well yeah,”he said and looked at the other guys unsure.

I laughed,”I’m just kidding, I don’t doubt that you guys are amazing.”

“That was kind of mean,”Andy said.

“It was all in good fun,”I said laughing.

“So what do you do?”he asked.

“I’m in school right now,”I replied.

“College?”he asked. I began laughing hard and they shot me a confused look.

I held up my hand and began calming down and asked,”Serious?” They all nodded and I let a chuckle slip out. “Actually no I’m still in High school,”I said.

“Really?”he asked.

“Yup,”I replied popping the ‘p’,”my last year and then I’m out.”

“You don’t look that young,”Ashley said and they all nodded.

“Do I look that old?”I asked, raising my eyebrows.

“No, we didn’t mean it like that,”Andy replied.

“Chill, I’m just kidding,”I laughed,”I know I don’t look like a high schooler.”

“Well what do you do besides go to school?”Jinxx asked.

I sighed and thought for a little bit,”Well I dance, and draw, and play violin and guitar, and I surf.”

“When you say dance do you mean like this,”CC asked and stood up and began shaking his ass, to which I laughed,”or do you mean like this?”and he began twirling around and jumping.

“Oh god,”I said still laughing,”uhm I’m not sure what types those were.”

“Well what types do you do?”he asked and sat down.

“Almost every kind,”I answered.

“Oh, so where did you come from?”Jinxx asked.

“Well when two people love each other, or in my case, when the lust each other they decide-”I was soon cut off.

“We meant what state?”he asked laughing.

“Oh well Tennessee,”I replied.

“You really don’t have that much of an accent,”Jake added.

“It only appears when I’m really angry or really excited or if I’m talking to my friends,”I replied.

“Sooo,”Jake said.

“Well that’s the only way to hear it,”I said,”and if you do want to hear it, I suggest listening in on a conversation with a friend.”

“Why?”he asked.

“Cause I’m a complete bitch when I’m that angry,”I replied,”and uncontrollable when I’m that excited.”

“I could handle you,”Ashley smirked.

I just laughed,”Whatever floats your boat, hun.”

“So what else is there about you that we don’t know?”Jake asked, cutting off Ashley from replying.

“Uhm I can surf, pretty amazingly if I do say so myself,”I paused and thought,” I have four tattoos, I have two other piercings besides my ears, I can play more than one instrument and I can speak fluently in french.”

“Say something in French then,”Andy said.

“What do you want me to say?”I asked.

“Andy is a sexy beast,”he replied, smirking.

“Vous êtes très délirant, mon ami,”I said laughing.

“I have a feeling you didn’t say I was a sexy beast,”he said looking at me.

“Peut-être, peut-être pas,”I replied.

“Enough confusing the guys,”Nikki laughed, looking at me as he walked over. He looked at the guys pointedly and said,”Break time is over.” They all groaned but stood up and walked back over to the set. I laughed and followed Nikki over to the camera and sat down, playing with my phone. I soon got into an intense game of Angry Birds and didn’t realize that they had finished till Nikki tapped me on the shoulder causing me to jump. I gave him a questioning look,”We’re done,”he answered.

“Oh okay,”I replied and stood up. I stretched and brushed off my back side,”So what are we doing now?”I asked.

“Probably heading back to the house,”Nikki replied, fishing his keys from his pocket as we walked out.

“Okay,”I sighed.

“I’m tired otherwise I would take you out and show you all of glorious L.A.,”he sighed.

“It’s fine,”I replied and I felt an arm go around my shoulders.

“Well since you’re not busy you should come and hang out with us,”CC said, looking down at me.

“Is it cool with everyone else?”I asked him.

“Of course it is,”he answered.

I looked at Nikki,”Can I?”

“I guess,”he sighed jokingly,”but have her back before the sun comes back up.”

“YES!”CC squealed and threw me over his shoulder.

I just sighed and waved to Nikki as we, well more like CC walked away. “CC put me down,”I whined as his shoulder started to dig into me.

“Just a few more feet,”he said and soon dropped me onto my feet. I stumbled and was caught quickly as I began to fall.

“Thanks Ash,”I said and patted his cheek.

“No problem,”he replied.

“Now where are we going?”I asked, looking at everyone.

“Everywhere!”CC shouted.

“Really?”I asked.

“No just almost everywhere around LA,”Andy replied.

“Well then lead the way,”I laughed,”because I have no idea where we are going.” I was thrown over CC’s shoulder again as he ran out the door. “Is this really necessary?”I asked, throwing my arms around his waist.

“Nope,”he laughed and continued running.

“Well can you slow down because my boobs are about to fall out?”I asked.

“Keep running CC,”I heard Ashley yell and I flipped him off. I quickly covered my chest and made myself feel like dead-weight.

CC staggered,”What the hell?”he asked.

“Put me down,”I replied.

“Fine,”he huffed and set me down. Crossing his arms, he stuck out his bottom lip.

“You’re pouting won’t make me give in and let you carry me,”I replied but was soon scooped again. This time it was by Andy and he was carrying me like a child. “Why is everyone carrying me?”I asked.

“Because you’re so small,”CC squealed and pinched my cheeks,”it’s just so adorable.”

I swatted at his hands and huffed jokingly. My phone began ringing,”Can you please set me down so I can answer this?”I asked and was set down. I didn’t even bother looking at the ID,”Yes, Kenneth?”I asked using his first name instead of calling him Nixon like I usually do.

“I’m sorry,”He sighed, apologizing.

“And?”I asked.

“And I shouldn’t have said that,”he replied.

“It doesn’t matter now,”I said.

“So I’m forgiven?”he asked.

I sighed,”Of course you are, I can never stay mad at you.”

“Good cause I was worried,”he replied.

“Of course you were,”I laughed and asked,”so how are the guys?”

“Ryan’s going insane like usual and everyone just all ehh,”he replied.

“Tell Ryan to not go insane because insanity is not the best policy and tell both of them I miss them,”I said.

“Well I guess you have to go,”he sighed playfully.

“Of course LA is a really busy place,”I answered with a small laugh.

“I wish you were still in Tennessee,”he sighed.

“Me too,”I sighed,”well I have to go so bye.”

“Bye,”he replied and we both hung up.

Sighing, I turned and looked at the guys. They all looked at me with questioning stares. “It was my friend,”I said.

“Friend?”CC asked and winked,”as in boyfriend?”

“Nope, I’m single like a pringle jingle,”I replied laughing.

“I see what you did there,”CC laughed.

“So before we get into my love life, or lack of, exactly where are we going?”I asked.

“Well Nikki told us to take you shopping and show you L.A. and all of it’s glory,”Jinxx replied.

“That’d be fantastic but I don’t have any money on me right now,”I sighed.

“Don’t worry about it,”CC said smiling.

“Oh no,”I replied and quit walking,”I am no charity case.”

“We never said you were,”he sighed.

“I don’t need peoples money,”I huffed.

“It’s Nikki’s,”he said and quickly cut me off,”and anyway Nikki said he wanted us to take you shopping for clothes and stuff.”

Crossing my arms, I huffed and said,”No.”

“Too bad,”he replied and threw me over his shoulder.

“This is kidnapping,”I sang as my body bounced on his shoulder.

“No it’s not,”CC argued, whining.

“Yes it is,”I whined back.

“No.”

“Yes.”

“No.”

“Will you two both be quiet,”Jake groaned.

“This is still kidnapping though,”I retorted.

“Just think of it as a surprise field trip,”CC said.

“Well if it’s a field trip then you can put me down,”I suggested.

“Nice try but I’m not that stupid,”he retorted.

“Damn, you could have fooled me,”I sighed and he gasped.

“That’s so mean,”he whined. I heard a car door open and I was placed in side. The door quickly shut and everyone else got in.

“Was that necessary?” I asked.

“Probably not,”CC replied, laughing as he slid in and squished me into Jake. I pushed back and slammed him against the window. “ small but mighty,”he gasped.

“That’s what she said!”Ashley screamed.

“So mature, Ashley,”Jake said sarcastically.

“I know,”he replied smirking.

“Are we there yet?”CC whined after a few minutes.

“So help me god, I will eat your first born if you start whining,”I groaned.

“But you love me,”he replied and hugged me tight against him.

I laughed and asked,”When did I ever say that?”

He pulled away,”You don’t love me?”

“I never said that,”I replied as his lip began to tremble.

“So you do love me?”he asked.

“Sure,”I sighed.

“Yay!”he yelled and wrapped me in a hug.

“Such a child,”I mumbled and the guys laughed. CC pulled away and began digging in his pockets and around the car. “What are you doing?”I asked.

“One second,”he replied. He kept digging,”Aha,”he said and shoved the object behind him.

“Should I be worried?”I questioned, looking at the guys.

“Probably,”Andy replied and they all nodded along. We soon pulled into the parking lot of a HUGE as hell mall. As soon as the car parked, CC pulled me out. I stumbled and quickly righted myself.

He dropped to one knee and grabbed my hands. “I know this might be soon but,”he pulled out a ring pop and asked,”will you marry me?”

“Uhm-,”I was cut off by Ashley.

“Bitch please, she’s mine and we all know that,”Ashley said smirking.

“Since when was I anyones?”I asked.

“They usually end up claiming the new person,”Andy ‘whispered’ to me.

“Well this is gonna be interesting,”I replied.

“Fine we’ll just ask her,”Ashley grumbled, and they both turned towards me.

“Can I help you?”I asked.

“Who do you choose?”CC asked as we began walking towards the mall.

“I can’t choose,”I replied.

“Because we’re both too sexy?”Ashley asked.

“No,”I answered,”it’s the fact that I already belong to someone.”

“But I thought you said you were single?”he asked.

“Yeah, that didn’t stop me from being claimed by three people,”I replied.

He began rubbing my shoulder in a supposed comforting method,”Was it sexual? Did they touch you in your no-no spot?”he asked with wide eyes.

I broke down laughing,”What the hell?”

“I just want to know if the claiming was sexual or not, jeesh,”he huffed and crossed his arms.

“No Ashley, it was not sexual at all,”I replied.

“Damn, were these people male or female?”CC asked, squeezing in between me and Ashley.

“Male,”I answered.

“Le gasp,”he replied and covered his mouth,”I’d say that’s hot but it’s kind of more weird.”

“Yeah but you would have said that it was hot if it was three other girls,”I retorted.

“Of course I would have,”he exclaimed,”I’m a guy, I find that stuff hot.”

“Oh my moses,”I groaned,”can we please just get to shopping?”

“I thought you didn’t want to?”Andy teased.

“If it makes this argument or whatever it is disappear, I am perfectly okay with it,”I replied.

“Then let’s go,”CC said and grabbed my arm, dragging me along behind him. I just groaned and followed close. The guys got a few stares but that was mostly it.

“So how old are you guys anyway?”I asked.

“Well Andy’s the baby, he’s only 20,”Jake replied,”Jinxx and I are 25, CC is 26 and Ashley is 27.”

“Wow, you guys are old,”I laughed.

“Take that back,”Ashley gasped,”I am not old I am still young.”

“I take it he’s sensitive about his age?”I asked.

“He’s the male version of a woman,”Jake answered.

“Take that back,”Ashley warned.

“Never,”Jake replied laughing.

Ashley was about to say something but was cut off by a chorus of squeals. The guys ducked their heads and looked to where the squeals came from. A group of 6 girls came running over and surrounded the guys, pushing me out. I sighed looking down and stood there as the guys were bombarded with questions and stuff to sign. Feeling eyes on me, my head shot up and I saw Jake staring at me. He offered me a small smile and my heart pounded slightly faster. I smiled back and he went continued to sign stuff.

The hoard soon departed and I walked back over to the guys,”So you guys are that famous?”I asked.

“I guess,”Jake replied.

“So, shopping?”I sighed.

“To the stores,”CC yelled and began pulling me towards a store called Hot Topic.

“Hot topic?”I asked as the guys departed.

“It’s a store that represents our type of people,”Jake said coming up behind me.

“Our type of people?”I questioned.

“Yeah, you know the ‘emo’ people,”he replied.

“Pfft, you guys, emo?”I replied,”you guys are not even emo.”

“Finally someone who understands,”he laughed.

“Should I be scared since they’re picking clothes?”I asked looking up at him.

“Possibly, it depends if it’s just normal clothes or something else,”he replied teasingly. I just smiled up at him as he scanned the store.

“You have to try these on,”CC demanded, walking up to me with a pile of clothes.

“Really?”I asked, groaning.

“Yup and I want to see each outfit,”he replied and pushed me towards the dressing room.

Cursing under my breath, I walked into the dressing room. I shut the door behind me,”Wait how do you guys know what my size is?”I asked.

“We guessed,”Ashley replied.

“Oh yay,”I mumbled, having a feeling they were gonna be the wrong sizes. I shuffled through the clothes, checking the sizes to find that they were all right. Of course there were a few swimsuits thrown in. I threw on the first outfit which was a black and gray long tank top, white bandeau and acid wash skinny jeans. I glanced in the mirror and walked out. The guys all nodded and responded in their guy language by grunting. I just turned and walked back in. The next item in the pile was a swim suit. I just laughed, removed the first outfit and pulled it on. Finishing tying the strings, I looked in the mirror. It was a black and red hello kitty swimsuit. Walking out of the dressing room, I asked,”Okay, who picked the Hello Kitty swimsuit?” CC, Ashley and Jake just stood there staring, I cleared my throat and Ashley and CC’s heads snapped up. “So who picked it?”I asked.

“Uhm uhm it was Ashley,”CC stuttered.

“Haven’t you guys ever seen a girl in a swimsuit?”I asked, smirking.

“No, we have,”Ashley replied,”it’s just that we never would've guessed that you had your hips pierced.”

“What does your rib tattoo say?”Andy asked, trying to read it.

“On ne voit bein qu’avec le coeur. l’essentiel est invisible pour les yeux,”I replied,”it means, one sees clearly only with the heart, the essential is invisible to the eyes.”

“That’s deep,”he replied nodding.

“Well Imma go change since it’s getting slightly awkward,”I said and walked back in. I pulled on the next outfit. The next outfit was a pair red and black plaid skinnies and a shirt with Andy’s face plastered on it. Fixing the shirt, I walked out and said,”I have a feeling Andy picked this.”

“Pfft why would you think that?”he laughed.

“Besides the giant picture of you on the front of it,”I replied and pretended to think,”I have no idea.”

“Just go back in a try on the next outfit,”he replied.

“So pushy,”I laughed and walked in. After trying everything on I had 8 ‘outfits’, 3 swimsuits, 1 dress, 4 bracelets, 1 necklace, a pair of shoes, a pair of ports, a robe type thingy and 2 shirts. I of course gave all the bags to CC. To which he whined and complained about how he was always used and never appreciated. We just ignored him and kept walking.

“You guys are so mean,”he whined and stomped his foot.

We all stopped and looked. “Did you just stomp your foot?”I asked, holding back a laugh.

“Yes I did,”he replied,”what are you gonna do about it?”

“Not sure, I’m just trying to get over the fact that I just saw you stomp your foot,”I laughed.

“You know what, I want a divorce,”he pouted.

“Well I already ate the ring...”I said, trailing off.

“That costed a whole 2 dollars,”he replied.

“You’re worried about the ring?”I asked, faking and astounded look on my face.

“Yes,”he answered,”that took me a whole year's salary to buy.”

“It was a ring pop,”I retorted.

“Yeah but every time I bought one it would disappear,”he replied.

“Wait,”Andy said, coming in between us and asked,”how did we get from CC stomping his foot to you guys getting a divorce?”

“Honestly, I have no idea,”I answered,”and I don’t remember agreeing to marry him.”

“You were drunk, it was in Vegas and it doesn’t matter anymore,”CC replied.

“I’m hungry,”I said, completely out of the blue.

“Then let’s eat,”Andy replied and CC cheered and began pulling me in a random direction. He quickly stopped and I ran into his back.

He dropped my hand,”I can’t hold your hand, we’re divorced,”he said and walked off. I just stood there and the guys started laughing.

“I am not sure what just happened,”I said laughing.

“Me neither but let’s get food,”Jinxx replied. He and Andy took off running to catch up to CC. Me and Jake just stood there awkwardly.

“We should probably follow,”I said, trying to break the awkwardness.

“Yeah we should,”Jake replied and started walking. We quickly caught up to them.

“So where are we going to eat?”I asked.

“Jimmy John’s,”Andy answered.

I just nodded as we walked to the food court. I quickly ordered my sandwich and walked with Jinxx to where we were gonna sit. Sitting down, CC chucked my sandwich at my head. “Hey, that’s food abuse,”I said and quickly picked it up and tossed a spoon at him.

“Suck it,”he replied, with a mouthful of food.

“So when do you go back to school?”Jake asked, sitting down right next to me.

“What day is it?”I asked.

“Well it’s Friday now,”he answered.

“Uhm on Monday,”I sighed.

“You only have like 2 full days left,”Andy whined.

“Yeah I know but I only have like a few months left,”I replied.

“Well we’re in the studio on both days,”Jake mumbled, slightly disappointed.

“Damn,”I groaned and asked,”why?”

“We have a tour coming up,”he answered.

“Oh what bands?”I questioned.

“Avenged Sevenfold, Hollywood Undead and Asking Alexandria,”he replied.

“I love Hollywood Undead and Avenged,”I gushed.

“We can tell,”Jinxx said laughing.

“They are great bands and plus I’m a sucker for hot band guys,”I defended, taking a bite from my sandwich.

“Band guys?”Ashley asked, mimicking me.

“Yes, band guys,”I replied, laughing at his attempt. “And guitarists,”I added quickly.

“No bassists?”Ashley asked.

“Eh possibly, but there's just something about guitarists,”I replied laughing.

Ashley began wiggling his eyebrows at Jake,”Look Jakey, you have a chance.”

He slightly blushed,”Shut up Ash,”he mumbled,”and anyway I have a girlfriend.”

“Who?”Ashley asked, leaning forward.

“Just a girl,”he replied and began eating.

“Tell me,”Ashley whined.

“I’m not telling you,”he laughed and kept eating.

“I don’t believe you then,”Ashley said. Jake slid his phone out real quick and slid it open. He scrolled through the pictures and picked one. He held it up to Ashley’s face.

“Believe me now?”he asked.

Ashley quickly grabbed the phone and stared at it. Jake quickly grabbed it back. “That’s your girl?”Ashley asked, disbelievingly.

Jake nodded his head and shoved his phone back in his pocket. It kind of got a little bit silent till Andy broke it. “So are you ready for school?”he asked.

“Of course, I’m mostly taking art and music classes for the rest of the year,”I laughed.

“No math, english or social studies?”he questioned.

“Nope, I already got all those credits,”I replied.

“How?”he asked.

“I’m really good at school,”I answered,”and plus I didn’t take any extra math or english or social studies classes.”

“Don’t you need extra math classes to get into a good college?”Jinxx asked.

I laughed,”I’m not going to college.”

“You’re not?”he asked.

“I’m gettin enough money to live comfortably when I’m 18 plus I have dancing and other stuff,”I answered.

“Other stuff?”CC questioned, looking straight at me.

“Well I used to model then I quit because there was no work for me but my agent said I might have something big coming up,”I replied.

“I knew it!”Ashley yelled and stood up.

“Knew what?”I asked through a mouthful of sandwich.

“That you were a model,”he answered and sank back down.

“And how did you know?”I questioned and swallowed my chunk of sandwich.

“You’re insanely attractive,”he said simply and picked his sandwich back up.

I just laughed,”Yeah, sure.”

“You are, I’m serious,”he replied and I just nodded. My phone began to vibrate and I quickly answered.

“Hello?”I asked.

“Hey, when are you gonna get back?”Nikki asked.

“Not sure, what time is it now?”I replied.

“It’s about,”he paused and answered,”8:10.”

“Shit, um I’ll talk to the guys and either call or text you,”I said.

“It’s okay, I was just wondering when you were gonna be back,”he replied.

“I know but Nixon’s having my stuff shipped up to me and it’s gonna be here tomorrow,”I sighed.

“Then get back soon,”he said.

“That’s the plan,”I said,”I’ll see you when we get back, bye.”

“Bye,”he said and hung up.

“What kind of stuff?”Ashley asked, looking at me.

“Why do you need to know?”I retorted.

“Because I want to know if it’s illegal or not,”he answered.

“It’s just my bike and surfboard,”I replied.

“Bike?”he questioned.

“Yeah, street bike,”I answered.

“You ride?”he asked, slightly shocked.

“Nah, I just keep it around for shits and giggles,”I replied.

“Wait how did you surf if you lived in Tennessee?”Andy asked.

“Me and my friend would take trips down to Florida to relax and so that I can surf and he can write,”I answered.

“You two were close, weren’t you?”he questioned.

“Of course,”I laughed dryly,”he was my first friend when I moved down there.”

“So let’s get on to more personal terms: your sex-life,”CC said.

“What about it?”I asked laughing at his randomness.

“What have you done?”he replied asking.

“Does it matter?”I retorted.

“Yes we need to know,”he whined.

“Fine,”I smirked and asked,”you really want to know?”

“Uhm yes,”he answered.

I leaned closer to him,”Nothing,”I whispered.

“Nothing?”he asked as I leaned back into my seat.

“Yes, nothing,”I laughed at his shocked face.

“So you never had your first kiss?”he questioned and I nodded my head. All the guys looked at me shocked.

“What?”I asked.

“I don’t believe you,”he replied,”there is no way in hell you haven’t had your first kiss yet.”

“Yes there is, the guys I hung around with were basically my older brothers and everyone at my school was scared of them,”I retorted.

“Are they big?”Ashley asked.

“Not really,”I replied,”but they would kill for me.” It was quiet for a little bit so I asked,”So when are we leaving?”

Andy glanced at the clock on the wall beside us,”We should probably leave now since you have to get home and we have to get up really early tomorrow.” Everyone agreed and we all stood up, dumped our stuff and left. Walking out to the car, the guys and I were swarmed by flurries of camera flashes and hands reaching out. I felt an arm wrap around my shoulders and pull me flush against their body. I was quickly shoved into the back of the car and so were the bags. The guys quickly piled in and we left.

“Well that sucked,”I sighed and pulled myself from the seat and the floor.

“How do you think I feel?”Jinxx asked. I looked over at him and somehow he managed to flip upside down and his head was now on the ground facing the backseat.

“The fuck?”I asked looking at him.

“I have no idea,”he replied and flipped over and climbed onto the seat.

“Do we have everything and everyone?”Andy asked from the front seat.

I counted the heads real quick,”Everyone’s here and I’m pretty sure all the stuff is too.”

We soon pulled into Nikki’s driveway and Andy stopped the car. I got out and so did Ashley. He grabbed most of my bags and I grabbed the rest. We walked up to the front door. My hands were full so I hit the doorbell with my nose.

The door swung open,”Geesh, enough bags?”Nikki asked, moving to the side.

“Not even close, this was like only one store,”I replied. I dropped the bags in the foyer and let out a groan. Ashley dropped the bags right along side the ones that I had dropped. “Merci Ash,”I said turning to him as he stepped out the door.

“Merci?”he asked.

“It means thank you in French,”I said laughing.

“Oh,”he said,”you’re welcome.”

I smiled and turned back and went to walk into the house when he stopped me. “Yes?”I turned around and asked.

“You said that you surfed...”he said trailing off.

“Yes I did,”I replied.

“Well would you want to come surfing with me on Monday since that’s the last free day?”he asked and said,”I mean you don’t have to if you don’t want to-”

“I would love too,”I said and turned and walked into the house. Before closing the door I turned and said,”Night Ash.”

“Night Rhea,”he replied as I shut the door.

“Love interest?”I heard Nikki ask.

I jumped. “Jesus,”I said,”you scared me half to death and no Ashley is not a love interest.”

“You seem slightly interested,”he retorted.

“He’s just my friend,”I replied and asked,”now can I go to bed?”

“Do you want to get your bags tonight or tomorrow?”he asked.

“Tonight,”I sighed and began grabbing all the bags and walking up the steps. “Night, dad,”I yawned.

“Night,”I heard him say and walk into another room.

Walking into my room, I dropped my bags and sank down into my bed. My phone started vibrating, it was a 4 texts from 4 unknown numbers. I scrolled through the texts and read them. The texts were from CC, Andy, Ashley and Jinxx. Too tired to respond, I just flopped back on my bed and slid off my pants. I slid under my covers and was out like a light.