A Little More Than A Walk In the Park

Turtle’s POV

Sitting out on Zacky’s back porch, relaxing, was a trip for my mind. Mike, Vic, Jaime and myself had assisted the Avenged guys in finishing the set-up for the party. All the decorations were up, the food was ready to go, and in the front closet was the set of keys for the new car Zacky had bought for his sister….. His sister… God, she was gorgeous…. The perfect blend of femininity and tom-boy, as Zacky put it. She liked shopping, as far as he knew. One thing was for sure, he said. She loves to play paintball and wear band t-shirts. My kind of girl….

“Dude?” Jaime shouted, smacking my shoulder. “Oww” I mumbled. “You alright?” he asked, sitting back in his chair. Balancing a beer on his left thigh, Jaime stretched. “Looked like you got lost in your thoughts, man. Thought you were having a wet dream”. I glared at him, because he was right… Thinking about her made me smile. Here’s the thing: unlike every other guy in any band, it’s not just about sex for me. That’s definitely a big part of it, yes…. Even though I haven’t met her yet, I could tell Delaney had a great personality. Of course, I’m taking the words that Zacky used to describe her for the truth…. I had absolutely no reason not to trust him. He’s been a buddy of mine for a while… Up until now, I never even knew he had a sister.

”I’m good, thanks” I said, standing up, with a smile. I walked into the house as more and more people started piling in. I saw Matt, talking to a shorter guy with his hat on backwards. Next to Matt stood a pregnant woman, presumably his wife. Matt looked over at me, and waved me towards him. I waltzed over to him. ”Val. Jason. This is Tony. He’s from Pierce the Veil” he added. The guy named Jason extended his hand. “Nice to meet you” he said, with a smile. The woman walked over to me and planted a kiss on my cheek. “Hello” she smiled. Matt wrapped an arm around her waist. “This is the love of my life” he said, watching her giggle and smiling at her. I motioned to her big belly. “Congratulations” I said, smiling. “Thank you so much, Tony” she said, rubbing her belly.

Her face immediately turned from a look of happiness to a look of excitement as she looked over my shoulder, listening to a familiar voice. “Alright, everyone. Gena is bringing Delaney over at the moment. So, take your places and stay silent”. By now, the sun was down, so it would be easier to surprise her that way…. At least that’s what Zee had said. He ran over to me, and grabbed my arm, pulling me towards the corner by the door. “You and are going to be the first ones to greet her” he said, smiling with excitement.

I think I was more excited, though.

_____________________________________________________________________

Delaney’s POV

”Remember what I said, right, beautiful?” Gena said as we both hopped out of her car. I smiled, and nodded gently. She screwed her face up. “DON’T YOU DARE MOVE THAT PRETTY LITTLE HEAD OF YOURS UNTIL AFTER PICTURES!!!” she growled. I looked in the side view mirror, admiring my girly side, brought to the forefront by Gena herself. I actually felt really pretty, and I couldn’t wait to get inside, meet new people and party.

Approaching my side of the car, dressed in a hot pink halter dress, she sized me up. “You are fucking beautiful, chica” she said, rubbing my back. “You’re not nervous, right?”. “Not at all” I lied. I was a little nervous about first impressions on these people I’ve never even met before. And I couldn’t help but think about how much could change in one night……..

As we neared the house, it became more apparent to me just how many people were really piled into my house. Gena squeezed my hand, as she reached for the doorknob. Upon turning it, the house was completely dark, and not a single sound or syllable could be heard. I shut the door behind me, seeing two figures standing directly behind the door, one remarkably taller than the other. “HOLY SHIT!” I said, being startled by the blackened figures moving towards me. Suddenly, the foyer lights came on, and I saw everyone standing there with smiles on their faces.

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BABY VEE!!!” they all shouted at me, before beginning to cheer. I smiled upon seeing their faces light up…. immediately, I recognized many of their faces. In front of the crowd of people stood Matt, Brian and Johnny, each clutching onto their wives. The girls smiled at me, and motioned to the door. I turned around to see my brother, holding his arms wide open for a hug….. but, something else caught my eye…… the guy standing right behind him. He was wearing a hat, but I could see he had dark hair, and it was about shoulder length. He had a long but small braid hanging down past his right shoulder. Arms and chest tatted up, and an anti-brow piercing…. and are those plugs?!?! Holy shit… he was gorgeous.

“Happy Birthday, D” Zacky said, embracing me. I hugged back and kissed his cheek, whispering him words of thanks. He pulled away from me, but kept his hand on my back, pushing me towards that guy standing behind him. “Delaney, I’d like you to meet a very good friend of mine. Delaney, this is Tony”. Tony……………

Tony extended a hand to me, the other clutching a beer. “It’s very nice to meet you” I said, smiling at him. He smiled….. and I almost had a heart attack. Oh, my good God Almighty……. that smile.

”The pleasure is all mine” he said, before he looked me right in the eyes.
Thank you, Jimmy…. you definitely picked the right one.