Breaking Away

Matt’s POV

I was busy flipping burgers on the grill when Zacky and Sierra walked through the patio door. Their fingers were laced together and huge smiles adorned their faces. I haven’t seen Sierra this happy ever, even when we were younger. I noticed the way they looked at each other and the love that was apparent in their eyes. This relationship wasn’t going to be as bad as I thought.

“The love birds are finally here. I wonder what took so long.” Brian laughed.

“At least they are together though. He could have given her the old hump and dump, the awful fuck and chuck, the..."

“Ok Jimmy we get it!” Sierra interjected.

“FOOD’S DONE!” I yelled.

Everyone came running at the grill and grabbed what they wanted. Conversations were started up and Kourt brought something important to our knowledge.

“So Sierra, what do you want for your birthday since it’s only a week away?”

“It’s almost your birthday?” everyone asked.

Sierra had this look on her face that meant she wanted to kill Kourt at the moment for letting this info slip.

“I don’t want anyone to fuss over me. As long as you tell me happy birthday then I’ll be fine.”

“Sorry, no can do Sierra. We are having a party for you whether you like it or not. Look at us, could we ever pass up a reason to go wild?” Jimmy declared.

“I guess I have no say in the matter. I could never convince you otherwise.” She said giving up.

For a while we just sat around telling stories and laughing. I looked around the circle and felt at peace with myself. All of my closest friends were together and would be for a long time. It then occurred to me that Sierra has never seen us play. Maybe the boy’s won’t mind giving an impromptu show for her.

“Sierra, how would you like to see us play?” I asked.

Her eyes lit up and she looked at all the guys as if asking if it were ok with them. The guys smiled at her and jumped up to run to my downstairs studio. She ran after them into the house while the girls and I followed. Val, Michelle, and Leana just relaxed on a couch and continued with their talk they were in the middle of. Liz, Kourt, and Sierra waited with bated breath for us to start playing. My home studio wasn’t the best, but it got the job done. I usually kept instruments for the guys here just in case we needed them. This was an example of when being prepared comes in handy.

“What should we play for them?” I asked the guys behind me.

“Well we have time, so I think we could play a couple for them.” Brian suggested.

“We have to play Beast and the Harlot so that she can see me in action!” Zacky stated while flexing his muscles.

“Yeah, I agree. She needs to at least see him in any kind of action at least once.” Johnny approved while smirking.

“Johnny! That was a tad harsh, don’t you think? Besides, I saw him in action before we got here.” She winked.

“Ok, you can be quiet now. Ok, guys whenever you are ready commence with the rocking!” Matt ordered.

I was hooked with the first blast of the note. My mouth hit the floor as I watched all the guys in their element. They all exuded this confidence that wasn’t really like the goofy guys that I’ve come to know.

'This shining city built of gold, a far cry from innocence
There's more than meets the eye round here look to the waters of the deep.
A city of evil'

My head snapped to Matt as I watched in awe. His skills had definitely improved since I had last seen him sing. He had an amazing scream but it was topped when he actually sang. He gave me a little smile as he continued the song. I sat up straight so that I could get a better view of Jimmy. The wooden sticks were blurs around him so it cast a slight golden glow about his kit. Jimmy was in the zone and had this look on his face that made it seem like he was pissed off. I remember them telling me about how Johnny came into the band and it put a smile on my face. They picked on him way too much considering the size of his talent. I’ve never seen that much movement from a bass player’s fingers. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Brian step forward as Jimmy went psycho on the drums. I could feel the anticipation in me rise as I waited for one of Brian’s solos. His fingertips danced over the frets making the music that blew me away. I glanced over at Zacky who had been watching my reaction. He threw me an ‘I’m-awesome-and-you-love-it’ expression and blew me a quick kiss. We never broke eye contact for the rest of the song. When the song ended Liz and Kourt screamed for an encore but I was speechless.

“Oh my God, Matt, she can’t talk!” Johnny screamed.

“See, we’ve improved a lot since it was just Jimmy, Brian, and me.” Matt smiled.

I just nodded while someone’s voice broke through the loud din of the room. I recognized it as Leana’s voice.

“Guys, you have to do The Art of Subconscious Illusion so that she can see a special someone rock!” she giggled.

Val’s face turned a light shade of pink but I wasn’t sure why. They started playing the song, which made me remember the old days. Songs like this were what they sounded like when I hung out with them back in the day. Sometime during the song I saw Val get up and stand near them. Matt backed away from the mic and stared at Val. She suddenly jumped to the mic and took over.

'Punching slowly my mind can't change the speed.
No matter what I do or how hard I try.'

She finished off her part with a deep, guttural scream. I started cheering for her as she took her place at the back of the room.

“You guys fucking rock!” I finally said as they finished.

Zacky whispered something in Matt’s ear and he nodded. The guys stepped away from their instruments and sat next to their girls, which left Zacky by himself. He grabbed an acoustic guitar and sat on a stool directly in front of me. I heard Val, Michelle, and Leana cooing in the back but I didn’t take my eyes off Zacky. He gave me a little wink before he started.

'Seize the day or die regretting the time you lost
It's empty and cold without you here, too many people to ache over'

As I absorbed his flowing voice, I was overwhelmed with my feelings for him. His green eyes twinkled as he sang the lyrics to me. I felt like my heart would burst when I heard him come to a high part of the song.

'So, what if I never hold you, or kiss you lips again?
I never want to leave you and the memories for us to see
I beg don't leave me'

As the song came to an end I ran up and kissed him with all the passion I had in me. His hands slightly traced along the bottom of my shirt, which was a cue to the guys to end it.

“Ok, enough of that. This is why you have a separate house.” Brian yelled.

Zacky pulled away and gazed deep into my eyes.

“I meant everything in that song. I hope you know how much you mean to me.” He whispered.

“You’re my everything Zacky. I never want to leave you. Will you be there for me?”

“Forever and always babe.”