One Hundred Sleepless Nights

Vic's hand is latched onto mine as we walk into the main part of the club, my hands shaking nervously. As soon as my eyes see the gorgeous blue and black decorations hanging everywhere, I gasp and exclaim, "Oh my gosh, Vic! This is perfect." He looks at me and chuckles, then quickly kisses me. "I was hoping you'd like it," he responds joyfully, leading me towards the bar in the back of the room. I follow, nervously laughing when I notice a large crowd of people standing in the general area that we're heading for. "Austin, come here!" Vic calls out, squeezing my hand reassuringly. An attractive tall, skinny male with dark brown hair walks towards us, and my heart races. "Holy fuck," I whisper, "Is that Austin Carlile?" Vic nods just as Austin reaches us. "Vic! Hey, nice party," he says, with the most infectious smile upon his face. He then notices Vic and my hands intertwined, and questions playfully, "Who's this dark haired beauty, Vic?" I blush, and Vic replies, "This is my girlfriend, Essence." Austin smiles again, and envelopes me in a sweet hug. "Nice to meet you, Essence. My name's Austin," he says, then releases me. I smile, and reply, "Nice to meet you too." Vic laughs, and says, "Austin, the introduction wasn't necessary... as soon as Essence saw you, she said, 'Holy fuck'. She loves Of Mice & Men." Austin chuckles, and I blush, looking at my feet awkwardly. "Do you mind taking a picture with Essence? The band wants pictures of her with everyone," Vic says, making me look up. "Sure," Austin responds, hooking his arm around my waist and pulling me close to him. I lean gently against him, smiling, and enjoying the closeness more than I should. I have no idea why I like being this close to Austin, I mean, I have Vic. The flash of the camera goes off, and I quickly move away from Austin, guilt coloring my face. Austin frowns, then quickly smiles to cover it up. "Nice to meet you, Essence... get my number from Vic, please, and text me. Later," he says, quickly hugging me and then walking back to his group of friends. I turn towards Vic, a grin plastered on his face. "See? That wasn't as bad as you thought. In fact, he loved you," Vic says to me proudly. I laugh shyly, and reply, "I wouldn't say that he loved me, but at least he didn't run away screaming." Vic smiles, and softly shakes his head. The combination was so adorable, I throw my arms around him and say, "Oh my gosh, you are so fucking attractive." He smiles shyly, and replies, "You know, you aren't too bad yourself." I look into his eyes, and he presses his lips against mine slightly, then pulls away. "I would kiss you forever if I could, but I'll mess your lipstick up. And, I love this song... let's dance," Vic says sweetly into my ear, already leading me to the crowded dance floor. Vic and I dance to the song, having an amazing time. When the song's finished, Kellin walks out onto the small stage, and says into the microphone, "Essence and Vic, get your asses backstage." I look at Vic questioningly as we walk towards the door we entered from, and he shrugs, then grabs my hand. We get backstage to find Katelynne, Kellin, Tony, Mike, and Jaime, sitting with four other guys. I recognize them as the other members of Sleeping With Sirens, Jesse, Gabe, Justin, and Jack. I shyly wave at them as Katelynne says, "Guys, this is Essence. She's amazing, and she's Vic's girlfriend, so no hitting on her." Gabe frowns, and says, "Aw, but she's hot! Oh well.... hey Essence, nice to meet you." I blush deep red at his compliment, and Jesse smacks Gabe in the arm. "You're embarrassing her! Ignore him, Essence. It's nice to meet you." I laugh, and respond, "Nice to meet you guys." Justin and Jack say their hellos, and then Kellin starts talking to them. "Okay, so this is how it's going to work. We're going out onstage to perform, give Essence and Vic some time to hang out. Then, Pierce The Veil is going to perform, and Katelynne and I are taking Essence to meet some people. Then, we're all meeting up here." I look over at Vic, who nods his head, confirming what Kellin is saying. Everyone nods in agreement, including me, and Kellin, Jesse, Gabe, Justin, and Jack go onstage and start playing. Vic pulls me over towards the couch, and Vic sits down. I sit next to him, in between him and his brother. Vic keeps hold of my hand, and Mike throws his arm around my shoulders, saying, "Hey, gorgeous. I never thought Vic would have you come hang with us... he wants you to himself." I laugh, and reply, "Well, I guess he decided to share." Vic squeezes my hand, and says, "What can I say, I'm in a generous mood." Tony and Jaime jokingly say, "No fair, you can't share with us?" I laugh, and reply, "You guys, there is plenty of me to go around." Everyone laughs, and Katelynne declares from across the room, "I have a solution. Essence sits on Vic's lap, and in ten minutes, switches to Mike's lap, and so on. I'll keep track of time." Mike, Jaime, and Tony respond, "Sounds good to me!" They all look at me, awaiting an answer. I pause, and respond, "Only if Vic is okay with it." I look at Vic, and he pats his lap in response, smiling. "Yay!" the guys cheer, making me blush. I carefully place myself on Vic's lap, and he puts his arms around me, making me lean against his chest. I smile, and shut my eyes, happy to be in his arms. Everyone else carries on conversation while Vic and I just sit in silence, happy to be so close. "Time is up, on to the next one, Essence," Katelynne says, and I sigh, reluctantly extracting myself from Vic's embrace. Mike smiles as I place myself on his lap, and he says, "We, as a band, have done some weird stuff... but this is pretty weird. Katelynne, take a picture of Essence on my lap." I smile at the camera as I lean back, my face immediately next to Mike's. She takes the picture, and I relax, curled up against Mike's chest. "Sleepy, much?" Vic says, chuckling. I nod, yawning, and reply, "I'm cold too, and you guys are so warm. I can't believe Katelynne got me into this dress." The guys laugh, and Tony says, "I'm glad she did... you look damn good." I smile, and thank him, shivering. Mike throws his arms around me, warming me up instantly, just as Vic had a few minutes ago. I snuggle closer to him, and he chuckles, playfully saying, "Geez, Vic, your girl is getting really close and personal with me. Should you be worried?" Before Vic can say anything, I smack Mike in the chest, not changing my position a bit. Everyone laughs, except for Mike, who says, "Ow." I smile, and shut my eyes while everyone else talks. After a moment, I notice Mike is softly stroking my hair. "What are you doing?" I ask him quietly, not wanting Vic to hear, because maybe he hasn't noticed. Mike pauses, thinking, and responds, "Oh, sorry, is it bothering you? You have really soft hair, and you seemed so peaceful..." I smile, and respond, "It's fine, it's actually...nice." He starts stroking my hair again as he once more joins the conversation. After a few minutes, Katelynne tells me to move again. I groan, and say, "Leave me alone, I'm comfortable," without even thinking, and everyone laughs. "Haha, shouldn't you be on Vic's lap, then?" I sigh, hug Mike quickly, and place myself in the same position on Tony's lap. "Hi," I mumble, already cuddled up to his chest, my face buried in his neck. "Hey, beautiful," he whispers, and starts stroking my hair just like Mike was before. I say, "I apologize in advance if I fall asleep on you. I'm exhausted, Katelynne put me through hell." He quietly chuckles, and then gets back into the group discussion. I shut my eyes, thinking about how happy I am to have such new amazing friends.
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"Wake up, Essence," someone says, gently shaking me. I open my eyes, and Tony says, "Guys, she woke up." I quickly get up, realizing I fell asleep on Tony's lap. "Fuck, I am so sorry!" I exclaim, running my hands through my hair. Everyone chuckles, and Tony says, "No biggie, but Jaime's pissed... Vic just said he's taking over all turns because you're too tired." I smile, and turn towards Jaime, who has the cutest pout on his face. "Aww, Jaime, I promise, next time, I'll only sit on your lap," I say, smiling. He nods, and say, "You better." I try to laugh, but instead, I yawn, and Vic walks over to me. "Guys, no looking up her dress," he says, and picks me up, taking me over to the other couch. I laugh at Vic's seriousness, and he smiles. When he sits down, I cuddle against his warm, muscular chest. He puts his arms around me, and I lay my head on his shoulder, whispering, "If I fall asleep, wake me up before you guys go onstage." Vic responds, "I will, sweetie. Go ahead and go to sleep." I shut my eyes, already beginning to drift into unconscious. Right before I fall asleep, I say, "Good night." Vic strokes my hair, and replies, "Sweet dreams, baby."