Clarity.

Rose’s POV:

Vic offered to grab a couple of slushies so we could talk a bit. He’s so polite and sweet, and it completely caught me off guard. Guys I encountered these days were complete horndog assholes. I did all I could to steer clear of any interaction with guys, especially.

His smile was so warm and comfortable, just like his eyes. His voice seemed to dance in my ears when he spoke. I’ve never really had this happen to me, so this is all so strange to me.

I locked the doors of the shop behind me, and then turned to face him, staring into his eyes again. I could do it forever.

“So,” he started as we headed down the shore. “How are you? Busy day at the shop?”

“I’m good, thanks. And yeah, it’s always busy on the weekends. Especially when the weather is as gorgeous as it is.” I replied.

“I’d imagine.” He said with a chuckle. “Plus I’m sure the customers can’t get enough of your beauty. I mean, I’d be a regular. You know, like a creepy old guy.” He said with a funny smirk.

I laughed and pushed his shoulder as we neared the slushie stand. “Oh, stop.” I said between laughs. “But thank you. I appreciate it.” I said with a smile. “What about you? How are you?” I asked.

“I’m great actually. I was having a pretty frustrating day, so I’m glad I ran into you.” He admitted.

“Well I’m glad to be of service.” I said, bowing jokingly.

He laughed and pushed my shoulder lightly like I had done to him.

We reached the slushie stand and he asked what I’d like. I said I wanted an orange flavored slushie. He ordered it, as well as a blueberry flavored one for himself. He paid for the slushies then turned towards me to hand me my slushie.

We joked around and laughed while we sat at picnic table while we slurped away on our slushies. It was really nice being able to be so comfortable with him. It seemed that we both needed some kind of release of stress.

“So, Vic.” I started after we joked about the dog who’d snapped a hole in his shorts. “What do you do? Like, a job, school, or anything?” I asked.

He drew in a short sigh. Maybe I asked too soon?
“Oh, man. I didn’t mean to offend you if I did. You don’t have to te-”

“No, no. It’s okay. It’s just a little weird to say to someone.” He said, cutting my sentence short.

I didn’t really know what he meant by that, so I waited until he felt comfortable to speak again.

“This is going to sound a little ridiculous, but …” He trailed off. “I’m in a band.” He finally finished, obviously choosing his words carefully.

I chuckled at his statement. “A rockstar, eh?” I said. “What’s it called?”

“Um, it’s called Pierce the Veil.” I could tell he felt a tad bit uncomfortable admitting it, but just when I realized what he said I stopped and tilted my head as I looked him.

“What?” He asked a little impatiently.

I’ve heard that group name before. Actually, I’ve seen plenty of people all over wearing shirts with that name on them.

Vic’s POV:

I was hoping that she wouldn’t ask about the band so soon. Telling people either goes one of two ways. One: they’ll steer clear of you as it’s difficult to maintain relationships with this lifestyle. Two: they’ll cling to you for all the wrong reasons. You know, leeches. The ones that want attention from the public eye and more change in their pockets. It was almost always a lose-lose situation for me. It’s difficult finding people with genuine intentions.

But with Rose, when the words left my mouth, I immediately prayed she wouldn’t do the first option. The last thing I wanted was for her to get away from me again.

She seemed to take the whole band thing pretty well. But, when I mentioned the name, she titled her head at me. I started to worry a bit.

“I see Pierce the Veil related things all over San Diego. You guys are … popular.” She finally said.

“Yeahhh …” I said trailing off, not really knowing what else to say.

“Well you don’t seem too excited about it! That’s awesome!” She exclaimed in a cute voice.

My face lit up and I lifted my eyes to meet hers.

“I was being hesitant. Things tend to go awry when I tell people. They’ll either steer clear of me or only hang around for all the wrong reasons, ya know?” I said, defending my seemingly unenthusiastic behavior.

“Ah, I see what you mean. Well, I’ll be honest with you. Rockstars don’t exactly have the best rep either.” She admitted.

“You’re right.” I said, agreeing with her. “I guess we’ll both have to prove ourselves to each other.” I said, implying that I really wanted her to stick around.

A beautiful smile spread across her face as I said that.

“Deal?” She said extending her hand over the table.

“Deal.” I said with a smile as we shook on it.

____________ Later that night ____________

I plopped down on my bed and fell to my back with a big smile plastered on my face. I stared at the ceiling and thought about the events of today. My heart fluttered with excitement. I had such a good feeling about this girl.

It almost felt like the big hole in my chest began to slowly heal, despite its ache with torn ragged edges. It was a feeling I was almost certain I’d never feel.

I thought the only one who could fix the hole was the girl who tore it into my chest in the first place, and that looked anything but promising.

But Rose is making me believe otherwise. And dear God, I hope it isn’t too good to be true.

I sat up and rose to my feet. I heard Mike and Tony chuckling as they came through the door.

“Vic?” Mike called down the hall.

“Yo! I’m here.” I called back.

I walked down the hall towards the den to greet them.

“Well, how’d it go, loverboy?” Mike asked jokingly.

“I found her.” I said through a smile.

“Oh God, your eyes just went all goo goo ga ga.” Mike said in disgust, jokingly.

“What’s her name?” Tony asked.

“Rose.” I said, letting the word roll from my tongue. It’s such beautiful name. It’s quite fitting.

Mike and Tony nodded their heads at my response, not really having much else to say.

“Well, good luck with that, bro. I mean it.” Mike said, looking me in the eyes. I knew he was happy and scared for me all at the same time. I knew it tore him apart inside when he saw me so tore apart about Cara. Mike’s my blood, man. We love each other to death.

“So, are you fucking partyin’ or what?!” He asked in an excited voice, shaking the neck of a bottle of alcohol in his fist.

A smile spread on my face. “Hell yeah. Let’s celebrate!”

Rose’s POV:

I couldn’t wipe my smile from my face. All we did was grab slushies and I’m acting like the boy got down on one knee for me. I was just so happy to have met someone that I connect so well with, most importantly, as friends. We joked, laughed, and smiled. That’s all I could ever ask for. They always say that the best relationships blossom from the best friendships.

We texted for a bit when I got home. I showered, ate, and then exhaustedly retreated to my bed. I was incredibly tired from the day at work.

I pulled the comforter up to my chin and grabbed my phone.

Alright, rockstar. I’ll talk to you in the morning. I’m so worn out!

Aw, already? I’ll get you adjusted to the rockstar sleeping schedule soon enough. ;)

Ha, something tells me that means no sleep at all.

I won’t ruin the surprise. :) Rest those pretty eyes, young lady. Buenos noches.

Don’t party too hard, rockstar. ;) Goodnight.

I placed my phone on my nightstand after attaching it to its charger.

I fell asleep with a smile on my face and had a dreamless slumber.