I'll Take You There And Back Again

Chapter 17

"Damn did you guys get enough food?" I asked as I sat down in a chair with the other guys. Each and every one of them had their plates piled high with an assortment of food. Mine on the other hand, held only a cheese burger, some watermelon and some salad. Most of the guys had by now sobered up for the time being and were able to eat without creating a gigantic mess.

Drew and Will both looked from me down to their plates and then back up to me.

"Nope." They both verbalized at the same time causing everyone to laugh as the two glared at eachother.

I silently sat eating my food as the guys all talked. Occasionally I would let out a laugh but I didn't really put my two cents in. I was looking down at my watermelon deciding which piece to stab next when I felt something small and round hit me in the head. Head bolting up, I looked for the culprit. Not noticing anyone acting strangely I looked back down to spot a grape sitting on my plate. So that's what hit me. I went back to my food but it wasn’t long before another grape came catapulting at me. The guys all started chuckling as I bolted up once again. Looking around they all had grins on, but there was one guy in particular that held a playful grin. A grin that told me that it was him who threw the grapes at me.

Amidst the laughter I picked one of the grapes back up and threw it, hitting Brian smack in the forehead. His jaw dropped as he stared at me in shock.

"Two can play this game Syn." I smirked as I chucked the second one back at him followed by a small piece of watermelon. His shocked expression turned into a glare. I watched as three of his fingers scooped up a bit of potato salad. My eyes widened as I set my plate down and stood up from my spot on the ground. Looking at Brian I saw he too had stood up.

Not only did he stand up but he started running at me.

I let out what my guys considered my super girly shriek and took off running trying to get away. I could hear various voices cheering either Brian or myself on. Looking behind me I saw he was gaining ground. I yelled again as I tried to out run him. Thanks to my clumsiness, however, I didn’t get too far. My feet got caught up in the sand and I went tumbling to the ground in a heap. Rolling over I was met with a new weight on my stomach and began laughing and screaming as Brian smeared the potato salad on my cheek. We were indeed getting some funny looks from nearby people but none of that mattered to me right now. I was laughing uncontrollably as I wiped some off and placed it back on Brian's cheek. His laughs were deep and I could feel the vibrations coming from the both of us mixing. His non-potato covered hand reached up and gently rubbed my cheek, sending chills up my spine. Our grins were still in full effect as he leaned in and placed a gentle kiss on my lips.

"What the fuck guys! Come back!" Brian and I broke apart at the sound of Zacky's voice. Our eyes were still locked but Brian's grin had turned into a scowl.

"Motherfucking cocksucker. Way to ruin the moment, thanks Zack." He mumbled as he stood up and reached down to help me up as well.

***

"Yaaay! Fucking presents!" Jimmy yelled as he plopped down on one of the many beach towels that were strewn over the sand. The guys had come to a consensus that we had to open presents right now and then cake so that allowed them time to drink before and during the fireworks. Brian and I had been shoved onto the same beach towel while the others sat around us. A pile of presents sat on the table beside Matt and Adam.

Over the next twenty minutes Brian and I proceeded to take turns opening presents, but we had yet to open eachother's. So far I had received some pretty cool things. I had received a new blue fuzzy blanket from Will since he stole my last one and destroyed it, meaning it caught on fire. Zacky had gotten me an awesome chain choker that had the Vengeance University logo on it along with a few t-shirts.

I think the funniest was Jimmy's. He had gotten both Brian and I black shirts. The front on mine said "Sorry girls…." And then on the back read "But I'm with Synyster Gates." And Brian's read the same except it said boys on the front and had my name on the back. Mine also had various deathbat designs on it while Brian's had our band's logos covering it.
Brian turned to me as we both held up our shirts. "Wear these next show?" I nodded vigorously to show my agreement for his statement.

Matt handed over my present to Brian. He looked at it skeptically before looking around to see who would claim it. Nobody made any motions and so he turned his attention to me. I was looking down and playing with the sand but this made me even more noticeable. He slowly opened it and pulled the necklace out. I watched as his eyes got wide and immediately my heart started racing. Did he like it? Did he hate it? Before I could even think anymore I felt his arms wrap around me and pull me down to the ground with him. Everyone started laughing as he rolled around on the ground with me for a minute while kissing my head repeatedly.

He stopped a moment later and sat us back up before leaning down to my ear.

"I love it." He nipped my ear playfully before continuing. "Thank you."

"You're very welcome." I smiled as I tried to shake some of the sand out of my hair.

"Here ya go Kacie. Last one for ya." I grinned at Matt as he tossed me my last present, which had to be from Brian. He nodded at me confirming that it was indeed from him before I tore the paper off. Under the paper was a plain white box that I slowly opened.

I gasped as I peered inside and let a squeal follow it as I pulled out a white fedora similar to Brian's, except it was a more feminine fedora. The guys all laughed as I set it atop my head and struck a quick pose. I turned to Brian and wrapped my arms around his neck in thanks.

"Now you don't have to steal mine all the time." He mumbled into my neck. I quickly gave him a kiss on the cheek before untangling my arms.

"Oh but where's the fun in that? You still have so many more!" Snickering arose at Brian's disgruntled facial expression. I patted his leg gently before standing up and giving hugs of thanks to everyone else.

Zacky was my last hug but as I went to pull away he wouldn’t let me.

"You can't look yet." I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion at his statement. What couldn't I see?

"Close your eyes. And don't open them until I tell you!" I chuckled but did as told. I felt him turn me around and lead me a little ways forward. "Alright." I peeled my eyes open and was greeted by an amazing cake in front of me. But as is the case with most of these guys, the image on the cake made me howl in laughter. On one side, was an icing image of me, and on the other was the same of Brian. Both of our faces had been contorted into kissy faces. But in between us were the words Happy Birthday in bright colorful letters. I have to say; whoever made this cake did an amazing job at drawing us both.

The gang all sang happy birthday to the two of us and Will made to grab a knife to cut the cake. Everyone soon had a piece and we were back to chatting.

"Hey Kacie." Before I could blink my hat was whipped off my head and a piece of cake was shoved into my face. Jaw dropped and eyes still glued shut by frosting I shook my head making pieces fall off. I wiped my face off and looked around at the many hysterical faces. My eyes landed on Brian whose hand just so happened to be covered in cake.

I turned and spotted Will who had my hat safely perched upon his head. "Keep it safe."

"You're dead Haner!!!" I wailed as I dove toward Brian and shoved my plate into his face. I don’t think he was expecting that, although he should have, judging by the mirror image of the shock that had previously covered my face.

"Cake fight!" A voice called out and all hell broke loose. Pieces of cake were flying in all directions. I scooped up a clump that had landed on my stomach and chucked it at Garret who was trying to hide for cover. He popped up from his crouching spot behind a chair and glared at me before grabbing another chunk. I retreated and found cover behind Jimmy. He may be skinny but his height made up for it.

"Ahhh! Let go!" Jimmy yelled as I clung to him. He was taking the hits that had previously been aimed at me. Once they stopped he turned around and scowled at me.

"Thanks Kace." He grumbled as I set off once again. So much cake was flying in all directions that it made it hard to see.

Right as I approached the table to grab yet another batch of the sticky mess my arms were grabbed and held behind my back.

"What the crap?" I looked up seeing Brian's smirking face standing behind me.

"Oh hell yes. Sweet revenge." Jimmy cackled as he stood before me along with Garret and the rest of the guys. My eyes slowly got wider as did their grins.

"Please don’t." I said as I looked up at the guys then at Brian who just smirked.

"Get her!" Immediately after Jimmy's yell I was covered from head to toe in cake. Brian released my arms and brushed himself off the best he could seeing as he too was in the line of fire.

"I hate you guys!" I huffed as I ran a finger through my sticky hair. There were bits of cake and frosting completely coating it. Not to mention my entire body was covered. I think I even had some in my swimsuit top.

"Eww I'm so sticky. I'm gonna go hunt out a shower. You better hope this comes out of my suit!" I wagged my finger in the boys' direction. I saw Johnny was grinning as he held up a video camera. Groaning I snagged a towel and headed in the nearest direction of a bathroom.

"Wait up!" I paused to see Brian was jogging to catch up with me. I couldn’t help but laugh at the sight of the cake covered guitarist running in my direction. "Can I join you?"

"If you mean for the walk yes. For the shower no." I smirked seeing his eyes light up and then dim once more.

"Fuck." He mumbled but then smiled to show me he was only kidding.

The two of us walked in silence for a few minutes. I could tell he was deep in though, much like I currently was. We were getting some weird looks but could you blame us?
Brian was sure proving to be a great guy. Part of me wondered if we'd become an official couple soon. But did he want that? Did I want that? Was I ready to commit to a relationship with a full fledged rock star? Part of me said yes, but part of me said no.
I was brought out of my thoughts as Brian gently grabbed my hand in his own as we walked.
I felt my heart flutter. Seems like the yes part was winning as of this moment.

"Alright." Brian started as we reached the bathrooms. "Meet me back out here in a few minutes?"

"Sounds good." I replied as he released my hand. We both headed into our respective bathrooms. Let me tell you beach bathrooms are nothing to write home about. They are perhaps the dirtiest bathrooms you will ever have to encounter outside of the dreaded outhouse.

I showered as quickly as possible and was careful not to touch too many things. The cake was washing off just fine but it was a pain to get out of my suit. Thankfully none of the dye from the frosting dyed my suit anywhere. If it did there would have been hell to pay. A few parts of my skin had a slight colored tinge to them but it wasn’t too bad. I dried off with my towel and tugged my wet suit back on before wrapping the towel securely around my waist. I stopped and looked in the mirror making sure I had most of the cake bits off of me. I had a lovely blue smudge on my neck, making it look like a very nicely placed hickey. Oh joy. Straightening my hair out I made my way back outside to see a very agitated looking Brian being chatted up by some chicks.

"I really am waiting for someone. And for the last time, no I'm not looking for a piece of ass." I chuckled noticing that the girls were quite aggravating him.

"Hey Syn. You ready?" At the sound of my voice all three of the girls' heads snapped in my direction, their eyes widening slightly. "Hi there." I greeted them as their jaws dropped.

"So the rumors are true." One of them said in an astonished tone.

"And what rumors would that be?" I already knew what they were talking about. Anyone would.

"You two are together."

"Yep sure are. Now if you'll excuse us we have to go." Brian piped up. He snagged my hand and dragged me away from the girls before I could deny the rumor. I turned and gave a wave as I followed behind him.

"Sure took you long enough." He grumbled as he slowed his pace and let me walk beside him, still holding his hand.

"Well I'm sorry if it took me forever to get the cake out of my boobs! It was your fault anyway." He laughed at my boob comment. Typical.

As we once again approached the guys I noticed they were all gathered round drinking. They too had de-caked themselves somehow. Most likely by taking a nice dip in the ocean.

"Kacie we fed the fishies!" Johnny slurred slightly. I could tell they were all sort of tipsy. What I couldn’t tell was how they managed to get tipsy with the amount of time we had been gone. It was only like fifteen minutes. I guess they never cease to amaze me.

"You fed the fish?" I questioned as I snagged a coke and sat down on a towel but not before snagging my fedora back off of Will's head. I watched as Brian grabbed a beer and popped the top before sitting down in one of the remaining chairs.

"Hell yeah! They get to celebrate your birthday too you know." Drew said as if this should have been obvious to me. I just shook my head and laid down on my side.

***

It had finally gotten dark and we currently had fifteen minutes until the fireworks were due to start. Those of us that were still sober, meaning myself, Matt, Brian and Garret had all cleaned up and got things ready to go back to the hotel. Zacky had made an attempt to help but ended up tripping and falling flat on his face in the sand. So I ended up getting him situated in a chair where he was currently still sitting staring up at the sky. We still had chairs up and the drinks were still flowing.

I had just finished tossing some empty bottles into a bag when an arm wrapped around my waist.

"Come with me." I set the bag down and was led over to a giant beach towel.

"Did you have fun today?" I turned so I was facing the chocolate eyes that I was ever so quickly falling for. His lips were turned up in a smile and his eyes had a sparkle in them. I grinned back as his arm pulled me closer to him.

"I did. Perhaps one of the best birthday party's I've ever had. What about you Mr. Gates?" His eyes searched mine for a moment as if he were looking for something.

"I'd have to agree with you on that one. But I think the best part was getting to spend it with such a gorgeous girl." My cheeks reddened at the comment and I was hoping it was dark enough so he wouldn’t notice.

"You're cute when you blush." So much for wishful thinking. He rolled us over so he was lying on his back and my head was against his chest.

"So I've been thinking Kacie." I turned slightly so I could look at him. His eyes were focused up at the stars as he spoke. "There's just something about you that I can't quite place my finger on. I haven’t known you for that long and yet I just have this funny feeling about me. Almost like I can't control myself around you and well, I really like you. Shit I sound like a pansy. If the guys heard me now I'd be fucking toast." I couldn’t help but giggle at him. He was too cute.

"I really like you too Brian." His flustered look returned as his arm casually drew circles on my back. He was nervous. I could tell.

"Kace, I'd like to make this official. I want to be the one to call you mine. The guy who gets to hold you at night. Kiss your tears away and make you smile. Sing you to sleep and write songs for you. I want to be that guy. Kacie will you be my girlfriend?"

My head bolted up to look at him properly.

"Really?"

"Yes really." I smiled at his reply.

"Then yes Brian. I'd love to be that girl for you." His grin increased and he pulled me down so that he could crash his lips to mine. This kiss was so different than the other ones he had given me lately. It wasn’t just a small peck. This kiss was full of passion and intensity.
Just as the kiss began to deepen we were startled apart by the loud boom of the fireworks starting. Brian chuckled softly and helped me turn so we could both face the sky.

"You know, I think this is the best Fourth of July I've ever had." I spoke above the noise of the brilliant colors that were filling the sky. Brian leaned down and gave me another kiss. His hands started stroking my hair as he pulled away.

"I'd have to agree with you on that one. And I do believe that this will go down as one of the best tour weekends I've ever had. Fucking hands down." I bit my lip and relaxed as his hands wove through my hair. There was nothing better than getting to spend the Fourth of July watching the fireworks with your best friends, new found friends, and a new boyfriend to boot.
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hope you all liked this part! i personally did.

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