Indecision and a Chance to Restart

What can I say? Looking back at how just three years ago, the four of us were just a group of friends living in San Diego, I’d say what we’ve gotten to is huge. Jaime, Tony, Mike and myself had formed our band, for real this time. We’d never fought in the three years and I was happy to say we would be around for a while, or atleast I hoped.

It was ridiculous how many fans we had gained in the short time we’d been officially signed and out there, in the industry. I mean, I remember just yesterday when we were in the studio messing around with sounds, not knowing what the hell we were doing. It was so different, now that we’ve got two albums out and we were known all around the world. Insane, really. If I wasn’t experiencing it now, I would believe it could happen.

Tony and Mike were sitting on the ground next to each other, Mike playing some rhythms on the ground (and occasionally Tony’s shoulder), and Tony was tuning his guitar and ignoring my brother’s tapping. We had a show to play in about 20 minutes and we were finishing our set up. I was all warmed up for vocals, but Jaime had gone to the bathroom in the back to get himself ready. For what, I don’t know, since backing vocals are just that, backing, but I wasn’t going to complain. I’d see him later anyways.

“Let’s go guys, show-time in a few!” Jeff, our TM called us. Mike and Tony got up to follow him and I went to the back, to find Jaime. He was in the bathroom, singing one of the songs he had written, but never released. He should have though, I mean, his voice was great and everything. He’d probably make some money off of it too, and he could definitely use the cash. I came around behind him and gave him a hug. He tensed up a bit, but he must have realized it was me because he flipped around to face me, a smile plastered on his face.

“Hey, Jeff called us, stage in a few.” I told him. His eyes were lit up so bright and there was real excitement in his features. He always got excited about shows and I knew the feeling, but I didn’t show it on the outside as much as he did.

“Okay. Walk me there?” I nodded and said, “Of course, babe. Anything for you.” He kissed me on the nose and we walked out of the bathroom, jogging to the stage and grabbing Jaime’s bass on the way.

“Come on, Vic! Jaime! Let’s go!” Jeff shouted again, and we sprinted faster until we were directly sidestage, ready to play.

~

Finally, we were done performing. I was exhausted, but happy we had done this. Nothing beats the fans back home, they’ve been here from the start and they’re the best fans I’ve ever seen.

“Thank you San Diego for a fucking amazing night here!” I shouted into the mic. The crowd replied by screaming their heads off and the four of us walked off with our heads held high. I was exhausted and I’m sure everyone else was, but we couldn’t go back to the bus just yet because someone called our names out.

“Vic! Boys, Pierce the Veil! Can we do a quick interview for Alternative Press?!” Someone shouted at us. I got wary looks from the boys, but I figured Jaime and me could do a piece, at least for a little bit.

“Himes, let’s give them what they want.” I said with a smile and he nodded excitedly. How he still had this much energy after the show, I had no idea. We walked off with our interviewer behind the stage and got set up with mic’s and cameras.

~~~ Mike’s POV

“Mike, do you want to go back to the bus, since Jaime and Vic are gone?” Tony asked me after the show, a hint of desire in his eyes. I really did want to go back, but I had something else in mind.

“Um, how about we go somewhere else? I’ve got a little surprise for you.” I told him with a smile. He considered it for a second, and then jumped into my arms.

“Surprise? Really?” he beamed. I nodded my head and grabbed his hand, leading him out the door and to a little place down the road. I pulled out my phone and texted Jaime, telling him that Tony and I would be going out for a bit and we’d find our own way home. I didn’t bother waiting for a reply as I led Tony down the street.

“Mike?” Tony asked after a few moments. He had a look of hesitance on his expression.

“Yeah, babe?”

“Is this the part where you throw me off a bridge and leave me for dead?” He asked, and I hoped he was joking. I chuckled at him. He was being awfully cute today.

“No,” I told Tony, “No, see, if I did that they’d find you and then hunt me down. I’m not planning on doing that, at least not tonight.” I winked. He hesitated to react for a moment, but then laughed it off as nothing and we continued our quiet walk. I grabbed his hand and he squeezed mine gently, giving me a calming, comfortable feeling.

Soon enough we were nearing a little place we’d been to several times in the past three or four years; a little coffee shop called “Bean”. Despite the name, it had grown to be our favorite place to go, when we were in town. It wasn’t anything ridiculously bright colored or anything and swarming with people, which was the perfect atmosphere. In fact, the place was dimly lit and wasn’t infected by hipsters, which was perfectly okay by me. It was almost a tradition that the four of us would come here after every home show, but Jaime and Vic had that interview and they’d probably have plans together after. So, I took it upon myself to bring Tony to our little place.

As expected, Bean was empty except for a few stragglers here and there. I wasn’t surprised though, most people liked to spend their evenings in Starbucks or Tim Horton’s instead. I was pleased; it made our evening more special, because there were less people to share it with.

“Mikey! Tone-Bone! What are you guys doin’ here?” Someone called from behind us. I looked over along with Tony, seeing none other than Tim Lambesis from As I Lay Dying, standing behind the counter and waving to us.

“What the fuck are you doing here, man?” Tony asked curiously. I gave him a look that basically told him to spill, and he put his hands up in a mock surrender and pursed his lips.

“Aye, I don’t own the place, it’s my aunt’s, but I needed a job since we’re not touring and everything. A guy’s gotta have something to do, you know,” Tim said to us. I laughed, but Tony looked kinda uncomfortable. “Well, what do you fuckers want, or are you just gonna stand there and look around?” he asked us.

I smiled, and Tony finally chuckled a little. “I gotcha, dude. Uh, let’s get an extra-large caramel mocha for myself, and a medium French vanilla, extra whip, for Tony here.” I told him. Tim turned around right away, grabbing left and right for the stuff he needed to make our drinks.

“Any food?” he turned his head to us briefly. Tony shook his head but I jumped on it right away. “Yeah, an order of churros.” I said. Tim laughed and ran to the back, probably to start frying them up.

“Churros?” Tony asked me. I nodded and grinned hugely at him.

“Of course, dude. Mexican, remember?” I laughed. He just rolled his eyes, probably thinking my reasoning was stupid, because it was. What Tony didn’t know was that I had other intentions.

“It’s a good thing they’re delicious, Mike.” Tony scolded.

“Okay, well let’s go sit down and wait, Tim’ll bring us the drinks and then I’ll go get the churros when they’re called?” I told him. If he volunteered, the plan wouldn’t work out.

“Yeah, okay, so that I don’t have to get up and run around? You’re so nice,” he teased. This time it was me who gave him an eye-roll and led him to the back of the restaurant to a little table with a comfy couch surrounding it. Sure, the couch was comfortable, but the real reason I picked this place was cause when I went up to get our food, he couldn’t turn around and spoil the surprise.

“Perry and Fuentes!” Tim announced his existence by throwing himself into the room with our drinks. I waved him over excitedly and he set our drinks down on the table, spilling mine a little on accident.

“Oh shit, sorry man. Hangon.” He apologized and pulled out a washcloth to clean up the mess. “By the way, your churros are ready, so whenever you guys wanna get them,” he told us and finished wiping the table down. Tony nodded, then I followed Tim over to the counter.

“Have a good night, guys,” Tim said as he handed me the plate of our little snack. I smiled and went to the edge, where I was sure Tony couldn’t see me.

I knew I had to be quick, so I grabbed the little box from inside my pocket, opening the case up to see what Tony’s surprise was. A sapphire jewel set in a platinum band, I had gotten this for him about two weeks ago. My favorite part was that on the band, it had little R2D2’s etched into the platinum. I was going to get it engraved, but I decided we could do that together, at another time.

I slipped the ring out of the slot in the box and grabbed a churro. Luckily, the little pastries were thinner here, and they were smaller than the average finger, so it slipped on easily. I put that one on the bottom of the pile, making sure Tony wouldn’t find it right away, and shoved the box back into my pocket.

I grabbed the plate and walked back to Tony, who was sitting there twiddling his thumbs. He looked up at me and instantly smiled, and god, he was so beautiful when he did that, no matter how mushy or cheesy that sounds. I set the plate down and grabbed two, making sure not to unearth the specific one. I dipped it into my mocha, which earned a look from Tony.

“What? It tastes good. Here, try one,” I said and shoved it into his face. He just giggled and nibbled a little off the edge, tasting it and nodding in agreement. “See?”

“Yeah, it’s good, but I think I’ll stick to the normal way for now.” He answered with a smirk. I let it go for now and finished my churros, grabbing for a few more.

Tony’s eyes went wide all of a sudden when he picked up another pastry. “M-Mike?” he gasped in surprise.

I tried my best to act casual about it. “What?” I said without looking up.

“Don’t play dumb, did you…?” he murmured and picked up the churro, looking at the ring which now was decorated with little sugar sprinkles. I chuckled quietly and bit my lip.

“Yeah, I did. Look, Tony, um, I just, fuck I love you so much, and I was hoping you’d love me enough to say yes to spending the rest of your life with me, as cheesy as that sounds.” I smiled. He finally lifted his beautiful, chocolate eyes and nodded excitedly.

“Yes, Mike, of course,” He gasped and put his hand behind my neck, pulling me to him and connecting our lips fast. His excitement and my adrenaline were pushing the soft kiss into something more, and I pulled away reluctantly, mostly because we were still inside Bean.

“I love you,” he breathed.

“I love you too, dork. Did you see the little etching in the band?” I told him and grabbed the ring from his hands, pointing to the tiny little R2D2’s that dotted the platinum.

“Oh, sick! This is so cool, Mike!” he exclaimed and I just laughed at his happiness.

“Yeah, well… what do you say we get out of here, and go somewhere else, a little more fun?” I prompted with a wink. He grinned back, grabbing my hand and leaving some money on the table. We ran out of there and back to the bus, which actually wasn’t as far as I thought it would be, and climbed in, Tony attacking my lips with a kiss. It caught me off guard, but I pulled him closer to me.

I pulled away, just to make sure Vic and Jaime weren’t here, and called out their names. “Vic? Himes?” sure enough, they weren’t back yet, and hopefully it would stay that way. I kicked my shoes off and Tony did the same, but not before stealing another kiss. I checked my phone while Tony sat there impatiently, and Jaime had texted me saying they’d gone to a hotel for the night. How sweet.

Tony pulled me to him, kissing me with such a desperate force that my breath was taken away for a second. I grabbed his hips and turned us, pushing him against the wall and grinding my hips into his. He gasped and I chuckled, satisfied with his reaction. His legs wrapped around mine, pulling me closer and I nipped at his neck, causing stifled moans to come out of his mouth.

I’m not going to play out the whole scene for you, because hey, that’s Tony’s and my business. But let’s just say, we didn’t sleep much that night. ;)