Three's a Crowd

Ashley and Jimmy sat at the counter in the dimly lit bar, the sound of a slow song pumping out of the jukebox accompanied by the clacking of billiard balls the only noise between the pair.

The brunette swished the amber liquid around in her glass, taking another swig as she stared off at one of the obscure murals on the wall behind the row of bottles. She bit her bottom lip as Jimmy gestured for the bartender to sling him another beer, Ashley nodding when she was offered another shot. Tipping the shot glass back, the liquor warmed her throat as she swallowed, Jimmy smirking at her as he pressed his lips to his beer bottle.

“You're drinking like a fish, and that’s usually my job,” Jimmy informed her, Ashley shrugging at the blue-eyed drummer.

“I'm drowning my sorrow just like you. I mean, come on... Who fucking needs someone in their life!?” Ashley asked, shaking her head before continuing to rant. "Fuck relationships. They always end up badly," She noted, Jimmy nodding along with her. "Ooooh, look at me," She taunted, her pitch elevated as she mocked the blonde she had met briefly. "I'm Matt's new girlfriend.... Aren't I just the skinniest, prettiest darn thing you've ever seen?" She huffed before taking another swig of her Guinness, rolling her eyes. "Fucking bitch..."

"You okay, Ash? Is something bothering you?" Jimmy questioned, Ashley glaring at the dark haired teen.

"Yeah, something's bothering me, Rev.... Matt fuckin' Sanders is bothering me," She admitted, absent-mindedly picking at her cuticles on her thumb.

Jimmy reached for her hand, stopping her fidgeting before retracting his grasp.

"Something he said?" Jimmy asked in a concerned tone, his gaze soft as he tried to figure out what was ailing her mind.

"More like, somebody he chose to forget," She whispered, shaking her head as she waved the bartender over.

"Can I get a Long Island Iced Tea with two straws, a Spiked Corona, two shots of tequila and some vodka?" Ashley asked, the bartender's eyes widening as he processed her order.

"I don't know what a Spiked Corona is..."

Ashley shook her head; "Then just give me two Long Island Iced Teas..."

"Little lady, don't you think all that alcohol's a little much? You are drinking for yourself..."

Ashley's eyes narrowed at the bartender as she reached for her wallet, placing the three twenty-dollar bills on the counter top.

"You supply it, I buy it. It's as simple as that," She seethed, the bartender raising his hands in defense before he swiped the money off the counter.

"Suit yourself," The man muttered as he began to put her purchase together.

Jimmy glanced between the brunette beside him and the bartender, ultimately in shock at his friend's order; "What the fuck are you trying to drown out?"

Ashley finished her Guinness, wiping any excess beer away from her mouth.

"I'm trying to drown my memories, I suggest you do the same," Ashley told him, Jimmy staring blankly at her.

As the bartender finished placing Ashley's drinks before her, Jimmy ordered some more alcohol for himself.

Looking at the amount of alcohol between the two of them, Ashley and Jimmy shared a laugh.

"Well, it looks like we're walking back to the house," Ashley announced, the drummer nodding in agreement.

"Or we can hopefully try to remember the phone number to get a ride by the end of the night!" Jimmy added, Ashley laughing at her blue-eyed friend.

"Good deal," Ashley replied, raising one of her shots of tequila. "To forgetting the bad and hopefully remembering the good."

"I'll drink to that!"

They clinked their glasses together, Ashley downing the shot and starting to cough at the strength of the tequila.

“Maybe the bartender was right… Maybe you can't handle your alcohol,” Jimmy taunted, pushing away his empty bottles as he reached for one of her tequila shots.

She grabbed his hand before he could snatch it up.

“What do you think you're doing?” She demanded to know, raising an eyebrow at the drummer who tried to get the shot with his other hand. “Get your own tequila,” Ashley commanded, Jimmy smirking at her.

“Are you trying to hold my hand?” Jimmy asked, Ashley dropping her grip on his hands.

“The only time I'll ever hold hands with you, Jimmy, is if it's in a completely non-sexual way,” She declared, starting to sip on one of her Long Island Iced Teas.

“There's a sexual way to hold hands? Wait, I don't know what the fuck I'm saying,” Jimmy admitted, Ashley giggling at him.

“Just keep drinking, sooner or later it isn't gonna matter what the hell we're saying,” Ashley pointed out, a comfortable silence falling between the two of them as they drank together, the effects of the alcohol settling on the two of them.

“You know what?” Jimmy interrupted the silence, Ashley ceasing to push the ice around in her drink with her straw so she could listen to him. “I think falling in love is complete bullshit,” He stated, Ashley nodding along with him.

“You think you're in love and you think they're in love and then it doesn't work,” Ashley added, gnawing on the side of her cheek.
“Falling in love is the best way to kill your heart. You surrender it completely and it's not yours anymore,” Jimmy ranted. “Then it just lies in its coffin after you murder it, waiting to be cremated or buried by the one you've given it to.”

“Wow Doctor Sullivan, where did you get your philosophy degree?” Ashley teased, Jimmy's blue eyes widening with a mischievous glint.

“They've called me Doctor Love before but never Doctor Sullivan,” He replied, making Ashley laugh and nearly choke on her drink.
Ashley turned on her bar stool to face the crowded dance floor, nudging Jimmy in the ribs. “What do you want?” He rubbed the spot she had jabbed, Ashley pointing to the group of people.

“Look at everyone dancing like they don't have a care in the world…”

“That's because they've been in here since they left work at five and are so wasted they are literally having the time of their life,” Jimmy reminded her, the brunette's head shaking up and down.
“We could totally join them, you know,” He offered, nodding his head in their direction. “And dance together in a completely non-sexual way.”

Ashley shook her head; “I'd rather just sit here, Jimmy. I don't want to stumble out into the street and get hit by a truck or something.”

He shrugged, distracted by the black plastic frames resting on her nose. He lifted her glasses off her face, Ashley's eyebrows furrowing as he tried them on.

“How do I look?” He asked, Ashley squinting to look at him.

As she finally focused her sight on the drummer, she burst into a fit of laughter, Jimmy poking his tongue out at her.

“They definitely aren't you,” She mused, retrieving her glasses from his grasp, putting them back on her face.

“Y'know, Ash, we should probably kill this tension between us by making out in a completely non-sexual way,” Jimmy concluded, Ashley playfully shoving his shoulder and shaking her head.

“Nice try Rev,” She commended him. “But let it be established that you are way too crazy for me,” She reasoned, Jimmy sighing.

“Can't blame me for trying…”

Back at the house, Johnny had left Gabby with Zack playing video games whilst he visited the bathroom. He had just reached the landing when the door to Brian and Raven's bedroom swung open, the distinctive sound of Metallica instantly filling the hallway as Brian stepped out, his arms and chest covered in a sticky brown substance that Johnny guessed was probably chocolate spread considering how adventurous he knew his two friends were when it came to their sex life.

“Oh, uh, hey Gates….” He greeted his friend who grinned at him as he closed his bedroom door, clearly not wanting him to see Raven's current state of undress which Johnny thought was hardly fair. He didn't see anything wrong with just taking a quick peek although he knew it would probably result in his gruesome, horrible death. He gestured to the dark mess spread across his friends body; “Do I even want to know?”

“No… I don't think you do…” Brian chuckled, shaking his head at the bass player as he brushed past him and made his way towards the bathroom at the end of the hall. “Besides, I don't think you're old enough to be doing the kind of thing that I've just been doing, kid….” He added, knowing that Johnny was watching him go with a scowl on his face.

“Fuck you, Gates….” The teen followed his band mate to the bathroom and stood at the door as the guitarist started to fill the porcelain sink up with warm water.

Brian glanced up into the bathroom mirror, catching his friends gaze and smirking; “Rae already did, and boy was it good….”

“Is that ‘cause you spoke Spanish to her?” Johnny wanted to know, Brian's brow furrowing in confusion.

“Huh?”

“The good fuck,” Johnny replied bluntly. “Is that because you spoke Spanish to her?”

“Nah, dude, sex with her is always good….” The dark haired teen shook his head, switching off the water. “What the fuck are you asking for anyway? Need a little info to make your fantasies more realistic?”

“No! I, uh…. Well, Gabby….” Johnny trailed off, tripping over his words.

Brian splashed some of the warm water onto his arms and chest where the sticky milk chocolate clung to him like a second skin; “Have you guys done the deed yet?”

“No…. I haven't even got lower than the waist,” Johnny explained, Brian stifling a laugh at the bassist's disappointed tone.

Grabbing the soap out of the dish, Brian worked it into a rich lather before applying it to his chocolate covered skin; “Well, you know, there's nothing wrong with waiting….”

“Yeah, but at this rate I'll be an old man before I get any….” Johnny sighed, kicking at the floor in frustration as he looked down at his scruffy tennis shoes.

“Don't stress, JC, it'll happen soon enough…” Brian assured him. “I mean, realistically you guys have only been dating a little while because of the tour and all that. You hardly know each other. Just wait it out, let it happen when it happens…”

“Yeah, but what am I supposed to do until then?” The bassist looked up from his shoes to watch his band mate methodically scrub at his tattooed skin.

“Lots of flying solo and thinking about boring shit like the periodic table….” Brian grinned, bending over the sink to rinse off the soap. “Always worked for me…”

“Is that how you handled being away from Rae when we were out on the road?”

“Well, sometimes….” Brian straightened up to rinse the soap off his arms. “But just because we were apart doesn't mean that we didn't have a little fun….” He turned to look back at Johnny as he reached out to grab the towel off the rail. “I have a phone bill to back that up…”

“Phone sex? You guys had phone sex?” Johnny's caramel eyes grew wide as he stared at his friend in disbelief, making Brian laugh. He knew his friend's liked to try different things but he never knew that they had indulged in dirty talk over the phone while they had been apart.

Raven's voice interrupted their conversation; “Brian, are you coming back anytime today? I've got a set of handcuffs with your name on them…”

“Sure, baby, be right in…..” Brian called back to her, drying himself off before checking himself out in the mirror to make sure he had got all the chocolate off his chest. Not that he didn't enjoy getting it onto his body, but the stuff was a pain in the ass to get off once the fun was over. He had discovered that after their little foray into fun with food during their first Christmas together although removing the chocolate from his girlfriend's body in the shower made their little escapade more than worth it.

“Hey, uh, Gates….” Johnny's voice brought Brian out of his trance and the guitarist turned to see his friend slouched against the door frame, watching him. “Do you think phone sex would be a good idea for me?”

“Depends who you're calling, short shit….” Brian tossed the towel into the laundry basket and smirked at his friend. “I can tell you now that I won't appreciate an early morning call off your drunken ass with you heavy breathing down the phone to me….”

“Shut the fuck up….” Johnny rolled his eyes. “I'm talking about maybe trying it with Gabby…” He added in a hushed tone knowing that the girl they were discussing was just down the stairs.

“Are you that desperate?” Brian scoffed, pushing past his band mate to step out into the hallway.

“Well, it's not like I'm going to be getting any real tail any time soon….”

“Like I told you, just wait it out. All good things come to those who wait, Johnny… Believe me,” The dark haired guitarist told his friend, Johnny pulling a face at his words.

“Gates, I'm gonna start without you if you don't get your fine ass back in here….” Raven called out to her boyfriend from behind the closed door of their bedroom and Brian gave Johnny a sideways glance.

“Later Johnny, I've got business to take care of….” Brian grinned, slapping his friend on the shoulder before making his way back to his bedroom and disappearing inside the room where the sound of Raven's giggles made Johnny grit his teeth and curl his hands into balled fists as he headed into the bathroom.

“Lucky bastard!” He yelled out in frustration, slamming the door and hoping that Brian and Raven didn't get too loud. He wasn't sure if he would be able to refrain from smashing something if they did.

“You can talk to me, you know, I won’t bite…” Zack glanced sideways at the pretty teen sitting beside him. “Well, not all the time anyhow…” He winked at her, watching her cheeks flush a light pink color.

Gabby peeked up at him from beneath her lashes; “What do you want to talk about?”

Zack shrugged, looking back at the TV screen as his fingers worked quickly on the control pad in his hands to stop his avatar from dying; “I don’t know. Anything. I hate sitting here in silence…”

“Yeah, I bet you do…” Gabby remarked, looking back at the TV screen. “From what I hear, you’re not one for talking. You prefer to just get horizontal with a girl rather than finding out about her…”

Zack laughed, shaking his head at the teen; “I don’t always get horizontal with them, Butterfly…”

“No?” Gabby raised an eyebrow as she looked at him questioningly, Zack smirking at her as his gaze met hers.

“No, sometimes we stay vertical…” He winked at her again and Gabby bit her bottom lip, looking away from him. “Oh, come on, I was kidding! Don’t go all shy on me, Butterfly.”

“Why do you keep calling me that?” Gabby asked in a small voice, Zack pressing the pause button on the game before he turned to look at her.

“Because you’re beautiful and just like a butterfly, you can’t see your wings so you don’t know just how amazing you are…” He told her, Gabby looking up at him and for the first time since she’d known the green-eyed guitarist she saw sincerity shining in his eyes as he spoke. He meant every word he was saying to her and that thought alone made her feel all warm inside, her cheeks flushing pink again.

Zack did something she never expected then, he reached out a hand and pushed her stray dark red curls away from her face brushing his fingertips against her cheek as he did so. His touch sent shivers down her spine and a surge of electricity all around her body at the same time, something that had never occurred when Johnny touched her.

Their faces were so close now, close enough that Gabby could feel his warm breath tickling her lips and she was pretty certain that if he was to lean in and kiss her she wouldn’t be able to resist it. She found herself staring at his plump pierced lips, wondering what it would feel like to kiss a guy with snakebite piercings.

“Well, I can safely say that I will never look at chocolate spread the same way ever again!” Johnny declared from the hallway, Zack and Gabby quickly jumping apart before the bassist entered the room. He looked at them quizzically, wondering why Gabby looked so flushed and why Zack had paused the game. “Zee, what’s going on?” He asked his band mate, the guitarist looking up at him.

“Nothing, dude,” He replied, standing up and offering Johnny the control pad. “Here, take over for me. I need to, uh, clear the pipes….” He muttered, walking out the room and the two young teens watched him go both looking puzzled.

Johnny looked back at Gabby as he moved to sit down beside her; “What was all that about?”

“I don’t know, Johnny,” She shrugged her shoulders and stared at the TV screen, averting his gaze. “Your friends are weird…”

Later that day, Brian and Raven had finally emerged from their bedroom, the redhead taking a shower and getting dressed whilst Brian completed the mundane chore of collecting the laundry from around the house. He walked down the hall carrying a blue basket, grabbing the dirty linens from outside his bedroom door before continuing down the path, making his rounds.

“Hey Zee, have you got any dirty laundry stinking out the house in there?” Brian asked as he passed Zack's bedroom, noticing his friend sitting on the edge of his bed with his head in his hands he came to a halt. “Jeez, who pissed on your shoes?”

Zack looked up at him, bringing his hands up to his hair as he let out a breath and stood up off his bed; “I think I just almost crossed the line and it’s bothering me…”

“Woah, wait a minute, Zacky V is showing emotions?” Brian teased, watching as Zack scooped up his dirty clothes from the floor and tossed them towards the laundry basket the guitarist was holding out.

“I’m not made of fucking stone, Gates…” Zack sighed, throwing a balled up black t-shirt into the basket as Brian threw him a puzzled glance.

“Alright, man, it was a joke…” The guitarist shifted the basket to catch the last items of laundry Zack was tossing towards him. “What the fuck is wrong with you?”

“Fucking girls, man…” Zack's voice was full of frustration; he stepped towards his friend and practically slammed the pair of dirty jeans into the basket. “Why do I always want the ones that I can’t have?”

“Okay, you’re gonna have to elaborate on this one, dude, because I have no idea what we’re talking about here...” Brian shook his head as Zack looked at him. “Are we talking about Ashley again? Because I heard all about your little ‘moment’ with her at the New Year’s bash we had before we left…”

“No, it’s not Ash…” Zack replied, shoving his hands deep into the pockets of the jeans he was wearing. “I mean, she’s hot and everything but even a blind guy could see how hung up she is on Shads. She doesn’t even talk to me properly anymore…”

“Has she ever talked to you properly?” Brian asked with a grin, Zack rolling his eyes at him.

“Yeah, she has actually,” The green eyed guitarist informed his friend. “Right before her and Shads got together properly and we were at Seven Bar Lounge. I went outside for a smoke and she was sitting there all upset and we talked…”

“Did you hit on her?”

Zack frowned at his band mate, shaking his head; “Nah, man, she was all torn up about Shads walking out on her…”

“Okay,” Brian nodded. “So you’re not going to be a dumbass and pursue Ash like you said you would all that time ago. Then who are we talking about?”

“Gabby…” Zack replied, avoiding his friend’s gaze as Brian stared back at him in surprise.

“Gabby?!” The dark haired guitarist asked, his voice a little louder than he intended. Zack quickly moved to shut his bedroom door and punched Brian in the arm for his little outburst.

“Not so loud you idiot, she’s right downstairs…” He scolded his friend, Brian scoffing at him.

“Yeah, I know she is… With Johnny…”

Zack rolled his eyes again; “I fucking know that, that’s why I’m up here avoiding them…”

“What happened?” Brian wanted to know, Zack looking back at him pretending not to know what he was on about. “Don’t give me that look, Zee. I know something’s up. You’re up here looking all pissed off with the world, rambling about almost crossing the line and only wanting girls that are unattainable so what the fuck is going on?” The dark haired guitarist demanded to know and Zack let out a breath. “What did you do?”

“I almost kissed her…” He whispered, Brian raising his eyebrows at him. “Johnny went upstairs and we were talking then the next thing I know, she was right there and I wanted to just grab her and kiss her so bad…”

“You’re an ass…” Brian shook his head at his friend, turning towards the door.

“I know, what the fuck am I going to do?” Zack wanted to know, watching as Brian turned the handle and pulled open his bedroom door.

“Nothing…” Brian replied simply, heading back out into the hallway.

Zack followed him, a little dumbfounded by his response; “Nothing?”

“Zee, she’s off limits…” Brian started as he picked up the rest of the laundry from outside of Jimmy’s room. “For some fucking unknown reason, she hooked up with Christ and you’re just going to have to deal with that…”

“You know, they’re not official like Matt and Ash were and if I’d have had my way I would have snagged her at New Year’s…” Zack said, Brian shooting him an amused look.

“Zee you were so trashed at that party, you would have hooked up with my Grandma if she’d have batted her eyes at you…”

“Gross, dude…” Zack scrunched his face up in disgust, Brian laughing as he descended the stairs with his friend.

Johnny sat with Gabby on the settee, watching some idiotic game show but Gabby wasn’t really paying attention. She was too busy thinking about how different Johnny had been since he’d returned from tour. They were less than a few inches away from each other but as far as she was concerned there may have well have been an ocean between them. He was slumped back against the cushions, one arm slung over the back of the sofa as the other rested against the arm. He’d made no attempt to initiate any form of physical contact between them since she’d picked him up that morning, in fact they hadn’t even kissed since he’d been home. She was starting to think that she’d done something to make him act so distant towards her when Matt and his new girlfriend walked into the room, holding hands and laughing with each other before they flopped down into the recliner. Suddenly Johnny’s whole demeanor changed and he moved his arm from the back of the settee, placing it around Gabby’s shoulders and pulling her roughly into his side.

“What’s up, Shads?” The bassist nodded a greeting towards his band mate, Matt nodding his head in acknowledgement as he glanced back at him.

“Hey Johnny, Gabs…” The hazel eyed singer said before Val reached out and turned his face back towards her, leaning down to kiss his mouth as she sat in his lap.

Gabby looked away not wanting to witness such a public display of affection but Johnny remained staring at the pair, his caramel eyes watching every move the singer made as he made out with the blonde on his knee. The bassist observed the way Val giggled at something Matt whispered into her ear as he gently tugged at her earlobe with his teeth and glanced at Gabby beside him before lunging towards her, nipping at her ear.

“Ow!” The young redhead squealed, pushing Johnny away and gripping her earlobe between her fingers. “What the fuck are you doing, Johnny?! Are you hungry or something?”

Johnny shrugged his shoulders; “Val’s not complaining…”

Val and Matt broke apart, looking over at the two teens on the settee as Gabby stared at Johnny in disbelief.

“I’m pretty sure Matt’s not trying to eat Val, Johnny….” She pointed out, Johnny rolling his eyes at her.

“Whatever, I need a beer…” He groaned, rising from his seat and walking into the kitchen just as Brian and Zack entered the lounge.
Zack looked over at Gabby immediately, the young teen avoiding his gaze and staring down at her feet as Brian moved through the lounge, carrying the basket of dirty clothes towards the laundry room. Zack shrugged his shoulders, turning his attention away from the young redhead and towards the couple on the recliner.

“So, do you have a death wish, Shads?” He asked, the hazel-eyed singer glancing up at him.

“What?” Matt raised an eyebrow at the green-eyed guitarist.

“C’mon, Shads… Hanging out with Val in the same house your ex lives in? Not your brightest idea,” Zack noted, shaking his head.

“Yeah, well, no one asked you for your opinion, Baker,” Matt declared, Val looking between the two friends as she listened to their conversation.

“Your ex lives here with you?” She asked her boyfriend. “Matty, why didn’t you tell me that?”

“I told you to never call me that, I hate it,” Matt grumbled, looking back at her as Zack watched his friend curiously, raising an eyebrow at him.

“That’s odd, you seemed to like it when Ashley called you it,” The guitarist pointed out, smirking as he watched Val’s eyes widen.

“Ashley? The rude girl from before?” She inquired, Matt’s jaw squaring. “What’s she got to do with this?”

“She was his girl, before we hit the road….” Zack informed her, Brian coming back from the laundry room with Johnny in tow and the two men remained standing in the kitchen doorway watching events unfold. “They were pretty intense.”

Val glared at the hazel-eyed singer; “I can’t believe you! Why didn’t you tell me?!”

“I didn’t think it was going to be an issue…” Matt shrugged, Val shaking her head at him as she got up out of his lap.

“She’s your ex, Matty, of course it was going to be an issue. Now I know what she meant when she said I was her replacement. I just thought she was rude but now I know that she’s the bitch who broke your heart too…” Val ranted, oblivious to Raven coming down the stairs who had overheard her speak about her distaste for Ashley.

“Well, well, well, it looks like Tigger wasn’t the only one to hook up with Barbie out on the road,” Rae chimed in, cutting her eyes at Matt as she shoved past Val in order to enter the room.

“Excuse me?!” The blonde narrowed her eyes at Raven, Matt clearing his throat as he squirmed uncomfortably under the redhead’s hateful gaze.

“Oh, hey Rae, this is, um….”

“Your new girl, I heard,” Raven cut him off, turning her attention back to the blonde staring at her. “I’d say it’s nice to meet you…” The redhead trailed off not knowing the blondes name, Val huffing as she rolled her eyes.

“Val. My name is Val…”

“Well, Val, I’d say it’s nice to meet you but it’s really not…And Matt was an ass for asking you to come over here,” Raven said, cutting eyes at the blonde.

“I never asked her,” Matt murmured, Val instantly turning to glare at him and he shook his head, rubbing a hand over his hair.

Rae grinned victoriously, satisfied that she had made her dislike for the blonde known as she turned away from Matt and his new girlfriend to look over at Brian.

“So, are we going to plan this party or what?” She asked, Brian nodding at her.

“Sure thing, baby,” He grinned as Gabby glanced up at the older redhead.

“Uh, Rae, can we talk first?” She asked, both Zack and Johnny looking over at her as she spoke.

“Sure, kid,” Raven nodded. “C’mon, I need a smoke anyway…”

She gestured to the back garden and Gabby rose to her feet. “Bri’, be a doll and show Barbie the door, will ya? I don’t think Ashley will appreciate her being here when she gets home…”