Ray of Sunshine

“Take a deep breath you guys,” Harley said to the group as he exited from James’ red Civic. “Smell the ocean?” He closed his eyes and inhaled slowly. James followed suit and the two shared a laugh when they opened their eyes again. Sam rolled his eyes at them with a smirk.
Nikki laughed as she and Lauren got out of Lauren’s blue Camry. “I’ll smell the ocean once we’re actually in it,” she told him, anxious to get inside and see Matty.
The five friends began walking toward the two story house. Matty wasn’t kidding. They could actually SEE the ocean from the driveway. The view was breathtaking, to say the least.
Matty met them at the door, opening it. “Come in, and welcome to the nuthouse.”
Nikki laughed, letting the others go in first before hugging Matty and following him inside.
The house was nothing short of incredible. The huge living room area was lined with windows that extended from a foot from the ceiling to about six inches from the floor. The view of the beach from those windows was incredible. There was no need for lamps or overhead lights at the moment, because the bright California sun shone through the glass filling the room with natural beautiful light. Dylan was occupying a space on the far end of the sectional, watching a game on television. He looked up when they entered, and turned off the television.
“Hey guys,” he greeted.
“Hey,” Sam returned the salutation with a nod. “Nice shirt,” he added, referring to the black shirt Dylan was wearing that read, “I’m up. That’s all you should expect from me today.”
Dylan chuckled. “Thanks, man.”
“Sam,” he introduced himself, extending his hand. “And you’re welcome.”
Dylan accepted the handshake and turned to the others, shaking hands with each of them as they introduced themselves.
“Wow, it’s so great to finally meet you guys,” he said, taking a step back. “Matty and Johnny talk about nothing else these days.”
“Do they?” James replied, glancing over at the girls. “I wonder why.”
Matty shook his head. “Dylan’s got an odd sense of humor. He’s the funny one.”
“Really?” Lauren responded. “I’d never have guessed, given his stage name is Funny Man.”
They all laughed at this. Matty nodded. “He’s funny, I’m random and goofy, and Johnny? Well, he’s the scary one,” he said, looking at Lauren.
“Why do you say that?” she asked him.
“Because I have the ability to sneak up on people without them realizing it until I want them to,” Johnny answered from right behind her, causing her to jump. She turned to face him, and had to take a step backward to avoid a collision. He reached out and grabbed her arm to prevent her from falling. “I apologize for startling you. I couldn’t resist the urge to scare the crap out of one of you.”
“Oh? Then why me,” she inquired, raising an eyebrow.
Johnny just smiled. “Hey Matty,” he addressed his friend, his eyes never leaving Lauren, “is the grill ready to go?”
“Yeah,” Matty answered. “I just got done cleaning it about five minutes before I heard them pull up.”
“Excellent.” Johnny released Lauren’s arm and looked up at the rest of the group. “If you fine people will excuse me, I must get to work on the food.” He looked back at Lauren once more before walking out the door.
“You know Oregon is going to beat the crap out of Washington, right?” Sam asked Dylan, referring to the game still playing on the television.
“Yeah,” he answered. “I wasn’t really paying close attention, to be honest. I was thinking about playing Grand Theft Auto. You guys interested?”
Sam flashed a huge smile. “I am,” he answered enthusiastically.
Harley laughed and said, “Me too.”
“I’ll watch,” James told them as they all found a seat on the sectional. Dylan put the game in the console and handed Harley and Sam a controller.
“You girls up for a stroll on the beach?” Matty asked.
“Of course,” Nikki answered.
Lauren hesitated. Matty smiled and said, “Come on. You’ll love it.”
The three walked over to the door and stepped outside and headed toward the beach. As they passed Johnny working effortlessly at the massive grill, he looked up at them and smiled. “Don’t go far,” he warned them. “I’ll be done in less than fifteen minutes.”
“Alright,” Matty replied.
As they got closer to the ocean, the scent grew stronger and more inviting. Matty motioned the girls over to a nearby bench, and he and Nikki sat down together. Lauren chose to sit in the sand and watch the ocean. She closed her eyes and took in the fresh air, sighed as she felt the wind in her hair.
“It’s a lot to take in,” Matty addressed her, startling her somewhat. “But it’s beautiful.”
“It sure is,” she agreed.
“So are J-Dog and Danny coming?” Nikki wondered aloud.
“No, actually it’s going to be just us this time,” Matty answered. “They wanted some time with their girls. They’re down for the next hangout though.”
“Oh?” Lauren spoke up. “We’ve been here all of ten minutes and you’re already planning a next time?”
“Oh, trust me. There will be a next time. Johnny will make sure of that,” Matty told her with a grin. “I guess you’ve noticed by now, he’s very taken with you. I’m pretty sure he’s dreading you guys leaving.”
Embarrassed, Lauren looked down at the sand and started running her fingers through it randomly.
“Oh, don’t act like that isn’t mutual,” Nikki said sternly. “Matty and I have been planning this for a long time. Tell her what you told me,” she said, turning to her boyfriend.
Matty sighed and began to explain. “Ever since the first time he heard your voice, Johnny’s been quite interested in you. When he got online to do his research on the band, and he saw your picture, he wanted to meet you. And ever since the skype conversation, he has talked about nothing else. He admires you. Not just your voice either. He knows your story, he knows why HOPE is so important to you, he knows why you prefer to be behind the scenes and only sing harmony. He gets you. And he likes you. He thinks you’re an amazing person, and we all agree with him on that. Nikki told me that Johnny has always been your favorite, that you admire his voice. She said you did your research too, followed him on Instagram, admired him for the love he has for his daughter. When she told me that, we agreed the two of you needed to meet. I think you’d both find that you could help each other in ways you couldn’t even begin to imagine. You both need to take off the bandaids already.” He smiled when she looked puzzled. “You’ve both been through a lot. You’re both wounded. But what you both fail to see is you’ve healed. It’s time to stop being so afraid. We’re here for you, for all of you. We want to help.”
“And for that, we are thankful,” Nikki told him, laying her head on his shoulder. “He’s right. It’s time to step up, girl. You write a lot of music, but you never take the lead, and you should. James agrees with me on this. And so does Johnny.”
Lauren pondered all this for a moment before thinking silently to herself, ‘Could this day get any more interesting?’ Little did she know the irony of that statement, for indeed, it would.