I Like the Remix

After a drink, Raelyn found herself laughing at something Matt had said and feeling a little more comfortable with her surroundings. “No kidding? That’s crazy.” She responded, a real smile having replaced her ‘model’ smile. “What else have you been up to?”

Matt grinned as he took another sip of his beer and went on to tell her about all of his current projects. They ranged from music to production. She smiled at the enthusiasm coming from him as he explained each project in more detail. “So where did you say you work for again?”

“Angels and Demons in Los Angeles. I love it. It’s been so much fun, and now that Tori is with me it’s even better. They’ve been really good to me.” Raelyn said with a twinkle in her eyes. “We recently moved into an apartment together and so far I think it’s the best decision I’ve made in my life other than applying for Angels and Demons.”

“That’s really great.” Matt smiled, seemingly genuinely happy for her. He was about to ask another question when Maria spoke up.

“You know, Matty, is single. He broke up with his girlfriend ages ago…” She had a gleam in her eyes as both looked up at her slightly wide-eyed.

“Oh you know, that’s perfect. Lynny has been single for what… Two years?” Her mother, Jenna, had stated excitedly. The gears in her head now turning too. Matt looked back at Zacky for help and frowned at the bemused expression on his brother’s face.

Meanwhile, Raelyn just looked horrified that her mother was trying to set her up. She was going to speak up, when Zacky spoke up. “I think they’re perfect for one another.” His voice was taunting and Raelyn wanted nothing more than to stand up and punch him in his mouth.

“Where’s your girlfriend, Zacky? She seemed pretty glued to her phone the last time I saw you guys.” Raelyn tried to intercept. Their parents were having no part of it.

“We aren’t talking about Zacky, we’re talking about you and Matty!” Maria squealed excited at the idea. Raelyn just hung her head and tried to think of the quickest way out of the house. She glanced over to see Matt holding onto his bottle of beer tightly, as she tried to process all the thoughts running through her head.

’Everywhere I go, bitches always know that Charlie Scene has got a weenie that he loves to show.’

Raelyn frowned as everyone in the room looked at her shocked as she grabbed her phone and quickly answered it to stop the music. “Remind me that you are never allowed to choose your own ringtone ever again.” She rolled her eyes as she saw Maria and Jenna looking at one another wondering who ‘Charlie Scene’ was.

“Gladly, but would you like to explain why a member of Bullet for My Valentine is here, in our living room?!”

Raelyn frowned in thought. “What are you talking about, aren’t they on a tour?”

“I didn’t know you followed their tour schedule that closely. Tori stated as Raelyn went back to what she had been told recently in her head. She heard a short scuffle before a new voice came over the phone.

“I only told you that so I could surprise you. They usually never add shows onto a tour.” Came an accented male voice.

“Oh wow… That’s so sweet… And I feel like an idiot. I owe you when I get home later, okay?” She asked, a small smile coming to her lips. “You should put Tori back on before she tackles you for her phone.”

“Raelyn Marie Benson, I demand an explanation! How could you keep this from me?!”

“Oi, bring the tone down, Tor! I promise to explain when I get home and I don’t have all eyes on me.” She stated as she took a look around the room and landed on Zacky’s inquiring green eyes. “Just be nice and don’t scare him away please.”

“No promises.” Was all she said before hanging up on Raelyn.

“Who’s ‘him?’” Her mom questioned quickly, coming to stand right in front of Raelyn.

“He is a friend who is probably very jetlagged. And as much as I would love to stay for dinner,” She stressed with an almost real smile. “It would be rude to ignore the fact that he flew all this way for me and I forgot he was visiting… So I’ll have to catch up with you later. Bye.” She gave a quick hug to her mom and grabbed her purse and started digging for her car keys.

“We get to meet ‘him,’ right?” Her father spoke up and she let out a hefty sigh and turned towards him and shrugged.

“Don’t know how long he’s in town for. Love you, dad. It was really nice to see you again, Mr. and Mrs. Baker. Matt. Zachary.” She stated with the best fake sincerity she could muster up. “I hope you all have a lovely evening.” With that said, Raelyn made a dash for her car and didn’t look back. Zacky watched her pull out of the driveway and head down the street, her tail lights disappearing into the distance.

---

Once Raelyn stepped through the front door of their apartment, she found herself fighting the urge to laugh. Victoria was staring at Matt Tuck like he was going to disappear from the couch he had fallen asleep on. “You gonna poke him to make sure he's real?” She asked sarcastically and snickered when Tori jumped.

“No. That would be stupid. Excuse me for admiring a nice body in a less creepy way than staring while he's awake…” Raelyn laughed softly as Tori realized what she was saying. “Okay so they're both creepy. But I can't help it. Wouldn't you be staring if an attractive man showed up at your door asking for me, with flowers in hand?” She questioned as she gestured to the vase on the coffee table.

Raelyn looked at the vase and smiled at the red alstroemerias that were sitting in it. She loved flowers, they never lasted very long and she would assume it was her fault. But she still loved them and these were some of her favorites because they lasted longer than most. She looked back at Tori who was now studying her closely. Snapping out of it, she nodded, “Yeah I guess you’re right.”

“So?” Tori walked over and nudged her best friend.

“His name is Matt, I met him on the set of a music video back in 2010. We became fast friends, and later on met back up at another video shoot… He asked me out, I said yes. Pretty basic stuff.” Raelyn reasoned with a shrug. Tori nodded and glanced back over at him and then at Raelyn and nodded slightly before walking out of the room and into the kitchen to find something to eat.

When she returned to the room, Raelyn had curled up on the couch next to Matt and had fallen asleep. Tori shook her head, Raelyn had only been gone for the day… And still her family had managed to exhaust her. She snapped a picture of the cute moment on her phone and headed into her room.