Love on the Brain

Jade tapped her finger along to the beat, her eyes resting on Jimmy, whose baby blue eyes were deeply focused on his playing. The redheaded girl was sitting in Matt’s old couch, next to Valary, who was singing along to the song, having heard them so many times that she knew everyone by heart.

“You’re like their biggest fan,” she chuckled to the raven-haired girl.

“Ya’ll are our groupie!” Jimmy said, pointing his drumstick at the two girls. “Along with Michy, of course,” he added playfully.

“Fuck you! I’m not groupie! I’m as much a part of this band as you, Sullivan!” Val bellowed.

“Oh, yeah? Can you play the drums then?” Jimmy jumped up on his chair, wiggling his eyebrows wickedly at the raven-haired girl.

“I’ve heard you guys play so many times that I bet could play all of these fucking instruments!” the raven-haired girl assured, standing up on her feet.

“My ass!” Jimmy shrieked back, jumping down and walking towards her.

Seeing the two of them interact was quite funny, as Jimmy, like always, towered over the raven-haired girl, who threw her index finger into his chest, her strength so hard that she almost made him stumble.

“Jim! Don’t rip my girlfriend’s head off please,” Matt called from behind them, as it seemed like the guys were about to have a quick break.

“You know I’m only fucking around, Val!” Jimmy told her, pushing her into his embrace. “You know I love you very fucking much,” he told her. “You’re like my only mom!”

“I better fucking be, boo,” Valary mouthed back, accepting his embrace.

“They’re so adorable,” Jade said to Johnny, who chuckled at her reaction.

“This is how they act every practice,” he told the redheaded girl.

“They’re like… family,” Jade told the bassist.

“You’re a part of it too,” someone said from behind, his heavy breath hitting the back of her neck and making her hair stand up, meanwhile he slipped his arms around her waist.

“Yeah, Perez! You’re my fucking family too!” Jimmy squealed, as he walked over to the redheaded girl and all but tore her away from Brian’s grip.

The drummer swept Jade from the floor, holding her like he was holding a baby.

“Jimmy!” Jade squealed, trying to wiggle her way out of his grasp, meanwhile Jimmy was rocking her from one side to the other.

“Put her down!” Brian stressed. “Jimmy, I’m not fucking kidding!”

“Babe, it’s okay!” the redheaded girl couldn’t prevent the laughter from leaving her lips. The drummer was holding her safely in his arms, not wanting to let go as he pressed his cheek against hers.

“Yeah, Syn! I’m stealing your fucking girlfriend and there’s nothing you can do about it!” he grinned mischievously.

“Careful now, kid. He might snap,” Matt warned, watching as Jimmy let go of Jade, who soon skipped over to Brian.

“Jesus, stop it!” Zack said groggily at the couple when Brian went to kiss her lips again. “You guys are so freakin’ nasty. Give us a break!” he pleaded.

“I actually think it’s kinda cute,” Val admitted, her voice clear and her lips curved into a smile. “Haner’s in fucking love, and he’s in love with someone other than himself!”

“A fair point,” Johnny nodded.

“There’s a first time for everything,” Zack snickered.

“Shut up, Baker,” Brian hissed, before bringing Jade even further into his embrace.

“Bri,” Jade chuckled against his chest, looking into his whiskey brown eyes and playing with the hair in his neck. “Don’t be rude,”

“Okay, guys. We should get started again,” quipped the young bassist, who had been waiting for the guys to collect themselves for quite some time now.

“Yeah, come on!” Matt agreed, gathering his band and watching as Jade and Val returned to their earlier spots.

The sound of Matt’s rusty vocals filled the entire room, as well as the mesmerizing dynamic between the two harmonized guitarists. Brian and Zack were leaning against each other, both of them drowning in their own chords, meanwhile Johnny was standing on top of his amp, banging his head along to the sound from his bass.

Watching all of them together was truly an experience. The way they so effortlessly created the harmonic, yet rough sound was almost breathtaking. Jimmy looked like he had travelled into his own world, his eyes shut and his glasses glowing in the mellow light, meanwhile he spun his drumsticks in his hands. Brian held unto the neck of his guitar and easily ran his fingers against the strings, shredding it out with Zack.

“They’re gonna become something big,” Val said from her spot, not even looking over at her friend, as she was too caught up in the guys.

“I bet they will,” Jade agreed, genuinely convinced that Avenged Sevenfold would blow out.

Jade returned her gaze to the band, watching Matt’s passionately “stage performance”, as he was really just shuffling around the basement, his gestures making it look as though he was actually playing a show.

The redheaded girl was soon interrupted by the sound of her phone that kept buzzing in her pocket, making Jimmy frown at her.

“Ey! Turn that shit off! Don’t ruin the moment!” the drummer demanded, as Jade chuckled while fishing for her phone.

'Hi, sweetheart! We’re eating dinner over at Olivia’s house tonight. You can bring Brian home and you guys can eat dinner if you want to. We left some money in the kitchen. Love you!'

A smile twitched her lips as she saw the message. A lot had happened after Brian had manned up and talked to her parents about their relationship, and this had been one of many things. The smile on her face only grew when she realized that she’d be able to have Brian over for the night, as the two of them had become good at hiding their sleepovers at her house.

This is gonna be great, she thought to herself.