I Know You're Wearing Thin

I couldn't help but feel more than a little out of place when I was meeting Matt's band.

"So, these…people practically live at our…house twenty-four seven. I figured you might want to meet them before you wake up and see one of the…guys first thing in the morning," Matt laughed. It felt as if he were holding back; as if he were choosing the words he spoke very carefully as if to edit himself. "Guys, this is Elizabeth; my new wife from Minnesota. So, let's start here. This is Brian and Amanda."

I looked towards a man with arms almost as big as Matt's, brown- almost black- hair spiked up in every which direction, and a simple ring in one of his nostrils. He had a short redhead on his arm, her hair curling down her back.
"Hey, it's nice to meet you Elizabeth," Brian told me, holding his hand out for me to shake and keeping his other arm around Amanda.

"It's nice to meet you, as well," I spoke politely, just as I was taught, while shaking his hand Although, I still couldn't stop the slight cringe that I had at the sight of everyone's tattoos.

Amanda threw a genuine smile my way as Matt continued to introduce everyone, "So, this is Zacky and Sammi."

Again, Zacky had black hair and tattoos down his arms. His build wasn't as defined as Matt and Brian's, but it worked for him. The only thing that made me slightly question him as a man were his perfectly shaped eyebrows that made me jealous, actually.

Tucked into his side was a cute, short little brunette, looking half asleep, who managed to speak up with quite a bit of volume and a grin, "Welcome to California. I hope you like it here," as Zacky sent me a nod of his head.

I didn't really have time to say anything to her before Matt was moving onto the next person, "This is Jimmy and Leana."

"It's nice to have you here," Leana smiled towards me, her pearly whites shining brightly. Her brown hair shone in the California sun and her brown eyes sparkled up at Jimmy, waiting for him to speak, showing him nothing but love.

"I'll try to keep Matt from giving you too much shit," Jimmy told me with a laugh.
I cringed at the words he chose, not being used to Scott or myself using that language. His frame towered over me and I took notice of the tattoos that even wound themselves up his neck. A pair of silver glasses sat on the bridge of his nose, barely staying there.

"Thanks," I muttered meekly. "I appreciate that."

Matt quickly moved onto the next couple, "And last but not least, this is Johnny and Izzie."

The first thing I noticed about the girl- Izzie- was her red hair, waving down past her shoulders, her smile stretching from ear to ear, "It's good to meet you, Elizabeth. If you need anything while you're here, go ahead and give me a call: I know how to work Matt. Val taught me a few tricks."

I heard Matt let out a low chuckle from beside me as I looked at Johnny. His short frame was accentuated by the fact that all of the other guys were fairly tall- taller than him, at least. His brown hair was spiked up into a mohawk. His big, brown eyes squinted slightly when he smiled, "It's nice to meet you."

I was still intimidated by Matt's friends and band mates, even after meeting them. They seemed pleasant enough, but something about the way they looked just frightened me.

"So, that's about it," Matt spoke, stealing my attention once more. "I guess we can head back home. Here, I'll put your bags in the back, go ahead get in the car."

I did as suggested and had a hard time keeping my eyes open when I rested my head back.

"You might want to get some rest," Matt told me as he jumped in the other side of the car. "We have about an hour ride ahead of us, and the guys and girls will most likely be at the house either right when we get there, or later tonight. You may want your energy to deal with them."

"I may do that," I nodded, speaking cordially. "I hope you don't mind."

"Not at all," he chuckled. He switched the radio on, "I hope you don't mind if I turn this on. I'll keep it quiet, though."

"It's your car; your call."
After that was said, my eyelids dropped shut and I was soon dreaming about Scott and the kids back in Minnesota.