*Vic's P.O.V.*

It's a new day, I'm a new me, filled with new hope. I know I've made the right desicion, even though Mike hasn't been so supportive.

I remember I called him up, eager to tell him my views on this, only to have him sigh at me. He told me that he was happy, but I could tell from his disappointed tone that he thought otherwise.

I shrugged off his reaction, focusing on the hope that was running through my body.

I was talking to Riley about our future, even though I knew she couldn't hear me, when Tony and Jaime walked in.

Jaime's normally smiling face was etched in a serious manner and Tony was just being his quiet self.

I felt the guys pull me into a group hug, and I let them. There was nothing sexual about this-my band was like my family, and their hug was comforting.

I blinked back tears as they let me go and we stood in an awkward silence; I could feel that they were unsure of what to say.

Jaime was the first to break the silence. "Vic...I'm so sorry. She was like a sister to us..." He trailed off awkwardly.

Tony spoke up, his voice sounding more quiet than normal, "I saw that you were, um, talking to her. Can we join you?"

I shook my head up and down, glad that they were making an effort to acknowledge her.

I sat in my regular chair, Tony taking a seat on the empty chair next to me. Jaime was left to sit on the spinning chair, and I knew that if circumstances were different, he would have gone insane on that thing.

Tony spoke first, his voice almost a whisper as he looked at Riley's unmoving figure. "I remember the first time Vic introduced you to me at that party. I couldn't help but think how great you and him would be together," he began, taking a deep uncomfortable breath, "I saw my thoughts written in Vic's eyes and I knew he had feelings for you. He asked me where Mike was and when I told him, I could tell he was already protective of you by how he stepped closer to you. I was a little puzzled since I knew you guys weren't together yet. Then a couple days later, he introduced you as his girlfriend, and I could tell right there that he had A LOT of feelings for you. He didn't want to lose you, and that's what he was afraid of at the party: losing you to Mike. You make him so happy, and you two really have something special. I have actually always been jealous of the bond between you guys. I can still feel that bond, and I know it'll always be there. Even if..." He gulped, and I covered my ears, refusing to listen to the rest. Jaime noticed my reaction and looked at me with sympathy.

I uncovered my ears when Jaime began to talk. "Hey, Ry," he stopped, beginning to tear up. He blinked the tears away and continued, "I always knew you'd steal Vic's heart. 'She's the one,' I used to say to him, 'She's the one who's gonna take our Vic's heart.' And I was right." He let his tears flow down his face.

"And I'm so happy he chose you. I can't think of any other person on this earth who I would want to call sis. I'm so happy to be able to know you and share so many great memories with you. You mean so much to all of us, and whether or not you want to be, you're a part of the Pierce The Veil family."

I now had tears dripping down my face, and Tony and Jaime both turned to me, waiting for me to speak. "I remember the first show I took you to..."

---

Riley was taping her leg up and down, up and down.

"Ry, baby, what's wrong?" I squeezed her hand.

"Did you see all those people out there?" She asked, her eyes wide.

I chuckled, "Yes. But why are YOU nervous?"

She looked down at her leg, "It's a stupid reason."

I shook my head, "Nothing's a stupid reason. Please tell me."

She sighed, "Well, um, so I'm dating this kinda famous rock star who has fans from all over the world and I just...I'm not sure why he's spending his time with ME when there are so many better girls out there."

I laughed and kissed her hand. "Isn't it obvious why I'm spending time with you? It's because I WANT to spend time with you. Yea, I love my fans, but I love you on a higher level. There are a lot of great people out there but..." I leaned in and whispered in her ear, "You're the only one for me."

She relaxed a bit and her leg slowed its bounce.

Mike came over and pointed to her leg, "What the fuck is wrong with your leg?"

She shrugged her shoulders, "I guess I'm just nervous for you guys."

He smiled, "Well, you shouldn't be nervous, because even if everyone else makes mistakes up there, they got an amazing drummer who will entice the crowd with his many skills."

"And by many skills, you mean sucking cock and being a male stripper right?" Tony came up behind him.

Mike glared at him, causing Riley, Tony and I to burst out laughing.

"Don't look so butt hurt, dude," Jaime said, popping up randomly, "It's almost show time. You know what that means!"

We got in our circle and started our little chant. I could see Riley looking at us confused, out of the corner of my eye.

Once we all finished, I continued the chant, the boys joining in with me.

"Riley!"

She grinned, "Me?"

"The devil!"

"Who?"

"The devil is everywhere!"

We put our hands in the middle, and I encouraged Riley to join in. She slipped her tiny body in between me and Tony and threw her slim hand on top of ours.

"PIERCE THE VEIL!" We shouted at the top of our lungs.

We were all hooked up and ready to go. I took Riley's hand in mine and led her up the stairs connecting to the stage. I pointed to the side of the stage, to a place where she could see the crowd but they couldn't see her.

I kissed her cheek. "I want you to watch from here. They can't see you, but you can see them, ok?" I wrapped my arms around her, drawing her into me, careful not to smush her against my guitar.

"Good luck," She smiled up at me, anticipation radiating off her body.

"Love you," I planted a kiss on her mouth.

"Love you too!" She called after me.

I smiled and adjusted the mic, looking out over the massive crowd. This was by far our biggest show.

"San Diego, what is up?" I screamed into the mic.

The audience roared and I tried to appear unfazed by the amount of eyes trained on me. On us. On MY band.

We started playing 'The Sky Under the Sea' and the audience went insane. I felt myself get lost in the music. I was aware of Tony headbanging to my right and Jaime on my left, running in circles, but it felt unreal. It was just me and the music. Nothing else mattered in that moment.

Mike was shredding on the drums; the noise boomed through the floors and vibrated up to the pit of my stomach, warming me. I felt loved. I felt accepted.

The energy was going crazy as we started another song right after that. I never wanted it to end.

After a couple more songs, I looked down at the crowd, "I have someone I want you to meet."

I looked over at Riley and beckoned her to come out. She slowly made her way towards me, looking horrified.

"Don't show how intimidating they are," I whispered in her ear as she reached me.

The crowd went insane. "This is my beautiful girlfriend, Riley," I smiled into the mic.

Over half the audience cheered, causing her to grin and give a tiny wave. Her smile wavered, though, as one girl in the front row lifted up her shirt, exposing her chest.

"Why are you with her?" She screamed up at us, "I have bigger titties than her and she's not even that pretty!"

I pointed at the girl. "That," I breathed, "was not cool. I think she's the most beautiful girl in the world. And bra size isn't important, the only size that's important is the size of your heart."

The crowd cheered again and the girl pulled her shirt down in an angry pout. I waved a finger at the crowd in a wait motion, and disappeared back stage. I grabbed a chair and sat it on the side of the stage.

I led Riley over to it, and she sat down. I kissed her on the lips, earning a roar from the crowd. I hope a fan got a picture of it.

We finished the set and we all exited the stage. Once backstage, I set my guitar down and Riley threw her tiny body into my sweaty one. She hugged her legs around my waist and kissed me passionately. I put my hands under her butt, supporting her up.

She broke away from the kiss and looked into my eyes. "Holy shit that was amazing! You guys...were fucking incredible! The energy was...wow. I've never seen anything like it," She breathed, eyes shining.

I chuckled and knew she was going to reward me with sex tonight. I was looking forward to it.

I saw how proud she was of us, and it made me so happy.

---

"I want to keep making you proud," I choked out, "I want you to point to me and say 'That's my husband, and I'm proud of him'. But what if I failed? What if I screwed up our future? All because of one mistake."

One mistake that will haunt me forever, no matter how it turns out.

Notes

Woah, that was super long!

Tony and Jaime have finally arrived. They will, as well as Mike, return in the story.

It saddens me to say this, but only 4 more chapters left!

What do you think is going to happen?

~L