“Darling, you know I love you so much. I’ll always love you. I’d swim every sea and cross every desert just to be by your side. You’re my everything. My whole world.”

I’m tearing up at this point, clasping both of my hands to my heart as I look down at my boyfriend Vic. He’s kneeling in front of me, brown eyes blown wide with adoration. I can’t believe how blessed I am to have him. I mean seriously, he —

“Lyls,” He says, interrupting my thoughts, voice sounding strange and unlike it had just seconds before.

“Vic?” I ask curiously.

Vic’s voice is urgent as he says again, “Lyls. Lyla!”

Suddenly Vic fades in front of me. What I last see are his arms, which have outstretched to try and grasp me like I was leaving.

I groan, opening my eyes just to blink a few times and snap them shut. Oh, what a dream. Too bad I couldn’t stay in it forever.

Real life Vic hovers over me, shaking my arm and yelling my name like he had been in the dream. I open my eyes once more and look at him, smiling a little despite my heavy exhaustion. He grins back at me, showing off his pearly white teeth. He’s dressed already and has his curling brown hair brushed. Shining and smooth, it goes past his shoulders as he sits back on my legs in an upright stance.

“Good morning, babe,” Vic says. I’m confused for a second as to why he is in my room, and then remember that he came over last night. We must have fallen asleep watching a movie.

I struggle to sit up with him pinning down my legs, and he takes his weight off me just a big so I can twist to my left and see what time it is. Only seven thirty. I’ll kill him.

“You better have a good reason for waking me up this early,” I say instead of returning his greeting. I glare childishly at him.

“Did you forget? Mike comes home today,” Vic reminds me as he finally gets up. I swing my legs over the side of my bed, shivering as the bare skin comes into contact with cool air. I miss the warmth of my bed as I stand and stretch.

I had forgotten. Today was Saturday, the day that Vic’s younger brother of one year, Michael Fuentes, was coming home. He’d been in a correctional institute for minors because he had a really bad record. He was just 16 and had dropped out of high school because of his failing grades. Along with smoking cigarettes, Mike also smoked weed. Or he had. Supposedly this institution had changed him; a complete turnaround.
Vic and I had started dating 10 months ago, which means that I’d never gotten a chance to meet Mike. The Fuentes family didn’t speak of him much at all. No one really did. Kids at school didn’t have a lot to say about the younger Fuentes brother except that he was bad… Really bad. He must have done terrible things for people to keep their mouths shut and avoid his name like the plague.

“That’s right. What time do we pick him up at the airport?” I ask, padding across the room. As my arms and legs freeze, I remind myself to never fall asleep in my dance practice uniform ever again.

“Nine. You have enough time to shower and get dressed and whatnot. Then we can stop at Starbucks for breakfast on our way. Sound good?” Vic asks, and I smile gratefully. He knows me so well.

“Perfect,” I answer and pick out some clothes. Just sweats and a Drop Dead ‘Satan is my Homeboy’ tee should be good today. I’m not usually one to get dressy.

Vic nods as I slip out of my bedroom and go across the hall to the bathroom. As I undress, I hope that he’s left me some hot water.

He has. At least, for now. I sigh and let my muscles unclench one at a time until I feel completely relaxed. The water runs down my back and sends involuntary shivers up my spine. I turn around to warm the front of my body as I pick up a bottle of shampoo.

I hum quietly to myself as I massage the soapy substance into my hair. The scent of lavender floats around me as I start to sing, quietly at first but soon gaining volume and strength in my voice. Vic has told me before that I have the voice of an angel. I’d agree that I am an alright singer, but not as good as he tries to get me to believe. Vic says that paired with his guitar playing, we could easily get a record label. I just smile and shrug because those are his dreams, and not mine. I don’t want to let him down when I tell him that I’m already looking into schools with good dance programs.

Ever since I was six years old I have been a dancer. That’s ten long years of slaving away on the floor, in tap and ballet shoes, perfecting every movement. A lot of time and practice goes into becoming a skilled dancer. It’s my passion and I would never – could never – give it up. Just like I support Vic with his music, he supports me with my dancing. He goes to every single one of my recitals and practically glows in the front row while watching. Afterwards he gives me flowers and kisses my cheek, whispering that I was amazing, and we go out to eat with his mom and dad and my parents and siblings. I don’t even think I’d be half as good a dancer if it wasn’t for Vic’s constant motivation, pride, and belief in me.

I wash up and rinse my hair before stepping out of the shower. I dry off quickly, dress, and tie my wet light blonde hair up into a tight bun. I don’t feel like putting my contacts in today, so I just slide my glasses on. It only takes me ten minutes to get ready because I never wear makeup.

I walk out of the bathroom and back to my room, where I slip on my Toms and grab a sweatshirt. April weather was tricky, and I wasn’t taking any chances while wearing a sleeveless top. I take the stairs two at a time and end up in the kitchen, where Vic is waiting for me. He hands me a note from my mother that says she’s taken my sister younger sister Abigail to school and was then running to the store. She didn’t mind that I was skipping school with Vic today, which was nice, but always made me kind of irritated that she wasn’t stricter. My mother would let me go out and sleep around, get drunk every night, and dye my hair rainbow. As long as I was happy, she was happy.

I place the note back on the kitchen counter and slip my hand into Vic’s. “Ready to go?” I ask, and he nods, leaning over to kiss my cheek.

“You look cute today, you know?” He asks as we walk outside.

I smile to myself and squeeze Vic’s hand. “You tell me that every day, babe,” I remind him patiently.

“Because you look cute every day.”

Rolling my eyes, I get into the passenger side of his car and wait for him to join me. The first thing I do when the car starts is turn on the radio. Vic and I always jam out when we are driving. He is kind of reckless on the road for someone so patient and careful. Maybe not as reckless but rather just terrible at driving, I don’t know.

We sing and dance as best as we can in the car as Fall Out Boy’s ‘Thnks Fr Th Mmrs” blasts from the speakers. My ears are ringing by the time we pull into Starbucks, but it is worth it.

The two of us get out and head inside. The sweet smell of vanilla, cinnamon, and coffee brewing greet me and prove to be an instant reliever of any lingering sleepiness. Vic pulls out his wallet and I we walk to the counter to place our orders. Vic gets a plain latte and I get a Frappuccino with extra whipped cream. He pays and we stand aside until the drinks are ready. I notice Vic tapping his fingers on the counter with a little frown, eyebrows pulled together. I place my hand on his arm comfortingly.

“Are you okay, Vic?” I ask and he snaps out of his thoughts to smile at me.

“Yeah, fine. Just thinking,” He answers.

“About what?” I inquire. I’m always nosy.

Vic seems to contemplate telling me and then sighs, giving in. “I’m worried about Mike,” he says.

“Vic and Lyla?” A girl’s voice calls out before I can speak, and we walk over to her to retrieve our drinks.

I take my Frappuccino and have a sip, smiling at the familiar taste I love so much. I turn my head to Vic to say something more but he bursts into laughter before I can even open my mouth. I frown and stop walking.

“What’s so funny?” I ask and it takes him a few seconds to compose himself.

“You have whipped cream on your lip. It looks hilarious,” He says. I know he’s reaching for his phone as his hand goes to his pocket, but I quickly wipe off my mouth with my hand and smirk.

“There. All gone,” I state.

Vic pretend scowls at me and shakes his head. “You’re no fun, Lyla.” I know he’s teasing me.

“Neither are you,”

“But I love you anyways,” Vic continues as if I didn’t say anything.

“And I love you too.”

I never get to ask why Vic is worried about Mike.

-

We’re nearly late to the airport. Vic and I both dash to the gate, not wanting to keep his brother waiting. People give us annoyed looks as we run around them.

I’m breathless by the time the gate comes into view and we finally slow down. We walk at a quick but steady pace now.

Approaching the waiting area of Gate 6E, I know exactly who Mike is just by scanning the crowd. He’s the tall skinny one with tattoos covering his arms, hands, and neck. He stands out compared to the plain looking crowd of people. He wears a bored expression until his eyes land on Vic and he breaks out into a grin. Vic does the same, the sibling similarities shining through. Vic waves and starts to jog. I stay back and walk, figuring they would like a moment to greet each other after a year of being apart.

Mike drops his bag to the ground as Vic reaches him and they do some weird kind of ‘manly’ hug, though I know Vic would give anyone a huge full hug if they were up to it. After a second the two brothers pull back, Vic exclaiming something I can’t here and Mike laughing with a nod. Vic says a couple more things to which Mike responds, then gestures towards me. I’m standing a bit awkwardly by some benches and smile when I’m looked at. Vic waves me over and I oblige, making my way to them.

“Mike, this is my girlfriend Lyla.”

Mike nods. “Vic’s told me a lot about you,” He states simply.

I raise an eyebrow. “Did he now? Only good things, I hope.”

“Only good things,” Mike confirms and I smile.

Vic’s eyes flicker to the clock hanging on the wall. “Mom’s expecting us home soon, so we should probably get going. We’ll have to drop off Lyla first.” As he says my name, Vic’s arm wraps around me. I shuffle sideways and fit myself into his side, our hips pressing together.

“Sure. I have to get the rest of my stuff at the baggage claim,” Mike says, starting to walk towards it. Vic and I follow behind him. The way he walks is stiff and tense, like he has to be alert constantly.

The bagged claim isn’t too far away. We stand for a few minutes as pieces of luggage slowly appear on the line. Soon a black suitcase appears and Mike walks forward, tugging it down. He doesn’t have a lot for being gone a whole here. Maybe this wasn’t all of it.

Now that Mike has his stuff, we’re ready to go. Vic starts to fill his brother in on everything that had happened at school in the last here: All of the dramatic events that had gone down, such as breakups, a teacher being fired, and everything in between. Lastly he brings up ‘Pierce The Veil’ which apparently had been a band between Vic, Mike, and their friends Jaime Preciado and Tony Perry. It had broken up when Mike went to the correctional school.

“We were, great, Mike. We should really get the band back together. Maybe someone will notice us!” Vic says, but Mike doesn’t look too convinced.

“I don’t even know where my drum set is. And I doubt Jaime and Tony want to get the band together again after… you know.”

I glance from Mike to Vic. Vic has a troubled look on his face, but I know he’s trying he hardest to hide it. I want to know what they were thinking, and it dawned on me that I’d never actually asked why Mike had been sent to a correctional school. Now it sparked curiosity in me.

He would’ve had to have done something really bad. Correctional schools, especially around San Diego, don’t take just anyone. They’re for really out of control teenagers. Kind of like a prison school setting for minors.

I glance at Mike out of the corner of my eye, suddenly a little nervous. What if the year away hadn’t taught him anything? What if he is the same as before? He could kill me in my sleep for all I know about him! He-

No.

It isn’t fair to Mike to think like that. He’s probably a changed person now. Besides, if Vic trusts him, then so do I.

We walk out of the airport and into the large parking lot. Vic stops for a moment to scan the area for his sleek black Mercedes. As he’s locating it, he slips his hand into mine. A small smile forms on my lips and I squeeze his hand. Vic finds the car and we walk to it, Mike taking the passenger side like I thought he would. I don’t mind, and get in the back.

Vic and Mike chat quietly on the way back into town. I pull out my phone and ear buds and listen to Yellowcard on shuffle. I’m right in the middle of Only One’s chorus, eyes closed and swimming in the music, when a hand shakes my knee. My eyes snap open and I see Mike twisted back around to look at me. He smirks a little at my disoriented expression, his hand lifting off the soft fabric of my sweatpants.

Quickly I pause the music and take out the noise-cancelling ear buds so I can hear him.

“You’re home,” He says and I look up. Sure enough, we’re in the driveway of my house. How had I not noticed?

“Oh. Right,” I mumble like an idiot, moving over to get out of the car. Vic turns around now and smiles.

“Thanks for coming with, babe. See you tomorrow night?” He asks and I smile back, nodding.

Vic and I have a kind of boyfriend/girlfriend movie night every Saturday. I know it sounds lame but it’s fun to just lay around watching Disney movies and eating ice cream with him. Plus he usually lets me choose the film.

“Of course,” I reply and open the car door. “Nice meeting you, Mike.” I add as I get out. He nods and repeats the sentence using my name instead, but he doesn’t meet my eyes. Oh well, he’s just getting used to me.

I close the door and walk up the driveway to the front door. I unlock and open it, and then turn around to give a little wave. What I see catches me off guard.

Vic isn’t looking at me, instead glancing in his mirror so he can back up. But Mike is looking at me with an unnerving yet calm sort of stare. His eyes glint a little and I look away as the car backs out of the driveway, a cold feeling in the depths of my stomach. Quickly I walk inside my house and peek out the window, watching the car until it disappears completely down the street.

Notes

This is my fist story on PTVFF and my first Band Member/OC fic, so I hope it's not too bad. Please don't be a silent reader! I'm open to rates and all kinds of comments, even helpful criticism. Thanks for reading!