The Taste of Touching Glass

~Tony's POV~

I woke up in my room. I stretched, hearing my bones crack in some places, and shuffled to the bathroom. I showered and dried my hair. I straightened the front part and brushed it through with my fingers. I put on a key street shirt and black skinny jeans. I slipped on my vans and wandered aimlessly around my house. I had moved out of a relative's house about a month ago and had moved here. It was a few minutes from Mike's house and the one that Vic and Jaime shared. I still had lots of boxes to unpack, so I started with that. I was continually becoming distracted though because of the memories that came to the surface. Some objects had no meaning - such as a single white rose whose petals were turning brown and drooping still in a vase - and I simply discarded them. A knock came at my door at ten o'clock.

'It's open!' I yelled, placing a photo of Jaime and I on the mantel. We were wearing white roses in our blazers and clutching onto a pole for dear life, screaming at the camera. It made me smile. Two arms wrapped themselves around my waist and I was pulled backwards against the toned, muscled body of my boyfriend. I studied his tattooed skin as he whispered a greeting in my ear and then kissing my cheek. It was beautiful. I admired my own next to his, but he pulled away. I felt cold without the contact, when he took my hand back in his.

'We're going on a day out, my treat.' He smiled, flashing pearly whites in my direction. I sent him back a dazzling smile of my own.

'That sounds great. Anything to eat or drink before we go? Coffee?' I asked, my stomach grumbling.

'Coffee, please.' Mike laughed, his tummy talking back to mine. 'And maybe a bite to eat.' I chuckled and walked into my kitchen. There was a box on the counter, labelled Kitchen [imagine that!] I started looking around the freezer for bread, while Mike started shuffling around the kitchen-box. I finally found some bread and yanked it out, nearly bringing half the contents of the freezer tumbling out after it. Mike produced the toaster and kettle and put the water on to boil while I moved on to my pantry to grab the coffee.

'Sugar and milk?' I asked as the kettle boiled. Mike froze from buttering the toast, the knife almost slipping out of his hands. 'Mike?' I asked, looking into his eyes.

'Oh um... black, no sugar.' He looked at me oddly, while I poured out his coffee, stirring it. I added a spoonful of sugar to mine, and stirred it. I passed him his coffee and sat on the counter as I ate my breakfast. Mike stood next to me. We finished our breakfast and I dumped our stuff in the sink to wash later. We hopped into Mike's car and he started the radio. A song came through the speakers, one that Mike was familiar with. He started singing along to it.

"Under the lights where we stand tall

Nobody touches us at all

Showdown, shootout, spread fear within, without,

We're gonna take what's ours to have

Spread the word throughout the land

They say the bad guys wear black

We're tagged and can't turn back"

'What's this song?' I asked, tapping my fingers to the beat.

'Seriously, Tone? It's only the song Vic forces us to listen to before every show.' Mike rolled his eyes at his brother's sentimentality.

'Really?' I asked, intrgued. 'What's the song?'

Mike looked at me in disbelief. 'Cowboys from Hell by Pantera.'

'They're good. I can see why Vic likes them.' I say. Mike doesn't sing anymore. Did I do something wrong?

I look out of the window and the song changes over to a seemingly endless ad break.

'Where are we going?' I ask Mike. He doesn't say a word, but a secret smile plays over his lips. I roll my eyes at his childish actions, pouting.

~ ~ ~

'Seriously?! Disneyworld?' I asked excitedly.

'Yup.' Mike answered. I stood in awe of the magnificent place. I had wanted to go since I had been a kid. We had just gotten through the entrance and deciding which ride to go on. We finally decided on the Rock n' Rollercoaster. We rock out to Aerosmith while we're on the ride. We get off and go around the park.

By the end of three or four hours, we've been on multiple rides. We've just come off Splash Mountain and Summit Plummet so we're soaked to the bone and shivering like chihuahuas.

'What next?' I ask, looking around at the array of rides around us. Mike does the same, and I follow his gaze. He's spotted the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror.

'Come on!' He yells, excited about the new ride.

'Really Mike? Couldn't we go on another one?' I ask, a teensy bit scared. All those drops and high speeds! It makes me sick just thinking about it.

'But Tony...' Mike trails off, eyes widening.

'What?' I ask. Seriously, the boy has to stop starting and not finishing his sentences.

He shakes his head, saying, 'Nothing, but I have this feeling that you'll love it.' He smiles brightly and drags me to the line. It isn't as long because all of the "big-shot" teenagers are chickening out of the ride. We get in on the next go, and we're speeding precariously down the track.

I grab Mike's arm, squeezing tightly. Mike chuckles and pats my arm soothingly. We fly through an S-bend, and I'm screeching my head off like a banshee.

All of the other passengers are doing the same except Mike. We take a steep drop as we exit a tunnel, and my heart leaps into my throat.

A few death-defying, terrorizing minutes later I manage to force my shaking legs to get out of the seat and onto the platform. My knees are knocking together and Mike's shaking his head at me.

'You were right.' I say. 'That was amazing! One last go before we leave?'

'Sure thing, jelly legs.' Mike smirks, placing a kiss on my nose. A few mothers around us look at us disgustingly, covering their children's eyes.

'Excuse me! Please don't kiss your... partner... in front of our children! It's Satanic!' One of the mothers yell. I glare at her, and I spot a gold cross glinting on a chain around her neck.

'What? Do you mean like this?' I ask, and turn and start playing tonsil-hockey with Mike. Mike smiles against my lips and eagerly kisses me back, his tongue searching my mouth. I lick his lip ring and feel a shudder vibrate through him. We break apart and we turn to the woman. Her mouth is open and she is very angry.

'How dare you commit such an unlawful sin!' She shrieks.

'Hey, God made us this way, so quit your complaining. Our ride's here.' Mike says, dragging me onto the roller coaster. We get a small applause from the audience we've gathered and a few people go off at the religious mothers.

~ ~ ~

'Where to next?' I ask Mike as we pull away from Disneyland.

'I think food is the way to go.' Mike says, his stomach grumbling. I laugh and we speed off towards Mike's parents place.

'Hi Vivian.' I say walking into Mike's house.

'Hi Tony.' Vivian says. She's cooking - again - while Papa Fuentes us nowhere to be found. Mike hugs his mum, and she says,

'Vic and Jaime are outside with your papa. I think they're playing soccer. Could you set the table while you're there, too?' Vivian directs as she hands us a stack of plates, glasses, cutlery and sauces. She turns back to the stove, stirring whatever's in the pot.

We set up the table then walk over to our band mates and Papa Fuentes. As we all greet each other, Jaime passes the ball to me. I stop it with my foot and take aim at the net. I boot the ball, and it ends up flying into the shed, which is quite a few meters to the right of the goals.

'Better luck next time, eh?' Jaime says, retrieving the ball. We set up teams, but as there's an odd number, I sit out and watch. I follow the game, confused. I thought you could pick up the ball in this game!

'Are you happy that Mexico won?' Papa Fuentes asks me at half-time.

'Won what?' I ask.

'Soccer.' He says in disbelief, exactly like Mike.

'Uh, I guess. I didn't know.' I reply.

'You were taking heaps about it yesterday over lunch about how you wanted them to win the game last night.' He said, clearly puzzled.

'Did I? I didn't know.' I say, watching my band mates practice scoring goals.

'Lunch is ready!' Vivian yells.

I stand up and walk towards the table, everyone else following.

Vivian passes me a taco with no meat and lots of lettuce. I look at it, confused.

'Excuse me if I'm being rude, but why don't I have any meat?' I ask, looking at Vivian. Everyone turns to me, staring in shock.

I'm told that I've been a vegetarian the whole time they've known me, and I don't understand. I love meat! Mike starts whispering in his mothers ear and she nods, understanding. I just take it in my stride and thank them for reminding me, eating my lunch.

Notes