A Friday Night Like This

'Well, I think it was two and a half years after our first year anniversary,' Vic begins, settling back into the love seat. He still kept his distance, though. He was squashed up against the arm of the chair. He glances at me, and turns his attention back to Dr Mason.

'I'm sorry. I can't do this. Maybe Kellin could share instead?' Vic asks, falling silent. Dr Mason frowns at him, but she readjusts her glasses and turns to me. She brings out a notebook and a pen. Pulling her chocolate hair back behind her ear, she says,

'Fair is fair, I guess. But it will be your turn next session. Or possibly at the end of this one if time permits.' Her blue and green speckled orbs glitter with some form of amusement. I don't really know what's so funny, but I give a slight twitch of my lips in response. Vic accidentally slips slightly out of alignment with the stitching and tries hastily to rethread himself into the fabric, succeeding in doing so, giving me more room to spread. I sigh to myself as he tries to make himself even smaller to avoid even our clothes touching.

'Mr Funetes, as much as you may want to become a couch, could you please pursue this endeavor in your own time?' Dr Mason says, smiling. Vic tries relaxing, and I say,

'I think I've found the memory.'

'Very good! Please, do share! And Vic, feel free to interrupt at any stage to add your own view or feelings into the setting.' Dr Mason's smile grows even wider.

'I'll try and lead off from where Vic was before. It may not be very good, but...' I shrug, and take a breath. 'It was the day our bands split. Both Sleeping with Sirens and... What was it?' I turn to Vic.

'Pierce the Veil.' Vic mutters, looking away. He is almost having an affair with the arm of the chair the way he has contorted his body to find his own space.

'That's right. That day, the bands went off on their own. I don't remember anyone's face, just their names.' I start off, 'It was really sad, but for the best really...'

I watched Justin grab his bass guitar and picks up from the studio.

'Keep in touch, yeah?' He said, giving me a hug.

'Yeah,' I echoed, the reality of what was happening hitting me, leaving me gasping for air. This was it. The end of Sleeping with Sirens. The fans hasn't taken it well, but I needed the break. I was getting harassed by too many fans, and the others were slipping even further into the background. It was for the best, really. I was leaving most of my stuff for the next singer, I was only taking my favourite microphone and my personal sound system. I got into my car and drove to my house I shared with Vic. I walked in the front door, dropping my keys into the pale green and blue bowl by the front door. He was sitting at the bench, a bottle of whiskey in his hands. He rolled the bottle between his palms, back, forth, back, forth.

'Honey, what's wrong?' I asked, wrapping my arms around him. I picked up the whiskey and took a gulp of my own, enjoying the fire it lit in my throat as he replied,

'I know that we decided this would be a good thing, but I feel empty. This is my whole life. Touring, recording albums... I'm lost without it.' Vic stared into the bottle. 'I've never been without my brother before either. Always in the same band... This is his favourite alcoholic drink.' He handed me the rest of the bottle, and I put it away in a cupboard.

'We'll get through this together. Just trust me.' I said, grabbing a blender and chocolate sauce. A few minutes later, I had produced chocolate milkshakes. I topped it with some whipped cream.

'To us! And our new adventure!' I cheered, raising my glass. Vic half-heartedly copied me,

'To us!' We took a deep gulp, emerging with whipped cream mustaches.

'You look ridiculous!' I exclaimed, pointing at his facial addition.

'Look who's talking!' He retorted, taking another mouthful of his drink...

'...I remember that day,' Vic interrupted my train if thought, 'it was a two sided coin, really.'

My eyebrows nearly jumped off my face. Vic? Actually making an effort? And to save our relationship? I looked at Dr Mason. She was nodding at Vic.

'What were the positives and negatives?' She asked, grabbing a new pen. She clicked the top and wrote something down. I could see that the ink was purple.

'Well, leaving the band is the obvious negative. It's a big change in lifestyle. Being at home more, not traveling as much. It was a huge difference and it had its consequences, but I believe it was a turn for the better. I may not be able to see why yet, but it was.'

I nodded along, but I would always leave the band, even if it meant just one more day with Vic. That wasn't how our lives went though, and I was glad.

'As for the positive, at the time I was overjoyed because I could spend so much more time with Kellin. I had mapped out the next few days perfectly.' He smiled at the memory, his brown eyes sparkling.

I remembered it too...

'Babe! Come on!' Vic yelled at me, hurrying up a hill. I trudged up after him, stretching my back as I did so.

'Vic, we've been walking aimlessly for two hours now. Maybe you could give an insight as to what we're doing here?' I said, reaching the top of the hill. I stopped dead in my tracks, my eyes roaming over the scene before me. The bottle of red wine, the blanket, the snacks, all the same. The basket, the setting, the time. Our first year anniversary as a couple. Vic had replicated it perfectly. I sat down next to the crackers and dip, folding my legs under me.

'This is perfect, Vic.' I breathed, gazing around me in wonder. Vic scraped some dip onto a cracker and placed it in his mouth. He bit down, making a crunching noise. I wasn't expecting it, and jumped a little bit. Vic dissolved into laughter, trying to keep all of his food in his mouth.

'Not funny,' I muttered, 'you startled me.' Vic shrugged and ate another cracker and dip. I joined him, and we had an unofficial competition to see who could

making the loudest crunching noise. We couldn't really judge it that well, so we gave up.

The sun was setting behind the hills as Vic produced our dessert. I studied it carefully. Pink icing, swirling writing, but it only read "Kellin". It made some sense, this wasn't a day to celebrate, more like an unexpected but pleasant surprise. It was the day after our splitting of the bands. I smiled, and said,

'I can't eat it.'

'Why?' Vic said, smiling too.

'It's too beautiful.' I replied. Vic only leaned over and kissed me.

'Not as beautiful as you.' I blushed and distracted myself by biting down into the cupcake. It was very sweet, chocolate and strawberry swirled together. I looked at the intricate pattern it made, the colours dodging and weaving about each other. The setting light hit the middle of the cupcake, causing a bright light to bounce back. Puzzled, I dug around the reflective surface. I found another metal box, and I opened it.

Look at me

I glanced across the picnic blanket at Vic, but he wasn't there. Worried, I stood up, and spun around in a circle. There was a tree next to our picnic, and I went around it. As I did, I stopped in my tracks.

The setting sun was in front of me, almost gone. It was casting a shadow on Vic, but he had compensated for that by lighting candles. How he had lit them all was a mystery. There were ribbons cascading down from the low-hanging branches, wavering in the soft breeze. My hands clapped themselves over my mouth. Vic was on one knee, a small box in his hands. He said the four words that made almost very woman's heart melt in romantic movies. But this wasn't a movie, this was reality. And my fantasy was coming true.

'Will you marry me?'

I simply nodded...

'Kellin, Kellin, Kellin!' My name was being repeated over and over, pulling me out of my trance. I had taken my engagement ring off, and was tracing its smooth exterior. Vic was staring at the ring, instantly knowing what I was thinking about, but Dr Mason was staring at me, not very impressed. I blinked a few times, trying to right my eyesight.

'Kellin? What were you thinking of?' She asked nicely.

'The day that Vic proposed.'

'Could you possibly share the experience?'

I nodded, and started talking.

- - -

'I was so nervous when I handed him the cupcake.' It was Vic's turn to give his view on the whole situation. I wasn't really paying attention. We had talked about this before. 'When he sat there studying it, I knew it was my chance. Mike had already set up the candles and ribbons behind the tree and there was at least twenty candles to light.' Vic laughed at the memory. 'I tripped over an exposed root, lighting three candles as I fell - I had the lighter on my hand - and I was down on one knee, and Kellin had just turned the corner.'

'That's wonderful! Looking back on old memories and still feeling joy. I'm sorry, but this session has run a little bit overtime. I'll see you sometime soon. Just give me a call in about three hours and we'll arrange something.' Dr Mason smiled, but hurried us out.

We walked out of the clinic, Misty waving cheerfully at us. I got into the car, but Vic continued walking. I shrugged. His choice. He really liked walking all of a sudden.

Notes

So, thoughts? Was it a nice proposal?? Sorry it was so long! I didn't know how to word it...