A Match Into Water

"See you after the show?" Vic asked me as the started to take the stage.

I let out a soft laugh at that and smiled. "And where else am I supposed to go?" I joke, crossing my arms and giving him a pointed look. Vic let out a laugh as well and smiled at me one last time before running on stage to join the rest of the band.

“Knock em’ dead, boys!” I cheer, smiling as I watched the Pierce The Veil set start up. We were four days into this tour, and honestly, it had been going pretty damn well. The Tulsa show was jammed packed with fans and they had definitely been the loudest group we’d seen on tour so far. All of the shows have run without a single hitch and all three bands have gathered a large following so far and impressed the audience at every single show.

And yes, that included Deaf Lions.

I had to admit, their band was pretty great and the crowd loved them. Ricky’s vocals were spot on and their songs were extremely well written and even had some depth to them. It was no wonder they seemed to have gathered a large fanbase almost overnight; between their songs and the members themselves, they were almost perfect. Or at least they appeared to be perfect.

Ricky still was giving me weird vibes, but after getting to know the others in the band, Ricky’s brother Steven and their two friends Joe and Alexis, I started to get a weird feeling about the entire band. Granted, on stage they were funny, charming, and full of energy, but off stage, there was something about the way they acted and talked about things that gave me that same weird feeling in my gut I got after talking to Ricky for the first time in Tulsa. The only one I really didn’t have a problem with was Alexis, Deaf Lion’s guitar player and the one who did the unclean vocals. He was kind of a quiet guy and only really talked when he felt that it was necessary or if he had something to say. We had run into each other at the Tulsa afterparty Pierce The Veil threw for all the bands and crew, and after having a few beers, Alexis really opened up to me and told me a lot about himself. He admits to being the quiet, shy guy in the band and also told me he just goes along with what Ricky and the others do because he has nothing else to do and because they’re his friends. We also bonded over our knowledge of guitars and shared love of Pokemon, so needless to say, we formed a friendship pretty quick.

Still, no matter what I thought about Alexis, Deaf Lions was giving off some bad vibes, and I wasn’t the only one who noticed. Mike almost got into a fight with their drummer Joe during the afterparty, although some speculate that both were drunk and being petty about techniques or something like that, and Steven got caught messing with Justin basses. Steven, being Deaf Lion’s bass player, was saying that he was just trying to be helpful and fix something he saw that was messed up on Justin’s basses, but after both myself and the guitar tech from Sleeping With Sirens took a look at the bass, we saw that it was perfectly fine and now more ‘messed up’ than before.

People from both Sleeping With Sirens and Pierce The Veil were suddenly getting skeptical of the boys in Deaf Lions, although some were more open about than others. While most just watched them with a cautious eye, some people like Vic and Kellin were voicing their opinions on the boys and watching them like a hawk. And speaking of Vic, he had become quite clingy to me after the afterparty. I didn’t know what it was, maybe he picked up on my discomfort around Ricky or maybe he just wanted to make sure I was doing okay on the tour, but he hardly ever left my side and also got really tense and kind of pissy whenever Ricky was around and tried to talk to me.

Granted, Vic wasn’t the only person on tour who got short with Deaf Lions and didn’t like putting up with their shit, but they didn’t exactly cling to me like Vic did.

And this brings me back to where I was now. Since Vic was up on stage performing, this had been one of the few times he had left my side all day. The only other times he’d left was to use the bathroom, do soundcheck, and to go to an interview that had been set up for him and the rest of the PTV guys. Other than that, he was there with me, especially during the times Deaf Lions- and Ricky -was present. When we all went out to lunch, Ricky and his brother ended up at the same deli Vic, Kellin, Jaime, and myself had gone to, and Vic made sure that I was near him and had eyes on me the entire time we were there. Also, when I was backstage during the Deaf Lions set doing some last minute tech work for Chris, Vic was right there next to me, trying not to get in my way while I worked but also strategically blocking me from Ricky’s point of view (not like that was really hard, Vic may have been shorter than Ricky but I was also shorter than Vic so it was pretty easy to block me). While I usually wasn’t the clingy type of person, I definitely didn’t mind Vic being practically glued to my side. It did get a little annoying at times, but there was another part of me, a much larger part mind you, that was enjoying all this extra attention a little too much.

As the show went on, I found myself in a pretty great mood. From where I was standing as I watched the show, I got a pretty good look at the crowd too, and that was something I thought was pretty special. One of the things I liked about being on tour and working backstage was that I could really get a good look at each crowd the boys played for. Every night, I saw how each crowd reacted to the shows, and never in my entire life had I seen a group of people so connected and full of life and joy. Everyone had something in common at these shows and they embraced each other and the music. It reminded me how much these bands meant to these kids- hell, it even reminded me how much they meant to me as a person. But even if it was just for one night, these kids got to forget about everything that was going on around them and just plug into the music that probably saved their life in one way or another. It was just something incredible to witness, and I couldn’t be happier to watch it all unfold every single night in front of me.

Of course tonight, my good mood didn’t last too long. About half of the way through the set, I had been shaken out of my daze when someone tapped me on the shoulder, causing me to jump in surprise and whip around to face whoever it was that was behind me. Unfortunately, the person who was standing there brought a frown to my face and soured my mood completely.
"Oh, I'm sorry,” Ricky said with a sly grin, “did I startle you?"

My eyes immediately rolled as he said that and I shook my head before looking back towards the stage. “No, I just wasn’t expecting anyone to be here, that’s all,” I tell him.

“Well, either way, I apologize,” Ricky simply replies, shrugging a bit before leaning up against the wall with me.

“It’s still not necessary,” I say, my tone rather blunt as I tried my best to ignore him and focus on the songs being played. Unfortunately, Ricky didn’t pick up my tone or on the fact I wanted to ignore him, and he just kept on talking like he was the most interesting person in the world.

“So I saw that you’ve been watching our shows almost every night,” he said, completely ignoring what I had just said a few moments ago. “And, I mean, I know our band is totally kick ass and probably one of the best on this tour, so it’s totally understandable that you’ve fallen in love with our music-”

I turned to look at him for a moment as he spoke, and on his face was literally the most cocky, self absorbed look I had ever seen on a person. It just fueled my annoyance towards him as I rolled my eyes yet again. “Look,” I cut him, “I’ll admit, your music is decent, but the only reason I’m back here every night is because I’m doing my damn job.”

“And what exactly is your job again, darling?” he asked me, sending another wave of annoyance through me. “Standing back here and looking pretty?”

I snorted and rolled my eyes for what had to be the millionth time in the past two minutes. “No, my job is being Pierce The Veil’s guitar tech,” I snap. “And if you to add on to my job, it’s also to be back here and support my boyfriend and his band while they’re up there playing their hearts out!”

What I said didn’t really sink in until about 2 seconds after I said it. Boyfriend. I just called Vic my boyfriend. While part of me wished that was true, it wasn’t, nor would it ever will be true. Especially now that I’ve messed up like this. Word of this will probably spread through the bands faster than I could ever come up with an excuse for calling Vic my ‘boyfriend’, and then he’ll never want to be my friend again and then ask me to leave the tour and go back to San Diego and to never speak to him again.

Ricky, however, didn’t act surprised or even question anything. He just started laughing at me and looked over at me with another smug grin plastered onto his face. “Dean, we barely know each other,” he told me cooly, “I wouldn’t be calling you my girlfriend so soon-”

“What the fuck did you just say?” I snarl, my worry about my little slip-up completely vanishing. Ricky did not just say that, did he?

A small chuckle feel from his lips as he held up his hands in surrender. “Woah, relax doll, it was just a joke,” he said. “Try not to get so worked up about it."

I let out a deep breath and rolled my eyes, shaking my head at Ricky. At this point, I was beyond annoyed- no, I was definitely, majorly, pissed, and I was hoping that my annoyance was evident to him. Ricky apparently caught on to that as he backed off a bit and tried to amend his previous statement.

"What I'm trying to say is that I find you attractive," he explains, looking at me for some sort of reaction. While I had a lot of colorful words and phrases that I would have loved to thrown his way, I chose to ignore him and his comment and continue to watch the show. There was a long period of silence between us and I assumed, and hoped, he just left. I didn’t want him around anymore and maybe the silent treatment would get rid of him. However, just like any other regular pest, it wasn’t that easy to get rid of Ricky Jones.

"C'mon, Dean," he purred, raising his hand to stroke my cheek. "I know you like me. I’ve seen the way you’ve looked at me on tour. While Vic’s been there with you with his arm wrapped around your side, you’ve been here practically undressing me with your eyes- don't try denying it!"

I slapped Ricky’s hand away from my face and looked at him with pure disgust. "Fuck off," I growl, taking a step away from him and stalking towards the dressing rooms. Vic had taken notice at what was going off to the side of the stage, and when our eyes met, I just shook my head at him to tell him that I was okay and was handling this. He had the show to worry about and I didn't need him to sacrifice that for me.

Besides, it was just Ricky. What was the worst that could happen?

I heard Ricky’s footsteps trailing behind me as I ran off to which ever dressing room I could get into to escape him first. “Wait!” he called out, about to say something else when I whipped around and opened my mouth to scream at him.

"Look, you're a cool dude and all I guess, but why don't you get it through your fucking head that I am not interested!" My raised voice should have been enough to gather the attention of someone, but the stage crew was off doing God-knows-what and the SWS guys were done with their set already and were off getting food, doing signings, or just hanging out in the dressing room distracted, meaning I was all alone with Ricky. Great.

Ricky just gave me a dead stare before letting out a deep, husky laugh. "You know what's funny?" he asked, taking a step closer to me. "My ex told me the exact same thing before we started dating. At the time she was dating some dude named Austin something-another...I don't know and I really don't care, but long story short, I like you, you like me, and I think we should just go back to my dressing room and get this whole thing over with. What do you say, darling?"

I let out a soft growl and was about ready to tell him off, but my words were cut off as his rough lips crashed onto mine and he shoved me up against the wall. I tried to move away and my mind kept telling me to stop this, but I was in too much shock to do anything other than just stand there. Then, reality set in and memories from the past came rushing back to me as I finally found the strength to raise my hand and slap him across the face. Ricky staggered back and rubbed his now red cheek, yet his smirk still remained. "Ah, playing hard to get I see?" he teased.

I let out a sarcastic snort and wiped my mouth. "In your dreams," I spat, turning and beginning to run away from him. "Just leave before I call security-"

Ricky caught up with me and pushed me up against the first solid surface he could find, which just so happened to be a door to the back lot outside the venue. "You're not going to do that," he warned.

"And why's that?" I asked, glaring up at him and looking for my next opportunity to run away.

"Because," he replied, reaching for the handle next to my side, "I know about Zach Hamilton, and it would be all too easy for me to tell all your friends about you two, and I'm sure you don't want that, now do you?"

My breath caught in my throat and my eyes widened. I couldn't think straight- no, scratch that, I couldn't think at all. Ricky’s' words were ringing in my ears and I wasn't aware of anything other than the flashing images in my mind and the way Ricky’s form was slowly shifting to look like Zach. How? How could he possibly know about him?

Ricky must have taken my silent, shaking body as a response and he nodded, looking rather pleased with himself. "Good girl," he purred, leaning forward and starting to suck on my neck.

The back door was suddenly thrown open and my body was shoved to cold, dirty ground. My mind cleared up for a split second, and even though I was still scared of the thought of Ricky knowing Zach, I managed to convince myself that I needed to run. As I scrambled up from the ground, I felt a sharp kick in my ribs that knocked the air from my lungs and sent me back into a large dumpster.

“Still playing hard to get?” Ricky asked with a sick smile. “Fine, I see how it is, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.” And with those last words, Ricky’s boot collided with my jaw and the last thing I saw was darkness.

Notes

So you probably all hate me now, and that's cool, I get it. Originally, I wasn't going put this in until another chapter or two later, but I figured you guys wouldn't want all of those filler chapters, so I just made a shorter (much shorter) filler chapter that's going to be leading up to some exciting things!

And I do apologise for the length (and for how shitty this came out jfc), I know it's about half of what I normally write, but I needed to get this up and my writer's block is still being a bitch.

So yeah, there's some exciting stuff happening pretty soon! I plan to have the next chapter up tomorrow, so stay tuned for that :)

Also (wow, this is a really long author's note isn't it?) I just want to take some time to thank you all again for the incredible amount of support I got on this story. I wasn't expecting it to ever get as far as it has, and the fact I have several of you wanting more of the story and wanting me to continue the story means more to me than you realise. So thank you to all of you who are reading, I don't think I can ever properly express my love and gratitude for you in words.