Unbroken (Hollywood Undead AU: Da Kurllz)

Chapter 6

There weeks passed of Matt talking to Erica, and aside from the chance meeting in Dylan's store she'd come across as relatively average, in a way that was almost unsettling.
"Most people have quirks, right?" Matt exclaimed one night as the guys sat on George and Jordon's lounge floor, "something unique, but she's just so...generic."
"Maybe she's just really good at hiding herself," Dylan suggested, hanging upside down in an armchair, "y'know, maybe she wants to make sure you won't judge her for whatever."
"Or maybe she's just pretending to be normal," the word stuck in Matt's throat slightly, "so that she can rob me or something."
"You're over thinking this," Jorel told him, "just trust her."
As he said this, Matt's phone buzzed.

Erica: hey! so I was wondering if you'd wanna catch a movie later?

"She just asked me out on a date." Matt informed the group.
"Well there you go, she's outgoing, that's her quirk," Danny smiled, taking a gulp of his scotch, "problem solved."
Matt wasn't convinced, but he suppressed his doubt.

Matt: sure :) time and place?
Erica: now and meet at  casa?

"Uh," Matt croaked, showing the screen to the group, "what do I do?"

"Go for it." They all told him in unison.

Rather than argue with the five men, Matt chose to go against his gut and headed down from  the Hills, and towards Dylan's restaurant. When he finally rolled up to the store, Erica was stood with a cigarette in hand, next to a near-pristine Audi R8. She was wearing a black skater dress with a leather jacket over top. She had black pumps on, and her makeup was natural, except for the blood red lipstick. She smiled as he hopped off of his board, and threw her cigarette underneath her feet.

"Hey there." She chirped, jerking her head towards the car as she moved round to the driver's side. Matt clambered inside, tucking his board between his legs as he shut the door.

"Hey," Matt croaked, "so, what were you thinking of watching?"

She pulled seamlessly away from the curb, and began tapping in the address of the cinema on her phone.

"Whatever takes your fancy." She giggled, as if there were some underlying meaning to the phrase.

"Uh, well I haven't seen Batman v Superman yet," Matt suggested, ignoring the way she looked under her eyelids at him, "so I guess we could see that."

"Sounds good." She agreed, pursing her lips slightly.

The rest of the journey was flooded with an awkward silence, punctuated only by the occasional lip-smacking of Erica as she checked her reflection in the rear-view mirror.

"So, d'you want some popcorn?" Erica asked Matt as they bought their tickets.

"Uh, sure." Matt reached for his wallet, but Erica stopped him.

"My treat." She assured him.

'Free food I guess' Matt reassured himself, following her to the registers.

After the movie was done, the two were driving around L.A. to find a place to eat dinner, with little luck.

"Is every goddamned restaurant booked up?" Erica exclaimed after the fifteenth Chinese restaurant apologized.

"Apparently so." Matt sighed, eagerly awaiting the end of the night when he could go home again. 

"Hey, I've got an idea," his date burst out happily, "we could have dinner at my place!"

'Oh fuck' Matt thought.

"Sounds good." He croaked, with a forced smile.

Erica suddenly slammed on the accelerator and the car shot towards her apartment.

She led Matt up three flights of stairs, before they entered her home. It was small, with striped wallpaper lining the room. It was clean, to the point Matt doubted anyone lived here. Regardless, Matt sat down at the table, and waited for Erica to return from the bathroom. She came out, and grabbed a selection of takeout menus from the kitchen counter.

"Take your pick," she smiled, and when Matt pointed to an Indian menu, she grinned even wider, "excellent choice, what'll you have?"

"I'll let you decide that." Matt laughed awkwardly, unsure of where the night was going.

The food arrived within ten minutes of Erica hanging up, which they occupied by asking each other random questions, such as 'what animal would you want as a pet'. Matt had no clue what was on his plate, but it tasted good, so he ate it without question.

"So, what makes Matt Busek tick?" Erica asked, after downing a glass of red wine.

"Uh, I'm not sure how to answer that question." Matt replied, awkwardly sipping his own glass.

"Well, what do you like in a woman?" She smirked, pouring another glass for herself.

"Um," he paused, not wanting to offend her, "friendly, kind, can respect boundaries."

"Crazy in the sack?" She giggled, downing the glass, and pouring herself yet another one.

"Uh," Matt shivered slightly, "no, I don't really care about that."

Erica downed the third glass, and stopped to look at Matt over the rim. She smiled, the glass deforming her mouth to look almost menacing.

"I see," she slurred slightly, pouring half a glass this time, "you'd rather just get it over with quickly to get a good nights sleep."

Matt grimaced.

"Sure." Matt lied, thankful she didn't intend on drinking much more.

"What about looks?" She asked, swirling the wine in the bottom of the glass. Matt downed what was left in his.

"Looks don't matter to me," he answered honestly, "I'd just care if they were emotionally compatible with what I'm into."

'Way to sound like a fucking robot' he thought to himself, as Erica topped up his glass.

"Very sweet," Erica mocked, "now what's the truth?"

"That...is the truth." Matt pleaded, confused as to why she didn't believe him.

"Okay then," she smiled, tapping the side of her nose, "whatever you say."

Matt blew the curls out of his eyes, and sipped at the wine. Suddenly, Erica's hand shot out and grabbed the neck of Matt's shirt. She pulled him towards her and enveloped him in a deep kiss. Matt struggled to keep the wine in his glass as he tried to maintain his balance, and simultaneously escape her clutches. She finally let him go after what seemed like an eternity, wiping the smudged lipstick off of her face and smirking at Matt. He placed the glass down hurriedly, and smiled nervously.

"Well," he panted, "I've had a nice time, but I think I should be getting home."

Erica nodded, and slumped in her chair.

"Call me." She sang, as Matt grabbed his board and ran down the stairs. He rode home as quickly as he could, and burst into his bathroom. Struggling to sear the lipstick from his face, he smacked his hand on the tap, sending a pain shooting through his fingers. He slumped on the floor of his bathroom, as tears began to stream down his face.

This was what he was afraid of.

*Sorry It took forever for me to update, I got kinda caught up in life. I will probably put Unbroken on the backburner to work on some other stories (which I'd love if you could check out) but I will be continuing this to the extent I did with Famous (to Matt's happy ending)
Thanks for being patient ^_^ KP out xx*