"So she just sent him a gift and it just so happened to be a Rolex?" Alysha says running a hand through her hair, while the other was wrapped securely around Franklin's leash.
"Yeah, and it wasn't just any Rolex. It was extremely nice and must've cost a good twenty thousand dollars." I say explaining to her what happened on Christmas day.
"Well, don't let it get to you Rae, she's just trying to get under your skin and by you over thinking it and getting upset about it, she's winning and you can't let her win."
"I know, and I try not to but she just irritates me."
Alysha chuckles and throws her arm around my shoulder bringing me into a side hug, "I know, but hey look at it this way, you've got him now, and that's all that matters."
I nod my head in agreement and watch Max run in the sand with Franklin. "You're right."
"Plus Mike told me about the guitar you got him that was signed by Rex Brown, I'm sure he loved that." She says letting go of me and sitting down in the sand getting me to mirror her action and take a seat next to her.
"Yeah he freaked out, I'm glad he liked it." I smile.
Alysha and I laugh at our dogs playing around in the sand chasing each other's tails and acting like toddlers.
"We've gotta have more doggy play dates, and bring Danielle and Weiner." Alysha suggests.
"That would be fun; I think Max would love that." I chuckle watching our "children" play.
"Spencer really needs a dog." Alysha says.
"She'll probably have a cat before she gets a dog. I don't know if that will work out with these boys." I say pointing to the dogs.
"Yeah that probably won't be a pretty picture." She laughs, probably thinking of a crazy scenario in her head.
Alysha checks her phone then looks toward me, "We should probably head back, we're going out to dinner with Mike's parents."
We call our dogs and hook their leashes back on and walk the short distance to the house seeing the guys standing by the door talking.
"How'd they get along?" Mike asks, referring to the two dogs that seem to be best friends now.
"They seem to have gotten along pretty well." Alysha says with a smile.
"They were chasing each other around the beach; I think they'll be the best of friends." I say looking down at Max who's sitting with his tongue hanging out.
"Well we should head out, gonna have dinner with Mom and Pop tonight at Vic and Danielle's." Mike says giving Jaime a bro hug then coming to hug me gently.
We say our goodbyes and watch as they drive off, then take Max inside who goes straight for his water bowl.
"So what do you wanna do now?" I ask Jaime who seems to be in deep thought.
"I don't know why, but I have this strange urge of wanting to perform." He says with a questioning look.
"Well how will you perform?" I ask equally questionable.
"Maybe a small acoustic show, for some fans by the boardwalk?"
"How, without Vic and the other guys?"
"Well I can perform some of my solo songs, and I'll sing some PTV songs too, I'll just tell Vic." He explains out, but mostly to himself.
"Just you?" I ask.
"Well I can ask Tony to come with me; we don't necessarily need Vic and Mike."
I shrug my shoulders and agree, "Then let's do it."
"Awesome, I'll call Tone and then we'll spread the word." He says walking into the kitchen, phone in hand.
Jaime comes back in minutes later with the biggest smile on his face.
"Plan is a go." He says going through his phone.
"Go on Twitter and help me spread the word." He says.
I pull out my phone and open up Twitter typing up a message and posting it, then taking a picture of the tweet, I post it on Instagram, getting likes and comments almost instantly.
theariannarae: Free acoustic show at the San Diego boardwalk, come see Tony and Jaime jam out to some of your favorite songs and more! Show is at 5, be there or be square!
"Okay done, what do we need to do now?" I say looking at the time that reads three o'clock.
"We need to pack up some equipment that I have in the garage and head over there; Chris and my cousin David are going to be there to help us."
I quickly go upstairs and change into something a bit more presentable than a t-shirt and yoga pants.
I throw on some high waist jeans and tuck in a Pierce The Veil tank top that I bought at Hot Topic a few days ago as well as a black cardigan since the night time gets chilly here by the beach. I tie some black Vans to my feet then go to the bathroom to fix my makeup, running a brush through my hair and retreating to the garage to help Jaime pack the equipment.
"Are you ready?" He asks grabbing a water bottle from the fridge while I put Max in his kennel.
"Yeah, as ready as ever." I say following him out to the car.
When we pulled up to the spot on the boardwalk they were performing at, kids were already crowded around the makeshift stage the boardwalk provided.
"Geeze there's already a crowd." Jaime says putting the car in park.
We get out and meet up with Chris who parked next to us; he and David began helping Jaime pull things out of the trunk and back seat as well as from Tony's car when he and Spencer showed up shortly after us.
While they were setting up Spencer and I met with some fans, taking pictures with them and talking about random things such as clothes and makeup.
It was nearing five so we decided to go find the guys, when we got to them I found Jaime tuning his acoustic guitar while hymning through a song in his head.
"Nervous?" I ask with a reassuring smile.
"Kind of, we've never done this without Vic and Mike." He says through a shaky breath.
"Don't worry, they'll love it." I say running my hand across his cheek.
Jaime then leans down and places a gentle kiss on my lips igniting a fire through my body.
"Go knock 'em dead baby." I say with a smirk.
Jaime and Tony finally walk on the small stage and the kids go completely crazy, even if it were just Jaime and Tony. These kids love each one of the guys, not just Vic, and I love how they love Jaime just as much as I do.
"What's up San Diego boardwalk!?" Jaime shouts into the microphone getting the crowd to cheer ecstatically.
"Okay, well if it's alright with you guys I want to start off with a song I wrote a few weeks ago." He says placing his fingers on the right strings and nodding to Tony to begin.
"This one's called I'm The Secret."
He plays through the song effortlessly, his melodic voice sounding through the speakers and into the ears of the crowd. His eyes closed and fingers strumming across the guitar, the crowd is quiet, not just because they don't know the words, but because they're listening to his voice for the first time by himself.
Jaime finishes the song and the crowd erupts in cheers getting him to smile brightly at the sight.
"Alright, so you guys know this one so sing along with me, it's called I'm Low on Gas and You Need a Jacket."
He sailed through the set amazingly, getting all the right reactions from the kids in the crowd, he just finished up his own personal song called Believe You Me, and took a quick drink from his water placing it back down beside him and adjusting his microphone then looking into the crowd with a smile.
"So this next song started off as a song that we wrote to show that you weren't alone. After many fans coming up to us and telling us how this song changed their lives, and seeing the tattoos you got from this song, it became a new meaning to us. Sometimes when the going gets rough, you feel like there's no point. But there is a point, you guys are going to go somewhere big in life and I want to see you guys at a concert years from now and tell me that you stayed strong and held on. Because nothing bad lasts forever, I promise. Be happy, stay strong, and always know that we got you. This one's called Hold On Till May."
By this time I'm in tears, the words he said hitting me hard like a rock, I look out to the kids in the crowd seeing them cry and raise up hearts with their hands as he sings through the song that got so many of these kids through the hardest times of their lives, as it did for me.
"And as we own this night
I put your body to the test with mine
This love was out of control
3-2-1 where did it go?
If I were you I'd put that away
See, you're just wasted
And thinking 'bout the past again
Darling, you'll be okay."
His voice ringing through my ears, sending chills up my spine, and making me smile like never before. He finished out the song and turned to the side wiping away a tear that secretly ran down his cheek then looking at me with a small smile throwing a wink before turning back to the kids.
"Okay so for the last song I'm going to sing one of my own, it was written for a very special girl that's here tonight. She's supported me from the moment she met me and even before that, she's amazing in and out and I'm just so lucky to call her my girlfriend, this is called Anatome."
"You're right I've lied, one too many times before.
I'm right that I've been so selfish,
I've tried to find ways for my own body to stand still,
But I can't keep my hands to my side.
All they wanna do is touch, and my mouth it talks too much.
My eyes they see everything...
Like the fact I can't explain the one thing I need to say
So I'll keep it here with me, so I can...
So I can try..."
As he sings through the song, I can't help but think of the first time I heard it, the first time it was played outside of his four walls. I close my eyes and am instantly pulled back to the living room of Spencer's apartment, sitting on the couch as he played the song on my old and beaten acoustic guitar.
The moment I knew I had fallen in love but was too afraid to admit it to anyone else but my diary, the moment he kissed me for the first time after asking me to be his girlfriend, I knew he was the one, and still is to this moment.
"And my minds figured out not to let you into my dreams,
And there's a monster under my bed who will take care of me.
While my fingers they hold pictures that my heart can't believe,
And my lungs are so clever; they don't need me to breathe.
Cause I swore that I'd be just fine when you're gone
But my body shakes like you were a drug
But something inside still feels wrong."
I watched as Jaime ended the song, placing the guitar in the stand by his stool then wrapping his hand around the microphone.
"Thank you guys so much for coming out tonight, Tony and I will be taking some pictures by the dock for a little bit. Be sure to come to the World Tour starting back up on twenty-third of January, I hope to see you all there." He finishes getting off the stool and bringing his guitar back to me which I take from his hands and place it back into its case.
I turn to see Jaime smiling at me and before I can ask why he's smiling, he pulls me into his arms and crashes his lips onto mine.
"What was that for?" I ask as soon as he pulls away.
"Because, I have the most amazing girlfriend in the world." He says kissing my cheek before walking off to the dock with Tony, me and Spencer following closely behind.
For an hour we helped control the line and snapped some photos for the fans, some including me or Spencer, which still needs some getting used to.
When the fans were long gone, the cars packed and the guys were talking about where to get some food I had noticed a young girl far off to the right sitting on a bench, head in hands and looked to be in tears.
I excused myself and walked to the girl hearing her sobs get louder as I got near. I took a seat next to her and placed my hand gently on the small of her back and rubbed it.
"Is everything okay?" I asked softly.
She looked up at me and began to wipe away the stray tears running down her cheek, shaking her head lightly from side to side.
"No, I'm okay." She says shakily.
"I know you're not, you can talk to me. I may be a stranger but I'm all ears." I say with a small smile.
"What's your name?" I ask.
"Desirae." She answers, her tears slowly stopping.
"Do you want to talk about it?"
She takes in a deep breath and keeps her eyes focused on her hands placed in her lap.
"T-this was my first time seeing Jaime and Tony in person and I-I was late, I couldn't get tickets to the World Tour and when I f-finally saw the post they made about tonight I was late and d-didn't see it." She says stumbling over a few words here and there.
"Pierce The Veil has helped me so much and I can't believe I missed them."
By this time I can tell she doesn't know who I am, because the few times I've ran into fans that know who I am, they always ask to see Jaime, she didn't so that makes me believe she doesn't notice I'm Jaime's girlfriend. I smile as an idea comes to mind.
"Wait here just one second sweetie." I say getting up and going towards the guys who seem to still be debating on what to get for dinner.
"Hey what do you prefer tacos or burritos?" Jaime asks getting me to chuckle.
"Burritos definitely." I respond
"See told you tacos are- wait you said burritos, who am I dating, I don't know who you are anymore." He says faking a hurt expression.
I laugh and shake my head then remember the task I have at hand, "Guys, there's this fan over there that's crying because she missed the show. Her name is Desirae; can you go talk to her?" I say getting them to look over in the direction I'm pointing at and nod their head in agreement.
I walk with them back to Desirae and they take a seat on either side of her, "Hey what's wrong?" Jaime asks just above a whisper.
She looks up at the guys and her eyes widen quickly then she looks at me, "Oh my gosh I didn't know I was talking to Jaime's girlfriend." She says in realization.
Jaime chuckles and folds his hands in his lap and turns to smile at me.
"So we heard you missed the show, but I feel there's something else you need to get off your chest so talk to Jaime and Tony, we're all ears." He says.
"I just love you guys so much; you helped me so much in life." She begins, I realize this isn't my place to be anymore so I begin to walk away hearing her say something else as I slowly pull out of hearing range.
"You guys are the reason I have still have hope in this world..."
I feel my heart swell with sympathy towards her, looking to be a little over fifteen and to think that she lost hope. I feel this way every time I meet their fans but there's something about her that makes this feeling different.
We wait by the car for a while until we see the guys walking back towards us, Desirae long gone and probably headed home.
"Thanks." I say to them as they get closer.
"No, thank you, if you wouldn't have told us she was there then we wouldn't have been able to talk to her and help her. We gave her an email to contact us at so we can give her tickets and a backstage pass to see the concert in January." Tony replies with a smile.
I smile back content at the thought and get into the car with Jaime heading to the food destination of choice.
—
My phone ringing loudly woke me up from my peaceful sleep, I grabbed it from the night table and saw the name Danielle flash across the screen. Very groggily I answered.
"Hello?"
"Hey Ari, do you need us to take any drinks or other things tonight?" She asked softly.
"Uhm, I think we got everything covered but you guys can bring anything you want for yourselves like alcohol." I reply thinking about the things I need to do before our New Years Eve party tonight.
"Okay, then I'll see you later on girly."
With that we hung up and I took a look at the bedside clock marking at twelve in the afternoon. I whipped the covers off my body realizing that I had slept in very late and rushed to do my normal routine then sprinted downstairs to begin cleaning.
When I got to the bottom of the stairs I found Jaime hooking Max onto his leash, he looked up at me and smiled as Max jumped on him to hurry up.
"I'm gonna go take him for a walk." He says grabbing his phone from the table by the door.
"Okay, have fun. I'm gonna start cleaning up a bit and throw some cookies into the oven." I say going over to him, planting a kiss onto his lips before he walked out into the San Diego sun.
I went to the speakers below the TV and plugged in my phone turning on Spotify and playing a random playlist Jaime made for me.
I began to work on the game room knowing that everyone will most likely be in here tonight. I set out the cards on the poker table and pulled out the discs for the shuffleboard table. I also refilled the candy dishes on Jaime's candy jar rack that he has hanging by the TV.
When that part was finished I made a batch of cookies and threw them into the oven just as Jaime was walking back with a very tired Max dragging on the leash.
"Have a fun walk?" I ask as I re-fluffed the pillows on the couch.
"Yeah, I think he's done for the day." He laughs looking at Max spread out on the floor.
"Well I've gotta make a trip to the store to get some things, do you want to come with me or stay here?" I ask.
"No I think I'll stay here and watch the cookies." He replies with a smirk.
"Okay, but you touch one of those cookies Jaime Preciado and I'll cut your fingers off." I threaten with a glare.
Jaime just salutes me as I grab his jacket off the coat rack and walk out the door and to my car, getting in and making my way to the store.
I grabbed all the necessary party supplies and began my way to the register when from in a distance I see a lady with long black hair waiting her turn in line.
I squint my eyes slightly to make out the face and as soon as I recognize her my heart drops as quickly as lightning, my mom.
I hurry up and swipe my card, rushing to put all the bags in my cart and get out of there; I glance her way once again and see her stare at me. An emotionless expression on her face she watches as I quickly push my cart out of the store not even thanking the cashier before dashing out the door.
I speed walk to my car and throw the bags into my trunk then get behind the wheel and reverse out of my parking spot, looking out the window to the sliding doors of the store I see her with her cart looking around frantically for who I'm assuming is me.
I pull away and speed out of the parking lot and away from the area before she can notice it was me.
When I got home I threw the bags on the counter and placed my hand over my heart feeling it pound under my palm.
"Jaime!" I shout as I make my way up the stairs.
"Jaime where are you!?" I shout again.
I walk into the room just as he emerges from the bathroom with a towel wrapped loosely around his torso, his hair slightly wet as he wore a concerned expression across his face.
"What's wrong, what happened?" He asks coming over to me.
It's at this moment I feel the tears rolling down my cheeks out of fear, he ties the towel securely around his waist and pulls me into a tight hug, rubbing my back gently and placing a kiss on my temple.
"What's wrong baby?"
"I-I saw my m-mom at the s-store." I say through a shaky breath.
He releases his hold on me and looks at down to my face, "Did she see you?"
"Yeah, but I got out of there before she could catch up to me." I say wiping the tears from my eyes.
Jaime pulls me back into another hug and begins rocking us side to side, "She won't get to you babe, I promise. We won't go there anymore, we can find another store."
I nod in agreement and reach up to kiss his cheek whispering a "thank you" into his chest.
We stood there for another minute before he proceeded back to his shower while I pulled out my dress for tonight.
I hung it on a hook attached to the wall and began to steam it with my steam iron in hopes of removing any wrinkles it may have from being in the closet for so long.
Jaime came out moments later and began to rummage through the drawers for shorts and a shirt while I finished up on my dress.
"Does your suit need to be ironed?" I ask while turning off the steamer.
"No it should be fine." He says as he dries his curly locks with the towel.
I go back down stairs and fix up the food trays then place them into the fridge for later while Jaime sets up his laptop around the speakers for the music system.
It was nearing five and we decided to get ready for the party, I went straight to the shower rinsing off then hopping out and running a blow dryer through my hair getting it to curl up lightly with a bit of a bounce to it.
I began work on my makeup keeping it as minimal as possible, like always then going over to my dress and slipping it on over my body.
It was one of my favorite dresses, it had a high neckline and was sleeveless, it came up just above my knees and was flow-y from the waist down. I paired it with a pair of glittery gold heels and a gold layered necklace.
I turned to see Jaime fully dressed up with a black dress shirt and a grey suit coat, some black skinny jeans and black vans tied to his feet. He had his hair spiked up as usual and was finishing his outfit by putting on his watch that I got him for Christmas.
"Come here." He says motioning me to go where he was standing.
I walked over to him and he pulled out his phone snapping a picture of us in the body mirror hanging by the dresser then tapping away on his phone, resulting in me getting a notification seconds later.
ptvjaime: Bringing in the New Years with this hot babe. @theariannarae (kissy face emoji)
I smiled at it and liked the picture then reposted it to my page soon after.
We heard the door bell ring downstairs and Max begin to bark and whine so we shut off the lights and went to welcome our guest in.
It was a bit after eleven o'clock and people filled our little home inside and out on the balcony. I was standing next to Jaime while he played poker with Mike, Alex (Gaskarth), Casey, and Jack from Sleeping With Sirens when I noticed Austin outside looking at his phone.
I excused myself and made my way through the people and out to the balcony and stood next to him bumping shoulders with him lightly to get his attention.
"Hey Rae!" He says through a wide smile.
"What are you doing out here on your phone, you're supposed to be inside kicking ass at pool." I joke.
"I know, I just needed air and my cousin called so it all went by coincidence." He says through a chuckle.
"How are you doing?" He asks moments after.
"I'm pretty good, ran into my mom today." I say getting him to release his smile.
Austin and I became really close after talking to him that night at the club for my birthday, he pretty much became my second brother, and I can tell him absolutely anything.
"Did she say something to you?" He asks genuinely concerned.
"No I got out of the store before she caught up to me." I say.
"Well that's good, just be careful, don't want anything happening to you, you're like my baby sister." He says nudging me gently.
"Thank you Austin, for being here for me and being my non-blood related brother." I say with a laugh.
"Hey there you are." I hear Jaime say as he walks through the back door, going to Austin and begins a conversation with him.
"Guys we've got one minute!" Alysha shouts out the door and runs back to where she came from.
"Come with me?" Jaime says holding out his arm for me to take.
"If you'll excuse us Austin, I want to bring in this new year with my lovely girlfriend alone." He says getting Austin to smile and ushers us to wherever Jaime's taking me.
I followed Jaime back into the house and up the stairs, going to the music room and grabbing Max before making way into our bedroom and to our balcony. Away from the noise all you could hear was the breeze of the wind and see the moon shining brightly over San Diego.
Jaime held max in his arms as we watch the night sky hearing everyone downstairs countdown from five.
"Five...Four...Three...Two... One. HAPPY NEW YEAR!"
I turn to tell Jaime but get caught off by his lips crashing onto mine for the first time this year, my bones heating up instantly and my heart beating erratically.
"Happy New Year baby." He says softly as our lips are inches away from each other.
"Happy New Year Jaime."
[Idk why I love this chapter so much, I just do.
Thank you guys for sticking with me and my stupid posting schedule, you guys are the real MVP's.
This chapter is dedicated to my dear friend Desirae, she's super amazing and has been supporting this story since the beginning and I highly appreciate her support and input into my work, you're amazing girly love you.
Don't forget to vote and leave a comment, I highly appreciate it.
Stay awesome guys and stay strong!
Love Adri.