Living The Dream...Or Is This A Nightmare? (Sequel to Finding Hope)

Chapter Twelve: Life Is Perfect

Edited 08/27/15

Aviva's POV

I look around the little park we were told to go to. There's practically no one here. I make my way over to the swing set, dragging Ashley behind me. I make him sit down, then I sit on his lap. He wraps one arm around me and starts swinging. I gasp and reach up to grab the chains of the swing. I've never sat in someone's lap while they were swinging before. It's scary! Ashley just laughs at my reaction and starts swinging higher. I twist in his lap and wrap my arms around him instead of holding the chains.

"Please don't go too high." I whisper.

"I won't let you fall Baby-Doll, you know that." He says gently.

"Yeah, subconsciously I know that; but right now my mind is screaming at me to not die!" I whisper-shriek. He laughs again, but stops the swing. There's a flash and I look up.

"That was so incredibly cute." The interviewer says. I laugh and stand up. I walk over.

"Hi." I say lightly.

"Hello. Thanks for coming out to talk to us." The interviewer says. She's in her mid-twenties with black hair with a blue fringe and dark, hazel eyes. She's about 5'2", making her much shorter than me and Ashley. "I'm Kayla." She offers her hand to me.

"Aviva, but you should've already known that." I say with a smile, shaking her hand. "And that's Ashley, my fiancée. Which, again, you should know." I add, jerking my thumb at Ash. Kayla laughs.

"Yeah, I kinda did." She said. I smile bigger. I like her. Some people would've taken my joke as an insult and for a second there I was afraid she was one of those people. "Should we take a seat?" She asks, motioning to one of the many picnic tables. I nod and we sit down. The camera man sets up as we chat. I'm sitting next to Ashley with my leg slightly pressed against his and our hands clasped under the table. Kayla is sitting across from us. Once the camera is set up we start the interview.

"Hi. I'm Kayla and I'm here with Aviva Aarons from The Living ImPaired and Ashley Purdy from Black Veil Brides. How are you guys today?" She points the mike at us.

"We're good. Ready to kill the world because of how hot it is today, but otherwise we're fine." Ashley answers. I can't help but giggle a little, and Kayla laughs to.

"It is really hot." She fans herself with her list of questions. "Let's get strait to the point here. Last week you two announced that you're engaged despite having only been together for three months. Don't you think you're taking it a little fast?" She points the mike at me.

"I think Ashley should give his answer first." I say, smiling. She nods and points it towards Ashley.

"No, I don't think we're taking it too fast at all. In fact, if anything I think we've waited too long. I've loved Aviva since the day I met her and have been just waiting for my chance to tell her and have her be mine. Until a few months ago I thought I'd waited too long and I'd never get that chance. Once it turned out that I'd get my chance after all, I knew I couldn't waste it. I wasn't going to let anyone else have her. When I asked her to be my girlfriend and she said yes, I instantly knew I was going to marry her. That was the second happiest moment of my life and at the time had been the number one happiest. I knew I'd never do anything to make her regret saying yes, I'd never hurt her. So all I had to do was ask her to marry me, and I felt like there was no point in waiting till we'd been together a 'decent' amount of time. Last week when she agreed to marry me was the most amazing thing in the world. It still amazes me that she actually said yes. After everything she's gone through, after everyone who's hurt her, I expected her to say no, that she needed more time before she was able to trust someone that way again. Everything is perfect right now, and I know it's going to end perfectly as well. So no, I don't think we're taking it too fast." I look at Ashley for a long time after he finishes. I'm shocked; I don't know what to say. Kayla seems to be shocked as well. She recovers first.

"And what do you have to say, Aviva?" She asks.

"I'm not sure there's anything I can say. I knew how long he's been in love with me, and how patiently he's waited. And I just had this feeling that he wouldn't hurt me, that for once I'd be allowed to actually live happily ever after with the person I love. Last week, the first thing that popped into my head was actually that this was happening a little fast, but I instantly pushed that thought aside. I love Ashley with all my heart, and everyone always comments on how obvious it is that we're in love. In fact, I'd been talking about just that earlier that day. I've made mistakes in the past; I've loved the wrong people and they've hurt me. But that just makes me even more sure of this because I've learned what signs to look for. So I said yes. How long you've been together doesn't matter when you're as in love as we are." I finish. Kayla has tears in her eyes by this point and she quickly wipes them away.

"Well there you have it." She says. "Okay, onto other questions." I smile and give Ashley's hand squeeze under the table which he quickly returns. We answer questions for another half hour then the interview is over. I text the rest of BVB to see what they're up to. Everyone's busy except for CC who invites us over for a 'super-secret surprise he hasn't shared with anyone else'. I worry about him sometimes.

Ashley's POV

I grab Angel's hand and knock on the door to CC's apartment. I hear a thud and a muffled curse, then footsteps coming to the door. CC opens it and smile at us.

"And here's the happy couple!" He says, hugging us both at the same time. Angel laughs and shoves him playfully. "How'd the interview go?"

"The interviewer cried." Angel says. I start laughing this time. CC looks confused, but shrugs it off.

"Come on in. Want anything to drink. And before you ask, Angel, yes I have Dr. Pepper." She laughs and nods. He heads to the fridge and grabs a can of Dr. Pepper and two cans of beer.

"So what's the surprise?" Angel asks after taking a sip of her soda.

"It'll be here soon." CC's eyes light up as he says it. He sure is happy about it, whatever It is. Just then there's a knock on the door and he jumps up to answer it. I'm guessing the surprise is here.

"Guys, this is Nichelle, my new girlfriend." CC says, walking back into the room, a girl right by his side.

"Hi." She says shyly. She looks to be around 21. She has bright red hair and green eyes and is 5'4". She's thin and tan, and absolutely gorgeous. I definitely would've gone for her before I met Angel.

"Hi, I'm Angela. But my friends call me either Angel or Baby-Doll. Or you could call me by my stage name, Aviva. I really don't care what you call me." Angel says, making me and CC laugh.

"I'll call you Angela, since that's what CC calls you." Nichelle says.

"I'm Ashley, but almost everyone calls me Ash at least once in their lives." Even she laughs at that.

"I like your name, by the way. I've never met someone named Nichelle before." Angel says.

"I'm not surprised. Most people call me Shell, by the way." She says.

"Cool." Angel says, smiling. I'm so glad CC got himself a girlfriend. I worried about him being the only single guy in the band, and I know everyone else did too. But Nichelle seems nice, and he seems to really like her. I hope things work out for them. And I hope to God that things work out between me and Angel. I don't think I could survive if I ever lost her. She is my everything. She means more to me than anything else in the world, even more than the fans. There'd be no point in me living if she wasn't with me. I'd just cease to exist.