Chapter One ~ Tall, Dark, and Ornery

"Mmm I'm thinking some coffee sounds good right about now." I said, glancing over at my best friend, Lenea.

She nodded in agreement, "Great minds think alike, dear friend. We still have to get our early entry wristbands anyway."

The two of us had been enjoying a little walk around the block, killing time before the HIM concert started, and were exhausted already. All because we had stayed up the whole night before, and didn't get any shut eye until sometime after 5. 5 hours later, we were up again and bustling about her house, doing some last minute packing and get ourselves dolled up for the show. I dressed in a HIM t-shirt with black skinny jeans and my favorite pair of Converse. Lenea, however, dressed up a little nicer. She wore a black corset top with black skinny jeans and cute flats with a skull and crossbones pattern. I adored her ability to put together such cute outfits, from what she already had at home and what she modified herself. I guess I just wasn't as motivated as she always was.

"Alright, I'm craving a French vanilla cappuccino. You?" I asked, as we crossed the busy street towards Suite100, a small cafe that was actually inside the venue.

"Mocha latte here I come!" She said, opening the door. A blast of cold air rushed out at us and I shivered with excitement, not coldness, as we walked inside.

We lined up behind the two people already at the register, one of them a tall, bronze-skinned man with dark hair and a black beanie on. Something about him struck me as odd...I didn't get a bad vibe off of him, I just sensed something was weird here. Finally he spoke, with an accent I couldn't quite place, as he ordered 4 coffees. Then it hit me. He was in a band. I didn't know how I knew, I just got the sudden feeling he was a band guy. I didn't dare say anything though, I wasn't sure who he was and I didn't want to embarrass myself.

I casually nudged Lenea, and leaned down to whisper in her ear. "I think the guy in front of us is in a band. I just don't know which. I know he's not one of the HIM guys for sure. Just be calm, and don't say anything, we don't want to embarrass ourselves."

"In a band?" She practically yelled.

Mystery band guy whirled around, his hazel eyes penetrating through mine. My breath caught in my throat as I studied his beautiful, God-like face. His full, heart-shaped lips pursed, then slipped into an amused grin. I saw Lenea's cheeks flush when he winked at her, and I wanted to sink into a hole and die. Who was this guy? Why did he give me such jumbled vibes? I glanced down at his hands, they were just as beautiful as his face. Long musicians fingers lead to large palms that I imagined cupping my breasts. I flushed again, wanting to smack myself for having such thoughts about a stranger. I focused on a ring on his left thumb, it was silver and encircled with the Greek key. So that explains the accent.

"We're sorry," I started, stepping closer to him. Don't fuck up, Aubrianna.

He put his palm up, signalling me to stop talking. "It's ok, I've witnessed much more embarrassing things while on the road. Trust me." He winked at me this time, and I almost melted on the spot. I glanced over at Lenea, she was too busy checking out the mystery band guy's bod to even notice me. Well, in her defense, he WAS gorgeous. He was wearing a sexy black button-up shirt, with zippers and ties everywhere. Then there was the jeans. I couldn't get over the tight black jeans he wore. In fact, I didn't think they could get any tighter than they were, and they certainly left nothing to the imagination. It was all right there, encompassed in skin-tight denim. I pulled my gaze from below his belt in a hurry, I didn't want him thinking I was some ditzy fangirl.

"Well that's a relief." I muttered, trying not to look into his eyes. Yet it still felt like he was looking at me, watching me, almost like he was in my head. "Oh you better grab your coffee." I said quickly, diverting his attention. Or attempting to, that is.

It didn't work. "So, where are you ladies from?" He asked.

"Independence." We said in unison. I giggled softly.

"Oh so you drove a few hours to get here? Ha, I bet you're here for HIM." He joked, laughing softly.

"Maybe." I replied with a grin, finding that it was surprisingly easy to talk to him. I hated that I wasn't sure which band he was in, it made it just a tad weird to be talking to him. I had no idea how to broach the subject either. I was actually a fan of one of the opening bands, called Dommin, but the only member who's name I knew was Kristofer. And I knew this guy wasn't him, he didn't look like him and, besides, he gave off the vibe that he was kind of in the background when it came to the band. Whereas Kris, however, was frontman and lead guitarist.

He laughed a little more, "You got names?"

"Lenea." Lenea said in a smitten tone, and I half expected her to drop to her knees in front of him.

"I'm Aubrianna." I said, shyly.

"What a beautiful name!" He took my hand in his large one and shook it, by that time my whole body was shaking. I could literally feel Lenea's eyes shooting flaming daggers at the back of my head. "You'll find out who I am later." He winked before turning towards the counter, grabbing the drink holder that held his four coffees.

We stared at him as he left the cafe, without even bothering to introduce himself. I already knew he was quite the ornery one, and that this wasn't even close to the last we'd see of him.