It's Secret Santa time..
You wanted it and you got it! (Well, at least in ficlet form.)
From the first moment Vinnie spoke with Raquel, he could tell they were gonna have a lasting friendship. You just didn’t click with someone that well or that instantly and not have it become something solid. He genuinely enjoyed being around her and they were always able to make each other laugh when they were having a bad day. She was really starting to become one of his best friends and that was why when Starbuck gave him two tickets to a Stones concert for his birthday, he instantly invited Raquel to come along. Only another diehard fan like Raquel could fully appreciate the awesomeness that was the Rolling Stones.
Though he had the motorcycle he had bought off Charlie with Meike’s help, that just wouldn’t do for getting to the concert. Riding to the concert had to involve listening to the Stones and belting their lyrics at the top of their lungs and that just wasn’t gonna work on his bike. So instead, he convinced Starbuck to let him borrow his car, which he was chill about. Vinnie would definitely take good care of his car.
After a quick shower, he pulled on his newest Stones shirt, a pair of cargo shorts and sneakers and headed out the door to meet up with Raquel. He grinned when he saw her walking out of the girls’ wing and into the main atrium of the dorms. Raquel was wearing a Stones shirt as well, smiling from ear to ear. “I’ve gotta say, Super Groupie.. you’ve outdone yourself with this one.”
Vinnie chuckled and nodded his head slightly. “Yeah, well, I try my best. You ready for the best night of your life?”
“Best night of my life, huh? That’s a big promise to make. You sure you can back it up?” she asked with a sly grin.
“Pshh, please. The Stones have got my back tonight. You know it’s gonna be awesome,” he replied with a wink and a grin of his own.
Raquel nodded as they started walking outside to the student parking lot. “I do know that," she said cheekily. “I’ve already seen them live, remember?”
“Brat,” he said with a short laugh. Holding the tickets up, he waved them around in front of her. “Want me to give your ticket to someone else then? I’m sure I could get one of the guys in the band to come with me..”
Her eyes widened slightly, not liking this threatening thing. She knew he wouldn’t follow through with it, but still. She couldn’t be denied her Rolling Stones fix! That would be evil! “No, no, no! You can’t take it back!”
Chuckling, Vinnie surrendered easily, handing her her ticket. “Don’t worry, I wouldn’t do that to ya.”
Taking the ticket, she tucked it in her pocket for safe keeping. “Good, because you’d be in danger of losing your title as Super Groupie if you did.”
“Ouch, Rocky,” he said, holding his hand up to his chest in mock pain. “That hurts.” He wasn’t able to keep a straight face though. The kid was rarely ever in serious moods.
Raquel gave him a good natured slap on the arm before climbing into the passenger seat of Starbuck’s car. A second later, Vinnie was behind the wheel and his iPod was plugged into the stereo which was now blaring ‘Gimme Shelter’. The pair sang every single Stones song that came up at the top of their lungs until they got to Gillette Stadium in Foxborough where the concert was.
Once they parked, Vinnie couldn’t contain his excitement and grabbed Raquel by the hand, running through the lot to the entrance. Sure, the concert didn’t start for a while, but he wanted to be in there NOW.
Raquel let herself be dragged along, her feet struggling to keep up with his pace as he wound in and out of the groups of people. “Holy freaking crap, Vin. Slow down, will you? You’re about to rip my arm out of its socket.”
“Sorry.” And he was. Only he didn’t slow down until they got to the gate and had to because they had to present their tickets. Once that was taken care of, he took hold of her hand, weaving through the crowds once again, but this time at a normal pace. “I can’t freaking believe we’re about to see the Stones! This is so fucking AWESOME!”
She just couldn’t help but smile at his reaction. It was cute that he was so excited about it. Hell, she was pretty excited herself. It meant a lot to her that he had asked her to go to the concert with him instead of someone else.
Venturing their way down into the stadium, the pair of fire users were amazed to see just how close their seats were. They were practically on top of the damn stage! “Wow.. Starbuck really likes you, doesn’t he?” Raquel asked once she sat down.
Vinnie just stayed standing, his mouth hanging open as he stared at the stage in awe. “Yeah..” he replied absently, his mind completely preoccupied with the fact that the Stones were gonna be on that stage in less than 30 minutes. Raquel just laughed and shook her head, waiting for him to get over his extreme excitement.
After the initial shock wore off, Vinnie sat down and talked with Raquel, but once the lights dimmed, he popped right back up. He almost let out a shriek of excitement, but held back from doing it. Not exactly the manliest of things to do even though he was about to see his idols performing.
All night, he and Raquel sang along and jumped up and down as the Rolling Stones played through their set. It was a dream come true for Vinnie. He even took out his Stones zippo that Frankie had given him and waved it around during a few songs. Then the last song of the night came. Raquel cheered and Vinnie felt goosebumps form on his arms as Keith Richards played the opening riff to Paint It Black. Fucking amazing.
Once the song was over, Vinnie and Raquel just kept jumping and screaming and clapping like everyone else around them until the Stones left the stage. Vinnie turned to her, yelling above the rest of the noise around them. “That was UN-FREAKING-BELIEVABLE! I told you it was gonna be the best night of your life!”
Raquel was beaming and nodded in response. “It SO was! Thank you so much!” With that, she bounced up and threw her arms around him, kissing him full on the lips.
The hugging was fine, but the kiss he hadn’t expected at all. When Raquel pulled away, a look of slight shock was still registered on Vinnie’s face. Raquel suddenly felt her face start to get hot and she looked away. “I.. uh.. I’m sorry.”
After a second, Vinnie snapped out of it and looked over at Raquel. “No, it’s ok. I just.. you just..” Vinnie couldn’t quite put it into words, so instead of trying to explain himself, he just acted on what he was feeling. Putting a hand under her chin, he lifted her face back up and pressed his lips to hers. This time it was Raquel that was caught off guard, but not for long because her arms slung over his shoulders once again. It wasn’t ‘til someone behind them gave them the standard ‘get a room’ comment that the pair finally let up.
When they finally separated, Vinnie chuckled slightly, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. Raquel raked her fingers through her hair, looking up at him with a smile. He really was too damn cute for words when he did that.
“That was, uh..” he cleared his throat. “Nice.” Wow.. totally lame, Vinnie. As smooth and laid-back as he tried to come off, he really just did turn into a bumbling idiot when a pretty girl was involved.
Raquel tried not to laugh so she merely nodded at first until she was able to keep her cool. The only thing she could really say though was, “It really was.”
Once Vinnie started chuckling at how awkward they were suddenly being around each other, Raquel felt it was ok to join in.
“You know, uh.. we don’t have to go back to the school yet,” Vinnie started. “We can go grab something to eat, if you want.”
Nodding, Raquel swept a couple of strands of red hair behind her hair. “Yeah, that sounds great, actually. Nothing works up an appetite like jumping and screaming like a maniac for a few hours.”
Vinnie chuckled once again, nodding in agreement as the pair made their way out of the stadium. So it seemed like things were gonna be a little bit different between the friends now, but neither of them really seemed to mind. Instead, they seemed excited at the prospect of what could be.