Darling You'll be Okay

One Million Branches

*later*

Oil's POV:

The boys come back at around four.
Sam and I had spent most of the day talking and then she showed me her sketchbook. I insisted she drew me a tattoo design and she agreed, so we spent half the day drawing and coming up with tattoo ideas. We finally settled with one and it looked seriously impressive. Then she got me to write the word 'loved' out for her in cursive. I smiled as I knew she was going to tattoo it on herself at one point. Then we proceeded to paint ourselves with designs. It was mainly Sam because there wasn't that much space left on me but she painted my calves and lower legs, plus my face. At the end her right arm and leg is half covered with paint and there was almost no skin showing on me.
"Hey guys," Vic says as he opens the door. "Woah!" he exclaims as he sees us, his eyes growing wide.
"Don't worry Vic, it's just paint," Sam says smiling.
"Ooh can we join in?" Mike asks as Sam laughs and nods. He grabs a paintbrush off the bench and lifts Sam's head up gently so he can paint her neck.
"Hold still!" he smiles at her while she giggles.
"It tickles!" she says and then Tony and Jaime come in, laughing and then attack her with the paintbrushes. Tony starts work on her arm, giving her a sleeve while Jaime starts painting her calf. Vic laughs, taking a picture and then Austin comes in the door. His eyes widen and then he goes down the hallway, coming back with a paintbrush. He dips it in blue and then starts on her other leg. Vic takes another picture and everyone grins for it. He laughs and then falls to talking with me while everyone else is distracting her.
"How is she?" Vic asks me and I sigh.
"She's so much better than what she was," I say and he nods.
"Great," he whispers.
"We had a really long talk this morning and she told me everything, then I talked to her and then I told her that she's loved and she broke down. It was as if those were the words that she's been needing to hear for a long time," I say and Vic looks thoughtful.
"She knows we love her though right? We tell her all the time," he says and I nod.
"Yeah, but to hear it from someone other than you guys and not the word love but loved. There was something about that word, she even got me to write it out for her," I say and Vic nods.
"She told me that it was as if there were walls that just crumbled down around her heart and she actually felt good for a change," I say and he looks up at me.
"Good," he says.



Vic's POV:

I look up at Oli. He's got a thoughtful expression on his face.
"She's still really fragile at the moment. She really needs someone right now and you guys need to be that someone. Keep her alive," he says and I nod in understanding. My train of thought is interrupted by Sam.
"Vic, c'mere, I want to paint something on you," she smiles and I walk over to her. The boys have done a great job with her and Austin and Tony are still working. She's covered with paint. Mike and Jaime have fallen to painting each other and Jaime has his shirt off, Mike painting his chest. I laugh at them and at Jaime's facials.
"This really tickles," he says squirming and Mike scolds him laughingly. Oli goes over and starts painting his back.
"Alright, what are you going to do with me?" I ask Sam and she grins.
"Take your shirt off," she says smirking and I comply, earning wolf whistles from the guys. I blush slightly.
"Okay, turn around," she says and I do it. A second later I feel something wet start tracing something on my back and it does tickle. It goes on for a while, going right up to my shoulder blades and right down to just above the waistband of my shorts.
"Wow, Fuentes has his shirt off and man he's hot!" Alex says, coming through the door with Jack and Adam Elmakias trailing behind. Jack playfully shoves him and Alex giggles.
"Jalex not Valex," he whines and everybody laughs.
"C'mon Gaskarth, you know you wanna take your shirt off," Mike says and then Alex smirks, pulling off his shirt which causes everyone to wolf whistle. Jack rips his shirt off too and gets nothing. Sam gently giggles from behind me.
"Elmakias, thought you'd never join us," I say, smiling over at Adam. He grins and holds up his camera.
"Mind if I take a few photos?" he asks and we all shake our heads.
"It would be awesome," Sam says from behind me and he smiles, fist bumping her.
"Where are the paintbrushes?" Alex asks Sam.
"In my room, on the desk," she says and he nods, walking down the hallway. "Lex!" she yells after him.
"Yeah?!"
"Can you get my silver paint?" she says and he returns with more paintbrushes and a little tube of silver.
"Thanks," she says as she squeezes a little out and then goes back to painting my back.
"Wow Sam," Tony breathes as he looks at my back. Her paintbrush stops moving and then she grabs her phone.
"Hold still Vic," she says, taking a photo. She holds it around for me to see. My eyes widen. Sam has painted my back with white angel wings with silver highlights. It looks beautiful.
"Thanks Sam!" I exclaim, turning to face her. I hear Adam's camera whirring as he clicks some photos of my back.
"No worries," she smiles up at me and then I get an idea. I lean into her.
"Now you have to take your shirt off," I smirk in her ear and she blushes.



Sam's POV:

"Come on, everyone else has," Vic says and I look around. Everybody apart from Adam have their shirts off and are covered in paint. Tony's paused for a moment and he's smirking at me too. I blush and get really insecure for a moment. I look down at the ground. Tony notices then leans down and kisses my cheek.
"You are the most beautiful girl I have ever seen," he murmurs in my ear and a warm feeling spreads from my stomach all the way throughout my body. Butterflies start up as he reaches one of his hands over to my stomach and under my tank top. He gently roams my stomach with his fingers and the hot feeling rises up towards my head. He removes his hand and then plays with the bottom of my shirt, his eyes meeting mine, asking for permission. His puppy dog eyes make me melt and I groan.
"You're lucky I'm wearing a sports bra underneath," I grumble and he smiles, gently lifting my shirt off and over my head, careful not to smudge the paint. Vic smiles and I hear a collection of wolf whistles. I blush and Tony leans his head towards me.
"You're stunning Sam," he whispers in my ear and I smile, looking down. Vic grabs a paintbrush and starts to trace intricate designs on my stomach. I giggle at the sensation. Tony's still working on the sleeve and Austin's made his way down to my calf. Both still going strong. Alex comes over to me with a small paintbrush and some black paint. He reaches over Vic and leans close to me, painting something on my collarbone. It's a weird sensation. He finishes and leans close to me, breathing on my ear. I shiver.
"Just because I know how much you love Divergent," he whispers and I look at him confused as he walls away smirking. I grab my phone and turn the camera around, pointing it at my collarbone. I smile as I notice Alex has painted three birds in flight, a reference to my favorite book. I turn and grin at him and he returns it.
I look at Tony who is almost finished my arm. His face set deep in concentration as he turns my wrist to face him and then paints out the word "LOVED" in cursive across my wrist. I almost tear up. Alex comes over again and paints something on my shoulder.
"Hey yeah, that's a good idea," Mike says from behind me then suddenly there's more paint on my shoulder as Mike paints something.
"Austin, come here for a moment," Mike says and Austin stops what he's doing and comes around to my back. I feel him gently trace something and I can't seem to figure it out. He's smiling when he comes back down to my leg.
Alex takes a picture and then shows me. There's the skull and crossbones sign for All Time Low, the Collide With The Sky girl for Pierce The Veil and the ampersand symbol for Of Mice & Men. Underneath, someone has painted the word 'family.' I could almost cry. Everyone's grinning at me.
"Thanks guys," I breathe out.
"No worries," Alex smiles at me.
"It's to show how you are always a part of the ATL, PTV and OM&M family," Jaime says and I turn around and smile back at him. I start laughing when I see his chest. Mike has painted a picture of him drumming all across his chest.
"No Sam! Don't laugh!" Vic says, groaning.
"Sorry Vic," I say and he smiles.
"Haha it's no problem," he says and I smile.
"Alright, that is finished!" Tony exclaims, grinning at me I look at my arm. Tony has painted a guitar with vines attacking it and roses on the vine. He painted lyrics from something and a whole lot of other stuff, including a turtle. I beam up at Tony.
"I love it Tone," I say and he grins.
"Yay, awesome," he says and I smile.
"Now c'mere, I wanna paint you."



Tony's POV:

Sam grabs one of her small paintbrushes and dips it in black paint. She finds a gap in my arm tattoos and starts painting. I can't tell what she's doing but I know it's going to be amazing. She finishes and I look down. She's painted 'You're my favorite turtle,' above the running turtle tattoo on my arm. I look up and smile at her. She smiles back and it melts my heart. She looks thoughtful for a second and then motions for me to lean my face down towards her. I do and close my eyes. I feel wetness on my cheek and on my forehead and wonder what Sam's doing. I open my eyes for a moment and look at Sam, who's smiling up at me. Something about her makes my heart pound but I don't know what it is. I grin and then Oli comes up to me and slaps my chest. I feel something wet and look down to see a big lime green handprint on my chest. I groan and look up to see a giggling Sam.
"Oh, you think that's funny do you?" I say and she nods her head, biting her lip to keep the laughter in. I lean over to her, smirking while Oli paints my hand. She looks up at me and then I reach up and gently press my hand to her face, leaving a turquoise hand print. I grin mischievously as the shock washes over her face. She dips her hand in yellow and plasters it over Vic and I who give a playful yelp. Alex comes over and she plasters it all over his face so he grabs some more and prints her shoulder. Soon a full on colour war has exploded and Austin has paint all over his face. So does almost everyone else and it's hilarious. We try not to touch what other people have painted.
"Don't get paint on the camera!" Adam yelps and we look over at him, laughing when we see Mike pull his hand off Adam's bald head, leaving a red handprint. He looks like one of the Orcs from Lord of the Rings. Sam pulls out her phone and takes a photo.
Everybody's laughing when there's a knock on the door and Vic and Mike's mother comes in.



Mama Fuentes' POV:

I walk into the house to laughter which abruptly stops when everybody spots me. It's amusing watching everybody freeze. There's paint everywhere. In hair, on skin, and it looks like a paint bomb went off. I have to hold in the laughter at everyone's shocked facials. I look over at Sam who has intricate patterns and paint splattered all over her body. It looks like someone has tattooed all over her and then splattered her with paint. I spy a picture of Mike painted across her neck and I glare at my youngest son.
"Michael Fuentes, that better not be a tattoo I spy on my god-daughter's neck!" I roar at him and he shrinks down. I look at Sam with a twinkle in my eye and she smiles.
"It's not mama I swear! It's just paint!" he defends and I nod. I can see Sam holding in the laughter as I berate the boys.
"It's just paint mama," Vic says, smiling around at me. His back is painted with two beautiful white wings that make him look like an angel.
"I just came over to drop this off for Sam," I say, holding up an envelope and placing it on the bench. She nods in understanding.
"Muchas gracias," she whispers gratefully and smiles. I return it and then turn, calling goodbye over my shoulder. A chorus of "Bye's, later's and see ya's follow and I smile as I close the door, shaking my head and quietly chuckling to myself.



Austin's POV:

Mrs Fuentes leaves and there's an awkward silence after she closes the door.
"What's in the envelope?" Jack asks Sam and she shakes her head, grabbing it and putting it in her room. She returns a minute later.
"It's just something for me, don't worry about it," she says and Jack nods.
"Hey Adam! Sauruman called and he needs you back at Isengard!" Alex says and we all laugh, including Adam.
"Yeah, yeah," he rolls his eyes at us. "Come on and I'll get a group photo of you all," he says and we all get up and line up, smiling for the camera. Then we turn around and he gets another photo. I grab my phone and pass it to Adam and then suddenly he's showered with an assortment of iPhones. He groans and we laugh, bunching up and layering ourselves so that there's an interesting contrast. He goes through all our phones then takes one on his camera, coming around and taking close ups of all the paint. I take a few for Sam on her phone after Adam has finished.
"Thanks Aus," she says, wrapping her arms around me. I hug her back and she sighs. I lean my head down to rest on the top of her head.
"You okay?" I ask her, murmuring in her ear.
"Yeah, this is nice," she whispers against my chest.
"Do you wanna come into the studio tomorrow with me? Vic said you probably needed tomorrow off too," I say and she looks up at me, grinning and nodding her head.
"I'm taking that as a no?" I smirk at her and she pulls away, gently punching my arm.
"Austin!" she softly whines and I giggle. She smiles at me.
"I would love to," she says and I grin.
"Awesome, everyone will be so stoked to see you," I say and she smiles.



Sam's POV:

I feel someone snake their arms around my waist and lift me up off the ground, spinning me around. I laugh as they set me down and I turn to see a smiling Tony.
"Hey turtle," I say and he grins, taking my hand and leading me towards the hallway.
"Where are we going?!" I laugh as he turns and beams at me.
"Get changed into your togs," he smirks then lets go of my hand, making his way towards his room. I look at him strangely and then go into my room, changing into my togs. I return out into the hallway to find Tony leaning against the wall, smiling at me. He's put on his board shorts. He takes my hand again and then leads me into the bathroom, shutting the door before turning on the shower. He looks at me before stepping into the shower, motioning for me to join him. I look at him slightly stunned with a hint of confusion and he shakes his head.
"How do you think you're gonna get all the paint off your back?" he smirks and I roll my eyes in understanding.
"Ohhh," I whisper before joining him in the shower, letting the warm water run over me. I look up at Tony who looks down at me. I grab the shower gel behind him and pour some onto a bath scrubbing thing. It's orange and looks like a pompom. I start to scrub the paint off Tony's chest. He looks at my hands while I work, a little smile forming on his lips. I finish his chest and start work on his arms and legs, moving onto his back. I finish his body then look up at his face which is covered with paint. I grab a facecloth and start gently rubbing off the paint. Tony scrunches his face up and I smile, finishing him. He grabs the pompom thing from me and puts some more shower gel on it. The whole place smells like mango. It's nice. Tony runs the scrubber over my body, erasing the paint. Pressing firmly but not roughly. Going extra careful over my wrists.
"They're healing nicely," he says quietly, looking down at the scars. I nod and he turns me around, scrubbing my back and legs, everywhere he can reach. I gasp as he runs it over my neck a little too rough and he stops immediately, gently running his fingers over my neck.
"I'm so sorry," he says quickly, concern flooding his eyes. I look into them.
"You didn't hurt me Tone, just be a bit more gentle," I say to him softly and he nods, relief washing over his face.
He finishes cleaning me up and then I look up at him. His eyes meet mine and he cradles my chin in his hand, lightly running his finger over my cheek. I watch as the water from the shower cascades down Tony's half-naked body, creating little rivulets of water. My back is pressed up against the wall of the shower and Tony towers over me, the eye contact never breaking. Something about his intense gaze makes my heart melt and I am increasingly aware of our faces which are now just bare centimeters from each other. I want it so bad and I know Tony does too but it's just not the right time.
"Tone," I breathe, stopping him. He draws his head back with an embarrassed look and I give him a half-smile as I rest my hand on his face.
"Sorry," he mumbles and looks down.
"Tone look at me," I say gently. His eyes slowly shift upward to meet mine.
"It's not the right time for it. Not now. Later, yes, but just not right now," I say softly and he nods.
"Okay," he whispers, bringing his lips down and pressing them to my forehead. I sigh at his touch.