Poison Rose (Sequel to "Good Love")

Sixteen

Duff enjoyed getting to sit back and watch the rest of the gathered crowed as they all unwrapped their presents from each other. He felt kinda bad that Slash wasn't getting anything from anyone–well, today, at least–but since they hadn't expected him to join them, they either hadn't brought what they'd gotten him or they hadn't gotten him anything at all. They all swore they'd make up for that at the earliest available opportunity–even Black Veil Brides and the remains of Poison–but he simply waved off their offers. Considering that he'd crashed their festivities and most of them didn't know him very well, anywhore, he was cool with being the only one left out for now since his own friends and family'd make up for it in spades.

        Being one of the last to start opening his, the blonde bassist couldn't help a laugh at a couple of the ones from Susan. Making sure to keep them Hidden from sight since they were obviously meant for his eyes only, he gave her a kiss and said they were certainly Creative, for sure. Even though everyone else gave him curious looks, he merely grinned and wagged a finger at them like a parent scolding a child. No one but him needed to know about these presents, considering their meaning–which were hints at what she was really giving him.

        Finally, he was down to his last present, which'd seemed like a lone box at first, but turned out to house two smaller ones. As he pulled the smaller boxes outta the bigger one, it became pretty apparent that they housed some kinda jewelry, but he wasn't exactly sure what kind. Going by the size of them, it coulda been a pair of rings in their own boxes, or it coulda even been a pair of necklaces.

        He didn't really care either way, 'cuz they were both from Aerin, which was enough to make him smile all on its own. Still, Duff shot her a smile before glancing back down to open the first obvious jewelry box, his eyes widening in surprise at what met them. Unsure of exactly what the pendant on it meant, he pulled the necklace he was greeted with outta its housing, gingerly holding it in his palm. It appeared to be Sterling Silver at first glance, but he knew it mighta even been White-Gold, considering he didn't hate the latter Metal like his girlfriend did.

        "What's it supposed to mean?" he asked as he looked back up at her.

        "It's the Glyph for your Zodiac sign," the young woman laughed. "Technically, so's the other one, too."

        "Wait, what?" Duff asked, looking confused.

        "Just open it, ya big, blonde lummox," Aerin told him.

        Now more than a lil confused, the blonde bassist laid the first necklace on the coffee table where everyone else could get a look while he was opening the second box.

        "Wait, this one's for Capricorn," Susan said, surprising her with her Knowledge on the subject as he pulled it out.

        "Which he technically is as much as Ash," she explained. "It depends on the dates ya go by, and therefore which Zodiac system ya use."

        "Whaddaya mean by that?" Chris asked. "I thought there was only one till ya get into stuff like the Chinese Zodiac."

        "Oh, there's all kindsa Zodiac systems out there–the one you're familiar with, the Chinese, and the Native American ones're but three," the young woman answered with a laugh. "I happen to go by one that's comprised of thirteen signs instead of twelve, that thirteenth one being between Scorpio and Sagittarius."

        "Okay, even I need an explanation for this," Grace said from where she sat next to her lone biological sister.

        "The easiest way to put it," Aerin said, pausing to gather her Thoughts. "When the Catholic church took over the World, as it were, the actual calendar wasn't the only thing they Changed. They even Changed the Zodiac–and therefore when each sign fell–so that there were only twelve instead of thirteen."