The Bird and the Worm

“Alright, damn it, you guys can have an hour to do what you like, but then we have to be back on the road if we’re going to get there in time.” I glanced over at Brian, and he squeezed my hand, appearing nonchalant. “You know, it is really unnerving when you guys do that.” I raised my eyebrow, half-smiling. “You guys look at each other with those damn doe-eyed glances. Might as well just make that thing an actual proposal, you know?”

“Jimmy, I’ve known this girl for just under two days. That ring’s just a prop, you know that.”

Jimmy smiled. “Then why is it still on her finger?” I blushed a deep red, and Jimmy winked at me, flashing a smile. “That’s what I thought. Hey, I’m not saying it’s a bad thing. Do what you do, Bri, but it stopped being a prop when you guys walked out of the café.” There was an awkward sort of smile on his lips as he rose to fetch Cokes for us all, muttering something about how Brian hadn’t smiled like this since before he’d been with Michelle.

Matt and Johnny glanced at each other, and then they looked at me. “You know what, Heather, I think Jimmy’s right.”

“Huh?”

“I think you guys should be seen in public a bit. You know. Get the gossip started. Maybe Bri over there can get a little emotional revenge on good old’ Michelle.” He paused. “Seriously. You two should get more than an hour. We have some time before we have to move on.” Brian gave my hand a gentle squeeze, smiling at me affectionately. “Jesus, the way you guys look at each other…you two…after just under two days, you already look serious.” The bus rolled to a stop, and I felt my cheeks become a deep shade of red. “Well shit. Here’s your stop.” Brian rose, and I got up with him. “Call when you’re ready.”

I smiled at the guys that had done so much to make my three days worth it. They smiled at me, and then Brian led me off the bus.

As soon as we were off, he drew me into his arms and touched his fingers to my chin, pulling me into a kiss. Letting my hands find his shoulders, I molded myself to him and smiled against his lips as I kissed him back. If this had been the Twilight series and he was Edward and I was Bella, this would have been about the time that he would pull away and tell me to cool it and behave. But, because he was Brian and I was Heather Byrd, this was just another moment of him giving me what it seemed I wanted.

Because he was a gorgeous rock star, I wasn’t about to begin throwing about complaints.

The bus pulled away, and Brian tightened his arms around me in order to make up for my loss of something to lean on.

When I pulled back and glanced up into his eyes, he flashed a smile and touched my face. “I probably shouldn’t go more than an hour or so without doing that,” I murmured, and he chuckled.

“You wouldn’t have waited three hours if you’d spoken up some. The guys don’t mind, you know that.”

I blushed. “Yeah, well, Jimmy and his knowing smiles make me feel bad about always wanting to kiss you and stuff.”

His arms slipped from around me, and he folded his hand into mine, lacing our fingers together and giving me a short kiss. “And stuff?” I blushed. “You have me intrigued. Please, do divulge this new information.”

I smiled, giving his fingers a slight squeeze. “Yes. Stuff. But….I think I feel like letting you buy me some really awesome Chinese food before I, uh, divulge.” He quirked an eyebrow, smiling crookedly as he pressed his smooth lips to my forehead and then pulled me to his side, leading me down the street. “I take it you like Chinese food.” He glanced over at me, winking. “Alright, hot stuff, be all quiet and mysterious. Two can play this game.” He raised our interlaced fingers to his lips and kissed my knuckles, smiling. He was better at this game than I was, but I was still more than willing to play.

Five minutes later, we were in front of the Chinese food restaurant, and Brian sighed. “Alright. This silent game sucks.”

“I agree,” I said, “Silence just doesn’t fit you and me.”

“Remember what you said at the café? You know, expressing those feelings of yours while pretending to be my dearly beloved fiancé?”

“Yeah, why?”

“I dunno. I just wondered…” I raised an eyebrow at him, egging him on. “Could you say it again? You know, just for my own selfish gain.”

I smiled, and he pulled me close, placing his hand on my waist. “I love you,” I breathed, and he closed his eyes, touching his gentle lips to mine for a few short moments before breaking it. “And how long have you been dying to hear that, mister Gates?” He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, and I rolled my eyes. “Of course, testosterone prevents you from divulging that information.”

“No. Hunger does.”

“Ah, so the big bad rock star does enjoy Chinese food.” I pulled from his arms and slipped my hand into his, letting him open the door for me and then following him inside. “Every man has his weakness,” I teased, snickering, and then we stopped at the counter, surveying the menu. “Mmm…orange chicken and soy-soaked vegetables…sounds nice, doesn’t it?” He squeezed my hand affectionately, laughing to himself.

We ordered, and as we waited, he pulled me to his side and slid his arms around me,
Food came, and we ate with the other customers, just sitting there, holding hands and talking. It felt like this was too normal for a guy like him- like he never sat in a public restaurant and mixed in with the general public, chatting with a girl that he was treating like his girlfriend, blurring the fine line that defined what was real and what he was making on his own.

We connected so much in the twenty minutes we spent there, talking and laughing, drawing no more attention to ourselves than the others drew to themselves. When we finally left, Brian handed a tip to the girl that had served us, flashing a smile and then leading me by the hand back out to the street. And the moment we were outside, he gently pressed his lips to mine for a moment before stroking my face and flashing my favorite smile.

“I still don’t get it.”

“Get what?”

“Why I get to be treated like the great Brian Haner’s girlfriend.”

“Ah.” His chocolate eyes twinkled down at me, “You know, that’s something about you that piqued my interest right from the start. I already told you what I thought of your video, and what I think of how…blasé...you are about what you want me to give you. I mean...every time I kiss you, you blush and smile, but you don’t ask for much.” I raised an eyebrow, letting his gaze hold onto mine. “I mean…”

I rested my hands on his face and pulled him down into a kiss. He was taken off guard for a moment, but he responded rather quickly after that. His arms drew me closer, and despite the fact that we were in public, in broad daylight, Brian’s lips parted, his warm breath wafting into my mouth as he coaxed my lips open as well.

I sighed and melted into him, and despite how dearly I enjoyed having my lips attached to Synyster Gates’, I pulled out of the kiss, my breathing a little addled, and I watched his lips lift into a smile, his eyes shining. “Sorry,” I breathed, and his eyes flashed with something I hadn’t seen before. There was temptation residing within him, being pulled to the surface by my desire to see how far I could push my luck with him.

“Why?”

“…”

“Do you think I mind?” I nodded, and he sighed softly, his warm breath washing over my face. He simply laughed softly, a subtle yet obvious way of telling me that I was wrong. “You seem to be under a false impression, Miss Byrd. You seem to think that after three days are up, I’m going to forget about you.” His fingers gently ran along my cheek, and his eyes sparkled all the while. “You are an unforgettable person. Wanna know why?”

“Why?” I murmured, lost in the touch of his fingertips on my face.

Brian thought I was funny. His soft laughter graced my ears, and then he purred (yes, purred), “Because. You’re important to me, kiddo.” He flashed a smile, and he gave me a short kiss before he pulled his arms away and slid his hand into mine. “Come on. I wanna show you something.” Intrigued, I let him lead me down the street, past the diners, beyond the tourist attractions, and to a pier (ah the magic of the east coast), where the sun was resting high above the sea, casting a pure white light onto the water. I leaned against him, resting my head on his shoulder, as I stood beside him, taking in the sight and absorbing the sound of the water as the waves rose and fell, crashing into each other or colliding with the beach. “Just a little farther, you. We’re gonna make an innocent bystander take pictures for us.”

Once again, I followed him, and once we came to a stop at the end of the pier, he was greeted by an enthusiastic fan, who was more than willing to take the camera he’d gotten out of his pocket (paid, of course, by an autograph on a piece of paper that just happened to be in Brian’s pocket). Casually, Brian slipped an arm around my waist, tugging me to his side, and I smiled, leaning my head on his shoulder, sliding my arm around him, smiling as his head rested on mine. The fan snapped the picture, and then held the camera out to Brian.

“Could you take just one more?”

The fan nodded, and without warning, I was snug in Brian’s warm arms, and his lips were pressed to mine. Feeling my heart flutter just a little bit at the contact and my cheeks growing red as I remembered that there was a fan waiting for the perfect moment, I touched my hand to Brian’s face, returning his kiss (that hand just happened to be my left, as always).

He broke it, and then thanked the fan with an affectionate hug, taking his camera back and scrolling through the many pictures to find the ones that had just been taken. I smiled to myself as we looked through them together. The shots were amazing, and the sun provided the perfect lighting. I grinned up at him, and he winked. “Thanks, Brian.”

“Yeah, I know. You can’t believe I keep kissing you like that, and by the way, that ring is ridiculously obvious…you want me to keep that shot?”

“Yeah. It’s a gorgeous shot.” It was only gorgeous because he was in it – there was nothing impressive whatsoever about me. “And that kiss was amazing.” He chuckled, pocketing his camera, taking my hand, and I blushed a little. It was just great that he found this funny.

'I painted your room at midnight so I’d know that yesterday was over, I put all your books on the top shelf, even the one with the four leaf clover, man I’m getting’ older……I painted your room at midnight so I’d know that yesterday was over-'

For a moment, I’d been convinced that it was my phone going off, but Brian was digging around in his pockets, so that meant that it was his. I was impressed that his ringtones consisted of something other than songs by his own band.

“Hello?” “Yeah, hi, Michelle.” He glanced over at me, offering an apologetic smile. “Um, I don’t know if now is the best time.” “Because, I’m kind of busy at the moment, that’s why.” He sighed, and he was silent for a few moments, so we walked in silence, and he ran his thumb over the back of my hand to keep himself from going crazy on Michelle. “I’m actually kind of glad she told you all that.” “Well didn’t you want to know how the fiancé you left behind fared after the initial shock had worn off?” He sighed. “Of course you didn’t.” “Look, like I said, I am busy at the moment, and I’m not sure it’s polite to be talking to an ex while holding someone else’s hand.” I glanced up at him, a little surprised by how nonchalantly he said it, and he flashed my favorite smile. “Yeah, I’ll talk to you later.” He rolled his eyes. “Oh, spare me.” “Why are you looking for that?” His thumb touched the ring he’d put on my finger, and my heart fluttered a little. “I’m with someone else at the moment, so I’ll call you later.” “Yep, bye.”

He closed the phone, pocketing it and sighing.

“Sorry about that.”

“She’s searching for it, huh?”

He laughed. “Yeah. She seems to be under the impression that she gets to take something back that she pretty much chucked at me when she walked out the door.” I shuddered. “Michelle doesn’t really know how to be an ex.”

“I figured that.” I gave his hand a squeeze, and he shook his head, dragging his free hand through his dark hair. “So…where do we go now? Because as of right now, I don’t have any awesomely cool ideas for a kind-of date, and you seem to favor spontaneity.” I glanced up at him, and he raised an eyebrow. “Hey. If I was some dumb fan girl, I would suggest making a ridiculously public show of making out with you against the nearest wall, but…”

“But you’re only a lowly Sociology major with no sex drive, right?”

“You’re funny.” He snickered. “Ow. My sides. The pain,” I teased, and he kissed the top of my head.

“So I have a question.”

“Yes?” I responded inquisitively, quirking an eyebrow and all that. He laughed a little, and then he was kind of serious again.

“You bought tickets for a show in Florida that you weren’t even sure if after said show you would come backstage to see lousy old’ me.” That wasn’t really a question. “Why?” He sounded genuinely interested in the ways of his many followers, “I mean, you live in Orange County, don’t you?” I nodded. “This contest was really important, wasn’t it?” I smiled at him.

“You’re actually really good at this guessing game thing, mister,” I said approvingly, “except you’re missing something critical.” He gave me a look that said ‘Do tell,’ and I winked. “I don’t enjoy sitting back and waiting for the good things to happen to me. I go to them. And your next show in Cali was months away, and if I did win the contest, I wasn’t waiting that long to see you. So, as soon as I entered your little contest, I booked a flight and Gina and I had tickets.”

“Nice. So you’re telling me that I’ve been kissing and holding hands with a stalker. That makes me feel so good about my character judgment. Good job, Heather.” I snickered. “So that’s the big secret, huh?” I nodded, laughing a little. “Well here I’ve been trying to figure you out, trying to see what makes you tick, but all I get is some ‘I didn’t wanna wait’ story.” His voice should have sounded antagonistic, but because he ever so casually pressed his lips to my forehead, I figured this was just him being altruistic and somewhat playful.

He released my hand for a moment before sliding his arm around my shoulders, and then he tapped my arm, waiting for me to lace my fingers into his. When I did, he simply chuckled and pulled me closer to his side. I glanced at our current surroundings, trying to figure out something to do, and I was about to allow myself to be convinced that all hope was lost when we encountered a very suave-looking corner shop. I glanced up at Brian, and he gave a small smile in response. “Interested in a little java?”

“More coffee?”

“Heck yeah, cutie. If you’re gonna be spending alone time with me and then chill on the bus, you’re gonna need caffeine.”

He raised an eyebrow. “What’s in it for me?”

I pulled him down into a short kiss, smiling and letting it last for a few seconds before breaking it. “You’ll see,” I purred, and with a suddenly interested look on his face, he let me lead him inside. He ordered something that I couldn’t keep track of, and then he waited as I tried to decide between a double espresso and a vanilla cappuccino. Eventually, the espresso won, and we were walking out of the coffee shop the same way we’d gone in, except we now had coffee that would be sorely missed if dropped.

I wasn’t sure how long, exactly, we spent walking around, but when we were finally finished, Brian pulled his cell phone out of his pocket, dialed a number, and then put the phone to his ear, smiling as though he thought he was about to receive a very dirty present. I thought about that for a few moments- maybe he knew that the garter and pantyhose hadn’t come off yet because I couldn’t figure out how.

I heard a gruff, “Hello?” on the other line before Brian asked rather cheerfully if we could be picked up, and he gave our general location (how he’d managed to pay attention to the street signs in all the times I’d stopped to kiss him, I had no idea) before hanging up and letting me run my free hand along his free arm.