The Bird and the Worm

I couldn’t help but laugh as Jimmy pulled me into a hug and then let me go seconds later. “So. You mad, sad, amazed, astonished, perplexed...what do you feel?” He wiggled his eyebrows playfully, and he plopped onto the couch, taking a long draught of his coffee. There was a crooked smile on his lips, and he honestly looked like he was up to something. “You looked like you were ready to explode earlier…I just couldn’t tell from what you would be internally combusting.”

I sighed.

“You have us all interested. Please do, uh, what was that word….oh yes…divulge.” I closed my eyes and smiled as that ridiculous smooth voice murmured in my ear, a soft velvety purr compared to Jimmy’s growly voice. Warm fingers laced into mine, and I sighed contentedly as a soft pair of lips touched my cheek. “Love you,” he said softly, so quietly that even I barely heard him, and I gave his hand a slight squeeze, showing him that I relented.

I looked over at Jimmy, whose ankles were crossed in a state of complete relaxation, and I received a wink in response. “I dunno, actually. That video didn’t really hit me until the last couple of frames.” I smiled a little. They knew what I meant. “You guys just made it seem like you’d known me forever.” Matt gave me a warm smile, a truly beautiful sight, coming from him, “I really liked it.” My cheeks flushed a little. “Loved it, actually.”

“Aw dude, look at her, her face looks like the color of a strawberry…come on now…that’s a little unfair, isn’t it?”

Jimmy’s camera flashed, and I pretended to scowl at him before Brian touched his lips to my cheek, placating me in one simple gesture.

“Hey Jimmy. What was your favorite part of the video we made for Heather?”

“I’m kind of partial to the picture of you two at the pier. What about you, mister Sap of the Year?”

Brian smiled- I could feel his lips curving against my cheek. “I’m rather, er, partial to the whole thing with Jimmy daring me to kiss girlie face.” Jimmy laughed softly. I had a feeling that he knew why. “Even though that picture with the necklace and the ring…well that was just pretty.” I smiled as the guys made a few jokes about him, but I just kinda relaxed against him. His arm slid around my waist, and even though I was kind of regretful to let go of his hand, his body was really warm, and as I laid my head on his shoulder, he touched his smooth lips to the side of my head.

My arms slid around him, and I relaxed against his frame a little more.

“Hey guys?”

My eyes drifted open to hear him a little better.

“Um…do you mind if Heather and I wander off to the bus before we shove off for the airport?”

“Go for it, you two. Frolic. Enjoy.” Zacky winked at us, smiling a little, and Brian slipped from my grip, rising, and then offered me his hand. My eyes twinkled a little as I looked up at him, and I folded my hand into his. He pulled me up to him, giving me a short kiss before turning to wink at the guys and tug me along to the bus. “Be gentle, Brian.”

“Quiet, Vengeance.”

I followed him to the bus, and just as we were stepping on, he pulled me into a kiss. His lips were smooth against mine, and his hands slipped along my waist. I let my fingers stroke the hair on the back of his neck, and he pulled his lips from mine, then took my hand again, leading me back to his bunk. He let his back meet the doorframe, and as I brought his shirt over his head, he smiled down at me. He took a moment to caress the side of my face, and then he gave me a short kiss- before my fingers wandered down to his jeans.
He trailed kisses along my neck, my collarbone, and my throat as I worked flawlessly with the button and the zipper, more at ease with giving him what I had to offer now than the first time we’d done this. We didn’t have to worry about privacy or being overheard or being intruded upon- which was comforting for me.

I let his heavy jeans fall to the floor, and then he picked me up into his arms, lying me down on his bunk. I moved over so that he could fit beside me, and I bit my lip as he effortlessly unzipped my skirt and slid it down my legs. I brought his lips down onto mine, and I lifted my hips from the bed in order to make room for his hands as my panties slid away as well.

His lips parted briefly, and then he pulled back from the kiss to smile down at me.

“I love you,” I whispered, and he smiled, his eyes gleaming down at me. This was something that was too contagious to resist- my own lips spread into a smile, and my breath hitched in my throat as his roughened fingertips unfastened the buttons that held the collar of my shirt closed, making it easier for him to pull it over my head. He dropped the shirt onto the floor, and then he pressed his body to mine. My head tilted back, my eyes closed, and my fingers curled against the back of his neck as his lips maneuvered along my body and his gentle tongue flicked out to caress my skin.

This was different than how he’d been before- before, he’d been slow and careful with me, but now he was being soft and sensual with me, probably leaving me with this memory before he had to watch me get on a plane. Shivering slightly with this new sort of sensation, I ran my tongue along my lips as his met my bellybutton. His hands were on my legs, and I arched my back slightly- he was touching me in ways the boyfriend I’d had in high school never had.

“Brian…”

He looked up at me, his eyes shadowed by both his fedora and his eyeliner, and he smiled my favorite crooked smile. “Yeah?” he asked, moving back up to my neck.

“Will you say it for me?”

I curled my fingers around the hem of his boxers, tugging slightly, letting my lips lift into a breathy smile as he responded to the touch. His gaze met mine, and his chocolate eyes practically melted as soon as he smiled. His smooth lips gently touched mine, his soft fingertips grazing my sides, and I pulled at his boxers, tugging them down. When he broke it, I heard him purr, “There are many things I could say for you, Heather Leann…”

I whimpered in response to his use of my middle name, which was kind of hot. “But there’s only one thing I wanna hear.”

“I know.” His voice was a gentle whisper in my ear, and his lips brushed lightly across my earlobe, slightly parted, as he released a slow breath. I licked my suddenly dry lips, and his lips met the side of my neck as his lower half was pressed to mine- his everything right there, giving the offer and waiting for me to take it. I ran my hands along his back, my fingertips caressing the muscles that lay beneath his skin, feeling the way they moved as he did. It was like he knew that I was stuck in anticipation. I hadn’t even come close to being like this with him, since last time, we’d pretty much just gotten down to it without this slow and sensual make out session business. My eyes remained open, savoring every inch of this moment with him. It was almost as if he had completely forgotten what I’d wanted him to tell me- almost. But he pulled his lips from my neck so that he could stare down into my eyes, and he smiled. “I love you,” he whispered, and then he let me drag him down into a kiss as he entered me.

I clung to him like a bride holds on to her groom on their wedding night, and he didn’t seem to mind. I didn’t care either, because the only thing the two of us were worried about was just getting this moment right and proving the way we felt about each other before I had to leave him behind.

For a second time, I was closer to Brian Haner than any other fan girl had ever been.

Endless minutes of sharing myself with him felt like an age, and even as I lay beside him afterward, completely disregarding our discarded clothes that now lay on the floor, I couldn’t get past the fact that he had done so much- both to and for- me, and he didn’t seem fazed by it. I bit my lip as he pulled out his phone (after closing the curtain to his bunk), tracing small symbols on his chest, my eyes fixated on his abs (because those were just for me, he’d said), laying in silence at his side as he waited for Matt to pick up his phone.

“Hey Shads…yeah, it’s safe, we should probably start on our way.” “Um…our jeans and shirts, I think.” I blushed. At least his boxers hadn’t fallen to the floor (or my underwear). “No, tell Jimmy it’s not disgusting, and I will beat him up if he says anything to her.” He chuckled softly, his hand tracing along my back. “I think she just wants to cuddle or chill or whatever she calls it.” Snuggling, I corrected him mentally, even though he obviously wouldn’t hear that. “Okay. See you in a few.” He closed his phone, and he stroked my face with his newly freed hand, pushing my hair out of the way as he went. “You’re so beautiful,” he said softly, with a slight smile and a soft twinkle in his eye. Jeez. Maybe he wasn’t kidding. Maybe he really did feel something for me.

“I could say the same for you,” I responded, quirking an eyebrow and placing my hand over his, moving it to my chest, placing it on top of my heart- where the ring hung from my necklace. “And because you insist that I keep this, I’ll have it to remember how beautiful you are.” I winked at him, and he shook his head, sighing, picking the ring up and rubbing it with his thumb. “Five months is going to feel like forever,” I sighed, and his eyes flashed up to mine.

He seemed to be chewing on a question for a moment, considering his words carefully. Then- “If I asked you to hold out for me, you know, wait for me to come back so that we can actually be….y’know…together-“, my heart fluttered at the word, “-would you?” He bit his lip, keeping his hand occupied by running his thumb over the ring.

“Do you want me to wait for you?” He smiled. “Because I will.”

I know what you’re thinking. I’m a stupid, trashy fan girl that has only known him for three days and shouldn’t be tying him down like this, right? I’m supposed to know better than to tell someone I’ve only known for three days that I’ll be his if he’ll come back and get me, right? It’s a mistake for me to be in love with him, right? I should know better than this, sleeping with a rock star and expecting him to love me, right?

“You only have to ask me,” I said softly. None of those ‘I should know betters’ mattered when I looked at him, I mean really looked at him. He brought the ring up to his lips and kissed it, closing his eyes and taking in a deep breath. The fact that he was being so careful about it told me that he wasn’t just leading me on- he would never do that to the girl that had given him her everything, would he?

His eyes opened, and just as we heard the guys getting on the bus, laughing about something one of them had said, Brian said softly, “Will you…” My heart pounded in my chest, and I thought the entire world could hear it. “Will you wait for me, Heather Byrd?”

I nodded, and he smiled, pressing his lips to mine, holding my face in his hands. His heartfelt kiss caught me off guard, but nonetheless, it was easy for me to cradle his face in my hands, securing his face to mine. I couldn’t let go this time. He seemed reluctant, too, but that didn’t matter- the look in his eyes as the kiss was broken had almost as much of an effect on me as the kiss itself had. I wanted to say so much to him, but anything I could come up with was dripping with mushiness and just didn’t fit either of us. So I let my eyes say what I couldn’t as we held each other like this, my hands eventually drifting to his neck.

He stroked my cheek with his thumb for a moment, and then he turned my necklace around so that he could unfasten the clasp and pull the ring off. After refastening the clasp, he turned the ring over between his fingers a few times, considering more words. After a few moments, he said, “This time, there really is something behind it and…and you won’t ever have to take it off unless you want to put it back on the necklace or something.” He bit his lip, and his cheeks actually flushed slightly. I had to admit, I was impressed. “When I gave it to Michelle, I asked her to be my fiancé, but now, I just wanted to ask you to accept it as a promise ring.”

“What are you promising?”

“To come back and get you.”

“And from me?”

He flashed a smile. “Just hold out for the poor rock star who hasn’t felt this way in a really long time.” I smiled, touching his face. I could do that. “So you’ll accept it as yours, then?” I nodded again, letting him take my left hand and slide the ring into place. His voice became soft- he knew the guys were listening. “I love you. I mean that. I really do.”

I touched my finger to his lips. “I know, Brian. I love you too.” He smiled. “So do you want to hog me for the last few hours that I’m here with you guys?”

“I dunno…I think the guys wanted to give you something.”

I turned onto my side, and he did the same. I raised an eyebrow, and he chuckled. “More gifts from the guys can wait. I just wanna be with you for a bit.” I took his hand in mine, and he smiled. “Is that okay?”

He grinned. He didn’t have to say anything. His eyes said everything, and I was grateful for that. Biting my lip, I let my fingertips pass over his lips, tracing their smooth curves, and he parted them beneath my touch, his warm breath washing over my face. His scent was to die for- I let him take hold of the hand that was at his mouth, and he kissed each of my knuckles. I smiled as the butterflies swarmed around in my stomach.

Things were silent for a moment, and then someone knocked gently on the doorframe just beside where we were lying together. I laid my head on Brian’s chest, and he pulled the blanket up so that it covered me, not really caring if his chest was out in the open or not. Then he slid open the curtain, just enough to see Johnny’s small smile. “Yeah?”

“Okay, well we know you guys wanted to, uh, snuggle for a bit, but the guys just wondered…how long will you want?” Brian quirked an eyebrow, and Johnny ran a hand over his buzz-cut. “Just so we know how long to leave you alone.” He flashed a smile.

“Give us about an hour or so. We should be set by then. If we come out before then, you guys can give her whatever it is that you want to give her before we take her to the airport.” Johnny nodded, and then he walked back towards the guys. Brian chuckled softly to himself, pulling the curtain closed, and then he gently pressed his lips to the top of my head. “So what do you think, kiddo? What can we do that’ll kill an hour?” He kissed my head again, and when I glanced up at him, he winked, smiling at me.

“Well we’ve made out, we’ve had sex, we’ve cuddled, and we’ve done everything else, so...” He released something that sounded like a ‘humph’, and I laughed. “So how about we just chill this time?” I raised an eyebrow at him, and he snickered. “I think someone is interested in chilling,” I said teasingly.

“Hey. You know what, I don’t really care what we do, as long as I’m with you.”

“Hmm…that’s an open-ended invitation right there. I could ask you just about anything right now, and you’d be practically obliged to say yes.” He quirked an eyebrow at me, his way of telling me to ask away. “How about you don’t make me wait five months to call you my boyfriend?”

“Huh?”

“You know.” I tried my hand at his trademark- wiggling my eyebrows suggestively, practically grinning.

“Damn. That was…” I blushed a little, sliding up to be face-to-face with him, propping myself up on one arm. “Kind of hot.” He gave me a brief kiss, and then he added, “Because your three days still aren’t up and I want you too,” I bit my lip, turning a slight shade of red, “if it’s me you want, I’m yours.”

“Mine?” I questioned, not really sure if I’d heard him right. “As in…”

His voice was soft. “As in I’ll be your boyfriend.”

My heart hammered in my chest, and I let my hand rest on his chest, my thumb stroking his smooth, tan skin. We stared into each other’ eyes for a while, and we were silent, even as he wrapped his arms around me once more. I had to admit that I never had even considered that Brian Haner- Synyster Gates- would have ever allowed himself to be this close to me. I had never even thought that I could mean so much to someone who had only known me for short of seventy-two hours. I had never thought that the thought of goodbyes with him and the guys would put such a knot in my gut.

He held me close for an hour, and whether we found ourselves in small, sporadic conversations, we pretty much just stayed close, letting everything we’d just done and promised to each other really sink in. It was pretty obvious to the both of us that the next five months would give us an opportunity to really consider what we were promising.