The Bird and the Worm

Time had passed slowly. If the first month had been ridiculous for Brian and me, then the next four months were hell on wheels. And the thing about that was that as those last four months passed things became more and more serious between the two of us. We were saying ‘I love you’ more often, and each time we had webcam conversations, his band was just so chill about the way we flirted and teased…as though we’d been meant to meet for a long time before now.

And while the time had passed, an impassable rift had formed between me and my mother.

But that was something I could deal with, because by that time, I’d finished my second year of college, realized that Brian wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon, and I’d accepted the fact that Gina wasn’t going to stop hitting on Vengeance.

For some reason, I was alright with that because I was on my way to LAX to pick the guys up with Gina in tow (she was desperate to meet them face to face for some reason, even though the hurry was pointless; Brian wasn’t going anywhere, and that meant that neither was the band), some sort of soft rock wafting out of the radio of the Jeep she’d agreed to let me drive.

“I can’t believe he’s finally back. I mean, you’ve been talking about him for five months now, and the fact that I can finally be face to face with the man is an accomplishment in itself.” She snickered.

“Well you realize I’m going to have to get the chance to uh, greet him properly. It’s been five months since we’ve even been around each other, after all.” I smiled over at her, and she sighed in resignation. “I know, I know. You hate that your best friend is the hottest rock star ever’s girlfriend. But deal with it. I love him.”

“Yeah yeah and he loves you too. You’ve told me that a million times. I wouldn’t mind a freaking hug from him. I mean, I might request a little more from Zacky, but…”

“Gina, I swear…”

“I can’t help it, and you know that. He’s hot, and Gates is taken by some whore that calls herself my best friend.” She grinned over at me. “I’m kidding. Totally kidding. About you and Gates. Not about Vengeance.”

With a sigh, I parked the car and turned it off, glancing over at her. “Get your ass out of the car. We’re about to pick Avenged Sevenfold up from the airport, so please, smile like you mean it, and not like you want to bang one of Brian’s best friends, alright?” She nodded. “Alright. Let’s go.” I watched as she put on her sunglasses, and I bit my lip as I slung my bag over my shoulder and pocketed my cell phone.

I took a deep breath before we walked into the airport and waited by the baggage claim. Gina was leaning against one of the carousels, humming to herself, and I had my hands laced together in front of me. Biting my lip, I thought about the months that had lead up to this.

For the first time in months, I would see him.

When he walked out of the terminal, his carry-on rolling behind him, he smiled and laughed at Jimmy, patting his arm, and then almost as if it were in slow motion, he turned his head to face me and stroked his chin, his smile still intact. Gina winked at me, nodding towards him, and I smiled, winking back at her as I unfolded my hands and ran one through my hair, closing the distance between me and Brian. His arms opened, and I walked straight into them, wrapping my own arms around his waist and looking up at him.

He smiled, pulling me closer to him, and then he touched his fingers to my chin, tilting my head up so that he could bring his lips down to mine. I was immediately cured of any sort of anxiety I’d been experiencing. I sighed against his lips, moving my hands up to his shoulder blades and securing myself to his body. This was the most perfect thing I’d experienced since five months ago, when he’d first kissed me. I could feel the chill spreading through my body- he was much, much too good.

His hands rested on my waist, and his smooth lips parted just before they pulled away from mine. “Hey you,” he said softly, smiling and stroking my face before letting his hand go back to my hip. “I missed you.” Another chill- his voice in person was much better than on the phone or in any webcam conversations we’d had. He kissed me again, and he smiled as my hands moved to the back of his neck, my fingertips toying with his hair. The kiss didn’t last long, though, and he winked as he drew back, sliding his hands along my sides. “What do you say we get outta here, huh?” he said softly, and the smile he flashed was impossible to resist.

“To Huntington?”

He seemed to consider this for a moment. “To drop the guys off, yeah, but then back to your mom’s. You have to get your stuff, don’t you?” I nodded. “Then the two of us can do that, if you trust your friend alone with the guys.”

I glanced over at Gina. “I think she can be trusted. As long as Zacky’s not feeling the fuzz.” He raised an eyebrow. “He should just be warned.” I stroked the side of his face, and he smiled. “I missed you, Brian,” I whispered, and he smiled. “Let’s go.” He nodded, and he pulled his arms from around me so that he could slip his hand into mine, lacing our fingers together and giving my hand a slight squeeze. To hide the blush on my face, I slipped my sunglasses on with my free hand and motioned for Gina to follow me. Brian’s band was already walking behind us.

“Which way to the way home?” he asked, glancing over at me.

Gina shook her head, holding her hand out as she caught up to us. “Oh no, sister. Friends don’t let friends drive drunk, y’know?” She winked. “I mean, with the Gates right there and you doing everything I can’t do.”

“I can drive, Gina. You’re just being demoted to the back seat.” Of her own car, too, which had to be enjoyable.

She eyed Zacky for a moment. “More like promoted to the back. I mean, seriously, the gorgeousness that will be sitting in the back seat of my Jeep…” Her hand resumed its position at her side, and she nudged me with her elbow. “Lead the way, since you won’t give me the keys.” I stuck my tongue out at her, and Brian softly ran his thumb over the back of my hand.

We walked across the street, and when we got to the car, Brian pressed me to the passenger door, giving me a kiss before Gina and the guys approached, which was sadly only a few seconds. The guys just sighed and got in, and Brian touched his hand to the side of my face as he let me pass him and walk to the driver’s door.

He folded his hand into mine once we were in the Jeep, and then the drive to Huntington began. The drive was short, Brian gave me gentle directions, and despite my inane urge to glance in the rear view mirror, I couldn’t hear her attempting to flirt with Vengeance. So I figured he was safe. There was just a lot of snickering going on, and I was honestly a little afraid of what I would see if I did glance in the rear view mirror.

I pacified myself by holding on to Brian’s hand, and he seemed content to do the same, though I knew more would come later when we were alone, and I was alright with that.

When we arrived at his place, I allowed myself to marvel in the sheer size of the place, and then we all got out of the car, walking to the back and pulling out all the suitcases. I kept my comments to myself, and I helped the guys take their suitcases inside before taking one of Brian’s suitcases and letting him take my hand and lead me to his bedroom. I had to admit that I felt a flutter of butterflies invade my stomach, making me even more nervous than I had been about ten minutes ago.

When the door closed, we set the suitcases aside, and I let my back meet the wall, biting my lip and wiggling my eyebrows. “So. Privacy is for…?”

He flashed an irresistible smile, one hand on my side and the other gently stroking the side of my face. “For this,” he said softly, and then he brought his lips down to mine with more intensity than ever, a soft sigh passing his lips as they parted. I let my arms wrap loosely around his neck, drawing him closer, and let him pull my body closer to his as I parted my lips too. I could feel whatever emotion he was experiencing in a twisted, sordid way, and he gave me a much more intense kiss after whispering that he loved me.

My heart skipped a beat when I heard the words, and I smiled as I pulled him down into another kiss.

“Feel better now?” he questioned, and his eyes were glimmering when he smiled down at me.

I nodded. “Yeah. I could even take on Momzilla right now.” He chuckled, giving me a short kiss.

“I think you’ll have to, if we’re going to take on moving your stuff. Which reminds me..” He pulled himself from my arms, and then he walked over to his suitcase, unzipping the small part on the front and pulling out a key. He was practically grinning as he turned and held it out to me. “You might need this,” he said, pressing it into my palm, folding his hand into mine. “You ready?”

I nodded. “Yeah. While I’m still on a slight buzz, let’s just get the basics and go.”

“Okay, cool.” At this point, Brian was being so much more than ‘boyfriend’, and he was treating me as though I was more than his girlfriend. In anyone else’s eyes, there would have been something awkward about that realization, but I couldn’t help to think of how lucky I was. “Come on. I’ll show you how Synyster Gates drives.” He winked, and then he opened the door, leading me downstairs.

“Hey Heather.”

We stopped just in front of the staircase, and I turned to look at Jimmy. “Yeah?”

“No quickies, right?”

I laughed. “Not until you guys are gone. But considering how long he’s been away, I doubt they’ll be quick.” He pretended to be grossed out, but he exchanged looks with Brian, and there was a smile on both of their faces. “I just want to get my stuff and be done with the drama.”

“Sounds like a girl I know,” he said, and Brian snickered. “See you guys soon.”

“Yeah.” I glanced over at Gina. “You. Behave.” She quirked an eyebrow. “I mean it. Zacky is not a toy, so play nice.” Brian brought my hand to his lips, and he kissed it softly, winking at Gina and the guys. “See you losers in a bit.”

It really was too bad that when we walked out, we missed Vengeance muttering, “She may have told you to play nice, but she said absolutely nothing about me,” and we totally missed Gina’s reaction and the aftermath of this realization.