The Bird and the Worm

((Heather’s POV))

“Hold on Jimmy- Ow that was my rib – seriously, the phone is ringing.” Jimmy laughed triumphantly and whacked me with the pillow again. I inched closer to the phone, attempting futilely to block the drummer’s attacks, swinging aimlessly at him as I neared my goal. “I’m serious- timeout!”

He stopped, still laughing, and crossed his arms, pillow still in his grasp. I rolled my eyes, reaching for the phone, picking it up, and answering it. I could have sworn I heard him mutter something about phone sex, but since I wasn’t positive, I didn’t say a word other than, “Hello?”

“Hi. Um, is Brian home? This is Val. Matt wanted to talk to him for a second, something about a boy’s night.”

“Uh, actually, Brian’s not here at the moment. He went out to do a few things, so, um, you could try his cell?” I wasn’t sure if Brian had taken it with him, but it was worth a shot.

Val seemed to approve of this alternative. “I’ll try that.” She paused for a moment, and then she added, “You’re Heather, aren’t you.” Matt said something in the background. “And it is the miracle girlfriend, well, you and I are going to have to hang out sometime. Y’know. Spend the guys’ money. Get high on caffeine. Gossip. The usual girl stuff.” I bit my lip. I wasn’t sure how good I was at ‘girl stuff.’ “Well, Matt’s going to try Brian’s cell, so, thanks!”

“Yep. Bye.”

She hung up, and I did the same, holding up a finger to hold Jimmy off for a moment while I switched pillows and placed the phone on its cradle. When I turned to face him, he did some sort of crane maneuver, and then he swirled around, swatting at my sides with his pillow, blocking my swings as well, laughing at my lack of the ability to fend him off. I didn’t care that I wasn’t as strong as him. I’d had seven cans of Coca Cola within the last hour. I wasn’t required to be normal when hyper.

“You’ll never best me, James Owen Sullivan!” I cried triumphantly, and I braved his attacks in order to get closer to him and whack him over the head with my pillow a few times. He laughed and crouched down, trying to evade me, but I tossed my pillow aside, leaping on top of him, allowing myself to be on his shoulder, and I poked and prodded at numerous places on his back. He laughed, laying his arms over me and standing, trying to fight me off futilely, letting me have my fun. “I told you, I always win!”

He laughed and tugged at my leg, but I curled my fingers around his shirt. When he set me down on the ground, his shirt came up off his back, and he pulled the material from my hands, shaking his head and laughing. “Oh the things that Brian will think,” he said, and I wiggled my eyebrows. “Pulling his best friend’s shirt off and everything…"

I shrugged. “It was the only thing I could get my hands on. Don’t judge me, alright? Seven bottles of coke, remember?”

He laughed and pulled me into a hug. “I can see why Brian loves you,” he said, kissing my cheek. “You certainly are a fuckin’ gas, that’s for sure.” He laughed again, and then he released me. “You really love him, don’t you.” I nodded, smiling and tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. “Well fuck. Guess you’re not wearing that ring for nothing, are ya?”

“He’s a really great guy.”

“I know. If I were a girl, I know I’d date him.” He flashed a smile. “Come on. Let’s dig out the big pot and make an ass load of popcorn so we can watch a movie. You have no idea how much I would kill for a good viewing of The Shining.” He smiled again, grabbing my hand and dragging me to the kitchen. “I know where all his music is, where all the popcorn is, but I am not worth a damn when it comes to the stove.”

“Good thing I am.”

“Fuck. Two good cooks in one relationship..” He looked jealous, even as he fished out the pot and set the popcorn before me. “Do your thing, yo. I’ll try to learn.” Smiling sheepishly, he slid a CD into a CD player that was on the counter nearby, pushed play, and then I heard a very familiar guitar.

“That man…” I sighed, getting everything ready.

Jimmy found this amusing. “He’s a sap, he can’t help but play the guitar line from every song you listed as your favorite and then sing the song he wrote and then…okay so it is a little weird, but he’s weird, so just enjoy, alright?” I smiled, shaking my head, and the music got a little louder. “He really can’t help it, you know.”

I blushed a little, but my hair hanging in front of my face managed to hide it.

“I’ll bet you twenty bucks he won’t make out with me.”

I glanced over at him, an eyebrow raised, in the middle of pouring popcorn into the pot. “Are you serious, mister Sullivan?” He nodded, and I blinked a couple of times. He was casually mentioning something that fan girls all over the world would murder to see, and he was laughing about it. “We have a bet. Shake on it.” He outstretched his hand, grinning slyly, and I took it, shaking it a few times before letting go. “I can’t wait to see this,” I murmured, and I returned to the task at hand.

Ten minutes later, we had a huge bowl of popcorn before us, and the song that was currently playing was an acoustic version of Seize The Day. I simply rolled my eyes and huffed at Jimmy’s questioning stare, and I handed him the bowl of popcorn while I walked back to the couch, settling in and waiting for him to join me. I wrapped my arms around a pillow, resting my chin on it, and I smiled at him when he put the movie in and pressed play, setting the popcorn between the two of us. “I’m glad you stuck around, by the way.” I glanced over at him, raising an eyebrow. “Not just for Brian’s sake. It’s also because you have got to be one of the most interesting people I’ve ever met, and that is saying something.”

“Considering Brian’s an effing weirdo, right?”

He laughed. “Yeah. Something like that.”

I shook my head, returning my attention to the screen, and toyed with the chain Matt had given me, biting my lip and trying to focus on the boring beginning- Jack Nicholson discovers he’s supposed to be the caretaker for some ancient hotel that makes people go mad, and he and his family experience the repercussions of his decisions, blah blah blah. I hated the beginning. It was just maddening that Jack Nicholson didn’t jump on the chance as soon as he had it and then allow himself to enjoy it. Instead, he complained about it and allowed that place to ruin him.

I thought that, despite the fact that it was Jack Nicholson in this movie, he was quite possibly the least intelligent protagonist/antagonist Stephen King had ever written…merely because he gave in to the madness much too easily, too willing to almost kill his son, getting too much enjoyment from running around with an axe and slashing it through peoples’ bodies and nearly impaling his wife with it.

Sick as it was, and despite the idiocy of the main character, it was a work of Stanley Kubrick genius. I was not left unimpressed, even though it was probably the seventieth time I’d watched it.

By the time the final frame had rolled by and the screen had gone black, the popcorn was gone, Jimmy was getting antsy, and the Coca Cola’s effects had worn off. Needless to say, I was now bored. In the presence of Jimmy Sullivan. Which I’d once thought was damn near impossible.

And just as the last of the pillow fights came to an end, the front door opened, and the most beautiful person I’d ever known walked in, smiling right at me and opening his arms. I dropped the pillow I was holding, rushed over to him, and let him pick me up as I set my hands on the sides of his face and kissed him. Jimmy laughed to himself over by the couch, but I ignored him, and so did Brian.

He kissed me back very subtly, letting me pretty much dominate this one, and then when I broke it, he set me down and took my hand, leading me outside. I smiled up at him, and he gestured towards his car. He was grinning, and he squeezed my hand as I walked towards the vehicle. On the hood, I found three very thoughtful gifts- a bouquet of flowers, a box with a note that read ‘I love you’ in his finest script attached to it, and a set of keys. I released his hand in order to pick up the flowers, and I held them to my nose, closing my eyes and inhaling their scent.

Jesus. They smelled like heaven.

I inhaled again, and my heart skipped a beat. I knew that smell.

“They smell like you,” I whispered. “Just like you.” Now I knew what he smelled like. There was a difference between him and the man that had been on tour five months ago- that peppermint scent was a very sexual scent, and this scent that he had now was an intoxicating scent. I smiled at him past the flowers, and he smiled back. “I have got to have the best boyfriend ever.” He grinned back at me. “I love you.”

“I love you too.”

I inhaled the scent of the flowers again, and then I picked up the box. Brian seemed to know that I couldn’t handle both with only one hand for each, so he gently took the flowers from me, holding them for me, while I turned the box in my hands, trying to figure out what it was. This was a much better surprise than the ones he’d come home with earlier. Those were great, to be sure, but these seemed so much more personal that it actually made me want to cry a little.

“You’ll never guess what’s in there.”

I raised an eyebrow, then decided to believe him. I slid the ribbon off, and then I removed the lid, only to be met by gorgeously arranged tissue paper. I had to know what he’d gotten for me now. This wasn’t the smallest box, so it wasn’t smoothly managed, but I fished through the tissue paper and discovered an eye-blisteringly beautiful chocolate-colored dress that looked like it would go down to my knees. I bit my lip and glanced up at him. “And this is for?”

“I’m going to take you somewhere nice tonight.” He flashed a smile, and I set the box down on the car, holding the dress to my body and swishing it this way and that, admiring the way it moved. “Oh. And. I almost forgot this.” I looked up at him, and he was digging through his front pocket, fishing something out. My heart almost stopped when I saw that it was a small box- small enough to hold a ring and nothing more than that.

The dress was laid as carefully as possible on the tissue paper, and so were the flowers, before he popped the box open. “Brian…”

His eyes twinkled as he said, “You shouldn’t have to wear Michelle’s anymore.” I nodded slowly, pulling Michelle’s ring from my finger (for the first time in five months, mind you) and unclasping the necklace he’d given me, sliding the ring onto it with trembling fingers. “I thought the sapphires would highlight your eyes better.” I bit my lip, and he pulled the ring from the box, taking my left hand in both of his. “Will…will you wear it?” I nodded, my gaze never leaving his, my eyes wide, and he gently slid the new ring onto my finger.

“Jesus, Brian, what did I do to deserve you?”

“You sent in a video, that’s what.” His hands closed over mine, and I closed my eyes as he bent down and very casually pressed his lips to mine. I love you. The words were unspoken. They didn’t need to be said.

I felt like it would be easier to pretend to be his fiancé now.

“Come on,” he suggested in a soft whisper-like purr. “You should probably put those flowers in a vase, and you should be getting ready for our date.” He smiled, and dazed by what he’d just done for me, I picked everything except the flowers up from the hood, Brian picking up the flowers, and laced my fingers into his, letting him lead me back inside.