Sequel: Beyond the Sun

The Bird and the Worm

seven - the sentence

I closed my eyes and waited as he explained everything to the guys. They were fairly quiet, seeming to be thinking about a way to help me. I didn’t get why. They’d known me for ten hours, and they were figuring out a way to save me from my mother’s wrath. I guess I really had no idea how devoted they truly were to their fans. I knew that I could find a way to pay them back later on, but for now, I was just glad that I was going to be able to keep my three days that I’d won. This was my chance of a lifetime, and I wasn’t going to give it up just because my mother had never learned to accept the things I wanted.

Soft lips touched the top of my head, and a roughened hand stroked my cheek. I opened my eyes and looked up at the man that held me. “Heather, remember when I said that these three days were yours and that I would do anything?” I nodded. “I’m a man of my word, you know. All you have to do is ask me.”

I smiled a little. I knew what he meant. “Brian, will you help me?”

He flashed a smile. “I have the perfect idea. Thanks to the fan girl-esque antics of your dearly beloved best friend.” He slid his hand into mine, and he led me to his bunk. “It really is a good thing I never cleaned these drawers after Michelle left.” He let go of my hand, then fished through the drawers for a moment, pulling out a small black velvet box. “All you have to do is wear the ring, smile, and blush. I’ll come up with the story.” My eyes flashed to the box, and my heartbeat sped up- I felt like my ability to breathe right was failing me.

“How come you guys are all doing this?” I asked him, my voice breathy.

He smiled, popping the velvet box open. “Because. I already told you how I felt, and these guys are happy to see me happy.” I felt my face flush a deep red, and my breath caught completely in the back of my throat as he took my left hand in his. “And we like having you around too much to lose you before we get to know you.” His warm hand caressed mine, and then he placed the ring box in my palm. I examined the ring as he waited for whatever it was he expected me to say. The thing was absolutely beautiful, and I couldn’t really take my eyes off it. The glistening emeralds that were embedded into the band glistened in the bus’ dim lighting.

“My friends will never believe the things that have happened in the last few hours,” I breathed, and he smiled. “First Synyster Gates kisses me, then I’m calling him Brian, and then he’s treating me like his girlfriend, and now-“ I bit my lip for a moment-“now I’m pretending to be engaged to him.”

He plucked the ring out of the box, placing the box on his bunk, and then he slid the ring into place on my third finger. It was a perfect fit, to be honest. “I can pretend long enough,” he said softly, closing his hands around my left one. I blushed a little, my gaze shifting to the floor, avoiding his mellow chocolate stare. “Can you?”

He pulled me close, his arms around my waist, and I let my hands rest on the side of his neck. For about ten seconds, I felt horrible for sucking him into the perpetual feud between my mother and me, but when he tenderly stroked my face and brought his lips down onto mine, all of that disappeared. I relaxed against him, molding myself into his body just so that I could release all the tension I felt, and he let his hand roam up and down my back.

Out of sheer curiosity, I broke the kiss and glanced into his eyes. They were shining, and he seemed like he wanted something more, something much greater than what I could give him with the guys on the bus, and I pulled him down into another kiss. He gratefully returned it, moving his hands from my back to my face, keeping me close. I felt chills speed through my spine. I had no idea how this was possible- this was a very intimate moment that I was having with him, and we barely knew each other. Yeah, we knew each other more than we had ten hours ago, but how could we be this intimate?

My fingertips slid deftly to his chest, my right palm just above his heart, and I could feel his heartbeat pulsing against my hand. My left hand remained on his shoulder, and he broke our kiss to stare into my eyes. His eyes were so intense, and I couldn’t really bring myself to look away from him.

“I should be sorry for that,” he said, softly, resting his forehead on mine.

“I should be, too, but I don’t think I am.”

“So you can handle this?”

“This is the only way I can stay.” He sighed. “I still don’t get why you guys are fighting so hard to keep me. I mean, you just put a ring on my finger, and you’re willing to pretend-“

He touched his fingers to my lips, shaking his head. I kissed them softly, letting out a slow breath after I did so. “You have no idea how important it is to the band that you stay for three days. You have no idea how important it is to me. I mean, you falling asleep in my arms last night made me forget what Michelle ever meant to me, and-“ he sighed. “And these three days are yours. If you need help, we’re the band that helps our fans.”

“Thank you, Brian.” I leaned against him, and he pulled me closer.

‘I’m not always hiding, come all the way down and watch me burn, I won’t let it show, I’m not always flying, so on the way down I’ll watch you burn…I’m not always hiding, come all the way down and watch me burn…”

Brian gave my hair a gentle kiss, and I pulled my phone out of my pocket. I flipped it open, pressing it to my ear and biting my lip for a moment. “Hello?” I barely managed to stutter, and then I waited for the tempest.

“Heather Leann, where in God’s name are you? Do you have any idea what your Aunt Beth told me just ten minutes ago? If you were still seventeen, I swear I-“ my mother drew in a steep breath, failing to calm herself. “Do you have any idea what you’re doing to your father and me? Jesus Christ, of course you don’t, all you think about is yourself, that’s how it always has been…making out with a trashy rock star? Christ’s sake, I raised you better than that…”

“Mom.”

“…it’s like you have no standards…”

“Mom.”

“…wonder what I did that I could have done better so that they weren’t so lax…”

“Mom! Shut up for a freaking minute, would you? So I kissed Brian in a pancake house. Big fricking deal. I kissed him last night, backstage and on the tour bus right before I fell asleep. Why do you care? If you have something to say to me, wait until after the show…I can’t handle your cynicism right now. Why do think I moved out the minute I graduated, huh?”

She huffed angrily. “You and I and that pathetic rock star of yours will be having a few words after this show that you’re attending. I promise you that.”

Groaning frustratedly, I snapped the phone shut, not even bothering to say goodbye to her, and leaned my head on Brian’s chest. He touched his lips to my cheek, humming in my ear, taking the phone from my hand and tossing it onto his bunk.

“Are you alright?”

“No. I’m not alright. She just knows how to kill my limited amount of self-esteem, every single time.”

“I’m sorry, Heather.”

“No. Don’t you be sorry. You’re the one making it better, so, can you just hold me for a while?”

He kissed my hair again. “Yeah, I can do that,” he said softly, and then he returned to humming. I closed my eyes. This was his way of promising that things would be better. He was trying really hard, and as he held me, I thought back on what Jimmy had said outside the pancake house. He’d basically told me that right now, I was the only reason that Brian was smiling. I was the only woman in his life at this moment that was making him happy at all. It was almost as if we were a perfect match- both of us had pain and difficulty in our lives, and here we were, trying to fix it together by holding each other close and praying it worked.

None of the guys disturbed us, only because I was fairly certain they’d heard just about everything that had been said. Past Brian’s wholehearted attempt to make me feel better, I heard Guitar Hero being turned back on, though not as loud as before. There were a few minutes of mixed sounds- the music coming from the game and the song Brian was partially humming and partially singing for me - and then Jimmy’s laughter sounded throughout the bus. I smiled slightly as I heard it, and Brian’s lips curved against the top of my head.

I don’t know how long we were there beside his bunk, but we swayed back and forth to music only the two of us could hear, and my eyes rested closed, soaking in the tenderness of the sweetest thing any man had ever done for me. We could have been there for ten minutes, and it could have been thirty. I really didn’t keep track of time, and I couldn’t be bothered to glance at my phone and figure out the difference.

“We don’t have to go back out there,” he said softly as I half pulled myself from his arms, my hands on his chest.

I sighed. “I know, but considering the level of my self-esteem right now, I should probably be around as many people as possible.” I glanced hopefully into his eyes, and he nodded in agreement, both his lips and his chocolate eyes smiling down at me. “I mean, I know my ego should be sky high considering who is holding me and whose ring is currently on my finger, regardless of whether it’s a prose or not, but I just can’t get Mom’s words out of my head.”

He touched my face, slipping his hand into mine. “Hey. It’s okay. I can try to win against you again, if you’d like.”

Shaking my head, I let my lips lift into a cynical smile. “In your dizzy daydreams, hot stuff.”

“Well then. Round two ensues.” He winked at me, and then he led me back out to where the band was. They offered me sympathetic-looking smiles, but I shook my head, so the smiles became more enthusiastic. “Hey. Jimmy. Get your ass up from that drum set. Heather here is going to show me how to play guitar.” He squeezed my hand, laughing, and we set up for playing just as Jimmy and I had done before. He picked the song he’d mutilated before, smirking over at me, and then he dove headfirst into the drum intro on expert.

I barely managed to start the guitar part at the right time. He was amazing. His skilled hands twisted the drumsticks like they were putty or something, and he was jamming-in the zone.

I braved the guitar solo, and when the song was finished, I smiled to myself. “Maybe next time, cutie,” I teased, and he rolled his eyes, handing the drumsticks back to Jimmy, taking my hand as he stepped to my side. Jimmy sat at the drums, but he turned to face us, smiling.

“So. What’s the master plan to shut her bitch-face mother up?” He gave me an apologetic smile. “Sorry Heather, but I think she’s treating you like shit.” He winked. “I’d be stoked, if it were me. Brian’s a great guy, huh?” I laughed nervously, and Brian stroked the back of my hand with his thumb, keeping me from breaking down again.

Taking a deep breath, I lifted my left hand, showing the band what Brian and Gina had decided would be a foolproof way to silence my mother’s disapproval of my ‘lack of standards’. Matt’s eyes widened to the size of golf balls, Johnny simply snickered, Jimmy winked at me, as always, and Zacky smiled- like he thought it looked good on me or something, almost as if he figured it might as well just stay there. I liked it, too, but I couldn’t get past the fact that it had once belonged to a woman that had trashed Brian’s heart.

“I think it’ll work,” Johnny mused, eyeing the ring approvingly, something odd in his eyes. Nervous, I blushed and let my hand fall back to my side. “I mean, she seems to think you have no moral rules, right? Well if she sees that ring, at least she’ll maybe be convinced that he’s got some class.”

“Even though we clearly have no proper restaurant etiquette,” Brian said with a laugh.

“Well that’s just her being a heinous bitch and I think she needs to get over herself. It sounds like she’s controlled girlie-face’s life enough. Might as well have some fun with it, you know? Tell her you’re knocked up or something and then an hour later add in that you were kidding. Or you can tell her you’ve been having this secret romance for the last couple of months and when you met, you just hit it off right away and decided to hang it all and take it all the way.” He batted his eyes. “Puppy love, awww.” Whack. “Ow, fuck, motherfucker that was my fuckin’ arm, what the hell was that for?”

“You truly have no class, Johnny,” Matt sighed. “Hey, who wants a can of caffeine, eh? Lighten up the tension and loosen up America’s favorite guitarist a bit?” He laughed. “I’m only fuckin’ with ya, Bri. We all know more girls want Slash than they want you.”

“Oooh ouch that had to hurt your fuckin’ ego.”

“Nah. I’m alright. Let’s just throw back the last of the Coke, yeah?”

“Ugh, no, I’ve got to change out of this shirt. It smells like my nasty armpit sweat.”

“There’re about ten more of those shirts in that drawer if you dig past my jeans,” Brian told
me with an odd spark in his eye, and I nodded, pulling my hand from his and meandering that way. I dug past his jeans, like he’d told me to, and when I reached the shirts, I pulled out a black one that looked appealing and peeled off the one I was wearing and then put this other one on. My faux engagement ring caught on it a couple of times as I adjusted it, but other than that, if fit me just as flawlessly as the discarded one had. I strolled contentedly back to the front of the bus, and I pressed my lips to Brian’s back, just between his shoulder blades, before I stepped in front of him, letting him slide his arms around me from behind. “Now what was that for?” he asked, his voice slightly resembling a purr.

“With a new shirt, I felt really clean, so I thought I’d dirty myself up a little bit.”

“Ouch. You’re funny, Heather.”

I sighed playfully. “I know. Whatever will you do with me…?”

“Well. I have a few ideas.”

I snickered, covering his hands with mine. “I bet you do.”

Matt cleared his throat. “Yeah. Coke. Anyone remember that plan?”

“Hell yeah dude, throw me one…Ow FUCK not literally, asshole. Hey Heather, wanna beat his ass for me?” I rolled my eyes. “Okay so you don’t have to, but you can always get a special reward out of it. You know, special commendation from the band on stage or something…us announcing your name and bringing you on stage and everything.”

I caught the Coke Matt had underhanded to me, popping it open, wincing as the tab caught on the ring on my finger. “I already get that, only because I’ve been such a good little fan girl and I haven’t tried to have sex with any of you yet.” I winked at him, and he cringed. “Yeah, yeah, I know. I’m here for Brian, not Jimmy or Matt or even Johnny…you know? I have an idea for something we could do after the show.”

“If it involves Brian, sex, and a video camera, I’m out, yo.”

“No. Not that. Bring a few fans backstage after the show. Chill for a bit while I cling hopelessly to Brian and flaunt this ring.”

“You know what, that would actually be really cool. Are you sure you’re not trying to show off?”

I shrugged. “I just think other fans should get some of the chances you guys have given me.”

“Damn.”

“Your mother is totally wrong about you,” Brian said in my ear, kissing my neck. “You are a very selfless person.”

“When offered treats, yes,” I teased, and he laughed. I took another sip of my Coke, glancing over at Zacky. “What do you think?”

“About what?”

“Bringing the fans backstage.”

“I think it’s cool, but I think you two should pretend to be normal when hanging around with them. You know, no ring or ridiculous make-out sessions. Even though that thing looks better on your finger than it did on Michelle’s.” He glanced at Brian for a moment before returning his gaze to mine. “I mean, wearing it on a chain would be cool, but some people would get the wrong idea.”

“You are a highly intuitive person, Zacky Vengeance,” I commended him. He nodded in thanks. “So do I get to come on stage now or what?”

“You bet your Guitar Hero-pwning fluffy butt you do.”

“Awesome. Shall we practice?” I raised a challenging eyebrow at him, and Jimmy spun around so that he was facing the screen. I slipped out of Brian’s arms and picked up the guitar controller, and we rocked.

I was sure that this was how my three days with them were supposed to go. I was supposed to balance my time between hanging out with them and chilling with Brian, and I was supposed to be able to leave this bus with five more best friends than I’d had before. I figured that was easy enough. Girl meets rock star, girl kisses rock star a few times, girl’s time with rock star ends, and girl goes home and stays friends with rock star and his band. That was the way it went, wasn’t it?

Or was there a ‘girl falls in love with rock star’ somewhere in between?