Your Tears Are Dried Up Now

A few days later, and things were slowly starting to set themselves back into normality. Taylor was still set in herself and her quiet ways, but she was coming out of it. She was still silent most of the time around George, but she’d find her voice every once and a while. You could still tell she was hurting and stressed about something, but no one, or at least no one said, they knew why.

“Hey,” Guin smiled, sitting beside Taylor as she handed her a bottle of Root Beer. “Yum, yum? I love you.”

“Love ya too?” She raised her eyebrow, undoing the cap and sipping at the bottle top, chugging down the sweet, carbonated liquid.

“Are you okay?” She pressed, swinging her legs as she held her water bottle in her hand.

“I’m fine,” She answered simply, licking her lips as she stared out across the venue. Both of them were sitting on the edge of the large stage, watching as a few people passed by and called out loudly.

“Taylo—“ She murmered, pestering her.

“I’m fine.” She said firmly, taking a sip from her Root Beer bottle as she pulled her leg up to her chest. “Fine Guin.”

“…Fine.” She sighed heavily, running her fingers through her hair as she rested her chin on her knee. “The guys are coming back soon.”

“Good,” she responded, breathing out through her nose as she thought about how the guys were doing an interview together. Something for some random magazine or music radio station. “That’s good.”

“So what you thinking about?" Guin asked curiously, trying to keep Taylor talking. The more she talked, the more she exposed herself to people, she needed that. Guin wasn't going to let her completely shut herself away, not again.

Taylor came out of her blank stare and looked over at Guin, shrugging. "Nothing really."

"You've got to be thinking about something," Guin persisted, a gentle smile on her face. Taylor shook her head, going back to staring blankly ahead.

"I don't like to think all the time Guin," she said coldly. "Sometimes thinking only makes things worse."

"Then talk about it," she sighed, running a hand through her hair in exasperation. "If something is bothering you, talk about it. We'd all be glad to help you."

"Nothing is bothering me Guin. I'm fine," Taylor said in a very hollow voice as she watched people walking in and out of the venue. She watched people a lot lately. Watching made anticipating people's actions easier, and anticipating them made it much easier to get out of situations she didn't want to be in.

Guin shook her head, knowing that it was no use trying to talk sense into her. Taylor was stubborn anyway, but making her think about something that she didn't want to think about was nearly impossible. She had become a master at shutting things out. At least that's what she believed about herself. Guin knew that there were some things that she couldn't completely shut out, no matter how hard she tried. Some things just never go away.

"There's my hoes!" Jordan laughed as he saw the two quiet girls sitting on the stage, plopping himself in between them and putting an arm around each shoulder. "I've been looking for you two everywhere."

"Sure you have," Guin giggled, nudging his side. Jordan was always someone she could joke around with, even in the stickiest situations. Much like he had with Taylor, Jordan had taken on the big brother attitude with Guin. Ever since he'd answered his door butt naked and the girl laughed at him, he knew they'd get along great. "Aren't you supposed to be in an interview?" she asked him after a moment. Jordan just grinned proudly.

"I had to piss," he said simply, making Guin chuckle.

"So why are you here then?" she asked him.

"I didn't feel like going back," he shrugged. "I'd rather hang with you two. It's a boring interview anyway. Same old questions. Gets fucking old."

"What was the reason for the masks this time?" Taylor asked, managing to crack a small smile, even if she still had her eyes averted. She knew that the boys liked to make up weird bullshit reasons for them to be in masks. Last week it had been because Jorel's family ran a large crime ring in LA, and they didn't want to put him in danger. One of their favorites to use was that Matt was a burn victim. People's reactions when it worked were actually quite hilarious.

"Aron is half dragon and we didn't want to make him feel left out," Jordan chuckled. Taylor's smile twitched a bit as she envisioned Aron with a tail an scales. It was an amusing image to be honest, one that typically would have had her rolling on the ground in laughter, but now wasn't a time she could allow herself to feel so much emotion. After all, one emotion lead to another and before you know it you're an emotional mess and having a break down.

That was the last thing she needed.

"So how much longer do you think the interview will last?" Guin asked, leaning her head on Jordan's shoulder as she yawned. Tour really took a lot out of everyone, and she was starting to count the days until she'd be at home in her own bed.

"Probably not much longer. Dillon's starting to get pissed at the interviewer because they keep asking stupid questions, so we've been trying to wrap it up," he sighed. "It's bad when Dill is losing his temper."

"No kidding," Guin mumbled, having seen Dillon when he gets pissed. He's normally a very laid back, funny guy, typically the peace maker of the group. But he had his moods. God did he have his moods. It made you feel like you had to walk on eggshells or he'd whip out a knife and shank you.

But Guin loved her big shanking Mexican. She loved him very much.

“God,” Guin yawned again, this time longer and wider, her eyes watering slightly. “I’m so tired. I was up all last night last night.”

“Why? Dilly boy fucking you hard?” Jordan smirked, his rough, calloused fingers playing with the tips of her hair as he nudged Taylor’s side. “You hear that shit all night girl?”

She shrugged her shoulders, staring out at a group of roadies as they started to set up the merch booth.

“No,” Guin scoffed, tilting her head back as she snapped it, a loud crack sounding out and making Taylor flinch. “I woke up because someone was screaming. And then they were crying, and I couldn’t get back to bed after that.” Jordan knew exactly who she was talking about, even if she hadn’t specifically said their name. Taylor had woken everyone up with her screaming last night, plagued by a horrifying nightmare as George tried to calm her down. She stopped screaming after five minutes, but her heavy crying didn’t sooth for an hour after. George had held her tight and tried to calm her, but she was too hurt and scared to actually breath, let alone hush.

“Sorry,” Taylor mumbled quietly, jumping off the stage as the guys came towards them, Dillon’s face set in a hard glare as he stomped after them, his tall body clenched in stiff, angry tightness.

“Don’t be,” Guin sighed, sliding out of his arms and resting her head against his thigh, curling her legs up behind her butt. “Mm, Charlie.”

“That’s what all them girls say,” he smirked, running his fingers through her hair and grinning at the guys. “What’s up dudes?”

“You fucking left us!” Dillon roared, stopping in front of stage, his eyes narrowed in anger. “Fucking left us! Dude, what the hell!? You talk so fucking much, you could have just answered all those damn questions!”

“I had to piss,” Jordan shrugged, grinning brightly as Dillon’s enraged face. “Dude, take a chill pill. I’m just chilling with my gals.”

“She isn’t your gal,” Dillon spat, staring at Guin intently. Her eyes were closed, a frown spread across her lips as she sighed heavily.

“Be nice, baby,” she mumbled, sitting up and running her fingers through her hair, resting her head against Jordan’s shoulder.

“I am,” he grumbled, watching her every movement. He loved when she called him baby, it made him feel special, made him feel like he really was her only one; her baby.

“Nicer,” she arched her hips, wincing slightly as she yawned again, her hand slipping down to her waist and clutching her hip bone.

“What’s wrong?” He frowned heavily, prying her legs apart with his rough hands as he slipped his body between hers, pressing their hips together.

“Just a sharp pain, it’s okay.” She sighed, resting her head against his chest as she wrapped her legs around his waist, her arms resting against her thighs.

“You s—“ He started, only to get cut off by her.

“Just hold me baby.”

“Alright.” He held her close, kissing her softly as he imagined this all the time. They were going to get married, and no matter how stupid it seemed in his head sometimes, he loved her; he loved this.

“Hey,” George wrapped his arm around Taylor’s shoulders, gently pulling her body close as he laid a kiss on the side of her forehead. “How are you?”

“Fine,” she answered simply, her fingers digging into his back pocket as she stared absentmindedly at the side of the stage.

Great, she was in that same mood again. She wouldn’t talk to him like she used to, and he understood it was his fault, but it hurt. He was trying so hard to be a good guy, to be a better boyfriend and to help her out, especially last night, but she still wasn’t budging much. She was getting better, true, but it was taking forever. He wanted his old girlfriend back; his Taylor.

"Watching something interesting there Taylor?" Matt teased as she stared out into space. He instantly regretted opening his mouth, because he got two simultaneous glares from George and Guin.

Yikes.

"No," she sighed, leaning into George a bit more. He held her a little tighter, wondering what on earth was going through her mind. He'd give anyting to know what she was thinking, even just for a few minutes. She used to say what she thought, any time, any place, and it made her so easy to be around. George never had to wonder if she liked something or not, or if she needed help. She'd let him know. But with this quiet stage, he was at a loss.

"Are you ok?" Aron asked, making Guin and Jordan groan. Definitely not the question to ask.

"I'm fine," Taylor sighed irritably, focusing her gaze on her friends and gaining back a bit of her spunk. "There isn't always something wrong with me you know," she continued. "You guys always assume that something is fucking wrong with me. There's nothing wrong with me! I'm not fucking broken so don't try to fix me!" she ranted, pulling away from George and stomping away from everyone, leaving them all confused.

"What just happened?" Nita asked, looking over at Jorel, thinking maybe he could explain it to her. It was like she had just exploded, then scampered off. And all Aron had asked is if she was ok.

"I don't know," he frowned. "But I think that's the most I've heard her speak in three days."

"Dude, I didn't mean to piss her off," Aron explained to George, feeling bad for setting Taylor off like that. But it wasn't like he'd expected it to happen. She was normally so chill and laid back about everything. But now she was so on edge. She'd either ignore you completely, or apparently now she'd rediscovered her temper and would yell at you then fuck off. It was weird.

"I know you didn't dude, don't worry about it," George groaned, wondering how much damage control he'd have to do now. He wasn't even sure how to control the damage, because he wasn't sure what the damage was.

"Are you going to go after here dude?" Dillon asked, hoping the dumbass was. Just leaving her off on her own wasn't going to help much, even he knew that, and he wasn't the one with her. Though, George wasn't always known for having the best common sense.

"Should I?" he asked, looking over to Guin for guidance. She seemed to be the only one even remotely clued into what was going on with his moody girlfriend at the moment, so everyone had been looking to her for advice.

“Go,” She mumbled, waving her hand in a “Go ahead” motion as she buried her head in Dillon’s chest, her fingers digging into Dillon’s thigh as she closed her thighs tightly.

“Are you sur—“ George asked, raising his eyebrow as he stared at the curly haired girl, only to get cut off by her firm and demanding, yet tired voice.

“Go.” She waved her hand again, opening her eyes to glare at him, her foot kicking out and nudging his side as she nodded in the direction Taylor had come from. “Now.”

“Aye, Aye,” he mumbled, following Taylor’s path and making his way out of the venue. The heavy back door clicked shut behind him as he looked around outside, the dense, heavy air making his skin sticky and humid. He groaned deeply, searching around the parking lot for his girlfriend’s body desperately.

But he didn’t see her.

She had to be out here, this was the way she went and there wasn’t another way to go. George ventured out into the parking lot, the heels of his shoes slamming against the cracked and dented asphalt roughly.

“Taylor?” He called out, his deep voice echoing across the empty lot as he continued looking for her. Fuck, where the hell was she? George grumbled to himself as he rounded the side of the building. “Jesus Christ, Taylor, where the fuck are you?”

“Right here,” she murmured, her tall body leant up against the side of the wall, her eyes swelled with tears as she gazed up at him. She wasn’t crying because she was sad, no, George saw very easily that the salt tasting liquid sliding down her cheeks wasn’t from hurtful pain. It was from the pain of frustration. She was frustrated…over something. But George had no clue what that something was.

“Baby,” Sliding against the wall beside her, he wrapped his long arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer, his lips gently connecting with the temple of her forehead. “I love you. Talk to me, please? I wanna make you feel better, but I don’t know what’s upsetting you.”

“Nothing’s ‘upsetting me’,” she grumbled out quickly, her eyes staring off into the distance as she just laid out in his arms. It was like she was completely immobile and lifeless. George realized pretty quickly that Taylor wasn’t going to tell him anything. It was going to take a lot of pestering for her to finally fess up and talk to him, and he wasn’t sure if pestering actually would get her to that point. Taylor wasn’t known for taking shit, let alone handling it very well.

But, if she hit him over it, at least it was better then the avoiding stare she seemed to always have set in her eyes.

"Then why are you crying?" he questioned, his fingers tracing circles on her arm as he watched her. She wasn't dumb enough to lie and say she wasn't crying, that much he knew, but he didn't know if she'd lie about her reason. That was actually fairly likely. If she didn't want him to know what was wrong, he wouldn't know. And he hated it.

"I'm just mad... at myself," she sighed, leaning her head against his shoulder. "I'm thinking too much, and it's making me act weird and worrying you guys and I don't want it to. I'm trying not to, but it's hard, like I'm not in control of me anymore. And I hate not being in control."

He nodded as she spoke, completely understanding where she was coming from. Taylor never had been someone that liked to just relinquish control of anything over to someone, to feel like she wasn't in control of her own mind and actions probably killed her. He knew for a fact that he hated losing control. It seemed like whenever he lost control of himself he hurt someone. His most recent loss ofcontrol resulting in him hurting Taylor.

"It happens to everyone baby," he told her, knowing that he had to be careful with what he said. He was treading on eggshells at the moment, the wrong statement could potentially set her off. "I don't know what's going on in your head, and I'm not going to pretend I do, but just remember that everyone has times like that, where they're confused. It'll get better babe, I promise," he assured her, tightening his grip just enough to let her know that he was still there. "And if you ever feel like opening up and telling me, I'll listen."

"I know," she whispered, staring out across the parking lot. "But there's just some things you can't open up about."

He wanted to question her further, God did he want to question her, but two things stood in his way. One, he knew he'd get no answers, and two, everyone else burst out of the venue all at once, with Dillon jumping up and down and singing something about going out to lunch.

"Hey! We're going to get food!" Nita called to them, holding everyone else up. "You guys want to come?"

George looked down at Taylor, who was staring back up at him, the smallest trace of a smile on her lips. "Want to go?" he asked. Her smile grew a bit as she nodded.

"Yea, I'm starved," she groaned. "But baby?"

"Hm?" he mumbled, pulling her off the wall and smiling, grateful for the little bit of emotion that was showing through. This was really teaching him to count his blessings.

"Will you give me a piggie back ride?" she asked sweetly, a real smile appearing on her face for the first time in a few days. George grinned back at her and nodded, turning and allowing her to jump on his back. He hooked his arms around the backs of her thighs and held her up. He arms wrapped loosely around his shoulders as she leant his head against him. "Thank you," she yawned, snuggling into him as best she could.

"Tired?" he asked, feeling her nod against his back. "You want to take a nap and I can bring you some food?" he suggested.

"Mmm... no. Food first, then sleep," she giggled.

“Sounds good to me babe.” Chuckling deeply, he rubbed her thigh with his rough hands as he walked, following the group of stumbling, fumbling idiots. But, those idiots were his friends and he loved them all the same, though they seriously needed some mental help sometimes.
Maybe even physical now too.

“Babe?” He asked quietly, his eyes glued to the slow, wobbling girl’s body in front of his as he stepped out of her way, his eyebrow cocked. “She alright? Drunk maybe?”

“Just tired,” she mumbled into his ear, her arms wrapped around the sides of his neck as she rested her head on his shoulder. “She didn’t get much sleep last night,” She flicked his ear, answering his next question before he could even ask it. “Because of me, not Dillon.”

“Oh,” He nodded to himself, quickening his pace so he was head and head with the rest of the group, nudging Dillon’s side with his elbow. “Dude, your chicks about to fall over.” He chuckled, watching Dillon frown as he turned around, a deep chuckle leaving his lips as he saw his fiancé.
Guin was stumbling about, her eyes half closed as she numbly followed the group, every heavy step making her body slower and slower as she yawned loudly, her mouth opened wide.

“Damn,” Laughing, Dillon nodded his thanks at George and made his way back towards her, his long arms wrapping around her waist as he picked her up, throwing her body over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

“That’s nice,” Taylor mumbled, giggling quietly against George’s ear as her fingers knitted themselves in his short, thick hair. “George?” She asked quietly, her breath cascading against his ear like hot lava. He shuddered, tightening his grip on her flesh as he climbed the steps to the diner. “I love you. And I know I haven’t been telling you much, but I really do love you. You made a mistake, but I’m forgiving you. I already forgave you. I just…have to get over it.”

Now, in honestly, this was half bullshit and half truth. Taylor knew she was telling George partial lies, but she didn’t know what else to say and she just wanted things back to normal. Consistency presented normality. Normality made everything okay. And everything being okay was a good, simple life.
Drama was fun, but Taylor hated it when it rode on her back like a bad, disobedient monkey.

“I love you too babe,” his deep voice answered back lowly, his body arching backwards as he set her down in the booth seat, sliding in next to her. “And I can’t believe you’re forgiving me, but I’m so fucking happy. You don’t even understand.”

“I know,” She smiled up at him. Though it was light and barely existing, it was still there and it made George completely happy. Knowing his girlfriend was coming back into her old self made him feel better about everything he did. He knew he fucked up so bad, but seeing her slowly falling back into her old ways made it easier to stomach.

“Dude,” Charlie laughed loudly, watching as Dillon set Guin’s limp body into the seat, his body setting itself down next to hers. “She’s like, so fucking gone.”

Everyone’s eyes met the sleeping girls, her body slipping downward as she fell to the side, her head landing in Dillon’s lap. Loud, joyous laughter left the lips of the group at the table, even Taylors.
And for the first time in a week, George felt good. Great in fact.

"Even when she's asleep she still goes straight for his balls," Taylor giggled, starting to feel a bit more normal as she let herself laugh. She had to react with everyone. She had to laugh and feel. She had to be normal to shut it out. And that was what she was going to do to the best of her abilities.

"And the bitch is back ladies and gentlemen!" Jordan laughed, patting her head and ruffling her hair. Taylor growled and swatted his hand away. "Have no fear, the sarcastic comments and snide remarks are back in action."

"Oh shut up," she chuckled, punching him in the shoulder and making him wince. Even if she wasn't completely ok, she could pretend she was, for her friends' sake.

"Jesus girl, you punch hard," he whined, rubbing his arm while everyone else laughed. George grinned at his girlfriend, who seemed to have no problem abusing his best friend. It made things feel normal again. To be honest it was really weird for her not to be beating up on their friends, especially Jordan.

A muffled snore brought everyone's attention back to Guin, who was sleeping soundly in Dillon's lap. The poor girl really was exhausted. Between Taylor's nightmares, everyone arguing, worrying about her friend, and stressing about her own relationship, she felt like her energy was being sucked out of her. Dillon was starting to notice how worn out she was too. He didn't like it, not at all. He was worried she was going to stress herself out till she got sick, and he really didn't want that to happen. Hopefully once they got back home she would relax a little.

He hated seeing her stressed.

"So, what are we getting?" Aron asked, chuckling at Guin's occasional snore. If you didn't know Guin was down there, it would sound like Dillon had some growling monster in his pants.

Attack of the macho burrito!

"We can just get a few pizzas?" Nita suggested with a shrug.

"Oh, and breadsticks?" Taylor asked, her face lighting up with excitement. Only she would get so worked up over something like breadsticks.

"Sure, we'll get breadsticks Taylor," Nita laughed. "What kind of pizza? Pepporoni, supreme, cheese, and sausage?"

"And Hawaiian!" Taylor piped up, making everyone laugh.

"We can barely get her to talk for three days, and we get her to a pizza parlor and she won't shut up," Dillon chuckled. "You know how to fix her next time George."

"I don't have to fix her anyway," George grinned, dropping a kiss on his girl's head. "She's not broken."

"She is hungry though," Taylor informed them. "So get on that pizza ordering."

“Right,” George nodded, pointing his index finger at her and flipping it up against her nose, laughing loudly at her appalled face. “One Hawaiian, two Pepperoni’s, a supreme, and two Cheese?” He asked, looking around the table for a reply.

Aron shrugged and nodded, leaning his head against the back of the seat as he patted his belly affectionately. “Sounds good to me, buddy.”

“Cheese for Nita?” Jay questioned, his eyebrow raised as he pulled his girlfriend closer. “Poor baby misses out on all that delicious meat cause she refuses to eat it.”

“I’m a Vegitarian.” She gasped out, flicking his nose as she huffed loudly, her arms crossing over her chest. “Fucking asshole.”

“Aww, baby,” He grinned, kissing down her neck as his hand reached under the table and stroked her thigh.

“Don’t start finger fucking her like you did last time!” Matt yelled heatedly, shoving his leg into Jay’s, a loud groan leaving his friends lips as he glared over at him. “Just making sure you get my point.”

“Anyway,” Jordan rolled his eyes, grinning brightly. “Yeah, dude, sounds great. Order that shit so I can fucking eat it.” He spat the words, wacking his hand across Aron’s stomach, a loud laugh leaving his lips as Aron bent over and groaned in pain. “Fuck, that was funny!”

“Dude!” Aron dived across the seat towards him, his fists flying into Charlie’s body as he decked him in the stomach. “Fucking asshole!”

“Excuse me,” The waiter grumbled firmly, his fingers clutching a pen to a pad of paper as he glared down at the two of them. “I’m going to have to kick you out if you can’t stop that.”

“Just having a little fun, dude. Let it go.” Charlie pushed Aron’s body away, tugging his shirt down as he fixed himself and gave the waiter one of his best, friendly smiles. “Can we order now?”

“Yes,” He answered quickly, a deep frown on his lips as he stared down at Taylor’s rack.

“Hey, buddy,” George ground out, snapping his fingers in front of the dark haired guy’s face. “Eyes up here, dumbass. You keep your paws, your eyes, and your gums off my girlfriend or it’ll be your ass.” He winked up at the guy, a sickly sweet smile lacing his lips. “Now, we need two large Pepperoni pies, two cheese, one Hawaiian, and one supreme.”

The waiter, or better yet, Ted, wrote down the order hastily, his Adam’s apple knocking into his throat as he gulped in fright. “Be right out.” He scurried off, disappearing behind the kitchen doors.

“Fucking dickwad,” George grumbled harshly, his arm wrapping around Taylor’s shoulders as he slunk deeper into the seat. “Anyone of you see him do that again, tell me.”

“George,” Taylor warned, her hand slinking down to his thigh as she clutched the flesh, digging her nails in harder as he glowered down at her. “No.”

“No? Did you see him, Taylor? He was all fucking over you! He was practically eye rap—“ George rumbled loudly, Taylor’s enraged voice cutting his off quickly.

“Shut up. Just shut up. Johnny, your too fucking territorial! He looked at them, that’s it! If I remember correctly, that’s the first part of me you looked at too!” Huffing loudly, she grabbed the cup out of Aron’s hand and slid out of the booth, making her way to the fountain soda machine.

“Bro, you put in your place.” Dillon laughed loudly, shaking his head as he ran his fingers through his hair, a wide smile stretched across his lips.
“Shut up,” George shot back, biting his bottom lip as he fisted his hands, trying to calm himself down. He had only done that to stick up for her, to be her protector. But I guess she didn’t like that.

"She's probably just worried you'll lose your temper again Johnny," Nita sighed, noticing how upset he really was over it. "She wouldn't want you to get yourself into trouble. Not over some nerdy waiter at a pizza parlor."

George scoffed. "When have I ever gotten into trouble around her?" That was ridiculous. She didn't need to worry about him getting into trouble, he never got into trouble.

"Well, there's the night you two met," Jorel laughed. "You both got in trouble that time."

"And when you got pissed at that store clerk in the mall and got security called on you," Matt pointed out.

"What about when he kicked Biscutz out of the house the first time he introduced him to Taylor?" Aron laughed.

"Oh! You mean when he asked to feel her tits?!" Jordan snorted. "I fucking remember that! That shit was priceless!"

"And that time he shoved one of the roadies from the opening band into the crowd in the middle of a show," Dillon laughed. "I don't even remeber why you did that homie."

"He called Taylor a slut," George grumbled under his breath, starting to realize what Nita had meant.

"You also punched our neighbor when you two first got together," Guin mumbled sleepily. "Because he came over to ask to borrow sugar in his boxers."

"I thought he was perving on you guys!" George defended.

"He was the one half naked George!" Nita laughed, shaking her head. "Wouldn't it have been us perving on him?"

"I... Whatever," he sighed. "Assholes ganging up on me. I thought Guin was asleep anyway."

"You guys ordered food," she giggled, still not surfacing from Dillon's lap. "It woke me up."

"You hungry baby?" Dillon asked, subconsciously running his fingers through her hair. He loved how soft her hair was, it was hard for him not to touch her. So was her skin. Fuck, he just loved touching her period.

"Yea, a little bit," she yawned, blinking up at him and smiling. She loved when he petted her like that. At first it had made her feel sort of like a cat, but then she just realized it was one of his ways of showing affection.

And Dillon was a very affectionate person.

"The food shouldn't be too long," he told her, just as Taylor walked back up to the table. He half expected a yelling match to start between her and George, but it didn't. Actually, what did happen confused the fuck out of him.

"I'm sorry I snapped baby," Taylor smiled sheepishly, pecking George on the lips and grabbing his cup. "What do you want to drink?"

"Uhhh... coke?" George mumbled, staring up at her with a dumbfounded expression. She smiled at him, kissing him once again, before disappearing back to the drink fountain.

"I thought she was mad at you dude?" Matt asked, looking as confused as George felt.

"I did too," he answered, peaking around to see his girlfriend filling up his drink, looking perfectly fine.

"Maybe the girl finally lost her damn mind?" Dillon suggested with a teasing grin.

“Maybe you’re all zombies?” Guin mumbled back, sitting up, a loud huff leaving her lips as she blew her hair out of her face. “Because if she’s finally lost her damn mind, then you guys are zombies with no brain cells to even make up a mind.” Smiling tiredly, she patted Dillon’s thigh. “I love you, but you guys are kinda stupid compared to her.”

“So are you!” Jordan retorted, scoffing loudly as Taylor came back over with George’s coke. “Baby.” Grinning sweetly, her stared up at her and held up his cup. “Wanna go get me a Root Beer, sweetheart?”

“I ain’t your sweetheart,” She shook her head, chuckling sarcastically as she slid into the booth, resting her bum against the cushion beside George. “Go get it yourself,” She sounded out the name loudly, her lips set in a hard smirk. “Charles.”

“Fuck you, bitch,” Jordan grumbled loudly, slamming his fist on the table top as he got up and took his cup to the fountain, storming away as he threw a little tantrum. But, it was only an act, and in the back of his mind, he was jumping for joy. Taylor was actually acting like herself, it was fantastic! It was unseen and crazy, but amazingly welcomed after the bland time that had been experienced in the last week.

Jordan was happy, considering the fact that she was coming back. But he wasn’t necessarily happy that she was back with George. That was something he still had to get used to. Or, just try and deal with nicely. Pssh, fat chance of that.

“Yeah, yeah,” Rolling her eyes, she squirmed in the seat until she got comfortable, George’s arm wrapping around the back of the seat behind her. “Hey.”

“Hey baby,” A grin laced his face as he stared at her, running his hand down her thigh lightly.

“Hey baby, hey baby, hey!” Guin sang, wigging her right index in the air as she burst out in loud giggles.

“Boy’s say! Boy’s say! Hey baby, hey baby, hey!” Jordan yelled, shaking his hips as he sat back down in his seat, his plastic cup filled with dark, carbonated soda.

“Nice job, buddy.” Shaking his head, Aron let out a loud snort, his long fingers gracing their way over the table top. “Nice.”

“Fuck yeah bro, that was nice.” Smirking, Jordan took a long sip from his drink, a satisfied, arrogant look upon his face. “Aren’t I amazing?”

“Oh, yeah, so amazing.” Rolling her eyes, Taylor set her glass onto the table, raising her eyebrow in question. “Who told you that? A groupie?”

“Are you implying that I only get with groupies?” He asked, staring over at her in intrigued amusement. “Because that would be very, very, very mean of you, Miss Taylor.”

“And it’s very, very, very bad to lie, Mr. Jordan.” Scoffing, she looked up as the waiter came back with our pizza’s.

Jesus, how much had they ordered? Taylor shook her head in disbelief, trying to figure out how they were going to get all those pizzas, on this already completely cramped table. Damn pigs think more with their eyes then their stomachs. But she had to admit, her Hawaiian pizza looked absolutely delectable. More so then it had ever before.

"You're eyeing that pizza like you're about to jump on it Taylor," Matt chuckled, grabbing a few pieces for himself. Taylor smiled sheepishly and shrugged, grabbing two pieces and digging in.

"I'm hungry," she mumbled with a mouthful of pizza. "Fuck off."

Guin rolled her eyes at her friend's antics, but she was incredibly glad she was back to her old self. Though part of her wondered if she really was, of if she was just faking. That would be like Taylor, faking her smile just to make everyone else happy. She seemed to have become a pro at it.

But seeing the way her smile actually lit up when she looked at George gave Guin hope. Maybe she wasn't faking this time. Maybe she really was ok, even happy for once. It was a long shot, but it was a shot wasn't it?

"What are you thinking about baby?" Dillon said quietly, nuzzling his face into Guin's neck and making her giggle. He laid light kisses on her skin as she squirmed in her seat, trying not to interrupt everyone else.

"Just stuff," she said quietly, laying her hand on his thigh and squeezing, causing a quiet groan to erupt from his throat.

"About what?" he asked, sliding a hand up her thigh. "Something kinky?"

"If my thoughts about my best friend have become kinky, we may have a problem Dill," she giggled, watching as his face expressed confusion, shock, and finally a dirty smirk.

"Depends... am I still in these kinky best friend thoughts? Because you know I'm always open to that," he said as seriously as possible. Guin tried to keep a straight face, but it didn't last. She wound up in hysterics, burying her face in Dillon's chest so she didn't bother the people in the booth behind them.

Not that the rest of their group wasn't already bothering them anyway.
"So, when's the wedding?" Aron asked, completely killing the lighthearted moment. Both Dillon and Guin sobered up considerably, looking to each other to answer the question.

“Umm…” Guin mumbled quietly, biting gnawing at the right corner of her bottom lip as she took a sip from Dillon’s glass, stalling for time as she thought of an answer. “A few months.”

“Anything a little more specific than that?” Aron questioned further, raising his eyebrow as he stared at the engaged, and incredibly stiff couple.

“I’ll let you know when I actually start planning it,” Guin mumbled, taking a bit of Dillon’s pizza as she leaned into the back of the cushioned seat. “So, how’s Raychel? I heard you talking to her last night.”

“She’s great!” His face took on a joyous look, a wide, happy smile lacing across his thin lips. “Man, she misses me but she says that things are actually pretty good. She’s lonely, but school is keeping her preoccupied, so it’s not too bad.”

“Can’t wait for break so you get that pussy back, can you bro?” George shook his head, laughing deeply as Aron nodded his head rapidly, looking like he was about to get whiplash. “Nice dude.”

“I can’t help it bro! She’s my pumpkin!” He grinned, slurping loudly as he sucked a piece of gooey cheese in his mouth.

“More like she’s a short shirt,” Taylor smirked, toying her hand down George’s thigh as she devoured another piece of pizza. “Mmm.”

“Hey, leave my short shirt alone!” Aron defended quickly, flicking a wrapper at Taylor’s head, a loud snort leaving his lips as it hit her square on in the eye.

“She’s my short shit, you asshole!” Reaching into her glass, Taylor pulled out a handful of ice and chucked it at Aron’s head, a loud, sarcastic laugh leaving her mouth as it splashed all over his face.
Guin giggled along with the rest of the guys, trying to fit in like normal. But for her, it was hard. She had so many things on her mind, so many things about Dillon and her future wedding. Not to mention the fact about how she felt out of place sometimes. Of course she was friends with Nita, Taylor, and Raychel. But Raychel and Taylor had know each other long before they had met the guys, and when they got going, it was easy to feel like you were missing something. They were best friends and they knew practically everything about each other. They had known each other so long that they had built up countless stories of hilarity over the time. And half of those stories Guin had no clue about. Nita was great to hang out with, but Jay was one of the horniest fuckers and they were made for each other so well that they spent more time together than with anyone else.

Maybe it was stupid and shallow, but she felt out of place sometimes. Sure, she had the girls and even the guys; she had Dillon. But she never had that best friend like it seemed everyone had. And she loved every one of them so much and she didn’t blame them one bit, because they weren’t actually doing anything wrong. But she felt a void inside of her heart somewhere.

And maybe she was completely off task in where it was coming from, but it was still there. And Dillon really wasn’t fixing it, so what else could? Life was too confusing sometimes.

Grabbing another piece of pizza, she ate it in silence, watching as George dipped his hand into his glass and pulled out some ice, stuffing the cold cubes down the back of Jordan’s shirt. A thick, sly smirk laced across his lips as Jordan burst out in loud, squealing shrieks.

While life often seemed to throw everyone some bumps in the road, and Guin could most certainly see hers coming up, she was trying to force herself to remember, friends will be there through it all. That's their job, they'll do it.