Dreams of Tomorrow

It was awfully quite for a breakfast in the Armstrong's household.

Both of the kids were up and eating breakfast, Joey was the only one speaking at the table, but he stopped after a while.

Lya looked up from her mug of tea when she noticed the silence.

Joey quickly finished his bowl of cereals and asked to leave the table, Adie gave him a small smile and he disappeared, taking Jakob with him.

She glanced at Adie, only to see her getting up and taking away the empty cups and bowls.

When her eyes fell on Billie Joe, she frowned. He looked sleep deprived, his hair was a mess, dark circles under his usually bright green eyes, they looked dull.

Listening to her heart, she reached out to touch him. As her fingertips brushed against his forearm, he looked up. His face lighted up briefly, anger flashed in his eyes and then he sighed.

She understood.

Just by one look at his face, his expression when he looked at her, she knew. Adie had talked to him.
But instead of bursting out like she thought he'd do, he just kept quiet, and knowing that she might be the reason why he didn't get any sleep the night before, she felt awful.

"Dad... I..."

"You'll still come and see us, right?" he asked, his eyes casted down on his mug of coffee.

Adie looked at the scene before her, with a lump in her throat. She'd forever remember Billie Joe's heartbroken face when she had told him about Lya's plan, even more when she told him the reason.

"Of course Dad!" she quickly replied, grabbing his hand with both hands. "I'll come see you as often as I can..." she urged.

Billie Joe looked up, sorrow on his face as he looked at her.
Time flew by so fast, just a few months ago it was only the two of them on tour, not caring about anything except spending time together. He swallowed the lump in his throat.

"I'll still come first, right?"

Lya tilted her head to the side, her eyes not leaving his face, until he looked at her. She understood. Her mouth opened slightly and she jumped from her seat, rushing to his side.

She wrapped her arms around his shirtless chest and hugged him with all her might.
"You'll always come first Dad, I love you." she whispered, a wave of different emotions overwhelming her as she realized the pain she was putting him through.

Billie Joe wrapped his arms tightly around her slim frame, inhaling her scent.
"Don’t you even dare to make any random guy you’re fancying coming first, before me, ok? I’m your father, therefore I come first." he said, trying to make it sound like a joke, but she knew he meant it.
And she just loved him even more, if that was even possible.

**

"No, look, I'm coming back the week before, that'd make me come back three times in November." she said.

She was laying on her stomach, her feet up with different socks, and her head resting on her palms as she looked at the calendar Billie Joe had brought in the living room.

He was sitting crossed legged, a sharpie in hands, looking thoughtfully at the calendar.
"That week end doesn't count, it's Thanksgiving. You just have to come back." he said, pointing the sharpie at her.

"Fine, fine..."

"And you'll come back again..." he trailed off.

"The next week end!" shouted Joey, putting a heart shaped sticker on the calendar.

"Hey, where did you get those?" asked Billie Joe. Joey ran off and came back seconds later, his small hands full of heart shaped stickers.

"Lya's coming back that week end, and here..."

"Oh and here, it's my birthday."

"And here, it's Jake's birthday..."

"Tré Cool's birthday... Uncle Mike!"

"Yeah right, Uncle Mike too."

"And Mum! Don't forget Mum!"

"You're right Joey"

Lya couldn't hold back her smile and she looked at them putting heart shaped stickers in almost every week end of the calendar.

Adie sat down with them, pulling Jakob on her lap.

"We can still come and see her, don't you think? She'll get tired of flying so often..." she said softly. She held back a laugh as she saw the dozens of little stickers on the calendar.

"Is your place big enough for us all to stay?" asked Billie Joe.

"Honey... We can sleep in an hotel nearby, spare her and her roommate the trouble of having 4 people around for the week end." said Adie.

Billie Joe frowned and Joey pouted.

Lya exchanged a glance with Adie and smiled.

* *

The French flag was hung up on the wall, above the bed, the bed was facing the window. The small Statue of Liberty, the empty cup of Starbuck, the small Eiffel tower and various souvenirs she had picked up during her travels were all placed above her chest of drawers.

Pictures covered the wall above her desk.

It wasn't a big room, but it was still bigger than Brian's.

"You done yet?"

Lya looked over her shoulder and smiled at Cha.

"Almost..." she said, pushing close the drawer. Then she put her suitcase and bag under her bed. "Done."

Both girls walked out of Lya's room and entered the living room.

"Ready to go grocery shopping?" Cha asked, holding up the car keys.

Lya swung the door open and was to surprise to see Brian, about to knock on the door.

"What are you doing here?" she asked. As Cha cleared her throat, she bit her lip and hugged him quickly, kissing his cheek. "I meant, how come you're here?"

Lya stepped aside and Cha hugged him.

"I borrowed my grandfather's van, the company’s one, I figured you might need to buy a lot of things. It'd spare you the trouble of doing the journey twice or something..."

"Thanks Brian, we could use the help." said Cha, ushering everyone out of the apartment. "We'll give you a tour later, let's go."

Brian opened the passenger door for the girls and waited until they were settled before closing the door. He jogged up to the driver seat and slide in, buckling his seatbelt. The 3 of them were sitting in the front, with Brian's hand brushing against Lya's knee every time he shifted gears.

Lya was busying herself by talking to Cha, feeling uneasy with Brian next to her like that.

They stopped by several stores, buying groceries and furnitures. Brian loaded the van, playing some kind of Tetris, trying to optimize the space.

"I need coffee..." said Cha, stifling a yawn.

"Need some caffeine too..." mumbled Lya, stretching.” Want some coffee Brian?"

"Sure, I'll join you there, need to buy some stuff."

"Cigarettes?" asked Lya, tilting her head.

"You know me baby!" he said, winking. She frowned and he quickly kissed her cheek before disappearing around the corner.

"Remind me again, why did I stay in LA for?"

Cha chuckled and linked arms with her, as they headed to the nearest coffee shop.

"Mine's no better... You'll figure that out when he shows up. Pretty much like your boyfriend, but mine comes in pocket version."

Lya smiled at her friend and shook her head.

"I'll have to go to the Asian food market... I plan on doing a Chinese hot pot with my friends, you know, as a celebration of us moving in, you'll be there, right?"

"Cha, I live here now. Of course I’ll be there, and I'll help you!"

Brian showed up a few minutes after, sliding on the booth, sitting next to Lya.

"Missed me girls?"

Cha shook her head, smiling while Lya rolled her eyes before handing him his coffee.

"Hey, you better treat me nicer... I'll be the one unloading the van in a while..."

Lya grabbed the coffee from his hand and gave him a huge fake smile
"Here's your coffee baby!"

Brian tilted his head and pointed to his cheek.

Lya gave him a quick peck on the cheek and he grinned.

"Damn Brian, you have her already wrapped around your finger!" joked Cha.

"If only..." whispered Brian, kissing her temple.

The 3 of them drank their beverage, enjoying some quiet time before Brian made a move to get up, telling them it was time to go.

Lya opened the door and slide in the middle, frowning as a huge teddy bear sat in the middle.

"The fuc..." she started, until she realized it was a panda. She squealed and wrapped her arms around it, it was half as big as her and she pulled her onto her lap, snuggling it.

As soon as Brian got on his seat, she wrapped her arms around him, squeezing him against the panda as she kissed his cheek. "Thank you!" she cooed, a huge smile on her face.

"He'll keep you company while I'm on the road..." he said, brushing some hair away from her face and kissing her nose before he buckled his seatbelt.

Lya just kept the huge fluffy panda against her, sitting on her lap.

She didn't let go of it until they reached the apartment as she hurriedly ran up the stairs, and put it on her bed.

Tying up her hair above her head and taking off her hoodie, she joined them on the parking lot and took a hold of the new table, Brian taking the other side.

He tried to stay focus on the task at hand, instead of extrapolating about the future of their relationship. She was in Los Angeles at least for a year, but she was going to college, so he wouldn't be able to see her as much as he'd like. Since he pretty much wanted to see her 24/7...

"Watch out Brian"

He snapped out of it, seeing Lya putting the table on the floor, he followed her movement.

"Stay focus, we still have a van to empty." she said, smiling as she wiped her forehead.

**

"Do you want to crash here tonight? It's late, you must be tired." said Cha, letting herself fall on the couch, next to Brian.

"You don't mind?"

"Of course I don't... Ask Lya..." said Cha.

Brian kept quiet.

Cha gave him a small smile and got up.

"Lya, Brian should stay here tonight... Poor guy's dead tired. It wouldn't be safe for him to drive back home." she said, leaning on the counter as Lya was filling the cupboard with food.

"Yeah, sure..." she said, shrugging.

"Can't you be more enthusiastic?" asked Cha, holding out a box of cereals.

"Fine..." she cleared her throat and walked over to the couch, she wrapped her arms around his shoulder and kissed his cheek.

"Do you want to go shower while I finish unloading the bags? Cha is going to order some food."

"Yeah, shower sounds nice."
She smiled and unwrapped her arms from around him, she went to her room, as Brian followed her.

Switching on the lights, she rushed to her chest of drawers and violently slammed one shut, her cheeks tainting pink.

Brian tried not to smirk and busied himself looking at her new room.

"Here you gooo!" she said, handing him a towel. "And..." she kept rummaging. "Clean T-shirt." she added before frowning. "Hold on."

She kept rummaging through her drawers, looking for one of his old shorts and Brian kept looking at her room and glanced at her CDs.

"You got a Guns n Roses CD?" he asked.

"Oh! Wait!" and she rushed to him, picking it up and handing it to him. "You gave it to me so I could listen to it. Forgot to give it back, but..." she turned it around.

"I ran into Slash once, with my Dad..." she trailed off.

Brian's eyes widened taking the album in his hands.

"Oh my God..."

"Happy belated birthday?" she said, half asking.

He crushed her in a hug before cupping her face and kissing her on the lips.

"I love you, you know that, right?"

Before she could reply, he kissed her again and headed to the bathroom, the CD still in hands.

Lya blinked and walked out of her room, her cheeks on fire.

**

"Yo man, where's Lya?" asked Matt, making himself at home and sitting on the couch, followed by Zacky and Johnny.

Jimmy shrugged.
"She moved out guys, got her own place and shit. Brian's been hanging around the house, bored, almost depressed and shit."

"They broke up?" asked Zacky, handing a beer to Matt.

"I don't think so... Otherwise Brian would have attempt suicide... She's going to college." said Jimmy.

Johnny almost spat his drink in Jimmy's face.
"We're talking about the same person, right? Lya...?"

Jimmy swated him on the head.

"Val said she hadn't seen Lya in a while, and asked me to see how she was doing... Val's busy planning out our tour... Wanted to see if Lya could help." explained Matt.

"Gena said she saw her a few weeks ago." said Zacky.

"Brian saw her 2 weeks ago, when she moved out. I haven't seen her since."

"Where's Brian?" asked Johnny, scanning the apartment. Yeah, Lya hadn't been there for a while... You could definitely see it.

"I think he went to pick her up. He had been checking the clock every 5 minutes for the last hour, eager to go and pick her up as soon as she would get off class. He's like a lost puppy."

At the same time, Brian was in fact picking up Lya from class, taking her out for an afternoon snack.

They went to a Starbucks nearby; Brian couldn't stop smiling as she sat in front of him, reaching over the table to hold her hand.

He asked her about college, she asked him about the new album. She was clenching her jaw every once in a while, trying to prevent herself from yawning. She felt dead tired.

She had been helping out at the restaurant where Cha was working, she's been helping out with take out and cleaning.

Lya hadn't mentioned any of it to Brian, he'd probably not approve, and he'd tell Jimmy. Jimmy would tell her to slow down, and she'd hear the eternal If you need money, ask your father.

One second of inattention while he was telling her about Thanksgiving and she let out a yawn, blushing bright red immediately after.

"It's not you..." she immediately apologized, "I'm just tired."

He smiled at her, while his fingers brushed the back of her hand.
"I know Baby. Do you want to go back to your place to rest a while?"

She pondered the idea for a second.

"No, I think I'll just grab some clothes and meet you back to your place. Freshen up a bit and grab something on my way."

"You don't want me to wait for you?"

"No Brian, no need. Cha will drop me off on her way to the restaurant."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, I'm sure. Let's go now. The guys are going to wonder where you disappeared."

Brian followed her move and got up, following her out of the café and rushing to open the door for her.

After dropping her off back to her apartment, he lingered in the parking lot for a few minutes before putting the car in reverse and heading back to his place.

As soon as he pushed the door opened, he was welcomed by music and smoke, with the sound of clinging glasses.
He dropped his jacket in his bedroom and checked one last time to see if everything was in place. It took him half an hour to get his room in order. Lya hadn't been there for a while, he wanted his room to smell fresh and clean, not like he hadn't opened the window in weeks.

Matt peeked over his shoulder and patted his back.

"Damn Gates... You're completely smitten. You should come back to my place and tidy up if you have some time." he said, joking.

"Lya's staying here for the week end." he said, closing the door after him.

"Oh, I know." said Matt, swatting away a cloud of smoke. "Jimmy's said you couldn't stay in place because Lya was out of class and didn't have any assignments."

Brian rubbed his neck.
"Yeah... It's... She's still awkward you know... Like, she's ashamed of me of something... I know she's not used to us being together but..." he let out a deep, heartbreaking sigh.

Matt opened Brian's bedroom door again and Brian walked in, sitting on his own bed. Matt sat next to him, keeping silent and looking at Brian, letting him know he was listening.

"The closest I've been to being intimate with her, was hugging." he said, wanting to slap his forehead. "It's been a month. I... When you guys are here it's like I have the fucking plague or something. It's like she doesn't know what being in a relationship means."

"Maybe she doesn't." said Matt. "She's been on tour with her adoptive fath-"

"Father. She doesn't say adoptive anymore. She calls him her father."

"So she's been on tour with her father and his band for a while, I think her only preoccupation was to spend time with him. I don't think that, having a boyfriend ever crossed her mind. But she moved in L.A. It's her own way of telling you she cares. You, out of anyone else, should know that human relation isn't her strongest point. You knew it, but you fell in love with her anyway..."

Brian sighed in answer.

"To be honest, I thought she'd end up with Jimmy."

Brian's head shot up, starring at Matt with worried eyes.

"I mean, come on... She's never been awkward with him, and he's been taking care of her for a while. I don't think you should worry though; Jimmy made it clear he liked her as if she was his own sister. But the point is, let her know you care and give her some space. If you're always trying to hug her and touch her, it'll freak her out. Let her come to you..."

Brian sighed and rubbed his face.
"Thanks man."

"Anytime Brian, I know you've been waiting a while to go out with her, but don't rush. I don't think you want to scare her off just yet."

Brian nodded and got up as Matt did. He briefly hugged the singer and thanked him before walking out of the room.

Brian went to the kitchen to grab some beer and handed one to Matt as the front door opened. Lya walked in, her face scrunched up as the smell of smoke hit her nose. She coughed, swatted her hand and moved to the kitchen, putting a pack of beers in the fridge.

"Hey Matt." she briefly hugged him and waved at Brian, before turning around the counter and being tackled to the couch by Jimmy, she lost her balance and fell backwards, over the back of the couch; her head missing the coffee table by an inch.

"Jimmy!" yelled Brian, rushing towards Lya, Matt holding him back.

Lya shook her head briefly and blinked, glaring at Jimmy.

"Sorry? But if you came over more often it wouldn't happen." he said, trying to defend himself.

"Fuck you man. You're a walking disaster." she mumbled, as Johnny placed himself in front of her and opened his arms.

"Don't take advantage of the situation Shortshit." called out Jimmy.

Lya hugged her friend and then went to hug Zack.

"How's college?" asked Zack, letting go of her.

"Fine, it's pretty interesting. Got a lot of reading to do and assignments to write." she said, making a face. Jimmy handed her a beer and she took a swig, before putting it on the counter and going to Brian's bedroom, dropping her bag down, near the desk. She tilted her head and smiled to herself.

Walking back to the living room, she picked up her beer again and went to open the window, trying to ventilate the smoke, it was starting to burn her eyes.

"Where are the girls?" she asked, turning to look at Matt.

"Michelle’s helping Val planning out or tour, Jason’s there too."

"Oh..." she nodded to herself.

"Val's been wondering where you were, she was worried." he said, wrapping his arm over her shoulder, thinking back to his conversation with Brian. Lya stiffened a bit a relaxed a few seconds later.

"I'm sorry, I told her I'd call so she could have my new number, but it's been hectic since we moved in. I hope things will settle down so you can all come over to my new place." she said, smiling at Matt.

"Looking forward to it Frenchie." he said, letting go of her as he went to sit down.

Lya tried to keep herself busy, chatting with Matt, joking with Johnny and Jimmy, exchanging small talk with Zacky, wondering when to bring up the subject of Gena, when Brian walked past her and sat down on the couch. She took it as a cue for her to sit down for a while and walked towards him, about to sit on his lap when he moved aside and she sat down on the couch, next to him.

She frowned, looked up at him and saw that he was looking in the other direction, talking to Zack.

"Guys, we'll be going to the pier in a while, the girls will meet us there." said Matt, checking out his brand new watch.

"We're going to the pier?" she asked. No one was looking at her, so no one answered.

"We're going to the pier?" she tried again, leaning closer to Brian.

"What... Yeah, we are. The guys suggested it when I came home. There is a funfair there" he said, smiling at her.

"Oh ok..."

"Lya, you ready to go?" asked Jimmy.

"Yeah...?"

"Did you bring your car?" he asked.

"No... I still don't have one." she said, pushing herself up.

Jimmy shrugged and wrapped his arm around her.
"You alright Shorty? How's college? I missed you, you know..."

"I missed you too Jimmy."

"You should come over more often, it's not fun when you're not around." he added, faking to cry.

"I'm sorry Jimmy, but you'll have to get used to it." she said, giving him a quick hug before going into Brian's room to grab her purse.

"You'll break my heart one day..." he said, faking to fall backwards only to have Brian swat him in the head, a cigarette hanging from his lips and car keys in hand.

"Ready?"

Lya nodded and closed the door, following him out of the apartment.

"You cleaned up your room" she said, smiling at Brian as Jimmy raced Johnny down the stairs.

"Yeah" he answered, locking the door. "Figured you'd appreciate the effort." he said, smiling.

"Yeah, it's nice." she agreed, taking a hold of his hand as they walked down the stairs.

"Are you angry with me?"

"No, why should I?"

"I don't know..." she trailed off, shrugging.

Jimmy was already on the passenger seat, Johnny, Zacky and Matt in Matt's car.

Lya slide on the backseat and waited for Brian to start the engine.

They reached the pier, parked in a crowded parking lot, as she got out, she kept wondering how they'd be able to get out of the parking space but Brian shrugged it off and followed the group, Lya almost running behind them as she had to tie up her shoelaces.

There was a group of girls, hanging out near the ice cream booth, it made Lya's eyes narrowed.
The fuck? she thought as a short red haired girl through herself at Jimmy's neck, just as she was catching up with them.

"Lya, where were you?" asked Johnny, as Lya showed up by his side.

"Shoe laces." she mumbled, shoving her hands in her pockets.

"Lya, that's Ruby, Ruby, that's Lya." introduced Jimmy.

Lya gave her a small smile and awkwardly took one hand off her pocket to wave at her. The red haired girl waved back, grinning.

"Lya!"

Her head wiped to the side and she saw Gena letting go of Zacky's hand to rush towards her. She engulfed her in a tight hug and held her at arms length.
"You look tired, everything's all right?"

"Yeah Gena, I'm all right. Thanks. How about you?"

Gena briefly glanced over her shoulder to look at Zack and she smiled at Lya.
"I'm pretty good, thanks."

Gena took a hold of Lya's hand and dragged her towards the rest of the group.

"Look who showed up?"

"Frenchie! I was worried!" said Val, almost pushing Michelle out of the way.

"I'm sorry Val, I'll tried to find some time next week so we can grab some lunch together."

"What about me?" asked Michelle, her arms crossed over her chest, pouting.

Lya smiled and hugged Michelle, promising her they'd catch up together, and that by together she meant: Val, Michelle and herself.

She greeted Jason and another brunette who seemed to be Johnny's date.

It all clicked together that this was sort of a big date.
She was falling behind once again, trying to locate Brian, as every couple started walking towards the funfair.

She tripped on an empty can of soda and barely caught herself on Brian's arm.

"Sorry."

He simply smiled at her and kept walking. She had to speed up to take a hold of his hand, and once again, he barely glanced at her.

The group split up, and Lya glanced nervously at Brian.

"Where do you want to go?" she asked.

"I don't know. Whatever you feel doing."

She looked around, "I don't know..."

"If you want, we can hang out with Jimmy and Ruby, or something..." he said, trailing off as he let go of her hand and grabbed a cigarette from the pack.

"Why?"

"Isn't he your best friend?"

"The fuck Brian?" she snapped. "What's the hell is wrong with you? You were all smiles this afternoon and tonight you act as if I don't even exist."

"That's the way you act around me." he replied, lighting up his cigarette with slightly trembling hands.

Lya took a step back and starred at her.
"Say what? You think I act as if you don't exist?" she asked, her voice trembling. "You know what? Fuck off. This was a bad idea from the beginning. I don't want to bother explaining myself to you. We were better off as fri-"

Before she could finish her sentence, he dropped his cigarette and cupped her face, pressing her lips against hers in a heated kiss.

"Don't." he whispered, before kissing her again. He kept one hand on her face and the other wrapped around her waist. "Don't you dare finish that sentence..." he whispered, trying to catch his breath.

"What? Better off as fr-"

Once again, he cut her off with a kiss, more heated than the other.

Her legs felt like jelly when he pulled away.

"Brian..." she breathed out, and he held her hand, pulling her away from the funfair.

"Gates!"

Brian turned his head and saw Jimmy, his arm wrapped around Ruby.
"Are you guys coming with us to the Ferris wheel?"

"No..." started Lya.

"She's tired, we're gonna order some take out and watch some TV. Will you need a ride home?" asked Brian, his hand still holding Lya's.

"No, I'll stay at Ruby's..." said Jimmy, winking at the red haired girl, who giggled as she saw him.

"Okay man, see you later." said Brian, pulling Lya away as she quickly waved, before jogging as he kept pulling at her hand.

"What are we going to eat?" she asked, slightly breathless.

"We'll order from that small place you keep talking about, where Cha's working..." he said, opening the door for her.

"Really?"

He simply nodded and closed the door, jogging to the side.

"Why did we leave the funfair?" she asked as he buckled his seatbelt.

"Because I know you."

"Huh?"

"You don't like this kind of 'double date', you don't even like 'date' at all." he stated, turning on the radio.

"Brian... I'm..."

"Don't apologize Lya. We'll work this out, just don't ever say we're better off as friends." he said, his hand reaching out to rest on her thigh. She kept quiet, biting her lip.

The drive to his place was silent, his hand left her thigh after a while, sensing her discomfort.

The lack of contact was driving him crazy.

He never had to held back for anyone. His ex girlfriends used to burn under his touch, whimpering for him to touch them more.

But not Lya.

He was craving contact. He wanted to touch her, feel her skin against his fingertips. Just thinking about the sensation made his pants tightened.

He finally reached the parking lot and got out of the car, barely waiting for Lya to get out as he locked it and hurried up the stairs, unlocking the front door and rushing to the bathroom. He splashed some cold water on his face and down his neck, trying to calm himself a bit, afraid he would jump on Lya first chance he'd get.

Brian came out and rubbed his face, running a hand through his slightly wet hair.

One month, one fucking month and he could barely keep it together.

She had changed clothes, picking something more comfortable. She had dropped the jeans for some cotton pants and changed her T-shirt for a purple tank top. He could still see the strap of her bra and prayed she'd take it off.

Sitting cross-legged on the couch, she watched his every move. Something felt different after the heated kiss they shared at the funfair. For some reason, she couldn't stop replaying the scene in her head, feeling his lips against hers... She felt some weird sensation in her stomach.

She tilted her head to the side as he stretched his arms above his head, making his T-shirt rose a little and couldn't help but wondered what he'd look like wearing only boxers. Her cheeks flushed and she hurriedly grabbed the remote, and turned on the TV.

"What do you want to order?" he asked, taking the phone of its base and handing it to her, a slightly bothered expression on his face.

"We can just eat pizza..." she whispered, glancing at the fridge.

"I don't mind Lya, I know you're not fond of pizza." he said.

"It's fine, I'm not hungry much anyway..." she whispered, handing back the phone. "Pizza will be just fine."

Brian shrugged and placed the phone back on its base as she got up and grabbed a pizza from the fridge. She turned on the oven and took off the plastic from around the pizza, placing it on the grill and waited for the oven to be hot enough.

Brian felt drawn to her as her wrapped his arms around her waist and inhaled her scent, before placing a kiss on the crook of her neck. He nuzzled his face in her hair and hugged her tighter.

Lya leaned back, enjoying the warmth until she felt something, something poking at her through his clothes. She didn't think much of it until he hugged her tighter and it clicked in her mind. Her eyes widened as she blushed, using the ringing sound of the oven to unwrap herself from his embrace and put the pizza in the oven, turning the timer for 15 minutes.

Were all guys like him? Zacky, Matt, Johnny, Jimmy? She shook her head, trying to shake off the disturbing images and focused back on Brian.

She couldn't run from him forever, could she?

How much longer will he wait for her... How much longer until he can't keep it in his pants anymore, got fed up and walks off in search of another girlfriend. A more willing and easier to seduce...
The thought annoyed her and made her feel, what, jealous? Just the thought of him looking at another woman made her blood turn cold.

He wouldn't do that, would he?

She remembered the day she went to his parents' house, to talk him and he was only wearing shorts... He probably wasn't playing cards with Kate. She frowned, not liking this idea... She rubbed her face, hoping to rub off the idea. Of course he had slept with someone else, and Kate probably wasn't the first on the list. She scrunched up her nose, disgusted by the image of Brian, with several girls standing in line.

"Shut up brain." she muttered, taping her temple with a shaky finger.

As she bent down to look at the pizza in the oven, she quickly glanced at her bra and made a face. She should start thinking about buying lingerie... Plain grey cotton bra was far from sexy... When she thought about which underwear she had pick out this morning, she sighed, annoyed with herself. It wasn't even matching her bra.

"Pizza's ready?" asked Brian.

She stretched up fast, her head almost bumping against the cupboard as she heard his voice right behind her.

"In a minute." she whispered, her back against the fridge.

She busied herself with setting up the table, waiting for the pizza to be ready. She felt his eyes on her, watching her every move and it made her bump into the counter and drop things more times than she usually did in a year.

"You sure you're all right?" he asked after she almost burned her hand trying to take the pizza out of the oven without gloves.

"Yeah, yeah, just tired." she said, vaguely, making a dismissing motion with her hand, slamming it against the fridge.

She clenched her jaw and sighed, taking a sit at the counter as Brian decided to cut the pizza.

By the time he had cut the pizza in 4 slices, and put one on Lya's plate, she had managed to knock down bottle of water from the counter and almost lost balance on the stool.

They ate in silence, with the TV in the background, playing rerun of old TV series.

Sighing, she carefully got up from the stool and grabbed the empty plates, putting them in the sink. When she turned around, she knocked down an apple from the fruit basket and almost slammed her head against the counter when she got up. The only thing preventing the collision was Brian's hand.

He took the apple from her shaking hands and put it back where it belonged before leading her towards the couch and forcing her to sit down.

"Are you okay?"

She wanted to burst in tears.

"You seem tense... Do you want a massage?"

Her eyes almost jumped out of her skull, picturing him shirtless, squinting massage oil in his palm and massaging her bare back. She shook her head.

"Am I making you uncomfortable?"

She opened her mouth to answer negatively and felt her cheeks heat up as she recalled the kiss they shared at the funfair.

"I'm tired?" she said, her voice raising slightly as if she was asking him a question and crossed her fingers, hoping he'd believe her.

"You should take a warm shower, I'll do the dishes. Then you can go to sleep." he said, his voice barely above a whisper. He had freaked her out, he knew it.

She nodded and hurried to his room, taking her bag and rushing to the bathroom.

Fifteen minutes later she was out and rushed back to Brian's room. He turned off the TV and grabbed the stuff he had taken out of his room while she was showering and slowly made his way to the shower.

She sat on his bed. She must have zoned out because when Brian walked in, in boxers and T-shirt, he saw her with just her underwear on, and a T-shirt. Nothing else. He immediately turned his back to her and cleared his throat, hoping she'd snap out of her daze and put more clothes on. He heard some shuffling, her bag unzipping and then heard her turn on the bedside lamp. He kept his back to her as he took off his T-shirt and turned out the light, sliding under the covers.

He stayed laying on his back, arms crossed behind his head as he starred off at the ceiling, wondering when he'd be able to have a real boyfriend/girlfriend relationship with Lya.

She reached over him to turn off the bedside lamp and his eyes bulged out of his skull. When she leant over him, he got a glimpse of what was under her tank top. She had changed from a T-shirt to a tank top and he hoped his prayers might have been answered.

As soon as the light was off, he wrapped one arm around her waist, and turned her over, so she was laying on her back, with him hovering over her.

"Brian..." she whispered, sounding freaked out.

He placed his lips on her right cheek and kissed his way down to her collar bone, stopping as he felt the strap of her tank top under his lips. He went back to her lips and kissed her as he took off the strap with his hand and sneaked his arm around her waist, bringing her closer to him.

"Brian..." she whispered, debating with herself whether to push him off her and wrapped her arms around him.

"If you don't like it, tell me to stop." he whispered in her ear, making her whole body shiver as his lips left her neck and she felt her tank top being pushed off. Her hands gripped the sheet, biting off a scream of fright at the foreign feeling. He pushed her tank top all the way up to her breast, letting them covered as he kissed her from the hem of her underwear, up to her belly button, and up again, stopping at the hen of her tank top.

He went back up, kissing her lips, her neck, her cheeks... Her fingers slowly let go of the sheets as her toes curled. A moan of appreciation escaped her throat and Brian paused for a second. She felt him smile against her skin.