She'll Be the Death of You

Sitting in the dim lighting of Ruby Tuesday, he absentmindedly played around with his food. Above the dull chatter of the other customers, his girlfriend chattered away happily about her day. He ate a bite of his burger, nodding when he was supposed to.

"Are you okay, babe?" she asked.

Brian Haner looked up at the brunette, and smiled softly, "I'm fine, baby. I'm just a little tired."

She took the excuse and continued on. He started studying the other people in the restaurant. A girl behind his girlfriend caught his eye. She had a salad in front of her, and she was alone. She was wearing light blue cut off jeans and a black shirt. She looked up and saw him watching her. Her blue eyes widened and she immediately went back to her iPhone. He frowned, then deduced that she must be a fan, a shy one at that. He watched her for a few minutes. Her mannerisms were so familiar.

"Can I get you two anything?" the waiter asked, looking at the couple.

"I'm fine, thank you," he said.

"Can I have a refill?" his girlfriend asked, not looking at the waiter, and holding her drink up.

Brian shot the waiter a sympathetic look and went back to watching the girl. Her blonde hair was streaked with purple and pulled into a low ponytail that rested over her left shoulder. Michelle, his girlfriend, excused herself to the restroom.

"Sir? I have something for you," a young waitress said.

She placed a piece of paper by his hand. He thanked her and she walked away. He opened the folded paper, and gasped at the familiar handwriting.

Nice to see you, Haner.

Of course, the girl in the corner was Norah. The girl who forgave him no matter what. She was his last girlfriend before he went on his first tour with Avenged Sevenfold. She had forgiven him for not calling her. And he missed the hell out of her. He looked over at her and watched her get up and go to the salad bar. Michelle sat back down.

"What's that paper, babe?" she asked, taking a sip of her martini.

He stuffed it in his pocket, "It's something from a fan, babe. Did you want something from the salad bar? I'll get it for you."

Michelle beamed, "Brian, that's so sweet of you! Can you get me that macaroni salad I like?"

He nodded, "Be right back."

He stood up and went to the salad bar, which was thankfully hidden from Michelle's view. Norah was deciding on whether to put bacon or ham on her salad, when Brian turned the corner. She put the plate down and crossed her arms, smiling at him.

"Well, Brian Haner. It's good to see you out where us normal people can see you," she said it in a playful way with no pain in her voice.

He smiled, "It's good to see you, Norah."

"Come give me a hug, Haner," she said, "I haven't seen you this close since you left for tour."

He grimaced, "I'm sorry ab--"

She waved her hand at him, "Brian, it's okay. Water under the bridge."

Brian couldn't stop himself, he stepped forward and hugged her tightly. She returned the gesture, feeling her heart trip and her stomach flip at having Brian Haner pressed so close to her.

The two separated and Norah picked her plate up again. Brian reached around her to grab a clean plate.

"I better get Michelle her food before she comes over here," he said after staring into Norah's soft blue eyes.

Norah smirked, "She's got you getting her food, too?"

He smiled, knowing exactly what he was about to do, "No, I offered because I saw you were over here."

Norah's expression dropped. She walked around him to the dressing, spooning some honey mustard onto the salad and walked over to her table in the corner. Brian frowned, not liking how she became so emotionless. He quickly grabbed some of the macaroni salad, and hurried over to his girlfriend.

"Got lost?" she asked, smirking.

He shook his head, "I couldn't remember which one it was, and a guy over there was helping me," he said, then stopped, making himself sound stupid.

Michelle laughed, "Oh, babe. You're so silly," she said as she took her fork, stabbing some of the noodles and eating them.

Brian agreed silently, then looked up at Norah, who was talking to the waiter who had just put her check on the table.

He was brought back to his table by his girlfriend's loud laugh, "Girl, I know. Brian is always in his own little world. He's staring off into space right now! Sometimes I think he'd rather daydream than spend time with me!"

Brian made a disgusted face at her, and she looked shocked that he'd heard what she said. He looked over at Norah, only to discover that she was gone. He jumped up, ignoring Michelle's shrieks to come back. He ran out of the door and saw her heading toward a silver Santa Fe.

"Wait! I'm sorry!" he called.

She turned around and smiled, "Brian, it's okay."

She was at her car door and he was in the middle of the dark parking lot. She turned to open her car door.

"Norah, can I have your number? I'd like to," he swallowed his pride quickly, "I'd like to keep you in my life."

She smiled, "My number hasn't changed, Brian."

"Mine has," he said, "I lost yours."

She giggled, "Ask your parents," she said as she opened her car door and slid into the seat. He jogged over to her, put one hand on the door and one on the roof.

"You talk to my parents?" he asked.

She started her car, and his band's song 'Demons' blasted through the speakers. She blushed and turned the volume down. He smiled and grabbed her phone from her hand. He dialed his own number, waited until it registered on his phone, then hung up and handed her the phone back.

She smiled up at him, "That's cheating."

He leaned down and kissed her cheek, "See you around."

She just smiled at him and closed the door once he was out of the way. She drove off, and it was like something clicked in his head. Those ratty jeans she was wearing. They were his. He smiled to himself and walked back into the restaurant.

"Brian! What the hell?!" Michelle asked.

You look good in my jeans.

He sent the text as he sat down, "I'm sorry, babe. It was a fan that was upset, I was just doing my job," he said.

She sighed, "That's okay, just tell me next time."

His phone vibrated in his hand. He looked down at the screen, smirking.

You look good with me.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Her back slammed against the wall of the hotel hallway. His body soon followed, hands ran through her hair and his lips pressed against her swollen ones. She grabbed his tattooed biceps, kissing back just as forcefully. His long fingers gripped her thighs, pulling her up to wrap her legs around his waist.

"Brian," she gasped, "Let's go inside."

He pushed off the wall and grabbed the room key from his pocket. He tried to concentrate on the door, but it proved difficult with the girl in his arms attached to his neck.

"Norah," he moaned, "Stop for a second."

She did no such thing and he finally got the door open. He shut the door and pressed her against the wall once more. Brian set Norah's feet on the ground and the two started undressing each other.

"Brian, the bed?" Norah asked, breathless as her bra fell away from her body.

Brian picked her up and walked toward the bed, then threw her on it. Norah giggled as he crawled up her body, pressing his lips to hers again. He positioned himself and slammed into her.

"Brian!" she gasped, "Fuck."

As Brian thrusted in and out of her in a hot rhythm, she grabbed the sheets above her head, moaning shakily and crashing her hips into his.

Once it was over and they were both finished, he wrapped his arms around her, rolling them to the side.

"Brian," she gasped out.

"Ssshh," he said, "Just sleep."

As they both drifted off, they both had one thing on their mind.

What about Michelle?