Bite Your Tongue

2:46 P.M.
Korinne;;

I woke up with an extremely dry throat and immediately reached for the glass of water that I remembered sat on the nightstand to my left. I brought the cup to my lips and greedily sipped the water, but I nearly jumped out of my skin when I spotted Brian sitting casually in the chair next to the bed.

I coughed and dribbled water down my chin. “Holy shit!”

Brian looked amused. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“Could you make a noise or something next time? So I don’t choke?”

He laughed. “Sure. I just didn’t want to wake you up.”

“I’d rather be woken up than be scared half to death,” I replied, wiping the water off of my face.

“Oh, come on. It can’t have been that scary,” Brian insisted.

“Yes. It could have, and it was.”

Brian smiled warmly at me and I was glad I hadn’t been standing up, because I’d probably have collapsed due to weak knees.

“It’s so good to hear your voice,” he said. I raised an eyebrow.

“It is?”

“Yeah, it is. Now I don’t have to guess what you’re thinking all the time. Not that I minded, of course,” he added quickly.

“It’s still kind of weird, though.”

“What?” Brian asked. Damn, he looks so cute when he’s confused.

“Talking…it feels so unnatural, kind of like how I would imagine a fish lying on dry land must feel,” I said.

“Really?”

“Yeah…”

“Well…if it’s too weird, you don’t have to talk, you know.”

“No! No, I want to. I’m just saying—it feels odd.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah.” Boy, are we master conversationalists or what?

I was trying to think of something else to say so Brian wouldn’t think I was a complete idiot. I wanted him to like me so badly, and now that Stevie had shared her suspicious with me, I was starting to get a bit paranoid. Every time he glanced at me I would wonder if it was because he liked me, or if he was only looking to see if I was looking at him because he thought I liked him, or—

Stop it, Korinne. You’re going to make yourself crazy.

Too late.

“So…are you enjoying your stay at the hospital?” Brian asked.

“Oh, yeah. Loads,” I said sarcastically.

He laughed. I fucking love that sound.

“Well, I’m sorry for landing you in here.”

“Don’t be. It wasn’t your fault,” I assured him.

“If I recall correctly, I was the one who went ‘leaping merrily into the path of an oncoming car’, as you so boldly put it.”

“Yeah, but I’m the one who fell and hit their head on the ground.”

“You only fell because you pulled me away from death, Korinne.”

“Still! It wasn’t your fault!” I insisted.

Brian shook his head, laughing, and I had to join him. I did sound pretty ridiculous.

“So why’d you do it?” His question caught me off guard.

“What?”

“Why’d you save me?”

I looked at him like he was insane. Is he serious?

“I couldn’t just…let you die, Brian,” I said slowly.

“Really?”

“Yeah…”

“Is that all?” he asked.

Our eyes met, and I swear that time seemed to stop. I couldn’t breathe. What does he mean, ‘is that all’? Does he think I only saved him because I like him or something? Shit, what if Stevie told him?

“Uh…” I started, not sure of what to say. Thankfully, I was saved by the sound of loud footsteps in the hallway and my mother’s voice.

“Korinne?” She poked her head into the room.

“Hey, Mom,” I said. Her eyes widened to the size of saucers.

“You’re talking! Oh my goodness!”

Before I even had time to blink, I was engulfed in a tight hug that could have possibly bordered on strangling. I saw Brian stifle a laugh out of the corner of my eye and tried not to blush as my mom made a fuss over me.

“When did this happen?! Oh, god! I can’t believe this—you’re talking!” she shrieked.

“I was trying to save a friend…”

“Who?” My mom asked. She quickly dashed back to the door. “Elias, get in here! Your sister’s talking!”

Fuck. She brought Elias? I saw Brian’s eyes flicker to me for a second, his face etched with concern. I shot him a look that said it was okay, though I was getting a bit worried. Why on earth would Elias come to see me?

Elias slouched into the room, the look on his face clearly informing the world that he was enjoying this about as much as being immersed in a cauldron, surrounded by fire-wielding cannibals. He glanced around the room, completely ignoring me, and instead settled his gaze on Brian. I delighted at the way Elias paled slightly upon seeing him in the room. I had no idea what Brian had said to keep Elias away from me, but whatever it was, it must have scared the shit out of him.

“Isn’t this wonderful?” my mom asked him. “Korinne’s talking!”

“Yeah, that’s great,” Elias mumbled, quietly enough that my mom couldn’t hear his sarcasm.

“So, who’s this friend you were trying to save?”

“Brian,” I said, gesturing to him. My mother’s face lit up.

“Oh! You live next door, don’t you? You look just like your mother!”

“Uh, thanks. And yeah, I live next door. Nice to meet you,” Brian said.

I felt my heart melt slightly. He’s polite!

I sat there and watched happily as my mom talked to Brian. Elias stood in the corner, staring at the tile as if it were the most interesting thing in the world. I turned my gaze back to Brian and watched him as he talked. I found myself again taken in by how good-looking he was. I wanted to leap from the bed and into his lap; to run my hands through his hair as I kissed him to my heart’s content, to—

“Korinne, honey, are you listening?”

“Huh?” My mom was looking expectantly at me.

“I just said that the doctors are letting you go home. You don’t have any concussion symptoms, so there’s really no reason for you to stay longer than you have to. But you’re supposed to take it easy for a few days just to be sure,” she said.

“Oh…uh, okay.”

“I have to go fill out some forms, but why don’t you get your stuff together? It won’t take long.”

“Okay.”

“Alright. I’ll be back soon.” My mom left, with Elias not far behind. I could tell he was glad to get out of the room.

“Brian, what did you say to Elias?”

He opened and closed his mouth a few times before answering. “Just…some stuff…”

“He’s acting like you threatened him or something.”

Brian was silent.

“Brian!”

“Sorry! I’m sorry, okay? I just didn’t know what else to do. It worked, didn’t it?” he asked guiltily.

“Yeah…”

He sighed. “Sorry…I shouldn’t have…”

“No! It’s fine…” I said. “….thanks.”

Brian smiled at me and my stomach did a weird flippy thing.

“So do you need any help with your stuff?” he asked, getting to his feet.

“Uh…” I looked around the room. “I wasn’t aware that I had any stuff. My mom probably brought me some clothes, but I have no idea where they’d be.”

I got up to look for my clothes and after spotting a small black bag on the floor near the door, headed in that direction. But I was overcome with a sudden bout of dizziness, stumbling and nearly falling until Brian caught me.

“You okay?” he asked, holding on to my arm until I righted myself.

“Yeah,” I replied, somewhat breathlessly. We were standing pretty close. “I probably shouldn’t have gotten up so quickly.”

“Probably not,” Brian agreed. There was a slight pause, and the only sound of the room seemed to be the frenzied pounding of my heart as I tried desperately to control myself, because what I wanted to do at that moment wasn’t exactly appropriate.

“Korinne…you know you’re welcome at my house anytime, in case something happens at home, right?”

I looked up into Brian’s warm brown eyes and felt like I was falling. “I am?”

“Yeah, of course.”

I smiled gratefully at him, and before I could talk myself out of it, I hugged him.

“Thank you,” I said into his chest. His strong arms encircled themselves around my waist as he hugged me back.

“You’re welcome,” he said. I let myself relax against him completely, breathing in as much of his scent as I could before the hug ended. He smelled so good, and he was so warm—I never wanted him to let me go. I couldn’t think of anything better than having his arms wrapped around me. I felt safer than I had at any point in my life; like nothing could touch me. Nothing could hurt me. And I never wanted it to end.

I heard my mother’s voice in the hallway again and pulled away from Brian reluctantly, resolving to gather my things before she got back. The bag on the floor did, in fact, contain some clothes—a pair of jeans, and a blue t-shirt. I grabbed the bag and turned around to see Brian watching me. My heart leaped into my throat.

“I’m uh…going to go change,” I said. Wow, I sound lame.

“Okay.” Brian sat down on the bed as I headed into the bathroom. I shut the door and leaned against it, taking a deep breath and letting the air flow ruffle my bangs as I blew it out. My hands were shaking.

Get a hold of yourself, Korinne. It was just a hug.

+++

5:56 P.M.
Brian;;

“Remind me again why I let you crash our band practice,” Matt said, shooting a dirty glare at Stevie. She rolled her eyes.

“It’ll only take a second. Keep your pants on,” she said.

Matt smirked. “Are you sure you want me to do that?”

Stevie blushed slightly but ignored him. “Okay, everyone. It has come to my attention that--”

“Could you just like, get to it? We don’t need this huge speech, Stevie,” Delia said from her spot on Zacky’s lap.

I supposed she wanted us to hurry up and finish practice so the two of them could go and…well, do whatever they did when they were alone. I didn’t know if they were officially a couple yet, but they definitely acted like it. I made a mental note to ask Zacky about that later.

“LIKE I WAS SAYING,” Stevie said loudly, giving Delia a vicious look. “It’s come to my attention that someone’s birthday is fast approaching!”

Everyone glanced around in confusion.

“What the hell are you talking about? Jimmy’s birthday just passed; it won’t be anyone else’s for months!” Johnny said.

“I’m talking about our new friend.”

“Who?” Matt asked.

“Korinne, you dumbass,” Stevie snapped. “I heard her mom talking about it at the hospital earlier. She’ll be sixteen next week.”

“Really?” I asked. “I thought she was a freshman.”

Stevie sighed in frustration. “She is, Brian. Maybe she started school later than usual. Whatever. The point is,” she said, pausing. “The point is that I think we should throw her a surprise party.”

“Fuck yeah, party!” Zacky yelled.

“Oh, dear God,” Delia muttered.

“That sounds like a great idea,” I said.

Jimmy pouted. “Hey, how come I never got a surprise party?”

“Jimmy, we’ve been throwing you surprise parties since fourth grade,” Matt said.

“Oh. Right.”

Stevie slammed her hand against the wall, making us all shut up.

“People! Please! Is it too much to ask for you to sit and be quiet for five minutes?” she asked exasperatedly.

“Yes,” Zacky replied. “It is.”

“You know what, I’m going to--”

“Hey!” I shouted. “Just shut up and listen, all right?”

“Thank you, Brian,” Stevie said.

I looked away from everyone’s curious stare. What the hell are they looking at me for?

“Her birthday’s next Friday. I was thinking we’d have the party at my house, since my dad doesn’t care about the noise. Any questions?”

“Will there be strippers?” Johnny asked jokingly. Stevie closed her eyes and appeared to be taking a deep calming breath. Then she opened them again.

“Are there any appropriate questions?”

“My question was appropriate!”

“Dude, Korinne’s going to be sixteen. It’s in no way appropriate for there to be strippers at that party,” Matt pointed out.

“Who says the strippers are for her?”

It looked like everyone would be talking for a few more minutes, so I took the opportunity to slip out of the room and go upstairs. Zacky’s mom had finally relented and allowed us to practice as their house again, but I found myself wishing we still had to practice at Korinne’s. Stevie had invited her to come along tonight, but Korinne’s mom had said she needed to rest so she’d be able to go back to school tomorrow. And even though I had seen her mere hours before, I missed her.

I went into the kitchen and got myself some water, leaning against the counter to down the glass. I was surprised to see Zacky come in after me, seeing as he basically hadn’t left Delia’s side all afternoon.

“So, what’s up with you and Delia?” I asked.

Zacky grinned and took a Dr. Pepper out of the fridge. “Nothing.”

“Bullshit! Stevie says you guys were practically doing it all around the hospital earlier.”

“So?”

I rolled my eyes. “Zacky.”

“Fine! We’re together, okay?” he exclaimed.

“There now, was that so hard to admit?”

Zacky ignored me. “Speaking of dating…there’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you.”

I clutched a hand to my chest. “Aw, man. I’m flattered, but Zacky, you have Delia. It would never work out,” I joked.

“I’m not asking you out, asswipe,” Zacky said, laughing. “I wanted to ask you about Korinne.”

“…What about her?” I asked cautiously.

“Do you like her?”

Shit. There was no way I could lie to Zacky. He knew me way too well. I decided to pretend that I hadn’t heard him.

“What?”

“I know you heard me, Brian. Don’t play dumb. I’m just asking, that’s all,” Zacky insisted.

“Um…”

“Is it really that difficult of a question?”

I took a deep breath and then let it out. “Fine. Yeah, I do.”

It felt like a huge weight had been lifted off of my chest, like I was revealing a secret I’d kept hidden for so long.

“Finally, you admit it.” Zacky took a huge gulp of his soda.

“Shit, is it really that obvious?”

Zacky shrugged. “Nah, not really. But dude, I saw the way your face lit up when Stevie mentioned the surprise party. You’ve got it bad.”

“You think?!”

“But don’t worry, I’m pretty sure she feels the same way,” he said casually.

I choked on the last bit of water I was drinking. “What makes you say that?” I asked, in between coughs.

“I asked her,” Zacky said simply. He drained the last of his soda, crushed the can, and tossed it into the garbage. Then he began to head back downstairs, so I followed him.

“You asked her? What did she say?” I couldn’t help myself. I ran down the stairs right behind Zacky so I wouldn’t miss his response.

“Well, I asked her back when she didn’t talk, and she shook her head no, but it wasn’t very convincing. Plus, I’ve seen the way you two look at each other.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. Frankly, I’m surprised you didn’t break up with Zoe sooner than you did,” Zacky said.

“You two! Get the fuck over here so we can finish practice!” Matt shouted upon seeing us at the bottom of the stairs. Zacky and I walked over to get in our spots.

“But we’re not done discussing the party!” Stevie shouted. “We still have to--”

Zacky cut her off with a loud noise from his guitar.

“Shut up, Stevie! We have over a week to plan the damn thing! Relax!

Stevie stormed over to the corner and sat down next to Delia, mumbling several very unkind words. I couldn’t help but laugh—I fucking loved these people.