Status: Complete

Sister of Syn

Telling Someone Else's Secrets

Hanging out at Johnny's Bar on Christmas Eve was a tradition A7X had had since they were eighteen and first allowed into the bar. It was a tradition Matt and I had been eagerly awaiting since we were twelve. Now, we were eighteen and could be included in the tradition.

I couldn't resist tormenting Zacky a little. I didn't doubt that he would tell Brian eventually, but I knew how to ensure that he would tell him the day after Christmas. I wore a crimson top that had spaghetti straps and was extremely low cut with skintight denim hiphuggers and a Santa hat. It wasn't so obvious that Brian would notice I was dressing up for someone, but it was an outfit Zacky would enjoy.

Brian and I were the first to reach Johnny's Bar. Brian got a beer and we started a game of pool. I was kicking his ass when the others arrived. Jimmy, Jeanie, and Matt came straight to the table. Johnny, Zacky, and Shads stopped at the bar.

"Who's winning?" Jimmy asked, taking off his jacket. Jeanie and Matt perched on the table next to the one Brian and I were playing on. Jimmy grabbed a chair, spun it around, and straddled it, resting his arms along the back.

"Gee, I don't know," I mocked gloatingly. "Who is winning, Bri?"

Brian flipped me off. I grinned.

"We've ordered the first round," Johnny announced, approaching with Zacky and Shads.

I caught Zacky's eye and leaned over the table to take my next shot. Zacky's eyes flicked to my partially exposed breasts. Shads' jaw was clenched as he looked from Zacky to me.

"Syn, are you solids or stripes?" Johnny queried.

"Stripes," Brian grumbled.

Johnny raised his eyebrows. "Damn, dude. She's kickin' your ass."

Brian threw him a dirty look. "Thanks, gnome. I can see that."

There was the satisfying sound of two more balls sinking home. Brian closed his eyes. I straightened up, and Zacky's gaze returned to my face. I gave him a small smile and rounded the table. Aiming carefully, I knocked in the eight ball, sealing my victory.

"Yes!" I cheered. Jeanie slapped me a high-five.

"I demand a rematch!" Brian said as a waitress brought over the drinks.

I shrugged. "Fine. I'll beat you again."

Brian shook his head. "Whatever. That was pure luck."

"No way!" I argued. "That was mad skill!"

"Let's see," Brian challenged. "Rack 'em. I'll break."

"It's weird," Jimmy remarked, sipping his Heineken and watching me expertly rack the balls. "I remember when Baby Gates couldn't even reach the top of a pool table, and now, she's whoopin' Syn's ass."

Zacky arched an eyebrow. "Don't get nostalgic, Plague. We're not old enough."

"Or drunk enough," Johnny added.

Brian sank the five ball with his break, and the game was on. Matt and Jeanie cheered me on; Jimmy and Johnny cheered Brian on. Shads and Zacky stayed silent.

After thirty minutes, Brian and I were neck and neck. One ball, and the glorious eight ball, left for each of us. The pressure was on.

"Zacky, man, help me out!" Brian said. "Distract her or something."

I glanced at Zacky, and his eyes met mine. Shads was watching us again.

"No, Syn. I won't cheat for you," Zacky refused. "You've gotta take your losses like a man."

"C'mon," Brian urged. "Give in to peer pressure. Cheat, Zacky. Cheat! Everybody's doing it."

Everyone laughed, except Shads.

Two shots later, I'd won again. "Well, fuck me running!" Brian exclaimed. "Maybe she does have skill."

"I learned from the best," I said, flashing my sweetest smile.

Brian snorted and slung an arm around me, hugging me to his side. "Right. I appreciate you trying to ease the pain of losing."

"Hey, Baby Gates," Jimmy piped up. "How much do you love me?"

I crossed my arms over my chest. "What do you want?"

He turned his bottle upside down to demonstrate that it was empty. "Go get the second round, please?"

"She's not old enough, dumbass" Zacky said.

Jimmy waved his hand in the air as if to dismiss Zacky's words. "Oh, they'll let her place the order. They know who she's with."

Zacky turned to me. "C'mon. I'll go with you, just in case."

We walked to the bar. I ordered another round of Heinekens, then Zacky leaned very close to me. "You're killing me, Baby Gates."

I played innocent. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"That outfit is going to cause me to throw you on one of the tables and fuck you right here," he commented. "If that's how you want your brother to find out about us, I'm fine with that."

I giggled. "I'm just making sure you keep our deal."

"You honestly think I'd back out?" he questioned, a bit offended.

"No," I replied. "But this way, I know you'll do it as soon as possible. You want to get your hands on me again."

"Damn straight," he agreed, following me as I went back to the tables.

Jimmy and Johnny were setting up for a game. Brian was sitting in the chair Jimmy had abandoned, and Jeanie was in his lap.

"You know, I saw something interesting the other day," Shads said.

"What?" Johnny wanted to know.

"I was driving through Zacky's neighborhood…" Shads began casually as the same waitress brought over the second round.

Zacky and I both froze and looked at Shads.

"…and I decided to drop in and see him," Shads went on. "There was a car in his driveway—"

"Shads!" I cut in angrily. "You promised!"

At my tone, Brian jerked to attention. "What? What's going on?"

I opened my mouth to tell him, but Zacky stopped me with a hand on my arm. Shads smirked.

"Melia and I are…together," Zacky said.

That made everyone sit up and take notice, except Jeanie, who already knew. She gave me wide eyes, and I knew what she was thinking—this wasn't exactly the best way to give Brian what he might consider bad news. I lifted a shoulder. What choice did we have?

Jeanie moved off Brian's lap so he could stand. I stepped between him and Zacky, not sure what Brian was about to do.

Brian stared at me for what felt like forever. Finally, he looked at Zacky. "I need a cigarette." Which was code for "we need to get away from everyone before we have this talk."

Zacky nodded. "Me, too."

Brian led the way out of the bar. They could've smoked inside, but they needed to talk in private. I spun on Shads. "You fucking bastard!!!!"

"What?" he said innocently.

"You promised!" I practically screamed.

"Shh!" Jeanie soothed, putting her arms around me. "It's okay. It'll be okay." She glared at Shads over my head.

Shads lifted his drink in a mock toast and smiled in a satisfied way that made me want to punch him in the face.

*****

It was nearly forty-five minutes later that Zacky came back in. He was alone.

"Where's Brian?" Jeanie and I both demanded immediately.

Zacky shrugged. "He left."

I frowned. "What did he say?"

"Nothing," Zacky answered. "I told him everything and he listened without ever saying a word. Then, he got in his car and left."

Jeanie started for the door, but I caught her arm. "No. I have to handle this. I'm the one who let this go on and didn't tell him." I faced Zacky. "Give me your keys."

He didn't argue. He dug his keys out of his pocket and dropped them in my hand. I hurried out to Zacky's car.

I drove to the other bars nearby that I knew Brian sometimes went to. He wasn't at any of them. I checked a couple of nightclubs with no luck. I drove past his house, but he wasn't there, either. Finally, I pulled into Dad's driveway. I hopped out of Zacky's car and peeked into the garage. Brian's car was there.

Heart pounding, I walked inside. Dad, Suzy, and Brent were watching television.

"Where's Brian?" I asked.

Dad gestured vaguely towards the stairs. I climbed to the second floor. I could hear the sounds of his guitar coming from his old bedroom. I opened the door without knocking. He looked up, preparing to yell. But his anger died when he saw that it was me. I had always been the only one allowed in his room while he played.

I stepped through the door and shut it softly behind me. His room had been converted into a practice space because he still came here often to work on his music. His bed had been replaced with a couch, and several of his guitars were here. Old posters and pictures still covered the walls.

His focus was back on his guitar, and I thought he was going to ignore me until he began playing "The World I Know" by Collective Soul—the first song I'd ever asked him to learn for me.

"Has our conscience shown? Has the sweet breeze blown? Has all kindness gone? Hope still lingers on," I sang softly, sitting on the arm of the couch. "I drink myself of newfound pity, sitting alone in New York City. And I don't know why."

Brian stopped and set aside his guitar with a sigh. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"You reacted so badly to Shads," I defended myself. "I was scared."

"Zacky didn't tell you that he talked to me?"

My brow furrowed. "What?"

"On Johnny's birthday," Brian clarified. "After Jeanie and Kristy took you back to the room, Zacky came to my room and talked to me about you. He let me know that he was interested, but he wanted to check with me before he made his move. I told him to let me think about it for awhile. Obviously, he didn't wait for my permission. Not that I blame him." He shot me a scolding look. "That lapdance was a cruel invitation, young lady."

I tried to look ashamed, but a grin spread across my lips instead. "So…you're not mad?"

"Not really," he said. "I can't say I approve of you dating one of my friends, but if it had to be any of them, Zacky's the best choice."

I jumped on him, hugging him tightly. "Thank you, Bri."

He kissed me on top of the head. "No problem, tiddlywink."

"Bri…why were you so mad at Shads for what he did? I mean, you've obviously accepted that your friends don't view me as a little girl anymore. You're fine with me and Zacky. Why were you so against me and Shads?"

Brian shifted, dragging me onto his lap. "Shads never mentioned anything to me about liking you." He held up a hand before I could protest. "I don't expect every guy who wants to date you to ask for my permission. That's not my place. But I do expect my bandmates to give me a heads up if they're going to try something with you. They're my friends, and they should respect me enough to make sure I'm comfortable with you being with them." He frowned. "I don't think Shads wanted a relationship with you. He was just gonna sleep with you and never let anybody know."

I shook my head. "He's such an ass."

Brian poked me in the ribs. "Alright, you little harlot. He couldn't help it. Any guy would be crazy to not want you. You're hot."

I blushed. "Thanks, Bri."

"I'm serious!" he exclaimed. "Of course, I think your personality is the really beautiful part of you and that's what Shads should've been attracted to instead of your…assets."

I giggled. "Who cares about Shads? Zacky likes my personality and my assets."

Brian shoved me out of his lap and I fell to the floor with a loud thunk. "I don't think I want to hear my baby sister talk about my best friend enjoying her assets." He gave a mock shudder. "Eew."

I laughed. "Grow up, Bri! I've had to listen to you and Jeanie actually doing it more times than I can count."

"Yeah, but I'm the older brother," he reasoned. "I should be getting laid. You're my baby sister. You're not even supposed to be thinking about sex until you're thirty."

I rolled my eyes. "I've been around you and the boys so much, it's impossible not to think about sex. You guys are horndogs."

"Damn! I knew all those comments Jimmy made over the years were bad for you," Brian joked. "We rubbed off on you the wrong way."

"Don't worry. Zacky is fixing his mistake by rubbing on me the right way," I said suggestively.

Brian covered his ears. "Shut up, tiddlywink, or I will revoke his rights to you."

I held up my hands in a gesture of surrender. "Okay, okay. Fine."

Brian grew serious. "There is one thing I need to know. Are you and Zacky safe?"

"Oh my God, Bri!" I cried. "Of course we are. We don't want any babies."

"You might want to get put on birth control," Brian advised.

"I'm already on birth control," I informed him. "Mom put me on it when I was fifteen to straighten out my periods."

"SHIT!" Brian covered his ears again. "I didn't need details."

I got to my feet and crawled back in his lap, pulling his hands away from his ears. "Sorry."

"I think I'm scarred," he muttered.

I rested my head on his chest. "It's going to be so nice to be able to be with Zacky in the open and not have to sneak around anymore. The second leg of the tour is going to be so awesome!"

Brian went very still.

"What?" I inquired.

"Umm, about you coming on the second leg of the tour…" he said hesitantly.

I sat up and looked at him. "You're not going to let me come?"

"You've gotta ask Dad," he said. "And you've gotta tell him about you and Zacky. He deserves to know everything that's going on before he makes a decision about letting you come back on the road with us."

I nodded. Brian was right. That was fair. But I knew that telling Brian I was sexually active with one of his bandmates had been a piece of cake compared to what it was going to be like telling my dad the same thing.
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