Breathless

So after that night Brian cuddled with me until I passed out, he’s been a lot nicer. Yeah, we still fight every now and then but we end up cracking up half way through the argument and completely forget why we were mad.

Johnny and I are getting closer, but he thinks Brian is starting to like me. We fought about it once but we thought it was something we shouldn’t be fighting over so we just don’t talk about it anymore.

I had pretty much moved in with Johnny by now. The guest room had turned into my room, even though I end up sleeping in Johnny’s bed most of the time.

He made me happy. All the guys did. They were all like family to me now.

But I was terrified. I defiantly had feelings for Brian, I don’t know how strong they are, but they are defiantly there. I had liked Johnny the second I met him. But now, I was starting to feel more for him. All my past relationships have been horrible. Especially if I end up falling in love with them. I didn’t want to be hurt again.

One night, I had opened up to Johnny about everything. He promised me he would never hurt me. I believed him, but that doesn’t mean I’m still scared.

“Aria, hello? Anyone home in there?” I heard Brian asked and poked the side of my head. I swatted his hands away and scrunched my nose up at him. He chuckled, “That was cute.” I rolled my eyes, hiding the light blush that came over my face. “What were you thinking about?”

“Nothing,” I said. “Wait, why are you here?” I asked him.

He laughed, “Band practice is tonight.” He said.

“Oh yeah.” I said then groaned. This means I have to cook for everyone. Cooking for Johnny was one thing. He ate a lot. And the Brian was over most nights so I cooked for the both of them. And then we all the guys came over….They could eat a whole elephant together and still be hungry.

“Don’t worry, I’ll help you cook dinner tonight.” He said smiling.

“Thanks Brian.” I said. He gave me a quick hug before kissing my forehead. Johnny walked out of his room a few seconds later, reading a piece of paper. “What’s that?” I asked him.

“New song.” He said.

“Ooh, can I see it?” I asked.

“No,” he said teasingly and handed me the paper. I read over it and then nodded.

“Looks good.” I told him. Brian snatched it out of my hands and skimmed his eyes over it.

“Not bad,” he said and handed Johnny the paper back.

“Where’s the rest of the guys?” he asked Brian.

He was about to answer when the front door slammed open and Jimmy came bounding in, Zacky and Matt trailing behind him. Jimmy spotted me and ran over to pick me up in his arms.

“Best friend!” he exclaimed.

“I thought you said you weren’t sharing her.” Zacky said to Johnny.

“I did,” he said sadly. I giggled and squirmed in Jimmy’s grip. After a few minutes of begged he let me go. I walked over to Johnny and wrapped my arms around his waist. He smiled in satisfaction and wrapped his arms around me. “See.” He said to Zacky. He just huffed and walked off to the kitchen; probably to get beer.

“I feel betrayed.” Jimmy said frowning.

“Sorry Jimmy,” I said as Johnny pulled me closer to him. I laid my head on his chest and smiled.

Brian looked at the floor, no, he was glaring at the floor. I guess we’d have to talk about that later…

“Alright, let’s go to the basement. I have a new song for you guys to hear.” Johnny said.

“I’ll get dinner started.” I told him. He nodded and kissed my head before following the guys to the basement. Brian still sat on the couch, glaring at the floor. “Aren’t you going to go with them?” I asked him. He looked up at me and shook his head, his tongue running over his lips.

“I told you that I would help with dinner.” He said standing up.

“You don’t have to Brian,” I said walking into the kitchen.

“I know.” He said. “But I want to. It’s probably the only alone time I’ll ever get with you.” He said. I smiled as I opened the door to the fridge.

“Well then I guess I’ll put you to work.” I said turning around with lettuce in my hands. “Get the cutting board and start cutting this up and put some in enough bowls for all of us.” I said.

“Yes ma’am.” He said smiling. He pushed himself up and leaned over the counter to place a kiss to my cheek. I blushed and turned around quickly. I decided to make them all some hamburgers. Brian of course insisted on doing the grilling because he’s the guy. But he could have fooled me in the pink apron he wore.

“Guys! Dinner is ready!” I yelled down the stairs and then ran to get out of the way as I heard footsteps stampeding their way up the stairs. Brian laughed and went to sit at his spot at the table as the rest of the guys all sat down. I sat in my seat next to Brian, watching all the guys pig out on their food.

“This is really good,” Matt said with his mouth full making me chuckle.

“Thanks, Brian made most of it.” I said smiling at him. He smiled back down at me and rested his hand on my knee under the table. And it stayed there until we were done eating. The guys all piled into the living room to watch some show. I’m pretty sure it was basketball; surprisingly. But Brian helped me clean up the table and the kitchen.

“Thanks for helping.” I said to him when we finished, leaning against the counter. He smiled and put his hands on my waist, hoisting me up and setting me down on the counter. I smiled and wrapped my arms around his neck.

“No problem.” He said. It was quiet for a few minutes; we just stayed there, staring into each other’s eyes. “Can I try something?” he asked.

“Yes.” I answered without hesitation. His lips were on mine in the same second that left my mouth. He sighed and smiled into the kiss. It was light, romantic and absolutely amazing. He pulled away after a second.

“I’ve wanted to do that for weeks…” he said softly. I smiled and leaned my forehead against his. Suddenly, realization flashed in his eyes and he pulled away from me. “Shit.” He said.

“What?” I asked a little hurt.

“I just… willingly kissed you. You’re my student! And my best friend is practically in love with you.” He whisper yelled.

“I won’t tell anyone…” I said looking down at my feet.

He sighed and came closer. He lifted my chin up with his finger, making me look at him.

“I’m sorry Aria. That shouldn’t have happened.”

“But it did.” I said quickly.

“If I asked you to forget about it, would you?”

“No.” I said softly. He sighed again. “Brian… I like you. And I agree with you. That shouldn’t have happened. But it did. And I felt something, don’t deny you did too.”

“You’re right. I did. But you’re living with my best friend. Do you not see the way he looks at you? I may come off as an asshole but I care about Johnny enough to not take you away from him.” He said. I smiled sadly.

“I always had a feeling you we’re nice deep down.” He managed to crack a smile at that.

“Aria…” he said softly. “You… you should be with Johnny. As much I would love you have you all to myself… Johnny deserves you. And you deserve him.” He said and then let out a shaky breath. I frowned and wrapped my arms around his neck. He didn’t hesitate to wrap his arms tightly around my waist. We stayed like that, just holding each other until we heard the guys yell from the other room; wondering what was taking so long.

“Go.” I told him smiling sadly.

“Let me take you out tomorrow after school. So we can talk more.” He said. “Alone.”

“I’d like that.” I admitted. He smiled before kissing me once more.

“Sorry, had to get that out of my system.” He whispered before walking out of the kitchen. I sighed and jumped down off the counter.

What the hell was I going to do?