When the Moon Fell in Love with the Sun

Over the next week, Brendon noticed that Katelyn was becoming distant. She seemed troubled by something, and was always glancing at her phone with a worried look on her face. The girl would always dance around his questions, merely replying with half-answers if she said anything at all. He saw the dark circles under her eyes from the lack of sleep she was getting, but he had no idea why Katelyn wasn't sleeping. He had a vague, hint of a theory that it had to do with the voicemail she had received after the Christmas party, but that was about all he had. Brendon wanted to know what was going on, but he had a feeling that she wasn't going to tell him on her own.

"What's got you in a rut, Kate?" Brendon watched the girl from his spot on the couch, rubbing Bogart's ears as she organized books, CDs, and DVDs on the shelves that were built into the wall behind the television. She merely shrugged, her reddish blonde hair splaying across her shoulders with the motion. Brendon heaved a sigh, attempting to guilt her into spilling.

Apparently it worked, because Katelyn took one look at him and replied that it had to do with her father. Brendon hadn't heard much about Kevin Tieger for a few years, since the one time he actually met the man.

"My cousin, Graham, says he's looking to get in touch with me. I guess he figured out that I'm still with you, and that your band is internationally recognized. Or that's what the gist is." Katelyn shrugged again, going back to her organizing.

"So you're freaking out because your dad might call?" Brendon wanted to clarify this before he began trying to make things better.

"Basically. I can't handle him trying to get involved again, especially if it's not really me he wants to be around for." There were few things she wouldn't stand for, and one was being used to get to Brendon.

"Why don't you be proactive then? Call him first and tell him to cut it out. It'll save you the stress, and I won't have to watch you obsessively clean and organize anymore. The floors are spotless, beds are made, and the kitchen is basically sparkling. It's freaking me out."

Katelyn let out a ghost of a laugh as she decided to take his advice. Asking Brendon to finish her organizing, the girl then went upstairs and called her cousin to get Kevin's phone number before making the big call.

It was odd to hear the man's familiar voice reciting his name as he answered; Katelyn felt her breath get caught up in her throat for a second before she mustered up the courage and replied.

"Hi, Kevin, this is Katelyn. I hear that you've been trying to reach me?"

He must have been at work; he was rifling around through papers and telling his assistant or whoever to hold all of his calls until he said otherwise.

"That I have, dear. How have you been doing? I trust that you're well now that you've graduated from Irvine." His voice held an air of pride in it; something Katelyn found to be completely unwarranted.

"I've been great. Though I'm wondering why you all of a sudden want to get in touch. I thought I made it clear last time we spoke that I didn't want anything to do with you." The girl sat on her bed, staring down at the plush, white comforter, thankful that Bogart hadn't followed her upstairs to distract her.

"Is it wrong that I want to know how you're doing? If you've got a job? A boyfriend? Speaking of boyfriends, are you still with that fellow I met when you were in high school? What was his name? Brian? Brody?"

Katelyn heaved a sigh at his inquisitive tone. He really only wanted to use her to get in with someone in Hollywood.

"Brendon. His name is Brendon, Kevin, and we're together. Not that it's any of your concern."

"Good. He was a wonderful young man…" Before he could continue any further, Katelyn cut him off, asking what he wanted from her.

"What makes you think that I want something, dear?" Kevin Tieger was known to be a resourceful man, and whenever he wanted something, he got it no matter what it took.

"Because the only time you ever have any interest in me is when I have something you want. What is it this time?"

Their conversation only lasted a few more minutes and was abruptly ended when Katelyn got fed up and told the man that he had no business trying to get anything from her or Brendon.

"Wait, wait. Caroline's sister, your aunt, is trying to find a band for her wedding and I offered to arrange one."

Katelyn practically snorted at the mental image that flashed before her eyes; Brendon, Spencer, Ian, and Dallon dressed in ridiculous suits with pastel bow ties, playing wedding favorites like the Cha Cha slide, YMCA, and Unchained Melody.

“You need to listen to me, Kevin. She’s not my aunt. I’m not related to her, and I’m not Brendon’s manager, but they are not a wedding band. I refuse to put that ridiculous idea on Brendon's plate. You have no right trying to get any sort of favors from me, and I'd appreciate it if you never contact me again." Without another word, Katelyn hung up the phone after hearing the man that was supposed to be her father gasp.

Brendon started to get a little worried after Katelyn didn't reappear downstairs an hour after she had gone up. He was playing Xbox and chilling with his beloved dog, but his thoughts kept him from completely focusing on sniping his opponents.

"What do you think she's doing up there, Boges? Wanna investigate with me? Let's go!" Brendon turned off the game and TV, hopping off the couch and getting his dog all riled up. As he headed up the stairs, Bogart trotted after his owner, wagging his tail and glancing around, almost mimicking Brendon.

"Kate? Where you at, homegirl?" Concealing a laugh at himself, he looked around upstairs and found the girl, sitting on the floor in their bathroom with her iPod headphones in, painting her nails a deep navy color.

She saw Bogart coming and immediately jumped, telling the dog to stay back or else she would spill her clear top coat. Brendon sat on the cold bathroom tile, leaning back against the door jamb as he watched her work without noticing him.

He admired the girl as she nodded her head to the beat, humming along to what sounded like a song by a band called Fun.- actually, she had gotten him into them in the first place, but nevertheless, he watched the girl as she blew on her nails, as if urging them to dry faster so she could get on with her life. Brendon took this opportunity to gently tap her with his left foot, smiling as she flinched in surprise and turned her head to see what had startled her.

"Oh, it's just you." Katelyn let out a sigh of relief, tugging one earbud out so she could talk to him.

"Just me?! Who else would it be?" Brendon played jealous when she shrugged and said that it could have been one of her many lovers she had acquired in the south of France.

"Shut up, you did your study abroad in Lyon, not Nice or Cannes." He teased the girl, recalling her stories about her sophomore semester she spent in Europe. Brendon had envied Katelyn's college education. He would have loved to experience that whole scenario and take in as much information as he could, simply because he loved to learn.

"So are you gonna tell me how the call went or am I gonna have to drag it out of you?" Brendon watched Katelyn finish applying the last of her top coat, then she turned her attention to him.

"I'll only tell if you let me paint your nails." A devious smile was all over her face, and it only widened at Brendon's look of complete terror.

"Never! I'm not letting you give me a manicure." He shook his head with such vigor that it made Katelyn chuckle.

"Come on, just a clear coat. If you don't, I'm not telling you anything."

Brendon gave in, holding out his left hand so she could position it however she wanted. Katelyn grinned, moving closer and sitting so she could easily work.

"So I found out that Kevin knows you're in a band that his sister in law likes and wanted to hire you to play at her wedding." The entire time she spoke, Katelyn avoided Brendon's eyes, and focused on applying the shiny gloss to his neatly trimmed nails.

"Does he think we're wedding singers or something?!?" Brendon seemed offended, but the girl said that apparently the bride was a huge fan or something along those lines.

"Her favorite song is probably Sins... Maybe I should have given him Ryan's number. Regardless, I told him never to call me again."

Brendon asked if that was all he wanted to get in touch with her for, and wasn't really surprised when she nodded. It seemed pretty obvious to him that Kevin Tieger never really cared about Kate, and that disgusted him.

"Well, even if you two were on speaking terms, I wouldn't do it. We don't do weddings, end of story." Brendon smiled as she blew on his nails, then took his other hand and brushed her lips against his knuckles before repeating the process.

"So when we have that housewarming party, I'd really like for my mom and my cousin to come. Graham's a great kid and I want you guys to get to know each other more." Katelyn decided to bring up a more positive subject, hoping that Brendon didn't mind her not wanting to discuss her father any more.

"I was thinking about having our parents over here at a different time, because this is kind of a 'our friends just want to come over and trash the place' party." Brendon leaned back and stretched his legs before allowing the girl to continue her work, explaining that he figured it would be better if Helen wasn't following his friends around like the cougar she was.

"And what's so wrong with an older woman dating a younger man?" Katelyn shot him a fiercely protective look, her eyes narrowing with distaste.

"Nothing, it's just weird to see my girlfriend's mom hitting on my friends. After her whole tryst with Jon, I'm weary of her being around them." Brendon loved Helen, but the woman was relentless and went after anything she wanted, much like her only child.

"Fine, but Graham is coming. I want him to socialize with real people and not engineering nerds."
Brendon saw her point and agreed. Sometimes people need to get out of their little world and meet new people.

"Do you ever regret not going to college?"

It seemed as if her question threw Brendon off guard, because he merely moved his eyes from hers and stared down at the tile of the floor. He appeared to be deep in thought, trying to come up with a well rounded answer. Katelyn almost retracted her question when she noticed that he was biting his lip nervously. Since he couldn't run his fingers through his hair, this was his next best nervous tick.

"In a way, yeah, I do regret not going. I missed out on a whole experience that seems like a rite of passage. Term papers, dorm living, and crappy school food are some things I could do without, but that's part of the experience." Brendon thought again before saying that he wouldn't change his decision even if he had the opportunity.

"I get to go places I wouldn't have even dreamt of four years ago. I wish I could take cool classes and learn tons, but I think I've learned a lot from touring and the music industry."

At first, Katelyn remained speechless after Brendon had stopped talking, and it seemed to make him nervous. He always wanted her approval; this girl's opinion was the only one that mattered to him.

"If you had written that for your entrance essays, any college would have accepted you."

The two continued talking about the pros and cons of a college education well past the point of their nails being dry, and it seemed that they both agreed that although it's currently necessary to have a degree to be competitive in the job market, that's basically all it was for.

"I mean, seriously. I spent four years of my life at UC Irvine, and thousands of dollars later, I have a degree that doesn't even relate to my job." Katelyn shrugged as Brendon helped her up off the floor, and together they went downstairs to play Xbox.

"You know that I respect your degree, right?" Brendon sat on the couch, grabbing the girl's wrist and pulling her to sit in his lap.

"I know, B, and I respect your career and passion more than anything." Now that her nails were dry, Katelyn ran her fingers through Brendon's hair, settling at the back of his neck.

"Something tells me that you don't want to play Xbox..." Brendon sent the girl a dazzling smile, circling his arms around her waist and burying his face in the crook of her neck. Katelyn muttered out that she could think of other activities, enjoying the feeling of his lips against her collarbone.

"Have I ever told you how much I love you?" Katelyn mumbled softly to the man she was embracing, tracing patterns along the back of his neck and playing with his short, dark hair.

"You do every once in a while..." When he pulled away from her neck, Brendon grinned as she made a note to do it more often.

Their intimate afternoon moment was then ruined by the doorbell ringing, which caused the pair to groan.

"We'll continue this later, okay?" Katelyn sent him a wink as she went to the door, meeting Bogart when she got there.

"Spencer, what on earth brings your lovely self by on this dreary afternoon." Katelyn let the sarcasm roll off her tongue, trying to give him a hint.

"I thought I'd pay my two best friends a visit and see their new digs!" Spencer walked inside, greeting Bogart and giving him a good belly rub before saying hey to Brendon.

Katelyn muttered that she was going to kill Spencer, who merely chuckled as she went into the kitchen for something to munch on.

"What crawled up her ass and died?" Spencer asked Brendon as he sat on the chair beside the sofa, glancing down at his sock clad feet. The couple had a thing about taking shoes off at the door unless
it was a somewhat formal or formal gathering.

"I think you did, you douche." Brendon scoffed, pushing his bangs up and out of his face.

"Did I interrupt some sexy time?" Spencer asked curiously, letting out a loud chuckle when Brendon nodded in annoyance.

"Spencer, I hope you know that you're the reason I can't have nice things." Katelyn's voice floated from the kitchen as she walked out with a plate of cheese and crackers, thwacking her best friend as she passed behind his chair. Spencer rubbed the back of his head, calling the girl a bitch and saying that 'Brendon was pretty nice'.

"So what are you doing here? Not that I don't love when you drop by…" Katelyn was now laying on the couch, her head resting in Brendon's lap and her feet almost reaching the other arm of the comfy sofa.

"I wanted to see how things have been going now that you're settled in. Bren told me what Tosh gave you for Christmas. You've got a classy boss." Spencer rolled his eyes as Brendon let out a low groan of annoyance.

"At least he doesn't show up at our house when we're trying to get it on." The girl grumbled bitterly, folding her arms across her chest.

"Hey Katie, that's a super cute hickey you've got on your neck! Was it a Christmas present from Brendon?" Spencer wore a smug smile as he glanced at the girl, knowing that he was annoying the hell out of her.

"Hey Spencer, want my foot up your ass? It could be a wonderful way to start off the new year!" Katelyn's words fell like venom off her tongue, her sarcastic side had taken complete control and there was no turning back. Brendon tried to help the situation, but only earned glares from his bandmate and his girlfriend.

"Whatever, you guys. I'm going upstairs to play piano. Let me know when you're done being on each other's jocks."

Once Brendon had disappeared up the stairs, Katelyn finally looked over to Spencer.

"See what you made him do! I'm seriously gonna kill you once I come back down here." She shot him a glare, watching him pick up the plate of crackers and cheese that she had cut up with a nonchalant look. Katelyn sauntered up stairs to try and get Brendon to come back down, ready to promise a truce with Spencer if it was necessary.