If I Die Young

My breath caught in my throat, not exactly expecting this to happen. It wasn't that I wasn't happy for my brother. Of course I was happy for him! But this was so unexpected and out of the blue that it had caught me off guard. When we were growing up, he always had that 'Play Boy' attitude, and he always said that he wasn't the type to get married. Once him and Michelle started getting serious, it was a surprise, even more so when she moved in with him. I still never thought I would see this day...

Maybe this was why he was acting the way he's been acting? Maybe he was nervous and on edge that he didn't realize he was being a pain in the ass.

Or maybe he's so ready to take this huge, new step in his life that he doesn't want his kid sister hanging on anymore...

The only quiet place to go to that I could think of, was the front yard. So I snuck around the side of the house and out the side gate. I found a spot on the short, brick wall out front and sat down.

Another part of my mind started wandering off to thinking why hadn't Brian told me? He always talked about things with me, no matter what it was. Especially when he was excited about something huge, he couldn't wait to tell me about it. So, why was this any different?

I didn't know how long I sat out there in my own thoughts. The only thing that brought me out of them was Johnny. "There you are," he said, walking over to me.

"Hey," I said, giving him a small smile.

He fround, sitting down next to me. "What's up, Missy? What's got you upset?"

"I'm not upset." He gave me a look that said he knew different. I sighed, shaking my head and looking down at my hands. "I don't know, John. I'm just confused, I guess."

"Confused about what?" He asked, tucking a piece of hair behind my ear.

"It doesn't matter." I honestly didn't want to talk about it. I felt stupid for even feeling and thinking the way I did.

He sighed, before taking my hands in his. "Is this about what Brian said earlier and how he was acting?" I had actually forgotten about the little incident earlier, and that just fueled my new thoughts.

"I think I'm just tired..." I mumbled, closing my eyes and tilting my head back.

"Do you want to go inside and relax?" He asked softly, rubbing between my shoulder blades.

I stood up, shaking my head. "You should get back to the party. I think I'm just going to go on upstairs," I said, pulling my shoes off. It felt good to be barefoot after wearing heels for a few hours.

"Oh no you don't," he said, grabbing onto my hand as I walked. I gave him a confused look as he gave me small smile. "I'm not going to let you go sulk up in your room when there's some amazing cake to be eaten." I shook my head as he lead me back into the house.

"There you two are! We've been looking for you," Brent said, giving me a confused look. "Where were you?"

"I just went out front to get some quiet time; my head was starting to hurt," I said quickly, not wanting to give him any ideas.

"Oh... Well, I saved you some cake. You better grab it before Jimmy does. It'll be his fourth piece, and we all know what that means..." The three of us groaned as we thought about what havoc he would cause with all that sugar in his system.

"Why don't you grab a seat and I'll bring it to you," Johnny whispered in my ear as he ran his hand up and down my arm. I nodded as I felt goosebumps rise on my arms, hoping he didn't notice.

I walked over to our comfy chair in the living room and plopped down. Like some days, today was a day my body was just exhausted and ready to go to sleep. My eyes luckily staid open until Johnny showed back up with a small plate of cake. I smiled at him as he handed me the cake. "Thank you," I said, taking a bite.

"Any room for me?" He asked, nodding to the chair. I stood up and let him sit down, before I sat side ways on his lap. My back was against the arm of the chair so that I could still face him and talk to him. "I'm really glad we got this dress," he said, smiling as he traced the black flowers.

"Me too," I said, nodding. Out of the corner of my eye I saw him smirking. "What?" I asked, trying not to laugh.

"Did you actually just agree to liking the dress after saying you hate wearing dresses?" He hummed, as his smirk staid plastered on his face.

I rolled my eyes and shook my head. "Oh hush," I said, laughing softly. He didn't say anything, but kept looking at me. Finally, I turned to look at him. "Can I help you?"

"Yes, yes you can," he said, smiling.

"You aren't getting any of my cake, Mister," I said stubornly.

"Hmm, I bet I can persuade you," he said thoughtfully.

I gave him a look with my eyebrow raised. "Oh really now?" He smiled, and without saying anything, he leaned into me. It took me a few seconds to realize what he was doing. But when his lips touched mine, my head started to spin. It was a short kiss and ended much too soon.

As we slowly pulled away from each other, we stared at each other for a few seconds. I felt heat rush to my cheeks, as I looked down at the plate. I brought the fork back up to give him a piece of cake, which he took with a smile.

Nothing was said about the kiss as we finished the cake. I sat the plate on the table, before curling into him. I had my head on his shoulder, and my knees pulled up so I was tucked into him. He gently ran his fingers up and down my calf, and also my arm with his other hand. Before I knew it, I was falling asleep, sure to dream of the recent events of tonight.

*Johnny's P.O.V.*

When Soph's breathing evened out, I didn't have to look down to know she had fallen asleep. I obviously knew that she wasn't just tired tonight. The way Brian had been acting was taking it's tole on her, and frankly, it was starting to piss me off.

Brian was like Soph's security blanket, and not having him here this last year was probably the hardest thing in the world for her. I knew where she was coming from with not wanting him to worry or maybe even not wanting him to leave the tour so he could be with her. Not having him through everything she went through was huge for her, and probably scared her shitless. Of course she had Papa and everyone else... But none of them were Brian.

I held her while she slept soundly as the party continued on. Papa came in to check on her, and smiled when he saw her sleeping peacfuly even with the party going on. I was even starting to doze off, when Brian walked in. He didn't look too pleased when he saw Sophie asleep in my lap, and I still didn't understand why.

"Hey, Man," he said, giving me a nod. I did the same, wondering what he had come in for. "Can I talk to you real quick?"

"Sure," I said, before standing up, and then setting Soph back down softly in the chair.

Brian walked out front and I followed after him. It took him a minute to find the words he wanted to say. He finally sighed, running his fingers through his hair. "I don't know how to say this, because you're one of my closest friends."

"Just say it, Bri," I said, wanting him to be out with it.

"What the hell is going on with you and my sister?" He finally shot out.

I was a little taken by surprise. "What do you mean?"

"Don't play stupid with me, John because I really don't have patience for it right now," he said, sighing agitatedly.

"Honestly, Bri... I don't know," I said, shoving my hands in my pockets and shrugging my shoulders.

"What do you mean, you don't know? It seems pretty damn obvious to me," he said, throwing his hands up in the air. "If you're fucking around with Soph, I swear-"

"Why would you even say that?!" I snapped, becoming angry with him. "You damn well know that Soph isn't like that!"

"Well the two of you have been acting pretty damn comftorable around each other lately that it would raise some eyebrows."

I scoffed, shaking my head. "We've always been close, if you haven't noticed, Brian. Whatever is going on in your head right now has clearly fucked your head around and is making you delusional."

"I'm just trying to look out for my sister. I don't want you thinking that she's just an easy fuck because you've known her for years. I don't need you screwing her, then turning around and leaving her."

"That would never happen, and you know it," I growled, glaring at him. "So pull your head out of your ass and stop with all of this shit. We've barely even kissed!"

He stopped his pacing and looked directly at me. "You what?!" Before I could answer him, he punched me in the jaw.

I stood there, shaking my head. "I really don't know what the hell is going on with you... But when you're back to your normal self, then I'll be willing to talk to you," I said, before I started walking away.

"Stay the hell away from my sister!" He yelled after me. I just waved him off as I got into my car and left, too pissed to really process anything right now.