Heaven Nor Hell

I had to wake up early today to go to the store. While I was hanging out with Brian last night, he told me about a barbeque at his friend Johnny’s house, and all his friends wanted me to come, so I spent all night deciding what to bring.

Eventually I decided on making cupcakes, because I loved to bake, and when I made them a few days ago, Brian and Elizabeth practically demolished them.

Due to my lack of a job, Brian and I spent nearly every day together. Every morning, Brian shows up with my favorite drink from Starbucks, and leads us on a walk around Huntington.

I was listening to Gerard, and I began opening up to Brian more. He managed to crack a little more of my wall every day, and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't starting to develop feelings for him. It was obvious he was too, but I knew I wasn't ready to take that leap in our relationship yet. And to my surprise, Brian was completely understanding of this.

I was pulled from my thoughts by a knock on my bedroom door. I yelled a quick "come in", and the door opened to reveal Elizabeth, dressed and ready for work.

"Did you decide what to make for the barbecue tonight?" she asked, leaning against the doorframe to slip on her shoes.

"I decided to make cupcakes." She opened her mouth to speak, but I immediately cut her off.

"And yes, I'm making extras for you to keep at home." Elizabeth grinned.

"You're the best!" She ran over to give me a sideways hug. "I’m staying late at work today, so I won't be home before you leave. But have some fun for me tonight. Live a little." She grinned, before slipping off the bed.

"I made extra coffee this morning, since I assume you and your knight in shining armor aren't going out this morning," she spoke, laughing as she dodged the pillow I had tossed at her head.

We said our quick goodbyes, before I slid out of bed. I walked over to my phone to text Brian, and let him know I was going shopping, so we couldn't take our walk. He never replied, so I assumed he was still asleep.

I took a quick shower, before I threw on a pair of jeans, and an old Metallica t-shirt.

As I was sifting through my shoes, I heard our apartment door open and close. I checked the time, and realized it was too late in the morning for it to be Elizabeth. I ran to my purse, and pulled out a can of pepper spray, and hid it behind my back.

I took a deep breath, hoping to calm my rapid heartbeat and shaking hands, before I quietly opened my bedroom door, and tiptoed into the living.

I screamed seeing a body crouched down in front of Wishbone, but immediately relaxed as I recognized the spiky hair.

"Oh my god Bri, you scared the hell out of me," I said breathlessly. I heard him chuckle as he spun around on the floor to meet my eyes.

"I'm sorry. I knocked on the door, but you didn't answer. So I used a key." He shrugged, before turning his attention to Wishbone, who was jumping around in his lap.

I walked back in my room to get my shoes, before I returned to the kitchen.

"How did you get a key?"

"Elizabeth gave it to me last time I was here," he said, as he pushed himself off the floor, and opened his arms. I stared at him for a few seconds, resisting my urge to walk into them, until he pouted. My reserve broke, and I walk into his arms, wrapping mine around his waist. I blushed slightly when he leaned down and pressed a kiss into my hair.

"I'm sorry for scaring you; I didn't know you would freak out that badly." I squeezed his waist to show my forgiveness, before I released him.

"So what are you doing here this early?" I asked, as I reached into the cupboard for a mug.

"Wait!" he exclaimed, before he walked to our small kitchen table, and grabbed two steaming cups of Starbucks. He handed one to me, before smiling.

"I thought I could come with you shopping. So we'd still get to spend time together, but you could still get your shopping done. If you wanted..." he finished, his gaze set on the lid of his coffee mug. I placed my hand on his bicep, and lightly squeezed, reassuring him.

"Of course you can come Bri. I just didn't want you to have to get up so early." I smiled, before grabbing my purse off of its hook, and leading us out of my apartment. I was relieved Brian had showed up, because now I didn't have to walk and carry all my groceries home.

We arrived at the grocery store in a matter of minutes, and walked in to find it surprisingly quiet for a Saturday morning. I reached for a basket, but Brian quickly stole it out of my hand, arguing that I couldn't hold my coffee, the basket, and grab items off the shelf. His logic didn't make much sense, but I let him carry the basket without much of a fight.

Most of the ingredients I needed were all located in one aisle, so I collected everything relatively quickly, getting enough ingredients to make three batches.

We made our way to the checkout, and unloaded everything onto the conveyor belt, before digging through my purse to find my debit card. As I pulled it out, I looked up to see Brian signing a receipt, and handing it back to the cashier.

"Brian Haner!" I exclaimed, glaring as he slipped his wallet into his back pocket, and flashing me a smile.

"Hush, and go pack up your groceries. We have food to make." I sighed as I threw my groceries in a paper bag and brought it close to my chest, refusing to let Brian carry it.

As we reached the car, Brian opened the back door, so I could set my groceries on the floor, before he opened the passenger for me. After we were situated, Brian set off towards my apartment.

"How many people are coming tonight?" I asked, hoping I bought enough ingredients.

"It's gonna be pretty small, nothing compared to mine. Matt, Jimmy, Zacky, their girlfriends, and a few other friends. I wouldn't expect more than thirty people." I nodded my head, knowing I had got the perfect amount.

"Speaking of Zacky though, I think him and I may have figured out your employment issue," he said, as he parked in the joining lot of our apartment. Before I could respond, Brian quickly opened his door, and rushed out, but I beat him to it, reaching into the back and pulling my groceries in my lap.

Brian glared as he opened my door, but I simply stuck my tongue out in a childish fashion, before stepping out of the car. Brian locked the doors, before leading us into the building.

As we got to my door, Brian unlocked the door, and I walked straight to the kitchen. I immediately began to unload my groceries, before pulling out all the equipment I needed.

"What are you making for tonight?" I jumped at the sound of Brian's voice, forgetting that he was still here. I looked around the kitchen, before I found him on the floor again, Wishbone curled up in his lap.

"Why don't you have a dog Bri?" I asked, honestly curious. He'd told me many times he loved dogs, so I didn't know why he would have one.

"With the band, touring, I didn't want to get one. Though now I might. Would you come with me if I did go?" I nodded my head as I continued baking.

"Of course. And to answer your question, I'm making cupcakes. And like I told Elizabeth, yes, I'll make extras for you." Brian cheered, before he came to sit on one of the two barstools facing the counter.

I had to slap his hand away multiple times, as he tried to steal my batter, but eventually, I got all of the cupcake molds filled, and put the first batch in the oven. As the first batch finished, I switched them out, before starting on the frosting. While I tended to just use boxes for the cake, I always used homemade frosting, as it was usually everybody's favorite part.

I quickly finished the frosting, before bringing it to the fridge to chill. As I set it on an empty shelf, I heard a faint crack, before a gooey substance was dropped on my head. I turned around to find Brian smiling innocently, an eggshell crushed in his hand. I pulled the egg yolk out of hair, and threw it in the trash can, before returning to the counter, and I began to tidy up.

After a minute, I swept some of the spilt powdered sugar into my hand, and quickly turned around, blowing it in Brian's face. Brian turned around, yelling and rubbing his eyes, as I cracked two more eggs throwing one in his hair, and the other down his shirt.

He jumped as the cold yoke ran down his back, before he turned around, glaring.

"It's on Poulsen!" he yelled, before he unscrewed the cap on the bottle of vanilla, and slashed it all over the front of my clothes.

We spent the next few minutes, throwing food at one another, until Brian pinned me on the ground, a full carton of eggs next to him.

But before he could begin his assault, the front door opened to an extremely shocked Elizabeth.

Brian and I looked at her wide-eyed, before Brian pushed off of me, forgetting about the carton of eggs beside him. He cursed as all the eggs broke under his wet, his shirt getting drenched in yoke. I began to laugh, until he scooped up the broken yokes beneath him, and threw them on my chest. It was his turn to laugh.

"Having fun, are we?" Elizabeth tried to sound stern, but I could tell she was overjoyed Brian still showed up today. I avoided her question.

"What are you doing home?" I asked, as Brian stood, offering a hand to help me to my feet.

"I forgot my lunch, so I was going to run by and pick it up. Unless of course it ended up down one of your backs." I hid my face in Brian's chest to hide my blush, but realized that would only make her smugger.

"It's still in there..." I spoke quietly, sighing as Brian began to trace shapes with his fingers against my sticky back.

"Well I won't crash your party any longer. It was good to see you Brian." Elizabeth grinned at us, before petting Wishbone's head, and walking out the door.

After she left, we both broke out laughing that we had been caught. I gave a quick glance around, and realized the kitchen actually wasn't too messy; most of the food had ended up caked on our bodies and clothes.

I wet two washcloths, and set one on the counter for Brian, who had meandered to my CD collection.

As I was wiping up the egg carton mess on the floor, Metallica's Of Wolf and Man flooded the apartment. I turned around to find Brian wiping of the counter, singing and dancing in time with the song. I laughed, and joined in.

After a half an hour of cleaning, the kitchen was spotless, and all the dishes were washing, and the cupcakes cooling. I put the last bowl away, before turning to look at Brian. He was picking dried cake batter out of his hair, before he sighed.

"I should probably go home and shower..." he said, meeting my gaze. I nodded my head.

"Yeah I need one too..." I replied, looking down at my caked body. Brian pushed off the counter and came to stand closer.

"Well it’s already almost one. I'll be back around 4:30 to pick you up. That sound good?" I nodded my head, and wrapped my arms around him, scrunching my face as I dragged my face through wet batter.

Brian kissed my temple, before letting me go and collecting his wallet and keys, and walking out the door.

I ran into the bathroom to shower, unable to stand being coated in goop for another minute more. After my shower, I threw on an old t-shirt and I tied my hair in a messy, wet bun. I returned to the kitchen, and pulled out my box of frosting tips and bags. I chose a standard tip, and filled up the bag, frosting all three batches. By the time I was finished, it was 3:30, and thankfully, I had stayed relatively clean.

I washed any excess frosting off my hands and arms, before I returned to my bedroom, and pulled on a simple cream and navy dress, securing a brown woven belt around my waist.

I ran a blow dryer through my hair to finish drying it, before curling it.

Soon, I was finished, and back in the kitchen packing up the cupcakes, when there was a knock on the door.

I opened the door, and was taken away by Brian's appearance. He wore a pair of dark wash jeans and one of t-shirts from his clothing line. Over the top, he wore an olive green jacket, and his hair, unlike this morning, where it laid flat against his head, was now in perfect spikes. He looked like a full-blown rockstar.

I blushed as he chuckled, realizing I let my gaze linger too long. My gaze dropped to the floor as I stepped aside to let him in. His arm wrapped around my shoulder as he stepped in, and kissed my temple.

"You look gorgeous, as always." He smirked as my blush deepened. "Are you ready to go?" I nodded my head, before walking into my room, slipping on my sandals and grabbing the cardigan off my bed.

I returned to the kitchen, and rolled my eyes at Brian, who had the container of cupcakes in his hands. He grinned, before walking out the door, waiting for me to lock it up.

I climbed into his car, before he gingerly set the container in my lap, and shutting the door.

The ride to Johnny's was quiet, the only sound filling the car was the System of a Down CD Brian had playing quietly in the background.

A few more minutes, we pulled up in front of the house, only a few cars littering the street. Brian ran around the car to open my door, and take the cupcakes from my lap. I got out and closed the door, before Brian placed the container in my hands. He smiled, before placing his hand on the small of my back, and leading us up to the house.