Heaven Nor Hell

I woke up in confusion, unsure of where I was. My bed was nowhere near as spacious or comfortable, nor my walls painted such a warming color of grey. I sat up, my eyes scanning the room for evidence of where I was, and I relaxed upon seeing photos of Brian and various other family and friends, scattered around.

One photo in particular caught my eye, as I slipped off the bed. I picked it up to get a closer look. It was of Brian and I at his barbeque, his sunglasses resting on top of his head, his signature smile plastered across his face, and his arm wrapped around my waist, my face buried in his chest, probably in embarrassment.

I smiled at the memory, still unbelieving of just how much Brian had done for me in such a short span of time.

I turned back around, and noticed a note sitting on the night table.

Lily,

You looked so peaceful sleeping, I didn’t have the heart to wake you up last night, so I brought you to my room. I hope you weren’t too disoriented. I took the liberty of letting Elizabeth know you stayed the night, and asked she dropped off a change of clothes for you. They’re on the bathroom counter.

After you’ve gotten ready, come down to the living room. I have big plans for us today.

-Brian x

My smile grew as I read through the note, before I slipped it in my back pocket, and made my way to the conjoining bathroom. As promised, were a fresh change of clothes and my trusty Toms. I quickly changed, before running a brush through my hair. After deeming my appearance acceptable, I slipped on my shoes and ran down the steps in search of Brian. As he said, I found him in the living room, sorting through a folder of sheet music. I took a seat next to him, and he leaned over and placed a kiss on my forehead.

“Good morning,” he grinned, before turning his gaze towards the mess of papers. “I just have to clean these up quick, and then we can be on our way. Elizabeth brought over a package of Poptarts and a can of Coke, which I put in the fridge, if you’re hungry. Otherwise we can pick something up for you while we’re out.”

“No that’s perfect. Thank you Bri,” I replied, before walking to the kitchen. It probably wasn’t the healthiest breakfast, but it was enough to wake me up. I took a seat in one of the barstools aligning Brian’s counter, and quickly ate.

Just as I was throwing my wrapper and can away, Brian walked in, pocketing his wallet and his phone.

“Ready?” he questioned, reaching for his keys. I nodded my head, before following him to the car.

We were quiet for the first few minutes, Metallica playing through the speakers, before my curiosity got the best of me.

“Can you tell me where we’re going, or is it a surprise?” I asked as he laughed, before answering my question with another question.

“How long have you played guitar?”

“I’ve been playing since I was about 6. But I haven’t played for like four years…”

“Do you still have your guitar?” I quickly shook my head.

“When I first moved in with Kyle, we needed extra money to help pay the rent, so he made me sell it…” I swallowed hard at the memory. It had been one of the only possession I had left of my dad, and Kyle had forced me to sell it by telling me if I didn’t, he would smash it to pieces. I shook my head at the memory, trying to dislodge it from my mind. I wanted to forget all about those years of my life. Being with Brian was a good place to start.

I noticed Brian’s hands clench the steering wheel tighter, his knuckles turning white at the words I had just spoken, before he sighed.

“Do you remember the excuse you came up with yesterday, to get out of telling me about Kyle?” I shook my head, honestly not even remembering what I had said.

“You asked me to teach you guitar, and I promised you I would. And I plan on keeping that promise,” he said, as he parked the car. I looked up to see we had parked in front of a guitar shop, and I couldn’t help the grin as I looked back at Brian. He chuckled, before running over to help me out of the car.

*Brian’s POV*

I led Lily into the familiar shop, and over to the wall of acoustic guitars. From the photo she had in her bedroom of her playing guitar, she use to have an old Fender. It was nothing special, so that’s why I had brought her to my favorite guitar shop. From what I gathered from Elizabeth, Lily preferred acoustics to electrics, and I instantly knew that Schecter would be the perfect brand for her.

I told her to look around as I ran to get my friend Andrew, who owned the shop. We greeted each other, and talked for a few minutes, before I got down to business.

“Do you see that girl over there?” I asked, pointing to Lily. “I want to get her a new Omen Extreme Acoustic. She told me she can only pay about $150, but I’m not letting her walk out with a rubbish guitar. So get her an Omen, tell her it’s used, and under $150, and I’ll pay for the rest of it.” Andrew grinned.

“She something special, Gates?”

“One of a kind,” I spoke, watching her pull a guitar off the wall, and strummed a few chords, before making a face of distaste.

“Well we just ordered a few new Omens in. Do you know if she’d want the antique, sunburst, or black cherry color?”

“Black cherry,” I said, noticing her appeal to the other red finishes up on the wall. Andrew nodded, before walking to the back of the shop.

I walked back to where Lily was standing, looking exasperated at all the choices.

“Brian, these are all so expensive…I think I might have to get a job before I even think about getting a guitar.” I wrapped my arm around her shoulders.

“That’s because these are all new. I talked to my friend who works here, he’s looking in the back for something more in your price range. But you still haven’t had any luck with getting a job?” She shook her head.

“No, it’s hard because I don’t have any work experience. Just having a standard business degree is too vague for most places. I really don’t know what I’m going to do.”

I mulled over her words, thinking of possible locations for her to find work, before it hit me. I looked down to speak, but before I could get a word out, I heard my name being called.

“Brian, I found the perfect one for your girl.” Lily blushed at Andrew’s slip, but neither of us made to correct him. I simply moved my arm to her waist, and led her over the counter.

Lily’s eyes lit up as soon as she set sight on the guitar, and I knew I had made the right choice.

“You wanna test it out Lils?” I asked as I adjusted the strap to fit her petite body. I lifted the guitar over her head and handed her a pick from my pocket. She strummed a few chords, getting use to the feel of the guitar, before she launched into a song, I immediately recognized as Cancer, by My Chemical Romance. As I sang along in my head, I realized how much the words must resonate in her life, after her grandfather died of cancer.

I laughed as she looked at me, a large smile lighting up her face. I turned to Andrew.

“How much is it?” I asked, meeting his grin.

“$130.” I turned back to Lily, an eyebrow raised in question. Her smile turned into a grin, and she vigorously shook her head yes, pulling the guitar off her body so Andrew could ring it up.

I left Lily to pay her portion of the guitar, and walked to the other end of the counter, picking out a case and a few other accessories for her, as well as paid off my portion of her guitar. I stuck the accessories in the case, before taking the guitar off of her, and placing it snugly in the empty cavity. I locked it up, before handing her the case, and leading her out of the shop.

I opened the back door for her to place the case in the back, before opening her door for her to slide in. Before she sunk into her seat, she surprised me by pressing a kiss to my cheek, before climbing in. I grinned as I ran around to the driver’s side, and started up the car.

I drove us back to my house, and brought her down to my personal studio. I sat her on the couch, before grabbing my Hellraiser Studio acoustic from its case, and the manila folder off of the desk.

I took a seat next to her, before placing the manila folder in her lap.

“I wasn’t sure what to start with, so I took the liberty of tabbing out a few of your favorite songs. So you can choose what you want to begin with.” I watched her palm through a few of the tabs, before a smile broke out on her face, and she plucked the tab from the stack.

“A Warrior's Call!”