Better Than Me

"Riley! Riley! Riley!"

Curled up like a cat in the only chair in the club's dressing room, watching Jacob apply his eyeliner, Riley didn't even look up as the door banged open. David burst over the threshold.

"What the fuck, Riley?" he demanded. "Didn't you hear me calling you?"

Riley and Jacob exchanged a brief, amused glance in the mirror. Riley bit her lip to suppress a smile and turned to David. "No."

"Bullshit! You whore." David peered around the room, realized there was nowhere else to sit, and came to rest his backside on one arm of Riley's chair. "I need a favor."

"I don't think calling her a whore is the best way to get something from her," Jacob said sarcastically.

"Whatever." David looked at Riley. "Fix my hair."

"Uh, Cody's the hairstylist, not me."

"Cody is too busy trying to charm some girl out of her panties. If I wait on him, my hair won't be done in time for the show."

Jacob frowned. "Is Cody ready?"

David shrugged. "Mostly. I guess his hair won't be quite as perfect tonight, but who cares? He's gonna get some ass."

"You're a pig!" Riley exclaimed, smacking his shoulder.

David widened his dark eyes innocently. "I didn't say that's how I view the situation. That's Cody's take on things."

"He's right," Jacob remarked. "Cody could fuck up our whole set and not even feel bad or embarrassed about it as long as he gets laid at the end of the night."

"So," David said to Riley. "Fix my hair."

"What am I doing to it?"

"Mohawk."

"Normal mohawk, or Liberty spikes?"

"What do you think, Bluegrass?"

Jacob considered for a moment. "Liberty spikes."

David crossed the room to retrieve his backpack. Riley got up and he plopped down in the chair. Rifling through his backpack, he handed her a bottle of hair gel.

Jacob had capped the eyeliner and begun fluffing his already-styled hair. Riley had helped him with his hair earlier, taking advantage of this innocent reason to run her fingers through the silky jet-black strands.

Riley set to work on David's hair. She was almost done when Cody sauntered through the door. He stopped short at the sight of Riley coaxing a spike into existence and gasped dramatically, pointing at Riley. "You hair whore! First Jacob, and now David?"

David and Jacob laughed.

"I swear, if I get called a 'whore' one more time..." Riley said.

"You cum-guzzling gutter slut!" David shouted. He twisted around to grin at her. "Better?"

"Choke on a dick and die, David Lynam," Riley retorted, forcing him to once more face the front so that she could finish his hair. She pulled out her cell and bent over David's shoulder to put her cheek against his. "Say cheese."

David stuck his tongue out as she snapped the picture. She sent it to Corinne with the message "Living the dream...of a hair stylist."

She hastily captured a shot of Jacob. This one, too, went to Corinne. "I'm responsible for THAT also."

"Are you planting your ass in the front again?" David asked her.

"Uh, yeah. Where else would I plant my ass at a Lynam show?"

"You're back here with us while we're changing. Why do you need to be front and center for the show? We see you enough."

Riley flipped him off.

"I like Riley being up front," Cody said. "When the talent is lacking, I have something to look at." He flashed Riley the smile that had lured in a lot more girls than it had repelled.

"Thanks, I think."

"The talent isn't lacking tonight, though, is it?" David said, addressing Cody. "That girl you were talking to was definitely easy on the eyes."

Riley rolled her eyes. "I'm outta here. See you in a few." She breezed out of the dressing room.

In her pocket, her cell vibrated. She had a text from Corinne. "They look good. You might want to reconsider your career ;) Are you having a good time?"

"I'm having a magnificent time. Jacob is an angel. Cody and David are...entertaining."

"Oh, Lord. I know all about 'entertaining.' I'm dating someone you would describe that way."

"They do remind me of CC. Loud, crazy, and having the maturity level of a six-year-old."

"Ha ha! Well, my six-year-old is calling right now. I'll talk to you soon. Love you."

"Love you, too."

The stage lights darkened and the music on the club's P.A. was silenced, signaling the start of Lynam's set. Riley joined the few people already gathered at the stage.

Halfway through the first song, Jacob reached out to trail his fingers along the side of Riley's face. She smiled. When his attention went back to his guitar, the girl next to Riley leaned over.

"Are you dating him?" she queried.

"No," Riley said.

"Oh. Sorry. I saw you together earlier and I thought..."

"We're just friends. We grew up in the same town."

The girl shifted her focus to Jacob once again. Riley bit her lip. This stranger had assumed she and Jacob were an item. Was it simply because the girl didn't know either her or Jacob?

Or do we act like a couple? Riley wondered.

No. She and Jacob were not treating each other any differently than they had since first becoming reacquainted. It was only because the girl had seen Riley hanging out with the band and could tell that she had known them a while. Add that to the little things Jacob was always doing to Riley from the stage and most people would jump to the conclusion that they were together.

Riley looked up at Jacob. He was attractive: smart, funny, sweet, sexy. He was going to make some lucky girl very happy one day.

But it wouldn't be her.

**********

Andy sucked the smoke from his cigarette deep into his lungs. He was leaning on the railing that lined the second floor of the club and overlooked the expansive dance floor, which was packed with gyrating bodies.

Black Veil Brides were in Dallas, Texas. They had a show tomorrow night, but tonight, they were free to roam the city and do as they pleased. Ashley had suggested a night club. The other guys had declined the invitation; Andy, on the other hand, had no reason to turn Ashley down.

Andy Biersack and Ashley Purdy, the Black Veil Bachelors, Andy thought, exhaling slowly and watching the smoke waft from between his lips before fading away.

Ashley had wanted to come to the club in search of his two favorite things: copious amounts of alcohol and a warm, willing female. Andy had tagged along, unable to bear a night in a hotel room with nothing to distract him from his thoughts and memories.

"Here." Ashley reappeared and handed Andy a shot of Crown. He then rested his arms along the railing, a second shot in his own hand, and peered down at the dance floor. "Finish that cigarette so we can go make some, um, friends."

The club only permitted smoking on the second floor. The rule was pretty useless, but Andy and Ashley had encountered it on other occasions.

"Why don't you go make some 'friends' and leave me to smoke in peace," Andy proposed, taking a sip of his drink and enjoying the way it burned down his throat.

Ashley regarded him for a few seconds. "Is this how it's going to be? You're going to mope around and ruin everyone's good time?"

"I'm not ruining anything. You are more than welcome to go down there and pick up as many willing companions as you can find. No one is stopping you."

"You're stopping me. You're my best friend and I can't fucking stand knowing you're up here, alone and miserable."

"I'm not miserable. I have a cigarette--" Andy raised his cigarette. "--and I have liquor." He raised the glass of Crown. "I am fan-fucking-tastic."

Ashley rolled his eyes. "I swear, you've forgotten all the things you used to enjoy."

"You mean I've grown up?"

"No. I mean you let a girl change you."

Andy frowned. "I did not."

"You did," Ashley persisted. "I love Riley and you know that, but you're not the person you were before you met her."

"So maybe that's a good thing."

"Some of it, maybe," Ashley conceded. "The rest of it, not so much."

"I never picked up random girls in bars. That's always been your thing."

"That's why you should tonight."

Andy cocked an eyebrow. "Makes sense."

"Doing something that is utterly unlike you will help you get out of this morose state. Plus, I promise Riley will be the last thing on your mind when you're fucking a stranger."

"You should be a car salesman or something, Ash. I'm totally convinced," Andy said sarcastically.

"Listen." Ashley shifted to face Andy. "Do you really think Riley is sitting at home, nursing a drink and crying over you? The relationship is over. You have to move on eventually, and there's no time like the present."

Andy heaved a huge sigh. Ashley wasn't going to give up. Andy would have to pretend to go along with it.

"Just try it," Ashley said. "It can't hurt, can it?"

"Alright." Andy ground his cigarette out in the ashtray on a nearby table. "Lead the way."

Ashley smiled. The two of them descended the staircase to the first floor. Closer now, Andy could see that the majority of the dancers were female. Many of them were dressed in things that left very little to the imagination. It had been a while since Andy had appreciated this type of woman. Riley was nothing like this. Oh, she liked to doll herself up and go shake her ass with her girls, but she would never choose a bar or club as her hunting grounds for a potential date, despite the way that she and Andy had first met.

I never would have had a shot with her if she hadn't known that I wasn't one of those creepy guys that always hangs around bars and clubs, Andy knew.

Ashley worked his magic and within thirty minutes of abandoning the upper floor, there were two girls flirting with them. The one that had set her sights on Andy was pretty in an obvious way. She had bleach blond hair, hazel eyes, a perfect tan, and she was built like a model. She was the type of girl that wouldn't have glanced twice at Andy or Ashley in high school.

She was positive that Andy was a sure thing. There was no doubt that they were going home together. Andy briefly considered laughing in her face, but he decided that fucking her then dismissing her carelessly in the morning would be a better revenge on all the "Golden Ones" he'd endured in his past. The second option would also fit in with Ashley's theory that sex with a stranger would help him forget Riley for a while.

In another hour, Ashley's partner was dragging him towards the exit. He waved at Andy and allowed her to do so.

"This place is a little crowded," the blond said, stepping close to Andy and running a hand lightly up his stomach, to his chest. "Maybe we should go somewhere more private."

Andy smirked. He felt a hint of his former arrogant self returning. He hadn't picked up bar sluts in the past, but he had indulged in a couple of one-night stands. It wasn't a hobby; it had only been done when he had a serious need. That being said, he had never cheated on Riley, no matter how bad the need had gotten.

Now, though, there's no reason for me not to satisfy my need. He looked at the blond's pretty face, his eyes resting on her lips. He would have bet everything in his bank account that she knew exactly how best to use them.

"Yeah," he agreed. "Let's get outta here."

A devious smile curved half of her mouth and she turned, sashaying in the direction of the door. Watching her hips sway,--and already imagining the way she would ride him--Andy followed.