Better Than Me

Andy's boots thumped on the steps as he left the bus. Jake, Jeremy, and Ashley were being exceptionally loud while burning off the adrenaline still coursing through their veins from the show. Christian had vanished to the back of the bus and Andy figured he was talking to Corinne.

Sighing, Andy stuck a cigarette between his lips and lit it. He inhaled deeply. Ah, sweet nicotine. He took out his cell phone. A pang of disappointment went through him when he saw that he had no missed calls and no text messages. He had called Riley just before the show started and just after the show ended. She hadn't answered either time and now, two hours later, he still hadn't heard from her.

Andy wasn't possessive. Not really. But he had expected her to return his call. She had talked about the class reunion like it was no big deal, lamented that she was traveling three thousand miles for the purpose of seeing a bunch of people she'd always hated. So what was she doing that was preventing her from talking to him?

She's visiting her family, too, Andy reminded himself guiltily.

Riley rarely got to spend time with her family. She worked all the time and she almost always used the few vacation days she was willing to take to be with him. Hell, she was doing that with three of her seven days this time as well.

Is it really such a big deal if we go one night without speaking? Andy mused.

The honest answer was no. However, Andy had an uneasy feeling that he couldn't explain.

Andy finished his cigarette, ground it out with the toe of his boot, paused, and pulled out another. He glanced up at the sound of the bus door opening. Christian emerged, shutting the door with a bit more force than necessary. He came to stand beside Andy and offered him a bottle of Jack Daniel's without a word.

Andy accepted the bottle. The whiskey burned down his throat.

"Have you heard from Riley today?" Christian asked after a few minutes.

"Nope." Andy passed the bottle of Jack back to Christian. "Have you heard from Cori?"

"Nope."

Andy could tell by Christian's tone that he was bothered, too.

"What do you think they're doing?" Christian questioned.

"Enjoying their time at home."

Christian scoffed. "They're not enjoying that stupid class reunion. Did you hear the way they talked about their former classmates?"

"Maybe they've already left and they're at home with their families."

"And their families are holding their phones hostage?"

Andy shook his head. "The girls probably aren't even keeping their phones on them. They want to be with their families and it's rude for them to be so focused on waiting for us that they ignore the people they are actually with."

"I know." Christian downed another sip of Jack Daniel's and handed the bottle back to Andy. "But...I'm a busy man and I never go more than a couple of hours without talking to Cori."

"It hasn't even been twenty-four hours. Don't panic yet."

"I'm not going into stalker-boyfriend mode or anything. Something just doesn't feel right." Christian frowned. "Is that weird?"

Considering I was thinking the same thing? Andy replied silently, taking a long draft of the whiskey.

"Never mind," Christian muttered, accepting the bottle again. "I'm crazy."

"You're not crazy," Andy said. "This isn't like Riley and Cori. We have every right to be thrown off by the situation. But we don't have any right to be pissed. They're grown women with lives that have nothing to do with us. And we don't have to know where they are and what they're doing every second of every day."

"Yeah," Christian agreed. "Cori and I have been in each other's business entirely too much. So have you and Riley. The girls never do anything except work and hang out with each other. It's good that they're doing something else. And as much as I hate the idea of being away from Cori for the majority of six months, this tour is probably going to be good for the relationship."

Andy nodded. It was true. The guys hadn't had a full tour since Andy and Christian met Riley and Corinne. It was always just a couple of days apart, or perhaps a week. This had caused the relationships to become pretty intense, very quickly. In Andy's experience, that was a recipe for disaster. He and Riley--and Christian and Corinne--needed these six months of barely seeing each other.

"Absence makes the heart grow fonder," Andy quoted.

Christian snickered. "Very poetic, Biersack."

"Fuck you, CC."

There was a pause, then Christian laughed softly.

"What?" Andy queried curiously.

"I'm just imagining Riley and Cori in a room filled with a bunch of rich, stuck-up people."

Andy chuckled. "That would be a sight to see."

"Do you think they have any alcohol?"

"Fuck, I hope not. If there's alcohol available, the girls are gonna get wasted."

"And that's bad, why?"

"We don't want them arrested or killed in a car crash!"

"They'll call their parents to come get them."

Andy grinned. "Twenty-seven-years-old and having to call Mommy and Daddy to pick them up from a party. That's a great story for them to tell at the next reunion."

Laughing, Christian gave the bottle of Jack to Andy. "It's a great story for everyone else to tell at the next reunion. Riley and Cori would be too humiliated to ever go back."

"Nah. Not much humiliates them anymore. They go out in public with us, remember?"

"True."

Both Andy and Christian jumped, startled, as Andy's cell emitted Pink Floyd's "Young Lust"--Riley's personalized ring tone. Christian seized the bottle of Jack and headed back to the bus to give Andy his privacy. Smiling, Andy answered the phone. "Hey, babe."

**********

After breakfast, Mr. Howard drove Riley and Corinne to the car rental place. The girls picked a Hyundai Accent, knowing that this particular make and model got great gas mileage (since Riley had owned one when she first moved to Los Angeles). They said goodbye to Mr. Howard and set off for Cullman.

The drive took a little over an hour. The instant they came to a stop in the Winters' driveway, Riley hopped out of the car. The front door opened and Mrs. Winters ran out, meeting Riley at the bottom of the porch steps.

Corinne observed their reunion with a smile. Riley had always been really close to her mom. In fact, Riley often claimed that her mom was her best friend in the world. Corinne could believe it. Mrs. Winters was an exceptional woman and was easy to bond with. Corinne herself probably would have wanted Mrs. Winters for her best friend if she hadn't had her own mother to turn to.

"Cori!" Mrs. Winters greeted warmly, hugging Corinne.

"Hi, Mom," Corinne responded.

Mr. Winters came out. He hugged the girls, then went to the car to help with their bags. With Riley and her mom talking excitedly, the group made its way inside. The women settled in the dining room. Mr. Winters disappeared into the living room to watch television. Corinne rested her elbows on the familiar white oak dining table. She couldn't count the number of times she'd sat at this table in the old house in Trussville during her high school years.

"Are y'all hungry?" Mrs. Winters asked.

"Nah," Riley said, glancing at Corinne to see her shaking her head in negation. "We had breakfast not too long ago."

Mrs. Riley set glasses of sweet tea in front of the girls, then sank into the chair on Riley's left. "So, did y'all have fun at the reunion?"

Riley and Corinne exchanged a glance.

"Yeah," Riley said slowly. "Kind of."

"Who showed up?" Mrs. Winters questioned interestedly.

"Hannah Birch," Corinne began. "And Eric Lawson."

"I saw Whitley Taylor," Riley added. "Kimberly Fritz and Frank Killen."

"David Lynam," Corinne listed. "And Jacob Bunton."

"You should see, Jacob, Mom," Riley said. "He's changed. The last ten years have been good to him."

"I have seen Jacob fairly recently," Mrs. Winters announced.

Riley and Corinne looked at her in surprise.

"Your dad and I were in Trussville," Mrs. Winters explained. "We ran into David's mother. She told us about the band and your dad looked them up online."

"And you didn't warn me?" Riley said indignantly. "I made a total ass out of myself. I didn't even recognize him."

"Nobody else did, either," Corinne said in an attempt to ease her friend's embarrassment. "Except Eric."

"We browsed through a yearbook at Cori's parents' house," Riley informed her mom. "And we totally skipped over him, like he was invisible."

"Well, if my recollection is correct, he was invisible in high school," Mrs. Winters said. "Della commented on that. Apparently, he's quite different on the stage."

"I didn't know you knew David's mom," Corinne remarked, changing the subject.

"Our kids went to the same school," Mrs. Winters pointed out. "We encountered each other occasionally."

Corinne frowned. "I wonder if my mom knows her."

"Speaking of Jacob on the stage," Riley said, bringing the subject back to Jacob. "He wants us to come see them tonight, at Café Firenze."

"Are y'all going to go?" Mrs. Winters queried.

"If you and Dad don't mind."

"We don't."

"Are you sure? I'm only here tonight and tomorrow..."

"It's fine," Mrs. Winters assured her. "I think it's great that y'all are trying to form some kind of bond with some of your former classmates, even if it is ten years later. There were people in high school that I never talked to, but once we got older, it didn't matter. I've had a wonderful time at most of my reunions."

Riley almost laughed out loud. That was almost exactly what she'd predicted her mom would say.

"Y'all have to eat dinner with us, though," Mrs. Winters stated. "Your dad is grilling. He bought corn on the cob, just for you."

"Can you let him know now that we need to leave by eight-thirty?" Riley pleaded. "Otherwise, he won't have dinner done in time. You know he likes to eat late."

Mrs. Winters laughed and stood up. "That's probably a good idea." She walked out of the dining room.

"I can't believe Mom knew about Jacob and didn't say anything," Riley grumbled.

"She probably didn't even think about it. The change wouldn't have been as obvious to her. I bet she only saw him a couple of times while we were in high school."

"And she probably didn't even notice him."

"That seems to be a problem for Jacob."

Riley arched an eyebrow. "Not now. He's fucking beautiful."

"He is...interesting-looking."

"Interesting-looking?"

Corinne rolled her eyes. "You know what I mean. He's not exactly conventional, is he? He's too tall and too skinny and too pale."

"He's too everything."

"He's colored like Andy: pale skin, black hair, blue eyes."

"Trust me, I noticed," Riley said. "His personality is different, though."

"He's an introvert. Andy is definitely an extrovert."

"But Jacob comes out of his shell on the stage." Riley toyed with the straw in her glass. "You know, I'm really curious. I can't wait to see what Jacob is like in concert."