You Are Exactly My Brand of Heroin

"Hurry it up, you two! You're wasting precious shopping time!" Val shouted at Lacey and Leana as they made their way - in stilettos, mind you - down the corridor of the mall.

"We're coming, we're coming! It's not that easy to run in stilettos, ya know," Lacey said as she and Leana joined her.

"I'm very aware of this, dear, but look at the boys we live with. Don't you think you should know how to run in any kind of heels?" Val stated matter-of-factly. Lacey and Leana simply rolled their eyes at her and joined Taylor, Natalie, Ciara, and I inside Victoria's Secret. We were all gathered around an enormous bin of panties hoping to buy a pair or two... or twenty.

"So will you three be joining us on tour?" Taylor asked Val, Lacey, and Leana once they'd taken their rightful places on the opposite side of the bin. The girls glanced at each other for a moment then Lacey nodded. We all squealed like kids in a candy store. I absolutely adored those girls, as did Natalie, and I knew that the others had come to like them as well.

"That's great! I'm so glad you guys are coming. You can help us keep those boys at bay," Natalie said.

"That we can do, but unforunately, we'll only be with you guys for one out of the two months of your tour," Val sighed. There was awkward silence between all of us. We would definitely miss them, but I'm sure that all they were worried about was being away from their boys.

"We have jobs, ya know. We don't sit around and let our boys make all of the dough," Lacey informed us.

I nodded and said, "We know." Lacey and Val smiled while Leana stared down into the bin fumbling with the lingerie, a splash of sadness across her flawless face. "Lee, what's wrong?" I asked.. Everyone looked over at her. She didn't move or speak at all.

"Lee?" Ciara said with a concerned tone as she laid her hand on Leana's arm. Leana immediately looked up at her and smiled weakly.

"Yeah?" she asked.

"Is there something wrong, honey?" Taylor asked. Leana sighed and glanced around at all of us.

"Yeah... um... Actually, there is. Since you guys are my best friends, I thought I'd tell you guys first."

"Tell us first about what, sweetheart?" Val asked Leana as she moved closer to her and wrapped her arm around her waist.

"Tell you guys first about me being pregnant." Val's face brightened. As did everyone else's as we group hugged Leana. She smiled and laughed weakly.

"Aw! I'm gonna have a new baby cousin!" Natalie cooed.

"And we're gonna be aunts!" I shouted.

"That's great and all, you guys, but you're suffocating me," Leana said. We all let go of her and laughed. Shopping was the last thing on our minds at the moment.

"So, when did you find out?" Lacey asked as we all formed a crowd around Leana.

"About a month ago. I've known it for a while, and I'm sorry that I didn't tell you guys sooner. It's been in the back of my mind this entire time, but it really hasn't surfaced until now. I mean, Jimmy's going on tour for two months, and by the time time he gets back, I'll be showing! I can't let him leave without knowing, you guys, but I'm not sure how to tell him. That's what I'm consulting you guys for, and that's also why I told you guys first," Leana said.

"So, we're the first ones to know?" Val asked. Leana nodded and bit her lower lip.

"Aw, Lee! We'll help you find a way to tell Jimmy. You're not thinking he'll be upset about it, are you?" I asked her. She glanced at em nervously, still biting her lip as she shrugged her shoulders and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Kinda," she said softly. This caused an uproar in our crowd. There was absolutely no way Lee could be thinking like this. Jimmy loves kids, and I'm sure that one of his own would make him love them even more.

"Leana Noelle MacFadden, you listen to me and you listen well," Lacey said as she stepped in and gripped Lee's shoulder. "Don't you ever let me hear you say anything like that every again, you got it? That is the most untrue thing I have ever heard. We are all that Jimmy has. You are all that Jimmy has. You're his fiance, Leana. He's never really had a family, and you know that better than any of us. You had a rough time growing up and so did he. You two were made for each other. He loves you, baby, and a family would complete his world." By now, Lacey had reduced Leana to tears, but luckily, they were tears of joy. Lacey smiled as she hugged Leana and we all rubbed her back.

"Don't think of this as a tragedy, Lee, because it's not. Think of this as a new beginning for you and Jimmy," Val said and we all agreed. Leana smiled and wiped the tears from her cheeks with a bit of help from Lacey as she released her. Lacey was the shy one out of the girlfriends, but she had always been good with emotional stuff. It was her thing. There was silence for a moment.

"On a happier note, why don't we do something that involves, shall I say, shopping? We're in a mall, ya know? The last time I checked malls were for shopping, not crying over being knocked-up," Ciara said and everyone laughed. Even Leana.

"I agree with Ciara, but I'm pretty sure that I won't be needing any sexy lingerie for a while, so why don't I just help you guys pick some out for yourselves?" Leana said and we all agreed as we parted to each side of the store. This shopping trip had turned out to be much more than I had expected.

---

Several hours had passed and several bags were now hanging from all of our arms. We were all tired and it was definitely time to go home, so we all decided to call the guys and see what they were up to. We were all standing out in the parking lot in the dark outside of my Hummer. We'd already packed everything into it and were now calling our boys. Taylor called Zack while I called Brian, and the other girls, except for Natalie and Ciara, called their boys. After a few rings, Brian picked up.

"Hey, Abbs," he said smoothly. He was drunk and I could tell the us girls would be going to get them.

"Hey Brian. What are you guys up to?" I asked, trying to console my laughter at how drunk he sounded.

"Um... well, we're drinking," he said. "And you guys should probably come get us... and the cars 'cause we can't drive like this. I can't drive like this." I finally laughed.

"Okay, Bri. Just don't break anything and don't pass out before we get there."

"I've made it this far, babe, so I'm sure I can wait another twenty minutes for you guys to get here."

"I'm sure you can too, but we're leaving right now so I'll see you in a little while. 'Kay?"

"Okay. I love you, Abby." My heart stopped. In all the years that Brian and I had been friends, whether he was drunk or sober, he'd never told me that he loved me. Was it the alcohol talking or was it really Brian? Was I an idiot for even thinking that there could be some meaning behind this? Was I just wanting him to love me? I sighed, not knowing what to say back but finally just dove in.

"I love you, too, Brian, and I'll see you in a couple of minutes. Bye." I hung up before he could say anything more. I shoved my phone into my Prada bag and slowly made my way to the driver's side of my Hummer. Today had been... pretty odd, I guess you could say. First, we discover that Taylor and Zack have fallen for each other already, then Leana tells us she's pregnant, and now, Brian's telling me he loves me! I know I have some unique friends, and I know that some of them don't seem to know what they're talking about a good majority of the time, but what if one of them just-so-happens to be telling the truth? Or, at least... I hope he is.