You Are Exactly My Brand of Heroin

"Brian, just let me fix your hair, okay?" I said to Brian from where I sat on my knees, facing him. He glanced over at me through his sunglasses then back at the road.

"It is really that bad?" he asked with a laugh. I'd been begging him to let me fix his hair-don't that I'd created myself since we left his house in his black Escalade. I giggled and nodded. He smirked and said, "Okay." Once I'd finished fixing his hair, I sat back down, still laughing at him. "Oh, c'mon. It couldn't have been that bad," he said.

"It was, babe," I laughed.

"But it was damn worth it." He smiled at me and I smiled back before leaning over to kiss him. He interlocked our hands together and rested them on the storage compartment between our seats before gluing his eyes to the road again. Even though we didn't get very far earlier, I had to agree with him. It was, indeed, worth it. It felt so right to be kissing him, to touch him, to feel his touch. It was perfection, and I hoped that it lasted for years to come. I sighed happily then scrunched up my nose at the scent that filled my nostrils.

"I smell like you," I said to Brian.

"I'd imagine you would after what happened earlier, but it's not such a bad thing, is it?" he said.

I shook my head and said, "No! You smell good, baby. Believe me, but there may be a few people who would agree that I don't always smell like this." He nodded.

"That's true, but you don't think they'll suspect anything, do you?" I bit my lower lip and stared down at the floorboard. I still hadn't told him about the girls knowing, but I had to sometime or else he would find out on his own and the fight would be on.

"Well, six of them already do so we're pretty much in the clear," I said sarcastically. Brian looked at me. Even though Natalie had been the only one to call, I knew she'd told the other five girls by now about what she'd heard over the phone.

"What do you mean?" he asked me. I sighed again but not out of happiness this time.

"The girls. They know about us. Ciara heard us that morning in my room and she told the girls. They spilled to me later that afternoon, but they promised they wouldn't tell the boys!" I trusted those girls, and I expected Brian to as well.

"I guess we can't do much about that. I mean, we should've expected something like that. After all, they were across the room. As long as they don't slip up and tell the guys then I'm okay with it." He smiled at me. Relief washed over me. I should've known better than to think that he could've ever been upset about a mistake that we'd both made.

You see, Brian and I used to fight all the time when we were younger, and I'd tell him how much of an arrogant, egotistical asshole he was being and he'd tell me how much of a snobby, selfish bitch I was. Tough love, eh? Not likely. More like the truth. Yes, I'd been protected a lot back then, but there wasn't anything on the face of this earth that could've protected me from those boys and their attitudes, but through all of the fights and arguments we had, we managed to stay close friends in the end. I was just as tough as they were, and they couldn't hurt me anymore than I could hurt them. Or... so I thought.

We pulled up to Johnny's and climbed out after Brian had parked up at the front. Inside, everyone waited for us. The girls sat in a booth talking while the guys played pool. This place hadn't changed in eight years in the least bit. Still smelled the same, still looked the same. It was home, sweet home if you asked me.

"Abby, baby!" That familiar voice that could only belong to one Cam Rackam rang out from a pool table at the far side of the bar. I smiled at him as I ran into his awaiting arms.

"Cam! God, I've missed you so much! How have you been, bro?" I asked as I released him. Cam was absolutely amazing. He'd been like the older brother I never had - next to the one I already have - back in the day. When Matt was off-duty, Cam was on it. He protected me just like the guys did but not quite as closely. He, the Berrys, and Val were always the ones who went with me to see Matt's old band play, Successful Failure, along with Zack's old band, MPA a.k.a. Mad Porno Action, and later on, Avenged Sevenfold at Showcase Theater and Chain Reaction. Cam had really been a tremendous help to Val and I, as well, when we were supporting the boys at home with A7X and even on tour once they'd been signed and it was only Val helping them out, and that was something that I greatly appreciated about him. That and the fact that he fought several fights for the boys so they didn't get their asses kicked and Val and I would have to take care of them. Lemme tell ya, those were the days.

"Good, good. Just been chilling out here in Huntington, making some art for all kinds of bands and shit, getting married. Ya know, the usual," he said sarcastically as he took a drink of his beer.

"The usual?! You call getting married the usual?! I don't think so! Who the hell did you marry?!" I asked him as I playfully punched his arm.

"You remember Pam from high school? Ya know, the one he had sex with in the backseat of Matt's car?" Johnny asked me with a laugh. I nodded and laughed with him and Cam. Matt just glared at us. Cam only did that to get back at Matt for having sex with Val in his parents' bedroom. Disgusting, right? I thought so, too, but it was fucking hilarious until Cam went psycho on the two for ripping the sheets and putting a hole in the wall. I'd been told that my brother was a freak in the sheets, but I didn't believe it until I saw the aftermath.

"So you married her?" Cam nodded.

"There years ago," he smiled. Pam had been a good friend of mine in the old days, and I knew it would be great to see her again.

"Where is she?" I asked as I looked around the bar then down to Cam's silver wedding band.

"Oh, she's not here. She's on a business trip to Chicago. She's auditioning for a role in an upcoming movie. She takes after Miss Aspiring Actress over there," Cam said as he gestured to Val. She'd heard her name and smiled at Cam who smiled back. "She saw how much fun Val was having and decided to go for it. She graduates from college next year."

"You seem really happy, and I hope all goes well with you two. Right now, though, I have to go get drunk, but I need to talk to you later, okay?" Cam looked at me, his expression puzzling. "It's strictly business." He nodded and smiled. Cam was an amazing artist, and I knew he could capture Brian's taste on four simple walls. I hugged Cam once more before walking over to the girls who seemed to be in a heated conversation. I plopped down in the booth beside Taylor and took a drink of her beer.

"Hey babycakes," she said, turning to me. The other girls cut off their conversation and did the same. Yup. I was right. Natalie had already told them. She and Ciara seemed to be good at that.

"God, you smell," Leana noted as she sipped on her water with lemon. "But you smell good. Like a guy." She wiggled her eyebrows at me from where she sat across from me. I rolled my eyes.

"You smell like Brian," Val continued.

"Yeah, because I've been in his house," I said, all of them knowing I was lying.

"And his pants," Lacey said. I glared at her as they all laughed.

"Correction: shorts, and for your information, I didn't get that far. Someone had to call and interrupt us," I said, glancing at Natalie. Everyone looked at her.

"Sorry?" she said.

"It's fine. We'll get there soon enough," I said with a wink.

"So much for taking it slow, eh?" Ciara said. I shook my head.

"I never said anything about waiting to have sex."

"I see, so if you didn't get in his pants then why were you moaning on the phone earlier?" Natalie said matter-of-factly. Everyone's eyes fell on me. I blushed and crossed my arms over my chest, sinking down into the seat.

"I never said he didn't get in mine," I mumbled. All the girls squealed and giggled.

"Go, Abbs! So is he good or what?" Taylor asked.

"I don't know what you're talking about," I said stupidly.

"Oh, c'mon, Abby! To hell with that. You know what the fuck I'm talking about. Don't play dumb with me. Is he good with the tongue, the fingers - what?" Taylor pressed.

"He didn't do anything with his fingers, but he is day-um good with his tongue," I said with a shit-eating grin on my face. All the girls screamed and giggled, causing the guys to look over at us. Brian's eyes landed on me as everyone went back to their game, shaking their heads at us. I bit my lower lip and stared at him as the girls turned around to wave and seductively stick their tongues out at him. He turned a bright shade of red and rubbed the back of his neck. The girls turned around and his eyes landed on me again. I mouthed an 'I'm sorry' and he waved it off, telling me that there was no need for an apology. I mouthed an 'I love you' and winked at him. He smiled and mouthed an 'I love you, too, babe' back to me. "So what's Zack good with? The tongue or the fingers?" I asked Taylor as I rejoined the conversation.

"Both," she replied simply. The girls cheered and toasted to that as Zack looked our way, obviously hearing his name. Taylor winked at him and he winked back. Those two were definitely made for each other. They were all about the sex, all for the money, and were a tad bit high maintenance. They weren't looking for love just yet, but I could already see that this relationship would be going somewhere.

The girls and I continued to talk about what the guys were good with (Natalie and I covered our ears when Val and Leana talked about Matt and Jimmy) and we talked about other stuff, too, like what Leana should name her baby if it's a boy or a girl.

The night grew on as the alcohol flowed and the conversations grew more interesting. I'd just taken Cam aside from the group to talk about Brian's room before we got too smashed.

"So what is it you needed to talk to me about?" Cam asked me as he took a hit off of the cigarette he and I shared.

"Okay, Brian's renovating his house so he can move back into in since he and Michelle broke up, and I'm going to help him. Now, his bedroom is awful and looks nothing like a bedroom that Brian would live in. I was wondering if you would do me and Brian a favor by painting some sick-ass art on the walls or something," I said.

"I knew those two weren't good for each other, and it's about time, really. Anyway, I'd be honored to," he said with a smile. I smiled back and hugged him.

"Thanks, Cam. Oh! I almost forgot to tell you. It's a surprise which means that we have to keep him out of that room at all times during the week." Cam nodded and we both rejoined the group.

An hour later, everyone was to the point of nearly passing out and the only one who was sober was Leana who'd I knew would be our designated driver for a while. It was nearing three in the morning, and we all desperately needed to get home. From what Matt had told me, we had a full schedule tomorrow. Later that morning, he and Val were supposed to visit withour his parents. While they did that, we were all on our own which meant that Brian, Cam, the Berrys whom I'd recruited to help us earlier, and I would be painting. That afternoon, everyone's families were getting together to go on a special fishing trip on Gramps' boat. I was totally psyched to see everyone's families again, seeing as they all raised me a good portion of my life, but most importantly, my own: Grams and Gramps. Matt said that they couldn't wait to see me, and I knew that I couldn't wait to see them either.

Leana somehow managed to get all of us home and Matt, Val, Ciara, Garrett, Brian, and I piled out of the car and made our way into Matt's house. Everyone walked inside ahead of myself and Brian and made their way upstairs to their rooms before us too. This was the first night that Brian and I would sleep apart after confessing our love and I wasn't happy about that at all. We reached the top of the stairs to find that mine and Brian's rooms were right next to each other's which was good but still not what I wanted.

Brian smiled at me as he wrapped his arms around my waist and rubbed circles on my hips as he buried his face into my neck. I wrapped my arms around him and stroked his back.

"Mmm... You know I love you, baby," he said into my neck. I smiled.

"I know, and I love you, too, honey."

"But we have to go to bed and sleep in separate beds and I can't just roll over and get laid whenever I want to! Oh, God! What am I gonna do?!" he said. I laughed.

"It won't be long before your wish will be granted, but until then, we'll just have to manage," I said seductively as I moved one of the my hands down to massage him through his shorts.

"If you keep doing that, I can manage for forever."

"I believe that, but we have to sleep. We have work to do later, and we're gonna need the energy for it," I said as I released him. He nodded and kissed my lips.

"I love you, baby, and I'll see you later."

"I love you, too, honey. Okay." We both slipped into our rooms shortly after that. I climbed beneath the covers on the king-size bed and attempted to fall asleep, but without Brian there, it was useless.

So much for sleep.