Catfish

Jordin sighed into the phone. She didn't particularly want to question Cameron, but she couldn't get Zacky's words out of her head, "So what recording studio do you work at again?" She asked.

Brian bit his lip, "I work in the Capitol Records building," He answered quickly. It was the first recording studio in LA he could think of.

"Oh," She nodded, "So one of the guys asked me to hang out on Friday. He said I should invite you," She trailed off, hoping he would get the hint.

Brian wanted to slam his head into a wall. Fucking Jimmy, he thought, "Oh, really? Is it that Jimmy character again?" He laughed.

"No, Zack asked me, actually. The smart one, remember?" She questioned.

"Oh... Babe, you know I work late on Fridays usually..."

Her eyes narrowed, "Really? Around what time do you get off?" She questioned.

"About ten. For me to drive in traffic down to Orange County is a lot for me, Babe. And I have to be back in the studio Saturday morning."

She raised an eyebrow, "Since when do you work Saturdays?" She questioned.

Brian brought a hand up, smacking himself on the forehead. He mentally groaned as he found himself tripping into this web of lies, "Oh, I didn't tell you? I picked up extra hours."

"Cameron," She sighed, "I-"

Brian didn't want to hear the rest of her sentence. He needed to get out quick, "Something just came up, Babe. I promise I'll call you later okay? I got to go. I love you," He said and quickly hung up.

He was out of breath as he tossed the phone onto the table, running his hands through his hair. He needed a plan, and he needed it fast. He needed to break Jordin away from Cameron without breaking her heart. He couldn't dump her as Cameron and pick her up as Brian, that wouldn't work. She needed to fall in love with him for the right reasons, because he sure as hell wasn't going to tell her the truth. He was way too embarrassed. He had lied too much. She would never accept him.

"You okay?" Jimmy pulled him out of his thoughts.

"I thought you went home," Brian grumbled, picking up his phone.

"I stayed. You've been staying later and later every night," Jimmy mentioned.

"I've been thinking."

"Oh no..." Jimmy trailed off, knowing what ever Brian was thinking about couldn't possibly be good.

"She loves Cameron, but if I could make her fall in love with me instead, she'll leave Cameron, right? She needs to fall in love with Brian. All I have to do is convince her I'm everything Cameron is and more, and she won't need him anymore," Brian explained excitedly.

Jimmy looked at his best friend. He wanted to tell him about Zack and his own plans to weave his way into Jordin's relationship. But explaining that to him would mean explaining that he had broken Brian's promise. He had told Zack everything that should have been kept secret.

"Sounds like a great plan," Jimmy agreed.

Deep down he knew he was making a big mistake.

-

"Where you at!?" Jimmy's loud voice echoed before her apartment door slammed. She had made the mistake of telling Jimmy where her spare key was, and he had entered as he pleased.

"Here," She stated, walking out of the bedroom. She was dressed in a pair of jeans, boots, and a crop top with a cardigan over.

"You're wearing that?" He questioned, placing a hand on his hip.

"Yeah. Zack said it was only a bar. Nothing fancy," She shrugged.

"Girl, this is Johnny's! You need to get all sexified. That's how you get free drinks. C'mon," He pushed her back into the bedroom, ignoring her protests as he dug in her closet. He found a skirt and a blouse, tossing them at her. He only knew about clothes because Leana talked about them so often. He knew what looked good and what didn't, and if he wasn't sure he just imagined how it would look on his wife.

"Seriously?" She questioned, holding the skirt in her hands, "C'mon, Jimmy. I wore this to a cousin's birthday party a year ago."

"And? Put it on. We're not leaving until you do."

She groaned, heading into the bathroom to change while Jimmy waited. The skirt was a black high-waisted skirt that hugged every curve she had, and she didn't have many. She tucked the blouse in before walking back out, only to have a pair of shoes thrown in her face.

"Now lets go!" Jimmy yelled and she huffed, slipping on the heels before following him out.

She felt fairly uncomfortable going to the bar to hang out with the guys. The girls wouldn't be there, and she wondered why she was invited in the first place. Surely they didn't want her following them around anywhere. She was just their assistant, nothing important.

The car ride was smooth to the bar Jordin had passed countless amount of times, but never explored. When Jimmy pulled up she spotted the familiar cars that belonged to the guys, all parked beside each other in the first parking spots, "We're VIP," Jimmy winked before getting out of the car.

Jordin felt uncomfortable in her outfit. She followed behind Jimmy, keeping her eyes down and away from the girls who looked at her. Inside the bar was loud. Classic rock was blaring from the speakers and people were shouting drink orders over everyone.

The table in the back was the VIP table. A ten-seater booth that was always reserved for the band. The other guys were there already, Jimmy and Jordin being the last to arrive. She sighed, following behind him and trying to pull her skirt down to cover her legs more, "The party has arrived!" Jimmy exclaimed.

She looked up and saw Zack who smiled at her. She smiled back kindly and waved, "Here, you should sit down," Brian placed his hand gently on her shoulder, attempting to guide her towards him.

"Yeah, come sit right here, Jordin. Us lefties stick together, remember?" He joked, quickly grabbing her wrist and leading Jordin away from Brian on the other side of the booth. She followed, finding nothing wrong with the action and slid next to him.

Brian couldn't believe how gorgeous she was. Her legs looked long and slender in the skirt Jimmy had provided, and her face couldn't be anymore perfect. He felt a heat of jealousy rise up in him as he watched Zack eye her. He didn't mind his friend at all, but that was before he found out he was single once again.

"You look great," Zack stated close to her and she blushed madly, looking down at her lap. "So, I see the boyfriend is working late," Zack stated lowly, only for her to hear and no one else at the table.

"Uh," Her mind drifted to the last conversation she had with Cameron, "How late do people at Capitol Records work on Fridays?" She asked sheepishly. Zack almost wanted to laugh. He would think that Brian would be smart enough to at least tell lies that could be backed up.

He gave her a knowing look, sliding the beer in his hands across the table to her, "They close shop at eight, Darling," He answered honestly. It was true. Security at Capitol Records was tight. Artists had to get special permits to record after hours.

"Oh..." She looked down at her lap.

"You know what I think?" He asked and she turned to him. He leaned in a little closer, "I think this guy sees a beautiful woman. So he lies to try to impress you, and makes up excuses to cover up the fact that he's lying. Because he knows if he comes around us, we'll sniff him out really quick. This is all an act to make you believe he's something he's really not."

"Do you really think that?" She asked, her voice small. He looked at her sadly.

"Yeah, but what I think shouldn't matter to you, right? He's your boyfriend. You know him best."

It frustrated Brian as he couldn't hear a single thing Zack was telling Jordin. He seemed fairly friendly with her, and he didn't like the smile he was giving her. The Vengenace Smile. A smile that Zack would flash at the ladies on tour, making them swoon. And now he was doing it to Jordin. His Jordin.

The night had gone on, and Brian could only slip a few words to Jordin when Zack was getting more drinks at the bar. He wanted to shake Jordin for being so oblivious to Zack's charms. He wanted to tell her everything, but he couldn't. He could only stand back and watch.

"Woo!" Jimmy screamed, running through the bar without his shirt on.

"Well, there goes my ride," Jordin groaned before pulling out her phone.

"What are you doing?" Zack asked, "Calling the boyfriend?" He took another swig of his beer.

"No, calling a cab," She shrugged.

"It'll cost you more to get a cab to Long Beach," He chuckled, taking the phone playfully out of her hands. She laughed, protesting and making moves to grab it, "I'll drive you home."

"You've been drinking. And you'd have to take me home and then drive all the way back to Newport, remember?" She asked.

He shrugged, "You mind me crashing at your place? I'll take the couch. Besides, I've only had three beers. You've actually had more than me."

She raised an eyebrow, "You didn't drink that much?" She questioned.

"No." He shook his head.

"I expected a rockstar to drink away his sorrows on a Friday night," She teased playfully and he chuckled.

"Want to know the truth?"

"Okay," She smiled.

"I usually do. I had special reason not to tonight."

"Oh, and what special reason is that?" She asked.

"So I could drive you home," He smiled charmingly at her. Something in his green eyes made her trust him, and she nodded. She agreed to let him take her home, "So let's go," He got up and helped her out of the booth, wrapping an arm over her shoulders.

"We're heading out," Zack announced, "I'm taking this one home before Jimmy drags her up to the stage," He laughed and the guys all nodded, except for Brian.

"Oh, I can take her home if you want to stay," Brian interjected and Jordin raised an eyebrow at him. Why, of all people, would Brian want to drive her home? Although she debated actually going with him. She didn't know Brian that well, and she was hoping he would open up to her. The kind gesture actually made her smile at him.

"I got it, Dude," Zack smiled at him, "Just take care of Jimmy. He'll be a handful. Later!" Zack called, leading Jordin away the table before Brian could say anything else.

For the fist time, he actually felt defeated by Zack Baker.