Catfish

Jordin sat on the bed, looking down at her hands as she waited for Brian to finish his hair in the bathroom. She was all ready to go. Leana requested she wear an outfit she had found in her closet two weeks ago before her dinner with Brian. A black body-con dress with a chunky necklace. Leana thought it would be fun for every to dress up, and she wanted another excuse to see Jimmy in a tie again.

"You look great," Brian's velvet voice filled the room and she looked up. He took in how perfect she was. She wasn't wearing much makeup at all. Just a little eyeliner and mascara. She was perfect the way she was.

"Thanks," She smiled and stood up, ready to grab her heels from the closet.

"Are you okay, Baby?" He asked, placing a soft grip on her arm. She sighed and he stepped closer to her, "Are you nervous?"

"No," She replied and he frowned.

"Jordin, I promise the girls will warm up to you. Leana already has. It's just going to take them time. And Michelle..." He trailed off and she looked up at him, "She knows I moved on, and she has too. She's just different," He shrugged and she nodded, plastering a fake smile on as she leaned up to peck his cheek.

She grabbed her shoes, slipping them on before following Brian down the stairs to his car. She slid into the passenger seat, unable to make the butterflies in her stomach go away. She had this growing ache telling her that something wasn't right. She tried to tell herself she was overreacting, being dramatic, but nothing seemed to make the feeling go away.

They were late, but not the last ones there, and she wasn't surprised. Brian had spend a good extra twenty minutes on his hair before they left. He parked and she saw all the other cars parked along the street. She got out of the car and Brian was quick to take his hand in hers, pulling her along side close to him. He leaned into her ear, "You're perfect," He whispered before he opened the door and they stepped inside.

Like the last dinner, all the girls were in the living room. They all had a glass of wine in their hand, chatting happily before they entered the room, "You're here!" Leana exclaimed, jumping up to hug her friend, pulling her out of Brian's grasp, "Your man can go talk with the other guys while we gossip in here," Leana winked and Brian rolled his eyes.

"Try not to ruin my reputation to bad, Le," He stated and she stuck a tongue out at him. Brian smiled before leaning down and pecking his lips against hers before making his way to the back patio where the guys were drinking beers and talking about the album.

"So, you guys are official?" Lacey asked as Leana pulled Jordin down to sit on the couch next to her.

"Uh, yeah," She smiled sheepishly.

"You're sweet," Val assured, "No need to be nervous around us," She smiled. Jordin smiled back, feeling a little more at ease. The girls seemed to be more welcoming than the last time, and she wondered if it was because she was with Brian. Maybe now they actually had to accept her.

The girls continued to chat among themselves. Jordin kept to herself, mostly listening unless directly spoken to. She didn't understand what to tell Val when she complained about the slow reconstruction of her kitchen her and Matt were doing. She didn't know any of the famous designers Michelle spoke about when she was addressing what dress she would wear to an event the next month. She felt out of place, and Leana would occasionally pull her back into the conversation, determined to make her comfortable.

The front door opened again and Leana looked around, wondering who else could possibly be showing up. They heard the clanking of heels and Leana knew immediately who it was. Before long a blonde woman appeared in the room, tall and beautiful. Her eyes scanned the room brightly, a smile on her face, "I haven't seen you guys in forever!" She exclaimed.

"Gena!" Leana chuckled nervously and Jordin could feel the heat rise to her face. She looked up at her. Zack's wife. She was so beautiful, Jordin wondered what Zack could possibly see in herself.

"Wow, you look great!" Michelle smiled, sending a cautious look over at Jordin. Besides Leana, Michelle was the only one of the girls that knew about what happened between Zack and Jordin. Not even Val knew, and Michelle never kept secrets from her twin. She only did it because Brian had asked her to, "So everything is going well?"

"Yeah, Zack is on his way. We drove separately," She smiled and Jordin saw the sparkling ring on her finger. She gulped, looking away, "And who is this? I don't believe we've met. I'm Gena, Zack's wife," She held her hand out politely.

"I-I'm Jordin," She introduced and went to shake Gena's hand, but the older woman quickly retrieved her hand back.

"Jordin?" She asked, an eyebrow raised.

Before another word could be spoken Leana cut in with a smile, blocking Jordin from Gena's harsh glare, "Let's get you a glass of wine. I'm sure you'd love this new red wine I picked up earlier."

"I'll be right back," Jordin said softly and quickly left the room, heading down the front hallway to where she knew the guest bathroom was. She shut the door behind her, taking in deep breaths as she looked at herself in the mirror. She sighed, resting her forehead against the cool glass. How did she get into this mess? She's never had any drama in her life, and now she was in the center of it.

She freshened her makeup before realizing she had been in the bathroom for five minutes. Not wanting to worry Leana, she opened the door, just as the front door opened and another stranger walked in. She stopped, and so did the man, and they both raised an eyebrow at each other, "Who are you?" He asked.

"I could ask you the same question. I'm Jordin," She held her hand out and a wide smile broke on his face.

"You're the new girl!" He smiled and quickly pulled her into a bone crushing hug, "I'm Dan, a friend of the boys. I'm their bodyguard on tour," He explained.

"Oh, yeah I've heard of you. The guys said you're usually around when recording," She said and he nodded.

"Usually, but I was on a trip with the Berrys," He noted.

"Oh, I don't know who they are," She shrugged and he smiled.

"The twins!" He stated energetically and she raised an eyebrow.

"More twins?" She laughed and he nodded

"Don't worry, they're harmless. A little crazy, but not as crazy as the DiBendettos down the hall," He motioned down the hall to the living room, "Well it was nice to finally meet you. I've heard a lot about you," He smiled and made his way down the hall. She followed back into the living room and sat down beside Leana.

"You're home!?" Leana exclaimed, staring at Dan in shock.

"Of course we are! I thought Zack told you," He stated and Leana's eyes almost popped out of her sockets, "I was expecting a more welcoming greeting from you," He raised an eyebrow.

"Oh," She leaned over and gave him a hug, "Sorry, I was just... Hoping I have enough food," She giggled.

"Le, you always make enough to feed an army. We'll be fine," Val assured, "The boys are out back," She motioned towards the back door and Dan gave a final wave before walking out.

Michelle looked at Leana's panicked face and Jordin's calm face, putting the pieces together. Brian hadn't told Jordin yet. He had assured her that he would come clean soon, and that was two weeks ago. She glared towards the back door where Brian was and huffed.

"Well, maybe it's time we sit down and eat," She smiled.

-

Brian's eyes widened as Dan walked out to the backyard, the guys around him making a fuss over him. How could he be home? If Dan was home, then the twins weren't too far behind. They had taken the trip together. He could feel his heart start to beat faster as he looked back towards the house where Jordin was at. She had no clue what was going on, and she wasn't prepared. She wasn't ready to know.

His eyes travelled across the patio to Zack, standing there with his arms crossed over his chest, a smug look on his face. His green eyes met Brian's, and he raised a suggestive eyebrow.

"We didn't know you were coming home. Why didn't you tell us?" Matt asked, handing their friend a beer.

"You didn't know? I told Zack last week. Well, actually Jason told him. I figured he would pass the message along," Dan replied, looking over at the other guitarist.

"Must have slipped my mind," Zack shrugged, tearing his eyes away from Brian.

Brian had lost it. He couldn't comprehend the anger radiating through him as he looked over at his friend. He hated the smug look on his face. The way he always knew everything. He was one step ahead, and he was destroying all of his chances of ever making Jordin understand, "You're a fucking asshole!" Brian yelled, grabbing Zack by the collar and pulling him forward, punching him directly in the eye.

Zack cursed, but he too fought back. They wrestled to the floor and the guys immediately jumped in. Matt took a hold of Brian while Jimmy grabbed Zack. The only damage was a few bruises on Zack, but no blood spilt, "What the fuck was that!?" Matt demanded.

"Nothing, Matt. Brian and I just have a little misunderstanding," Zack spat. Before anyone else could react, Leana's voice rang out through the backyard telling them that dinner was ready. Brian and Zack glared at each other, but made their way inside without another word.

"What happened to you!?" Gena exclaimed as she saw Zack's face. Jordin looked at him, then back to Brian who looked extremely pissed off. Her eyes traveled down his arm to his swollen knuckles.

"Just a little fucking around in the backyard. Right, Brian?" Zack looked over at Brian and he nodded, unable to make any words.

"Are you okay, Zack?" Jordin asked softly, and before he could address her Gena was in front of her.

"He's fine. Why don't you stick to your own man for once," She snapped and the room fell silent. Jordin did nothing but walk over to Brian's side. Leana sighed, motioning everyone to sit at the table. Brian sat beside Jordin, an arm around her as everyone else took their seats. Gena and Zack sat across from them, seeing as the other seats were quickly taken by the other guys and girls.

"Well, this looks great," Michelle smiled awkwardly at the food in front of her, earning a collective sigh out of the entire table.

This was definitely not how Leana pictured her dinner going.