A Far Cry From Innocence.

Brian walked back into the house sooner than I thought, just as I was digging into the Thai food I had gone to get for my dinner. He walked into the kitchen and sat in the bar stool beside me. "Still want to come to rehearsals tonight?" Something in his guarded tone slipped to reveal a sternness that said he didn't want me there.

I sighed, using my chopsticks to push my rice into a small puddle of soy sauce. "I don't know. When're you going?" I glanced up as my brother stared at my food. I nudged the styrofoam container his way a little and offered him the plastic fork.

"Thanks," he mumbled, stabbing a piece of teriyaki beef and stuffing it in his mouth. He was quiet for a moment, as if he was thinking about something, then he finally answered me. "In an hour or two, I guess. The Rev says he has some new lyrics he wants us to read." He shrugged and looked at me.

I nodded and stirred the plastic cup my Thai tea was in, taking a slow sip. "Alright, I guess I'll go." I picked up a piece of the chicken and a pinch of rice, eating them. I kinda didn't want to, and I had a feeling he didn't want me there, but I wanted to talk to Zacky - almost as much as I wanted to avoid him.

He sighed quietly and nodded, pushing the container back toward me and getting up, stalking out of the room. He didn't say a word, and I felt like he wanted me there less than I thought. I really didn't understand why he was so upset with me.

x-x-x-x-x

Just over an hour later, I was pacing on the walkway in the front yard as I waited for my brother. I wrung my hands and tried to breathe deeply to calm myself down a little bit. I stopped and looked over as Brian came out of the house.

There was a grin on his face as he held his cell phone to his ear with his shoulder so he could lock the door. "Yeah, man, definitely! Thanks for giving me a call, I'm glad to hear you're back!" There was a pause as he walked, nodding toward the car as we both walked the way. "No, no, like I said, you should come. I definitely think it would be an awesome surprise." He glanced over at me quickly, slyly, and unlocked the doors as I walked over to the passenger side.

Who could he be talking to?

"So you'll be there? Seriously!? Awesome, bro, I can't wait to see you. I know another person or two who might also be excited." Again, he quickly glanced at me as we slid into our sears. "Alright, man, see you in a bit." He hung up the phone and started the car, pulling out of the driveway.

I stared at him in anticipation, itching with curiosity. I knew he could feel me staring, I knew he knew I was curious... And I knew he was doing this on purpose. I crossed my arms as he tried to hide a smile and play innocent, but we both knew better than that. "Brian Elwin Haner junior! You better spill the beans, mister."

He looked over at me and grinned, his expression saying what I already knew: "I know something you don't know!" Before he looked back to road, he shook his head and bit his lip to try and suppress the grin. "I don't want to ruin the surprise. You'll see soon enough."

I was really sick of having to wait to know all these things. "You'll know soon enough, you'll know soon enough," it was a phrase I was getting tired of and didn't want to hear again. I growled and slumped down in my seat, glaring out the windshield at the car in front of us.

The ride was full of impatient annoyance as I waited until this surprise would be revealed, and it was as soon as Matt's house was in sight. I gasped, straightening and looking at a familiar matte black Honda DN-01 motorcycle I never thought I'd see again parked in front of the house. As we got closer to the house, I saw the figure that went with it and was out of the car before it was even stopped.

I ran full speed toward the person and leapt at him. He wrapped his arms around me and spun in a circle. "Avigaiel, oh my god, I missed you!" He planted a kiss on my forehead and ran his fingers through my hair while I just took in the smell of a man I thought was gone from my life forever.

I quickly ripped myself away and glared at him, smacking his shoulder. "Nathaniel Todd, why didn't you tell me you were coming back!?" I crossed my arms, trying to wrangle as much anger as I could despite how happy I was to see my ex.

He sheepishly cast his eyes to the ground. "Well, I wanted to surprise you. I had a little help from your brother today with that. Are you mad?" He looked at me and pouted.

It was impossible to be mad at him. Having had to end our two and a half year long relationship the year before when his family moved out of California. Just as I was about to answer, my brother pounced forward and wrapped Nathan in a hug.

"Of course she's not mad at you, right baby sister?" I shook my head slowly and let my anger fade into a smile. "See? Everything's fine." He pat Nathan on the back with a grin, turning him loose and giving him a nudge toward me. Nathan chuckled and wrapped his arms around me again. "Awh, you two lovebirds." Sometimes, I think Brian loved Nathan more than I did.

As I stood on my tiptoes to hug my long-lost love tighter, I caught a glimpse of Zacky on the porch. The forced smile didn't reach his eyes; and, when our eyes met, I knew he was hurting more than he could bear. At least this made things easier on me... right?