In My Dreams It's Me And You

(Brian's POV)

I fucking knew this was going to happen. I knew he was going to hurt her, and more specifically, I knew he was going to cheat on her. Everyone knew it was coming, but no one did anything about it. Not Matt, not Val... not even me.

Now we had to deal with the consequences. Matt and I had left the bus a while ago, and where we were going I didn't know. But what I did know is that what Matt had to say to me wasn't going to be pleasant. It was obvious he was still pissed about what Zack had done, and his lack of a retaliation towards him meant that something bad was definitely coming either my way or some unfortunate soul's.

Matt and I finally stopped walking once we had reached the outside of the venue we would be playing at tomorrow night. Later today we would be checking into a hotel, but right now, it looked as though that was the last thing on Matt's mind. He still hadn't turned to face me yet, and I was getting a little nervous. A quiet and angry Matt was almost as scary as a loud and angry one.

"What the fuck?" he finally asked, turning around and throwing his hands up in the air. "What the fuck was he thinking? Zack was warned not to be around her, and what does he do? He goes and gets himself into a relationship with her, and then he fucking cheats on her! She might not have been crying when I left, but I can almost guarantee Natalie is crying by now. She's strong, but I know how much that must've hurt her. God damn it, I should have fucking hit him!"

I didn't dare interrupt Matt's ranting; it would have been a fatal move on my part. Even though I agreed with him and thought what Zack did was stupid, Matt wouldn't have appreciated me throwing my two cents in. So I just let his anger run its course.

"I swear to God if he tries to get back with her, I'll kick his fucking ass. He'll never get anywhere near her, not again. I made my mistake, and I'm not going to let it happen again," he continued. I was nodding my head, and faster than I could say, 'Pink is the new black', I was pushed against the wall. Matt's face was inches from my own and his eyes were dialated with anger. "And you, don't think I haven't noticed the way you look at her. I know you, Brian, and although you wouldn't make the same mistake as Zack, I don't want you near her. What I said to you earlier this year when she first moved in still applies. I gave Natalie the chance to show that she can take care of herself with guys like you and Zack, and I don't care that she got her own revenge. She still got hurt, and I won't have it happen again."

I cautiously pushed Matt away from me, not letting him intimidate me but not wanting to make him lose control, either. "I can understand why you're so protective, Matt," I said, "but you know how stubborn Nat is. She's not going to let you control her like that."

"Are you saying what I think you're saying, Haner?" Matt asked, venom in his voice.

I shrugged my shoulders. "I won't go after her, Matt. I wouldn't do that to her, especially when she's so vulnerable. But if she comes to me, don't expect me to turn her away."

Matt stepped up to me then, both of us looking straight at the other. Matt was only bigger than me by a few inches, although he had the advantage of more muscle on his side. If it came down to it, though, I thought I would be able to fend for myself in a fight. "Exactly what do you feel for my cousin, Brian?" he asked, his voice unnervingly calm.

I might have been a little egotistical, but I wasn't stupid. There was no way in Hell I was going to tell Matt how I felt about Natalie. "She's a beatiful girl, and a great person, Matt. What more can I say?"

"Stay the fuck away from her," he growled before pulling away from me and walking off.

I didn't bother to follow him; I knew he wanted to be alone. Instead, I let out a heavy sigh and let my head fall against the wall. I looked up at the sky and watched the clouds move as I pulled out a cigarette and put it to my lips. I inhaled the smoke and then exhaled with the same heavy breath I had taken earlier. Taking my time, I pushed away from the wall and started walking back towards the bus. I checked my messages and saw that Matt had texted me to tell Val that he was okay and was just walking around to cool down. I sent him a messag back and said that I would before throwing away my cigarette and crushing it under my shoe. I punched in the security code for the Avenged bus and let myself in. Val was sitting on the couch by herself as I grabbed a water out of the fridge.

"Matt says that he's okay, but he just needs to walk around for a while to cool down. He'll be back in a while," I told her and she nodded her head.

"I figured he would. What did you guys talk about?" she asked before I could go back to the bunks.

I sighed and turned around. "We walked in silence for a good while and when we stopped, he just vented. Nothing out of the ordinary," I responded.

Val raised an eyebrow at me. "I take it you didn't say anything to him, did you?" she accused, but sadness and weariness pervaded her voice.

Shaking my head and turning towards the back of the bus, I answered, "No, and I'm not going to discuss it with you right now. Sorry, Val."

As I made my way to my bunk, I noticed that Jimmy, Johnny, and Zack were all gone. Jimmy and Johnny were better friends than I was at the moment: they might have been mad, but they at least still cared enough to take him off the bus until things cooled down.

"Hey," I murmured as I pulled the curtain back on my bunk to reveal Nat lying on her back on my bed. She shifted her gaze to me and then rolled over so that she wasn't facing me anymore. I sighed, climbing into the bed with her and closing the curtain. Nat moved away from me and I heard her breathing hitch as she started to cry again.

"I feel so stupid," she whispered, still refusing to let me touch her. "You told me this would happen, but I didn't listen. You, Matt, and Val all told me it would happen."

I watched with sorrow as Nat's body shook with her sobs. "It's not your fault," I told her. "You couldn't have prevented it."

Natalie suddenly turned around to face me, her eyes red and her makeup running. She was still the most beautiful girl I'd ever seen. "Yes, I could have," she said angrily, wiping at her eyes. "If I would have just listened and stayed away from him and from you, none of this would have happened. I wouldn't have gotten involved with Zack and gotten cheated on if I had stayed away from him. If I had stayed away from you, I wouldn't have had my heart broken by you fucking all those stupid sluts."

I grabbed Natalie's hand in mine and kissed her knuckles. "I'm so sorry," I said, watching as more tears slid down her face. "I'm sorry this all happened to you. But I'm not sorry for what happened between us. Even if you won't admit it, what we had was nice. I'm glad that happened, and I wish it would happen again."

"How the fuck is it supposed to happen again if you insist on sleeping with as many girls as you can bring back to the bus?" she demanded, pulling her hands from mine. I didn't care that she was angry with me; at least we were finally talking about this without her leaving. "Even if I did want to be with you again, and even if I did miss the way you touch me, how the fuck am I going to get it back if you don't want me?"

"You're the only one I want, Natalie," I said. "Can't you see that? All you have to do is say the word, and I'll stop everything I've been doing. It's all you have to do to get back what we've both been missing."

Nat scoffed. "What we've both been missing, huh? Seems to me like you've been enjoying yourself lately. How could you miss what we had when you have all these girls in this bed and in those rooms?"

"I've told you before, Natalie: what I said that night in the pool, I meant it. I know I've went about this the wrong way, and I don't like it. But I still feel that way, and I don't think I'll ever stop," I said, my voice growing quieter as I finished and my face got closer to hers.

"Then make me believe that," she whispered and closed her eyes as I lowered my lips over her own.

Kissing Natalie again was like being the best kind of drunk, where everything is perfect and you're obliviously happy. She tasted so much better than all of the other girls I had kissed over the past two months, and her body under mine felt even better as I moved my body to be on top of hers. Natalie reached up to pull me closer, threading her fingers through my thick hair, and I let her. When I slipped my tongue past her lips and she moaned, I felt a wave of desire and want go through my body. I never wanted this moment to end, but I had a feeling it would, and all too soon.

Just as Natalie let my hands wander up her shirt, we heard the door to the bus open and Matt walk in, followed by Val talking hurriedly to him.

"Fuck," Natalie groaned, and I don't know whether it was because Matt could be heard walking towards the bunk or because I had bit her lip. I was assuming it was the former once she pushed me off her and started fixing her appearance. I followed suit, and finished just in time.

"Hey guys, we're ready to go check in to the hotel. The others will be meeting us there, so grab whatever you need so we can go," Matt said as Nat walked up to him in the hall, me following an appropriate distance later.

As we all got ready to go to the hotel, I couldn't help but feel that tonight was the night I would finally get Natalie back.