In My Dreams It's Me And You

(Brian's POV)

I was sat on the edge of the stage at the venue we were playing that night when Val sat herself down next to me. "Hi there, Bri. I do believe you and I need to have a little chat," she said, giving me a cheeky grin when I turned to look at her. "We can do this the easy way - you tell me of your own accord - or we can do this the hard way: I bother you incessantly until you tell me what I want to know."

Smirking, I replied, "I know how annoying you can get, so I guess we'll do this the easy way. Where do you want me to start?"

Valary gave me a frown. "First of all, I am not annoying. I just know how to get what I want," she stated and I rolled my eyes. "As for where to start, I don't care. Just tell me everything."

I sighed and looked over my shoulder when I heard Natalie approaching; she and Jimmy were picking on Johnny about something. I smiled and then turned so I was facing the empty auditorium, Val's legs swinging back and forth next to my stationary ones.

"Well, I'm guessing you already know this, but Nat and I are sleeping together," I began and Val nodded her head.

"Okay so disregard what I said earlier. I want to know how that came to be, and I want you to tell me from when it first started," she interrupted before I could go any further.

I thought back to when Nat and I first got together and developed feelings for each other . "Promise you won't get pissed off?" I asked, making Val giving me a curious look. I let out a deep breath and said, "We first slept together while her and Zack were getting into their relationship."

Val's face became disapproving and she hit my arm. "Are you fucking serious?" she hissed. "Don't tell me you talked her into cheating on him or so help me God - "

"Calm down!" I exclaimed in a hushed voice, looking around to make sure the others hadn't heard her outburst. "This happened before Zack actually asked her to be his girlfriend. They weren't officially together yet, so she wasn't really cheating on him."

Now Val's face sported a look of deep thinking. "So they were fucking behind our backs, but you knew." I nodded my head and she went on. "Then you two started sleeping together, which means that Nat was sleeping with you behind Zack's back, who she was sleeping with behind all our backs. Damn, that's one hell of a confusing triangle."

I laughed and nodded my head. "That it was." I cringed and rubbed my shoulder when Val struck me again. "Oww, what the fuck?" I groaned.

"If you two were sleeping together behind Zack's back, that means that she was cheating on him once they got together!" she accused, hitting me once again. "What the fuck is wrong with you, Haner? Why didn't you stop it? Zack is your best friend!"

"If you would just let me explain," I said, "you'd find out that that's not how it went." Val crossed her arms over her chest and signaled for me to go on. "Natalie stopped what we had once Zack asked her out. She told me that she couldn't cheat on him and that she wouldn't, so she broke it off."

Val raised an eyebrow. "I don't imagine you took that well," she said.

"You're right, I didn't," I replied. "But she chose Zack over me and stayed with him, until now obviously."

"Which leads us to now. How exactly did you two get back together?" Val questioned, sitting up attentively.

Here was where I paused. The only way Val could know how Natalie and I got together was if she found out how we feel about each other. That wasn't something that was easy to explain, because it was a long story and one that wasn't solely mine to tell. In any case, I knew that Val would be talking to Nat about this soon enough, so I decided I would just give my side of the story, my feelings about the situation we were currently in.

"It's... well, it's a strange story. A strange, long, complicated story that I can't tell on my own. All I'll tell you is that I've got really strong feelings for Nat, and she's known it since the first time she and I were together... if you could even call it that. But that's beside the point. What the point is, is that Natalie has feelings for me too, but she denied it and denied it until a few days ago," I told Val.

"So wait, are you two 'together' now?" she asked, whipping her head around to look at Nat.

I shook my head. "No, we're not. She just ended things with Zack, and I don't want to be her rebound relationship."

Val turned back around to me. "So how do you two really feel about each other? Like, how deep are these feelings you've got?"

I watched Natalie as she and Jimmy ran away from Johnny, who was covered in some sort of drink and chips. She slipped on something and landed on her ass, making Jimmy laugh at her as Johnny poured his beer on her. "Jimmy, you son of a bitch, help me!" she screeched, laughing at the end when she caught Matt giving them all a strange look.

"Let's just say, I'd wait for her forever," I answered and Val cooed at me, hugging me from the side.

"You love her, don't you Bri?" Val asked softly, giving me a smile when I turned to look at her.
"Come on, admit it. I know you do."

I just shook my head with a smile. "She's not an angel, but she's changing me, Val. That's all I'll say."

"Changing you as in, you won't be bringing back random girls to the bus anymore?" she questioned and I nodded my head. "Good. No offense, Brian, but seeing you do that shit was disgusting. I thought you had gotten over that stage in your life."

I shrugged my shoulders. "Well you have my word that I'm done. Why in the hell would I need random girls when I have Natalie?" I responded, Val giving me an approving smile.

"Five minutes to stage, Gates ," JB called as he jogged past me to help finish up the stage.

I yelled my thanks and turned around to face Natalie when she tapped on my shoulder. "Hey babe, how are you?" I asked quietly, despite the noise of the crowd just opposite of the curtain we were behind. Natalie smirked and slid her hands up my chest and behind my neck before locking our lips together in a kiss that made me wish we had more than five minutes to stage time. "Mm, someone's feeling a little risky tonight, isn't she?" I asked when she pulled away from me.

"I can't help it if I want you, Mr. Gates," she whispered in my ear as she pressed her body against mine. I groaned and my eyes rolled into the back of my head when she started grinding against me.

"Fuck! Natalie," I hissed, biting my lip and backing myself against a wall to support both our bodies when she started biting and sucking on my neck. I grasped onto her hips and let out a shuddering breath as her lips traveled across the base of my neck and up my jaw. I was breathing pretty heavily and contemplating being late for the stage when Natalie pulled herself away from me completely.

She smirked at me and fixed her tank top from where it had ridden up. "Be sure to lie when Matt notices the hickey and brings it up onstage," she stated and walked away, leaving me in awe. I was definitely getting her back for that, and I didn't mean only the mark on my neck.

"Thank you St. Louis! You've been an awesome fucking audience, and we'll see ya next time!" Matt shouted into the mic after we finished our encore at the end of the night.

I walked off stage with Jimmy and he laughed as Natalie jumped on Johnny's back, sending them both to the floor. "That's what you get for dumping your beer on me, Short Shit!" she exclaimed as she got off him.

Johnny gave an exasperated groan and asked, "Can we just call it even, Nat? I don't want to battle you anymore."

"Dude, you're gonna let a chick beat you?" Jimmy asked incredulously, a grin on his face. "That's weak man, really weak."

"She's a fucking ninja, man! I can't compete with that!" Johnny defended himself, making the rest of us laugh. "She comes out of nowhere and just attacks you when you least expect it; that's too much psychological shit for me, I can't handle it."

Natalie laughed and offered Johnny a hand up. "Okay, Christ. We'll call it even and I'll stop fucking with your head," she replied. Johnny cheered and she rolled her eyes. "Jeez, he just ruins all my fun," she pouted. "It's not fair."

"Don't worry Nat, I'm sure you'll find someone else to fuck with," Matt answered. "You're pretty good at that and always have been."

I smirked and said, "Somehow that doesn't surprise me at all."

"You're not one to talk, Gates," Zack interjected with a chuckle. "That huge ass hickey on your neck is pretty attractive, by the way."

I instantly clamped my hand over the mark and glared at Zack. "Whatever, dude. You're just jealous."

"I just wanna know where the fuck he got it from," Val interrupted, giving me a smirk. The others quickly caught on and started asking.

"I didn't see any chicks back here," Zack offered and Matt gave him a pointed look.

"Well how the fuck did it get there, then? It's not as if Nat did it," he said in a matter-of-fact tone. Jesus Christ, he'd probably kill me if I told him he was wrong.

Jimmy, being the wise-ass he is, cut in then. "He is the man who'd suck his own dick for a buck if he could, so maybe he found a way to give himself a hickey."

We all busted out laughing at that, even me. That joke is what set the mood for the night following the show, and it ended up making Matt decide that we could stop and get a hotel for the night instead of sleeping on the bus. As we all packed a bag or two for the stay, I casually walked past Nat's bunk and brushed against her.

"Bring something you don't mind having ripped; I'm going to repay you for that little stunt you pulled backstage tonight," I whispered and she gasped as I snuck my hand against her body and pinched her ass.