The Fourth

"Happy fourth!" Sally squealed as she pulled her longtime friend Corey into a hug.

"Happy fourth to you too. What`s got you all excited?" Corey asked, his tone slightly teasing.

"Good things seem to happen on the fourth. For example, I met you for the first time on the fourth then we reunited on the fourth."

Corey nodded at Sally`s answer. She actually had a pretty good point. The two had met on the fourth of July when Sally was sixteen and Corey was twenty. The young girl`s parents had moved into the house across the street from the singer and the two met a week later. They had become good friends but lost touch due to Sally still being in school and Corey going on tour with his band Slipknot. The two ended up reunited on the fourth when Sally was twenty six and have done everything they can for the past two years since then to keep in contact.

"Everyone`s ether in the backyard or in the kitchen," Corey said as he lead his friend into the house.

"Okay. I`ll head into the kitchen then go in the back," Sally said before disappearing into the kitchen.

"Is aunt Sally here yet?" Griffin asked his father excitedly when Corey walked into the backyard.

"Yeah, she`s in the kitchen little man," Corey answered his son with a grin. He then laughed as he watched his son run into the house.

"Aunt Sally!" Griffin screamed as he ran into the kitchen and grabbed onto Sally`s corset clad waist.

"Little man. Iv`e missed you," Sally said as she brought herself out of the conversation she was having with Stephanie to look down at the young boy.

"Iv`e missed you too! Have you seen uncle Joey today?"

"I haven`t. Why do you ask?"

Griffin simply shrugged at her question then darted out of the room. The members of Slipknot have been trying to get Joey and Sally together since the two met. They had been sending each other lovey dovey looks for months but neither seemed to notice the looks they sent each other. A few months back Stephanie got in on it and even Griffin did as well, claiming he was tired of them acting like they were together but were`t.

"Do you know what that was about?" Sally asked.

"Not a clue," Stephanie answered with a shrug. "But um, maybe you should go see if Joey wants anything."

Sally shrugged and headed out to the backyard. The men of Slipknot were scattered around the yard. A couple were with Corey at the grill while others were around the pool, keeping a protective eye on Griffin while he swam.

"Hey Joey," Sally said as she plopped down next to Joey in the hammock, barely having enough room to sit without almost sitting on him.

"H-Hey. How are you?" Joey asked, doing his best to shift to give her more room. But the movement made her fall back and, with a squeal, fall back onto Joey. Sally let out a soft giggle and moved so she was laying beside him.

"Well this is comfy."

Joey nodded in agreement and moved his arm while she was curling into him so she could lay her head on it. And she did, with a slight blush on her cheeks.

"Look who`s getting cozy!" Corey exclaimed with a grin, looking at Joey and Sally, who both blushed at his teasing.

"Do you think they`ll finally get together?" Mick murmured, glancing at Joey and Sally from his spot by the pool.

"With the way they`re cuddled up? Oh yeah," Sid answered with a grin. He had been waiting for them to get together since day one.

"They need to get together today," Griffin grumbled, making the men around him chuckle. Even he knew the chances of them getting together after the tour starting in two months would lessen.

"He always has to tease, doesn`t he?" Sally asked, referring to Corey.

"Yeah. He`s been that way since we met," Joey answered with a slight chuckle.

"Same here. He would always tease me about silly things. It got worse when I had my first boyfriend, too."

"That sounds like him. I heard that he was really protective of you when you were a teenager."

"He was. No one got past him without an interrogation. He scared my boyfriends back then," Sally murmured, shaking her head as she thought of how protective he was.

"Yeah. All two of them," Corey said as he walked over to the two.

"Oh shut up."

"Nah. Food`s done," Corey said, dodging a small pillow Sally threw at him that was sitting at the end of the hammock. He grinned at them and walked away, following everyone into the house.

Joey and Sally carefully got out of the hammock and followed Corey into the house, going to the kitchen to get some food. By the time everyone was done grabbing some food the kitchen was a mess and there were a few wet spots on the floor from a soaking wet Griffin.

Once everyone had grabbed as much food as they wanted they all gathered in the backyard again. Everyone sat around the pool to eat, except for Joey and Sally. The two sat back down in the hammock, sitting across from each other.

"This is actually really good," Sally murmured, biting into her burger.

"Maybe Steph taught him something," Joey mumbled, causing Sally to snicker and nod.

The two mostly ate in silence, occasionally murmuring something about the food or teasing Corey.
Other than that the only thing heard was the sound of the others talking and Griffin asking when he could get back in the pool.

After almost four hours of talking and laughing it was time to light the fireworks. And there were quite a bit of them. Each member of the band decided to buy some and put them all together to make a big fireworks show.

"Are we ready to light?" Mick asked, throwing Corey a lighter.

"Yeah, everything`s ready," Corey replied, catching the lighter before starting to light some of the fireworks.

"Griffin is loving this," Sally said, watching the boy from his spot in the pool.

“I think making him happy is one of the reasons everyone pulled together the fireworks,” Joey murmured, agreeing.

“True. But I didn`t think they would pull together so many.”

“I didn`t think so ether. I figured we`d get about twenty and call it a show. Instead we have forty.”

“I know. At this rate we`ll be shooting them off till midnight,” Sally agreed.

"Yeah. I think it`s worth it though. Especially with that look on his face. He looks so happy," Joey commented.

"Joey, have you ever thought about having kids?" Sally asked after a few minutes, watching the fireworks as she spoke.

"A couple of times," Joey confessed.

"Do you want them?"

Joey froze, caught off guard by her question. After composing himself he shrugged. "Not right now. Maybe when Slipknot takes a break so Corey can do Stone Sour."

"But you have Scar The Marty," Sally pointed out.

"True. But, if my girlfriend told me she was pregnant I`d put that band on hold."

The two fell into a comfortable silence after that, spending an hour watching the fireworks. Though Joey ended up getting up halfway though the fireworks to grab a blanket when Sally started to get cold. Of course he wouldn`t admit it, but he was starting to get a little cold as well. It was nearing eleven after all.

"You know they`re trying to get us together, right?" Sally asked as she curled up under the blanket.

"Yeah, I know," Joey murmured as he curled up under the blanket as well.

"You aren`t going to do anything, are you?"

Her question made him freeze then look over at her with wide eyes. "W-What do you mean?"

"Nathan Jonas Jordison!" Sally growled, her eyes narrowing.

Upon hearing his full name, Joey winced. No one called him that unless he was in serious trouble.

"Are you really that dense?" She asked.

"No!" He exclaimed.

"Yes you are. You don`t even know what I`m talking about," Sally stated, getting upset.

"The hell I don`t," Joey growled before taking Sally`s face in his hands and kissing her.

"Okay, maybe you do know," Sally murmured after they broke the kiss, slightly dazed.

"Of course I do. I`m not stupid. I started to notice those looks you would give me when you didn`t think I was knowing," He murmured.

"When?" She asked.

"Last month."

"Iv`e been giving you those looks for a lot longer than that," Sally mumbled, a light blush tinting her cheeks.

"I know. I heard Stephanie and Corey talking about it last week," Joey confessed.

"Then why didn`t you say anything sooner?" She asked.

"I got scared," He confessed.

"Oh, Joey..." Sally whispered, pulling him into a hug.

"I`m sorry I didn`t say anything sooner," Joey apologized.

"It`s okay. I`m just happy you said something. Now, on to the mater at hand. What are we going to do?" She asked.

"Well, I was kind of hoping you would...go out with me," He confessed.

"That sounds good to me," Sally murmured, smiling.

Joey grinned at her words and pulled her into a kiss, effectively pulling her into his lap as well. Her hands slowly slid around his neck as his arms wrapped around her waist.

"Well, would you look at that," Corey murmured with a grin, looking over at Joey and Sally.

"Finally," Craig grumbled, making everyone look at him in surprise. Except Griffin, who just grinned.