Bluff

Both Kory and Marrissa had spent a while cleaning up the mess from the party, though neither minded. They listened to Three Days Grace, while conversing about what they had planned on doing later that night, and where they planned to go. They had finally settled on going to Johnny's, the local bar they'd been to on their twenty-first birthday's.

"I'm not letting you leave until you're wasted," Kory said, a smirk on her face. She had taken off her wet top, and was in just her bathing suit and shorts as she gathered as many cups as she could, while putting them in a large black garbage bag.

Marrissa laughed then, attempting to wash as much frosting as she could off of the gazebo with the hose. "I figured that much," she replied, a goofy grin on her face. She couldn't stop thinking about the weekend. She still had to ask Kory about taking notes for her, but just the thought of being with Matt all weekend sent tingles down her spine. "Hey, Kor? Would you take notes for me next photography class?"

Kory nodded without question, she would've done it even if Marrissa just wanted to stay in her dorm that day, though she knew she'd never do anything like that. "Yeah, of coarse," she answered.

"You're not even gonna ask why?" Marrissa questioned, somewhat stunned. Kory hated most classes the same, but to do double the work didn't really seem like her. She cocked an eyebrow, glancing towards the younger and shorter female.

She shrugged, before answering. "Nope. If you wanna do something, go ahead. You deserve it, Riss," Kory said, a small smile on her face. It didn't matter at all to her, as long as Marrissa was happy.

Deciding against questioning it further, Marrissa instead decided to tell about the reason she would be missing class. "Matt and I are going to a concert this weekend," she said, holding in her excitement, knowing that Kory would react with enough enthusiasm for the both of them.

As if her hands had caught fire, Kory dropped the garbage bag and ran towards her best friend. She grabbed Marrissa by the shoulders, before shaking her in excitement. "Rissa's going on a date with Matt!" She yelled, loud enough for the very uptight neighbors to be annoyed with. "He's gonna make a move, Ris! You're probably gonna kiss!"

Marrissa laughed at Kory's reaction. She knew that she often overreacted about things like this, but always thought it to be amusing."No, we're just hanging out," she said, tying to calm Kory who looked like she was going to explode at this point.

But, when Kory stared at her with a disapproving look, she sighed and let a grin plaster itself onto her face. "I know, I know! Oh my god, what if he actually does kiss me?" Marrissa gushed, placing her hands against her cheeks in attempt to get them to cool down, with no prevail.

The two didn't get much cleaning done after that.



Once both girls had finished cleaning up, they made their way back to the dorm. They played Xbox until about nine thirty, and decided that it was finally time to get ready. They had both picked out their outfits, and were doing their hair and makeup at nine forty-five.

"So, what about Brian? You two seem pretty close," Marrissa said, giggling softly as she separated the layers of her hair in order to straighten it.

Kory couldn't stop herself from blushing. "I don't know, nothing I guess. He makes me feel all tingly, and I've never felt that way before but I'm not really sure if I like it. Does that make any sense at all?" She sighed, before putting her mascara on.

A huge grin made it's way onto Marrissa's face. "I think you like him," she said, seeing as she had more experience in the "love" category. She wondered if Kory actually did love Brian. She hadn't ever said that she loved the last guy she was with, even though they were together for two years. It seemed rather odd for Kory to be in love, though.

She shook her head then, before sighing. "It's frustrating," she said, plugging in the hair curler, waiting patiently for it to heat up.

Once the two had finally finished getting ready, they made their way to Johnny's, only to be greeted by the friendly bartender who went by Mike. They had confronted each other several times, and Mike knew their faces fairly well.

"What'll it be, girls?" he asked, a grin on his face. Mike hadn't known either of their names, but knew that they partied pretty hard with enough alcohol in their system, from what he'd been around to see anyways.

Kory giggled softly. "Two," she answered, knowing that Mike knew well enough to give her two of her usual Silver Bullet shots. She threw them back quickly, as Mike poured Marrissa's mixed drink. Kory ordered a beer before they made there way out onto the floor, where several other people were dancing.

They found themselves dancing with a few select people by ten thirty, both intoxicated but still able to make out words on paper. Kory wasn't giggling uncontrollably yet, so they still had a while to go before they needed to worry about being wasted.

It was just past eleven forty-five when Jimmy and Brian walked in, noticing Marrissa first, seeing as she was stood at the bar, ordering some type of fruity drink she wouldn't remember the name of the next morning.

"Hey, Jimmy!" She exclaimed happily, her words firm. She threw her arms around Jimmy's neck, leaning into him for balance.

Laughing, Jimmy helped Marrissa to a seat at the bar, making sure she was stable before letting her go. "Hey, Ris. What're you doing here?" It didn't seem the type of place for her, a girl so small and gentle.

She giggled drunkenly. "Kor wanted to go out, so here we are," she replied, motioning to the people around them. She sipped at her drink then.

"Kory's here?" Brian asked, as if on queue. He then relaxed her shoulders a bit, hoping that Marrissa hadn't noticed exactly how interested he was in her response.

Marrissa laughed loudly then. "Yeah, she is! And, you know, you should make a move. I think she loves you, Bri. Can you believe that? Someone like her, in love with you, who she's only known for a month and a half. Insane!" She giggled a little bit more, and finished her drink.

Brian glanced at Jimmy, as if in approval. When Jimmy nodded, he walked out to the floor, making his way through the crowd of girls with too much makeup on and lip piercings, most dancing with some guy twice their size. He saw Kory then, dancing with a guy who was a lot taller than she was. He had a decent build, disheveled black hair, and pale skin. His hands were all over her, and in all truth, it angered Brian.

When Kory finally noticed him, she left the guy she was currently dancing with, whispering something into his ear before making her way towards Brian. "Hey," she greeted, giggling and grabbing his wrist. "Buy me a drink?"

Even knowing that it was probably a bad idea, Brian nodded. He felt Kory snake her arm around his waist, pulling him closer to her warm body. He knew that it was probably just the alcohol in her system that made her do this, but he went along with it and wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

As soon as she saw Jimmy, a grin lit up her face and she pulled away from Brian long enough to give him a hug, but the second she and Jimmy separated, her arm was back around Brian. "What're you two doing here?" She questioned, licking her lips and motioning towards the bartender for another drink.

"Same thing you two are," Jimmy replied, sipping the beer he had been served while Brian was searching for Kory. He noticed how close the two were in this particular moment, but didn't mention it. He knew Brian well enough to know that he hadn't meant for the two to become so close, it kind of just happened and no one could do much about it now.

Both Kory and Marrissa giggled softly, almost in unison. They glanced at each other, before erupting in laughs again.

Jimmy had began drinking, though Brian had decided to stay sober. He had come out here with Jimmy to forget about everything between him and Michelle, with the mix of recording the album and Kory, and he would've gotten wasted if the circumstances were different; he was just hesitant about what he and Kory would do if he was drunk. She had been pretty touchy all night, and he'd rather be overreacting than waking up to Kory being hurt and regretful.

Kory had wanted to leave earlier than Marrissa, so at only midnight she was ready to go home. She apologized to Marrissa a few times too many for leaving early before she actually took a step towards the door. As she walked to her car with Brian, she laced her fingers between his, and leaned against his side heavily. "You're cute, ya know," she giggled.

Brian couldn't help but laugh as he unlocked the passenger door, helping Kory buckle her seat belt. He walked over to the driver's side, and climbed in. Kory had leaned her head back, and closed her eyes. "Are you okay?" he asked, laughing.

She grinned, and nodded. "Would you take me somewhere if I asked you to? Like, even if I'd regret it?" She lifted her head up quickly, staring at Brian. It took a second to refocus her vision, then.

Shrugging, Brian let his mind wander the possibilities she could be talking about. "I guess that depends, why? Where do you wanna go?"

"Anywhere but my dorm. I would sleep in the studio, but dad would be kinda pissed. How about you just take me to New York?" She giggled hysterically.

Brian thought for a while. She didn't want to go back to college, and the studio was out of the question. Would it hurt if he let her crash at his place for one night? "What about my place?"

Kory nodded, grinning even wider than before. "'Kay," she replied. It was silent for a moment, before Kory chirped in suddenly. "Hey! Wanna see something?" She asked, turning towards Brian.

He wasn't sure what he was supposed to say in a situation like this, so he simply shrugged and glanced at her for a second before turning his focus back to the road.

"I'll take that as a yes. Look!" Kory stuck her tongue out, revealing the barbell through her tongue. "I did it when I was like fourteen, and I tried to put the thingy back through before Ris and I left. The hole hasn't closed!" She exclaimed, grinning.

Brian laughed then, shaking his head. She seemed to be an entirely different person tonight. She seemed to not have a care in the world. She was much less stubborn, too, which Brian noticed.

Once he had pulled into his driveway, he helped Kory out of her car, and into his house. She took a strong liking to Pinkly pretty quick. Within a few minutes she was sitting on her knees, petting the small dog.

She was giggling still, when she stood up. Kory scanned the room then, taking in as much as she could. To her left was the kitchen, and to her right was what she assumed to be the living room, and in front of her were the stairs. She reached to her left, and grabbed Brian's hand again. "Cuddle with me," she said, pushing out her bottom lip and batting her eyelashes.

Brian nodded in defeat. He'd probably do anything she asked him to, and that fact concerned him. He led her up the stairs and into his room, laughing as she struggled to get her heels off. He walked over to his closet, pulling out an old Pantera shirt and handing it to her.

She thanked him, a dopey smile on her face. Once she had finally gotten her shoes off, she motioned to her back, moving her hair. "Unzip me," she demanded, her voice tired.

He did as told, letting his eyes wander over the smooth skin of her back. It couldn't hurt to look, right? Brian watched as she undressed, noticing the smallest movements her hands made. She pulled the shirt over her head, before plopping down on the bed. "I can sleep on the sofa, if you want," Brian suggested.

Kory shook her head. "It's fine," she grinned, before climbing under the blankets, pulling them up around her shoulders. She lay on her side, rubbing her legs together to generate warmth. "Hurry up, I'm cold," she said, closing her eyes.

Brian discarded his clothes, leaving him in only his boxers, before climbing in bed next to Kory. He kept his distance, but Kory grabbed his wrists, not connecting her eyes with his, and wrapped them around her waist.

She turned in his arms, and pressed a sweet kiss to his lips. "I need you to want me," she mumbled, biting her lip. She laid her head on Brian's chest, and soon her breathing evened out.