Bluff

"Oh my god, Mel," Kory breathed, rushing towards the clearly younger girl hurriedly. She pushed her way through the other people at the airport, before throwing her arms around the shorter girl's neck. She breathed in her familiar scent, grinning manically.

Melody pushed her mouth against Kory's shoulder, attempting to stop from sobbing. Now that she had been away from her older sister for three months, all she could think about was being wrapped up in her arms. It felt like home.

They stood there for a moment, completely oblivious to the entire world around them. All that mattered now was the rawness of this moment; being in each others arms and no longer needing to imagine it.

Then, all of a sudden, Mason wrapped his long arms around both girls. He had missed Melody as well, more than it seemed possible but despite that, he knew that he could never understand the bond that brought the two so close. Sure, he had a younger sister and an older brother but he hadn't been through as much as they had together. "How about we head home? I can order take out and then you two can spend time together once I head to bed," he suggested after a few moments to bask in the moment himself.

Melody shook her head. "Dad, could you make spaghetti instead?"

Kory wrinkled her nose in disgust. Mason had never been a good cook, not by a long shot. But both she and Melody had agreed just a few years previous that his spaghetti was by far the worst.

Laughing, Melody shrugged. "It's been a while. It sounds amazing." She dropped her arms from around her older sister, but kept one around her waist. She was then gladly greeted with Kory's arm draping itself over her shoulders as they walked over to get Melody's luggage.

The ride back to Mason's had been rather talkative. Melody and Kory had hardly taken a moment to breath. They babbled on about some guy Melody had met at recruit training named Alex. Mason hadn't said anything during this conversation. But he often let a few comments slip when they had began talking about recording with Avenged, and even when they talked about how much Melody had believed she'd missed out on.

While Mason gathered all of the ingredients for dinner, Kory and Melody had retreated to Mel's bedroom up the stairs.

The walls were painted a pale shade of grey, and the door and framework were painted a neon pink. Her bed, full size, was placed in the center of the north wall. The bed frame was black, and she had a neon pink bed set to match the color scheme.

Melody quickly changed into a pair of pajama shorts, and a tank top as Kory pulled her clothes from one of her bags. She let her curly blonde hair fall over her shoulders.

"So, you kept someone thing from me when you were gushing over the studio. What is it?" Melody asked, sitting opposite Kory on her bed and grinning. "Is it a boy?"

Kory couldn't wipe the grin off of her face, as much as she wanted to. She bit her lip and giggled as Melody reacted rather loudly.

"Tell me about him! What's his name? What's he like? Do you have a picture of him?" She urged.

Kory laughed. "His name's Brian. At first, I didn't really like him but he's not that bad. He's actually really sweet and I think that things are getting pretty close to us actually being together." She hoped that Melody wouldn't ask why they weren't yet, but Kory knew better than that.

"What d'you mean 'getting close'? Kor, you've been able to get whoever you want since like your sophomore year. What's different?"

She couldn't stop the sigh that escaped her lips. "He's a little older than I am. Plus, dad's rules about 'boys in the studio,' ugh."

Melody shrugged, as if it was nothing. "Who gives a damn what dad's rules are? It's not like you ever followed them before. Why start now?"

"Because if I break any rules, he'll be a lot less willing to put the album out. Or finish it, at least. And apparently the rest of the guy's like being at the studio and I don't want to screw anything up," she confessed. It had never been like Kory to put others before herself unless it had been Melody, Mason, or Marrissa. And even Kory herself knew how odd it sounded to have gotten so close to everyone so quickly.

Melody grinned then. "Well, now that I'm home, I can help. I can keep dad occupied and if he suspects anything I can just back you up. One way or another, you're gonna be happy. I can see how happy he makes you, Kor. You just have to keep things secret until after the album's finished." Melody didn't like lying to Mason any more than Kory did, but she would've gone to hell and back for her sister. She deserved a little bit of happiness and, after everything Kory had done for her, she thought that this would be the least she could do for her.

She sighed in response, and then shrugged. Kory's heart leapt at the thought but she was a little reluctant.

"How's Ris?" Melody asked, changing the subject. Of coarse Kory would need a night to sleep on it. It was expected.

Kory nodded then. "She's fine. She's with Matt, the singer of the band. They're so cute." She laughed.

"Girls! Dinners ready!" Mason called from the bottom of the stairs.

Both of them stood up then. They didn't talk much about boys for the rest of the night. All conversation was of plans for the next few weeks, and some of the difficulties Melody had faced at training.

But, ever since Brian had been mentioned, Kory had had a hard time focusing on much else besides him. It seemed that every single time he had been mentioned, the thought of him pushed its way to the front of her mind, making itself prominent.

She was almost happy when it was time to leave, to get back into her car where she had a second to think in silence. She had began towards the campus, but had found herself twenty minutes away when she really began focusing on where she was going again. She questioned what subconscious thought made her body believe that it was okay to be sat here, in Brian's drive way.

Unsure as to what exactly she had planned to do, she sat there for a few seconds. What was she supposed to say to him? ‘Hey, Brian. My sister gave me a little bit of confidence and I think we could work. Wanna put your album at risk and be my boyfriend?’ Yeah, that would blow over oh so well.

She sighed loudly, before pulling the keys from the ignition and placing the key ring on her pointer finger. She twisted the lanyard around and around her finger before finally forcing her jelly-like legs to get out of the car and walk to the door. She stood there for a second, before finally knocking on the door.

Brian answered only moments later, in nothing but boxers. His hair was disheveled and his eyes looked tired, but he was suddenly alert when he saw Kory. "What's wrong?" He asked, placing a soothing hand on hers. He was careful to be gentle though, she looked so breakable it was almost ridiculous.

"I—," it was then that Kory realized she was crying, she hadn't even noticed the salty tears before then. She cleared her throat, and took in a long, shaky breath. "I'm sorry," she said quickly, wiping her tears away. "I'm not sure why I'm here. I should probably go. I'm sorry for waking you." She began to turn around, but Brian laced his fingers with hers and pulled her inside.

"What's wrong, Kory?" He questioned again, knowing damn well that she didn't just wander here without a reason.

Kory wrapped her arms around his waist, laying her head on his chest in attempt to comfort herself. Least to say, it worked better than expected. The two sat on the sofa, their fingers still entwined.

Kory decided that it was now or never to explain things to him. She wasn't stupid, she knew that she wouldn't have enough confidence the next day to do something like this. She breathed in again. "Well, I like you, okay? A lot. I mean, a lot. And that's terrifying because you've changed my life and, really, that's not okay with me. I won't ever be able to get over you and I hate you so much for that. And the worst part is that nothing has even happened between us. Whether it will or not, I've got no clue. But this, this facade I put up is really killing me. I don't want to look at you and be uncertain about my well being. But then we're alone, like now, and I really don't give a shit about my well being. I just want to be with you, wherever that may be. And honesty that's horrifying."

The first thing Brian felt was guilt. He hated himself for being the cause of all of her confusion, all of her frustration. But now he knew; now he knew that it was okay. It was okay not to see any other girl the way he had once before. It was okay to think about her more than it should be healthy.

He chuckled softly, and shook his head. But, before Kory could question why he had laughed, he pressed his lips to hers in a needing way. It wasn't a suggestive kiss, he just wanted to show her that he wanted her just as much as she wanted him.

Kory felt the familiar swarm of butterflies in her stomach, and the fiery feeling on her lips as they pulled apart to breath was there too.

And then, a feeling of confidence rushed over her. She connected their lips again, this time she was the one who needed him.

Brian wasn't stupid, he knew what she was getting at. But he was still reluctant. "Are you sure?" He asked, nuzzling her neck.

Kory nodded, tangling her hands in the ends of his hair. She didn't have enough confidence in her voice, so she said nothing. She held his face gently between her palms, pulling his lips back to hers again.

And she was. Maybe not about everything in her life right now, but she was sure about Brian. And that's all that mattered tonight.