Bluff

The next morning, Kory awoke to Brian leaving gentle kisses on her shoulders and neck. He was so subtle, the feeling was unfamiliar but satisfying. She never wanted to wake up. She wanted to just lay here forever. She could feel the smile on his lips when goosebumps rose on her arms.

She knew that she couldn't, there was still so much to get to out in the real world, away from Brian. She sighed and opened her eyes, immediately receiving a sweet kiss.

Kory could still feel everything. She could still feel the faint burning sensation on her skin, everywhere where Brian had touched. It was so surreal, she wasn't sure why it still felt this way. It made her uneasy. "I should probably get home. I need to shower, and then Ris and I are headed into the studio. Will you be there?"

Brian nodded, and propped himself up on his elbow. He watched as Kory hurried around the room to get all of her clothes. She seemed fine, but then again he couldn't be sure. And he didn't have the guts to ask.

Once she had gotten all of her things, Kory didn't so much as look back at Brian before walking downstairs. She couldn't risk it. She wanted to stay here, she wanted to forget about the studio and just stay with Brian all day. But she wouldn't allow herself to. She wouldn't allow herself to become attached.

She drove all the way back to campus without even thinking about anyone or anything. She cleared her mind of everything she could, and focused solely on the quite music playing in the background.

When she finally got home, Marrissa was still asleep. She didn't want to bother her so she decided to take a shower. Apparently she was under the hot water a lot longer than she had expected, because when Marrissa knocked on the door after what seemed like ten minutes, the water had ran cold.

Kory stepped out of the shower and quickly wrapped a towel around herself. "Just a sec, Ris!" She called, grabbing her clothes from the floor and putting them in the hamper. She then looked herself over in the mirror, making sure that her lips weren't blue or her eyes weren't bloodshot, before opening the door to reveal a very worried-looking Marrissa.

"Are you alright? You've been in there for two hours," she stated, concerned.

The first instinct Kory had was to break down and tell Marrissa everything. But she didn't want to worry her, and she didn't want to upset her now that she had Matt and was happy. She didn't want to screw things up. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just a bit tired is all."

Marrissa nodded. Usually, she would've shrugged it off and gotten into the shower. But she wasn't stupid. She knew something was wrong. She followed Kory back to her room, and waited as she got dressed. "Where were you? Mel said you came here, but you didn't. I figured you had just went to Johnny's for a while but...you weren't home by three. I was worried, Kor."

There it was. The guilt.

Kory sighed, and sat on the unmade bed, her back pressed against the wall, and pulled her knees up to her chest. "It's so messed up, Ris. I don't know what to do."

Marrissa sat next to Kory, and wrapped the fleece blanket around her. "It's alright, Kory. What happened?"

"I love him. And I don't know what to do because he's a face I'll never forget. I want to be with him, but I don't want to get hurt. And I don't want to leave to New York either, but it seems like a really good idea right now. And I hate myself so much for thinking that." Kory wiped her eyes with the back of her shaking hand, and tried to take steady breaths to calm herself.

"Does he make you happy? When you're around him, does he make you feel invincible?" Marrissa questioned once she knew that Kory was as calm as she would get during this conversation.

She nodded. "Yeah, I do. I feel like I'm the only person that matters. I don't even think about leaving to New York, all I think about is him."

Marrissa shrugged. "Focus on that feeling then. If he feels the same way, then there's nothing to worry about. Stay. Stay here, finish the album, publish your own story here. How about we go and talk to your mom together? I'll call Mason, he'll understand, I'm sure. We'll just be a little late getting there is all. Come on, Kor. It's alright."

Kory nodded then. That seemed like one of the best options yet. She just wished that she would've thought of it sooner.

Giving Kory a small smile in response, Marrissa said, "Good. Now go pretty yourself up, and we'll head out."

As Kory got ready, Marrissa did the same but kept it simple. She made sure to arrange things with Nicole, and in just half an hour they would all be conversing at a local Starbucks.



"See, I told you! Now we only have one more problem to deal with! That's progress. And the Brain thing won't be hard to deal with at all. So, we'll go into the studio today, and by next week everything will be fine. Promise." Marrissa grinned as the walked into the studio. Both she and Kory greeted Clara, who looked both busy and stressed as she worked intently on her computer.

Kory only nodded. She was more than grateful for Marrissa. Without her, she wasn't sure what she would do. She sure as hell would be a lot more stressed though, that's for sure. "Thanks, Ris. You deserve a vaca or something. You deal with my stress as well as yours."

Marrissa laughed. "Come on now. Be serious. No one gets a break around here."

Kory laughed at her statement, and then they walked into the studio. She was immediately attacked by Jimmy, who was squeezing her in a tighter-than-necessary hug.

She squealed, and pushed him off in order to breath. "That was a little dramatic, don't ya think Jim-Jam?"

"Nope!" He grinned, and helped her up. "Come on, I wanna show you something." He grabbed her hand and pulled her along, so they were standing right next to Mason, and clicked a few buttons on the control panel to play the last bit recorded. A short, simple piano melody played.

"It's rad. Could it be something?"

Jimmy simply shrugged. "Could be."

Kory nodded. Her mind was racing with ideas at this point. She thought it to be much easier to deal with things when she was distracted. She silently thanked Jimmy for that.

And, for the very first time in several weeks, Kory was content. The feeling was refreshing.