Bluff

It had only been a week since Brian and Kory had both returned from the cabin. Nothing much had changed, other than studying for exams every second she could. Kory had started hanging around Jimmy a lot more than she had before. She often found herself asking him to run silly errands with her when she could have easily done it on her own, or asking for his help to study at the studio. The only thing that had significantly changed is the way the guys teased her more often. Even after eight days, they still provoked her about the cabin. She didn't mind, really, but after so may days of being antagonized, it could get ridiculous.

Kory hadn't talked to Brian much, if she was honest. She still did, of coarse, but it was always just small talk and not much else. She didn't know why it was like that, and she wasn't sure how to change it. She figured she had enough to worry about, what with exams and all, and that she would just figure it our later.

"Can we take a break?" Kory asked, throwing her head back in anguish. "I'll do fine on the exam, I'll pass and everything'll be fine. No more studying," she told Jimmy, grinning.

Even though he knew she was being sarcastic, Jimmy nodded. "Matt's at Johnny's. Let's go there," he said, pushing the papers away and standing up. He grabbed his jacket, and waited patiently as Kory touched up her makeup in the bathroom.

Once she was finished, she grabbed the leather jacket from the sofa, pulling it on quickly, and the two headed outside. "Is it just Matt there?" She asked, getting into the passenger side and messing with the stereo.

Jimmy only shrugged. "Hell if I know. I know Johnny's at the studio finishing up Scream, though," he answered, "I'm gonna have to ask you one favor."

She diverted her attention from the stereo to Jimmy, and asked, "And what's that?"

"If Brian's there, try to keep the PDA to a minimum," he answered, smirking over at her.

Kory only rolled her eyes. "Just drive," she said, shaking her head. It was quiet for a while. They were at least halfway there before another word was spoken. "Jimmy?"

"Yeah?"

"I think I'm going to go to New York for a while after my exams," she confessed, looking out of her window at the familiar scenery, avoiding his surprised eyes.

He didn't say anything for a moment. He spent a second picking apart what he should say. On one hand, he wanted for Kory to stay in Orange County, it's where she belonged. But on the other hand, if it's not where she wanted to be, who was he to tell her to stay? "If you want. What about Rissa though? She spent a long time convincing your mom to let you stay here," he replied.

"We already talked. She's coming with me for the first week. My dad will be the problem. But, I just wanted you to know. I've still got eleven days before my flight," she said, pushing her hair behind her ear. "I think I'll tell Brian later tonight."

"You haven't yet?" Jimmy asked, unsure about whether he wanted to know how Brian was going to react or not.

She only shrugged. "Oh well," she said, as if it was the simplest thing in the world. It wasn't going to be, though. Moving would be hell for her, but it was only for a while. She'd come back. She promised herself that.

It seemed that they were at Johnny's sooner than Kory thought they'd be. But, she wasn't exactly complaining. They finally found both Matt and Marrissa, and Zacky was a pleasant surprise. They started off with a few shots, but after ten o'clock, Kory had lost count of how many she had actually consumed.

When she awoke the next morning, she had no clue where she was at first. And then she eventually recognized the familiar living room, her mind relaxing a bit.

"Morning sleeping beauty," Marrissa greeted, walking into the living room, with a glass of water in one hand, and Advil in the other.

Kory rubbed at her eyes tiredly, and groaned. "Thanks," she said, quickly swallowing the pill and closing her eyes again.

"Brian called this morning," Marrissa informed her, giving her a small, apologetic smile. "Just stay at his place tonight, you can tell him then. He doesn't have any reason to be upset with you, it's what you want."

Kory found it odd that, only a few days ago, she wouldn't have even thought about leaving California. Now, she couldn't wait to leave. There were, of coarse, reasons why she wanted to stay. She wanted to be close to the band, her dad, and Brian especially. But she wanted so badly to start her career, and she didn't want to do it here. She didn't know why, but she just, didn't. She groaned, and held her hand out.

Marrissa placed her cell phone in Kory's outstretched hand, and sighed. "Matt knows. I told him this morning, he thinks you should tell him too," she said, before walking back into the kitchen to give her some privacy.

She was surprised at first, to notice that it was already 2PM, but she shrugged it off and punched in Brian's number, placing the phone against her ear and biting her lip nervously.

He finally picked up after the second ring. "Hey," he greeted, somewhat concerned. Kory never talked over the phone, she always preferred to text unless either time was limited, or it was important.

"Hey. I have a study session with Riss in a few hours, but when we're finished, can I come over?" She tried her hardest for her voice to sound like she was completely calm and collected.

"Yeah, what's wrong?" Brian asked, more concerned than before. Everything about the entire situation was just odd, something was obviously wrong.

Kory cleared her throat. "Nothing, I just woke up. I'll talk to you later, okay?"

Brian, deciding against pushing the matter further, said "Alright, later then," and waited for her to hang up.

Once she had, Kory sighed and stood up. "I need a shower," she said, pushing her tangled hair out of her face.

Marrissa nodded. "We can head back to the dorm, you can shower and do whatever, and we'll study. Sound like a plan?"

Kory mumbled a incomprehensible response, and pulled her jacket on. "Let's go."