Bluff

Grumbling angrily to herself, Kory shook her head as she removed the tattered strings from Brian's guitar. She was sitting on the floor, leaning against the sofa in the studio. Mason and the guys had gone out for dinner, despite the fact that it was now ten o'clock, to celebrate the now fully recorded Almost Easy. Brian had stayed behind, though, claiming that he didn't feel very well and must've caught what Kory had had. He then went on to ask Kory to stay behind in order for her to restring his guitar.

"You're quite hostile, y'know. You should get some of that anger out. Tell me how ya feel," Brian said, taking a sip of his beer. He grinned brightly when Kory glared at him.

She shook her head, before sighing. "Fine. You. You're my god damn problem and you know what? I can't do shit about it. I've gotten way too close to the rest of the guys and I can't cause conflict without everyone being upset. So I have to sit here, starving to death, stringing your guitars because you're a self centered douche bag. Is that what you wanted to hear?" Kory looked up at him with a sweet smile on her pink lips.

Brian shrugged. "I wasn't sure what I was expecting, honestly. But that's good enough. What else?" It was clear that's not the only thing she was angry about. And, even if he had began this conversation to annoy Kory, she needed to let things out and if he could help, he would.

"My mom's also my problem. Do you know she cheated on my dad when I was nine? She had good morals and was drunk but intoxication isn't an excuse for anything. I haven't seen her in a good three years and all of a sudden she comes to my dorm, in my town, and asks if I want to move in with her. Who does that? I didn't want to live with the bitch when I was nine, and I sure as hell don't want to now. Besides, that would mean leaving Marrissa and moving to New York where I know no one. And you know what else?"

"Tell me," Brian said, a small smile on his face.

Kory scoffed. "I've been eating frozen five-minute dinners for the past three weeks and I had one chance to actually eat a decent meal and you blew it for me. Thank you very much," she spat, still glaring. She was having a really hard time getting her anger to boil back down into her stomach.

Just then, Kory's cell phone vibrated and she pushed the guitar off of her lap to reach for it. Five Finger Death Punche's Death Before Dishonor played then, and the name Melody flashed across the screen. Kory stood up quickly, pressing the phone to her ear. "Mel? Mel, can you hear me?" A look of panic crossed her face, followed by disappointment and frustration. "Melody! I can't hear you, are you okay?"

The line went dead, and Kory frantically began calling the number back, cursing under her breath.

"What's wrong?" Brian asked, concerned. He had never seen Kory this vulnerable before, and it kind of made him nervous. Clearly, something was happening to this "Melody" girl and Kory needed to know what.

Kory sighed a few moments later, and placed her phone back on the sofa. "That's my sister. Mel's in recruit training for the Marines. I've only talked to her once in the past seven weeks," she said, running her hands through her hair and taking her black-framed glasses off, placing them next to her phone.

Unsure of how to respond, Brian stood idly behind Kory. He couldn't imagine going through something like that. He felt pity for the girl, really. "Maybe she'll call back," he said, his voice soft and hesitant.

Shrugging, Kory sat down onto the floor heavily. "Kill me," she mumbled, almost angrily. She began to string the guitars again, but Brian pulled it from her hands. "What're you doing?"

He ignored her question, and outstretched his hand. "Come on, I'll take you to dinner. You can have whatever you want, no frozen five-minute dinners," he said, a small and sympathetic smile on his face. And, for the first time since Michelle had left, it was genuine.

Despite how amazing that sounded, Kory scoffed. "I'm not a damsel in distress. I can take care of myself," she said, putting the guitar back on her lap. "Besides, if you're not gonna string it, someone has to."

"Well, I'll get up early and meet you here tomorrow, come on." Brian wondered if this offer was hopeless; he knew Kory was stubborn but she had always been more so towards Brian.

Kory sighed, before giving in. Her entire body craved chicken strips. She took Brian's hand, and turned off all of the lights before locking up the studio and walking out into the cold. "Can we drive my car?" She asked, hopeful.

Brian nodded, in fear that she would break with even the slightest disappointment. She seemed so broken already, and he didn't want to add to that factor. "Sure."

The two then walked across the parking lot, stopping at the orange 2004 Lamborghini Gallardo . She tiredly unlocked the doors, climbing inside.

"This is yours?" Brian asked, chuckling softly. He hadn't expected Kory to ever be into cars like this one. It just didn't seem like her at all. But, then again, she had surprised him before.

Shaking her head, a small smile found it's place on her lips. "Not what you expected from me?" Kory laughed at the look on his face. "I wasn't into it at first, honestly. I would have preferred something a lot less flashy, but when my mom bought it for me I took it to my advantage. I refused to drive it until last year, though." She shrugged simply.

The two talked nonchalantly until they had finally arrived at Denny's. They didn't have to wait very long at all for a table, seeing as it was just past one in the morning. Once they had sat down and ordered their drinks, Kory decided that it was now or never to get a few things off of her chest.

"Look, I'm sorry for being such a bitch all of the time. I know it makes things harder for you in the studio than it needs to be," she apologized, sighing and taking a small sip of her Coke.

Brian shook his head. "You're not a bitch. You're stubborn, really stubborn, and that's annoying sometimes. But it doesn't make you a bitch. Besides, I antagonize you so don't worry about it," he said, winking at her playfully.

She sighed. "What did I do? I mean, I get that I'm not the most pleasant to be around all of the time but you're always...pushing me. Why?" Kory was genuinely curious. She hadn't ever had anything like this happen to her before, and she was honestly wondering how it worked; why he did the things he did, why he pushed on and on and on.

He thought for a moment, unable to answer the question as soon as it was asked. "Well, do you want the truth, or do you want what I would say if you'd asked this question in front of anyone else?"

"The truth," Kory said quickly. That's all anyone ever wanted from the people close to them, right? The truth meant a lot.

"I do it because," Brian then realized what he'd be doing if he actually told her the truth, and stopped himself quickly, "I think it's amusing when you're angry." His subconscious mind wanted to hit himself in the face for that lie, but what was he supposed to say? 'Oh, the reason get under your skin is because I think it's cute when you're angry. Did I mention that you're one of the most attractive, sweet, and perfect girls' I've ever met?' That'd be a conversation to have. He could almost feel the anger radiating from Kory.

She remained calm, and her voice came out normally. "Fair enough. Why did you do this, then? Clearly you care a little bit, because otherwise you wouldn't take me out to dinner," she questioned.

Shrugging, Brian answered that question honestly. "Because I do."

Kory was taken aback by that answer. She had expected him to have said it was because he felt bad for her. Maybe that's what the situation was, he just didn't want to push her any further for once. But, still, it didn't seem like him. "Really?"

He nodded. "Yeah, I do." Brian wondered if he had come of as that harsh since the beginning. He hoped not, but knew better than what he told himself.

The waitress came back then, taking Kory's order. Brian hadn't wanted anything, and just watched Kory as she waited impatiently for her food. He was examining every part of her that his eyes would allow without getting too personal, and that's when he noticed the corner of a white bandage peeking out from her t-shirt. "What'd you do?" Brian asked, reaching across the table and lifting up the sleeve.

Kory's face turned a shade of red. "Well, Jimmy stopped by my dorm last night, and took me to use a free tattoo coupon before it expired. I was gonna' wait until it was fully healed to show you guys, but...," she trailed off, a small smirk on her face. She gently pulled the surgical tape off of her skin, before peeling away the plastic, revealing the black Deathbat on her shoulder.

"You're insane," he said, shaking his head. He examined the tattoo carefully, grinning from ear to ear.

"I think it's pretty badass," Kory said, "I spent ten minutes deciding if I wanted to do it like this, or if I wanted to throw in some color. But I really like it this way." She carefully placed the bandage back on her shoulder, smiling.

Of all things that could have connected the two, Kory was happy that it had turned out to be this.