Blood

"Two Advil and a coffee for the babest of the babes," Brian sat on the bed next to Kory, still in nothing but boxers, and handed her what she had asked for, "Still aching?"

Kory only made a sound of anguish in return. She placed the coffee on the bedside table, and extended her arms out blindly, wanting nothing mroe than to just cuddle and sleep for a few hours.

Brian did as she wished, and laid next to her. He wrapped his long arms aroung her waist and pulled her tightly into his chest. "Anything you wanna do toda-?" He was qucikly cut short, because Kory reached up and ran a hand down his face.

"No, shh, just, shh," she muttered, a lighthearted smile on her lips.

He only laughed, but decided to let her have her way. He figured he'd let her sleep off her hangover, and they could go out later. It was nice, just having her so close. He didn't want to think about having to leave her again in just a day and a half. He didn't like the thought of ever having to let her go again. But he knew that he had to, eventually. And he didn't like to think about these things, but the thoughts plagued him.

Brian's inner tirade was rudely interupted when the door suddenly opened and Jimmy plopped down on the bed. "Good morning hungover best friends, what're we doing today?" He asked, leaning on his elbows and staring up at the two of them.

Kory groaned in response. "You're too loud. Let me sleep for a while longer and we'll -- we'll go to a strip club or something," she negotiated, her eyes still closed. Just one more hour, that's all she asked.

"I told him to wait a while longer to wake you guys up, but if we can go to a strip club then count me in," Zacky interjected, leaning against the wall with a coffee in his hand.

Jimmy laughed. "Alright, you've got two hours, including time to shower and shit. So," he glanced at the clock on the side table quickly, "I belive you have until exactly 3:49 PM to take me to a strip club."

"Okay, okay, just let me sleep," Kory said, laughing and pushing Jimmy out of the bed.

Both Jimmy and Zacky left the room then, leaving Kory and Brian alone for a while longer.

"Are we seriously going to a strip club?" Brian asked, doubt filling every gap in his words.

Kory shrugged. "Yeah, I suppose so." She closed her eyes and cuddled closer to him. "Actually, correction: they're going to a strip club. We can figure out something to do with Rissa and Matt. Unless you wanna go with them, I mean, I'm not gonna object to it or anything," she said, shrugging. She really didn't have a problem with Brian going to a strip club. She trusted him. And she knew Zacky and Jimmy well enough to know that they wouldn't let him do anything stupid. She obviously didn't like the idea but she wasn't going to put boundries on him. Besides, it could be fun for her, too.

"You're serious?"

She nodded. "Go ahead if you want to. That's like putting shirtless Jon Snow in front of me and expecting me not to look just because I'm with you," she said, laughing.

Brian scoffed. "Jon Snow's better looking than I am?" He asked, playfully.

Kory shook her head. "I didn't mean it like that! You and Jon both have a very special place in my heart," she teased, giggling.

"What? Jon Snow isn't even real! He's a fiction character, therefore I should be the only one filling that space," he countered.

"And? He's a fictional character portrayed by a hot as fuck actor," she reasoned, laughing when he stuck out his bottom lip. "I didn't say that you weren't hot as fuck, don't pout, even if it is adorable."

He laughed. "So, I'm adorable and hot as fuck. What more could one ask for?"

Kory shook her head. "It's good that you got me that coffee," she muttered, trailing kisses from his collar bone and up his neck.

"And why's that?"

"Because I'll need the energy," she answered him, giggling softly when he grabbed both of her wrists, pushing her onto her back and hovering over her.

He chuckled darkly. "Eager, are we?" He placed a gentle kiss on her lips, her hands still held abover her head, and began leaving marks on her neck as he bit several places all of the way to her collarbones.

She couldn't stop the cheshire grin that spread across her face. His long, slender fingers wrapped themselves instinctively around her throat, but he didn't choke her. Instead, he kissed her gently and nuzzled her cheek.

At first, it was odd. Kory wasn't used to things being sweet, she didn't like it that way. She wanted to be consumed in every way posisble and she wanted to be put in her place, she wanted to have welts and bite marks and tenderness the next week just to be reminded that she was his, and he was hers. She wasn't used to him being gentle, and she wasn't sure how she felt about it. Even the first time they had slept together, he hadn't gone easy on her. She didn't want him to. "What's wrong?" She asked, trying her best to sound confident, like she wasn't afraid that she had done something that displeased him. But, as expected, the first thing that came to mind was that she had upset him somehow. That was the very last thing she wanted to do.

He only shook his head. "Nothing. You're just, you're perfect," he mumbled, placing featherlight kisses on her chest.

She shook her head, but couldn't help but turn scarlet. It wasn't weird for Brian to give her compliments, but the context made her crumble to pieces.

He was taken aback when she placed both hands on either side of his face, pulling his lips to hers and kissing him passionately.

Kory pulled her tank top off, letting it fall to the floor. She kissed him again, harder this time, and the way he kissed back made her chest hurt in the most pleasurable way. "Love me. Just love me," she breathed against his neck, each word slightly more needy than the last.

She wouldn't lie, it was weird to be this way, to have every touch be soft and gentle, but she also couldn't deny that she wanted it this way, maybe even more than having things dark and rough. It most likely wouldn't be this way in the future, but the future didn't matter. All that mattered was the way his skin felt against hers.



"You're two minutes late, what's taking so long?" Jimmy questioned, walking straight into the hotel room, sighing loudly when he saw Kory playing on her cell phone.

She pointed to the bathroom. "Your bff is taking forever to do his hair. Go pester him about time, not me," she said, giving Jimmy an apologetic smile. "We'll make sure that you have plenty of time with half naked girls, Jim-Jam, don't worry," she teased, laughing.

Brian walked out of the bathroom then, his hair spiked in different directions. He was in only fitting jeans, his chest bare. "Have you seen my white shirt with the black cross? I wore it for the last Schecter photo shoot," he asked Kory, noticing Jimmy but not saying anything. When he turned around to go through his bag, Jimmy bursted out into laughter and Kory's face turned scarlet.

"I take it not much sleeping got done in the last two hours?" Jimmy asked, still laughing.

Kory stoop up instantly, walking towards Brian. She used one hand to cover the smile on her face, and she used the other to gently trace the scratches down his back that matched the shape of her hands. Brian winced when she touched a particular spot on the side of his ribcage. She wanted to apologize, but it made her feel oddly triumphant. "Ohmygod, I didn't hurt you, did I? Why didn't you say something?!"

He shook his head. "Doesn't hurt, it's fine," he said, laughing at her reaction. "I figured, it's payback for those," he added, moving her hair slightly to reveal several dark marks littered across her chest and back, leaving the ones on her thighs unnanounced.

She wrapped her arms around his waist, and kissed his back lightly, not wanting to make it worse than it already was.

"Enough, enough. You can be all cutesy when you're alone. We've got somewhere to be!" Jimmy interupted, grabbing the back of Kory's shirt and pulling her away from Brian. He linked arms with her, and began leading her out into the hallway. "I expect to see you in less than two minutes, or else I'll force your princess to kiss a frog, and by frog I mean Zacky, so you better hurry your ass up," Jimmy threatened Brian, making Kory laugh.

They met Marrissa and Matt at the end of the hallway, both waiting for the elevator.

"So, what're Syn's terms for the strip club?" Matt asked, repeatedly hitting the elevator button in a childish attempt to get the doors to open faster.

Kory shrugged. "If he fucks up, I'll have a few people to kick his ass. His choice," she said, laughing softly.

"He might be my best friend, but I'd kick his ass into next week if he did anything stupid," Jimmy said, smiling innocently at Kory.

She laughed. "Aw, how sweet. I told him that he could go if he wanted to, so it's up to him whether he goes or not," she mumbled, shrugging.

"What're you three going to do then? Or, four, depending on what Brian chooses," Zacky began, "Are you guys gonna go get a drink or something?"

Marrissa spoke up then. "I was gonna say that we head to the mall, check out the shops, just hang out for a while," she said, shrugging.

Matt nodded. "Sounds good. We could get dinner afterwards, too."

The elevator doors opened then, and two unfamiliar people walked out before the five of them walked in. Marrissa and Kory exchanged glances, and burst out laughing.

"What's funny? I feel so out of the loop," Zacky asked, raising an eyebrow at the two of them.

They both shook their heads. "Something about elevators," they said in unison, sharing one last humorous glance before the doors opened again.

All five walked out in time to see Brian jump down the last three steps.

"Ahead of schedule?" Kory asked, her lips turning up in a small smile.

Jimmy didn't give him time to respond. "So, are you coming with me, Zacky, and Johnny or staying with these losers?" He teased, laughing when Kory elbowed him in the side.

"Not to puncture your ego or anything, but these losers are probably getting laid more often than you," Marrissa shot back, her sudden confidence-filled statement throwing everyone off momentarily.

Kory laughed, covering her mouth to stifle her giggles. "She's right, you know. When was the last time you got fucked, by someone other than yourself?"

Everyone laughed as Jimmy, Kory, and Marrissa got into a friendly argument. Brian had decided against going to the strip club, so Jimmy, Zacky, and Johnny seperated from the rest of them eventually. The two happy couples walked around several shops at the local mall, but got seperated roughly half an hour into browsing.

Kory spoke up when she and Brian were walking the corridor, trying to find someplace else to look around. "Why didn't you go with Jimmy?" She asked, her voice quieter than it had been before she brought it up.

Brian shrugged, and gripped her hand tighter. "I didn't want to. Besides," he chuckled softly, "I've already got my own stripper."

Kory giggled, her cheeks turning a shade of red. "I feel bad about what I did, to your back, I mean," she apologized, glancing up at the slowly fading red marks that were just barely visible on his shoulders.

He shook his head. "Don't be, it's hot," he said, leaning down to plass a quick, promiscuous kiss on her lips.

Shaking her head, she pulled her hand from his and jumped up onto his back, kissing his cheek gently. She swung her feet delicately by his sides, noticing how much smaller she was compared to him. In essence, she and Brian were pretty much the perfect two. He was bigger, and somewhat more protective over Kory than she was him. He had godly good looks, and she supposed that she was okay looking. They were celebrity-couple material. They were perfect on the outside. The inside was a different story, though. Well, it had been. Things worked out pretty well as of now, but who's to say things won't happen in just a few months' time? Kory hoped that it would remain this way forever, but she knew better than that.

He interupted her inner babble, looking up and giving her a questioning look. "You okay?"

She nodded, giving him a small smile. She was hit with a sudden wave of emotion. She was so lucky that he had been patient with her, otherwise she'd be back at the studio right now, probably pretending that she was fine but being really fucked up over losing him. Thank whatever god that may exist that she was here instead. "Yeah, I'm fine. More than fine, actually."

"What does that mean?"

"Nothing, just, I dunno. I love you." Kory wrapped her arms tighter around him, nuzzling his cheek.

Brian was going to question her further, but he was taken aback when she squealed softly. She grabbed something from her back pocket, but when she held it in front of the both of them was when he realized that it was her phone. He watched her go through her contacts, hitting Marrissa's number, and carefully holding it against her ear so she didn't fall.

"Issy! They have a BAM here! Where are you guys? No, we're not much further. It won't even take you a minute to get here...yeah...you'll pass Victoria's Seret and FYE...okay...yeah...hurry up!" She hung up the phone, and began explaining what was going on to Brian, laughing at his confused expression. "When Mason took Rissa and I to Cedar Point when we were younger, we found this store called Books-A-Million and every year that we went back, we'd always get our souvinere from here instead of Cedar Point. It was our favorite place. But there aren't any on the west coast, unfortunately," she said, a grin on her face.

Brian laughed at her enthusiasm. "I take it they're heading this way, then?"

Kory nodded. "Yeah. They have Game of Thrones and Harry Potter stuff here, so prepare for a lot of excitment from us," she said, giggling.

"That's okay, you're adorable when your excited," he said, kissing her sweetly.

Marrissa ran up behind them, grabbing Kory's hand and tugging her so she nearly fell on the floor. Once the two stopped laughing, Kory looked at both Matt and Brian, who were looking at the two girls questioningly. "Give us an hour to be nerds, and then we'll go eat at a steak house or something that manly men like, sound good?"

Matt laughed. "Alright, go on and be nerds. And, while you do that, I'm going to get nerds from the candy shop we passed while literally running here," he said, giving Marrissa a sweet and short kiss. "I'll see you in a little bit."

Marrissa nodded, her cheeks a light shade of red. "Okay, call if you need anything."

Kory's heart swelled at the sight of them. They were so adorable together. They fit like puzzle pieces. As cliche as that sounds, it was true. She had never been more happy to be a part of a wedding before in her entire life. She couldn't wait to finally watch everything unfold. Kory wrapped her arms tightly around Brian,her head on his chest and a grin on her face. "Our best friends are the cutest," she said, laughing.

Marrissa shook her head, and grabbed Kory's arm. "C'mon, we have nerdy tendencies to attend to."