Flames in Our Veins

The story with Reagan started back when John and Ashley began their first year at ASU. The blonde was Ashley's roommate and John met her when he dropped by to ask if Ashley wanted to go get dinner. At first glance, he was instantly smitten. He saw the way her golden blonde hair cascaded down her back in the kind of waves that Ashley just couldn't perfect. He noticed her skin, her smile, and her eyes. He thought maybe getting to know her was a bad idea, but Ashley had already introduced them. The tall guy just couldn't take his eyes off of her eye, and he was certain Ashley had caught on the way he gawked at her new roommate. Before he made it too obvious, he broke his gaze and swore to himself he was going to do whatever he needed to do to see or talk to Reagan.

Before he dropped out of ASU with Halvo, he had grown incredibly close to Reagan. It was crazy, but he just was a guy in college looking for girls to chase after and Reagan had become one of those girls. Since then, their relationship had blossomed into whatever the hell it was now. They considered themselves friends with benefits sort of. But to everyone's surprise, they were still in shock John hadn't lost his virginity to her yet, and he was already twenty-one.

John already knew he wanted to lose it to Reagan. He remembered their conversations they would have late at night talking about the most random things, having sex for the first time and losing their virginities to each other being a few of them.

So the two were close. Extremely close.

Nowadays, he wasn't 100% sure if it bothered Ashley, knowing that the two girls were best friends, sorority sisters, and roommates since the beginning of college. He never recalled a time when she approached him about Reagan, so he only assumed she was okay with how he acted out with the blonde.

"I'm only being a best friend and looking after you... and Reagan too, John."

"I know, I know. But I swear to you, Ash... Nothing has really happened between her and I. We've only spooned a few times and made out... It's nothing huge."

"Okay. Well don't hurt her, John. If you hurt her, you lose her... and you lose me too."

"Ashley, you and I have been best friends since we were 6."

"I'm serious. Promise not to hurt her?"

"Fine, Ash. I promise."



Once the car was parked near the curb, John glanced over at Ashley, who was now facing forward. He noticed the wideness of her eyes and how blank they looked as she stared out the front window. She seemed broken and for the first time, he had no idea what to say.

John reached out for Ashley's hand, causing her to break out of her trance.

"Let's go." He whispered, and she nodded.

Ashley opened the passenger door and saw that John was already holding the door for her. He smiled softly at her and shut the door behind the brunette and the two made their way to the front of the house. Deep down, John knew it would have been best to just skip the party entirely; his best friend had just been dumped and here he was wanting to see the girl who had inspired him to write 'Everything I Ask For'. Inside, he felt selfish, but Ashley had still showed interest in the party. He took a deep breath as he glanced over at her, his lips slowly curving upward into a smile as they reached the front porch.

Before the two entered the home, John turned to face Ashley and he simply stared at her. He noticed her looking at him weirdly, but still that small smile he adored was slowly making its form on her face. Without saying a word, John extended his long arms out and pulled the brunette towards him, wrapping his arms around her shoulders and around her head. Leaning his face into the top of hair, he let out a deep breath before placing a kiss. Ashley, on the other hand, had wrapped her arms tightly around John's torso and sucked in air, doing her best to not let the tears escape her eyes. He knew she didn't want to let go; John didn't want to let go either.

"You're going to be fine, Ash. We're here, and all of your friends are here. It's going to be a good fucking time, alright?" John whispered into her hair.

"I know. I just feel like shit, and I kind of just want to go back home and lay in bed..."

"You told me you wanted to come to the party though."

Ashley sighed and peeled herself from John's chest. "No, I still want to be here. I'm sure my friends will do the job. Rae will want to know what happened."

John smiled down at her and without further ado, he led the both of them into the lavishly decorated and expensive house that belonged to Reagan's parents, but was mainly a house the family had used for large parties. Since Reagan's parents were out of town, the rebellious blonde took the opportunity to throw the biggest party to end the summer and also to welcome back The Maine from a long, tiring summer. The house was all the way across town, near trees and away from the busy streets. It was large; it was definitely one of the most expensive, yet beautifully built houses in town. It was the ideal house to throw the perfect house party.

The pair were immediately greeted in the foyer by some of their friends. John high-fived a few and then pulled others in for hugs while Ashley did the same. He laughed as he playfully shoved his friends against the wall as he led the way into the living room where the music came from.

The music blared throughout the entire house, but John was still able to call out Jared and Kennedy's names when he saw them across the room.

"Take my hand," he told Ash, and he felt her grab on as he weaved the two of them through the crowded living room to meet the guys.

"Hey Ash. Hey John," they said in unison. John gave them both a nod before going up to Tessa and Gabi and giving them hugs. Ashley smiled at Jared and Kennedy and gave them small hugs before inserting herself in between the girlfriends. "Are you okay, Ash?" The two girls asked the brunette as they offered her a red cup. Ashley wrapped her arms around herself and faked a smile towards them before glancing up at John. "Ryan... the guy I was sort of seeing... he fucking dumped me."

"Shit, that sucks. Sorry about that Ash," Kennedy said as he reached out to rub her shoulders soothingly.

John had returned from getting a drink and took a sip as he kept his eyes on Ashley. He knew he had promised to stay by her side the entire night, but part of him wanted to make a few rounds around the house to say hi to friends while trying to look for Reagan without making it seem like a huge deal. He had texted her saying him and Ashley had arrived and he had yet to hear back.

"He's an asshole and you know we're always here for you babe," Gabi said as she wrapped her arms around Ashley's shoulders. The brunette turned to her girl friends and gave them smiles before taking a sip from one of their cups. When he noticed Ashley's change in behavior, especially being surrounded by their friends, he decided to step away from the group. As he lifted the red cup to his lips, he walked around the crowded room and managed to say hey to every single person he knew. It was as if everyone from Tempe, Phoenix, and Flagstaff was in the house. There were people congratulating him on the album, the tour, the success, and he thanked each and every one of them. The Maine were sort of the hometown heroes.

"John! When did you get here, man?" The tall man turned to see Garrett with a water bottle.

He looked down at the bottle and grinned. "Ash and I just arrived like 5 minutes ago. She's in the living room with Jared, Kennedy, and the girls." The bassist nodded and swatted John's back in a friendly manner. "Sweet. Well, Pat texted me and told me Peter, Eric, and Tim are out back."

"Pat's not here?" John asked.

Garrett held his phone up. "I'm about to pick him up. Tim took the car and left Pat at home. He was napping."

John let out a chuckle and took another sip. "Right on. Text me when you two are back and we'll all have drinks. Hey, have you seen Rae?"

"I think she's upstairs."

With that, John watched Garrett walk down the foyer and leave through the front door, leaving him to stare up at the staircase wondering why she hadn't texted him back. He also wondered why she still hadn't come down to mingle around with her guests; this was her party, after all.

Once he finished the last of his cheap beer, he placed the empty red cup on the piece of furniture and made his way up the stairs. The music continued to blare throughout the house, even up the stairs and on the second floor. John walked down the hallway and eyed the many doors he had passed. The door straight across must have been hers, considering there was a dainty little 'R' placed on the outside. He rested his hand against the wall and dragged it lightly as he walked towards the door. He had wanted to see Reagan since the guys and him had returned home from Warped, and he was surprised the blonde didn't show at the party that happened the previous night, but finally, the two were going to reunite.

He slowly approached the door and reached his arm out to grasp the door knob, but before he turned it, he heard noises from the inside. John scrunched his nose and took a step towards the door, pressing his ear against it. "Ryan... hurry the fuck up. I have a party to host." John moved his head back the moment he heard the name. Ryan? Confusion came over him, but he decided to lean back in and listen into whatever the hell was going on inside. "You asked for a quickie and I obliged, now could you hurry your ass up? Come on, babe..."

It couldn't be have been Ashley's Ryan, John wondered.

"You're so damn hot when you're demanding." John heard the guy inside the room.

"Hotter than Ashley?" John's eyes widened.

"Always."

John couldn't believe it. He couldn't fucking believe it. He couldn't even imagine how Ashley would react to this news. Ryan had dumped Ashley for Reagan. And John was sure Ryan knew the two girls were best friends. What a dick move, John thought as he backed away from the door. His fists clenched tightly together as he heard heavy breaths and light moans begin to pick up from inside the room. Shaking his head, he turned his back against the door and headed downstairs.

He found Ashley covering her mouth from laughing too hard with Tessa and Gabi on the sofa while Kennedy and Jared stood around a group of guys they had grown up with. John made his way towards the two and pulled them away from the group.

"Why do I feel you like you have something important to say?" Jared asked with a raised brow.

Kennedy nodded. "You look like you need a drink..."

"Just listen to what I've got to say," John said with a shake of his head and proceeded to tell the guys what he had just heard from the second floor. As soon as he was done, he saw their eyes widen as they pulled back. "What the fuck? Reagan and that douche Ryan? Ashley's Ryan?" they asked. John nodded continuously and ran his hand through his hair. "This is just so fucked up... I need to tell her, right? I got to fucking tell her - "

" - Tell her what?" John quickly turned his head to see the three girls approach them. It was Ashley who asked as she glanced up at her best friend.

John bit down on his bottom lip and looked back at Jared and Kennedy whose eyes were still widened.

"Ash..."

"O'Callaghan!"

When John's last name was called out, the group all turned in unison to see the hostess herself make her way towards them. The tall man stood up a little straighter as he gave the blonde a half smile, his eyes fixating on her body. When the group was finally greeted by the stunning blonde, they waved their hands and smiled, leaving John to wrap one arm around her shoulders. "Reagan..." he said as he felt her hand slip into the back pocket of his jeans. Turning his head slightly, he managed to catch the guy Ryan make his way down the stairs; their eyes met for only a second but John knew he couldn't have that guy going around thinking so highly of himself when his best friend, who was standing in front of him, put up the biggest smile when deep down, he knew she was hurting.

That just wasn't acceptable.