Flames in Our Veins

"Hey Ash, did you have a drink already?" The blonde had moved her hand from John's back pocket to have her arm wrap around him from behind. John remained still and quiet as he looked at Ashley and then back down at Reagan. When the blonde casually asked her best friend about having a drink, the brunette nodded and smiled back at the girl whom she trusted with everything. Honestly, it made John sick.

"Yeah, but I'll be needing another in a few. I really need to talk to you, Rae."

John looked down to see the blonde's eyebrow raise as she looked over at Ashley. "Is it like major?"

Ashley nodded and then tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

He tried his hardest to hold himself back, but he needed to do something. Anything. John looked back at Jared and Kennedy and all they gave him in return were serious looks. He knew, if he were able to read minds, the two of them were telling him to take Ashley away and tell her everything. Giving them a nod, John removed his arm from Reagan's shoulders and walked across the group to pull Ashley into a hug before leading them away from their friends. "Ash, come on. Let's go get some drinks."

" - John, I was going to tell Reagan about what happened. What the hell are you doing?" The brunette questioned as she pulled her arm from John's grasp.

The two were now standing right in front of the French doors that led to the back patio where others remained around a huge bonfire, drinks in hand and laughter filling the air. John looked back at Reagan, who was giving him a strange look. He smirked back at her before leading Ashley outside.

"Sorry, I just wanted to get a drink and you said you wanted one, so I thought..."

"Whatever. Can you get me a beer?" The brunette asked and John nodded. "Sure thing, darlin'. I'll be right back."

John made his way towards the tubs filled with cans of beer but decided to pass and go straight to the keg where he filled two red cups up with the more expensive beer Reagan had bought for the party. He saw Tim, Halvo, and Peter and gave them curt nods as he made his way back to Ashley who now had the most confused look on her face. John raised a brow as he handed her her red cup. "What's with that look?"

Ashley shook her head and took the cup in her hands. "I... I could have sworn I just saw Ryan walk by..."

John squinted both of his eyes and let out a laugh. "You think Reagan would invite him?"

He watched Ashley shrug her shoulders before she took a small sip of beer, her nose scrunching slightly at the bitter taste. "She wouldn't, would she? I mean they weren't close, but she invites everyone. Shit. Maybe she would uninvited him if I told her the news beforehand."

"Ash, I don't think he's here."

"You don't even know what he looks like," the brunette retorted.

John grinned and lightly bumped his side against hers. "He looks like a fucking asshole, I know that."



An hour had gone by and John was now chilling on the couch with Reagan and he was trying his hardest to not call her out on what she had done behind her "best friend's" back. He faked everything from his smile, his laugh, the way he held her hand tight. He looked in her eyes and saw the glimmer that captivated him from the very beginning. God, he thought she was the most beautiful thing that ever walked the planet. The guys all knew she was his muse; the one that inspired him to write the songs that their fans liked to sing at the top of their lungs. Reagan was a fun spirit that was liked by everyone, and he knew she was a great best friend, but now, he couldn't wait to confront her about everything. Part of him still couldn't wait to have her all to himself.

No, John, he told himself. Don't fucking do it.

"I've missed you, John," she told him as she leaned into his side.

Taking a small sip from his red cup, he looked over at the blonde and smiled softly. "I've missed you too. Where were you yesterday at Max's party? It was crazy."

He watched her shrug her shoulders. "Trust me, I wanted to go, but I was just caught up with some friends of mine."

She spent time with Ryan last night, he assumed.

"Wish you had been there..."

"Oh I heard what happened to you though," Reagan said with a devilish grin on her face. John raised a brow towards the blonde and waited for her to continue.

"I heard about you and Ash... You two were dancing pretty dirty, huh?"

John chuckled softly. "It was nothing."

"Well you two were grinding against each other like it was your job! Damn." Reagan lifted her legs up onto the couch and tucked them underneath her. She ran a hand through her short hair before turning her torso to face John. "You two are best friends, right?" The tall man kept his brow raised in response to her question. Of course. Reagan knew how incredibly close he was to Ashley. She knew their history, how Ashley and John first met, etc. etc.

"Do you think anything could ever happen between the two of you?" The blonde pressed on.

John's lips parted slowly. He hadn't really thought about it. He only saw Ashley as his best friend and nothing more. The way he loved her was far from the intimate kind of love. John showed Reagan a different side to him, but he always showed Ashley the honest, caring side. He couldn't see the two of them becoming anything more.

" - No," he replied, his tone low and raspy.

He watched as Reagan's lips curled into a smile and before he knew it, she was leaning in and the two shared their first kiss of the night. It was just how he remembered. Reagan's kisses were soft, gentle, but also rough. She was a feisty blonde and John had seen the wild side of her when they spent nights together, but he enjoyed the slow kisses that somehow stopped the world from spinning. The last time he had kissed her was before they set off for tour, but now he had her back and there were many more kisses to come.

"Ryan's here? Rae, why didn't you fucking tell me?"

John pulled back when he heard Ash's voice break his concentration. He looked up to see the brunette staring down at Reagan with a look of disappointment and confusion. John placed his cup on the side table beside him and stood up to rub his friend's shoulders. "Ash, are you sure?"

The brunette looked at John and nodded. "I swear to God, John."

Reagan, who stayed sitting on the couch, sighed softly before glancing back up at the brunette. "I'm sorry, Ash..."

Ashley raised a brow. "What?"

John looked straight ahead and saw the douche named Ryan make his way towards the couch. He looked highly intoxicated by the way he waddled his way, and of course, by the way his head turned to look in all directions of the room. John glanced over at Ashley who still had her eyes glued on Reagan.

God damn it.

"Hey Rae, baby," Ryan called out.

John should have told Ashley himself.

Ashley's eyes looked up to see Ryan approach the back of the coach. She knew he was drunk since he didn't even notice the brunette standing right there, but she remained still as he watched the guy lean down to turn the blonde's head to face his. "I've been missing you..."

Before Reagan or Ashley or John could get a word out, Ryan lifted the blonde's chin up so that their lips met in a heated kiss. The two standing stood there and watched the blonde and the drunk's lips collide together with no intention of parting. John couldn't fucking believe it. He placed his hands on Ashley's shoulders and attempted to get her away from the situation. "Ash..."

"Son of a bitch!" Ashley shouted at the two.

Reagan pulled back and hung her head down while Ryan looked up at met eyes with Ashley, who was now slowly tearing up. "Oh, Ashley, I didn't see you there."

"You broke up with me because you're seeing my best friend?" The brunette's eyes moved from Ryan down to Reagan, who still had her head down. "My best friend?" With emphasis added on to that, the blonde finally looked up to glare at Ashley. "Say it any louder?"

"Gladly," replied Ashley.

The blonde rose onto her feet and stood up, face to face, against her best friend. John took a look around the room and noticed that everyone had their attention turned towards the blonde and brunette. The music had even stopped and he saw his band mates all with wide eyes mouthing 'What the hell?'.

"So you two are seeing each other now? Wow. Typical Reagan. You just can't seem to get your own guys. First, you take John, and he's my best friend. Now you take Ryan away? You know that him and I were seeing each other. You fucking knew because you... you're my best friend?! What the hell do you think you're doing, Reagan?"

The blonde narrowed her eyes towards Ashley and John took a step back.

"You're jealous because you know you will never have anything with John. He told me himself that nothing would ever happen between the two of you. He only sees you as a best friend, and nothing more. So you leaned onto Ryan to find some much needed affection... in ways that you simply couldn't get from John, right? But here's the thing, Ash, Ryan and I have been seeing each other for the past month and you didn't even know. You're so fucking clueless. Looks like you're doomed from ever finding someone." The blonde crossed her arms against her chest and tilted her head slightly, her eyes narrowing intensely.

"I..." Ashley started to say, but choked up on her words. John felt his heart break as he saw a tear roll down his best friend's cheek. The brunette turned to look at him, but there were no words coming from either of them.

With a deep sigh, she finally spoke. "You know what? Take them. They're yours."

And just like that John watched Ashley walk out of the living room, Tessa and Gabi following in suit. Everyone and everything remained incredibly still for a few more seconds before Reagan shouted, "Turn the music on and forget whatever the hell happened here! Now."

John didn't know what the hell to do now. His best friend had walked out without saying anything else except 'Take them. They're yours'. He wasn't exactly sure if she was truly mad at him, but he wanted to leave and follow her. He had promised to spend the entire night by her side, but here he was, standing in the middle of the living room without Ashley. He looked back up to see Reagan walking Ryan to the door and closing it behind him once he left. After that, he watched the blonde slowly make her way up the stairs, leaving the party in full swing while she decided to part from it.

"That was some crazy shit," Garrett said, causing John to shake his head and return to face his friends.

"I need to go see Ashley," he said.

Kennedy let out a deep breath. "Don't, man. The girls are with her. Let Ash be with them for a few and then you can go. That scene was just so fucking... ridiculous."

"I don't know if I still want to be here," Pat spoke up. "Reagan's such a bitch."

Jared held the rim up to his lips and let out a chuckle. "You got that right, Pat."



Two hours later, John still remained at the party with everyone else. After numerous attempts at trying to get a hold of Ashley, he only got her voicemail. "Hey this is Ashley. I'm so incredibly far away from my phone right now, so just go ahead and leave a message. I'll try to get back to you. Thank you!" His lips curved slightly at the sound of her voice. Ashley was the kind of girl who spoke with such an adorable tone; he wouldn't mind having her voice narrate his entire life.

After taking another sip of the cheap beer, he tried calling the other girls, but only got a hold of Tessa.

"John, we're taking care of her right now. Maybe you can stop by tomorrow morning?"

"Okay, but how is she?" He asked, his words nearly slurring.

Tessa sighed. "She's upset, John. You know how sensitive she is. But Gabi and I are going to stay the night... it's going to be fine. She's just done with everything, especially Reagan."

"Yeah," he replied in a low tone. "Alright. Just... just tell her I love h-her and I-I will see her tomorrow."

"John, are you drunk?"

He scoffed and gripped his hand tight around the cup. "I'm just pissed off at everything right now."

On Tessa's end of the line, John heard voices murmuring in the background. They were most likely Gabi and Ashley talking; John so badly wanted to talk to his best friend himself, but he understood her need to be with the girls for now.

He ended the call with Tessa after she informed him of the girls' plans for the rest of the evening, which was going to consist of making their own margaritas while watching crappy chick dramas on Netflix.

As John was leaning against the wall, his eyes scanning the entire room, he tried his best to remember Ryan's face. He was already good at memorizing people by their faces, but the two hadn't even spoken to each other which was going to make it a little more difficult. However, John did his best to get the guy's face imprinted in his mind for future reference. He still needed to kick the guy's ass for what he did to Ashley.

"How you holding up, John-Oh?"

To his left, he saw Peter and Eric making their way towards him with an extra cup in their hands. John eyed the cups and reached out for them because he already knew. Downing them with ease, he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and shook his head. "I want to get the hell out of here. I want to go see Ash, but she doesn't want to see me."

"Let her cool off," they said after a while.

"Yeah, everyone keeps fucking saying that," John retorted as he swung his arm out towards them. "I need to stay away from her for a while because I was part of this shitty situation. Reagan's a bitch for doing what she did, but I still like her! Why... why do I still like her?" John's heart was beating faster and faster the louder he spoke. His words were also continue to slur more and more, and the guys were starting to notice. "I just want to see my best friend, but I still want to go upstairs and see Reagan! Fuck... Guys, I don't know what the hell to do right now."

Eric and Peter said nothing afterwards. Holding onto their cups, they looked at their friend and shrugged. "John..." Eric began. "Don't do anything stupid, but you should confront Reagan. Tell her shit because she deserves it."

John licked his lips and pushed himself off the wall. "Want to hear something funny?" Again, his words slurred together. "I knew that Reagan and Ryan were hooking up... I went upstairs and I heard them..."

"You knew?" Peter asked, his eyes widening as he took a step towards John.

Nodding, he replied, "I knew."

"And you didn't tell Ashley?"

"I had to protect her!" John exclaimed. "I was going to kick Ryan's ass and then tell Ashley."

Eric shook his head and then called over the rest of the guys. Once they all arrived, they surrounded the intoxicated John-Ohh and waited for words to be said. "Did you guys know that John knew about Ryan and Rae? And he didn't tell Ashley..."

"Fuck! If you guys are just going to talk more shit, then I'm going to go upstairs and do the same but to Reagan's face." And with that, he shoved his way through the guys and weaved his way through the crowded room. The music still blared throughout the entire house, which was good, John thought. He made it to the foyer and then up the stairs, making his way towards Reagan's bedroom door. As he stood in front of it, he looked down and took a deep breath. His heart continued to beat rapidly while his eyes felt heavy as he looked back up at the dainty little 'R'.

John pushed his way inside of the room and saw Reagan laying on her bed with a bottle of Vodka hanging casually by her side. He shut the door behind him and glared down at the blonde, her eyes fixated on one spot on her ceiling. He cleared his throat and waddled towards the foot of Reagan's bed, his own eyes focusing on her. "Rae..."

The blonde held the bottle by the neck and swirled it around. With her eyes still on the ceiling, she replied after a while. "What do you want?"

He took a seat and ran his hands lazily through his hair. He wasn't even sure what he was going to say to her, but he knew he had to say something. How could the girl he was head over heels for be such a shitty best friend to his best friend?

"How could you do that to Ashley?"

"Because I'm a shitty person, John." She replied, her voice nearly monotone.

He shook his head and reached for the bottle. "You are. Good thing you admitted to it." With that, he lifted the bottle up to his lips and took a swig of the hard liquor, his eyes squinting and his lips pursing as he felt the sting go down his throat. It hurt, but in the best way possible.

"You're an ass," Reagan said as she propped herself up on her elbows, her eyes narrowing across the bed towards John. Taking another slow sip, he let the rim of the bottle linger against his lips as his eyes stayed fixated on the blonde. He was able to see the red veins becoming visible around her pupils, her lids becoming heavy just like his and in that moment, he was tired. John took one last sip before handing it to the blonde and she took it upon herself to finish the rest and seconds later, an empty Vodka bottle was in between them.

"I'm sorry, John," the blonde whispered.

He looked down at his hand that was pressed into the comforter and he began to slowly shift himself onto the bed, his legs swinging over so they extended over. "Just..." he said while his eyes looked back up at her, and the two stared at each other for a great while. "Just apologize to Ashley..."

Maybe it was the fact his mind was all caught up in the situation he didn't even notice the way Reagan shifted on her bed so that she was laying down, her head rested against her pillows, and her eyes staring John down intensely. The tall man slowly found himself moving towards the blonde, his body scooting all the way towards the opposite end of the bed where Reagan's head was. His hand had found their way onto her body, his fingers trailing up her leg, stomach, and arm until they reached the side of her face.

She was mesmerizing, and he was under spell.

The blonde reached out and placed her palms on either side of John's face, her own delicate finger tips grazing his stubbly skin. He parted his lips and leaned down slowly, his eyes focused on her irises as if he were being hypnotized by her.

"Forget about Ashley..." Reagan whispered. "Just forget about her... For tonight."

He felt her hands pull him down onto her, his chest barely hovering over hers. His lips crashed against Reagan's in a heated kiss, and he remembered that this was what he had wanted since he arrived back in town. John shut his eyes slowly and found himself kissing her over and over again while he moved his entire body to hover over Reagan's. The blonde's lips trailed down the side of his neck until she pressed against that spot that John loved so much. He let out a low groan as he felt her lips suckle his skin.

"God damn it, Rae," he hissed.

"Shh..." the blonde mumbled against his ear. John's eyes opened lazily and he saw Ashley. Whatever the hell was happening, it needed to end now, but he simply couldn't stop. He needed Reagan.

The blonde pushed herself up so that she was now sitting up, but her lips remained attached to his ear lobe. "You and me, John... Tonight it's you and me."

Before he knew it, their lips met, their hands interlaced, and their bodies pressed up against each other. The music from downstairs seemed to drown everything and everyone else which was exactly what both of them needed. John had craved every inch of the blonde from the moment he first laid eyes on her, and time after time, Reagan admitted she wanted the same. The fact she was no longer virgin lingered in his mind as he nipped at her skin, but he pushed those thoughts away as his hands forcefully ripped the front of her dress straight down the middle. Their kisses became rough every time an article of clothing was tossed away. Their breathing became heavier and heavier, and the look in their eyes was pure lust. They tossed around in bed for a while before finally making it official; John had made his way inside and then everything else around him went dark.

Ashley

But he had finally got what he wanted for so long: Reagan.