Cigarette Burns

By the end of the tour, they'd finally settled into some sort of rhythm. A rhythm that didn't include any flirting or kissing or any of the other things that Shay absolutely ached for even though she was the one that had set the boundaries between them.

She and Corey had stopped talking almost completely if it wasn't about work things, and Corey was distant. She knew it was her fault and she still stood by her original reasons, but she couldn't help but be sad about it. The only time things had any sort of glimmer of how they'd been before were the occasional moment where he'd catch her staring at him like an idiot and he'd grin a crooked little grin and wink.

The bus dropped Shay off at Corey's house when the tour was over. It was where she'd left her car, and she and Corey had to go over some end-of-tour expenses anyway.

As soon as they were closed into the house, Corey turned and looked at her severely.

"This is some bullshit, you know?" he asked, tossing both of their bags down in the foyer.

"What are you talking about?" she asked, and he scoffed like it was he most stupid question anyone had ever asked.

"This whole fuckin' thing. You know what I think? I think you're scared," he said, and she scoffed back at him.

"I'm not fucking scared of you, Taylor," she said, automatically defensive.

"You are. You're scared of how you feel about me. You're fucking terrified," he said, moving closer to her until he had her pinned against the wall. His crystal eyes bore into her and she felt a deep pang of desire in her stomach.

"What, and you're not?" she asked, doing her best to keep her voice level.

"No. I'm not scared of you and I never was. I was ready to figure it out a month ago, but you got fucking scared and bailed on me," he said through gritted teeth, and she was genuinely surprised at how much he seemed to care. She'd honestly thought it had just been some casual thing for him, but as she looked into his eyes in that moment she saw that it looked like he was about to cry.

"Fine. I'm fucking scared, okay? I'm scared of my feelings for you, I'm scared of how quickly I fell for you, I'm scared that you don't really feel the same way about me, I'm scared of the whole fucking thing," she admitted, and Corey smiled, catching her off guard.

"You're... laughing at me?" she asked, wounded.

"No, I'm not laughing at you. You're goddamn adorable," he said, and she was annoyed.

"Fuck off," she told him, and he pushed her closer to the wall, grinding his hips into her just slightly. Her eyes darted up to his and he smiled again.

"I feel the same way about you, stupid. That's why I'm here. That's why I didn't let you leave the tour a month ago. That's why I made up some bullshit end of tour expense thing to get you into the house. I feel the same way about you, and I have for a while. I'm fucking falling in love with you," he said, and she shook her head.

"No you're not," she said, and he rolled his eyes.

"Maybe I'm not. Maybe I'm already in love with you," he corrected himself, his eyes holding level with hers. She shook her head again, tears rising to her eyes. "Why are you crying?" he asked, and she shrugged.

"I'm in love with you too," she admitted, and saying the words out loud for the first time made her feel a few hundred pounds lighter.

"Good," he said, wrapping his arms around her and kissing her tenderly. "I love you, you big ol' pain in the ass," he said, and she laughed into his neck.

"I love you too, you fuckin' prick," she tossed back, and he laughed heartily before burying his face into her neck, making her giggle wildly.