Love on the Brain

“He did what?” Val all but screamed, drawing more attention to herself than she usually did, if possible.

Michelle glared at her twin, hushing her, as Val went to take another drag from her cigarette before tapping the end of it with her index finger.

“I’m sorry,” she mouthed. “But what the freakin’ fuck!” the raven-haired girl let out.

“Did he seriously tell you that he loves you?” Michelle widened her eyes, as Jade nodded, confirming the information she had just told them. “That’s great, Jade! Oh my goodness!”

“Great? Are you fucking mental, Michy? That’s fucking incredible!” Valary exclaimed. “I didn’t even know the guy was capable of saying those words to others than himself,” she admitted. “What the living fuck? You really are turning this guy soft, Jade. Mark my freakin’ words!”

Jade chuckled at how Val reacted. The three girls had been eating lunch outside, as the redheaded girl had announced to her friends that she was caught up in a very sticky situation, and could therefore need a little support from her girls.

“But did you say it back?” Michelle asked, digging deeper, meanwhile Jade started tugging at her bottom lip with her teeth.

“I didn’t,” she confessed. “He got all scared and then practically just stormed out of the room. I was so upset about my parents, and I just assumed that he said it because he wanted me to cheer up,” Jade shrugged.

“Do you really think that though?” Val asked.

Valary had known Brian through a lot of years, and she’d seen him with tons of girls during that time. Some of them had just been a quick fuck, meanwhile others, like Maddie, had been for a longer ride. She knew the guy by heart, and it was nothing he could do that she couldn’t explain in a rational way, which was really impressive, considering what kind of guy he was.

“I don’t know. We haven’t been together for that long,” Jade mumbled, bringing her hair into a ponytail.

“But does it matter? You guys have been through more than most couples,” Michelle argued.

“Yeah, seriously. Way more than what Matt and I went through during our first year,” Val commented. “You guys are one fine ass couple,” she stated.

“That means a lot,” Jade told the dark-haired girl. “But I didn’t say it back to him. What if he thinks I don’t love him?”

“Well, do you?” Michelle asked. “Like, do you love him?”

She had no idea what to say. She hadn’t really thought about it like that. She did care about Brian a lot, because he always supported her and helped her when she needed it. He was a great person, perhaps one of the greatest she had in her life, and she adored him. She was however unsure if she loved him like that. To her, those words meant so much, and she didn’t want to say them without knowing that she meant it genuinely.

“I don’t know,” she let out. “I like him a lot. He’s one of the most important people I have in my life, and I appreciate him way more than I can tell,” Jade expressed.

“But you’re not sure if you love him yet?” Michelle asked, trying to understand were Jade was heading.

“Yeah, I think that’s it. We’ve been so good at taking things slowly, and I don’t wanna rush it,”

“That’s very understandable, and I think Brian will understand that,” Val told her. “Matt was a little pussy when he said to me the first time, and even though I responded right away, I know that we would still be together even I didn’t say it back then,”

“I hope so,” Jade announced.

“We know so,” the blonde girl said, nudging her friend.

***

“What the freakin' hell is wrong with you!" Jimmy shrieked at his friend, not able to hold it back, as Johnny and Jason chuckled at his reaction.

“Okay, calm down a little, Jim,” Matt spoke, looking over at Brian who literally looked like he had just seen a ghost.

“Yeah, it could’ve been worse,” Zack tried.

“How though?” Johnny cocked his eyebrows, waiting for his friend to prove him wrong.

“Well, I mean, he could’ve… uhm,” the guitarist trailed off, realizing that he couldn’t think of anything that was worse than the situation Brian had just presented to them.

“Exactly,” Johnny quipped, grinning. “I rest my case,”

“How did she react though?” Matt Berry asked, as he had thrown himself into a nearby chair, his hand hooked around his ankle.

“Not the way I wanted her to,” Brian confessed, moving his gaze down to his guitar, as he wanted to avoid as much embarrassment as possible.

“What? Did Haner just say the magical words, aside from ‘get on your back', without getting a reaction?” Jimmy commented.

“Fuck off, Jim!” Brian said dryly. “I’m fucking freaking out here! I should never have said it!” he groaned out loud, driving his hands into his hair and pulling it.

“It wasn’t that bad, Gates!” Matt tried to comfort.

“Oh, yeah? How did Val react when you told her that you loved her?” Brian cocked his eyebrows, knowing the answer to this.

“Look, I’m sure she just freaked out a little,” the singer said.

“Yeah, you kinda have that effect on women,” Zack sniggered.

“Guys!” Brian bellowed, genuinely frustrated as his friends kept joking about it.

“Okay, but in all seriousness,” Matt cleared his throat. “I’m very convinced that she’s just upset and fed up with all the shit that went down recently,” he told his friend.

“Yeah, seriously, Gates. The girl is fucking crazy about you,” Johnny agreed with Matt.

“Too bad her parents can’t fucking stand me,” Brian muttered under his breath.

“Have you talked to them about this?” Zack asked, his fingers playing with the strings on his guitar.

“About what? That they think I’m a fucking creep who’s possessing their daughter?”

“No, you idiot. Have you tried to tell them that you have a soft spot for their daughter? That really worked out when Zina’s boyfriend came over and talked to my parents,” he said.

“Seriously?” Jason looked up at the guitarist, who nodded.

“Yeah. They loved him after that,” he shrugged.

“Well, that’s our solution, then!” Jimmy exclaimed from behind his kit. “Just go over to her parents and tell them that you’re in fucking love with their daughter,”

“What the hell, man? I can’t just do that,” Brian said, glancing over at Jimmy as though he had to see if he was kidding or not.

Nope. He was serious. Dead serious.

“Of course you can! If actually get your head out of your ass and tell them that you genuinely like her and won’t just use her for some pussy like all the others chicks you had, then they’ll understand!” the drummer announced.

“Jimmy… has a point,” Matt announced. “Regardless of how much it hurts to admit it,” he added.

“See! I’m fucking brilliant!” the blue-eyed guy said, twirling his drumsticks in his hands. “Your lord and saviour, Jimmy fuckin’ Sullivan!”

“Don’t push it, kid,” Matt said, his hand raised.

“So, should I just go over there and talk to them?” Brian cocked his eyebrows, not quite sure if his friends had understood his issue.

“Yeah, pretty much,” Matt shrugged.

“Okay, so next song? Or do we have to deal with other issues?” Johnny asked.