Best of Me

Kat check your email!

This was the text from Val that Kat woke up to the next morning. Frowning, Kat tried to orient herself. Brian was still next to her, his arm resting across her stomach. This brought a smile to Kat’s face. She carefully moved his arm and slid out of bed. The cold air from the A/C hit her and she grabbed a hoodie.

The two minute alert on her phone went off as she shuffled her way downstairs. She plopped herself down on the couch and opened her laptop, quickly logging into her email. Val had sent her a link to some article. She clicked on it and her heart dropped.

The article talked about Brian and Michelle’s breakup and how Brian was now seemingly dating someone else. They mentioned Kat’s name which is to be expected. Avenged Sevenfold’s fanbase knew who she was, they knew about all the girls. The worst part of the article was when they speculated that Kat was pregnant. Of course, they weren’t wrong, but Kat didn’t want the news out yet and certainly not like this.

Below the article was a picture of her and Brian from their beach day. They were holding hands as they walked down to the water. The angle of the photo clearly showed Kat’s bump even though it was tiny.

“What are you brooding over, shorty?” Brian’s voice startled Kat, the laptop almost slid right off her lap. Brian smirked as he walked into the kitchen in search of breakfast. Kat followed him with her laptop, feeling guilty for some reason.

“Bri, I’m really sorry.”

“For what, babe?” Brian questioned and he looked over at her. He knew immediately that something was wrong. “Kat, what’s going on?”

Wordlessly, she placed the laptop down on the counter and turned it so the screen was facing him. Brian stared at the screen, quickly reading the article.

Brian loved his job. He loved playing the guitar and he loved touring with his best friends, but this was one thing that he hated. They had all done a good job of keeping their lives private for the most part, but this had managed to weasel its way out. Sighing, he closed the laptop and wrapped his arms around Kat.

“What are you apologizing for? These things happen.”

“I just feel bad because this never happens, not with you guys. Tour news, new albums, and interviews are the only articles you guys have to deal with. Now people will know that you and Michelle broke up and that I’m pregnant and now people will hate me.” Kat rambled, getting herself wound up.

Brian pulled away from Kat and unlocked his phone. Kat was curious as to why he was on his phone while they were trying to talk about something serious, but her curiosity was short-lived. Brian handed her his phone. A picture of the two of them was displayed and Kat instantly smiled.

Brian had his arm wrapped around Kat’s shoulders, she had her arm wrapped around his waist, and they had beers in hand. They both were smiling brightly at the camera.

“Read the comments.” Brian instructed, watching as Kat pulled up the comments section. “I wish that it didn’t happen like this, but I had no expectations for being able to hide anything. Nobody is going to hate you, babe, I promise you that.”

And Brian was right. There were so many people that commented on that photo, wanting them to be together. Kat sighed lightly and gave Brian his phone back.

“It was just a huge shock, I guess. Like everything else, we’ll make it work.” Kat relented. Brian gently grabbed her face and kissed her before going back to the breakfast situation.

The whole thing was weird for Kat, but it was a good weird. It was going to take a while for her mind to wrap around the fact that she and Brian were now dating. She had her reservations still, but she was happy. How could she not be? Brian was standing in her kitchen making breakfast and kissing her whenever he felt like it.

Brian put eggs and bacon on a plate and set it in front of Kat, handing her a fork. She thanked him and went to dig in, but then the smell hit her nose. Her stomach churned and she bolted before Brian could even ask if she was okay.

Brian felt horrible for her. Every time it seemed like she was getting better, the HG would flare up again. Brian simply scraped the plate into the trash and grabbed a can of Sprite from the fridge.

A few minutes later, Kat re-emerged with a pout and watery eyes. “I’m sorry. You made breakfast and it’s just wasted.”

“Right? How dare you!” Brian joked as he handed her the Sprite. “Sweetheart, you can’t help it. We’ll just find you something else to eat.”

“I think I need to go see my doctor, find out what I can take to get through this.” Kat said softly, her fingers running through her hair.

“Make the appointment and we’ll go, whatever you need. I just want you to feel better.” Brian agreed as he tried to eat his breakfast as quickly as possible. Watching him eat only made Kat hungrier. She reached over to swipe a piece of bacon from his plate, but he lightly swatted her hand.

Brian grinned as he broke off a small piece and extended his hand. “Just a small bite in case it doesn’t sit right.” Instead of Kat taking it out of his hand with her fingers, she leaned forward and snatched it with her teeth. Her lips lightly brushed his thumb and index finger.

It wasn’t meant to be a sexual gesture, but it made Brian give a sharp inhale. “Kat…” he warned. When she realized what he meant, her cheeks turned a subtle shade of pink.

“Sorry.”

Brian playfully rolled his eyes. “Stop apologizing. Trust me, I want to, but our first date was last night. You aren’t just some one-night stand.”

Kat pressed her lips together to fight back a laugh. “Wow, Synyster Gates, the guitar god, is a gentleman. Who knew?”

Brian quickly closed the distance between them, kissing her hard. One of his hands rested on her bare thigh while the other tangled through her hair, tugging gently. His tongue swiped her lip, asking for permission, and she gave it to him with no hesitation. They fought for dominance for a brief moment before he pulled away, his teeth catching her bottom lip.

“How’s that for gentleman?”

Kat couldn’t answer him. Her heart was twisting in the most glorious way and her whole body thrummed with excitement. She’d been in relationships before, but nobody ever kissed her like that. Ever. It was...surreal.

“I’m gonna shower and get ready to go to the studio. Matt and Val want to have another cookout tonight if you wanna go.” Brian extended the invitation to her.

“Yeah, that sounds fun. This one should go better than the last one.”

“I’ll pick you up once I’m done at the studio. Bring extra clothes.”

Before Kat could question why, Brian disappeared upstairs to take his shower. She smiled to herself and practically skipped over to her espresso machine, desperate for some coffee. She couldn’t wait to see Val and the girls tonight so she could talk all this out. Kat was happy and she wanted them to know that she was happy.