Yoko

Jason lay on his back, Chiyo curled on his chest. Their fingers were intertwined, their heartbeats synchronized. The television cast a soft glow over the darkened living room. His couch had never felt so comfy.

"I should go." Chiyo murmured softly.
"Don't." Jason replied, tracing slow circles on her cheek with his index finger. She was too good to be true.
"But I should." She said again, eyes serious.
"Why?"
"Because if I stay, I could wind up doing something that we both will regret."

She had to be referring to sex. Had to.

Jason sighed. He'd like to have sex with her. She was gorgeous, and he wanted her. But he knew from experiance, sex after a lunch date and a movie-fest would make them both feel cheap.

And cheap was the last thing he wanted Chiyo to feel like.

"Stay..." He whispered.

She hesitated, muscles tense.

"We don't have to do anything if you don't want to. I just don't think I could stand to be alone tonight...after being with you all day."
"Jason, you know I'll have to go home eventally." She told him, her voice indecisive.
"I know that. I know you've gotta leave...." He paused, staring up at her.

"I just don't think I could handle being alone again."

Chiyo smiled, and lay back down, putting her head on his chest with a small smile on her face.

"I'll stay with you tonight, Jason. And forever and always, if you want me to."
"I want you to."
"Then I will."

And she kissed him, and Jason didn't think he would ever be happier.

***

Mike turned the water in his shower up. It was hot, too hot, but, in Mike's opinion, it just wasn't hot enough.

He felt it burn against his skin, gritting his teeth as he tried to wash away the memories. But every time he closed his eyes...

'Harder, oh god, harder. Harder, please Mike, harder. Ahhh, ahhh, oh my god...

Before he could stop himself, Mike slammed his fist against the wall. The sound echoed off the walls.

"Honey? Are you alright?" Brittany's voice wafted through the door. Mike sighed.
"Yeah, I'm fine."
"Well, I'm going out with Adrienne tonight...Do you need me to put something in the microwave for you?"
"Nah, I'll be alright!" Mike called, turning the water off.

He heard the door slam, and then an eerie silence pervaded the house.

"Ahhh." Mike groaned as the rough fabric of his janes scraped over the tender skin of his legs. He abandoned his t-shirt, preferring the cool air of his house to the hot, scratchy fabric. He couldn't believe that he'd gotten so carried away.

After all, he wasn't ever going to see Jorah again. Ever. She lived in her apartment across the town. Almost thirty minutes away. He intended to make sure he never had thirty minutes to waste.

Feeling slightly relieved at the thought, he padded down to the darkened living room, fumbling around for the television remote.

And tripped over a pair of legs. Naked legs.

"JORAH?!"

She giggled mischeaviously.

"I missed you..." She purred, stretching her arms out and wrapping herself around Mike's chest.

Her slim hands felt so good against his hot skin, and her lips were on his before Mike could stop her.

And then he didn't want to stop.

***

"It's great seeing you in my kitchen again, Tre. I think the boys were starting to assume that you'd died." Adrienne said.

She was only half-joking, Tre realized, remembering the way Joey and Jakob had gawked at him.

It hurt, in a strange, alien way. Tre had always taken his 'nephews' for granted. Their love was a guarantee, or so he'd thought. It had nearly killed him when Jakob had lingered in the corner, sucking his thumb and looking over at Tre shyly.

"I've just been...busy, Adie." Tre said apologeticly. He crossed the kitchen to stand beside her, drying the dishes she handed to him.
"Tre, that's not an excuse. Even when you guys were locked into the studio, recording almost twenty-four hours a day, you still made time for us. As far as I know, all you've gotten is a new girlfriend."
"She's...important to me."

Adrienne paused, then put the plate she was scrubbing back into the sudsy water.

"And we're not?" She asked in a low voice.

Tre sensed that he'd hurt her. And he didn't quite know how to fix the damage. He sighed, fiddling with the dish towel.

"It's just...Adie, you know I haven't had a stable relationship since...well, for a while."

She nodded, keeping her eyes focused on the plate.

"And now I've got one, or I've got something that could become one...I just...I don't want to screw it up."

He snuck a glance at her, and his heart sank. She didn't look convinced at all. She was biting her lip, head down.

"Tell you what, Adie. How about I bring her 'round sometime next week? You could all meet her."

Bingo. Adrienne's head snapped up, a huge smile lighting up her face. God, how he loved to see that smile.

"Tre, that would be fantastic! Oh, it'd be so good to have dinner with you again, and to finally meet this girlfriend of yours-!"

She broke off in the middle of her sentance, wrapping him into a giant hug. Tre grinned and basked in the glow of her happiness. Sometimes he forgot how easy it was to make Adie happy, and how good it felt to see her smile.

***

"Treeeeeeeeeeeee." Jorah groaned, rolling over on the couch. "Whyyyyyyyyy?"

Tre gritted his teeth. In the few days he'd been away from her, it seemed that Jorah had gotten a whole lot more annoying.

"Because they're practically my family, goddamnit. I want to go, and I'll go with or without you."

Something flashed across Jorah's face. It was so quick that you'd have to be watching closely to see it. And Tre was watching closely.

It was a flash of anger, of something ugly and grotesque behind the mask of her beauty. It twisted her pretty face for an instant, no more, no less, then vanished behind the facade of make-up and full, pouting lips.

"Alright, I'll go." She relented sullenly. Then she looked up at him through her eyelashes, smiling slyly. "I'd just rather spend my time here...with you..."

And she very deliberately licked her lips.

And for some reason that Tre didn't quite understand, that motion didn't have the usual effect. It didn't start his engine, so to speak.

Something was just off. Something was wrong, and he didn't know what it was. He studied her from his perch on the kitchen counter, then said slowly, "Actually, I'm not in the mood for that tonight, babe."

She looked thrown.

"What?"
"Actually, I was thinking of heading out with Jason...I promised him that we'd jam as soon as I got home."

Without waiting for a reaction, Tre snatched a sweatshirt from the closet and headed out the door.

He didn't see the naked anger that mutilated Jorah's pretty face as she watched him leave.

***

Jorah sat very still for a moment, feeling the anger seethe through her veins. Then she picked up her empty wineglass and threw it against the wall. The shattering sound soothed her somewhat and she stretched luxuriously. Then she stood, picked up the phone, and started dialing.

"He thinks he can fucking pull that shit with me?" She fumed quietly. "Well, I'll show him. He'll be fucking sorry."

The phone rang three times, then a quiet, male voice answered.

"Hello?"
"Mike, babe." She purred. She heard him suck in his breath, and she could actually picture the look of shock and fear that was most likely flashing across his features.

Honestly, he was so stupid sometimes. If he had that reaction everytime she called, then that woman he lived with...what was she to him, anyways? Fiance? Girlfriend?

Jorah thought about it a for a second, then decided she didn't care.

"I'm allllllll alone in the house. And I want you to come and check that there aren't any monsters lurking under my bed."
"Jorah, I..."
"I'll make it worth your while." She whispered, her voice husky.

There was a pause, and she could hear him breathing heavily.

"I'll be there in a few minutes." Mike snapped, his voice thick with self-loathing.
"Good." Jorah cooed and hung up the phone.

She stretched out against the cushions with a satisfied smile on her face. Everything was going to plan. And why wouldn't it be? She always got what she wanted.

***

"Jason?"

The guitarist nearly dropped his phone in surprise, then the reality sank in, and a huge smile spread across his face.

"Tre, buddy! How've you been?!"

Tre smiled at the enthusiasm in his friend's voice.

"I'm fine...just had something of a fight with the girlfriend, but it's nothing serious."

Jason heard a quiver in Tre's voice that suggested otherwise, but he was too happy to hear his friend's voice that he didn't argue.

"Well, it's great to hear from you, Tre. I've missed you."
"I've missed you too...and considering that, what are you up to tonight?"

There was a moment of silence that Tre didn't find encouraging. Then Jason made a soft noise in his throat.

"Umm...Nothing, at least, nothing until nine or so."
"What's happening then?"
"I'm..." Jason chuckled, and Tre knew that he was embarassed. He could see the flush that was blossoming on his friend's cheeks, the happy smile spreading across his lips.

"I've met a girl. And I'm taking her out for a drive tonight."
"A 'drive' or a drive?" Tre asked, the quotation marks in his voice joking. Jason laughed.
"A real drive, you pervert. But we can do something before then."
"Let's go somewhere and jam. I know I completely skipped out on you a few weeks ago, and I feel like such a jerk about it."

It was on the tip of Jason's tongue to burst out, 'yeah, you were a fucking jerk.' But somehow, he had an idea that if he'd been with Tre, he'd have been having too much fun to have properly noticed Chiyo. And if he'd been with Tre, he definately wouldn't have been able to take her out to lunch.

"It's fine, man. Want me to meet you downtown in ten minutes?"
"I'm already downtown. Where do you want to meet me?"

Jason sighed.

"How about you come to the lobby? I'll be down in a few minutes."
"Sure." Tre agreed, almost too quickly, in Jason's opinion. "See you then."

As he slipped his cell phone back into his pocket, Jason felt a flash of sorrow. He remembered when it took hours of coaxing to get Tre to come meet him somewhere of his choice, instead of a location the drummer had picked. He remembered that Tre had never been so efficent with plans.

"Things have changed." Jason murmured, pulling on a baseball cap and glancing quickly into the mirror.

"Things have changed."