Scream

I woke up a good hour before Brian did, but I laid there and relaxed on my phone while I waited for him. His arm wrapped around my stomach and he rested his head on my pillow next to mine.

"How long have you been up?" he asked.

"Like an hour I guess," I said.

"Why didn't you wake me up?"

"You needed sleep and I had stuff to do."

"Like what?" He tried to see what was on my screen, but I moved it away from him.

"Reading," I said sheepishly. He instantly smiled.

"Stop reading that smut!" he said, tickling me. I giggled and he kissed my cheek. He stood and grabbed a pair of sweatpants. "I'm gonna grab a shower because I feel dirty now knowing you're reading that shit."

"Fine, I'll write my own!" I said, sitting up.

"Yeah? About what?"

"What really happens during a night with Synyster Gates," I said threateningly. He arched one eyebrow.

"You do that, let me know how it goes." I smiled at him and he went into the bathroom. Once the water started I went back to reading. I wonder how he would feel if he knew this one was about Matt.

He walked back out only ten minutes later with his hair dripping wet and his sweatpants down so far I could see that V-shape thing guys have at their hips.

"What are you staring at?" Brian asked with a smirk playing around his lips. I blinked and looked at his face.

"What? Nothing."

"Someone once told me," he said, "that if you got the V, you get the V."

"What does that even mean?" I laughed.

"If you got the V," he said, tracing his V, "then you get the V." He pointed to where my hips were under the blanket.

"That's actually pretty clever," I said. "So what are the plans for the day?"

"I'm not really sure, but if you get dressed we can probably figure something out."

"I have to take a shower, too," I said, walking over to the closet and going through clothes. Brian came up behind me and placed his hands on my hips.

"You should've just taken one with me," he murmured in my ear.

"We're already being watched," I said, leaning back into him. "Otherwise I would have."

He reached into the closet and pulled out a black shirt I'd never seen before. "What about this one?" It was black and had the deathbat across the front, but it looked hella tight with rips all over the shoulders and back.

"Where did this come from?" I asked suspiciously.

"Don't worry about it, just wear it."

I looked up at him and took it, narrowing my eyes at him. "Only because you asked so nicely." I grabbed a bra and walked past him to the bathroom, shutting the door behind me and locking it. I didn't really need it locked, did I? Instead I locked the door that led to the living area and unlocked the one from our room. I turned on the shower and undressed, also turning on Spotify on my phone. While I was in the hospital I realized how much I took music during bathing for granted. And privacy.

Once the water was hot enough I stepped in and let the water relax me. I thought about last night and smiled. Brian was right; everything was perfect.

I was in the middle of humming "The River" by Good Charlotte when I heard the door open.

"What do you want?" I asked. Brian chuckled.

"I forgot something, chill," he said, taking something out of the mirrored cabinet above the sink. I peeked out from the curtain.

"You're brushing your teeth? You couldn't wait till I was done?"

He smirked. "Nope."

I rolled my eyes and stood back under the water, but I left the curtain open a little so he could see in. I didn't know where this confidence came from, but I loved it.

I was turned with my body facing him and my eyes shut, so when I opened them I saw him staring at me with his toothbrush unmoving in his mouth. He quickly looked back at the mirror and continued, blushing a little. I heard him spit and "Without Me" by Eminem started playing.

"Courtney, what the fuck is this?" he asked, grabbing my phone off the counter.

"Leave it!" I said.

"Seriously?" I nodded, which he knew because he was looking at me again.

"Not like it matters, you're done brushing your teeth so you can go." He set my phone down and leaned against the doorframe, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I think I'll stay and watch." He had a stern expression with the slightest playful hint underneath. "Continue." I watched him to see if he was kidding. His jaw set. "What did I say?"

I instantly started washing my hair, fully aware of his eyes all over my body. Once I was done rinsing the shampoo out, I washed my body and jumped slightly when Brian pulled the curtain open more.

"You missed a spot," he said, taking the washcloth from me and pulling me closer. My hands latched onto his shoulders as he ran the washcloth along the insides of my thighs. I heard him drop it and kept my eyes on his as he rubbed my clit slowly.

"How's that?" he asked huskily.

"Good," I whispered as he sped up a little. He knew exactly how to do it, speeding up every so often. As I was getting close, we heard a knock on the bathroom door and he stopped.

"Yeah?" Brian asked, keeping his eyes on mine.

"Hurry up, we wanna get going," Matt said through the door.

"Okay," he said. We heard steps walking through the front of the bus and then nothing.

"Brian, I-" I started.

"We'll finish this later," he told me. "Get dressed," He kissed my forehead and walked out. I stood there for a few moments, unsure how to feel about what just happened. I turned the water off and dried off as quick as I could. I put the clothes on and looked in the mirror.

"I don't know about this shirt, Brian," I said, opening the door.

"What about it?" he asked, now donning jeans and looking for a shirt for himself.

"Just feel like it's a little... not me."

"No," he said simply, pulling on a plain black muscle shirt.

"What?" I asked, "what do you mean 'no'?"

"You're keeping it on." I watched him for a few seconds before walking back into the bathroom.

"Fine," I said before muttering "bully" under my breath. I glanced back and he had his eyes on me. I brushed my teeth and applied light makeup before going back to him. He was sitting on the bed, waiting.

"Ready," I said, crossing my eyes over my chest.

He looked at me with a relaxed expression. "You're not mad, are you?"

"No, just didn't want to raise suspicion."

He walked over to me, tilting my chin up and kissing me. "We'll be fine, I promise." He let go and grabbed his sunglasses, slipping them on as I grabbed my purse. We walked out to what was proclaimed the "meeting area"; basically just the space that was the center in the circle of buses. Matt, Zack, and Johnny were already there smoking. Zack offered Brian one and he took it with no problem.

"So what are the plans?" Brian asked as he lit it.

"Raise hell, preferably," Johnny said. I chuckled.

"I was thinking something normal, like a movie? Then food?" Matt said.

"Sounds good," Brian said. They all talked about what to see as they finished their cigarettes and Gena, Lacey, and Val walked out of one of the buses together.

"Wait, how are we getting there?" Zack asked.

"Walking, there's a theater a couple blocks away," Matt said.

"Fuck, man, I can't walk that far!" Johnny exclaimed.

"Maybe if you stopped smoking," I said, smirking at him but knowing it was a bit of a dig to Brian, too. He didn't say he would stop completely, but I was kind of shocked he did it right in front of me without hesitation. Johnny flipped me off and I smiled widely.

Everyone started walking with their partners, holding hands and whatever and Brian awkwardly put his hands in his pockets. I sped up a little so I could walk with everyone. I ended up next to Matt and Val.

"Any requests?" he asked me, resting his arm around my shoulders.

"For what?" I asked slowly.

"What movie, shithead," he chuckled.

"Oh, I don't care, I'm not picky." I adjusted my purse but Matt's hand gently gripped my wrist.

"What happened?" he asked, examining a purple bruise. I poked it.

"Ow," I said, "I wonder where that came from." How didn't I notice it earlier? Or why didn't Brian bring my attention to it?

"Maybe if you weren't so goddamn skinny then that wouldn't happen."

"Yeah, yeah," I said. We saw the theater coming up and still hadn't decided on a movie. We talked about it, throwing ideas around before we walked up to the ticket window. Luckily the lot was almost completely empty.

"How about this, whoever pays for their two tickets first chooses?" Zack suggested. No one edged forward until Brian walked up to the counter with his card out.

"Two for Piranha," he told the ticket seller. A feeling of dread washed over me.

"I would've chosen Vampires Suck," Johnny laughed, smoking again.

"Thank you Brian, for going first and avoiding that catastrophe," Matt said laughing, walking forward with Val as Brian walked over to me. We waited for everyone to buy theirs and went inside to get food.

"What do you want?" Brian asked sweetly.

"Nothing," I said.

"Courtney, you need to eat," he murmured. "Seriously, you haven't gained any weight back. It's scaring me."

"So does water."

He looked down at me. "Listen, I'm sorry. I forgot."

"Okay." We walked forward in the line after Zack and Gena bought their stuff. Matt and Johnny were at the other registers.

"Large popcorn," Brian said, looking at me. "Coke okay?" I nodded. "Large coke, and that's it."

"Any candy you get is half off today," the concessionist told us. Brian smiled at me.

"Please pick one," he said. I looked at what they had and debated for a second.

"Sour Patch Watermelon," I said. Brian paid and we took our stuff to the theater.

"Are we all sitting together?" Zack asked.

"We don't have to," Matt said, and with that everyone dispersed. Everyone chose seats around the middle of the auditorium while Brian wanted to sit all the way in the back.

"Really?" I asked, sitting down next to him. "This isn't obvious or anything."

"They're all gonna be way too interested in their dates to notice," he said. I watched him shovel handfuls of popcorn into his mouth before he noticed my gaze.

"Seriously, why this movie?" I asked, opening my candy.

"Because," he said, swallowing before continuing. "I figured you wouldn't focus on the movie." He had a smirk on his face.

"Seriously?" He took my hand.

"I'm sorry. But honestly, can you imagine these guys sitting through the vampire parody?"

I thought about it, smiling a little. "Not really."

His own smile widened. "Exactly. I doubt this will be much better, but it'll keep them entertained."

The lights dimmed and the movie started, so Brian stretched his arm out behind me and kissed the side of my head, whispering, "I love you."

***

"Fuck you, Brian," Zack said as we all walked out after the credits started rolling. "That was so dumb."

"You should've bought your tickets first," Brian said. We walked over to the Red Robin across the street and they were a little busier, but not quite. After putting some tables together for us, we were seated and served our drinks. Everyone talked and started looking over the menu including myself, but nothing looked good.

"What are you getting?" Brian asked quietly.

"Not sure yet," I said. "You?"

"Probably the Red Robin burger."

"How can you still be hungry after eating that entire tub of popcorn?"

"I'm always hungry," he said, catching my eyes and winking. I bit my lip and looked back at my menu.

"Maybe I'll get a salad."

"Absolutely not," he said. "I was serious earlier, you need to eat more."

"Why are you so adamant about that?"

"One of the things I had to do as your guardian was watch your overall health, and I can't do that when your body mass index is classified as underweight."

I rolled my eyes. "The BMI is a croc of shit, Brian."

"You don't look healthy either, Court. Please get more than a salad." I huffed but continued looking. The server came back over to get orders and I was the only one still deciding, so he came to me last.

"How's the loaded baked potato soup?" I asked him. He smiled down at me.

"It's really good, my personal favorite. Do you like potatoes?" I nodded. "Then you'll love it, I promise." I smiled, handing him my menu.

"Thanks, I'll do that then."

He wrote it down and said, "I'll be right out with that." He backed away before finally taking his eyes off of me and turning around. Then I looked at Brian, who was clearly not amused.

"What was that?" he asked lowly.

"What was what?" I asked back.

"He was checking you out and you kinda flirted with him."

"That wasn't flirting, Brian."

"He took it that way." I waved him off and listened to whatever Matt was telling Johnny about. Zack and Gena were in their own little world. I wasn't really listening, though, I just didn't want to talk about this with Brian anymore. Ten minutes went by before Brian said anything.

"You have your phone, right?" he asked me. I looked at him.

"Yeah, why?"

"Just wanna make sure I'm paying for it for good reason," he joked.

"I'm surprised she isn't glued to it like other people," Zack said, overhearing. I wasn't stupid. I reached into my purse and set it on my lap. Of course Brian sent me a text.

I'm serious. Don't talk to him like that.

I dropped it back in bag, feeling Brian's eyes. Our food came out after a little while, courtesy of my new waiter friend and some helpers. I think he made sure he gave me mine. As soon as he went to set it down in front of me, I felt a hand on my thigh.

"Thanks so much..." I looked at his nametag, "Trevor." I smiled and he returned it.

"No problem, let me know if you guys need anything else." Everyone started eating and Johnny was eyeing Brian.

"Dude, don't kill the kid," he said. I crossed my legs, letting Brian's hand fall off of my thigh.

"Try not to," Brian muttered. I ignored him for the duration of the meal, joking with the guys and he did chip in every now and then so it didn't seem weird. As I ate less, I glanced at Brian.

"Don't make yourself sick," he murmured. I set my spoon down and relaxed a little. I felt like everyone was watching me eat, it was annoying. Matt helped Brian out by motioning for Trevor at his end of the table instead of ours and I kept my eyes down. Once it was all paid for, we left and started heading back to the venue. I walked to the side away from everyone. The more I thought about the day, the more pissed off I got. It was just after 5pm when we arrived. I went into our bus without a word and into our room. As soon as I stripped the shirt off, Brian walked in. Shutting the door with force, he stood in front of it with his arms crossed over his chest. He cleared his throat to get my attention since I was going through the closet.

"What?" I said.

"Do you have anything to say for yourself?" he asked, strangely calm. I turned around, feeling how wide my eyes were. I was only in my bra and jeans, but I didn't even care.

"Excuse me?" I yelled. "Anything to say for myself? You got it the wrong fucking way around."

"Don't speak to me like that."

"What the hell is with you? All you've done is demand things from me, and I've complied with no problem. But in the restaurant that was so uncalled for." I was talking so fast but I couldn't slow myself down. "God forbid I act interested in someone. Keyword is act. But I'm supposed to forget that you fucked someone else! And it's like you couldn't care less if we get caught again, like nothing will happen. Newsflash, if that happens, I'm not coming back next time." I felt tears prick my eyes and I quickly blinked them away.

Scarily enough, I couldn't tell if he was even fazed. "What have I demanded from you?"

"Everything! You've bossed me around all day, I thought things were getting better!"

"They are-"

"Not really, because you're back to controlling me just like before! And I'm not doing it!" He didn't say anything to that, so I turned back around and continued going through clothes, settling on a Bring Me The Horizon shirt. I sat on the bed and stared at the wall.

"What about in the bathroom earlier?" he asked quietly.

"What about it?"

"Is that what you're talking about?"

I shrugged. "I don't know, I guess. Last night was different than today."

"How so?" I looked at him.

"Honestly?" He held my eyes. "Today I felt like I was being used."

His arms dropped to his side and he walked over, sitting on the bed in front of me and taking my hands.

"I'm sorry I made it feel like that," he said.

"Then why did you?"

"Last night, I thought you liked it when I did that."

"During sex is different, Brian," I whispered.

"And it's how things were before, I still wasn't sure how close to before you wanted to get back to," he concluded.

"Did that guy really make you jealous?" I asked. His eyes darkened.

"All I wanted to do," he said, a smile forming as he thought of it, "was kiss you in front of him, and then maybe punch him." I laughed a little, and so did he.

"That would not have ended well," I sighed.

"Not at all, no." He looked down at our hands. "I am really sorry, Court. Today's been weird, I don't know. Next time just kick me or something if I do that again."

"I can do that," I said. He leaned down and kissed me, but was disturbed by banging on the side of the bus.

"Come on, motherfuckers!" Zacky screamed. "We're starting early!"

"Starting what?" I asked Brian, whining. He sighed.

"Getting shitfaced."

Notes

Chapter title credit: Three Days Grace
I kinda forgot to read this over before posting it, but oh well. I'll edit it if I have to.
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