It took me a shitload of time to calm Brian down and force him to hear me, but when I finally succeeded I couldn’t find the right words to explain myself without sounding like I was really leaving him.

Seated on a bench outside the theatre and right before my fearful, green eyes, Brian waited for me to say something, his arms crossed over his broad chest and his eyebrows furrowed into a scowl. The tension in his muscles was quite visible and it made me even more nervous.

“I don’t have all night.” He said sternly, pulling me out of my thoughts. I silently sat down next to him, placing the bag of popcorns at our feet and burying my hands between my thighs due to the freezing hair outside. “Yeah?” I could feel his gaze burning into the side of my head and it was killing me, but I was too scared to look up from the safety of my lap.

“I don’t wanna leave.”

“It’s not what it seems.”

“But I don’t.” I said softly, lifting up my head to look at him. I could see the turmoil, the fear swirling in his eyes. “I don’t know what’s gonna happen with time, but right now I’ll stay.”

“Right now is not enough, Lara.” He told me impatiently, “What about tomorrow? What about in a few weeks?”

“I don’t know, I really don’t.” I sighed, “I work as an actress. It’s not like I’m that important, because I’m not, but my job is not consistent. I don’t have a normal routine; I don’t work from nine to five like everyone else.”

Brian nodded curtly with his head, “I’m aware of it.”

“I might get a call tomorrow saying that I have to go back to New York, or I might not.” I said, shrugging my shoulders slightly. When he broke the eye contact to turn away from me, I rested my hand on his knee, claiming back his attention, “But either way, I promise you, Brian, that I’m not gonna make the same mistake. I’ll come back. I’ll fucking call you every day if I have to, but I’m not gonna disappear again.”

Dropping his gaze to where our bodies met, he covered my hand with his large one and stroked my skin with his thumb, “I just don’t wanna lose you, Lara.”

“You won’t, silly.” I chuckled, trying to ignore the tingling in my stomach from his touch, “Ever again.” As Brian looked at me, a tiny smile tugging onto his lips, I leant forward and kissed his cheek, “I promise.”

He groaned lowly and threw his head back, “Please don’t make me regret my choice.”

“You’re not regretting this.” Holding the popcorn bag to my chest, I pulled him by the hand and dragged him out of there before he changed his mind. He chuckled at my attempt to save the situation but followed me nonetheless.

“So, where do you wanna go?” I asked, glancing up at him.

“Whatever you please.”

I chortled lightly, “I don’t live here for eight years. Gimme a break.”

“Everything’s the same, you know.”

“Let’s just walk so I won’t freeze here.”

His head shot in my direction with concern, “Are you that cold?”

“Yep, but don’t worry, Haner,” I flipped my hand dismissively, “I’ll survive.”

He smiled and walked closer to me, draping one arm loosely around my shoulders, “Just because I almost forced you to come out here with me.”

A giggle rippled from my chest, and much to my dislike, I wiggled out of his embrace, pushing him on his chest softly, “You don’t need to do that, you fool.”

He stopped walking, pouting, “I thought you liked my hugs.”

“I do.” It was all I said. What was there for me to say, anyway?

When Brian stood still, eyeing me in confusion, I turned back around and tugged onto his arm so we would start moving again, “You really enjoy chilling your bones, uh?”

He smiled sweetly at me, warming my heart to a whole new level. The idiot. I felt like feathers in the wind when he acted like that towards me, taking control of my emotions and feelings, and there was really nothing I could do to make it stop.

However, I had to be able to stop it, and the sooner, the better. I felt myself crumble each time we touched, each time Brian smiled at me, and I knew that it wouldn’t be hard for me to give in if the occasion came. So to make things easier, I decided that cutting out any unnecessary physical interaction was the best.

The first part of our walk was filled with nothing but silence. Oh, and the sound of Brian and I eating popcorns. I didn’t know if it felt awkward or not, but maybe we were both just collecting our thoughts before one of us had the first word.

“This is kinda dangerous, you know?”

“What’s dangerous?” I asked, intrigued. I really hoped he wasn’t referring to our new fresh friendship or I’d punch him right in the guts. Or maybe I wouldn’t, but I liked to believe I would.

He looked down at me, “The streets of Huntington Beach at night. There are crazy people around here.”

Was that really what he’d been thinking all of this time?

“It’s alright. If they pull out a knife, I’ll throw them the popcorns to their faces.”

“And then what?” He wanted to know, clearly amused.

“And then we run our asses off.”

Laughing, he stole one more handful of popcorns from the bag, “Sounds like a good plan.”

I pulled the bag away from him, “Yeah, but if you keep eating like a monster, there’ll be no plan!” I pointed, a sly smirk gracing my lips.

“Then we’re both monsters.”

“I’m a prettier monster than you.”

“Oh is that so?” He asked, snickering, giving me that Brian Haner look with his left eyebrow raised.

“HumHum.”

“I’d never tell.”

I smacked his forearm, feigning hurt, “You beast!”

“I was kidding…” He laughed, “We’re like the Beauty and the Beast.”

Now it was my turn to raise my eyebrow, “If you’re the beast…”

“Exactly.”

“Was that your subtle way of saying I was pretty?”

“You’re beautiful, you silly head.” He said, ruffling my hair with his big hand, “No doubt about it.”

I slapped his hand away but didn’t struggle to keep my smile out of his sight. “You’re cute. Still a beast, but a cute beast.”

“I missed you.” He breathed out, his brown eyes glistening when I tilted up my head to look at him. I was speechless for a moment, starstruck by those three words. He smiled widely and wrapped me up in his arms yet again, the bag of popcorns crushing between us.

Well done, Lara. So much for keeping the distance.

I patted his back after a while and pulled away, sending him a shy smile. I could hear my heart pumping inside of me and the thrill running through my veins, but Brian couldn’t even dream of me having all of those feelings. This was stupid. Maybe I was confusing everything, maybe this was just happiness from having Brian back. Yeah, that was a good way to see things. It was very important that I kept that in mind, or I’d be in a lot of troubles.

“Earth calls shorty.” I heard Brian say, his lips twisted into a smirk.

“I didn’t say anything out loud, did I?” I asked, worried. It wouldn’t be the first time.

“No.” Brian chuckled, making me sigh in relief, “Why? Wasn’t I supposed to hear your thoughts?”

I shook my head and started walking again, leaving Brian behind, “Not at all!”

“Why not? Was it about me?” He called.

Prodding over this wouldn’t get him anywhere, however, it spiked my interest the fact that he wanted to know what I was mulling over.

“You’re so full of yourself!” I chortled with a shake of my head. Finding no more popcorns in the bag, I tossed it into the closest trash.

His stomps echoed from behind me as he tried to catch up with me, and soon enough he came into my vision, walking backwards so we were looking at each other. This guy had some serious issues. But watching him strolling like that, almost tripping on his own feet, made me chuckle, and so I came to a halt, “What are you doing?”

“What?” He held his hands up, trying to appear innocent, but I knew better than that. I reached for my arms, my lips pressed closed as I struggle against a smile. When he realized I wasn’t going to say anything else about the matter, he sighed, “Come on. Just tell me what you were thinking.”

“Not happening.”

“You used to tell me everything.” He pointed, taking a few steps toward me.

We used to do a lot more than that.

My shoulders jolted in a small shrug, “Things have changed.”

“Only a few.” He smiled, and there was something deep in his eyes that sent my body into a fiery mess. I coughed, embarrassed, and looked away, hoping he didn’t notice the blush intensifying on my cheeks.

Fuck. What’s wrong with me?

“Hey, I wanna take you somewhere.” Brian said suddenly, making me jump slightly. “Jeez, sorry. You okay?”

“Just shut up, please.” I grunted, storming out of there. Realizing that Brian wasn’t following me, I turned around, my hands going to my hips, “Didn’t you want to take me somewhere?”

“I do,” He laughed, “But it’s this way.” His thumb was thrown to the opposite side, and in that moment, I wished I could die. Alone and away from his stupid smirk.

“Don’t even think of making fun of me.” I warned right as I walked past him.

“What did I do?” He asked, amused, once again following my lead, “You don’t need to get so angry. I just wanted to know your wild thoughts, but I’ll drop it.”

Thank God.

“For now.” He added, grabbing my hand and pulling me toward the middle of the road.

“Brian!”

“I’m the one who knows the way.” He explained, glancing over his shoulder. I huffed in defeat and freed my hand from his grip, earning an arched brow from him.

“Don’t ask.”

“Alright.” He mumbled sadly.

After a few minutes I knew exactly where he was taking me.

---

August 4th 1997 – 11 years ago

“Oh my god, my dad will ground me for the rest of my life.” I groaned, as we arrived at the Huntington Beach pier. There was a Summer Festival going on and the amount of people walking around us was extremely high. We could easily get lost if we weren’t careful.

I knew I shouldn’t have come in the first place, but my friend Sarah insisted so much that I found myself giving in, and now here I was.

“Come on!” Sarah tugged on my arm and started for a certain group of people a few feet away.

However, when I took the first step, I didn’t see the guy standing in front of me and crashed against him. “Oh shit.” I muttered, rubbing my forehead from where his shoulder had bumped.

“Sorry. Are you alright?” He asked, making me raise my head to look at him. Brown eyes welcomed me with concern, but I smiled and waved him off.

“I’m good. And I’m sorry. Bye.”

As I circled around him to go after my friend, he grabbed my arm and turned me to him, “I’m Brian.”

I chuckled and punched his arm lightly, “Nice to know.” And then I was off to where Sarah was, leaving a confused Brian behind me.

Approaching Sarah’s group, I felt sick. I hated these guys. “Hey, girl. Wanna drink?” Josh pushed the bottle of vodka in my direction and I cringed just with the smell of alcohol reaching my nostrils.

Shaking my head and passing the bottle to Sarah, I stuttered a small no .

Everyone kept drinking like idiots and I started to realize how fucked up I was going to be in the next morning when my father found my room empty.

“We’re just going for a while and then we go back home.” Sarah had said. Yeah, right.

I walked away from the group and decided to see the cool things on the pier. After a while I got bored and sat down on the sidewalk, waiting for some lucky star to save me.

“Lost your parents, kiddo?”

I knew that voice. Glancing up I was met by that pair of brown eyes yet again. So he was my lucky star. “Funny.” I mocked.

“What are you doing here all by yourself?”

“If you think I’m drunk and that you can rape me, you can get your fucking ass out of here. I’m perfectly sober and sane.”

Brian burst out laughing, and I could only knit my eyebrows together.

“What’s so funny?” I asked.

“You are.”

“Oh, is that so?”

“Why don’t you come with me?” He suggested smoothly, “My friends are over there and we’re having a good time.”

“What tells you I’m not having a good time?”

He smiled a little and offered me his hand, “I promise you won’t regret it. And if you don’t feel good around us, you can leave.”

“But I don’t know you. How do I know you’re not lying?”

“Look me in the eyes and see for yourself. I may have tattoos and shit but I’m not a bad guy, and you could use some fun.” He said, and the more we talk, the more comfortable I felt. But there was always that fuzzy feeling in my stomach telling me to be careful. “Come on.” He kept insisting. I studied his face for a moment, and when his lips opened up in a warm smile, I let my guards down and took his hand.

“Okay, okay. You better not mess with me.”

He pulled me up on my feet and continued holding my hand. “Do I deserve to know your name now, or what?”

I chuckled and squeezed his hand, “I’m Lara.”

“Nice to meet you, Lara.”

---

“Why did you bring me here?” I asked Brian. He was ahead of me now, hands shoved into his pockets as he stared at the glinting ocean before us.

“It was here where it all started.”

“I remember.”

Brian turned around and leant against the rail, folding his arms across his chest, “You do, uh?”

“How could I not?” I smiled, walking over his side to rest my hands against the cool, metal rail. “You guys saved my night.”

“Couldn’t save you from your dad, though.”

I laughed and nodded with my head. “Two weeks without phone and TV. Pretty messed up.”

We settled into a comfortable silence, the sound of the waves crashing against the shore making us some company. I didn’t remember the last time I felt so calm, so in piece like I was in that moment. With my best friend. With my once lover.

“This is so crazy.” Brian voiced my thoughts, his voice barely above a whisper.

I lifted up my gaze to him, “What?” I asked, even though I already knew the answer.

“You and me here. Together. I’ve dreamt about it for the last eight years, but I never thought it would actually happen. It doesn’t seem real.” He spun around, using his elbows to support his weight on the rail, and grinned down at me. I smiled, too, finding impossible not to.

“Such a wasted time all of these years.”

“What took you so long? Why eight years?” Brian queried, the words falling from his lips almost painfully. It was heartbreaking to realize how much hurt I’ve caused him.

“I needed to get away from here.”

Sighing, Brian fixed his eyes down on the beach, his mind surely working over those three uttered words. “It was hard for me, you know. Losing you just like that. Without an explanation, without a reason… it killed me inside.”

“I’m sorry.”

“I know. I just…” He trailed off, but ended up by chuckling, “As lame as it may sound, I thought you were the one back then.”

Oh, no. No! Not that card, please.

“I guess we always think like that when we love someone.” I said nonchalantly, hoping that he would agree with me and we’d drop the subject. But obviously Brian had other plans.

He shook his head, “Nah… it’s not always like that. I never felt that way with anyone else.”

“Maybe you didn’t find her yet.”

He faced me completely, propping onto one elbow, “I have already found her, Lara.” He said earnestly. My heart dropped at his words, and if I was nervous before, now I felt ten times worse.

What did he want with all of that? What was the purpose?

I was saved by Brian’s phone going off. Groaning, he pulled the device from his back pocket. “It’s a message from Jimmy.”

“What does he want?”

The corner of Brian’s lips curved into a sly smirk as he read the message, “It’s just Jimmy being Jimmy. And he wanted to know where we were.”

“What did you tell him?”

“I told him to fuck off.”

My mouth opened wide in shock, “Brian! You’re so mean! Let me talk to him!” I tried to snap the phone from his hand, but he raised it in the air.

“No way.” He laughed.

“He was just worried.”

“He was being a pain in the ass.”

I sent Brian a glare but with no effect. He kept smiling like the idiot he was, and my mask came crashing down on me, making a grin broke out across my face. Ugh.

“You can never be mad at me for long.” He boasted.

“Don’t try me, Haner.”

“Nothing that a hug can’t solve.”

I pushed him away when he tried to involve me in his arms, but he was more stubborn than me and hugged me anyway. I was too weak when it came to Brian, and so I gave in to his comfort, sliding my arms around his torso. I couldn’t help but notice that, after all these years, Brian still felt the same. He still smelled the same. If I closed my eyes I could easily be transported to the past, a bittersweet past.

“I admit that this was just an excuse to get warm.” He whispered, and I laughed, tightening my grip on him.

“Well, I’m with you on that.”

It was actually nice to remember old times, when nothing mattered and we could be together all we wanted. After a few minutes of us staying completely still and enlaced in each others arms, I started to feel the sleep taking over and that could not happen. I forced my head to raise from Brian’s chest, even if unwillingly, and took a step back.

“Got tired of me?” Brian’s lower lip stuck out in a pout.

“Yeah, you see… you’re too-”

“I’m too what?” He asked with narrowed eyes, faking a scowl.

“You’re too hard.” I poked his belly with my index finger, “Those abs are not that comfortable.”

He burst out laughing, and so did I. His laughter was contagious.

“That’s so not fair! It was supposed to be a good thing. Every girl likes a fine ass body, right?”

“You should know that I’m not every girl, Brian.” I chuckled, “And! Let’s see if you’re all abs or if you can take a quick run. Last one to get to the beach is a loser!” I shouted, sprinting off along the pier, the cold wind blowing against my face and making my nose aching. I heard some yelling from Brian but I kept running like a maniac, or at least it was what it seemed like.

However, when Brian flew past me I knew I was deep in shit. That fucker could actually run. He looked over his shoulder, snickering, and I wanted to punch myself for having such a stupid idea. My lungs struggled to keep up with my pace but they weren’t working very well, because I felt like throwing up when I finally reached Brian.

I bent down and placed my hands on my knees, panting hard. “What’s wrong? Where did all your energy go, now?” He asked still laughing, his breaths also a bit labored.

“Shut up!” I hissed. Without warning, he slid his arm from under my legs and pulled me up on his shoulder. I squealed and held onto him, upside down, as he walked further into the beach. “Where are you taking me?”

“Here.” He put me back on my feet on the fluffy sand and then sat down, pulling me next to him. “I just don’t feel like going home already, loser .” He teased.

“I had serious hopes of winning.”

“You underestimated me.”

“Yeah, I guess I did.” I replied, burying my hands into the cold sand.”

“Tell me more about your life.”

I cocked my head to the side, finding a smiley Brian, “What do you want to know?”

“Anything. How’s your job? You’ve always liked to act and cinema and stuff like that, so it must be cool to have your dream job.”

“It’s not my dream job.” I mumbled with a languid smile. When Brian didn’t say anything, I went on, “I mean… the job is fine, but the people are a little bit arrogant, and it gets my nerves sometimes. The atmosphere is pretty bad, you know what I mean?”

Nodding his head, Brian turned to look at me, “That’s why we have our own company. This way we don’t have to deal with annoying people.”

“Yeah, Zacky told me about it. You guys have a store and teach kids how to play instruments. That’s so awesome.”

“I couldn’t see myself doing anything else.” Brian commented, and that made my smile grow.

“What about the band? I’m sad you guys gave up on that. Avenged Sevenfold would be a great band.”

“Thanks, but…” Brian’s shoulders jolted in a shrug as he lowered his gaze to the sand underneath him, “It just wasn’t the right decision. Many things happened and we preferred to go to college than risk our entire life because of the band. We still play sometimes together, so it’s cool.”

“I can’t imagine you teaching kids, though.” I chuckled.

He looked at me, surprised. “Why not?”

Shaking my head, I lifted my hand and poured some sand onto Brian’s covered knee, “Don’t know.”

“The kids love me, just so you know.”

“I have to see for myself.”

Brian held his hand out for me, “I’ll bring you to the store one of these days.”

“Deal. I giggled, sealing the contract with a shake of hands, “What’s the name of the store?”

“City Of Evil.”

“That’s cool. It suits you.”

“Are you calling me evil?” He asked, unsure.

“No, I’m calling you all evil.”

“I’m hurt now.” He pouted.

I hugged him quickly around his waist, “Come on, you were all bad asses when we were young. That’s what I meant.”

“I’m not so sure. I think you need to hug me tighter.” He joked, his cheekbones high from the smile dancing on his lips.

“Smartass.” I laughed, moving away from him.

With my legs crossed over my lap, I stared at the ocean, thinking about all of the great nights I spent at this very beach with the guys and with Brian. We would set up a bonfire and drink until the morning. Or we’d run from the eventual cops that’d found us in a private property, near some stranger’s house. But we always had a lot of fun, either way. And, now, hanging out with Brian reminded me of those times.

I squinted at him, seeing that he was smiling, too, and wondered if his thoughts were the same as mine. “Tonight has been awesome.” I said softly.

“Couldn’t agree more. I haven’t had this fun for a long, long time.”

I nodded to myself, a small smile tainting my lips. “Yeah… me neither.”

“How about you stay at my house tonight? It’s late and we’re like ten minutes away from my place. Tomorrow I can drive you to the hotel.” Brian suggested.

“Are you sure?”

“Why not?

Come on, Lara. It’s a test to your self control. You can do this.

“Alright. I guess it won’t hurt.”

Brian seemed pleased with my answer, as his muscles relaxed and he let out a faint sigh.

We didn’t stay much longer on the beach, more due to the temperature than anything else, because we were really having a blast. It felt so natural that it was as if I had never moved out of California.

“So… you can stay in my bed, and I’ll take the couch.” Brian said as we stepped inside his house. I took a look around me. His house was cozy and very humble. One story only, where the kitchen met the living room halfway. And then there was a bedroom and a small bathroom.

“I like it.”

“What?” He seemed honestly confused.

Turning to him, I smiled, “Your house.”

“Oh,” He rubbed the back of his neck, “Thanks.”

“But I can stay on the couch.” I plopped down onto it, jumping a little to test it, “It’s comfortable.”

“No way, my bed is more comfortable. And you’re a visit, so you get the best service.”

I couldn’t help but laugh at that, but knowing that Brian wouldn’t change is mind, I let him decide where I was staying. And the bedroom it was!

He lent me one of his shirts and showed me around, before we both went to sleep. It was almost five in the morning when we arrived, so saying that we were tired would be the understatement of the year.

Writhing under the covers, I shut my eyes even tighter and hoped I was still dreaming. The sound of my phone ringing was echoing through the entire room and it was bothering the hell out of me. “Please, make it stop!” Brian screamed from the living room.

I grunted under my breath and rolled to the other side to catch the devil on the nightstand. Punching some buttons, I finally got the right one, and picked up the call without even looking at the caller ID, “Who’s this?”

“Where are you?”

Of course it’d be Zacky.

“Good morning to you.” I mumbled sarcastically, my eyes still pressed close.

“Morning. Where are you?” He didn’t seem very happy and that made me frown.

“I’m in Brian’s bed, too comfortable to move. Why?”

“You’re what?! What are you doing in his bed?!”

Ups. That was probably not the best thing to say. But since he had woken me up from my beautiful and much needed sleep I was going to play with him a little.

“What do you think I’m doing?” I asked back, turning on my side and peeking one eye open.

“Oh my god! You slept with him?!” Zacky choked, and if I wasn’t so tired and sleepy I’d laugh at the panic in his voice.

“No. I slept alone , you moron. Brian’s on the couch.” The light passing through the curtains allowed me to scan Brian’s room more carefully.

“Oh.” Zacky blew out a big sigh of relief, “You scared me.”

I saw some pictures of Brian and the guys hanging on the wall, others with his family, and that made me smile for some reason. I focused back on my conversation with Zacky, though, and snuggled into the comforter, “Well, but was this the only reason you called? To ask where I was?”

“No, no. I wanted to have lunch with you but you weren’t at the hotel, so I got worried. But well… uhm… I guess you’re not available.”

“We can go lunch, Vee, if you come pick me up at Brian’s house.”

“Then I’ll invite the rest of the guys. Wouldn’t want Brian to get jealous.” He said, and I could sense the humor and the tease dripping from his words.

Sitting up straight, I furrowed my eyebrows and sighed, “I’m not sure if I want to know the meaning behind that sentence.”

“Yeah, forget it. We’ll talk about it later.” He chuckled. That was even more strange and suspicious. However, I wasn’t going to burn my brain over that, not at this time in the morning. I was too slow and lazy to think about whatever it was.

---

“Don’t you guys work today?” I asked, playing around with my food.

“Not on Sundays.” Matt answered.

“Thank god.” Katherine muttered, “I miss you already during the week.” Her arms wrapped around Matt’s waist, making the dimples on his cheeks come to life as he smiled.

“I miss you, too, baby.” He whispered, placing a soft kiss to her temple.

“Awn.” I drawled. “You guys are so adorable.”

“Lara is dreaming awake.” Zacky snickered from beside me.

Jimmy pointed his fork in my direction, the goofy grin he always had brightening his face, “You need some love. I can take care of that!” Suddenly, Jimmy was pushing his chair back and running toward me with opened arms. “Come here!” He pulled me up and lunged forward, crushing me against his chest. I started laughing at his outburst, but hugged him back anyway. “I love you, peanut head!”

“Aw… I love you, too, Jim.”

“Now we can go back eating.” Jimmy said, bouncing back to his seat. I shook my head at what had just happened. Sometimes I thought Jimmy was still a kid at heart. He had this need to show love to people and demand it back, and the thing was that we could never deny that to him.

As I sat back down, I was nudged on my side by Brian. I looked at him, still smiling, “What?”

“Do you want to attend my class tomorrow?” He asked.

“With the kids?”

“Yup.”

I nodded excitedly, “Of course! We have a deal, remember?”

He laughed lightly, “I know.”

Oh… tomorrow was going to be fun.

Notes

So things got sorted out! :D
You guys finally know now how Lara met Brian ahah
Hope you liked this chapter and feel free to comment!