Reliving the Nightmare

♡BRIAN'S POV♡

My shoulders slumped when Matt called me out on being in two fights. He was right, I was being a dick. What kind of guy gets in fights with his brothers over a girl he'd known for a few days? Not the kind of guy I wanted to be, that's for sure.

I turned, defeated, to Lola as I prepared to apologise to her and the guys for being an oversensitive knob. She paled when her eyes met mine and I gave her a worried look, silently asking if she was ok.

She weakly shook her head and mumbled, "It's ok, Bri."

Even as she tried to assure me, I noticed the muscles in her limbs slackening and her posture drooping. I frowned and leaned forward, trying to recapture her gaze. She stumbled towards me and I saw the light dimming in her ocean eyes. Suddenly her legs collapsed beneath her and she crumpled to the ground in an unconscious heap.

Nobody reacted fast enough to catch her and I winced at the thump her body made as it connected with the solid floor. There was an unsure moment of silence where nobody moved.

"Lola," El gasped, regaining her ability to move and rushing to Lola.

She desperately shook Lola's shoulders and tapped her cheeks lightly. Lola didn't respond and she looked as white as a sheet. I felt like I was floating as I drifted over to Lola and kneeled by her side, clasping her clammy hand in mine.

"What just happened?" Johnny's voice rang out, echoing all of our thoughts.

"I don't know. She fainted, I guess," I murmured, not taking my eyes off Lola's still features. Her delicate chest rose and fell rapidly, matching my own panicked breathing.

I lowered my head down to hers and brushed a blonde strand of hair away from her face. I shut my eyes and focused on being in the moment with her, willing her to come back to me.

"Come on, my love. Wake up," I begged her quietly, placing my lips gently on her forehead.

Still, she didn't stir. I felt my throat tighten as she continued to be still and all of the panic burrowing in my stomach rose through my body and escaped in a worried groan.

Remaining on my knees, I turned and anxiously searched the faces of my friends, looking for the answer. My eyes rested uneasily on Matt; his expression hadn't changed since the end of our fight as it was still harshly taut and shut off. He cracked his knuckles and stepped forward and my body instinctively shielded Lola from his aggressive stance. I eyed him suspiciously but he continued to us, also bending down to Lola's level.

"Do you want me to try and wake her?" he asked my permission seriously, as if he considered her as mine to make decisions for.

"Sure," I drawled out, apprehensively. "But I don't see how you're going t-"

CRACK!

Matt's hand whipped out and slapped Lola's small face with a dangerous ferocity. Her head snapped back with the sheer power from Matt's tree like arms and her glassy eyes flew open.

I rocked back on heels and my jaw dropped with the shock of what Matt had just done. Had he just hit a girl? My girl? I froze in place and stared at him incredulously.

"Oh hell no!" El spat out at Matt. "You did not just fucking go there."

She flushed bright red and stared daggers at Matt. Curling her arm protectively around Lola, she hoisted her up round her hip and started dragging her away. Johnny rushed towards her and grabbed Lola's other arm to help them. They slowly made their way back into the warm up room, leaving me, Matt, Arin and Zacky in a bubble of tension. Matt and I hadn't broken eye contact since he had slapped Lola and I explored the depths of his eyes, searching for a hint of remorse.

I slowly rose to my full height and took a deep breath. I felt my insides harden into a glacial ice, sharp and cold and the numbness spread throughout, transforming me into a vengeful sculpture.

Matt jolted upright and advanced towards me, although it really should have been me attacking him considering the circumstances. Aggressive bastard.
Sensing the imminent blow up, Arin and Zack rushed at us and each grabbed one of us. Zacky wrapped a sturdy arm round Matt's chest and dug his heels into the ground to stop Matt's progress towards me. Arin, seeing that I wasn't trying to go anywhere, simply grasped the back of my neck, pulling my head into the dip between his shoulder and neck. As soon as my vision was blackened and I could no longer see Matt, I began to regain feeling in the rest of my body. I recognised the violent tremors travelling up and down me as those of pure, unfiltered rage. My hands trembled against my jeans and I shoved them in my pockets to claim back some control of my stranger body.

"He hit her, Arin," I choked out into Arin's shirt, my rage spilling out of my mouth in the form of incredulous words. My voice didn't sound like my own; it was too full of betrayal and raw emotion.

"Just calm down, Brian," Arin whispered to me. I think he was trying to make his voice soothing, but a bit of fear caused it to break, ruining the effect. His hand remained on my neck, anchoring me to the real world and pulling me away from the red haze that distorted my thoughts and boiled my blood.

Minutes passed and I distracted myself from Zacky whispering to Matt by seeing if I could count down from one million. By nine hundred and ninety nine thousand, nine hundred and eleven, the rage had dissipated enough that I could feel the boredom leaking in.

I patted Arin on the back as a signal that I was ok. He pulled back and looked into my eyes. Seeing no anger in them, he clasped my shoulder and gave me a tight smile. As I turned to look at Matt, Arin kept a firm grip on me just in case. I looked at Zacky first, and saw nothing but sympathy for me in those honest green eyes. Zacky's arm remained strained round Matt's chest as if he didn't trust letting go and I shifted nervously on my feet, ready to spring into action if he went animal again.

"You said that I'm the one that's fucked up, but I'm not the one going round hitting girls," I told him, keeping my voice as neutral as I could. My face was as dead as my voice, emotion barely existing.

"It worked didn't it? She's awake now," he sneered at me, ugly bitterness contorting his features into a mask of cruelty.

I clicked my jaw and replied, "I would have rather waited until she came around herself rather than have someone hit her."

"Well it's done now," he stated bluntly.

I stepped forward, forgetting myself, only to have Arin tighten his grip on my shoulder as a warning. I flipped my hair angrily and fought to keep a blank facade.

"I'm going to forgive you Matt, because I know that we're better friends than this," I said reluctantly. I lifted my head to him and stared him down until he looked away in shame.
"But know that if you ever do something like this again, I will not only leave the band, but it will be the end of our friendship."

He lifted his head and nodded heavily at me, acknowledging my threat. I sighed and turned away from him, thanking Arin quietly for calming me. He gave my shoulder one last squeeze then let me go.

I covered my face with my hand and leaned against the wall. Images of Matt's huge hand hitting Lola surged up and brought the rage with it. I took deep breaths and fought back the sense of Deja Vu this fight summoned. It was like being back at Lola's house and knowing her Dad had hurt her. But this was ten times worse because it was someone I loved and held dearly that had hurt her, not just some sick bastard.

The door to the warm up room was thrust open and Johnny tumbled out into the corridor.

"Are you guys all finished out here?" He studied each of us for any signs of rage, then turned to me. "Because if you are calmed down, you might want to come and help El with Lola. She's a bit upset, as you might imagine." He glared meaningfully at Matt.

I cursed and followed him into the room. Lola was curled up on the sofa sobbing into El's shirt, clutching her hands as if they were a lifeline. I walked in slowly and quietly and neither of them noticed I was there.

"He's going to leave me," Lola cried into El, her voice was so pitiful and desperately sad that it nearly brought me to my knees.

"No he's not, honey. You're going to be fine," El soothed her whilst stroking her hair rhythmically. She sounded tired and slightly monotone beneath the comforting tone and I had a feeling that this wasn't the first time she had said that.

"I'm going to be left alone. I have no one," Lola wailed.

As El said another comforting statement, I moved round the sofa to face El and gave her a questioning look. She looked up at me gratefully and gestured for me to take her place beside Lola. We switched places without jostling Lola too much and I settled her into the side of my body, relishing the fact that she fit so perfectly beside me.

El kissed Lola on the head and whispered to her, "Brian's got you now, sweetie. He's not going to leave you."

She gave me one last thankful look then went out into the corridor, letting the noise of the others discussing heavily in before she gently shut the door behind her.

I intertwined my hand with hers and kissed her neck softly, trying to show her that I was there for her and staying.

"Bri?" she whispered as she raised her head, finally becoming lucid. Her eyes flickered until they focused on my face and she gave a small gasp when she recognised the features as my own.

"It's me, Lola," I assured her and I carefully gave her a kiss on the lips, keeping it sweet and chaste.

"I'm sorry Brian," she apologised, burying her face into my chest.

I chuckled and asked her, "For what? You have nothing to be sorry for," I told her as I nuzzled her soft hair. "Just please tell me what's going on with you. Why do you think I'm going to leave you?"

She blushed and fingered the buttons on my shirt. "You're going to think I'm stupid."

"I promise I won't. Just tell me," I pleaded with her, hating seeing her this upset.

"Ok," she said in a small voice. "I had a dream at the hotel that you just upped and left me. There was no explanation, no reasoning; you just left. What's to stop you doing that in real life?"

Her innocent face was wracked with such uncertainty that I had to lean down and kiss it away before I answered.

"You have my word that I'm not going to leave you. My goal in this relationship is to get to know you and to see where this goes. If you decide that I'm not the guy you want to be with, I will support you both financially and emotionally in wherever you go and whatever you plan to do next. I'm going to be with you the whole way," I promised her.

Tears trickled down her cheeks and although a relieved smile broke out on her face, a touch of unsurety still marred her happiness.

"But what if you think I'm too boring and you want to get with groupies or other girls, or you want to go out and party all the time? You're Synyster Gates. I'm nobody. It just doesn't make sense," she bared her fears to me.

'Actions speak louder than words. Show her that you mean what you're saying,' my inner voice urged me. I looked at her for a second, making up my mind. Then a smile lit up my face.

"I think it's time to book some tickets."

Notes

What do you all think of Matt slapping Lola? Was it a good method of waking her up or was it just brutal like Brian thought it was?
And what are these 'tickets' Brian's mentioned?
Thanks for reading guys, please comment what you think!!! I like to know what you think of each chapter so please tell me your thoughts!!!:):)
Thanks again,
L xxx