Ruby's POV

"Thank you for this." I said, as McKenna sectioned off another section of my hair, she'd already applied a red bleach to my roots and was currently touching up the rest of my hair with a fresh coat of dye. "The roots and fading were driving me nuts."
"That's okay, what's a little sister for?" she grinned at me in the mirror she'd brought out to the kitchen.

I was seated at the kitchen counter; McKenna's mixing bowls, sectioning clips and hair dye combs were strewn all over the surface. An abandoned bowl of magenta-toned dye laid nearby, and a whole set of hair extensions covered in that same dye were currently processing in some tin foil. I saw Brian appear at the top of the staircase in the mirror.

"What're you doin?" he asked, descending the stairs toward us. "Mac, you look like a whole vine of grapes exploded on your head."
"Fuck you, asshole." she grumbled. "Hey, don't touch tha-"
"I wanna be pretty, too." Brian chuckled, dipping his fingers in the red dye and rubbing it into his faded ends.
"That's for Ruby!" she protested.
"Why'd you re-dye her hair red?" he asked, ignoring her protests and continuing to dye his ends. "You should've dyed it Purple."
"For the love of God, Brian, give it a fuckin' rest!" I laughed. "I'm not going Purple! My name is Ruby, not fucking Amethyst."
"I'd have nicknamed you Violet, probably." he said, rounding the counter to wash his hands. "What the fuck? This shit's not coming off!"
"Because you dipped your fingers in red dye without fucking gloves on, you moron!" McKenna snapped. "Have fun looking like you fingered someone on their period."
"Why didn't you tell me this would happen?"
"You just stuck your fingers in there!"
"That's what she said." I snorted.
"Ha-ha, very funny." McKenna smirked at me in the mirror. "Brian's clearly rubbing off on you."
Brian snorted.
"What?!"
"Think about what you just said." I sniggered.
"Oh, gross." she cringed.
Brian hi-fived me.
"God, you two are as bad as each other." she shook her head, continuing to work on my hair.
"Get used to it." Brian smirked. "I'm only gonna keep corrupting her."
"God fucking help me." she sighed. "Alright, you're done, get out of my face."

I got up from my chair and followed Brian over to the couch, where he picked up one of his guitars - the red-striped one - and began to play. He didn't shred away like usual, but instead played a soft, almost jazzy melody. It was incredibly soothing, and I was mesmerized watching him. He looked up at me and smiled, licking his lips.

"Sing something?" he suggested.
"Like what?"
"I dunno." he shrugged, changing chords. "Just make something up."

I watched him play a little longer, listening carefully until I could hum a little melody to match, waiting for the words to come to me.

"I look into your eyes and I see through your disguise, you're givin' me chills every time you smile. And when you're away, my heart aches for you, babe, and I can't wait for you to come home to me..." I sang.
He stopped playing and smirked at me.
I bit my lip awkwardly and looked down. "I know, that was really lame."
"It was sweet." he chuckled. "And your voice is getting more and more of that rock n roll rasp to it, now."
"You think so?"
"Why don't you form a band?" he asked, laying his arm on top of the guitar.
"I don't know the right people." I shrugged.
"You could go solo?" he suggested.
"I can't play guitar for the life of me." I frowned. "Or else I would."

He cocked his head to the side, giving me a small smile. Laying his guitar down on the couch beside him, he got up and grabbed one of his signature acoustics. I'd always found them incredibly beautiful and wondered why he didn't make them available to the public. There were surely thousands of kids out there who might not have been interested in taking the Metal route, but would die for one of his guitars better catered to their genre.

"Here." he said, placing it in my hands and passing me one of his picks. "I'll show you some basic chords."
"You don't have to do that."
"Shh!" he hissed, leaning over and adjusting my fingers on the fret board. "Strum."
I did as he told me.
"That there's a G, and-" he adjusted my fingers again. "There's your F chord."
"Brian, you cheeselord!" McKenna teased from the kitchen counter, where she was tidying up her hair dye tools. "The ol' teach her how to play guitar trick, really?"
"Shut up!" he called across the room. "Let me teach my best friend how to play!"
"I wanna learn!" I laughed, backing him up.
"Okay." she rolled her eyes...

***

Brian's POV

Ruby was an impressively quick study, I only had to correct her maybe once or twice, and then she was on a roll, playing her own little chord progressions and singing along to them. I watched her intently, captivated by her voice and how beautifully vulnerable she looked as she played and sang.

In that moment, she was back to the girl I remembered from two years ago. The girl who loved music and dreamed of performing in front of thousands. I'd been the one who had experienced that instead, but she was far from a lost cause. Ruby had the potential to do great things, she just needed a little push.

She'd eventually had to get up and go rinse the dye out of her hair, and I'd kept on playing. As much as I loved shredding in Avenged Sevenfold, it was nice to take a break, kick back, and just play some nice melodic shit that took me back to my roots as a guitarist. But I was pulled from my little zen state when the buzzer for the door sounded.

"I'll get it!" I said, as McKenna went to answer. She went back to her laptop and I opened the door.
"Hey." April frowned, holding her hands together in front of her.
"Hi."
"I wanted to say sorry, for the other night." she pouted. "I was really, really mean to you."
"I won't lie, it was kind of justified." I sighed, putting my arm up on the doorframe.
"No, I'm just..." she took a deep breath. "Really, really insecure, and I know you and Ruby are close, and I felt threatened."
"Understandable." I nodded.
"I was hoping that we could maybe smooth things over?" she looked up at me with hopeful eyes.
I glanced behind me, where McKenna was watching me like a hawk from the kitchen counter. "I'm willing to make peace." I stated. "But, this." I gestured between us. "This is finished."
"What're you saying?" she asked, that hope in her eyes suddenly changing into hurt.
"Look." I sighed, brushing my fingers through my hair. "You're awesome, okay?"
"But?" she spoke, before I could continue.
"But whatever we had was just-"
"Just what?!" she snapped. "A fucking fling?"
"April." I groaned, closing my eyes.
"You fucked me!"
"Yeah, I did."
"And now what? You're bored?"
"I didn't say that." I said, calmly.
"You didn't have to." she pursed her lips. "But I guess you've made it clear I really was just another one of your toys."
"April, it wasn't like that." I sighed.
"Then what was it like?" she demanded.
"If I had met you a few years ago, maybe." I shrugged. "But now, it's just not meant to be."
"Because of Ruby." she stated, folding her arms.
"I don't even know where I stand with her." I admitted. "But, I'm trying to do the right thing here, trust me, you're better off staying away from me."
April remained quiet for a few moments, before sighing and coming toward me, wrapping her arms around me. "Thanks, I guess."
"It's for the best." I squeezed her, placing a gentle kiss on top of her head. "You'll find somebody, I'm just not him."

She pulled away and slowly backed up, still watching me for a few moments before turning and walking back up the driveway. I closed the door with a sigh of relief, making a beeline for the stairs. I could feel McKenna's eyes on my back, but ignored her, heading upstairs to my room. I grabbed the Marlboro's on my nightstand and placed one between my lips, lighting it before flopping down on my bed. Pinkly scuffled into the room and jumped up beside me, and I gently stroked her fur with my free hand.

These past few days had been fucking exhausting. Usually, I reveled in all the female attention I got, how they just fell at my feet. But lately, it'd become draining. Between horny fangirls, sleazy makeup artists and Jason's fucking Ex, being worshipped by the ladies was starting to lose its charm.

McKenna entered my room, her now a bright shade of magenta instead of lilac.



"You." she said, demanding my attention as she perched herself on the edge of my bed.
"What?"
"What are you doing?" she asked.
"What do you mean?"
"She's in love with you."
"Who is?"
"Ruby." she stated. "And you're insane if you can't see that."
"What're you getting at, Mac?" I groaned, rubbing my temples.
"I'm saying that you need to figure your shit out." she scolded me. "Stop jerking her around, if you love her, and I think you do-"
"How do you know?" I interrupted.
"Because you're my brother." she retaliated. "And if you have feelings for her, then you need to man the fuck up and tell her. Stop playing this bullshit game."
"I told April to beat it." I informed her.
"Wow, you actually fucking used your upstairs brain for once, I'm impressed."
I couldn't answer her. McKenna was the last person I expected to get mocked by.
"I'm just tired of watching my brother act like a total jerk." she sighed. "I look up to you, you know? You gotta set an example for me." she chuckled, lightening the mood.
I sat up, pulling her in for a hug. "You're right, and I know you're right, you're smart. You always have been." I sighed.
She gave me a small smile as she pulled away, and got up from the bed, stopping in the doorway. "Just, do the right thing..." She tapped the doorframe, licking her lips in thought, a habit we both seemed to share. "Figure it out, okay?"
I nodded...

Notes

Yeah so, spur of the moment, I decided to have Brian already own like, a Beta version of his signature acoustic line, for his own personal use. It was this one Ruby was playing, btw;


How sweet was that scene though? It's my own damn story and I was melting into my desk writing it. I found [This Video] the other night and was inspired by it.
And well, I mean, we all kinda write our own little fantasies in fanfiction, don't we? I've always wished I had a guy to teach me how to play guitar. My Ex always said he would, but never did, that jerk. I mean, I can play a little, but very badly!
(I even bought him a beanie that was identical to Brian's in the Critical Webisodes, he didn't deserve it! I should've kept it!)

Oh and here's Brian's hair after the dye, I think it was the stage lights that did it here but, for the story's sake, he's gonna have red tips for awhile, 'kay?



Thank you for always being so lovely and quick to respond these days, it's giving me the enthusiasm to write that I haven't felt for this story since it's early, early days on Mibba back in 2012. You guys keep me motivated. So keep it up!!

Until next time! xx