MARLEY

I sighed as I closed the door. It had been almost a week since I'd talked to Kay, and I'm not kidding, my week had gone from bad to worse, to terrible. It started off with Michelle staying over for two days, so I had to deal with the overwhelming face sucking competitions between Brian and her.

Then my Rottweiler, Gin had been ill, so I'd taken her to the vets. They'd done various tests and discovered that she had an advanced stomach tumor. I'd just gotten back from the vet's after having decided that it would be best for her to be put to sleep. She was fifteen and was suffering from joint problems and arthritis.

When she was nine, Jared and I had got her from a shelter. She had been my first dog. Losing her was like I'd lost a piece of me. I know it sounds pathetic but still. She may have been a stubborn, lazy, food obsessed dog but she was my dog. I took my leather jacket off and tossed it on the hook by the door.

When I turned back, I was faced with a smirking Brian. Perfect, just what my day needed. I ignored the way my heart rate hitched slightly at the sight of him. "You're nice and merry today," he remarked and I glared at him before storming upstairs.

"What did I do?" Fucking bastard.

I couldn't help the tears that fell. I was looking back through one of my old photo albums. It was the one dedicated to the only tour I ever did with the guys; The Waking the Fallen Tour. Val and I had traveled with them, her doing the merch and me being one of the roadies. I was only twenty at that time. I'd taken Gin with me, not wanting to dump her on mom and dad for three months. She was in most of the pictures of us on the tour bus and at the venues.

There was a gentle knock on my door, I looked up, hastily wiping away the tears. "Come in." The door opened to reveal Brian. I scowled at him and turned away. His hand gently touched my shoulder and I heard his voice next. "I'm so sorry Denise, I didn't realize."

Before I could reply, he spoke again. "Johnny pointed out that I'd been too busy shoving my tongue down Michelle's throat to realize what was going on around me." I snorted at Johnny's choice of words. "He has such a way with words." Brian chuckled slightly behind me. "That he does. He was right though." I felt the bed sink next to me as he sat down. He looked at the photo album and smiled.

"That was a good tour." He said and I smiled, forcing myself not to cry. "We nearly killed each other though."

Waking the Fallen Tour - 2004

"Fuck you! You are the most irritating, annoying, pompous asshole that I have ever had the misfortune to meet!" I exclaimed, flicking my hair out of my face. Brian just grinned from his seat. "Love you too Denise."

I growled in frustration and fell onto the couch next to Matt. "Don't call me that!" I looked over at Matt, exasperated. "Why do you have such a disagreeable friend?" He laughed and put an arm around my shoulder. "Would you be as amused if I didn't?" I glared at him for his words.

"I'm sure that I'd find a way to survive without his constant sarcastic comments." I replied dryly. Across from me, Brian smirked. "You and I both know that you'd be lost without me and my sarcastic comments, Denise." I was about to reply rudely when my 110 plus pounds of Rottweiler jumped onto his lap and lay down.

Instead, I cracked up laughing as he wheezed for breath following a paw to the balls. Apparently, Val and I were the only ones who found it funny. Matt just looked at us flatly. "There is nothing amusing about having your balls stood on. If you had them you'd understand."

Val snorted, "I call it karmic payback for childbirth, babe." I high fived her. "Damn fucking right." I agreed. "But neither of you has actually given birth yet, right?" Jimmy replied, looking confused and I glanced at him. "But we most likely will in the future." I shot back.

"And periods!" Val added, smiling mischievously. "Don't forget the tampons." I added with a grin. Almost simultaneously, all guys clapped their hands to their shoulders. "Way too much information, girls!" Zacky yelled rather disturbed. "Well, you don't have to use them every month..."

"LA LA LA LA!!" Both Val and I looked at each other and cracked up laughing as four out of five guys moved very fast towards their bunks. The only one left was stuck under my lazy dog and she wasn't about to move. Brian sighed and gave up struggling. He looked at me before saying, "Your dog is fat, do you know that?"

I narrowed my eyes at him, "How dare you? She might be lazy as fuck but she isn't fat." Brian just yawned. "Whatever, Denise, whatever." I threw Matt's MP3 player at his head. "How many fucking times must I tell you not to fucking call me that?!"


I came back to present, my eyes full of tears at the memory of Gin. I just couldn't make myself believe that she was gone. An arm wrapped around my shoulders and I jumped slightly at the sudden contact. I'd totally forgotten that Brian was still here. He pulled me into a sideways hug and whispered, "It'll be okay, Denise."

I couldn't do anything to control the way my heart was racing as his breath tickled my ear. Without thinking, I rested my head on his shoulder. "I miss her already."

"We all do, we all loved her even if she did like to crush us with her fat ass." He chuckled and I smiled slightly. I knew that he'd meant me to. We stayed like that for a while, neither of us moved. To be honest, neither of us seemed to be uncomfortable. Well, I certainly wasn't. But I wasn't exactly happy with the way that being in his arms was making me feel.

Eventually I lifted my head and smiled softly at him. "Thanks." He frowned, "Why?"

I sighed, "I didn't expect you to come and apologize, let alone make me feel a bit better." He smiled and stood up. "Who'd have thought it? We can actually get along, eh Denise?" I wrinkled my nose, "God forbid."

Brian looked at me for a while, as if he was debating whether or not to do something. Eventually he shoved his hands in his pockets. "I'll catch you later Denise." He mumbled, walking out of my room.

Notes

Short chapter, I know.
But this was just a teeny tiny hint for what's gonna come next :p

Any idea what might happen?
Stay tuned!