Real

Yes, I know that the chapter title is stupid, but I couldn't think of anything else. I hope you don't find this chapter boring. There's not a whole lot of action, but where there isn't action, I tried to make the dialogue very interesting, and incorporated humor. Also, I decided to introduce you to Joey in this chapter.

I really want to know what you think and how you like this story so far, so reviews and feedback are appreciated! Thanks again, and thank you for reading this! :)

...Yep...that's just about it...awkward lol

Chapter 2: Outside Opinions

Bryan woke up first. He’d always been the morning person. When they were in high school, he’d always had to get up early in the morning for practices for whatever sports team he’d been on at the moment.

He sat up and glanced at the other bed. Cori was still sleeping, and even worse, she was facing him. He paused, contemplating whether he should pretend to be asleep until she woke up, or leave, and come back in after she was awake.

After a moment, he decided that he should probably do something. He let his bare feet touch the floor, and holding his breath, he leaned forward to stand up from the bed, the sound of his jeans sliding against the sheets far too loud, in his opinion. He winced, and kept his eyes on Cori, silently praying that she wouldn’t be disturbed from her slumber.

And in that moment, he knew that some higher power, somewhere out there really had it in for him.

A quiet, breathy whimper followed by a small yawn and the rustling of sheets let him know that the guitarist was stirring. He remained frozen where he was, eyes wide, and butt hovering over his bed as he half stood, half sat, and his hands, which pressed into the mattress to push himself up, were now white at the knuckles as he clutched the sheets, willing the girl back to sleep. No such luck.

Her eyes slowly opened, and she looked straight at him, her eyes unfocused. She blinked a couple of times before making a face. “Turn off the lights,” she groaned, lazily placing her arm over her eyes, “It’s so bright it hurts.”

Bryan let out a small sigh of relief. She hadn’t freaked out. That was a good sign, he hoped. He looked around. The lights were out. The only light in the room was streaming through the windows. He got up and walked around Cori’s bed, and closed the drapes.

A barely audible thank you was his reward. Bryan returned to what had been his own temporary bed for the night, and sat, propping his elbows on his knees. He opened his mouth to speak, only to find that he wasn’t quite sure what to say. Slowly, he let his mind sift through the events of last night: Cori getting drunk; him having to pull a search and rescue; having to watch her act like a five year old until one in the morning. She probably didn’t remember anything. He felt relieved, but at the same time, couldn’t help but think that if she had, at least he’d have something to say now. He decided to go with the obvious: “Um…Good morning.” He said awkwardly.

A soft scoff came from her bed. “Yeah. Look, not to be rude, but…would you mind keeping it down?” she finally let her arm slide away from her eyes, and she looked at him, a pained expression on her face, “I have a headache the size of the Alps.” She turned her head a bit more to look at him, and moaned, “And my stomach’s not feeling all that great either.” Her brown eyes, appearing even darker due to the dark circles, found his. “What happened?”

Bryan sighed. He knew he’d have to explain eventually, but he didn’t think that telling her while she was in the midst of her first hangover would lift her spirits any. He decided to go with the compressed version of last night, and would only explain more if she asked for detail -- and in her state, she probably wouldn’t. “You tried a drink last night,” he began, picking his words wisely as usual, “but it was really potent. You ended up drunk.”

“Well, I figured that.” she said, her voice expressing how plainly obvious she found that fact to be. He knew that had she been feeling better, she probably would’ve rolled her eyes. “What I meant was,” her eyes lowered from his face to his torso, then pointedly back up to his face, “what…happened?”

Bryan stared at her. Was she implying what he thought she was…Oh geez, she thinks that we-- “Nothing!“ he said quickly, “Nothing like that!”

Wrong words.

Cori lifted an eyebrow, “Nothing…like that? Well then, what --”

“No! I meant nothing at all! God, Cori, I--” he shut his eyes and sighed before opening them. Did she really think that he was one to try things on drunken girls? In her defense, he had to admit that he wasn’t really helping his own case with all the stammering he was doing! He took a deep breath and tried to speak calmly, “Nothing hap--”

A knock on the door interrupted him, and for once, he felt like something was going his way. Cori winced at the loudness, letting out a quiet groan and burying her face in the pillow.

“Rise and shine, Cori! We have to be back on the tour bus in an hour and a half!” Lloyd said loudly from the other side of the hotel room’s door. He rapped sharply on the door again, and Cori looked at Bryan, her face the epitome of misery.

“Make him stop!” she pleaded. Bryan hesitated. The only way to get him to stop was to open the door. Cori certainly was in no condition to do so herself. But if he opened the door, Lloyd would have a fit at what he'd find. Then again, Cori looked ready to cry from all the noise. Their manager banged on the door again, and the next thing he knew, he was flinging the door open.

Lloyd’s eyes widened in surprise, "B-Bryan?" He quirked an eyebrow, confused. It was then that Bryan realized that it might’ve helped if he’d put his shirt back on first. Too late for that now, he thought as he mentally kicked himself. Lloyd also noticed the drummer's bare torso and sighed, “I really hope you and Cori just switched rooms.” Before Bryan could respond, Lloyd had squeezed past, and moments later, he heard a loud, “Dear God!”

Bryan ran to where Lloyd stood, looking in shock at Cori, who was, needless to say, well, there. Bryan put a hand on Lloyd’s shoulder, and the manager looked at Bryan, then back at Cori, then Bryan, then Cori, then back again. “What in the--”

“Shh!” Bryan put a finger to his mouth before whispering, “Relax. And keep it down.”

“KEEP IT DOWN!” Lloyd bellowed, “RELAX?! For god’s sake, Bryan!! I walk in and find that you two spent the night in the same mpf!--” Out of the corner of his eye, Bryan saw Cori’s expression distort to one of utter pain, and he put a hand over Lloyd’s mouth.

“She had too much to drink last night,” he explained in a level tone. It was what he was known for: in the heat of a moment, he was the one who kept his cool. It was working well. Lloyd was beginning to breathe normally again. Bryan continued in a level voice, if only for Lloyd's sake, “I only stayed the night because I was concerned for her health. If she ended up vomiting in her sleep, there’d be someone here to keep her from choking to death.” Under his hand, he could feel Lloyd’s jaw muscles relax, a sign that he was calming down. “I understand what this must look like,” he continued calmly, “But you must understand. I even slept in the other bed.”

For the first time, Lloyd’s eyes fell upon the second bed in the room. Sure enough, the covers were ruffled, and the bed looked like it had been slept in. And it had been. Lloyd let out a long stream of air and his shoulders sagged as he sighed in relief. Cautiously, Bryan removed his hand. “And she has a hangover. So again, please, keep it down.”

Lloyd only nodded, obviously speechless from the sudden emotion shift. “Right, right,” he said quietly. He gave a relieved smile that any stranger would’ve easily mistaken for one of psychotic nature, and gave Bryan a slap on the back, “Good looking out for your family, B.” he started to walk towards the door, but stopped and turned back around. “And we’ll be having a talk later," he looked at the pair over his glasses, a sign that he was switching into parental mode, "the three of us.” he said, switching to parental mode.

Bryan winced. That meant that they would both have to suffer through a lecture about responsible alcohol consumption. He had to admit, though, this time he felt bad for Cori. She already had a hangover. She didn’t need a lecture too.

--

“Have our fans always been that loud?” Cori complained as she plopped down on the small sofa in the media room of their tour bus. Tally gave her a sympathetic smile before grabbing the remote and turning on the television.

The band had packed up everything, and the crew had taken it to the bus. They had been about to leave through the back of the hotel, but Lloyd told them that there was a slight change in plans, and that they were to leave through the front to sign a few autographs before boarding the bus. The whole thing would’ve gone well, except for the fact that all of the fans were screaming, which didn’t exactly help Cori’s hangover. Neither did the camera flashes in her face. Normally, it was fine, but in her current condition, she couldn’t help but feel like she was being punished for drinking.

As soon as they made it to the bus, she’d almost cried from relief, and vowed to herself that she’d never have anything more than a few sips of champagne at industry parties. Better yet, maybe she’d just ask for sparkling water or something.

--

Bryan didn’t have to try not to laugh when he heard Cori’s complaint. He made his way to the small kitchen and reached into the mini-fridge, and pulled out a can of orange soda. Sitting down in the booth, he popped open the can and looked out the window as the bus slowly pulled out of the parking lot. There were fans lining the street, screaming, and waving signs. He managed to catch a couple with his name on them, but as the bus picked up a little speed, he had difficulty reading them.

After they were far enough that the cries of their fans couldn’t be heard, he heard Cori give a content sigh. He shook his head in amusement. Those fans had unknowingly given her a lot of pain. Their poor guitarist now had a worse headache than before. He took another sip of his orange flavored soda. There was a plus side, though. Lloyd had seen how much pain she was in, and had agreed to hold off on the lecture until tomorrow.

After a moment, Joey walked in and sat down across from him. He flashed the wide grin that was famous for sending any girl within 5 miles into a frenzy. Then, he stretched, allowing the white skull on his black t-shirt to come into view, before attempting to run a hand through his hair, which was covered with a matching toque. The only visible hair was that which was sticking out from under his toque, curling both towards and away from his jaw. He laughed and settled for resting his hand on his head. “What’s up?”

“Nothing, I was just checking out the fans.” he shrugged, talking another swig of his soda.

“Ah, the fans...” Joey sighed, faking a dreamy state, “You gotta love ‘em. Especially the girls. Did you see that one chick out there? Nice jeans, belly shirt…my name written on her stomach…Pretty hot stuff.” he waggled his eyebrows, and laughed loudly when Bryan rolled his eyes.

“Joey, shut up!” Cori cried from the other room, and this time, it was Bryan’s turn to laugh. Joey crossed his arms, and wore a pout similar to one a child would take on after being told that they had to take a bath after playing in the mud all day.

“Aw, did someone get their feelings hurt?” he teased.

Joey growled, but the usual teasing grin had already returned to his face, “Hey, it’s not my fault you let her get all drunk last night.”

“Me!” Bryan set down the can in his hand, astounded, “No way, man. No way are you blaming it all on me. Any of us could’ve stopped her from ordering that drink! Besides, you guys noticed she was missing before I did. But somehow, I ended up being the one searching for her.” he said, putting an accusing tone in his last words to make his point clear.

Joey shrugged, “We didn’t think she was missing. We figured she’d gone to the dance floor, like the rest of us. It’s a perfectly normal assumption for one to make when one is in a club,” he paused while Bryan let those words sink in. Joey was right. He took a slow, drawn out sip, and swirled the liquid around in his mouth, focusing on the orange flavor, and refusing to swallow until it had stopped fizzing. He fiddled with the can for a minute, before setting it back down and looking at Joey, who raised an eyebrow, “You searched the hotel for her?”

Bryan nodded, no longer feeling like a burdened hero because of his actions, but like an idiot. Joey let out a quiet chuckle before he reached for Bryan’s soda can and took a sip. Bryan wanted to tell him to get his own soda, but couldn’t quite make the words come up. The sound of the can hitting the table made Bryan feel obligated to speak, and he prayed that Joey wasn‘t thinking what he thought he was thinking. “I…well, it j-just--she was so drunk, and--I -- I--”

“Got concerned?” Joey finished for him. He nodded weakly, his face burning. He hoped it wasn’t visibly red, but he somehow knew it was, and cursed his brain’s lack of discernment on when to blush and when not to. No doubt the flush he felt would only confirm whatever thoughts Joey had on the matter. He stared hard at the table, trying not to be aware of Joey’s eyes burning a hole through his skull. He was extremely uncomfortable, and once again found himself repeating his previous thought: it was all her fault.

Unfair, yes. Illogical, yes. Did he care? Not really.

Why wasn’t Joey saying anything? He felt his face heat up even more under the blue gaze. It was one thing for Joey to actually be quiet. But to be quiet, and completely serious? Oh, that was bad.

“So…” Joey began awkwardly, but it was enough for Bryan to let go of the breath that he hadn’t even realized he was holding. He looked up at Joey, who was fiddling with his fingers, trying to decide how to word his statement. Oh, this was really bad. Joey never was one to think before he spoke. And embarrassment simply wasn’t an option for him. Bryan suddenly found himself wondering just how bad were things going to get. He never realized that Cori getting drunk could lead to a series of such apocalyptic events, and he wondered what else was in store. Joey found his words, and jolted Bryan out of his thoughts, “What…what happened last night?”

Bryan felt relief overcome him. In his panic, he’d forgotten that Joey and Tally had no clue what had happened. Which meant that Lloyd hadn’t informed them, thank God. But then, Lloyd was their manager, and he knew all about confidentiality, so he wasn’t too surprised. Maybe he could use their ignorance to the situation to his advantage. “What do you mean?” he asked, trying his best to play innocent.

Unfortunately for him, he was never the best actor.

“Oh, come on, Bryan.” Joey smirked, “After you left, we didn’t see either of you for the rest of the night.”

Damn it!

He felt his face get hot again, and this time, he knew he was blushing, if Joey’s smirk was any indicator. "Hey," he protested, "You know there's no romance within the band. Rule number one, remember?"

Joey nodded slowly, the never leaving his face. "Yeah, I remember," he crossed his arms coyly,"but sometimes, you can be quite the rule breaker."

Bryan felt his face get hot, and even though what Joey was implying had no substance, he found himself feeling rather guilty, not to mention nervous. There was no way out of this. Joey looked at him expectantly. He opened his mouth, then nearly let out a cry as a chance to save face all but kicked him in the groin. “I think I should tell Cori what happened before telling you. She might not want me to say anything.”

Joey seemed more focused on the first part of the sentence. His eyes widened, “She--she--she doesn’t remember?” he sputtered in disbelief, “How drunk was she?”

“She got the most alcohol heavy drink on the menu, how drunk do you think she was?” Bryan shot his best friend a look that said that he thought he was very stupid for even asking.

Joey waved a hand to dismiss it. “Right. Well, you’re probably right. She should know first.” Bryan sighed in relief, glad that the nosy boy knew when not to push matters. He started to get up from his seat in the booth, but quickly sat back down, looking at Bryan with wide eyes again, and his mouth formed a perfect O. “Oh god…Bryan, you...you didn’t --”

“No!” he said quickly, fighting not to yell. He was shaken by the fact that it had even crossed Joey’s mind, but the more he thought about it, he had to admit that it was a logical thought. He felt sick as it hit him just what their manager had thought when he discovered Bryan in Cori’s room, shirtless no less. No wonder they were getting a lecture. He managed to lower his voice a bit more, and by some miracle, speak calmly, “No, we didn’t.”

Joey let out a sigh, nodded. As if he hadn’t just nearly put them both into shock, he grinned again, and stood up. “Ok, then.” He walked into the media room before turning to face Bryan again. “Hey, wanna play some video games?”

Bryan nodded, relieved to be off of that topic. “Yeah, just let me finish my drink.” he lifted the can to his mouth, but nothing came forth. He realized that Joey had drank the last bit of it. He grinned at the smirking face, “Bastard.”

“Hey, hey, hey,” the bassist put his hands up defensively, the silly grin taking over his face, “We don’t need your whining.” He nodded towards Cori, who was out of Bryan’s view, “We’re already getting more than an earful as it is from Miss Alcohol over here.”

“Hey!“ Cori protested, laughing for the first time that day. Joey ignored her, keeping his blue eyes on Bryan, as he waited for him to accept his man to man challenge. A pillow flew through the air, and Bryan laughed at the undignified yelp that came from Joey as it hit him in the side of the face.


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Again, thanks for reading, and feedback is greatly appreciated