Brian bowed his head low as he tried to gather his wits. It was one thing to talk to Nick, but quite another to talk to Corinne. Still, she stood by patiently, waiting.

"Corinne, I... I... it was..." He gritted his teeth in agitation when he realized he couldn’t put into words what he so desperately wanted to say. He wanted to tell her about Alex, about what he felt, and all of his worries. But the words just wouldn’t come. He looked up to her confused, yet patient, face. “I’m… I’m so sorry,” he said quietly, “I was just… just so scared.” He closed his eyes—that wasn’t exactly how he wanted to say it.

”I know,” she said quietly, causing Brian to look up at her in shock. She held a calm smile on her face. She quickly bowed her head, gathering her thoughts, and looked back up at him. “You saw the article and lost it. It’s okay… I know you didn’t mean to react like that.”

Brian let out a sigh, tilting his head to the side. She had basically summed it up for him. What did he do to deserve her? He squeezed his eyes shut momentarily before he took in a deep breath and looked into her eyes again. “Yeah… basically,” he said with a smirk. Corinne smiled back sadly, and Brian noted that she still felt hurt by his words. He slowly closed the distance between them, and wrapped her in his arms. “Will you ever forgive me?” he mumbled, his face buried in her hair.

This time Corinne’s smile was genuine. “Maybe. If you play your cards right.” Brian chuckled, and she felt her body warm at the sound of it. He pulled away from her and looked back into her eyes as he held her by the shoulders.

”I’m so sorry…” he whispered softly. Corinne closed her eyes and let out a sigh as the tender words met her ears. “Come on… let’s talk,” he added, and led her to the couch.

Corinne listened to the deep rhythmic sounds of Brian’s breathing as he slept. She was lying gently on his chest, the both of them sitting, slightly slouched, on the couch in the back of the bus. It had been a long emotional discussion between them, but once it was finally over, they cuddled up together on the couch and talked about other, more positive things. Brian never did tell her about Alex.

He ended up falling asleep about 15 minuets ago as Corinne gently played with the hair at the back of his neck. She closed her eyes softly as his chest rose and fell with each deep breath. Suddenly, there was a rush of air coming from in front of her, and her eyes shot open in time to see Nick kneel in front of them.

He smiled at her. “Hey,” he whispered.

She returned the smile. “Hi,” she replied in the same hushed tone. She lifted her head a little so she could pay him the proper attention.

”How did everything go?” Nick whispered again.

Corinne looked over at the sleeping countenance of the one she loved and then silently motioned to Nick that they should leave the room, so as not to wake him. She gently got off of Brian and walked out of the room, Nick closely in tow. When they were far enough away, Corinne turned back to him and smiled, crossing her arms across her chest. “Alright,” she said quietly, stifling a yawn. “He apologized for the way he reacted, and explained everything to me.”

Nick nodded his head, “Good,” he said softly. The two were quiet for a moment before Corinne decided to speak.

”So what happened between you two before he came out to get me?” she asked. “He seemed reluctant to tell me what you two talked about.”

Nick grinned, seemingly amused by some secret memory. “To tell you the truth, I think I scared him a little,” he chuckled. Corinne furrowed her eyebrows and cocked her head to the side, asking what he meant. “I had let him know that if he ever did anything to hurt you, I’d kill him. So, when I came storming back there with fire shooting out of my eyes, I think he was afraid I’d make good on my promise.” He smirked again.

Corinne laughed and shook her head. “Oh, my hero!” she exclaimed sarcastically. Nick snickered and gave her a light push.

”I’ve gotta make sure that my girl is taken care of,” he said sincerely, flashing her a smile. Corinne returned the favor.

”Sort of like the time that Timothy Robinson pushed me on the playground in 4th grade and you beat the crap out of him for it?” Corinne asked. Nick threw his head back and laughed.

”I had forgotten all about that!” he exclaimed, his face beaming at the memory. “Do you still have the scars on your knees from where you fell?” he asked.

Corinne nodded. “Sure do. That stupid punk. He never did try anything with me again, though.” Nick beamed and straightened himself proudly. Corinne chuckled. “Nicky Carter—strikes fear into the hearts of all fourth grade bully’s!”

Nick laughed again, “Hey! Don’t call me that!”

Corinne drew in a deep breath and spit out, “Nicky, Nicky, Nicky!” in a singsong voice. His eyes narrowed to slits and she squealed as he wrapped her up in a headlock. Her arms flew around her head chaotically as she tried to get him to let go. He only laughed and held on tighter.

At hearing the noises, AJ made his way to where Nick and Corinne were—um… standing? He tilted his sunglasses almost all the way down his nose so that his confused brown eyes were visible. He arched an eyebrow quizzically, and the two quieted down and looked at him, completely still. With the same bemused expression on his face, he crossed his arms across his chest, cleared his throat, and said “Dare I ask?!”

Nick and Corinne looked at each other (she still in the headlock, mind you), and it took everything they had not to burst into hysterical laughing.