New Kid

Shattered by Broken Dreams

        I watched a change in you...
        It's like you never had wings...
        Now you feel...
        So alive...
        I watched you change...

        The big day.. Brian's wedding. I sighed loudly, watching as Brian changed into his tux and pinned his corsage onto his chest. He looked so damn good in a suit that I almost had to struggle to keep my eyes from wandering all over his golden body. He had bulked up a little over the past few months, and that had become painfully obvious to me when he had stripped down to nothing but his Batman boxers.
        "Dude, do you wear those everywhere?!" I teased as I sat in a chair behind him, sipping from a glass of champagne. Hey, it's alcohol, sue me. He looked at me in the mirror, raising an eyebrow as he adjusted his tie.
        "They're my good luck charm. They're clean, I promise.." He added once he saw the disgusted look on my face. "Okay, how do I look?" He asked nervously as he turned around and spread his arms to present himself. I could feel my face turn red, but I swallowed the lump that had formed in my throat before giving him a wide smile and a thumbs up.
        "You look great, Bri. Michelle is lucky to have you." I said sincerely. He didn't even know how true that sentence was at the time.. He gave me a warm smile and then cleared his throat nervously, adjusting different folds and things on his tux before he sat down in the chair across from me.
        "And any girl would be lucky to have you, Zee." He murmured softly, and I blushed deeply, a chuckle bubbling out of my lips as I looked away and shook my head. "Seriously. You're funny, you're sweet, you're caring, you're cute as fuck, you're supportive.." He listed, but I was caught on the fourth thing he said.
        "What was that thing you said after caring?" I asked nervously, my hands shaking a little as I adjusted my bow tie. He let a soft chuckle bubble from between his lips, shaking his head lazily.
        "Supportive." He finally lied, leaning back in his chair and pulling out his phone to have some sort of distraction.
        "No, I heard something else." I teased, but he didn't reply. He only smirked and continued to tap away on his phone, apparently sending text messages to some people. "Briiiiiaaaannnn, c'mon!" I prodded, hopping over the gap between our chairs and sitting on his knees. I shook his shoulders playfully, but he continued to ignore me as he turned a little red and then gave a bright, loud cackle.         "Fine." I pouted and then sat back in my chair, crossing my arms and looking out the window with a huff.
        "I said.." He took in a deep breath. "I said you're-" Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. He called a 'come in' and the door swung open to reveal Jimmy in his signature white tux. His usually black and unruly hair had been done up nicely, and he had put in a new ring through his lip piercing. I always hated that fucking ugly tuxedo.. I thought to myself with a grimace as Brian raised his eyebrows and sat up in his chair.
        "It's time." Jimmy said with a wild grin.

        I stood up at the front, just behind Brian. He occasionally cleared his throat and shifted his weight to his other foot, seeming more nervous than excited. Matt, Johnny and Jimmy stood just behind me, having an extremely quiet conversation as we waited for the bride and her party to arrive.
        "You excited, Bri?" I asked softly, and he jumped a little at the sound of my voice. He then looked at me with a nervous grin, clearing his throat before he nodded.
        "Yeah.. And nervous. God, I bet she looks perfect today." He murmured to himself, and I gave a soft chuckle, immediately feeling sick at my stomach. I can't stand her.. But if she's what makes him happy.. I'll put up with her. I thought. Suddenly, the doors of the church opened up, and in walked Val, looking a little distraught. She held the long skirt of her silvery dress up to keep from trampling on it as she stepped up onto the platform, giving Brian a nervous grin when she saw him.
        "Hey, Bri.." She muttered gently, and he smiled at her, seeming a little confused as to why she was there before Michelle.
        "Oh, hey, Val! Is Michelle almost ready?" He asked, and she visibly cringed. No. God, no, don't break his heart.. I thought as I watched her bite her lip. She then took his hands into hers, holding them gently as she began to tear up. I glanced back at the other three men, who seemed to be thinking the same thing.
        "Bri, I have some bad news.." She whispered, and Brian tensed visibly. "Michelle.. Isn't.. She isn't coming." Brian gave a soft, disbelieving laugh before he shook his head.
        "I don't understand." He said, his voice trembling with emotion. God, I just want to hold you until you're okay again..
        "Michelle doesn't want to get married, Bri.. She's not marrying you.." Val whispered gently. The entire church was silent by this time, and after a second, Brian let his head fall towards his chest. He then took his hands from Val's and then walked out of the room, the door slamming behind him.
        "That bitch.." Johnny whispered from behind me. I looked down at my feet for a second before I trailed away from the altar, following Brian into one of the rooms he had shut himself into. There he was, slumped forward and staring at the corsage he now held in his hand. He twirled it around a few times before he finally let it drop down into his lap with a heavy sigh. I sat down across from him, watching him closely for a minute before he finally raised his head to look at me.
        "If you're here to tell me everything happens for a reason, save it.. I don't need a lecture." He snapped, tears rolling across his beautifully structured cheekbones. I reached forward and wiped one of his tears away with my thumb before I placed my hands on his shoulders.
        "Bri, I'm here as a friend. I'm here to comfort you." I whispered gently. His body jerked with a single, violent sob before he broke down and began to bawl his eyes out. I made a split second decision; I wrapped my arms around his waist and pulled him out of his chair, effectively pulling him into my lap.
        "I thought she was the one!" He cried, the jacket of my tux firmly clutched in his hands. He buried his face into my neck, his body hiccuping with sobs as he continued to cry his eyes out. I locked my fingers in his hair before I began to rock him back and forth in my arms. I shushed him gently, giving him a friendly, comforting kiss on the forehead; he looked up at me, his eyes watery and bloodshot.
        "Listen, Bri.." I whispered, swallowing what I really wanted to tell him. "I don't know what the fuck went through her head, and frankly, I don't care. She broke your heart, and I'm never going to forgive her for that. Whether you do or not is your choice. But I'm here for you, that's never going to change." I stroked his slightly sweaty hair from his face, and he gave me a small smile; it was probably the biggest one he could manage at the moment.
        "Thank you Zacky.. I guess we should go back out there, but I don't know what we'd tell them happened..." Brian murmured, sitting up off of me to look down into my eyes more. His lips look really irresistible right now.. I thought. He's not even dating anyone anymore, do it, Zacky! I shook my thoughts away.
        "We'll go back out there whenever you're ready. I'll take care of everything, Bri." I whispered. He stood up and then helped me to my feet; I then followed him out to the main room, only to find that everyone was gone except for our friends. "Where did everyone go?" I asked, a hand on Brian's shoulder for reassurance.
        "Everyone kind of figured out what happened..." Matt muttered before he raised his vision upwards to look at me and Brian. "So I just told them to go home, and we'd figure things out later.." Brian nodded, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand before he laughed shamefully.
        "I'm sorry this didn't work out, guys.." Brian whispered. Val reached forward and placed a hand on his shoulder, giving him a sullen smile. He glanced at her hand before their eyes locked, and she waited until he was looking at her before she spoke.
        "Brian, you have nothing to be sorry for.. If anything, I'm sorry for having set you up with her.. She's had this problem all her life with not staying in relationships.." Val explained, then gave him a friendly hug. I watched, a bit jealously, before Jimmy nudged me and gave me a wink. He nodded towards my phone in my breast pocket, and I raised an eyebrow before I pulled my phone out and saw that I had one message from Jimmy.

        'Nows ur chance homie.' It read.

        'Not yet. Waiting until he's ready.' I texted back. Johnny watched the both of us as we tapped away on our phones, occasionally glancing at each other. He seemed to catch on, because he grinned at me before he laughed and shook his head.

        'If u wait too long hes gonna find someone else Z.' Jimmy warned, and I rolled my eyes at my phone, pocketing it just as Val and Matt were saying something about everyone coming over so she and Matt could cook dinner for everyone.
        "Oh, I'd.. I'd hate to be a burden." Brian stuttered, and I placed my hand firmly on his arm before giving him a serious look.
        "You're not a burden, to anyone. C'mon, it'll be fun." I gave him a wide smile, and I could see him bite the inside of his lip for a second before he nodded in agreement. "There, it's settled! We'll go have a family feast!" I yelled giddily, raising my arms in triumph.
        "A feast worthy of a King's company!" Jimmy laughed, pulling everyone into a group hug. I held Brian tightly to my side, and I could swear he was blushing as I turned my head and rested it on his shoulder.
        "Guys, I want to say thank you.. I'm so lucky to have such supportive friends like you guys. I don't know how you guys put up with me all the time, but I'm so glad you do.." Brian murmured softly as the hug was broken, his eyes swiveling through the whole group. He finally locked them on me and I could literally seehis expression soften. "And Zee," He said firmly, making me tense. "Thank you for not killing me all of those years that I was mean to you." He smirked, and I chuckled, lowering my eyes to the ground as I scuffed the carpet with my shoe a little.
        "Bri, we've been through this, if you weren't mean to me, I'd be worried." The entire group erupted into laughter, and I could see Brian beginning to feel better about the whole 'not getting married to Michelle' thing.
        "Oh, Zacky, you love it when he's mean to you!" Matt teased with a knowing quirk to his voice, and I shot him a playful glare, smiling pleasantly at him afterwards. "Alright, Avengers, disassemble and reassemble at my house!" He shouted playfully, and Johnny slowly turned his head to look at the tall, bulky vocalist.
        "D-did you just refer to us as Avengers?" Johnny asked, his eyes wide and tinted with amusement. "I don't know if that was a lame joke or a good one!" He laughed, and suddenly, more uproarious laughter came from our group of friends. Val just shook her head, staring at her shoes and laughing quietly as she wrapped her arm around her fiancé's waist.
        "Alright, who wants to ride with me?" I asked, pulling my set of keys from my back pocket and shuffling through them to find my car keys.
        "I will." Brian volunteered, and Jimmy wiggled his eyebrows at me. He pulled out his phone and tapped away for a second before he glanced at where I had put my phone earlier. I raised an eyebrow, pulling out my own phone and checking the message.

        'Bet u wish it was just u and not riding with u huh Z? ;)' I glared at him with a boiling red face as I put my phone away and nodded towards the entrance to the church. We all made our way to our cars, starting them at pretty much the same time and then pulling out of the church parking lot.

        "Zee.." Brian whispered as we slowly drove towards Matt's house. I raised my eyebrows in response to show I heard him. "I.. Thanks for giving me a ride. I don't think I could or should drive right now." He quickly changed what he wanted to say with a nervous chuckle. I nodded my head skeptically, keeping my eyes focused on the road as I followed Matt and Val's car over to their house.

        You know what? I thought to myself with a smile. I think it's gonna be a good thing for everyone that Michelle and Brian didn't get married. Now I can finally prove to everyone how much happier he would be with me instead of her.