Bring Me To Life

Time Bomb - Part 2

"Not totally sure, but I suspect it's not his mind she's fucking with," Matt smirked slightly, trying get Luke to loosen up.

"You think this is funny?!? G has some major shit going on and she- she's -"

"She is exactly what he needs, Luke." Matt shot him a quick look. "Yeah, they're moving really fast, but consider who we're talkin' about here. G and Cait, they've only got one speed and it's all out. They're race cars without breaks, man."

Luke shot Matt a glare that would have made Cait proud. "They're my best friends. I would know if they were into each other. And I'm the one that's gonna have to clean up the mess when they crash."

*****

They were still stretched out on the couch, the blanket over both of them now, since the only two articles of clothing had been discarded to the floor. Cait snuggled in closer to Grayson's chest and he planted another kiss on her forehead.

"So, I gotta ask you something," he whispered. "Will you go out with me tomorrow night, like on a date?"

She giggled. "Talk about the cart before the horse." A small snort left her. But she tilted her head up to look at him with a soft smile. "Okay, but you should know that I've made it a policy never to put out on a first date."

He laughed, the dorky one that always made her smile. "I guess I'd better take you upstairs and have my way with you now, just in case I can't get you to change your policy in the next 24 hours."

*****

Cait woke in the wee hours of the morning, the sun just beginning to poke through the blinds. She was on her side and Grayson was spooned around her. His large hand rested on her stomach and she could hear his even breathing.

They were going to fuck this up. The thought hit her immediately. There was no way, no way, that the two of them could make this work.

They were two explosive personalities. Two weeks ago they had been screaming and swearing at each other in the middle of the gym. How could they possibly last? And how would she survive when they didn't?

A deep sigh left her.

"What's wrong, princess?" Grayson sounded groggy, his voice deep and rough.

"Ugh, please. My dad calls me 'princess' and so did Jake. You're going to have to come up with something else," she huffed out.

"Okay, pumpkin," he chuckled quietly.

"Gray, seriously, I'm not a form of squash."

"I'll keep working on it, honey."

"Nope, no honey. Honey is actually bee barf."

"Is this what's keeping you awake? My lack of a suitable endearment?" he questioned.

"No," she sighed again. "I'm scared." She rolled to face him and saw the concern on his features. "We're gonna fuck this up, you know that, right? I mean, most days we can barely have a civil conversation. There's just no way that we aren't going to get mad at each other and say stupid shit."

Grayson swallowed hard. She made a decent point, but he wasn't about to give up. "So, let's make a deal, right now. Even when we get mad, we wait until we calm down and we work it out. You're right, we're gonna have arguments. It's just who we are. But it also means that we can be honest with each other, not pretend that things are okay when they aren't. I - I need you, Cait. So we're just gonna have to accept that when we argue, it doesn't mean that we're over. It means we regroup and figure out a way to solve our problems. Deal?"

"You make it sound simple," she said softly.

"It is. It might not always be easy, but it doesn't need to be complicated. It breaks, we fix it."

"I always knew you were the smart one," she murmured. "And I need you too. You've got a deal, Allen. Now, if only there were some way we could seal this deal . . ." she trailed off, her hand running down his chest.

*****
Grayson made his way into the locker room, having dropped Cait in the weight room with a lingering kiss. She had finally shoved him away and reminded him that he had practice and that she would see him later.

He found Luke sitting next to his locker and gave him a grin as he started changing into his practice uniform.

"G, we gotta talk, man. What the hell are you think-"

Luke was cut off by a loud whistle from the other side of the room.

"Holy shit, G," Harry exclaimed. "What happened to your back?"

Chase, Javin and J-Rob immediately burst into giggles, while Brennan slammed his hand against a locker and stormed out.

Grayson flushed but flashed his dorky grin. "I guess my kitten has claws," he responded.

That got a loud laugh from most of the occupants of the room, but Luke just narrowed his eyes and followed Brennan out the door.