For as Sick as it May Seem

7 - The Distance Kills Me

"That smells terrible." Cole states.

"Sorry." Cory says, walking out of the bathroom, "30 minutes and I'll wash it out."

"Thirty? Ugh."

"You'll live."

"Not if I suffocate from breathing in whatever's in that hair dye first."

"Hey, I'm just touching up the black and my roots tonight. I'm doing the red too tomorrow."

"Agh!" Cole groans, "Anyway though...Are you and Chris still fighting?"

"Nope. We worked everything out. It's totally fine now."

"Good. I didn't like seeing you upset." Cole says, "What were you guys fighting over in the first place?"

"It's grown-up stuff."

"What do you mean?"

Cory pauses, thinking, "Chris said some...risky things."

"Risky?"

"He said some things to me that I didn't really like. And while it was very wrong of him to do that, the situation was sort of my fault too. I should have stood up for myself. I'm capable of doing that, so I should have told him what I was really feeling...but I didn't. He shouldn't have said what he said in the first place, but I certainly could have handled the situation better than I did."

"Gotcha." Cole says.

"Learn from our mistakes, kid. Always be honest with your friends and always be nice to them."

"I didn't think you and Chris were just friends."

"What do you mean?"

Cole shrugs, "Just from the way you talk about him. You seem to really like him."

Cory thinks a minute, "Okay...Let's talk about that. Let's just say that when Chris comes home from tour, he asks me to be more than just his friend. What would you think of that?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, so far, Chris and I have been just friends, and we've been spending a lot of time together. If we decided to become more than just friends, we'd probably be spending a lot more time together, but I don't want you to feel left out or like I care about you any less."

"I know." Cole says, "I don't even feel left out now. I don't think I'd feel left out if you and Chris decided to be boyfriend and girlfriend."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. As long as he takes care of you. You always take such good care of me, I think you need someone to take care of you."

Cory smiles, "Thanks, kiddo."

"I'm not hugging you until you wash that stuff out of your hair."

Cory laughs, "Well then in twenty minutes I'm gonna hug the life outta you." She says, "In all seriousness though, thank you for being so mature about all of this. Once you get to know Chris, you'll see he's a really good guy."

"Just as long as he's good to you."

"Which he is."

"Good. 'Cause if he's not, I will hurt him. I might be short and he might be a giant but I could do a number on his shins if I wanted to."

Cory laughs, "I'm sure you could."

x

It was about 2:18 in the morning when Cory felt the weight of her bed shift.

"Bad dreams again?" She asks without even opening her eyes.

"Uh huh." Cole says, laying right next to her.

Cory opens her eyes. She was annoyed slightly now, but she would miss these moments when they were gone.

Cory blinks herself awake and turns to her side to see Cole right next to her. She sighs.

"C'mere, kid." She says, putting his head on her shoulder and she starts stroking his hair.

"Will you sing?" Cole asks.

Cory sighs, "Fine."

Cole was right. Maybe Cory did need someone to take care of her. She had no one to sing to her at two o'clock in the morning.

She was really starting to miss Chris.

A/N: Gimmie a vote if you fricken love Cole and Cory's relationship as brother and sister. They're awesome.

So what do you guys think is gonna happen when Chris gets back from tour? Is everything gonna go smoothly like it's supposed to? Psht, yeah right.

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Chapter Title From: Puppets 2 by MIW.

xoxo, Scissorhands.