Brendon:
As we eat our ice cream, I take Asteria through the busy night streets of New York. She seems cautious but I think she's enjoying herself. She's laughing and pointing at dancers and street performers and applauding them. She hands out a few more snack bars to other homeless people and we joke as we walk. I'm excited to take her to another one of my favorite places.
"Brendon! Watch out!" She uses all of her force to pull me out of my sure path into a lamp post and I laugh.
"I'm sorry! I wasn't paying attention!"
"Brendon Urie, where are you taking me?" she starts to bite her lip and I can tell she's getting nervous.
"We're very close Asteria- wait...I don't know your last name!"
She giggles at my expense and gives me one of her famous eye rolls that I've grown very fond of.
"Vayne. Asteria Vayne." I raise my eyebrow at her.
"Urie. Brendon Urie." I try my best at a James Bond accent and it did well enough to make her laugh. She gives me a small shove but I stay in place and she's the one who moves. She's the most delicate little thing I've ever encountered. "We're here!"
I hook her arm into mine and pull through into a small club. Brendon, you fucking did it. She's beaming as we step inside and there's a small local band playing on stage. I pull through and grab us a pair of jack and cokes to enjoy as we watch and she's listening and moving to the music in a slow but sexy way that you didn't think girls moved in other than the movies.
"I love this band!" I stare at her, wide-eyed. I had no idea she'd actually know who it was. "I try to come here and see them once a month!"
Their smooth yet poppy rock style blares through the monitors and I'm watching her as she tries to drink and dance at the same time which doesn't exactly work out but it's cute so I leave her be.
"Alright you guys, we're gonna slow it down a little. So this one's for the couples that came out tonight, and if the gentlemen in their crowd would just kindly ask their ladies to dance, or gentlemen, or ladies to ask ladies, that'd be great." The crowd let's out small laughs and one by one they pair off. She doesn't turn to me at the announcement, which is disheartening but she turns instead to come sit on a barstool. I stand up.
"Asteria, time to dance." She rolls her eyes and shakes her head, staying in her seat. "Fine, be stubborn. Let's see what that changes."
I lift her off of the stool and she gasps, giving me a smack on the shoulder. She glares at me as I pull her closer to the stage and we join the other couples in slow movement.
"What are you doing Brendon?" I laugh mostly because she sounds miserable.
"I'm not a very good dancer."
"Neither am I."
We laugh and she bites her lip as she looks at me. I cup her face with my hands and she looks at me with heavy eyes. I start to lean forward and she quickly closes the small space that was left between our mouths. The kiss is different from our lunch the other day. It's soft, questioning, warm, and overwhelming. My head starts to spin as she pushes her body into mine, slowly moving her lips in a soft and loving rhythm. The song is over and the only reason I notice is the applause that comes from the small crowd. She pulls away, out of breath and with large pupils.
"Brendon..." Her voice sounds small and helpless.
"Yeah?"
"Can I ask you-" she's cut off by the next song and I take her out through the VIP area. They've added hanging lights to the out door patio and we both take a seat in the cold night air.
"Want one?" I ask her as I pull two cigarettes from the pack in my pocket. She gives me a small smile and nod and I light hers for her. "What were you going to ask me?"
"Well...when we went to lunch the other day, you were different. And I guess...I kind of..." She closes her eyes for a moment before she continues. "I felt like...you were kind of playing with me...like I was just a toy for you...and I want to know what changed?"
She takes a drag of her cigarette and my stomach sinks. You were playing with her, Brendon. I kick my subconscious in the shin. That was before I knew I couldn't get her out of my head. I'm still not sure of why I can't get her out if my head when this is my second day with her. She's still expecting an answer and I don't know what to say.
"I'm not always the kindest person, Asteria. But you're different. You're always kind. To everyone. I mean yeah you have an attitude and you roll your eyes a lot but you're probably the kindest person on this planet and you're more than what I thought. I'm sorry for not seeing that when I first met you."
She grimaces and watches her smoke trail off through the lights.
"Where do you even want to go with this?" She's defensive...she has a reason to be...when I first met her I just wanted a hook up.
"I'm not sure...I'm sorry." She huffs and stands up. I reach to grab her hand and she tries to pull away.
"Asteria-"
"No, Brendon. I know what this was, I'm not an idiot."
"But please just-"
"No. Do you know how exhausting this is? To always just be a piece of ass? Guys don't like me, they don't like my personality but God they love my insecurity and can't want to get to my body."
"It's not like that, Asteria you have to listen to me."
"But it was, wasn't it?"
I stand in front of her with my mouth open but no words escape.
(Hello everyone! I'm so sorry my updates have been so slow. Things are really picking up around here but I'm going to definitely try to keep it at least weekly. I'd love to go back to daily updates within the next two weeks but I'm hoping you all find this worth the wait!)