Everyone's Got a Combination

Give Me a Shot At the Night

"Rick has always been like my best friend. Since my younger sister, María, was born, my parents had made it clear that she's better than me. Of the three siblings, I was always the one who messed the family up. I always struggled with school, my room was a mess, and my mind was a mess too. Everyone knew perfectly that I was the weirdo of the family because my parents reminded us every single time they could. María is aware of the comparisons my parents make, and she reminds me every single day she's better than me. Rick, however, was the only one at home that actually made me feel like I was worth it and that someone loved me. He always helped me in everything I was struggling with. When he moved to Tucson, I started becoming close with my dad, but still I felt a bit alone. That's why I moved to Tucson with him. I missed him, and I wasn't happy at home. But Dawn is ruining our brotherhood. Rick has changed a lot since he started dating Dawn, and I feel like I'm loosing him. That's all." She sniffed a little. I was speechless. I never imagined her having such mean parents and sister. She seemed such a happy girl. "So that's why you hate Dawn so much?" I asked still taking in everything she said. "Kind of." She shrugged. "Tell me." I demanded kindly. "My ex cheated on me with her before she became Ricardo's girlfriend." She said really quickly.

"What!?"

"She lived in Mexico for a year, that's where she met my brother. They were friends, and she went really often to our house. There she met my ex-boyfriend and she slept with him. Then she came and told me what she did. So basically she ruined my almost two-year relationship and then she started dating my brother."

"Wow... She really is a bitch." I said surprised. Sofía just nodded. "I guess it's my turn now." I clicked my tongue and sighed. She stared at me with wide eyes. I sighed again, getting ready for what I was about to say. I never told anyone about what really happened with Jenny so I was shaking. "You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to." She looked up at me with the sincerest look in her sad eyes. Her eyes were like a mirror to her soul. I didn't know her for a long time, but I knew she was hurt inside, and she was feeling bad for making me talk about something that hurts me. "Come here." I said, pulling her into a hug. Her head rested on my chest as my arms surrounded her small shoulders. "I know you feel like you have nobody, but you'll have me as a friend forever." I almost killed myself for using the word "friend." She looked up at me with teary eyes. "Thank you." She muttered as she gave me a sad smile. I hugged her tighter and we stayed like that for a few minutes. If it was my choice, I would stay like this forever.
She pulled out from the hug and wiped her tears. "Are you hungry?" She asked flashing a little smile. "Yes! I'm starving!" I said a bit to loudly. "Let's go get something to eat." She said as she walked towards the door.

We walked to the nearest café. We sat in a small table in a corner, and soon a waitress approached our table. "What can I get for this lovely couple over here?" She said with a wide smile. We looked at each other and blushed. "We're not together." Sofía giggled. "Oh, sorry." The waitress apologized shyly. "No prob. I'm having an iced tea and a vegetarian sandwich, please." Sofía said. "For me a roast beef sandwich and regular coke." I smiled. "Alright. I'll be right back." The waitress told as she turned around and disappeared into the kitchen's entrance. "Oh shit, I'm still wearing your shirt." Sofía chuckled. I laughed a little. "Is that bad?" I raised my eyebrows. She gave me a concerned look. "Of course! Like oh my god! People will think I'm a tomboy and those kind of things and oh my god I can't wear this." She started talking like a spoiled brat and being super annoying. She then bursted out laughing and I followed. For a second I thought she was being serious. We kept talking and joking about many topics. We can never have a serious conversation because we, specially she, would joke and tease about everything. I loved that she had such good sense of humor.

We finished our meals and walked back to the house. I started thinking about the fact thay she had no clothes for her stay. I remembered she told me about her friend Avery; maybe she could send Sofía's suitcase back. We were sitting in the couch watching a shitty TV show. Sofía went to the bathroom and while she was there, I took her phone and called Avery.
"Hey, Sof!" A feminine voice shouted.

"Uhm, hi. I'm Brandon. I don't know if Sofía told you about me..."

"Brandon Flowers!? Oh my god. I'm talking to Brandon Flowers!!!" Avery shouted excitedly. The she cleared her throat. "Uhm... Sorry. Is everything okay with Sofi?"

"Yeah. She's fine. This has to be quick because she doesn't know I'm talking to you right now. Dawn sent her suitcase back to Tucson and I was wondering if you could send it back to Vegas?"

"Oh...what a bitch." She muttered. "Yes, sure. Do I send it to the Gold Coast?"

"Just send it to the airport. I'll pick it up. She's here. Thanks. Bye."

I hung up and threw Sofía's phone to the other side of the couch as fast as I could.

Main POV

I woke up and Brandon was nowhere to be seen. At first I freaked out a little, but then I thought he might be talking a morning walk or something.

Brandon arrived about 30 minutes after I woke up. I was making breakfast when he shouted that he had a surprise for me. He ran out of the house and came back carrying a familiar suitcase. "Now you can stay here." It wasn't until he said that that I realized he was carrying my suitcase. I frowned at him a bit confused. "I somehow managed to get your suitcase back here so you don't have to waste your money or go back to Tucson." Brandon said simply as he put the suitcase down. "What!? Thank you so much! How did you get it?" I exclaimed as I threw myself at him for a hug. "Let's say I called a friend of yours in Tucson." Brandon shrugged. "You called Avery?" I chuckled. Brandon nodded and he proceed to place his things on the coffee table. "I have to record all day, but I can drop you at the mall on my way to the studio, and then we'll see what to do" He said while grabbing his keys. "I would love to, but Rick wants to see me and 'talk' about what happened. What if we go to a club tonight with your band?" I said. "That's brilliant. Good luck with your brother. I'll be here around nine. Be ready." He said as he pulled me close to hug me. "Don't get in much trouble." He pressed his lips against my forehead and my knees trembled more than ever. I never wanted to kiss someone so badly as in that moment.

****
Rick tried to apologize like a thousand times for something he didn't even do. I told him everything was okay between us. I told him how I was feeling about our relationship as siblings, and he told me he was feeling kind of the same. He finally understood why I hate his girlfriend and that I'm not sleeping with Brandon.

***
The days went by. I decided to stay at Brandon's house since I didn't want to deal with Dawn.

We visited lots of amazing places around Vegas. The Killers took me to one of their gigs and to the studio. I'm pretty sure they are the best tour guides in Las Vegas.

BRANDON'S POV

We went out to a club as a farewell for Sofía. She really didn't want to go back to Tucson, and to be honest, I didn't wanted her to go either. We had this idea that she could stay in Vegas for a little longer and she could go check UNLV as an option of a place to study. I truly wanted to spend more time with her because even though we were nothing but friends, I knew it was going to be hard to live without her.

We were at a club in The Strip. Everyone but Mark and me was drunk. I saw Sofía making out with a guy who was as drunk as her. I couldn't help it but feel jealous. I noticed he was about to go further with her, and she was fighting for him to stop. I couldn't let him hurt her, so I ran to her and pulled her away from the guy. "What the fuck do you think you're doing?" The drunk man shouted as I stepped between him and Sofía, trying to protect her. "Just leave her alone, dude." I shrugged as I turned to face Sofía. I felt the man throwing drunk punches at me, missing every single one. I just pushed him lightly, and he was so drunk he fell to the floor. I took Sofi by the hand and dragged her through the sea of drunk and sweaty people at the club. "Alright, Sof. You've had enough fun for today, let's go home." I said walking her to the exit. "Shhhh." She said putting her index finger on my lips. "You know what? Tomorrow, when I'm hung over and feeling like shit, I want chilaquiles and snuggles, alright? Now let me go have another round of shots." She said and she ran into the dance floor again. I followed her and I saw her talking to Ronnie and Dave. "I'll take a shot for every little thing I love about Brandon!" She shouted as she took the first one.