Something to Believe In

CH 17: Sorting Things Out

   Serena instantly pulls away and hides her head again, though this time, it's against my shoulder. I glare at Michelle and call back, "Well, we were, until a certain blonde diva interrupted us!"

"Sorry!" Michelle says with a laugh.

I slide my arm around Serena and grin. I can't help it; this feels right to me. "You don't look the least bit sorry, sunshine."

Michelle shrugs. "Whatever, Cuddle Monkey." She pauses. "And feel free to call him that, Serena! He secretly likes it!"

Serena looks up at me, eyes wide. "Cuddle Monkey?"

I smirk. "It doesn't bother me anymore."

"Still," Serena says, "it's her nickname for you." She glances at Michelle, but she's turned her attention back to Gallows. Strangely, he looks less annoyed about it than he should.

"Then you can make up your own if you want, beautiful."

"I'm not beautiful," she says immediately.

I sigh. "You are. But if that makes you uncomfortable, how about... raindrop?"

Serena chuckles. "Sunshine and raindrop? Sounds like I got the short end of that stick. Nobody ever likes the rain."

"I like the rain. It's much less harsh than the sun. Very soothing."

Serena seems to think about it before saying, "Okay then. I guess I'm raindrop?"

"I guess you are. Is that all right?"

"Yes," she says. "It's good."

I grin at her. "I guess this solves the Twitter problem."

Serena tilts her head. "What?"

"Er, you know," I say. "I wasn't going to force you into a storyline, but if it's a natural extension of our relationship..."

"Punk," she says, "you're still my leader. Doesn't that mean that it would still be weird for us to kiss in the ring?"

"Well, it would be a little weird," I agree, "but no more than us kissing here."

She glances toward Michelle and Luke, then back to me, her eyebrows raised. "Really? Because at worst here, we have an audience of two. Which is weird enough. But in the ring, it's millions."

I recall her reaction when Michelle asked if we were making out. "Ah." I pull her close and murmur in her ear, "Well, if you aren't comfortable with taking it public, that's okay."

"Thanks," she says, smiling at me. "It's just that I'm not sure what we're doing, you know? I mean, yeah, we kissed, but what does it mean?"

"What do you want it to mean?"

Serena sighs. "I don't know. I just know that I've been wanting to do that pretty much since the day we met."

I blink. "That long?"

"Mm hmm."

"Oh. Wow."

"Is that weird?"

I chuckle. "Well, maybe a bit. But it's not a bad thing." I glance up at Michelle and Luke. They seem to be getting along, which is scary. "Maybe we ought to discuss what it means later, when there are less ears around to hear it?"

"Okay," she says.

I lean my head against hers. "Right now, I'm content."

"Are you?"

"Yes. This just feels right, Serena."

"For me, too," she admits.

"You two!" Michelle calls back at us. "Whatever you're plotting, stop it! It's too soon for the straightedge society to take over the world!"

I grin at Serena and roll my eyes. "Too soon?" I call back. "I've been plotting the conversion of humanity for years, McCool. I say it's not soon enough!"

"Maybe you could limit yourself to one conquest a day, Cuddle Monkey," she says. "And I think you've met your quota for today."

Serena's eyes get huge. "Conquest?" she asks.

Uh oh. I glare at Michelle. "For your information, McCool, this is nothing of the sort."

Serena looks between me and Michelle. "I'm no one's conquest. I kissed him!"

Michelle grins at us. "I know," she says. "I saw the whole thing. Well," she glances at Gallows. "Most of it. I quit looking when it started to get heated. My poor eyes didn't need that burned on them forever. Luke was kind enough to keep an eye on you for me."

Gallows' ears are red. I can see that from here. "He should be watching the road," I point out. "Otherwise, we're all going to die. That would make this trip really suck, McCool."

"You have a point," she says with a grin. "So are you guys going to hold hands at the house show?"

"We always hold hands," I say.

"Yeah, but it'll be more significant."

"Only to us."

Serena chuckles. "I think it would get more comments if we didn't hold hands. People are so used to seeing it."

Michelle turns to Luke. "Wanna hold hands?"

"What?" he asks. "No! Geez, McCool, you're not a part of the straightedge society yet. Besides, you still have that Hardy thing hanging over your head."

"Yeah, but..." She pauses, a grin forming on her lips. "I have a very good idea."

"Oh no," I groan. "The last time you had one of those, I got dragged to the middle of nowhere and almost got into a fight in the airport."

"It worked out, didn't it?" she asks.

"That's not the point!"

"Of course it is," she says. "And anyway, this one doesn't involve you. At least, not directly." She's staring at Luke, that evil little smile on her lips.

"Punk?" he asks. "Should I be worried?"

"No," I sigh. "You shouldn't be worried, Luke. You should be terrified."