Laney Penn pouted her lips at the mirror and applied one last coat of lip gloss. She wasn't about to lie to herself; she was nervous. Ever since that day three years ago when she had decided to give up the band to go to an out-of-state school for music business and administration, things had been awkward between the young girl and her friends. They had tried to stay in contact, but it gradually became less and less until there was nothing left between them. In fact, Laney hadn't even seen the boys in a few years due to her living in an apartment on campus now.

Tonight was going to be the night, though. She had received an out-of-the-blue invitation to a party back home in Peaceville. The Kujira twins, it turned out, had graduated from their community college and were throwing a rager to celebrate. Laney was sure she wouldn't be wanted there, but she accepted the invitation anyway in the hopes of reconnecting with her old friends.

Laney took one final look at herself in the mirror above the driver's seat and let out a nervous breath. She knew it was now or never.

Honestly, she wasn't sure why she was so nervous, She was the oldest of the group by a few months, and had ended up skipping a year in middle school, so she was definitely more advanced than the boys. She had always considered herself the most mature in the group, as well. So really, they should be the ones who are nervous, she told herself. With that, she determinedly adjusted her shirt, grabbed the twelve-pack of beer that she had brought to contribute, and walked up to the front porch.

Laney stood there for a moment. She breathed in the familiar smell of the flowers growing outside of the door. She was just about to ring the doorbell when the door flew open, slamming into her face and knocking the petite girl flat onto her bottom.

"Ah, Jesus!" She cried out, holding her nose in pain. "Watch where you're going next time, will ya?"

"Shit, dude, I'm sorry," said a vaguely familiar voice. "Let me just go in and grab you some – Laney?"

The short redhead looked up from her spot on the ground to see her old friend and bandmate Kon.

"Kon, my man!" She smiled and let him help her onto her feet. "Congratulations, buddy." She went to offer him the booze, but the larger man didn't relinquish his hold on her wrist, instead lifting it above her head to twirl her around.

"Would you take a look at you," Kon let out a low whistle. "I guess there's no calling you 'dude' anymore."

"You're one to talk," Laney replied with an embarrassed giggle. "You look great. Been working out, eh, buddy?"

"Pshaw, you know it." Kon flexed his biceps playfully. "Bet I could bench you no problem."

Laney tried to put on a serious face, but couldn't bring herself to pull it off. "You try, and I will hurt you."

Kon ignored the warning and scooped the playfully protesting Laney off her feet and over his shoulder. He carried her into the house, where the party was just getting started. "Is that beer for us?" He asked, setting her down in the kitchen.

"Well, since I know you young'uns can't get any on your own yet, I figured I'd help you out." She tore a can from the box and tossed it to the taller boy, who handed her a cup of punch in return.

"I'll let that one slide since I haven't seen you in so long," Kon responded, "but you'd better watch your back."

"Pfft, as if I ever needed to around you boys." Laney found herself completely at ease, laughing and joking around as if the pair ha never been separated.

"Well, sorry 'bout this, Laney, but I was kind of heading off to get some more cups…" Kon let his voice trail off.

"Go," Laney replied with a smile. "I'm a big girl; I can take care of myself just fine. See you when you get back." She reached up to give Kon a hug before letting him go off to finish his errand.

Laney quickly finished her first cup of punch and got herself a second. She walked around the steadily growing party, mingling with people she hadn't seen in years.

Even though she was legally old enough to drink, Laney never really did so. She didn't see the appeal in releasing her inhibitions. She was perfectly happy to live in her content little bubble of schoolwork and friends. Her friends at school rarely partied. They would all much rather sit in one person's apartment or another, watching bad movies and eating junk food while studying together for their next big test. Laney loved her courses and she loved her new friends. She figured, why should she feel the need to go out and get drunk if she had all the fun she needed where she was?

This was an exception, though. It was a celebration. Laney wasn't planning on getting drunk, as she knew she would have to drive back the next morning, but she would allow herself a small buzz. She was just heading into the kitchen for another refill on her punch when she heard a familiar voice calling out from behind her.

"Well, well, well," the voice called out, easily carrying over the music and the chatting crowd. "If it isn't the great Laney Penn."

Laney immediately felt a happiness bubbling up from her center. She would recognize that voice anywhere. Turning around, Laney broke out into a huge smile and ran towards her once-best friend Corey Riffen.

She grabbed the boy into a hug and nuzzled herself into his chest. It took her a moment, but the small, red-headed girl soon realized what she was doing and pulled back with a blush.

"Heeeeey, Lanes," Corey drew the words out and let them drip from his mouth like sweetened honey. He looked down at her and slowly smiled. "You've grown up."

"H-h-h-hi, Core," Laney stuttered. She could feel herself getting warm and maybe a little bit dizzy, but she chalked it up to the alcohol. After all, hadn't she gotten over her girlhood crush ages ago? "Um, yeah, so have you."

And it was true. Corey had always been taller than the petite redhead, but he had really shot up in height in the past three years. He had to have been a foot taller than her now, maybe even more. Along with that, he also had his eyebrow pierced and a small beard growing in. He took a drag from the cigarette hanging from his lip and slowly looked Laney up and down.

"I'm really digging the ink," he said finally, motioning toward the flowy, feminine tribal that was peeking out from underneath Laney's shirt sleeve. "I also like your, ah, shirt."

How did he manage to make the word "shirt" so drawn-out and sexy? Laney wondered to herself.

"Yeah," he said, taking another drag from the cigarette, "you fill it out really well. You've got a really nice shape to you."

Laney's blush deepened a bit more when she realized he wasn't talking about the shirt, but instead about what the shirt was (barely) concealing. "Th-thanks," she giggled. "They're D-cups." She felt a small twinge of pride at the pleased look on Corey's face when she volunteered that information.

"You don't say?" He replied with a lazy grin. Laney only nodded and smiled in response. "Well, why don't you get those delicious D-cups over here, and I can show you how to really have fun?"

Laney didn't know what to say. She really didn't have any experience with guys. Sure, there were boys chasing her around campus, and there was Edmund from her study group (with whom she had had a fling), but never before had she encountered something like this. She knew exactly what Corey wanted, and she had never been in a situation to try it out before. Corey was standing there waiting with a cocky smirk, and Laney decided to throw all of her cares to the wind. She quickly closed the gap between the two of them and stood up on her tiptoes to begin furiously making out with the boy whose lips, whose smile, whose general self had filled every fantasy of her adolescent life.

It was fantastic.

Corey stubbed out his cigarette on the end table next to the pair and lifted Laney up into his arms so she was straddling his waist. He carried her up into the guest bedroom and locked the door behind them. He broke off the kiss for a second to toss Laney onto the bed, which let out a soft groan under the unexpected weight. He crawled onto the bed, unzipping his pants as he did so.

Laney was shaking with excitement. She licked her lips and sat up to tug at Corey's shirt. He allowed her to take it off and rewarded her by beginning to kiss along her jaw. He let the kisses get lower until he was biting at the skin on her neck that was the most sensitive. Laney moaned in pleasure, which only encouraged the blue-haired man before her. He sucked the skin hard, causing Laney to cry out in a mix of pleasure and pain.

Once he felt the hickey was complete, Corey began leaving his mark on other parts of Laney's body. He started by pulling at her shirt collar, exposing the soft, delicate skin below her collarbone, and left his mark there. Laney's ecstatic reaction encouraged him to yank her shirt up over her head in one swift motion and unhook her bra faster than Laney could even do it herself. He rolled his tongue over her perked-up nipples and then blew on them. The cold air made Laney moan even louder. She began grasping at his hair as he played with her breasts and ran his fingers softly and delicately over her flat stomach. Laney could feel her abs contracting and her nether regions grow wetter and wetter.

The next spot that Corey landed on was Laney's navel. She had gotten it pierced on her nineteenth birthday as a present from her cousin, and little did she know that it would be one of Corey's biggest turn-ons. He kissed the area around the barbell tenderly, which caused Laney's excitement to grow. He ran his tongue down the piercing, heading toward the top of her jeans. He sucked the area gently and softly nibbled the area around it. Some girls, he knew, weren't too fond of this part, but Laney seemed to be on cloud nine. She was rolling her head back and rocking her hips in a way that screamed "more, more," in a way her voice couldn't.

While he was working on the belly ring, Corey was also busying himself with sticking his hand down Laney's pants. He was having a fantastic time finding and rubbing all of her spots while staying away from the main event. Laney gasped and whispered, "please, please," so Corey began the work of removing her jeans. She was in the midst of too much pleasure to help at all, but Corey didn't mind. He always got kind of excited when the girl was too into it to help out, He did eventually get her pants down to around her knees, at which point Laney had enough of her wits about her to kick them the rest of the way off.

Corey slowly brought his kisses down the front of Laney's belly to reach the outer edge of her area. He looked up, as if to ask permission, before going to town on her. She tasted better than he could remember any other girl tasting. Laney was barely conscious at this point, she was so deliriously into the moment.

"I… want…" Laney managed to gasp out after a few minutes of being eaten out. She couldn't physically make herself finish the sentence, but Corey knew exactly where she was going with it. In a flash, he had his pants off and a condom on. He looked once more into her eyes, making sure it was okay. Laney grabbed his hair and pulled him up to meet her lips. "Yes," she whispered, "please!"

Corey was happy to oblige, and the two became one.

The next morning, Laney woke up to find herself cuddling nude with Corey in the guest bed at the Kujiras'. She smiled wearily, replaying the night before in her mind. It was exactly the kind of fairytale moment that she had always imagined her first time would be. She felt safe and warm and protected in the arms of the man who could make her feel so good. She leaned over and brushed his lips with a feather-light kiss.

This awakened the sleeping Corey. The first image he saw was the golden morning sun falling over the beautiful, naked girl in front of him, and the last night zapped through his head in a flash. "Morning, Lanes," he breathed.

"Hey, Core," she replied, smiling shyly.

"So what did you think?" He whispered. The moment seemed to require that they keep their voices soft and reverent, lest it be shattered.

"That was… You were… Wow." Laney couldn't keep the smile off of her lips.

That smile made Corey so emotional that he couldn't help but to lean in and leave a soft peck on top of it. "You have no idea how many years I've wanted to do that." He informed her.

"I can imagine." Laney replied. She smiled sweetly and nuzzled herself into Corey's chest. The two laid there in silence for the next several hours, and from that moment on, they knew that nothing could ever be the same.

And that was okay.