"I doubt she really wants to see you right now Baby Boy," Reid said cautiously as they pulled into the student parking lot. Cynn's bike and truck were both there and each boy released a sigh of relief at the fact that she was safe.
Tyler released a second sigh, "Ya you're probably right huh. I'm just her mother's watcher to her."
"No man it's not that-"
"Don't worry about it Reid, just make sure she's ok. She's family we don't have to get along we just have to look out for one another right?"
Reid gave his brother a small smile before opening the passenger door of the hummer, "I'll take care of her man."
"I don't know what meaning your leaning towards so I'm just going to let it slide." Tyler replied coolly as he slid out of his seat.
They said quick temporary goodbyes then Reid allowed himself to wander further into the building in search of a certain Cynn.
Her door was slightly ajar causing for slight alarm until he saw a T-shirt jammed in there to prop it open as if she was expecting company.
Reid glanced inside to find the dark haired drummer no where in sight though the clothes she'd been wearing were piled on the floor. She'd obviously stripped then went to grab a shower while everyone was away for the night.
He let himself in and sat on Kira's bed feeling as if sitting on Cynn's would be just a tad too weird but then again it didn't stop the blond from studying that portion of the room.
She had unpacked, well halfway at least. She still had her suitcases on the floor but other then that she seemed to be fairly neat. It was odd, sometimes she had the attitude like one of the guys that he had thought she'd be messy like them. But maybe she just seemed like that because she was so obviously not one of the girls. She was herself. That was the best explanation he had.
Which was why the CD on the floor, under bed caught his eye. Getting onto his hands and knees Reid reached under to pull it out only to stare at it for a moment.
"Sweet as Cynn" was the name, the band name or the CD title he couldn't tell but next to the words a woman's back faded in out of the shadows. Although everything else was blacked he could still see the shape of her hips and shoulders but that was as far as the picture got.
He flipped through the title booklet to find pictures of Cynn with long dark hair laughing, smiling, hanging off of a handsome guy while three others milled around them. Her drum sticks were crossed over his heart, whether is was intentional or not it he couldn't tell.
He glanced at the bottom of the page to a collection of quotes, a Q&A actually.
"Why name yourselves after the female member of your group?"
"It was the funniest thing we could think of."
He flipped through some more and found a picture or a formidable looking Cynn, hands on hips showing a strong profile to the camera, kneeling around her were her band mates.
The next page was the lot of them falling over laughing at the thought of bowing before the female drummer while she stuck her tongue out at them in a most mature indignified fashion.
He couldn't help but smile, she looked so happy in the picture. What had happened between then and now to make her so distant from them all?
"What are you doing?" A familiar voice came from the door.
Reid glanced up quickly to find Kira standing there, maybe that was giving her too much credit because she was in fact hanging on Aaron's arm. Aaron in turn seemed to be nursing some battered knuckles, apparently Kira's insatiable flirting hadn't gone over so well for someone. Sometimes Reid thought that she just did that to start trouble for Aaron because each time they seemed a little closer like he's proved something to her.
Definite daddy issues.
"Waiting." Reid replied coolly slipping the CD into his shirt as he stood up.
"For who?" Aaron snarled obviously taking Reid's position on his woman's bed as an offence.
"Cynn."
Aaron's face seemed to get worse, ah yes the girl shut him down but would let Reid in. But it was nothing to the fury on Kira's face.
"That little whore?"
Reid smiled sweetly and resisted the open insult, "Yup. What can I say I have a weakness for punked out bitches."
"It's probably her short hair, makes you feel right at home when you look at her from behind fag," Aaron smirked.
Reid felt his fists tighten of their own accord.
"Guess I'm sleeping in my truck tonight huh," Cynn said coolly from behind the red head and her boything.
"Yes I guess you are," Kira replied scathingly though Aaron's eyes seemed to light up ever so much.
"You could always join in."
Cynn stared at him for a moment as if trying to make it so he was joking. Finally she gave up on that wasted attempt.
"Come on blondie, I have a back seat we can do this on." She smiled sweetly before turning away from the couple before her gag reflex acted up, leaving Reid little choice but to follow.
She was wearing an old worn concert t-shirt of yet another band he had never heard of and low riding fabric pants.
Reid couldn't resist as he put an arm around her waist knowing that the pair of inbreds were still watching, "Back seat huh?"
"What were you doing in my room?" She replied without removing his hand enjoying it's warmth.
"Looking for you obviously. I wanted to be sure that you got back ok."
"You mean Tyler did."
He grabbed her arm to stop her from walking away from him, "You know what Cynn you all may choose not to see it but I do have a shred of humanity left. Enough to care about my friends."
"So we're friends now are we?" She replied coolly with a complete lack of concern over his sudden claim to insult.
"Ya because you won't let anything more happen. Or has that changed?" He whispered to her pulling her into him, placing a soft kiss on her collar bone.
"Reid, I will not have some boy try to tell me what to do, when and how. And then have them be a big baby about it when I refuse. I do not deal in drama."
"I don't want to control you Cynn. I'm overly fond of the freedom you have. I wish I had that." He ended softly, thoughtfully.
"Oh yeah because your leash is so damn short," she replied cold and sarcastic.
Reid on the other hand got a little heated. He didn't want to explain this to her. He didn't want to tell her that he was afraid of the power he had but he was even more afraid that if he didn't do something he would say it anyway. So he improvised.
His arms curled around her waist and pulled her to him, he crushed his lips onto hers, probably bruising her tender flesh and not caring one bit. She slid her arms up his chest and around his neck pulling him down to here and it was now that he realized just how much shorter she was then him. It made him smile. Small packages. The best things.
He pulled away suddenly and found himself drowning in those dark eyes, "Come on you can't sleep in your truck and I sure as hell won't let you go back to your room while those two are in there," he looked away from her almost awkwardly.
"Cynn?" Tyler asked sitting up in bed as the two of them entered.
"Aaron and Kyra are going at it, her options are here or the back seat of her truck," Reid answered for Cynn who had remained deathly silent on their journey.
"Ya sure, you can have my bed," Tyler replied moving to get up.
"I'm fine with the floor," Cynn replied her tone clearly ending that little discussion.
Tyler faltered but then got up anyway to find a spare pillow and some extra blankets.
Reid fell to his knees and began to clear a small space between his and Tyler's bed for her, which Cynn quickly assisted him with.
The CD in his shirt was uncomfortable but he wasn't about to admit that he had it, or that he had taken it from her room and as much as he wanted to listen to it it would just have to wait.
Tyler flicked the lights out finally and the three of them lay down in silence.
She was long gone when the two of them woke up sometime shortly before noon. She left a note saying that they sleep too long and snore too loud and she had better things to do but she'd probably unfortunately see them later.
Reid in turn jumped at the chance to listen to the CD with vast amounts of curiosity.
"I didn't think you were one to buy CD's," Tyler mused quietly from where he sat on his bed finishing up some work for the following week.
"Not mine," Reid grunted as he impatiently hammered on the buttons of their shared CD player.
He sat for a moment it was the sound of haunting guitar that came from the speakers, he had expected something a little more heavy but this would do.
"Who is this?" Tyler perked up as Reid sat cross legged on his bed again flipping through the booklet to the lyrics.
"Some guy," Reid replied absently.
"No seriously, I kind of like it it's not the kind of stuff you usually have."
Reid shrugged at that in agreement it certainly wasn't to his usual standards.
"Well where did you get it?" Tyler tried again. He knew by now that he had to state and restate the question in a series of different patterns if he ever really wanted to get somewhere. It was Reid's thing, he couldn't get in trouble for not telling you something if you didn't ask. If you don't ask properly then you really aren't asking at all.
"Cynn's room."
"You were in her room?"
"Ya I waited for her there and then we came here. I was fairly certain that we went over this already."
"Not the part where you were going through her stuff."
"I didn't go through it, it was just there. Now would you shut up I want to hear this."
"Why what is so important about this? Is it because Cynn likes them? Wait don't tell me, you are doing research so that you can pretend that you are into the same things as her? That's really lame man."
At that moment the drums picked up and the music built up, "No don't be a tool. This is Cynn's band, she's the drummer."
"What?"
"Ya it says here that they are from London, England but traveled around Europe. I mean Cynn was over there for awhile so why wouldn't she have made friends."
"Ya friends that minded their own business, too bad no one on this continent learned that skill." Cynn snarled from the open doorway.
"Cynn-"
"You know what Reid I can't believe I almost, ALMOST believed that you were an actual person. But nope, there you are, a Covenent boy all caught up in some high and mighty entitlement fuck the consequences," she growled turning to leave.
Reid jumped up and caught her arm, "Cynn wait."
"No," she snapped pulling away from him, "I may not be all gun-hoe-super-powers but that doesn't mean I am less of a person for you to just help yourself to. You aren't better then me Reid. You aren't even good enough for me."
With that she pushed him back with surprising strength and stalked off disappearing around the corner. Reid had made to follow but Tyler had held him back lightly.
"Let her have some time man. You have to admit it was a little inappropriate for you to take something of hers without asking. Especially something as personal as her music."
"She left the CD." Reid said quickly grasping for a reason to go after her.
"And she'll come back for it. When she is ready."
How did he manage to betray someone's trust before he even really had it was beyond him in every sense and there was really nothing else that he could do except step back inside his room and listen to the music floating through the air molecules. It had slowed down again, finishing of the song with a sombre note.
Then silence.