Some Free Advice

Anna stormed out of the bedroom without so much as looking back; she was beyond furious with Kenny, the sting of his words staying as sharp as the moment they left his mouth. Why wouldn't he trust her? After this morning, after everything they've done this week, Anna felt she more than proved herself to him and Eric showing up did not matter. Everyone has a ex in their life, some are hated and some remain friends, why did she have to be put on trial for having some left over feelings? And moreover, she wondered, why do I feel so guilty right now?

Anna lightly jogged downed the stairs, slipping right through a gathering of teens, and up the hallway, heading back to her group of friends. If she didn't know any better, Anna might have went to Nicole to talk about this but considering the setting she knew that was a lost cause. Nicole was more than likely with Gwen by now, taking shots, having the time of her life; or based on her interactions thus far, she might be with Bella getting ready to maul someone in the band. Regardless, after their last conversation...talking to Nicole wasn't something she actually wanted to do either.

"Hey!" Anna suddenly heard someone call out. Turning back she saw Brian slipping past a few people with a bemused laugh, "Party is about to start, enough people showed, huh?" The teen smiled which Anna attempted to match with a **** one of her own, "You alright?" Brian asked with a small tilt of his head,

"Yeah! Totally, having a great time already, and the party haven't even started yet," Anna replied, her voice weakly tapering off at the end, and her smile looking all the more fake,

Internally Brian let out a smile, amd the man moved closer to Anna, "You sure? Because if one of these guys did something, just tell me and I'll drag their asses out if here," He said in a firm, no nonsense, tone,

"No, nothing like that happened, I promise, but thank you," Anna softly replied as she let her smile fade away, "It's something else,"

"Want me to go and get Kenny?" Brian offered only for Anna to grimace at the suggestion, "Oh, is it because of Kenny?" Anna swallowed hard and silently stared back at Brian, not wanting to answer, but her silence saying enough, "Here come with me," Brian gently said while easily taking Anna by the wrist and leading her down the hallway and into the large library, "Sorry, only place I knew would be private and quiet enough for us to actually talk. Made sure to keep it off limits, my mom would kill me if people destroyed her books,"

"Smart thinking, Nicole's kind of parties usually do get people riled up," Anna nodded as she did feel a bit of relief getting a moment of silence from the party outside,

"Feel free to use it if you need a minute later, I think I can trust you," Brian said with a light charming chuckle, "So...what's going on?"

Anna hung her head and rolled in her lips, "I...I don't think I want to talk about it. It's personal," The blonde softly replied as she crossed her arms, staring down at her own feet,

"Personal stuff, yeah, I get it," Brian easily nodded, holding up his hands, "I'm not going to pry, all I'm saying is, I've been through my fair share of relationships. Made my mistakes and grew from them, I don't mind giving a little advice to hopefully help someone else from going down the same rabbit hole," The teen offered, immediately seeing Anna's body shift and her eyes flick up at him.

"Well..." Anna whispered under her breath. Bingo Brian internally cheered, "Kenny and I had...an argument, I think...m-maybe a disagreement is a better term for it,"

"People disagree all the time, that's totally normal," Brian comfortingly replied as he motioned a hand out towards a pair of easy chairs, leading Anna over to them, and then sitting down, "Of course, it all depends on how you go about a disagreement that defines it,"

"So...I guess if we were shouting at each other and I marched away that it's a fight then," Brian let out a small silent nod back, "God, I'm such a fucking idiot," Anna groaned, burying her face in her hands, "I fucked things up so much,"

"Hang on, don't go beating yourself up, any fight has two sides, what's yours?" Brian pressed as he leaned forward, looking at Anna intently, his eyes full on caring concern,

Anna let out a sharp exhale, pushed a hand up to brush the long golden locks from her face and sat up straight, "Um...Kenny came back and said he needed to have a talk with me," Anna began, her voice have a slight tremor as she spoke, "We went upstairs to our room and...and he brought up the fact that Eric was coming over tonight,"

"Okay, why was he talking to you about that? A lot of people were coming," Brian pointed out,

"He was concerned with me seeing him again," Anna sighed, "He knew I still had some sort of feelings for Eric, which...yes, I do, but I told him it didn't matter. Kenny is my boyfriend now, and I want him to know thats all that matters,"

"So where did the argument even come from?" Brian asked, feigning confusion, "You told him that it didn't matter, and what did matter was you were a couple. That sounds cut and clear to me,"

"That's what I thought!" Anna exclaimed, a thankful look flashing, "But Kenny wouldn't let it go, he was insisting that I...keep talking about Eric with him, like there was something more to say," Anna continued with a shake of her head, "I couldn't get him to trust me, that everything was going to be fine,"

"That's not cool, people get insecure all the time, that's life. But if you can't put that aside to really trust your partner, then what's the point of being in a relationship at all?" Brian frowned, his voice filling with frustration and fervor,

"I don't know...maybe I wasn't listening to him, or...or myself," Anna whispered, "I know those feelings for Eric are still raw, and...and yeah, they actually scare me. But I couldn't tell Kenny that, how do I tell my boyfriend that I actually am nervous to see my ex again?" Anna weakly asked Brian in almost shame, "Maybe Kenny was right, I shouldn't talk to Eric at all tonight...I should really just go apologize to him," Anna finished as she slowly started to get up,

"Anna no," Brian sharply said, halting the girl's movement dead, "You have done nothing you need to apologize for. Kenny has," Brian sharply said making Anna tilt her head, staring back at him with some ****,

"What do you mean?" Anna asked back,

"Anna, we all have things that scare us in life. We have impulses, but that makes us human, no one is ever going to be perfect. You have feelings for an ex you were **** to break up with, who wouldn't, and who wouldn't be nervous to see them again in a new realtionship," Brian continued, speaking very plain and simple, "Are actions are what matter, not our thoughts, and right now, Kenny's actions are the more concerning ones,"

Anna blinked a few times, "All he said was for me not to talk to my ex...I didn’t like it but he has a certain point..."

"Does he?" Brian argued, "What any time he doesn't feel secure you have to adhere to his jealousy? What happens if he starts feeling insecure about me or JJ? What if he suddenly doesn't like you hanging out with Nicole or going to parties?" Brian posed making Anna's eyes start to widen and face tighten, "No one is allowed to make choices for you, no one should ever tell you who you can and can not speak to. Ex-boyfriend or not, Kenny had no fucking right to demand you not speak to him,"

"You...you're right," Anna slowly began to agree with a few quick nods, "I haven't done anything to make him worry and I'm not going to either! Just because I might be nervous doesn't mean I've done anything wrong," She said in a near growl, "I'm my own person, I can control my impulses and wants just like he can,"

"Exactly, you didn't say anything to him about Rachel," Brian pointed out with a proud smile on his face,

"Rachel?" Anna asked back with surprise,

"Yeah...my sister," Brian nodded before letting out a soft scoff, "Oh please tell me he told you about them? Rachel has been his biggest crush in his entire life, she took him to prom for fuck sakes,"

"No...he didn't feel the need to tell me that," Anna muttered, crossing her arms, "So he jumps me about Eric but I'm expected to be left in the dark about his secret love being here with him?"

"Doesn't sound very fair to me," Brian shrugged,

"No it does not," Anna gruffly agreed,

"You ask me, I think you should let him stew on this tonight, realize what an ass he made of himself, let the lesson be learned. In the meantime, you don't let this ruin your evening, talk to who you want to and spend some time with your friends," Brian finally suggested with a smile,

"Yeah, you know what. He doesn't get off scott free, I'm not apologizing for him being controlling and me not giving in," Anna jumped up from her seat, Brian did the same, "Thanks Brian, I really appreciate you giving me some perspective. You just saved me from making a huge mistake," She warmly finished, pulling the teen in for a quick friendly huge,

"Not a problem, always here to help the people I care about," Brian sighed, giving Anna a tight squeeze, enjoying the feeling of her soft breasts against his chest, "You ever need to talk again, don't hesitate," He offered as the hug finished,

"I just might, thank you," Anna smiled as the pair turned back, heading back out of the library into the party. All the while, Brian had a smug fulfilled smile on his face.