Disharmony

Brighter Than the Sun

When she told Xavier that Dylan was more than welcome to join them at any point on tour, she did not expect this to be the result.

Apparently being around his younger brother for extended periods of time caused Xavier’s already lower than average maturity level to steadily decline. Although she was used to Xavier showing up in her hotel rooms unannounced, she was entirely unprepared to come back from a morning jog and immediately be attacked with foam darts being shot from Nerf guns.

“I surrender,” she cried out, holding out a hand just in time to swat away a dart that was headed straight for her face. “You two are chipper this morning.”

She glanced at Xavier, who’s eyes were bright and his smile wide and she felt her heart sing a little. Although they had returned to being friendly after their visit to North Carolina, she still felt as though they were tiptoeing around each other.

Or maybe it was just her. Because Xavier knew what he wanted. He’d always known what he wanted. She was the one being annoyingly indecisive.

It wasn’t malicious, though. The truth was, she was keeping him at a distance for his own benefit. Being with her was a s**t storm she wasn’t willing to put him through.

That being said, asking him to kiss her was probably the worst idea she’d ever had. She had very clearly explained that it wasn’t to change the dynamic between them, but the problem was that she hadn’t been able to stop thinking about it since.

The way his lips felt on top of hers was something that couldn’t quite be put into words. Something miraculous, really, and she was entirely certain she would remember that moment for many years to come.

“What’s got you buzzing, bro?” she asked Dylan as she brought her nearly empty water bottle to her lips and finished off the rest.

His eyes widened in excitement and he grinned so big that she was sure it had to be hurting his cheeks. “We’re going to Disneyworld today.”

She glanced at Xavier, who was gazing at his brother with such love and adoration that it made her instantly warm. Smiling at Dylan, she nodded in response to his excitement. “Sounds awesome.”

“You’re coming with us right?”

Raising her eyebrows, she sputtered slightly as she answered. “Are you sure? I don’t want to intrude on your brotherly bonding time.”

Pressing his lips together, Dylan rolled his eyes and made a buzzing noise before replying. “I’m sick to death of him.”

“Hey,” Xavier called out, looking a little offended. “That’s not nice, dude.”

Dylan rolled his eyes again. “Please. You know you want her to come.”

Kari raised her eyebrows in surprise as she looked at Xavier, whose cheeks tinted pink as he shook his head. Shooting his brother a glare, he gazed at her apologetically and shrugged. “You should come. It’ll be fun.”

“Alright,” she succumbed to the younger boy’s pleading eyes. “That does sound fun.”

“Yes!” Dylan pumped a fist in the air. “It’ll be epic.”

“Let me go shower and change and I’ll meet you guys in the lobby in an hour. Sound good?”

“Deal,” Dylan grinned before grabbing Xavier’s hand and dragging him out the door.

Shaking her head and laughing, Kari turned towards the bedroom, stopping by the dresser en route to the bathroom to check the messages on her phone. She instantly grinned at the single message displayed on the screen.

From: Annie Masters

3 days.

Kari and Annie had been friends since they could walk. They’d grown up across the street from each other and soon realized they were the only two girls in a neighborhood filled with boys. So they bonded together and managed to beat up the ones that teased them incessantly. Made quite the team, they did.

These days, Annie was attending college in Florida, pursuing a degree in architecture. Although she and Kari spoke on quite a regular basis, they weren’t able to meet up as often as they liked. So, of course, when Annie had heard that Kari’s tour was set to play in Orlando, she had made it a priority to come for the show, as well as spend some time with her best friend.

Kari couldn’t be more excited. Annie was really the only female friend she’d ever had and after the new revelations in her relationship with Xavier, she was in serious need of some girl talk.

After responding to the text message with far too many smiley face emoticons that was probably necessary, Kari tossed her phone on the bed and stripped off her workout clothes as she walked towards the shower.

As she promised, nearly an hour later, she sat slumped in a large leather chair in the hotel lobby, waiting for Dylan and Xavier to arrive.

“Are you as excited as I am?” Dylan asked as he bounded up to her after sprinting across the lobby upon stepping out of the elevator.

Kari laughed warmly. “I don’t think anyone could be as excited as you.”

Glancing up at Xavier, she sent him a slow nod, wondering if this outing would provide them some time to talk and perhaps return their relationship to some semblance of normalcy.

Hitching the strap of her purse up on her shoulder, she stood and smiled widely down at the boy. “Ready when you are.”

Grinning, he grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the front door of the hotel. She clutched his small palm tightly, causing him to skid to a stop just before they reached the door.

“Hold on, buddy,” she explained, glancing at the small crowd of reporters and paparazzi waiting outside. How they constantly knew where she and Xavier were was actually kind of impressive. “We’re going to have to go about this tactically.”

Pausing for a moment, she thought through the most rational way to handle the situation before lighting with an idea and glancing at Xavier to explain.

“Why don’t you and Dylan go out first,” she said, “I’ll follow after a few minutes.”

Xavier quirked an eyebrow in confusion and she quickly continued the detailing of her plan. “It’ll be complete chaos if we both leave at the same time. Firstly, because they won’t know who to take pictures of and ask questions to and secondly because if we leave at the same time, they’ll think we’re together.”

His eyebrows shot up, his lips kinking into a smirk. “Speaking from experience, are we?”

“Oh please,” she rolled her eyes. “Like you don’t know that I’ve been romantically linked to every male I’ve ever spoken to. Including you.”

She probably shouldn’t have been surprised that Xavier had no idea what she was talking about. He wasn’t in the habit of searching himself on the internet. This was less out of lack of interest and more to do with the fact that he genuinely didn’t believe there was anything to write.

And up until recently, that was probably true.

Xavier’s album was doing remarkably well and his name was recognizable, but because he generally wasn’t involved in any scandalous behavior, the tabloids left him alone.

But that all changed when he became associated with Kari.

After the interview, the romance rumors began to swirl – as they always did whenever Kari interacted with a member of the opposite s*x. They were further compounded by the documentation of Kari and Xavier’s runs together and the fact that they were hanging out on their day off in Charlotte.

Of course, Kari hadn’t mentioned any of these things to Xavier because she didn’t really see the point. Besides, their relationship was tense and complex enough without adding the media to it.

“I saw that!” Dylan piped up, grinning wickedly at his brother. “They’re calling you Xavia.”

If at all possible, Xavier’s eyebrows arched even further up his forehead, but his eyes were sparkling with mischief, as though he wouldn’t be completely averse to the idea. That thought alone sent her reeling, so she blinked, cleared her throat, and gestured for Xavier to guide his brother out the door.

Smirking, Xavier clapped a hand on Dylan’s back and pushed open the door. The clicking camera sounds were almost overwhelming and Xavier used his larger frame to shield his little brother from the paparazzi as they slowly made their way to the car.

Kari waited a few minutes, allowing Xavier’s car to drive away before exiting the hotel, raising her hand in a friendly wave, but answering no questions as she slipped into the backseat of the large SUV.

Once inside, she let out a shallow breath and smiled thankfully at the driver as he sped off towards the amusement park. Separate cars were probably a precaution that wasn’t needed, but she figured it couldn’t hurt.

The car pulled to a stop at the back gate of the amusement park and she was ushered through the wrought iron gates to find Xavier and Dylan waiting on the inside.

“Finally!” Dylan let out an exasperated sigh, reaching for her hand. “Let’s go.”

Before she could speak, she was being pulled, rather forcefully, towards the nearest roller coaster. She heard Xavier’s ridiculously lighthearted laugh as she went.

Dylan insisted on making them ride every roller coaster possible. They’d received passes that allowed them to skip the lines, but Kari claimed she didn’t want to use them. Standing in lines seemed so much more normal and so far, the day had been exactly what she had been craving – a normal day with the family at the amusement park.

So they stood in lines, eating copious amounts of cotton candy and hot dogs and laughing at the outrageous stories Dylan told about his friend Jason, who apparently had a proclivity for pyrotechnics and chaos.

Xavier held her hand on some of the rides. The first time it happened, she thought that maybe it was just an unintentional reaction to being frightened by the large hill they were plummeting down. Still, she couldn’t deny that the way his fingers laced through hers and his large palm enveloped her much smaller one seemed very natural. And she liked the feeling of fluttering in the pit of her stomach.

The second time, she knew it was intentional. He reached over before the ride even began and laced their fingers together on the seat.

After that, it became somewhat of a ritual. By the time they were exiting their final ride for the day, she had to force herself to untangle her fingers from his before she became entirely too comfortable with holding hands.

He looked kind of disappointed as they walked towards the exit gate and even she had to admit that she missed the feeling of being connected to someone.

“Thank you,” she said quietly, clutching the strap of her bag in her fist to keep her fingers occupied.

“For what?” he raised an eyebrow, adjusting Dylan, who had fallen asleep in the midst of a piggyback ride.

“This day,” she replied. “I’ve never really done this. My childhood wasn’t exactly…idyllic, I guess you could say. I didn’t have many days to just hang out and be a kid, so this was nice. One of the best days I’ve had in a while.”

She expected his eyes to look sad as a result of her borderline sob story, but instead they were light and joyful. He looked utterly angelic in the glow of the setting sun and it was causing that fluttering again.

“I’m glad,” he smiled. “You deserve days like this every once in a while.”

She grinned, walking towards the exit gate towards the waiting car. Her name was called to her retreating back before she reached it.

Turning, she raised an eyebrow, moving slowly back towards Xavier when he indicated that he needed to speak to her in a more private location.

“Everything alright?” she asked when they were safely in a brick walled alcove wear the dumpsters were generally stored. Today they were empty, presumably because the park attendants had come to clear them out already.

He nodded, not saying a word. Instead, he leaned down and he kissed her.

It was slightly awkward because he was still holding Dylan, so the only physical contact involved was the touching of their lips. That being said, it still managed to be sweet and tender and she felt slightly dizzy when he pulled away.

The corners of his lips flicked upwards, his eyes still light. “Now, this is the best day.”

Speechless and awed by the unexpectedness of the kiss, she simply nodded, unable to speak as he dropped his eye in a wink and disappeared around the corner.

The best day indeed.