WHAT LAYNE LOOKS LIKE IN ZIS CHAPTER:

I freaking ❤️ this photo of him, he looked so happy and SOBER.  ☹☹☹ RIP Layne...

OH AND FOR FUTURE REFERENCE, this is what Layne meant when he said "peacock hair" lol:

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"Jesus, Layne, can't you sit still?!" Briana shouted over the loud buzzing sound of the clippers.  She laughed when he glared up at her deviously, fidgeting again.  "I'm going to mess up your hair!"

Layne laughed.  "How can you mess it up?!  You're basically shaving it."

Briana grinned & finished buzzing off the last bit of raggedy long hair off the top of his head.  She ran her hand through his now extremely short hair, smiling into the mirror that was infront of them.

"You look really good," she commented.  He really did.  In the past month that he had been staying with her, he had regained his health back. His face was filled out, his skin had color, & his eyes had this glow in them that she'd never seen before.

She loved his eyes...

She bit her lip & turned away, trying to ignore the fact that her feelings for him were growing more serious.

Layne didn't seem to notice, though.  He got up, brushing the loose hairs off his shoulders into her bath tub.  He bent down and tossed the tarp covered with hair in it, shaking it out.  He immediately stopped when he felt Briana's hand on his shoulder.

"I can take care of it," she said to him with a smile.

"You sure?" He asked, brow creased.  "Because I can do it...  I mean you cut my hair and all."

She nodded at him, reaching to grab the tarp.  Layne slipped when he tried to get out of the tub, ending up with him wrapping his arms around Briana to keep himself from falling.  The air thickened when they just stood there, staring at each other, their faces just a kiss away...

"I--I'm sorry," Layne muttered, laughing nervously.  He forced his hands off of her, stepping away.  "I'm...clumsy..."

She just laughed as she bit her lip again.  She had to keep her eyes off him.  She didn't want him to know how she really felt.  She didn't know if he would reject her or not.

Layne awkwardly slipped out of the bathroom, his hand on his chest.  "God damn she's driving me nuts," he muttered to himself.  Driving me nuts because she most likely doesn't want me.

He stepped into the living room, hands on his hips.  His eyes scanning the room, his curiosity peaked.  There was a beige album on her bookshelf.  Most likely a photo album.  Layne snickered, wondering how she would react if she caught him looking through it.

Shrugging, he pulled it off the shelf and flipped through it.  He laughed at some of the older photos of her.

"YOU HAD THE FREAKING PEACOCK HAIR?!" Layne shouted, laughing hysterically at the photo of a teenaged Briana with wild multi-colored hair. To add to it, she had those infamous huge shoulder pads on.

"NOOO!" Briana screamed, running into the living room. She started busting up laughing when she saw the photo. "It was the 80's!" she defended.

Layne smirked, glaring up at her with his brow raised. He flipped through more pictures. He grinned & eyed a photo of her holding an orange cat.

"You like cats?" He asked.

"I love animals, so YES!"

He studied her for a moment. Even with an old stained baggy sweater & pj bottoms on, she still looked drop dead gorgeous. He couldn't believe it. He licked his lips & shook his head, forcing himself to look back down at the photo album.

"...what?" Briana asked.

Layne nonchalantly flipped through the pictures. "Nothing."

She rolled her eyes. "Suuuure, I believe you."

He smiled. His chest burned again like it always had when Briana was around him. Going back to paying attention to the photos in the book, he immediately frowned. His eyes grew wide as he analyzed the photograph.

If it wasn't for the crystal green eyes, he wouldn't be able to realize it was a picture of Briana. She was rail-thin, basically a skeleton. Just standing out in what looked like a park. She was deathly pale, her hair dyed black and her sides shaved.

"Oh my god, Briana, you look horrible in this," Layne muttered. He jumped at his own comment when he rested his eyes on her. "I mean, not that you were ugly or anything! It's just...you looked sick..."

She bit her lip, glaring sadly down at the picture. "Yeah, I know," she agreed. "I keep it as a reminder."

Layne creased his brow with confusion, studying the morbid expression on her face. "A reminder of what?"

"How bad I was when I was a heroin addict."

Layne's jaw dropped. He set the photo album closed on the coffee table, his eyes stuck on her. "Wait, what...?"

She smiled sadly. "Why do you think I got into the kind of profession I did, Layne? A lot of the staff on that wing are recovered addicts."

His eyes fell on her arms, which were clean and smooth. "But you don't have track marks.."

"The wonders of laser removal," she blurted, taking a seat next to him. Her eyes teared up, studying the shock still splattered all over his face. "I know exactly what you've been going through, Layne."

"How long?"

"Since I've been sober?" She asked.

He nodded.

"Got clean when I was 25...I'm 30 now, so about 5 years."

He bit his lip, his eyes still wide. "How did you do it?"

She sighed & leaned back in the couch. "Exactly how you're doing it now. Withdrawal meds like suboxone...good food--"

"No, I mean, how do you stay clean... How the fuck do you do that?"

She smiled at him & grabbed his hand. "By helping people. Being around people. It gives me a purpose... When I was smoking black tar and banging crap, I didn't have any hope. I hated myself--"

"But you're an amazing person, I..." his eyes teared up as they met her gaze. "I don't understand how someone as great as you could turn to that shit."

"Drug addiction attacks the greatest of people, Layne. I mean, look at you..."

Layne rolled his eyes. "I'm not that great, Bre..."

"That's what addiction will tell you," she muttered, brows raised.

"How long were you doing smack?"

She smiled up at him. "I was on speed & opiates since I was 14. Turned to heroin when I was 18."

He shook his head at her. "Why?"

She got up from the couch, tugging Layne up with her. "Let's go out to the patio, I need a smoke if we're going to talk about this..."

Layne nodded, walking with her there. He blushed when he realized they'd been holding hands the entire time. Either Briana didn't seem to notice, or she embraced it. His brow raised, pondering the possibilities as he took a seat on the lounging chair next to her outside. He lit her cigarette for her, laughing when she turned around to light a smoke for him.

"We're so weird," Layne muttered.

Briana smirked. "I like it..."

His eyes widened with hope. "What'd you just say?"

She laughed, exhaling smoke. "So, my parents divorced when I was 13."

His face fell grim. "My parents divorced, too..."

She nodded & took a long drag from her cigarette. "It hurt. I missed my mom so much... My father divorced her because she lost her corporate job due to getting cancer."

"What the fuck?!" Layne shrieked.

She nodded, tears welling up in her eyes again. "She died the following year. She was my hero. She was a graphic designer, but she did fine arts on the side. She was the whole reason why I got into art..."

Layne raised a brow, his heart pounding. She likes art, too?

"Anyways. I got really messed up due to it all. And I didn't know who to talk to. All I had left was my dad. The rest of my family was all the way in Illinois and all they care about is alcohol & drugs." She paused for a moment, trying to blink away tears. "I got into a heavy relationship with this jerk. He was really into partying. And, being young and dumb, I thought he was cool. I mean he always was surrounded by friends, getting high, having fun. I wanted to be apart of it... I--" she stopped suddenly. Tears streamed down her face.

Layne scooted close to her and held her, running his fingers through her light hair. "I'm so sorry, Bre, I shouldn't have asked."

She shook her head. "No, it's okay. It's just I haven't told anyone about my mom... Well, I never explained how much she affected me..."

"I'm still sorry," he muttered.

Her face got close to his. Before he could say anything more, her lips landed against his. Her tongue flicked against his as they made out, her arms wrapping around his strong shoulders tightly.

Without even thinking, Layne picked her up out of her seat. He grabbed her cigarette for her and placed both of their cigarettes in the ashtray. He carried her all the way until they reached the spare bedroom Layne had been sleeping in for the past month. He set her down on the bed, eyeing her in question.

She answered him by pulling off her sweater & pj bottoms quickly, a soft smile spread on her face. She wasn't wearing underwear nor a bra, which instantly made Layne hard. Her eyes bled with need as she helped him take off his pants. He tore off his shirt, his lips colliding into her's once again.

He suddenly pulled away, his eyes soft. "Briana, are you sure...?"

She yanked him back down, kissing him violently now. "I love you Layne," she whimpered. Her hand grasped his erection, guiding it in between her legs.

He moaned loudly as he thrusted into her. It was so wet and warm... His arms wrapped back around her, kissing her along her neck. "I love you, too... No one has made me as happy as you have..."

She ran her hands along his body, her mouth slightly agape as he continued to make love to her.

"Oh shit," Layne blurted suddenly, eyes wide.

Before Briana could answer, Layne quickly pulled out. He covered his dick with his shirt, moaning loudly as he came. His body flopped down on the bed, biting his lip.

Briana laughed. "Too stimulating?" she asked, face red.

Layne smiled up at her. "I swear I usually last WAAAAAY longer than that!" His palm landed on his forehead, cheeks pink. "Goddamn that's embarrassing as fuck..."

Briana laughed, sitting up & kissing him lightly. "It's okay, Layne, I know how it feels to make love after being a newb to sobriety... You should've seen me when I had sex for the first time sober, all I did was scream for five minutes.  It was too intense."

Layne laughed and wrapped his arms around her. "Sorry for the disappointment," he went on, insecure.

"How could I be disappointed?" she asked him, glaring at him with soft eyes. "I'm with you."