Chapter Text
Corey loved a lot of things. Music was at the top of the list, as was his dad, his guitar, his garage, The Bubble Bunch Band, etc. Heck, deep down, he even loved Trina! (Deep, deep, really deep down… What? She might be the bane of his existence, but she was still his sister).
Corey especially loved his bandmates. They were the first people to truly get him - the first people he really clicked with.
Sure, Corey has plenty of friends; after all, he wasn’t the most popular guy in their grade for nothing. But Laney, Kin, and Kon were his best friends and were the three people he wouldn’t change for anything in the world!
Which brings Corey to his current dilemma. Recently, the guitarist has noticed that he feels… weird around Laney. The type of weird that made him feel bubbly and warm inside, but also made him nervous and jittery. And the thing is, the feeling has been there for a while, it’s just, lately, it’s been harder to brush off like he used to.
He’s not quite sure when it started. Maybe it was the accidental Second New Year's kiss - cause holy Rocklympus! That was friggin wicked! It left Corey soaring higher than any performance!… And also caused him to stare, stupefied, at the old glow-in-the-dark star stickers on his bedroom ceiling the rest of the night because he had kissed his best friend. And liked it. A lot.
Maybe the weird feeling started after hearing Laney’s card after the band broke up? The way the usually defensive and sarcastic redhead was so honest and sincere with them made his heart melt into a gooey mess. Or it could be from the Lady Rage concert, when Laney took charge to rock the truth out and expose Candy Jams as a fraud. The pure power Laney put into her performance still makes Corey want to bounce around when he thinks about it.
Or maybe the weird feeling started back when Laney dressed up for the Queen Bee pageant? When he first saw her, the tips of his ears grew warm, his heart skipped a beat, and only one word flashed through the guitarist's mind:
Cute. Corey had thought…Granted, he also immediately thought, Wait. What? What’s up with that?!
Like, c’mon! Laney is cool! Not cute! He’s not supposed to think Laney is cute! That’s his best friend!
…Okay, fine! So maybe he can’t help but think it’s cute whenever Laney gets giddy around a fluffy animal. Or how her face softens whenever he gives her his best puppy-dog eyes. Or those times he boops her nose and she gets that silly look on her face. Or when Grojband is performing and he glances over to see Laney, lost in the music and headbanging like a true rockstar. The times he makes her giggle so hard that she snorts - their laughter blending into a wicked harmony that makes him feel all warm and fuzzy on the inside -
AHEM! Yeah! Y’know! It’s - uh- maybe it’s normal to think of your best friend as cute!
…Yep! Yep, yep, yep! Totally normal, bro!
…Moving on - the weird feeling was definitely around when they went on that fake date for the cake gig. The start of the ‘date’ had been strange, with Laney acting, well, not like Laney. She had been tense and on edge, and not the usual “Core, this plan seems dangerous” kinda way, but more like the “oh Rock Gods, this gig could make or break our career” kind of way (which is odd considering it wasn’t that important of a gig). It was only after Kin and Kon got shooed away that Laney finally started to relax and act like her usual self. The two were laughing and holding hands before they even realized (and gosh, was her hand always that small?).
Maybe the weird feeling started all the way back when Corey was stuck sitting in the empty hallway of the music school. The sudden smooth, strong tune leaking from a nearby room tugged at something in his chest, like a siren song calling to him. Before Corey even realized what he was doing, he slammed open the door where he had heard the noise. There he came face to face with a short, spunky redhead whom he knew he needed to have as a bandmate. He didn’t even notice the tiny flutter in his chest as he caught her staring at him in awe after he showed off his wicked guitar skills.
Okay, so Corey wasn’t exactly sure when the feeling started. But Laney was definitely the cause of it!
…But it’s fine. It’s probably nothing. And even if it is something, Corey will figure it out. After all, the weird feeling doesn’t seem to be something bad - if anything, it feels kinda nice - and it doesn’t seem to be affecting him that much, save for him adding an extra “bro,” or “fella,” or “dude” to the end of his sentences to quell the flutter in his chest.
Corey glanced up from the stage where he had been tuning his guitar with his feet; his eyes met Laney’s from across the garage. That weird lightness in his chest was back, and Corey felt the tips of his ears heating up under his beanie. Corey flashed Laney a smile, liking the red that darkened the bassist’s freckled cheeks. The frontman’s smile widened as Laney buried her face in her magazine, letting out a snicker as he brought his attention back to his instrument.
Eh, Corey might not know what the feeling is, but he knows he’ll figure it out at some point.
It isn’t until late at night, months later, that Corey jolted up in bed, wide-eyed with his heart beating faster than any of Kon’s drum solos. Corey blinked a few times before breaking out into a chuckle, a goofy smile spreading across his face. As he flopped back, he his head hitting the pillow, his chuckles turned into full laughter.
That weird feeling! It’s been right in front of him this whole time, waiting for him to finally piece it together like the last line of lyrics to an epic song!
Corey let out a whoop before shouting, “I’m in love with Laney!”