Little Runaway

"Sure, if that's your story," Dan teased, holding his hands up as if in surrender. "You should probably stick to it if it is," he said, letting out a laugh as he was hit with a comb that Zacky had thrown at him. The bastard has a good arm, Dan rubbed at the sore spot on his arm.

Zacky was soon let up from the ministrations, breathing a sigh of relief when he stood. He hated sitting still when there were things that he could be doing. "It's nothing to be so serious about," Zacky announced, noticing the glances that kept going between himself and Brittney

Brittney blushed at Dan's words. Of course there was more to the story than pizza, but Dan didn't need to know that. Brittney knew that she and Zacky couldn't hide things from the boys and crew for very long, especially if it eventually blossomed into a relationship. But for now, while things were new and Brittney and Zacky were figuring things out, Brittney would prefer for them to stay mostly private.

When Zacky stood Brittney did as well, going over to him. Behind her on the couch, Dan was making various inappropriate noises and Brittney blushed, something she was sure was a permanent fixture of her complexion at this point. She knew Dan didn't mean anything mean by it, though. She'd been around them all long enough to know that Dan was one of the nicer members of the crew and she knew he was only teasing her and Zacky.

Zack was getting increasingly annoyed the longer that Dan carried on because now Brian had decided to step in. He peered around Brittney, eyes narrowing. "Fuckin' drop it, Dan," he growled the words out, balling one of his hands into a fist. Still glaring, Zack straightened up, only to catch the look on Brittney's face. He rolled his shoulders forward again as he counted back from ten.

"Sorry 'bout that," Zacky mumbled so only Brittney could hear. He offered her a small smile, "Let's get out of here before there's no concert that can be had," he said louder this time around, giving Brian a pointed look. He turned and led the way out of the room, intent on having a cigarette before the show

Brittney's eyes widened slightly when Zacky growled at Dan. Once again he seemed to have gotten suddenly angry for no reason at all. Surely he knew Dan and Brian were only teasing them. It almost reminded her a little of home, and that terrified her. The yelling and and volatile tempers were some of the main reasons she'd run away. And she hated to think of Zacky the way she thought of home. Brittney almost flinched away when Zacky came over to her, but he appeared to calm down when he noticed the look on her face.

"It's okay," she whispered to Zacky. She followed him out of the room, chancing a glance back at Dan and Brian before she caught up to Zacky. "You know Dan and Brian were just messing with us, right?" she said softly to him. "I don't think they meant to make you upset. And it didn't really bother me all that much."

A cigarette was already between his lips, dangling there until they were outside. He lit it before shoving the lighter back into the pack, which was then shoved into his pocket. He took a long drag, leaning against the wall of the building before finally looking at her. Shrugging, Zacky took another drag before speaking Again.

"It was fine at first by it's annoying as all hell. They needed to stop at some point," Zacky replied, sighing as he ran a hand through his hair. "I just wish they'd get that point earlier on, you know?"

"It's not that annoying," Brittney said softly. She crossed an arm over her chest, rubbing her elbow. She wished she knew why Zacky had gotten irritated that quickly, because she really didn't think Dan and Brian were being all that annoying. And surely Zacky was used to it by now.

"But at least you won't have to worry about them the day after tomorrow, because we'll be alone," Brittney said, smiling softly. She moved closer to Zacky, positioning his arm over her shoulders and looking up at him, biting her bottom lip. She hoped that she might be able to calm him down a little, because she did like hanging out with him. And when he was irritated he just seemed to bristle with hostility and Brittney didn't like that.

Zacky flashed her a smile, pulling her closer to his body so he could run his hand through her hair. He nodded, blowing out the smoke through his nose. His anger was slowly dissipating and for that, he was thankful. He sighed, turning his head to kiss the top of hers. "Thank God for that," he murmured, not able to help the small smirk on his features. Oh, he was excited.

"We usually go out to some poor unsuspecting diner after the show, if you want to come with," Zacky offered, glancing down to her. He wasn't entirely sure that it was a good idea to invite her but he hadn't thought about it before asking

Brittney smiled softly as Zacky kissed the top of her head. She liked the affection Zacky was showing her, even if it still felt a little weird to her. But it was a good weird. And she hadn't missed the tone of her voice as he spoke, and it made Brittney think that she and Zacky had different intentions for the time they would be spending together alone. She would just have to make sure that she set her boundaries beforehand and stuck to them.

"Yeah, that sounds like fun," Brittney said, nodding her head when Zacky mentioned going out to a diner. She was sure she'd be pretty hungry by then, and it would've definitely be more fun than going back to the crew bus. Brittney bit her lip, moving over in front of Zacky and standing up on her tiptoes to kiss him. She felt silly for it, but she really did like kissing him.

Zacky hadn't been paying full attention to Brittney when she moved in front of him. He was watching the ashes fall to the ground. He looked up in surprise when her lips connected with his. He hesitated for a moment before returning the gesture, his free arm snaking around her waist to pull her closer to him.

He deepened the kiss, only to pull away when the door they were beside opened. His eyes narrowed, a bit annoyed as he eyed the crew member peeking out. "It's stage time."

Zacky let out a quiet groan before reaching to lace his fingers with Brittney's. "Let's go, sweetheart."

Brittney leaned into Zacky as his arm wrapped around her waist. She could tell she'd caught him off guard with the kiss and it made her smile against his lips, letting out a soft noise of appreciation as he deepened the kiss. She really did want to just kiss him for hours, and she was just slightly irritated when the door next to them opened and Zacky pulled away. She didn't miss the glare he gave the crew member and for once, Brittney wasn't put off by his irritation.

Brittney smiled as Zacky laced their fingers together. "Alright," she said. She couldn't believe he'd called her sweetheart - it made her feel giddy, like a teenager. She let Zacky lead her to the sidestage, tugging gently on his hand to get him to stop. "Good luck tonight," she said softly, smiling up at him. And even though she was sure people were watching, Brittney stood up on her tiptoes again and gave Zacky a short kiss.

Zacky's thumb massaged small circles into the skin of Brittney's hand as he led the way to the stage. The curtain still hung so he had a moment to turn to her, at least. He smiled a bit, returned the kiss. With her, there wasn't a doubt in his mind that she wasn't after his money and for once, he was thankful. Why, he had no idea but he just knew.

"Thank you," he murmured, pressing one, final kiss to her forehead. Zack took the guitar that was handed to him, slipping the strap over his neck. Jimmy was first to hit the stage, Johnny following moments later. He glanced back to her and offered a goofy grin before running onto stage himself

As the boys headed onto the stage, Brittney stood back, moving so that she could also watch the crowd. To her, it was absolutely mesmerizing how the crowd reacted to the music, how they moved and sang every word. She couldn't imagine how the guys felt, but she was sure it was somewhere along the lines of incredible. Those people in the crowd...they didn't know the guys, but they loved them, loved what they did.

Several times during the show, Brittney made eye contact with Zacky and she made sure to smile and wave at him each time. She felt a little silly, but only slightly. If anything, Brittney only found Zacky more attractive when he was playing. He was so passionate about his music and it showed.

Every time that Zack made eye contact with Brittney, he would grin and wink at her. F for no other reason but how bashful she got. It was adorable to him. An hour and a half went by so quick while you were stage that every night, Zacky just wanted more. Shows were rarely enough to quench his desire.

Walking off stage once they played the final song, Zacky made his way to her, a small grin on his lips. "Hope you enjoyed the show," he murmured, slicking his hair back. Sweat glistened off of his skin as he thanked one of the roadies for a hand towel that was handed to him. He wiped his face off before looking to her, brow raised. "are you hungry?"

"It was amazing," Brittney said, a bit distracted as she watched Zacky walk off stage. She had no idea why, but the sight of him glistening with sweat was making her stomach do somersaults. She didn't know what it was about that that made him so attractive. She shook her head as he spoke again, reaching over to take his hand. "Starving, actually. So which unsuspecting diner are we going to be visiting tonight?" she asked, looking up at him with a teasing grin on her face.

Before she'd just agreed to go to the diner as a rouse to spend more time with him. But now she actually was pretty hungry and maybe if she stayed around Zacky a little longer, she would be able to talk her way into him letting her sleep in his bunk with him? Because she would definitely rather not go back to the crew bus and get shit for what had happened earlier at the merch table.

Zacky smiled as their fingers laced together. He let out a quiet sigh, bringing her hand up so he could kiss her knuckles gently. "Hell if I know. It's usually just whatever one we happen upon first, that's open," he explained. No one ever felt like cooking after a show, crew or band member alike.

The guys headed out to their waiting vehicles, climbing in. Zacky held the door open for Brittney, grinning. "Ladies first," he said, winking as he offered his hand to help her up into the suv.

"Why thank you," Brittney said, smiling at Zacky. She took his hand and climbed up into the SUV, sliding over to the middle seat and buckling her seatbelt. It was Johnny who was sitting on her other side and she offered him a small smile as she heard the SUV start. "So...what do you guys usually do after you eat?" Brittney asked, turning to Zacky. She imagined that they probably went out to drink, since she couldn't remember ever seeing any of them after the show.

That's only because I'm usually taking down the merch booth, Brittney thought, and then she felt her stomach turn over. She knew the other crew members probably weren't going to be very happy with her, because she was sure they would blame Zacky making then do all the work on her.

"A lot of the time we hit up a bar after because touring is all about partying, right?" Zacky teased, rolling his eyes as Johnny laughed. He wasn't quite annoyed though. "Sometimes we just head back to the bus and relax if we've been on a binge," he explained further, shrugging his shoulders. It all really depended how any of them were feeling, often times they ended up splitting up to go their separate ways.

"I don't want you worrying about it though. We'll figure it out once we finish eating, okay?" Zack said, a gentle smiled on his lips. He pressed a kiss to the side of her temple, fingers laced with hers as they headed to the nearest diner.

Brittney smiled when Zacky kissed her temple. She really could get used to the affection Zacky was giving her. "Well I just wanted to see if you guys were actually as fun as I've heard," Brittney teased, poking Zacky's chest with her free hand. She leaned against him, resting her head on his shoulder. Even though she was sure she'd get shit from the crew for not having to work, she was glad that Zacky had gotten her out of work, if only for the fact that she got to cuddle with him for ten minutes while they drove to a diner.

When they arrived at the diner, Brittney climbed out of the SUV behind Zacky, a sort of groan escaping her lips as she stretched her arms up over her head. She reached for Zacky's hand as they walked to the door. "I didn't bring my wallet," Brittney said softly to him. She felt bad about making someone else pay for her dinner when Zacky had just paid for her pizza earlier, but she'd realized about five minutes ago that her wallet was back in her bag on the crew bus.

Zack scoffed, looking down to her as he pretended to be offended. "That is just a ridiculous motion. Of cours we're as amazing as you've heard!" He answered back, setting a hand on his chest to fake a racing heart. "Oh, how could you?!" He smiled, wrapping an arm around her shoulders to pull her in close. "I'll just have to make sure to ramp it up so you can't deny it," he teased, rubbing her shoulder gently.

He climbed out of the vehicle quickly, taking her hand to help her out. Leading the way over to the diner, he frowned as he glanced down to her. "So? You wouldn't be paying even if you had it," he answered as they were led to a table in the back of the restaurant. "Don't worry about it, just order whatever you want."

"Well aren't you a gentleman," Brittney said, smiling as she followed Zacky to their table. She sat next to him, scooting her chair as close to him as she thought was appropriate, since he did need a little space to eat. She smiled at the waitress as she was offered a menu, looking it over. She wasn't really in the mood for anything particular, but she was leaning towards breakfast food. And something cheaper, because even though Zacky had told her she could order whatever she wanted, she'd feel bad if she ordered something expensive.

"I think I'm just going to get this little breakfast platter," she said, pointing it out to Zacky on the laminated menu. "See, it had eggs, hash browns, bacon, and toast. I think that should do well to put me in a food coma. Or put a little something on my belly if we decide to go out and drink," she added, laughing.