Little Runaway

Zacky would never openly admit to Brittney or anyone else for that matter, just how happy her little statement made him. It was good to hear that she liked belonging to him. It was a stroke of his ego that he didn't even know that he wanted until now. Smirking to himself, he looked away before she could see it.

He straightened up, stretching his arms above his head. Zacky bit back a sigh as he looked over to Brittney, nodding at her suggestion of supper. It wasn't the most luxurious meal ever but it would do. And it would be good to see what she was capable of doing in the kitchen. Maybe it was shallow of him but he wasn't about to take a girl seriously in his home if she wasn't even able to cook him a half way decent meal after a long tour of fast food and restaurant meals.

When Zacky nodded at her suggestion for supper, Brittney rose to her, heading into the kitchen. Fried chicken was one thing she'd been cooking for quite awhile and she thought she was pretty good at it and she was looking to impress Zacky. And after last night, it had to be absolutely perfect. She didn't want to risk sparking his temper again especially not like that. The first thing she did was cut up potatoes, leaving them to soak in a bowl of water while she prepared an egg wash for the chicken. Brittney did a quick search through Zacky's pantry, grinning to herself when she found a half-full container of breadcrumbs. If she added this to the breading for the chicken, it would make it nice and crispy.

It took a solid forty-five minutes, but eventually, Brittney was finished with dinner and she smiled as she surveyed the food in front of her. Crispy fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and some corn she'd found in Zacky's pantry. And gravy, of course, made from the drippings of the chicken. Stepping back into the living room, Brittney cleared her throat to get Zacky's attention. "Um, supper is ready," she said. "Did you want me to bring you a plate?"

Zacky may not have been born in the south but he had a healthy appreciation of fried chicken and as with any good fried chicken, there had to be a gravy. He was more than a bit pleased when he discovered that she had made gravy. He offered her a small grin, starting to plate up his food immediately. Glancing toward Brittney, he raised an eyebrow when he noticed that she wasn't moving as quickly to plate up her own food. "Come on. I'm going to grab us some beers, then you should join me in the living room. We can relax for the rest of the evening," Zacky said, turning to do just as he said. After he grabbed the beers, Zacky headed into the living room.

Popping the lids off each beer, Zacky relaxed on the couch as he dug into his food. When Brittney finally appeared, he looked up. He swallowed his food, taking a swig of his beer before speaking. "Food's delicious, babe. I think you'll have to start cooking more often," he joked, taking a bite of his chicken.

Brittney's attention had been so focused on watching Zacky plate his food that she didn't even think about making her own plate until he said something. She made herself a smaller plate than Zacky, realizing that she probably needed to start watching her figure a little. Following Zacky into the living room, she sat down on the couch, taking a small bite of her potatoes.

Brittney couldn't help but smile when Zacky complimented her meal. She'd been worried that he wouldn't like it. "Uh yeah, I'll cook whenever you want," she said. She knew he probably meant it as a joke but she was willing to do whatever it took to keep Zacky happy. After the other night, Brittney didn't want to risk pissing him off again.

Zacky let out a satisfied groan after finishing his meal. He set the now empty plate down on the coffee table in front of them. He grinned as he rubbed his stomach, stretching out and crossing his ankles on top of the table. He leaned his head back, closing his eyes as he laced his fingers together. After such a satisfying meal, Zacky was ready to just fall to sleep. After a few moments, Zacky lifted his head with a sigh as he rubbed his cheek.

"I'm going to go take a quick shower. I'll be done in a bit," he said, pushing himself to his feet. Zacky headed upstairs, slipping into the shower quickly. He hoped that it would wake him up a bit more, so that he didn't end up falling asleep before eight pm even hit.

Brittney nodded when Zacky said he was going to take a shower. "I'm going to clean up the kitchen and put the leftovers away," she told him. "Maybe tomorrow for lunch we can have potato pancakes with the leftover mashed potatoes." When Zacky pushed to his feet Brittney followed suit, heading into the kitchen. She put the leftovers away first before she started cleaning up the kitchen, deciding to do the dishes as well.

Once she was satisfied with the kitchen, Brittney went back into the living room and sat down on the couch. She wasn't sure how long Zacky would be and she planned to take a shower when he was finished, so she didn't bother to turn on the television or anything like that. When Zacky reappeared downstairs, Brittney jumped to her feet. "I think I'm going to go take a shower now," she said.

Zacky nodded when Brittney mentioned potato pancakes, already excited at the prospect. He could chop up some bacon and even make them to be like loaded potato pancakes with all of the fixings. Staying int he shower for what was probably close to half an hour, Zacky started down the stairs with only a pair of shorts on.

His eyes narrowed when he entered the living room and Brittney was already mentioning getting a shower herself. "You couldn't join me?" Zacky snapped, tilting his head to the side as his eyes narrowed. His hand twitched at his side but he simply growled before turning away from her. "Whatever. Just go fuckin' shower then," he said, dropping down to the couch before reaching for the remote. He didn't look at her, ignoring the swell of anger that burned in the pit of his stomach.

[Zack's so damn mean, jeez ]

Brittney wasn't expecting much of a reaction from Zacky when she told him that she was going to shower, so when he snapped at her, she couldn't help but shrink back. "I-I'm sorry," she stammered. "I just thought you would want to shower by yourself." Brittney opened her mouth to say something else but suddenly thought better of it.

She turned away from Zacky and went upstairs, not even really feeling like showering at this point. But she did anyway, grabbing a clean set of clothes before she headed into the bathroom. Brittney hadn't been in the shower for a few seconds before she started to cry. She just felt so helpless, like she couldn't do anything right when it came to Zacky. She'd been hoping that she would gain a little favor by cooking dinner, but it seems like she was wrong.

{I'm sorry I can always turn down the mean }

Zacky knew that it was stupid to get upset over such a small thing but he just couldn't shake the anger that seemed to permeate every fibre of his being. All he could think about was the fact that Brittney, in his eyes, had deliberately avoided spending some intimate time with him and it had him pissed right the hell off. He had thought today would actually go well and here he was, staring down the television like it was the source of his frustration.

Shoving to his feet, Zacky yheaded into the kitchen where he grabbed a beer before returning to the living room. He put on ESPN, deciding that he could safely get involved in whatever sports replay they were showing. Zacky could get lost in it and not have to worry about the rage building inside of him as he listened to the sounds of the shower running upstairs.

[no no, mean Zack is ~dramatic~ ]

Brittney lingered in the shower until the water started to run cold and then she finally shut it off, shivering as she climbed out. She quickly pulled on her clothes and brushed out her hair, but instead of heading downstairs, she went over and laid down on the bed, tugging the comforter up to her shoulders.

She sniffled as she pulled the pillow up to her face. Zacky was mad at her and she assumed that he wouldn't want her around, so she would just stay up here until he decided otherwise. All Brittney seemed to do was piss him off, anyway. How was she supposed to know he wanted her to join him in the shower? She hadn't meant anything by not doing so; she just thought he might want a little time to himself.

When the shower turned off upstairs, Zacky started to prepare himself for Brittney to make an appearance. He was going to try and put on a better mood because being in such a sour mood didn't exactly have him looking forward to anything. Muttering under his breathe, Zacky headed into the kitchen to grab another beer before returning to the living room.

Ten minutes later, Zacky realized that maybe Brittney wasn't planning on coming back down here. He gave a roll to his eyes, turning to lay back against the couch. If Brittney was claiming the bed upstairs, whatever. He'd just sleep down here and at least he wouldn't have to worry about Brittney waking him up or any other sort of nonsense that came with sleeping in the same bed as someone else.

Deep down, Brittney had been hoping that Zacky might come join her in the bed, but when it was nearly midnight and he still hadn't, she knew he wouldn't. She just hoped he wasn't angry with her for taking the bed. He seemed to be angry at every thing she did and she was starting to feel a little hopeless.

The next morning when she crept downstairs, Zacky was still asleep on the couch. Brittney couldn't cook breakfast until Zacky woke up and she knew what he wanted, but there was no reason she couldn't start a pot of coffee. Maybe having some to drink as soon as he got up would help put him in a good mood.

Zacky had stayed up well past midnight and had every intention of sleeping past noon because that's just what you did when you were home. He had no obligation to get to so shit, if Zacky wanted to sleep in until tomorrow night, then there wasn't a single damn thing stopping him. Until the smell of coffee stirred him from a dead sleep. At first, he was annoyed but that frustration quickly ebbed away when he realized that it was coffee that woke him and nothing else.

He let out a soft groan, reaching up to rub his cheek before he pushed to his feet and started for the kitchen. Zacky lingered in the doorway for a moment before stepping into the room, heading straight for the cupboard that contained all of his mugs. He pulled one down and turned toward the coffee pot, huffing when he realized it wasn't finished brewing quite yet. "What's for breakfast?" Zack ybit out in a gruff voice, not particularly feeling like indulging Brittney in a deep conversation at the moment.

Brittney didn't hear Zacky stirring in the living room, so when he appeared in the kitchen to dig through the cupboard, she jumped just slightly. His tone of voice when he spoke to her didn't give her much hope for him being in a better mood, but she tried to make herself think that he only spoke like that because he'd just woken up.

"I was waiting to see what you wanted," Brittney answered, speaking softly. "I think you've got waffle mix in the pantry, so I can make waffles or pancakes. Or maybe eggs and toast and bacon. Or French toast. Whatever you want." Once she knew what Zacky wanted for breakfast, Brittney immediately set out to make it. She wasn't all that hungry so she would only make a little for herself, only the amount she could force herself to eat so she wouldn't make Zacky angry again.

"Waffles sound alright," Zacky agreed, his lips pursing a bit as he contemplated if he wanted anything else. "Some eggs and bacon would be nice, too," he said, nodding his head. He was a big boy and finally home from tour, there was no damn reason for him to watch his figure, was there?

Sliding onto one of the stools at the breakfast bar, Zacky watched as Brittney started making their breakfast. He sipped at the coffee that he had poured himself when it was finally ready, welcoming the scorching liquid with a small groan. "Was thinking we could just relax today. Rent a movie or two and make some appetizers so we don't have to worry about doing fuck all but relaxing today," he said after a few minutes, his mood already beginning to improve with the addition of some coffee in his life. "What do you think?"

Brittney had honestly been expecting for Zacky to still be in a bit of a sour mood, so when he didn't seem to be, she was surprised. Maybe a night's rest and some coffee was all he needed. "Um yeah, that sounds good," Brittney answered, knowing Zacky wasn't so much as asking her opinion as he was essentially telling her what they would do today. But just relaxing sounded like a good plan to her, anyway.

When the food was finished, Brittney quickly made Zacky a plate, grabbing a fork and knife for him before she handed him the plate. Next, she went to the fridge to pull out the butter and to the pantry to grab the syrup. Once all of this was on the table, Brittney made her own plate and poured herself a glass of milk before she joined Zacky at the table. "How is it?" Brittney asked. "I wasn't sure how you liked your bacon, so I made some chewy and some crunchy." Personally, she couldn't stand chewy bacon, but to each their own.

{if bacon isn't chewy, i refuse to eat it i once had a roommate who would cook her bacon in the microwave so much that it was completely charcoal. was fucking gross }

Zacky perched over the plate of food that Brittney had given him, starting to butter the waffles the moment that Brittney had set it down in front of him. Pouring on a healthy dose of the real maple syrup that he all but required to have in his home, Zacky took a healthy first bite. "S'good," he answered around a mouthful of food, taking a long swig of his coffee. He let out a content sigh, his shoulders relaxing just a bit more. There was still a bit of unshed tension but Zacky was in a better mood already, if nothing went wrong, it would likely stay that way.

"This," Zacky paused, holding up a perfectly cooked piece of bacon. It was half way in between the two styles. "Is fucking perfect," He muttered before taking a bite of it. He grinned at her, raising an eyebrow as he motioned toward the bacon. "What do you like? Please, tell me you don't fucking like chewy bacon. That shit is a disgrace."

[I can't stand chewy bacon, fat on food makes me gag ]

It made Brittney more relieved than she would ever admit to hear Zacky say that he liked the food. After the disaster that yesterday had somehow turned into, she was willing to do anything to keep him in a good mood. Brittney was focused on putting away as much of her food as she could, only looking up from her plate when Zacky spoke.

"Oh God no, I can't stand chewy bacon," Brittney said, managing a grin. "I don't like it burnt or anything, but I definitely prefer crispy." When she finished as much as she could handle, Brittney got to her feet to take her plate to the sink. Once she'd done that, she started on putting the leftovers away and cleaning the kitchen. "I'm going to go upstairs and change, I'm getting a little chilly," Brittney said, pausing next to Zacky. "When you're done, you can put your plate in the sink and I'll wash it here when I do the dishes later."

{i'm the same way when it comes to any other meat but bacon is special ok }

Zacky simply gave a nod of his head when Brittney told himt o set his plate in the sink. It was nearly annoying that she had even bothered to tell him. Of course he would, he wasn't a complete animal. Rolling his eyes at the thought, Zacky huffed to himself as Brittney headed upstairs. When he finally had finished his food, Zacky set the plate in the sink before heading into the living room after pouring himself a glass of iced tea.

Dropping down onto the couch, Zacky propped his feet up on the coffee table as he began to flip through the channels on the television. He glanced up when Brittney reappeared, raising an eyebrow. "Do you want to watch anything?" He asked, holding the remote out to her. There wasn't anything on that particularly interested him so he didn't really care what she decided to put on for them to watch.

Brittney was in a much better mood than she'd expected to be as she changed into a pair of yoga pants. Zacky being happy made her happy, not only because she was such a people-pleaser but also because was really starting to fall for Zacky, even if she was afraid to admit it out loud. At the last second, Brittney shed her shirt, exchanging it for one of Zacky's. She knew how much he seemed to like seeing her in his clothing and she hoped it would elevate his mood even more.

When she appeared in the living room, Brittney was surprised when she remote was immediately offered to her. She sat down on the couch, cautiously settling on something she thought Zacky would like before she settled back on the couch. "There isn't really much on so I hope this is okay," she said. She was a little unsure of herself as she scooted closer to Zacky. ,resting her head on his shoulder.