Little Runaway

Zacky let his head rest against the back of the couch, his eyes fluttering shut as he listened to Brittney flipping through the television. It wasn't much noise, certainly not enough to keep him awake so he started to fall asleep. He jerked to alertness when Brittney spoke to him, lifting his head long enough to survey what she had decided to put on. It took him a moment to place the movie but once he had, he gave a quick nod of his head. "S'alright," he answered.

Laying his arm over the back of the couch, Zacky wrapped it around Brittney's shoulders. His thumb brushed over her shoulder, only for a small smirk to form on his lips when he actually realized she was wearing one of his shirts. "Nice shirt," he commented, tilting his head to the side. "Where'd you get it?" Zacky asked, keeping his tone light and teasing.

Brittney smiled softly when she felt Zacky wrap his arm around her shoulder. She was grateful for the affection, even as small of a gesture as this one was. When he made a comment about the shirt she was wearing, Brittney grinned. It was nice to flirt with Zacky, mostly because that meant he was in a good mood. "Oh, this old thing?" she teased. "It's just something I threw on. It sure does smell nice, though. Like this cute guy's cologne." Brittney leaned up to press a kiss to Zacky's jaw before she cuddled closer to him. A few minutes later, she reached back to grab the blanket from the back of the couch, pulling it over their laps.

Brittney was honestly so damn comfortable that she didn't want to move, but a couple hours later, she was so hungry that she had no choice. "Are you getting hungry, yet?" Brittney asked, yawning. "I figured maybe we could order Thai for lunch? Unless you'd rather have something else? I'm so hungry I really don't care what we eat." Reluctantly, Brittney peeled herself away from Zacky and the couch, heading upstairs to use the bathroom. Coming back downstairs, she dropped back onto the couch. "Did you decide what you wanted for lunch?"

Zacky let out a groan as Brittney shifted away from him, not even realizing that he was hungry until Brittney said something about it. "Now that you mention it, I'm fucking starving," he murmured, nodding his head when Brittney mentioned thai. It wasn't a cuisine that he had very often but he was hungry enough that he didn't really give a shit and considering he didn't want to be bothered with cooking. It took too much effort and just a few short days after the end of a tour, Zacky hadn't built up any semblance of energy to cook or any other household chores.

By the time that Brittney returned, Zacky had grabbed the paper menu for the local Thai place that had been in a junk drawer in the kitchen. He'd thumbed through it, ultimately deciding on a peanut chicken dish before tossing the menu onto the table for Brittney to look at. Grinning in her direction when she appeared, Zacky gave a nod of his head as he motioned toward the menu. "Thai sounds good," he answered, propping his feet up on the coffee table. "Let me know what you want when you decide then I'll place the order."

Zacky had done just that, settling back into the couch. "I was thinking we could go to a ducks game. This Friday or next," he commented, tilting his head to the side. "What do you think?"

Brittney smiled as she reached for the menu. She quickly skimmed over it before deciding on house noodles with beef pepper steak. "Alright I think I've figured out what I wanted," she said. Handing Zacky the menu, she settled against him, bringing her legs up onto the couch as she curled against him. She tugged the blanket from the back of the couch over her lap as Zacky placed their order, getting comfortable.

"Yeah, that sounds like fun," Brittney said. She was actually pretty indifferent about sports in general but she would never tell Zacky that. Besides, she was looking forward to spending time with him during what she would consider a date. And if Zacky wanted to show her something he enjoyed, who was she to tell him no? It made her feel special that he wanted to take her with him to do something he liked to do. Brittney didn't move a single muscle until the doorbell rang and even then, the only reason she moved was to let Zacky get up to answer the door. "God, that smells incredible," Brittney said. "What did you want to drink? I'll go get it from the kitchen."

Being a fan of the Anaheim Ducks was just sort of a way of life when you grew up in Orange County. It was where they congregated on the weekends during hockey season because it was always fun, it was always something to do other than the run of the mill beach or the parks or the boardwalk. It was a break from the monotony of week day life. He grinned when Brittney agreed, nodding his head. "I have season tickets so that's something we don't have to worry about," he said with a small grin. "Right up against the glass, too. Best seats in the whole damn place."

It wasn't long before the food arrived and as if on cue, Zacky's stomach arrived just as the doorbell was ringing. He let out a small laugh as he stood, retrieving the food and giving the delivery driver a healthy tip before he returned to Brittney. "Just a coke is good," Zacky said when Brittney offered to grab them drinks. Normally, he would have a beer with supper but he simply wasn't feeling it at the moment. He sat down and began pulling out the various containers before he realized that they should probably have plates. Groaning, Zacky headed into the kitchen where he grabbed them both utensils and plates before heading back into the living room to dish up their food.

Brittney wasn't really a fan of hockey, but seeing Zacky excited to take her made her excited to go. She liked knowing that he wanted to share his hobbies with her. Nodding her head when Zacky said he wanted a coke, Brittney headed into the kitchen. She grabbed his soda from the fridge, grabbing another for herself before she went back into the living room. She sat the sodas down on the coffee table just as Zacky headed into the kitchen himself and she was bit confused until she saw him come back with plates.

"I'm probably a little too excited about this food," Brittney said, laughing softly. "You want some? This is probably more than enough for me to have a second meal out of it, I can spare a little. And it's good." Once Zacky had made his decision, Brittney wasted no time in digging into her food, twirling a bit of the house noodles around her fork. She'd never really been able to just sit around and relax when she was growing up, so this was actually nice. Just sitting here with Zacky, doing absolutely nothing, it was almost blissful.

"Fuckin' me too," Zacky answered back when Brittney exclaimed about her excitement over the food that had just arrived. He was admittedly more excited than he had originally been when he agreed to order thai food. His stomach growled as if on cue as he began to scoop some of his food out onto his plate, leaning over to scoop Brittney's container up so he could have a bit of her food as well. He gave her a small smirk, pushing his own, half empty container toward Brittney so she knew that she could have some of his food as well, if she wanted some.

Not even ten minutes later, Zacky sat staring at an empty plate. He let out a grown as he sat back, rubbing his stomach as he dropped his head against the back of the couch. "I don't think I'll move for a fuckin' week after that," Zacky grunted, reaching up to rub his face. "That was delicious but Jesus, I wasn't thinking I'd eat all of it. Ah well, guess i just don't have to worry about dessert later," he said with a soft laugh. Rolling his head to the side, Zacky eyed Brittney. "What about you? How ya feeling?"

Brittney grinned as Zacky pushed his half-empty container in her direction. She couldn't remember seeing Zacky ever share food with anyone - ever share anything with anyone, really - and she felt a little special, even though she'd technically offered to share her food with him first. She scooped a little of his food onto her plate and settled back on the couch, her mind focused on little else but the television as she ate. It took her a bit longer to finish than it did Zacky but she was just as full, enough that she didn't even want to entertain the thought of moving.

"I'm feeling pretty great," Brittney said, laughing softly. "Full, but great. I don't want to move until at least dinner time. But in the meantime, we can watch shitty movies and cuddle?" She hoped it wasn't too much to be asking a little affection from Zacky. But they were both happy and fed with no plans to really move for the foreseeable future so why not? Brittney brought her legs up onto the couch, relaxing as she curled up to Zacky's side. She could fall asleep right now, she was so comfortable.

"Seems like an excellent time to take a fuckin' nap to me," Zacky stated as he laid back on the couch, bringing Brittney down into a laying position with him. He let out a quick yawn, running one of his hands through her hair absentmindedly. "Don't normally pig out that damn much. I forgot how good Thai food can be," he said, letting out a soft chuckle. Leaning up, he pressed a kiss to Brittney's forehead before resting his head against the arm of the couch. Grunting under his breathe, Zacky was forced to lean up to adjust the decorative pillow right behind him so that he was a bit more comfortable.

It wasn't long before Zacky had drifted off to sleep, his eyes slipping shut as he began to snore softly. His arm loosened around Brittney's shoulder, his arm dropping to become nudged between the back of the couch and Brittney's own back.

"I definitely agree," Brittney said, going along with Zacky as he pulled her down to lay next to him on the couch. She smiled when he kissed her forehead, snuggling close to him and closing her eyes. She hadn't been particularly tired but curled up close to Zacky with a full stomach, she would likely fall asleep in no time. Zacky was asleep before her, snoring softly in her ear. It was honestly pretty cute. But Brittney didn't have much time to think about it before she was drifting off to sleep as well.

When Brittney finally woke up, the living room was darker than it had been before, which led her to believe that it was early evening. She moved away from Zacky without waking him, trudging into the kitchen and grabbing the leftovers from the fridge. It was probably close enough to dinner time for her to eat again and she saw no reason to cook anything when they had perfectly good food left over from lunch. Taking her food into the living room, Brittney noticed that Zacky was waking up as she sat down on the recliner next to the couch. "Did you want me to warm you up some leftovers?" she asked.

Zacky hadn't been expecting to sleep for so long, so when he started to come to, he was a bit disorientated. He let out a groan, reaching up to rub the sleep from his eyes as he pushed himself up to a sitting position. Huffing, Zacky looked around as he tried to fight the yawn that was threatening to sound. Resting back against the arm of the couch, Zacky turned toward Brittney when she appeared from the kitchen with a steaming plate of leftovers. He hadn't realized that he was hungry until his stomach growled but as if on cue, Brittney was asking if he was hungry and he was quick to nod.

"Fuckin' starving. Guess that nap took a lot out of me," Zacky said, letting out a soft laugh as he looked toward her. "Just toss it in the microwave. Don't worry about portioning it out. I'll probably eat whatever is left. Then I won't be tempted by them tomorrow... maybe.."

Brittney laughed at Zacky's instructions as she pushed to her feet, setting her plate in the recliner before she went back into the kitchen. She dumped what was left of the leftovers onto a plate and stuck it in the microwave. Once she was satisfied that it was hot enough, she took it to Zacky, handing it to him along with a fork and a napkin. "Bon appetite," she said. "That's everything so if you don't to be tempted anymore, you might as well eat all of it. I probably won't want anymore because I'll probably be so full I'll be sick from eating what I've got on my plate."

Resuming her seat in the recliner, Brittney tucked into her plate. She couldn't believe she was even hungry after how much she'd eaten just a few hours ago. But that was the way it always seemed to work with Chinese food. She waited until Zacky had finished his plate as well before she took them into the kitchen, rinsing them off in the sink and putting them in the dishwasher. Once it was a bit more full, she would start it but for now, it would be a waste of dishwashing liquid. This time when she went into the living room, Brittney dropped onto the couch beside Zacky, curling against his side. "So what now?" she asked.

Zacky yawned as he stretched out, propping his feet up on the coffee table whil ehe waited for Brittney to return from the kitchen. It wasn't more than a few moments before she reappeared, causing a hint of a smile to ghost across his features. As he suspected, Brittney joined him on the couch and he was quick to wrap his arm around her shoulders. He pulled her in close, idly playing with her hair. He was quiet even as she spoke, only turning toward her once he had taken a second to consider options.

"Probably head over to Brian or Matt's house tomorrow. Matt's got a big ass pool and now that we're back and had a few days apart from the fuckers, I think it's time to get back into the swing of things," Zacky murmured, shrugging his shoulders. "I'll text them in a bit and figure it out. Not that big of a rush, can always just crash their fuckin' place if we're bored. Not like they'll kick us out or anything," he said with a laugh. "Haven't yet, anyway."

Brittney nodded as Zacky explained their plans for tomorrow. She was glad to see that the few days apart since the end of tour had been enough to mellow out the dispute between Zacky and the others, especially Matt. Because Zacky certainly hadn't seemed too happy with the singer when they left tour. "I'll need a bathing suit if we're going to go swimming," Brittney pointed out softly. "My underwear is fine for the hot tub but I don't think I want to go swimming in it in front of the other guys."

Brittney didn't think Zacky would like that very much either, especially given how he'd acted with Mitch. Granted, the situation with Mitch had warranted a reaction from Zacky, just not one as strong as he'd had. Zacky seemed very territorial when it came to Brittney and most of the time she didn't mind. It made her feel nice and almost special because it made her feel like she belonged somewhere, something she'd never felt growing up.

Zacky hadn't even considered that Brittney would need to get a bathing suit before they headed over to Matt's tomorrow. He let out a small groan, letting his head drop back against the back of the couch. He didn't particularly want to go shopping today but then, he also knew that he wasn't going to want to leave too early tomorrow either. Running a hand through his hair, Zacky lifted his head up. It'd be better if they just went out tonight and got it over with, Zacky thought.

Standing up, Zacky stretched his arms above his head before turning to Brittney. "Let's just go now," he grumbled, turning to head upstairs to get changed into something a bit more appropriate for an outing to the local mall.

Brittney was a little surprised when Zacky said that he wanted to go shopping for a swimsuit now. She was perfectly fine with waiting until tomorrow before they went over to Matt's house but if Zacky wanted to go now, then they would go now. She'd more than learned not to argue with Zacky. It made life much easier for her. She nodded, pushing to her feet and following Zacky upstairs. She changed into a pair of her jeans shorts, not feeling like wearing her exercise shorts out to the mall. If they were going shopping for anything besides a bikini, she might have worn jeans, but it would be easier and faster to change out of shorts while she tried on swimsuits.

Once they'd arrived at the mall, Brittney headed into the first store she thought she might find a cute swimsuit at, making sure that Zacky was behind her. She browsed the racks for a few minutes before she found one she wanted to try on, telling Zacky she was going to the fitting rooms. Once she had the swimsuit on, Brittney looked herself over in the mirror for a few minutes. She thought it was cute, thought it complimented her figure and her complexion well, but to her, the opinion that really mattered was Zacky's. "Hey Zack, come over here and tell me what you think."

Zacky decided that their best option was heading over to one of the local malls because there was several shops there that would carry swimsuits. Surely, she would be able to find something that she liked there. He didn't want to risk going to just one shop and then realizing that Brittney didn't like even a single suit there... and if he didn't like the suit, for whatever reason, Brittney certainly wouldn't be getting it. They would have to come to some sort of agreement on whatever Brittney ended up picking out.

Following Brittney into the mall, Zacky shoved his hands into his pockets as he browsed the store that she had first stepped into. He had broken off from her, eyeing the mens' swim trunks that were hung on the opposite end of the store. He had a handful at home so he didn't necessary need any more but it didn't hurt to look either. Zacky let out a sigh of relief when Brittney called out to him.

Turning to head toward Brittney, Zacky peered into the dressing room. He eyed her up and down, insisting on her doing a little turn for him. "I like it," he spoke finally, giving a nod of his head. "Any others you want, get them, too."

Brittney was admittedly a bit nervous as she waited for Zacky to fine over to the dressing room. She knew that if he didn't like the swimsuit for whatever reason that she wouldn't be getting it and she actually liked this swimsuit. Brittney felt her stomach do a little somersault as Zacky looked her up and down but she turned for him when he asked, feeling extremely relieved when he said that he liked the bikini.

"I think I'll just stick with this one for now," Brittney said. She couldn't imagine that she would need more than one. "But I'll grab a cover-up to wear if that's alright." Brittney headed back into the dressing room, changing back into her street clothes and hanging the bikini back on the hangers. Strolling out of the dressing room, she went over to browse the small selection of cover-ups, ultimately settling on a black one in a romper style.

Zacky gave a quick nod of his head when Brittney mentioned getting a cover up. He thought they were kind of pointless, especially since you could just wear a dress or an oversized tshirt and it would do the same job but if Brittney wanted one, Zacky wasn't going to argue the point. It was only money, and if she was going to use the cover up, then he didn't see a point in telling her no. It was only when his money went to waste that he got frustrated in a situation.

Once they had checked out, Zacky dutifully carried the bag out of the shop. He cleared his throat as he glanced toward her, raising an eyebrow. "Do you want to grab a bite to eat? Even just dessert," he mentioned, giving a one sided shrug. "I just know that I don't want to bother cooking later on so we minus well grab a sundae or something.."

Once she'd settled on a cover-up, Brittney took it and her bathing suit to the counter, stepping back as Zacky paid for them. She was sure he would want to go straight home and relax, so she was a bit surprised when he mentioned grabbing a small bite to eat. "Yeah, I could go for a sundae," Brittney said, nodding her head. She wasn't too terribly hungry right now, but it wouldn't hurt to put a little something on her stomach.

Brittney followed Zacky back to the car, taking the bag before she slid into the passenger seat. She waited until Zacky had climbed into the car and cautiously reached over to take his hand. Brittney still craved his affection but after seeing how volatile Zacky could become over seemingly nothing, Brittney felt like she had to be careful. "So where were you wanting to go for a sundae?" she asked, looking at Zacky over the console.