Listen To Your Heart

Mandy was certain of a lot of things in life-- purple was the hair color that looked best on her, doing makeup was her dream job, and she loved her boyfriend Zack with everything that she had in her. But the one thing that Mandy could never understand was why on God's green earth Zack dragged her out of bed at six in the morning to go work out. Sure, she'd promised him that she would go with him one day. The purple haired beauty had been meaning to get back into shape, so she figured it would be a good idea. But Mandy never expected Zack would wake her up at the ass crack of dawn, begging her to go running with him. She never was one to deny her love, especially when he used his pouty face on her, so she went.

That's how she found herself in her current situation. After a two and a half hour hike, the two finally returned home and Mandy was thoroughly spent. "Jesus Christ," she groaned, flopping down on the couch. "It's not even noon and I'm already, like, four hundred percent done with today." Mandy rolled over, smiling gently when her gaze landed on Zack. "But I get to see my boyfriend all shirtless and sweaty, so that's a definite plus." The twentysomething pulled herself up from the couch and gave Zack a quick swat on the ass before heading to the kitchen, in desperate need of some water and a snack.

--

Alex hummed gently to himself, strumming on his prized accoustic guitar. He'd been tinkering with this song for god knows how long now, and the singer finally felt like he had it right. It was almost ready to show the guys and get their input on it. Alex had been working on the yet to be titled piece ever since he and Lisa had divorced. The split was amicable, but still. She'd been a big part of Alex's life for the better part of a decade. And this was the last song that Alex was going to write about the situation, so it had to bring him some closure. It could be one of the (what felt like) million other breakup songs that he'd written during his career.

A soft sigh fell from slightly chapped lips and he pushed his hair out of his face. For the life of him, Alex just couldn't get the opening guitar part right. So he decided to take a break. Maybe get some coffee and clear his head. So he put his guitar down and grabbed his keys before heading out the door, deciding to just walk to the coffee shop down the road.

Leighton grabbed her coffee from the counter, smiling at the barista and thanking them quickly as they walked away. Recently she had moved from a small town in southern Alabama, and she had quickly become a regular at this particular coffee shop. Despite not living too far from the biggest city in the state, there wasn't a ton of hustle and bustle here. It was quiet and it made her feel like she was back home.

Darting to the right, her eyes scanned the shop for her usual table. Thankfully, as usual, it was available and she quickly moved her things to the small table in the corner.

---

Zack grinned at Mandy, shaking his head as he laughed and plopped himself on the couch. This was something he did on a daily basis, so to him... it was nothing. Of course, he knew she'd hate being out that early so he had planted some of her favorite things in the fridge for when they got home. "It wasn't that bad, brat." He called out as she walked into the kitchen.

Honestly, despite the fact that she was a complete opposite of him when it came to so many things, Mandy was the best thing that could've ever happened to him. "Babe, can you grab a bottle of water for me?" He called out, laying his head back on the couch."

About ten or so minutes later, Alex arrived at the coffee shop. He pushed open the door, causing the barista to look up at the sound of the little bell above the door jingling. "Hey, 'Lex! Your usual?" The girl behind the counter asked with a grin. Alex nodded, fumbling for his wallet as he made his way u[ to the counter. He swiped his debit card before putting it back in his pocket, standing to the side to wait for his drink.

While Alex waited for Clarissa to make his iced white mocha, he scanned the coffee shop to do a little bit of people watching. His eyes landed on a tan blonde girl he'd never seen before in his life. She had a kind face, and eyes that seemed to pierce right through you. The singer lifted his hand up in a friendly hello gesture when she spotted him, a smile turning up the corners of his mouth.

The jingle of the bell alerted Leighton to another patron entering the little shop. She could hear the friendly conversation between Clarissa, the barista who always seemed to be here, and the customer, who was apparently named Lex. Curiousity overwhelmed her and she was forced to glance upwards at the newest addition to the small store.

The sight that met her was a tall brunette man with his hair cut to the side and tattoos peaking out from every angle of his jacket. Looking away for a moment to take a sip of her coffee, she suddenly felt eyes on her and she looked back up to see the man looking at her. He smiled and gave her a smile wave, to which she couldn't help but smile back. It wasnt unusual for her to get grettjngs from men she didnt know, but there was something different here. There was something about this guy that made her want to get up and introduce herself.

Alex gratefully took his drink from Clarissa, thanking her before taking a sip. "Perfect, just like always." He tipped the drink in her direction before heading over to the blonde girl in the corner. "Hey, I'm Alex... I don't think I've ever seen you in here before." The singer took a sip from his drink again, listening as the blonde now known as Leighton introduced herself.

"Well hey there Leighton, welcome to Baltimore. You're from Alabama? I've played shows there before, it's a beautiful state." He spoke before looking at the empty chair. "Do you mind if I sit down for a minute?"

--

Mandy rolled her eyes. "Zack, you're the incredible Hulk. You're talking to the girl who used to cut across the gym floor to make it look like she ran her laps faster than she actually did." She teased before nodding her head when Zack asked her to bring him a water bottle. The purple haired beauty grabbed one for herself, as well as some of her apple slices (that hadn't been there when she went to sleep) before heading back into the living room. "Here you go, babe."

She flopped back down on the couch before taking a bit out of one of her apple slices. "Am I gonna be allowed to take a nap today, or do we have anything planned?"

“Oh, yeah, I just moved here a few weeks ago… my name is Leighton.” She smiled as she introduced herself. She looked around, trying to figure out how he had figured out she was from Alabama. It’s not like she just screamed ‘I’m from Alabama’ and as far as she knew she didn’t have anything with the state on it… at least not with her.

“How did you figure that out?” She questioned, gesturing for him to take the seat across from her. Her accent came out thick, after all she did grow up in Alabama and spent 23 years there. Something she did notice though was that he had an accent of his own. He didn’t sound like everyone else… it was different. “You’re not from around here yourself either are you… you don’t have the same accent as everyone else.”

---

“Uh…” Zack thought to himself, pursing his lips as he tried to remember if they had any plans for the day. “Not really… we’re going to Alex’s to work on some music and I know you typically like going over there but that’s not for another 3 hours or so… Plenty of time for a nap.” He ended with a chuckle.

Twisting the water bottle in his hands, Zack grabbed the controller off the table and started flipping through the channels, trying to find SOMETHING worth interest to watch. He settled on a movie that looked interesting enough and lowered the volume, so it was more of a background noise. “Up to you babe.” He stated, referring to taking the nap.

"My buddy's fiancee is from Alabama, and you talk just like her. Kinda figured. Well, that, and I'm good with accents. Kinda one of my hidden talents" Alex shrugged, taking another sip of his drink. At the mention of not being from Baltimore, he nodded affirmatively. "Born in London. You caught me." He winked before setting his cup on the table. "But I moved a few years after I was born, so I have no idea why the hell I still have this accent." A laugh left the singer's lips.

"How are you liking Baltimore so far? I mean, it's not Paris but I think it's pretty beautiful."

--

"I think I'll take my nap here. Last time I fell asleep at Alex's, Jack drew all over me." Mandy laughed at the memory. She showed up at Alex's after about a twelve hour shift at her salon, and Lisa pretty much insisted that she nap in the guest bedroom. Mandy came to about three hours later, Jack's contagious giggling waking her up. "I swear to god, we're friends with a bunch of twelve year olds."

Mandy grabbed her blanket off the back of the couch and threw it over her legs. "Little nap, then shower. I'm not goin' over there looking like a bum and smelling like sweat. Wake me up in about an hour?" She yawned.

"Oh, okay that makes sense..." Leighton nodded, as her eyes swept over him. "And I like it... I mean," she paused, trying to figure out the best way to put it "I'm from a really small town... like population less than 1000, everybody knows everybody. So living in such a big city is a huge contrast. It was hard to find somewhere quiet." She explained, shrugging her shoulders.

Taking a sip of her coffee, a thought struck her... one that she had to mention. "I did notice however that people here are obsessed with the flag. You guys have it on practically everything! I saw a could the other day... She was wearing a sheer scarf and had a purse with the flag, and the both of them were wearing sweaters. It was incredible!"

---

Zack chuckled, remembering the last time she had fallen asleep during practice. Alex and Lisa were still together... and Jack snuck off. The next thing they knew Jack was running around the house, screaming like a banshee as Mandy chased after him, marker all over her face.

"To be fair... you knew what Jack was like when we started dating." He chuckled, kissing her forehead as he stood to go get a shower. "You could never look like a bum. I'll wake you up in a bit, I'm gonna get in the shower now."

Alex nodded his head, listening as Leighton talked. "I could never imagine living somewhere that small. I'm sure it's beautiful, though." He sipped his coffee. "Personally, I like the bigger cities. You get a ton more privacy, as weird as that sounds. Everyone's too concerned with what the hell they have going on in their own lives to care about you." He shrugged. "That, and traffic helps me fall asleep." At the mention of people's love of the flag, Alex laughed slightly. "Yeah, you're gonna see that a lot up here. My friend Jack actually has a flag morph suit... he's worn it a few times." He shook his head, remembering the last time Jack had busted out his prized outfit.

--

"Of course I knew what he was like! I just thought he knew better than to interrupt me while I was sleeping." Mandy laughed, throwing her hair up in a bun so it was out of her face. She nodded when Zack spoke about taking a shower, pulling the blanket tighter around her. "If anything will give me sweet dreams, it's that thought right there." Mandy blew Zack a kiss before curling up on the couch and closing her eyes, hoping to get at least a few winks of sleep before they headed over to Alex's for the afternoon.

Zack chuckled, throwing a wink her way as she closed her eyes. Grabbing his phone he walked upstairs. He grabbed his clothes and a towel and walked into the bathroom, stripping as the water warmed. His mind was on the purple-haired beauty that was asleep on the couch. She had gone to school with the guys and when they had their first show she was one of the only kids from school that had shown up. That's where they met and they had become fast friends, it wasn't until her 19th birthday that he had the courage to ask her out.

---

"Oh geez." Leighton laughed, shaking her head. Sitting back in her chair, she definitely felt more comfortable around him, there was something about this guy... She clicked with him instantly. "So, what about you. You know far more about me than I know about you. What do you do?"

She noticed when he came over that he had said he played a few shows in Alabama, so she was curious what he meant by that.

To Mandy, it felt as if it were just yesterday that she and Zack got together, instead of nearly ten years ago. They'd been friends for about three years before, starting when Mandy was one of the only few people from their school to go to the very first All Time Low show. They'd hung out afterwards, drinking cheep, piss warm beer in Alex's van and cracking up over dumb stories. Now, here they were. And if Mandy were being honest, there would be just one thing that would make her life better. And that was a ring-- but she wasn't holding her breath.

Giving up on a nap, Mandy decided to just get up from the couch. She folded her blanket before headed upstairs to the bedroom she shared with Zack, searching for some clothes to wear to Alex's place.

--

"I'm in a band with a few of my friends. Not to toot my own horn or anything, but I think we're pretty good." Alex chuckled before taking the last sip of his iced mocha. "You might have heard of us... All Time Low?" It was still weird to Alex when he introduced the band to people. He didn't think he would ever get over it. "We're kinda like a punk poppy, Hot Topic, former emo kid kinda band." He tossed his empty cup into the garbage before turning his attention back to Leighton.

Leighton listened, racking her brain for the slightest inclination of the band but nothing was coming to mind. Not that it was her fault, while she knew of Hot Topic she had never gone in one. The closest mall to her small town that had one was a good hour drive away.

"I'm sorry but no... I don't think I've ever heard of you guys. Are you big?" She questioned. One thing she definitely did not want to do was get involved with something she couldn't handle... and that included getting too close to the cute guy from the coffee shop who the whole world knew.

---

Zack got out of the shower, towel drying his body and hair before he slipped into his clothes for the day - a simple pair of jeans and a t-shirt. He heard Mandy roaming around and rolled his eyes, he should've known shed never be able to fall asleep downstairs. Not after the trek he made her go on. She would just need to go to bed a little earlier than normal tonight or she would be a total crank.

"Give up on the nap?" Zack questioned, finding her in the bedroom looking through her clothes. He wanted to spend the rest of his life with this girl... that much he knew. Rian was proposing to Cassadee in the next few days and Zack wanted to follow suit... He just wasn't sure if that's what she wanted. Mandy had never expressed her thoughts about their future... and he didn't want to ruin what they had if it's not something she wanted.

Alex blushed, running a hand through his hair. He was incredibly humble despite how he acted onstage, and he always felt relatively uncomfortable talking about his success. "Ehh, kinda? I mean, we're not at like Metallica level. But we're also not only performing for only like two people." He shrugged. "I'm kinda biased, I think we're pretty good though." A laugh left the singers lips and then a lightbulb went off in his head. "This might be pretty bold of me, Leighton, but I happen to think that you're incredibly cute. Would it be possible for me to get your number?" Alex couldn't believe the words were leaving his mouth. He normally was never this bold-- being in a relationship as long as the one he had just ended did that to you. "Maybe I could play you some of my music sometime?"

--

Mandy jumped slightly, Zack talking to her snapping her out of her thoughts. "Yeah... I have no idea why I thought the couch would be a good idea." She laughed before selecting one of her Amerrickan shirts and a pair of leggings. A sigh left the purple haired woman's lips as she turned away from her closet. "I love you, even though you make me do dumb stuff like jog at the ass crack of dawn-- you big dumb dork." Mandy spoke, hugging Zack tight. She loved him beyond measure, and even though they'd broken up for a year around 2011 (long story short, they needed time a part, Mandy defended him during that whole picture scandal and they realized they were soulmates, blah blah blah), she never stopped thinking about him. The two had just pulled apart from their hug when Mandy heard her phone ring. She raised a brow when she saw it was Cassadee. "Huh, it's been a minute since she's called me. Wonder what it's about?" Mandy asked curiously.

"Hey missy, you said you wanted to work out with me." Zack chuckled, watching as she picked out her clothes, no doubt a shower on her mind. When Mandy answered the phone, even from across the room, all Zack heard was screaming. He had a feeling he knew what it was about but, even so, jokes were necessary.

"Christ, is she being attacked by a bear?" He questioned, walking closer to his girlfriend as she deciphered the endless screaming. If it was what he thought it was, Rian would probably tell them at Alex's.

---

Leighton blushed, looking down briefly before she looked back up, her hair covering some of her face. "Bold isn't always a bad thing." She stated, grabbing her pen to write a note with her number for him.

"For the record, I'd love to hear you play sometime." She smiled, handing the paper over to him. Her last boyfriend wasn't exactly the nicest of men, in fact he was most of the reason she moved to the city, but Alex seemed different.

Mandy had barely put the phone to her ear when Cassadee started screaming. She yanked it away, still listening to what she had to say. "Cass! Girl, calm down. What's going on?" Now that Cassadee's voice volume was considerably lower, Mandy put her phone back to her ear to listen to what she had to say. "Oh my god! He did! No way! It's about fuckin' time! You know I'm gonna want pictures of that ring and every little detail, right? Oh, you're gonna be over at Alex's later? Rad. I'll see you then, okay? Love you too!" Mandy hung up, and for half a second disappointment flickered on her face. She was happy for Rian and Cass, of course. But she couldn't help but feel a little twinge of jealousy in her stomach. She and Zack had been together twice as long, and yet he still hadn't even mentioned that he was THINKING of asking him to marry her. "So, nope, not being attacked by a bear. Apparently, Mr. Perfect Teeth finally asked her to marry him!"

--

Alex grinned, the smile growing wider when Leighton mentioned that she would come see them play soon. "Awesome! We have a show next month, I'll make sure to put you on the guest list." He grabbed his napkin that had gone unused and wrote his number down on it before slipping it to Leighton. "Good to know being bold payed off... I'd love to stay, but I have to jet back to my house. My friends are coming over later, and we're gonna jam and plan some stuff out for the tour we have coming up. I have to make sure my house is ready for those wackos... but I'll see you again soon?" Alex asked hopefully.

because I can't remember if I pressed the button

Smiling, Zack immediately picked up on the brief look of disappointment that flashed across Mandy's face. It gave him hope for the first time that maybe, just maybe, she did want to get married. "Finally. I was wondering when he was gonna ask her. Man has had that ring on him for months." Zack stated, wrapping his arms around her waist.

"Now tell me, did I notice some disappointment on your face?" He questioned, kissing her on the forehead. "Because I'm sure you'll be one of the bridesmaids. And her sister doesn't live in Maryland so I'm sure you'll be able to help her with most of the planning."

---

Leighton nodded, taking his number as he stood. For some reason, one she could not explain, something took over her body and she was spewing out the words faster than she cpuld think them through.

"Well why wait a month? If you're going to your house to play then why don't I come over? I can hear you unbiased from the crowd." She stated, biting her lip and blushing almost instantly as she finished speaking. "I am so sorry I am never that forward." She glanced down, then back up at Alex.

Mandy tilted her head up so Zack could kiss her forehead, a smile on her face as she did so. "You caught me," she spoke. Although it was a blatant lie what she was disappointed about. "I just hope she doesn't put me and Andie in some ugly ass dress-- I mean I'll wear it, but still. Kinda got an automatic clasher here." She laughed as she ran a hand through her hair. "I wonder if I could get a refund on the bridesmaids dress I was supposed to wear for Alex and Lisa's wedding..." the purple haired beauty mused, thinking of the wedding that didn't happen. The dress was just taking up space in her closet anyway.

"Alright, I'm gonna take that shower. And if there's no hot water I'm gonna beat you up." Mandy joked before heading out of the bedroom. She shut the door behind her and leaned against the wall, exhaling softly and putting her head in her hands. She and Zack would have to have a talk when they got back from Alex's that night.

--

Alex raised a brow, but he quickly nodded in approval at Leighton's idea. "No, don't apologize-- I think it's a great idea!" He grinned. "Don't even worry about being the only girl, either-- my buddy's girlfriend is gonna be there, and she's pretty chill." He paused to scribble his address down on the napkin. "Everyone's gonna be there at about twelve thirty or one o'clock, so come over whenever! We're probably gonna have some pizza or something for dinner, so hope you're hungry!"

The weight that had been on her chest dissipated almost instantaneously and Leighton nodded, noting the time in her head. A blush filled her cheeks as she smiled up at him, biting her lip ever so lightly. "Sounds good... I'll see you there." She smiled at him, watching as he walked away. She let put a sigh - what had she gotten herself into.

---

Zack nodded, watching as Mandy walked off into the bathroom, closing the door behind her. Grabbing his phone he sent Cassadee, Alex, and Rian a quick text - letting them know he was going to need their help in ring shopping. He saw the disappointment on her face and he knew, or at least he hoped, it was because they hadn't ever talked about getting married. Mandy was a hard girl to surprise... maybe, just maybe, he could surprise her with this.