Listen To Your Heart

(dude did your hear that they actually split? love is dead to me lol)

Mandy nodded her head, taking another bite of her chicken. "And then she called me and screamed for a good five minutes afterward." She joked before sipping her lemonade.

--

Alex listened as Cass described how Rian had proposed, sitting down next to Leighton. "Oh, god, you two are so sweet you're gonna give me diabetes." He joked, handing Leighton a fork before digging into his own food.

(I did ! I was so upset, true love no longer exists - everyone commenting on it was like 'good now she can be with Dustin lynch' and I'm sitting there like noooooo)

"Oh shush you, I think its sweet. Private and in their own home." Leighton smiled, digging into her food. It seemed as though this was a pretty tight knit group. Rian and Cassadee lived together, Zack and Mandy lived together, and they knew each other's usual food order. This was the type of family she wanted... this was the friendship she wanted to gain.

---

Zack looked up at Alex, then over to Leighton. "So, Alex... You didn't mention how you met Leighton... You told us she was going over but... how'd you meet?" Zack question, cocking his left eyebrow as he took a sip of his sweet tea.

(NO THE FUCK SHE CAN NOT BE. They'll make up. I took this worse than my parents' divorce lol)

"I went to go get coffee this morning, and she was sitting there. So, being my usual smooth self, I sat down across from her, we talked, and I invited her to one of the hometown shows-- and then we agreed that coming over tonight was a better option." Alex spoke, looking over at Leighton. He loved that all of his friends seemed to approve of her, and were making her feel welcome. They were a good bunch.

--

"Aww, how cute." Mandy mused. "That's a hell of a lot better than my story. Jack spilled warm beer on me and Zack was the only one to grab me a towel. That's how I got my first all time low shirt-- that's still in the back of my closet," she smiled nostalgically.

"Left. Smooth- right." Zack chuckled "Alex you are far from smooth, I've seen your game." He smiled at Mandy as she recalled the night they had met. "Actually babe... Jack did it on purpose." He added in. With only a three person crowd it wasn't hard to miss her, but being as shy as he was back then Jack took it upon himself to force an interaction.

---

Leighton smiled at Alex, laughing along with the others when Zack said he wasn't smooth. "Well to be fair - he did get me here... he's gotta have some game." She teased

Mandy looked over at Jack, raising a brow. "Seriously, dude?" She shook her head, but a smile still graced her features. Jack scoffed, putting down his fork. "Hey, someone had to break the ice! It was like pulling teeth to get Zack to talk to me back then, and I'm his best friend!" He spoke, causing everyone to laugh. "Someone had to do something!"

--

Alex looked over at Leighton. "Ignore them. I do have some game. You know this." He gave her a wink before going back to the conversation at hand. "You know, we were talking about just bringing you over to hang out with us, but then Jack's just like 'nah, I'm gonna go spill this beer on her' and he was off before we could stop him."

"Oddly enough that definitely sounds like something he would do." Leighton nodded, taking another bite of her chicken. "Though to be fair on Jack's end - You are dating. So technically it worked."

---

"Lets not give him props, he'll think his matchmaking skills are invincible and he'll start trying to play matchmaker." Zack chuckled, finishing off his beef & broccoli.

Mandy shrugged. "It worked, but I smelled like Miller Lite for a week." She teased, taking another bite of her sesame chicken. God love Jack, though-- he was smarter than a lot of people gave him credit for. "Has anyone heard if Vinnie is gonna be able to do merch for us?" Mandy asked curiously.

--

Alex shook his head. "I called him this morning but he didn't answer." He shrugged before taking a bite from his egg roll. "Why, Mannequin? You offering?" He joked. "Cause we like you a lot more than Vinnie."

"His wife is due any day now, I don't think he's gonna be able to." Zack stated, grabbing his phone "I can ask Flyzik to call him." He stated, sending Vinny a text to give them a call.

---

"You're talking about just selling some clothes right... t-shirts... cd's... etc." Leighton questioned, cocking her head to the side.

"That, plus set up and take down at the end of the night." Mandy spoke, sipping her drink again. She raised a brow, looking across the table at Leighton. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking? Cause it's a great idea if it is." She could really see the two of them working well together at merch.

--

"Yeah, it's pretty simple..." Alex's voice trailed off as he caught onto what Leighton was thinking. "Leighton, I couldn't ask you to do that for us...." He couldn't believe that this girl was thinking to join them on tour and help them out of a jam.

"I'm thinking EXACTLY what you're thinking." Leighton smiled at Mandy, directing her attention now to Alex. "You didn't ask, I offered. A man shouldn't have to be pulled away from his newborn baby if someone else is available. Besides, I did stuff like that back in Alabama."

---

Zack looked between the two girls, he liked Leighton. And selling merch for them was a good way to force her and Alex to be around each other. He nodded in agreement. "I gotta say, I think Mandy and Leighton would be great doing merch together. Everyone already loves Mandy, and Leighton is a sweetheart."

Mandy high fived Leighton before turning her attention back to her food. "Alex, someone other than me wants to put up with you guys on the road. I suggest letting her before she changes her mind." She joked, pushing some of her hair behind her ear.

--

Alex rolled his eyes, flipping Mandy the bird before turning to talk to Leighton. "Thank you so, so much. That really helps us out. We'll pay you, obviously." He added, finishing up his food.

"Whatever makes you comfortable." Leighton smiled at him, letting her hair fall in her face. "But really, I don't mind it. I think it'd be fun. A new experience." She grabbed her tea, taking a sip before placing it back down and flicking the hair out of her eyes.

---

"There we have it. Mandy and Leighton are doing merch." Zack stated, finishing up his food. He stood, heading into the kitchen to toss the container away.

"Finally, I won't be the only girl on the bus. This is a dream come true." Mandy joked, standing up and following Zack into the kitchen. She tossed her trash into the garbage before grabbing another drink from Alex's fridge.

--

Alex smiled appreciatively. "Seriously, thanks a ton. You're pretty cool, you know that?" He spoke, standing up. "Paying you or giving you some sort of gift would definitely make me comfortable. Putting up with all of us on the road is no easy feat."

"Whichever you'd prefer. I'm fine with just being able to do it." Leighton stood, adding his trash to hers as she walked by him into the kitchen. "You gotta remember Alex, I'm from Alabama. We do things just cause it's nice."

---

Zack chuckled, wrapping his arms around Mandy from behind. Cassadee yelled out in protest. "Hey I go out with you guys when I can !"

"Yea but you've got your own tour coming up miss country girl. Leaving us high and dry in the alternative scene." Zack whined, though his sad voice was beyond obviously fake.

Mandy laughed, shaking her head. "Okay, since like 2012 I've been the only girl a majority of the time-- it's not a fun situation, especially when Jack uses the last of your expensive hairspray, and neglects to tell you." She spoke pointedly, sticking her tongue out at Jack again. She rested her arms on top of Zack's, a content feeling settling over her.

--

Alex smiled gently before throwing out his own trash as well. "Well, we need more people from Alabama up here then." He winked before laughing at the antics of Jack and Mandy. "You sure you're ready to deal with that twenty four seven?"

because I hate my life and my memory

"Technically, I wouldn't be dealing with it while we're sleeping and while I'm working, in between that..." Leighton paused, looking between the two bickering "I think I can handle it."

---

"To be fair, you know Jack." Zack pointed out, kissing her gently on the cheek. "So you should've known it wouldn't be safe to bring along. I tried to warn you didn't I?"

Mandy rolled her eyes before turning her head so she could look at Jack. "Babe, whose side are you on here? Remember who you're going home with." She joked, gently nudging him with her elbow.

--

Alex beamed as he got up to throw out his trash. "You're a peach," he spoke, giving her shoulder a soft squeeze as he walked past her. "What size t shirt do you wear? I wanna make sure our tour guy prints up one for you."

"She's got a point." Zack nodded, smiling cheekily "But so did I when I said not to bring it." He quipped, kissing her gently on the cheek so as to distract her from the statement he had only just made.

---

"A medium will do." Leighton looked up at Alex as he passed by, thinking To herself about what her mother would say. She had only just met this man this morning, and here she was about to tour the country with him. She'd have a fit.

Mandy rolled her eyes, turning to kiss him as well. "That's a funny way of saying 'you're right, babe-- Jack shouldn't have snooped through your makeup bag.'" She smirked, pulling away so she could go sit down.

--

"Medium works," Alex spoke before turning to sit next to her. "We set out on the 28th, and we're gonna have a huge party at Zack and Mandy's the day before. It's kinda our tradition." he explained.