House of Jealous Lovers

"Johnny! Quit being such a fatass and help me clean up the kitchen!" I heard Danni yell from the other room.

"But baby, I'm hungry! I just wanna eat my sandwich!" he whined.

"I don't care! You made a huge fucking mess in the kitchen and you need to clean it up! I'm not your God damn maid!"

"But babe!"

I groaned loudly, sitting up in my bed and looking to the bedroom door that was open and
letting all the noise pollution into my room. I groaned again, knocking the back of my head against the wall in frustration before deciding that this couple's mission in life was to prevent me from getting any sleep after a long night shift. This happened every time I came in at 5AM from work. I scratched the back of my head, sighing in defeat since sleep wouldn't come again and rolled out of bed.

I wandered down the hall, feeling my oversized basketball shorts I borrowed from Brian a long time ago falling off my hips. They barely fit me, which I didn't mind. It just meant they would sag a bit. I enjoyed the feeling of loose clothing. It was always a lot more comfortable.

I walked into the living room to find Danni straddling Johnny's lap as they were heavily making out. I threw my hands over my eyes and tried to rid myself of their private moment I had just crashed.

"Gah! Why must you do that in my living room?" I said in mock horror.

The couple slowly pulled away from each other, giggling to themselves as Danni slinked off to the left side of Johnny, keeping her legs draped over his lap. Johnny waved sheepishly while Danni ran a hand through her long black hair.

"Your living room?" Danni asked, raising an eyebrow. "If I recall, I pay my fair share of the rent as well and have a claim to the living room."

"Yeah but Jesus, do you have to like make out all over the place when you know I'm sleeping a few yards away and could walk in any moment?"

"It's more fun that way?" Johnny piped in.

"Ugh, you guys are disgusting," I laughed, sitting in the black chair near them. "And why was my door open this morning? Your yelling woke me up!"

"Sorry. I needed to borrow your hair dryer because mine broke finally," Danni said.

"About damn time too. That thing was an ancient artifact," I laughed.

"You're telling me," she said, rolling her eyes.

"So, what are you kiddies up to today?" I asked, throwing one of my legs over the arm of the chair.

"We're not sure yet," Danni shrugged. "We haven't really discussed our options."

"Well, if you need the house to yourselves for x-rated things I don't need to be here for then I'll leave you to it. I don't wanna spend all day cooped up in the house," I shrugged.

"What if we invited you to join in the x-rated fun?" Johnny asked.

"I would politely decline."

"But it would be fun," he said, trying to convince me.

"I'm sorry Johnny but just cuz I wanna get into your girlfriend's pants doesn't mean that I'll go through yours to get to the prize," I laughed.

"God London," Danni blushed.

Johnny smirked, knowing that we had only been kidding with one another. He and I always teamed up whenever we could to embarrass Danni because it was just too easy.

"So, has anyone talked to Jimmy?" Danni asked, trying to change the subject.

My face fell a little at the mention of his name. It had been about four days since I'd seen him last and things weren't any better for him. He was really taking the end of their relationship hard and decided that he didn't want to subject anyone to his depression. I called him daily to check in but respected his wishes when he told me that he didn't want to see anyone. I knew it was just a matter of time before he would start picking up the pieces of his broken heart.

Everyone else found out what had happened the next day. Val and Danni were just as furious as I was, desperately wanting to kick Morgan's ass while the boys were telling him to get fucked up and forget about her. No one knew how serious their relationship was because I kept my promise about not saying anything about their almost engagement. They thought he would get over this in no time and find someone else but I knew that it might be a while. Jimmy was head over heels about her.

"I've talked to him but haven't seen him," Johnny said.

"Same. He doesn't want anyone around him right now," I said.

"I don't understand how that bitch can just do that to someone like Jimmy. Like seriously, how the fuck are you gonna tell someone that you love them every day while their away and then start seeing someone else on the side? It's so messed up," Danni vented angrily.

"Yeah I know," I sighed.

"He'll be fine in a few weeks. He'll get drunk and then pick up some random girl at a bar and then have a revenge fuck or two and life will go back to normal," Johnny shrugged.

'How I wish that was true,' I thought.

"So, you're supposed to be doing something with Zacky today, right?" Danni asked.

"I dunno. He's been MIA for the last few days so I figured I would drop by his house and see what was what, you know? It's been a while since I've seen him," I said.

Since Jimmy's news, Zacky also seemed to take a leave of absence from the group. When we would get together at the bar, he would stay for an hour or two and then disappear. It was so strange. I knew this had more to do with the secret he was keeping. I still had yet to find out what it was and that was irritating me to death.

"I'm surprised that you haven't died of withdrawal from his absence," Johnny laughed.

I flipped him off and rolled my eyes, "I'm capable of living without Zacky being by my side at all hours. I mean, you guys leave for tour and I manage just fine."

"But not when he's right here at home. Usually you're always with him, no matter what when he comes back home," Johnny said.

"It's true hun," Danni nodded.

"Well, I'll see him today and hopefully I won't spontaneously combust from lack of seeing Zacky," I said, rolling my eyes.

"Just run over there and tell him how you feel about him," Johnny said.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," I replied automatically.

"The jig is up. Johnny knows all about your love for Mr. Baker," Danni said.

"Probably because his girlfriend told him so," I said, glaring at her with my arms folded over my chest.

"Well, I think that's what you should do anyway. It worked out well for Val when she told Matt that she loved him. Now look at them!" Johnny smiled. "Seriously, you might feel better if you tell him."

"I feel just fine now," I lied.

"You're a horrible liar," Danni said.

"Well, I don't wanna say anything that will change our relationship like that. If I tell him that I've been in love with him since high school then I'm pretty sure that we won't ever be able to continue the way we have been. He would get all weirded out and then it would be this big awkward mess and I just don't need that. I'm fine being the friend," I huffed.

"God, you've always been afraid to tell people how you feel, ever since your father up and left for Mexico," Danni sighed.

"Well excuse me for not wanting to scream my love for him to the heavens. Not everything needs to be broadcasted to the entire world. Some things are just better left unsaid," I snapped.

Danni and Johnny looked at me with shocked expressions on their faces as I took deep breaths to calm myself down.

I hated that everyone kept telling me what I should do with the Zacky situation. I knew that I wasn't going to change anything unless he made the first move because I wasn't willing to risk my friendship with him. I hated how when one person admits their true feelings to someone else, the other person instantly runs away and that friendship they used to have is destroyed. That had to have been my biggest fear with Zacky because I knew how he was when girls got too clingy.

"Sorry," I mumbled to Danni after a moment. "I'm gonna just get ready to go," I said, standing up from the chair and disappearing into my room.

I shut my door and sighed, running a hand through my bed head and deciding that I didn't feel like showering. I just wanted to get dressed and leave as soon as possible. I needed time to get away from the situation and then I would come back home and eventually apologize to Danni properly for snapping at her. I just needed to get away and cool off.

I walked into my bathroom and washed my face as well as brushed my teeth. I looked over my hair in the mirror and decided that it still looked decent enough so I fluffed it with my hands and put in my white and green polka-dot bow clip in to push the bangs out of my face a bit. I applied some light eyeliner and mascara before walking into the bedroom once again.

I stripped my clothing off and pulled on a random pair of ripped up skinny jeans I had and a fitted Invader Zim hoodie, pushing the sleeves up to my elbows. I grabbed some black flats and shoved them on my feet, looking around for my bag. I eventually found it near my bed and dug through it for my keys. I hooked them to my belt loop and unplugged my phone; tossing it carelessly into the purse with whatever else it was that I carried around.

I walked out of my room and saw Johnny and Danni sitting lazily on the couch. I envied seeing the happy couples all the time, always wrapped up in each other's arms and smiling because their happy. I wanted that. I had that but it wasn't enough because it was just friends. When Zacky and I were wrapped up in each other, it was nothing but two friends cuddling on a couch. I envied Danni and Johnny's relationship so much. Sometimes it hurt to be around them and see them acting the way they normally did.

I was just very jaded today.

They both glanced my direction cautiously, fearing another explosion or something to happen but I just sighed.

"I'll be back later tonight," I said flatly.

"Later," Johnny said with a small smile.

I waved them off and headed out the door. I climbed into my car, lighting up a cigarette for myself before starting up the car. I flipped through the CDs in my dashboard, finding the Bring Me the Horizon CD and tossing it in, instantly hearing heavy guitar riffs and loud screaming. I smiled and threw the car in reverse, driving down the street towards Zacky's place.

Normally I wasn't a smoker but after waking up on the wrong side of the bed this morning, I needed it. It was one of the bad habits I picked up from Zacky early on in our friendship. We used to sneak out between classes to this spot near the quad that was completely isolated and share cigarettes. It was our time away from everyone else, just the two of us bonding over a cancerous, nicotine habit.

I cranked up the music in my car and drove towards Zacky's, banging my head along violently to the loud noise. I got weird looks from the people passing by on the sidewalks with their children. They were giving me very disapproving glares but I didn't care. I just nodded my head along to the music and continued on my merry way.

I flicked my cigarette out of the window when I finished and pulled up to Zacky's house. I saw his Escalade in the driveway so I knew that he was home. I flipped open my phone and dialed him, cutting the engine and the noise from my speakers. I got his voicemail, which frustrated me and caused me to shove the phone angrily into my purse.

I was beginning to think that he was into bad things again. It was no secret that the Avenged boys had experimented with drugs in the past and though some still smoked occasionally, Zacky got into the heavier shit just before the band took off. It took a lot of convincing to get him cleaned up and though he told me he was done with that part of his life, I still wondered if he was telling the truth about that. I was beginning to think that all this secrecy could be linked to drug use resurfacing.

I got out of the car and walked up to his front door, knocking a few times. I waited but got no answer. I thought it was bizarre, seeing it was early in the afternoon and normally he would be on his couch, watching TV. I reached down to the door handle and checked it, lightly pushing the door open.

I walked into the house like I would normally do if he didn't answer and heard music from upstairs. I knew he was probably sleeping with his radio on again. I walked up the stairs, hearing the music grow louder as I approached the door.

I knocked loudly, "Zacky, its London! You better wake your ass up boy!" I said through the door.

"OH FUCK ME HARDER ZACK!" were the words I heard screamed from a female's voice as I pushed the door open.

My heart instantly shattered when I pushed the rest of the door open, causing me to drop my bag on the ground. Zacky was in bed, having sex with some blonde woman and hadn't even heard me walk in, let alone knock. I was too stunned and speechless to turn away. I was too upset with him and me for witnessing this.

I knew this was typical Zacky though since Zacky was always trying to pick up some random girl every time we wound up at Johnny's Bar. I wasn't stupid. I knew that he took them home and had sex with them but seeing it happen just made it all the more real. I never witnessed it before so seeing it now just further crushed all my desires. At least before I could pretend that none of it happened before but now, I was stuck with this mental image that just further cemented that we would never be together.

The blonde underneath him saw me and screamed, recoiling from Zacky and trying to cover up. Zacky followed her gaze and turned around, his fiery green eyes landing on me standing in the middle of his doorway, unable to unglue my feet from the ground. His face contorted from shock to anger as he glared intently at me, also attempting to cover himself up with the tousled black sheets. I looked to the blonde that was lying there, completely horrified and hiding her face with her arms when I saw something that caught my eye.

There was a tattoo around her ankle of multicolored stars stringed together, making it look like some kind of permanent anklet on her skin. The stars were blue, green, and purple which made me focus in on it even more. On the front of one of the blue stars, there were the letters 'MNC' in the middle of the star, making my eyes go wide and my jaw fall open as I looked to her familiar face.

"Morgan!" I growled in realization.

Morgan Carter, the woman who had broken Jimmy's heart less than a week ago, was the one that was lying in the bed, trying desperately to hide her crimson face behind her hands. I couldn't believe it. Morgan had been seeing Zacky this entire time and he's said nothing about this? He was the other guy that led to Jimmy's heartache?

My eyes shifted between Zacky and Morgan as I felt my anger rising. I was already in a grumpy mood earlier but now, my mood had escalated to full on rage. My hands were shaking as I felt my breathing increase, blood rushing to my warms cheeks and tingeing them red as I looked back and forth between the two.

Morgan looked completely mortified and scared while Zacky noticed my anger, causing his to dissipate. There were traces of shame in his eyes but I could never be sure if it was sincere or not. He always knew how to play women with his vulnerable eyes but I wasn't going to fall for it this time.

I grabbed my bag off the floor and stormed out of the room in one swift movement.

"Shit," I heard Zacky mutter loudly as I made my way down the stairs.

I could hear the faint sounds of rustling from upstairs and knew that he was trying to catch up with me as I slammed the front door shut, stalking towards my car.

I felt completely sick to my stomach at this moment, trying my best to control my rage. I couldn't believe that he had betrayed his friend and shattered my heart beyond repair all in one day. I felt like I needed a drink, something hard and something that would knock me on my ass for a while so I could forget this whole day.

I threw my bag onto the lawn and dropped to my knees, letting out the loudest angry scream I could, banging my balled fists into the grass. I felt tears pricking my eyes and my skin felt like it was on fire from all the rage I possessed in this moment. I wanted nothing more to do with Zacky in this moment. There was too much damage done in one day to, not just me, but multiple people because of him.

I got up and grabbed my bag again, digging around for my keys furiously as I walked across the street towards my car.

"London, wait!" I heard his voice call out along with the slamming of the front door.

I stopped in the middle of the street, shutting my eyes and taking a deep breath, trying my best to calm myself down. Nothing was working. When I shut my eyes, all I saw was the mental image of what I had walked in on and that just added more fuel to the fire. I felt his hand grab my arm, trying to turn me around when I lost it.

I whipped around so fast, bringing a forceful hand against his right cheek. The sound of my hand hitting his flesh was completely deafening. His head turned, momentarily stuck facing downward from the impact of my hand forcing it there. There was a red handprint forming against his perfect pale skin already, signifying how hard I had slapped him.

I could feel the tears running down my cheeks as I seethed, breathing heavily from the hatred I felt building up in me. I no longer knew this person standing before me. He wasn't the same friend I'd known from high school. This was a different, morphed version of Zacky that was monstrous. The old Zacky would never think about fucking his friend's girlfriend. The old Zacky would've never avoided me for days at a time and then break my heart when I tried to see him. This was a changed Zacky that made me sick.

"How could you?" I screamed.

He turned, looking straight into my eyes with his pained emerald ones, completely shocked by the way I had hit him. He raised a hand to his face, gently touching his cheek where I had slapped him.

"It didn't happen on purpose," he said quietly.

"How could you do something like that to Jimmy? Huh? She left him for you? What for? Just another random fuck for her collection?" I spat venomously.

"It's not like that London," Zacky shot back, starting to get defensive. "I actually think I'm falling for her."

Those words were a complete slap in the face to me. I stood there, feeling as if I were punched right in the stomach when he said those words. He could fall in love with a girl like her? That's the kind of girl that he preferred?

'Of course he would pick her. She's completely stunning in comparison to me,' I thought to myself.

"Falling for her? How long has this been going on Zacky?" I demanded.

"About a month or so," he replied quietly. "We started talking when she went out to visit during the tour."

"Oh my God! Oh my God, I can't believe it!" I laughed with no humor. "I don't even know who you are anymore! You're the one that's caused all this pain for Jimmy! How could you do something like this?" I screamed.

"Why do you care so fucking much about it? It's none of your business who my girlfriend is anyway," he spat.

"So now she's your fucking girlfriend? Wow! And when did this blessed event happen, six hours ago?" I seethed.

"At least I can get a girlfriend! At least I fucking have someone in my life!" he yelled back.

That was a definite low blow. I turned away from him, feeling the painful tears stinging my eyes as my lip trembled. He expected me to believe that he could run out and find any one he wanted and make them be part of a committed relationship with him without lusting after the perks of having a rock star boyfriend. He didn't know that instead of dating around like I probably should've been doing, I was waiting around for someone who would never love me the way I wanted. He was the reason I didn't have anyone in my life. I couldn't get over him enough to move on and have a functioning relationship.

I quickly turned around, letting him see how much that last comment had hurt me. He instantly looked as if he regretted saying those words. At this point, I was begging someone to come by and run me over with their car repeatedly. That would definitely feel a lot better than what Zacky had put me through.

"You know what? Fuck you Zachary. Fuck. You," I said, turning and walking to my car.

"Wait London," he called as I slammed my door shut. I locked the doors so he couldn't get in and started the car, hearing him pounding on the windows, "London please. I'm sorry."

I said nothing. I couldn't even look at him.

I sped off away from Zacky and down the street, gripping the steering wheel tightly with my hands. I couldn't get a grip on my raging emotions as I flipped back and forth endlessly from fury one minute to utter despair the next. I tried my best to calm myself down but it wasn't happening easily. All I could think about was what I had just seen ten minutes ago at Zacky's and it sickened me.

I drove around for a while, trying to figure out what I wanted to do. Normally, I would drive to Zacky's and hang out with him but that was no longer an option. I couldn't go home because Danni and Johnny were there doing whatever it is that they were doing and I didn't want to interrupt. I couldn't go to Brian's because who knew where he was and Matt and Val were out with Matt's parents for the afternoon. That only left Jimmy.

I stopped off at a liquor store, purchasing another bottle of Jack Daniels to ease my emotions a bit before seeing Jimmy. I took a huge swig before starting the car once again, driving the five minutes down to Jimmy's house. I knew I had some time before the alcohol took effect so I took a few more swigs, praying to God that there wasn't a cop around.

I made it to Jimmy's with a fourth of the bottle killed and completely buzzed. I slammed my door shut and walked up to Jimmy's door, open bottle in hand as I knocked impatiently.

Jimmy answered the door a few moments later, looking like complete hell as he raised an eyebrow. He had dark circles under his eyes like he hadn't been sleeping well at all and his eyes were completely bloodshot. His hair was completely messy, like he had been sleeping on his couch and he was wearing another pair of basketball shorts and some random black shirt that looked slightly wrinkled.

"London?" he questioned, staring at me curiously. "Why are you drinking at one in the afternoon?"

"I've been having a pretty shitty day and decided that I should stop by and pay you a visit," I said, taking another swig from the bottle.

"Have you been crying?" he asked, looking at my face.

I brushed right past him into his house, noticing that his living room was still a wreck. I began wondering if he ever planned on cleaning the mess he made that night.

"Maybe just a little bit," I shrugged, plopping myself down on the couch with my liquor bottle.

"You're actually starting to freak me out London," he said honestly. "This isn't typical you behavior. What happened?"

"You don't wanna know. It'll only cause more bad things to happen," I sighed, feeling a headache building.

"What do you mean bad things?" he asked, suddenly appearing at my side. "Did someone hurt you?"

"What? Pfft, no," I scoffed defensively. I looked down at the bottle resting between my legs and sighed, "Not physically anyway."

For a second, Jimmy looked relieved and then he continued to watch me drink myself into oblivion. I felt the emotions coming back to me now as I tried to stop the tears. I clutched my bottle of Jack and fell to the side of the couch, burying my face into the cushion.

"London, just tell me what's going on," he said placing an arm on my shoulder.

I sighed deeply, knowing no good would come of this conversation.

"Zacky's got himself a-" I said, struggling to say the next word. I wasn't sure I could even finish my statement since I didn't have control over myself. Admitting this out loud was more painful than walking in on the two of them. "He's got a girlfriend now."

"A girlfriend?" he asked flatly.

"Yep. Apparently, he's falling for her," I said, raising the bottle to my lips.

"I think you've had enough," he said, trying to snatch the bottle away.

"Definitely not," I told him. "I want to forget everything about today and this Jack Daniels is the answer to my prayers."

"I'm sorry he hurt you like that Londy," he said sympathetically.

I thrust the bottle into his hands, "Here. You'll definitely need this when I tell you who she is."

"I already know," he said quietly, the pain reappearing in his face.

I sat up, seeing the room spin before letting my violet eyes fall upon him. He took a large gulp from the bottle, obviously trying to ease some of his own suffering as well. I felt my jaw go slack, staring at him curiously.

"What do you mean you already knew?" I slurred.

"I tried to talk to Morgan after we broke up. I went over to her house after you left that morning and pretty much found out about them the same way you did," he shrugged emotionlessly.

"How the hell are you so fucking nonchalant about this all?" I asked, suddenly feeling angry at Jimmy's under reaction to such news.

"I've had time to be angry before I realized that she's probably better off with Zacky," he replied.

"What?"

"I knew when she came out to visit me that there was something going on with Zacky but I didn't want to admit it to myself. Thinking back on it, it was so obvious. When I found out they were together, I was mad but then figured, what's the point? In the end, I always end up losing chicks to Vengeance," he said bitterly.

There had been a few times, back before they were in the band, when Jimmy and Zacky fought constantly over girls. The two of them weren't friends when this band started out. They actually hated each other a lot for reasons unknown but since Brian and I were friends with both of them, we forced them together and they formed a friendship, putting their differences aside. One thing that remained testy though, was the girl issue. Zacky couldn't keep it in his pants but Jimmy didn't seem to care, until now.

"Well, at least you had her," I sighed.

"You could've been with Zacky."

"Nope. Never ever, ever! I'm just an 'honorary bro', remember? He'd never look at me that way."

"He does though. That's what's so fucking frustrating! He knows that being with other girls makes you jealous and he loves playing games. The fact that he fell off the band wagon and started caring for someone else is a complete fluke," he told me.

"Fuck his games! I'm sick of the games! His games have done more psychological damage to me than the time I walked in on my parents having sex when I was fifteen!" I sighed frustratingly. "I just wish he would love me like I want him to."

"I want the same thing," Jimmy said. "Believe it or not, I still love Morgan. She's the only person I've cared about so much and now, she's with Zacky. Un-fucking-believable," he said, shaking his head and taking another drink.

"We're just so lame Jimmy," I sighed, taking the bottle back.

"But what else is there to do?" he asked. "Let's just get fucked up and forget about it."

"A rock star's answer to everything," I mumbled, rolling my eyes.

It was pathetic that Jimmy and I were sitting around his living room and getting wasted. We were both heartbroken and in pain but there was nothing else that would numb this ache. The loves of our lives didn't want us. They'd rather be with each other. There was nothing we could do to get them back.