Just Stay With Me Awhile

Lili's phone alarm went off at six o'clock the next morning, and she opened her eyes, a smile on her face. Sure, she liked sleeping in. And yeah, she would have preferred sleeping in today. She had a long day ahead of her, styling everyone's hair and then being dragged on to perform again, due to popular vote within Motley. But torturing Zacky was a much better option than sleeping in.

She got up and got dressed, taking a quick shower before she walked back into the main room. Zacky was passed out upside down on her couch, an emptied beer bottle on the floor beside him. She rolled her eyes at the pathetic state her ex-boyfriend was in, and then walked over to him, clapping her hands loudly.

“Rise and shine, asshole. The sun says it’s time to wake up!” She said, making sure her voice was loud enough to wake him up. He sat up with a jerk, and his green eyes met hers, confused.

“Huh? Who’s…What’s…Why am I…Lili?” He asked. She groaned; he had no recollection of the night before. She made a mental note to herself to remember to ask Jimmy how much Zacky had drank, before she looked at him. Although, she couldn’t look Zacky directly into his eyes; they were her weakness, and it pissed her off that they still had the effect that they’d always had on her. She’d been telling herself that she was over him.

“You refused to let anyone else in your band sleep because you insisted that you come see me. At two o’clock in the morning, mind you. The only reason I agreed to let you come in here and crash was because Jimmy looked dead exhausted, and he was just as fed up with you as I am.”

“Y’know, there’s a reason I wanted to come see you.” He told her. “And believe it or not, I remember what I told you.”

“What did you say then?” She asked him, challenging him to back himself up. He gave her that smirk that made her stomach tie itself in knots, and started to recite what he’d told her.

“I believe I said something along the lines of ‘Gena came into my room and threw herself on me when I was waiting for you.’ That’s the gyst of it. I also believe that you said you’d think about being at least friends again.”

“Don’t start that shit this early in the morning,” She threatened him. “I’m still very pissed off at you. And if my dad or uncles find out I let you in here, they’ll probably kill you themselves.”

“You’re the smart one who woke me up,” He retorted, before rubbing his head. “And why’d you do that, anyway? I have a massive hangover.”

Lili gave him a smile, before nodding. “I know. Now, you stink. Go take a fucking shower, Baker.”

He grumbled at her, before getting off of the couch and walking towards the bathroom, where she was pointing. When he was inside and had shut the door, Lili walked back over to her bed and grabbed the cell phone off of the nightstand. There were no missed calls or texts. She remembered that Jesse had called her the night before, though, and that she hadn’t called him back or texted him. She felt bad about that; she had been the one to tell him she wanted to hang out with him more, after all. So she dialed his number. After a few rings, he groggily picked up.

“Lili, do you have any idea what time it is?” He asked her. She smiled to herself, imagining her friend hitting himself in the head with a pillow.

“Yep. 6:56 AM.” She replied. “That’s if you’re still in New York. On the west coast it’s—“

“Urgh,” He groaned. “Hey, you never called back last night.”

“That’s why I’m calling you now.” She told him, looking towards the bathroom. The door was still shut. For some reason, she felt bad about calling Jesse while Zacky was in the room. “I felt bad for not getting back to you. I ran into a kind of situation when I got back here.”

“Situation? Are you okay?” He asked her, sounding alert immediately. She smiled at Jesse’s concern.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” She said. “It’s a long story, for a different time.”

She suddenly heard the water pressure in the bathroom go off, and coughed. “Speak of the devil, the situation is coming back, so I have to let you go.”

“Okay,” Jesse said, his voice cautious. “Just…Be careful, okay? I think I know what the ‘situation’ involves.”

“It’s Zacky,” She whispered. “He…I…It’s complicated, Jesse.”

“Hey, it’s okay. Just don’t let him fuck with you, okay? Because I’ll kick his ass. You deserve a lot better than that.”

She smiled. “I know, Jess.”

“And Lil?” He said, right as she was about to hang up. She decided to answer him.

“Yeah?”

“I don’t regret kissing you.” He said, before his end of the phone went dead.

Lili stood there in shock when she hung up the phone. A few minutes later, the bathroom door opened, and she turned around to see Zacky standing in the living area, clad in only one of the hotel’s white Egyptian cotton towels, water dripping onto his tattooed chest from his jet black hair.

“Hey, are you okay?” Zack asked her, noticing that she’d zoned out. She shook her head, and looked up at him, dragging her thoughts away from his body. He still looked good. Of course he does, a little voice in her head told her. He’s Zacky fucking Vengeance.

“Yeah,” She said slowly. “Um…Why aren’t you dressed?”

He smirked at her, before shaking his head lightly, getting water on the furniture and floor. “Does it bother you?”

“No,” She retorted. “I just wondered, that’s all.”

He laughed, before walking closer to her. He stopped walking only when they were so close that she could feel his hot breath on her face.

“Really? Because right now, you’re blushing. And I’ve never seen you blush, Lili. You wear it well.”

She couldn’t think of a reply. For the first time in her life, Lili Neil was speechless. Zacky put his fingers on the tip of her chin, and had her look up at him, forcing her to meet his gaze.

“Zack, what are you—“

He cut her off by pressing his lips against hers. The instant she felt his soft lips, Lili’s mind went blank. She couldn’t remember why she didn’t want to be near him; all she wanted was him. His lip ring was hot against her lip, heated from the hot water he’d used in the shower. She grabbed against his arms, pulling him closer to her, biting his lip dominantly. He wrapped his arms around her waist, and she tangled hers in his wet hair. They kissed passionately for several minutes, just like that, until Zack finally pulled away, needing air.

“Well, if that doesn’t answer my question, nothing will.” He told her, a smirk on his face as he leaned his head down onto her shoulder.

“What…question?” She asked him breathlessly, not moving. That had been the best kiss she’d ever had. It left her breathless, and wanting more. She’d be damned if she showed Zacky that, though.

“My question is if you’d care to start where we left off that day.” He said, lifting his head to meet her eyes once again.