Just Stay With Me Awhile

As the plane pulled into LAX the next day, Lili couldn’t help but feel as though her heart was breaking. She waited until the announcement came over the plane’s speaker system that passengers could begin leaving the plane, and grabbed her overhead bag as she began walking down the narrow aisle towards the exit.

Avenged and Motley were in Phoenix tonight; from there, they’d be going to Vegas tomorrow night before flying in to LA for their final show of the tour. Zacky would be back in only a week, and she knew she had to make up her mind before he got back. It wasn’t fair for her to stay with him while she was having second thoughts about him.

And then there was Brian. She couldn’t forget how bitter he had been the other day. Before then, she’d been hoping that he really was the womanizing asshole that the media made him out to be so that she’d feel less guilty about ditching him for his best friend.

But he wasn’t.

Brian was an amazing guy. He was funny and kind while at the same time protective and serious. He knew what he wanted out of life, and he was achieving it through hard work rather than riding his father’s coattails. He was so romantic that it almost made her want to gag, but in a good way. He was so attentive to her, something she’d never had with any of her boyfriends. And while Zacky had smoothed up his edges for her a little bit, he was nowhere near as sensitive to Lili’s needs as Brian had been. She’d thought she was okay with that, but was she really? Did she want a man who was rough around the edges, like Zack? Or someone who would make sure she was taken care of, go out of his way to do romantic things, and protect her, like Brian?

“Lili!” A familiar voice called, pulling her out of her thoughts. She looked up to see Jesse walking over to her and couldn’t help but grin. In spite of his kiss at the hotel that night, she really had missed him. He was one of her best friends in the world, and she knew that at least he would understand when she told him she didn’t feel romantically towards him.

“Jess!” She said happily, meeting him halfway and giving him a big hug. “What are you doing here in L.A.?”

“Doing a couple of gigs with my band,” He shrugged before looking at her, a serious look on his face. “What brings you back to L.A.? I thought you were finishing that tour with your dad and Avenged?”

Lili sighed. Jesse might be able to understand a lot, but she didn’t want to tell him about her mixed feelings over Brian and Zacky. That wasn’t something she could even tell her mother, let alone her best friend. She then smiled again and shrugged. “I missed Cali too much,” She explained, hoping he’d buy the lie, or at least get the hint that she didn’t want to talk about it.

Jesse laughed and rolled his eyes, and she knew he’d leave it alone. He grabbed the carry on off her shoulder and then looked towards the baggage claim area. “You have any other suitcases I can help you with?”

“Yeah, but I see it.” She told him before going to grab the lime green and purple polka-dotted suitcase off of the conveyor belt. She pulled the roller out, and then looked over at Jesse. “There’s no way you’re staying in a hotel while you’re here You can stay at my place.”

Jesse nodded, knowing he couldn’t convince her otherwise. “Let’s get going, then. Traffic was a bitch.”

They began making their way out of the airport and searched for Jesse’s car, which he could have sworn he’d parked on the first level of the garage. She laughed at his frustration and then finally saw it, parked near the back.

“It’s right here, silly.” She told him, pointing towards the vehicle. He groaned when he saw it, and then shrugged.

“Told ya I parked it down here.” Was all he said as they made their way towards the car. He opened up the back of the SUV and put her suitcases on the inside before closing it again, walking to the driver’s side. She got into the passenger seat and closed the door before pulling her seatbelt on.

“I’m assuming you still live in the same place?” He joked, turning to look at her. She rolled her eyes but nodded, looking out the window. Jesse began driving and turned some music on, a band she didn’t recognize but liked. Her eyes widened slightly when she felt Jesse grab her hand over the console, but couldn’t bring herself to say anything. It was then that she realized it wasn’t just Brian and Zack who were contending over her heart.

Since when had her life become such a circus?