Denial

Two Weeks Later...

"Leny can I talk to you?" Matt asked as I was sitting on his couch beside him.

"Sure thing. What's up?"

"Okay, now this may sound really crazy to you at first, but I need you to hear me out. I think Val's cheating on me." I nearly choked on my soda.

"You think she's what?!" I shrieked, looking at him in disbelief. He simply nodded.

"What makes you think that?" "Well, she's gone all the time right? And ya know Brian's new girlfriend that he won't let anyone meet yet?" My eyes grew wide at his suspicions.

"Well one night, Val said she was going shopping with her friend Leanna? And then that same night, I saw Brian getting out of his car with the girl who I'm guessing is the one he's keeping from us. The thing is, I could've sworn it was Val!" I looked him straight in the eyes and I could see that they held nothing but sincerity. I swallowed.

"Well, Matt, why didn't you just go over there and find out if it was her and what's up?" His eyes grew wide.

"I can't Leny! I couldn't."

"Why not?" He just stared at me with worry filling his big, usually bright yellow eyes.

"Do you want me to do a little investigating behind the scenes and find out what's going on for you?" The glow came back to his eyes and he smiled, his dimples showing.

"Would you?" I nodded, returning the smile.

"Thank you Leny."

"No problem." I leaned in and hugged him.

"Where's Val now?"

"She's-" But his sentence was cut short when the front door opened revealing Val, and then Brian behind her. Matt looked down at me worried. I gave him a reassuring squeeze before pulling away to look at Val and Brian. They were both all smiles.

"Hey baby." Val greeted, coming and sitting next to Matt.

"Hey." He sorta mumbled.

"You okay?"

"Yeah fine." He said quickly, smiling at her.

"Hey, I was just coming over about the same time she got home." Brian grinned.

"I was gonna see if you want to hang out?"

"Sure that's cool." Matt answered Brian giving him a skeptical look.

"Well!" I jumped up from the couch.

"I think I'll be leaving now." Matt looked at me with big pleading eyes. Awe how cute. Matt's usually the one in my position. I smiled at him.

"I feel like a movie. Do you feel like a movie Bri? I feel like a movie! Let's go watch a movie." I said dragging him towards the door.

"Um, how many times did you just say movie and that sentence, and what's the rush? I thought we were gonna hang out with Matt and Val?"

"Change of plans!" I said. "Matt and Val need some alone time." I said, trying to see if I could get a jealous reaction from Brian, but none ever came.

"Oh alright, well let's go watch a movie then. See you later guys." Brian called as I shut the door after us.

"Ya wanna tell me what's really up?" Brian asked as we made our way back to my house. The wind picked up and I had to wrap my jacket tighter around me. It was starting to get colder now. I sighed.

"I'll tell you about it when we get to my house." He nodded.

I put the movie, Haggard, in and sat cuddled up next to Brian on the couch.

"So what's going on with you?" He asked.

"I could ask you the same thing?" He pulled away a little and gave me a funny look. I sighed yet again.

"Alright, here's what's up. Matt thinks you and Val have something going on behind his back. Because, 'coincidentally' the other night, Val left with her friend Leanne or Leanna or somebody, and while she was gone, he saw you bring your girl home, and could've sworn it was Val." His eyes grew wide then.

"So it's true? Alright. That's all I needed to know. Look I won't tell if you don't me to, but you've gotta tell h-"

"Leny!"

"What?" I looked up at him.

"I am not dating Val behind Matt's back!" I sat there gap mouthed and shocked.

"But-I thought-"

"You thought wrong. I was shocked that you'd think such a thing." He laughed a little.

"But I am dating Val's twin sister, Michelle." My eyes went wide this time.

"Val has a twin and she didn't tell me?" He nodded, grinning.

"Yes, Val knows. She's the only one that knows. Her sister told her."

"Oh." Was all I could say. He shrugged.

"I guess now I have no choice but to let you meet her right?" I laughed.

"Yeah that would be nice."

"Now do you understand why I said I knew you'd love her? You love Val so much I figured, hey, why not her twin?"

"So why'd you keep it from us?"

"Basically the same reason you did. Make sure it was gonna work out." I nodded.

"Reasonable enough." He nodded.

"Now are we gonna watch this movie or what?" I grinned.

"Yes."

*******************************************

"Matt!"

"What?!" He nearly jumped ten feet in the air out of bed. I don't know where Val was, but she was gone.

"Val's not cheating on you!" I exclaimed. He sat there rubbing his eyes and staring at me as if trying to clear his vision and clear his head for that matter.

"Okay, wait, what?" He asked slowly, rubbing his tired eyes.

"Val-is-not-cheating-on-you." I said more slowly, breaking it down into syllables.

"How do you know with in 24 hours or less?" He asked, eying me skeptically, much like he had Brian last night. I sighed and rolled my eyes.

"I told Brian the truth about your suspicions last night cause he was onto me." His eyes grew wide at this.

"He's dating Val's twin sister, Michelle." He got a dumbstruck look of realization on his face right then.

"I completely forgot Val had a twin sister!" He said, throwing his arms in the air.

"You knew?" He nodded.

"Yeah, she told me. She also told me I could meet her sometime, but not yet. I guess now I know why." I nodded, grinning.

"Bri said we can meet her now. Now that we all know about her anyway." He nodded and wrapped his arm around me pulling me down into his lap. I made a little screeching noise but ended up laughing.

"Thank you Leny." He smile down at me.

"No problem babe." I poked his nose, still grinning. He smirked he made a face. I laughed.

"You're so weird."

"Me? I don't go around poking noses."

"Ha! You've done worse."

Later that day I was back at my house with Fats sitting on my lap.

"Fats, I don't understand." She looked up at me and cocked her head to the side just a tad as if understanding me, and asking me to continue. I smirked before doing so.

"I don't understand why Zacky had to leave, I don't understand why he very rarely answers his phone, I don't understand why he very rarely returns my calls, and I most of all don't understand why he won't come back." I said, scratching lightly behind the cat's ear. She purred and nuzzled her face into my stomach. I sighed.

"I really wish Zacky would come home. I just don't understand anything anymore." I looked down at the cat that looked like it was close to sleep.

"Ya know what Fats?" I said.

"I think we need a break away from here too. I mean, if Zacky's allowed to just take off, why can't we?" I thought it over in my head.

"Yeah, I could use a good vacation. What do you say Fatty? Just me and you, you and me...In England."

***************************************

"You're going where?" Billie looked at me like I was nuts.

"To England for a awhile. Look I'm sorry this is such short notice Billie Joe but I really just need a break away from everything here too. All the stress of Zacky being away. Ugh. It's too much."

"So why can't you take me with you like Zacky took Jenna or whatever her name is?" I sighed and scooted closer so I could sit in his lap.

"Because. Have you never just had a moment in your life where you wanted to be alone?" I looked up at him.

"I mean come on, you wrote that song, 'I Wanna Be Alone' for some reason right?" I felt his chest heave against me as he let out a heavy sigh.

"I guess you're right babe." I turned myself around in his arms and smiled at him.

"So you understand? You'll let me go?" He nodded.

"But you have to tell the guys about this." I closed my eyes and sucked in a deep breath.

"That's the thing."

"What?" "I was hoping maybe I could get you to tell them for me, after I leave."

"Leny you know I don't go for that." I let out the breath in a big woosh.

"I know Billie but-"

"So you're just gonna run off like Zacky did right? Not tell them where you're going?"

"Billie you don't understand! If I tell them they'll never let me go because I'm the 'baby' and they're just trying to look out for me." I rolled my eyes.

"Please? Please, please, please just do this for me. Just this once and I'll never ask for another thing again?" He sighed and wrapped his arms around me pulling me closer to him.

"You're adorable when you pout you know that?" I smirked.

"Please?"

***********************

I plugged the earphones of my iPod into my ears and switched the song to 'Gunslinger' as I stared out the window of the plane. I'd been on this flight for a couple of hours already, it seemed to be flying right by. Fats was down in the pets department of the plane.

"Oh, excuse me Miss." I grabbed the flight attendant's attention as she was walking by.

"Yes ma'am?"

"Could I get a glass of Strawberry Wine please?" She smiled sweetly.

"Of course you can, I'll be right back with that." She walked away swiftly towards the back of the plane where I'm assuming the kitchen area was. She returned a short little while later with my glass.

"Here you are." She handed it to me, and I gladly excepted it from her.

"Thank you." I smiled taking a drink from the glass then setting it down on the tray in front of me. I sighed. Just a couple more hours and I'd be free of this flight.

*****************************************

"I mean just what I said, she went to England because she needs a break. She's been trippin' out about the whole Zacky situation and she'll be back soon." They all stared at Billie Joe like he was nuts.

"And you just let her go?" Matt roared.

"She's very convincing."

"That's no excuse!"

"Dude, Matt, calm down." Jimmy tried.

"Don't you tell me to calm down! Do you realize she's never even been out of state on her own, much less the freakin' country?!"

"She can handle herself well." Brian stepped in.

"Brian's right." Billie agreed.

"We all just need to relax because freakin' out isn't going to solve anything! Now I may not have known you guys all that long, but I've know you well enough. Just as I know Leny well enough to know that she is a big girl, and she can handle herself." Val interrupted everybody's voices.

"I say we sit here and wait till we're sure her flight's landed and then call her cell. We make her call us everyday to check in, and demand she tells us when she's coming home. Happy now?" Everyone stood there silent.

"I think it sound fine." Billie spoke.

"I agree with him." Jimmy said. Johnny nodded.

"Whatever works." Brian shrugged.

"How are we gonna explain this to Zacky?" Matt asked. And everyone's faces changed to looks of realization as it actually just sunk in.

"I mean, she's just doing exactly what he did."

"Maybe she's doing this as a wake up call for Zacky." Johnny said. Matt looked over at him and stared him right in the eye.

"Well then he better wake up soon, because if anything happens to her while she's gone, I'll kill him."