Passion In My Eyes

Anna's POV.
I hated sitting in the backseat.

I hate it, hate it, hate it. I wanted to barf.

"Anna? You okay?"

I looked up to see Dani looking at me from the driver's mirror. I nodded weakly, trying to conjure up a smile.

"You look really pale," she said, concern making its mark on her face.

I looked at her like she was crazy, "The windows are tinted."

"Exactly! Do you wanna come sit up here?"

Ew; and sit next to her way-too-old boyfriend? No, thanks.

"No, no, really, I'm fine."

But then, the car started to gain speed, and I was beginning to feel sick. I didn't want to say anything embarrassing, because, hello? It's really awkward saying something like, "Can you pull over? I need to just, you know, throw up on the sidewalk. Then, we can keep driving. Thanks," in front of any celebrity.

Thankfully, Dani saved me before I got the guts to say anything.

"Babe, seriously, you want me to drop by the gas station and get you some water or something?"

"Actually, yeah, Dan, could you?" I said weakly. She nodded, and pulled over, backing up just the right amount to open the gas tank and slid the nozzle in.

"I'll be right back," she said, poking her head through the door.

Jesus, if this wasn't an awkward silence, I don't know was.

"So…," I started. Zacky immediately looked up and stared at me, well, my reflection in the mirror above his head, "How's your band going?"

To say the least, he looked a little surprised that I had heard of Avenged Sevenfold, and paused a little before saying, "…It's, uh, going pretty good. Which albums have you heard?"

"I've heard all of them except your newest one. What with work and all, I haven't really been able to do anything."

"Oh, you work?"

What kind of question was that?

"Um. Yeah," I said bluntly; that was a little rude.

"Sorry," he apologized, "It's just, you look kinda young. How old are you?"

"Probably younger than you; I'm only 21, turning 22 on December 18th."

"No way; that's exactly a week after mine," he laughed. I nodded; another Christmas baby.

"So, what kind of music do you like?" he asked, after a minute's worth of silence.

I looked at him, "Think of it as an honor that I like Avenged Sevenfold. You're probably the only newer band that I like. I usually only listen to Guns 'N Roses. They are my favorite band. They're classic, but I think Metallica's original riffs are just…to die for."

"You'd probably like Matt," he laughed.

"Your…singer, right?" I had forgotten whether he was the bassist or the vocalist.

"Yeah. I, on the other hand, love the Misfits," he looked at my reflection once more to see my reaction.

I smiled, "I really like Saturday Night. I love the intro to that song."

"Awesome! I don't mean to be rude, but when your sister starts blasting that, um, what's it…Metro Station shit, I just…I…yeah," he sighed.

"Oh, I know what you mean! Don't tell her I told you this, but – "

"What are you gonna tell him?!" Dani's head suddenly popped through the window, containing some fruit liquid.

"I was…talking about…," I stalled, "one of my best friends! Apparently, Zacky here knows her. Remember Lucy?"

"Oh, yeah. She was nice," and she was off, taking the nozzle out.

"Alright," I began again, in a hushed tone, "She listened to…Britney Spears."

Zacky began cracking up and Dani came back into the car again, shutting the door.

"What are you guys laughing at? Do I have something in my teeth?"

"No, no, babe, it's not you," I smiled, chuckling a little.

--

"If they're not at home, I'm fucking killing you," I snarled at Dani, who insisted we didn't call them just to surprise the living bejesus out of them.

"Annie, no foul language!"

Ah, home sweet home.

"Hey, Mom," I laughed, walking into her open arms, "How've you been?"

"Daddy!" Dani squealed, rushing past me.

"Who's this?" I heard mom's boyfriend, Daniel, ask.

"Ooh, is this your boyfriend, Annie?" my Mom giggled. Blood circulated to my face as I turned away from him, harshly whispering, "No, Mom, this is Dani's boyfriend!"

"Oh," her face fell a little bit, as I realized the maturity in his and her (or lack thereof) face.

"Son, exactly how old are you?" Daniel inquired. Dani's eyes got wider, and she looked at Zacky.

"I'm 20. I'm just a little pudgier…than most," he smiled nervously. I rolled my eyes; as if he could pass with that lame excuse.

"Anna, stand by…um," she looked at Zacky.

"Zacky," he said hurriedly.

"Stand by Zacky, would you, Anna?" Daniel said.

"Now, who looks more mature?" Mom asked. They looked at us scrutinizingly, and I about fell apart from the pressure.

"Zacky, how old are you really?"

"Twenty four, but I swear I haven't done anything with your daughter," he pleaded, answering Daniel's almost accusing question.

I chipped in, "Besides, Mom, I looked tons older when I had my lip pierced, remember?"

"Exactly. You were like free bait for all the horny fishes in the sea. That's why I had you take it out, remember?" she mocked.

I looked sheepishly at the floor, hoping they wouldn't notice my left-side retainer, "Yeah."

"Danielle, can we speak to you in the kitchen, please?" Mom asked sweetly. Oh, crap. They pulled out the Danielle card.

Zacky sat down awkwardly on the couch, right beside me.

Without even looking at him, I said, "Don't hurt my sister, okay?"

I could see his head turn in my direction through the corner of my eye, and he looked at me, "I wouldn’t."

I wanted to yell at him, and tell him why it was so important that he never, ever, hurt her.

I turned to look at him, and shifted my whole body so that I was facing him.

"Do you promise?" I asked, jabbing my index finger into his chest with every syllable.

"Yes, yes!" he said, shying away from the manicured nail.

"Because if you don't," I said, repeating the "jabbing" process, leaning closer to him to sound just a little more threatening, "I. Will. Kill. You."

"Girl, I got it!" he exclaimed quietly, not wanting to bother the parents. He grabbed my hands and leaned closer, talking even more quietly when he noticed there was no conversation taking place in the kitchen.

"Why does it matter so much, though?" he inquired, leaning even closer.

I looked at him, his bright green eyes, down to his shiny septum barbell, down to those gorgeous lips, encircled with perfectly-placed snakebites.

I started leaning closer and closer to him, until I could feel his warm, beer-filled breath on my nose.

I looked back up into his eyes, and saw them closing slowly. Instinctively, I started closing mine as well, and leaned forward.

But then, I started hearing screams in my head, and ones that emanated from Dani's perfectly glossed mouth.

I let out a short, silent gasp, and leaned away from Zacky, realizing what I was about to do.

"Oh, my God – I…I'm sorry, I…," I stuttered.

I leaned away from him in complete shock of what I was about to do.

He sat down as well, and remained silent.

Just then, Dani came trampling through the door, "Thanks, Dad! Thanks, Molly!"

"Guess what? They approve of our dating!" she squealed. He got up and hugged her tightly, a grin plastered onto his face.

But, once her back was turned to me, and he was looking at my eyes, I could see guilt and something totally unexplainable in his mellow green pools.

And at that moment, I began to wonder, why would I want to kiss him in the first place?