Like Birds.

“Hey, man,” Alex started, shoving his thumb behind him with a Cheshire grin wrapping itself upon his lips, “check out that babe over there.”

Jack glanced over his friend’s shoulder, craning his neck to get a good look at whoever his friend was pointing toward.

“Oh, baby,” he smirked, making suggestive motions with his pelvic region. “That’s what I’m talking about.”

Zachary stood off, crossing his arms while keeping his face straight, an easy feat for someone who spent so much time around those two; they were always going at it, hamming it up over everything they saw could be made into a joke. Although no one said it aloud, Zachary sometimes found it a little redundant, the jokes continuing with what looked to be an endless supply that those two kept in their back pockets.

One thing was certain: when Jack Barakat and Alex Gaskarth approached the girl leaning up against the jukebox, everyone knew that neither of them were going to bed alone that night. This, too, was something that Zachary had just gotten used to after a while. Everyone had. It seemed that every time those two got the chance, they had a go with whoever they found up to their standard of woman, and whoever looked like they would be a good candidate for a night of anything but romance. And, just as predictably, the girls would agree. Every single time.

Zack sighed, glancing around the room, which was packed full of teenagers dancing to the music pulsing through the air, which smelled heavily of stale cigarettes and alcohol. Everyone seemed to be having a good time. This feeling might have been different had everyone also not had a red plastic cup full of alcohol clutched firmly in their hands, but because it was so, the party was a hit.

Wonder where Rian is, Zachary thought to himself, looking to his left and right, as if actually expecting to find him. He knew that Rian would be off somewhere with his girlfriend, probably up to no good. Of course he is, what else could he be doing if he wasn’t here?

And so he was alone, left to think about what he was even doing at the party in the first place. He didn’t want to go, despite his popularity with the band and among the rest of the partygoers. Socializing in this setting was something he didn’t really enjoy, something that he would on most occasions pass up to hang out around the house doing absolutely nothing. Somehow, he had been talked into coming, and was beginning to think that he would be better off just leaving right then and there.

A lot of the time, Zack didn’t feel like he belonged with everyone- with the band, with the fans, with the minor celebrity status. A lot of the time, he didn’t want any of it. He just wanted to be like a normal guy in his early twenties, just hanging out with his friends. Of course, he loved playing shows and hearing millions of kids shouting his band’s name, but after a while, it wore on him. He didn’t really know if this was what he wanted anymore.

To top it all off, he didn’t feel appreciated. It felt like, even though his band had made it relatively big, he was ignored. None of the girls ever paid any attention to him; and why would they, when they could have Jack or Alex? Weren’t they all that anyone cared about anymore? It sure did seem that way to Zack. Even though he would never admit it, he was jealous of them, and he felt like he was trapped inside of this person that he wasn’t all that certain he wanted to be.

Why couldn’t he be funny? Why couldn’t he be loud and obnoxious, too? Zack was frustrated with himself. Why couldn’t he just be like them?

Standing alone at this party was pretty goddamn depressing.

But contradiction was already on its way; right at that exact moment, Zachary looked up and with a skipped beat in his chest, he kicked up his heels and fell down, straight into love.

His eyes had met the gaze of Tessa Barber, a girl who also didn’t want to be at this party. She was standing alone, much like Zachary, red cup in hand. On any other night, she might have just blended in with the party scene, but there was just something about that precise moment in time they both equally needed some form of sincerity among the lies. And that’s exactly when they found each other.

Zachary didn’t know it was love at the time; in fact, he didn’t think much of it. Except that, when he broke eye contact with Tessa, there was this gnawing feeling in the back of his mind and in the pit of his stomach that wouldn’t let him forget what had just taken place. Perhaps it might have been misconstrued as a casual glance upward at one of the random attendants, but there was no doubt that the gnawing sensation knew it was something much more than just that.

Tessa was the first to realize that she had to do something about that, whatever she’d just felt. That feeling that she got, looking at that boy on the other side of the room, was something she hadn’t felt all that often. To be honest, she kind of liked it, and- not wanting it to leave so soon- waltzed straight up to Zachary Merrick.

Her shoulder-length hair swayed a little as she walked, wavy and a pretty light brown. There was confidence in her step, confidence that usually gave up on Tessa. But not tonight.

She smiled, placing her hand on her hip and letting the light get in her eyes. Zachary looked up at her, astounded that she had come all the way over here from across the room- and for what? Was there something she felt, as well?

“Hello,” she greeted, “I’m Tessa.”

Something inside him told him to hold out his hand, so he did.

“I’m Zack,” he replied; she took his hand, her smile broadening before his eyes. God, Zack thought, dumbfounded, just look at those eyes. Just something about Tessa made Zachary want to smile, to brighten up and let down his guard for just a moment to let her inside.

“So,” she started, “I just saw you from across the room and thought I would come and introduce myself.” Pausing to smile just a little, she began once more, “So, how’s the party?”

He shrugged, still astonished by the little things about this girl he was beginning to notice, which were making her more beautiful by the second. “I mean, I usually don’t go to things like this. I’m not having a great time, but it’s alright, I guess.” But that was a lie; he hated being there, and all he wanted to do was go home. Of course, that gnawing feeling came back to his head as he thought this, reminding him that he couldn’t leave now, not after having met Tessa.

She sighed, and Zachary prepared himself for the alcohol scent that he knew would ensue… But it wasn’t there. He glanced down into her cup, amazed to find nothing but Mountain Dew. The funny thing is that he suddenly liked Tessa a whole lot more, because there was just a youthful innocent that engulfed her entire being; it radiated off her and swallowed Zachary, too.

“Me too,” she agreed, taking a sip of her drink. “I don’t like coming to these things because I hardly ever know anyone. What about you? Do you know all these people?”

“Some,” he answered slowly, “but almost all of these people are complete strangers.”

Nodding, she sighed again. Her smile was still bright, and she looked up at him. It was right then that Zachary noticed how short she was; perhaps 5’4”? She couldn’t have been much taller than that.

Neither of the two were very good with first impressions, and maybe that’s what made each of them appreciate the other. Friendships were never very easy for Zack Merrick, and he was surprised that he had managed to keep the ones that he did. But for some reason, Tessa Barber made things easy. He’d only known her for a few minutes, for God’s sake, and he already knew that much about her. She was easy to read, Tessa was, but there was also something about her that was much like himself: quiet and hidden. And he couldn’t put his finger on why he thought so about Tessa, a girl who he’d only realized existed moments ago. But there was also something else, much deeper to her than anyone would have first guessed. Zachary was beginning to wonder where this girl had come from, this girl so intriguing and mysterious and gorgeous and open and happy and wonderful.

After a moment of silence, Tessa said, “I think that my friends will wonder where I am; I should probably go. It was very nice meeting you, Zack.” She smiled, then quickly turned on her heel and started off toward wherever she had come from in the first place.

“Hey, wait,” Zachary called, walking after her quickly. Without even thinking about it, he grabbed her wrist and spun her around. Her eyes were wide and wondering what he wanted, chasing after her and taking her hand.

“Yes?” she asked. “Is there something you needed?”

He let go of her hand quickly, using the same hand to scratch the back of his neck; a nervous habit that had become of him, twenty-two years in the making. “Uh,” he replied dumbly, not even really sure of himself what he wanted out of the girl. “Um…” Now he was rambling. He was doing a damn good job of it, too.

Tessa smiled, seeming to know right away what was going on. How did she understand this boy so well, when she hardly understood herself? Tessa, too, was a lost cause, but with this boy she’d known for five minutes, she was beginning to realize things she didn’t know that she ever could. What a conundrum Zachary Merrick was.

“Do you want to go outside and get some fresh air?” he finally said. “It’s okay if you have to get back to your friends, but you haven’t been gone that long.” He fumbled with his words, rushing them out while his tongue stumbled over each of them. Zack was still as hopeless with women as he was in high school.

Tessa was glowing. “Sure.”

Zachary let her lead the way, stepping quickly at her heels; Tessa could have swore that she felt his chest graze her back more than once. She pulled open the sliding glass door that led to the backyard, and Zachary closed it after he had walked through it. Once in the yard, the two noticed that they were not alone there. In fact, there was quite a few couples out there, many kissing one another or staring up at the sky.

“There’s lots of stars out tonight,” Tessa stated bluntly. “You usually can’t see them from where I live; guess I need to get out more often.”

“Where do you live?” Zack asked. “Not far from here, right?”

“Actually,” she said slowly, “I live in New York City, I’ve got a little apartment right in the heart of the city.”

Zachary’s eyes went wide; New York? Who would have guessed? And for some reason, learning this information made him suddenly a bit sadder; there was something in him that, upon these few minutes of knowing this girl, truly liked her. Learning this information dampened his mood because any hope he might have had to get to know this girl was wiped away completely.

“Do you live here?” Tessa asked.

He nodded. “Yeah, right here in Maryland.”

She nodded too, walking still further into the yard. “Well, that’s too bad,” she said aloud. “You seem like a nice guy.”

“You seem like a nice girl,” Zachary said.

Tessa smiled. She was glad that anyone thought that about her, but especially this boy whom she had just met. She didn’t know why his opinion on her made such a difference to her, but it did, and that was clear.

Right then, she spotted a hammock hanging in the far corner of the yard, unoccupied and obviously calling out to her. She didn’t feel like denying it, so instead she led Zachary toward it and, carefully, curled herself inside of it.

“I haven’t laid in a hammock since I can’t even remember when,” Tessa confessed, closing her eyes knowing that it wouldn’t make a difference whether they were open or shut; the darkness consumed, either way.

Zachary just stood beside her, watching quietly. He watched Tessa as she laced her fingers through each other, crossing her arms as she placed them behind her head. She looked peaceful; the gentle breeze blew the hammock and rocked her slowly from side to side.

“Looks peaceful,” Zack said.

That’s when Tessa said it. She hadn’t meant to be too forward, or anything, it just managed to slip its way out of her mouth so that it was clear to Zachary what her intents were.

“C’mere,” she said, and patted the empty space on the hammock beside her.

It was like she was asking for him to just be there with her and be attracted to her. And it was like he didn’t even care that he was acting like a hormonal teenager, or that he knew fully well what he was getting himself into. It just didn’t matter.

Because when he laid down next to her, it was like everything was alright for once.

It was just those two and the stars.

And that was it.