Ex's Can't Be Oh's

Midday was fast approaching when Madeline finally crawled out of bed and the safe confines of her bedroom. Everyone else was up and doing stuff; Cassie was cleaning and Alex and Jack were locked in a Mario Kart battle. She cautiously stepped into the kitchen and took a seat at the breakfast counter as her best friend looked up at her with a grim smile.

“How are you feeling?” she asked softly and Madeline quirked an eyebrow in response. “I mean you’re ill right because yesterday you were asleep by about six and then you had this major coughing fit and you’ve stayed in bed until twenty to twelve, which is so unlike you.”

Madeline quickly nodded and agreed, “Oh yeah ill right, could you get me some orange juice please, I think I could do with the vitamin C.”

Cassandra bustled over to the fridge and plucked the juice carton from the pocket in the door before she grabbed a glass from the draining board and filled it to the brim. Maddy accepted it with a pleasant but sleepy smile and gulped the drink down eagerly in four mouthfuls, suddenly aware of how very thirsty she was.

A lot of whopping from the lounge caused Madeline to jump slightly in her seat as Jack came running into the kitchen a huge grin plastered to his face, “I kicked his ass.”

His statement was followed by a down trodden Alex sending his foot flying into the rear end of his best friend, “You cheated.”

Madeline laughed quietly to herself as she poured another glass of orange juice, “How exactly does one cheat at Mario Kart? It’s not as if it’s a mind boggling game that requires a lot of skill,” she asked and Jack sat down opposite her his hand held up in the high five position.

She slapped her hand against his as hard as she possibly could as Alex continued to pout, “Oh yeah that’s right take his side, I thought we were friends Maddy.”

Madeline rolled her eyes at him and slowly drank her drink as several more voices filled the apartment. Ignoring whoever it was she stood up from the counter and picked up her drink before moving onto the couch that sat opposite the television in the lounge.

There were at least a hundred thoughts whirring about in her head when Zack and Rian took seats either side of her and introduced Matt. Matthew Flyzik was All Time Low’s tour manager and apparently someone they thought she needed to know.

“Hi, it’s nice to meet you,” she said politely with a smile which he returned before taking a seat on the other settee.

A slightly uncomfortable silence bore over them and Madeline returned to her thoughts. With Zack as close as he was at that moment she was half considering jumping him and not in the way he would probably want. She was angry at him for having the nerve to just come back into her life as though nothing had ever happened and the burning urge to shout at him for what he did consumed her.

Taking a deep controlling breath she shook her head and attempted to focus on the America’s Next Top Model rerun that was playing out on her television. There was no need to bring it up in front of a total stranger, she wasn’t even sure that she wanted to bring it up at all, although something inside of her definitely thought that it was necessary.

She was extremely thankful when Alex and Jack re-entered the lounge, the former kicking Zack out of his seat in order to sit next to her.

“So what exactly have you been doing since you’ve been here?” Matt asked the boys quietly and Madeline stifled a laugh. The boys remained silent and they shared a guilty look to which Matt groaned at, “I thought you were supposed to be here to find inspiration.”

An amused and slightly stifled giggle escaped Maddy’s lips, “Doesn’t Alex usually just sleep with some people for that?”

Her comment was ignored almost completely, Alex only acknowledging it with a subtle glare out of the corner of his eye.

“We have and we’ll get there, we’ve just had some personal issues to sort out first,” Jack explained suddenly sounding very grown up.

Matt raised an eyebrow confused, “Personal issues?”

Madeline quickly stood up and stretched out towards the ceiling with a completely unconvincing yawn, “Wow, I’m hungry.” She fled the front reception room quickly and shut herself and Cassie in the kitchen, “I have something I really need to talk to you about.”

Cassandra looked up quickly from the spot of the floor she was scrubbing looking panicked, “Oh god you’re not pregnant are you?”

Maddy quickly shook her head and gasped out, “No.”

“Oh thank god, I just thought because you’re ill and everything...never mind what’s up?”

Staring at her best friend carefully Madeline gnawed on her bottom lip nervously, “last night when Zack and Rian finally got back,” she started and her best friend nodded getting to her feet, “I overheard them talking.”

Cassie laughed quietly and smirked, “overheard or eavesdropped?”

“Fine I was eavesdropping but I really wish I hadn’t been,” she admitted and Cassie turned her smirk into a look of confusion, “they were talking about me,” she elaborated and Cassandra nodded her head for her to continue. “At first Zack was still kind of pissed off and that in turn kind of pissed me off so I missed about half of their conversation but anyway,” she veered off noticing the impatient look on her friends face, “Zack said that he...Zack said that he was...he said...”

“Oh for crying out loud Mad’s what did he say?”

“That he still loved me,” she whispered finally and it was barely caught by Cassandra who had been breathing loudly after her outburst.

“Well that is kind of obvious, I mean he does phone you at least once a week, or at least he tries to,” Cassie sighed and Madeline rolled her eyes.

It was true Zack did try to call her every week and Madeline, thanks to caller id, managed to ignore ninety percent of his attempts; by now she thought he would have got the hint. The thought that he still cared however never crossed her mind she simply thought he was out to ruin her life.

“You’re not allowed to just come out with a statement like that,” Madeline groaned to her friend and Cassie shook the hair out of her face as she looked up from the floor again. “I mean seriously what kind of moron does that? Nobody can honestly think that it’s a good idea for him to be here, he knows that I hate him why can’t he just leave it alone.”

“It’s not my place to say this but would it really kill you to forgive him?”