Hardly Worth Your Time

A black van with a trailer hitched behind it drove down the street carrying a heavy bass sound from the interior.

Emily sprang from her bed and bounded down the stairs. She rushed through the front door and down the front steps before sprinting down the street.

She stopped right in front of the parked van where the Alex was grabbing his bags. Jack popped his head out of the window while Emily caught her breath and screamed, “Movie night at Emily’s!”

“What?” Emily looked up breathless and stared bewilderedly at him.

Everyone in the van laughed before Alex shut the door and Jack said, “We’ll be back in an hour!”

Emily glared at the van as it sped down the road. Alex chuckled and stepped up next to her; sunglasses staring her in the face. “No food in your house?”

Emily shook her head. “Parents are on a cruise for two weeks,” she explained.

Alex nodded his head. He smiled down at her before moving towards his house. “C’mon, I’ll drop this stuff off, give my mom a hug and we’ll go grocery shopping.”

Emily nodded her head before following him up his driveway. She noticed a few changes since the last time she saw him. He was tanner, for one thing, and he adorned a shirt she had never known him to own. But what she really noticed was the way he was acting, almost as if his already boosted ego was expanded after his first two real tours of being a signed band. He seemed comfortable around her, which was slightly unnerving to her.

He dropped off his bags in the living room before the two of them walked into the kitchen where Mrs. Gaskarth stood baking.

“Alex!” she ran to him and hugged him tightly. “Oh I missed you. Have you been eating well?”

“Ma!” he chuckled at her check of him.

She grinned before placing her hands on her hips and stared between him and Emily. “Movie night, I’m guessing?”

They both nodded before she smiled at them before turning to Emily and hugging her. “Well get going,” she told them, waving them to the doorway.

“Bye ma,” Alex kissed her cheek before grabbing his keys and heading to the garage.

Emily climbed into the passenger seat and stared at Alex. “So,” she started awkwardly.

Alex smiled at her before backing out of the driveway and driving towards the store. “You look great, Em,” he pointed out.

“You too rock star,” she chuckled.

Alex grinned and pulled into a parking space. “C’mon, I’ll let you ride in the cart.”

“Psht I was going to either way,” Emily said walking backwards facing Alex.

He chuckled before picking her up and throwing her over his shoulders.

“Alex! Let me down, right now!” she squealed hitting his back.

“Okay!” he yelled and next moment she was sitting in the shopping cart and Alex was pushing it forward to the snack aisle.

He grabbed chips and dip, cookies, and any other junk food from the upper shelves while Emily did the same with the shelves she could reach. Alex pushed off the ground and rode the cart down the aisle singing Britney Spears lyrics loudly. Emily joined in and threw her hands in the air laughing.

“Emily?”

The cart stopped and Emily looked to her side to see Eric standing there holding milk and bread.

“Eric, hey,” she greeted him as he bent down and kissed her cheek. She glanced at Alex who had a dark look on his face.

He covered it with a half smile at Eric who had straightened up to look at him. “Alex, man how was tour?”

“It was awesome,” he said without much inflection in his tone. He was giving Eric a hard look and glanced at Emily a couple times.

“So is there a welcome home party tonight or anything?” Eric asked clearly not aware of the awkward situation.

“No, just a movie night,” Alex said glancing at Emily who was staring at Alex as if he might punch the other guy.

Eric looked at Emily and smiled at her. “Oh yeah?”

Emily rubbed her forearm, which Alex picked up on because she did it when she was nervous. “Yeah, just, just the guys and Lindsey, and Rebecca, and me, you know, to catch up,” she stuttered.

Eric nodded his head. “Oh cool. Well I gotta get this stuff home to mom. We still on for tomorrow night?” he asked her.

Emily nodded her head before Eric kissed her cheek again and nodded to Alex before walking up the aisle to the registers.

Alex stared at Emily before looking past her and pushing the cart. He didn’t say a word while he loaded sodas and frozen pizzas into the cart.

“Alex?” Emily whispered. She knew he was angry, disappointed, and hurt, his facial expression and body language gave it away.

Alex didn’t answer her. He just rolled up to the register and started unloading the cart. Emily grabbed his hand as it reached for the paper plates. “Alex, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you,” she stared him in the eyes.

Alex slid his hand from her grip and finished unloading the cart. He paid the cashier and put the bags into the cart still staying silent and not making eye contact with her.

Once they got out to his Audi, he set the bags in the trunk then held his hand out to her to help her get out. She climbed out then squeezed his hand. “Alex, look at me, please,” she pleaded.

He looked at her with hurt evident in his eyes. “I’m sorry, I should have told you,” she apologized.

He nodded his head once stiffly before pushing the cart into the cart rack and sliding into the driver’s seat. Emily slid into the passengers and Alex sped off to her house, a very discomfiting silence overtaking the drive.

Alex glanced at her out of the corners of his eyes and noticed the frown gracing her lips as she stared out the window. Her eyebrows were furrowed and she seemed upset. He knew he was the reason she was getting upset, but he didn’t want to talk for fear of yelling or saying something he didn’t mean.

She moved on. She moved on. She was dating another guy. She wasn’t his. He couldn’t believe this. Emily moved on in three weeks. She didn’t wait for him. But then again, now that he thought about it, she never promised to wait for him. But…

As they pulled into her driveway and parked, they noticed Jack, Zack, and Lindsey in the living room through the window.

Emily pulled the handle to get out, but Alex clicked the lock button from his side and Emily looked over at him as a tear rolled slowly down her cheek. She wiped it away and said, “Alex, I’m sorry, I was going to tell you, but we hadn’t really talked yet—“

“I know Em,” Alex breathed taking her hand and rubbing circles on it.

She took a few deep breaths before they got out of the car and grabbed the bags carrying them inside to the kitchen. Rian, Rebecca, and Matt all appeared a few minutes later, the latter carrying a couple cases of beer.

Emily and Alex set out the food while Zack, Jack, and Lindsey picked the first movie out of the set they had rented.

Alex and Emily silently joined the others in the living room. They looked around the room; Rebecca and Rian were on the love seat, Lindsey was sitting in Zack’s lap who was sitting in the chair, Jack and Matt were on the couch with a spot next to Jack open and he was gesturing for Emily to sit there. Alex and Emily both knew how this worked, Emily would sit on the couch and Alex would sit against the couch in front of her. That was how they always sat.

They glanced at each other before taking their respectable spots and Zack started the movie. It was Freddy Got Fingered.

“HELL NO,” all the girls protested.

The guys smirked and the movie continued to start.

“Lindsey, I thought you helped them pick a movie!” Rebecca yelled.

“I did, Jack must have switched it when I went to the bathroom!” she replied sending a glare at him.

“Ouch!” he yelped as Emily pinched him.

“This movie is a classic, ladies,” Alex piped up.

The three girls gave each other significant looks before Emily hit Alex upside the head. “Ouch! What the hell Emily!”

“You guys are so stupid,” Lindsey said shaking her head and getting off Zack.

“HEY!” all the guys yelled as she stopped the movie and put in the one that was lying on the stand.

She stuck out her tongue at them before sitting back in Zack’s lap and received cheers from the other two girls.

Finding Nemo flashed across the screen and Jack, Alex, and Emily threw their fists in the air and yelled, “Hell fucking yeah!”