Carry Me

Levia, despite the awkwardness that only she seemed to feel, was comfortably smashed between Zacky and Jimmy on the couch in the living room. There was plenty of room, but no, those two had to sit as close to her as possible. She was practically sitting on both of them.

That’s probably what they wanted, anyway.

Jimmy was overjoyed when Levia knew exactly where Live in the LBC was and gave it to him so they could watch it. He practically crushed her in a hug, then kissed her forcefully on the lips before pulling away and running off to put it in.

Zacky had laughed at the shocked expression on Levia’s face before slapping Jimmy upside the head and telling him to keep it in his pants.

Jimmy replied that it still was, but he couldn’t make any promises that it would still be there at the end of the night.

Levia couldn’t understand why she even wanted to be friends with these people.

Now, Levia was watching the guys perform “Scream” on the television, and quietly sang along. Jimmy was drumming along to the air and Zacky was playing his air guitar.

Jimmy looked over at her continuing his air drumming, “I take it you like this song, huh?”

Levia nodded and smiled, “I do. I like a lot of your stuff, actually. You guys would be surprised.”

Levia couldn’t help but bite her lip and swoon a bit when it got to the part where Matt, in his amazing deep voice that she loved, sang “Yeah” in an even deeper voice.

Zacky gave her a knowing look, “I saw that.”

Levia smiled sheepishly, “Sorry?”

Zacky chuckled and shook his head, “Hey, it’s not me you have to worry about. It’s your sister.”

Levia shrugged, “What does she have to worry about?”

Zacky turned away and went back to looking at the screen, his eyes going up and down the bodies of the strippers that appeared, “Nothing.”

Levia was a bit offended. She was ‘nothing’? Or maybe he just meant that Addison didn’t have to worry because Matt loved her too much. Then again, he could be implying that she could never seduce Matt enough to cause any harm his relationship. Either way, Levia was still a bit hurt by his words, even if he didn’t mean them in a rude way.

The more Levia watched him on screen and the more she heard his voice, Levia realized that she really didn’t think of Matt as anything like a brother. She didn’t think of him as her future brother-in-law, but more as the hot lead singer of one of her favorite bands.

Wait, did she just think Matt was hot?

Bad, Levia! Bad!

It’s not like it was wrong to think of him in a romantic way, was it? No, not at all. As long as she knew that nothing would happen and didn’t try to make anything happen, everything would be fine and the world would be okay.

She didn’t realize she had been spacing off and staring at Matt until Zacky tapped her on the shoulder.

“You might not want to look at your sister’s fiancé like that,” he whispered in her ear.

Levia shivered, forgetting all about her attraction towards Matt. All she could think about was the way Zacky’s breath felt on her ear, and that she could still feel him breathing on her neck.

She turned towards him slightly, not really moving her face, “Like what?”

Jimmy was still air drumming and singing along, seemingly off in his own world. He looked just like he did performing on the screen. He was focused and in the zone.

When she felt his breath gone, Levia turned her head fully to Zacky. He gazed deep into her eyes, just like he had been doing before, and Levia couldn’t tear herself away.

“Like this.”

Levia held her gaze with Zacky, observing his eyes again. He kept a straight face, but his eyes held some kind of emotion. Levia hardly ever looked people directly in the eyes, so she couldn’t read what he was thinking at all. But she had had a feeling that Zacky knew exactly what she was thinking.

What was she thinking?

Levia didn’t even know herself. Right now, though, she was thinking about how there was hardly any space between the two of them. Her hip was resting on the side of Zacky‘s, and her arm was slightly in front of his. She could feel his Minnesota Twins t-shirt on her bare arm, and she remembered that she had never had a chance to change and she was still in her white cami. Her shorts were riding up her legs to the point where they weren’t even shorts, more like underwear, and she could feel the rough fabric of his dark jeans on them. His green cabbie-style hat had been discarded onto the floor a while ago, she remembered. She felt strangely…comfortable.

Surprised she had even managed to hold eye contact that long, Levia finally close her eyes and looked away. She didn’t want to let herself get too comfortable with anyone in any other way than friendly. Even if there was some sort of…something…between Zacky and herself.

Or maybe she was just imagining things. She did have quite the imagination, after all.

Jimmy had gone back to normally watching since there was another intro on the television. His left arm rested lazily around the back of the sofa, behind Levia, and his other was sitting at his side. He snorted a laugh at the scene of Matt coming out of the shower, supposedly wearing nothing but a towel around his waist and another around his neck.

Levia knew she needed to develop some serious self control. She had seen just a second of this bit before, on YouTube or something, and had to keep herself from salivating then. She was having even a worse time now.

Too bad she couldn’t remember what else was at the beginning of this intro that she liked…

Zacky leaned over, which wasn’t hard considering their proximity, “You’re doing it again.”

Levia felt her breathing quicken. He was even closer than last time, as now his lips grazed her neck when he spoke. She felt cool air hit her neck again and knew he must have moved back to his original spot.

Zacky yawned and stretched before getting up and heading to the doorway, “I gotta take a piss.”

Jimmy nodded and kept watching through the rest of the intros. He must’ve skipped to the extras or something.

Levia wasn’t really paying attention.

Without Zacky’s body heat, she felt cold and…lonely. Usually she would be relieved to have whoever was invading her personal space be gone, but she really didn’t feel that way right now.

That was not good, in Levia’s eyes.

She really wanted to move off of Jimmy, since one of her legs was practically on top of his and her hip was on his, much like she was with Zacky, but she thought Jimmy would be offended if she moved. So as awkward as it was and despite the amount of room available, Levia stayed where she was to keep Jimmy happy. And to keep warm until Zacky got back.

“Cold?” Jimmy asked, turning his attention from the intros to Levia.

“Just a bit,” she said, rubbing her arms.

“Do you want a-”

“I’m fine.”

Jimmy closed his mouth and shrugged, “Okie dokie.”

Levia didn’t want to bother him to go and get a sweatshirt somewhere. Besides, she was only cold because she was used to heat on the other side of her. She’d be fine once Zacky got back.

She was surprised that Jimmy wasn’t questioning her about what she and Zacky were whispering about or why they were staring at each other earlier. Maybe he just wasn’t paying attention. Either that or he didn’t really care what the two did.

Jimmy started to get up from the couch, and Levia frowned at the cold air that hit her previously warm skin.

“I’d better head. It’s almost 11 and Syn said he wanted to meet me at the bar then.”

Levia tilted her head, “Why would he want to meet you there so late?”

Jimmy shrugged, “Just to talk and have some guy time, probably. I could use a drink anyways.”

He looked in the direction of the doorway, where Zacky had disappeared a couple minutes ago, “Think you’ll be fine here with just Zack?”

Levia tilted her head to the other side, confused again, “Yeah…why wouldn’t I be?”

Jimmy shrugged again, “Just wondering. I saw short shit storm out of here earlier and thought something happened. But anyway, it doesn’t matter. Stay safe.”

Levia nodded, a bit surprised at Jimmy’s sudden seriousness.

He opened his arms for a hug, giving Levia puppy dog eyes and jutting his lower lip out a bit, “Do I get a hug goodbye?”

Levia playfully rolled her eyes, but got up anyway. She was never one to deny a hug, as awkward as it may be. Besides, she liked the tall, Jimmy type. So it was even more okay.

She walked into Jimmy’s arms, but tensed when he wrapped his around her. She could never get used to the feeling of hugging a guy, no matter how many times she did it.

He chuckled and let her go, patting the top of her head and saluting her as he walked out, “See ya, Levia! Tell Zack I said bye.”

“Will do.”

He gave her one last smile before walking out of the door. Levia sat down on the couch and resumed watching the guys’ DVD. She switched back from the intros to the live performance, smiling and singing along.

After 15 more minutes and still no Zacky, Levia became worried and wondered if he has hurt himself or something in the bathroom.

She stood up from the couch and called, “Zacky?”

There was no response. Levia took a couple steps closer to the door way and called again, a bit louder this time.

“Zacky?”

No response. Levia furrowed her brows in worry. She knew she shouldn’t jump to conclusions. Maybe he was just taking a long time to go to the bathroom.

Right when Levia lifted her foot to take another step, the ground shook beneath her and she lost her balance. She fell painfully on her right foot and ended up rolling over, landing on her butt. Now the entire house shook and Levia became even more worried.

Earthquake?

“Zacky?!”

All she could hear was the rattling of the shelves in the living room that housed expensive knick-knacks from all over the world, items that Addison has always loved collecting. She watched a few of them fall on the floor, shattering to bits on impact and flying across the room. Levia turned her head away, hoping nothing would hit her. Dishes and glasses broke in the kitchen, and potted plants fell over and spread their contents across the room. The flat screen mounted on the wall across from Levia, the one currently playing Live in the LBC, fell from the wall and shattered when it hit the floor. A piece flew across the floor and nearly jabbed into her left leg.

“Zacky!” she yelled.

Loud, pounding sounds were heard as the shaking became worse. Levia clutched onto the couch for support, but it did nothing other than make her head spin and her vision burn from the vibration. She tried standing up but fell over right away. A piece of the broken television shoved itself into her left arm.

Levia winced at the pain of landing on her foot again and also at the pain that shot up her arm. A small trail of blood trickled down her arm and dripped onto the carpet and her leg.

“Levia!”

Levia lifted her name at the sound of Zacky’s voice and breathed a sigh of relief. He was okay.

Zacky came running into the living room, despite the now even more violent shaking of the house, and jogged over to Levia. He knelt down beside her and gave her a sympathetic look.

She felt like crying, and not from the pain, “What took you so long?”

He shook his head, “Nothing. Are you okay?”

The houses started to rattle less. Levia’s lip quivered, “I’m fine.”

Zacky tried to look her in the eyes again to read her, but she wouldn’t meet his gaze. He ran his eyes down her body, not to check her out, but to check for any signs of injury. He spotted her already swollen right ankle and a small pool of blood on the floor.

Suddenly alert, Zacky gently grabbed her left arm and examined the piece of glass lodged inside her forearm. He frowned.

Levia allowed Zacky to look at her, partially because she knew he was trying to help. It was the only reason she was even letting him touch her without blushing or anything.

“Are you hurt?” she asked, still trying to hold back her own tears. She wanted to stay and look strong.

He shook his head, still observing the glass in Levia’s arm, “Nah. I just fell down the stairs. Other than a few bruises here and there I’ll be fine.”

Levia noticed that his left eyebrow was starting to become swollen along with his cheek. She also spotted a nasty purple bruise forming on his right arm that was holding onto her left.

The ground had finally stopped its shaking and Levia sighed, relieved.

“First earthquake, huh?”

Levia nodded, trying to catch her breath that she didn’t know she had lost, “Yeah. We don’t get those in Iowa. Or Maine.”

Zacky chuckled and sat down next to Levia, on her left side that he had been kneeling on. He pulled up his right pant leg and scowled at the blue and purple bruise lining his calf.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Levia asked, still worried about Zacky and his safety.

“I’m fine. I’m more worried about you,” he said.

The only light illuminating the room was the battery powered aquarium in the corner of the room. It housed no fish, but the lights still worked, apparently.

“The power went out too, I see,” Zacky said, looking around the room, “that’s just wonderful when it’s midnight and dark as fuck outside.”

A small tear of fear escaped Levia’s eye, “So what do we do?”

Noticing that Levia suddenly sounded plugged up and congested, Zacky turned back to see her starting to cry. She wiped away the tear and sniffed, turning away from Zacky so he wouldn’t see. She found it humiliating for him to have to see that. She wanted him to think she was brave and not just a scared little girl. It’s not like this earthquake was anything serious.

Zacky frowned sadly at her, “What’s wro-”

The ground shook again and Levia let out a squeak of fear. Zacky put his arms around her, being careful of her still bleeding arm, and rested his chin on her head.

Levia curled into Zacky and clutched onto his shirt with both hands. She started sobbing now, despite her efforts to hold it back. She was just so scared and overwhelmed.

“Aftershock,” Zacky mumbled.

Levia shoved her face further into Zacky’s chest and tried to remain calm. Zacky ran a hand down the back of her hair soothingly, and Levia relaxed a bit. For some reason, someone else touching her hair calmed her down more than if she did it herself.

“Shh, it’s okay. It’s okay,” Zacky whispered in her ear.

His whispering didn’t have the same effect on Levia as it did before. Instead of making her feel hot and uncomfortable, it made her feel more comfortable and not as worried.

A loud crack was heard and both Levia and Zacky shot their heads up, both trying to locate the source of the sound. Zacky spotted a small crack in the archway that lead to the entryway of the house.

“Shit,” he cursed.

“What?”

He looked down at Levia, “The wall is cracking.”

Levia’s eyes widened, “Is the house gonna collapse?!”

Zacky shook his head, “It shouldn’t. Houses around here are built to withstand earthquakes.”

“Then why is the wall cracking?!”

Zacky didn’t have an answer. All he could do was reassure Levia, and reassure himself.

“It’s just that one wall. Something probably just hit it on the other side.”

It sounded like a reasonable enough answer. Even Zacky had managed to convince himself.

Levia pushed herself back into Zacky again, satisfied with his answer for now. As the shaking died down once more, she closed her eyes and took deep breaths, trying to stay calm.

Zacky rested his cheek that wasn’t sore on the top of the side of Levia’s head. He took a breath in, enjoying the smell of her shampoo. Was it…strawberry?

While doing her deep breathing, Levia couldn’t help but enjoy the scent of Zacky’s cologne. Whatever it was, it made him smell rather…manly. Levia liked it.

Her phone buzzed and Levia reluctantly uncurled an arm and reached over to grab it on the floor a couple feet away. Zacky didn’t loosen his grip on her, which she appreciated, and she got comfortable again before opening her phone.

You okay? They’re talking about some huge earthquakes going on down by LA -Jacoby

Levia felt her face flush for the first time since the quake. She knew Zacky was reading over her shoulder, and as much as she appreciated Jacoby’s concern, now was not the time. Shouldn’t he be sleeping, anyway?

She typed back, hoping Zacky stopped reading and gave her some privacy.

I’m fine. Zacky’s here with me so I’m not alone -Lev

Zacky smiled against Levia’s hair. He was trying not to look over her shoulder, since he didn’t want to be rude, yet he wanted to know why Jacoby was so concerned and why he was texting her anyway. Shouldn’t he be asleep?

Not that it mattered to Zacky.

Good. Heard from Addi or the guys? -Jacoby

Zacky’s face returned to normal. Jacoby didn’t care that she was alone with him? Maybe there wasn’t anything going on between the two after all.

Not yet. I hope I do soon though -Lev

Levia was suddenly aware of Zacky’s breath on the side of her neck again. It made her all nervous and jittery. She tried to ignore the feeling.

Yeah, hope you and Zack stay safe. I’ll let you go now. There’s supposed to be more aftershocks. Bye, Gorgeous ;) -Jacoby

Levia really hoped that Zacky wasn’t paying attention. She didn’t want him to think anything was going on.

Why would he care, anyway?

Oh joy. Good, now you can get some sleep. Bye, Coby. -Lev

Zacky’s face remained emotionless. He knew Jacoby was always that way, but he wasn’t comfortable with Jacoby being that way towards Levia. Any other girl was fine, as long as it wasn’t Levia.

Wait…what was that?

Zacky closed his eyes to clear his thoughts. Suddenly Levia’s position became much more…appealing to him.

She sat with her legs across him, her thighs resting on his own. After setting her phone down a couple feet away in it’s previous position, she wrapped her arms around his middle, causing her breasts to be pushed tightly against his chest. Zacky held back a groan. Maybe Brian was right, maybe he really did need to get some.

Or maybe he was just really horny.

An earthquake was not a good time for that.

The ground shook violently once again, and Zacky held back another groan as Levia clutched onto him even tighter as the floor beneath them vibrated. She was scared again.

Both of them grimaced. This was going to be a long night.