Carry Me

Levia sat in her room, packing her bags. She had been for the past few hours, and knew it shouldn’t take that long since she was just going away for a few days, but she felt like she needed to be prepared.

She was only going to spend the weekend with Papa Roach. What was there to be worried about?

“Levia! Get your ass down here!”

She sighed, “I’m working on it, Matt!”

“I said now, woman!”

“Hey! Don’t talk to my sister that way!”

“But you just-”

“No! Stop it!”

Levia laughed silently to herself. Addison sure was an interesting person.

She heard footsteps and thought it was one of the two coming together, but was pleasantly surprised to see Zacky standing there instead.

“Those two never stop, do they?”

Zacky chuckled, “Addi’s either yelling at him or they’re having sex.”

“Well at least I can get away from it for a few days.”

“How long are you staying?” Zacky asked.

Levia shrugged, “Probably until Tuesday, maybe Wednesday.”

It was currently Saturday afternoon, and Levia was waiting for Jacoby to show up so he could drive her up to Vacaville. It was about a 7 hour drive, and Levia didn’t understand how Jacoby could possibly stay sane with driving all day long. She was glad it was a car ride and not a plane ride. She didn’t like planes, not at all.

Not that being alone in a car with Jacoby for 7 hours would be much better. She could sense the tension and awkwardness that would hang in the air the entire ride already.

Zacky put his hands in his pockets and chewed on one of his snakebites. Levia loved them. They looked really…cool. She wondered what it would be like to kiss someone with snakebites…

“It’ll be pretty boring without you around,” he said.

Levia looked down at the floor, “I doubt you guys will miss me that much.”

Zacky cleared his throat, “So, uh, maybe you’d want to…you know…go out to eat with me when you get back?”

Levia dared herself to look up at Zacky, who was looking at her hopefully, “Like a…date?”

Zacky began to chew on his other snakebite, “Sure. A date…yeah.”

Levia bit her lip, “I’d like that.”

He looked up at her, “Really?”

She nodded, slightly pink the face, “Yeah.”

Zacky let out a nervous chuckle, “Well, awesome then. Can’t wait ‘til you get back.”

Levia smiled at him, “Me either.”

Matt walked in the room and stopped when he saw that Zacky was there, “Hey, man.”

Zacky nodded, “Hey.”

Matt walked over to Levia, putting his hands on her shoulders and starting to push her towards the door, “Jacoby’s here. You have to leave.”

She frowned up at him, “Just because you and Addi want to hurry up and fuck the minute I leave does not mean that you can just shove me out the door!”

Zacky laughed and Matt let go of her, sending her tumbling to the floor. He frantically tried to help her up and apologize, which only made Zacky laugh more.

Addison came up to the room and raised an eyebrow at the sight in front of her, “Matt, sweetie, what have I told you about flirting with my sister? I know you were drunk last week but there’s no excuse this time!”

Matt rolled his eyes, knowing that Addison was joking, “I’m so sorry, honey, it won’t happen again.”

Levia, flustered, got up off the floor without anyone else’s help, but nearly flashing Zacky in the process.

He turned away and Levia quickly pulled up on the low cut, button up shirt that Addison had picked out for her, “Sorry.”

Zacky chuckled, “Oh, believe me, it’s not a problem.”

Levia felt her face go hot and quickly picked up her bags and practically rushed out of her bedroom, “Time to go meet Coby!”

Zacky and Matt laughed and Addison shook her head, “Men.”

Levia jogged down the stairs, eager to get out of the house. She smiled when she saw Jacoby waiting in the entryway, looking hot, as usual.

Levia froze. But she was going on a date with Zacky when she got back…

It wasn’t like they were dating or anything. It was just a date. She was free to look at and drool over whoever she wanted!

Jacoby noticed her at the bottom of the stairs and grinned, “Hey, Levee. Lookin’ nice.”

Levia turned away, using her hair as a shield, “You’re not so bad yourself.”

Jacoby smirked but made no remark, “Ready to go?”

Levia nodded, “You bet!”

Matt, Zacky, and Addison came down the stairs. Jacoby greeted each of them before grabbing Levia’s bag and heading for the door.

“We’ve got a long ride ahead of us. We’d better head.”

Levia hugged her sister, and awkwardly Matt, goodbye before turning to Zacky. He smiled at her and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

“See you when you get back, Lev.”

Levia let out a nervous giggle and waved at everyone before closing the door behind her and breathing a sigh of relief.

Jacoby studied her, “Are you and Zacky…you know?”

Levia’s head shot up and she shook it furiously back and forth, “No! I mean, no, me and Zacky aren’t…together.”

Jacoby felt like sighing in relief himself, “Ah.”

Levia loaded her bag in the back of Jacoby’s SUV and hopped in the passenger seat, Jacoby following suit in the driver’s seat. He started up the vehicle and pulled out of the driveway, purposely squealing his tires as he peeled away.

It wasn’t until they had been out on the interstate for a few minutes that the silence was broken.

Levia cleared her throat, “He asked me on a date.”

Jacoby looked over, confused, “Huh?”

“Zacky,” Levia said, looking anywhere but Jacoby, “he asked me on a date.”

“Ah,” Jacoby said, “that would explain his goodbye.”

Levia nodded, not quite understanding what made her tell Jacoby. It wasn’t like he would care, anyway.

“Fucker beat me to it.”

Now Levia was confused, “What?”

Jacoby chuckled, glancing over at Levia for a second, “Zacky. He beat me to it.”

“Beat you to…?”

“Asking you out.”

Levia choked on her spit.

How appealing.

“You were gonna…ask me out?”

Jacoby nodded, “Yep.”

Levia shifted in her seat, “It’s not like I’m…you know…dating him or anything. I’m still a free woman.”

Jacoby chuckled, “Oh?”

“Yeah,” Levia said, preparing herself for what she was about to say, “so if you wanted to…uh…still go out with me sometime…I could do that…”

Jacoby grinned, admiring Levia’s change of character, “Really now?”

Levia blushed, trying to hide it with her hair, “Mhm.”

Jacoby tapped his chin, pretending to contemplate her offer, “I’ll have to check my schedule…”

Levia smacked her head on the dashboard and rested it there. She had gone to all that trouble to sum up the courage to practically ask out Jacoby Shaddix, after she had already planned a date with Zacky Vengeance, only to have Jacoby reply that he would think about it.

“Hey, I was just kidding,” Jacoby laughed, patting Levia on the back, “and besides, I was never one to turn down a pretty lady!”

Levia lifted her head up, “So…it’s a yes?”

“Sure,” Jacoby smiled, “but no more beating your head on the dashboard, okay? Wouldn’t want you to rip out those stitches, Gorgeous.”

Levia put a hand to her head, remembering that her face was still stitched up. She frowned, thinking about how everyone would stare at the newcomer and think she was a freaking Frankenstein experiment or something.

“So when do you get those things out?”

“Next week,” Levia replied. She couldn’t wait until they were gone. There would always be an ugly scar running from her forehead down to her chin, yes, but at least it wouldn’t be all patched up and look like the stitches were the only thing holding her face together.

“Bet you can’t wait, huh?” Jacoby asked, trying to keep conversation. He knew how uncomfortable Levia got, and he wanted this ride to be as non-awkward as possible.

“You have no idea.”

Levia rested her head on the window and closed her eyes. Car rides did always make her sleepy. She hated to fall asleep and ignore Jacoby, but she was just so tired…

Motley Crue’s “Too Young To Fall In Love” played softly on the radio and Levia smiled.

“I love this song.”

Jacoby turned to her, silently admiring her half-asleep and peaceful demeanor, “You like Motley Crue?”

She smiled, “Like? I love the Crue.”

Jacoby nodded, turning his attention back to the road. This chick just kept getting better and better the more he got to know her.

It wasn’t long before Levia felt herself drifting off to sleep. She scowled, hating that she could never stay awake long enough to talk to anyone or even know what was going on, but it was all forgotten when an even more familiar song came on the radio.

In the brightest hour of my darkest day
I realized what is wrong with me
Can’t get over you, can’t get through to you
It’s been a helter skelter romance from the start

Take these memories that are haunting me
Of a paper man cut into shreds
By his own pair of scissors
He’ll never forgive her, he’ll never forgive her

Because days come and go
But my feelings for you are forever
Because days come and go
But my feelings for you are forever

Levia couldn’t help but sing along. It was one of her favorite songs, after all. She loved the way Jacoby’s voice sounded in it. It was amazing.

Jacoby cast a side glance at Levia, still keeping his eyes on the road, “I take it you like this song too.”

Levia nodded, her eyes still closed as she became more and more relaxed, “Words can’t even describe how much I really do.”

She turned to him, opening her eyes slightly, “I cry every time I hear you guys perform it live.”

Jacoby chuckled, “I make you cry?”

Levia nodded, leaning back on the window and humming along, “I guess you do.”

Jacoby put his free hand on Levia’s knee, careful not to squeeze so she wouldn’t jump, “Sorry.”

Levia shook her head against the window, “Don’t be. It’s just so…touching. And it’s really…beautiful…when you guys do it live. There’s just so much energy and I cry easy as it is. It’s not a bad thing that you do.”

Jacoby left his hand on her leg, wondering when and if she would even realize it was there, “I hate to make you cry, Gorgeous.”

Levia’s mouth twitched at the corners. She was actually getting used to him calling her that, despite the fact that she didn’t believe he really meant it.

Even though he did.

Sittin’ by a fire on a lonely night
Hangin’ over from another good time
With another girl…little dirty girl
You should listen to this story of a life

You’re my heroine
In this moment I’m lonely, fulfilling my darkest dreams
All these drugs, all these women
I’m never forgiving this broken heart of mine

Right before Levia dozed off, she put her hand on top of Jacoby’s, “You really have an amazing voice, you know. I love it.”

Jacoby couldn’t help the smirk that spread across his face. The girl was way too sweet for her own good.

She also fell asleep with her hand on top of his.

Jacoby hated to move his hand, for fear of waking her, but he knew that she would be mortified if she woke up holding hands with him.

Deciding to be nice, Jacoby gently removed his hand and changed the radio station, thankful to not have to hear his own song anymore. It was just kind of…weird sometimes.

He felt like pounding his head on the steering wheel. Now not only would he have Forever stuck in his head for the rest of the day, but every time he heard it he would think of Levia.

So much for getting her out of his head.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Hey, man! How’d the ride go?”

“Good. She fell asleep about an hour into it though.”

“That’s what she said.”

“Jerry! He just got back! No one wants to hear it!”

“But it was a good one!”

“He’s right, Tobin, it was a good one.”

“Shut up, Tony.”

“Guys! Shush! You’ll wake her up!”

“Aww, Coby Dick’s got a sweet spot for the girl.”

“Shut up. I do not.”

“Do too!”

“Fuck off, Tobe!”

“You’d like that, wouldn’t you? Sick fucker.”

Levia groaned, “What’s with the yelling?”

Jacoby patted her on the head before getting out of the driver’s door, “Nothing. The guys are just being douchebags. Oh, and they’re eager to see you again. Freaks.”

Levia’s door opened and she almost fell out, but was caught by Tobin.

“Well hey there.”

Levia looked at the ground, “Hi.”

“Tobe! We’re here for five minutes and you’re already all over her like a bag of chips!”

Tobin stared at Jerry strangely, “What the fuck kind of reference is that?”

Jerry shrugged, “A good one?”

Levia timidly poked Tobin in the chest. He looked down at her.

“Yes?”

“Could you um…put me down? Maybe?”

Tobin chuckled, “Sure.”

He set her down on the ground, careful of her injured leg and arm, just like Jacoby said.

Levia twisted her still sore ankle around, wincing when it cracked and pain shot through her leg.

“You okay?” Jacoby asked, staring at her worriedly.

She nodded, a grimace still on her face, “Fine. It always does that when I don’t move it for a while.”

“Shit. That’s pretty fucked up,” Tobin commented.

Tony walked up to her, “If you don’t mind me asking, what happened to your face?”

“Earthquake,” was Levia’s short reply.

The guys nodded in understanding.

“Heard you got it pretty bad down by Huntington,” Jerry said.

Levia nodded, “So I’ve been told.”

Jacoby picked up her bag and headed inside the house.

“You’ll be staying with Tony tonight, if that’s alright,” he yelled over his shoulder.

Tony slung an arm around Levia’s shoulders, “Actually, all the guys are staying over here tonight. Hope you don’t mind.”

Levia shook her head, “Not at all.”

Jerry followed Jacoby into what appeared to be Tony’s house, with Tobin not far behind.

“So it’s like a sleepover?” Levia jokingly asked as Tony led her inside.

Tony nodded, trying to be serious, “Oh yes. We plan on sitting around all night in our jammies, eating popcorn and ice cream, watching chick flicks, and talking about boys.”

Levia punched the air, “Yeah!”

Tony laughed and shook his head, “I think we’re gonna like you.”