If It Keeps You Around Then I'm Down

We dropped Zack off at his school parking lot and he waved before getting into an old Lexus, I blushed as he winked at me passing my window. Now it was just me and Alex and I was a little worried it would be awkward like it was before.

"So, despite the fact we've been hanging out together all day, I still know nothing about you," Alex began, as an invitation to a conversation. I chuckled, only he would word it so articulately.

"Well, what do you want to know?" I asked expecting a little more detail of him. I didn't have to be here forever to know that Alex is a player, he had that aura about him. Plus, Zack told me and he seems like a pretty honest kid.

"I don't know what do you usually tell someone when you meet them for the first time," Alex asked parking next to the curb in between our houses.

"Well, technically we were like boyfriend and girlfriend in Pre-K? So" I began making it hard before he sighed laughing.

"Alright Miss. Witty and Sarcastic, I get it," he said holding his hands up like he was relinquishing himself to the police. I laughed and nodded as we both backed up towards our driveways.

"Do you wanna come over?" I asked pointed over my shoulder to my house as we shouted across our massive lawns.

"Sure, I'll pop over later. I just have to take care of a few things," he said, we both waited right before the entrance ways to our houses. We both said goodbye before walking to our house. I turned around slightly shocked to see my twin fourteen-year-old brothers staring at me.

"Holy Shit! You guys scared the crap out of me," I said holding my heart and placing my bag on the dining room table. They followed me around, trying to annoy me, since they were four years younger than me, its what they thrived at, what was worse was they were identical and calculating.

"Who were you talking to?" Aden asked, he was growing out his dark brown hair to a "cool length" covering his green eyes. He smiled brightly, trying to seem extra creepy. Both Aden and Abbott were ridiculously skinny and tall for their age. They were wanna-be jocks which sucked because they weren't exactly football material, but surprisingly they were both pretty talented basketball players. I was sort of jealous of them, always having your best friend around, I felt kind of lonely with our older brother out of the house.

"My hot boyfriend I just got done with making sweet, sweet love with!" I said with an overdramatic flare, both of them scrunched their noses in disgust and ran off trying to clear their mind. I chuckled to myself and entered the first door on the right. Right now it had bare pale walls with a white metal bed frame, made up with white sheets and a striped navy and white comforter. I kicked my shoes off into the corner and made my way to my white desk with my MacBook on it. I opened it and saw that I had a couple of messages from kids from my old school, saying things about how much they missed me. I rolled my eyes and shut my computer door. I started hanging up clothes and putting them into my my dresser. My closet was an amazing walk in and I decided to put on some music. Finally, I chose blink-182. When all my clothes were put away I threw the suitcase into the hallway and began unpacking some of my yearbooks and trophies.

"Hey!" I looked up to see Alex with a black hoodie over his outfit.

"Hi," I said kind of surprised, I got up off the bed and placed my guitar case in the corner, and pretended like I had been working.

"I like your room," he said awkwardly shoving his hands in his pockets, not sure of what to say.

"Thanks, so how was that long, five minutes without me?" I asked laughing slightly.

"Nothing compared to the twelve years we've been apart, I've thought about you ever since you gave me your last animal cracker on the playground and we got married!" He said throwing in a fake british accent for effect, my jaw dropped.

"You remember that?!" I asked bringing my right arm up. I remember the day I met Alex Gaskarth very distinctly. I had the biggest crush on him since he was the playground stud, and I tried to impress him by sharing my American animal crackers with him. He was so grateful that he asked me to marry him and we made rings out of circular pretzel. It was a beautiful ceremony. I remember he actually kissed me on my cheek and then Gertrude with ugly piggy-tails got jealous and pushed us into the mud, but it was well worth it.

"How could I forget my first wife?" Alex said letting his accent slip out slightly. I wish I did have an accent, but I moved away about six months after that to Phoenix to live closer to my mother's sister and my cousins.

"We had a kick ass playground wedding, not gonna lie," I said laughing, getting onto my feet and walking past him, he followed me.

"Yeah, all the other guys were jealous, except for the guys who didn't like girls," Alex said lost in thought I laughed nodding.

"That is true," I said, I held up a coke gesturing if he wanted one and he stole mine, which I suppose is a way of saying it. We were talking on the kitchen table when both of our mothers walked in and gasped.

"How adorable," Mrs. Gaskarth sighed, grabbing my mothers arm who laughed giddily. I rolled my eyes and met Alex's who grabbed my hand and walked out into the backyard.

"Where are we going? Our mom's probably think we're gonna go and fall in love now," I laughed, we crossed the fence over into Alex's backyard. It was pretty amazing, not gonna lie. It had a pool, hot tub and was landscaped excellently. We walked back and into the wooded area behind his house. I chuckled as Alex concentrated on taking us to a creek that ran through a clearing.

"This is amazing," I said looking around. I met Alex's eyes and he was throwing rocks into the water.

"So do you wanna go to a party tomorrow, you party right?" Alex asked raising an eyebrow at me.

"How else do you think I make friends?" I laughed and he nodded chuckling slightly.

"I don't know strip dance on table tops?" Alex guessed, I laughed loudly and I threw some weeds at him. "So I think that you should seriously tell me about yourself."

"Why don't you go first and then I can decided whether or not I want to tell you anything?" I smirked he finally dropped his head in defeat.

"Alex Gaskarth, certified sexy motherfucker and wannabe musician. I like the Ravens and the ladies," I scoffed at this and he continued on, "I think that they should give me free milanos for life and I really wish that it would rain chocolate milk." I laughed so hard I was scared I was going to blow snot.

"Alright, Ava Brody, classic new girl, I love trying to understand people and see what makes them tick, I love music and musicians, if I could be anything at all in this world it would be a magic school bus driver, I have three brothers and no sisters and I really wish that Rupert Grint would hurry up and marry me," I said quickly slightly embarrassed at how much I was revealing to him, but Alex and I felt like old friends now.

"Sweet Ava Brody," He said smiling. He changed the subject to coffee and we both discussed our caffeine addictions, I told him about how I was a soccer player, but I haven't played a season in a while because I keep moving. We talked about a lot of things until the sun started to fall down the sky.

"I feel like I should tell you something," Alex began as we climbed up the hill, which seemed so much steeper the second time around. I tried to take huge steps to make the climb easier.

"Shoot," I said concentrating on the hills.

"Zack likes you I think," he said as if he was betraying a huge secret.

"I know," Alex gave me a weird look, "I'm not a narcissist, I can just read people," I chuckled and once we were back in Alex's backyard, his mom popped in the door frame.

"Alex, do you want to bring Ava up for dinner?" She called out inviting me.

"Oh, thanks, but maybe another time. I better be getting home," I said pointing to the other side of the fence, Alex laughed slightly and opened the gate for me.

"Hey do you need a ride tomorrow?" Alex asked before shutting the gate.

"That'd be awesome!" I accepted, walking up my porch steps.

"Sweet, I'll pick you up around 7-ish?" He offered and I nodded, I was suddenly exhausted after we said goodbye and I walked into my house to see my father next to my mother. My dad wasn't short, just shorter than my mother.

"Hey pudding pops," My dad said smiling at me like I was five years old, I didn't really mind, I was not only the middle child, but the only girl. I would be doomed to be the baby till I was sixty.

"Hi Daddy," I said letting his arms wrap around me. My mother looked lovingly on and then barked out the twin's names, calling them viciously for dinner. I heard two sets of footsteps booming down the stairs.

"'Sup shorty!" Aden came down first and Abbott trailing behind, my father was now taking his plate from my mom and walking to the table.

"Be nice to your sister," My dad said sternly Aden stuck out his tongue and I rolled my eyes. My mom plopped food onto my plate and I tried to put some back before I got the starving kids in Africa speech. I sat in between Abbott and Aden, which wasn't a good idea.

"So I got a call from Adrian, he's on academic probation again!" My mother said shaking her head and adding some salt to her meat loaf. I picked around mine, I hadn't worked out today, so I figured it was best to skip dinner. Adrian was about a year and a half older than me and down at Arizona State.

"That boy needs to get his priorities in line," My father said shaking his head and my mother agreed before Aden, Abbott and I all exchanged looks.

"That's because Adrian cares more about boobs and booze to get good grades," Aden muttered under his breath. We all laughed except for our parents who weren't amused.

"So Ava, have you made your final decision for college yet? Alex isn't going, he's going on tour with his band, that's exciting." My mother said suggestively, crossing my father slightly.

"Ava's going to be a sun devil! Just like me and her older brother, that Gaskarth boy is trouble LeAnn," My father said. I smiled and nodded, Katie and I actually were planning on going to ASU together and meeting up again, but she might be gone for a while if her boyfriend's band takes off.

"Please, Kenneth, Alex is a good boy," My mother condescended my father, it was like they were trying to match us up or something. I knew for a fact that Alex wasn't a good boy, he was a dirty, heart-breaking boy with a killer grin and cool friends. Which was all we'd ever be. I smiled as I thought about today, I had an amazing time getting to know everyone, except I still felt like I didn't know Jack.

Frankly, I didn't really like what I knew of him so far, he seemed to be too needy for attention, but everyone deserves a chance, then I can judge him all I want. Tomorrow for sure, I would designate time to hang out with Jack, but I had the roots of a crush on Zack. I still hadn't gotten a handle of Maryland yet, but so far I loved it.