The Love of My Life

Five days. It had been five days since Brian and Michelle came over. It had been five days since Zacky decided that he was mad at both of them. It had been five days since Mia started wishing that she had never mentioned anything to Zacky. Five days.

After her talk with Michelle, Mia had pretty much forgiven her. She didn’t consider Michelle a friend nor did she trust her, but she had forgiven her for her drunken comments. She was definitely going to be a bit wary of her in the future, but she felt like everyone deserved a second chance. Zacky did not seem to share this view with her. He was mad. He was really mad.

When the two of them were together, he acted completely normal and the past few days they had been together almost all the time, doing normal couple things like going out to dinner and watching movies and just hanging out. All was good, until Mia brought up Brian…

She felt bad and like it was partly her fault that Zacky and Brian weren’t currently talking so every now and then, she had tried bringing the subject up and every time, Zacky had seemed to get a little mad. It was almost like he got annoyed with her for not only bringing it up, but also for not feeling the same way as he did. He didn’t seem to understand why Mia wanted to get along with everyone. She was the newcomer in the group and she wanted to stay away from any kind of conflict that would make not only her life but their life together, any more difficult than it needed to be. Right now though, things were definitely unnecessary difficult.

Tonight, Brian and Zacky were supposed to do a radio show called Loveline together and Zacky was having none of it. He was currently switching between phone calls with the rest of the band as well as management, telling them that a normal, few minutes long interview would have been fine, but that he refused to sit in a room with Brian for an hour and pretend that everything was cool between them. It had turned into this whole ordeal and Mia could only imagine what people were thinking of her. She was sure they thought that she was the reason for all the drama when drama was the last thing she wanted.

She had tried to stay out of it today, she really had, but she couldn’t let this go on…

Hearing nothing from the living room, she figured that he must be in between calls and that this was the perfect time for her to speak up. She was a little nervous as she walked downstairs. They had never fought, they hadn’t even raised their voices toward each other, but based on how Zacky had reacted previously when she tried to butt into the situation, she was definitely nervous.

”Hey you,” he said as she walked into the room.

”Hey,” she said with a nervous smile. ”How’s it going?”

He patted the space next to him on the couch. ”I’m not sure. I think that one of us won’t be going and Matt will take that person’s place.”

She sat down next to him and he put an arm around her shoulders, pulling her closer. ”Um… Zacky, can I say something without you getting upset?”

”When have I ever been upset with you?” he asked. ”Of course you can, what’s up?”

She sighed. Then she scratched her face. Then her arm. When she went for her thigh, he grabbed her arm and put his hand on hers.

”Okay, now you’re making me nervous,” he chuckled. ”Seriously babe, what’s going on?”

She looked at him. ”Don’t get mad at me, but isn’t this whole thing with Brian really unnecessary?” She could instantly see his eyes darken when she said the name. Before he had a chance to respond, she continued speaking. ”I get that you’re mad at him and I think it’s really sweet that you got mad for my sake, but I don’t want to be the reason for this. You shouldn’t be fighting. If anyone should, it should be me and Michelle and we’re okay, so you and Brian should definitely be okay too.”

Zacky didn’t physically pull away from her, but Mia could almost feel the emotional pull. He was annoyed with her for interfering, she knew it just by looking at him. He had a very expressive face…

”I’m not okay with him,” he stated like it was end of discussion.

She didn’t know whether or not she should try again or just keep quiet and let things be. They hadn’t been together for very long, hell, they hadn’t even known each other for very long and she was living at his house. She didn’t think he would do anything drastic, but then again, he had never been mad at her before so she really didn’t have any idea.

”Okay, but-” was all she got out.

”No buts.” This time he pulled away from her for real. ”I’m sorry, Mia, but you don’t know him so you don’t really get where I’m coming from.”

”Okay, I’m sorry,” she said quietly as she slightly moved away from him.

He sighed. ”Don’t be. I love that you care and I don’t want you to feel like this is your fault because it’s not. This thing between him and me, it’s not going to ruin the band or anything, but I just need to not have to deal with him and his drama right now. Usually I’m cool because it doesn’t involve me, but now it did and that makes me not so cool with it.”

”Okay, I get it. I’ll just stay out of it then.” She stood up to leave but before she had gotten very far, he followed her.

”Hey,” he said, reaching for her hand. She turned around and faced him. ”Are we-” They were interrupted by his phone ringing. He answered it by telling Matt to hold on a second.

”We’re okay, right?” he asked.

She smiled. ”Yeah, we’re always okay.”

He smiled in response and gave her a quick kiss before he returned to his phone call and she returned back upstairs.

In the end, Matt ended up doing the radio show with Zacky. Brian’s absence was explained as him being sick. Mia hoped that the real reason would never come out because the last thing she wanted was for the fans to find out what had happened and then blame her for it. She had no doubts that they could find out about it. She had been told by both Val and the guys that their fans were intense, to say the least. They knew everything that was going on in the guys’ lives, sometimes before even they did, they had joked. Well, this was one case where Mia hoped that they had been wrong. She didn’t want people that didn’t even know her to hate her.

Mia was woken up some hours later by Zacky getting into bed. Her plan had been to stay up until he got home but she was just too tired.

She turned over and got closer to him. In a short time, she had become used to the feeling of sleeping next to him and she didn’t feel quite right without him there.

”Did it go well?” she asked him quietly, still keeping her eyes closed.

Because she did so, she didn’t notice the frown on his face as he whispered, ”Yeah”, in reply.

The next morning, Mia woke up alone. It was somewhat rare for them. Almost every morning, they had stayed in bed together for at least an hour after waking up and just talked and laughed and kissed. It was her favorite part of the day, waking up next to him. But today, he was nowhere to be found. She stayed there for a while, figuring that he was probably in the bathroom or taking a call or something. After ten minutes had passed without hearing any kind of noise in the house, she got up.

Maybe he had a meeting she had forgotten about? He had spent a few days just with her so he probably had either band stuff or VU stuff to take care of. She couldn’t recall him mentioning anything, but perhaps he had forgotten to tell her about it. She came downstairs to find it as empty as the upstairs was. A part of her got a little worried. She didn’t want to be dramatic, but it was true. She did remember him getting into bed, she was sure of that. Or was she? What if she had been dreaming? What if he never came home? What if something happened to him? What if he was in an accident?

She started pacing as her mind started coming up with all kinds of reasons as to why Zacky wasn’t here with her right now and none of them were good.

She went back upstairs to grab her cell phone and called him. As she waited for him to pick up, she walked downstairs again and into the kitchen. There she found a note on the refrigerator door. As she started reading it, Zacky answered.

”Hello?”

”Zacky, hi. Um, I was just calling to see where you are.”

”Didn’t you see my note?” She wasn’t sure if she was imagining things but he sounded very short and kind of annoyed.

”So you’re going to be gone for most of the day?” she asked.

”Looks that way. I have a lot of stuff to take care of here and then I’m having dinner with my sister and her family.” He sounded so distant while he talked, like she was some random person. Which meant that she was definitely not imagining it. He was annoyed with her, but she had no idea why. She wasn’t sure she wanted to find out either…

”Are you okay?” she asked hesitantly.

”Yeah, I’m kind of busy right now. I’ll call you later, alright?” Then he hung up.

Mia stood in the kitchen, staring at her phone. He just hung up. No ”bye”, no ”I miss you”, no ”I’ll see you later”. None of that. All she got was a lousy note saying nothing but ”Gonna be working all day. See you later. Z” and then he didn’t have time to talk to her. Didn’t have time or didn’t want to...

She had no idea what was going on right now. Everything had been fine between them when he left last night. He had kissed her goodbye, he had texted her while he and Matt were on their way to the radio station and then he had slept next to her. Mia really had no idea what she had done wrong or when.

So she called the one person who could read guys like open books.

”Mia? It’s early,” Nikki said and yawned loudly.

”Are you still sleeping? Shouldn’t you be at work?” Mia had assumed that was where she would be so she was surprised that she even answered, but then again, she was Nikki so to find her sleeping at 10:30 a.m. was really not such a huge surprise. After all, it had happened plenty of times before.

”I have a day off. What’s going on? God, why are you calling me so early?”

”It’s not early! And it’s Friday. You shouldn’t be sleeping in the middle of the day on a Friday!”

”Shh, don’t be so loud. You’ll wake up Mark. Or was it Matt? Mike maybe?”

Mia could hear Nikki moving around so she assumed that she was getting out of bed. Probably going somewhere where Mark/Matt/Mike couldn’t hear her talking.

”Okay, shoot, I’m outside,” Nikki said as she lit a cigarette.

”Who’s the guy?” Mia asked as she too decided to step outside. She sat down by the pool, letting her feet dangle off the side and into the water.

”This drummer I met last night. Really hot. And damn, could he bang.” She laughed at her own joke and Mia laughed too as she shook her head. Nikki never changed. Although that was part of her charm. ”So, what’s up? I doubt you called to hear about my latest conquests.”

Mia sighed. ”Did I make a mistake coming here?”

”Why? What happened? Are you okay? Do I need to come out there and kick a certain handsome guitarist’s ass?”

”No, I don’t think that’s necessary. Thanks for the offer though,” she replied. ”But I don’t know if I’m okay. I don’t really know what’s going on to be honest.”

”Is it Michelle again? ’Cause I have no problems hitting a bitch.” Mia had told Nikki all about what had happened and she had not been happy about it, telling very vivid stories of what exactly she wanted to say and do to Michelle when she met her.

”No, it’s not her. It’s… Zacky. I think he’s mad at me and I have no idea why. I have no idea what I did to upset him.” She felt like crying but she was determined not to. ”Last night, everything was okay. Well, as far as I know. Then I wake up this morning and he’s not here. I called him and he just seemed to be mad at me or something and told me that he didn’t have time to talk. Then he hung up. Just like that. That’s so unlike him.”

Nikki was quiet for a while, thinking it over. Mia could hear her inhaling and then blowing out smoke. Mia didn’t smoke, but right this instant, she wished she did.

”Look, maybe it had nothing to do with you. Maybe something happened at work or something with his family or one of the guys or whatever. Maybe he’s upset over something else or maybe he genuinely didn’t have time to talk.”

”You think? He said that he’s going to dinner with his sister. I know we haven’t been seeing each other for long but I kind of thought that he would invite me to go with. I mean, I’m living at his house!”

”Huh.” She got quiet again, and then said, ”Hey, there you go! Maybe something happened with his sister, like she had a fight with her boyfriend or something and that’s why he’s pissed off and that’s why he’s going to dinner with her alone. He probably doesn’t want you involved in all that.”

Mia found that theory to be a bit far-fetched. Although it could be true. It made more sense than him being angry at her for no reason. ”Maybe you’re right,” she finally said.

”I usually am,” Nikki replied, sounding a lot more cheerful now that she felt like she had solved her best friend’s problem. ”So, how’s everything else? Got any big birthday plans yet?”

”It’s over a month until my birthday so no, no plans. Besides, twenty-three is a completely boring age.”

”Agreed, which is why you need to start it off in a great way. No matter what, we’re celebrating it together, right?”

Mia rolled her eyes. ”Of course we are! I’ve celebrated the last four birthdays with you and they’ve all been the best. Do you think I’d even consider doing it without you?”

Nikki smiled. ”No, but you never know now that you have a new boyfriend and new friends. Maybe you’ve forgotten all about your old best friend.”

”Yeah, very unlikely. I think I have enough life-scarring memories of you to ensure that you’re in my head, and my life, forever.”

They both laughed. ”That’s exactly the way I planned it, babe.”

***

Mia jumped off the couch as she heard her phone ring. It had been hours since she talked to Zacky, meaning that it had been hours since he said that he would call her later. So far, no call, but maybe this was it.

She eagerly reached for her phone only to find that it wasn’t him calling.

”Hi,” she said as she answered, trying to mask the disappointment in her voice.

”How do you feel about going out tonight?” Val asked.

For some reason, Mia felt like Val probably wouldn’t take no for an answer. Although going out could be good. Getting out of the house might be exactly what she needed. She glanced at the time, seeing that it was already six o’clock. She had spent hours waiting for Zacky and she felt pathetic. The more she thought about it, the more appealing the thought of going out became.

”I think I feel pretty good about it. Who all are going?”

”Yay! Well, at first we thought of doing a whole group thing but then I figured that that was probably not the best idea given Zacky and Brian. So I’m thinking girls’ night out?”

”Sounds good to me.”

”Okay, so Lacey’s definitely coming, but Leana’s working and… Michelle’s coming too.” As she said the last part, she sounded a bit hesitant.

”Val, it’s fine. I was kind of expecting that. Besides, she and I are okay. She apologized, I accepted, it’s fine.” It wasn’t a lie, not exactly. Mia was okay with it, for the most part. Sure, she still had her hesitations when it came to Michelle, but the only way to get over it was to be around her and get to know her better. Doing it without the guys around might make it easier.

”Good. There’s one more thing though.”

This however, this made Mia a little worried. ”What is it?”

”Remember when we saw Gena and she suggested going out for drinks?”

”Yeah?” Mia had an idea as to where this was going and she couldn’t say that she liked it.

”Yeah, she kind of suggested doing it tonight so she’s kind of coming too since it was kind of her idea.” When Mia didn’t say anything, Val continued speaking. ”I completely understand if you don’t want to come. I’m sorry, I should have mentioned that before I even asked.”

”No,” she sighed, ”I’m sure it’ll be okay. I mean, she seemed nice and if you like her, she’s probably a really great person. I can’t say that it won’t be a little awkward but we’re bound to be at the same place sometime, right?”

”Oh, good.” Val let out the breath she had been holding in. ”So, do you want to drive over to my place and then we’ll get a cab from here? Around nine maybe?”

They agreed to that and ended the call.

Mia was excited to go out and get to know the girls better. She was a little less excited to be around Michelle and Gena at the same time, but what could she do? At least Val and Lacey would be there to hopefully make things a little easier.

***

Mia was just about done with her make-up when she heard the front door open and then close. She hadn’t heard from Zacky all day and she hadn’t tried getting in touch with him either. If he was mad, which he obviously was, she didn’t want to push it. Especially not over the phone. She waited for the sound of him walking up the stairs. That didn’t happen. Mia was confused. He had to know that she was home because her car was outside. Didn’t he care? They hadn’t seen each other all day and it was the first time that happened since they first met. Didn’t he miss her? She definitely missed him.

She decided not to go and talk to him just yet. Instead she stayed upstairs and finished getting ready.

After about half an hour, she was done and so she walked downstairs, not quite sure what to expect. She found him sitting in the living room, watching TV.

She stopped one she entered the room. ”Hey,” she said.

He simply looked at her and gave her a nod.

For the second time that day, she felt like crying. And for the second time that day, she was determined not to. ”What’s wrong with you?” she asked after a minute of complete silence.

He continued staring at the screen. ”What do you mean?” he asked, his tone of voice making it sound like he didn’t really care to hear her answer.

Mia found herself getting a little angry. She walked up to him and grabbed the remote, turning off the TV. ”What’s wrong with you?” she asked again. ”Why are you being like this?”

He looked at her and then looked away. ”You tell me,” he mumbled.

”What?”

”Nothing,” he said. Then he noticed that she wasn’t exactly dressed for a night spent at home. ”Where are you going?”

”Out with Val and the girls.”

”Oh? Who are the girls?”

She was so confused. A second ago he seemed like he couldn’t care less what she did or who she did it with and now he cared? What was going on? ”Lacey, Michelle and um, I think Gena.”

Zacky raised an eyebrow at the last name. ”Really?”

”Yeah.”

”Huh. That’s not going to be weird at all? Meeting my ex-girlfriend?”

Mia hadn’t told him about her little run-in with Gena. She wasn’t sure why because she had meant to do it, but then it all just seemed so… awkward. What if he had asked what Gena was doing there? Should Mia have said that she was there on a date? She didn’t know, so she ended up saying nothing about it all. But something in Zacky’s voice made her think that he knew. And that might be why he was upset with her.

”I’ve actually already-”

”Met her,” he finished her sentence. ”Yeah, I know.”

”How?”

”Well, obviously not because my girlfriend felt like telling me about it.” Yes, he was clearly angry about it.

”Zacky-” she tried but he interrupted her again.

”No. Matt told me last night. Do you know how that felt? Five days, Mia! You had five days to mention it, but you didn’t. Who knows what else you’re not telling me…”

”That’s not fair!” He gave her an incredulous look. ”It’s not! Please, don’t be like that. The only reason I didn’t tell you was because I felt so weird about it.”

He scoffed at that. ”Is that why you didn’t tell her that you’re with me? Because you felt weird about that too?”

Her tears were dangerously close. How could he sound so cold? ”No. Yes. I mean… god!” He turned on the TV again. ”Can you just let me explain?”

”Don’t bother. I don’t want to hear it right now.” He didn’t even look at her.

”Zacky, please…”

”Just go do your girls’ whatever. I need some time to think.” He started flipping through the channels, showing that he was clearly over their talk.

She stood up and wiped away the few tears that had fallen. ”Okay. But just so you know, I didn’t mean to hurt you or to make you feel like I was hiding something. I was just worried because… well, I guess it doesn’t really matter to you, does it?” She got up and walked out.

When he heard the door close, Zacky turned off the TV and proceeded to throw the remote against the wall. He had a feeling that he may have just fucked up.