The Love of My Life

Mia sat by the kitchen table, just staring at the clock. Zacky would be back in seventeen hours. She was beyond excited. Seventeen hours was nothing compared to the nine days that he had already been gone. She missed him. She missed him even more than she had thought was possible. She knew it was a little ridiculous. He was in a band, a very popular band at that, so she would have to get used to him being gone a lot. It was just that this was the first time they were really spending a significant amount of time away from each other and she had gotten used to being around him. She loved waking up next to him, having breakfast together, spending the day with him and most of all, falling asleep next to him.

As she got up and started putting the dishes in the dishwasher, she thought of how lonely the nights had been. And scary. The house was big and she wasn’t overly excited every night when she walked around turning all the lights off. She had even considered staying somewhere else while Zacky was gone, but then she had decided to suck it up and be an adult. Adults were not scared of being alone at night. Even if the house was full of rooms that would be perfect hiding places for robbers and other criminals… But soon, that wouldn’t be a concern anymore. In sixteen hours and fifty-five minutes, he would be back and all would be good. She couldn’t wait.

Two hours later, she was packing Vengeance University t-shirts and hoodies. She was really glad that Zacky had asked her if this was something she wanted to do. It had kept her at least somewhat occupied while he had been gone. The weekend he left, VU had a two day sale and she was amazed at how many orders had been made. People loved his stuff. Not that it was a surprise to her because she loved it too, but she was a little amazed by the amount of completely sold out items. She smiled to herself as she thought of her not only gorgeous, but also very talented boyfriend.

She was working by herself today which was kind of boring but at least she had something to do that got her out of the house. Neither Chris or Tina, VU’s actual crew, were here today so it was oddly quiet. Zacky had introduced them before he left and although Mia had feared that things would be somewhat awkward at first since she didn’t know them, they had gotten along great. She had even gone out to dinner with them one night after work and it had been a lot of fun. Mia had offered to come in today, even though it was technically supposed to be a day off since they had been working during the weekend, to get the last few packages done so that they could be mailed out. Once she was done here, every order that had been made during the sale would be packed and ready to be delivered to places all over the world. That was something that had surprised her. There were truly orders from everywhere. Chris had told her that it was pretty normal for people from other countries, mostly the European ones, to order stuff. Mia thought it was really cool that there were people in different countries wearing Zacky’s designs. She hoped that one day, the same would be true for her.

She hadn’t been doing enough designing lately. She had had so much free time during these days that Zacky had been gone, it should have been the perfect time to draw sketches and work but she felt like her inspiration had left with him. It wasn’t a very encouraging thought because she hated the idea of all of a sudden being dependent on someone else, but she really did feel like something was missing with him… But only for another fourteen hours and twenty minutes.

She jumped when she felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. She instantly put down the t-shirt she was currently folding and pulled out her phone, hoping that it was a message from Zacky.

It was from Val. ”Hey pretty lady! Got dinner plans?”

”Chinese take-out and a movie. Unless I get a better offer… ;)” Mia replied. She had hoped that she would have been able to hang out with Val while the guys were gone but that hadn’t happened. She and Michelle had been visiting family and been gone for a week. Even spending time with Michelle would have been better than having nothing to do. Well, maybe...

She had been to lunch with Lacey and Leana though. It had been a little weird at first, she liked them but she didn’t really know them, but she had soon learned that Leana was not a person you felt awkward around for long. And Lacey was a complete sweetheart. She was a bit shy which reminded Mia of herself, but she was very, very sweet. She had been surprised when she found out that Lacey worked as a bartender because it definitely didn’t seem like her type of a job, but in a weird way, it made sense. After all, she was in a relationship with a guy who had the words beer and wine tattooed on his hands. She had been even more surprised to find that they too had been together since high school. Apparently long lasting relationships were very common for the guys in Avenged Sevenfold. In her mind, Mia had always pictured guys in bands as… well, scumbags. The kind of guys that drink every night and do drugs and sleep with every girl they lay their eyes on. But not these guys. These guys were nice and normal and respected women. Who would’ve thought guys like that even existed?

”How about Chinese and some girl talk instead?” was Val’s reply.

”Deal! :) I’m doing VU stuff for another hour or so before I head back to Zacky’s. Am I coming to you or you to me?”

***

”Are you seriously counting down the hours?” Val said with a laugh as she poured herself some more wine.

”Only eight more to go!” Mia replied.

Val just shook her head and smiled. ”You’re weird.”

”It’s completely normal to miss your boyfriend, you know,” Mia said. ”We haven’t been apart for this long since we first met. I feel like I haven’t seen him in forever.” She reached for her wine glass. ”Don’t you miss Matt?”

”Of course I do but this, ten days doing photo shoots and interviews, it’s nothing. Just wait until they are on tour and they’re gone for months. That’s when it really sucks.”

Mia leaned back on the couch and thought about it. That would suck. If ten days was a lot, imagine what ten months would feel like. That was almost a year! ”Now I’m depressed…” she said with a sigh.

”No, honey, I think that you’re drunk.”

”No way! I’ve barely had…” she stopped herself when Val pointed to the empty bottle on the table and the half-empty bottle next to it. ”Oh. Huh, I guess you might be right. But wait, why aren’t you drunk?”

”Trust me, when you’ve hung around with the guys for a while, you learn to handle it. During the early days, when we toured in this tiny little van, no mercy was shown to the people that passed out from too much drinking.” She laughed at the memories. ”Remind me to show you pictures some day,” she added.

”Hey, Val, do you think I’ll be around for a while?”

”Oh no, don’t tell me that you’re doubting Zacky’s feelings for you again,” Val said as she placed her wine glass on the table.

Mia did the same as she shook her head. ”No, we’ve talked every day while he’s been away. I know that he likes me and I definitely like him.”

”But?”

”But… nothing. I don’t even know why I said that. Just forget it.”

”Okay. But just in case you really are wondering, yeah, I think you’ll be around for a while.”

”Really?” Mia said, trying not to smile too much.

Val smiled at her friend’s lame attempt not to jump in joy at what she had said. ”Really. You’re pretty much perfect together.”

”We are, aren’t we?” Mia replied before she poured herself some more wine.

It was past midnight when Val called for a cab to take her home. Mia almost tripped as she got up to walk her to the door and they both burst out in laughter.

”Are you sure you’ll be okay? Maybe you should sleep on the couch so that you don’t fall down the stairs or something,” Val said as they hugged goodbye.

Mia made a dismissive motion with her hand. ”I’ll be fine. I’ll crawl if I have to.”

Val laughed again. ”I’d love to see that. I’ll talk to you tomorrow. Go to bed and when you wake up, Zacky will be getting home.”

”Yay! Zacky!” Mia squealed and clapped her hands.

”Yeah… Go to bed, honey.”

”I’m going straight to bed. Bye!” She waved as she closed the door and then watched through the window as Val got in the cab.

She only stumbled once, well, maybe twice, when she walked up the stairs. But as long as she didn’t fall, she considered it a success.

For a quick second she considered brushing her teeth and washing her face but decided against it. She was just too tired. Her clothes became a pile on the bathroom floor and then she crawled into bed. It took no more than five seconds before she was fast asleep.

***

When Zacky opened the front door the next morning, he was half-expecting to find Mia sleeping on the stairs. Val, who had been up bright and early to meet them at the airport, had told him all about the previous night’s wine consumption which had led to a very drunk Mia. He had sent her a text when he got off the plane but she hadn’t replied. After hearing Val’s story, he couldn’t say that he was too surprised.

He left his bags in the hallway as he went into the living room, now expecting to find her on the couch. He didn’t. He was however met with the sight of three wine bottles and two glasses. He shook his head and smiled as he picked them up and brought them into the kitchen. He was glad that she had been able to have fun while he was away. He would never admit it, but he had been worried that she would feel lonely, especially since Val was the only other person she was somewhat close to in this town and she had been away too. But based on what Mia had told him, she had hung out with both Lacey and Leana, and she had gotten along well with the guys over at VU. Someone else might have been annoyed that their girlfriend wasn’t up to greet them by the door after having spent ten days away from each other, but not Zacky. He was just happy that she had been enjoying herself. Although she might be paying for her latest enjoyment today.

He quietly walked up the stairs and checked his bedroom. There she was, on her stomach, completely sprawled out over the bed and one arm hanging off the side. As cute as she was, he had to bite his lip to keep the laughter in.

He checked the time. It was only eight so it wouldn’t hurt if she slept a bit longer. He decided to take a shower before he let her know that he was back. She could probably use all the rest she could get because he was certain that when she woke up, she would be dealing with one killer headache.

When he was done with both his shower and breakfast, she was still fast asleep. He took a bottle of water with him and headed upstairs. She was still in the same position as she had been when he first showed up. He put the water bottle on the bedside table and lifted her dangling arm back up on the bed so that he could sit down. She didn’t even stir and he chuckled to himself. Even like this, she was beautiful. He was amazed at how she had just swept into his life and become such a huge part of it in such a short time. And he wouldn’t change it for anything in the world. People always said that when you know, you know. Looking at her, he knew. She was it.

He softly ran his hands across her upper back as he whispered her name. She tensed for a second and then reached to scratch her neck. When she did, she was met by his fingers. That woke her up. She quickly turned over so that she was on her back and looked up at Zacky in confusion.

”Hi,” he said with a smile.

She quickly covered her eyes with her hands. ”Oh my god, it’s bright in here.” Then she peeked through her fingers. ”Hi!”

”Hi,” he said again as he laughed. ”How are you feeling?”

”I’m good now that you’re here. When did you come back?” She sat up and instantly regretted that decision. ”Okay, I take that back,” she said as she lay back down. ”I’m not good. Not good at all.”

”Did someone have a bit too much wine last night?”

”Oh, don’t…” This time, her hand went to cover her mouth. ”I think I’m gonna be sick,” she said as she got out of bed and ran to the bathroom.

He wasn’t sure if he should follow her or not. Should he be holding her hair or something? Maybe she was the kind of girl who preferred to be by herself during a moment like this. Although if she was feeling bad, he should be there. Hell, he not only should, he wanted to. That’s what a boyfriend did. Then he heard the toilet flush so he grabbed the water bottle and headed toward the bathroom. He gave the door a quick knock and opened it, only to find that she was not done. Before he knew it, he was holding back her hair.

After a few minutes, her stomach seemed to have calmed down. She turned to face him with a tear-stricken face.

”Babe…” He went to hug her but she shook her head.

”You just watched me throw up! This is so gross. I’m so gross! You can’t possibly be attracted to me after this.”

He gave her a sympathetic look and then picked up the water bottle, handing it to her. He watched her drink and when she put the bottle away, he said, ”I think you’re beautiful. Even when you’re being all gross.” Before she could say anything, he added, ”I’m kidding! Are you feeling better?” She nodded. ”Good, because I don’t want my next comment to seem insensitive. But I’m definitely attracted to you. A lot. Especially right now. Look at you.” With that, he looked her over and she did the same. She then covered her chest right away. She also felt a very intense need to cover her face but she had no free hands.

She closed her eyes. ”I’m just going to sink into a hole in the ground. Just… disappear. Any second now.”

”Mia,” he said in a serious tone.

”Can’t hear you,” she replied, ”sinking, sinking, sinking…”

”Mia,” he said again in the same tone of voice. He sat down on in front of her on the floor. He touched her cheek. ”Look at me.”

”I’m too embarrassed to look at you,” she said with her eyes still closed.

”Why?” he asked.

That question made her open her eyes. ”Why? Are you serious? Not only am I not up to meet you when you get home, but then I throw up in front of you and I do it wearing nothing but a thong! That’s beyond embarrassing!” That itself wasn’t too embarrassing, but it was when you considered the fact that he had never seen her like this. They kissed and they touched and they cuddled and they kissed a lot more, but they weren’t having sex yet. And so, she always slept wearing either a top or a t-shirt. She had never worn this little in front of him. That was the embarrassing part.

”No, it’s not. You-”

”But this isn’t how it’s supposed to happen! You are not supposed to see me like this during a moment like… like this!”

”Babe, how many nights have you spent sleeping next to me? Do you really think it’s that big of a deal?”

He was looking at her with those green eyes of his and somehow, he had her convinced that it might not be a big deal at all. ”Well… I guess not… But still, this isn’t exactly the way I planned it.”

He shrugged. ”Does it really matter though? Does it change anything?”

She thought about it and when she shook her head, he smiled. She smiled too. ”Thanks,” she said.

”For what?”

”For being great.”

”It’s the way I was born,” he said with a smirk. ”You probably want to shower so I should leave you alone.” He got up.

”Zacky,” she said as she too got up, ”I could take that hug now.”

He instantly put his arms around her and she did the same.

After a while of just holding each other, he said, ”You know, there is a bright side to all of this, now we can cross ’having seen your girlfriend throw up’ off the list of firsts in our relationship.”

”Hey!” she exclaimed loudly and pulled away from him. ”So not okay!” she added as he laughed. And then she had to laugh too.

”Alright, I’ll leave you to take your shower now.” Before he closed the door, he said, ”Don’t take too long. I’ve missed you.”

As he walked downstairs, he had a smile on his face. She was definitely the one.

When she was showered and dressed and no longer feeling like something belonging in a dumpster, she all but ran downstairs and jumped on the couch where her boyfriend was sitting.

”Hi!” she said happily.

”Hi,” he replied, feeling a bit confused as to why they were greeting each other. ”Why are we saying hi again?” he asked.

”Because we are pretending that you just came back so none of the previous events ever happened. And the appropriate thing to do when your boyfriend gets home from having been gone for ten days is to say hi to him.”

He chuckled. ”Of course, how did I not think of that…”

”You know what else is really appropriate?”

He raised his eyebrows, waiting for her to answer her own question. She did that by pressing her lips against his.