The Consequence

“Would it be really inappropriate if I like stole her number from Taylor, called her and asked her to come?” Brian Dales looked around at his group of friends. Most replies came in the form of confused looks, a scowl from Taylor, clueless as to what was being asked of him.

“Who’s number?” Taylor asked, reaching for a bottle of beer.

“Sophie Lonsdale’s.”

It was Friday night. Days had passed since The Summer Set’s meeting with Sophie Lonsdale, and ever since then, Brian couldn’t get her out of his mind. He was obsessing over her, and it had become borderline creepy, the way he talked about her and how his ears perked up whenever her name or her t-shirt designs were brought up in conversation. John had called him lovesick and pathetic, Stephen thought it was quite sweet, but slightly weird, considering Brian had never had a proper conversation with her.

“Who’s that?” Zara Cohen drifted into the Gomez’s living room, dropping her handbag down in the corner of the room. She looked around at all the faces staring up at her. Everyone looked somewhat surprised to see her. She shouldn’t be here, she was never here.

“Brian’s crush,” John smirked, shifting over on the sofa so Zara could sit down beside him, which she did, shooting Stephen a small smile.

“Brian has a crush?” She asked.

“Yeah, on the girl who designed our new shirts. It’s pathetic, he couldn’t even ask her out there and then, so we’ve had to put up with him regretting and dreaming and going on about how her hair is so shiny and how her eyes aren’t blue, but a grey blue with flecks of green and shit.”

Zara chuckled. “Aww, Brian, you’re cute when you want to be.”

Brian shot them a dark look. “Yeah, thanks.”

“Back to the question, Brian, yes it would be super inappropriate for you to steal he number from Taylor and call her. It’s just freaking weird. Stop stalking the poor girl,” Josh commented from his position on the floor. He was tapping the keys on the xbox controller, willing his car to go faster than Logan’s.

Brian sighed dreamily. “But she’s beautiful, admit it, guys, c’mon.”

“If I give you her number will you shut the hell up?” Taylor asked, already reaching into the pocket of his jeans to retrieve his phone.

“No, he won’t, so I wouldn’t bother,” Stephen grumbled, getting to his feet and heading into the kitchen.

Zara sighed heavily, rubbing her eyes. “Maybe I should go.”

“No! You’re here now, sit down, drink and have fun with us for once, Zara. We never see you anymore,” Taylor smiled at her.

She sighed heavily, nodding her head. “Okay, fine, Juwig you twisted my arm. I’m not staying all night though, I’ve got work early tomorrow.” She slipped off the sofa and headed for the kitchen, spotting Stephen standing in front of the empty sink, bottle in one hand, his eyes scanning the garden and beyond.

Zara walked over to the crate of beer bottles, choosing her drink carefully. Anything too strong would force her to spend the night at the Gomez residence, plus it usually made her mouth run away with itself and she was in no position to reveal her desire to have Justin back for herself. So she grabbed a plastic cup and poured herself a lemonade. If anyone asked, she’d insist there was some vodka in the mix.
At the sound of the plastic bottle fizzing and liquid pouring, Stephen turned around and sighed. He rubbed his forehead. “Zara, I’ve been thinking about things.”

She looked up at him, screwing the lid back onto the bottle and taking a sip of her drink. “What things?”

“Us.”

“Oh.”

Stephen licked his lips, inhaling deeply. He was gathering his thoughts, placing them in a coherent order. One that both he and Zara would understand. He knew what he wanted and he knew what she wanted. So, he had to be the one to say it first. “You know I freaking love you.”

Zara looked up at him. Her breath had caught in her throat, temporarily choking her. She stared, wide eyed at him. That was the last thing she had expected him to say. Deep down, although she adored Stephen, she was hoping he would want to break up with her, giving her an easy escape. But nothing was ever simple in life, and of all the people in the world, Zara Cohen should’ve known that.

“I love you. So much. I know like ninety nine per cent of the time I don’t show it, and I’m a jerk. A big one. I’m not the ideal boyfriend, I’m away all the time, and when I’m here I’m glued to the people I’m usually away with. I suck at being your boyfriend. And I know I don’t treat you amazingly, and I know recently things have been impossible, and we can’t stand the sight of each other. But I want things to change. I don’t want to hate you, because I love you way too much to let you go. I’m just sorry for all the shit I caused, and will probably cause in the future.”

She swallowed hard. Her chest felt tight and she was sure she wasn’t breathing anymore. She brushed her hair out of her heavily made up eyes and stared straight into Stephen’s. “You really mean that, don’t you?”

“Every single word.”

And in those few moments, Justin Godsey no longer plagued her mind. She crossed the space between them and fell into Stephen’s embrace, a few tears trickling down her cheeks. It was the words she had longed to hear for months now. Their relationship had been a downward spiral, heading for hell, but now it seemed Stephen was going to pull them out of the deep end. Things were going to be okay again, and Zara knew she wanted this.

She leaned up and kissed his beer soaked lips gently. “I’m sorry for being a bitch with you. I love you.”

He smiled and held her closer to him, kissing the top of her head, inhaling the sweet scent of her perfume.

The two stayed like that for what seemed like a long time, before the kitchen door burst open and Justin Godsey stepped in, a box full of bottles grasped in his hands. He stopped dead in the doorway, “Um, not interrupting anything, am I?”

“No, it’s fine,” Stephen smiled, pulling away from Zara and grabbing his beer. He took her hand, leading her back into the living room.

It was the sight of him. His face, eyebrows raised, mouth slightly open. His lips. Zara’s own burned at the thought of his touch again. She swallowed hard and tried to ignore his confused gaze, following Stephen. But of course, distance can help you forget, and distance was something that wasn’t possible with Justin. She wasn’t going to forget that despite her love for Stephen and everything he had said, there was a piece of her that still longed for Justin, and it wouldn’t stop until she did.