You Leave Me Breathless

[Trinity]

Those three weeks crawled by. Like literally, I thought they would never pass. Like Alex said, All Time Low had been staying in Newark, and as far as I know they still are here. I still think something’s going on, because Alex looks far too smug around Peyton and Zack looks far too nervous around me. I’m getting fed up of it, so I’ve decided I’m going to do my damndest to find out what the fuck is going on.

So it’s Christmas Eve, and I’m at the mall with Mikey, Peyton and Frank. It’s finally snowing! Our first white Christmas in ages! Mikey’s wearing a beanie hat as a ‘disguise’ and Frank’s wearing a baseball cap with a bandana underneath as his. Kinda pointless really, it won’t work. But oh well. We weren’t at the mall to buy anything in particular, we just wanted to get outdoors, bored of sitting indoors all the time now it was snowing and cold.

“Trin, can we please go in Hot Topic?” Peyton asked sweetly.

“Do you guys mind?” I asked the guys.

“Nah, I need to go find some new bass strings anyway. Meet you in half an hour at the food court?” Mikey smiled.

“Sure,” I nodded.

I gave Mikey a quick kiss, Peyton doing the same to Frank, before we split and went our separate ways. I had about $40 in my pocket, so at least I can buy something if I see it! Peyton headed straight for the shoes, making me laugh. Why she needs any more, I’ll never know. I went to the t-shirt rail and browsed through the designs.

“So that’s your new boyfriend, huh?”

I jumped slightly, scowling up at Zack. Where did he come from?

“What the fuck do you want?” I grumbled.

“Can’t I talk to you after all these years?” Zack smiled innocently.

“No, but you can fuck off home to Maryland. Why are you still here, Zack?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Wanted to spend Christmas somewhere different,” Zack shrugged.

“Bullshit. You never missed a Christmas with your parents, and you know it. What’s the real reason?” I retorted.

“Still as smart,” Zack chuckled.

“What’s the real reason?” I repeated.

“Alex wants to apologise for what he did to Peyton. He’s got something for her,” Zack explained.

“What is it?” I asked.

“I can’t tell you,” Zack smirked.

“Why the fuck not?” I asked angrily.

“He wants to tell her himself,” Zack grinned.

“If he steps one foot near her...” I warned.

“You’ll castrate him, yada yada. Getting a bit old, isn’t it?” Zack mused.

“You’re not the guy I knew in senior year, you’ve changed,” I frowned, shaking my head.

“I’d say the same for you. You’re not that girl I fell in love with,” Zack said softly.

“I love my boyfriend Mikey, Zack,” I said honestly.

Zack’s eyes filled with hurt. I felt kind of bad, because I knew how much he wanted me to love him back 3 years ago. But things have changed. Then Zack’s eyes landed on my neck, and I cursed.

“Then why are you still wearing my necklace?” Zack asked softly.

I panicked, trying to think of an escape.

“OH EM GEE! ARE YOU ZACK MERRICK?” I squealed loudly, in an overly preppy tone.

Heads turned in the shop, and I stepped backwards quickly as a small stampede of girls ran over. I turned my head to see Peyton standing right behind me, a sympathetic look on her face. She knew I must have been desperate to pull that move. Silently she took my hand and pulled me out of the shop, not stopping till we were round the corner.

“Are you okay? What did he want?” Peyton asked softly, her hands on my shoulders.

“I’m fine. He saw me with Mikey and asked about him,” I half-lied.

“Oh,” Peyton frowned.

“I found out why they’re still here though,” I added.

Peyton’s eyes grew wide.

“Alex has something for you, and Zack wouldn’t tell me what it is because Alex wants to give it to you himself,” I explained.

“I’m not going near him,” Peyton said sharply.

“And you don’t have to. I want to know what it is though,” I chuckled.

“Mm, me too. I just don’t want to be near Alex. Seeing him again opened up all those old wounds of hurt. It’s horrible,” Peyton sighed, wrapping her arms round her body self-consciously.

“Hey, we’ll work something out, don’t worry,” I reassured.

“I hope so,” Peyton mumbled.

I looked at my cellphone to check the time and smiled.

“Come on, let’s go meet Mikey and Frank,” I suggested.

“Sure,” Peyton smiled.

We linked arms and carried on walking. I knew I should’ve told her more about what Zack and I talked about, but I just couldn’t. The old wounds had opened up inside me, too.

*

[Peyton]

Christmas Day! It’s here! Trinity and I spent the morning with Mikey and Frank, but left them in the afternoon so they could each go to their families. We didn’t go with them because Christmas is a family thing, and because Trinity and I wanted to be together. Well, that’s a slight lie. Because we’re going out for coffee with Jack, Rian and Kara.

Surprised? So are we, kind of. Jack had come by the bar last night and begged Trinity to meet up with him, because he missed her. We all knew how close Trinity and Jack were back in Maryland, so it wasn’t hard to say yes. Then Trinity got a text from Jack this morning saying that Kara had come to visit Rian, and that’s how they got invited too.

And here we are. Trinity and I are sitting in Starbucks, waiting for our three old friends to join us.

“What do you think Jack wants?” I asked softly, stirring my mocha absentmindedly.

“I honestly think he misses us. Alex won’t have told him what he’s up to, not after last time,” Trinity pointed out.

“True,” I sighed.

I lifted my head at the sound of the door opening, unable to keep a smile off my face at the sight of Jack, Rian and Kara walking in, brushing snow off their bodies. Yes, it is a White Christmas. We waved at them to catch their eyes, and they grinned before ordering their drinks. 5 minutes later, they joined us.

“I can’t believe how long it’s been!” Kara said happily, giving both Trinity and I firm hugs.

“Yeah, nearly 3 and a half years,” I nodded, smiling weakly.

“My little J-Dog has grown up,” Trinity said mock-tearfully.

“My T-Bag has too. In a serious relationship, I hear?” Jack smiled, sitting down next to my sister as Rian sat next to me, Kara between them.

“Zack told you, huh?” Trinity asked bitterly.

“He changed when you left, y’know. Zack was a walking zombie for months, and when he finally snapped out of it, all he did was go to the gym and play in the band. He’s like, addicted to working out, it’s scary,” Kara said softly.

“Then he put his hair back to its natural way, got his nose pierced and got a chest tattoo. Sure, we all have them now, but he was the first to get one,” Rian added.

“Yeah, well, I changed too,” Trinity muttered.

“Hey, we’re not criticising, we’re just telling you what’s happened,” Jack reassured.

Trinity sighed and ran her hand through her long blonde hair.

“Alex has changed too,” Rian said to me.

“I don’t really want to hear about Gaskarth, if I’m honest. He cheated on me and broke my heart – I don’t care what he’s done with his life,” I interrupted, smiling weakly.

“What about you three, though?” Trinity asked, changing the subject.

Kara smiled and held her left hand up, displaying a gorgeous ring on her wedding finger. My jaw dropped. I didn’t need to look at my sister to know hers did too.

“Rian proposed to me three months ago,” Kara grinned, looking up adoringly at her fiancé.

“Congrats, seriously,” I said warmly.

“Thanks,” Rian blushed, although I knew he was grinning inside.

“What about you, Jack?” Trinity smiled.

“I’m just me. Haven’t changed much really,” Jack shrugged.

“You’ve grown up, for one,” Trinity pointed out teasingly.

“Me? Never!” Jack gasped, striking a superhero pose.

We burst into laughter at his childish actions. This was what I had missed. But I knew it wouldn’t last. Nothing would ever be the same, and we all knew it. But for now, we were going to pretend. We owed that much to each other, at least.