The Kids Don't Stand A Chance

Chapter XVII

I had been sitting on the hood of Jade’s car for nearly forty-five minutes before I just couldn’t stand it. It was too cold, too dark, and I was too hungry. What I wanted most of all was a slice of apple pie, and maybe a cup of coffee.

With a defeated sigh I jumped down from the car, pulling my coat tighter around myself as a gust of wind blew past me. I began to walk down the street, hoping to find somewhere to grab a bite while I waited for Jade and Liz to leave the show. Not even five minutes later I stopped in front of a diner, and before I could argue otherwise, I walked inside and found myself a seat.

“Hi there,” a friendly voice suddenly said, and I looked up to see a kind looking woman staring down at me. “Can I get you anything tonight?”

“Uh, just a cup of coffee, please,” I asked meekly, twiddling my thumbs under the table.

“Would you like milk?” She continued, and I nodded.

“Just a bit.” As she wandered back into the kitchen, I took the time to notice just how empty the place was. There was myself, of course, and just one other person: a man dressed in a long, black coat sipping a cup of coffee and thumbing through the newspaper.

A few minutes later, the waitress reemerged with my drink and a couple of packets of sugar. I drank my first cup in silence, thinking only about where I could go next to look for a loan, and how Zack always hated coffee in high school.

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Three cups of coffee later and halfway through a slice of mediocre apple pie, I noticed that gaggles of girls were walking down the street outside. Soon the small groups became larger groups, and the only conclusion I could draw was that the concert was finally over. Expressionlessly I checked my phone, noting that Jade had yet to text me or call me. I assumed that she and Liz were just soaking up as much of the concert as they could.

About twenty minutes later (by now I was getting rather concerned for their whereabouts) I still refused to text Jade. I didn’t want to confront the idea that Jade knew I wasn’t merely ‘not feeling well’ – as far as Jade knew, I was a virgin, and I wasn’t ready to tell her otherwise. Especially not that I lost my virginity to the bassist of All Time Low, and even less that I couldn’t bring myself to face what I had done to him.

Suddenly the door opened, and my head snapped up. My breath hitched in my throat as the people I never again wanted to see entered the door. Alex had his arm wrapped around the waist of who I instantly recognized as Lisa, Rian, Jack and a couple of other guys were chatting, and Zack was standing close to another girl, their fingers laced tightly. I swallowed the quickly forming lump in my throat.

I titled my head down as I tried to steady my breathing, my blonde hair nearly falling into my half-eaten apple pie. As if they hadn’t noticed that there were a million other empty tables, they took the cluster of seats right next to me.

“That was a killer show!” Jack exclaimed. He was sitting closest to me, which was about two seats away.

A guy who I didn’t know laughed and exchanged high fives with Jack. “We sold a shit load of merch tonight, too.”

“We always do whenever we play in Boston,” added Zack calmly, and I just about had a heart attack at that very moment.

His voice had gotten deeper.

“Who’re you?” I heard Jack ask, and I didn’t realize the question was put towards me until I felt a tap on my shoulder. “I’m Jack!”

“Hi,” I mumbled, picking my head up only slightly. My eyes flickered towards Zack, who was deep in conversation with the girl he had walked in with. Gosh, she was pretty. Dark brown, wavy hair, with tan skin and what seemed to be a pleasant demeanor. The way she interacted with everyone around her gave no indication that she was bitchy or rude.

I hated her already.

Still, Zack was too absorbed in what was going on around him to notice the random blonde girl sitting next to Jack, so I picked my head up a bit more.

“Huh,” began Jack, leaning back in his chair and stroking his chin. “You look kind of familiar. Where’re you from?”

“I go to school in Vermont,” I responded quietly, hoping that Jack wouldn’t notice the fact that I didn’t even answer his question. He didn’t.

“I’ve never been to Vermont,” he replied. “I’ve been to a lot of places all over the world, but never Vermont. Do you like it there?”

“Yeah,” I squeaked pathetically. “It’s really pretty.”

“So what’re you studying?”

“Baking and culinary arts,” I said with a bit more confidence. Baking was always a topic that I felt comfortable talking about. I knew tons about the world of food – I owned the conversation whenever cuisine was brought up.

“That’s sweet!” Exclaimed Jack with animated hand movements. I saw Zack look over at us, and I immediately ducked my head so he wouldn’t catch my eye. “So, like, can you make homemade apple pies?” He questioned, glancing down at the food on my plate.

I chuckled, smiling for what felt like the first time in years. “Yeah, I make a mean homemade apple pie.”

“So, uh,” Jack said, rubbing the back of his neck. “I don’t think I caught your name.”

I opened my mouth to respond, but then stopped short. He already thought I looked familiar, was my name enough to tip him off? “That’s cause I never told you my name,” I teased gently, trying to buy myself a few more seconds to decide what to do.

“How ‘bout you tell me it now, then?” He responded with a beam. Unfortunately for me, I didn’t have to.

“Jesus Christ, Ava, there you are!” I heard someone yell, and we all (Zack included) turned to see Jade and Liz enter the diner. Instantly Liz froze, recognizing what band she was merely five feet away from. Jade, on the other hand, did not, and while I sent her pleading stares she continued to yell. “If we ever want to make it back to NECI by midnight, we should have left,” she paused, as if calculating the number of hours in her head. “Two hours ago!”

I didn’t respond, instead just trying to steady my ragged breathing. This wasn’t happening, this fucking wasn’t happening! “Holy shit,” muttered Jack, and I heard him move his chair further away from me. “Ava Lysander?”

“Can I have your autograph?” Liz asked quietly, and I assumed the question was directed at Alex.

“Yeah,” I heard him mumble softly, but I could still feel his – and everyone else’s – eyes on me.

“Hi Jack,” I said quietly.

“Look at you!” He exclaimed. “You’re… You’re older!” I heard Lisa snort, but I couldn’t bring myself to look at her. I’m sure she was staring daggers at me.

“Why are you here?” A voice said, and I instantly knew it was Zack’s. Even knowing that he was addressing me made me want to burst into tears. I looked up slowly, his face stone cold. His expression was the same – though there was a slightly bitter aspect to it, along with other miniscule emotions I couldn’t place.

“I went to go see your show,” I said softly. “For my roommate’s sister’s birthday.”

“I’m a huge fan,” Liz chirped, but no one bothered to look at her.

“Why?” He snapped, completely disregarding Liz’s statement. For a moment I was worried that the band ignoring her would crush her, but she seemed to be content in breathing the same air as them. Jade, on the other hand, looked more confused than anyone.

“Don’t put me in this position, Zack, it’s not fair,” I pleaded meekly.

“Because what you did to me was ‘fair’,” Zack seethed, and I could tell the girl he was with was visibly shaken up.

“Whatever you’re doing, don’t do it here,” she whispered to him, but the scowl on his face didn’t budge.

“Please, Zack, don’t hold that against me. It was four years ago!”

“I’ll hold it against you for as long as I want!” He yelled, startling all waitresses and the few customers. “You weren’t fucking ten! You were eighteen! You were old enough to know what you were doing!”

I couldn’t argue with him, because he was totally right. Instead I fished out two twenty-dollar bills and put them on the table. I quickly exited the restaurant, afraid that the band would see the tears that threatened to spill from my eyes. Liz and Jade were far behind me, though I could tell they were trying to keep up with my pace.

I slumped into the front seat of the car, instantly burying my face in my hands. I heard the engine start and two clicks of seatbelts locking into place. Jade began to drive in silent, before she asked, “You want to talk about it?”

“No,” I responded. “I just want to forget it ever happened.”
♠ ♠ ♠
So here it is! I hope you are as excited about everything as I am :D
Even though things have clearly taken a turn for the worst.

Anyways, thank you to:
Bull.
tq6776
itsahit

for commenting! It means everything :)

-- Jay