Emotionless

The warm black leather sofa moulded against my body as I sat with Icky on my lap, watching Who Framed Roger Rabbit on the huge plasma screen in front of me. Zacky was on the phone with someone in the kitchen, talking loudly as he paced the whole length over and over again. Sighing, I looked down at Icky who gave me the same concerned look in his brown eyes. ‘Is he normally like this on the phone?’ A disgruntled yap echoed in my ears. ‘Can I ask you a question? Do you think I should start trusting him?’ Icky looked down at my lap for a moment, as if he were thinking. This was insane; I was talking to a fuckin’ dog! But, Icky looked up suddenly and yapped dramitcally, licking my face.

Zacky poked his head around the door to see what all the fuss was about, laughing at seeing me laying back on the sofa with a dog attacking my face with “kisses”. Laughing hysterically, he disappeared again to carry on with his heated discussion as I peeled Icky away from my face. The little ball of fluff curled up on my stomach as he calmed down, leaving me to enjoy the last of the film. Icky’s body swelled and deflated slowly with the rhythm of his steady breathing, his warm figure creating a ball of heat on my skin, or was it the fact that I could feel Zacky’s eyes watching me from the doorway.

‘Okay, well I’ll see you tomorrow. Bye,’ Zacky muttered and tossed the phone down on the counter. He stormed into the living room and stood opposite me, raising an eyebrow at how I was taking up the whole sofa. Grinning proudly, I stretched my arms out behind me to make sure there definitely wasn’t any room. Rolling his eyes, Zacky lifted my upper half and made me rest my head across his lap. ‘You know you told me you’ve always wanted to be a photographer,’ he murmured, running his hand through my hair slowly as if to soothe out the headache that was slowly beginning to take over.

‘Since the moment I picked up an old Holga when I was at my aunt’s wedding,’ I confirmed proudly, getting up from the sofa briefly to change the DVD to Sleepy Hollow. When I returned to the sofa, Zacky gladly welcomed me back into his arms with my head on his shoulder as he stretched his long arms around my body, allowing Ichabod to crawl onto my lap with hands tangling within his fur. Zacky’s head bent down to my ear, his breath tickling my skin softly like tiny feathers caressing me. His nose pressed against the skin next to my ear, a kiss being pressed tenderly against my cheek before his breath returned to my ear.

‘How would you like to do some photography on the side of being our Merch girl? Matt needs the help and I don’t think you want to be left alone while Pippa and Molly come on tour with us.’ I turned to look up at him with a creased brow, confused about how he was the one to tell me rather than my two best friends. ‘Oh, don’t worry, we haven’t asked them yet. I was just confirming that you wanted to be my roomie before Jimmy steals you.’ Giggling, I shook my head and ran a hand through my greasy hair. Zacky’s gentle laugh hit my ears, tickling my senses in a calming motion.

‘Mmm, I’ll think about it when I wake up,’ I mumbled, cuddling into his chest and allowing my eyes to flutter closed. Zacky rubbed my back softly, making circles with his fingers as I arched my back slightly from the tickling sensation. Chuckling, Zacky kissed my temple and told me to go to sleep if I was tired. ‘You’re planning to rape me, aren’t you? You’re gonna wait until I’m fast asleep and then you’re gonna make me harbour your ugly sprogs for the rest of my life!’ I dramatically covered my eyes as Zacky shook his head with a laugh, ruffling Icky’s head. At last, I fell asleep during Sleepy Hollow and found myself falling deeper and deeper into a black abyss.

[c]***[/c]

The delicious smell of bacon and pancakes hit my nose in a wafting breeze like a crashing wave over a feeble rock. There was gentle breathing by my side with something fluffy tickling my stomach. As I looked down, I noticed Ichabod sleeping by my side curled up like a little ball of fluff. There was a blanket draped over my affectionately, the material brushing my skin with every breath I drew into my body. Humming echoed from the kitchen from Zacky’s plump lips, his gentle voice sounding through the house like a siren’s call followed by the aroma of blueberry pancakes and the greasy scent of bacon and eggs. I turned to look towards the kitchen, watching Zacky plate up some food on square purple plates.

Quietly, I stood from the sofa and scooped Icky up into my arms as we walked towards the kitchen. Zacky spun around at hearing my bare feet clapping against the lino, a smile thick on his face as I blushed and looked down nervously at Icky. ‘You’re starting to warm up to me, aren’t you?’ Zacky grinned with added smugness to his expression. Glaring at him, I told him I was not warming to him. He only looked at me as if he could see through my lie, putting down the plates at the kitchen counter before wandering over to me. ‘So, if I was to – I don’t know – tell you you’re beautiful, you wouldn’t blush?’ I shook my head a no, sure that my body would never betray me like that. ‘You’re beautiful,’ he whispered in my ear.

A heat of scarlet spread over my cheeks like a million flames raging under my skin. Damnit! Shoot him another glower, I moved to sit down up on one of the stools but couldn’t get a grip on the seat and ended up almost falling if Zacky hadn’t have caught me and we’d fallen on the kitchen floor. My blush became hotter, blossoming over my cheeks like a bouquet of roses as he brought a hand to my cheek and rubbed his thumb over the inflamed skin. ‘You know, I really like you, Keeley Darke. You’re different from the other girls, you’re a challenge. I never thought I’d meet a girl that would deny me and yet have such a strong reaction towards my signs of affection.’

‘Well, I guess I’m just emotionless.’