Your Biggest Misconception

"Are you sure I can't make it up to you?" Amanda asked me for the millionth time today. She was wiping the table I was sitting at, nursing my bitch of a hangover.

"Just drop it please." I grumbled as she blushed and I dropped my head onto the table with a thud. My arms were stretched across the table with my hands hanging off the other side limply.

I heard Amanda walk away and she returned a few minutes later with a milkshake in hand. "Banana. Drink it."

"Banana?" I questioned skeptically as I lifted my head up and propped it with one of my arms.

"It helps a hangover. Just drink it." She said with a sight before walking away and into the back part of the restaurant.

I didn't really remember much about last night after I had gotten frustrated. I vaguely remember sitting outside with Zacky, of all people, but the rest is a blur. I can't even remember anything I told him which scared me honestly.

"Manda?" I called out into the empty restaurant.

"Yes my lover?" She called back making me chuckle.

"I didn't do anything stupid last night right?"

Her head poked out through the little window that the food was placed in once it was ready. "Other then make out with Zacky? Nope." She said with a smirk before her head disappeared once again.

Nearly spitting out my milkshake my body straightened up with shock. I couldn’t have done that. I stood up too quickly, causing my head to spin, but once my eyesight was straight I headed toward the kitchen.

"Amanda! I did not make out with…"

"Make out with who?" A voice stopped me in my tracks.

Turning around I grabbed the brown eyes person by the jacket. "Tell me I didn’t make out with Zacky last night. Tell me the truth or next time you come in I won't hesitate to taint your food."

Brian emitted a chuckle before placing his hands on my shoulder. "You didn't make out with Zacky. Cross my heart."

Releasing him from my grasp I let him enter the café fully now. With a huff I sat back down at my table, ignoring the giggles coming from the kitchen. "What made you ask that?" Brian questioned as he sat down across from my, eyeing my milkshake.

Amanda heard him ask and she burst out laughing. I simply lifted my finger and pointed toward the kitchen that was still echoing her giggles. Brian glanced at the kitchen and then laughed lightly too.

"Thank heaven I didn’t make out with him. Of all people." I scoffed making Brian quirk an eyebrow at me.

"Although you two were outside for quite some time."

I simply mused a hum to his statement and went on drinking my milkshake. "What brings you here?" I asked still slightly put off that he had hooked up informally with my best friend after only knowing her for such a short period of time.

"Well for one, to apologize for setting you up last night but in all honestly I didn't think you'd actually come out. So for that I'm sorry, especially since you had such a bad night."

I sat my milkshake down and propped my head up once again. "Apology accepted. Just don't do it again Haner."

He simply laughed and nodded his head. "And the second thing was to extend an invitation. The guys and I are going to check out the US Open of Surfing that's in Huntington this weekend. We all wanted to know if you both would want to join us? I know things get hectic around town so you could just crash at one of our places since it's really close."

The trigger word in the invitation was us. Us meant Zacky would be there and I really wasn't sure I wanted to face him again after my drunken rampage.

"We'll be there!" Amanda called from the back room.

"Thank you Manda." I mumbled with a sarcastic laugh.

"Great because I was going to tell you that you really have no choice in the matter. You're both going." Brian chuckled back as he ran a hand through his hair lazily.

"Gee thanks. My life is being controlled for me." I joked and then proceeded to glare at Brian as he stole a sip of my milkshake.

"Banana?" He asked quizzically as he slid the glass back over to me.

"Supposed to help with the hangover." I stated as I continued to drink my shake.

"Damn." He just laughed in reply before standing up. "Well I can't stay long, just wanted to drop in before the crowds hit. You should go home and get some rest Kali." He advised as he straightened out his jacket.

"Bye Brian! Kali go home!" Amanda yelled from the back room again. I sure wish I knew what she was up to back there.

Brian sent a wave over his shoulder before he was out the door with a smirk on his face.

I flopped my head back down on the table and continued to wallow in the misery that was my hangover.

That's what I get.

***

Brian's Pov

I left the café feeling incredibly confident. My plan was going perfectly and I felt my ego inflating even more then was necessary. Kali may pull the stubborn attitude with Zacky but I know there's a soft spot in that heart somewhere. Last night was proof of that.

Zacky was just as stubborn though. If not even more so now that Gena was out of the picture. He confided to me that he felt like all the years spent with her were a waste and I could understand where he was coming from now.

Part of me felt bad for setting last night up and it not quite going according to plan. I didn't know Kali was going to get so upset over Manda flirting with me. But according to what Zack had told me, she had good reason to.

I climbed into my car with a smirk on my face as I headed to Zack's house. He was either going to hate me or love me for inviting them, but I'm impossible to hate so I'd say he'll love me.

"Oh Zack." I said to myself in thought as I drove down the PCH south toward where Zacky lived on the south side of Huntington. "I can't believe you're so stubborn and such a pain in the ass to see what's right in front of you."

When I arrived at Zacky's place I climbed out of my car and headed inside without even knocking. "Vengeance!" I yelled and then heard Ichabod and Majesty both come running.

"Fuck Syn! Don't you ever knock?" He hollered back from the kitchen.

"Nope!" I yelled back as I finished petting the dogs and left the room in search for Zack.

"Why the fuck do you look so confused?" I asked Zack as I entered his kitchen to find him sitting at his table looking at his glass of what I assumed to be Jack and Coke like it had just grown legs.

"Because I am fucking confused. That's why." He retaliated as he turned and looked at me.

"A little early for the booze isn’t it?"

"Never." He muttered as I took a seat opposite him and he took a swig of the amber mixed drink. "You know Brian." He started as he looked at me thoughtfully for a moment. "I was done. So fucking done with women yesterday. Gena completely ruined it all for me and I was done. But no. That bitch Kali had to worm her way in last night didn’t she? Make me feel even remotely compassionate toward her. Why? Why Syn?" He asked as he tilted his head and set his now empty glass on the table.

"I don’t know what to tell you man." I replied honestly with a smirk.

"Oh cut that damn shit Gates. I'm not dating her. She's a bitch and last night was completely the alcohol taking over when I actually felt sorry for her. I'm done."

Looking at my friend I knew he was blatantly lying. I've known Zack for long enough to know he scrunches his nose slightly when he lies. He's not even aware of that fact, sadly. "So you're not even remotely attracted to her?"

Zack's eyes flared at he looked at me in disbelief. "I just broke it off with my fucking ex-fiance and you're asking me if I'm attracted to another girl already? What the fuck are you on Brian?"

Holding my hands up in defense I backed off slightly, but still decided to take the conversation in the direction I wanted it to go in. Hopefully this wouldn’t set my already on edge friend, off the edge.

"Oh good. So you won't mind that I invited them to the surf open this weekend."

Zack's gaze whipped up to mine as his eyes narrowed with malice. "You didn’t."

I simply shrugged and prepared myself for the blowout I expected to come.

"Damn it Syn. You can fucking suck my dick." He huffed with a glare.

"I bet I know someone else who would suck your dick for you." I grinned back playfully. We both, however, knew that statement wasn't anywhere near being true. Kali wasn't like that. At all.

Silence filled Zack's kitchen as he began to pour himself a glass of straight Coke this time. Probably the smarter choice.

"You saw her this morning?" He asked casually.

"Yeah." I answered shortly, wanting to see if he would question me more about her. Questions were a good sign and I'd be damned if he wasn't at least curious about her. Even through his so called hatred for her.

"Was she hungover?"

I smirked at my friend and poured myself a glass of Jack and Coke using the spare glass that was resting on the table.

"Sure was. Manda was trying to convince her that she made out with you last night."

"Damn. How did she take that?" He asked with a laugh.

I laughed in return and set my drink on the table. "About as well as you would have taken that. She flipped the fuck out."

Zacky looked at me offended. "I wouldn’t have flipped out." He tried to insist.

Tossing my head back I let out a ringing laugh that only made him glare at me even more. "Yeah right Zack! You'd have flipped a fuck and then threatened me until I told you it wasn't true!"

Amidst my laughter he too had joined in and before I knew it there was a ghost of a grin on his face. I could tell by the glint in his eyes however that his thoughts had shifted back to his recent breakup.

"It's going to be alright Zack." I found myself saying to him.

He reached up and ran a hand over his face. "I can't stop thinking about it Brian. My life is such a fucking mess."

It killed me to see my best friend so miserable. One minute he was fine, and the next he was moping around again. I had figured a night out would have been what he needed but that really didn’t go according to plan.

"You need to stop thinking about it Zack. You're better off without her remember? We already talked about this. I know it's hard to get over but it's best for you man."

"I know." He sighed and picked up his glass before downing the drink and reaching for the bottle of Jack.

My hand intercepted the bottle from him. I couldn’t let him drink himself into oblivion over all this. "Let's go play some black ops." I suggested.

Zacky nodded numbly and stood up. We abandoned all the glasses and bottles of alcohol and soda and headed for his living room that was always well equipped with video game consoles, much like all of our living rooms were.

We spent a lot of our free time playing video games. It was relaxing and honestly, we're guys. What guys don't enjoy video games?

Zack loaded up his Xbox and tossed me a controller. We both sat on the couch and were intently staring at the screen.

Things started out alright. Both of us were playing well to begin with.

But after about fifteen minutes of me staring at the screen with my mouth hanging open I began to notice that Zack was off. He started playing badly which was something he normally didn’t do. Zack loved this game and for me to start killing his avatar this many times was beginning to seem odd.

Letting out a laugh as I shot down Zack's guy he grunted with a frustrated sigh.

Unfortunately for him, he respawned right in front of me and fed me another kill.

"Damn it Syn!" He said but kept playing while I laughed.

"Chill Zack."

I crouched behind a bunker and pulled out a sniper rifle for my man before scanning the screen for my friend.

Spotting Zack's man on a mountain side I fired off a shot that hit him right in the head.

"Fuck! Damn it all!" He yelled loudly and clearly frustrated. "I can't fucking focus!" He said again before raising his arm and launching his controller into the nearest wall. A sickening crunch sounded as the controller fell to the floor now in several pieces.

"Way to go dipshit." I said as I stood and picked up the pieces that were now beyond repair.

"Damn it Syn." He sighed as he leant his head down and held it in his hands.

He really was worked up over this all.

"Come on Zack. You need some fresh air. Let's go get you a new controller." I grabbed my keys off the table that was in the room where I had dropped them earlier. Zack sighed and stood up with a nod.

"Yeah, I need some air."

"I can't believe you broke the damn controller." I said after we were headed for Best Buy.
"I told you I couldn’t fucking focus. There's too much on my mind." He retorted with a grouchy tone I wasn't going to tolerate.

"Alright Zack. Listen and listen good. Stop being a little bitch about all this shit. Yes Gena's gone. But you were the one who told her to leave. If you're so damn unhappy take her sorry ass back. But if not then shut the fuck up about it. You'll find another girl who's ten times better then she ever was and while I know it's not easy we both know it was for the best. Breaking your controller was stupid. Don't start letting your anger get the best of you again." I warned him firmly but still in a way that told him I was here for him.

Zack let out a sigh and ran his hand over his face before slouching down in the passenger seat. "You're right. I shouldn’t have gotten so worked up over the damn game. I'm sorry man."

I glanced sideways at him while still watching the road. "You're not taking her back are you?" I questioned curiously.

"Hell no." He scoffed, his green eyes still filled with frustration.

"Good." In my mind I was silently saying a prayer of gratitude. If he ever took her back then my plan would fail epically and that was the last thing I wanted to happen.

"I don't know what to do to clear my mind though Brian. I can't get this whole fucking mess out of my head."

I pulled into the parking spot as he spoke and turned the car off. "I know man. Honestly I think time is really the only thing that'll get you over it all. You're a strong guy though. I also think this weekend will help. It'll be fun." I said as I looked over at his disbelieving face.

"More like my nightmare if that bitch is coming." He mumbled as he got out of the car.

Over-reacting also happened to be a game Zack was typically good at. A smirk was all I could give him as we entered the store.

This weekend was going to be fun. I was determined to make it so and not even Zack could ruin it with his bitchy attitude.