I Remember The Day She Told Me It's Over

After my shower I dressed in my clothes as quickly as possible and towel dried my hair to the best of my abilities even though I hated to do so. My hair had a tendency to go all fuzzy on me when I did that. I could hear Zack in the kitchen talking to Ichabod and it brought a smile to my face. Zacky Vengeance isn't the bad ass his image shadows him in. Zacky Vengeance is a softy.

I walked down the hallway, running my fingers through my hair, trying to seperate the strands so it'd dry faster. On the way by his room, I stopped and grabbed my purse before continuing on my way to the kitchen. Ichabod must've heard me first and he came barreling around the corner from the kitchen and was now jumping at my legs. Zacky poked his head around the corner and smiled. "See, he's not the bad ass that he tries to be."

I laughed out loud. Like father like son.

"What?" he asked and I bent down to pick up the small black fur ball that is Ichabod Crane Vengeance.

"Nothing." I smiled at him, running my fingers through the dog's curly black fur.

"Coffee's over there." Zack pointed to his coffee machine on the counter by the fridge as he continued to mix whatever he had in the bowl.

I put my purse on the table and I held Ichabod under one arm and poured a cup of coffee with the other before taking a seat at the table, letting the puppy lay on my lap.

"I hope you like pancakes," Zack stated with a smile. "It's honestly the only thing I have in the house right now for breakfast food."

I laughed softly and leaned back into my chair, watching him whip the pancake batter wearing nothing but his boxers. I'd read on numerous occasions of people making fun of Zacky's weight. Truth be told, he wouldn't be Zacky at all if he was sickly scrawny like some of the rockstars out there. Physically, he was perfect to me.

Ichabod stood up, spun a small circle and layed back down on my lap again. "Pancakes are fine," I thanked him and smiled softly at the dog then back up at Zack.

"So what are you doing today?" he asked me as he moved over to the stove, scooping some of the batter into the hot pan.

I wasn't doing anything, that I knew of. But I shouldn't speak so fast. It was always wise to check my sidekick first. "I'm not sure." I reached for my purse and for my phone. "Ahhh jesus," I muttered as I flipped between emails.

"What?" Zacky asked as he glanced at me over his shoulder before returning to flipping the pancakes.

"I have to meet my publicist and my trainer, and dresser and manager, basically the whole fucking family, somewhere on Rodeo Drive for a fitting. I forgot I'm hosting an intimate dinner party tomorrow night at the mansion

"That's fine." He turned around and crossed his arms over his chest, shrugging lightly. "Can't help when work calls."

I nodded in agreement but couldn't help the uneasy feeling that arose with his cool response. Hopefully he was being sincere about that.

"So, you can stay for breakfast right?" he asked before turning around again.

"Yeah," I replied softly, watching his back as he flipped the pancakes onto a plate.

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I made the drive from my house to Syn and Ashleigh's, which was in all honesty retarded because I could have walked there just as quickly. I parked in the driveway behind Ashleigh's car and slipped out of my vehicle into the afternoon Orange County sunshine.

After breakfast, Bailey had vacated for work, and that had been alright with me. This morning had been a little weird. I'd experienced the whole 'morning after' awkwardness before, but I didn't expect to feel it with Bailey. Hell, I didn't expect to ever get Bailey into bed. But now that I had, I was beginning to wonder if it had been a good idea. All of her actions, small and large, had told me that she was becoming invested in whatever it was that we had going on. And the more I thought about it, the more it began to scare me.

Our entire 'school lives', she'd always had an agenda. Everything she did, was to benefit Bailey. And I couldn't help but wonder if her hooking up with me, was going to benefit her in some way down the road.

Before I knew it I was standing on the doorstep ringing the bell. I wasn't even entirely sure why I'd came here in the first place. Lack of things to do I guess. At least that's what I told myself when Ashleigh answered the door in her PJ's.

"Zack," she groaned then stepped out of the way allowing me to enter their house. A little white dog tore across the carpet and was now jumping at my feet.

"Hey bud." I reached down and patted the dog lightly before standing up straight. Ashleigh ran her fingers through her blond hair before crossing her arms over her chest.

"How was your night?" she asked quietly.

I shrugged in response. "Alright."

Her intent gaze told me she knew otherwise.

"Bullshit," she finally muttered before gesturing towards the kitchen. I kicked my shoes off and followed her through the house to the spacious kitchen. "Brian's in the shower, but he should be out soon. Do you want something to drink?"

I watched her flick the coffee maker on before sitting down at the table across from the seat I'd taken. "Did I get you outta bed Ash?"

"Yeah," She massaged her temples lightly. "And I'd thank you if it wasn't for this fucking headache."

A slow grin crawled across my lips. She'd drank alot last night. In fact we'd all been impressed since she'd managed to keep it all down as well. At least as far as I knew.

"Hey Vengeance." Syn sauntered into the kitchen in pj pants and a tshirt. His hair still dripping wet as he headed straight for the fridge. He opened the door and disappeared behind it for a moment then reappeared with a water bottle. "What are you up to?"

"Not much." I relaxed into the chair and stretched my legs out in front of me, crossing one ankle over the other and my arms over my chest. "Just came to see what the plans are for today."

Syn glanced at Ashleigh but she simply shook her head. "Do whatever the hell you want, but count me out." She stood up and headed to the cupboards, pulling a bottle from it's contents and emptying a couple white aspirin into the palm of her hand. "I need to go back to bed."

Syn and I both laughed and watched as she took them then left us alone in the kitchen.

"So how was last night?" Brian asked as he took the seat Ashleigh had previously occupied.

"Amazing." I admitted with a laugh. "But this morning - "

"Not so much?" Brian smiled.

"Yeah." I twirled my fingers around themselves. "I just...I don't know what I want man."

Brian nodded and cracked his water bottle, taking a drink of the liquid before setting it down on the table. "Talk to her."

"Easier said than done." I leaned back into my chair again. "Let's do something today, get my mind off everything."

The doorbell rang but the door didn't wait to open until Syn got there. Instead, moments later Rev was walking into the kitchen with a stupid grin on his face.

"You dumb fuckin idiots," Jimmy laughed as he pulled out a chair and sat down. "We were suppose to meet Larry this morning to work out our tour schedule."

Both Brian and I's eyes widened. At least I wasn't the only one who'd forgot out the meeting.

"Is Larry pissed?" Brian asked cautiously, wrapping his fingers around his water bottle and holding it like he was unsure whether or not it was going to sprout legs and wander across the table.

"Nah." Rev shook his head. "I think he was at first, but Matt and Johnny helped him work it out."

"So where were you?" I asked in curiousity. "Sounds like you missed the meeting too."

Like me, he stretched his long legs out in front of him. "I got there halfway through." He admitted. "Anyway, Larry got us all tickets to the Angels game day after tomorrow. He wanted to surprise us."

Now I felt bad. The man had done nothing but bend over backward for us, and we hadn't even been able to make a simple meeting. And even still he was presenting us with tickets to see my favorite baseball team. Hell, I even have their logo tattooed behind and below my left ear.

Brian sat up straight in his chair. "So where are Shads and Johnny now?"

"They were gonna go get the girls and head to Tuna Town. I thought I'd stop by and see if you guys wanted to come."

Brian nodded slightly and glanced at me. I agreed.

"Sounds good man." Syn put the cap on his water and stood up. "I'll go get dressed."

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I sucked at directions. North, East, South, West. Didn't matter. I never knew which way I was facing.

I made it to my fitting over half an hour late. They were all pissy, but I really didn't care. I had to much other shit on my mind. The first being that Zack had seemed so...distant at breakfast. Definitly not the reaction I'd envisioned. But then again, I wanted the fairy tale. This was real life. Nothing more than booze and sex. Why I couldn't walk away from it like any other time, I didn't know. But I answered my own question when my cell rang and I scrambled for it, finding myself hoping it was Zack. He was getting to me.

My fitter sighed and allowed me to check my phone. This time it was Stephany. I made a mental note to call her back before stepping back onto the platform in which I'd been standing on before I'd made a mad dash off of it.

"Valentino is a good look for you," my publicist kept her hand on her chin and her other arm wrapped around her chest as she eyed me up and down.

I glanced down at the black formfitting dress hugging my body like a glove. I sure as hell hoped it look good, because wearing it was going to be hell.

My trainer fluttered around me like a hawk circling it's prey. "I worked out a training routine for you." He muttered finally. "We need to get you back into the gym on a regular basis since summer's approaching and you're going to be spending alot of it barely clothed."

I seriously didn't like the sound of that. And I hated that no matter what you looked like, these people wanted you to weigh less, have more volume to hair hair, longer curled eyelashes, a longer neck, well defined chin. Bigger lips, bigger boobs, and more defined abs. There was no end to the madness. If they didn't make me go to the gym regularly, there's no way in hell I'd step through those doors on my own.

Frustrated, I waitied out the rest of my fitting in silence. Letting those who basically ran my life, plan my moves for the next couple of days. When I was finally out of the store, I called Terra back and then Stephany. Steph and I decided to meet for lunch. I slid my sunglasses over my eyes and began my way down the sidewalk on Rodeo Drive towards my vehicle. Passing through, and around people on the crowded sidewalks I found my mind wandering back to Zack, and the next time I'd get to talk to him. Better yet, how do we end the awkwardness.