Seize the Day

Vivienne's POV

Zack and I loaded into his BMW to head toward downtown. Apparently there was a new Italian restaurant that just opened up. Since there was no way I was eating sushi with Matt, Jess and I had traded boyfriends for the evening. They went off to enjoy their gross raw fish, while Zack and I went to test out this new place.

"You're treating my Mama J good, right?" I asked him on the way downtown. "You know I'll maim you otherwise."

"Yes, I know," he said. "And yes, I am. She's one of those people that I wish I'd have known a lot longer. Maybe my life wouldn't have turned out so crappy at times."

"Ha," I scoffed. "I've pretty much been thinking the exact same thing about all of you guys." I sighed heavily. "I've always needed friends as close and as supportive as you all have been just in the little while I've been around. My friends back home weren't good with the support. It was always all about them."

"I know too many of those people," he said. "Those people and people that just want to hang out with us because we're famous or whatever. There are way, way too many of those people."

"You know I'm not one of them, right?" I knew that at least Matt didn't feel that way, but I was still nervous what the other guys thought. I always would be.

"V," he sighed. "We've been through this. We kidnapped you that first night. There was no celeb-seeing involved. You've been as cool as any friends we've known since before the band, cooler than some. We adopted you into our dysfunctional little family, and not one of us think you're gold-digging or whatever." He shot me a look, as we slowed to a stop at a red light. "I know that's something you worry about, but you don't need to, mkay?"

"Mkay," I agreed with a smile. "Sorry, I do worry about that, though. I'm afraid that one day you'll all wake up and remember that I'm not cool or something, and hate me. Especially Matt," I finished quietly, staring at my feet.

"Vivienne." He pulled into the parking lot, put the car in park, and turned in his seat. "You're retarded if you've ever thought that for a second, and just plain stupid if you've ever thought it more than once."

I looked over at him, still a little sheepish, but he just shook his head. He got out of the car, and I followed.

"Really," he continued as the hostess took us to our table. He pointed the corner of his menu at me. "You're crazier than I thought if you think any of that!"

I simply nodded. "I know," I said finally. "I just can't keep from worrying about it."

"There's no way that Matt will ever wake up one day just deciding that he doesn't 'want' you anymore," he continued. "Just not gonna happen."

"You can't know that though," I argued.

He shook his head and smiled, playing with his snakebites. "You don't even know, do you?" He chuckled lightly and shook his head.

"Know what?" I asked, eyebrow raised.

"V, baby, sweetcheeks," he said, reaching across the table to hold my hand with one of his and pat it with the other. "You have no idea."

I just stared at him. "I don't guess I do," I said. "Are you going to share with me what it is that I don't know, so that we both can know?"

He smiled. Zack had become like my protective older brother. He was always there to talk to if I was having a shit day, or torture back and forth when we were in our moods. His warm smiles never ceased to cheer me up, no matter what was going on. I told him all the time that the name like "Zacky Vengeance" certainly didn't fit his personality, but I promised never to let anyone else know that. This smile warmed my heart, just like all of his did.

"What you don't see is that Matt has already given you his heart. All of it, completely, more than he has ever done with anyone." We were interrupted for a short moment when the waitress came around taking our drink orders, and doing a little ZV ogling. I rolled my eyes, and waited for her to leave.

"Seriously," I scoffed. "I need some slightly less drop-dead gorgeous friends. I always feel like the ugly fuckin' duckling around you assholes."

Zack laughed, but shook his head. "Another thing you don't know, apparently." I looked at him quizzically until he finally continued. "If you only knew how many times me, Matt, Brian, and Arin have had to stop one another from cold-clocking some douchecock for staring you down, you'd shit."

I was at a loss for words. "What?"

He nodded. "We've all kind of adopted you as our kid sister, so it gets under our skin when some shithead looks at you like a piece of meat. Of course Matt's going to, that's a given. But Brian and I have found ourselves doing it too." He raised his palms and shrugged. "The kid, we just think he's got a crush on you, but he's afraid Matt will castrate him anytime he talks to you, so he doesn't say anything."

I just stared at him, my mouth pretty much hanging open. He nodded, and continued. "Of course, I do the same thing for Jess, but I've never seen Brian as protective of anyone as he is of you. I don't even know that he's that protective of Michelle, to be quite honest. Long story short, you are, in fact, also drop-dead gorgeous, and people notice that. I mean, do you really think your chance encounter with M. Shadows was chance?" He emphasized the words "chance encounter" with air quotes. "No. He was staring at you from across the room for over twenty minutes before he put on his big boy pants and went over to talk to you. You're beautiful, V, and that ain't changing."

Through this entire exchange, I felt my cheeks warm redder and redder. "Shut up," I said, looking down.

"Fine, I'm done," he said. "But all that's the fuckin' truth. Do with it what you will."

I was so ready to change the subject. "If you say so. Anyway, what are you hungry for?"

He laughed and shook his head. "You have to be the most stubborn woman on the face of the planet, do you know that?"

I nodded emphatically. "I do. And I'm ok with that."

"I don't know how Matt deals with your crazy ass," he laughed. He rolled his eyes, and then dropped them to the menu in front of him. "Hmm," he pondered. "Manicotti sounds damn good, but could be real bad if not done properly."

We finally decided on food, and Zacky used his wiles on the waitress to convince her that it was my birthday and we were going to need free cake. She bought it, getting lost in those huge emerald eyes of his.

After she walked away, I busted out in laughter. "Good god, man. Could you have fake-flirted with her any harder?" I said. I shook my head. "Poor thing, probably thinks she's got a chance."

Sure enough, she came back all too soon to check on us. "Um, we don't even have our food yet," I scoffed, rolling my eyes. She ignored me, continuing to ask Zack if there was anything she could bring him.

"I don't know," he said, looking around her to me. "Baby, do we need anything right now?"

"I could use the food I ordered," I muttered. Catching Zack's look, I added, "No sweetie. I think we're perfect for right now." She smiled at him and turned to leave. "Please don't make me call you 'baby' or 'sweetie' again," I said, pounding my head on the table. "That was weird."

"What?" He looked at me suspiciously. "Am I not muscley enough for you? Not big enough dimples? I see."

"Fuck you, man," I said, laughing. He laughed too. "Not my type," I said. "Guitarists are too goddamned full of themselves." I winked at him across the table.

"Are you kidding?" he asked, voice raising about three octaves. "Have you ever met Matt Sanders?"

"No, no, no," I said, shaking a finger in the air. "Lead singers are full of themselves for a reason. They're the leaders. The frontmen, the ones people recognize. Their egos are warranted," I finished, huge grin plastered on my face.

"And you're more full of shit than I originally thought!" he said, staring me down. I just shrugged.

"Truth hurts, Zackykins. I know." I patted his hand. Bad timing, since the dingy waitress came by with our food just then. She glared at me as if I was the spawn of Satan himself.

I quickly pulled my hand off Zack's and crossed my arms. "I can't believe you'd say something like that, you arrogant asshole," I said, louder than necessary, and completely off-topic. He looked at me, eyes huge with shock. "You're lucky that I'm still sitting here with you. I should just walk out that door right now." I slumped in my chair and pouted. "But I'm hungry."

The waitress looked at me like I was crazy, but then again, Zack did the same. The girl turned her back to me and looked at Zacky like he was a puppy who was missing a leg, batting her eyelashes at him. As she set our plates down, she was much closer to him than she needed to be, and even brushed his arm with hers.

I looked at him with a tiny, smug smile on my face, ready to wipe it clean if she looked my way. Finally, I saw two flashes of emotion of his face. First was realization, then it was irritation. When she finally walked away, he glared at me.

"What the fuck was that?" he said, trying to be angry. However, by the end of the question he was laughing. He quickly answered himself. "It was brilliant, that's what it was!" We both laughed now.

"I got bored," I shrugged. "She thought she might have a chance, then we shattered it, so I figured I'd give her hope back." I regained my proper seating position, since I was slumped and pouty for so long. "We just have to make up before dessert. Mama J will kill me if I pawn you off on some restaurant slut."

I picked up my fork and started my dinner like nothing had happened. Zack shook his head, laughed and did the same.

"So, does Jess even ever stay at her own house these days?" Since I'd moved in with Matt, and Jess took over my house, I could count on two hands the nights I knew she's stayed at home. Otherwise she was all but living at Vengeance Manor.

"Not much, honestly," he said with a shrug and a mouth full of pasta.

I poked him with my fork when I realized he thought that was a sufficient answer. "Punk, keep talking!"

He rolled his eyes, but obliged me. "Seriously, what do you want me to say? That she comes over for dinner, we start making out, and end up fucking on the sofa? You know, the nice leather one you love sitting on? That one."

I shuddered visibly. "Ew, ass. I don't need to hear that!"

"Well, once we've done it on all the living room furniture, she's usually just not up for the drive back to her place. That's why she stays with me so much." He shrugged and went back to his dinner.

"You're ridiculous!" I hissed.

"What?" he asked. "You wanted to know, bitchface."

"I didn't want to know that!" I squealed. "I don't want to know which pieces of furniture your ding ding has touched!" I shivered again. "Actually, thanks for that info. We'll never sit down in your house again."

"Oh shut up," he sighed. "Like you don't think I know that you and Matt's favorite spot is the chaise lounge in the studio." He shot me a very knowing look.

"I hate you," I said. Once again, I felt my cheeks redden. "I hate him even more right now!"

"And why do you think I always sit at the counter instead of the table in the dining room? I know about that one, too.". He was enjoying this, too much.

I buried my face in my napkin. "You're kidding me," I pleaded, voice muffled.

"Nope," he said, popping the "p." I could tell by his voice he was smiling ear to ear. "Girls aren't the only ones who talk a lot, you know.

"Really?" I lowered the napkin to look at him incredulously. "You guys don't have anything better to talk about?"

"Are you kidding? What is there that's better to talk about?" He was still smiling mischievously. "Like you and Jess and Chelle don't talk about your sex lives. If you think I believe that for a second, you're nuts." He took another bite. "I know sure as hell Jess doesn't have any qualms with talking about it. She has no shame whatsoever."

"True," I agreed with a laugh. "Shame is a virtue she has little of. I don't know about you, but I wouldn't have her any other way."

"Nope," he said. "Sure wouldn't."

I finished my lasagna Florentine and slid my plate across the table. He still had a bit to go, so I relaxed and leaned back in my chair. The waitress came back to check on us again, and Zacky reminded her about my "birthday" treat. She huffed and rolled her eyes, but took my plate and promised to be right back. Again, I was shot a glare of death on her way past me.

"God, I hate bitches," I sighed. "Other than Jess, I have no friends that are girls, and for good reason." He started to open his mouth, but I shook my head. "Yeah, Michelle. I get along fine with her, but she's still got a lot of that girly-girl crap about her that I can't handle a lot of the time. When she's around you guys, it's ok, but I can't deal with our 'girls' day out' shopping trips." I shook my head again.

He laughed, but nodded in agreement. "I've noticed that you're not quite the chick-flick type. And that's pretty fuckin' cool." He pushed his plate away from him, leaned back in his chair until the front legs lifted off the ground and put his hands over his stomach. "I have a food baby," he groaned, cradling the pudge there. "But, god, that was good!"

"Yeah it was," I agreed.

He set his chair back on the floor as our blonde dingbat came back with my birthday dessert. “Here you go,” she spat as she sat it in front of me. “You need anything, hon?” she asked Zack.

“No, I think we’re good here, right sweets?” He winked at me and blew me a kiss.

“Uh, yeah. We’re great.” I rolled my eyes, not even caring anymore. As the waitress flounced off, I growled at Zack. “Couldn’t leave well enough alone, could ya? We’re getting free cake, and now she’s probably spat it in or some shit!”

“Oh, hush,” he said, grabbing a for and tearing into the chocolatey goodness. “It’s free cake. Stop bitching.” He rolled his eyes back into his head and groaned. “Jesus, this is awesome!

“Fine. I’ll eat the cake,” I said. “But since Dipshit Barbie brought it, I won’t enjoy it. Not at all.” I took a bite. Of course, I did enjoy the cake. It’s cake, duh. But I certainly didn’t let Zack know I did.