The Frayed Ends Of Sanity

Raven's P.O.V.
Darren let me off of work early since business was slow today. I think he could also tell I was irritable, considering I almost broke a CD in half.

I got home, changed into more comfortable clothes, and laid on the couch. I picked up the remote to the stereo and turned it on, not caring what CD was in. It turned out to be 'Appetite for Destruction'. Wow, that brings back some memories. I pushed these to the back of my mind so I wouldn't have to change the disc.

I laid on the couch for a while and just listened to the music. For some reason, this always calmed me down.

The doorbell rang and Cerberus barked like he always does (old habits must be hard to grow out of, even when you're old). I opened the door and wasn't surprised to see Zacky. Seeing he was extremely tense, I smiled at him genuinely. He calmed down a little.

He followed me to the living room and we sat down. We were both silent, either thinking of where to start or finding it awkward that we were now sitting on the couch where we had made out numerous times.

"Want a Dr. Pepper or something?" I asked him, breaking the silence.

"Sure."

I walked into the kitchen and grabbed two Dr. Peppers and returned to the living room. I tossed him his drink and sat down next to him. I turned down the music and asked, "So, what do you want to talk to me about?"

He thought of how to reply for a second, then answered, "Everything really."

"That's pretty broad. Where do you want to start then?"

"I guess I should start by apologizing again. I couldn't control it really." He paused and sighed. "To be honest, I don't think I ever stopped loving you."

I felt myself blush and felt ashamed. We shouldn't feel this way about each other anymore. Especially under the current circumstances.

Before I could express what was on my mind, Zacky said, "I know it's not right but seeing you again made me feel like I did when we were in high school."

"So where does Kate come in? Is she just a way for you to get pleasure until you can miraculously sweep me off my feet again?" I asked testily. I didn't like Kate, but she didn't deserve to have her heart broken this way.

"No, I really like Kate. I'd never use her. I'm not like that Raven. Do you believe me?"

I sighed deeply. "Yes, I do." I knew he wasn't like that, or I thought I did. Who knows? Maybe being a rock star changed him. My heart told me that it hadn't. I just hoped it was right.

"Just promise me you won't do something stupid and break up with her just so you can be with me. Because if I find out that's what you did, I would never ever take you back."

Zacky nodded. "I won't."

An awkward silence fell on us again until Zacky said, "So, what happened to The Avengers?"

I looked over at him and smiled evilly. "I killed them of course."

His expression became shocked. "Are you fucking serious? By yourself?"

"Yup. Every last one of them I hope. I wasn't going to let those bastards get away with ruining my life."

"How'd you do it?"

"Well, I killed that Jenkins guy in jail and he gave me the addresses to the three hideouts. He said he didn't think I'd succeed, so he didn't mind giving them to me."

Zacky looked eager now and I couldn't help but giggle. So, I had no choice but to continue with my story.