Smile for Me

“Oh, I need to call Emma.” I said, pulling my phone out of my pocket to call her again.
“Katie, I am basically naked so you have about five seconds to talk.” She said quickly in greeting.
I laughed. “You still aren’t dressed yet?”
“Hey, I decided to take another shower because my hair was just not working for me, and now I’m finding something else to wear. Deal with it. Are you still at Syn’s?”
“No, that’s why I’m calling you. We’ve decided to meet everyone at Zacky’s place, do you want to – “
“Oh my God, are you shitting me?” She screamed into my ear, loud enough that Syn turned to look at me with raised eyebrows.
“No, I am not shitting you. You can either meet us there or at the bar with the others.”
“Oh God, oh God, oh God…” She chanted breathlessly, making me laugh hard at her.
“Calm down, Em, you’re going to have a heart attack.”
“What’s his address?” She asked.
I asked Syn that question and he told me, which I then repeated to her.
“Okay, okay. I’ll be there in…shit…half an hour?”
I laughed. “I don’t know, will you?”
“Yes. Yes, I will. Have I told you lately that I love being your friend?”
I huffed. “Gee, thanks. I love you, too.”
“Oh, you know I mean it. See you later.”
“Hurry your ass up.” I ordered before snapping my phone closed and putting it back in my pocket.
“Is she okay?” Syn asked slowly, walking with his hands shoved in his pockets.
“Yeah, she’s just…” I contemplated telling him the truth and mentally shrugged. If he couldn’t see it then he was blind. “She’s basically obsessed with Zacky Vengeance.”
He smiled a little. “Yeah, I kind of noticed.”
“I think she’s said once or twice that she would love to have his children, but I’m not sure.”
He laughed out loud. “I’ll be sure to tell him that.”
I laughed, too. “Knowing Emma, she’d probably love it if you did.”
We walked in silence for a few minutes, comfortable in not needing to say anything to each other. A slight wind picked up, blowing my hair across my face and I shivered, crossing my arms.
“Are you cold?” He asked, looking down at me.
“A little.”
He smiled and put his arm around my shoulders, drawing me into his side as we walked. To be more comfortable, I wrapped my arms around his waist, leaning on him to steal a little more of his body heat.
“How can you not be cold?” I asked incredulously. “You’re only wearing a tee shirt. Oh wait, I know the answer to that question. You’re Synyster Gates.”
He laughed and pulled me closer. “That’s right, bitch.”
I slapped his stomach before putting my arm around his waist again, linking my hands against his side.
“Shit.” I said, stopping.
“What?” He stopped too, but kept his arm around my shoulders.
“I left my ID at your place.”
He shook his head and kept walking, making me walk with him. “You won’t need your fake ID if I’m with you.”
I trusted him and leaned against him again as we both lapsed into silence.
Before I knew it we were at Zacky’s. Everyone was lounging around the front lawn, some on the ground and the others on lawn chairs, drinking beer, and listening to music from inside the house. All talk stopped at our approach and everyone greeted us loudly.
“Katie!” Zacky practically screamed, jumping off his chair to launch himself at me.
I stumbled back a bit, but caught my balance before we both hit the pavement and hugged him back.
“Happy fucking birthday, bitch.” He said before kissing my forehead.
I blushed and thanked him while Syn huffed from beside us.
“Starting on the juice already, Zacky?” He asked with a shake of his head.
“A little.” Zacky turned and whined when Syn took his chair. “Hey, that was mine, dude.”
Syn shrugged and grabbed a beer from the cooler. “Finders, keepers.”
Val was up then and hugged me to wish me a happy birthday, before Matt and Johnny did the same.
Jimmy pulled himself off the ground and opened his arms wide, grinning at me. “Katie, come here.”
I laughed and walked over to him, wrapping my arms around his waist and laying the side of my head against his chest when he pulled me in tight enough that I had hard time breathing. Then he pulled way, grabbed the sides of my face, and kissed me square on the mouth, stunning me.
“Jimmy!” The guys shouted while laughing.
“Happy birthday.” He said again before sitting down again.
I stared at him blankly before turning around to face everyone else.
“So where’s Emma?” Zacky asked and I looked down to see he was lounging on the grass, supporting himself on one arm with his legs stretched out.
“She’s coming in a little while.” I told him.
“Nice.”
I looked at him with narrowed eyes. “What does that mean?”
He shrugged one shoulder. “She’s cute.”
“Huh.” I regarded him silently before grinning. “Tell her.”
He scoffed at me. “Tell her that I think she’s cute? Whatever. This is not high school.”
“Maybe not for you, but it is for me.” I said smartly.
He laughed sarcastically at me, and I laughed too. I walked over to stand in front of Syn and grabbed his beer to take a drink before handing it back.
“You want one?” He asked and started to reach into the cooler to get me one.
“No, I don’t want to start too early. I’ll be done before we even get started.” I predicted, dropping to the ground to lean my back against his leg, drawing my knees up to my chest and crossing my arms.
“Are you a cheap drunk?” Matt asked in a teasing voice.
“When it comes to that shit, yes.” I said with a nod towards the beer.
“I said it before, and I’ll say it again: tonight is going to be fun.” Syn said and the other guys laughed.
Just then a car slid into a spot on the street and I grinned.
“It’s Emma.” I told the others unnecessarily and we all turned to watch her get out of the car.
I bit back a laugh when I saw that she was wearing a short denim skirt and a long white tank top with a black bra underneath, her hair big and curled perfectly, framing her face.
“Yow.” Zacky muttered near me and I laughed at him.
“You got that right.” I said before pulling myself up to meet Emma on the sidewalk.
She started strutting across the street to me, which I had to give her credit for as she was wearing her favorite – or my favorite, I’d tried to steal them from her a few times – red stilettos. I started to dance in the middle of the sidewalk and she laughed.
“You ready for this shit, bitch?” She called to me, flipping her hair expertly to the side.
“You bet your ass I’m ready. You look good.” I said in a normal voice when she reached me and hugged her, putting my lips close to her ear as I said, “Zacky thinks you’re cute.”
“Really?” She squealed and I laughed.
“Yes, but play it cool now.”
She huffed. “Honey, I’m Emily fucking Ryan. I am cool.”
I linked my arm through hers and pulled her to the others, seeing that Brian had abandoned his seat and was pointing to me, then the chair.
I laughed and pushed her into it, thinking it would be easier for her to sit in a chair – she was wearing a miniskirt, for crying out loud.
I sat in front of her and Brian fell down beside me.
“How’s it goin, Emily?” Jimmy slurred and she grinned at him.
“It’s going great. Can I have one of those?” She nodded to the beer and immediately, Zacky was up and grabbing her one.
“Thanks.” She smiled slyly at him and popped the top before taking a drink.
“By the way, birthday girl,” She said, tapping me on the head. “Prepare to get completely and utterly shit-faced tonight.”
I frowned. “Why?”
“Why? Why, you ask?” She looked at me like I was crazy and started to list off the reasons, ticking them off with her fingers. “One, because it’s your birthday. Two, because I said so. Three because Jen, Haylie, and Mandy are coming with their boyfriends and we never get to go out in one group. And four…because I said so.” She raised her bottle to salute herself before taking another long drink.
The guys were laughing at her and Zacky was looking at her as if he were in love.
“Bossy, aren’t you?” He sighed. “That’s hot.”
She giggled at him and I rolled my eyes before realizing what Em had said.
“Wait, you said the girls are bringing their boyfriends?”
She nodded. “Yep.”
“So Alex and Jared are coming.” I assumed, meaning Mandy and Haylie’s respective boyfriends.
She nodded and paused, looking down at her bottle. “Yeah, they’ll be there and…” She paused again and took another drink.
“And?” I prodded. “Who else?”
“Um…Tim.” She said awkwardly, looking at me with a weird face that clearly said I’m sorry.
“Tim? As in Tim Hatcher? As in Aaron’s best friend Tim?” I questioned, narrowing my eyes at her as everyone watched and listened intently to what we were saying, though they clearly had no idea of what was going on.
“As in all of the above.”
“Emma!” I exclaimed. “I told you not to tell him – “
“He’s Jen’s boyfriend, Katie, what did you want me to say?” She defended, spreading her hands. “I mean, I really don’t give a shit if she comes or not, you know that. But she obviously is and he asked me if – “
“Wait, wait, wait.” I interrupted, turning to glare at her. “You knew they were dating?”
“Um…yeah. Didn’t you?” She said innocently.
“No. No, I did not and thank you for telling me so I wouldn’t feel like a complete idiot.” I sighed before looking at her again. “And when was he asking you this?”
“Tuesday when he picked Jen up from school. She told him, and he mentioned it to me and I didn’t know what to say.”
“Did he tell Aaron?”
She shook her head, and then shrugged. “I don’t know. He might have. But Aaron won’t come.” She assured me, touching my arm. “He won’t show up, he’s not that stupid.”
I looked pointedly at her and she laughed. “Okay, maybe he is that stupid. But I don’t think he’ll show. He knows you’ll kick his balls into his teeth if he goes near you again.”
I puffed out a laugh and pointed my finger at her. “He better not show up or it’s your ass.”
She raised her hand, palm facing me as if making a pledge and promised, “If he shows up, I give you permission to kick my ass all the way to next year. But he won’t, trust me. And if he does, he won’t only have to deal with me.” She said with a wink and a slight head jerk to Syn.
I sighed and laughed when I saw how everyone was watching us.
“Did we miss something, or – “ Matt asked.
“It all sounds so dramatic.” Val said with a wistful sigh.
I shook my head at them. “You’re not missing much. Aaron is my ex-boyfriend and Tim, who is obviously dating Jen, is his best friend.”
“Wow.” Val said with a nod. “Must be awkward.”
“I don’t know. Aaron and I were together for…what, like three months, if that.”
“But he fucked himself over by – “
Emma started to explain but I stopped her. “By being the biggest asshole in the whole world, which shouldn’t have surprised me. So it’s done.”
Val raised her bottle high in the air. “Good for you, sister.”
I laughed. “Thanks.”
“So are these people meeting us at the bar or what?” Syn asked.
“The bar. They’re probably there already.” Em predicted before finishing her beer.
“Then let’s get there.” Matt said, standing and pulling Val to her feet.
Syn stood and helped me to mine, putting his arm around my shoulders again.
“You still look cold, you chicken.”
I shoved him off, and then snuggled against him when he pulled me back. Emma winked at me before linking arms with Zacky.
“Are we walking?”
“Yeah.” Zacky looked down at her feet. “You gonna be okay in those bitches?”
She laughed. “Babe, I am a pro in these shoes.”
He laughed and tugged her along.
Syn and I looked at each other and laughed at the way Emma and Zacky were acting before setting off to follow the others.