Nothing Personal

Four Years Earlier...

Zooey turned the page in her book, soaking up the silence that she thought would never come. She was the only studious 14, almost 15, year old in her freshman class and instead of going out to the new party one of the seniors at her high school were hosting on that friday night, she had decided to stay in to read. Penny, of course, had gone without her. Only after spending almost a hour on the phone with her telling her how lame she was being for staying home on for the weekend after their first week of school just finished. But it's not like Zooey really even cared. She liked being alone with her books instead of some annoying drunken party that was happening across town that everyone was going to be talking about for the next week. There would be plenty of stories when she went back to school, and the stories would probably be ten times better than actually being there. So she was just fine with staying home to do nothing but read and have some fun with her little brother for the weekend. But that was probably just wishful thinking. After all her mother had just finished going on a rant about she was the only one ever doing anything around the house while Colter went out and partied with his friends on the football team and Zooey continued to reread a book she's read a hundred times. The only person her mother didn't yell at that night was Dorian, who could never do any wrong in her mothers eyes. But really, Zooey knew that the real reason behind her mother being so angry was that the anniversary of her father's leaving was coming in a few days and she always got really angry around that time. All three of them, Do not being included because he was too young to remember, usually got very reserved when this time of year came around because of it. So Zo really couldn't be too angry about her mothers behavior that night, they were all a little angry and her mother just accidentally took it out on them that time.

But now after the worst had blown over, everyone was ignoring each other and Zooey had retreated to her room to read. The only light in the cozy room was the one on the table next to her bed shining a soft glow, only bright enough to read the words on the pages of her favorite book. She had only started reading about a hour ago and was already almost a hundred pages in and had the rest of the world blocked out. A tornado could swoop in and she wouldn't even hear it, only the faded words on the page being the center of her attention. Though as she continued reading, she was beginning to become aware of some strange sound coming from somewhere she couldn't quite identify the source of.

"Dammit, why does Jack always have to be such an inconsiderate asshole? I mean c'mon, it's not like the world revolves around him. He could think of someone other than himself for once in his life." A voice said making Zooey gasp and tear her eyes away from the page to look around the room.

Frantically looking around, she tried to find the owner to the voice but she quickly saw that the room was empty just like she thought it had been before she had heard the voice. The strange scared feeling didn't leave her as she cautiously put her attention in the book, hoping that she wasn't going crazy and that the voice wouldn't come back.

But it did, a few minutes later, making her jump and all but throw her book across the room.

"God, he couldn't have waited one minute. I mean seriously, how hard is that to ask? But no, because we just got home and he's dying to find the first blonde haired bimbo he sees at the bar tonight he's going to get her drunk and take her home. It's the same time each time we do this, he has to put his dick first and his friends second, all because he hasn't gotten laid it two days."

What the hell was going on? Where the hell was this voice coming from and who the hell were they ranting about? Whatever was going on was making Zooey really scared and as she checked her room again, she still couldn't find anyone in her room as was about to call the police or something.

"Hello!?"

But of course, no one replied. What else would happen? For all she knew was the voice was in her head and she was becoming crazy.

"Is anyone here? Colter, if this is you messing with me I'm going to kill you when I see you next. This isn't funny anymore."

The voice had stopped talking, as if it was listening to her speak that time and was freaking out almost as much as she was.

"Well this is getting a little strange," the voice said finally, after a few more moments of silence. "I swore I just heard a girl talking."

Please let this all just be some weird crazy dream and I'm going to wake up and then laugh it off in the morning. Zooey silently prayed as she continued to glance around the room.

"Where the hell is this chicks voice coming from?"

Oh God. She was going crazy.

---

Alex heard the slam of his front door followed by a car starting up and pulling out of the driveway. Just freaking great. Jack was such an asshole.

He started ranting silently to himself as he trudged up the stairs to his bedroom and threw his closet door open to find a change of clothes because he was going to be even more late now that his inconsiderate asshole of a best friend and designated driver of the night just left him. Sure it was also somewhat his fault that they were late, but he had to give Baz a bath after he decided to get all muddy and didn't want the small dog to go lay and rub against his white couches he had in the main room. Then after giving his very muddy dog a bath, he had to go shower since he had gotten all wet and gross after Baz decided to shake out his wet fur and tried to escape from the tub a few times. He had tried to explain this to Jack, but the idiot couldn't wait ten more minutes at the most for him to put a pair of pants on and a shirt and try to give his hair a quick fix. No. He was too busy worrying about his dick for the night and just up and left without a thought about leaving Alex behind. And the worst part of it all was that Alex knew that the next day he would already forgive his best friend after he showed up at his door with his favorite coffee and the promise of a fun day out on the town. Asshole.

"Please let this all just be some weird crazy dream and I'm going to wake up and then laugh it off in the morning." Alex heard a girls voice say just as he was pulling on his favorite pair of pants. He still never understood why everyone hated the American flag pants he had found in Japan. They were comfortable and weird and he was really getting sick of all the threats to steal and burn the pants when he was sleeping. It was one of the many instances that proved his friends were annoying. The current situation he was in being another.

He looked around the room to see if he could find the source of the voice. He had thought it had been Lisa at first. His high school girlfriend turned best friend when they broke up a few months after they had graduated high school since they had realized they were better friends than lovers. But they had stayed really close and still shared ownership of Baz and he had given her a key to his place in case it was her turn to get the dog and he wasn't home. But he knew that that wasn't her voice at all. It was a voice he had never heard before. A stalker fan maybe? But looking around the room he confirmed that he was the only one inside and there wasn't anyone at the windows or bushes like the last time someone had showed up at his house.

Shaking his head, he went back to dressing and finding a pair of shoes to wear.

But as he was lacing up the first shoe, he heard the voice again making him stop what he was doing and look around the room again.

Where the hell is this chicks voice coming from? He asked himself as once again he saw that he was alone in the room.

"Oh God I am going crazy!"

"Hello?" Alex called, standing and walking to his doorway and glancing down the hall. "Is anyone there? Ri? Are you home? Did Jack pass out after the first drink again?"

But of course, there was no answer. Just the feeling of fear as he saw that he was in fact alone in the suddenly too big house. Even Baz was nowhere to be seen. This was getting a little freaky.

What the fuck is wrong with me today?

"Who the hell is this!? Please tell me I'm not crazy and that someone is really there. I'm getting really freaked out right now and if someone doesn't say something right now, I'm going to call the police."

"Where are you? I'd answer you and have a civilized conversation with you if you just revealed yourself and stop playing these stupid games." Alex answered making the voice gasp.

He could hear her unsettled breathing before she answered. "What are you talking about where am I? You're the one pranking me. I'm sitting exactly where I have been since you started this on the bed reading. Now come out and I won't call the cops. I just want this to stop."

The bed? He looked over to his own bed and saw that it was exactly how he left it when he had woken up that morning. Not even Baz had been on it since he had gotten up. It was neatly made with all the pillows leaning against the headboard without a wrinkle in them. There was no one in his bed reading. This was getting really scary.

"Where are you?" He finally found himself asking after he got his voice back.

There was another moments silence before she answered. "In my room in Minnesota obviously."

What the fuck was going on?

---

Whatever was going on was making Zooey even more freaked out as she heard the strange boys voice began to use every swear word she had ever heard of. Even some that she was willing to guess he had made up just then. If he was freaking out so much about where she was, then where the hell was he? This was getting stranger by the minute and she really wanted some answers to the mystery of whatever this was.

"Wait, so where are you then?"

"Baltimore," the boy finally answered, making it clear as to why he had been freaking out so much before.

She tried to keep her breathing calm and steady as she answered. "Baltimore as in Maryland, Baltimore?"

"Is there any other Baltimore?"

She rolled her eyes, "no but how the hell can I hear you if you're all the way in Baltimore."

"I have no clue," the boy answered honestly.

The door to Zooey's room opened and she glanced up and watched as her mother entered the room with a sheepish look on her face. Zooey returned a half hearted smile, still bitter over the fight they had just had. Her mother walked in and sat gingerly on the edge of her bed, as if she was waiting for Zooey to start screaming and yelling at her and demanding that she left at once. But she was more civil than that, just waiting for her mother to speak as she set her book down and pulled her knees to her chest, praying that the voice wouldn't say anything so that she wasn't proven crazy with the strange voice seeming to come from nowhere.

"Who were you talking to?" Her mother asked, obviously avoiding the subject for a little longer.

Wait, she didn't hear the voice? Was she the only one who heard it? Or was the truth of it that the voice was really in her head and not out loud like she had originally thought?

"That would explain as to why I'm hearing a voice and being the only one in the room." The boy muttered and Zooey looked up at her mother, waiting to see if she freaked out for hearing the voice she had been hearing for the last hour.

So it was all in her head. And she had been speaking out loud the entire time? Well that wasn't embarrassing at all. And the boy's voice laughing at her in her head wasn't helping her embarrassment at all either.

*Shut up,* she muttered to him before turning back to her mother. "Sorry, I was just talking to myself out loud, thats all. But why are you in here?" She asked, wincing at how horribly rude that sounded but she was still angry and wanted to let her mother know that she wasn't just letting it go that easily.

Her mother gave a sigh before looking up at her daughter again and Zooey could see the sorrow in her eyes, instantly making her feel even worse about the situation. She could see the apology dancing in her mothers eyes along with the unshed tears and Zooey didn't wait for her to begin speaking before she leaned forward and pulled her mother in for a hug.

---

*So, any guesses as to why this is happening to us?* Alex asked once the girls mom left. They had both been silent for a moment, Alex wanting to give her a little time to recover from the little heart to heart she had had with her mother. He didn't know the full story but from what he had caught, something had gone down and the whole family was on edge at the moment and emotions were being tested.

By then he had also given up on going out with the rest of the guys. He had more important things to do then get drunk and forget what happened the next morning and the horrible hangover being the only reminder. He did after all suddenly have a voice in his head and he wanted to try and get to the bottom of this and at least get to know this girl so that if she did happen to stick in his head and that this really wasn't a dream in the morning, he didn't keep refering to her as 'the girl'.

He heard her sigh, *Nope. No idea, you?*

*Not really, no. This is so random and strange and I would call you a figment of my imagination but I don't do drugs and I've had nothing besides water to drink all day.*

*Maybe one of your friends drugged your water, nearly all drugs are undetectable anyway.*

Alex couldn't help but laugh at that. She was actually taking all this surprisingly well and neither of them were freaking out anymore. *I would consider that but I've been alone all day, with only my dog as company.*

*Damn, my only good idea was just ruined.* She mused making him laugh more. *But what do you do? And what's your name so I don't keep calling you the boy anymore.*

Alex hesitated for a moment, does he tell her exactly who he is? For all he knows she's a fan and he'll never hear the end of the fact that she had the Alex Gaskarth in her head. And he really doesn't need her spreading it around to magazines and on the internet that a crazy girl claims that she has his voice in her head. She'd be considered crazy and Matt would go nuts. So he settled for giving the simplest version of the truth.

*I'm actually in a band and we just got off tour a few weeks ago. And as for my name it's the most boringly common name of Alex that I was dubbed all thanks to my dear mother who I see at least once a week when I'm home.* He replied. *What about you? Name? Job? Anything?*

She hesitated and he could tell she was a little worried about telling him. But she finally sucked up enough courage and answered. *Zooey, and I'm actually a freshman at the only high school in my town. But I do work in a thrift store with my best friend. Just got hired a few days ago and so far so good. I need to get out of the house anyway. I'm sick of everyone complaining I spend all my time reading instead of socializing. Even if I prefer it.*

*Yeah I know the feeling. My friends think I'm strange for staying up late and Googling things about space until I crash and fall asleep on my laptop.*

She laughed at that making him smile too. Her laugh was really pretty and he was sort of ok with having a voice in his head. Zooey seemed like a sweet girl. Someone that he could befriend and get used to having in his head. He just hoped that she didn't hear that and that it didn't come off as too creepy.

---

Glancing over at the time as Zooey yawned for what seemed the billionth time, she nearly fell over realizing that it was almost three in the morning. How had she not known it was that late? And how did Alex not show any signs of being tired either? Every time she yawned he laughed and Baltimore was a full hour ahead of her and he hadn't yawned once. She also realized that they had been talking for nearly six hours. Both of them growing a little more used to the fact that they were talking to someone in their heads. It wasn't as strange and freaky as it had been when she first heard him, and was kind of happy that she had someone to talk to who didn't know everyone one of her deep dark secrets. Living in a small town like she did made it easy to be identified as the middle child of that family who's father left when she was young leaving her mom struggling financially to support the four of them. Alex only knew as much as she told him and didn't have the luxury like others in their town to just ask someone else about their family. He would only know as much as she told him until she was ready to tell him more about herself.

*So how do we know that this isn't just a one time thing?* She asked, trying to hold back another yawn.

*We don't,* he replied back honestly. *But I kind of hope that it's permanent.*

She smiled to herself at his truthfulness. *Me too.*

*I can't believe it' almost four in the morning.*

*I know, it's ridiculously late and I've been up since 5:15 this morning.*

She heard the sound of Alex's laugh she was beginning to get more and more familiar with since he did it so often. *Then you should probably go to bed and soak up the free time you have this weekend. High school is a whole other story than middle school and you need to make sure you're well rested until you get used to the change.*

*Yes mom,*

*I'm being serious, this is the best time of your life and you need to enjoy it. And the best way to enjoy it is being well rested.* He replied, sounding older than he really was. He had mentioned that he was 20 and seemed to know what he was talking about so she reluctantly agreed, silently praying that he would be there in the morning still. *Now go to bed. I'll be here in the morning for you to talk to and need your rest.*

Another yawn escaped, *ok. I'll talk to you in the morning. Night,*

*Good night Zooey,* was the last thing she heard as she flicked off her light and snuggled in under her blankets.

There was still that uncertainty that he wouldn't be in her head in the morning and this was all a dream. But something told her that it wasn't really, that he was going to there and he wasn't going anywhere for a long time.

---

Present Time...

The hotel room was quite save for the soft hum of the air conditioner and the buzz of the tv on low being the only noise in the room. Alex tightened his arms around Zooey and pulled her impossibly closer to him.

"What are you thinking about?" He asked quietly, not sure if she was in fact awake or not. She did after all have a really long day after attending her brothers funeral and contemplating the idea of moving to Baltimore with Alex. She still hadn't given him an answer yet but he was willing to give her all the time she needed to decide what to do with her future. It really didn't matter if she moved in with him or not. Just as long as his future included her in someway was all that mattered to him. Be it as a girlfriend or just a friend, he was ok with it as long as he still got to have her there with him in someway.

She moved slightly in his arms, snuggling into his chest. "Just thinking about the first time we met. When we first realized that we could talk to each other in our heads. Do you remember that?"

"How could I forget? You were the strange nerdy voice in my head that wouldn't shut up about the latest book she was reading. As soon as we introduced ourselves and I asked what your interests were, you seemed to go on a hour long explanation of the current book you were reading. And now it seems like the explanations have gotten more detailed the longer I've known you."

He could just imagine the pout on her lips as she turned in his arms to face him and give him a mock glare. "You're mean to me today. You're supposed to be nice and supportive since I've had such a crap day. But you're just teasing me as usual. I should call Jack and make him yell at you."

"Let's not involve Jack," Alex said, rolling his eyes at the mention of his best friend. "I like it just the two of us."

"Hmm, I do too." she whispered before craning her neck up to press her lips against his again. It was only their second kiss but he was quickly becoming addicted to her lips and tilted his head slightly to deepen the kiss. Not to make it a full make out session. Just to make it last a little longer.

When they finally pulled away, he nudged his nose against her cheek and pressed a short kiss to the blushing skin. "So, have you thought about my offer at all?"