Break Your Little Heart

The smell of brewing coffee woke Chloe just a few hours later. She yawned, stretching until her joints cracked, and then made her way into Holiday’s kitchen. The brunette was dancing around, keeping one eye on the eggs and the other on the toast. She held a mug of coffee in her hand and Chloe noticed a second one sitting on the counter. She snatched it up, gaining Holiday’s attention.

“Are you wearing Oli’s boxers?” She asked with a raised brow.

Chloe blushed, looking down at her shorts. They actually were Oli’s boxers, but Chloe had claimed them as her own long ago. That happened to a majority of Oli’s clothing. Chloe didn’t seem to wear anything that hadn’t at one point been his. She looked back at Holiday, who was grinning like a fool, and shrugged.

“They’re not his anymore.”

Holiday laughed. Chloe smiled as well and took a sip of the steaming liquid in her mug. It was black with exactly three packets of Truvia, just the way Chloe liked it.

“You spoil me, Hols.”

“I know.” Holiday said breezily.

Chloe shoved her best friend playfully. The food had finished by then so both Holiday and Chloe piled it on their plates. Chloe took a bite and nearly moaned.

“I have no idea how you do it, Holiday, but you make the best scrambled eggs ever.”

“Even better than Mama Sykes?” Holiday teased, taking a bite of her own breakfast.

“Okay, that’s just not fair.” Chloe pouted. Holiday let out a laugh. “But she never uses just the egg whites, so you’ve got her beat there.”

“Sweet.” Chloe rolled her eyes at her friend, but Holiday brushed it off. “So what are we going to do today? You have two free days until you meet with GK so we need a game plan.” Chloe shrugged.

“We can do whatever.”

“Chloeeeeee.” Holiday whined. “You’ve been gone for three years. Everyone wants to see you and hear all about England and Drop Dead and Oli.”

“Holiday.” Chloe said warningly. “Oli and I are not like that. No one needs to hear anything about us.”

“Deny it all you want, babycakes, but everyone knows you two are together. Besides, how long could you really keep it hidden? His clothing line is the only one you’ve been working for, and you’re always with him. You can’t keep pretending your relationship isn’t real.”

“I’m not pretending it isn’t real, I’m just not flaunting it.”

“It’s going to have to be confirmed eventually, you know. Especially now that Oli –”

“Holiday!” Chloe interrupted. “Just drop it. Please.” Holiday sighed, but didn’t try to press the matter. “Let’s go to the beach, yeah? I’ve been stuck under mountains of coats and sweaters in Sheffield. I’m ready for some sun.”

“Better not tell Oli.” Holiday winked. "I'll bet he used up all the cold water after your little conversation last night."

Chloe giggled, pushing her friend away, and stood to place her plate and mug in the dishwasher. She skipped back to the guest room to pull out her bikini, the same one she had been teasing Oli with the night before. It took Chloe less than five minutes to pull everything together, and she opened the door to find Holiday doing the exact same across the hallway. They both grinned and linked arms, making their way out of the apartment and into Holiday’s car. The girls drove with the windows down, singing along badly to pop music they both hated yet loved at the same time. Chloe wriggled in anticipation when she saw the beach come into view. She loved nothing more than spending a day in the sun, napping and gossiping with Holiday. They found a spot that was pretty clear, and had a nice view of several extremely attractive surfers, which Holiday pointed out immediately. Chloe rolled her eyes as she spread out her towel.

“I just realized we forgot the drinks!” Holiday exclaimed as she dug through her bag for the tanning oil. “I’m just gonna run to the store and grab some. What do you want, Chloe?”

“Just pick up something light. Unless you need some stronger liquid courage before you talk to those boys.” Chloe lowered her sunglasses to waggle her eyebrows suggestively.

“Honey, I have more than enough courage when I’m sober.” Holiday smirked.

Chloe waved her friend away, laughing as she watched her strut in front of the boys who had just pulled their boards back to shore. She made sure to turn around and smile flirtatiously at them after she was a few feet away before giving a little wave and continuing on her way. It was a classic Holiday move that worked every time. Chloe laughed harder when the boys finally broke from their awestruck stupor and clambered after Holiday. Looks like the girls were getting free booze today.

Chloe pushed her sunglasses back up and stretched out on the towel. She flipped onto her stomach and grabbed her phone from the pocket of the shorts she had just removed. With a flick of her finger, the screen was unlocked. Chloe stared at her background for a moment.

It was a picture from high school. Graduation day to be exact. Zack had his arms wrapped around a much skinnier Chloe, whose face was split into a wide smile. Her nose was scrunched in laughter and ghost hands could be seen on Zack’s shoulders. They belonged to none other than Jack Barakat, who had decided at that exact moment to jump on her cousin’s back. Chloe had cropped the rest of his body and his face, but the hands were stuck on Zack’s shoulders whether she liked it or not. In fact, the original picture had contained all of the boys. Rian had been standing off to the side, chuckling as he watched Jack’s attack on Zack. Alex had been right next to Chloe, their hands almost touching. The look on his face was unlike all of the others, his eyes on Chloe instead of Zack. There had been such a softness in them as he stared at her, smiling as if she was the sun he revolved around. She had cut him out of the picture first. Rian and Jack had stayed a part of it for a year or so, before Chloe decided the memories weren’t worth it and removed them as well. But those damn hands would always be there.

Chloe shook her head vigorously to break from whatever spaced out state she had been in. With another finger flick, the image disappeared, replaced by her list of contacts. She clicked on her cousin’s name, smiling and waited two rings before he answered.

“Are you here?!” He cried excitedly. Chloe giggled.

“If by here you mean LA than yes. I landed last night.”

“Why didn’t you call me?”

“Because it was midnight. I didn’t want to wake you up or interrupt your partying.”

“I wouldn’t have minded.”

“Well I’m calling you now, so stop fussing.” She said playfully.

“How is it? What are you doing right now?”

“I’m at the beach, just lounging.”

“Why am I not surprised?” He teased.

“Hey now, just because you’re jealous doesn’t mean you can take it out on me. Besides, I’m meeting with GK in two days, so I have to get as much sunshine as I can.”

“Yeah, because once you start working you’ll be a slave to the fashion industry and never see the light of day again!” Zack cried dramatically.

“You’re so ridiculous.” Chloe said, rolling her eyes even though he couldn’t see her.

“Says the girl who still hasn’t called her boyfriend.” Chloe scrunched up her nose in distaste.

“You know I hate that word.”

“Would you rather I call him your lover?”

“Ew, Zack, no.” Zack’s laugh poured through the phone.

“Well I could call him your –”

“Just call him Oli!” Chloe cut him off with a laugh. “And I did talk to him. I called him when I landed last night and everything is fine.”

“Good. So where does he have you staying?”

“Just with some girls I worked with before moving to Sheffield.” Chloe said airily.

She hadn’t told Zack about Holiday, just like she hadn’t told Holiday about Zack. Her cousin knew there were a few girls Chloe had grown close with when she first started modeling in LA, but he had never met any of them, or figured out that it was actually only Holiday that she was truly close to. It wasn’t on purpose, but after a while, All Time Low became more famous and Chloe decided she didn’t want to be known for being Zack’s cousin. And she didn’t want any girls trying to get to the band through her. Holiday knew she had a cousin named Zack, but that was the extent of her knowledge. Chloe had told her he traveled a lot for business, and she hadn’t seen a reason to question the blonde any further. It was the way Chloe liked things, personal lives separated into the Chloe before and the Chloe after. And she didn’t plan on mixing them any time soon.

“Are they gonna be modeling with GK too?”

“I think so. But they’re going to be doing other things too, I’m sure. They actually live here so they've got set things.”

“Are you going to be okay alone?”

“I lived here for two years alone, Mop.” Chloe chuckled. “I think I’ll be okay.”

“Okay, okay, just making sure.” There was a pause. Chloe stayed silent, knowing Zack wanted to say something and was just not sure how to phrase it yet. “Do you…do you think you could come to any of the shows?”

Chloe bit her lip. She sat up on her towel, fidgeting uncomfortable before standing and beginning to walk along the shoreline. Zack had put her in an extremely awkward situation. Of course, she wanted to go see him do what he loved, but she didn’t much care for seeing any of the other boys. They were a part of the Chloe before and she had moved on from then. She had a new life now. One that didn’t need to have ghosts of the past dragged back into it.

“The guys would love to see you.” And that sealed the deal for Chloe. No way she was going now.

“I can’t take time off like that, Mop. I’m really sorry. But I’ll be seeing you really soon. Tour ends November 19th, right? My ticket to Baltimore is for the 28th and I’m not going home until December 8th. We’ll have time, Zack. I promise.”

“I know, I just want to see you now.” Zack’s voice was dejected. Knowing Chloe was in the same country as him again but not being able to see her hurt more than he thought it could.

“You’ll be okay. Tour will go by quicker than you know.”

“This is so backwards.” Zack suddenly laughed. “Aren’t I usually the one comforting you when it comes to tours?”

Chloe giggled. What she was telling Zack was pretty much word for word what he would tell her whenever Oli was gone and Chloe called her cousin while wallowing in self-pity and boxed chocolate. It was then that she caught sight of Holiday down the beach, the boys still behind her, carrying multiple grocery bags. The brunette noticed Chloe as well and shouted at her. Chloe began to make her way back to the towels.

“I gotta go, Mop. One of the girls just came back with lunch. I’ll call you tomorrow, okay? Have a good show.”

“Okay, love you, Bo.”

“I love you too.”

The conversation ended and Chloe felt a small weight pressing on her chest. She felt guilty. Guilty because Zack obviously wanted to share his world with her and Chloe refused to do the same. She banished the feeling as best she could, plastering a smile on her face when she finally made it back to Holiday. It appeared that the boys had actually gotten the girls lunch as well as a twelve pack of Corona Light. Holiday was flirting up a storm and Chloe resisted the urge to laugh.

“This is Chloe.” Holiday introduced as Chloe took a spot next to her on one of the towels. “Chloe, this is Brent, Troy and Michael.” Chloe noticed the spark of mischief in Holiday’s eyes when she pointed out Michael. So this was to be Holiday’s new victim.

They all said a round of hellos and then Holiday dismissed them to go surfing again, assuring them the girls would still be there when they were done. Then she cracked open one of the bottles and passed it to Chloe, who began sipping on it immediately. They both lapsed into silence, enjoying the sun. Chloe felt the jetlag catching up with her. It was only 1:24 p.m. but in Sheffield that made it 8:24 p.m. and though Chloe would never go to sleep that early normally, traveling had exhausted her.

“I’m gonna nap.” She told Holiday, laying down on her back. Her eyes slipped shut at once. “Don’t let me get burned.” She mumbled out.

“I won’t. Rest up, lovebug. We’re going out tonight.”

Chloe didn’t respond, already having fallen asleep. Holiday chuckled, listening to the soft snores coming from the small girl, and then laid back down herself, planning out their evening in her mind.