The Look Alike

*Zane’s POV*

In the few moments it took for my brain to revive itself from the shock, I realized Jared was saying something.

“Yep, Zane came to my rescue. Bert was being an ass, so Zane made the motions of a punch…and from then it’s hazy,” Jared explained, wearing an innocent grin.

“What do you mean, hazy?” Frank asked, cocking an eyebrow.

“It’s a natural reflex of mine, when I sense danger is near I just play dead. Unfortunately, I hit the cement a little too hard and I knocked myself out,” Jared said, chuckling.

“I hope you know, that makes no sense at all,” Shannon stated, still eyeing me suspiciously.

“Well, that’s what happened. Right, Zane?” Jared said, putting an arm around me.

“Right…” I mumbled, going red.

“So! Off to rehearsals, I shall see you again Zane,” Jared said, clapping his hands and bidding me good bye.

“Yeah, okay…” I said, still really confused slash shocked.

After Shannon and Jared had gone, Gerard grabbed my arm and literally dragged me back to the bus where the rest of the band was waiting. Frank kept staring at me with a small grin while Gerard told everyone what had just happened. Great, another awkward situation. Once the story had been told, Gerard pulled me past the staring eyes of the band. I could feel my face turning a nasty shade of crimson as he ushered me into the bunk area. I watched blankly as Gerard sat after closing the door, it didn’t take a genius to know that he wanted me to sit as well.

“So…I imagine your mother may have spoken to you about this…” Gerard started, clearing his throat nervously.

“About what?” I asked, furrowing my eyebrows. I feared this was going to be interesting.

“Well…when a man meets a woman, or another man, he…” Gerard answered, face turning a deep red.

“Whoa! WHOA! You’re seriously giving ME the talk!? What do you think I was doing in that bathroom!?” I shouted, throwing my hands up to stop him from continuing.

“Erm, I guess--,” Gerard spluttered, as I stood up fuming.

“No! Don’t tell me because I think I already know! Just…just forget it, Gerard. I’m…I’m going for a walk,” I stated, opening the door and walking into the crowed living area where the rest of the band was sitting. Great, they heard me explode at Gerard.

“And nobody follow me! I’ll come back in a little bit!” I shouted as I slammed the door behind me.

*Gerard’s POV*

Damn. I hadn’t expected him to get so angry…but what did he assume Frank and I would think!? I know I can be thick sometimes, but even I saw through Jared’s explanation.

“Everything okay, Gee?” Mikey said, coming to sit with me.

“No! I just pissed Zane off unintentionally!” I sighed fiercely.

“How can you manage to piss a teenager off?” Mikey asked, a trace of a smile playing on his lips.

“I tried giving him ‘the talk’, okay!?” I groaned, blushing once more.

“Yep, that’ll do it,” Mikey said, biting back a laugh.

“Shut it, Mikes,” I said through gritted teeth.

“Okay, okay, just let him fume and set himself right. He’ll come back when he’s ready,” Mikey said reassuringly.

“Yeah…I hope so,” I sighed, running a hand through my hair.

*Zane’s POV*

I walked for what seemed to be hours, my feet were killing me and yet…I still didn’t want to go back to the bus quite yet. The sun had long gone down and I could hear the faint echoes of one of the bands playing to a packed arena. You could be a dumbass and still know the band playing…The Used. Aggravation I’d been nursing from my last encounter with Bert was still pulsing through my veins. This aggravation doubled as I got closer and closer to the asshole’s band. Backstage was its usual chaotic self, people were scurrying around like chickens without heads. It was odd though; there was some water on the ground, which stagehands were hurriedly trying to clean up. What the hell?

“Hey Zane, how’s going?” a voice asked behind me.

“Pretty…good,” I answered, turning to face a sopping wet Jared Leto.

“Gerard didn’t ream you a new one did he?” Jared inquired, carefully wiping his damp face.

“No…Jared, what the hell is with the water?” I finally questioned, noting how his face darkened.

“Bert…he, um, decided to pelt me with some water balloons while I was performing,” Jared said with a dangerous tone, shooting a glare at the performing jackass.

“What!? Is the sponsor going to do something about this!?” I said incredulously.

“Well, when I asked he gave me a long explanation with a lot of large words…which basically spell out NO,” Jared sighed tightly, squeezing his wet dark hair.

“That’s fucked up…” I seethed.

“Yeah, tell me about it,” Jared agreed, trying to vainly dry his shirt off.

Now, I don’t know if I told you, but when I’m pissed and seeking out some revenge…I get these not too bright ideas that seem reasonable at the time. Confused? Well, it’ll make sense in five seconds.

“Hey Jared, I’ve got an idea that may or may not work out,” I stated, a dark grin forming on my face.

“Oh, what’s that?” Jared asked, curious at my facial expression.

“Well, it’s because of Bert I knocked you out and that you are now sopping wet, right?” I began.

“Right…” Jared said.

“How about some payback?” I smirked, watching Jared’s face break into a mischievous smile.

“What do you have in mind, my friend?” Jared grinned.