Turn the Other Way

It was strange waking up the next day without Zack by my side. I felt odd not rolling over and feeling his strong arms wrap around my body. He had his own house, but he practically lived over here. I definitely missed him more than I could imagine and it had only been a day since we all went to ReDu.

He went home with Jimmy, Matt, and Leana, while Johnny dropped me off. He told me that he'd call me when he was ready, but it was already taking too long.

I sat up straight, staring out the murky window. A light rain had started early this morning and hadn't given up since. I sighed and looked around my room, finding one of Zack's shirts on the ground. I threw mine off and put his on, holding the fabric to my nose. I loved how he smelled. It was so different.

Just as I was about to get up to eat, my phone rang, causing my heart to jump with joy. I happily picked it up, but frowned when I saw the caller ID. "Brian?" Instead of answering it, I opened and closed it, resting my cell back on my bed stand before getting on my feet and heading downstairs.

I turned the light on in the kitchen, surprised to see how clean it actually was. With Zack here, I barely ever went into the kitchen. We'd always order out and just eat while watching TV. I slowly opened up cabinets, trying to remember where everything was placed.

Eventually, I found the one with cereal and poured myself a bowl of Cheerios. As I set the bowl down at the table, the house phone rang. I silently gasped and hurried to the phone, reading the ID. I smiled and picked up the phone.

"Hey Leana," I cooed, resting against the wall.

"Hey," a man's voice said back.

"Jimmy?"

"No. Brian." My throat froze. What the hell? "You wouldn’t answer when I called from mine."

"Well duh," I scoffed.

"Alright, so does Zack know about us or something?" he asked seriously. I heard the voices he was around disappearing. "Because in the car he was being a real jackass. He was making all these side comments about me and you, trying to play them off as jokes."

I sighed in frustration and twirled the phone's cord around my finger. "Yeah, I had to tell him. He heard some of our conversation and he was convinced that I was cheating on him."

"Yeah, I figured." He was silent for a moment. "Sorry about how I acted. I was really screwed up."

"I could definitely tell."

"...that doesn't mean that I was lying though."

"What?" I asked, letting the cord fall and hit the wall.

"I told you, I'm an honest drunk. I meant every word," he laughed. "But if I had it my way, I'd have been less dramatic.”

"I don't know what your talking about, you're always dramatic, Brian," I teased.

"Hah." I could just tell he was rolling his eyes. He always does when he does that laugh. "Well thought I'd call to explain myself. I didn't yesterday because I was hung-over and grumpy."

"Alright, well thanks I guess," I shrugged. "I'll see you later."

"OK. Are you coming to recording today?"

"No," I shook my head, biting down on my lip.

"Alright, we need you there soon, though," he said smugly.

"Why?"

"Because you have a nice voice and Jimmy wrote a part for you. Just make sure you're there on...Thursday I think?" he questioned. "Yeah. Two days, alright?"

"OK, see you."

"Bye, Jules." Voices got loud before his phone disconnected. I hung up as well, taking a moment to watch the phone. I turned around and groaned when I saw my bowl of Cheerios. I wasn't even the least bit hungry now. I grabbed the bowl and dumped the fresh cereal back into the box before placing it in the sink.

"Zack," I whined, feeling so alone in my own house. I dragged myself out of the kitchen and into the living room, lazily dropping onto the comfortable sofa. I clicked the remote and watched the first thing that came on. America's Next Top Model. Great.
About halfway through an episode, I found myself slipping back into a deep slumber. As soon as I was about to go out, the doorbell rang, causing me to jolt up. I looked out the window for a car before getting up and wiping the drool from my chin. I reached for the doorknob and swung the door open, careful not to stub my toe with it. A smile melted across my face. "Zack!"

"Hey, Julie," he smirked. He raised both of his eyebrows before leaning forward a bit. "Can I come in?"

I opened the door wider, allowing him entrance. "Yeah, anytime." He stepped inside, looking around the house as if he'd never been there before. I shut the door and locked it all three times. It was just a habit I had. "I missed you," I said softly.

He turned around and looked down at me, a small smile creeping on his face. "I missed you too, babe." He pulled me into a long embrace, rubbing my back with the tips of his fingers. That was usually how he put me to sleep if I couldn't do it myself. "Sorry I didn't call yesterday."

"Hangover?" I asked hopefully.

"Pfft, no, hangovers are for wimps," he laughed. "I am a god."

"Bri-" I stopped myself.

"Hmm?"

"Nothing," I shook my head meaninglessly. "So what'd you do yesterday?"

"Recording, same old same old," he shrugged, finally letting go of me and taking a seat on the couch. I laid down, resting my legs over the arm and my head on his lap. "Were finally almost done with Fast Melodic. Just Syn's solo now I think. And maybe some vocals."

"That's great! I love that song!" I exclaimed happily.

"Yeah, but I'm about to head over there now. Just thought I'd come by and say hey." He gently moved my head off of his legs and stood up, pulling me with him. "But I'll call you tonight when we leave, I promise."

"Great!" I grinned, forcing him into an eccentric hug. He chuckled into my hair, backing up a bit. His fingers pushed my chin up gently so his lips could connect with mine. The fact that we hadn't done it for a day made it all the more amazing. He headed towards the door. "Bye, Zack."

"Bye."