True Love

"Val, seriously..." Matt chided from his spot on the couch, "stop hovering." Val turned to her husband, arms folded over her chest.

"Well excuse me for being interested in our new neighbor..." Val snapped, rolling her eyes.

"Interested, you're fucking obsessed." Matt groaned, "It’s all she’s done, seriously..." the guys all sat around the living room, each with their respective instrument sitting in their laps.

"Is she hot?" Brian asked, a sly grin stretching its way across his well chiseled face. Val walked over, slapping him across the back of his head.

"You're married to my sister you ass," she hissed, he could only shrug, "and besides, I haven't seen her face..."

"Val has this crazy idea," Matt started with an amused grin as Val looked at him, clearly mortified.

"Matt, no!" Matt rolled his eyes.

"She thinks its fucking Mia Winters," Johnny, Brian and Zack all took a moment to let it sink in, and once it did they all began to laugh hysterically.

"Head cheerleader, prom queen, Zack's ex-girlfriend, Mia Winters?" Val's face fell as she huffed.

"Mia fucking Winters?" Johnny huffed with an amused look, "What business does that bitch have back in Huntington?" Val just shrugged. Mia had been one of her best friends growing up, and she missed Mia every bit as much as Zack did.

"Uh...question..." the curly hair kid asked from his spot in the recliner, Val glanced over at Arin, the man who had taken on Jimmy's...well he was the drummer, and she occasionally forgot he didn't know their history so well.

"Yeah Arin?" Val asked gently.

"Who's Mia?" he asked, tapping his drum sticks at a rapid rate on his thighs.

"Mia," Val started, sitting down on the arm of the couch, "was one of my best friends in high school, she was freakishly smart. She was actually supposed to be a junior when we were seniors, but she graduated the same year we did, she was super popular, like prom queen popular..." she glanced over at Zack, who was staring down at the acoustic guitar in his lap. Even after all these years it still took a toll on Zack to talk about her. Losing her was easily one of the worst things that had happened to him.

"She dated Zack for like...a year," Brian said interrupting as Zack reached for his beer, taking a quick swig. Arin looked over at Zack, who was chewing on his lip. Trying to decide how much he actually wanted to tell Arin.

"he was head over heels for Mia..." Val said honestly.

Who was he kidding? If he didn't tell the kid, everyone else would. And besides, Arin had become one of his closest friends.

Zack cleared his throat.

"I went over to Mia's house one morning, and like Syn said we had been dating for like a year," he grumbled, anxiously running his hands through his hair, "and her mom answered the door, told me that Mia had left for New York to go live with her dad...and she didn't want to see me anymore."

"fuck dude,," Arin mumbled, "I'm sorry..."

"It gets worse..." Johnny's voice crept through the awkward silence. Zack shot a death glare at him as he quickly held his hands over his crotch, guarding his self.

"Val you take this part..." Zack mumbled as he stood from his spot on the couch, walking over to the window watching as me in blue jumpsuits carried boxes out of semi-trucks.

"Um..." Val began awkwardly, "Zack actually had a ring. He had plans to ask Mia to marry him that day on the beach..." Arin's eyes went wide.

"I still have the fucking thing," Zack spoke, talking about the ring as he paced back across the room, grabbing his beer, "its in a box in my nightstand...shes the fucking reason none of my relationships work," he spoke in a bitter tone, "hell, shes the reason I refused to marry Gena..."

And that was every bit true, it had been thirteen, almost fourteen years since he had seen Mia and he still missed her. He hated thinking about what could have been. He just always had this feeling he couldn't explain.

Because in his heart, he always thought she would come back...

A 'Ding!' rang through the house, pulling Zack from his thoughts.

"My cookies!" Val said excitedly jumping from her seat.

"You made cookies?" Mat asked, rubbing excitedly at his stomach.

"They're for the neighbor!" Val called behind her as she sprinted for the kitchen.



"Mia, doll!" Madeline called as she walked into the kitchen, her arms wide open as she sat a bottle of wine on the table. She was in a form-fitting emerald colored dress, she looked like she was going to a ball, not there to help Mia unpack boxes.

"Mom," she mumbled as her mother kissed her on the cheek.

"Don't you look pretty today!" she chimed at Mia, who skeptically lifted an eyebrow. She was in black yoga leggings, a white sweater with one shoulder that hung off, revealing her olive toned skin and a light pink tank top. He mother hated when she dressed like this...she was up to something...

"Thanks?" Mia mumbled, crossing her arms over her chest.

"And the house is divine!" Mia had to resist rolling her eyes.

Don't get her wrong, Mia loved her mother, even more so after she became a mother herself and realized how truly challenging it can be, but Mia's mother had always been a little over the top. And Mia had always been a daddy's girl.

"Thanks, we like it..." Mia said as she grabbed a stack of plates out of the box, unwrapping them as she stacked them in the cabinet.

"Where are my granddaughters, anyway?" Madeline asked as she began to pick through one of the open moving boxes on the table.

"Out with dad," she said, loving the look of hatred taking over her mother’s face, "he took them out to buy paint for their rooms,"

"How..." Madeline started, pursing her lips.

"mom," Mia warned sternly, "be nice."

"what?" she asked, fluttering her long eyelashes, "I was just going to say how nice it is he actually spends time with them..." Mia rolled her eyes as she turned to her mother, placing her hands on her hips.

"Mom he always spends time with them, he helped me raise them for God's sake." Madeline rolled her eyes.

"You act like the man is a saint-" her tone was calm but fierce.

"Mom, drop it I am under enough stress without having to play referee between you and dad. Can you two manage to be civil? Please, for the sake of my goddamned sanity?" she huffed as she went back to unwrapping her lace patterned Vera Wang china.

Madeline walked over, unwrapping a plate before handing it to Mia.

It was then they heard the front door swing open, and the girl’s hysterical laughter filled the house.

"Mia! Were home!" her father’s voice rang through the house.

"Kitchen!" Mia beckoned as the girls quickly appeared.

"Grandma!" they yelled in unison, both wrapping their arms around her, sandwiching her between them.

"My girls!" Madeline chimed softly, pulling them closer.

"So," Mia began as she sliced another box open, "did you find paint?" the girls nodded.

"My room is going to be pink and grey!" Emma said excitedly.

"And mine is going to be Tiffany blue and black!"

"Good!" Mia said excitedly, but she glanced down at the floor, spotting what looked to be at least ten Pottery Barn Kids bags, little odds and ins peeking over the edges of the bags.

"What are those?" Mia asked, cocking a hip.

"We found everything we needed, they should be delivering their new furniture later today." Mia looked over at her father, and then over at the girls, who were batting their eyelashes.

"Dad they didn't need new furniture..." Gavin smiled widely at his granddaughters, before placing kisses on both of their foreheads.

"No, but I wanted them to have nice new rooms..."

"Thank you, grandpa." the girls chimed in unison.

"I cannot believe-" but Mia was interrupted as the doorbell rang through the house, "saved by the bell." Mia mumbled as she took off for the living room.

One of the movers had probably locked themselves out again.

Taking a deep breath she pushed the nob down, pulling the door open.

"Hi! I'm Val and this is my husband Matt and we live next door-"

Mia's eyes went wide, and she suddenly heard a loud 'crash!' and a shatter followed just moments later.

Standing in front of her was Val, her high school best friend. And Matt, Zack's old band-mate.

Val stared at her, eyes wide.

Mia took a moment to look down, there was a shattered glass plate and what looked like chocolate chip cookies laying all over her front steps.

"Oh my God. Mia?" was all Val could manage, Matt stood beside her, his mouth gaping wide. Mia stood silent for a moment, before taking a deep breath.

"Hi Val..."