Zero to Sixty

"Please, Zacky? Please, please, please, please! I promise, I won't ever ask for anything else ever again and-"

"You know that's a lie, Lou."

"Okay, so maybe it is but still - please do it with me? I'm on my knees begging you to do this with me."

"I told you, no. The guys and I have too much shit to do, and Gena's already on my ass about all this wedding shit and-"

"Then this is the perfect chance to go with me! It's a week off from all that, and besides, it ends on my birthday. Just think of it as an early gift."

"Lou..."

"Please, Zacky? It would mean so much to me if you went."

"Why can't you just have one of the girls go with you? Better yet, go by yourself!"

"Because it's no fun going by yourself! Who wants to be stuck in a car by themselves for a week? And I love the girls to death, but again - a week in a car with them? Hell no. I'd rather cut out my left nipple ring with a rusty spoon than do that."

"Lou! Way too much information!"

"Stop changing the subject!"

Zacky lets out a deep sigh. His eyes close as he thinks over what he may be getting himself into before looking back up at his best friend. He's known her just as long as he's known Matt, and Lou was always a very stubborn child. Even if Zacky said 'no', she would pull him into it some how; with either guilt trips or those sad brown puppy-dog eyes of hers. He sighs again, and his shoulders fall in defeat.

"Fine, I'll go with you."

"Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you, Zacky! You're the best friend any girl could ask for!" She jumps slightly from her excitement before wrapping her arms around his shoulders and pressing a messy, open mouth kiss to his cheek. Zack groans and pulls away from the sloppy kiss, pushing the brunette away.

"Okay, okay! I get it! Now can I please get back to working on this album cover?"

"Of course, I'll leave you alone, my dear Zee," she teases him with a grin, pulling at the slight chub on his cheek before leaving the room. Halfway down the hall, she turns back around and sticks her head into his office. His green eyes are glued to the screen, with his chin resting on his left hand and his right moving the computer mouse back and forth on the smooth, flat surface of the desk.

"Hey, Zee?" she says softly, grabbing his attention. Zacky looks over at her, and she can tell his more stressed than usual. She hopes to change that with the Rally.

"Yeah, Lou?"

She grins, her happiness brightening the room. "Thanks."

"No problem, Lou."

Zacky turns back to the computer screen, and Eloise takes this time to quickly say, "See you bright and early!"

"What!" Zacky yells, jumping up and running around her. Eloise is already down the stairs of his house and grabbing at her purse sitting beside the door.

"Did I forget to mention that the Rally starts to tomorrow? Whoops! Must have forgotten to mention that little detail." She opens the door and runs out, shuffling for the keys to her cherry red Nissan that sits in the circular driveway.

"LOU!"



Zacky yawns as he half drags, half carries his bag out his front door and onto the front patio where he waits for Eloise. It's just after seven in the morning. After finally getting done with what he could on the newest album's cover and sending it over to Cam, and getting through the argument with Gena over the last-minute notice of him accompanying Eloise on the Rally when Gena had set up cake-tasting appointments, Zack passed out in his bed around three in the morning. At six, Lou had called his phone, making sure he was going to be ready by the time she came by.

And here he was, an hour later, fresh out of the shower and with a great need of coffee, or beer, in his system. There's the familiar purr of an engine that Zacky has heard many times. He yawns again, his eyes closing tight; the yawn makes tears form in the corners of his eyes. As he opens them again to blink slowly at the sight before him.

Eloise is half in the car, half out, her body leaning against the top as she sits in the window. The bright cherry red Nissan is no more, and, instead in its place, is an electric purple Nissan with designs running all along the sides. There's a large Vengeance University sticker placed on the passenger side door, and he can just barely make out the Deathbat on the trunk from the way the car is parked.

"Come on, loser! We're gonna be late if you keep standing there looking like Matt when he plays his video games!"

Zacky is shaken from his thoughts, but the bright purple burns his eyes.

"Why purple?" he mumbles, running his tongue over his dry lips before grabbing his bag and dragging it to the trunk. There's the Deathbat. Eloise pops the trunk lid from inside the car, and Zacky places his his duffle bag with a week's worth of clothes beside Eloise's bookbag. He keeps his laptop bag hanging off his side. He'll need that up front whenever they're on down time and he can get some more things done.

He opens the passenger side door and slides in, putting his laptop bag in the floor at his feet. After adjusting his seat he looks over at Eloise. She's grinning at him and hands over a fresh cup of coffee.

"Thank god," he groans, taking the coffee and drinking it quickly.

"How late did you stay up last night, Zee?" she asks, pulling the car out of park and shifting into first gear. Eloise pulls out of the driveway and begins to roll down the road at a safe speed. Zacky lets one of his arms hang out the window, the feel of the wind making goosebumps run up his arm.

"I think three... maybe four," he tells her tiredly, and Eloise looks over at him in disbelief.

"What? I told you we were going to be going bright and early! I have to be at check-in by eight, and it's half an hour drive to Long Beach, if we're lucky and get through traffic. Then we gotta find the place all the cars are supposed to meet at, and I was told check in takes at least an hour and-"

"Lou," Zacky groans, bringing his hands up to rub at his now aching temples. "Just chill for a second, okay?" he mumbles, laying his head back against the cushioned seat and lulling his head to the side to look at her.

"Sorry, Zee." She fidgets with some of the threading becoming undone from the leather steering wheel, before she turns on the radio. A random pop song blares out the speakers and both of them wince before she presses a button, and the CD player makes a sound of a disc spinning in it before Zacky hears Joel Madden's voice singing through the speakers.

The ride to Long Beach is a quick one; at least Zacky thinks so. Once they've gotten off PCH and finally on the actual roads of Long Beach, the usual morning traffic is making it impossible for Eloise to get into her needed lanes. In one hand she has her cell phone, a map of directions telling her where to go, while the other hand grips the steering wheel. Every two or three seconds, she raises her eyes to watch the road before looking back at the map.

"Mother fuckers need to get the fuck out of my fucking way," she growls, slamming her phone down into Zacky's lap and gripping the wheel with both hands. Zacky looks over at her with an amused look. He's finally woken up enough where he can tolerate her horrible road rage. His coffee is almost gone, and he's yearning for another. Then he'll be awake enough to actually start enjoying the week long trip across the southern United States, from LA to Miami.

Zacky picks up her phone and swipes his finger across the screen of Eloise's phone and looks up at the map. He looks over at her, and then back at the map.

"Uh, Lou, you missed the exit."

"No I didn't, Zee," she growls, her hands gripping the steering wheel tighter. He doesn't quiet catch the hint.

"Well, this says get off at exit twelve, and we passed it about two minutes ago."

Eloise reaches over and grabs at the phone in Zacky's hand. Pushing the button for the window to roll down, Eloise throws the phone out the side of the car before having it slide back up.

"Damn, who lit the fuse on your tampon?" he grumbles, running a hand through his hair. Zacky looks over at her, and he can't help but notice her choice of clothing. She wears a sleeveless black tank, showing off the black and gray ink covering her shoulders. Her bra strap slips down every few minutes, and she instinctively reaches to push it back up her shoulder. Holding down her curly hair is one of her many LA Angels hats, and a pair of red-lense aviators cover her angry brown eyes. With the summer heat the way it is, he doesn't blame her for wearing the shorts she's wearing but still-

Damn, he thinks, running his tongue over his dry lips again. Zack closes his eyes and forces the thoughts of his best friend from his head. No, you've got Gena. Don't start that shit with Lou.

"You okay, Zee?" Eloise asks, turning down the volume of the music.

"Yeah, why you ask?" he answers quickly, before reaching in his pocket for his phone. He needs something as a distraction.

"You made that sound you always make when you're... uh, frustrated." She mumbled the last part. If Zacky wasn't best friends with Lou, he would have demanded she stopped the car and kissed the shit out of her. But they were best friends, and he was just being horny because Gena had been cockblocking him for the last two weeks.

"How much longer until we're there?" he asks, running a hand through his hair again. It's a mess by now, he knows, but doesn't particularly care. He's still half asleep and internally demanding another coffee.

"Hope you got your seat belt on!" she says loudly and quickly before pulling off into a free spot in the lane over and runs across the side shoulder up to the exit. Zacky grabs the 'oh shit' handle hanging above his head and uses his other to brace himself against the side of Eloise's seat.

"Lou! What the fuck!"

Her sleek, purple Nissan makes it just in time without getting scratched or causing too bad of an accident. She speeds up the ramp and pulls into morning-traffic of Long Beach.

"Told you to put your seat belt on," she says with a grin, resting back against the seat as she turns a corner and falls in line behind a long line of sports cars.

"The hell you did!" he says, no longer needing that coffee now that his adrenaline spiked from the near-death experience of Eloise driving. She had always been a safe driver, since every car she drove was customized by her hand, and she always had a fit when there was even a tiny scratch on the bumper.

"Ah, did my poor Zacky shit is pants?" she jokes, her voice going up a few octaves while she pats his knee teasingly. Zacky doesn't say anything, but when he's sure the car is stuck at a definite stop, his fingers wiggle over her ticklish ribs.

"Shit! Zack- stop! I'm gonna- shit, stop!" she laughs through her words, pulling away from her fingers while keeping her foot on the brake as long as she can before pulling up the E-brake and jumping out of the car and away from Zack's hands. The group of cars honk at Eloise, signalling for her to get out of the way, and she simply flicks them off with both hands before turning around and slapping her ass.

Eloise climbs back in the car, glaring at Zack with a smirk pulling on her lips. He whistles a random tune, playing innocent.

"Oh, it's on, Baker."

"Bring it," he eggs her, and can't help the grin he has.

"Oh, don't worry, Zee. It's been brought. You're gonna get your own taste of vengeance now."

"Are you trying to seduce me?" he jokes, wiggling his eyebrows at her. Eloise tosses her head back in amusement while she laughs, but doesn't answer. The line pulls up slowly, and finally Eloise is able to park her car and turn off the engine.

"Okay, I'm gonna go sign in and get our sticker. You wanna come with or sit in the car?" The last part is said jokingly, like a mother talking to a teenager.

"I guess I could come in. Don't have anything else to do."

Once out of the car and all her information in her hands, Eloise grabs Zacky's hand and pulls him into the hotel lobby. They follow the signs to the conference center where the sign in is held. Patiently, they wait their turn for papers, side by side.

"Why are you going on this race thing, again?" Zacky asks, leaning down to mumble it in her ear so not to be over heard from the other drivers. He was a car guy, but liked the speed and form of the car rather than showing off its paint job and horse power.

Eloise laughed and stepped up when the line moved. "It's not a race, Zack. It's a Rally. It's just a place for people to show off their cars and have fun with other people who like cars. I'm hoping to get some eyes on my custom works so I can get more business. It's been way too slow lately."

She covers her mouth with her hand when she yawns.

"When did you go to sleep?" he asks, and gets a smirk in return.

"I didn't get any sleep."

"The fuck?!" he whispers harshly, getting a few looks from the other drivers.

"I was up all night painting the car."

"But why purple? You hate the color purple."

"How many purple cars do you see, Zack?" she asks, waving her hand to the window that over looks the parking lot. "One. Mine. How many red cars do you see? At least thirty. I wanted to stand out. Purple was the best way to go. Besides, we were out of electric blue and I didn't want a patchwork paint job."

Zacky laughs and shake his head at her car-lingo.

Finally, after a twenty minute wait, Eloise is getting her papers and passing over the information for the Rally coordinators. Eloise signs the highlighted lines and then hands the papers back over.

"Do you have any sponsors on your car, Miss Weathers?" the guy asks, and Eloise nods.

"Uh, yeah. Hold on, I think I got pictures..." She goes through the stack of papers and pulls out a few pictures of her car. Zacky leans over and looks down at them. "Avenged Sevenfold," she points to the Deathbat. "Vengeance University," she points to the switchblade logo that Zacky designed. "Um, South Cali's Custom Decals," she points to the logo of her business, placed on the driver side door. "And then the usual - Rockstar, Fearless Records, and Vans."

The guy nods and takes note of all this on the bottom of her papers before handing over a large sticker, a location map hanging on a lanyard, and her driver's license.

"Enjoy the Rally."

She grins and nods, putting her license in her back pocket. "Thanks." Grabbing Zack's hand, Eloise pulls him from the conference room and goes back to her car. Once she has let go of his hand, Zack simply watches as she walks around her car before carefully removing the correct side of the stick and placing it on the hood of the purple Nissan. Sliding her hand over the large sticker, and letting it sit for just a few minutes, Eloise then pulls it off. The clean white stands out against the electric purple.

Almost a dozen cameras are going around all the cars, taking in the sights as the last of the Gumball attendants sign in and grab their sticker.

"And look at this fine car, with an equally fine woman! My man, where did you find such two beautiful things?" The host says, a microphone being thrust in Zacky's face as a camera falls on the purple vehicle and the two. Eloise tries her best not to burst into laughter. Zack's face goes a bit pale before he jerks his thumb in Eloise's direction.

"Actually, it's her car. We're just friends, and she pulled me along at last minute."

The host lets out a whistle, and pushes the microphone into Eloise's face.

"And what's your name, beautiful? Just so I know who to look for in Vegas."

Eloise lets out a laugh, holding her stomach as she does.

"You can call me Lou. I customize cars for a living, and this is my baby." She pats the hood of her car. It's warm from the sun and the running engine. "I talked Zacky, here, into coming along with me since I've always wanted to do the Gumball ever since I was a teen."

"A pleasure to meet you, Lou! Now, please, do tell us about this magnificent beauty you have behind you."

Zacky stands back behind the camera, his hands deep in his pockets as Eloise goes around her car, explaining things about the engine, the paint, the sponsors and stickers, the horse power- He looses track of everything she says.

"Thank you, Miss Lou. Definitely a pleasure to meet you and have you in our Rally."

The host presses his lips to Eloise's cheek, his hand obviously grabbing where it wasn't meant to be. Zack bristled up at this, his fists tightening under his arms as he held them, crossed, against his chest. As the host walked away, and Eloise walks over to Zacky, laughing to herself at something.

"Do you have to shit, or something? You have that constipated look on your face, Zee," Eloise tells him, before mimicking the expression. She holds it for a few seconds before they both burst into laughter.

"He was a bit handsy, don't you think, Lou?" he says, wrapping an arm around her shoulders as they walk to the nearby cars and look at them. Eloise lifts the aviators from her face and sits them on the top of her hat.

"I'm used to it. When you got a body this fine, you gotta let some get a small taste every now and then," she jokes, winking at him before leaning against the hood of one car and checking out the engine of whatever car she had pulled them to. Zacky keeps his eyes up, not letting them fall to the round ass that sticks out just inches from his thigh.

Johnny Christ, Lou, you don't know what you do to me, girl.

When Eloise is done admiring the engine, she stands back up straight and stuffs her hands in the back pockets of her shorts. A loud siren sounds around the parking lot, and most drivers begin to run to their cars. Eloise turns to Zack to grin and nods her head in the direction of her car and begins to walk to it.

Once in the car, with her engine revved and ready to go, Eloise glances down at the location map around her neck and switches the radio. The host's voice comes over the radio station.

"Alright, alright, alright! This is it! Drivers, start your engines for the fifteenth, annual Gumball three-thousand!" A chorus of cars are revved and brought to life by the turn of a key. Eloise does so happily, pumping the gas while her hand stays down on the E-brake. Zacky can't help but watch her, and smile at the happiness that is written on her face.

"We begin in three! Two!" There's a pause, all breaths are held in before there's the loud, "GO!" That is yelled through a microphone. Eloise laughs as her back tires spin against the asphalt while the front stays still other than the few swerves. Slowly, each car exits the hotel parking lot, waving and grinning at the onlookers and cameras.

Coming to the first camera, Eloise keeps one hand on the steering wheel while the other is held out the window, flashing her middle finger to all those that can see. Zacky laughs, slapping his hand against the outside of the car as he shakes his head at her antics.

Once out of the slow convey and on the interstate to their first stop, Eloise grins as she reached for a familiar CD sitting in the sun visor. She places her aviators back on her nose before popping the CD into the slot. Zacky looks over at her, not sure what she put in. Her fingers press the tiny arrow 'up' making the tracks skip to the fourth one. Before the song even begins, Zacky knows just which one it is. There's only one song that she'll put on full volume when driving in her car.

Matt's familair rough, gravel voice comes over the booming speakers.

"He who makes a beast out of himself, gets rid of the pain of being a man!"

"Vegas here we come, baby!" Eloise yells over the music, pumping her fist in the air as her speed picks up to a steady eighty miles an hour.