Inside These Arms Of Yours

I was rudely awoken by the sounds of a band I knew as The Confession blaring through the walls of my room a week later. My door was suddenly flung open and Zacky walked in with a smug look on his face. From what I could see with my head half smushed in my pillow, he appeared to already be dressed in a pair of black jeans and a white tee shirt. Simple yet it looked amazing on him. He walked over to my bed and lay down next to me before wrapping his arms around me.

"Thought it was about time you woke up since you have your outing with Val this morning. I'm in the process of making breakfast if you want to come downstairs and eat with me." Zacky making breakfast was something I had become accustomed to over the week I had been living with him. I had to admit, damn could he cook.

"Mmmm can I at least shower first?" I mumbled from my place in my pillow.

"Sure but come down fast cause I'm fucking lonely down there all by myself." When I lifted my head up I saw he was pouting.

"Alright I'll hurry." I muttered as I dropped my head back onto my pillow.

"Good." He leaned down and kissed my head before I felt him get up and walk out of the room. I climbed up out of bed and headed to the shower for my daily routine.

Things this past week have been, to put it simply, incredible. Zacky and I have gotten along great and it felt nice to know he was there for me. The guys had been over everyday or we went to one of their houses but I had yet to meet any of the girls, which was kind of odd if you ask me. Zacky and I also hadn’t had a day to ourselves yet so that was what we were dedicating tomorrow to. The guys didn't have to record so we were just going to hang out, just the two of us. But today it was all me and Val. She had called the other day and asked if I wanted to go up to Hollywood with her. I had never actually been there and she said it was sort of a rite of passage to being one of the girlfriends to a member of Avenged. I wasn't planning on buying anything but I thought it would be cool to look around.

Fifteen minutes later I was out and dressed in a pair of black jeans with a white tank top that had teal and black hearts and crossbones on it. I did up my hair and make-up so I looked nice since we would be in the star's city and headed downstairs.

When I walked into the kitchen Zacky was just sitting down at the table where there were two plates of food sitting.

"Took you long enough. Damn it was worth it though. You look hot today."

"Why thank you. Gotta look nice if I'm going to Hollywood right?" I laughed as I sat down across from him.

"Oh definitely… there's just tons of guys there to impress." He replied as he rolled his eyes before taking a bit of his eggs.

"Oh shut up. You know I'm all yours. I'm just hoping to have a good time with Val." I reached over and grabbed some blackberry jam, spreading it on my toast before looking back up at Zacky.

"Trust me." He said after he took a drink of his orange juice that was now half gone. "You two will have a blast. I can tell you will be good friends."

~xXx~

The doorbell rang not long after we finished breakfast. Zacky and I had been sitting in the living room just relaxing and watching tv while we waited for Val to come. Zacky got up and went to answer the door while I turned off the tv and headed towards the door as well. I was met with a squeal halfway there and was then attacked by Val as she enveloped me in a hug.

"Oh my gosh! I'm sooooo fucking happy I finally get to meet you Katie! You have no idea…" she laughed as she pulled away from me.

I couldn't help but grin. Only a few seconds and I already liked her.

"I can honestly say I'm really glad to finally meet you too Val. It's been a week and I've had no contact with a girl."

"You mean Zack here isn’t enough of a girl for ya?" She smirked as Zacky stood there and crossed his arms before glaring at her.

"Watch it Val. You'd better be nice to me since I'm letting you take my girlfriend from me for the day." He said as we all walked back toward the door.

"And you had better take care of her Val. I want her back in one piece alright?" His tone showed he meant business although he had told me the other day he trusted Val completely.

"Zack have I ever let you down?" She twirled her car keys around her finger before opening up the front door. I leaned down and picked up my purse from its spot by the door and slipped into my flip flops before turning to Zack.

"No, but there's a first time for everything." He muttered before giving me a hug. I felt him slip something in my back pocket before pulling back slightly to look me in the eyes.

"That, is for you to buy some things for yourself today. I don't care how much you spend and I don’t want you worrying about how much you spend. Money certainly isn’t an issue with us alright? I mean it Katie. Get some nice things for yourself and have fun."

"Alright. If I find something I like I will, but I'm not promising anything." I told him while he slightly glared at me. His glare turned into a smile as he turned to Val.

"Make sure she buys something, alright?"

"Will do Zacky. Now if you don't mind, we're fucking out of here. Cya later!" She grabbed me by the arm and dragged me out the door while Zacky just laughed and waved. We climbed into her car and headed out.

"So… Matt has already told me a lot about you, but we both know how vague guys can be sometimes and they don't always pick up on the important things." She looked over at me before turning back to the road.

I laughed some and looked up to see we were getting on the 405 freeway.

"Well, there's really not a lot to tell. I'm from San Diego, the guys saved me from my totally insane landlord, umm I met them from a contest thing, which was pure luck by the way, I have a degree in music recording, so I guess I'm going to be working with them on the new record. Anything else you want to know?" She looked over at me and smirked. That seemed to be a pretty common thing among these people.

"Tell me about you and Zacky." I could feel myself blush slightly as I fiddled with my hands.

"Umm what do you mean about me and Zacky? We're dating, have been for a week."

"Well I know that… tell me the details! You know all the girl mushy stuff they hate to talk about." She pressed on.

"Ohhhh that stuff. Umm well, we've only made out so far. He's figured out not to pressure me cause it won't get him anywhere." I smiled.

"Oh good. He needs someone like that. All his life every girl has always been so easy for him. That boy needs a taste of reality."

"Yeah. He's been really sweet to me. I really like him. I just hope this whole thing isn't some rebound relationship for him." My smile faded the more I thought about it. I have never really had a serious relationship before. My previous ones didn’t last long thanks to the guys being total assholes. That's one of the reasons why my friend Will was so worried about me moving in with Zacky. Speaking of Will, I made a mental note to call him later on.

"Trust me babe, from what Matt's told me, you really had an impact on Zacky and this is no rebound relationship. One week may not seem like very long, but Zacky has a knack for seeing things in people quickly. How have you dealt with his cockiness so far?"

I laughed when she asked that. It seemed like he was notorious for being cocky. "Well, to be honest it doesn't bother me. I've grown up around guys mainly so it just seems normal. I mean I notice it alright but not to the point where it bothers me. My two best friends are both guys so needless to say I'm used to it." I smiled thinking of all the good times I've had with Will and Drew over the years and I just knew that there were more to come around these guys too.

"Ahhh alright. That makes sense. Well, just so you know, and I'm sure the guys have told you this; we're all so excited to have you here. And girl we are going to have a blast today if we ever get through this damn traffic!! Welcome to LA, the city with the worst traffic ever. I swear…" She trailed off but remained calm which I'm assuming is because she's used to this. San Diego traffic was nothing compared to LA.

"So you're going to be helping out with the album right?" She asked as we finally started moving a little faster ten minutes later.

"Yeah I am. Although I'm not sure exactly what they want help with. All they mentioned when they found out I majored in music recording was "Duuuude now you can help us!!!" and that’s all they've said! So I'm at a loss Val." I threw my arms up for an added dramatic effect which caused her to laugh.

"Well, Matt mentioned that he wanted you to help with vocals on a few of the songs. I've got a few parts on there as well. But apparently, he said you can sing, and sing really well. And I bet they need help with recording things and getting opinions. It'll be nice to have another girl's opinion and be able to tell them when stuff is shit. Most of the time they ignore me only to find out later that it really is shit." Laughter escaped from her again as we headed onto the freeway that I assumed would take us to Hollywood. The rest of the ride was spent just chatting about life, the guys, and the new album. It was sure nice to just be with Val. It took my mind off of life for a bit. She took an exit off the freeway and made a few turns before I looked up and saw the infamous Hollywood sign on the mountain to our right.

"Welcome to Hollywood babe."