Don't Give up on Me

"You stupid jerk! I can't believe this! What made you think this was okay?!" I yelled at Zacky in anger.

"The fact that you said, 'Hey babe, let's play a round of Call of Duty, I'm bored'," he says calmly. "Just because you suck at the game doesn't mean you have to scream at me."

"You cheated! You hardly ever play, and you beat my high score, on your first try. What the fuck is that?"

"Like good ol' Charlie Sheen would say, I'm winning, Andi."

"Oh God, the jokes have gotten worse. Ironic jokes are terrible," I groan, throwing my controller down on the sofa cushion and moving away from him.

"You're such a bitch, I don't even know why I call you my girlfriend," he says jokingly.

"You're such an asshole, I don't even know why I call you my boyfriend," I retort back just as playfully. He and I share sly smiles before I move back closer to him and kiss him briefly.

"I guess I forgive you for winning this round..." I murmur quietly. He rolls his eyes. "Okay, fine, I'm sorry for the verbal assault. Its not my fault you can't handle it."

"That's as good as it'll get," he mutters, sighing. "But you're forgiven, my dear."

"My dear? What are you, a 30 year old man?"

"I figured the 'babe' card was a little played out, so I tried the next best thing."

"Yeah, well, as far as Pet Names/Terms of Affection go, you need some work."

He laughs as my phone starts to ring. "Are you going to answer it or continue listening to whatever your ringtone is?"

The song that was playing was I'm Low on Gas and You Need A Jacket by Pierce the Veil, and unsurprisingly, he didn't listen to them, nor did he like them. "Let's go inside, it'll be alright, but last night- Hello?"

"Andi? Thank God, I was about to hang up," my mother's voice drifts into my ear. She sounded as if she had been crying before, but stopped shortly before this call. "Am I interrupting anything?"

"No, no. Have you been crying, Mom?" I ask, muting the television before sitting back down.

"I was hoping you hadn't noticed," she sighs.

"Que malo, Mama?" I ask, slipping into Spanish, otherwise she would have beat around what she orginally called me for.

She sighs again. "Its your grandfather, Andi. He's gotten sicker. The chemotherapy hasn't worked like the doctors thought it would, and its spread even more. He's in Hospice Care now; he doesn't have much time."

I felt myself grow colder, my hand covering my shocked open mouth. "I'm so sorry, Andi. I was hoping my first call to you after you arrived back in California would be good news."

"Mom, I need to be there. I have to-"

"You can't. Mija, I wish you could, but you can't. You've got school, first of all, and second, I don't want you to see this. Its hard enough knowing what's going to happen...."

As soon as the first tear fell, I felt Zacky pull me into his chest comfortingly. "So, what will happen? Is this just a waiting game now?"

"Unfortunately, yes, pretty much. I'm sorry that I upset you, Andria.."

"Its okay, I know it wasn't your intention. I'll, um, call you later, though, okay? I love you, Mom."

"I love you, too, mi hija."

I hung up the phone with a heavy sigh and stare straight ahead, trying to process the information I was just given.

"Andi?" I look up at him and bite my lip to stop the sob that threatened to come out. "What's-"

"My grandfather is dying in the hospital," was all I managed to say before I lost it completely, clinging to him as I cried. I knew that his chances of living were slim to none, but I still had that hope that he would be able to fight through it. It was wishful thinking, obviously, but I honestly thought he'd be okay. Now he was in a care center that assisted him into death, and I couldn't even properly say goodbye.

"I'm sorry," he says. He didn't really say much after that, and I didn't really want him to. I did finally get myself under control, though I still felt like crap.

Why is it that when I'm finally happy, life just has to come in and ruin it for me? I thought as I lay with him on my sofa. I just want to be happy, and stay that way.

"I want that for you, too," he murmurs, kissing my head. My eyes widen; did I really say that out loud? "You of all people should know that it gets better, though. You're a strong person, maybe not physically-" I rolled my eyes at him, though he got a smile out of me "- but you know what I mean. I know its tough, but it'll be alright."

"Thanks for the pep talk," I say hoarsely. "And for letting me ruin your shirt," I add, referring to the mascara now stained onto his white t-shirt. I could only imagine how my face looked.

"Its what I'm here for," he replies with a shrug. I sit up and wipe underneath my eyes carefully, a few black smudges appearing on my fingers.

"Excuse me for a sec," I say before going into the downstairs bathroom and washing away the makeup that had smudged before rejoining him. He found a movie on Netflix and had just started it when I resumed my place beside him on the sofa.

"Better?" he asks. I shrug before resting my head on his chest, the opening scenes of Dazed and Confused starts to play. I laugh genuinely at the movie choice.

"What?" he asks, looking at me like I was insane.

"This movie is set in my home town, babe."

"Ohhhhhhh," he drags the word out. "Did you ever do any of the stuff they did in this movie?"

"Well, my friends and I didn't haze freshman, that's for sure. But, aside from the obvious drinking, smoking, and general partying, all the events are stuck in 1976."

"So you're telling me that you never bashed mailboxes or climbed a water tower drunk?" I shook my head. "I'm really disappointed."

"Considering the fact that the first time I ever got arrested was with you, you really need to lower your expectations. I never really ever got into legal trouble until I met you."

"I know. I'm sorry about that, by the way."

"Don't be. They say if you get arrested together, its meant to be," I reply with a grin, quoting him from that night. He matches my grin before refocusing on the movie, although I didn't do the same. Of course I hadn't forgotten the phone call I had received, but at the same time, I didn't feel like I'd be doing right by staying sad. Death was inevitable, and it hit my grandfather faster than we thought it would. And we all feared oblivion. But death was a part of life. So is losing people you love. You can't dwell on what you can't control.

I had my eyes closed for some time, and Zacky thought I had fallen asleep, so he put the blanket originally on the back of the sofa over the both of us. I smiled and tighten the arm I had around him, and he did the same.

There was a knock on the front door, and seconds later, I heard soft footsteps walk inside. "Hello? Andi, I got your text in the middle of my interview at-- oh, there you guys are," I heard Violet's voice drift in from the front hallway. "Aw, shit, she's asleep. Now I feel bad."

"She slept through you and Jimmy almost killing each other over the last slice of pizza last night, so I don't think she'll magically wake up because you started talking," Zacky replies, and I don't even have to open my eyes to know that he rolled his at her.

"I'm just saying, if you buy the pizza, you get the last slice," she mutters, and by the sound of it, takes a seat on the loveseat nearby. "Is that what you two have been doing all day?"

"Pretty much. I got screamed at for beating her at Call of Duty, but that's nothing new." They both laugh. "You're dressed like you're on some official business. What's up?"

"Well, I had an interview with a dance company just outside of LA. I took Andi's advice."

"What advice?" Zacky asks, though I could tell he wasn't really interested. Asshole.

"When she quit the team back in January, she said Charlotte and I belonged on private teams rather than on Linda's. So, after Charlotte and Cara both said they were dropping the class last week, I took it upon myself to figure out if I still wanted to do it, now that they're leaving. The dance company actually contacted me, so I went with my Mom and checked it out. I'll spare you the details because you're not actually listening, so I can say anything I want right now. I could say that I ate sushi with the mayor of Los Angeles right now and you'd say something like 'whatever makes you happy'," Violet says, her voice growing more and more sarcastic and bitter as she went on.

"You know me too well, Violet, but that time I was actually listening," he says, his tone still bored. "I mean, if i said I didn't care, I'd be the biggest asshole ever... but I mean, if that's what you wanna do..."

She laughs. "What kind of food does Andi have here? I'm starving."

"I don't know, we usually just order pizza."

She leaves and comes back with a tray of what smelled like Bagel Bites. "Don't touch them, they're mine. Get your own."

"You see, I would love to, but there is a person currently sleeping on me, so I'm in a tough position," he replies, trying to convince her to make him some.

"Jesus Christ, Zack, stop being lazy and make yourself some damn food," I mumbled, moving off of him so he could.

"The girlfriend hath spoken," Violet grins as he walks into the kitchen, grumbling to himself the entire way.