Don't Give up on Me

"Should we wake her up?"

"No, she looks peaceful."

"But its two o'clock on a Saturday!"

"I've got this..."

Voices drifted into my dream, and naturally my subconscious discarded them without alarm. Although, when I was awoken seconds later, I was utterly thrown off guard and jumped slightly. Vi and Charles laugh lightly as I sit up, brushing my wild hair out of my face as I do so.

"Morning," I say hoarsely, my throat dry from sleeping.

"Hey sunshine," Violet says, her arms wrapping around my shoulders. "Do you know what we're doing today?"

"No," I yawn, slowly getting out of bed. "Why are you two here, anyways?"

"I'll try not to take offense to that," Violet mutters as she walks over to my bedroom door, leading the way out.

"We're semi-forcing you to get out of the house today," Charlotte says as I make my way downstairs carefully; I was clumsy when half asleep and didn't want to break a bone or anything.

"But wh-" I begin, but seeing Zacky standing at the gas-range stove top made me stop midsentence. I wasn't exactly dressed to impress at the moment; my ratty t-shirt covered in paint stains and a pair of running shorts didn't scream 'attractive' at the moment. It said 'Hot Mess' instead.

And who in their right mind wants to look like a hot mess in front of a cute guy? Not me, that's for damn sure.

"Where does your dad keep the pancake mix?" he asks, not even glancing in my direction, though I know he caught my unfinished sentence from before.

"Pantry," I reply, sliding onto a bar stool and resting my head on the cool granite of the island. I heard laughing coming from the living room, the sounds of my TV echoing in the silent kitchen. Fuck you's and Eat Shit, Faggot was heard as well, meaning they were most likely playing Call of Duty on my Xbox.

"You guys have been here a while, haven't you?" I ask, my voice slightly muffled by the counter top.

"....Yeah," they all finally admit together. "Your dad let us in around noon and said you were gonna be up soon, before he left," Charlotte adds.

"Oh," I only reply, my mind still slow from being half awake. I hear them moving around, Charlotte using a motherly tone with Zacky after he burns the first pancake and eventually taking over after a few grumbles, Violet brewing coffee in the Kuerig maker and heating the syrup. We'd all fallen into a comfortable friendship in the two months I'd been in California. Violet, Charles and I had grown into a close trio quickly, and wherever one was, the other two weren't far behind.

Matt and Jimmy were like my older brothers. Both extremely protective and goofy, they always put a smile on my face. Brian and I were friends, but the kind of friends that insulted one another to the point where it annoyed everyone else. But that's how we clicked, so screw them.

Zacky was... I couldn't describe it. We were obviously friends, but it didn't feel like a normal friendship to me. And he certainly didn't treat it as one either. I remember when he introduced me to the Berry brothers with Jimmy at a party a couple of weeks ago, and the way his body language changed when he saw me chatting to a random guy there. His eyes grew an indechiperable green, and what I think was jealousy marked his features for a split second. Then, as casual as ever, he walked over to us and cock blocked the dude. Although, in retrospect, he wouldn't of needed to regardless since I didn't plan on sleeping with Darren or Dylan or whoever the fuck he was. I hadn't looked at another guy that way since- well, since Zacky.

Zacky confused me. He had that ability to send that tingly, nervous, butterfly effect in me, yet at the same time, piss me the fuck off and wonder why I put up with him for only seconds at a time before realizing he was just teasing. And I hated to admit it, but I was really hoping for some insane reason that these little feelings would leave.

A hand moves a strand of hair from my face. "Your meal has arrived, mademoiselle."

I can't help but laugh a little at Zacky's terribly fake French accent. I look up and see him half-smiling at me with his arms crossed against his chest. "I didn't poison it, by the way. Eat."

I raise my head up and yawn, pushing my hair out of my face and pulling my plate towards me. Violet sets a cup of coffee down in front of me and winks before she and Charlotte walk into the living room, leaving the door separating the space cracked.

"These are great," I can't help but say as I taste the syrup soaked pancake.

"I would say I'm an expert, but Charlotte is the true wiz here. I swear she can make the hangover cure while hungover herself," he says, rambling slightly as he stood across from me.

"Well, they taste great," I reply. "Don't take this the wrong way, but why was I woken up on the only Saturday I didn't have a game to dance at?"

"Because you're a lazy bum," he teasingly answers.

"You didn't answer my question," I remind him.

"Charlotte and Violet dragged us all out of bed, then we came here. They had plans of their own. I'm sort of just going along with what they say, because I'm afraid of them," he replies, making me laugh.

"So you didn't come out of your own free will?"

"I will ALWAYS come to your house willingly, my dear," he smirks, leaning against the counter.

I smile again, finishing my food and rinsing the plate. "Good, because you're always welcome." Picking up my still full coffee cup, I walk into the living room with him on my heels, sitting crosslegged with my back against the sofa.

"Fuck yeah! How do you like the taste of defeat, motherfucker!" Matt yells over to the dark headed freshman. Johnny sighs, though he's smiling.

"Damn dude, chill out," I say quietly, all eyes landing on me in realization that I was finally awake.

"Took you long enough, Ariel!" Jimmy teases, calling me the Disney princess for my hair color. "I was getting restless!"

"We all were. Jesus. Can we do something now?" Brian adds.

"Shh. My head hurts," I reply, smirking when Brian childishly groans. "I'm just kidding. Give me a few minutes."

"What do you have in store for us, Andria?" Zacky asks in a serious tone, using my full name. I narrow my eyes at him.

"Well, Zachary, I'm not exactly the one to ask. Ask the pair that dragged me out of bed."

We stare each other down for a few seconds before Violet starts to speak. "Well, before we can do anything, Andi needs to get dressed. Like now."

I groan. "I just wanted to sleep. Why do you do this to me?"

Charlotte rolls her eyes at me. "You're so lazy, Andi, I swear! Just go get dressed. You won't regret it, I promise."

With a large sigh, I set my cup of coffee and trudge upstairs, wondering what exactly she and Violet had in store for the day.