The Ballerina and the Rocker

Zacky

The sound of drums pounded away at a ridiculously fast pace as Zacky’s fingers desperately tried to keep up on the guitar’s frets. He had played through the riff only once before going to record it over what Jimmy had previously recorded of his drums, and while it may not have been the cleanest sounding guitar track it did the trick.

With one more demo in the books, the guys were ready to take the next step and really drive the band’s momentum. It certainly felt like they were on their way, and Zacky couldn’t wait to tell Quinn the good news.

Quinn

It was hard to believe she had already been in New York for a month. The time had absolutely flown by. Not only was she loving the city, but Quinn was absolutely enthralled by her dance classes and was grateful for attending Juilliard every minute she was there.

When she had a rare moment away from the dance studio Quinn found herself in the student union, curled up on an armchair with a book in hand. It was her favorite way to indulge in some distance from her classmates and the city.

But that was rare. She usually forced herself into a practice room during most of her spare time.

On this particularly sunny September day, sunlight trickled in to the rehearsal room as Quinn did her barre exercises. She knew Juilliard was going to be brutal, but she wasn’t prepared for how early it was going to kick her ass. If she didn’t practice at least once every day she could kiss her dreams goodbye.

An hour easily passed before Quinn looked up and checked the clock on the wall.

“Dammit,” she mumbled to herself as she quickly packed up her duffle bag and rushed out of the rehearsal room.

Briskly walking down the hall, careful to not run in to anyone, and bolting out of the building’s lobby onto the busy New York street, she ran to the nearest payphone, took out her calling card, and dialed Zacky’s number.

“Hello,” Maria Baker’s familiar voice answered after a few rings.

“Hi, Mrs. Baker,” Quinn said. “It’s Quinn. Is Zacky there?”

“Of course! I’ll go get him.” There was a few seconds of silence before Zacky picked up the phone.

“Hey, I just tried calling your dorm but your roommate said you were out,” he said.

“Yeah, I lost track of time,” Quinn said apologetically. “I didn’t even make it back to my dorm to call you.”

“Aw, you’re using a disease infested pay phone for me?” Zacky teased.

“I used one to talk to my dad the other day, so don’t think you’re so special,” she teased back.

“God, you say the sweetest things to me, Quinn Hartford.”

She wished Zacky could see her smirk through the phone.

“So what’s up?” she said, getting to the point of their scheduled phone call.

“Oh shit, yeah. So remember how we’ve been sending out our demos like crazy?”

She remembered all too well; she and Zacky had been practically inseparable over the summer, and while they spent time to themselves Quinn also wanted to make sure the band didn’t get neglected by one of its guitarists. When they weren’t hanging out at the beach or sneaking into bars, they, along with Val and the rest of the band, were constantly looking into record labels and sending out demos in hopes that someone would take interest.

If there was a blank CD for sale in Huntington Beach it soon became an A7X demo.

“Well anyway,” Zacky continued, “we finally were contacted!”

“Shut up!” she exclaimed, almost dropping the phone from shock and excitement.

“Yeah! So we’ve been writing some more stuff and trying to get some more money together. We’re gonna start recording in November I think.”

“Zack, that’s absolutely amazing. I’m so proud of you guys!”

“So make sure you get Madison Square Garden ready for us, ok?”

“Yeah, I’ll get right on that,” Quinn laughed as Zacky laughed on the other end.

“I miss you,” he said when the laughter died down. His voice was more quiet and less exuberant than before. Quinn’s smile fell as she leaned against the phone booth and closed her eyes.

“Yeah. I miss you, too.”

Zacky

A blistering guitar solo, a la Brian Haner, played over Jimmy’s insane drums. The five boys sat in the Westbeach Recorders studio, where they had spent the last few weeks of their life putting their first record together, listening to the finished product of their song To End The Rapture. If the changes they made to this one song passed everyone’s vote -

“That’s fucking sick,” Matt said, to everyone’s agreement.

“Yeah, that sounds so much better than the first one,” Zacky chimed in. As much as he loved playing guitar, he knew Brian’s skills were far beyond his and it definitely showed on the recording.

“Aw, is some-won a wittle jealous?” Brian teased.

“Fuck off,” Zacky laughed as he flipped off a smiling Brian.

“Well boys,” Donnell, co-producer and owner of the studio, said, “congratulations - you just recorded your first record.”

Those words didn’t seem real. None of it seemed real. They were still in Matt’s garage, right?

“Un-fucking-believable,” Zacky said. He couldn’t wipe the smug grin off his face.

Quinn

The smell of her grandmother’s famous mashed potatoes and roasted butterball turkey filled the household. As much as she was hoping to make it back to California, Quinn was happy enough to be spending the Thanksgiving weekend at her grandparent’s house in Connecticut.

“Quinn, Audrey!” her mother called from the kitchen, “will you please make sure the table’s all set?”

“So, how are you and mom doing?” Quinn asked her sister as the two placed the good china on the dining room table.

“Better,” Audrey answered. “I think she’s more so just ignoring things and I’ve stopped pushing the matter, so we can be around each other without feeling super awkward.”

Quinn could tell by the lack of exuberance in her sister’s voice that she was still unhappy with the crumbling relationship with their mother, and it hurt her to see her family members drifting apart.

“I wish you two could get on the same page.”

“So do I, but I think the best we can do for now is be friendly during holidays.” Audrey smiled reassuringly at her younger sister who returned the favor, though reluctantly.

“Anyway,” Audrey continued, “Sam and I broke up a few weeks ago, so mom doesn’t have to worry about me bringing a girl home any time soon.”

“Oh my god,” Quinn said, shocked by the news. “How are you doing? What happened?”

Audrey waved her off, signaling the situation wasn’t a big deal.

“Just… distance, I guess,” she said, holding back tears. “She started grad school in Texas and with me being in Boston… well, it just didn’t work out.”

As her sister turned her attention back to setting the table for dinner, Quinn’s thoughts travelled from her sister’s relationship situation to her own. If her sister’s relationship of nearly two years floundered because of distance, who’s to say the same wouldn’t happen to her and Zacky?

“Hey,” Audrey said, sensing exactly what Quinn was thinking. “You guys will be fine.”

“Easier said than done.”

She felt her heart get heavy and her eyes well up with tears. Audrey quickly abandoned the water goblets and wrapped her sister up in a tight embrace.

“I miss him so much and it’s only been three months,” Quinn sobbed into her sister’s shoulder.

“Who knew you and I would be such suckers in relationships, huh?” Audrey joked while fighting back her own tears.

“Hey, what’s up?” Mason's voice asked. Both girls looked up at their older brother who had just entered the room and saw the look of concern on his face.

“Oh, nothing,” Quinn said, wiping her eyes. “Just crying about our love lives.”

“Well, I just wanted to make sure you remembered to set a place for Stephanie,” Mason continued, rubbing his hands together nervously.

“Yes Mason, we didn’t forget your girlfriend,” Audrey said, matter-of-factly.

“You look nervous,” Quinn said, noting her brother’s nervous tick.

“What? No, I - I’m not nervous.”

“What’s up?” Mason hesitated. “Mason! Come on, tell us.”

“Well, I don’t think it’s really a good time, considering you both were just crying over boys.”

“Girl,” Audrey corrected.

“Right,” Mason chuckled, “sorry.” He took a deep breath before continuing. “I’m going to propose to Stephanie.”

As soon as those words were spoken, both Quinn and Audrey bombarded their brother with hugs and tears.

“Great, now you’re crying again,” he said, hugging his sisters' back.

“But these are happy tears!” Quinn exclaimed.

“Dinner’s almost ready,” their mother called from the kitchen. “Is the table set yet?”

The girls pulled away from their brother and looked at him with huge smiles on their faces before finishing up setting the table in silence.

Zacky

“I don’t care if I’m so full I feel like I’m about to puke, I can still keep eating everything on Thanksgiving,” Zacky said as he talked to Quinn over the phone.

“God, you’re sexy,” Quinn joked. “So yours was good?”

“Yeah, it was great. You?”

“Really nice. Mason proposed to his girlfriend - and she said yes, so no horror stories there.”

“That’s good,” he laughed.

“So you guys finished recording?”

“Uh yeah, so it’s in post-production right now. I don’t really know how long that’s gonna take, but as soon as it’s ready I’ll make sure to send you a copy.”

“Please! That’d be awesome.”

He could tell she was smiling. He could tell by the mere sound of her voice just how proud of him she was, and he wanted desperately to be next to her and see her smile and be proud in person.

“So,” he began, unsure of how to word his sentence. “When are you done with the semester?”

“December 20th.”

“Cool… and are you gonna be home for Christmas?”

“That’s the plan.”

He couldn’t hold back his smile.

“Well then, maybe I’ll see you.”

“Yeah, maybe you will.”

Quinn

Even over the phone he was absolutely adorable. How was it possible he could still cause butterflies in her stomach just by talking to her over the phone?

Zacky

Their conversation went on for a good twenty minutes, where Quinn filled him in on her dance work and he regaled her with recording studio stories.

“So… what are you wearing?” Zacky asked with no subtlety at all.

“Uh… jeans and a sweatshirt,” she replied, confused and completely unaware of his motives which made Zacky laugh.

“And what else?”

“A t-shirt…? Why are you - oh!” He was thankful Quinn put the pieces together without him having to actually explain anything. “Zacky, I’m at my grandparent’s house!”

“So?”

“So I’m in the room my mother grew up in. It’s too weird. Plus, there’s only one land line - what if someone picks up the phone?”

“I’m just in a pair of boxers right now,” he continued, ignoring Quinn’s worry.

“... the blue and grey ones?” Zacky laughed.

“Yeah, the blue and grey ones.”

“Hold on…” There was a brief pause over the phone before Quinn spoke again. “My underwear is purple.”

“Did you just have to check what color underwear you were wearing?”

“Well I don’t remember! I just grabbed a pair from the dresser this morning.”

“Fuck, you’re adorable.”

“And currently half-naked.”

“Ooh, please tell me more.”

“Um… my legs are shaved and smooth?”

He couldn’t help but let out a big hearty laugh; Quinn was absolutely adorable and genuine and even though she was being awkward he still found her incredibly sexy.

“Wow, you really know how to flirt with a guy.”

“Well I don’t know what to say!”

“Are you still wearing your sweater?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, take that off,” he coached.

“Ok, hold on… hey, Zack?”

“Huh?”

“My bra’s navy blue… and I’m going to take it off now…”

“You’re aware there’s only one land line, right?” a female voice cut in over the phone.

“Jesus Christ, Audrey!” Quinn shrieked, making Zacky pull the phone away from his ear.

“Hi Zacky,” Audrey said.

“Uh, hey,” he replied, feeling awkward not for himself getting caught but for Quinn.

“Can you get off the phone, please?” Quinn pleaded to her sister. Zacky could only imagine the rosy shade of pink her cheeks were currently turning from embarrassment.

“Night, Zacky,” Audrey said, one last time.

“Bye,” he said, stifling laughter.

“Fuck,” Quinn mumbled.

“Hey, it could have been worse. At least it was your sister and not your parents.”

There was a pause where Zacky could have sworn Quinn was about to say something, but instead from the silence on her end came a burst of hysterical laughter which made Zacky start laughing as well. So much so he had to stop to catch his breath.

“Oh man,” Quinn said, recovering from laughter as well. “I should go. Good-night, Zack.”

“Night, Q.”

He hung up the phone and placed it on his desk before walking over to his window. He looked through it to Quinn’s bedroom and couldn’t wait to see her in there again.

One more month, he thought.