The Ballerina and the Rocker

Zacky

Christmas came and went. So did New Year’s, and it was weird celebrating it without Quinn. But Zacky had remembered to call her when it was midnight on the East Coast, and then three hours later she called him back to celebrate again.

It wasn’t ideal, but it was just as sweet.

Zacky decided that his New Year’s resolution was to be a more active long-distance boyfriend, so instead of just relying on phone calls here and there he made sure to send postcards and letters from time to time. He even sent chocolates on Valentine’s Day, despite the two never having been real “couple-y” on the holiday before.

Those little acts of affection seemed to perk Quinn up; whenever they talked on the phone, her voice had a definite lighter disposition than when they had spoken times before.

For the situation they had found themselves in, things seemed to be going well for now.

Quinn

The random little tokens from Zacky were sweet and always put a smile on her face. It wasn’t the same as him coming out to visit her in person, but the feelings were there. She appreciated the gesture and knew his heart was in it, and that was enough for now.

When she wasn’t smiling from her latest postcard or phone call from Zacky, Quinn was ferociously practicing for the term’s ballet. It was an original ballet composed by one of the older Juilliard students and, with the strain from her other classes, Quinn felt like hitting herself over the head for agreeing to be a part of this project.

After a particularly exhausting day, a phone call from her boyfriend was exactly the thing she needed for a pick me up.

“Guess what? You’ll never guess.” Zacky said.

“So why do you want me to guess?” Quinn laughed as she held the phone close to her face and sat on her bed.

“Come, on - guess!”

“Um, you’re coming out to New York?” she guessed, hopefully.

“Eh, not until July.”

Well that certainly didn’t help matters since she’d be back in California. “Wait, what?”

“We’ve got a slot on Warped Tour!”

Okay, now the July comment made sense.

“Shut up!”

“Yup, it’s official.”

“This is going to be great for you guys.”

And she meant that. It was going to be great for the guys. Just maybe not so great for the two of them.

Zacky

They were beyond ready for Warped Tour. Val had made sure to order more t-shirts and they had boxes full of their CD to sell. They had their set list down and drinks to celebrate.

It was going to be a great summer.

“So I definitely used my dad’s credit card for these shirts,” Val said once the merch boxes came in. “Unless he personally hunts us down, don’t worry about making money to pay for them.”

“What would we do without you, Val?” Zacky said admirably.

She smiled. “Fail miserably, I’m sure.”

Quinn

The more she rehearsed, the more Quinn realised just how demanding Juilliard was going to be of her time in the future. If it was already this intense in her second year then there would be absolutely no time to slack off for the next two. It wasn’t always ideal to be stuck in a rehearsal room when the rest of the world was out enjoying the day, but this was the life Quinn chose and she was determined to make it all worthwhile.

Of course this meant sometimes not being the most reachable person.

Sorry I’ve been a bit MIA lately, she began as she wrote a long overdue letter to Zacky.

It’s crunch time over here and I’ve been beyond stressed. When I’m not in class I’m either at rehearsals or in a practice room getting ready for those rehearsals… it’s absolutely ridiculous. But the good news is that the performance is next week, then finals, then the semester’s over and I’ll be back home. It’s about time, huh?

Anyway, hope band stuff is going great. Say hi to the guys for me (oh, and tell Val to be on the look out for a postcard). Miss you all, miss you most.

Love, Q.

Zacky

“What the fuck’s got you so smiley today?” Brian asked Zacky as he sat across him, beer in hand.

After messing around with them for a good while, Audrey’s bar relationship with the guys became more harmonious. Although she personally still wouldn’t serve them.

“What? I’m not smiley,” Zacky retorted before taking a swig of his own beer.

“Yeah you are,” Matt added. “It’s kind of creeping me out, man.”

“I’m not doing anything weird!” Zacky defended.

“Look,” Jimmy pointed out, “his hands are all shaky.”

“Why so nervous, Zack?” Brian said.

“I know why,” Audrey’s voice chimed in from behind them. She grabbed the empty glasses on the table and addressed the guys again. “Someone’s flight gets in later tonight.”

She walked back to the bar and left the boys serenading Zacky with a chorus of mocking “oohs” and “awws.”

“Shut the fuck up,” Zacky said with an embarrassed smirk.

He was ecstatic that she was coming home, obviously, but they hadn’t seen each other in what seemed like forever so naturally he was a little nervous. It wouldn’t be awkward, right? Right.

“Jimmy, would you stop blowing kisses at me?”

Quinn

It was a strange feeling being in Huntington Beach again, and yet it was if she had never left. The streets were filled with teenagers and businessmen and surfers, and the breeze was inviting.

Her room looked exactly as it had before she left for school last summer. After tossing her suitcase on the bed, Quinn looked out her window to see if Zacky was home but the lights in his room were off. Since it was a Friday night, Quinn figured the guys were out at the bar.

After her mother confirmed Audrey was at work, Quinn hopped into the car and drove herself to Johnny’s Bar in hopes of seeing the two people she wanted to see the most immediately instead of waiting until the morning.

Thankfully her recently acquired fake ID got her through the doors with ease and she quickly found her sister serving up a row of shots to some people at the bar.

“Hey, nice tits,” Quinn shouted at her sister who quickly looked her way, flipping her off with a smile.

“Welcome home, baby Q,” Audrey said, reaching over the bar and hugging her sister.

“Thanks. Is Zacky here?”

“Yeah, they’re over by the couches.” She pointed towards the back of the bar.

“Okay, thanks.”

Quinn made her way to the couches and saw Matt, Brian, Jimmy, and Dameon, who she hadn’t officially been introduced to yet, sitting and drinking. Zacky wasn’t there, but he had to have been close by.

“Hey, stranger!” Brian shouted when Quinn approached the group. He got up immediately and scooped her up in his arms for a bone crushing hug.

“Hi Brian,” she said, hugging him back just as tightly.

“Welcome home,” Matt said, taking his turn to hug her.

“It’s good to be back.”

When Matt had relinquished his hold, Jimmy pulled Quinn down to his lap to hug her. It felt nice to be welcomed back so warmly after being apart for so long.

“Oh, this is Dameon,” Matt said, introducing the other boy.

“Hey, nice to meet you,” Dameon said with a friendly wave.

“Same,” she replied with a smile. “Um, where’s Zacky?”

“He just stepped outside for a smoke,” Brian answered.

Quinn excused herself and got up from Jimmy’s lap to head to the back door. She popped her head outside but didn’t see Zacky amidst the other smokers. Choosing to head back to the couches and wait for him, Quinn closed the back door and began walking back when the bathroom door opened and out walked Zacky, the two almost literally colliding.

Zacky

“Quinn,” he said, a bit shocked to see her right there in that moment.

“Hi, Zacky,” she said quietly as a smile played on her lips.

Without saying another word, Zacky crashed their lips together. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close to him; he felt her arms wrap around his neck and her hands travel up the nape of his neck to grip onto his hair.

“Fuck, get a room, you two!” Brian’s booming voice interrupted. Zacky quickly let go of Quinn’s lips to look over at the couches and threw up the finger at his smiling friends. Quinn laughed and placed a hand on his cheek. He looked down at her and found himself lost in the depths of her eyes.

“I really missed you,” she said.

Zacky couldn’t take it anymore, and he didn’t care where he was and who was around. He grabbed Quinn’s hand with one of his own while he used his other hand to push open the bathroom door and pull her along with him.

Quinn shut the door and pushed the lock as soon as the two were inside. She leaned her back against the door and looked up into Zacky’s eyes. He held both of her hands in his as he stood before her, his forehead resting on hers, heavy breathing emitting from both of their lungs. He looked down at her chest and saw how deeply and slowly it moved up and down with each breath she took. He wanted to say so much to her, but was so overwhelmed that nothing could come out. Instead, he took to the best alternative he could think of.

Zacky gently placed his lips on her clavicle. He placed a small trail of kisses all the way up Quinn’s neck until his lips found her again. She let go of his hands in order to bring them up and drape them around his shoulders. Their lips stayed pressed together while his hands found their place at her hips.

He felt absolutely complete again. It was almost surreal, seeing and touching Quinn again after not having been able to for so long.

“Hmmm,” Quinn groaned into his mouth. Zacky took this as a cue; his right hand slowly moved off her hip and slid down the front of her jeans. He felt her body shudder and press up closer to him.

“Zacky,” she breathlessly whispered.

“What is it?” He asked, worried he had done something wrong.

She giggled. “I just wanted to say your name.”

He smiled at her before attaching his mouth back to her neck, his fingers still doing their work. She sighed as Zacky continued his movements.

She tightened her arms around his neck to steady herself between him and the door as her knees buckled from his touch. She let out a small, audible squeal in Zacky’s ear and he moved his kisses from her neck back up to her lips, placing both hands back on her hips.

He pulled his lips away and pressed his forehead to her hers, looking directly into her eyes.

“Quinn,” he whispered.

“Yeah?” she whispered back.

“I just wanted to say your name.” She giggled again.

Why had he nervous again?