I Like the Remix

Raelyn smoothed out the skirt on her dress one final time as her phone went off, reminding her that Zacky would be here soon. She tucked her phone back in her purse and walked out of her bedroom pausing in the living room to twirl around for Tori. “I look okay?”

“Rae, what the fuck happened to you? A couple of months ago you wouldn’t have given a shit! But yes, you look lovely.” Tori laughed at the pout on Raelyn’s face. “I hope Zacky is a nicer guy than Brian was.” She told her wholeheartedly with a warm smile.

Raelyn shrugged slightly and took a deep breath before walking out the door to her apartment and heading for the parking lot. After spotting Zacky, she walked up to his car and let herself in. “So, exchanging numbers probably would have been a better way to do this…” She admitted after a moment of silence as she buckled her seatbelt.

“Yeah, it may have been a good idea.” He chuckled as he slowly made his way out of the parking lot and towards the road. “We’re going to a nice place, so if you’re worried about being too dressed up or whatever, you’re fine.” He told her with a small smile. “You look lovely by the way.”

“Thank you.” She spoke quietly as she played with her hands nervously. “So where are we going?” Her curiosity got the better of her and she glanced over at him. Zacky smirked and stayed silent. “You suck.” She grumbled when she realized he had no intentions of telling her where he was taking her.

“Yeah, yeah. You’ll see when we get there.” He told her as he turned onto the PCH. “You care what kind of music is on?”

Raelyn looked towards the radio which was currently turned down and played with the volume before changing it to a station known for hard rock. “Anything but country.” She answered after leaning back in the seat. “Is this okay?”

Zacky chuckled at her question, “It would be kind of sad if I didn’t like rock music…” He trailed off, waiting for Raelyn to make the connection.

“Yeah, I guess you’re right.” She laughed softly. “But in my defense, I don’t think I’ve listened to any of your guys’ music. You guys made a pretty big, lasting impression on me.” She admitted as she looked out the passenger side window to avoid seeing his reaction to that.

Zacky frowned in thought, an idea coming to him had him smiling within moments. “I have a solution for that. What better way to get into a new band then by watching them live?” He asked, glancing to his right.

That caught Raelyn’s attention, she was staring at him with wide eyes. It had been forever since she had been to a live concert. Well, at least a good one. “Are you serious?” She couldn’t keep the disbelief out of her voice.

“Why would I lie about a concert?” Zacky reasoned jokingly.

Raelyn threw her hands up, “I don’t know… People have lied about dumber stuff.”

Zacky laughed slightly, “I don’t lie about music. But I’ll get you tickets to the next show we do in California.”

“Tickets?” She asked having assumed her would get her in and she’d end up bored out of her mind while he was on stage.

“Well yeah, I’d feel bad leaving you by yourself out in the crowd. They can get a little crazy.” He admitted while keeping his eyes on the road. He took and exit and she watched as he pulled over for a minute to double check something on his phone. “Anyways, we’re almost there. I hope you like Mexican food.”

“A nice Mexican restaurant, there’s something you don’t hear about often.” She smiled. “It sounds nice.”

“It is.” He promised with a smile as he put his phone back in the cupholder and pulled back onto the road.

---

Tori had been planning on a quiet evening to herself. She had planned on having a couple of glasses of wine and watching a couple of movies with Daniel Radcliffe in them. She was in a soft pair of lounge pants and a tank top and he just sat down on the couch with her wine in hand when she could hear knocking. “Who the hell could that be?” She grumbled as she set her wine glass down and headed for the door.

When she opened it, it took all her willpower to not slam the door in his face. “Can I help you?” She kept her voice somewhat pleasant even though she knew there was a hint of annoyance showing in her expression.

“I got kicked out of my own house, I would’ve gone to Zacky’s but he’s gone. Matt and Val are having a date night, and Johnny is probably already passed out drunk.” He listed his friends off. “I don’t want to bother dad and Suzie.”

Tori crossed her arms over her chest and heaved a heavy sigh. “Fine.” She muttered as she stood back and let him into the apartment. “I still don’t understand the logic of coming to your ex girlfriend’s home. But hey, whatever.” She walked back towards the couch where her wine was still sitting.

Brian sighed as he sat on the other end of the couch so that she couldn’t complain too much. “I wouldn’t bother you if I didn’t think this was my last option. I’m sorry, Victoria. You still like Daniel Radcliffe?” He asked as the menu screen for ‘The Woman in Black’ played across the screen.

Tori looked over at him curiously. “You actually remember that?”

Brian turned slightly so he was staring back into her green eyes. “We dated for five years, of course I remember that.” He smiled slightly. She looked away from him as she took a sip of her wine. That wasn’t something she told or showed a lot of people. Even when they were dating, she had only mentioned it once or twice, the fact that he still remembered was… touching. “So are we going to watch this movie, or not?” He asked when he realized she was staring off into space.

“Oh, yeah. Right.” She muttered before hitting play on the remote and settling back into the couch. She bit her lip lightly as she glanced out of the corners of her eyes towards Brian who was staring at the screen as the opening scene started. She brought her eyes back to the screen as she mentally cursed herself out. There is a reason that there is an ex before the word boyfriend when it comes to him, you stupid fucking idiot.

“I’m surprised your curiosity hasn’t gotten the better of you yet.” Brian mumbled a few minutes later as he kept his eyes trained on the television. “Normally you would’ve asked me what boneheaded thing I did to get kicked out of my own home.”

Tori looked over at him and tilted her head. “Why should I care?” She asked quickly. After a moment or so she frowned, “Do I even want to know what you did?”

Brian chuckled at the way her questions seemed to contradict themselves. “She’s mad that after her actions in the courthouse I suggested we take a break from one another. Which I know sounds weird since we’re married, but I don’t want to jump to divorce without thinking it through completely.”

Victoria nodded as she breathed in and out a few times to clear her head. “Well I’m not a good person to ask about that. I’ve never been married, and I don’t have any nice things to say about Michelle. So I’m going to be the bigger person and just keep my mouth shut on the subject.” She reasoned as she reached for her wine glass to finish what was in it.

“I appreciate that. I honestly think this is one of the last straws though… The house is in my name, yet she threatens to cause problems if I tried to kick her out, and then again if I stayed.” He sighed and leaned his head back against the couch so he was staring at the ceiling. “I should thank my dad for suggesting the prenup.” He whispered under his breath.

“Yes, you should.” Tori agreed softly, while she wanted to feel bad for his current situation, a small part of her couldn’t help but think he could have avoided all of this. She looked over at him and bit the inside of her cheek to keep from saying anything else.

---

Once the bill was paid, Zacky had opened the door to his car for her and walked around and got in. “Well I have to hand it to you, tonight wasn’t terrible.” Raelyn stated with a small smile as he started the car up.

“Oh, well I will definitely sleep better tonight knowing that,” He teased as he pulled out of the parking spot and headed back towards the road. “I hope you don’t mind, but I have one more stop I have to make.” Raelyn shook her head and stared out the window as he drove off. After a few turns, she could tell he wasn’t heading back to the Pacific Coast Highway just yet. About ten minutes later he was pulling into a parking lot for a local beach. “Well, are you coming?” He asked as he turned off the car and got out.

Raelyn raised an eyebrow at him before stepping out of the car and following him out onto the sand. After a moment or so, she called out to him. “Wait up! These shoes were not made for sand.” She reached down and unhooked the strap on her right shoe before slipping it off and then doing the same with her left shoe. She felt like a child for taking a moment to enjoy the feeling of the cool sand between her toes. After a minute or so, she had walked up to where Zacky was patiently waiting for her.

“You’re just going to carry those with you?” He chuckled as he gestured to the shoes she had just taken off dangling from her right hand.

“Is that going to be a problem?” She asked as she squared her shoulders and stared into his eyes. He shook his head and she smiled sweetly. “Well that’s good, I’d hate to have to find a new ride home.”

“Come on, I want to show you something.” He reached for her free hand and tugged on it, walking side by side with her further down the beach. They got to a pier and he led her towards the edge and then pointed across the water. “On a clear night, you can see the lighthouse on that island over there.”

Raelyn squinted out where he was pointing and shrugged. “It must not be clear enough tonight,” She commented as she glanced up towards the stars and pouted at the clouds that were blocking some of the stars from being seen.

“We can always come back a different night.” He offered with a flirtatious smile that had her heart racing. “It’s getting late, let’s get you home.” He gently pulled on her hand that he hadn’t let go of since leading her to the pier, and they walked slower than necessary to get back to his car.