I Like the Remix

Raelyn didn’t understand the reasoning for after parties. All they led to were people pretending to be happy for you and drinking, lots and lots of drinking. As was apparent by all of the ‘Maybe next year’s that Matt and the guys were getting about the awards. She glanced across the room to where Victoria was standing with Jason. She was giggling at something he had said, and looked to be having fun, so maybe it wasn’t all bad. Raelyn’s attention came back to Matt as he agreed with the person who was talking to him. “I’m going to go grab something to drink,” She leaned close enough to speak into his ear, loud enough to be heard over the loud chatter and music. Matt nodded to show he heard her, and she slowly started making her way through the maze of rooms in the unfamiliar house.

After finding the kitchen, she walked up to the counter where the various liquor bottles were on display. She decided on the bottle of Jack Daniels, and made a Jack and Coke. She put the bottle back and nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard a voice right next to her ear. “Good choice.”

She immediately took two steps away from him and shot a glare in his direction. “Do you mind?” The dark tone to her voice had him raising an eyebrow.

“I just came in to grab a drink.” He brushed off her comment with an air of nonchalance. She rolled her eyes as she took a sip of her drink.

“I’m surprised your date let you walk away. Or is she timing you?”

Zacky rolled his eyes and let out a sarcastic laugh. “What’s it to you? Do you enjoy pretending to be his girlfriend?”

Raelyn downed half of the cocktail in her hand before answering. "Who says it’s pretend?” Her blue eyes challenged his. He took a few steps forward and was now standing right in front of her. He was staring into her eyes, looking for any hint that she was lying. He watched as she downed the rest of her drink and reached around him to place the red plastic cup on the counter. “My boyfriend’s waiting for me.” She stated with a slight smirk, she ducked around him and headed back out the way she came.

He grabbed a beer out of the fridge and followed Raelyn back to the living room. He stopped right next to Meaghan who was laughing at something obnoxious. He watched as Raelyn made her way back to Tuck and frowned as she walked up to him, wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned up to kiss him deeply. His frown deepened as Matt’s hands went to her hips and the kiss lasted for far too long, at least in his opinion. When she pulled away, she said something and he nodded. The two of them found their way to the makeshift dance floor and he found himself even more frustrated with how close they were dancing.

---

Victoria smiled and nodded as Jason offered to go get them refills on their drinks. She took a seat on one of the recliners that were pushed back out of the way of the makeshift dance floor and took a look around. After a couple of shots and drinks, her mood was happy and relaxed. On the plus side, she hadn’t seen Brian or Michelle since their first encounter at the award show. Just as she went to look towards the kitchen, she heard someone take a seat next to her. “Does it hurt knowing you gave up the best thing you had in your life?” Came his arrogant voice.

“You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me.” Tori stated bluntly, her green eyes coming to meet his brown eyes. “You, the best thing in my life? You really give yourself way too much credit, Haner.” She may have been tipsy, but even she wasn’t drunk enough to let his ego get the best of her. “Where’s your whore?”

“My wife.” He corrected. She shrugged as she started to tap her fingers against the arm of the chair. “And she’s around here somewhere.” He stated with a shrug, seemingly not caring as he took a swig from his beer.

“Well, you should go find her before she sleeps with someone around here. We all know that random hookups are kind of her thing.” Victoria stated with a dismissive wave of her hand.

“Now, now Ria.” Brian stated. “Don’t take it out on Shelly just because you lost the best thing to happen to you.” He smirked in her direction and she took a deep breath before standing up and looking down on him.

“I told you not to call me that. And don’t say I ruined us, I wasn’t the one who decided to deal with my grief by sleeping with anything and everything in a skirt… Including your whore of a wife!” Victoria exclaimed angrily, her fists clenched at her sides. “And before you start… He wasn’t just your friend. You weren’t the only one hurting.”

Brian glared up at her, apparently she had pushed a button. He stood up so quickly, she almost fell back on her ass. “Don’t you dare bring Jimmy into this!” He hissed.

“What are you going to do, hit me?” She asked sarcastically. “By the way, what would Jimmy have thought of the way you decided to cope? Most people just get numb…Not turn into uncaring alcoholics who cheat on their girlfriend of three years!” She exclaimed, getting right in his face.

“He wasn’t your best friend!” Brian sneered. She could smell the alcohol on his breath and contemplated shoving him away from her. His menacing glare kept her rooted to her spot.

“Do we have a problem here?” Jason’s voice brought her gaze away from Brian and back towards Jason. Brian was about to speak up when Michelle’s voice kept him from doing so.

“There you are, baby! I’ve been looking allllll over for you.” She stated with a big smile. “What are you doing over here with this loser.”

“No, no problem.” Victoria spoke quickly, a fake smile on her face pointed towards Michelle. “And obviously finding some classy company… It’s got to be exhausting to hang out with skanks all day long, pretending to care. Later dick,” She stated giving one final glance towards Brian. “Slut.” She stated with a nod towards Michelle before taking Jason’s hand and tugging him onto the dance floor. Not at all shocked to see Brian staring at her on the dance floor.

---

The next morning, Raelyn woke up in one of the guest rooms. She rubbed at her eyes, her contacts bothering her after being in all night long. She frowned when she realized Matt was nowhere to be found. She reached down off the edge of the bed to grab her bra, and after hooking the clasps in the back, she grabbed his navy button down shirt that he’d been wearing the day before. After buttoning enough buttons to cover up, she grabbed her purse and walked over to the closed bedroom door. She took a quick breath and walked out into the hallway and started checking doors for the bathroom.

She let out a relieved sigh when she found it. She walked in and pulled out her contact case and solution. After just barely getting her contacts out and in the case, the door was shoved open and someone came barging in. She was about to say something when she heard them vomiting in to the toilet. Alarmed, she grabbed her glasses case out of the bottom of her purse and quickly pulled on her raybans. She raised an eyebrow as she took in Meaghan’s disheveled appearance. She groaned out miserably and Raelyn found herself shaking her head. She quickly stuffed everything back into her purse and headed out of the bathroom.

Raelyn yelped in surprise when she bumped into someone’s chest. “I’m sorry.” She mumbled out quickly and felt her cheeks heat up slightly when she looked up to see Zacky looking back at her. He scowled when he took note of what she was wearing. “What?” She asked, a hand going to her hip at the judgmental look on his face.

“I didn’t take you for someone who sleeps around when she gets drunk. That’s all…” He stated with a shrug.

“Says the guy walking around in his boxers. Your girlfriend is puking her guts out in your shirt. I hope it wasn’t one of your favorites.” Raelyn stated sarcastically. She cringed as she heard Meaghan retch again. “And, just for the record…” Raelyn leaned in so she could whisper the next part in his ear. “I was nowhere near drunk last night.” She pulled away and headed back towards the guest room she had spent the night in, leaving Zacky staring at her as she disappeared down the hallway.

He frowned as he went to check on Meaghan. Once he realized she would be fine, he headed down to the kitchen to make coffee. He took a seat at the island in the kitchen and frowned down at the counter, he looked up when he heard someone sit next to him. “What’s up, man?”

“Nothing. I had to get away from Michelle’s snoring. It’s giving me a bigger headache.” Brian complained, his right hand coming up to hold his temple. “What’s got you all hot and bothered?”

“Meaghan.” Zacky answered quickly, causing Brian to frown. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

Brian was about to question his friend when Victoria and Raelyn walked in. “I know, it’s so stupid.” Raelyn stated with a laugh. Her smile fell from her face when she realized who was in the kitchen. She stayed silent as she started searching the cabinets. She pulled out a mug for Victoria and stood on her tiptoes to try and reach a regular glass. Just as her fingers brushed the side of the glass, a tattooed arm reached past her hand and pulled it down for her. She glanced over at Zacky and held her breath at how close he was to her. “Thank you.” She stated stiffly as she took the glass from him.

“No problem.” He gave a slight smile before walking back over to where Brian was staring at Victoria. Raelyn watched him warily as she walked over to the fridge to get the orange juice. Tori stayed silent as she poured herself some coffee. The girls moved away from the coffeemaker and leaned back against the counter as the boys went for their coffee.

Just as Victoria was going to say something, Michelle came in with Meaghan. “There you guys are!” Meaghan whispered. It was obvious by the look on her face that she was as hungover as Michelle was.

“So, you think the boys will be up soon?” Tori asked, speaking louder than necessary and smirking when the two blonds cringed in pain.

“We’re up.” Matt stated as he walked in shirtless followed by Jason. He smiled at Raelyn and watched her relax from her tense stance. He walked up to her and smiled down at her when she offered him the rest of her orange juice. It was Zacky’s turn to tense up as he downed the rest of her juice and then pressed his lips to hers. “Ready to get out of here?”

“Yes!” Tori answered for both of them, causing Raelyn to chuckle.