A Helping Hand

Icky’s sudden bark brought Zacky back into the world of the conscious. He hadn’t realised he had drifted off, again. Unluckily, he had fallen asleep upright on the couch, his head having slipped from the back cushion and rested as far left as his neck could stretch at a very uncomfortable angle. Thanks to that, he now had a giant crick in his neck.

Icky barked once again, this time jumping from his spot next to Zacky on the couch, and running to the front door. Not a second later, a knock was heard.

Furrowing his brows, and rising from the couch, Zacky glanced at the clock on the wall. 5:56pm. He had wasted half his day.

He walked towards the door, rubbing his neck subconsciously while trying to think who would be visiting at this hour. It was probably one of the guys, most likely Brian, here to chew him out for not showing up today after skipping most of the day yesterday.

Another knock rattled the door.

“I’m coming, you impatient fuck,” Zacky called out, grabbing Icky from the floor and holding the pup in his arms. The dog had a tendency to run out of the front door when it was opened, and once the interest in the visitor was gone, as was Icky. Zacky was not in the mood to be chasing the mutt halfway around the block.

He undid the chain lock, and spun the key in the doorknob, unlocking the door. Readjusting Icky in his arms, he opened the door, forgetting to have looked through the peephole previously.

“I didn’t mean to be impatient, you fuck,” Indy said, smiling daringly at the guitarist. Zacky couldn’t help but laugh, his own words thrown back in his face. “Hello, beautiful!”

Confusion shot through Zacky as Indy stood in front of him, cooing at Icky who was now wiggling and squirming, trying to get out of his grasp.

“I bought you some supplies,” she told him, raising her hands that were full of brown paper bags and plastic bags.

Stumbling for words, Zacky moved from the centre of the door, motioning for the copper haired woman before him to enter his house. With a smile, she walked past and made her way into the kitchen, dumping the bags on the floor as all bench space had been taken by dirty dishes and take out rubbish.

“Back in a sec, there is a little more in the car. Don’t close the door!” She told him, whizzing past him once more to return back to the car.

“Do you need a hand?” Zacky called out, finally finding a sentence. He heard Indy give a quick laugh before seeing her close her car door and return once more in front of him.

“Seeing as the only good hand is otherwise occupied with the sweetest dog in the world, I will pass,” she joked, breezing past him once more towards the kitchen.

Zacky, still dumbfound, closed his front door and put his dog on the ground, freeing up his ‘good hand’. Icky ran like a madman to Indy, skidding into the kitchen and jumping up at her legs.

Indy took a moment to pet the pup, cooing and showering Icky with love. She always had a soft spot for little dogs, and couldn’t help but fall in love with the fur ball. She had always told herself that her next dog would be a smaller one, now Winston and Julia were old enough to keep up with one another and tire each other out. Maybe she would just have to get two smaller dogs, so they could play fairly, too.

Indy stood up when she had given Icky the love she could, and looked up to meet Zacky’s eyes. She smiled brightly at him, and he couldn’t help but remain speechless. How could a single smile cause such a reaction in him?

“I think we missed the normal greeting at the door, so, hi,” she said, her smile widening as she awkwardly waved at Zacky.

“Uh, hi,” Zacky replied, subconsciously waving back. His had went once more to his stiff neck as he continued to gaze at the woman in his kitchen.

“Sorry to barge in unannounced,” Indy started, finally realising that she had maybe overstepped the boundaries. Zacky hadn’t asked her to come over, he hadn’t asked her to pick up some basic grocery staples. She hadn’t even technically invited her into his house.

“You brought me food, you can come in anytime,” Zacky replied, trying to lighten the situation. He saw her smile falter once she had finished speaking, gaze falling to the ground to look at the bags of food at her feet.

“Yesterday I just noticed how much take out you had scattered around the place, and after the thought sat with me all day today, I decided to take a gamble and bring you actual food. Seeing as you didn’t come to the studio today, I assumed that you would still not have your car, and couldn’t go out and get yourself food. I didn’t want you to starve! And being on medication can fuck you right up, so you definitely needed to have your pantry and fridge restocked with decent meals,” Indy told him, rambling. She hadn’t really thought about what his reaction would be to her showing up out of the blue, and it was starting to make her nervous.

She finally looked back up at the guitarist in front of her, noticing the cute half smile he had on his lips. He had moved so he was leaning against the doorjamb, watching her intently as she babbled on. He couldn’t help but find her word vomit sweet, and he could almost see her brain working overtime to try and find more words to say.

“Uh, so I got a whole bunch of different things, because, just adding to the list of things I still don’t know about you, I don’t really know what kinds of food you like! There are a whole bunch of fruit in here, and some veggies, some premade frozen meals – the actual decent ones that have flavour – and a ton of snacks. I also got some beverages for you, an array of soft drink, and some iced teas, and some bottled water. I also didn’t know what kind of food staples you had, so I got you some bits and pieces so that if you actually wanted to cook from scratch, you can,” Indy continued, pointing at various bags as she spoke. Her nerves were now ramping up the more she spoke.

Once more she looked towards Zacky, noting that his smirk had now turned into a full blown grin. The way his eyes seemed to sparkle with laughter that was just under the surface made her nerves immediately dissipate. Her words stopped as she became slightly speechless upon taking him in.

“Am I allowed to say thank you now?” He asked her, challengingly. “Or will you call me names?”

Indy couldn’t help the laugh that left her as Zacky spoke. The words eased her back into comfortable territory, his halting smile not forgotten, but disarmed. The banter was familiar, and it helped her come back to reality.

“I guess one thank you is ok,” she agreed, still smiling widely.

“Well then, thank you,” he said sincerely. He was overwhelmed by the gesture, and unsure how to get his thanks across to her. “I can’t believe that you did this. I don’t know how I can ever repay you.”

“You don’t need to repay me!” She said, astounded that he would even mention such a thing. “This is the way I look after people, I make sure they are fed. Just ask Mudrock.”

“I believe you, don’t worry. I won’t have to go to your dad,” Zacky chuckled, his words falling out of his mouth before he realised what was happening.

There was a slightly awkward pause after Zacky’s words. Finding out the secret between Mudrock and Indy was still weird new territory for them both. Indy was not used to anyone knowing that he was her father, and it was so strange to be talking freely about it. Zacky felt awkward about the way he had reacted to their relationship, and felt guilty about the memory of spying on the pair, his own jealousy imagination getting the better of him.

“Uh, I will start putting some of this stuff away,” Indy said, breaking the silence. She wasn’t surprised at the break in conversation, but that didn’t mean it was comfortable, or it was something she preferred.

“What? I will do this. You have don’t more than enough,” Zacky replied, instantly returning from his thoughts, pushing himself from the doorjamb and walking inside of the small kitchen. He put his hand on the small of her back, trying to gently guide her from the kitchen and into the dining area.

“Hey, don’t play dirty! I will unpack if you can tell me where it goes,” she insisted, spinning away from his hand and back into the kitchen.

“Should I even try winning this?” Zacky asked her, observing her once more as she leant over and grabbed a bag, hoisting it up on the bench.

“Nope. Take the defeat, Baker,” she told him, reaching over to pat his arm condescendingly.

“Yes, ma’am,” he faux sighed, playing into the game.

“Good, now where do you keep your fruit? In a bowl on the bench, or in the fridge?”

While Indy was unpacking the shopping, Zacky started to clean his kitchen benches, slightly embarrassed at the mess. He normally wasn’t as messy as this, but over the past 5 weeks he had become very lazy, and over the last 24 hours, the painkillers had him very dopey.

The pair fell into a comfortable rhythm, the conversation between the two of them keeping the atmosphere light. Indy would occasionally ask where something belonged, otherwise would find its original home. Something were just obvious, after all.

Zacky had finished before Indy, and decided to sit on the bench top, watching her as she moved around his kitchen. She was dressed casually today, and in the most colour he had ever seen her wear. Her oversized pastel knit jumper and ripped blue jeans suited her calm, feminine side, where the touches of black with the tank top peeking out from the bottom of her jumper, the black of her boots and the dark aviators that sat on top of her head brought back her ‘rocker’ side. He noticed the fun juxtaposition, both sides of the woman displayed subconscious through her outfit choices.

A small bubble appeared in his chest as he realised how comfortable and normal this seemed. He enjoyed seeing her in his kitchen, in his house, in his company. He liked that she had thought of him, and wanted to make sure he was looked after. It felt… refreshing.

He couldn’t help the small stomach drop as the realisation hit him. He had developed a crush on Indy.

“Which do you prefer, pasta or rice?” Indy asked him, her voice breaking through the silence that had enveloped once more.

“Pasta,” he replied automatically. He hadn’t even thought about the question before he spoke. He was still wrapped up in his thoughts.

“Perfect, me too,” she told him, smiling up at him. Now he was sat on the bench, he was at least a foot taller than her.

Indy went back to Zacky’s pantry, grabbing out a packet of spaghetti noodles before popping them on the bench with a few other items she had left out while packing away the shopping. She looked at the guitarist once more, noticing he had drifted off into his own world once more. She couldn’t help the smile that appeared on her face as she returned to her task at hand.

While shopping (and realising how the time was quickly getting away from her), Indy had decided to grab a few more items so she could whip up a quick dinner while at Zacky’s. Having seen the state of his house, she assumed that it had been some time since he had eaten a home cooked meal. There was enough take out trash covering the living room that it must have been at least 2 weeks’ worth of garbage. While that slightly grossed Indy out, her heart took over and she had decided that she would give him a helping hand.

Nurturing was the thing Indy did best. Though she was also gifted musically, she couldn’t help but take care of those around her, to be aware of what they wanted or needed. Her mother had once warned her that her heart was her biggest weakness and that she put herself last too much. To Indy, it was just easy to go out of her way to help those she cared for, than ignore what she could see. It could be something as small and insignificant as picking up an extra coffee for Johnny before heading into the studio from her lunch break because she had noticed him yawning while writing bass lines with Brian, or it could be something as big as driving her ex-boyfriend to Arizona overnight to visit his parents after he mentioned how homesick he was feeling while his licence was suspended.

Indy spared another glance to Zacky, seeing him still transfixed with his own thoughts. She couldn’t help but wonder what was going on in his head that was so consuming. He had been quiet for quite some time now, occasionally pulling a face or two as his thoughts shifted.

“Hey, space cowboy, dinner is ready,” Indy said to him, putting her hand on his arm to get him back down to Earth. His eyes softened as they looked down on her, and then turned to confusion as he glanced further down the kitchen to see two bowls of steaming pasta, a fork and spoon resting in each one.

“You made dinner?” He asked her, surprise in his voice.

“Yeah,” she said slowly. “Did you not notice I was hanging around for a while?”

“Uh, no, not really,” he admitted, once more finding his hand on his neck, rubbing awkwardly as he shot a sheepish look to Indy.

Laughing lightly, Indy shook her head, muttering a quiet ‘men’ under her breath as she turned and picked up a bowl of pasta. She moved back over to Zacky, put the bowl in his hand and shooed him out of the kitchen.

“Looks like the only decent surface is the dining table,” she mentioned, nodding to the cleared table. Zacky’s kitchen shared a wall with the small dining area, and in the wall was a window cut out. It had a small ledge, large enough for Indy to place salt, pepper and a small bowl of fresh parmesan so she didn’t have to make two trips to the kitchen.

Indy grabbed her bowl of pasta, a glass of wine, and a can of coke, holding the latter with her elbow against her hip, and followed the stunned Zacky into the dining room. She watched him place his meal down before grabbing the items Indy placed on the sill. She was surprised he had even noticed them there after he had been zoned out for so long.

Following his lead, Indy put her own dinner on the table, sitting in the seat across from Zacky. It was only a small, 4 person table as the space too small to accommodate anything larger and still function.

“For you,” Indy said, placing the Coke beside his meal as Zacky bought over the bowl of parmesan, and then pivoted to grab the salt, and one more pivot to grab the pepper. Indy couldn’t help but smile at the man, finding it endearing that he had used all that effort to do something Indy could have managed in one trip.

They both sat down, happily satisfied that everything they needed was now in front of them. It was silent while Indy seasoned her pasta a little more with some pepper, and Zacky struggled to pop the top of the Coke can. He had gotten used to being able to use his injured hand to grasp the can while his good hand popped the cap, but since yesterday, the pain had flared up every time he used the hand at all.

Instead of watching him struggle, although she did think she deserved dinner and a show, Indy leant over and held the can firmly. Zacky looked at her with a quick, appreciative smile before taking the help and finally opening the can.

“Thanks,” he said, smiling once more at her. “I can’t believe you made me dinner.”

“Technically, I made us both dinner, so I can’t really be too high and mighty about this one,” she told him, looking away.

“Indy, I really can’t thank you enough for this. And for the groceries. And for yesterday,” he started.

“Zachary,” Indy warned, the words too much.

“Hey, I am allowed to say thank you again. You didn’t have to do any of this, truly. I would have survived.”

“I’m sure you would have. But now you can survive and have pasta!”

Zacky laughed at her, picking up his Coke can and raising it to her.

“Here, here.”

They toasted, the metal clinging against Indy’s wine glass, and they both had a long sip of their beverage. In sync, they placed their drinks down, lifted up their utensils and started eating.

[c]-!-!-!-!-[/c]

The meal was delicious, the conversation flowed, and before they knew it, it was 11pm. With a lengthy debate Zacky ultimately won, Indy left him with washing up the pans from dinner and collected the few items she brought in with her.

“Are you ok to drive?” Zacky asked, a sliver of hope that she would say no. Logically, he knew that not only was she fine to drive, but since his personal revelation, it would be a little weird for her to stay over.

“Yeah, I just had the one glass of wine, and it was with food. After all, who can eat Italian without a glass of red?” She told him, touched that he would be worrying after such a little amount of alcohol.

“That’s true,” he replied, not really sure of what else to say.

The pair made their way to the front door, the short distance seeming shorter to Zacky now Indy was leaving. Indy bent down to shower Icky with love and praise, the dog having emerged from the plush dog bed in the living room as they walked to the door. It was as if Icky had known she was leaving, and reappeared to say goodbye.

Once she rose back to her feet, Zacky wordlessly opened his arm to invite her in for a hug, mirroring Indy yesterday to the best of his crippled ability. Indy took the hint and stepped into his arms, her own wrapping gently around his waist.

“Thanks again for dinner,” he told her, deciding to thank her only for dinner in the hopes it wouldn’t be too much for her to accept. Indy looked up at him from his chest, a warning glint in her eye. His stomach flipped as he gazed down at her and realised what a perfect set-up it was. The rational side of his brain kicked, stopping him from leaning down and pressed his lips against hers.

“Don’t make me use your name against you,” she warned him, narrowing her eyes in playful warning. A chuckle bubbled from his chest, making her own body move along with the movement.

“Ok, ok, sorry,” he said, giving in to her. How could he not?

“Good choice,” she nodded, her head lowering quickly for one more second before she pulled away from the embrace. A small yawn overtook her and she took it as a sign to start heading home. She took a few steps out of the front door before spinning around to Zacky again. “Think you will be coming in to the studio tomorrow?”

“I’ll have to see. It’s all a bit play by ear, at the moment,” he told her, not really sure if he would be up to it. It killed him not to be there every second of every day, but he had to rationalise that it was better for his arm if he took a small respite from the studio.

“Fair enough. Well, if you’re not in tomorrow, rest up and take care of yourself. Avenged still need their best guitarist, after all. I don’t think your legion of screaming female fans would be too happy if I showed up at your next gig,” Indy said, winking at him.

“I’m sure the ‘legion of screaming guys’ wouldn’t complain,” he challenged her, taking her phrasing and switching it back on her.

“Can you blame them?” She joked, turning once more and making it a few more steps towards her car. She couldn’t help but love bantering with Zacky, trying to goad him on with every chance she could. He was so quick and witty with his retorts that she barely had a chance to get the upper hand before he would retaliate with something else that made her laugh harder than before.

“Not at all,” Zacky muttered to himself as he watched her walk to her car. A small smirk grew on his lips. “Thanks again, Indigo-Rose.”

Indy stopped walking, her head snapping to the guitarist behind of her.

“You didn’t.”

“Didn’t what?”

“Fucking Mudrock,” Indy groaned, taking a few steps back towards the house. She shouldn’t have tried the bluff yesterday. She didn’t even think Zacky remembered their conversation after the painkillers the hospital gave him.

“Oh, he was all too willing to share with me. He was a little confused when I rang him yesterday and asked, but went on a rant about the history behind your name. Indigo-Rose Katherine. Bit of a mouthful, but cute.”

“Cute? Cute?! Two freaking colours, a hyphenated first name, and then an inherited 5th generation middle name!” She exclaimed. She had 23 years to try and get used to her myriad of names, and not even time made them any easier to love.

“It’s not that bad, really,” Zacky told her, laughing lightly at her reaction.

“Urgh, it is when you have to live with it. Hence the reason I go by Indy,” she sighed. “Please don’t tell the others.”

“Why not?”

Indy just looked at him, raising one eyebrow.

“I have been recording with them for 5 weeks. Even I can tell that they would have a field day with this.”

Zacky let out a proper laugh, finding it amazing that she had grown to know their group so well in such a short amount of time. He had to agree with her.

“Fair call. Fine, I won’t tell them,” he agreed, nodding his head. He noticed her physically relax, safe in the knowledge that he wouldn’t blab. “But I will always know.”

“I can live with that,” she said, nodding her head. She walked towards her car again, opening the door and looking back at the guitarist with a cheeky grin. “If you let it slip, I will use your full name for as long as I know you. You will no longer be Zacky to me, or to anyone I speak to, you will always be Zachary James.”

“Fair compromise.”

“I will have to be on my best behaviour now, wont I?” She asked, sighing. “Knowing you could out me at any second if I am being naughty.”

With that, Indy had sat in the driver’s seat and shut the door, her car roaring to life before him.

Zacky told himself it was the painkillers messing with his brain that made his thoughts immediately turn dirty. Her use of that key words ‘best behaviour’ and ‘naughty’ that conjured up the scenario in his head with Indy on her knees in front of him, looking up and begging for forgiveness, asking him seductively if there was anything she could do that would make him keep her secret. He had been watching too much porn recently.

He looked down at the dog at his feet, Icky looking up eagerly at his master.

“I’ve really fucked it up this time, haven’t I?”