A Helping Hand

Indy sighed as she zipped up her suitcase. She did a quick mental stock take, making sure she had packed everything she needed. The first time she zipped her bag, 2 hours earlier, she had realised she had forgotten to put in any shoes. That led to emptying out her case, repacking her clothes and somehow managing to fit in the 4 pairs of shoes that she decided to bring along.

Now satisfied that she had packed everything she needed for the next month, she took the case and stood it next to the guitar cases at her front door. It had been a tough to choose what guitars to bring with her. The decision actually took longer than her packing did, and that was saying something. She decided to take her Maton semi-acoustic, her 60’s Les Paul and her Zacky V custom, trying to cover most tones she thought she may be required to play. She was debating whether to take her Fender acoustic as well, in case they went with the full-mic technique, but decided she could always borrow a guitar if needed.

She looked down at her baggage, fondly running a hand over the case of her Schecter, a smile finding its way to her face. She was still in shock that the guys had given her TWO guitars. She had conned Brian into jamming with her on Friday night after he had a few beers, telling her to play her Syn Gates custom so she could try the Zacky V Schecter for the first time. He had tried to refuse, saying she should be the first to play the guitar, so to sate him, she sped through the opening of ‘Monkey Wrench’ by the Foo Fighters, sticking only to the intro so she didn’t have to down tune the guitar. After she finished, she thrust the guitar at Brian and grabbed the cherry red Schecter, fiddling around with chords so he got the idea to jam. He finally gave in, playing lead to her rhythm. They traded the jobs seamlessly, enjoying being able to create music together while the others watched. The moment was bittersweet, but Indy tried to enjoy it, regardless. She wasn’t sure of the next time she would be able to enjoy jamming without her mind going into overdrive.

Indy glanced at the clock, reading 9:05am. She still had about 10 minutes to kill before her taxi arrived. She sat on the couch, missing Winston and Julia at her feet. She had called her dad the day before, asking to drop off the dogs that evening so she wouldn’t have to get them to his house before driving to the airport. He accepted, more than fine with having the dogs a day early, and even though Indy was lonely last night, she was glad she had already taken care of them so she could spend this morning packing without having to worry too much about the time.

She rose from the couch, her anxiety over the next month making it hard to stay still. She had barely been able to convince her brain not to think about what was going to happen in Detroit, trying not to come up with 1001 different scenarios of what the time was going to be like. She had to keep reminding herself that she would have a week with Reba before she had to go to Michigan, and that they could talk it all out then. It was also relieving to Indy that she had told Val about her past, and what could be coming with Brendan. It was always good to get an outside perspective on the situation. Reba had been with her through the whole ordeal, so couldn’t look at it objectively where Val could. Indy had promised Val that she would keep her updated while she was away, and was glad she would have another person to talk to. It was not easy for Indy to make female friends, not because she found it difficult to hold a conversation, but she rarely got a chance to meet other women with her career. It was refreshing to make a new friend like Val.

A knock sounded at the door, jarring Indy from her thoughts. Glancing once more to the clock she saw it was 9:13am. The taxi was early for once! Indy made her way to the door, grabbing her carry on and throwing it on her shoulder. She looked down at her luggage, figuring that she and the taxi driver could probably make just one trip to pack it all in the car. She opened the door while still looking down. If she grabbed two of the guitar cases, he could get the other and her suitcase. She could then put one down while she locked the door. She smiled, happy with her reasoning.

“Depot said you would have luggage,” the cab driver said as a greeting. Indy couldn’t help but stifle a giggle, glad she had just made a plan of action.

“A lot of it. Can you please take the suitcase and a guitar case? I will just lock up,” she told him, motioning the semi-acoustic case she wanted him to take. She figured that since he was taking the heaviest item, being her suitcase, she would take the heavier guitars.

Doing as he was told, the driver grabbed the bags and made his way to the curb to load the items into his car. Indy grabbed the remaining two cases, stopped just outside the door and placed them back down. Before she locked up, she went over the things in her bags just once more, making sure she had at least all of her essentials. Realising that no matter how many times she would go over it, she would always forget something, Indy closed her front door, locking it securely before picking up the cases once more and making her way to the taxi.

The driver had managed to pack in her acoustic and suitcase in the trunk of the cab, and Indy saw there was no way in Hell that the other two guitars were going to fit in there as well. She opened the back door and slid the guitars onto the back seats. Looks like she would be taking the front seat.

As Indy finished securing her guitars in the back, she heard another car pull up to the curb. She shut the door and looked behind the cab, recognising the car straight way.

Zacky.

Indy started walking over to the car, remembering to tell the cab driver that she would just be a minute. Subconsciously tilting her head to the right and furrowing her brows, Indy watched Zack get out of the driver’s side and make his way to her on the front lawn.

“W-what-?” The question stuttered out of Indy’s mouth before she could control it. It was soon silenced as Zacky reached Indy, his right hand reaching up and cupping her cheek as he looked into her eyes.

Zacky leant down, closing the distance between them. His lips met Indy’s in a soft kiss, his heart beating faster than it ever had. He had been psyching himself up the whole way over, and knew that it was now or never.

Indy was stunned. She was kissing Zacky. His lips were on hers. And they were so soft. She recovered from the shock, raising her own hand and placed it on the curve of Zacky’s neck and started to move her lips. A smile broke out on her face as he moved along with her motions. She could not believe this was happening. Every part of her rational brain was telling her to stop, move away and get in that cab. The rest of her was revelling in the kiss, getting lost in the moment. Her less rational side won, her body on alert to every move Zacky made.

“Meter is running, kids,” the cab driver called out from the front seat, shattering the moment.

Zacky and Indy broke their kiss, resting their foreheads on each other while catching their breath. Indy kept her eyes shut, trying to memorise the feeling of Zacky’s lips on hers forever.

“Zacky,” Indy started, unsure of how to finish the sentence. Even just saying his name was overwhelming her. Did that just actually happen? Was this all a day dream?

“Shhh,” Zacky cooed, finding the strength to pull away, but only enough so he could look into Indy’s eyes. They were shining with about a thousand different emotions, but he took solace in the fact that the most apparent seemed to be happiness. Or so said the smile gracing her lips. “I know you need to go. It’s my own damn fault for leaving this so late. So go, enjoy your week off with your friend, and then play your ass off so Jack White will kiss the ground you walk on.”

Indy nodded, unsure that her voice was going to be strong enough to carry anything more than a whisper. She made no effort to move away from him, too wrapped up in the moment that was happening. She knew the cab driver was getting impatient, but she could care less at this moment.

“Just promise me one thing?” Zacky asked her, not being able to stop his vulnerable side. Once more, Indy nodded, urging him to continue. Before he could convince himself out of it, the request tumbled from his lips. “Just don’t forget me. Don’t forget this.”

Her heart skipped a beat as Zacky made his request. She closed the gap between them once more and pecked his lips, not being able to stop the smile that blossomed after the action. Indy finally managed to find her voice to stop his brain from spinning out of control.

“I can never forget you, Zack,” she said earnestly.

The cab driver honked the horn, starting to get impatient. He had seen far too many last minute kisses and cuddles form couples, and he was starting to lose his patience. He had given them plenty of time to say goodbye before he interrupted.

Zacky leant over, giving Indy one last lingering kiss before letting her go and taking a step away. If he didn’t remove himself physically from her, he feared he wouldn’t let her go. That or he would get in the cab with her, tagging along at least until the airport, further if she would allow it.

“I better go,” she said, her tone resigned. She looked over to the cab, and back at Zacky. Without even thinking, she pecked his lips once more before walking backwards towards the car, not willing to break eye contact with him. She reached out, opening the passenger door. “Call me!”

Her eyes widening with the realisation of how high school she just sounded, Indy climbed in the cab and closed the door. She leant back in the seat, buckling her seatbelt before looking back out the window to Zacky.

“Ready to go now?” The driver asked her, suppressing an eye roll at the cliché woman he was taking to LAX.

“Yeah, thanks,” she replied, nodding slightly. No way was she actually ready to leave, but she had to, or she would miss her flight. At least she had a few hours on the plane to wrap her head around what had just happened, and then she could talk with Reba about it when she landed in Pittsburgh. All she could think about were the butterflies rampaging in her stomach and what was going to happen over the next few weeks.

Zacky stood on Indy’s front lawn, watching as she left in the cab to the airport. Part of him could not believe he had just done that, and that she actually returned the kiss. He raised his hand to his lips, smiling at the memory he had just created with Indy. This was something he would never forget.

As the cab rounded the corner of Indy’s street, Zacky made his way to his car, not surprised that he had left the keys in the ignition. He got out his phone and dialled Val’s number. After 3 rings, she answered.

“She kissed me back!”