(3) Not the Same: An All Time Low Fanfiction Romance

Chapter 14: Friend (Zack's POV)

        "Why the fuck didn't you tell me she was here?" I hissed while placing an ice pack on my arm. I positioned myself on the granite countertop, my elbows on my thighs. Stella was hiding next to Alex's side, biting her lip nervously while leaning against the counter. Alex was a few inches in front of her, always in close proximity.

        "Why would we, Zack? It's asking for problems," Alex said, brushing off the idea. I was too frustrated to give a damn about rationality. They knew Lauren was here, for two weeks, and didn't say a fucking word to me about it.

        "And it's so much better that we ran into each other this way?" I countered his comment, wincing at my inflamed muscle. I fell off my surfboard hard, smashing and scraping it against the coral when some stupid, amateur surfer got in my way. I was pretty sure my day couldn't have gotten anymore fucking fantastic until that happened.

        "I didn't mean for this to happen, Zack," Stella said quickly. I could hear the guilt in her voice, seeping through the edges of her tone. I met her bright green eyes, innocence visible in her gaze. "I was going to tell you. I just didn't know how."

        "Dude, it doesn't even matter anymore," Rian was leaning against the doorframe that led to my kitchen, locking his phone before stuffing it into the pocket of his shorts, stuffing his feet into the sandals he always wore. "She's here, you're here and you both know it."

        "The predicament at hand is when you're going to confess your undying desire to get her in your bed still," Jack was spinning on the barstool. I turned my head to the side, watching him stare at the ceiling with a smirk on his face. I rolled my eyes, unable to contail the small laugh on my lips. "Don't cackle at me, Zack. We all know that you'd kill to jump her bones."

        "Oh come on, Jack," Stella sighed, always embarrassed by the comments Jack made about girls. Things just never change, including us. "She's not a piece of meat."

        "Are you kidding? If being drop dead sexy was a crime, Lauren would be guilty as charged," Jack licked his lips. I sent him a glance, while he offered an air knuckle bump to Alex, who took it willingly by raising his fist in front of him.

        Stella poked his back lightly before he looked over at her with a smile. He took a step backwards towards her before pressing his back against her front, prinning her against the counter. She grunted sotly, laughing whlie resting her mouth on his shoulder. I rolled my eyes at their constant contact; they acted like they couldn't survive without skin to skin contact.

        "Isn't she still dating that kid she came here with?" Rian asked, typing on his phone again. My fingers clenced at the thought, and I tried to convince myself that it was just because Rian was tapping his foot again. I hated when he did that.

        I didn't want to think about that douche bag best friend she had in high school, the one that would call her in the middle of the night for a ride because he was too drunk to stand up straight. She always did what he asked, no matter what. It shouldn't have been such a surprise when she left, when everyone was talking about how they were together after they were gone. For months after Lauren left, I never wanted to hit someone so much in my entire life. He was a selfish prick, and she picked him the first chance she got.

        I couldn't blame her for the way she took off. There was no communication between the two of us once tour started. There were so many arguments, so many pointless fights that were only adding fuel to the eventual fire. I probably would've left if I were here too. Any teenage girl would run away from the un-promised future with a kid that went off to play bass for a band straight out of high school. Nothing was stable when we were together. I couldn't have expected her to stay with me, no matter how badly I wanted her to.

        I let out a breath, still wrapping my mind around the fact that I've always been so close to her without realizing it, so fucking close. She was under my nose for almost an entire year once I moved here. I could have found her if I wanted, I could have done something to fix the friendship that could have been possible from our broken relationship. I wasn't sure if it was something I would have wanted at the time, but I could have done it. Hell, I'm sure she wouldn't have wanted to see me, anyway, not after everything that's happened.

        "I'm pretty sure they're still together. He left for some trip for the whole summer a few weeks ago, and comes back in August," Stella said, raising her chin to avoid speaking into Alex's shirt. "I was sort of hoping that she'd come around more, you know?"

        "Is that a good idea?" Rian asked with an unsure tone. It wasn't mean to be rude, only concerned.

        "Why not?" She asked, shruging, causing Alex to shift on her lightly. She obviously had been thinking of this since she's seen her. It was obvious by the way she spoke so sensibly. It was like a preplanned speech she'd prepared just for this moment. "She was still a good friend of yours, and it's not like she was someone we hated. Lauren's super nice, and I think she wants to be our friend again too."

        "And how are you so sure about that?" Alex asked, twisting his head to the side, meeting her gaze. She looked up into his eyes, not the slightest sense of hestiation.

        "She feels bad about what happened, she knows what she did wasn't right," she paused, breathing once. "Are we really going to hold a grudge about something that happened seven years ago? If I recall correctly, it wasn't exactly the easiest thing to be so far away from you guys for so long," she raised her eyebrows, staring at Alex. She had a point.

        "She's hot, so I vote yes," Jack said raising his hand in the air like this was some sort of democracy. He was still spinning in the seat. Wasn't he dizzy yet?

        "Your vote doesn't count, asshole," Rian rolled his eyes. "The only one that counts is Zack's."

        "What do you want to do, man? It's your call," Alex agreed with a nod, something I didn't think he'd do. Thinking logically wasn't Alex, or Jack's strong suits.

        I stared at the kitchen floor, picturing Lauren today, just the way I remembered her in high school, when she realized it was me. Her brown eyes still looked like pools of chocolate, with the same brown freckles sprinkled across her nose and the apples of her cheeks. Her hair was shorter, but only slightly, and still had those curls that I loved. Her face still turned scarlet with the same blush that I remembered causing more than a million times. And that smile -- Jesus, I couldn't forget her smile, or her laugh if I wanted to.

        All I can picture is the way she ran, the way she wouldn't even turn when I called her name. That fucking stung, more than I wanted it to. I didn't think that it would make me so irritated when she kept running, the itch to go after her and make her talk to me so strong. She didn't even take a second to put her iPod back on, she ignored the way the side of her shorts were soaked in ocean water from when we fell. SHe wanted to get away that badly. I wasn't done with this yet -- at least, that's what I felt.

        God damn it, I missed Lauren. That wasn't something that I'd thought about in years, just how much she meant to me when we were in high school. She was a friend before she was my girlfriend. I missed that friend. I missed the way I could talk to her, and the way we'd say nothing and completely understand each other. It freaked me out, knowing that she got me so well, and I missed it. There were things between Lauren and I that needed to be fixed, and I mean really fixed.

        "Sure," I mumbled quietly, scratching the side of bare chest absentmindedly. I nodded to myself, lifting my hand to run it through my hair. "Yeah, she can come around again."