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

Chapter 43: Opportunity

        If there had been any way to slow down the next month of my life, I would have taken it. It seemed to move much too quickly, days flying by between work, school, Zack and everybody else. It seemed like the only free time I spent at my apartment was when I had school work to do or when I was sleeping. I was spending as much time with Zack as I could, trying not to think about the tour they were planning. They would be going out of the country at the end of January, and in March they would start touring with Hey Monday and other bands. I was also trying not to think about Craig's return, though now, it was only a few days away.

        He called the other night, the first time in weeks, and actually stayed on the phone for more than twenty minutes. It was a night I had to myself, needing time for school work, so I didn'tt ry to rush off the phone. I still missed him, and it had been a few weeks since we'd talked, so I didn't want to hang up if he had the time to actually speak to me.

        Still, after I did hang up, a small part of me wished I hadn't stayed on the phone for that long. At the end of the conversation, he told me that he missed me and that he was happy to be coming home soon, to see me again and to pick up where we'd left off. I couldn't decide which part he was more happy about: seeing me or the thought he had of picking up where we left off, like he'd promised. With a guilty feeling in my stomach, I told him the same, that I was happy he'd be home soon, and then I hung up and dropped my phone, burrowing my face into my blankets, knowing how messed up everything was about to become.

        I was on edge the whole week, and I tried to hide it, but Stella and Zack both knew me better than that. Stella had been eyeing me nervously for the last few days. She'd come over once while I was studying, asking for just a few minutes to talk. I told her that since Craig was coming home in a few days, I was just on edge about what would happen between him and Zack. When she asked if I knew what I was going to do, as far as who I wanted, I just shrugged, muttering that I wanted to have both of them in my life.

        Zack, on the other hand, wasn't asking questions. He knew my nerves were because of Craig, but he didn't want to know anything else, and I was perfectly content with that. I didn't want him searching for reassurance that Craig coming home wouldn't affect us. Honestly, I didn't think it would be possible for me to answer that. But, thankfully, he wasn't asking.

        He was, however, concerned about graduating in a few days. Stella wanted to do something, go out somewhere with everybody to celebrate and then Zack wanted to do something with just the two of us. I said that they didn't need to do anything, but most of the time when we were together, he was asking, and today was no different.

        "I'm serious, Zack, you gus don't need to do anything," I muttered, turning my head away from the TV to look at him.

        We were lying on his couch, side-by-side, my head resting comfortably on his chest. His right arm was around my side, fingers continuously brushing against my skin, soft enough to give me chills. He always chuckled at the goose bumps that rose on my skin.

        "Stella won't have it," he said, looking down at me."It's not every day that you graduate college early."

        "Yeah, but..." I started, stopping and sighing when Zack started to shake his head.

        "It's not supposed to be anything special. We'll all just go out to eat somewhere, nothing huge. Some other night the two of us can go out somewhere," He told me, for at least the tenth time in the last few days.

        "Fine," I muttered, "Only because Stella will do whatever she wants anyway, and so will you."

        Zack grinned, twisting his body around slightly so he could press his lips gently against mine before settling back onto the couch, pulling my body against his.

        "So, what are you going to do after you graduate?" he asked, his breath blowing against the back of my neck.

        "Look around for a job, I guess," I said, chewing on my lip as I thought about it. I probably should have started looking around, finding the type of place I'd like to work, but it hadn't really crossed my mind with everything else I'd been trying to figure out.

        "What type of place would you want to work in?" he asked. I turned my head, meeting his eyes.

        "I don't know, why are you so curious?" I asked, smirking softly.

        "Well, Stella pointed this out the other day, but Alex said that one of the bands coming on tour with us is unsighed, and he wanted to take them on as a project next year, have them signed onto our label and help promote them and stuff. Stella thought it'd be cool if you were their manager," he explained.

        "And you'd be on tour with them, which means.." he started.

        "I'd be on tour with you," I finished softly. That last part changed everything. Being the manager of a band seemed like an amazing opportunity, and being All Time Low they probably had some pull with the label. Going n tour, it brought me back to the problem I'd been fighting with for the entire summer. Everything depended on what happened when Craig came home.

        "So, what do you think?" Zack asked, after a few minutes of silence.

        "Uh,w ow. I don't know, it sounds amazing," I muttered, looking away from his eyes.

        "Then why do I feel like there's a 'but' coming next?" he wondered. I sighed softly, running a hand through my hair.

        "There's no but, Zack," I said. "I just have to think about it, that's all. It sounds like an amazing opportunity, but just give me a few days to think about it?" I asked him. He nodded, moving his head down, his lips meeting the skin along my jaw.

        "Okay," he whispered his breath bowing softly against my skin. I shivered slightly in his arms, hearing a chuckle rise out of his throat. I smiled, twisting my head to catch his lips on mine.

        It seemed like the perfect opportunity, exactly what we needed but didn't have before, the chance for us to stay together while All Time Low was touring, but I couldn't take it, at least, not yet. I was still waiting to see how everything played out, to see if Zack and I would make it past the fast approaching trouble.