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

Chapter 45: Drink

        "Are you sure you don't want me to pick you up?" Zack asked again, his voice sounding far off through my speaker phone.

        "No, it's fine, really. I'll be leaving in a minute and I'll just meet you all there," I told him, answering the same way I had the first time he asked me.

        Tonight was the night Stella had planned for us all to go out, but the guys had been in the studio all day. They were just getting out now, and when Zack called I told him not to go out of his way and I'd be fine just meeting them there. They would probably make it to the restaurant before me, and I didn't want them waiting any loner or Zack to have to drive down and pick me up before driving back there. I was almost ready to go anyway.

        "I'll see you soon, okay?" I said, grabbing my phone from my dresser. I took the speaker off, holding it to my ear as Zack started to talk.

        "Okay, bye," he said. I smiled to myself, happy with the idea of seeing him, even if we would be with the rest of the group. I hadn't seen him since yesterday, and even if that wasn't that long, I'd agreed with what he had said in his apartment. I wanted to make the most of the time we had together before Craig came home tomorrow night.

        "Bye," I grinned before hanging up the phone, dropping it into my purse. I stood back from the mirror, looking at what I had on. Stella told me to make sure I looked nice, meaning we were going somewhere expensive. I'd pulled an old dress from my closet, thankful that I hadn't grown out of it and that it still fit.

        It was dark black, stopping just above my knees. It was relatively form-fitting, and had cut outs on the back and sides. It wasn't really fancy, but it would do. I picked my purse up off the floor, heading to the door.

        It seemed to take forever to get there, the rush hour traffic only making it worse, but when I turned into the parking lot, I couldn't help smiling. Zack was waiting, leaning against the back of his car. I saw eveybody's vehicles parked one after the other, but they'd all gone inside.

        Zack started walking over as I took the keys from my ignition, dropping them into my bag. I fished my phone out, silencing it quickly. I didn't want any calls interrupting the night. The absolute last thing I wanted to think about was having Craig home again tomorrow. I wanted to be happy that he was returning, but it was so hard when I thought of how much it would change things.

        Zack opened my door for me, eyes traveling down the length of my body before meeting my eyes.

        "You look gorgeous," he muttered, his lips meeting mine briefly. I grinned against his lips, face flushing slightly at the comment.

        "You look pretty handsome yourself," I commented, pushing my door shut. Zack's usual shorts and v-neck were replaced with dark skinny jeans, and a button-up shirt, with the sleeves he'd rolled up to his elbows. The weather may have been cooler than normal, with rain predicted for some point tonight into tomorrow, but it was still fairly warm, and I couldn't imagine being comfortable in long clothes.

        Zack opened the door, the restaurant meeting us with air much cooler. The hostess smiled at us as we walked by, towards the back where everyone was seated.

        I wasn't surprised to see Cassadee next to Rian, his arm clung comfortably around her shoulder. I thought he would've invited her, wanting to spend time with her since she'd just been gone and had a busy schedule. I understood the feeling, so I didn't mind.

        Stella stood up when she saw me, walking over quickly, arms pulling me into a hug. I stepped away from Zack who sat next to Cassadee, greeting everyone casually, even though he'd just seen them.

        "Congratulations!" she said happily, gripping me tightly before stepping away, grinning.

        "Thanks," I said, unable to keep my own grin off my face. Five pairs of eyes watched us as Stella pulled me softly towards the table. I took the empty seat beside Zack, across from Stella, who slid back into her seat beside Alex. A chorus of congratulations sounded fromt he group, and I felt a warmth crawl up my cheeks from everybody's attention focused on me.

        Zack's hand found mine under the table and I glanced at him, grinning. He smiled back, his thumb moving gently over mine.

        Our waiter came over, asking for drink orders. I was probably the only person who noticed the way his eyes lingered for a second too long with Stella, even with the noticable ring on her left hand, and Alex's arm slung over her shoulders, his fingers moving gently against the bare skin of her arm. The old sense of envy or feeling of being in the shadow didn't come up like it used to. Instead, I was perfectly content to find Zack's eyes looking back at me.

        When the waiter looked at me, the last one to order, I hesitated for a moment. Everyone else had ordered alcoholic beverages, along with waters on the side. Stella was the only one who'd seen me drink, usually opting for water, but I went ahead and ordered an apple martini, turning to Zack as he leaned his head closer.

        "SInce when do you drink?" he asked sotly, his words coming out right by my ear. I shrugged, glancing at him.

        "A little while, only on special occasions," I muttered, wondering if it would make a difference, but Zack just nodded, settling back into his seat.

        We took a few minutes to look through the menus, picking out what we wanted before the conversation started easily, bringing along laughter that continued even when our drinks came and we ordered. There was barely a moment of silence between the seven of us, even with our food in front of us.

        When the waiter came back, asking if anyone wanted new drinks, everyone said yes, including me. I usually didn't drink a lot, btu I couldn't shake the feeling of wanting to forget everything that was going to happen. I didn't want to worry about tomorrow and Craig and Zack. I wanted to forget, and be able to enjoy today.