Almost Easy

The Green Room

Zoey's POV

The green room pretty little setup where we could see the stage perfectly from four large windows. It was set up with all kinds of refreshments and furniture. Normally it would be a cool place to chill, but today was going to be the worst situation of my life. And I had been married to a pop star, so that's saying something.

I saw her as soon as I entered the room. She was standing with her sister, both them dressed similarly. Val was wearing a ruby red sleeveless top and some black leather pants with some stilettos. Michelle was also wearing a ruby red top but hers was a sleeveless cowl neck with a black pencil skirt. She looked gorgeous.  I took a deep breath and made my way in their direction.

"Hey Zoey," Lacey called happily and she gave me a hug "I'm so glad you're here."

I smiled at her. It was nice to know that I at least had one ally. "Hey Lace, you look great."

"Thanks," she said shifting her eyes nervously toward Michelle "Did Brian find the guys?"

"Uh yeah," I gestured out of the door "Jimmy came and grabbed him before steering me in here."

She nodded as Leana moved close, handing me a bottle of Miller Lite. 

"I thought you might need this," she smiled.

I returned it appreciatively before taking a sip. Okay Zoey. You can do this. Be an adult and take the bull by the horns. I moved forward and Lacey looked at me nervously "Come on Lace, we can see them better from up here."

She nodded apprehensively as we neared the large windows where Michelle and Val were planted.

I put on my best smile "Hey Val, Michelle, wow, it's been a long time."

Val smiled and nodded but she was really waiting for her sister to react.

Michelle's eyes narrowed slightly, her gaze taking in my appearance. I was glad that we were about the same height in heels. I tried to keep myself from showing any nervousness and I guess years of paparazzi photos helped with that because I just stood there with my sincere smile plastered on my face.  Her expression softened a bit and I released the breath, I hadn't realized I was holding.

"Zoey," she acknowledged "How are you?"

I was surprised at the question. I figured I was lucky that she didn't claw my eyes out. Or at least try to land a decent punch. Heaven knows that's what I would have done. She chose to be pleasing. "I'm doing great. Thanks for asking. How are you?"

She shrugged and pursed her lips "I'm getting by."

Hmm, how do you reply to that? Gee, Michelle, I'm sorry I stole your boyfriend. But I'm sure things will be much better soon. Yeah right. Probably just best to keep quiet.

After a few minutes, the guys were introduced and Brian began to play the intro. I shifted my focus from the awkward situation with Michelle to my pride in seeing Brian and Zacky being so bad ass.  I could feel myself smiling. I loved them both so much and was so proud of them.

I decided then and there, nothing was going to get me down tonight.

Brian's POV

As the last note was played, I looked over at Matt. He was smiling widely, dimples showing. I took a bow and basked in the applause of the audience. It was a phenomenal feeling. I wasn't kidding when I told Zoey that being on stage was one of the best feelings in the world. For 4 minutes and 51 seconds, I was able to forget everything. I was able to do what I loved most in life. Just play.

My adrenaline was pumping as we exited the stage, handing our instruments to the sound techs and giving each other high fives, like we were still in high school.

"That sounded so fucking awesome," Jimmy said trading his drum sticks to a stage hand for a white towel to wipe his sweat.

"The crowd loved it," Johnny added excitedly as we noticed the girls waiting for us backstage.

Leana ran first to Jimmy, jumping on him as she was famous for, wrapping her legs around his waist. He caught her effortlessly and planted kisses on her face.

I couldn't help but shake my head. I looked for Zoey, her green eyes shining, her face bright. I smirked at her as I walked over. She was as a full of excitement as I was. She threw her arms around my neck and kissed me. It was the first kiss we'd shared since before her accident and I felt my arms go around her automatically, returning the feverish kiss.

When she pulled back, I looked at her surprised "Does this mean I kicked ass?"

She chuckled warmly, "You most definitely kicked ass."

"And you managed to stay in one piece," I remarked as she released me from her embrace but took my hand in hers intertwining her fingers with mine.

"I'm trying this new thing where I don't just say I'm an adult but where I actually act like one too," she replied.

I laughed as we joined the group. I decided if Zoey could be an adult, I could do. I lifted her hand and kissed it, but pulled away. She seemed to know what I was saying and nodded slightly. I made my way to Michelle and smiled. "Hey Michelle," I said giving her a brief sideways hug. "It's good to see you."

She held on a bit tighter than I wanted and she seemed to inhale deeply but for the most part, it was just a hug. "It's good to see you too, Brian."

Satisfied with myself, I resumed my position next to Zoey again and took her hand again. I mean if she was in such a good mood to let me touch her, then who knew what else the evening held for us.

"Are we going to stay for the rest of the awards?" Johnny asked the group.

"We could," Zacky replied, placing his arms around Gena from behind. She rewarded him with a million dollar smile.

"I need a drink," Jimmy said  "Let's move this celebration to LA Live next door."

Matt agreed "Sounds like a good plan. Let's do it."