Say You'll Mean It (an All Time Low Fanfic)

"The coarse of love never did run smoothly."~William Shakespeare

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! My alarm clock went off. At six. Fucking. O'clock. Wow, today already sucked. I reached over and hit the off button, being careful not to break it. I'd already lost enough clocks to a pissed of morning attitude. I rolled over and got out of bed, immediately noticing how cold it was in here. My tiny, square, plain apartment had to be like 45 freaking degrees! "What the hell?" I muttered as I walked over to the thermostat. It was turned off, and I quickly recalled not paying the heating bill. "Shit." I chocked out between my chattering teeth. I ran back to the bed to grab a quilt, then off to the kitchen to make a cold cup of coffee. Not really surprising, considering the closest thing I had to hot food was hot tamales which, coincidental, were in the freezer. No power, no cooking. Didn't pay that bill either.

"This is the life." I thought sarcastically as I tried to warm my hands over the non-existent steam coming from my coffee. I stared dejectedly out the window, waiting for the caffine to reach my brain. If there was one thing my apartment didn't lack, it was definitely a view. My window faced over a beautiful shot of the Cheasapeak Bay, which was good, because it gave something for guests to complement on when they came over.

I checked the watch on my wrist. SIX THIRTY???!!!! Damn it!!!! I was gonna be late for work!!! I jumped in the shower and got dressed in record time, only pausing to check my reflection in the full body mirror. A 23 year old girl stood looking back at me, brown eyes, unnatural blue-purple hair, thin, but in a very un-model type way. All-in-all, pretty plain. Except for the hair of course. It had always been my way of breaking out of this average body I seem to have been set in. I did one last run through to make sure I remembered everything. Makeup check. Purple skinnies check. Glamour kills tee check. Yeah I know, not very formal for work, but I teach guitar lessons, so not exactly business apparel. Just as I was finishing I heard a car horn from outside.

"Come on Mel, let's go!!!!" I heard my best friend Blair yell from her car. We work in the same building, but she teaches the dance lessons down stairs. As you can imagine, someone who can't afford heat also can't buy a car, so for now I'm bumming rides.

"Well, finally!!" she burst out, looking upset. Blair and impatience are like Demi Lovato and spray tans, they go horribly together but are inevitable. It was actually kind of funny. Her platinum blond hair was flying all over the place, her icy blue eyes narrowed.

"Sorry, I was a little late, I got lost in thought......" I trailed off looking out the window. She laughed, already over it.

"Damn girl, you're just never completely here." she said, pulling out of the driveway. Unlike me, Blair was fine in money. Her parents were both lawyers, so she was already well off. She's really smart too, probably could have been a professor or something, but never was really interested. She had a red porsche, top off and everything, even in the winter. She sped away, laughing as we went. I literally feared for my life in the car with her, and questioned everyday why I would ever get back in the next. "Oh yeah," I remembered, "because its a really fucking long walk!" Blair chatted away happily as we went down the narrow road, and parked in the back of the studio. It was small, only two floors, with a dance studio in the bottom and rooms for lessons up top. The inside was covered with old vinyl records and rolling stones magazine covers. I absolutely loved it. As we reached the front doors, Blair and I said a quick goodbye as we headed off in different directions. I hurried upstairs to open up my office and prepare for the first lesson of the day. It was with someone I had never taught before. They're last was Merrick. "Interesting last name." I thought as I set up chairs. He was coming in for a vocal lesson. I had about half an hour before he would arrive. I needed to hurry..........

Thirty minutes later there was a heavy knock at my door. I opened it up to see a tall, muscular guy who looked to be about my age. He smiled down and asked in a quiet voice if this was Melinda's studio. I nodded quickly and welcomed him into the room, remembering that the first lesson was with someone unknown. He introduced himself after he sat down and took off his jacket. "Hey, I'm Zack." he said, and gave me a shy smile. "Hi Zack, I'm Melinda, and I'll be teaching your vocal lesson. So is this your first lesson?" I asked, smiling warmly. "Yeah, I sing back-up for a band and play bass, and I decided a lesson couldn't hurt." he replied, looking kind of uncomfortable, like he wasn't used to having undivided attention. "Oh, okay that's cool. What band do you play in?" I asked, wondering if I was in the presence of some famous bassist,

"A band called All Time Low." he said, and gave me a cute smile.

"Okay, well let's get started with your lesson." and we began.

Thirty minutes later the lesson was coming to a close, and I found I really liked Zack. He had a quiet sense of humor and a really cute shy smile. I wished the lesson was longer..... "Hey, Melinda," Zack began, looking kind of nervous, " would you want to come out to dinner with me and some of my friends tonight?" he asked, looking hopeful. My heart instantly soared.

"Yeah, I'd really love that!" I replied, maybe a little too quickly. His smile re-appeared on his face, looking excited again.

"That's great! If you wanna give me your address I'll pick you up at seven." he said, making my heart race.

"Totally!" I replied, grabbing a sticky note and quickly scrawling down my adress. I handed the sheet of paper to him with a bow, making both of us giggle. "I'll see you at seven." he said with a wave as he left the studio. I knew now that I'd never be able to wait till seven. "Oh great." I muttered with a groan, "what am I gonna wear??!!"