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

Chapter 58: Stay

        "Fuck you and your stupid fucking plaid shirt!" Jack's voice screeched while I opened the unlocked apartment door. My eyes went wide, raising my eebrows to the left that held Zack's living room. My bag slid to my wrist, focusing on the familiar group on the black couch.

        "Good afternoon to you too," I murmured quietly. The boy's attention directed towards the sound, each giving me a large grin. I felt my posture relax, knowing that none of them hated me for what I'd done.

        They each held an xbox controller in their girps, various beer bottles and cans sitting on the tables. Zack sat closest to the door, elbows leaning on his knees, smiling up at me while I wandered into the room further.

        "Look who finally decided to show her face again," Rian joked from his seat, offering me another smirk. My mouth tugged up, blush creeping to my neck and ears.

        "I missed you guys too," I said softly, gaining another round of cheesy, beaming smiles in my direction. I shook my head, attention focusing on Zack as he tugged my arm, allowing him to occupy my lips. I chuckled, noticing his shirt.

        "I'm assuming you're the one with the stupid plaid shirt?" I teased while pulling away, meeting his gaze from a short distance. He shrugged while Jack continued to pout in his seat, eyes focused on the screen the same way Alex's and Rian's were.

        "He's just being a little bitch because he couldn't win this game to save his life," Alex said with a smile, tongue sticking out of his mouth in concentration. I stood up straight, feeling Zack's hand rest against the back of my thigh, rubbing it gently.

        "This game?" Rian snorted, rolling his eyes. "Any game's more like it."

        "You all have tiny dicks!" Jack yelped, groaning when an explosion appeared across the screen. He flopped back against the couch, failing his arms in a temper tantrum while Zack chuckled to my side.

        "Where's your fiancé?" I asked Alex, and it took him a minute before he was yelling at Rian for killing him. I waited patiently while he gathered himself again while letting out a large sigh.

        "She had a lesson until seven. She'll be here soon," he said, brown eyes meeting mine for a moment before falling back to the plasma screen in front of him. I looked at the clock on the box, noticing that it was seven now.

        "Where's Vinny? He's the only one I can ucking beat at this game!" Jack screamed, knuckled turning white as they tensed around the controller. I looked down at Zack, wondering exactly how many people he was planning on having over.

        "It's just Vinny and Danny coming over," Zack answered, giving me a look while looking up at me. "We had the day of and haven't seen them in a while."

        "Gotcha," I nodded, remembering both of them. "What do you guys want to do for dinner?"

        "They want Chinese, it's all written down. I just have to call and order it," he mumbled, staring at the television screen. I knew that he was watching his player get killed over and over again because I was being distracted. I pulled away slowly, smiling.

        "I'll order it, is it in the kitchen?" I asked, and he rolled his eyes at me.

        "It's fine, I'll get it in a minute."

        "I got it," I said with a laugh while I pushed open the door. I found the list on the counter with an abundance of food that I'm sure they'll devour in a few minutes. I pulled my phone out of my pocket and dialed the number on the front of the menu.

        I waited patiently on the line with the woman who barely spoke English, letting her apologize when she got things wrong. I continuously laughed it off, trying to ease her from stuttering more. It almost sounded like her first day.

        I leaned my elbow against the counter, focusing my attention out the window while speaking to her. There was noise behind me but I didn't bother looking as I heard the refrigerator open and bottles clank each other before being placed on the counter. It wasn't until I felt fingers wrap around my waist did Ir ealize who was in the room with me.

        "What's the total?" I asked nicely, turning in Zack's grip. I kept my eyes on his shirt, playing with one of the buttons. His chin was at my top lip and I was trying to focus on what the woman was saying, but I couldn't get past the idea of Zack's body being so close to me. "Alright, thank you, bye."

        When I slid my phone shut, he ducked his head to catch my mouth on his. I grinned against him, one hand touching the side of his neck. "What was the total?" he asked, mid-kiss, mumbled against me.

        "No idea," I said with a laugh. He chuckled, hand pressing to my lower back. "Run out of drinks?"

        "I think Jack needs a few more if he's going to survive playing COD with us," He said with a smirk. I shook my head, mouth turning up. "But, I think they'll survive a few minutes without me."

        I leaned forwad and kissed him again. It was so strange for me to want this so much from someone else. Sure, whenever I was with Craig, he always kissed me first. I felt like I was always making a move to touch Zack. I craved his contact, and suddenly Alex and Stella's affection didn't seem so excessive.

        "Aw, now this is how it's supposed to be," Stella's voice boomed in the open space. I jumped, parting my lips from his. My face flushed while I let out a laugh, leaning my foreehad against his chest.

        "You always know how to ruin a moment, don't you, Stell?" Zack sighed, body turning slightly. I chuckled against his shirt, lifting my red cheeks to expose them to Stella.

        "Well, I had to ruin it because neither of you called me back last night!" She said dramatically, setting her things on the counter near the door. My fingers curled to the fabric of his shirt, hair falling in my eye.

        "Don't you have a fiancé to tend to?" Zack murmured, fingers trailing matterns on my skin exposed by my shirt riding slightly.

        "Lucky for you guys, he's kicking Jack's ass in some video game," she smirked happily, leaning against the counter.

        Her eyes never left us, andd Zack's let go of his hold on my side with an exhale. He kissed my temple for a moment before retreating to the living room with the beers. I rolled my eyes, still feeling the blush on my face.

        Stella's eyes followed Zack and landed on me after he disappeared. I ran my fingers over my face, biting the inside of my cheek with a stupid smile on my lips. I met her gaze, seeing the way she had an identical look on hers.

        "I'm happy you're back," she said quietly, arms tucked under her. "Are you going to stay?"

        I nodded, back pushed against the counter. "Yeah, yeah I am."