Homewrecker With A Heart Of Gold (Patrick Stump FanFic ft. Zack Merrick)

Chapter 2

-Zack's POV-

The tour bus passed by the sign on the side of the highway that read "Minnesota Welcomes You". A smile grew on my face as I pulled out my phone, bringing up my messages and opening the conversation I had with Gwen. The last text message was from her.

Gwen - Yesterday 10:16p.m.
I'm sorry we didn't get to talk tonight. We'll talk tomorrow, though, I promise. Love you!

"Aww, look at little Zacky," Jack cooed teasingly as he came up from behind me and rested his head on my shoulder, "Talking to his wifey. What did she say this time?"

I laughed and elbowed him away. "Fuck off, man."

"I already did," He retorted before peeling himself away from me and walking over to the mini fridge we had underneath the small kitchen counter. He yanked open the door and pulled out a can of beer.  The two of us were the only ones still up, seeing as it was a little before two in the morning. I couldn't sleep and, well, Jack just didn't.

"You know I'm just messing with you, Zack," He assured me before popping the top and bringing the cold beverage to his lips.

"I know, but I haven't seen them in a month," I murmured, locking my phone and slipping it back into my pocket. I stood up and joined his side, heaving a sigh. "I miss them."

"See? This is why I never want to have kids or get married," He muttered, wagging his finger at me, "Because I don't want to have to worry about things like that when I'm touring."

"It's not that bad," I tried to convince him, crossing my arms over my chest, "I mean, it's not so much being away from them...it's coming back and hearing that I missed something. Like Chase's first word. I wasn't there for it because I was on a completely different continent."

"Hey, you were there for his first steps," He reminded me, bending down and getting me a can of beer out of the fridge. He extended it out to me and I shook my head no, kindly declining his offer. He shrugged his shoulders and set it down on the counter for later, for him. "And don't forget you were there when he started teething," He went on to say, "I remember one day I asked you if you wanted to go out for drinks, and you told me how you couldn't because you were so exhausted from staying up all night with Chase, rocking him and picking up his teething ring when he dropped it."

"Still," I mumbled.

He patted me on the shoulder and turned me so I was facing him. "Don't worry about it, Zack. You're going to be back home before you know it."

"I actually bought a train ticket to Chicago for later today," I disclosed to him, tilting my head down and playing with the strings on my sweatshirt, "The ride's, like, nine hours, so I should get there by tomorrow morning. I want to surprise them. But I'm kind of unsure about it. Last time I surprised her, she didn't like it very much."

"What do you mean?"

"I just...she tried to make it seem like she liked it, but I could tell she didn't. Something was wrong. She wouldn't tell me what, though. She just kept insisting that everything was fine."

The guitarist shrugged his shoulders. "I've just learned just to roll with the punches, Zack. Do what they want you to do, say what they want you to say...stuff like that. It makes things a whole lot easier." He took another swig of alcohol before turning away from me and plopping down on the couch, propping his feet up and snatching up the remote to change the channel.

I exhaled slowly and, once again, pulled out my phone. No new messages, not that I expected any. Instead, my background illuminated the screen. My background was a picture of Gwen, Chase, and me from a little while ago. New Year's Eve, to be specific. The two of us were decked out in New Year's accessories - those ridiculous glasses and party hats - and Chase had a noisemaker in his hand. We all looked so happy together with smiles stretched across our faces. But I knew that wasn't the case.

It wasn't just her insisting that everything was fine. I was too.

I wanted to believe that we always felt the way we did that night, where we were ready to face the new year together with a clean slate, where we felt unstoppable, unbreakable. I thought we were ready to deal with anything and everything together. We'd been friends our whole lives, and falling in love was easy, so was planning out for futures in such a way that included the other person.

But then it happened.

Gwen and I were hanging out and she told me she had something to show me. That something? A positive pregnancy test. I thought it was a joke at first, but it was authentic, and when she took another one to make sure she actually was pregnant, it had the same result.

To say the least, that day changed everything for us. Sure, a baby was something we both wanted eventually, but not when we were teenagers.

She was eighteen, I was nineteen, and I didn't think it would happen in the backseat of my car. But sure enough, it did, and a year later, a few days after I turned twenty, I had to leave in the middle of band practice to rush to the hospital to be the first one to hold my son after he was born. The way I felt that day was indescribable. It was mix of so many emotions, I didn't even call my mom to tell her it happened.

Chase made us so happy, even with the seemingly infinite amount of restless nights and all of the dirty diapers we had to change. I'd never felt more in love with anyone in my entire life.

Then it happened.

The real it.

The one that really changed everything.

It was the year 2009 and All Time Low went on tour, as usual, with a band called Fall Out Boy. The guys were great, and we got along magnificently. We all got along magnificently, especially Patrick and Gwen. The two of them were always together. Always.

I wasn't usually the jealous type, and I certainly wasn't comfortable telling Gwen who she could and couldn't hang out with - I wasn't that kind of person. So I just sat by, watching them laugh and smile and tell each other jokes. I asked my friends what they thought about it and they told me not to worry, that it harmless.

But ever since then, things just haven't been the same. The calls we used to have every night when I was away have been reduced to maybe twice a week, if I was lucky. Her texts were all apologies, excuses as to why we couldn't talk or why she hadn't responded to me earlier. And when I was home, she was distant, withdrawn. It was like she didn't want me around, which I didn't understand because I wasn't even around that often. You'd think she'd want me there, to help her raise Chase, to keep her company. But no, she wanted the opposite. She wanted me gone.

I closed my phone, tears wavering in my eyes, and looked over at Jack. "Hey, do you know when we get to Minneapolis?"

"I don't know," He mumbled under his breath, bringing the bottle back up to his lips, "Ask the driver."

I groaned and dragged myself to the front.