I Found You, Something Told Me To Stay - (Jason/Zacky) Version Two.

Chapter Eleven.

Hey, guys! Properly getting into the story now, so the next chapter will definitely be out a lot quicker :D

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Enjoy! <3

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I woke to a sweet aroma wafting through the house. It took a couple of moments to remember exactly where I was, but as I lifted my head from the pillow and stared around the large bedroom, the events from the day before flooded into my mind.

In exasperation, a deep breath left my lips and my head hit the pillow again. I was sure it was a mix of the day being so long and my surreal situation for me to get riled up so easily, but now that I’d calmed down and my sleep had cleared my mind, I felt undeniably guilty for the way I’d spoken to Zacky.

I sat up and shifted out of bed, feeling a little surprised when no cold morning air hit me, and I was instead met by a bright sunlight peeking through the curtains. I stretched, wincing at how achy my body was after all the walking I’d done yesterday, and then made my way over to the door opposite me. I’d discovered, after briefly waking up in the middle of the night, that it led to an en-suite bathroom.

Having tossed and turned all through the night due to the heat, I didn’t even glance at the hot water setting on the shower and immediately turned it to cold. It was nothing but soothing to me as I undressed and climbed into shower, the cold water hitting my body and immediately cooling it down a little. I could get used to the Californian heat, but I was sure it would take a while, and I would be taking cold showers for quite some time.

As I showered, I focused my thoughts on my plan for the day. I was determined that I would find my dad today, no matter how nerve-wracking and difficult it was—there was no more putting it off. I wasn’t entirely sure of how I was going to go about it, but I decided that my best bet was to go back to the diner and see if I could get any more help from Marie.

Stepping out of the shower, I wrapped a towel around myself and wandered back through to the bedroom to get dressed. I threw on the comfiest clothes I had with me—a pair of jeans and a t-shirt—as I was sure that today would involve a lot of walking, too.

I shoved yesterday’s clothes into my bag and then turned to quickly glance at the mirror on the wall, not exactly thrilled by the exhausted reflection that stared back at me, but choosing to ignore it rather than do something about it. I just didn’t see the point in making a huge effort when I was going to be spending my day walking around in a blistering heat, in which any makeup I wore would probably all melt off, and any effort I made with my hair would be pointless, too. It was drying quickly already, and with it being naturally straight, I wasn’t too bothered about the state it was in.

I tore my gaze away from the mirror and opened the bedroom door, the sweet smell immediately becoming a lot stronger. Despite how huge Zacky’s house was, it was easy to remember how to get downstairs and to the kitchen like yesterday, as I expected that was where he would be. Coming to a stop in the kitchen doorway, I found I was right.

Zacky didn’t notice me at first, his back turned to me as he stood at the cooker and poured what looked like pancake batter into a pan. He was dressed in just a simple plain white t-shirt and a pair of flannel pyjama bottoms, but I still couldn’t help but let my eyes wander over him for a moment or two. I still couldn’t quite wrap my mind around the fact that I’d spent the night in a house that belonged to the rhythm guitarist of my one of my most favourite bands.

Realising that I was just staring and letting my mind wander, I blinked out of my thoughts and loudly cleared my throat, causing Zacky to sharply turn his head and look over his shoulder. A friendly smile immediately pulled at his lips, and I awkwardly returned it, walking further into the room.