baby ; zach herron

6.2

the boys walk into the small venue at 7 p.m. exactly. they look around, trying to spot jade but they can't identify the short girl. zach wanders off and finds a table in the back of venue, not wanting to be social. the boys don't bother getting him to come back because they know he'll have an attitude.

jade spots the boys at the entrance and runs towards them with wristbands. they all hug her and thank her for the invite.

"don't thank me, thank eva. she wanted you guys here. also corbyn, christina is in the back with eva. these wristbands let you go backstage so lets go" she walks back to the side door and lets the boys in. she had noticed zach sitting at the table alone but she didn't talk to him. she knows he wouldn't be sitting there just to sit there.

"what's up with zach?" she asks the boys. they all look at each other before jonah speaks up. "he's been kinda rude since him and eva last spoken which was in january."

"let me guess, he's taking his anger out on you guys, like it's your fault"

"yup, we try to be nice to him but he's a dick. corbyn is the only one with patience for him, all of us snap back. he thinks because he's upset, he can be rude" jonah says to the short girl. she lets out a sigh, knowing what he means.

"eva's been the same. she gets mad quickly and yells at me when i don't answer her. her mom said to give it time and she'll come back to the old her but its been 2 almost 3 months. i understand she's hurting but she needs to open up. she won't tell us how she feels. we find out through her songs"

the boys get slightly upset, knowing things won't change. they've been trying to make them talk, not realizing it's only making them mad.

"this is her dressing room, i have to go get the setlist ready so you guys can head in" jade says before walking back towards the stage. she walks towards the door and swings it open, hitting zach. he lets out a groan and cry, rubbing his forehead.

"what the hell jade. you can't just go around, swinging doors open." he glares at her and lets out shaky breaths.

"hey don't get mad at me. this wouldn't have happened if you went with us earlier backstage but no, you decided to be a brat and sit down, not paying attention" she rolls her eyes before walking up towards the stage.

■■■■■■■

"oh my god hey guys" eva smiles at boys and hugs them. "im about to cry from all the love but i cant ruin my makeup so imma hold the tears in."

"are you excited to perform?" corbyn asks eva, who is putting handfuls of skittles into her mouth. she covered her mouth and chewed before speaking, "of course im excited, just nervous because i haven't performed these songs so let's pray i don't screw this up."

"you'll do fine, just look around and don't overthink it" daniel tries his best to help her get rid of the feeling. she continues to shove skittles into her mouth, struggling to chew.

"i have to be on stage in 9 minutes, holy shit. ok. wow. i feel like im going to throw up." she lays on the floor and covers her face. "i don't want to do this"

"eva, sweetie, its only like 30 people. it'll be fine." christina sits next to her, trying to calm the girl.

"im going to forget the lyrics. it's going to end badly." jade barges into the room, zach trailing behind her. he looks down at eva, who is still on the floor.

"eva. you stupid bitch. why are you on the floor? you go on stage in 6 minutes. scooter will be mad. you can't back out again." everyone looks at each other.

"what do you mean 'again'?" corbyn asks.

"she was suppose to perform a few days ago back in LA at the iheartradio red carpet. she ditched the awards and tried going to the train station to leave town." eva rolls her eyes and gets up.

"i wasn't feeling well that day and scooter knew that. it waa wrong for him to send me up on stage in my state. you knew i wasn't feeling well either. don't make me seem like a terrible person. you are for yelling at me and being rude to me" eva pushes past jade and zach, walking out the door.

"i think we should go out there" christina says, walking out the door. jade rolls her eyes and sits on the couch. the boys leave as well, leaving jade alone. she takes her phone out and sees several missed calls from joey.

she puts her phone away, not needing to be distracted with her boy problems. she walks towards the door and heads back to the stage

she approaches eva as she's putting her ear piece in. "i want to apologize for snapping at you earlier. ive been acting as your manager instead of your best friend. you really needed a friend and i was too dumb to realize" eva sniffles and hugs her.

"i was never mad at you, i was just upset because you yelled at me" eva wraps her arms around jade, hugging the girl. jade hugs her back and rubs her back.

"you must perform. go up there and show everyone what you can do" jade smiles at her best friend, getting teary eyed. words can't describe how proud she is. the day they met, jade knew they would be friends for a long time. that was 2 years ago. jade can't think of her life without eva by her side.

"hi guys, im eva miller if you didnt know" she smiles big when the boys and christina start screaming her name and hollering. "this is my song like that, i hope you like it"

the boys all cheer on eva, proud of her. zach and eva would make eye contact occasionally, making her tense. she didn't acknowledge his presence until she was up on stage. she couldn't help but feel bad for him. he was forced to come see his ex, perform songs written about him. she smirks knowing that he's uncomfortable.

"okay so my next song is called warmer" the rest of the night was filled with memories and amazing stories to tell.