Zacky’s POV

I thought at least one of the couples were now finally getting back on track, but as it seemed I had been thinking wrong.

When we left the party that night, rather forced cause of Matt’s little unsettled argument with Bruce, we couldn’t find Gates anywhere.

After we finally had Matt out of the house, and had calmed him down for a bit, I went back inside searching for Brian, but he was nowhere to be found, no one had even seen him.
Jimmy had tried to call him, sent him a message all without replies, so we guessed he must have left already.

When I then reached my hotel room which was sadly for me adjoining to his, I heard why we couldn’t find him.
I heard him pretty clear and her as well, and I couldn’t keep that little smirk from my face knowing Ave and Brian were back together.

God how much had he been pissing me of the past months, I have never seen him act so dumb ever before…

First his completely cluelessness had made me feel pretty guilty, cause I still was in contact with Ave, and Brian was one of my closest friends, I mean how was I able to keep from him what he loved the most. And I really mean, loved the most.

But Ave refused to talk to me about what happened, until it one time slipped out and I at least had a clue of what had been going on between them… and then after Brian’s self-pity and angriness had then turned into the ‘fuck- all-this-mentality’ it was more than enough we could take.
And it wasn’t only him, maybe we could have dealt with one of those, but two of our band members freaking the fuck out were more than we as friends or any band could handle.

So after finally getting both Matt and Brian back on track, now the whole situation escalated again!
After running into Maya and Ave at the party yesterday, Matt was now determined to get Maya back to want him… which would be a tough work, since she seemed to have started over again… with someone else… and Brian… well what was happening there?

When I met him the morning after the party, after he and Ave had apparently spent the night together, he was searching for her, and he looked desperate maybe even afraid if I had to name it.
Afraid that he will lose again what he just got back… but did he really have her back?
Have they been really talking?

As good as I knew my buddy, he thought that talking was way too overrated and decided to take it a notch higher with the other activities, which lead him to… nothing – or an empty bed beside him.

I couldn’t stand that sad look on his face, and was afraid he would do something stupid again, so I was now thinking on how to get those two to work things out.

So how do I get an insight on what is really going on, and what to do to know what’s happening?
There was just one solution I could come up with and that meant calling the one person causing all this…

…Avery.

I played it cool during the phone call, but I let her know how much I missed the time we also had been spending together, because it wasn’t only Brian who missed her. We all did, she was like a little sister to me, okay maybe sister wasn’t the right word, but…

Damn, I missed our talks… just her being near and I wasn’t the only one. I think both Matt and Brian didn’t really see that they weren’t the only ones missing them, they became part of the family, if they were together as couples with them or not.

When she wasn’t convinced right away to meet with me, I pulled out the only card I had left, this was and I was serious about it probably the last chance I would get to meet her before we left… and who knew when would be the next time, I wouldn’t let it come that far, that was sure.

So finally she agreed and it would be even sooner than I expected but fine with me, I had some time between now and sound check so I was just glad that Ave agreed to meet with me.

Now I just had to get away from everyone without being noticed and getting anyone suspicious on where I am going, especially not Brian.

I exited my hotel room and was glad when I didn’t run into anyone while leaving the hotel. I send a quick message to Matt Berry, so he knew to contact me if something with the sound check or anything else was coming up so I could come back right away, when I didn’t get a reply I knew that was a good sign.

I took a cab to bring me to the bakery Ave had told me she would wait for me. I was a little late the traffic was a bitch sometimes, but I guess Ave would be waiting for me, knowing I wouldn’t be a no- show.

So finally when I arrived I pulled a cigarette out and looked into the bakery, not seeing her there anywhere, so I still had a moment to get my nicotine fix before discussing the topics that needed to be discussed.

Just when I threw the stump away and stepped towards the bakery, the door opened and I quickly moved in, and then in the back I saw Ave sitting alone, a coffee cup in both hands and I quickly moved in beside her, pressing a quick kiss to her cheek.

“Hey little gnome, I missed seeing you” I said and her sad and confused looking eyes met mine.
Shit, there really was something going on and it didn’t look good at all.
“I missed you too” She hugged me and I held her close, it was not a normal welcome hug it was long and I felt like Ave needed this right now.

When we both let go I took Ave’s hand in mine “What happened, Ave? Talk to me…”
“Where to start?” Ave gave me a small sad smile and I laid my arm around her.
“How about… why did you two end up here in the UK?” I asked and Ave sighed.

She told me the story about how Maya got the last chance of getting the scholarship, getting away from the situation, the news, the pictures… away from Brian and Matt.
She told me again about the pictures of Brian and the girl, of the following pictures and still her being hopeful but after the last ones she was too crushed to hold on to.

“Fuck, Ave… Will you let me tell you how it was for Brian? Will you let me describe the situation from his perspective? I know not everything he did is right, or was right… but in all honesty, he never meant to hurt you.” I said and waited for her okay, she gave me a nod and saw her eyes already filling with tears.

“Don’t cry, you know I can’t stand that shit” I tried to joke and she gave me a chuckle, making a tear still slip from her eyes.

“That first picture, it happened after Maya and Matt broke up… They have been trying everything to reach you. They were acting like complete fools just for you… Brian was devasted, he had no idea why you refused to talk to him. He drank so much on that evening, not remembering what happened, Johnny had clued him in… yes, he kissed that woman, and yes that was wrong and should have never happened, but he thought it was you, he didn’t go home with her… nothing else happened.” Ave looked up and met my eyes, probably checking if I was telling the truth and nodded finally so I continued.

“At one point, I let it slip… about the picture… he stole my phone calling you… he was a mess, Ave. He loved you so bad he had no idea what to do to fix this, but he wanted to fix it, he wanted you back, needed you back. But after hearing you were with someone else… he freaked out. He thought all his hopes were for nothing, like you had thrown everything away, and he meant nothing to you” I stopped and Ave gasped “Like he meant nothing to me? How could he… how…” Ave had more tears running down her cheeks now and I whisked them away, I felt sorry to tell her all this, but she had to know, it was the time to bring it all into the open.

“That was probably at the same time Matt heard about the distraction thing as well, so both of them knew that you girls, were moving on… it was all some kind of rumor thing someone heard from someone… and so on. They lost their fucking mind, that’s when the new pictures surfaced, but I can tell you, it meant nothing to him, he didn’t went home with any of them, he loved you too much, still couldn’t forget about you, Ave. And that’s all there is… Brian and Matt had planned to go searching for you, as soon as the tour is done, he wanted you back… He loves you, Ave… He really never stopped. And now I want to know your side of the story.” I finished and Ave looked startled and I think I heard her whisper “He told the truth”

“I-I.. don’t know what to say. I mean… those pictures they broke me, and the only one besides Maya who made me feel even remotely good was James.” She said and I cringed.
“Are you a couple? Did you really move on?” I asked and she swallowed thickly.

“No.. yes… no… I mean, this is all so confusing. I wanted to move on… I wanted to start something new after everything what happened, but I couldn’t. I enjoy the time with James, but I didn’t take the last step with him. I somehow couldn’t, I was afraid of getting too attached and being broken again… Brian broke me… and I was afraid if something like that would happen again, I would never recover. And it wasn’t… with James it wasn’t like it had been with Brian…” She finished and I felt hope bloom up for my best friend.

“Are you still in love with Brian?” I asked the most important question and now the tears were running down Ave’s face and she began to sob, holding a hand before her mouth, to stifle her crying and I had my answer right there.
“Oh Ave..” I hugged her to me, my shirt getting wet from her tears and sobs.

“I wish I wouldn’t, but I do… I’m just so confused, I love him, but he hurt me so bad, you don’t kiss someone else if you are in a relationship, that felt like I was away and he just moved on, you know?” Ave sobbed and I nodded I got that, could understand her feelings.

“I know, Ave. But he didn’t, he loves you… I saw him this morning, he was searching for you, wanted to talk to you, make it right…” I said and Ave slowly sat back, meeting my eyes again.
“What should I do, Zack? I don’t know what to do?” She asked desperately and I sighed pulling her to me again.

“Give him a chance to proof to you he means it… You both love each other, yes he fucked up, but give him a try to make it right. Take it slow, but talk… Let him know how hurt you were, let him know what he needs to do… if you leave him in the dark, he doesn’t know what he is up against, he doesn’t know how to make you feel better, Ave… But he wants that… he wants you back, that is his only thought, believe me.”

My phone started buzzing before Ave could reply and I saw Matt Berry calling, shit was it so late already?

“What’s up MB?” I picked up.
“Where are you? Sound-check’s about to begin… we are waiting” He replied annoyed and I cringed, I lost track of time talking with Ave.
“I checked out the area, will be back in 15… Don’t get your panties in a twist.” I hung up and met Ave’s eyes, already backing out of the bench.

“I gotta go, but Ave… think about it, please… Just fuck, just write him a message, so he stops worrying, okay?” I nearly begged and Ave gave me a small nod “I’ll think about it.. and thank you Zack.”

“Call me, okay? Don’t be a stranger! Other people miss you , too you know?!” I kissed her cheek and then moved quickly towards a cab by the end of the road, shit I really had to hurry now.

Maya’s POV

Today was a constant up and down in my emotions, and I knew from the way Ben looked at me and treated me he wasn’t feeling much better and he knew that something between us was happening.
But we both didn’t know what or what to do for or against it…

I had a hard time now to forget the words that Matt had said to me, I was confused while I knew, I probably owed him more than just the few words I gave him.
But when I would talk to him again, he made me think of everything we had… and I knew it would rip open the wounds even more than they were already… it would start bleeding again when I just put band aid over it and tried to still the hurt.

I couldn’t really blame Matt either, I broke this up…
I shoved him into the direction of someone else, even though it still hurt…
Seeing him, knowing he had been with someone else, it hurt, but it was not really his fault.
God, how much sicker could this get? How worse could I make all this? When I just wanted him to be happy, me to be happy… but what if only we could be happy together?

“You look fantastic babe, so fucking fantastic” Ben pecked my lips and led me out of the house, he invited me to dinner and I was glad for the distraction, even though I knew even then my mind would probably only evolve around that topic again.

And that wasn’t fair to Ben, not at all… He had been nothing but good to me, after we made it officially with us and he had been the perfect boyfriend and I really felt safe and comfortable with him, but now…

“You ready?” He asked and I nodded my eyes traveling over his body “You look so handsome yourself” I smiled and he put my hand to his lips, giving my knuckles small kisses and I couldn’t keep the smile from coming over my lips, that’s exactly what he did to me, all those little things, coaxing smiles out of me when I wasn’t thinking I would be able to smile again.

I would try to shove the other thoughts away for this evening, Ben wanted to give us something nice after all the troubles of yesterday and I should concentrate on that and nothing else.

When we stopped in front of one of the fanciest restaurants in town I lifted my eyebrows at him “Really?” I asked and he just gave me a smirk “For my girl only the best…” He pecked my lips again and then helped me out of the car, he told me to wait and that he would park the car, so I strolled down the sideway near the restaurant until a way too smooth, deep and familiar voice appeared beside me.

There he stood, Matt in all his glory, I took in his form and immediately the black eye caught my attention. I stepped closer to have a better look and put my hand softly on his face, it felt like a spark had hit me when his skin touched mine and I pulled my hand away, what was I even thinking touching him, god Maya.. get a grip!

And Matt finally spoke those words that I knew were right, what he already said at the party and I knew he would get back to it, but how could I allow that? How could I talk reply?

I was just too stunned to really come up with something fitting, I just didn’t know what I should tell him, afraid Ben would show up every second and another fight would break lose, I wouldn’t accept anyone getting hurt because of me again, it was enough already.

“Matt I-I can’t do this…I-I—“ I stammered, shaking my head and I knew the confusion must be shown on my face.

“I just want to talk, Maya,” Matt pleaded his deep voice rumbling, sending a shiver down my spine “Just me and you…no one else around.”
Don’t think about it Maya, don’t even think about it…

I bit down on my lip and nervously looked around the corner, looking if Ben would show up. “I don’t know, Matt…”

“You fucking owe me at least a talk, Maya. Specially after you broke up with me out of the blue and never fucking answered any of my message to explain. And don’t you dare tell me it’s because you don’t love me because that’s a bold-faced lie and you fucking know it!” Matt demanded, his eyes so intense, not looking away from me once and I couldn’t look away either. He took my face in his calloused hands, making my heart pound even faster than before, more emotions tore through my body.

“I love you Maya and you have always been the only girl for me, now and forever. So please…just a talk…you and me,” Another of his heart melting smiles, those dimples showing. “Just let me explain…”

I took a small step back, but never looked away, he was right, we had to talk “Fine…but just talking,” I told him finally and I saw Matt’s smile grew wide, his eyes lit up and I was afraid what I had my gotten into.

“Give me your phone, I’ll put my number in, and you take mine” Matt handed me his phone and I typed the numbers in, while he did the same to mine.
I handed him the phone back and he smiled at me again, like I just made him the happiest man on the world.“Matt, just talking, alright? I mean… don’t get too excited over this” I shook my head because I was afraid he was already moving way ahead of me.
I did owe him an explanation, and I had to think of a way to tell him, why I did what I did, and that he called me on the lie that I told him on the phone months ago was making me a little anxious.

“I swear, just talking… we both explain what we did and why we did it, you and me, Maya…” He took my hand in his and smiled again and this time I had to look away.

“Tomorrow? When? What time should we meet? Have dinner?” Matt asked and I shook my head “Not dinner…maybe lunch?” I asked not wanting to make it look like a date.

He nodded “Alright, damn babe… I missed you so bad, you were my only thought, the only woman I could think about” He added and I opened my mouth to ask when and where we should meet but someone behind Matt cut between it-

“Hey big boy, I have an idea how to get your mood up again, remember when we skipped the interview to have some fun in the-” A blonde woman appeared behind Matt, she slung her arms around his neck and pulled him towards her.

My hand instantly fell away from Matt’s, my eyes were glued to the beautiful blonde woman beside Matt, who looked so familiar…

“Fuck, DJ.. What the-” Matt roughly shoved her away, but I knew from the way she said that, it wasn’t some joke, there was something going on, that’s when I realized, why she looked so familiar to me - she was the co-worker… the woman on the pictures, the woman Matt had begun to move on with.

No no no, he just told me I was the only woman for him, he only thought about me but this didn’t look like that, this looked like, I was the woman he thought about when I was there and maybe she was the woman he thought about when she was there… Because this seemed like they were still fully in it “You know what, Matt… fuck the lunch. You have enough company as I can see…” I spat and turned away from them, so many other words were stuck in my throat, but wouldn’t come out, a little portion hope had bubbled up and was now destroyed by one sentence, one moment, one appearance.

Tears wanted to form, but I swallowed them down, this was not the time… I knew I was dumb to even agree to meet with him and that’s what it got me… That’s exactly it. I should have known better.

When I made a few steps away from the scene where I heard Matt hiss at the woman, I couldn’t hear what they were talking but I was probably glad for that, because I wasn’t really able to handle what I saw. Ben finally came walking towards me a frown on his face, when he saw me he smiled, when his eyes wandered over my shoulder to Matt his eyes began to narrow.

“Maya, fuck… Maya, it’s not as it seems…” Matt’s hand grabbed mine and he turned me around.
“Tell her!” Matt demanded from DJ who looked a little taken aback “I was just… joking, I mean… shit, you are the girl, right?” She asked and I frowned, the girl?
“I don’t wanna hear any of your stories, Matt… go have fun with your co-worker, that’s what you had been doing anyway, right and I’ll go and enjoy my dinner with my boyfriend” I shoved his hand away from me and made more steps towards Ben and away from Matt.

“Maya, no… Listen…” Matt tried again but I wouldn’t turn around. I heard him hiss something then some curses and then I heard the voice of DJ again “We were just having fun, nothing serious… I just thought that he could need some distraction to get a better mood, I didn’t see you standing there or I would have never said that” She said and with that she wasn’t making anything better, so I closed my eyes, turning a final time, when I felt an arm snake around my waist, Ben pulling me into his side.

“You know what, with whatever you do, have fun… because we will” I snaked my arms around Ben’s neck and pulled him into a kiss. I heard a growl from Matt and some more commotion and when I pulled away, I still let my eyes closed, while Ben pulled me firmer into his chest. I knew this sight must have hurt Matt, because it had hurt me to see him with that woman.

What was he thinking? He was out with that woman, and was telling me I was the only one for him? The only one he is thinking about? When he apparently had someone else ready for him to make a move, or maybe he didn’t even need to do that… maybe she was doing the move?

And I was thinking about meeting him! I was thinking about talking to him about everything, when apparently he had his fun while I was away, so when I wasn’t around he had her… but when I came to the picture oh, he wanted me… He wanted what he couldn’t have?!

I had to remind myself, that he had the right to do what he wanted, he was a free man, but then he shouldn’t tell me that he wanted me back, then he should be happy with that woman, and leave me alone… and not reopen the wounds…

Didn’t he realize that I had suffered as well, that it had hurt me so much to leave him, to not see him, to only see pictures of him being happy with other women, did he think that I hadn’t been missing him, missing my friends?!
Maybe I wasn’t thinking rational right now, but seeing him and her, and being reminded of the pictures from months ago, and now seeing them together live was a whole new level of hurt… and now fuck that!

I slowly leaned away from Ben, and looked at Matt’s retreating from, and how the blonde woman was talking to him, guiding him away, with her hands and in the air and motioning wildly, but every now and then he turned back to us, his face was red from anger and I knew he wanted to turn back, to run back over so I finally turned away, and stopped that possibility.

I looked up and met Ben’s eyes, they softened when they met mine “Forget about them, love” He said and pulled me to his side “Should we go now?” He motioned towards the restaurant but I didn’t feel like going out now anymore, didn’t feel like eating at all, but I didn’t want to ruin the evening for Ben as well.

So I put a smile on my face and nodded, my phone started buzzing, but instead of looking who called I shut it off and put it back in my pocket, I would enjoy this evening with Ben and I wouldn’t let anything come between it, this little incident again had shown me that, maybe this was really the right choice, Ben was taking care of me, we were good together, why throw it away to get hurt again?

Notes

Soooo that was a good try from Zack, right?!
He wants his friends to be happy again :)
Now, Avery has some thinking to do ;)

And what just happened between Maya and Matt?!
Everything had been going sooo good, and then DJ showed up and ruined it all?!
Can Matt fix it again?!

Leave us some more comments :)