The Day That I Met You

Chapter 8

Zack

I was beyond pissed. This did NOT go as I planned. I wanted to kiss her, tell her I love her, and sweep her off of her goddamn feet! Not listen to this bullshit about her sleeping with one of my best friends. I can’t believe that I was telling myself I’d be cool with it if she ended up with that bastard, that I’d accept it. How can I accept something so fucking crushing?

And I think it’s bullshit that Brian said he had no idea how I felt. If Johnny Christ figured it out, then I think it had to be pretty obvious. He must not have seen what happened at the party. If he had and lied to me about it he’d be even more of a dick. But shit, Liv had no idea either. She’s so wrapped up in Gates and he’s so wrapped up in himself that they were too stupid to notice.

I needed to breathe. I normally don’t think things like this, but shit I was mad. And hurt. I didn’t know what I was going to do. That last question Syn asked me… fuck. If he really did want to be with her, what would I do? Part of me wanted to go beat the shit out of Gates, but I knew that was stupid. I needed to keep my cool for the band’s sake if nothing else. Regardless of everything, he was my friend and so was Liv. What happened between them was out of my control, as much as I hated to think it. Unless I talked her out of dating him, but that just didn’t seem right. I wanted her to be happy.

After leaving Syn’s room I went into my own, wanting to be alone to cool down, but as soon and I felt my nerves start to mellow out, my door swung open.

“Johnny,” I stated to greet my intruder. The fucker never knocked.

“You’re upset,” he said, calmer than I expected. Even with a hangover he was usually cheery and somewhat obnoxious.

“I am,” I said, not knowing what else to say.

“I’m upset. This is the stupidest fucking love triangle I’ve ever seen. Twilight was better than this shit!” he exclaimed, making me laugh. “I heard you yelling at Gates. That fucker.”

“Glad you’re on my side,” I said, sighing.

“Hey now! I’m not taking sides here. I just don’t want my friends fighting over my other friend’s little sister. Talk about awkward!” he said. “But shit if you want the girl, get the fucking girl!”

“What are you talking about?”

“Zack, you’ve been crushing on her for years. Last night wasn’t the best way to swoon her. She was shitfaced!” Johnny said, laughing at me.

“Wow, you’re so helpful, dickwad.”

“Fuck, ok. I’m just saying, maybe you should try again, do something a little bit more romantic while you’re both sober?”

“She thinks I hate her. Not sure how I’d do that,” I said, not believing that I was actually considering and idea that Johnny gave me. Moments ago I was thinking about how shitty it would be for me to try and convince her not to date Syn, but this was a decent alternative. Johnny had a point; she was drunk and I freaked her out. Would it have been different if she was sober?

“Just say you’re sorry. Even though it’s totally reasonable for you to be mad. Get flowers, dress up, do all that romantic fluffy shit that girls like.”

“Fluffy?”

“You fucking know what I mean! Do it or I bet you’ll regret it,” he said, leaving me alone confused.

Should I try again, or would that just be too much? If I did, I probably needed to do it soon before Gates decided what he wanted in all of this. I was afraid she’d choose him over me. She’d been pining over him for awhile, she had told me, and I knew exactly how that felt. And considering that she had slept with him already, I assumed she would want more. At least, that’s how I’d react to sleeping with her. Unless he was shit in the sack and she was over him. I highly doubted that, unfortunately.

At the same time, with all of this, I didn’t know if I wanted to go through with it. It felt like I’d just be her second choice. Well, if Brian doesn’t like me, then I guess Zack would do! Did I really want that? The prideful part of me said no, that would be dumb. Be a man, Zack; don’t let her get to you! But at the same time, I knew Johnny was actually right for once. I was now wondering what would have happened if I had had better timing, what would have happened if she hadn’t been drinking. I just wanted to be with her, regardless of the circumstances. I didn’t want to give up, yet. Maybe it was worth it to try again. I just needed a plan…

-0-

Brian

I felt like such an ass. I wanted to go after Zack, tell him I was sorry again, but I knew I needed to give him space. A little space would probably do me some good, too. I just wanted to crawl back into bed and sleep this off and not worry about it anymore. Seeing Zack’s reaction was killing me because as much as I wanted to back off, I couldn’t just let her go. She had some pull on me that I couldn’t get over. I couldn’t stop thinking about all of the things we could do together, all of the ways I could have her in my bed…

I smiled at that thought and I felt more relaxed, closing my eyes as I sat on my bed, leaning against the headboard. But, of course, as soon as I began to drift off, my door burst open. I knew it was Jimmy because he never knocked and he always barged in like he owned the damn place, and if anyone else did that I’d kick their ass.

“What?” I said, not hiding my sass. I didn’t feel like talking about this shit anymore, not even with my best friend.

“What the fuck is happening right now?” he said, way too loud.

“Weren’t you just passed out on the couch a second ago?” I asked, trying to show how annoyed I was, even though I knew he wouldn’t leave unless I physically forced him to.

“Zack’s fucking yelling woke me up. You slept with Olivia?”

Great, who else heard? Thank God Matt wasn’t home, but I’m sure Johnny knew. I’d probably hear from that short shit next.

“Yep,” I said, still not wanting to talk about it.

“Brian,” Jimmy started, which made me look at him. If he was calling me by my real name shit was about to get serious, unfortunately. It was a rare occasion when Jimmy was serious and right now I’d prefer his obnoxious antics.

“James,” I answered because I felt like being an ass. I was good at that today.

He sat on my bed next to me. “You saw her and Zack together and you still went and fucked her?”

Shit, he remembered. I hoped he and Johnny wouldn’t spill that to Zacky. “Yes. I know, I’m a total ass.”

“Yeah, you are. No wonder Zacky wanted VENGEANCE!!” he laughed at his own joke then, falling back on my bed. I rolled my eyes but couldn’t help but smirk at the pun. I knew he couldn’t stay serious for too long.

“You’re not helping,” I said to my best friend.

“Was I supposed to?”

“Yes, idiot! I don’t know what to do now,” I admitted.
“Did you apologize to Zack?”

“Yes, but he’s still pissed. And I don’t know what to do about Olivia.”

“Wait a sec. Are you trying to tell me that you, the great Synyster Gates, have FEELINGS for this girl!?” he asked, laughing his ass off.

“You’re a dick,” I replied, not admitting anything.

“Seriously, though. Normally you don’t think twice about the girls you screw. What’s different this time?”

“I mean, it’s Olivia…”

“And? Just because she’s Matt’s sister doesn’t mean anything, Gates. Sure it might make things more complicated, but it shouldn’t affect how you feel about her romantically.” He wiggled his eyebrows as he said ‘romantically,’ making me roll my eyes.

He wasn’t getting it. “No, that’s not it. I just mean, well, it’s Olivia!”

“Clearly I’m not following, Gatesy-poo. Spell it out for the dear old Rev.”

I had been debating my feelings from the second she fell asleep until now. I obviously liked her, had feelings for her. But it made me feel like an idiot because I hadn’t felt this way about a girl since my first crush back in grade school. She wasn’t like the other girls I had been with. She was gorgeous, smart, and genuine. I had known her for so long that I couldn’t imagine what my life would be like without her. She was amazing in so many ways. She didn’t try to be something she wasn’t, which I loved about her. And thinking that way, using words like “loved” freaked me the fuck out.

I groaned. “I like her, alright? She’s different is what I mean.”

“Wow, that’s beautiful. You should tell her that. ‘Hey Liv I like ya cause you’re different, K?!’” Jimmy said, laughing at my misery.

“You know I’m not good at this shit!”

“Clearly! Jesus, Brian! If you like her you need to know why at least. This is more serious than trying to date any girl. There’s the whole Zack thing, for instance. And who knows what Matt will do. I hope he kicks your ass!”

“Gee, thanks buddy.”

“Alright, alright. So what happened, exactly?”

I told him about our walk home, how she flirted with me, and how one thing led to another. I didn’t share the details about how amazing it all was; he didn’t need to hear that. Typically I wasn’t shy about sharing, but it didn’t feel right this time.

“Did you sleep over?” he asked me.

“I stayed for a bit afterwards. She was asleep when I left,” I answered.

He grimaced, “Oh, not good. She probably thinks you weren’t into her, then. I mean, that’s what any smart girl would assume when the guy doesn’t stick around, I think.”

“Yeah, I know. I just didn’t know what to do and I’ve literally never stayed the night with a girl after sex.”

“Not even Michelle?”

“Nope. Especially not her. With Olivia I felt bad leaving, but I just didn’t know what would happen or what I should do!”

“Uh, maybe stay for a cuddle and free breakfast? Jesus, Syn.”

I rolled my eyes. “Again, I’m not good at this shit.”

“Again, that’s clear! You need to talk to her, win her over. She’s probably pissed that you left.”

I groaned, “I don’t want to piss Zack off. I don’t want to deal with Matt. And shit, I don’t even know if Liv wants a relationship. Maybe she just wanted to screw once and leave it!”

“Yeah, I doubt it. You said she told you she’d had those feelings awhile, right?”

“Not exactly. She made it clear she wanted me that night, but wasn’t obvious about how she felt before then.”

“OK, but she’s a girl. Not to be a dick, but girls typically don’t just randomly decide they want to fuck their brother’s friends. And knowing Liv, I’m sure she’d been thinking about it awhile before she actually did anything. She’s always planning shit ahead of time,” he said.

I laughed then, smiling. I liked that about her. I wasn’t that way and sometimes I wished I was. Maybe if I was more like her I wouldn’t be in this situation. But, thinking that made me a bit sad. I didn’t regret sleeping with her, really; it was honestly one of the best nights of my life. But if I had thought everything through, I probably wouldn’t have done it to avoid hurting my friend. But, shit it was amazing. Maybe it made me a dick, but I wouldn’t take it back.

“So?” Jimmy asked.

“So, what?”

He laughed at me. “What are you gonna do, stupid?”

“Talk to her? I guess that’s all I can do, right? Should I ask her on a date or something?” I felt stupid.

“Sure, but maybe actually plan ahead a bit and think about what you’re gonna say so you don’t say something stupid like ‘You’re different! Please date me!’ You need to be sincere and not sound like a doofus at the same time,” Jimmy said, smiling at me.

I laughed, “That’s probably easier said than done, Jimbo.”

“God, she’ll probably love it, seeing you like that. Just be yourself and don’t lie. She doesn’t need that shit. She’s our friend, too. If you fuck this up you’re pissing off a lot of people.”

“No pressure. Fuck.”

“Sorry, but still. Don’t fuck it up!”

Notes

I'm curious to see what you all think! Who do you want Liv to end up with? What do you see happening?

Stay tuned for more!