Hey girlypops!!!
Song at the top is semi important for later.
Enjoy!!! 💛💛💛
•
Jack didn't know why he acted out like that to Zach. He was upset with Martin not Zach. He didn't mean to act up like that, it's not who he is.
That's why he asked around for his number. Julian was the one who gave it to him. He had no idea why he had it but that was for another day.
He waited and waited for a response. He stared at his phone for what seemed like forever. It really was only ten minutes.
Zach Herron-
'It's okay. I knew you were upset. I'll talk to Martin tomorrow. We can also talk it out tomorrow. I feel like we both just need to actually get to know one another. 💛💛'
Jack replied almost immediately. The hearts might have made his own heart flutter.
Jack-
'Yeah that sounds good. I'll be at the studio around ten tomorrow.'
Jack put his phone down and smiled. He got up from his couch and ran upstairs to his bedroom and grabbed his guitar. He was feeling inspired all of a sudden. He grabbed his backpack on his way back down the stairs.
He sat down on the couch and music started flowing out of the boy. In about an hour he had written a whole ass song. He didn't exactly know why these specific lyrics had come from him or why it all came to him after he apologized to Zach.
He called the song Easily. It was about a difficult relationship and the pair knowing that it wasn't going to be easy. Jack really liked it.
He hoped everyone else did as well.
•
Zach woke up the next day with pain radiating in his hand. He groaned and got out of bed. He checked his phone and noticed that it was nine thirty.
He had just fixed things with Jack, he didn't want to ruin things right away by being late to their meeting. He quickly went to his large closet and found an outfit. He picked some black shorts that were a few inches above his knee and a dark green slightly oversized hoodie. He had his black 'double G' Gucci belt on. He grabbed his white slip on Vans and put them on after putting black ankle socks on. He ran his hands through his hair and grabbed his black Fjallraven Kanken backpack that he used every single day. He shoved all of his stuff into it. He threw it over his shoulders and picked up his guitar with his good hand. He grabbed his keys off of the kitchen counter and locked his front door before going out the door connected to his garage. He unlocked the car and put his guitar in the backseat. He climbed into the drivers seat and started the car.
It was hard to drive with the cast on his hand but he made it work. He was so thankful that there was hardly any traffic on this fine Wednesday morning.
He pulled into his parking spot and tried to look for one of Jack's many cars. He noticed Jack's parking spot was empty and he sighed in relief. Although it quickly left him when he saw the many guys with cameras outside the front entrance. Zach prepared himself as he pulled his keys out of the ignition and got out of the car. He put his backpack onto his shoulders and grabbed his guitar before locking the car. He walked around his car and onto the sidewalk.
There were immediate shouts and comments thrown his way. He was usually able to block it out but for some reason he couldn't today.
"Hey Zach! What happened to your hand!?"
"Are you and Jack Avery friends now?"
"We haven't seen a girl on your arm recently. Have they all figured out that you're just a womanizer!?"
"Zach is it true that you got that girl pregnant?"
"Yo Zach! What's it like knowing that the whole world knows you're not some tough guy and you're just a little bitch?"
"Zach is it true that you're a fag?"
Those last two hit Zach hard. He stopped in his tracks and swallowed the lump in his throat. He almost said something back but someone beat him to it.
"Would you just leave him the fuck alone? Jesus Christ." India rolled her eyes and opened the front door for Zach. She flipped them off before walking in behind the boy. Zach's hands were shaking and he walked away as quickly as he could towards the stairs door. India stopped him as soon as he was in the stairwell. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah I'm fine." Zach's voice cracked and he looked down.
"No you're not. Come here." India pulled Zach in for a hug. Zach hugged her back before pulling away. "What they said was definitely not cool. They piss me off."
"Thank you for sticking up for me." Zach ran his good hand through his hair and picked his guitar back up. The two walked up the stairs together. Zach said goodbye to her as she walked into her studio. He set his guitar down and unlocked the door to his own studio. He set his guitar onto the brown leather couch and grabbed his laptop out of his bag. He plugged it in next to the couch and set it on the small table next to it.
He plugged in the string lights that went around the room then turned off the overhead lights. He smiled and pushed his sleeves up to his elbows.
He turned around to shut the door and let out a small scream when Jack was standing in the door. Zach slapped a hand over his rapidly beating heart and leaned against the wall.
"What the hell was that for?" Zach closed his eyes and tried to slow down his heartbeat.
"Sorry I was about to knock right as you turned around. I didn't mean to scare you." Jack chuckled and looked around the room. Three of the walls were painted a cream color and the one behind the couch was painted a dark emerald green color. There was a light brown 'L' shaped couch against the dark green wall. On the other end of it there was a small kitchenette with cabinets the same color as the green wall. There was a fluffy white rug covering the light wood floors. There was a round white marble coffee table in front of the couch. There were tons of pillows and a few blankets on the couch as well. Across from the couch, against the wall separating the room and the studio there was a storage unit and his guitars were on stands next to that. There was a small wooden squared end table right next to the door. The last piece of furniture was a raised white table that had four mustard yellow stools around it. There were plants everywhere a plant could be.
"Do you like it?"
Jack looked away from the room and towards Zach who had his eyes lowered to the floor. He was sat on the arm of the couch. It was only then that Jack saw the cast on Zach's hand.
"Yeah it's really inviting. Does your house look like this too?" Jack waited for Zach's nod before he reached out and grabbed Zach's wrist with the cast on it. "What happened?"
"Oh um I broke my hand last night." Zach really didn't want Jack to ask about it anymore. He didn't want to seem weak.
"How did you do that?" Jack let go of his hand and leaned against the wall.
Zach moved so he was sitting on the actual couch. He grabbed a pillow and set it in his lap. "I- I punched my counter."
Jack sat down next to Zach with a frown. "Why?"
"Anxiety." Zach pulled his sleeves back down so that they were covering his hands again.
"From the pictures?" Jack didn't even have to wait for Zach's response. As soon as he asked the question Zach tensed up and squeezed his eyes shut. Jack put two fingers under Zach's chin and made the boy look up at him. "Don't think about it okay? It's absolutely fine to show weakness every once and awhile. You don't have to act like a badass all the time. You can have a break."
"Thank you. It means a lot." Zach smiled at Jack who returned the smile.
"I'm sorry for what I said to you yesterday. I promise I didn't mean any of it. I was just upset and I know I said all of this already but I want to tell you in person. I don't know if what was happening in those pictures was my fault but I instantly regretted it when I went back to my studio." Jack looked down at his lap.
"I've already forgiven you Jack." Zach stood up off of the couch and grabbed his guitar. "Now are we going to get some work done or what?"
Jack smiled and was happy that they didn't hate each other anymore.
•
It was about two hours later when the two had written a whole ass song. They both loved it a lot. They had planned to record it on Friday with Bobby, who Zach still had to meet. He had been sick for these past couple of days so he hasn't been into the studio much.
Their song was called 'Youth'. It was about hate and getting over it while turning it into positivity. It fit their situations well.
Now they were sitting in Zach's studio on their laptops. Jack was on the couch with his headphones in and Zach was sitting on a stool at the table. They were both getting work done in a comfortable silence.
Jack had recorded the song he wrote last night before going and getting coffee. Daniel helped him with this one since Bobby was away. It turned out really well. Daniel has just sent him the final edit of the song so he was listening to it. It was super simple just like most of Jack's music was. He emailed it to Martin since he really liked it. He wanted it to be his next single.
He looked up at Zach who was typing away at his computer. He had a frown on his face and his brows were furrowed.
"Hey Zach?" Jack took his headphones out and set his laptop on the coffee table in front of him.
"Yeah?" Zach turned around and looked at the boy with a small smile.
"Can you come listen to this for me?" Jack gestured to his computer. Zach nodded and hopped off his stool. He sat on the couch next to Jack. He got close so that they both could use one of the earbuds. Jack played the song for Zach and watched his face for any reactions.
Zach's eyes were closed and a smile was playing at his lips. When the song was over Zach turned his head to look at Jack. Their faces were mere inches away from one another's. Jack's lips flickered down to Zach's lips for less than a second before he looked away. Zach cupped Jack's cheek and made him look at him again. Zach glanced at Jack's lips before leaning in and pressing a kiss to his cheek. Jack's eyes fluttered closed and he sucked in a breath.
Zach pulled away and dropped his hand. Jack cleared his throat and stood up.
"I'll be going then. I have a meeting in and hour and a half so I should probably be going and you have an album to finish writing." Jack gathered his things before heading out the door without leaving Zach enough time to respond.
Zach just sat there in shock. What the hell just happened?
•
1974 words
Inspo for Zach's studio:
Let me know what you think. 💛💛
- Cassandra