Summary - "You couldn't blame Stevie for thinking the song had been written about her." 5 reasons why Stevie believes Zander's love song was written for her. And 1 instance where she may be right.
Disclaimer - So you're telling me I don't own 'How to Rock' either? What is this, some sort of conspiracy?! :P
A / N - Hello my lovely ladybugs! Long time, no post, I know... But today marks an exciting milestone - My first Zevie fic! SQUEE! How could I not, I mean this pairing practically writes for itself. If they do not end up together I will seriously question the writers... And then somehow acquire the rights to the show to make everything right in the world.
So, the reasons behind why I started watching How to Rock - I came for Max Schneider, YouTube singer extraordinaire, and Seddie's future daughter in the form of Stevie (well done Tumblr, you were spot on there) but I stayed for ZEVIE! And, you know, the general comedy and such...
A HUGE massive thank you to the lovely nick-crazed for beta-ing this piece for me... go and check out her stuff if you haven't already!
So I've been working on this piece for about a month now, and am not really sure if I'm happy with the final creation, but let me know what you think!
ENJOY!
You couldn't blame Stevie for thinking the song had been written about her. Not that she wanted the song to be about her, you understand, but she had her reasons for believing so passionately that those words had been penned in her name. You couldn't really blame Kacey either, because she always thought everything was about her. Stevie loved her best girl friend to bits, but if she hadn't been tutoring Kacey in Physics every Thursday she knew that her slightly conceited friend would be completely convinced that the universe revolved around her well toned form. Literally. No, Stevie had a genuine reason for believing the song was written about her. Concrete evidence, one might say, if they'd had all the facts laid out in front of them. How could she not think so, with the number of signs in the song practically bursting at the seams? The signs she had clearly misread. Enter head desk here. Stupid, STUPID, Stevie, did she really think that Zander, Casanova himself, would write a song about her? Little Stevie Raina Baskara, band mate, bass player, best friend, but definitely not love song material. Not in any part of the universe. Not even in some weird alternate universe where everything in the universe actually did revolve around Kacey, where Kevin and Nelson were world champions of Furious Pigeons and Molly wore the same outfit two days in a row. Not even then.
You see, she hadn't even wanted to read the song in the first place, that had all been Kacey's doing. And yes, she knew it had been wrong to snoop in Zander's notebook, especially with their flimsy excuse for doing so, but God help her, she was curious. She had heard songs Zander had written before, but never had he been so secretive about them. She just wanted to see whether the girl he was so infatuated with was good enough for him, that's it; she was looking out for him. Right? Man, she couldn't even lie to herself anymore; inner Stevie knew her too well for that. Inner Stevie also currently had a concussion from the amount of times she had hit her head on the proverbial wall because of outer Stevie's sheer stupidity.
She didn't even know why she had done it anymore. Her brain was mixed up, confused as to why she had even gotten involved in the whole love song mess in the first place. It wasn't her place to read the song, and to then try and prove herself worthy of Zander's 'love' when she wasn't even sure if that's what she wanted. Did she want that? The declarations of love in the middle of band practise? Riding off into the sunset on Zander's motorbike, of all modes of transport? Man, she had obviously been watching far too many 80's movies when she had that little fantasy. Did she even dare to think about whether she had… feelings for Zander? How the hell was she supposed to know?!
To be fair, she hadn't genuinely thought the song was about her until she had read the lyrics, those stupid, adorable, incredibly touching lyrics. Because that was when she saw the signs, when she began to have a feeling deep in the pit of her stomach and a thumping in her heart. That was when she knew the girl in the song was her, that the words on the page were for her, which of course, they weren't. And why was she so sure about it when she was, in actual fact, wrong? Well, see for yourself. The evidence pretty much speaks for itself.
Part 1 - You're my lady, beautiful, how we click, got me walking on sunshine…
Stevie and Zander sat down at their usual lunch table right across from the food station, dumping their less than appealing food in front of them and their bags on the floor. Stevie looked around her, puzzled, for a moment, before she found what, or who, she had been searching for and smiled gleefully.
"Looks like Kacey's getting along pretty well with Eric," she leaned into Zander and nudged him so he would look up and see Kacey sitting next to her crush-of-the-week, flicking her hair behind her every few seconds and fluttering her eyelashes.
"That's the third time she's sat with him for lunch this week," Zander replied, before grinning at Stevie, "Looks like things are getting serious, hm?"
Stevie laughed, her nose crinkling slightly, only to have her mood ruined as she looked down at her lunch and grimaced, taking in the image of her overdone burger and Zander's congealed looking pasta beside it.
"Well, they've really outdone themselves today, haven't they," she joked, though in a hushed tone so that the lunch ladies wouldn't hear her and come and beat her with their rolling pins.
"Why can't everyday be pizza day?" Zander complained, poking at his pasta suspiciously and sighing.
Despite their complaints, the pair was hungry due to the mean game of dodgeball they had been playing in their last period, but instead of starting their own meals, Stevie reached over to take the zucchinis out of Zander's pasta as he simultaneously removed the pickles from her burger and placed them on his own plate. This action was done automatically and silently, as though the pair had suddenly become well practised in mime or was accustomed to performing this strange feat, and had been for some time.
As Stevie picked up her burger and began eating, Zander looked over at her and started chuckling to himself, as if finally understanding the punch line to a joke about five minutes after it had been told.
"What?" Stevie asked, chewing on her charcoal coloured, and flavoured burger furiously so she could swallow it without choking, "Do I have mustard on my face?"
"No…" Zander answered, still laughing slightly, "It's just that sometimes we are so in synch with each other it actually hurts."
Stevie raised her eyebrows, surprised at this response. True, their exchange of food may seem strange to others, but she had become so used to it she had barely even registered it lately, "I didn't realise knowing my friend disliked zucchinis was a bad thing, especially when I happen to love them."
"And I love pickles," Zander reiterated, "It's just that…"
"Just what?" Stevie asked curiously, beginning to feel like a broken record with the amount of questions she was asking.
"We just… click," Zander stated, looking over at Stevie and smiling, before he picked up his fork and began eating his lunch, as though that comment had cleared up all of Stevie's confusion.
"We click?" Stevie tried her best not to laugh at this statement, placing one hand over her mouth to stop the sound escaping. It just seemed like such a cliché term for Zander, the guy who was too 'cool' to wear flannel shirts, to use.
"Yeah, we do, Stevie," Zander said after he had swallowed a mouthful of his pasta, "From the very first day I met you, in Mr Schneebly's music class, remember? I don't know, we just clicked."
"Well you were the only other person in the class besides me who raised their hand when the teacher asked if anyone had heard of 'The Clash'," Stevie reminded Zander, causing him to smile at the memory, "And anyone who appreciates Joe Strummer is a friend of mine for life."
"For life, huh?" Zander smirked cockily and propped up his head with his clenched fist in a condescending manner, "Wow, how did you ever live without me, Steve? Was it just one dull moment after another until I came into your life?"
Stevie rolled her eyes and shoved Zander to the side, before stating sarcastically, "What I mean is, that ever since that first day you latched onto me like your life depended on it, and now I'm stuck with you forever."
"Yup, that's pretty much how it works," Zander shrugged as he continued eating his pasta.
"You mean I can't fob you off onto someone else?" Stevie said, exasperated, though her eyes were twinkling mischievously.
"Nope." Zander popped the p, sounding delighted, before grinning like a maniac.
"Well, at least I tried…" Stevie sighed, as she began on her French fries.
"Whatever you say, baby," Zander replied, winking in her direction.
"Shut up and eat your pickles, Zander," Stevie laughed, as she threw a fry at him.
"Yes, M'am." Zander saluted, and promptly stuffed all the pickles in his mouth, causing Stevie to erupt in helpless laughter as Kevin and Nelson came and sat down with their lunch.
"What did we miss?" Nelson asked, as he began gnawing on his own rock solid burger.
Stevie glanced over at Zander, questioningly, and he raised his eyebrows back at her. They both knew how Kevin and Nelson would react if they recalled the happenings of the past few minutes; jibes at Zander for the next few days and casual slips of the word 'click' in conversation, just to annoy him. So Stevie took the initiative to handle the situation before the silence made things painfully obvious that they were hiding something.
"Nothing," she replied happily in Nelson's direction, before throwing a handle of fries into her mouth and chomping on them noisily, "Nothing at all."
For now, she supposed, it would be their little secret.
Part 2 - Oh my baby, we can stare at the moon, knowing it would be alright
"I like stars," Stevie stated dreamily as she stared up at the midnight sky from her position on her favourite deck chair, her body wrapped up in a large blanket and a large fluffy hat covering her lion mane of hair.
"Mm," Zander replied, as he too looked above him from his own deck chair, wrapped up in similar attire. The pair had spent the evening at Stevie's house, writing lyrics for songs that would eventually wind up in Gravity 5's new set list. After a long night of chord constructions and trying to think of words rhyming with 'orange,' (Stevie had repeatedly told Zander that nothing in the dictionary rhymed with orange, but he stubbornly refused to change the word until he was absolutely sure it couldn't be used) they were now waiting for Zander's mom to come and pick him up. At Stevie's suggestion, they had headed outside to face the cool autumnal air and tried to pick out a few of their favourite constellations. Actually, any constellations they could name would probably be more accurate, as neither one of them were exactly astronomy prodigies.
"Stars are pretty," Stevie said absentmindedly, before immediately regretting her choice of words as she remembered who was in her company.
"Oh, hold on," Zander sat up slightly from his chair so he could look directly at Stevie, who was now burrowing as deep into her blanket as she could, "did I just hear one Stevie Baskara use the word 'pretty'?"
"Well it's true!" Stevie defended herself, her head poking out of her blanket hovel, "And this is coming from a guy who frequently uses the word, 'delightful'!"
Silence followed, proving that Stevie had won the argument, making her smirk in triumph. After a few more minutes, Stevie heard Zander softly say,
"I don't know… I think I kind of prefer the moon."
"And in what way is the moon superior to the millions and billions of stars out there?!" Stevie teased, as she gently coaxed him to expand his statement.
"Just the way it stares down at us with that massive… face… that it has," Zander replied, sounding confused.
"Wow. Poetic." Stevie deadpanned.
"Hey!" Zander protested, reaching over to shove Stevie to the side while pouting like a small child. Recognising his plan, Stevie moved just out of Zander's reach, causing him to almost fall out of his deck chair in a very ungraceful manner.
"I just expected more from a song writer, that's all!" Stevie explained as she laughed at her friend, who was now readjusting his rather unstable seating position. This comment made Zander turn to face Stevie with an unfamiliar look in his eyes, his eyebrows furrowed in concentration, before he leant cautiously back in his chair.
"Okay, how's this," he began again, turning his head and locking eyes with Stevie, "the stars and the moon go hand in hand, one without the other seems impossible, and together they take on the challenge of lighting the midnight sky, leading people down the right paths, to their loved ones. Leading them home. Their soft light kisses us, blesses us, wholly and deeply, bright and beautiful, they are one with each other and with us. Better?"
"Much better." Stevie sounded surprised, impressed even, which pleased Zander greatly. He didn't often get to impress his best friend, and always felt strangely happy and proud of himself whenever he had the opportunity to do so.
This unexpected prose from Zander, and admiration from Stevie, was followed by a bout of comfortable silence, as the pair took in the midnight sky above them with a slightly altered outlook on what it might mean to them. This silence, however, was soon interrupted by a yell from someone inside of Stevie's home.
"Kids," a female voice yelled from the Baskara's kitchen, "your s'mores are ready. Just don't touch my honey glazed ham, alright, because I will kill you if you do. Enjoy!"
Stevie and Zander looked at each other, the seriousness of the moment that had occurred mere minutes before dissipated as they began laughing simultaneously.
"Your mom really is something special, Stevie," Zander teased as they got up from their respective deck chairs and made their way inside.
"Oh, you think she's kidding, but she's deadly serious," Stevie stopped walking abruptly and turned to stare at Zander seriously, "You do not touch my mama's honey glazed ham. Ever."
"Duly noted," Zander replied in a similar tone, though he was holding back a grin.
Stevie nodded, and turned back around to head into the kitchen. Zander began following her inside, only to stop and briefly look back up at the sky; the stars and the moon, and smile. It was amazing what the midnight sky and the right kind of company could make you say sometimes, he thought to himself, before stepping into the kitchen and closing the door behind him.
Part 3 - Oh my baby, with you it's a stroll in the park
"I can't believe you talked me into cutting class for this," Stevie complained as she walked along a sunlit path surrounded by a sea of untouched green.
"What do you mean?" Zander asked, confused, as he strolled along next to her, his brightly coloured ukulele case strapped to his side.
"The park. This was the amazing plan you had for our afternoon?" Stevie replied, arms held wide open as she gestured to her surroundings.
"What are you talking about, Stevie, the park is awesome!" Zander grinned, "Plus, you know people are way more generous with their tips when the sun's out and we could both use the extra money."
"Still not working for 'The Man,' huh?" Stevie asked, as they paused to let a woman with five dogs pass by them, but only after she had patted each one as they walked past.
"And never will do!" Zander replied happily, before whistling the tune to his favourite song and continuing down the path.
"But how are we going to make up for the test we missed in Chemistry, idiot?" Stevie reminded Zander, wondering why she had gone along with his crazy scheme in the first place.
"Don't worry about that, Steve," Zander reiterated, hoping that his casual use of Stevie's favourite nickname would help calm her down, "just look at this place and forget all your troubles; the sun shining down on us, the smell of freshly mown grass…" Zander's voice trailed away, causing Stevie to look up at him and follow his gaze towards a group of girls who were walking past, making the most of the summer's day.
"The pretty ladies?" Stevie questioned in a teasing tone.
Zander's head snapped back towards his friend, realising he had been caught, and tried to use his natural charm to turn things back around, "Please, Baskara, you know I only have eyes for one girl." He winked at her, causing Stevie to roll her eyes in his direction and smirk.
"Oh, I know, Betty Crocker only has lovely things to say about you."
"What are you saying?" Zander demanded, looking down at his lean figure before giving Stevie a questioning look.
"Well, you have been piling on the pounds recently," she replied, patting Zander on the shoulder lightly before walking ahead of him to hide her tell tale grin, "I mean I really didn't want to say anything, but you do know that obesity is a growing problem in this country, right?"
"What… but… no I haven't… I GO TO THE GYM TWICE A WEEK." Zander spluttered furiously, running to catch up to Stevie, who was now doubling over in laughter.
Upon realising that Stevie was pulling his leg, Zander shoved his friend gently to the side and pretended to storm off in front of her. Stevie ran to catch up, and linked her arm with his as they carried on strolling down the path into the heart of the park.
"Mean." Zander's monosyllabic comment only caused Stevie to snort in laughter once again, and even Zander chuckled back, admitting to his friend that her joke had been pretty funny.
"True," Stevie replied, grinning mischievously, "but I had to get you back somehow, didn't I?"
Zander looked over at Stevie, who was now smiling at a group of young children playing a game together, and wondered exactly what she had to get him back for; cutting their semi-important Chemistry test or staring at a group of girls who may have been showing more skin than Stevie, but were definitely nowhere near as substantial as she. He smirked to himself, but didn't ask, and the pair continued to walk towards their favourite busking spot in the park, occasionally bursting into verses of their favourite songs along the way.
Part 4 - Cuddled up on the couch after dark
"Awesome movie." Zander stated, leaning back into the sofa with a look of awe on his face.
"AWESOME movie." Stevie's agreement follows seconds after Zander's comment, causing the pair of them to look at each other, identical grins on their faces.
"You liked it?" Zander wasn't surprised to find out that Stevie had enjoyed the film, but this was mainly due to the fact that he had been watching her reactions to his favourite parts for a large portion of their viewing.
"Try loved it! When does the final part come out?" Stevie's excitement bubbled out of her uncontrollably, turning to face Zander fully, crossing her legs in front of her.
"July 20th," Zander replied, "we're seeing it in the movie theatre, right?"
"At midnight." Stevie declared, before getting up off of the sofa to get some more food from the other side of the band's practise room.
"Man, Kevin and Nelson would love that," Zander said, before his expression suddenly fell and he twisted his back around to look at Stevie with a mixture of apprehension and amusement, "But if we invite them they will definitely turn up in costume."
"That would be fun!" Stevie called back, turning back from her position at the 'food station' to grin at him.
Zander gave Stevie an unimpressed look as she walked back over to the sofa, and she made a similar, more exaggerated version of the face at him to make him laugh.
"It would be!" she grinned, "They'd both fight over which one of them would be Batman, you could be Alfred the Butler, Kacey could even be Rachel if she wanted to come, and I could be Cat Woman…"
Stevie's voice dimmed in Zander's mind as he unintentionally imagined his best friend in the tight fitting leather costume that defined Cat Woman, before confusedly trying to rid the image from his mind, to no avail. Where the hell had that come from? Stevie was his friend, Zander reminded himself. His FRIEND.
Through all of this internal confusion, Zander's gaze had fallen onto Stevie, and it wasn't long before she noticed his focused staring at her figure. Raising her eyebrows, Stevie slammed the bowl of popcorn onto the table, snapping Zander out of his daydream, and placed a hand on her hip, immediately guessing what Zander was thinking about, "You were imagining me in the costume, weren't you?"
"No, I wasn't!" Zander protested loudly, and much too quickly, before reddening slightly and averting his eyes.
Deciding to play Zander for all he was worth, Stevie perched on the arm of the sofa and flicked her hair behind her, "Well…" Stevie asked demurely, fluttering her eyelashes in an overdramatic way, "How'd I look?"
Realising that Stevie was teasing him to the nth degree, Zander decided to play his best friend at her own game, and leaned in so he could whisper, "Stunning."
Stevie was caught off guard by this comment, and by the closeness of Zander's face to her own, but she quickly recovered and snorted with laughter, before rolling onto the sofa so she could kick Zander softly in the chest. He mock gasped, and kicked her back on the thigh, instigating a miniature kicking fight on the sofa as they yelled at each other to surrender. The attacks soon subsided, however, and as Zander settled back into his seat Stevie tucked her feet under his legs and puts a blanket over them. For some reason, the pair of them had never been afraid to share physical closeness with each other, but even Zander protested to this move almost immediately.
"Your feet are cold," he moaned, turning to look at Stevie with an exasperated expression.
"Which is why I'm warming them with your excess body heat," Stevie explained, "sharing is caring, man." Zander continued to stare at her, causing Stevie to sigh and flip her feet around to the other side, thus moving her body closer to Zander's side, "So what now?"
"Director's commentary?" Zander suggested, thinking Stevie would think he was joking, when in actual fact this was his preferred option.
"Most definitely." Stevie agreed, to Zander's surprise and delight.
This choice ended Gravity 5's weekly movie night, and while Stevie and Zander had been initially sad that Kevin and Nelson had planned to go to a Dungeons and Dragons convention and that Kacey had a date, the evening had been a complete success with just the two of them. Stevie leant her head on Zander's shoulder, shifting slightly before finally getting comfortable. While it was true that physical contact had never really been a problem between the two of them, their closeness that evening had felt slightly different to Stevie. Special. Almost like Zander and her were on a, dare she even think it, date? She laughed slightly to herself, mocking her own thoughts; Zander and her dating seemed ridiculous to her, even when she was snuggled close up to him and felt like she could just fall asleep into his familiar feel and smell.
Zander looked down at a now yawning Stevie, contemplating very similar thoughts to what his lion haired friend had just been thinking. After the Cat Woman incident from earlier, and many other times, examples where he had been much less obvious of his thoughts, where Zander had appreciated Stevie for her appearance, Zander knew that he found Stevie attractive, but that didn't have to mean anything, right? Acknowledging a friend's beauty did not necessarily mean he wanted more from the relationship, just that he happened to be acquainted with a very beautiful woman. That's all. Inhaling deeply so that he could breathe in the smell Stevie's strawberry scented shampoo, Zander smiled and pressed play, hoping that Christian Bale could distract him from his confusing thoughts about his favourite brunette for the next few hours. He didn't expect it to work, but if anyone could do it, it would have to be the Dark Knight himself.
Part 5 - You're, you're my lady
"I look ridiculous," a small voice emerged from the ladies changing room, its tone a mix of humour and nervousness. Zander, who was leaning on the wall besides the stairs leading up to the changing rooms, tilted his head towards the sound of Stevie's voice and smiled.
"Will you just come out of there so I can see?" he laughed, uncrossing his arms and placing his hands in the pockets of his cotton trousers, styled to look as though they had been made in 18th century England. It had been Nelson's suggestion for the band to start branching out and taking on a variety of different gig options, so as to remain diverse, but Gravity 5's latest challenge of performing at a Renaissance Fair was proving to be more difficult for Stevie than for the others. Not, surprisingly enough, due the fact that they had been asked to play folk music and sing with vague British accents, but because of what Kacey had deemed appropriate dress wear for the event.
"Don't laugh, okay?" Stevie's voice called out again, her worried tone still present.
"Never," Zander promised, though his tell tale smirk was already on his face. He understood Stevie's unwillingness to partake in an event where the band had to dress in traditional Elizabethan attire, but if he could don the tan waistcoat and feathered hat she would just have to do the same.
The door at the top of the stairs slowly opened, creaking slightly as it did, and a green fabric shoe poked out cautiously. After a few seconds, the door swung open fully, and Zander spun around in time to take in the image of Stevie emerging from the room, her long, cream coloured dress falling around her like silk, and the purple coloured sash across her waist framing her body beautifully. Although the dress had been originally designed to have a corset and be completely strapless, (under Kacey's instructions of course) Stevie had instead opted for a brown wraparound jacket that laced up and light sleeves the fluttered gently in the breeze. A garland of fresh flowers was pinned to Stevie's head, and her hair had been set free from all confinements, allowing it to curl and float around her face to its own natural accord.
Zander tried not to stare. He tried to form sounds into words into a logical sentence order. He tried to keep his mouth from hanging agape at the sight of his dazzling best friend. He of course, failed in these many attempts.
"Ridiculous, right?" Stevie said as she ran her hand through her hair, mistaking Zander's silence for another form of shock.
"Not at all." Zander squeaked, before clearing his throat. Keep your voice at an octave lower than Minnie Mouse's, he thought angrily to himself. "You look great, Stevie Nicks."
At this comment, Stevie's forlorn face was replaced with a bright grin, "Why thank you… Lindsey Buckingham?!"
Zander's eyebrows furrowed in a confused frown, before he threw his arms out to the side, "Of all the musicians in the entire world you give me Lindsey Buckingham?"
"I thought we had some sort of Fleetwood Mac theme going on!" Stevie reiterated, her earlier signs of anxiety now completely dissipated.
Zander shook his head and smiled, staring up at Stevie's transformed form. Before he could stop himself, he ran up the steps two at a time, causing a startled Stevie to take a few steps backwards as Zander reached the top and held out his hand to her.
"Mi Lady," Zander said, his telltale smirk reappearing on his face.
Stevie raised her eyebrows slightly at this gesture, before shaking out her dress around, bowing her head and curtsying deeply. As she looked back up she took Zander's close proximity as a chance to take in his costume, noticing how surprisingly good it looked on him.
Catching Zander's direct gaze and noticing a gleam in his eyes she had never seen before, Stevie bit her lip unintentionally before gently replying, "kind sir," and accepting his outstretched hand. Zander broke his gaze with Stevie to look down at their interlocked fingers and smiled, before slowly leading her down the stairs as any gentleman of the era would have done.
Once they had made their way down to the grassy terrain at the base of the stairs, Zander looked back at Stevie, only to catch his breath once again at the sight of her. She grinned at him, and screwed up her face to make him laugh, as they made their way towards the stage where Kevin, Nelson and Kacey were setting up, their hands still intertwined. With the memory of Stevie's beautiful hazel eyes fixed solidly in his mind, Zander had music and lyrics running through his brain before he even had the time to process what they truly meant. He closed his eyes briefly as he tried to collect them all into a comprehensive thought, hoping to commit them to memory for a future song writing session, knowing already how special this song meant to him 'You're my lady…'
You see? With all of the evidence clearly suggesting that the song had been written for her, what else was Stevie supposed to think? She sighed, slumping back against the sofa as she refocused on her surroundings; the bandroom's orange walls standing out brighter than usual for some reason. But she was wrong about Zander's song, and happily so, because she did not want to date her friend. Her best friend. The one person in the world who truly knew who she was. That guy was definitely not for her, and off limits as it was, seeing as band mates were under strict rules not to date each other. Stevie picked up her bass from the table in front of her and started plucking some of the strings, hoping to take her mind off things, but that same tune just wouldn't go away. Zander had always been great at those damn catchy choruses.
Peering in through the glass window in the door, Zander saw the defeated looking Stevie practising her bass and walked past yet again, breathing in deeply. He had pacing outside the bandroom's entrance for about ten minutes now, though he wasn't completely sure about what was preventing him from actually going inside. Well, that wasn't completely true. He hadn't been completely comfortable around Stevie and Kacey ever since the 'love song' debacle, but not due to the most obvious of reasons. Zander knew he shouldn't have done it, lied to two of his best friends, and Nelson and Kevin by extension. But he was scared, terrified even, of what they would all think if they knew the truth; that the song he had been trying too hard to hide from his friends had, in actual fact, been written for a girl. For his nose scrunching, food sharing, favourite bass player of all time; Miss Stevie Baskara. It was a mere coincidence, and lucky one at that, that his dog happened to be named Lady, and also a slight cover up in case anyone did discover his notebook without his permission. Once he had been informed that the girls had read his notebook, he had planned to perform the song, pretend that it was about Lady and no-one else, and hope that everyone moved on with their lives. But what he wasn't expecting was Stevie's reaction to his performance. She had smiled, laughed at times, and crinkled up her nose in that adorable way that made his heart drop. She had seemed happy thinking the song had been written for her. Did that mean she might feel for him what he felt so strongly for her?
Shaking his head, Zander smiled and leant against the wall next to the bandroom floor, realising how ridiculous that sounded. Stevie would never go for a guy like him; if her affiliation with Justin Cole held anything about her taste in men, Zander knew that he was obviously not her type. But what if he was wrong? He had sorely misjudged Stevie's original reaction to the song, so what's to say that there wasn't something more to the way she felt for him. Feeling conflicted and hopelessly confused, Zander let his head fall against the wall behind him with a thud, hoping to somehow knock some sense into his brain. It, surprisingly enough, did not work.
Where's that famous Zander Robbins confidence, he thought angrily to himself, as he contemplated what to do. If not now, when was he going to tell Stevie how he really felt? He had a perfect opportunity, and had royally screwed it up by singing his love song to his dog, but that didn't have to put an end to everything. There was only one way to find out how she really felt, he thought as he stood back up, and that was to ask her. Stretching his arms behind his back, Zander felt a rush of adrenaline soar through him as he headed for the door. Let's hope she'd be able to forgive him for comparing her to a dog for long enough to actually hear what he wanted her to know.
Stevie heard the door opening behind her, and spun her head around to see who it was. Her face lit up as she saw Zander's gangly form walking down the stairs, ukulele case strapped to his back, and she called out a friendly greeting.
"About time someone else turned up, I thought band practise was starting at 3:00 today?!" Stevie jokingly asked, putting down her bass gently beside her. As she received no reply, she looked back up at Zander, who was slowly approaching the sofa, and noticed how nervous he looked.
"Are you okay, Zander?" Stevie asked, her concern reaching out across the bandroom.
"Yeah," Zander replied, unconvincingly, as he finally made it to the sofa. "I just- Can I talk to you for a minute, Stevie?"
Standing up to face her friend, Stevie put aside her feelings about the song and everything that had happened over the past few days; Zander seemed to need her help with something that was troubling him and that was all that mattered right now. "Yeah, sure. But are you sure nothing's wrong?"
Licking his lips nervously, Zander's reply came in a hushed voice, "I'm hoping that everything's going to be pretty much perfect in a few minutes. Just, listen, okay?"
Taking her hand without a second thought, Zander lead Stevie to the middle of the bandroom just behind the sofa. Stevie raised her eyebrows in surprise, and looked down at their interlocked fingers, but didn't say anything as she followed Zander's steps. He reached behind him and pulled his ukulele from his back, throwing the case onto the sofa and testing out the strings cautiously.
"What's going on, Zander?" Stevie asked, her suspicion growing by the minute.
"Just listen and everything should start to make sense." Zander grinned at her, before starting to play a very familiar sounding chord progression, "This one's for you, Stevie Baskara. It was only ever meant for you."
Stevie's eyes widened slightly, and she laughed apprehensively, looking around at the deserted bandroom before her gaze fell back on Zander, who was gazing nervously back at her.
Yes, you couldn't blame Stevie for thinking the song had been written about her. Especially since she was about to find out that, in actual fact, it had been.
A/N - So, did you guys like it? Let me know any of your favourite lines or parts by reviewing, or any improvements I could work on for the future. Will there be another chapter? Probably not, unless there is a high demand for one! But there doesn't really need to be, I'm sure you guys can see where this is going...!
To all my faithful readers who were hoping for a Seddie fic - I'm sorry! I'll try and put something together soon, especially as iCarly is drawing to a close. *over-dramatic NO and sobbing* But did anyone catch that not-so-sly Sam reference? If you did, FOUR FOR YOU, READER, YOU GO READER!
Well, until next time my fluffy chickens, I hope you enjoyed it!
My clever little review line is now redundant, so here's me just reminding you that if you want to, please leave me a comment on your thoughts! Thanks!
~ Mim